A Bitter Defeat

"A storm is coming."

That was the first thing coming to the mind of a changeling queen as she saw the battlefield before her, covered in dark clouds that hid the red sun, common to see on the twilight hours of the day. The red lights coming from the celestial figure shied away, no longer bringing back the massacre in front of her. Blood and carnage was no longer shown and she would finally stop looking at the corpses of the brave soldiers who died that day.

This changeling queen, wielder of a dark blue carapace, had a silk like mane that, under the bright yellow sun, would splendor with bluish tones that one would normally find on the waters commonly seen at the beach, her head was adorned by a crown that held four little sapphires in each point with her horn being at the top.

Her fangs were short and sharp, since she always preferred them to be cutting whatever they bit instead of just using them for intimidation.

Her dark blue carapace showed the signs of seeing better days as scars of battles, both new and old, went across her body and denounced the bloody life she went through as far as she was a queen; although the most notable wound, however, was the very recent, and still bleeding, one on her left hind leg, as a clear object went through it and penetrated the leg from one side to the other, forcing her to limp for the rest of her life.

Her eyes though, an aquamarine blue with a cat-like irises, were ignoring the dark brought by the oncoming clouds and kept looking at the battlefield before her.

Having the images of the dead burnt in her mind for the rest of her life, she would always remember this moment of her life as the event that changed the life she knew. The life on the battlefield now was going to be a different one, it was one she was eager to enter in but, sadly, wasn't so skillful to maneuver, for she knew more about war than anything else and that was an experience that was shared among the other queens, and princess, surrounding her.

As the other queens were looking at the battlefield with her, all of their looks went to the other side of the land, fed with blood, and saw what they viewed as their objective: A great mountain filled with multiple caves, common from changeling hives, that were lit and showed shadows of the victorious soldiers celebrating their moment with one exception.

Right on the top of the mountain, in the largest cave that could be seen by the common eye, another changeling queen stood tall. Her regal posture showed how aware she was of her victory. Her position so up above the mountain showed how high she thought herself to be in comparison to her defeated opponents, but her head remained lowering itself down, watching at her still living adversaries, proving how much she was willing to level herself down to her enemies, for she knew better than anyone to never underestimate your adversary, even if it has been defeated in battle.

The darkness brought by the clouds made it hard to see details of her figure any longer, but the light, brought by the caves, created a shadow that allowed to see outlines of clothes and two swords hanging from her hips.

Our dark blue changeling queen remained looking at her for the longest time she could, for both of them were aware of how much was learnt from this battle and now all they had to do left, was waiting for the battle's final report. The blue queen still needed to know how hard was her side's defeat; how many resources were left for her and her companions to remain in battle.

"Valeris."

The dark blue queen, known as Valeris, moved her head and saw one of the other four queens, and princess, surrounding her. The queen talking to her was of a rose color, as her carapace and silky mane were just of slightly different tones, and her crown was surrounded by four rose quartz while her wine-red eyes were flashing at the same tone as her horn. Her mouth moved, revealing her long fangs as she decided to speak to our blue queen Valeris.

"My drones have finally made the numbers, they're sending me the report right now but they'll give each of us a physical copy as soon as they can."

Her dried and cold tone said everything Valeris needed to know, but she went on as she understood that some truths were better to be known at their fullest.

"Go ahead, Cerebelis, tell us how bad it was."

The rose Cerebelis shone her eyes completely and started to say the report, numbers filling her with dread and telling her fellow queens, and princess, of how bad the situation was.

"On our side, with the combined forces of five hives, summing up a total amount of 2.900 changeling soldiers and with the companionship of five queens and three princesses, we lost a total amount of 1.948 soldiers, one changeling queen and one princess, two if we take into account that one of said princesses has now become the new queen of her respective hive.

Before the battle started, we gathered a total amount of 1.800 swords distributed in 900 sabers, 700 broadswords and 200 rapiers, 700 shields, 1.100 pieces of light armor and 700 pieces of heavy armor; 10 catapults and 5 battering rams, 300 war gems, 50 kilograms of medical supplies and enough love supply for three months of siege. After the battle is over, we have lost 300 sabers, 50 rapiers and 400 broadswords -, and that's counting the recovered weapons from the battlefield, - 10 catapults, 5 battering rams, 250 war gems, our medical supplies have been reduced to 10 kilograms and our love supplies have been reduced to just 3 days of siege after the enemy managed to take our resources while we were retreating.

We also lost Queen Castis and her first daughter, Princess Manticoris, making Princess Fortis the new Changeling Queen of her Hive, Castleen. Their heads have been found along most parts of their respective bodies, but some parts belonging to Manticoris's body are left to be found.

With that established, the death toll for each hive can be established through the following numbers:

Hive Hidroxia, lead by Queen Valeris, lost 1.037 changelings out of 1.200 changelings, divided in 900 saber wielders and 137 rapier wielders.

Hive Castleen, lead by Queen Fortis, lost 811 changelings out of 1.000 changelings, divided in 600 broadsword wielders and 211 changeling workers using the siege weaponry.

Hive Minerum, lead by Queen Luxis, lost 50 long range changelings out of 250 changelings, due to said soldiers abilities to fight on a distance, instead of close quarters, they were among the hives that lost the least.

Hive Panacitum, lead by Queen Lixis, lost 47 medical changelings out of 400 changelings. The whole division fell into chaos once the enemy fire managed to cross our defensive lines, around the middle of the day, and hit the medicinal points, making it impossible for them to gather themselves up until a few hours before the battle was over. The attack against the medical points also hurt many of our changeling soldiers, who were recovering after being salvaged from the battle and were receiving the required treatment for their wounds.

Hive Logos, lead by Queen Cerebelis, lost 3 recon changelings out of 50 who were analyzing the battlefield before being spotted by the enemy and then decided to promptly kill them, forcing the other reconnaissance changelings to retreat.

On the other side, out of 1.200 changeling soldiers, the enemy lost a total amount of 159 soldiers while managing to keep their lines of defense, stopping our forces from breaking through thanks to their weaponry, which doesn't fit in any type of magic or technology ever registered in this world.

The enemy only had one queen on their side, Anidis, who managed to remain unscathed while taking the lives out of Queen Castis and Princess Manticoris during the heat of the battle.

We also managed to recover a few weapons belonging to the enemy and we'll soon start their respective analysis to understand how they managed to attack beyond our defensive positions and break through the magic shields even though they never used any type of long range magic."

Cerebelis's eyes stopped shining as she ended her report, with a dreaded face plaguing her features as the other queens reflected her exact feelings caused by the numbers of their defeat. Valeris took it as bad as one would expect, for the loss of soldiers meant the loss of workforce, the loss of families and the loss of power. As a changeling wearing rose robes got close to the queens and gave them the physical report, delivered by her drones as she was reporting, Valeris went back and saw the Hive taken over by her enemy.

The lights on the mountain were still there and, even though Valeris could only see Anidis' shadow, the lightning, coming from the dark clouds, gave her enough moments of light to see a changeling drone getting close to his queen and gave her a scroll, probably containing the same reports she held on her grasp right now.

"My apologies for being the first one in saying this, my fellow comrades, but, now what?"

Valeris turned around and saw the source of the sound, always staying regal and calm, with her voice betraying no emotion, even though her eyes told everybody how somber she felt.

This Queen was of a pearly white carapace covered with small gems of multiple colors on many parts of her body to show the riches she held, she had a silky translucent mane, which reminded anyone who saw it to diamonds. Her crown had four white beads and her fangs had the looks of being shortened on purpose but, somehow, keeping the same sharpness as any other queen's fangs should be. Her eyes were red like a bloody ruby and she held no harm on her body, showing were she stood in the battlefield.

As Valeris saw her, she tried to come up with a simple answer but all she could come up with was her name to fill time.

"Luxis... What..."

Thankfully, for her, Cerebelis's eyes shone again and quickly interrupted the conversation.

"Hold on" -. Said the rose queen. - "I'm getting a report from a changeling scout in a minor hive close to Canterlot."

"Canterlot?" - Responded a queen with a bronze carapace. Her eyes, which looked like melted copper, only reflected concern on the news. - "That's my mother's jurisdiction. What's going on there?"

Cerebelis kept on trance, trying to gather the information as best as she could before passing it to the bronze queen, wielder of many cuts and bruises around her body, with one of her wings being cut horizontally, making her unable to fly properly and her crown had four orange beads.

"Oh!" - Said Cerebelis. - "This isn't good at all" -. She said as she moved her head sideways. - "Apparently, one minor queen has decided to get involved with the Equestrian royalty."

All the queens, and princess, widen their eyes, fearful of what kind of consequences could be brought to their species should it become discovered. The bronze queen got close to Cerebelis and demanded her to bring more information.

"This is awful Fortis" -. Said the Rose Queen Cerebelis. - "Apparently, this queen decided to kidnap the Princess of Love and replaced her on her marriage with the Captain of the Royal Guard."

Luxis eyes started to turn into flames as she started to understand the ploy behind this queen.

"Of course" -. Said the regal queen. - "Since this queen, as all the others, cannot defeat us in battle, she's now going to attempt to steal love by force and see if that will give her enough power to defeat us."

The bronze queen Fortis quickly started to gather the information she held and tried to analyze the situation.

"Let's see, there's no way for this queen to act without me or my mother knowing, should she have been from outside of Canterlot. That means that the only queen capable of doing this, is that dreaded Chrysalis."

Luxis rolled her eyes as she remembered the last time she met her.

"Ugh, please don't remind me that figure, it was clear that she would do anything in her power to take over the council once I saw how she referred to all of the queens on the last Great Council of the Queens. I told both to you" -, She said as she aimed her hooves at both Valeris, - "and your mother" -, and Fortis, - "that we should've gotten rid of her before she became too dangerous, now she may compromise our entire species just for the sake or power."

Valeris was about to to counter Luxis when a very young voice decided to come in her defense.

"That isn't right" -. The queens turned around and saw the young princess looking at Luxis with a fiery determination in her eyes. - "Queen Valeris has nothing to do with this, since Canterlot isn't in her jurisdiction. This is also counting that it was decided, years ago, that we would never attack a queen based on fear and speculation to avoid any kind of tragedy."

With those words said, all the queens looked back at the mountain housing the victorious queen, still high on her cave and reading her scroll as she looked back and forth between the scroll and the queens, while the wind started to rage, announcing how soon the storm was about to start. The princess's words were now hanging in their minds as an absolute truth.

Valeris then decided to look at the princess, her still young body already forming a light bluish tone on her carapace, her wings strong as any normal changeling, her crown was starting to form and her eyes were beginning to form the common cat like slits, usual among changeling royalty. Her only concern being the great cut that went through the upper side of the right eye and went to the lower side of her left eyes, miraculously not touching any of the princesses' eyes.

Who knew how close she was to become her heir.

In that moment, our last queen decided to break her silence. She was of a bright and electric yellow carapace with very large but fragile wings. Her fangs were nonexistent although she held a mighty crown with four yellow beads. Her eyes were of the same color as the sun and invigorated anyone who looked at them combined with her pristine silky golden mane while the rest of her body showed the figure of a queen that had just recently passed her puberty even though everybody in that reunion knew she was older than she looked.

"The young princess is right Luxis" -. Said the yellow queen with a solid but soft tone of voice. - "You should not blame those who have nothing to do with Chrysalis' current move and, even so, what do you know of keeping tabs on minor queens when you have none of them to worry about in your frozen territory?"

Her words stung Luxis and made her flinch, realizing how rude she was acting. Act that she decided to fix immediately.

"You're right, Lixis, I shouldn't have overstepped my boundaries. My apologies Queen Valeris and Queen Fortis" -, she then looked at the princess that shut her mouth and, with a small hint of anger, added, - "and, Valeris, I recommend you to teach your heir some manners. For princesses aren't supposed to respond to their elders in such disrespectful way."

Valeris flinched, with very painful memories being brought to her as her princess was being called out but, before the discussion could derail, Cerebelis continued the conversation with her concerns.

"Queens, regardless of it, what should we do? Should we stay, Chrysalis will have free reign to take over Canterlot and, should we leave, we'll let Anidis to move on with her ambitions of conquer."

Valeris's heart froze as the weight of her options pressed her and the wind became colder. The blue queen understood the problems behind this and she was aware, better than anyone, what would happen should they leave as, not too far away from the battlefield, a hive belonging to a minor queen held.

It was a small hive, among the smallest between all the hives known in the land but it was the one hive stopping Anidis from invading the rest of Equestria and all the other changeling hives residing in it. Should it try to fight the monstrous queen, it would be captured in a matter of days and, if a single battle was enough for Anidis to defeat five great queens, then this small hive wouldn't stand a chance.

The problem was that, the queens had no resources to keep fighting.

They didn't have enough soldiers to fight for another day and Anidis wasn't going to wait until reinforcement could reach them. At the same time, calling all their armies and queens could create a huge vacuum of power among the queens, mainly Chrysalis, who would gladly take advantage of this to fight the queens, weakened after fighting Anidis.

No, keeping the fight wasn't an option. Now, Chrysalis' case though...

Should the queens abandon the fight and mobilize their forces to regroup and prepare themselves to fight Chrysalis, should she try to invade all the other queens, there was a high chance to stop her before she could even prepare herself to fight, and there was the chance of Anidis helping them, after all, an ambitious queen like her would do anything in her path to achieve power, including helping her former enemies to stop someone stronger.

Not only that, but the idea of Chrysalis revealing the species would manage to unite all the queens against a common enemy, after all, secrecy was valued among the especies and the queens were very aware of how hard it would be to gather food should the ponies become aware of their existence.

That's why the changeling queen, with her aquamarine eyes, decided to say the words that would steer changeling history in directions never expected, or wanted, even though her peers didn't agree with her.

"We'll go back to our hives and gather ourselves up, prepare to seize Chrysalis and worry about Anidis later."

Her fellow queens didn't agree with her, mainly a bronze queen who wasn't so eager to abandon her position yet, very well shown in her angry but calm tone of voice.

"Are you crazy Valeris? You told all of us how dangerous was Anidis, you met her when you were young, you said that she would stop at nothing to conquer everything on her path. Not only that, but she may take over the hive close here, which, I'll remind you, is part of my territory and I cannot allow a Hive under my protection to be attacked. Why do you think that Chrysalis is a worse option than an invader that has killed a great queen, took her mountainous hive and had no hesitation in going to war against us?"

Valeris got close to Fortis, with the same strength, and power, emanating from her whenever she made her presence to be known. Not even Valeris's limping leg stopped her from showing who was the strongest queen among them, and gave Fortis her answer with a very calm, yet imposing, tone of voice.

"Because, for that same ambition, Anidis would rather join us instead of letting Chrysalis take over two whole species. Meanwhile, we have no resources, or changelings, to keep on fighting."

As the queens heard those words, along her reasoning behind said words and decision, more and more they remembered why Valeris was still the leader among them. Thankfully, the other three queens were more open to the idea of leaving the battlefield, after all, Valeris' words held true. They didn't have the resources to keep on fighting and the more they stayed there, the more time the other queens would have to properly take over their respective territories.

And, with the dark clouds covering the whole sky and preparing to flood the battlefield, washing it over with it's purifying waters, the queens started to move back to their tents. Preparing themselves to travel back to their respective hives while giving their farewells, with Valeris looking back at the mountain and seeing how her enemy started to do the same and went back to her new mountain.

As Lixis and Luxis said their goodbyes, and congratulated Fortis for her new title, and went to rest, Cerebelis and Fortis decided to wait a little longer to talk with the blue queen, starting with the rose changeling.

"Valeris, before you leave, I'll give you one of the weapons used by Anidis' forces. I know you love weapons, so you may be able to figure out as fast as my drones, how it works."

With those words said, Cerebelis transported a large stick that had metal mixed with it. The metal barrel was most peculiar for it showed a hole from where, Valeris could guess, the weapon would shoot its ammunition and it looked like it had a small, metal trigger on the wooden part of said stick. Valeris wasn't sure what this weapon was, but her engineers would discover it soon enough.

"With that said" -, continued Cerebelis, - "I give you my goodbyes. I'll see you in the next High Council meeting next week" -. She then turned to Fortis and said her goodbyes. - "Goodbye, Queen Fortis, congratulations for your new title."

And with that said, she burned herself up and transported her body to another place, unknown for all the other queens. After that, Fortis, not showing any kind of sadness over the death of her mother and sister, decided to follow Valeris and her heir to their tent and discuss some details that weren't discussed with the other queens.

"Valeris" -. She said with great caution. - "I apologize for my rudeness but, please tell me, are you sure that's the same Anidis you met back when you were princess?"

Valeris understood the weight of her words and, with the same calm she always had, responded to Fortis.

"Yes, Queen Fortis, yes. This is the same Anidis I met when I was young, she was always a genius in the military, or any subject she cared about. If this question is about our defeat, All I'll say is that she always had an ace hidden somewhere in her body. She never went to any type of confrontation without a back up plan."

As she said those words, she remembered Anidis' swords and how close they were to cut her leg, the same way they cut Castis and Manticoris.

"It's not just for the battle" -. Continued Fortis. - "It's just that, I thought she could've been an impostor, after all, she was taken for death after her mother's hive was invaded all those years ago. How can you tell she's not an impostor?"

Valeris thought back in the meeting they had before the battle and remembered Anidis' words, the way she spoke, how she modulated her words in a way that made her feel as if she was right and, years ago, would have convinced Valeris of switching sides right then.

"Her mannerism" -. Responded Valeris. - "I've met all the changeling queens there are to be, Fortis, and I fought them all. None of them has ever been close to copy Anidis' way of speaking or thinking" -. She then looked back to her fellow queen and assured her. - "That's also why I know she'll join us once Chrysalis becomes a danger for the species, she prefers the idea of joining us against a common enemy, with her taking the lead, instead of having to destroy the land she wants to conquer."

Fortis looked at the ground and made one last question.

"Valeris, I remember when the queens gathered and invaded her mother's hive, I wasn't there due to my... living conditions... back then, but I know you were in that meeting along your mother, the other queens, my mother and my sister. Tell me, should you've known that this battle was going to happen, would you have agreed on that invasion?"

Valeris stopped moving, questioning both Fortis and her princess but, before any of them could ask what was the problem, Valeris responded with a cold and deadly tone that wasn't common of her.

"I never agreed with that invasion" -. Her eyes now reflecting her calm fury as she said those words. - "I never wanted my hive to invade my friend's and, should I have known the consequences of it, which we're facing now, I would have couped my mother and aided my friend to survive."

Her words staying true, Fortis felt she had ask enough and decided to drop it.

"Thank you, Valeris, I'll let you be. See ya on the next meeting of the High Chamber."

And, before her teleportation was finished, Valeris responded to her.

"You welcome, Queen Fortis. Goodbye, see you on the next meeting and congratulations on your new position, please remember to send me the invitation for your coronation."

And, with those words being said, and giving her fellow queen a nod, Fortis disappeared, leaving both queen Valeris and her princess alone as they moved to their personal tent.

With the weather ready to unleash its fury at any moment, the young princess decided to break the silence first while avoiding direct eye contact with her progenitor.

"I apologize for my interruption back there, my queen, I was not aware of my position and, wrongly, thought that you needed my aid."

Valeris saw the face of the princess and remained fixed on the large cut crossing the middle of her eyes. After long reflection, she responded to her.

"Apologies accepted, princess Prisis, you must always be careful whenever you interrupt in a conversation where you haven't been talked to. Many would take advantage of that to turn you, or those close to you, over. With that said, I will congratulate you for your well thought answer, not many princesses can understand what they talk about, even less know how to use that understanding to respond to others."

The young princess' eyes opened wide at the words made by her mother, understanding that she was being recognized for her intervention. The queen then continued her words.

"I also have to apologize for the results of today's battle, I did not wish your first taste of battle to be from this one" -. She looked back to the cut in the princess's face and felt a grip around her heart. - "Especially one that had your life in such danger."

The princess quickly responded before any confusion could be made.

"Think none of it, my queen, I have to apologize first, for I thought I was capable of facing the enemy even though I saw how she defeated a queen and a fellow princess" -. Prisis then looked at the queen's leg and the large cut that was making her limp and felt a grip crossing her heart as well. - "After all, if I hadn't act so pretentiously, your leg would've been fine."

Valeris looked at her leg, knowing very well she would have to fully abandon her life of battles very soon, and decided to ease the youngling's worries.

"Think none of it. It was the price I had to pay to keep you safe and I would've given up my whole leg if that meant keeping you alive, my princess."

With those words said, Valeris got close to the princess that would, eventually, become the new queen of Hidroxia and motioned her to follow her queen to their tent and, as they got closer and closer, they started to feel the first drops of water touching them, the storm already beginning.

"My queen" -. Said a very young and tired voice.

"Yes, my princess?"

"What does this battle means on the long time?"

The changeling queen froze in place and wondered about that, as the heavy rain fell upon her, she responded to her heir.

"It means more than you think. A lone queen, with a small army, defeated five great queens whose unity remained undefeated for over a decade."

And, as she was about to close her tent and prepare to move her stuff back home. She looked once more to the mountain that held who once was her best friend and wondered how long will it be before they fight again.

"It means, quite simply, that The Great Coalition has been defeated."

A New Composition

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Its been over a week since the battle that ended with the defeat of five great queens; and since Chrysalis tried to take over Canterlot. As of now, the queens have decided to gather up in a meeting where it would be, formerly, decided what to do with the aforementioned events and, from what it looked like, it was going to be another hard day for the queens.

By this point, it was a common thing for all the changeling queens to meet, minimum, on a weekly basis on a parliament, called "The Collective's Palace", whose location was well hidden and any attempt to figure it out would be responded with a "close enough to Canterlot, so we can stay aware of its affairs, and far enough to not be touched by them" followed by a very strong "and it's not Ponyville!" It was here where all the queens would discuss the affairs happening during the week, including any kind of world event, how they should react to it and, most importantly, what problems would the queens have at the moment along the ways avaiable to fix said problems. Since there were too many queens and some were more powerful than others, it was decided to divide the parliament into two chambers:

The Low Chamber was the place created for all the queens that had hives containing between 50 drones to 2.000 drones. It contained the biggest amount of queens between the two chambers, once 30 and now 28. Its walls and domes, made out of white marble, were decorated with various moments of changeling history and it was wide enough to host, almost, a thousand queens but, ironically, it was the weakest of the two chambers. It's most powerful asset was controlling The Taxation in the changeling territory as well as The Education, regulations on The Media, The Culture among the changelings, The System regarding their growth(a.k.a. Love Collecting); and The Justice System but most of the decisions it made had to be either approved or ratified by the other chamber.

The thing is that this chamber contained, as one could infer, the weakest queens in Equestria. Too weak to give an actual battle or too concentrated to actually be capable of expanding their influence. They weren't stable enough to hold their hives on their own or, what they actually feared, defend themselves against invader forces. The one thing keeping them together were the Great Queens, the ones that held enough power, and resources, to fend off most invaders and to keep them hidden from the pony population. This is why most of this lower queens were on this chamber, they worked more as a muscle trying to force the will of their protectors, or trying to earn enough favors from other minor queens to not depend on the great queens too much.

This was the chamber where queens like Chrysalis worked to try and maintain the local stability between the changelings, and it was this chamber that was furious the most after her attempt to invade Canterlot, revealing their especies to the world. Centuries of espionage and hiding, an eon's old never written pact that was respected above any type of war and mistrust between the changeling especies. Breaking it was a crime beyond heresy, to reveal themselves was something above blasphemy and the judgement would've been, just a few decades ago, for all the queens to join together right then and there to go against Chrysalis and erase her, her family and her hive from changeling history. But that was then and this was now, and now war and aggression was becoming the old. More and more it was being debated whether or not it was a good idea to remain hidden from the ponies and the Great Queens were now against physical persecution.

For the Lower Queens, it was a forced yoke upon them to accept their will and not murder Chrysalis, although that didn't mean that there would be no consequence for it. It was a high debate how to handle her, and an even greater one to determine how severe it would be, but they managed to find a solution and send it to the Higher Chamber. Granted, it wasn't the only decision they made that day.

These decisions were taken straight away to the higher chamber, in the hopes that it would be taken and accepted as quick as possible, hoping that they would manage to get away with as much as they could.

This High Chamber, was a much smaller one, but it was made up in how magnificent it's construction was compared to the Low Chamber. While the lower chamber was made as a great but humble abode, the higher chamber was made as a symbol of who were the ones in charge among the changeling queens. With its obsidian columns, its top covered with baked gold and adorned with multiple beautiful gems (from rubies to sapphires and emeralds); they were perfectly fitting with its platinum walls painted with poly-chromatic glasses, showing the moments that changed changeling history, which were illuminated from the inside. Big enough to house over one hundred queens, although it currently housed just eight and, previously, nine. It was a testament of how powerful were the Great Queens, whose hives could go beyond the 2.000 drones and up to 50.000 drones, showing here who were the ones in charge of the species's survival.

This chamber was the one in charge of the distribution of the land, the defense measures for the species' survival, and the decisions that all queens would take for, both, the foreign and interior affairs for all of them, among other powers, that were rarely considered a priority. Nothing the Low Chamber did could be done without their approval but, as a sign of fair treatment and recognition towards the Lower Queens, no decision made by the higher chamber could be passed without the approval of the lower chamber as well.

This is why, even though the higher chamber had so much power, the great queens never tried to impose their authority on the Lower Queens. They were they're protectors, not their slavers and they were also well aware that abusing them would only create unnecessary tension that could, inevitable, lead to their demise. In other words, this was a very thin balance where the Lower Queens would respect the authority of the Great Queens, while the Great Queens wouldn't try to abuse said authority over them.

Granted there were some exceptions, since some queens were in there more out of fear rather than drone numbers or territory controlled but, as previously mentioned, said queens had power beyond those numbers that guaranteed their position in said chamber. This is especially important because, when there were nine queens, the three committees (Defense, Treasury and Political Affairs) were perfectly balanced between them, by distributing three queens for each committee. But now there was one less queen and that meant that someone was going to have much more power for the following months.

This was especially troubling for the blue queen Valeris, as she was trying to find a way to calm all the queens from not killing each other, by trying to fill the vacant spot left by the Great Queen Zirconis after her hive was invaded, and destroyed, by Anidis. Not only had her spot in Treasury was empty, but now her territory had to be distributed as well, including Appleloosa and the southern territories. It was clear that a spot like The Treasury was too great for certain queens to let it empty, but these fights...

"No Amaryllis! You won't get in the Treasury Committee. You already preside the Political Affairs and getting here now would be an abuse of authority."

Said a very angry Fortis in a tone that was very close to shouting, although the amber colored queen gave a nice retort.

"And you can? The presidency over the Treasury Committee belonged to your mother, not you. Just because you're the new queen of your hive doesn't mean that you can come here, and take over all of her duties without passing the due process, isn't that right Valeris?"

The very angered queen Valeris was trying really hard to not murder everyone there and then. This, along Fortis' coronation, was the last thing they had to talk about during the week before hitting a month worth of vacations that they all certainly needed, but it looked like the queens still weren't capable of understanding the idea of just waiting until they could legally shift places. But she believed in diplomacy, so she would try once again to keep the discussion calmed and respond in a very soft, although slightly menacing, tone.

"Amaryllis is right Fortis, your mother was the one in charge of said committee, not you. That means that, legally speaking, you shouldn't be able to preside it but" -, she then turned to the amber colored queen and her liquid-like amber eyes. - "The thing is, Amaryllis, we don't have an actual rule about it because we never thought of the idea of having a murdered queen in the middle of all this. Not even counting that you already preside a very important committee, and leaving it would create a vacuum in one of the worst moments in our modern history. Where we, now, have to figure out what to do with the equestrians now that they've discovered our existence" -. She then turned to all the queens and gave her, hopefully, final piece. - "At the same time, since we're just a couple months away from the Great Council, where we can make the proper changes and name a replacement for Zirconis, and have a more consistent decision regarding Anidis, I say that we can name Fortis as a temporary replacement for her mother, then do her due coronation during this vacation, so she can be formally recognized as a queen and then we can sort out which queen will be in which committee. Sounds good?"

Both Amaryllis and Fortis weren't feeling so well but they just couldn't find a good response to her, especially because Valeris was having that face she usually did whenever she wanted to kill someone, and they've already seen her fulfilling that threat before. But, before any comment could be made, a very soft, and much more calmed but still energetic voice, sprung in the chamber, formally voicing her own desires towards the verbally fighting queens.

"Well, it sounds good for me" -. Said the rose-colored queen Cerebelis. - "But, Valeris, if all your worries are just who's going to preside the Political Affairs Committee, then you could just give it to me and-"

In that moment, all the other seven queens responded with a powerful and monstrous voice that, very simply, could be translated as the equal feeling of having someone like Cerebelis even near the Political Affairs Committee, with a mixture of both fear and defiance towards a monstrous concentration of power.

"NO!"

There were queens like Valeris, who managed to become strong through war, having one of the most populated hives and by controlling key territorial places in Equestria, and then there were queens like Cerebelis, who didn't have much territory or changelings for that matter, but she was much more feared than anyone else for being able to hold influential power beyond drones and land. The type of power Cerebelis had went beyond war or work force, and its very nature was the main reason why nobody wanted her controlling a committee that just made it all easier for her, which is why all the queens agreed to never let her be anywhere near to it.

As Cerebelis flinched at the rejection projected at her, she just grunted in annoyance and simply responded by calling her fellow queens "killjoys" with a pout. Thankfully, it was the very idea of the rose menace having that power, what settled the power dispute between Fortis and Amaryllis, by accepting Valeris's proposition.

"So" -. Said a very tired queen Luxis, her pearly white carapace losing its glow as stress started to weight on her. - "With that sorted out, we can state that for the High Chamber has agreed in:

First Point: The High Chamber rejects the recognition of Anidis as a queen of any kind until a delegation made between the two chambers can go and see if she follows any of the necessary requisites to be part of the Changeling Society. Resolution approved by unanimous vote.

Second Point: The High Chamber agrees in not making a territorial rearrangement on the minor hives belonging to Queen Zirconis and they will have a lower trade taxation until the Great Council of the Queens comes on the following months. Resolution approved 5 to 3 votes.

Third Point: The High Chamber recognizes Princess Fortis as the rightful heir and new queen of the Castleen Hive and will accept her as part of the next Great Council of Queens. Approved by unanimous vote.

Fourth Point: The High Chamber agrees in letting Fortis handling, former, Queen Castis's position on the parliament until she gets crowned and no change whatsoever will be made to the composition of the committees until the next Great Council of the Queens. Approved by unanimous vote.

Is that alright?"

And, after an unanimous, and very tired, "yeah", the session was finished and the queens prepared to leave the chamber.

This would've meant that the meeting on the High Chamber was over, and the queens would finally have a vacation from this meetings but, like a rooster singing to a worker that has just tucked himself into his bed, a changeling delegate came to the chamber, just in time to give them the resolutions made by the lower chamber, with the explicit explanation that this was demanding an immediate response, much to the queens annoyance who, very tiredly, decided to make an emergency meeting to give the delegate their immediate response.

"Couldn't they just wait until next month?" - Asked a queen Fortis already wanting to leave now that her position was secured, at which a green queen Gardenis responded. - "Get used to it newbie, the Low Chamber loves to pull this one out on us every. Single. Time. We're about to hit vacations or recesses."

Luxis then started to read the series of resolutions.

"Alright, first point: The Low Chamber decides to rejects Queen Anidis as part of Changeling Society and demands full military move against her. Resolution Approved by 17 votes but having 5 votes against it and 6 abstentions. What does the High Chamber says?"

After a series of approvals and rejections were made, almost at the same time, Luxis quickly wrote on the answering scroll.

"The High Chamber rejects the first point, 5 votes against 3".

"One would think that, after hearing our report, they would understand that war isn't a viable option against her."

Said a very annoyed queen Valeris, at which she was responded by a despondent Queen Cerebelis.

"Indeed, but it's also normal that the ones who love war the most are those who have never faced it and, let's be honest, most of these queens wouldn't go to war even if it were their only choice, so they prefer to send others instead."

After a silent agreement on Cerebelis' statement, Luxis went to the next point.

"Second Point: The Low Chamber agrees on making a tax alleviation on all the minor hives belonging to Queen Zirconis until the following Great Council of the Queens comes and the territory can be redrawn. Resolution approved 20 votes against 8. What does the High Chamber says?"

The eight queens gave their responses almost immediately and their voices creating a noisy cacophony that made almost impossible to discern what they just said but, surprisingly, the pearly white queen understood it all.

"The High Chamber Approves the Resolution 5 votes against 3."

"It's quite interesting" -. Said a very bored queen Gardenis. - "That they didn't mention how high will be the alleviation, but I can just imagine how much will they reduce the taxes for themselves, those greedy, love sucking, queens."

After a very cynical agreement, Luxis went on with the next resolution.

"Third Point: The Low Chamber has decided to..." - Luxis gave the scroll a second glance to be sure of what she was reading. - "Well, I was expecting that they would get though on Chrysalis after what she pulled on Canterlot, but not on this level" -. All the other queens gave her an inquisitive look, wanting to know what she just read. - "The Low Chamber has decided to restrict Queen Chrysalis of any kind of trade with all the hives living in Equestria, she can no longer get love from any pony settlement belonging to a hive that isn't hers, she cannot trade her goods with any type of hive or pony settlement that isn't on her territory, she cannot be part of the Low Chamber until the next Great Council is held and her ultimate fate is decided; and she is banned from all the hives and their respective territories as long as she remains as the queen of her hive. Resolution approved 28 to none. What does the High Chamber says?"

"Wait, didn't she go to hide in the badlands?" -. Fortis decided to ask first. - "Wouldn't a resolution like that be an overkill? I mean, don't get me wrong, she did something horrible to us as a whole, but isn't it a bit unfair to punish the drones for something the queen did?"

All the queens looked at each other with certain levels of doubt, they were angry at Chrysalis for what she did, but they never expected the other queens to respond with such a way.

"You are correct, Queen Fortis" -. Responded Queen Gardenis. - "It is unfair that the drones and innocent civilians pay the price for what she did. But, as queens, it's our responsibility to work and act for our servants, never to act regardless of them. This is all Chrysalis's fault, no one else. What I wonder now, though, is what prompted the Lower Queens to act in such a way."

"Well, I suppose that, they decided to respond like that because they can no longer get to her through war" -. All the queens looked at Queen Lixis and her radiant yellow eyes, sympathizing with the emotions they all held. - "I may not share that sentiment, neither the sentence done to her, but I do think that Chrysalis still did something very wrong and we must condemn her for that. So I accept."

The queens thought on this and, before saying their votes, a grey queen Dustis added.

"I agree, but, let's also add that, should she decide another attempt on invading Equestria, all the queens will get to invade her and terminate both her and her family. That should be enough warning for her to understand the severity of her acts. Agreed?"

All the queens agreed and decided to go to the fourth and final point made by the Low Chamber.

"Fourth Point: The Low Chamber demands..." - Once again, Luxis gave the scroll a scrutinizing look, after which, she responded with much anger. - "Oh, those opportunist, two-faced leeches!" - The queens were now wondering what the Lower Queens just decided that, it could anger one of the most diplomatic and well mannered queen among them, thankfully, the answer came right from the source. - "The Low Chamber demands to speed up the Great Council of the Queens meeting to the following month, after the vacations, to recompose as fast as possible the composition of both chambers and the territories for each queen."

"What!?"

This made all the queens to rage at the Low Chamber's decision, each one of them getting close to the scroll to read it right away just to see if they heard wrong, with Cerebelis being the most angered one at that.

"And the love-sucking pupas couldn't even agree on this one and still passed it!"

Indeed, while the Low Chamber was composed of 30 queens and required the approval votes of 16 queens to pass any resolution, the fourth point had only 13 approval votes, 12 rejection votes and 3 abstentions.

"I can't believe it!" - Said a very angered Amaryllis. - "They reject Anidis as a queen but still decides to use her as a way to see if, at least, one of them can come here and gain more territorial control."

"They think that, just because we lost a battle, they are now stronger than any of us" -. Said a furious Valeris.

Queen Fortis was angrily looking at the very scared delegate who was hoping that it were just rumors the popular saying that the High Chamber loved to shoot the messenger.

"I would really like to see what kind of logic Faustis used to pass this resolution" -. Said a queen Dustis who looked like if she would catch on fire at any second. - "With this, it's now five times she has decided to ignore due process and try to make us approve her demands" -. She then looked at Valeris, who had the look of murder she was very famous for. - "Valeris, are you sure that we cannot do anything about her? Zirconis isn't around anymore, there's no great queen protecting her now."

Valeris looked at Dustis and responded with a cold tone that sent a shiver to the spines of all queens that has seen her in battle.

"She has the support of enough queens down there to block any attempt to go after her through the rules, and trying to kill her could cause a civil war due to her connections with the black markets and rogue drones, not even counting that she would try to use both Chrysalis and the Equestrians to fight us. Trust me, I would jump right now to kill her if I could."

"Wait a second" -. Interrupted Queen Gardenis. - "So it's true that she's connected to the changeling black markets?"

Cerebelis interjected right away.

"Yes she is. My drones found out that she, not only, helps the changelings to make contraband and sell our goods at a higher price on other continents, she also trades with the other kingdom's black markets, ponies, dragons, deers, you name it. We have copies and evidence of her using multiple cities under Zirconis' territory to help on those trades. We were going to pressure Zirconis to stop supporting her but then Anidis came and invaded her hive."

As the queens were enraging, one queen in particular, a very keen Fortis noticed something.

"Wait a second, all of this resolutions have twenty-eight votes. I know Chrysalis didn't come, for obvious reasons, so who else didn't come today?"

All the queens stopped their rage and started to think about it, there was no reason whatsoever to avoid this meeting, after all, it was a very important one but no queen came to their mind until the delegate decided to interrupt them with his very fearful, dry and shy voice.

"Well... about that..." - All the queens started to look at him with a very poisonous glare, hoping that the news he were about to give weren't as bad as the monstrosity held in that scroll. - "You see, the other queen that didn't come was Charbonis" -. In that moment, all the great queens froze, the one queen that didn't come was the one living just a few hooves away from Anidis' new hive. That meant that... - "After you left, Anidis quickly put her hive into siege until she surrendered, and the only one that has managed to escape from there was her daughter, Princess Diamantis."

After hearing that, Fortis got closer to the delegate and looked at him with a very angry growl.

"And why wasn't I informed that one of the hives I protect was under siege?"

The very scared changeling, who was very good at keeping his tone while being totally scared of the queen looking down at him right then, answered as quickly as possible.

"That's because the princess just got here and delivered The Low Chamber a letter from her mother asking for help. That's all I know, Faustis told the two of us to come here and ask you for advice."

With this, the anger of the queens just raised beyond what was conceivable to them but, unlike the other deformity brought to them, the queens started to use their rage to formulate a plan against Faustis, one that they were very eager to do.

"So" -, said a very calmed Valeris. - "You're telling us that the Lady of the Low Chamber decided to avoid her responsibilities, ignore the situation of a fellow Lower Queen, and threw the corpse at us?" - The delegate could only silently nod at the dangerous queen looking at him. - "I see, go tell Princess Diamantis to wait for us in the Parliament's receiving hall. We'll tell her our decision very soon after you receive our response to the lower chamber."

The delegate nodded very quickly and decided to wait. As Valeris looked at Luxis and quickly dictated her decision.

"The High Chamber rejects the Fourth Point for (A) lacking the needed votes to be considered a legal resolution and (B) the High Chamber has already decided the following steps regarding the Great Council of the Queens. Agreed?"

All the queens lifted their arms and silently agreed. Luxis finished writing the response and gave it to Valeris, who then gave it to the Delegate with the following addendum.

"And tell Faustis that she can take her time with this, she doesn't have to decide right away or when the vacations are over She can take as much time as she wants and you will not tell her anything else regarding the conversations held on this chamber." -. And then she finished on the most menacing tone she could make. - "Understood?"

The delegate quickly nodded, delivered the letter given by Princess Diamantis and darted off to the Low Chamber, hoping to never go back to the Great Queens or summon their rage.

As the queens were saying their goodbyes and leaving, only two were left, the one that was supposed to take responsibility and the one planning her next step against her enemy.

"Fortis" -. Said a still angry Valeris. - "I'm glad to see you willing to take responsibility of this even though it was my fault of her current situation."

The Bronze queen looked at her blue ally and simply retorted.

"Don't misunderstand me, this is my duty as her protector, I should be the one thankful to you for admitting your part on this."

The blue queen simply smiled and opened the letter.

From: Queen Charbonis
To: The Great Council of the Queens
I, Queen Charbonis, write this to whoever queen has decided to come to my aid to ask you to desist. My forces has already been destroyed by Anidis, as I write this to you, and my personal guard will be used to escort my daughter outside of this hive, in the hopes of her to be able to start a hive of her own.
As you may have guessed, by looking at her, she's a very young queen and, I'm afraid to admit, I couldn't properly give her the training that all changeling princesses requires at the age she should've gotten it. I may excuse myself under the guise of a lack of time or that it wasn't among my priorities, but I won't go around that. I admit my mistake for breaking traditions based on discipline and forewarning; and, now, I must pay the price of that. All I hope is that, whoever decides to read this and aid my daughter, do not come here and try a rescue mission. I already decided to give up my hive to Anidis in the hopes that she won't try to squash us, I had to tell my daughter that this letter contained details that would aid said rescue mission to success but, sadly, I doubt it will come that.
To those who care about my beloved daughter, please, do to her what I failed to do as a queen, train her to be a proper queen and, continue where I more tried to succeed; give her the love a mother always provide to her daughter, for she will need all the strength possible to survive the hurdles coming to her.
My daughter, if you're reading this, please forgive me for my lies and mistakes, should I've put as much effort in being a good queen as I put into being a mother, perhaps you would've been better prepared to the trials ahead of you. Just, remember to be strong and that you'll always be in my heart.
Signed:
Queen Charbonis of the Coal Hive

The queens started to look at each other, understanding even more why Faustis decided to throw this problem at them and decided to formulate a plan for the princess who would be soon called queen.

"So" -. Started Valeris. - "Since it looks like we'll be handling a very rookie queen. Do you know of any territory you could give her?"

Fortis gave her an inquisitive look and answered after giving it a good thought.

"Well, there's Ponyville. I have no minor queen in there and it's... 'close' enough to my hive to protect her should anything arise in there."

Valeris quickly looked at her with a baffled look on her face.

"Ponyville? Are you sure? The Elements of Harmony make that place very hard to work around with, not even counting how close it is to Canterlot."

The bronze queen looked at the warrior queen and simply shrugged.

"It's the best I have. The blast that took out Chrysalis cleaned Canterlot of changelings and recovering that city will be a very tenacious task. I won't give such dangerous place to a rookie queen."

At that, though, Valeris decided to smile, plans formulating in her head.

"Oh!" - She said in a very dramatic tone, a tone that weird out Fortis. - "So Canterlot is empty right now?" - As Valeris spoke, Fortis started to realize where she was going. - "Perhaps you could, pass it to me? I now a few queens who would gladly populate it and are more than ready to use it."

Fortis quickly retorted to Valeris with a scowl.

"No way Valeris! My mother fought very hard in the first Great Council of the Queens to get Canterlot and I won't give it up to you, not after you had to give it up to her on the first place."

Valeris flinched, not expecting this level of refusal but, she wouldn't give up even if that meant to accept Fortis's response to her, at least for now.

"Fine, have it your way" -. Said the blue queen. - "But that still leave us with a very important problem. How will Diamantis have her hive populated fast enough for the next Great Council of the Queens? She cannot be recognized as a queen unless she has 50 drones minimum."

As both queens passed through the desolate passages of the hidden parliament, moving as slow as they could, both to think on this problem, how to engage it and because Valeris was still limping for the wound in her rear leg while Fortis still had her wing cut. Both queens came to the same realization to their problem.

"We'll have to bring drones from other hives until she manages to create drones of her own" -. Said a very sad Fortis, realizing what it meant to do that. - "That means that she'll have to-"

"-Meet other queens and hope that they'll be kind enough to give her the drones needed to start building the hive without asking much in exchange" -. Finished a very troubled Valeris.

As the two queens started to get close to her target, they could start to hear a very nervous series of steps going around the waiting hall, telling her of the current mental condition of the princess, now queen, awaiting them.

"This meetings won't be easy ones. That's for sure" -. Said Fortis as she started to imagine the kind of demands other queens would give the rookie just to even consider to borrow her some drones.

"Perhaps we could make it easier for her" -. Said Valeris as a confused Fortis looked at her. The warrior seasoned queen looked at her equal and continued. - "We could give her the transforming wax."

As she said this, Fortis wide her eyes, not sure how to react at such idea.

"Valeris, that wax is top secret from each hive. Are you sure you're willing to give her some of your wax?" - Valeris just scoffed at her fellow queen, as if a bad joke was just given. - "Don't dream it, I'll just give her the formula and ingredients to make one of her own. That way, the ponies she picks to become into her drones will be more loyal to her."

Fortis, understanding this, simply looked at the ground and gave this a bit more thought, and, before reaching their target, made a final question.

"So, you'll let her pick on her own which ponies will she turn into her drones? Are you sure that's a good idea?"

Valeris never looked back at Fortis, but her tone of voice said how determined she was with this.

"She must start to take responsibilities and this is the best way to start her training to become a queen. Besides, there's no way she can make it any worse than Chrysalis has already done to us."

Fortis looked at her fellow queen doubtful but decided to not pressure her anymore and, as they were looking at a very young, probably a 15 years old, queen, unable to even lay fertilized eggs yet, and made a simple statement.

"You know nothing about being 'a good mother', right?"

"No."

"That's what I feared."

And, as the two queens finally got close to who would become, very soon, a new Lower Queen, their heart almost breaks as she started to look at them with very worried and hopeful eyes and pleaded with a broken voice common from those who haven't matured yet.

"Are you the queens that will answer to my mother's call? How are you planning to help her?"

The two queens looked at each other, knowing very well what was going to happen very soon, and looked at the princess, her shining white carapace, her forming crown, her eyes starting to form the cat-slit irises and her body starting to form into what was common for a Changeling Queen and Fortis responded to her.

"We read your mother's letter and, after making some discussions, we came to some conclusions" -. The princess was still looking at her with hopeful eyes and both queens knew how bad it was going to be to destroy them. - "But first" -. Her eyes started to falter. - "You must first listen to what you mother wrote."

And, without quavering neither breaking her voice, Queen Fortis started to read the letter that broke Princess Diamantis' heart, now realizing that she may never see her mother again and that she was going to enter into a very harsh world. A world she was not ready for, and all she could do about it was to make the floor meet the water in her eyes, as a pair of blue legs tried to comfort her.

An Unadvised Transformation

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As a new day in Ponyville was starting, Twilight Sparkle decided to leave her library and started to take a look at the ponies in front of her, passing by the day to day as if nothing wrong had happened just a few days ago, all she could feel was a mixture of fear and hope.

Fear because she could no longer know who was a changeling and who a pony, after Chrysalis's invasion of Canterlot, now everypony was a potential threat to her, which meant that she could no longer feel complete trust towards her fellow ponies like she used to; but she also felt hope because, she knew, that, as long as she had her friends with her, there was nothing that could stop her from fighting any villain that tried to become a threat to Equestria.

Yes, she wa aware that Chrysalis wouldn't try a new plan of conquest so fast, but it was quite clear that she had to be prepared for her next trick or, otherwise, she would fall again to her tricks and, perhaps next time, she wouldn't be able to stop it.

This is why she was so determined to find a proper spell that could allow her to detect changelings, even if they were disguised, while also trying to find out more about them, their culture, their history, on the books; anything that could give her a lead about them, that could help her understand what was this new enemy Equestria had because, as long as Chrysalis was free, the changelings were a threat that had to be fought and, if possible, have separated from Equestria until they could be taught to no longer be so evil.

It was true that there hasn't been new changeling sightings ever since Chrysalis' attack, but that didn't mean that it was over, far from it. Twilight was sure that this was just the beginning, that the changelings were going to do something soon but she wasn't sure of what exactly, perhaps Chrysalis was preparing a new attack? Doubtful, sure, but it was better to prepare than to be sorry.

All she had going for was the knowledge of changeling magic working quite differently from pony magic, considering that they fed on love. It meant that, if she wanted to find a way to detect them, she needed to find, first, a way to understand and detect their magic.

That was why she was reading some theories made by Starswirl the Bearded regarding magic and how it worked, how it was connected to the ponies and, from there, make a theory of how it would work on a changeling. The main problem Twilight had was that she needed an actual changeling to prove any of her theories and, she was very sure, no changeling would ever get close to her and let her examine it.

But that wouldn't stop her, though, she was going to achieve her goals and discover the mysteries behind the changelings, how they live, how they work, how they've managed to live hidden from the ponies for so long. There was nothing that could stop her and all she needed right now were some good ethereal theories.

But, as what many like to call "chance" or "destiny" would her prove wrong, Twilight's real problem came in the form of Pinkie Pie, who was very energetic and talking to her too fast for Twilight to even try to comprehend the pink menace.

"Pinkie!" - Said a very annoyed Twilight. - "I'm about to read this intense book on ethereal theory and you're interrupting me. What is it so important to not analyze something that could help us to detect more changelings?"

Her smiling friend decided to slow herself down and responded to the bookworm unicorn, never showing if Twilight's abrupt response affected her in some way or capacity.

"Twilight, a new pony has come here and I'm about to throw her a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party. I need you there to shout 'surprise!' to her and then we'll dance, we'll meet each other better, we'll hear music, we'll then eat much cheese and drink chocolate until there's no end. So could you, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please come here?"

Pinkie then started to look at Twilight with a pleading smile, telling Twilight quite well how important was this meeting for the pink battery. So, reluctantly, Twilight decided to accept her offer and go to the party, taking Spike with her so nobody could be out of this Pinkie Party.

As Twilight was trotting to the Apple barn, she couldn't stop thinking about how sudden it was for a new pony to appear just a couple weeks after Chrysalis's invasion attempt on Canterlot. Perhaps... it wasn't a coincidence.

"Pinkie" -. Said a very curious Twilight. - "What could you tell me about this new pony, how old is she?"

Pinkie took the opportunity and decided to talk about this new pony to the mare that was searching for clues in a very long series of words.

"Well, she just came this morning and I saw her and she saw me and then I screamed 'WAH!' And then she looked confused, as if it were weird for ponies to scream in the air, and then I decided to leaver her while I started to organize the party in Applejack's barn and-"

By that point, Twilight just decided to not listen anymore, it looked like there was nothing she could find about this new pony that could tell her, whether or not, she should feel suspicious. But Twilight would try to take a better look at the newcomer in the party. For all she knew, this was just a changeling spy sent by Chrysalis to kidnap her or her friends.

And so, as the day progressed, she got to the barn and saw half of Ponyville together, including almost all of her friends, Applejack being somewhere outside the barn, and just waited until the newcomer could finally get to the party.

This wait was something that Twilight always found annoying, she had to stay in the dark and wait until the pony the party was aimed at would finally come, although, she was with her friends and that allowed to make some interesting conversations, mainly how Rarity managed to get a look on her and was quite a young pony, just a 15 year old mare. What was she doing in Ponyville?, and, should it be a changeling spy, why would Chrysalis send someone so young?

Regardless of it, Twilight would soon find out for the pony in question was finally coming to the barn. Soon, the barn was so quiet that it was easy to hear the outside the barn, even though the door was at a very important distance from them.

"So, what kind of surprise you have for me in there, miss Applejack?"

That was the voice of the newcomer and Twilight noticed some interesting details. If what Rarity said held true, then she certainly was very young, since, that voice showed how her vocal cords were still finishing to mature, but that wasn't all of what Twilight noticed, she also sound very well mannered and her accent spoke miles to belong to Canterlot elites. Why was a foal like that in Ponyville?

"Ah told ya already, sugarcube, there's no need fer calling me 'miss'. Just call me Applejack."

The young foal sounded quite concerned with that response, very common from those who have never met an Apple, how was she going to respond to Pinkie Pie?

"Oh, but my mom told me that the best way to respect someone was by calling them 'miss' or 'mister', and I don't want to disrespect you miss Applejack."

"Ok" -, thought a very perplexed Twilight. - "she's being too kind to be a changeling, based on how Chrysalis behaved while impersonating Cadence. Or do Changelings have multiple personalities besides the ones they are impersonating?"

"Worry none, sugarcube, you can call anypony else 'miss' if you want to respect your mama but, fer me, you can call me just Applejack and we'll be fine. Understood?"

By this point, Twilight was paying close attention to the young voice, she behaved very unlikely the ponies she was supposed to be pretending but she didn't fit any perception Twilight had of Changelings. She really wanted the party to be over and go back studying, she really needed it.

"Alright... Applejack" -. Said the foal, with her tone very unsure. - "So, what kind of surprise is waiting for me in here?"

And, as the door opened and two shadows appeared in Twilight's eyes, the lights turned on and everybody screamed 'surprise!' below a 'Welcome to Ponyville' banner. As Twilight took notice, she saw a very young unicorn mare of brown coat, black mane, deep blue eyes with what looked like to be a shining diamond being compressed as a cutie mark, and who was carrying a green saddlebag, having a very shocked face, maybe even bigger than her own when she faced her first Pinkie Party back when she first came to Ponyville and, as far she was aware, that was very normal.

"Are you making a party?" - Said the very impressed young mare. - "Just for me?" - She then looked at all the ponies with a completely confused face. - "Why?"

After getting a simple laugh, a very ready to party Rainbow Dash simply answered what anyone else would have.

"Duh! Because you just came and Pinkie loves to make parties to newcomers" -. Followed then by another mare in the public. - "Actually, Pinkie Pie just loves to make parties for any reason" -. But, before she could talk more, the electric pink menace said her final words. - "It doesn't matter, this is a party, let's dance!"

And the party began, with all the guest dancing and meeting the young mare, telling her the main details about their respective lives while trying to get to know her better. Things like their names, what they did, if they had a family, simple stuff like that were the things being exchanged with the very easy to impress mare, who heard each pony with joy as if she had never left her house in her entire life.

"You mean to tell me" -. Said the very impressed mare to a very humble Applejack, with her very refined and well mannered voice, although a bit groggy for her age. - "That you and your family work on all of this land to feed Equestria? With just apples?"

The orange mare chuckled at that and responded with certain levels of happiness.

"That's right young mare. Me and mah family has worked on this lands since the foundation of Ponyville" -. Seeing the young mare wide her eyes as if she just heard a fantastic tale just made the apple feel as if she just did a wonder to the world. - "Hey, it's not such a big deal. Ah'm certain that there are multiple more families in Equestria just like mine."

The young pony, then, answered with a lot of excitement and energy that reminded Applejack a little bit of Twilight Sparkle.

"Are you kidding me? Even if there are other families, yours it's still amazing, very few can talk about being as awesome as you are!"

Not too long after that, a rainbow maned pegasus interrupted her.

"Please, I take care of the weather in Ponyville, I'm the fastest pegasus in all of Equestria, done the sonic rainboom more than once and has defeated all the bad guys that has come to endanger Equestria" -. The mare just looked at her as if something as great (or even greater) than Princess Celestia was even possible. - "Which is why I'm the most awesome pony in the world."

Thankfully, a very annoyed Rarity decided to interject.

"Please Rainbow, before you keep fooling this young mare, just remember that you defeated them with the help of your friends, alright dear?"

The pegasus simply rolled her eyes and complied to the fashionista's demands.

"Sure, you contributed a bit in those fights, after all, without you, I wouldn't have done it."

The newcomer kept looking at the ponies as if she found the best thing in the world, to the curiosity of a very concerned Twilight.

"So" -. Decided to engage a very smart scholar. - "What brings you here... uhm... what's your name again?"

The mare quickly started to look nervous when she saw that her life was the new subject to discuss, which made her talk in a very nervous tone and almost as if she were mumbling.

"Well, my name is... er... well, Hidden Gem.." - She said in a very shy tone, as if embarrassed of that name. - "And I came to Ponyville to meet the place. I was told by... some... close figures... that this place was a very important one and I should check it out to see how good it was."

Twilight started to wonder at her picked words, very interesting indeed.

"Well, sure. Ponyville is a great place, but you seem to come from somewhere like Canterlot, which is much more interesting than a small humble town like Ponyville" -. Responded the curiosity filled element of magic, who had some memories of how Canterlot nobility thought about humble towns such as Ponyville. - "What kind of friends told you that this place was much more interesting than Canterlot?"

Hidden Gem quickly widened her eyes and started to look around frantically, as if she wasn't expecting to talk much about herself.

"Well, they didn't say that Canterlot wasn't interesting or less important than Ponyville, they just said that I should go to Ponyville first because... uhm... I would be very impressed by it."

By this point, the elements were starting to catch up that something was wrong with this mare, which made them to start scrutinizing more.

"Really?" - Asked a very inquisitive Rarity. - "And, what did you expect to find here? After all, Ponyville is a very simple town dear. There isn't much here to find."

The nervous mare just looked around, as if trying to find a new answer, not noticing Fluttershy getting behind her.

"Well, I'm not sure. I never heard of Ponyville until a few days ago and I decided to follow the advice to come here."

By this point, the mares were just weird out by this foal. How is it possible for a pony to not hear about Ponyville, house of the Elements of Harmony? Was it possible that...

"Wait, did your parents never told ya about Equestria?" - Asked a very concerned Applejack. - "Ah mean, Ah try to be very humble about mah family's farm, but there's no way you haven't heard about the Apples's name in your life."

By this point, the young mare was starting to look as if she was being cornered.

"Well, no. I never left my Hi-Home! I've never left my home so far" -. Twilight noticed how she changed the word, too fast to be noticed by the others, but she did. - "But due to... unexpected circumstances, I've found myself forced to leave my house and some.... very important... ponies told me to go to Ponyville instead."

By this point, the mystery was starting to become much bigger for them. Granted, it looked like this was a very secluded foal but the details were just too interesting to ignore.

"So" -. Continued Rainbow Dash. - "You never left your home? Why?"

This time the answer didn't sound forced, it felt natural although some details were still missing.

"Well, me and my mother never found any reason to leave. Me, my mother and our workers were very happy living in isolation and never had an actual reason to leave."

Slavery?

"Workers?" - Asked an aghast Rarity. - "What kind of workers are those, dear? Do they have a payment?"

"Well, they did have a payment and a house, and families. But I no longer know how they are, because I'm no longer living there."

The mares were trying really hard to look into this, there was something very strange with this filly but they still couldn't find out what. Perhaps her mother had those workers as actual slaves and the filly never realized for living in such isolated life. Speaking of the mother.

"Where is your mother?" - Asked a worried Fluttershy. - "From what I get, you've come here alone. Where's your mother?"

In that moment, Hidden Gem started to tear up, as if a wound was recently opened.

"Some bad guys came to my home and invaded us. Only I could run and my mom told me to go for help" -. Her voice started to sound raspy and her eyes were about to break a dam. - "The... *sob* ponies, my mom told me to go for aid, said that all the help I needed was in Ponyville, but they never told me why and now I don't know if I'll ever see my family again."

And, as she was about to break down in tears, Fluttershy hugged her and started to console her. The other elements started to look at each other, slightly understand who were these mysterious ponies talking about and, with looks of determination filling their eyes, they nodded at each other ready to solve this mystery.

"Don't worry, little girl, we're going to help you out" -. Said a very enthusiastic Rainbow Dash. - "The elements of Harmony are on this case".

"Elements of Harmony?"

The mares looked at each other again when they heard her question, just how isolated was this foal?

"Yeah" -. Continued Rainbow Dash. - "The ones who defeated Nightmare Moon, Discord and helped to fight back Queen Chrysalis? Those Elements of Harmony?"

In that moment, Hidden Gem started to wide her eyes as if she found a hidden treasure that nobody ever knew about and kept looking at them with an intense glare.

"No meanie beanie has ever defeated us" -. Said a very animated Pinkie Pie who came out of nowhere. - "And after helping you, we'll make a new party to celebrate, right girls?"

And, with a reverberating 'yeah!', the six mares surrounded Hidden Gem and gave her words of encouragement, telling her their plans to get her back home safe and sound. And, to make it all better, Hidden Gem decided to join the celebration.

"Thank you girls, I really appreciate your help and, to celebrate, why don't we drink a special beverage that my mother taught me to drink in celebrations?"

The mares got a bit confused at this, but they saw no reason to say no.

"Don't worry, is a special beverage that has chocolate and can be mixed with anything to make it more interesting to drink."

Once the word 'chocolate' was made, Pinkie Pie quickly took her to the kitchen and started to make the concoction, leaving the mares alone to discuss about the newcomer.

"Ah think she's hiding something, but that part of her home being invaded, Ah only saw truth in those words."

"Indeed, darling, I think that it would be the best to find out more about her and then seek for help, Twilight dear, do you think Princess Celestia could provide some help?"

Twilight looked at her friends, gave it a thought and quickly gave her response.

"Sure, I see why not. Princess Celestia should know that there are bad ponies attacking others in places she may not even know they exist. Besides, I would like to know what ponies told her to come here."

The way Hidden Gem avoided to talk about those ponies certainly raised a few eyebrows on the Equestrians, they sounded powerful and of the kind that didn't like to be known about, but they decided to find more about them later.

"Still" -. Said a quick thinker Twilight. - "I'll go tell Spike to go write a letter to Princess Celestia."

And, as Twilight Sparkle started to look around for her number one assistant, finding him playing with the other fillies to put the wings on the pegasus. Twilight told him to go write the letter to Princess Celestia, at which Spike got very annoyed but accepted anyway, leaving the party just in time before Hidden Gem started to share her concoction with all the ponies in the party.

As they all celebrated the newcomer, the ponies drank the concoction that had a strong taste to a bittersweet chocolate, mixed with apple juice and punch, which somehow tasted good, along a strong taste that they weren't quite sure what it was.

After taking that drink, Twilight went to Hidden Gem and decided to ask her some more questions.

"You know?" -. Asked the eccentric mare. - "You never gave us more details about this friends of yours, the ones who told you to come to Ponyville, who were they?"

Hidden Gem looked a bit worried, but answered nonetheless.

"Oh, those are some very powerful... uhm... ponies.... who knew my mother and decided to take me in after my home was invaded, but they asked me to come to Ponyville first and foremost. Maybe they wanted me to meet you here?"

For Twilight, it was very strange for this... ponies.... to prefer to send her alone to Ponyville first before going to Celestia, but she could try to research them more later. She was going to make a second question, but she suddenly started to feel a numbness growing on her head.

"Wow!" -. Said a very tipsy Applejack who was having problems staying in place. - "What was on that drink sugar cube? No cider belonging to mah family works this good."

"Oh, don't worry, it's very normal to feel like that on the first drink. My mother taught me to drink it until you felt nothing."

"Well, darlingsh" -. Responded Rarity while having problems of pronunciation and her eyes could hardly focus. - "I shink your mother shouldn't be abushing thou in shuch a verry menacing mane..." - She tried her focus once more on the girl, confusion sweeping her kneeled face. - "Ish it me or you grew up a few inches?"

Rainbow Dash could no longer stay in flight and now could hardly stay on her hooves, Fluttershy was knocked down on the floor, Pinkie Pie got asleep as she was drinking a whole jar of the strange juice. As Twilight looked around, all the ponies in the party were getting unconscious, dropping on the floor at the spot and the only one perfectly still was the little mare who she saw drinking the same beverage as them.

"What did you give us?" -. Said Twilight as she tried to focus on a spell of some kind that could allow her to dispel the concoction's power, but she couldn't feel her horn or her magic. All she could see, as she was losing her consciousness, was a smiling mare who no longer looked scared or worried. She now looked as if she was about to commit the greatest heist in history.

"Do not worry, my little Twilight, I'll explain you everything once this is all over."

The last thing Twilight saw, was the young mare smiling creepily and giving her predatory looks (Twilight would have felt fear, but her mind was getting too loose to even feel straight) while the last thing Twilight ever heard, as she closed her eyes and she was capable of understanding, were the words...

"You did it Diamantis! Now you have a chance to survive this new ordeal!"

Author's Notes:

I want to ask you something, ignoring the previous two chapters, do you think this one works as a good first chapter for the story?

My intention is to treat the story of the queens and the stories of the ponies as separate until they start to converge completely (the next few chapters may fool you, but it'll take a while before they actually become one and the same) and I want to treat each stories's chapters as separate entities.

So, how did I perform?

Anyways, I'll take a while before I update this, but I feel very confident if I can write this on a single day (with enough free time of course) so I'll be thinking on the story while I'm not writing on this.

Have a good time everybody.

EDIT June 28th of 2019: If you like this and you want to support me, you can do it through my Ko-Fi. Feel free to check it out.

The Unexpected Meeting

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Canterlot Castle has been a very hard place to live in for the last couple weeks. Ever since a group of ponies from Ponyville were kidnapped, the princesses has been in a very tense mood, making it very hard to get closer to any of them. For the common pony who didn't follow much of the news, while it would be understandable that either Princess Celestia, Luna or Cadence would feel bad for a group of ponies disappearing, especially after the disaster at the Canterlot Wedding. But, for those who held enough knowledge, fear was what filled the city once it was figured out that not only common ponies for a town very close to Canterlot disappeared, but also that all the Elements of Harmony disappeared along them.

Even more so, those who knew how well connected was the Element of Magic, also known as Twilight Sparkle, to the royal family were more than aware of how touchy was that theme for Princess Celestia. It didn't matter whether or not the foalnapper was a changeling or a pony, once they met Princess Celestia, it would desire to never be born the rest of its life.

As the Canterlot officials were trying to manage all the information they could gather, from witnesses, testimonies, to even deep search squadrons in the vicinity around Ponyville, they couldn't ignore the indirect pressure put unto them by their princess of the sun, who would react very harshly whenever her faithful student was mentioned and, everyday that passed without any new knowledge regarding her whereabouts, was another day where everything around Princess Celestia would get hotter and hotter as much as she tried to remain calm and collected.

The other princesses weren't as bad, but they weren't fine by any mean. Princess Luna was very patient and careful in the investigations, but rumors said that she would get in a constant arguments with her sister regarding how to proceed once they could manage to find the elements, and Princess Cadence was probably an emotional train wreck, as she was imagining her beloved sister in law to be suffering the same tortures she suffered under Chrysalis. Shining Armor had very hard moments trying to calm Cadence.

Speaking of which...

Some would argue that the one more collected and efficient was the General Shining Armor, since he was making sure that no false lead filtered on the search and that a proper investigation was being made, but anyone who looked at his eyes and knew him well enough would tell how worried he was about the current predicament.

All this tension was something that would've created a chaos among the equestrian society, had the disappearance lasted a month or so but, thankfully, something was found by the third week of investigations, and that something was exactly what was needed to find the Elements of Harmony.

Which is why we shouldn't be surprised to find the top heads of the equestrian government, compromised of Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadence, General Shining Armor along the heads of the Royal Guard discussing the current lead.

"Let me see if I understand this, General Shining Armor" -. Said an impatient Princess Celestia. - "Your current lead is a solitary pony that frequents the White Tail Woods?" - After seeing him nodding, she continued. - "Please explain yourself, my sister would like to hear this well."

The General of the Royal Guard took a better look at what was researched so far, and proceeded.

"Right, your Highness. After the disappearance of the Elements of Harmony was done, and we were informed by the dragon Spike through his flame mail, we went to investigate the events prior to the banishment of the many ponies taken away in Ponyville, around thirty, and we managed to gather that they were all gathered in a party to celebrate the coming of a new pony who was visiting the place, said pony was among those who disappeared in Ponyville.

It took us a while to gather the intelligence, but, after days of asking in the surrounding towns if they've seen any of the missing ponies, we managed to find a link. The one pony everypony managed to see, was a pony that fitted the characteristics of the pony that visited Ponyville before the innocent civilians went missing."

Shining Armor then passed a series of drawings to the princesses, which showed the rough sketch of a very young mare, with a brown coat and black mane moving around the shops and cities.

"This pony, who isn't know by anypony we've ever met, has been moving through many towns in Equestria but she never takes a train or any common system of transportation, in fact, it was hard to detect when she was entering or leaving a town" -. This brought the attention of Princess Celestia but that wasn't all Shining found out about the mysterious pony. - "After a very through attempt of spying, we noticed a patter of her buying multiple cleaning tools, along with various types of teas, vitamins and other supplements that are good for health but not something that would managed to give you a healthy diet. In the end, after tracking her movements from town to town, we managed to find her leaving Canterlot and moving in the direction to the White Tail Woods.

After following her for a while, we managed to see that she was hiding inside a cave that we've been watching ever since, with only her moving in and out of the cave until a few days ago, where we managed to see the cave being visited by a changeling."

This brought the attention of all the princesses, who quickly looked at the drawings being shared by Shining and saw that she shared some features like Chrysalis, but her chitin was more bronze-like and her mane was also dyed on a different color.

"As you may have noticed, she follows the features of what, we know, belongs to a changeling like Chrysalis but we still don't know who she is or what is her connection with the already mentioned pony. As we're speaking, the cave it's still being watched and all we need is your approval to start operations to enter and see what we can find inside that cave."

Princess Celestia and Luna looked at each other for a while before looking at Cadence, after analyzing their personal emotional states, and a little conversation between them with very quiet voices, they made the order.

"General Shining Armor" -. Said Princess Celestia in a tone that showed complete authority on what was going to happen. - "Prepare your troops to move into that cave as you, Princess Luna and myself will go along with you while Princess Cadence will remain here to keep order, we'll inform you if we need reinforcements. Is that understood?"

Seeing no problem with it, Shining Armor accepted the order and started to mobilize his troops, no more than 50 well trained soldiers, along two princesses and himself. Completely ready to storm in there and fight any changeling and any queen they could encounter.

It took them a while to mobilize such regiment but, in the end, they managed to reach the cave in Whitr Tail Woods, along the soldiers making the vigilance. It was close to night time, the sun quickly asking to its lady to move it so it could end its dance, and the soldiers were preparing themselves, to enter and charge against anything they could encounter in there, once the intelligence confirmed them that the mare in question was inside.

Celestia was eager to save her faithful student, she could still remember her failure at the wedding and how Cadence remained as Chrysalis' prisoner for an unforgivable amount of time. She would not repeat that mistake again, she would rescue Twilight, the elements and all the inhabitants of Ponyville kidnapped, showing the changelings that Equestria was a kingdom with a monarch ready to defend its citizens from any threat.

As the moon started to rise and begun its proper dance, the princess of the sun, followed by the princess of the night, entered into the cave, expecting the worse to face them. As they got closer to the cave, they could see how the entrance was very well cared, not a single spider web, moss was lacking and the rocks were carved as if to make traversing through there easy. It was clear that, whoever was behind this was preparing this cave to inhabit many drones ready to mobilize, but they needed to be careful before making any rushed assertion. They were yet to find its queen and soldiers.

Luna started to use her magic to detect any type of spells surrounding the cave's entrance but, to her surprise, she found none. Celestia used her magic to see how many entities she could detect and, to her surprise, she found almost none. As the princesses got around their bafflement, they gave the order so Shining Armor and a small squadron could enter into the cave. The squadron quickly covered the right places, and prepared for the assault, as the ladies of the night and day entered the cave to search for their ponies.

Once Celestia entered into the cave, she noticed that it begun dark, impossible to see without a light spell but, the more inti the cave they got, the more they would notice a small, bluish light, starting to illuminate the cave, probably from the moss, and its intensity grew the deeper they went.

As they went by, Luna took notice of the glow and saw how it was moving in very specific patterns. From specific lines on ethe well, pointing towards one direction, to the roof with unnatural amounts of moss; this was clearly showing that the light was magically generated to create a natural light for those who entered.

That was worrying, if the cave reacted to any visitors, then the one residing in there was very likely realizing that there were intruders in the cave. They had to move quickly and, that, they did by increasing their pace inside of the mysterious cave. Only 50mt inside and 10mt down traversed in less than 10 minutes but that felt like an eternity for the equestrians, hoping to be able to defeat whatever kind of army was waiting for them.

In a matter of seconds, they found something that was so normal but, seeing it here, it felt so odd that they wondered what was the intention behind it: a wooden door.

As the door was analyzed, having no spell in it, they noticed that it was well carved, being decorated with a changeling in the lower part but having an unknown, large, changeling queen in the upper side, with a golden like knob to open, no key needed, said door.

It didn't take the princesses too much time to enter but, once again, what they found was baffling; for they found no army, no complex labyrinth or anything of the sort. Instead, all they found was what, to any normal eye, would look like a very normal house with a normal table in what could be considered the dining room with four chairs surrounding the table. A small stove that was boiling a tea kettle, three doors in each wall and some paintings decorated with nice viewpoints of Equestria, such as Canterlot's mountain, the White Tail Woods, the Celestial Sea, among others.

Princess Celestia looked at her sister, both of them trying to find a solution for this riddle but having no answer in there. They decided to move carefully around the house and hoping that their intrusion wasn't noticed yet.

Celestia went to a door to the right and opened it, just to find a closet holding a broom and other cleaning items, much to her chagrin. Luna went to a door on the left and only found very fine pottery, after taking a closer look to it she noticed that this was pottery made centuries ago. Both princesses closed their respective doors and went to the middle door, all of this time being followed by Shining Armor and his soldiers, and saw that it lead to a long hallway that went quite far away and there were multiple doors on each side of the hallway.

All the ponies in there decided to repeat the previous pattern, opening each door after scanning them and check if they had a trap of some sorts. The first doors were simple ones, a couple bedrooms, a bathroom, etc. But the fifth door to the left was the one that contained what Celestia was searching for, a large room containing multiple ponies encapsulated inside purple cocoons.

When Celestia saw this, she felt both anger at the monster that held captive her little ponies, and relief for finally being able to rescue them. She quickly moved to the first cocoon on the first row and saw Twilight Sparkle sleeping peacefully, as if nothing wrong was happening, with her friends being trapped in other cocoons beside her.

It didn't take the equestrians too much time to begin cracking the cocoons, releasing the ponies and waking them up. They started by coughing and releasing the mysterious wax inside their lungs. Their coats were sticky although the wax was easy to remove. The guards were entering into the room, releasing the other ponies, with Shining Armor staying close to his little sister when, without notice, they heard the door opening once more and saw, to their shock, the young mare of brown coat and black mane described by Shining Armor looking at them as if she had been found out.

How long they were looking at each other was a mystery in itself but the first one in reacting was the young mare, who quickly shut down the door and started to ran away as princess Celestia, followed by Luna, gave chase against her. It wasn't a hard chase, they got to the small room with the kettle already boiling and demanding to be fed with a herb of some kind to make delicious tea.

Once they got into that room, Celestia quickly used her telekinesis to lock the door and, with the help of her sister, cornered the mysterious mare, who looked more like a terrified foal than a dangerous criminal who kidnapped a sizable part of Ponyville. Celestia wasn't going to be fooled by her appearance or her sobs and talked to her with the same tone and determination she had back then when she faced Chrysalis.

"You've been cornered, reveal yourself, changeling, and face the consequences of your actions!"

The young mare looked at Celestia for a brief second before closing her eyes in fear, flames surrounding her body, and reveal her true form, a shining white changeling queen with a forming crown and her slit eyes starting to form. Celestia almost gasped at the realization that, she, was probably going to interrogate a queen going through puberty, but she wouldn't falter, after all, she may be acting.

"Now, tell me who you are and why you captured so many ponies!" - She said with her imposing figure and powerful tone of voice, very close to hit the levels of the Canterlot Voice.

The queen faltered, she looked as if she wasn't sure if it was a good idea to reveal the information but, as Luna and Shining Armor surrounded her, it looked like she had no other option.

"My name is Queen Diamantis" -. She said in her pubescent voice, clearly showing how young she were, as her eyes were trying to find a way out. - "I came here to Ponyville to form a new hive for myself, so I captured the ponies to add them into my ranks."

Celestia felt anger raising on her but Luna caught her up in that moment by speaking first with a commanding tone of voice.

"You dare to come here and take ponies for yourself!? Who are you to decide which ponies you can take and which not? They're individuals with personal lives, you cannot take them away and add them to your hive!"

That reminded them of something important.

"Where are the rest of your changelings?" - Said Celestia in a careful tone. - "Order them to surrender or else we cannot guarantee their safety."

Diamantis looked at the princesses with worry and, for some reason, she started to blush before revealing more information, although in a very low tone of voice.

"I have no more drones, I'm all by myself."

For a brief moment, the royals surrounding her went in shock, but they quickly recovered, with Shining Armor being the first one to respond.

"Impossible, you're never alone. Where are the rest of changelings under your command!?"

His voice was stalwart and hid no emotion but the queen's rebuttal made it very clear for them that there was more in this story than they thought.

"I have no more drones! I... left my hive alone, I'm too young to birth drones, I wasn't trained to be a queen..." - she then blushed. - "I haven't even found a mate yet. My plan was to make those equestrians into part of my hive so I could start right now instead of waiting until I had the proper age to mate."

Celestia was now looking at her sister with the same question going through their faces, why was this young queen acting so brashly?

"Why then?" - Asked Celestia, worry starting to enter into her voice. - "Why did you run from your hive now instead of waiting? Did you not realize how bad of an idea this was?"

The queen's sudden outburst threw them all around a loop as she screamed with desperation in her voice and tears starting to for in her eyes.

"Of course I know! Do you really think I wanted to leave behind my beloved mother!? No! I wanted to stay with her in our hive until I was in the age to properly rule! I wanted none of this! I've never been in touch with equestrians! I've never been outside of my hive's territory for that matter! I was forced to leave her! I was forced to make a new hive! I am forced to take ponies or else I won't be recognized as a queen and now I have to do all of this for them!"

In that moment, her eyes widen, as if she had just revealed something that shouldn't have been said. Celestia quickly realized this and acted upon this.

"Who forced you to leave? What happened to your mother? Why you won't be recognized unless you kidnap ponies? Who told you to come here and kidnap our little ponies as if you were the ruler of this land?"

Diamantis looked at Princess Celestia with extreme doubt in her eyes, it was as if she was a pawn and saying too much would mean her death. Celestia wasn't sure what was going on right now, but she was aware that they were all entering into something bigger and she was going to pressure her as needed as possible to find out who were the threats against Equestria.

Surprisingly though, it wasn't Diamantis who spoke next, neither it was Princess Luna or Shining Armor. The next voice speaking was a foreign one, female, with an almost dry tone but that hid away an emotional storm, it felt confident and ready for whatever it would come and the fact that it was coming from the door leading outside the cave, followed with her response, started to send bad vibes to Celestia.

"Well, while I cannot answer for the first three questions, I certainly can answer the last one."

The princesses turned around and saw another two changeling queens, the one in the back held a bronze carapace, fitting of what the reports said but the one in front was the one worrying Celestia. She had a dark blue carapace, a bluish like mane, sapphires in her crown and aquamarine eyes but the one thing that worried Celestia were the many scars surrounding her body, specially the big one on her left hind leg, a clear testament of how many battles she has faced, and her eyes were showing that she was ready to fight, should she needed to.

In that moment, Queen Diamantis's tone of voice quickly changed from a saddening rage to a scared worrying.

"Queen Valeris!" - She then knelt her head as she tried to quaver her voice and avoid, what Celestia thought was, potential murder. - "My apologies for not being able to receive you properly, I was trying to prepare things for your coming and please forgive me! I tried to keep all of this a secret!"

The blue queen Valeris remained stoic, as if nothing wrong has happened, with her eyes looking around the environment, as if she was assessing the situation first and foremost. Meanwhile, Diamantis looked behind Valeris and noticed the other queen behind her, her tone of voice now almost sounding panicking.

"Queen Fortis! My apologies for not greeting you as well! I was too worried with other problems that were taken away my concentration in your coming! I swear I was...!"

She was then interrupted by the bronze queen, who quickly dissipated her worries in her homely tone of voice which quickly made everything in Diamantis calm down.

"Do not worry, little one, I understand and I wasn't aware of the Royal Guard watching us either. I've talked with Valeris and, once this is all fixed, we'll discuss a bit more about this to tell you what's your next step to follow, alright?"

Diamantis looked at Fortis with hopes in her eyes and quickly nodded as she started to clear her eyes, details that both princesses were taking note off. As silence was taking over the small room, with the guards in the hallway already noticing the other two changeling queens, and the Elements of Harmony starting to get closer to them, as Queen Valeris was still looking around. Celestia realized that she may now be talking to a changeling of a higher position, quickly making her engage the queens as she originally planned with Diamantis.

"My name is Princess Celestia, I demand to know who are you and why you ordered this young queen to abandon her mother and foalnap the ponies in Ponyville."

The dark blue queen then looked at her, as if she didn't notice her before, and started to scrutinize her body with her sight. She then followed to do the same thing with her sister, her Captain of the Royal Guard, the Elements of Harmony, who already entered into the room, and her fellow queens. Her silence was ominous and Celestia was already wondering what was going to happen when, suddenly, the queen finally spoke.

"Diamantis" -. Her tone of voice was neutral but showing cautiousness. - "Could you please prepare a room for Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Queen Fortis and myself?" - This little demand took everybody in the room, the queens included, by surprise. - "I would like to speak to the Equestrian royalty in private in regards to the events transpiring right now, including the creation of your hive along your new drones."

Once again, everybody went in shock, Diamantis being the first one asking.

"My hive? But the equestrians have removed them from the transforming wax, how am I going to create a new hive for myself now?"

The ponies weren't sure what was more disturbing though, the fact that at least thirty ponies were trapped inside a cocoon designed to transform them into changelings or the fact that Valeris was acting as if all of this were normal.

"Those concerns are one of the reasons why we must prioritize the conversation with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Once the conversations are done, both me and Fortis will tell you what you should do next."

Now it was Princess Luna who went in rage, quickly stepping in front of Queen Valeris, and demanded an answer from her.

"And who are you to act as if this was your land? You have no right to act here neither to tell who this individuals belong to. At the very least they belong to both me and my sister for they are our subjects. What is your response to that?"

The scarred queen remained stoic, with a few signs of anger crossing through her eyes, and her response was just as calmed.

"I am Queen Valeris, ruler of Hive Hidroxia and I've come here to fix the problems surrounding Queen Diamantis, who is under the protection of Queen Fortis, in the regards of her banishment from her mother's hive and her need to form a new hive. As of now, all I'm trying to do is to fix this situation through the use of words instead of a meaningless fight, unless you think that two princesses, one captain of the royal guard, a bunch of soldiers and six elements of harmony can defeat unscathed three Changeling Queens."

The ponies were shocked at her response, for it was logical. Why to fight if we could solve this through words? Besides, who knew how much damage would come from engaging into a fight inside this small cave, with multiple innocent civilians right behind them. Besides, if those scars meant anything, it was quite clear Valeris has seen more fights than she may admit.

"And what sign can you bring us that you won't betray us?" - Said the Captain of the Royal Guard as the Elements were starting to catch up with what was going on. Valeris' response, though, remained as a sign of who were they dealing with and how important this talking was. - "Your sign is in the guards you left behind, you can check on them and see that no injury has been brought into their bodies."

Quickly realizing her intentions, Shining Armor sent a couple soldiers to check on the garrison left behind and, after waiting for a while, the soldiers returned telling how all the soldiers were unconscious but fine. At the very least they were just suffering from the effects of a sleeping spell.

And, with all of that said, the young queen Diamantis moved inside the cave and started to prepare a room for this new meeting.

In the meantime, the princesses were now seeing back their beloved ponies, happy to see them back. Ignoring the small chat being made by the two changeling queens.

"My faithful student, I'm so glad to see you back" -. Said Celestia with a warmth tone of voice as she heard the response from the student that was like a daughter to her. - "Me too, princess. I'm sorry for falling on that trap, I promise I won't fall again."

As she said this, Celestia noticed, her eyes started to have a slightly blue tone before going back to normal. Something that Celestia grew very worried about, although she wouldn't show it.

"Do not worry my faithful student, you went through something that I wouldn't wish on anypony" -. In that moment, Diamantis came back with the news of their meeting room being already done, making the Changeling Queens quickly moving to the room, with Valeris whispering something into Diamantis' ears which made her smile promptly as she took the queens to their room, quickly glancing back at the princesses and asking them to follow her. This made Celestia understand the time was up. - "And now, if you excuse me, I'm going to get into the bottom of this."

With that said, the princesses of Equestria decided to follow the young queen into the room where they were about to encounter a pivotal conversation of the likes they haven't faced in centuries.

A Rock

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As time passed and things started to calm down, Twilight Sparkle started to asses what she just heard a few minutes ago. Apparently Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were about to discuss with two changeling queens about something, probably regarding both her and the citizens of Ponyville's foalnapping at the hands of that disguised changeling.

As Twilight's mind started to settle in from the weird experience she had on that cocoon, she started to wonder if all of this, the idea of talking with those two queens, was a good idea to begin with. By that, she meant that she had her doubts about what those queens would like to discuss and that was something on which she wasn't alone.

"Hey, Twilight" -. The scholar unicorn turned as she saw her friend, Rainbow Dash, speaking to her in a very low tone, just enough for her to listen as the rest of her friends surrounded her. - "From what I understand, is Princess Celestia really going to talk to those two? Why aren't we kicking their flanks right now?"

Twilight understood her concern but, sadly, she saw no other way out. So she answered Rainbow Dash on the same low tone as her.

"I understand your concern Rainbow, but, there are innocent civilians here and who knows what could happen to them if we fight those queens" -. In that moment she decided to give a look at the two queens who were discussing about something as well, the blue queen (filled with scars across her body) catching almost all of Twilight's attention. - "For all we know, those two queens have enough power to equal the princesses in one way or another and that fight its not worth risking civilians."

In that moment the blue queen turned and saw Twilight, her cold eyes and stone face sending shivers towards Twilight's spine. Twilight, quickly, decided to turn away, hoping the blue queen didn't notice Twilight looking at her. And there was the problem, who knew what she was capable off? That was the great concern but, before she could speculate more about the blue queen, Rainbow continued on her discussion.

"I know but, I just don't like sitting here and do nothing. Can't we at least talk to the princesses about it?"

Twilight took a moment to think about it and saw the importance of it, so she decided to comply and talk to Princess Celestia about the dialogue coming ahead. As she got closer to Princess Celestia, she saw some glimmer of happiness looking at her, which made Twilight very happy in turn.

"My faithful student, I'm so glad to see you back."

Said Celestia with a warmth tone of voice which made Twilight respond in the same warmth way.

"Me too, princess. I'm sorry for falling on that trap, I promise I won't fall again."

In that moment, she saw Celestia's eyes widening quite a bit but then quickly kept her cool face and continued to talk to her as if she saw nothing.

"Do not worry my faithful student, you went through something that I wouldn't wish on anypony."

In that moment, Twilight decided to press a little bit about what were they expecting to talk about but, before she could even open her mouth, the changeling that, from what Twilight understood, foalnapped her and her friends came back, announcing that the meeting room was ready.

"My apologies for taking so long, your Majesties, but it was in my desires to make the room as appropriate for the occasion as possible. Now, if you excuse me, you can follow me to your meeting room."

The changeling queens quickly started to move, with the blue queen, Twilight noticed, limping on one of her legs, and followed the little changeling as Twilight heard the bronze looking queen responding.

"Ah, thank you Diamantis, it makes me glad that you've done the proper preparations for this sudden meeting. Please do take us my little one."

The kindness and softness in her voice greatly contrasted with the blue queen's frozen tone of voice, who didn't even thank her. All she did was lean her head close to Diamantis' ears and whispered something to her, something that (for some reason) made her smile a lot.

In that moment, Princess Luna looked at her sister, prodding her to move, at which Celestia quickly nodded and then talked to Twilight.

"And now, if you excuse me, I'm going to get into the bottom of this."

And, as the princesses moved to follow the changeling queens, Twilight couldn't help but feeling as if they were entering into a trap of some kind, she wanted to go with them and make sure that everything would go fine, but she wasn't invited for it. All she could do was following them in the hopes of protecting them as long as she could. Granted, although it was Twilight's idea to follow them, she felt surprise seeing her friends following her even though she never asked for their help, probably thinking the same as her, to look at their princesses as much as they could before the meeting begun.

As they moved, Twilight took her time to watch at some of the captured civilians and noticed a gray mare with a musical note as her cutie mark cleaning herself up with a bunch of towels provided by the Royal Guard. There were other ponies in there as well, such as Cheerilee, but she didn't have the time to look at them all and continued to see the meeting room.

After moving for a few trots away of the other civilians, and taking one or two turns away in what looked like a growing labyrinth, the royals stopped in front of a very secluded door, even though it was still in a hallway, it was very far away from other doors, making it feel as if it was trying to avoid intruders of any kind.

As the princesses entered into the room, the blue queen waited a bit and whispered something else to Diamantis' ears, which made her stutter a bit and move in an very strange way. The door then closed, with Diamantis making guard, and the meeting begun.

Twilight and her friends were about to leave when, out of nowhere, Diamantis started to run far deeper into the hallway, making the mares chase after her as well. If she was planning something, they were going to stop her.

After chasing Diamantis for a minute or so, to the point of taking a few turns that made them go even deeper into the cave system. She stopped right in front of a very lonely door, with no other door being close in quite a noticeable distance and it was here that Twilight and her friends decided to engage Diamantis and see what was she up to.

"Hey!" - Shouted Rainbow Dash, making Diamantis flinch, turn on her back and realize that she was followed without her noticing as the prismatic pegasus kept looking at her. - "What are you planning to do!?"

Diamantis looked at the six mares for a few seconds, she then turned her head to the door with a nervous look on her face and then relented.

"Alright" -. She said. - "I'm only telling you this because you're part of my hive and I have plans for you, so listen well" -. Twilight was about to scream at her but Diamantis didn't give her the chance. - "I managed to arrange the meeting room so we can hear the conversation from this other room, so, do you want to come and listen?"

The mares' shocked faces said quite a lot. Twilight, on one part, thought that, for the way Diamantis looked at the other queens, Diamantis wasn't planning on something so low as spying on her superiors, but she was wrong about the changeling; Rainbow Dash felt as a traitor for the sole idea of spying on Princess Celestia, Applejack felt it as dishonest, Rarity, despite liking to gossip, still saw it as improper of a lady to spy on royal figures; Pinkie Pie, meanwhile, considered it to be wrong, as if it was a low step she didn't want to take, but Diamantis didn't seem to care for their emotions as she opened the door and it could be heard faint voices talking at each other, what sounded to be Luna being the one talking right then.

"...planned to be like this?"

The answer, if listened closely, came from the voice belonging to the blue queen.

"You see, although Changelings can take ponies and transform them into other changelings, we have certain protocols to make sure that it doesn't affect the equestrian society and, sadly, Queen Diamantis didn't follow them."

Twilight and the girls noticed how Diamantis started to blush quite hard, something very hard to hide considering she had a white shining carapace. They then heard the voice belonging to the bronze queen, again, very hard to hear because they haven't entered into the room yet.

"Granted, it doesn't help that neither Queen Valeris or myself told her said protocols. We were aware that she didn't have the proper training all changeling princesses must have at her age but we never expected it to be so lacking."

Diamantis' blushes were starting to turn her into a red changeling, at which she then started to close the door.

"You know? I think its rude to hear private conversations, so let's close this-"

The six mares quickly stormed the door before she closed it and entered the room to listen better at the conversation, much to Diamantis' chagrin, at which she responded in a very quite voice.

"Alright, but remember that this sounds are bilateral, I managed to reduce it but, if you scream loud enough, they can hear us, so be very quiet."

The six mares nodded and decided to listen again to the conversation, with Twilight trying to figure out what was going on in Celestia's head as she was having this conversation with those two queens.

Suffice to say that Celestia was trying to suppress her feelings, she didn't want her two potential enemies to be aware of how nerve wrecking this was and she was sure that they were acting as well.

From what she could tell, Fortis (the bronze queen) was of a more well meaning nature as she was talking to both her and her sister with nice intentions or, at least, with more willingness to make this meeting to go well. Her mannerism and how she always referred to both her and Luna as 'princesses' while her face showed all the emotions there were to be. It was quite clear that she was either faking those emotions or she wasn't trying to hide anything and Celestia was really doubting it was the former.

The other queen though, she was a different story.

Queen Valeris was always stoic, she never showed emotions or signs that could allow Celestia to read her. If she ever moved or made a gesture, it was clearly planned and her wording always was meant to say everything and nothing at the same time.

The best example of it was how Celestia asked her how it was possible for Diamantis to be lacking so much in training but was still being sent to Ponyville instead of keeping her with her mother, all she answered was:

"The situation regarding Diamantis' royal conditions are in a complex situation, that required for us to point her into a direction good enough to fix her short term needs while Fortis, the other queens and I could solve the problems that separated her from her mother."

And all of that while keeping a straight face. Masterful.

Granted, it did told her that all of this was because of something happening between the changelings but it didn't tell her what neither gave too many details about it. Thankfully, Luna was with her and was capable of making other questions that could help the two of them.

"Does this have anything to do with Queen Chrysalis and her invasion on Canterlot a few weeks ago?"

Both Fortis and Valeris looked at each other for a split second before Valeris proceeded.

"No. While Chrysalis was influential on her situation, I assure you, what happened in Canterlot wasn't the main reason why Diamantis was separated from her mother. Granted, what Chrysalis did was reprehensible and has been dealt with as of now."

Celestia tried to keep her face straight as she tried to understand that information, apparently the other queens didn't like what Chrysalis did. That meant this queens could be helpful but she needed to know how or if Chrysalis was 'dealt with' because of her going on her own account.

"Well" -, said the princess of the sun, - "That's something that brings soothe to our ears, but we would like to know more details about it. In example, what were your involvement on all of this and what was done to Chrysalis for trying to invade Canterlot."

Once again, Valeris was the one responding, making Celestia think that perhaps she was the one in charge here.

"While our involvement in all of this is confidential, I will say that a changeling tradition is to not show ourselves to equestrian society, for that's been traditionally seen as dangerous for our species' survival. Suffice to say, Chrysalis broke something considered sacred among us, and we decided to respond with all the punishment the law allowed us to bring upon her."

Both Luna and Celestia were frowning, it was quite nice to know that they had some sort of justice but it still didn't help at all to not know anything about it. Thankfully, it was Fortis who decided to continue with the conversation, with a few hints of worry and sorry on her face.

"My apologies if Valeris' position is annoying regarding our secrets, but we've been taught to never reveal ourselves neither reveal the secrets of our society. To say much could be seen as dangerous and, considering that Valeris made those laws, she's quite restrictive on what to reveal and what not. Trust us, we would like to say more, but we can't."

The two princesses looked at each other, a few questions arousing from this, with Luna asking first.

"She wrote them? As if she banned changelings of revealing themselves?"

Fortis started to put a nervous face and looked at Valeris, who then nodded and prompted her to continue.

"Well, not as in 'the original writer'. That was originally set as a tradition whose origins was lost to time, although changelings has historically known only suffering from revealing themselves to ponies and other species. What I tried to mean is that Valeris decided to make it an official law, more than anything, with the other queens ratifying it on a national level."

Well, they weren't as old as them, but, it was actually interesting to know that Valeris had enough influence to make laws that other queens would accept so eagerly. But still, they needed to know more about changelings and that law was making it harder for them.

Then, suddenly and out of nowhere, Queen Valeris decided to enter the conversation once again, and said something that none of the monarchs in the room ever expected her to say.

"Well, to be honest" -. Said Valeris as she was eyeing Fortis as if she was searching for a confirmation on this. - "While it was made into a law, in the last couple years there's been a debate regarding if we should keep ourselves secluded from Equestrian society" -. As she said this, Fortis started to show curiosity on her face, wondering where she was going on with this, feeling equally shared by Celestia and Luna. - "The problem is that there's never been an actual reason to reveal ourselves. In fact, many started to go more in favor of isolation after Chrysalis' latest move, more out of fear of how would you react to us than as a desire to isolate ourselves even more. But, should there be a reason that could potentially help the case of opening ourselves to the world, things could still improve. That is, if you know of some changeling, or pony, that could be of use for the cause and be evidence that both ponies and changelings can coexist together."

The princesses' eyes started to wide as they realize what she was going for, with Celestia being the most angered about it.

"Absolutely not!" - She said, almost using the royal canterlot voice. - "We will not allow our ponies to be transformed just so a political agenda could be pushed. They're innocent ponies, not pawns."

Luna then continued, with the same tone of voice being used by her.

"Indeed! If you want to open your species to us, then convince the other queens to open up, not use a young queen, or innocent ponies for that matter, as a political tool for your advantage, don't you have a shame!?"

Valeris kept her stone face, although her eyes showed something being brought, anger? Laughter? Confidence? They weren't sure, but Valeris's next sentence was quite revealing for that matter.

"Understandable to be on that position and I would respect it completely for that matter. But we have a problem, you see, when your ponies were introduced into the transforming wax, the time spent in there was too much for their bodies and now they're being transformed into changelings as we're speaking."

Both princesses and Fortis stood there in shock as that information started to be assimilated into them, Celestia feeling a huge sensation of failing as she now had to live with the idea of not saving Twilight soon enough and now having to face being transformed while being conscious.

"Are you sure?" - Asked the white mare to the blue insect in a nervous and scared tone of voice. - "Have there been studies of ponies being transformed even though they were removed? How do I know you're not making this up?"

Valeris's response was soul crushing but, to be noticed, it looks like the story was also having some effect on Valeris, as her stone face quavered a bit and her tone of voice sounded a bit broken.

"It was an incident that happened in my hive almost two decades ago. There were two drones that had severe problems between each other and, hoping to get rid of the problem, one of the drones decided to foalnap a pony and transform it into a changeling. Once the... 'problem' was discovered, I released the pony before the transformation began and brought justice to the couple of drones but, sadly, it was too late for the pony. It's body was slowly transforming in the likes of a changeling, its hooves filling with holes, a horn growing on its forehead, its eyes turning blue and changeling wings sprouting on its back. It was then that I realized that the wax starts the process and, once it happens, it cannot be stopped. But, if you still don't want to believe me, just look at your ponies and see, by this point some of them must have started to show signs of being transformed, perhaps some fangs are growing on their mouths, wings getting limp, eyes turning blue..."

Celestia's heart sank as she remembered seeing Twilight's eyes turning blue for a brief moment, a true testament to Valeris' words and, with that, Celestia wasn't sure how to feel about it now. Not only was there another pony she failed to protect but it also was proof that her little ponies were now going to be transformed and there was nothing she could do about it.

As Celestia sorrowed, Luna decided to clarify something.

"And what happened to the pony? If it was going to be transformed, then that means the pony in question was going to be living as both species, so what did you do?"

Her response though, was as cold and heartless as one would expect of a queen like Valeris.

"I killed it."

Luna was trying to solve the situation now, if she killed the pony in question, what was going to happen to Twilight and the other ponies?

"So, you're saying that they have to either accept being part of Diamantis or they will be murdered? That's unconscionable!"

And, as Luna started to rage once again, Valeris simply smiled and responded.

"I think you misunderstood me, Princess Luna. You see, there's no law for the ones in their situation and, unlike the other pony, this is a quite nice moment to discuss their legal status with the other queens as we try to figure out how their transformation develops. I had no other choice last time, but now something can be done and, I think, the best they can live off now, as their diet will require love to certain levels, is as part of Diamantis' hive. She already picked them up, she can protect them from any other queen trying to take them and, should she be unable to stop them, then your ponies also have the protection of Fortis, who is the queen in charge of Diamantis."

Fortis nodded as Valeris said this, confirming with her attitude her willingness to defend the equestrians that were taken y Diamantis. Valeris, meanwhile, continued talking.

"Not only that, but I am also an ally with Fortis, so any queen that tries to face her would have to face me. And all of that while having all the benefits of living under a changeling hive with the profit of remaining as an equestrian citizen, should you want to keep them as equestrian citizens that is. In other words, should your ponies stay with Diamantis, this will become into a win-win situation for both of our species."

The two princesses looked at each other, was this her plan all along? Was this why she wanted to dialogue with them? To keep a queen in Ponyville and use her as a political tool for both her agenda and, potentially, have changeling influence in Equestria. They were no fools, it was impossible that this changelings wouldn't try to use Twilight as a mean to influence them in some way, and it was that why Celestia decided to take the lead here.

"And all of that at the price of losing their identity at a slow pace and you two having some level of influence in Equestrian politics?"

Fortis looked as if she wasn't aware of any of this while Valeris kept her smile.

"Well, I mean, those ponies will start very soon to lose their equestrian wings and have holes in their hooves, their coat will banish and they will no longer look as ponies, in the worst case scenario, they will look as a monstrous creature that's a mixture between the two species."

Celestia and Luna could hear a scream filling them with dread as the idea of those ponies living like monsters started to dwell on them, a feeling that was then followed by the four royals trying to find where the actual scream was coming from, for they thought the room was secluded enough so no sound could be heard.

In the end, Celestia had to choose between her ponies being eliminated or to allow Changeling influence. She could try to purge the changelings from the Equestrians institutions, but she wasn't sure if she could achieve it on time or even if she could even figure out how far were the changelings infiltrated on Equestrian society itself. No matter how she looked at it, there was no way to save her ponies from Valeris, or the other queens, from taking them.

Regardless, that didn't stop Celestia from making her decision. If she had to choose between getting her ponies killed or be part of the changelings, then she would try to ensure it could be under her terms, besides, if it was true Twilight would be under the protection of both Queen Diamantis and Queen Fortis, then that meant she could also influenced the changelings with Equestrian culture, besides, those two queens looked as if they could be influenced by her ponies as well, and Twilight was becoming better and better at making friends.

"Alright, but some conditions must be held for my ponies" -. Luna looked at Celestia with shock as she was wondering what was going on in her mind. The changeling queens, on their part, were looking at her with some wonder in their face.- "First, they must choose if they want to belong to that hive, No foreign pressure."

Valeris looked at Fortis and quickly answered without asking for her opinion on that matter.

"Sounds reasonable, sure."

Fortis started to look at Valeris with an angry look as she tried to get her attention. Meanwhile, Celestia continued, knowing there was more she could get from this, after all, how to trust a queen searching for a political advantage when she says that there was no other option than being part of the changelings.

"Second, I want Twilight Sparkle to be allowed to investigate this condition and, should she found a cure, be allowed to be brought to the Equestrians that are now suffering the same conditions as her."

Valeris kept her smile, it was as she predicted all of this, something that was aggravating both princesses.

"Understandable, I think the two of our especies would greatly benefit from this research, so go ahead."

By this point Fortis was openly trying to interrupt her fellow queen.

"Valeris..."

But the blue queen simply shrugged it off as she allowed Celestia to continue on her conditions.

"Third, if Twilight finds out something about your especies, she and her friends must be allowed to tell me so I can tell if whether or not this was a good idea to begin with."

For a moment, Valeris's smile wavered, being this the only time she went back to her serious demeanor.

"Negotiable, considering you're getting close to ask us to break our laws and traditions, whatever information you get must be kept to yourself and/or your sister until the time comes when we manage to let loose the flow of changeling information. Otherwise, you'll be putting at risk not only on Diamantis, but also on Twilight's life should she reveal something that shouldn't be revealed."

For Celestia, she would never risk Twilight's life but this condition was something that could be easily fixed in the long term. If it was true that Valeris was planning to change the laws, then she could ensure that Twilight would remain alive if she and her sister were the only ones getting the information.

"Deal."

Now Luna was looking at her sister with worry, for she couldn't figure out what was going on in her head. Not only that, but it looked like Fortis was thinking the same regarding Valeris. Meanwhile, Celestia decided to ask for her fourth demand, to ensure that no other ponies would get foalnapped as both Equestria and the Changelings tried to establish diplomatic relationships.

"And fourth, I don't want more changelings coming to harm my ponies, including Diamantis foalnapping ponies to force them into a transformation. Should an event like this happen again, you must assure me that you're not behind it, and that you'll do anything in your power to bring down the changelings behind the crime."

Fortis looked at Celestia for quite a while, this wasn't a simple request and it looked like Fortis was also aware of this, since she was eagerly trying to have Valeris' attention.

"Valeris, look, I think we need to talk about-"

In that moment, Valeris sent a very menacing look at Fortis, a look that said pretty much what were her intentions should she keep on trying to interrupt her. Fortis' frightened response was equally unnerving, since she simply shut up and apologized before looking down as if she did something wrong. And with that settled, Valeris gave her response.

"That will have to be discussed and ratified with the other queens, for I only control one hive and protect other four. As long as the events happen under my jurisdiction, I will try my best to fix said problem. At the same time, I think it would be fair to demand the same from you. I don't want any innocent changelings being accused under false charges neither being attacked just because of their species and that's a responsibility falling completely under you and your sister, does that sound fair?"

Celestia was quite sure by now who was her enemy and who was the one trying to put her own agenda into this. Even if Valeris said that Chrysalis acted like a criminal, Valeris's herself wasn't too different from her by trying to gain control over her ponies. And Celestia would make sure this threat weren't even close to achieve this, after all, the best deals were the ones where both parts made a compromise and promising to protect innocents from being falsely accused wasn't such a big problem for her.

"Deal."

And with that settled, the Princess of the Sun and the Blue Changeling Queen shook their hooves and made the deal that would change their species relationship on a historic level. Although not everything was resolved yet.

"Now, before we leave, there's one last thing I would like to know."

Celestia's serious tone took the two queens curious as they looked at each other as Valeris would make the question.

"What would that be?"

Celestia decided to make the question here and then.

"Is there a queen located in Canterlot? I would like to know if there's one and who's in charge of that."

For the first time the two queens looked worried and, surprisingly, Valeris responded more, what looked like, for nervousness than actually wanting to take the initiative.

"Well, after Chrysalis was taken out of Canterlot, there have been no queen in Canterlot and, regarding who's in charge... that's something that will have to be settled soon" -. She then looked at Fortis. - "The situation with Canterlot isn't something so easy to discuss, right Fortis?"

Fortis looked at Celestia and Valeris for a while before responding despondent.

"Yes, it's something that has to be discussed."

Once that was settled, Valeris and Fortis rose from their seats and moved to the door, but not before stopping and taking a close look at the wall. Valeris kept looking at it for a while before touching her fellow queen and pointing at something in the wall, after taking another look at the wall, Fortis mumbled something for herself and opened the doors, making the two changeling queens get out of the meeting.

Luna and Celestia decided to stay in the room for a brief moment, trying to digest all they heard as well as they tried to understand what has just been settled between the two species.

"Dear sister" -. Asked Luna. - "Could you please explain me why you accepted something like this? This was reckless beyond belief and you know it."

Celestia looked at her sister, her serious demeanor gone and now showing her worries.

"I know, but I saw an unique opportunity and I had to take it before it was gone."

Luna raised an eyebrow as she tried to understand what she meant.

"Opportunity?"

Celestia just looked at her sister and tried to ease her worries.

"Trust me, I'll explain it to you and Twilight once I tell her what was just settled and why I settled it that way, it may not be one of my best ideas, but I'm sure it was the best we got to avert a crisis."

And, with that said, the two princesses left the room and went outside just to be met by Twilight and her friends, including a fainted Rarity who was being carried by both Rainbow Dash and Applejack and, the strangest thing, Twilight was keeping a worried face.

"Princess, I'm sorry for saying this but, I heard your conversation, why did you choose to compromise us like this?"

Celestia looked around, making sure that the changelings weren't listening. Thankfully, the three queens were having their own conversations far away in the distance. So, she decided to bring her plan to her fellow ponies.

"I know this wasn't the best deal I could make, but I needed an opening and, for this plan to work, I want to bring it upon you Twilight, even though I'm not too eager to do it" -. She then decided to look at Twilight with determination filling her face. - "Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie, I need you to use whatever position you get with Diamantis so you can infiltrate in the changeling society and ensure that they won't be dangerous for any of us. Can I trust you for this mission?"

The five mares looked at each other and quickly decided to respond with the same tone they've always use when they had to protect Equestria from any threat endangering their lives, with Twilight taking the initiative.

"Princess Celestia, you can trust us with this task, you'll have all the information of changeling society before you know it."

There was more, of course, but it wasn't safe to discuss it here with those three so close to them but, now that she knew there were no queens or changelings in Canterlot, she would have enough freedom in there to give her full plan to her little ponies.

And it was in that moment that Rarity finally decided to wake up from her faint and wonder what have just happened.

"Ugh, I had the worst nightmare, I dreamed that I was turning into a horrible changeling and that we were going to be a part of a changeling hive."

Both Rainbow Dash and Applejack looked at each other with faces that mixed between awkwardness and laughter.

"It wasn't a dream, actually" -. Said Rainbow Dash. - "You're actually turning into a changeling and you screamed very high because of that" -. Applejack then decided to bring up something more. - "And not only that, but you also have some little fangs growing in your snout right now."

Rarity flinched and quickly put a hoof on her mouth, quickly feeling a small teeth growing in her mouth in a very sharp way, making her faint once again.

And with that everything was settled, the equestrians were finally part of a series of interwoven events that would take them into an unimaginable path.

The return of the Crystal Empire, the murder of Truth Voice, the Equestrian Financiers and the Great Council of the Queens. All of this events would be what would soon change the fate of the world in a way never before seen.

A Hard Place

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The room felt tense as Valeris was trying to asses what she was about to do. This meeting could very well mean the salvation of the changelings, but at a huge cost, or their doom and return to an old system she wasn't too fond off. She could see Fortis looking at her with a very worried face while Diamantis was preparing a room for their dialogue with the Equestrian princesses, very likely wanting to ask her about this dialogue but too afraid to ask anyway.

"Fortis, if you have a problem, you can ask me" -. Said the blue queen at the queen with copper like eyes. - "What we're about to deal with will mostly affect you and the queen, under your protection, that will take care of Ponyville, so ask away."

Fortis looked doubtful for a very brief moment, but she then decided to show her concerns to Valeris in a tone low enough for the ponies to not listen to their conversation.

"Its just, why talk to them? No, not that, considering how bad was the situation just a few minutes ago, what I'm trying to ask is, why now and not later with the other queens here?"

Valeris took a brief moment to think on Fortis's question before making the bitter answer she had to give.

"Because the princesses are in a position where pressuring them will be easier. Waiting would just give them time to prepare while we would have, at the very minimum, eight queens trying to get something out of this. I would rather risk it now than risk it later. At least now, only I would suffer the consequences from all of this; while, waiting for later, the consequences could fall on the whole system."

Fortis showed her doubts and decided to pressure some more.

"Only you? Diamantis is under my protection, so I would also suffer the consequences. Even still, what could we even discuss about? Most information that could help us out is secret and reveal it could be considered a capital offense, or did you forgot about it?"

Valeris then looked at Fortis with a scowl and almost raising her tone of voice, but always keeping it cold and even.

"I haven't forgotten about those rules. I wrote them and, with unanimous support from both chambers, it was ratified to make sure no changelings ever dared to use equestrians" -, she then looked at the elements of harmony to have some idea of what they were doing and, to her surprise, Valeris saw Twilight Sparkle looking at her directly before quickly looking away with fear, hoping that she didn't notice her spying on them, - "or any species for that matter, as tools against us with the added bonus that it would help to become the base to start the reconstruction of our society."

Fortis looked around, thinking back on how her mother always justified the secrecy of her species as a, necessary, tool to keep them all together before remembering something else.

"But, if that's true, then why are rumors spreading about a desire to lift that law? Who do you think would get benefited the most?"

Valeris gave this a thought, it was quite a mystery when did the rumors began, but she was very well aware that the queens under her jurisdiction were very open to the idea. But a rumor was a rumor and she would prefer to have a stronger reason to lift that law that it weren't the popular voices.

"I'm not sure, although they calmed down after Chrysalis' latest move, but we must be prepared. For the time comes where that debate will be made in the Collective's Palace, and the two chambers will have to legislate that law all over again."

Valeris then started to wonder just what was going to happen on this couple months, she was very afraid of this but she didn't know if this was a good idea overall. She didn't want to risk her hive, neither her heir losing the throne in whatever storm came from this mess started by both Chrysalis and Anidis. Although, there was something she needed to know, thinking of heirs.

"Fortis" -. Asked a worried Valeris. - "Who's in charge of your throne right now? I know your mother used to leave Manticoris in charge whenever we had to meet, but both her and your sister are gone so, who is in charge now that you're here and your hive is without a royal?"

Fortis looked at her with a curious expression and answered with a tone that only told Valeris how little worry she had at this moment.

"Well, Veritis, of course."

Valeris looked at Fortis with some worry but remained keeping her tone even.

"Your daughter? Look, I understand your line of thinking, after all, I also leave Princess Prisis in charge whenever I have to go but, please prove me wrong, your daughter, Veritis, never got training, right?"

Fortis then started to show shame on her face, reality being shown once again.

"No, she doesn't" -. Said a sad Fortis. - "Look, my mother had Manticoris planned to be the next queen of our hive Castleen, not me. So I never thought on training Veritis on the first place" -. Fortis then started to look at her with a look hoping to be understood. - "I understand your concern but, you know very well that I don't have drones I could trust in charge of the hive while I'm away. I'll train Veritis as soon as I can but this will have to do, besides, that doesn't change the subject right now, what are you planning right now?"

Valeris looked around, feeling cornered, but keeping her straight face, and tried to assure her position to Fortis.

"Trust me on this, I know what I'm doing. Let me lead the conversation and nothing wrong will happen."

In that moment the doors opened and a very confident Queen Diamantis came out by shouting the sentence that Valeris was quite fearful of hearing.

The two queens quickly decided to move forward so this could be over as fast as possible, with Fortis trying to keep the little queen under her protection feeling as safe with her as possible.

"Ah, thank you Diamantis, it makes me glad that you've done the proper preparations for this sudden meeting. Please do take us my little one."

Valeris, meanwhile, decided to move closer to her ears and whispered her own version of what could put her at ease.

"Do not worry, Queen Diamantis, I'll give my best to make sure you keep your hive."

Diamantis then smiled, feeling a warmth going through her knowing that the queen protecting her wasn't going to abandon her and that Queen Valeris was going to help her out before starting to move right away into the meeting room.

As they started to move, Valeris took her time to think on just how hard were going to get things from here on out. Not only on having to face the other queens in the two chambers (Faustis will be dancing for months once she figures this out) but also on trying to make sure the Equestrians doesn't make this any harder for her and that isn't even counting the hardships Diamantis will have to face to create a hive that could be recognized by the other queens.

When they got into the meeting room, a very secluded room very far away from spying eyes and ears, Fortis, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna entered while Valeris decided to whisper something into Diamantis's ears.

"Those tears you displayed back then at the princesses were quite good, for a moment, I thought they were real" -. Diamantis froze for a brief moment before responding in a equally calmed, although stuttering, tone. - "Yeah... thanks Queen Valeris... just to show you how good I am at acting, ha... ha... ha..."

And with that said, the doors closed, Valeris sit besides Fortis and the meeting begun.

As the four royal figures were looking at each other, none of them too sure of who should even start it. Eventually, Princess Celestia decided to start the conversation.

"Well... since nobody seems eager to begin, I shall have the honor of it. My name is Princess Celestia, Ruler of the Sun and one of the royals in charge of Equestria, glad to meet you."

This was then followed by Princess Luna.

"My name is Princess Luna, Ruler of the Moon and the other royal in charge of Equestria, I would add that I'm glad to meet you but, after the invasion on Canterlot and the foalnappings in Ponyville, I would rather want to settle this once and for all."

The two changeling queens looked at each other, Valeris unmoving by Luna's remarks, and decided to follow suit, starting by Queen Fortis, who decided to speak on a kind tone.

"Greetings everybody, I am Queen Fortis, Queen of Hive Castleen and I'm also known as The Manticore of the Plains, I am pleased to meet you and I hope we can finally solve our differences, so both Changelings and Equestrians can have a better coexistence."

Valeris looked at her fellow queen and wondered if that last part was because she figured out her intentions, or, it was her personal agenda, regardless of what Valeris planned to do here...? Regardless of that, she had to give her part.

"I am Queen Valeris, Queen of Hive Hidroxia and I also bear the title of The Unifier and I came here first and foremost to apologize for Queen Diamantis' most recent acts, considering that what she did wasn't planned to be like this."

The two princesses looked at each other before Luna decided to intervene.

"What do you mean by 'not planned to be like this'?"

Valeris decided to quickly answer them just so they could cut down to the chase.

"You see, although Changelings can take ponies and transform them into changelings, we have certain protocols to make sure that it doesn't affect the equestrian society and, sadly, Queen Diamantis didn't follow them."

She was then quickly cut down by Fortis, who was looking at her with a reprehensible tone.

Valeris decided to not say anything about it, after all, it was true, and preferred to remain focused on the most important matter at hand: Diamantis and her future hive. All she would have to do was waiting for the equestrian princesses to make her another question.

"So" -, asked Luna, - "if she doesn't have the proper training, why she was sent to Ponyville?"

Fortis decided to take the lead here, which was a given considering this was a minor queen under her jurisdiction.

"Well, Princess Luna, the problem is that something came up in Queen Diamantis' hive and she was forced to be separated from her mother. We pointed her out to Ponyville in the hopes that, while she was creating her hive, we would have the time to fix her mother's problem."

The two princesses looked at each other and wondered if there was something they could do about it, feeling reflected in Princess Celestia's next question.

"Well, Queen Fortis, if there's a problem with her, then I'm sure it's nothing Equestria couldn't help solving so the two royals could be together, right?"

Fortis looked at Valeris, who was quickly trying to ignore the images of Anidis moving her swords towards the Equestrian Princesses coming to her mind, and more on finding a proper answer to the princesses offer; which came in a way that would answer everything and nothing at the same time.

"The situation regarding Diamantis's royal conditions are in a complex situation, that, required for us to point her into a direction good enough to fix her needs while Fortis, the other queens and I could solve the problems that separated her from her mother."

Princess Luna looked at Valeris with a certain desire to know more and tried to dive more into the changeling issues by bringing up one that affected the ponies in Canterlot.

"Does this have anything to do with Queen Chrysalis and her invasion on Canterlot a few weeks ago?"

Both Fortis and Valeris looked at each other for a split second before, on a silent agreement, Valeris took the iniciative to answer.

"No, while Chrysalis was influential on her situation, I assure you, what happened in Canterlot wasn't the main reason why Diamantis was separated from her mother. Granted, what Chrysalis did was reprehensible and has been dealt with as of now."

"Well" -, said the princess of the sun, - "That's something that brings soothe to our ears but we would like to know more details about it. In example, what were your involvement on all of this and what was done to Chrysalis for her invasion."

Once again, Valeris was the one responding, much to Fortis's chagrin, who wanted to have more involvement on this.

"While our involvement in all of this is confidential, I will say that a changeling tradition is to not show ourselves to equestrian society, for that's been traditionally seen as dangerous for our society. Suffice to say that Chrysalis broke something considered sacred among us and we decided to respond with all the punishment law allowed us to bring upon her."

Both Luna and Celestia were frowning, perhaps for the lack of knowledge on Chrysalis' punishment but to inform them more could risk entering into breaking the law. Thankfully, it was Fortis who decided to continue with the conversation, with a few hints of worry and sorry on her face.

The two princesses looked at each other before Luna asked.

"She wrote them? As, she banned changelings of revealing themselves?"

Fortis started to put a nervous face and looked at Valeris, who then nodded and prompted her to continue.

"Well, not as in 'the original writer'. That was originally set as a tradition whose origins was lost to time, although changelings has historically only known suffering from revealing themselves to ponies and other species. What I tried to mean is that Valeris decided to make it an official law more than anything, with the other queens ratifying it on a national level."

Valeris could look at their face and she could tell (most from Luna than Celestia) how the Laws were making it very hard for them to figure out more from them, and it was here that she saw what she was looking for, a chance to remove that law that wasn't for rumors or popular demand and she was going to take it.

"Well, to be honest" -. Said Valeris as she was eyeing Fortis as if she was searching for a confirmation on this. - "While it was made into a law, in the last couple years, there's been a debate regarding if we should keep ourselves secluded from Equestrian society" -. As she said this, Fortis started to show curiosity on her face, wondering where she was going on with this. - "The problem is that there's never been an actual reason to reveal ourselves, in fact, many started to go more in favor of isolation after Chrysalis's latest move. More out of fear of how would you react to us than for a desire to keep us isolated. But, should there be a reason that could potentially help the case in favor of being open, things could still improve. That is, if you know of some changeling that could be of use for the cause and be evidence that both ponies and changelings can coexist together."

The princesses' eyes started to wide as they realized what she was going for, with Celestia showing the most anger at what Valeris implied.

"Absolutely not!" - She said as she was raising her voice a bit too high. - "We will not allow our ponies to be transformed just so a political agenda could be pushed. They're innocent ponies, not pawns."

Luna then continued, with the same tone of voice being used by her, almost deafening to say the least.

Valeris kept her stone face, although she was feeling quite confident as of now, for it was the perfect opportunity to bring her ace on this negotiation, one that would topple the princesses' confidence in their respective positions.

"Understandable to be on that position and I would respect it completely for that matter, but we have a problem. You see, when your ponies were introduced into the transforming wax, the time spent in there was too much for their bodies and now they're being transformed into changelings as we're speaking."

Both princesses and Fortis stood there in shock as that information started to be assimilated into them. Celestia decided to continue but her tone of voice said more than Valeris needed to know, she was very close to feel resignation.

Valeris decided to bring up a story she was very well aware about that happened in her hive, a memory that brought her, only, sadness but one that would serve to prove her point regarding all those ponies' current condition, even though she wouldn't bring up the complete story.

Celestia's eyes were all Valeris needed to know to see how right she was, those ponies were now transforming, and that condition was going to create a mess that it was better to settle once and for all, before it could get out of control, although that didn't stop the princess of the night from making some questions.

"And what happened to the pony? If it was going to be transformed, then that means the pony in question was going to be living as both species, so what did you do?"

Valeris tried to gather up strength at the painful memory, and, answered in the coldest tone she could gather just to not show any type of emotions.

"I killed it."

Now, all Valeris needed was to make sure that this conversation was going on her direction and, thankfully, Luna was doing exactly that.

"So, you're saying that they have to either accept being part of Diamantis or they will be murdered? That's unconscionable!"

Valeris for the first time in all the conversation decided to smile as she was now going to deliver her deal to the princesses.

"I think you misunderstood me, Princess Luna. You see, there's no law for the ones in their situation and, unlike the other pony, this is a quite nice moment to discuss their legal status with the other queens as we try to figure out how their transformation develops. I had no other choice last time, but now something can be done and I think that the best they can live off now, as their diet will require love to certain levels, is as part of Diamantis' hive. She already picked them up, she can protect them from any other queen trying to take them and, should she be unable to stop them, then your ponies also have the protection of Fortis, who is the queen in charge of Diamantis."

Fortis nodded as Valeris said this, silently confirming to the alicorns, much to Valeris' gratitude, of how willing she was to to defend the equestrians that were taken by Diamantis. Valeris, meanwhile, continued talking.

The princesses looked at each other with wonder, probably speculating about whether this was or not Valeris' plan all along. The ponies were turning into changelings, this was going to cause an uproar on Equestria one way or another, under the protection of Diamantis, those ponies wouldn't suffer any type of damage from any of their respective species and, to make it all the better, they would have a much larger influence in Equestrian politics than the other queens ever desired to have.

Then Celestia decided to bring up a determined face and questioned Valeris a bit more.

"And all of that at the price of losing their identity at a slow pace and you two having some level of influence in Equestrian politics?"

Fortis looked as if she wasn't aware of any of this while Valeris kept her smile.

A scream then started filling their ears with dread as the queens felt that something wrong was just said, a feeling that was then followed by the four royals trying to find where the actual scream was coming from, for they thought the room was secluded enough so no sound could be heard.

Regardless, that didn't stop Princess Celestia from responding to Valeris.

"Alright, but some conditions must be held for my ponies" -. Valeris then started to look at Celestia with a questioning look, apparently she has decided to get a good piece out of this deal as well.- "First, they must choose if they want to belong to that hive, no foreign pressure."

Valeris looked at Fortis and quickly answered without asking for her opinion on that matter.

"Sounds reasonable, sure."

Fortis started to look at Valeris with an angry look as she tried to get her attention. Meanwhile, Princess Celestia continued on explaining her part of the deal.

Valeris kept her smile, that cure would have fixed so many problems for her twenty years ago. Whether Twilight finds it or not, by this point, it was irrelevant for her. Still, Valeris had nothing to fear from that investigation.

"Understandable, I think the two of our especies would greatly benefit from this research, so go ahead."

By this point Fortis was openly trying to interrupt her fellow queen.

"Valeris..."

Valeris was well aware of why Fortis was getting angry at his part of the deal but she needed to be sure that no interruption or prolonging of this continued, so she allowed Celestia to continue on her conditions.

"Third, if Twilight finds out something about your especies, she and her friends must be allowed to tell me so I can tell if whether or not this was a good idea to begin with."

This was a dangerous one, but Valeris was quite well versed to make sure that Celestia wouldn't pressure on revealing changeling secrets before they were allowed to tell them.

"Negotiable, considering your getting close to ask us to break our laws and traditions, whatever information you get must be kept to yourself and/or your sister, until the time comes when we manage to let loose the flow of changeling information. Otherwise, you'll be putting at risk not only Diamantis but also Twilight's life should she reveal something that shouldn't be revealed."

Valeris was very sure that the Princess of the Sun would never risk the life of her faithful student, and the changeling intelligence would ensure that the treat was very real, so she was well aware of what Celestia's answer would be.

"Deal."

With that point made, now it looked like the other two royals (Princess Luna and Queen Fortis respectively) were now wondering what were they thinking with a deal like this.

Fortis looked at Celestia for quite a while, this wasn't a simple request and it looked like Fortis was also aware of this, since she was eagerly trying to have Valeris's attention.

"Valeris, look, I think we need to talk about-"

In that moment, Valeris sent a very menacing look at Fortis, she understood why she wanted to intervene but she needed to focus here, one wrong step and all of this would collapse. As Fortis' frightened response made Valeris a bit sad, she would make sure to apologize later after the meeting, now she needed to make her response.

"That will have to be discussed and ratified with the other queens, for I only control one hive and protect other four. As long as the events happen under my jurisdiction, I will try my best to fix said problem. At the same time, I think it would be fair to demand the same for you. I don't want any innocent changelings being accused under false charges neither being attacked just because of them being a changeling, and that's a responsibility falling completely under you and your sister, does that sound fair?"

Celestia's stern look told Valeris just how much of a threat Princess Celestia was taking her to be but that wasn't anything new to the blue queen, there were already too many queens and changelings that hated her. Which is why Princess Celestia's response made her very happy.

"Deal."

"Now, before we leave, there's one last thing I would like to know."

Celestia's serious tone made the two queens curious as they looked at each other as Valeris would make the question.

"What would that be?"

Celestia decided to make the question here and then.

"Is there a queen located in Canterlot? I would like to know if there's one and who's in charge of that."

For a brief moment, the two queens looked worried at each other for this was the exact reason why no queen now wanted to hold Canterlot, all except for one, Valeris, who was well aware of when to take an opportunity when it was being given to her.

"Well, after Chrysalis was taken out of Canterlot, there have been no queens in Canterlot and, regarding who's in charge... that's something that will have to be settled soon" -. She then looked at Fortis. - "The situation with Canterlot isn't something so easy to discuss, right Fortis?"

Fortis looked at Celestia and Valeris for a while before responding despondent.

"Yes, it's something that has to be discussed."

Once that was settled, a very happy Valeris and Fortis rose from their seats and moved to the door, but not before stopping and taking a close look at the wall. Valeris kept looking at it for a while before noticing small holes in the wall, quickly understanding what was that scream they heard not too long ago.

"Well" -, said Fortis in a low voice, - "she may not have the royal training but she certainly is a Changeling."

And, with that said, they left the room and by being greeted by a changeling queen and five mares looking at them with fear while the sixth mare was knocked down, now even clearer as of who was the one who screamed just a few moments ago.

"Queen Diamantis" -. Called a very serious Queen Valeris. - "I need you to come with me and Queen Fortis to discuss our next steps on this plan."

Queen Diamantis just nodded and followed her along Queen Fortis to a secluded point so they could have a proper discussion about what have just happened.

Once they were far away enough from the ponies, Valeris started the conversation.

"Alright, I would like to first apologize Fortis for my rash behavior, but I needed to pressure the Equestrians into accepting this deal before they realized they could ask for a better one" -. She then looked at Diamantis and quickly told her. - "I know you were spying on us, so I hope I don't have to explain you why are you getting a new hive."

Diamantis only nodded and decided to stay shut during the conversation.

"Now, with that said, I think it's time to search for more drones for our little queen and, since you cannot take more ponies, you'll have to ask for drones from other queens" -. A chill went down Valeris' spine as one queen in particular came to her mind. - "And that means that you'll have to do double duty. You both have to prepare the Hive by passing through the proper regulations and you'll have to go to other hives to ask for the remaining drones you need to be legally recognized, understood?"

Diamantis nodded and before she could even ask for a direction, Fortis added up.

"Since my coronation is close ahead, I recommend you to come to it first so we can make the formal preparations to be under my protection and we can decide how many drones you'll get from me. You only have to wait for the invitation to come and don't forget to bring the equestrians, it will be the best sign that they are part of your hive. Understood?"

Diamantis nodded, with a certain gleam coming up on her eyes as Valeris finished.

"Now go to the room we found you in and wait for us as we prepare ourselves to inform the ponies of their most recent fate."

Diamantis then left and made the two changeling queens looking at each other with extreme worry.

"Are you thinking the same as I do?" - Asked Valeris to her fellow Queen at which she responded. - "regarding the queens she will have to go to ask for drones? Yes" -. At which they both said unanimously. - "Cerebelis will crush her."

A paper then materialized in front of Queen Valeris, at which she decided to give it a good eye as Fortis decided to ask away from a few doubts.

"You know, I never heard about that pony turned changeling, when exactly did that happened?"

Valeris looked at Fortis with certain doubt before answering.

"Not too long before I was crowned queen, its one of my best kept secrets and I would rather keep it that way, after all" -, she then looked at Fortis with a knowing look, - "we all have secrets, right?"

Fortis gave this a thought before nodding and letting the subject go and now wondering what did the document said.

"This is a document that details a few things I wanted to have gathered up before the meetings in the Collective's Palace begun now that the vacations are about to be over" -. Said Valeris. - "The first one is a list of the queens in the Minor Chamber that voted in favor of that awful resolution" -. She then showed it to Fortis as she was smiling. - "And it looks like none of my queens voted in favor of it, take a look at it."

Fortis gave it a look and noticed how, unlike Valeris, some of the hives under her protection did vote in favor of the resolution, which made her feel sad as Valeris took the document for herself again.

"The other document is a letter from Anidis, asking to pass through the proper regulations so her hive could be recognized as part of the Changeling Union, once she pays the proper fines for her invasion to Zirconis' hive."

Fortis gave her a questioning look before asking the obvious question.

"Do you think we should allow her?"

Valeris gave this a though before responding properly.

"The other option is going to war and none of us are ready for that, so I think we'll have to bring her in should she pass the test."

She then looked at the last piece of her document and smiled as she passed again to Fortis and explained.

"This last one is the harvest of both Cerebelis and my work for the last couple years" -. She said proudly. - "This is the certain proof that Queen Faustis was using her business to make deals with the black markets and I recommend you looking at the last paragraph in there, Fortis."

As she complied, Fortis took a brief look at the document before raising her eyes in shock and started to look at Valeris as if she just made the discovery of the century.

"With this piece of document... we finally..." - she stuttered as she tried to make the words that Valeris gladly finished up for her. - "It means we finally have a connection between Queen Faustis and the CAHL, this is the beginning of their fall."

And she wouldn't be wrong about it although not in that exact order. The rise of Queen Luxis, the fall of Queen Faustis, the fights against the CAHL and the Great Council of the Queens. All of this events would be what would soon change the fate of the world in a way never before seen.

A Pressuring Meeting

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Hours has passed. The morning, now gracing the kingdom of Equestria with a soothing warm, holding the secret of what happened just a few hours ago, with the meeting between the the leaders of Equestria and the two monarchical representatives of the Changeling world, regarding the foalnapped ponies of Ponyville and them turning into part of the changeling hive belonging to Queen Diamantis. It was quite a taxing meeting for the two sides of the negotiating table but, much to their chagrin, it was just one part of the whole negotiation, they still needed to inform this to the rest of their respective countries and that was a conference that none of the monarchs were eager to do.

This conference, unlike the previous one, was set up by a very hesitant Princess Celestia who wasn't very eager to meet the journalist. Not because she didn't want to explain as much as possible to her ponies what happened to the citizens of Ponyville, but rather, because she knew that they weren't going to be very accepting of the settlement done with the changeling queens. Surprisingly though, when it came to them entering into the meeting, only one accepted to be part of this meeting and receive the questions from the press, that one being Queen Valeris, while the other two decided to look in the distance the encounter with their reasoning being kept between them.

It was taken for granted that Princess Celestia would have preferred that at least Diamantis was there to face the press, considering that she was the one taking care her little ponies but, alas, Valeris was the Queen that took the ride while alleging responsibility on this act. Although, to be fair, Luna also had to leave her to star preparing everything in Canterlot ahead of time from what she was about to do in a few minutes.

In the end, though, while Celestia was waiting for the journalist to gather up on Ponyville's Town Hall, where both her and the elements were waiting for the meeting to be done, she decided to discuss a little bit more with Twilight regarding what was about to happen, and if both her and her friends were ready for the challenge coming up ahead.

"Dear elements" -, she begun, - "it makes me glad to know how you are here with me even though this isn't something you should be facing on your daily lives" -. She then looked at her cursed student. - "I hope you're ready for the challenge coming to you, my faithful student."

"Princess Celestia" -. Responded Twilight, wearing a mask that spoke confidence but was actually hiding her internal fears at what she was going to do from this day onward. - "I know that the task you gave us is a tough one, but you can rest assured that we're ready for any type of question that the journalist may try to make us."

Meanwhile, her friends were sitting besides her for moral support on this meeting, since they agreed to let Twilight make the talking should they get any questions from the journalist. They were all afraid, just like Twilight, but they all knew that as long as they were together, nothing would stop them from defeating this new challenge.

Celestia smiled and looked at the streets of Ponyville, noticing how more and more journalist were gathering up in front of Ponyville's Town Hall, with her Royal Guard trying to keep them along the citizenship under control behind the line. The meeting with the press was soon to begin and the equestrians were more than ready for it, but there was a certain Changeling Queen that hasn't appeared yet that Celestia was waiting for this particular meeting. The fact that Valeris hadn't appeared yet was something that made her wonder if she was going to even be here. Regardless, while it would be highly disappointing for her to not be there, it didn't change of how prideful Celestia felt with Twilight and her determination to help Equestria.

"Thank you, my faithful student for putting so much of yourself on this along your friends, now all we need to see is when will our foreign friend finally appear for this meeting."

As the ponies were looking around, Rarity decided to give her opinion on this:

"Pardon me, your majesty, but do you think she will actually appear as her real self or will she use a disguise? After all, she did say that there were some things that are supposed to be a secret, and I'm very sure that she would like to keep her identity as such."

"Wait" -, interrupted Rainbow Dash, - "why would she worry about being discovered? She is a queen! She's supposed to be among the strongest, right? Why to use a disguise when there's no one who would dare to question her?"

"Rainbow" -. Responded Twilight. - "Remember that some of their rules and living style are supposed to be a secret, I'm sure she doesn't want the other queens figuring out who was the one that broke the laws just so she doesn't have to fight them over."

As Twilight was close to finish talking, two ponies appeared through teleportation on the Town Hall where the meeting would be done in front of equestrians. Their identity was quite a mystery at first glance but, just by looking with detail at their appearance, they were letting very clear who they were. The first one was a tall and slender unicorn pony with a blue coat and blue sky mane and with a sailing ship as a cutie mark; she was being followed by a brown filly that Twilight remembered very well as Hidden Gem, the disguise used by Diamantis to make herself look like a pony, making the other pony in question Queen Valeris.

"Not quite wrong my Twilight" -. Said a very confident Queen Diamantis who was trying to hide her nerves, but failed at it, while Queen Valeris looked as if this was just another day in her life. - "You see, by law, were not supposed to be discovered, so the best we can do to go around is by using this disguises while meeting the press."

In that moment Applejack took a better look at Diamantis and made her a simple question.

"Wait a minute, Ah' thought that only Queen Valeris here was gonna be the one talking to the press. What are you doing here?"

Diamantis kept her confidence and responded with the certainty common of those who weren't afraid of criticism.

"It was decided that I would do this as part of my training to become a queen, I will have to deal with journalist during the rest of my life, so I'll start right now by listening to them and while Queen Valeris will be the one answering the questions" -, she said while looking directly at the stoic mare, - "should a single one of them ask me a question, I will have to answer."

Diamantis smiled before moving to a position where she would be facing at the press while Valeris simply moved to Twilight and talked to her with a soft voice into her ears.

"It took a while but both Fortis and I agreed on her having to do this as quickly as possible. Since she can no longer search for ponies to fill up her hive, she'll now have to go to other queens and we all agreed that the best way to present herself to the rest of the world would be through the press" -. As those words entered into Twilight's skull, and gave her an insight of the extra layers that were being presented right in front of her, Valeris added a few extra words to make sure that Twilight would understand well how important this meeting was, as of now, for both the changelings, Equestria and her. - "Remember that I'm telling you this just because of the position that Diamantis will give you, this can be considered a changeling secret, so careful with who do you share this information with."

And with that said, she left to her position, leaving Twilight wondering how she could share this information or if she better discuss it with her friends later. After all, Diamantis still needed to address the citizens she foalnapped and try to convince them to join her hive but, before she could dive more into it, Celestia moved to the center of the meeting hall and decided to open the meeting with the journalist.

As she got into the center, the journalistic ponies stopped talking among each other and started to use their magic to write as many notes as they could of the meeting, including each sentence made by Princess Celestia.

"Greetings" -. She said with a complete confidence as all the ponies were starting to pay her more and more attention. - "I, Princess Celestia, welcome and I appreciate you here, in Ponyville, to this conference where we are about to reveal information about the most recent events that transpired on this town."

This got the journalist interested, their eyes and ears started to take a better look at the elements of harmony and the other two unicorns in the Town Hall, Celestia was sure that this wasn't going to be easy, but, she still decided to try her best into delivering the information that, she was sure, wouldn't cause any problem whatsoever for any side doing the agreement.

"But" -. She clarified -. "Before we start, I want to let very clear that any question will only be answered after we've finished talking. Only once our pieces are done, will you then be allowed to ask whatever type of question comes to your mind, is that alright for you?"

The journalist looked at each other before nodding and allowing Celestia to continue her speech.

"As you may be aware, about three weeks ago, 30 civilians in Ponyville were foalnapped, leaving various families alone and worried about their loved ones" -. She paused and gave a look at the elements of Harmony and the various ponies that were looking at her with sorrow in their eyes. - "As you may be aware, among those civilians foalnapped were the Elements of Harmony, better known as the farmer Applejack, the seamstress Rarity, the caretaker Fluttershy, the weather worker Rainbow Dash, the party planner Pinkie Pie and the librarian Twilight Sparkle and, as you may see right now, they are right besides me."

The media quickly started to take pictures of them and the other ponies started to get hopeful looks at the possibility of having their loved ones with them very soon, all they needed was the Princess' confirmation.

"As you may be guessing right now, yes, we've found them and that's the reason why we decided to make this conference with you. So you can know the details of the investigation" -. All the ponies started to mumble and many more were trying to get to talk to their princess but Celestia moved her hoof upward and downward to calm them down and proceded. - "At the start all we had were the testimonies of the ponies who were there when the disappearance happened but once we managed to get a lead, we found warranted the location where the ponies were being held and we know that many of you were flying many speculations and theories about and regarding who were behind this and why so now I'm going to dispel them all."

The journalist started to get closer to Celestia, with their pens less than an inch away from their notes, as they prepared to take the one note that would give them the front page in their dairies.

"We can confirm now that this was done by a changeling."

The ponies quickly went into frenzy as they started to take note or fall into panic as they were wondering how long it would be before they were taken away now.

For Celestia, seeing her little ponies entering in such a state was something she wanted to avoid but knew there was no other choice, sadly, she wasn't done yet, she had to finish giving the information.

Meanwhile, Twilight Sparkle was seeing Spike on the background, his face happy to see her but still filled with worry over where her surrogate mother and best friend was being captive all this time. Twilight felt a punch going through her stomach as she realized how all of this was going to affect Spike. Was she able to tell him? Would he be allowed to live on the hive with her and Diamantis? What could she do if Diamantis decided to deny him the right to be with Twilight herself?

This and more where the questions going through, not only Twilight's mind, but also through Applejack's, Rarity's, Rainbow Dash's, Fluttershy's and even Pinkie Pie's. The sole idea of leaving their families and loved ones was a scary thought and they were barely capable of keeping the facade to the media, after all, what was going to be of their lives now that they were now bound to a little queen that didn't even know what she was doing?

To even increase their fears, just a little glimpse at Diamantis made their fears getting worse, as she was making a very confident smile, but the sweat and nerves were just too obvious for them. What they were going to do now that a queen whose age was contemporary of the Cutie Mark Crusaders was now going to boss them around?

But their fears were then filled with wonder when they started to see at the other queen, Valeris, who was doing a good job to replicate Celestia's ability to keep a stoic face under such pressure. There she was, not showing any type of emotion and remaining still like a mountain. Just by looking at her, Twilight could only wonder what was she thinking about all of this, realization? Fear? Joy? She wasn't completely sure but she sure wanted to learn how to keep that calm under so much pressure.

"I know that many of you are now wondering and, no, this wasn't perpetrated by Chrysalis by any mean, this was perpetrated by a different changeling queen."

Now the journalist started to give different looks, some were looking at her with a face of fear, others with a face wonder and some were even looking perplexed, as if something in those lines weren't supposed to be said.

"This changeling queen" -. Continued Celestia. - "Committed what is considered a crime under Equestrian laws for reasons that will remain disclosed for the time being" -. Now the journalist were started to get curious, with some of them now starting to get a better look at the two unicorns besides the Elements of Harmony. Perhaps they were more than ponies? - "But suffice to say that, once we managed to make contact with the changeling queen, we managed to talk with her and the information she gave us created a new way of seeing the world."

It was here that something started to happen that went unnoticed to the equestrians and the newbie queen but not to Valeris, who was already used to this kind of conferences whenever she had to give them among ponies. Some of the journalist were now starting to give both her and Diamantis looks. But this weren't common looks, for the common Equestrian this would look like a simple journalist trying to figure them out, but Valeris knew that look very well, it was the look of scorn and hatred that one would give to a traitor while being disguised and she knew what it meant.

"They're here." - She thought.

They knew who they were and, Valeris was sure, if things weren't interesting before, they were about to get interesting very soon.

"And now, while we cannot give all the details, we assure you that a deal has been made with this queen along her acquaintances as a mean to make an experiment and see if changelings and equestrians can live together."

And it was here that all the ponies, both journalist and civilians went into rage and tried to get to Celestia to complain on a more personal level but the well trained Royal Guard, lead by General Shining Armor, managed to keep them all in line and ensure the safety of their princess, who preferred to wait until they were calmed before continuing with the conference.

Once they calmed down, Celestia decided to proceed with the questions and, much to her surprise, the first diary that asked was among the ones she expected the least as a pinkish mare raised her hoof.

"Clever Sight, from the magazine 'The Royalist'"

Rarity quickly wondered what was a gossip magazine of the life about the nobles' little secrets in Canterlot as she noticed the face of seriousness on the unicorn mare making the question.

"With the information you have provided, how sure you are that this changelings will keep their promise? Better yet, what kind of information they gave you that makes you feel confident that they will comply with this 'deal'?"

Both ponies and changelings noticed the hatred in her voice when she said the word 'deal', but, Celestia decided to respond with the same level of kindness she always gave to her little subjects.

"Again, that's classified information that cannot be given yet, the changelings have rules about secrecy and it's not in my position to talk about what was disclosed so far. You'll have to ask the changeling queens themselves" -. She then moved her hoof towards Diamantis and Valeris. - "For they are the ones more aware of what can and cannot be revealed."

The mare known as Clever Sight started to take notes as she then raised her hoof one last time and made a question that, while out of what was being discussed, it did fit the typical subjects from her magazine.

"Before I finish, is it true that you have a secret stash of chocolate sweets hidden somewhere in Canterlot Castle?"

Celestia gave her a frozen look before quickly moving on with the next journalist, never revealing secrets that were better kept hidden away from prying eyes. The next journalist, was a green pegasus stallion who looked very eager with this conference.

"Sky Foresight, from the news paper 'Political Animal'."

Celestia gave a nod to the journalist belonging to the same news media where Truth Voice worked and, later, will be murdered for doing his work of seeking for the truth.

"Do you think this deal will help Equestrian society to discover why some cities have rising crime rates lately? In other words, do you think there'll be any benefit from this new way you're trying to open up with them?"

Celestia gave a him a quick look before answering.

"Indeed, we've seen that changelings in our society may be more involved than we originally thought, so we expect that this will help not only to ease tensions among our species, but also to get more help to discover new ways to fight crime and insecurity in Equestria."

The pegasus quickly took notes before letting others to make questions of their own, with the next journalist being a red earth pony who wasn't very sure of what to take from any of this, although, Celestia found herself very interested from seeing him.

"Growing Life, from the 'World of Farming' magazine."

Applejack rose her eyebrows seeing that a magazine she usually read was here, after all, why would a magazine about farming be on a conference about disappeared ponies?

"Considering that the Element of Honesty, known as Applejack was among the foalnapped, how is this deal going to affect both her and the Apple's family business considering that, to my guess, this deal could affect the agrarian world?"

Celestia rose an eyebrow, not understanding what he meant but Applejack did, so she decided to move to the center podium and asked Celestia to answer this one.

"Ahm..." -. She started. - "Mah apologies feller, if Ah'm not wrong, yer asking about how the foalnap affected me and whether or not this will affect the Apples, right?"

The pony nodded.

"Well" -. She started. - "Ah can assure you that the Apples are still going to keep working as usual, Ah'm not the sole worker on the business and mah family is very capable of making business with anyone honest enough to help our land to produce goods the way it should."

The journalist took notes while, unbeknownst to them, Diamantis was paying extreme attention to what Applejack said. Not too long after that, another hoof rose and the lilac unicorn mare aimed her question to Twilight Sparkle.

"Relative Form, from 'The Alchemist'."

Just hearing that name made Twilight feel a mixed wave of anxiety and joy, one of the most prestigious magazines focused on the development of both magic and science was here and it was directing a question at her, she wasn't sure how to react at this.

"Considering that Changeling magic is a mystery in itself to pony society, do you think that this encounter will help you into discovering new ways of magic and, if so, do you think you could reveal it to the Arcane Community in the near future?"

Twilight started to shiver, the question she wanted to answer the most was now the question she could answer the least, just by looking at Valeris and Diamantis' faces, it was clear that they were testing her skills to hide information and, considering that she wasn't keen in putting her life at risk so quick after surviving a foalnap, she would now have to put to the test her skills to answer without answering.

"Well, it is true that changeling magic is a mystery to our society and it is true that part of the talks with this deal is regarding my capabilities to research it but how much of it will I be able to research or even reveal to the public it's still a subject to negotiate so I cannot reveal more about it."

The mare gave her a satisfied look and started to take notes while a red brown pegasus stallion got closer and made a question to Celestia.

"Special Sight from Los Pegasus Time, regarding the foalnap, on what conditions were found the foalnapped ponies? Are they fine? What information has been given to their families? Are they going to be affected for this kind of deal? Can we now be sure of no more ponies being foalnapped by changelings?"

Celestia took a breather with this one while also taking note that this was the first journalist actually asking about the foalnap itself rather than asking about its repercussions, something that really picked her interest and would later talk about with Luna once she could have a rest in Canterlot but, for now, she would clarify his concerns.

"The ponies were fine, healthy and with no signs of mental damage, their families have been informed and will be reunited once we've managed to get enough testimonies of their experience. Yes, they were part of the deal but, while we cannot reveal the details about it, we can assure that part of it is that no more foalnaps from Changelings to ponies will be held, which is why we cannot reveal more details about it, the deal it's still being ironed out."

All the journalist gave her quizzical looks before taking notes about it and, once they were done, Celestia decided to continue.

"Now, is there anypony else who would like to know more?" - In that moment, three hooves raised at the same time, much to Celestia's chagrin. - "Yes?"

The first one, a livid green pegasus moved to the first row.

"Objective Sight from the Baltimare Post and, before making my question I would like to be sure" -. He then aimed his hoof at the two unicorns that were actually Diamantis and Valeris in disguise before making his first question. "Are those Changeling queens? More specifically, are they related to the foalnaps?"

In that moment Celestia gave a quick look at both queens, hoping that they were ready for the storm coming to them at, something which she shouldn't be surprised about, while Valeris was looking as stoic as ever, Queen Diamantis was looking like a crumbling tower ready to collapse due to her nerves.

"Yes" -. Answered Celestia. - "They are some of the Changeling Queens that decided to make the deal with me in the hopes of fixing the problems between pony and changeling society."

Objective Sight then decided to start relating his questions at them.

"Is one of them the foalnapper in question?"

Celestia was starting to be weary, this was going to the territory that would make many nobles who disliked her very happy.

"Part of the deal was that changeling secrecy would be kept and we fear that revealing the identity of the foalnapper would endanger this opportunity to ease our differences but, fear not, this isn't a subject that we're planning to let go unrepaired."

The ponies started to take note of it, anger being quite noticeable in their faces, much to Celestia's sadness.

Objective Sight then made the question that created a new series of floodgates.

"Can I ask the changeling Queens?"

Celestia nodded, after all, they were there to answer questions that were directed at them, which then led Objective Sight to look at the queens and started to question them, starting with Diamantis.

"My first question goes to the little one" -. He said as Diamantis looked more nervous than Twilight ever could. - "What is your relationship with any of this? Why are you here being disguised and not showing your true identity?"

Diamantis gave a deep sigh before getting to the podium and started to answer with her puberty voice that couldn't hide her nerves.

"While I cannot reveal my relationship with any of this, I can inform that, to avoid revealing my identity to the changelings in Equestria, it was decided to hide my true identity so I cannot be traced back to my hive."

Objective Sight then took a look at his note and made one last question for her.

"Are there other queens? If so, what is their opinion on all of this?"

Diamantis then started to show signs of anxiety again, to the point that she was about to hyper ventilate when, to her joy, Valeris got closer to her and answered for her.

"Do not worry, I will handle this myself."

Valeris then got into the podium as Diamantis moved back to were she was, making Twilight wonder if that panic attack was real or an invention. Meanwhile, Valeris looked at Objective Sight and gave him an inquisitorial smile.

"I can answer that question for her, to which I say, yes, there are other queens besides myself and her but I cannot inform you of their opinion on this matter; it would be revealing information that would mean the breach of the current deal with the solar monarch and her lunar sister."

After seeing just how calmed and sure she looked, Objective Sight knew that he would get as many answers from this queen as from Princess Celestia, which lead him to not make anymore questions on the time being. This, in turn, meant that the other two journalist were now able to make their respective questions, with the next journalist being an electric blue unicorn.

He gave an air of professionalism that was unlike anything they have ever seen, he didn't look judgmental neither looked at anyone with hatred (although he still looked very angry) while he was using his horn to hold his materials, he was still capable of taking notes from all the things he was looking at, poses, faces, positions of objects and was even taking notes of the journalist themselves. His attire wasn't like the common clothes that books and pictures often gave to journalist in Equestria but his clean dark clothes and clean shaved still gave an image that was very much saying what his job was and what he was aiming for.

When Celestia, Twilight, Rarity and the other ponies looked at him, they thought for a moment that he belonged to a respected news media like The Canterlot Times, The Filantropist, The Morning Thinker or even The Avenue Wall Journal, which made them very eager to know who he was and where did he worked at.

"Hidden Truth, from the Bipolar Hedgehog."

Hearing that sent shock to the ponies and some journalist were even laughing either due to incredulity or shock.

"What is a journalist from that garbage fake news site doing here?" - Asked a black pony as he was trying to understand what he was looking at. - "Are you here because nopony else laughs at the dumb articles you write?"

And as some ponies were starting to laugh at them, Celestia quickly tried to calm them down while Valeris was now listening to a small conversation being done by the Elements.

"Twilight" -. Asked the brashly yet confused Rainbow Dash. - "Isn't the Bipolar Hedgehog a parody news paper designed to make us laugh?"

Twilight gave it a thought before answering, knowing fully well where was Rainbow going with this.

"Yes, Rainbow, it is and I too find it strange to see it here."

"Not only that dear" -. Continued Rarity with her posh accent. - "It's quite vexing to see how many of these journalist making questions come from places that, normally, don't dive into this kind of situations."

"Yeah" -. Continued Twilight. - "It's very strange to see journalist from places that shouldn't be focusing on this kind of situation" -. She then looked at the journalist and noticed a pattern. - "Not only that but look at them, some of them doesn't even look interested on the fact that we were foalnapped, they were mostly asking questions about the deal which, as understandable as it was, doesn't change the fact that it isn't normal their lack of interest on the Elements of Harmony being captured by changelings."

Valeris couldn't stop herself from making a small smile as she gave their words a thought.

"They're noticing it."

But, she was aware that, if the Elements noticed it, then the others would, so she decided to continue with this conversation with a voice that, as calmed as it was, it sent shivers to many ponies in there and made them shut up.

"It looks like the Equestrians have a problem with respecting other journalist, I see" -. She then gave a sly smile to Celestia before continuing. - "I wasn't expecting Elitism to be a thing in your kingdom Celestia, at least not outside of the nobles. I suppose the ponies aren't as perfect as they like to make us believe, unless you actually have no problem with letting a fellow journalist, even if from a, quote on quote, 'fake news' media to make questions. After all, it's still a form of journalism."

After hearing those words, Celestia couldn't stop from making a light blush as the other ponies were now looking at the floor with shame while Hidden Truth decided to finally make his questions without giving a single sign of caring about the most recent attempt of humiliation he was subjected to.

"Can we expect that other queens will join to this deal, considering that, as far as we know, it was made by just two of you?"

Valeris gave it a thought before looking at the journalist with a delightful smile.

"Yes, you can, this is the kind of deal that can bring a much positive influence for our society, but we must first speak with them to see how willing they are to join."

He took notes before making his next question.

"Considering that, so far, this deal must be kept in secret and that it was done by a couple of queens out of who knows how many; how high are the possibilities that what you're doing could be considered treason to your species?"

Both Celestia and Twilight were shocked at how direct was Hidden Truth being, no journalist would ever dare to say something like that to Celestia, even less to a potential enemy. They then looked at Valeris who, surprisingly, didn't look as if she even cared about the accusation being made to her.

"While the term 'treason' can be a bit harsh; I suppose, I should clarify a few details as long as I don't break the secrecy of the deal. While it is true that this deal was made unilaterally, I will clarify that the choices were between this or a potential war between our species, since Chrysalis' attempt against Canterlot made it really hard for us to be between ponies... but for me to be considered a traitor... I would rather let the other queens make the decision when that moment comes, thank you. Any other question?"

Hidden Truth decided to take some more looks at his notes before giving a negative and going back with the other journalist who were taking notes so fast that it looked like they were to create fire from the friction.

Then the last journalist came, a gray earth pony stallion that oozed with confidence and looked just as professional as Hidden Truth.

"Special Language, from the Canterlot Times."

As he said this, Valeris couldn't stop her face from giving a frown as her mind recoiled at the name of that news paper.

"Great, those journalist."

She nodded as the stallion talked to her on a very demanding tone, almost insulting, and made his question.

"Is there any chance you could give us any hint of what is your name or how you look?"

Celestia felt shame at seeing one of her ponies making such a dangerous question and, much to her fear, saw that it did exactly what she wanted to avoid. Valeris moved up from the podium and started to get closer to the pony in question, always trying to avoid showing her limping leg, faking it so well that it would require a very insightful pony to notice it and that was only in the case it knew what to look for.

As she got face to face with the pony, she started to speak to him on a very calm tone while giving him a look that said just how much despise she was giving him, something that wasn't worrying the stallion in any way.

"If you think that I will give you my identity just like that, you must be very aware of what that entails but, just to give you a sense of satisfaction, I will give you a hint that, hopefully, will make you understand who are you talking to."

None of the ponies were able to look at what she did, for she was so close in her face to face with Special Language that it was impossible to discern what kind of face she was making but, when she started to move back to Celestia, much to the worry of many, Special Language started to get pale.

His coat started to get so pale that it would fool anypony who hadn't see him just recently and would think that white was his natural color. His body started to sweat heavily and his legs were shaking so much that he was unable to remain standing, much to the worry of the ponies in the place.

Clever Sight went beside him and asked him what did he saw, at which he only moved his lips close to her ear and whispered something, something that made her pale as well but not to the point of losing her standing but yes to rapidly run away from the place, alleging having all the notes she needed.

While Celestia was now trying to keep all her ponies calmed, while mentally cursing for Valeris making everything harder for her, Twilight couldn't just stop herself from wondering what did she just saw. Was Valeris that imposing that she didn't even need to show her real form to let clear who she was or was there something else she didn't notice?

Meanwhile, on a close restaurant near the Town Hall, an eccentric looking orange earth pony was looking at the press conference from a distance with a slight delight as she murmured to herself.

"I'm so glad of not being there right now" -. She then noticed a red stallion running past her as if he was running for his dear life, making her chuckle. - "The media is going to eat her alive, I only hope Luxis and Cerebelis don't take this too badly."

She then payed for her little meal of eggs and a chocolate strawberry cake and decided to move along to the Ponyville Library.

"Well, time to get moving, Diamantis still needs to talk to her new subjects and that's something that I should be monitoring, not Valeris. After all, it's my responsibility."

At the next day, after Diamantis made her talk with her subjects and convinced them of joining her, Twilight was still trying to understand all the ramifications of what she said to her and what it entailed.

"Well, I have to admit, I understand why would Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow, Pinkie Pie or even Fluttershy would react like that. I mean, yeah, it's a good deal but I don't think we should be fighting over it considering that only one of us will be enjoying it."

She then passed through the news sellers and noticed how many of the news papers were talking about Celestia's press conference but there was one in particular that picked her interest.

She moved her eyes searching for the Bipolar Hedgehog, wondering what kind of news it would be talking about considering the questions it made, but she felt disappointment when she saw the front page's title.

CHANGELING QUEEN REVEALS THAT CHANGELINGS
LIKE TO DISGUISE THEMSELVES BETWEEN PONIES

Twilight kept looking at the front page, holding an image of Queen Valeris on her pony form while the article spoke about how redundant the conference was regarding finding more news about changelings, which made Twilight feel like a fool for over thinking on the possibility of his event changing what she understood about news media.

She then blinked.

What Twilight saw then left her in shock, the title was different, the diary's name was different, even the picture was different but, before Twilight could even comprehend what she was looking at, she blinked again and everything was gone. All she could see was the front page of The Bipolar Hedgehog making jokes about a queen speaking about redundancies.

She took a deep breath, trying to assimilate what she just saw, looked at the clerk and simply said.

"I want one copy of The Bipolar Hedgehog, The Alchemist, The Baltimare Post, Los Pegasus Times, The Canterlot Times and The Royalist please."

Interlude: The New Queen Meeting Her New Drones

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As the hours were passing by in the Ponyville Town Hall, all Twilight could feel was a extreme desire of waking up and feel that all of this was just a dream but she had to face reality: she was now transforming into a changeling, and she was now helping Princess Celestia in figuring out intelligence, to defend Equestria from the changeling queens that posed a threat to her nation.

It was hard to think about, but she was willing to put aside her nerves and fears to stay on track, and that was why she was waiting for Diamantis, inside the Town Hall, just a couple of hours after the press Conference between the monarchs and the press. With all the ponies being turned into changelings also waiting for her to, finally, know what was Diamantis planning to do with all of them.

"So..."

Twilight turned down and saw Spike finally gaining enough courage to talk after that little show Valeris did with the journalist.

"What do you think Valeris did to that journalist so it could get so scared and why do you think it got so scared?"

Twilight gave it a thought, it was a strange sight indeed, whatever Valeris did to that pony asking for a hint of her identity, it was a good enough hint to scare him but it only left a lot of questions for her.

"I honestly don't know Spike. On one hoof, it could be that he thought it was Chrysalis but it makes no sense because there is nothing on Queen Valeris's appearance that resembles Chrysalis; on the other hoof, she could have told him her identity but it makes no sense why it scared him because there is no way he could have recognized her unless..."

In that moment she held her silence, too afraid to even think on the possibility.

"Unless it was a Changeling and Valeris knew it from the beginning..."

"Twilight?"

Spike's voice took her out of her thinking but it didn't change the fact that she wasn't sure what to think of it.

"Nothing Spike, something I need to test first to make the assertion."

As they were thinking, Rainbow Dash came and got close to her ears as if it were about to tell her a secret.

"Hey, Twilight" -. The fact that she was speaking on a low voice made Twilight very curious what it could be about. - "Diamantis wants us on one of the Town Hall's room."

Twilight was perplexed by this.

"What? Why?"

Rainbow simply shrugged before responding.

"I don't know, all she said is that it was about our positions in her hive and she wanted to share it and foremost with you, I and the rest of the girls."

Twilight, not being on the mood for correcting Rainbow on her pronunciation, decided to follow through and go to her room and, as she was joining her friends, she noticed how they were very close to the door.

"Hey girls, what are you-"

"SHhhhhhh."

It was all the girls said before telling her and Spike with their body language to get closer and, as she was getting closer, she started to hear voices.

"-ne, its understandable to be so nervous when addressing your hive."

Twilight recognized that motherly and affectionate voice belonging to Queen Fortis.

"Really? Well, alright but how do I know I'm doing well?"

And that was Diamantis's young but confident voice. Twilight quickly understood what was being discussed and decided to listen as well.

"You know you'll have done well if you manage to convince your hive that you are taking them in the right direction, and that will only start when you believe in what you are doing."

It was impossible for the girls to not notice how motherly was Fortis's voice and how it felt as if she actually cared about Diamantis.

"So, how do you know this? My apologies but, from what I remember, you never held such positions, your mother and sister were the ones who talked to their Hive."

Twilight's attention increased at this piece of information, now she was figuring out something worthwhile she could tell Princess Celestia.

"Well" -. Continued Fortis. - "It is true that my mother and Manticoris were the ones that did all of that but I also had to address the hive during the wars. I was in charge of the Third Division and more than once I had to encourage them to fight whenever we were invaded or I had to lead a charge."

"I suppose that makes some sense but I remember your division wasn't in any particularly big battle."

"I'll guess that you weren't taught about the Battle of the Green Fangs then."

As Twilight heard Diamantis gasp, it was astounding for her to notice how Fortis always remained calmed with comments like those. Sure, she remembered how Celestia would allow her to make some remarks but it was because of how close were both Twilight and Celestia themselves were, meanwhile, Diamantis and Fortis weren't even close to begin with, so why was Fortis allowing such treatment and questioning?

"You were the one leading that Battle!?" - Diamantis then started to squee and the sounds made by her gave everybody an idea of how she was moving her hooves, particularly, in a manner that reminded Spike and many others of certain purple unicorn . - "I can't believe it! That is one of the greatest battles in changeling history! Castleen was outnumbered 3 to 1 against the invading Visectia and, not only, did they won but they even crushed Visektia to such levels that they were annexed to Castleen as a minor Hive. That was you?"

The mares could hear Fortis making a simple and innocent laugh, making them all shiver in fear as she talked about pulverizing her own enemies with no signs of worry or lament at what she did.

"Yes, I did. It was a tough battle and a simple mistake would've meant the potential fall of Castleen, which is why I am so proud of how it came out."

"Yeah, kind of weird the books don't mention you like that. Why do you think that happened?"

Silence was the answer that followed that question, silence that made even the ponies feel uncomfortable, as if a delicate topic was touched but Fortis quickly answered before it could get any worse.

"We can figure it out later, for now, let's go out and see how well can you fare with your hive, alright?"

"Ok, I guess... will you be there to help me the same way Valeris helped me with the press?"

"Well, I won't be besides you, but I will be there to give you support."

"Oh, sure. And will Valeris be there as well? She hasn't returned from the Press Conference."

"I fear Valeris won't be here for that, there are other things she has to do on the region, so she had to leave."

In that moment Twilight could feel a mental tension being released on her mind at the knowledge of a queen, that, made her feel so scared wouldn't be any closer to her. For the time being at least.

"Now, before you leave" -. Continued Fortis. - "There is something Valeris communicated me, to tell you. Something I agree with: you cannot tell the ponies why you had to leave your mother's hive."

This brought Twilight's, as well as her friends, attention to the max. She could still remember Diamantis' story when they met those days ago, so now she wanted to see how much of it was true and there might have been something important to know, because Diamantis' voice raised to be shocked.

"What!? Wh-" - in that moment she realized that she was raising her voice to a queen and quickly dropped it into a calmer, and more respectful. one. - "Why? Wasn't agreed that they would have to keep it a secret?"

Fortis' voice kept its calm and motherly tone, but it was quite apparent that it also gained a worried one as well.

"Yes, since they will become part of your hive, they must follow our rules and not share changeling secrets; at least until both Valeris and I convince the other queens to change the laws and, even so, the changeling society may know what happened but we cannot trust the Equestrians with that information... not yet at least."

"But, my queen-"

"No buts" -. It was surprising to sense how Fortis's tone of voice was getting more severe as she was asserting her position which only made Twilight more curious about this subject, especially when Fortis continued talking. - "We still don't know how much of a threat Celestia is to what we've built in this almost ten years of peace. So, until we can be certain that she will be a help to our cause, neither her nor the equestrians must know about Anidis."

*achoo*

Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity and Applejack saw Spike as he was scratching his nose while he was looking at them with shame on his face.

"Perhaps" -, continued Fortis, - "it would be better for us to continue this later. You have a speech to make and to make sure our spies don't go around saying what they heard. I'll be waiting for you on the meeting room."

All the ponies, and dragon, quickly left the door and faked ignorance as the door was opened and an orange mare came out from the door, looking at them with suspicion in her eyes. Not too long after that, a brown mare, that, looked like she was in the middle of puberty, came out of the room with a dejected look that was too heavy to look at as she called them into the room.

When they all entered, they could see that the air still felt tense as she was looking at them with a face that showed signs of doubt and a possible hint of sadness.

"Alright, before my addressing begins, you need to know what are you going to be doing in all of this."

The girls looked at each other in curiosity.

"Making a hive isn't a simple thing to do, so I'm going to put you in charge of important positions in my hive so you can help me to smooth things up as we are preparing for The Great Council of the Queens."

Twilight's friends widened their eyes at this, the idea of them getting important position wasn't exactly what they were expecting, especially Twilight, who saw this as an opportunity to have more chances to spy on the changelings. So, as they were filling their minds with expectation, Diamantis continued with her talk.

"You, Applejack, are going to be in charge of the treasure as well as the land in the hive."

Applejack got weird out by this choice.

"Me? Treasure and land? Where did you get that idea from?"

"Well, it took me a while to think about it but you have a family of apple farmers, so you must be knowledgeable around stuff like production and trade, something that will be very important for the hive to develop. I would have picked Rarity but I wasn't sure how experienced she was on this subject matter."

Rarity simply harrumphed at the indignation for that statement as Diamantis continued.

"I also picked you to see the Hive's expansion since you must know the land around Ponyville well enough, so you would be helpful around where we can go as well as to ensure that no Apple land will be touched by accident."

Applejack gave it a thought and considered it was fair, making her accept, which lead Diamantis to look at Rarity.

"You, Rarity, will be in charge of the Hive's cultural development."

Rarity's face went from indignation to shocked at what she heard.

"Me? Culture? But I am a simple fashionista, I know little about changeling culture, how am I going to do it."

"You are forgetting that 30 of the 50 changelings I need to have the Hive approved are Equestrians. You have a good connection with them, so you will know what to do to attract them as well as been able to mix pony culture with changeling culture. It will make our hive unique."

Rarity gave it a thought, how would her business could thrive under the idea of mixing changeling culture as well as equestrian culture through her designs, it would certainly be unique. But she then remembered something.

"Hold on, I was informed that changelings aren't allowed to talk about their secrets to the ponies, how am I supposed to mix them if that would be banned?"

Diamantis' face remained stoic.

"It's very likely those laws will be removed or changed by the time our hive start running, so you have plenty of time to do that as we are preparing ourselves for this."

With that, Rarity accepted, which lead Diamantis to look at Fluttershy.

"You, Fluttershy, will be in charge of the health and environment of our hive. You'll make sure that the place is healthy both physically and mentally for us and anyone who decides to visit us, including Equestrians depending of how the law is changed. Does that sound good? It won't even interfere with your current life."

Fluttershy gave it a quick thought before accepting, clearly enjoying the idea of having more influence on the nature and how to take care of it. So then Diamantis looked at a happy Pinkie Pie.

"It took me a while to figure out what to do with you. I was planning to put you in charge of the culture but I feared that you would focus too much on parties and trying to keep us all unnecessarily happy."

"Hey! What is wrong with that!? The party part, I mean I know that it isn't good to be happy all the timebecuaseit'simpossibletoremainhappyallthetimesoIamawarethat-"

Diamantis simple made a sound with her throat as a mean to calm Pinkie, which made her realize that she was talking too much and allowed her to talk again as she sheepishly grin.

"As I said, since I wanted to avoid that, because culture is more than parties" -. She ignored Pinkie's indignant face. - "I decided to put you in charge of communications so you can help the hive to know what is going on as well as to keep us all aware of what is going on around the hive and, yes, you can organize one or two parties if you want but only with both Rarity's and my consent."

"Wait" -. interrupted Rarity. - "Why mine? I have nothing to do with parties."

"Because, from what I know of Pinkie Pie, since she likes to make themed parties you could either put your input or learn a thing or two from her."

Both mares gave it a thought and while it wasn't exactly how they would do it, they agreed since it wasn't as bad as it sounded. Which lead Diamantis to look at Rainbow Dash.

"You, Rainbow Dash, will be in charge of the defense of the hive."

Rainbow Dash shouted 'yes' as she was getting an awesome position on this administration and with Applejack being the one asking about it.

"Wait a minute, why is she the one getting to be in charge of the defense?"

"What? Jealous?"

"No, it's just that Ah don't see you capable of being in charge of somethin' so important as the protection of a hive."

"Hey!"

Diamantis then interrupted before the conversation could get any uglier.

"I chose Rainbow Dash because she had the mental attitude to do it, all she needs now is the discipline which I'll be overseeing. Understood?"

All mares nodded begrudgingly as Rainbow remained with her smug smile before Diamantis added.

"Besides, there was no other position I could give her and the rest of you were already picked."

Statement which made all the mares, except Rainbow Dash, to chuckle. Then, Diamantis decided to finally look at Twilight.

"And you, Twilight Sparkle, I chose for you the greatest honor a changeling could ever be granted" -. Twilight's features started to light up at the prospect. - "I chose you to be my Speaker."

Just to be replaced by confusion on her face.

"Speaker? What is that?"

Diamantis kept her smile as she spoke.

"A Speaker is a changeling that works as a representative of the queen whenever she cannot go to a place or cannot directly address her hive. All queens have one, no exception, and they can even be in charge of the hive, whenever the Queen needs to leave the hive to an important meeting she cannot avoid."

All the mares froze at the prospect of what they were given, it was just so perfect for them to influence on the changelings for the benefit of Equestria and yet...

It was too perfect.

"Wait a minute" -. This were Twilight's first words after hearing Diamantis's offer. - "Why are you giving us this positions? You know we are the Elements of Harmony, right? We are close to Princess Celestia, not only that, I am Princess Celestia's protegé. Very few ponies are closer to her than that, so why are you giving us this positions that will compromise your status with the changelings?"

Diamantis stood there looking at them for a few seconds before answering with a sigh as well as a normal statement.

"Because you were the ones I saw with the most merit to do it. When I came to Ponyville I did it with the idea of making a new hive, I need to have one and I cannot choose those who are weak or brash to lead it. You showed me with your actions that you have the capabilities to do this and it isn't as if you are the only ones doubting it. Queen Fortis already told me how much doubt she had on picking you but I have faith in your abilities and that we'll make it through. Alright?"

The mares looked at each other before agreeing on the silent promise of discussing this later on the night and nodded to Diamantis, at which she gladly said.

"Excellent then. Now let's go to the meeting room where I will be addressing the other subjects regarding the direction our Hive will be taking."

She was about to leave the room when, before being completely out, she stopped and moved her head to address Twilight and her friend before asking with a somber tone.

"Before that, though. How much did you listen?"

The mares entered in the denial so hard that it was obvious they did listened until Rainbow made the question.

"Who's Anidis?"

Diamantis's flinch made it clear to them that it was a touchy subject before Diamantis stopped looking at them and simply said.

"We can discuss about it on another day, just, please, don't ever mention her name, not even to Celestia. Please."

"I don't get it" -. Continued Twilight. - "How are you related to her? Does it have anything to do with you running... away..."

In that moment the mares made the connection based on what they knew about Diamantis's backstory and realized who was the invader force that forced her to run away from home.

"Just, let it pass."

That was all Diamantis said, at which a resolved Twilight answered.

"Wait, was she the one that invaded your home? Why hasn't the other queens helped you fight her back?"

"Yeah!" - Continued Rainbow Dash. - "Just tell us where she is and we'll kick her flank back to wherever she came from. Those changelings queens may be too cowards to fight her but we have defeated worse-"

"I said! Let! It! Pass!" - Diamantis's angry tone shook Twilight and her friends as they could hear some slight whimpers coming from her. - "We can discuss it at a later date, for now... we'll discuss about what the hive will be about."

With that said, Diamantis moved a hoof at her face, she removed something from it and then left the room, leaving six mares and a dragon on their own.

"So" -, Applejack wondered, - "what do we take from it?"

The six mares wondered until Fluttershy answered.

"I think it would be best if we gain her trust before jumping to any conclusions."

"I agree with Fluttershy here, darling. I feel there is more to this 'Anidis' than what we are being told, but it would be for the best to wait and see before determining what is going on between them."

They all agreed and then went outside to see what Diamantis was planning so far.

When they finally got to the room, they saw to their sadness that the room was too small to house so many ponies so, after a brief discussion with Diamantis, it was agreed to move all the ponies to the library so they could have the briefing under more comfortable positions.

Not too long after that, and with the Elements of Harmony behind her, Diamantis finally started to address the ponies that were captured by her, something they quite remembered well as the way they looked at her showed nothing but disdain to her figure.

"Greetings" -. Started Diamantis as she tried to gain the confidence on this particular hurdle. - "For those wondering, I am Queen Diamantis. You may remember me as the changeling that foalnapped you and tried to turn you into changelings."

The angry looks from the ponies told Diamantis all she needed to know respecting how they felt about it, nonetheless, she continued on her speech.

"Right. So, I was tasked to inform you what Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Queen Valeris and Queen Fortis agreed upon but I will explain a bit of what happened."

The ponies didn't changed their features, as Diamantis tried to look for any sign of openness, she saw on the distance an orange mare giving her an approval glance.

"You see, as a new queen. I need to create a hive to be recognized as such, but to have my hive recognized by law, I need to have a certain amount of changelings living and working in it, which is why I tried to turn you."

This only enraged the ponies as they started to look at her with predatory glances, with a brown mare with an E Key as a cutie mark saying what everypony else were thinking right then.

"And who gave you the right to foalnap us and force us to work for you? You had no right to take us away from our lives and separate us from Equestria to live underground for you."

Diamantis flinched at that but remained even on her tone as she tried to appease them.

"Well, technically, I have the law on my side" -. She would never tell them the law, specifically, explained that there was a process to transform ponies into changelings and, that, she practically broke it, though. A headache that would later be solved mainly by Fortis with the help of Cerebelis, Luxis, Lixis and Valeris on the Collective's Palace. - "But you are morally right on that regard, although, you wouldn't have been separated from Equestria neither be forced to live underground."

This got the attention of all the ponies in the place, with the same brown mare asking about it.

"What do you mean we wouldn't be separated from Equestria?"

"Well, it mostly has to do with how changelings have to live by. We cannot go with just love, we also have other needs but, since we live between ponies, we need to live among you to keep our society healthy" -. All the ponies started to look at each other as she said this. - "For our drones to be able to gather the love and money their hives need, they also need to be able to live among ponies and follow the Equestrian laws so nopony suspect of them. So, for you to live in my hive you would still need to live under Equestrian laws, pay your taxes" -. Everypony groaned at those words. - "Have a respectful life, etc. The main difference is that you would also have to live under Changeling laws, which means not tattle other changelings, don't abuse the ponies, pay your taxes" -. The groans became even louder. - "Help your fellow changelings, etc."

Diamantis noticed how the ponies looked more annoyed than angry now, but she still needed to talk, so she continued.

"Now, as in any other civil society, you pay your taxes and follow the law to have certain benefits from your political system, like guards that protect you from insecurity or keep your roads and parks clean. This remains true for us."

The ponies started to look at each other with curiosity now.

"Under our system, you would have security aiming to protect you from being discovered as well as from being attacked either by bandits or by changeling invaders."

"Wait a minute."

Diamantis turned and saw Rainbow Dash, who was besides her, looking at her with a questioning look.

"What do you mean by changeling invaders?"

Diamantis started to sweat at those words but, after seeing Fortis on the background giving her a nod, she continued.

"Well, you see, even though the current system of government for all the Changelings have worked so far, to the point of being at peace for over nine years, there are still some changelings that don't like it and has tried to subvert it in some way or another. A good recent example you must all be familiar with, is Queen Chrysalis."

This time it was Twilight the one asking.

"Wait, so Chrysalis isn't part of what you did? She was a rogue one?"

"Exactly!" - Answered a confident Diamantis. - "Chrysalis disobeyed the rules so she has been given a punishment until she decides to accept being trialed by us."

This brought many questions to Twilight's mind, but she decided to not dwell into it for the time being.

"If you pay your taxes, then we can have a proper guard capable of protecting us from rogue changelings, who want to attack us and steal our love."

The ponies started to give it a thought as Diamantis was feeling well at how she was dealing with the situation. Then a Green mare with a lyre for a cutie mark raised her hoof as she made a new question.

"But none of us are warriors, who are going to protect us in the case we pay our taxes to you?"

The ponies were slightly annoyed for the question suggesting the idea that they would accept being subjects to Diamantis, but they were actually curious for the answer.

"Well, that's the thing" -. She answered. - "You see, to have a Hive recognized by law I need a minimum of 50 drones living in it and I only managed to foalnap 30 of you" -. The ponies understood the math but Diamantis continued the answer before they could jump at any conclusion. - "Since part of the deal between the Equestrian and Changeling monarchs was that I cannot foalnap anypony else" -. In that moment all the ponies released a relaxing breath at that knowledge. - "I now have to go to other hives to ask for drones they could give me to help in the development of our hive."

Many of the ponies felt a chill going through their spines as they heard those words, even though only a few of them understood the magnitude of what it meant. Thankfully, a black pegasus which Rainbow Dash recognized as Thunderlane decided to ask.

"Hold on, why are you saying it as if it were a bad thing?"

Surprisingly though, it was a reddish mare known as Cherilee the one who gave the answer.

"To ask for drones to a foreign hive means that she will have to give or assist them for something. Not only that but it also means that other hives would have influence in what this hive says" -. Then, as all the ponies gasped at the revelation, Cherilee looked at Diamantis and asked with a worried tone. - "I don't get it, why are you going to this length to have a hive made? Can't you just wait until you have the drones to work with?"

Diamantis looked at the pony with a stern look and responded with a resolute tone.

"I am aware of the dangers of it. Do you think it didn't cross my mind? That is why I was going after ponies first. I would rather face Celestia to ask to a foreign hive for drones but I am forced to do it, mainly because I cannot wait. I am too young to reproduce and my mother cannot help me. I need to have this hive done and approved before the Great Council of the Queens is here so I can start helping society."

Diamantis saw how many ponies were now going to ask about her age, at which she quickly decided to avoid them by continuing her speech.

"But enough of that. We are derailing this. What you need to know is that, even with those 20 drones in here, I would still have the protection of a Great Hive."

"Great Hive?"

Diamantis looked at Twilight and answered with a smile in her face.

"Yes, Twilight, a Great Hive" -. She then looked at the ponies. - "You see, many queens tend to have very small or unstable hives to sustain for themselves so they tend to ask more powerful hives for help, both in security and in trade. Since I am under the protection of Queen Fortis, I will ask her first but since the system between the higher and lower queens is kind of complicated (to the point of being something to be taught in history books) I will save this conversation for another date, alright?"

All the ponies looked at Twilight as she started to hold herself at the information that was being kept from her and nodded just for the sake of not being trapped in there for hours and let Diamantis to be her prey later. And, with that said, the queen continued.

"Now, there is also the fact that becoming part of us will mean that you will have access to what the changeling society can offer, from our education to our technology and information which you can use at your discretion as long as it doesn't break our laws. Does that sound good?"

The ponies gave it a thought until an orange mare came out from the group and stated.

"It doesn't matter how good it sounds, we have no reason to accept you when we are no longer being transformed, we aren't changelings on the first place to even think about it."

Diamantis looked at the mare with a scrutinizing eye as she simply asked.

"You have a good point Jutterbug" -. The mare known as Jutterbug got surprised at the queen remembering her name. - "But you should know that you actually don't have any other choice. The transformation began in the moment you were put into the transforming wax and once it begins, it cannot be stopped. You'll be transformed into changelings which is why the deal between our monarchs was made in the first place."

All the ponies froze as a chill went through their bodies. Now grasping their current situation as Diamantis continued talking, mostly to keep their minds occupied from the inducing panic of being transformed into changelings.

"The deal was more than just me being banned from transforming ponies. You see, current changeling laws protect changelings but once you start to transform, you'll be in a position of limbo where you won't be neither ponies or changelings. So Celestia and Luna offered that you would be part of my hive under the promise made by Fortis and Valeris that you would all be protected under our law, so you cannot be targeted by any third group wishing to use you against any side."

By this point, Jutterbug, Cherilee and many other ponies were starting to feel depressed and even betrayed at what they heard. Why would Celestia allow something like this? They were starting to feel anger and wishing to vent their anger at what was at their disposal when Diamantis quickly took the opportunity and talked in a tone that demanded respect as well as showed authority.

"Before any of you start raging about this, think. Do you think this was easy for Celestia to do? Don't you think she preferred this over risking your lives for being on a legal loophole?" - The ponies gave this a thought, which started to calm them down as Diamantis continued. - "Do you think I wanted this for you? No. I wanted to live with my mother, I wanted to inherit her hive and continue her work, but I no longer can as I no longer live with her" -. She then started to notice the curious glances of ponies wanting to know more of her circumstances so she decided to quickly change the topic. - "Which is why I learnt that, sometimes, we have to chose between hard decisions and our choices may never be liked by others, but we chose to do them because we believe they are for the best, which is what Celestia did for you so, please, I ask you in exchange that, if you aren't going to do this for me, then do it for Celestia, who decided to take a hard choice for your sake."

The ponies looked at each other, thinking about it, and, after a long deliberation, they decided to accept Diamantis' words and agree to her idea, to a certain degree, after all, she still foalnapped them, but the small acceptance still made Diamantis glad.

"Great, now with that said, we can solve the little technicalities (like where will I live so you can ask me for questions) later, but I still have two more things to address you. The first one is that you cannot tell anyone of what you heard here on this meeting, or anything related to the changelings, not even to your families, understood?"

"What?" - Asked Applejack with indignation, representing the sentiment of many of the ponies in the room. - "Why Ah cannot tell mah family about this? Ah was foalnapped and they deserve to know happened to me."

"You are right but the laws are very strict regarding changeling secrets and you are no exceptions. As Queen Fortis will be trying to modify the laws so the secrecy barrier is lowered, we have to obey the law in the meantime and you don't want to break them, the punishment is severe."

"Oh yeah?" - Asked a defiant Rainbow Dash. - "What kind of punishment are we talking about, banishment?"

Diamantis looked at her and the ponies with a fearful glance as she answered.

"Possibly worse: Disappearance."

Many ponies were know thinking of asking Twilight to do something about the cold, for how strong was the chill that went through the blood as they lost the color in their coats as Diamantis continued.

"It is a popular secret how many changelings that have tried to break the secrecy law has been disappeared from society. It can be a common drone or a high elite. Some even say that royals have suffered from this as well, with the difference that what happens to them looks more like an accident."

The ponies, including Twilight and her friends, started to get closer to each other as they heard the utter terror and severity of the changelings with the idea of secrecy, and even Twilight was wondering if Celestia was aware of how much danger she put her into by giving her that mission.

"Chrysalis is among the few that has survived, which is why the queens decided to restrict her until she accepts being arrested but, other than that case, more often than not, whenever a drone decided to break the secrecy it would end up with a visit from Hive Logos' Secret Force and nobody else would ever know about them. Which is why I ask you to never say what you heard in here until the laws are changed, understood?"

All the ponies, even Twilight and her friends, nodded with fear in their eyes and let Diamantis to finish her speech once and for all.

"And, lastly, to not end this in such a low note. We now have to talk about how are we going to finance the hive."

"Didn't you said that we would have to pay taxes?"

Asked the brown mare from the beginning, who was quickly recognized by Diamantis.

"Yes, Octavia Melody, I did say that but that would work for the little things and only if we want to keep the hive small but I'm not planning to keep this hive small. I plan to expand and have more drones once I can reproduce and more drones are willing to join us, which is why I am opening right now a search for a job to finance."

This gave a hint of curiosity to all the ponies.

"Finance? What does that mean?"

Diamantis looked back and saw that it was Pinkie Pie the one making the question now, which she answered gladly.

"You see, I can ask for a bit of money to Queen Fortis and invest it in one (if not some) of your jobs to make sure it gains more money and that revenue will be given to our hive both to pay our debt as well as to help the hive to pay the cost of expansion."

The ponies started to become extremely curious with this, which forced Rarity to make the cursed question.

"And how much money are we talking about here?"

Diamantis looked at Fortis in the background, who moved her lips to try to make the words for her to know, at which Diamantis answered.

"We are speaking about five to ten million bits as a front investment, why?"

As all the ponies heard those numbers, they all started to think about it the dreams they always envisioned as foals, how this amount of money could help them make it a reality and that, quickly, lead to all the ponies to fight among themselves and to impose their ideas over the others. Meanwhile, Twilight gave it a thought about how sustainable was the system on its own.

"Well, it sounds interesting. I mean, try to sustain through a job but a simple job isn't enough to sustain a whole hive. It would need something bigger than that, and I doubt any of us have something that big that could keep the hive running on the long term. Perhaps that is what she meant with some small hives being 'too unstable' to be run on their own. What do you girls think?"

As Twilight turned around at her friends, she got in shock as she saw her best friends fighting each other out to have the money, wondering how it was possible that they were fighting each other over money.

Meanwhile, in the back of the room, an orange mare was surprised that the friendship lover ponies were so willing to gith each other for such measly amounts of wealth.

A Friendly Encounter

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Twilight was running rampant into her library, knowing full well that Diamantis was living in there temporarily while an actual house was being thought out for her to live in, to ask her of what she saw in the newspaper. She had to know if whether or not that was real or not, if it were though, then it meant that Equestria may be infiltrated by changelings more than she ever thought was possible.

She opened the door with a rush, three newspapers on her saddlebag, and looked at the little changeling queen who was reading a bunch of letters, as Spike was moving her stuff to the guest room, and quickly asked her:

"Diamantis, I need an explanation to this."

She then slammed few copies of The Bipolar Hedgehog, The Royalist and Los Pegasus Times in front of a confused Queen Diamantis who was wondering what did she want to know.

"Well, this are news papers. What about them?"

"I was looking at one of them when, suddenly, it changed its appearance and became something different. Does changelings have something to do with this?"

Diamantis made a big 'OH' with her mouth as she gave them a better look before answering as a matter of fact.

"Well, kind off."

"Kind off? What do you mean by that, has changelings infiltrated in Equestria's journalism?"

Diamantis looked at Twilight with wonder before adamantly negating that statement.

"What? No! We haven't done anything to ponies and their so called 'journalism'."

Twilight was now feeling that she was being lied, so she became more demanding on her tone.

"Well then, please explain why the journalist on the press conference were acting so weird and some of this newspapers can shape shift."

Twilight was feeling that she had her, she was feeling right of finally being able to report to Celestia something important, heck, it could even explain how Chrysalis was able to infiltrate so easy into the wedding. The changelings were infiltrating into equestrian society and they were starting by controlling the news but then Diamantis started to answer and made Twilight wonder again her presumptions of all this.

"Easy, that's because those were changeling journalist who wanted to know why a changeling queen was revealing us. That is prime material for them and" -, she then gave a glance at The Royalist front page which was talking about the places where Princess Celestia was probably hoarding a secret stash of over a ton of chocolate while also covering the latest gossip regarding Blueblood's life style, - "from what I can see, they are pulverizing Queen Valeris for what she did."

Twilight gave the magazine a second glance before Spike stated the obvious.

"But, how can you tell when that newspaper is just talking about ponies in Canterlot?"

"That's because changelings learned, a long time ago, to create a magical ink that can be used to print two stories at the same time. One story is what we, changelings, see, the real news or information we care about; while the other story is what we want the non-changelings to see: gossip, jokes, rumors, farm techniques, etc. That is how we've managed to spread ourselves among you without endangering our society, we created most of this news sites and use a pony image to feed you with stuff you like, while our species reads the real news of what happen among us and your kingdom."

As Diamantis responded, a chill passed through Twilight's body, wondering how much of the information she was fed belonged to actual ponies, and wasn't what a species, she wasn't aware of even existing not too long ago, wanted her to know. She needed to know.

"Wait" -. She said as her mind tried to make sense of that information, while Spike's mind was already suffering from an overload from that. - "Are you saying that there isn't a single news dairy that belongs to a pony? Is all controlled by changelings?"

"Of course not!" - Diamantis scoffed. - "There are dairies, like Los Pegasus Time, that are controlled by ponies but we do have our own news sites, at least one per hive."

"One per hive? Why?"

"Well, unlike Equestria, where journalist have some sense of freedom, changeling journalist can only say what the queen allows them to say and, to make it fair, the laws made it mandatory for every single hive to have, at least, one news diary; so every single changeling can know what happens from the perspective of each hive. In fact, I need one newspaper if I want my hive to be approved, which is why I'm searching for a name to it."

As Diamantis went back to read her mail, Twilight started to process again the information given to her. Equestria allowed journalist to have a certain degree of freedom, enough to ensure that Celestia wouldn't be seen as somepony who controlled information. That included to have researched the owners of the news centers. How many changelings took advantage of this to infiltrate among us?

And there is when Twilight's head was hit by the strongest and scariest realization so far: The changelings infiltrated because of Equestria's attempt to give freedom to its citizens and, to chase down the changelings, all of those freedoms that Celestia worked so hard to ensure would have to be destroyed. That made Twilight wonder if Celestia, Luna, Cadence or even her were willing to do something like that. So, to avoid thinking about it, she did what she did best, gather more information.

"Diamantis."

"Yeah?" - She said as she was still reading her mail, not paying too much attention to Twilight.

"How many hives are there in Equestria?"

"Approximately... 39 but two are in limbo so we don't know if their news are still around and there are rumors of more hives to be recognized this year when the next Great Council of the Queens begin."

Twilight took the information in, the hive she was working with was now one of those hives that would be recognized very soon.

"And how can you read what those news say and how did I manage to see for a brief moment what they say?"

Diamantis turned to give Twilight a better look as she simply answered.

"The eyes. You need the eyes of a changeling or know the right spell to look at the real news. Since you are transforming into one of us, your eyes are changing so you can now see the world the way we see it, but the transformation is slow, so you can't keep that vision for too long."

Diamantis then picked the Bipolar Hedgehog and used a spell on it, changing it so both Twilight and Spike could see it's true form. When the spell was done, instead of the parody news known as "The Bipolar Hedgehog", they were now seeing a news dairy called "The National" which, at first glance, had all the hallmarks what made actual journalism.

It had a serious glance, it had well made headlines, images (that Twilight was wondering where they got them from) to show the events and, from the looks of it, a well written story as she decided to read the story in the front page, a story that, interestingly, was being read by Queen Varelis in Canterlot in this very moment.

Changeling Queens are Trying to Change the Relationship
Between The Changeling Hives and The Kingdom of Equestria
Yesterday was a very important day for changeling society as two changeling queens, one alleged to be Queen Valeris and an unknown queen, which is suspicious of being the one guilty of foalnapping the Elements of Harmony as well as 24 other citizens from Ponyville, were seen having a press conference with the equestrian monarch known as Princess Celestia. The conference was mostly revolving around a deal done between these two queens with the equestrian monarch, to open up the relationship between the equestrians and the newborn hive from the new changeling queen.
While there are no clear indications of who these two changeling queens are, it is implied that one of them is Queen Valeris considering, that, one of the changeling journalist asked her for a hint of her identity (which would've broken the changeling laws regarding keeping the secrets of our species) and the only thing he repeated over and over was 'queen Valeris', which made many of the journalist get scared and run from the site, forcing Princess Celestia to end the press conference.
No confirmation has been made about what the deal was or what events surrounds it, but it has been promised that more details will be given once the other queens are notified of this deal, as well as the Collective's Palace reach a resolution about this event.
While the events are unfolding, we are waiting for the words of other hives but experts are already giving their opinions.
This could mean a change in changeling society as we know it
Pistilum, president of Data Gatherers, said that "even before this age of peace, no changeling queen has ever wanted to get close or to open up relationships with Equestria, especially after Chrysalis's attempt to invade it." He also affirmed that, if this isn't treated with the respect it deserves, "it could mean a return to the age of war we finally abandoned almost 10 years ago."
Antennae, Political analyst and member leader of the security firm, Lovely Haven, has assured us that "the possibilities of this encounter having good results is completely proportional of what queen started ir as well as how much support it would get from the other queens." He remained confident that, should it have the support from Queen Valeris, other queens could easily support this, since Valeris still has a strong leadership among the high chamber but "it doesn't change that some queens, who are very well known for trying to obstruct anything related to Valeris or Equestria, may try to make sure this deal to fail."
The retired General Mendax, acting as Speaker of Queen Montis from the minor hive Libria, has stated that "as a mean to reduce the possibility of a war between Equestria and the Changeling Hives, Libria sees this move as a positive but, if this is a result of an attempt for personal gain at the cost of the other hives suffering, or a complete destruction of the laws the Changeling Hives were built upon, then this will be rejected with our upmost contempt and, as such, we are ready to battle for the stability and peace we've built in all this years."
General Mendax also opened the possibility of rogue changelings trying to boycott this event, mainly the CAHL, who are known for attacking minor hives or disrupting the life style of both changelings and equestrians in their attempts of destroying the current system, at which he said, "no matter what kind of deal this is, we'll never accept the interference of rogue changelings or terrorist organizations from trying to destroy what we've built for almost 10 years of peace."
Potential war
Others also suggested that Valeris's moves may cause a war between changelings in an attempt to gain support from Equestria.
Expert Lawyer Faux declared that "Valeris did a bad move by speaking to Celestia. She have potentially broken the law and, if so, she could become a criminal that must be put to trial while other queens, more qualified to rule, end this parliamentary period." He also went on how "the other hives may see this as an opportunity to separate their hives, as a mean of protest, against a queen trying to gain some love from Equestria."
Economist Shtim has also added that "while the markets won't have a substantial change for now, the Equestrians will lose faith on their respective markets, weakening the bit and making it much easier for groups, like the HRF, to stifle a war between hives who may try to eat each other up."

As she read the news, Queen Valeris was wondering if she would ever be respected by the journalist as she read one of the few that weren't so critical of her and focused more on the deal itself while most of the other journalist were practically accusing her of treason, like The Informer and The Changeling, all the while she had to ignore the surprised eyes of the ponies who were looking at a very fine blue mare reading with a serious look The Bipolar Hedgehog in a table close to a small food stop.

The price of reading changeling news in public.

As she was reading the rest of The National, disguised as The Bipolar Hedgehog, a white mare got close to her and started to give her an eye view.

"It's quite interesting what you can read on the news, right?"

Valeris gave a glance at the white mare and noticed her confident smile and friendly look as well as her well polished horn, at which she decided to dismiss as nicely as she could.

"Indeed, that is why reading this kind of news can be good for oneself. Laughs are the best medicine for the soul."

Valeris decided to wait for the white mare to give her a common answer the canterlot ponies but that didn't come. She said something else.

"Yes, granted, I am not so sure of what is so humorous of reading how you are being called a traitor but, what do I know? I still need to get used to this new world you created in my absence...

Valeris..."

Queen Valeris widened her eyes and gave a closer look at the white mare with cream coat as her smile looked more smug and her eyes briefly were covered in violet flames, revealing a pair of violet cat-like eyes that were looking at her in a way that simply spelled ambition before turning back into the normal pinkish eyes that were more fitting of a pony.

She knew that look.

"What can I say?" - Responded Valeris. - "Seeing a whole species hating the queen that leads them could be considered some sort of joke for some but I feel sorry to say that the name 'Valeris' isn't familiar to me, for my name is Lightning Cleverness but I will let pass your mistake, for not many know that, but my apologies as well for I haven't asked your name either. Now, I feel the name 'Anidis' may not sound familiar to you either, so I'll ask, how should I address you?"

The white mare softened her smile as she seated in front of Valeris and continued to talk with upmost confidence in her voice while using a tone that gave a sense of trust toward her.

"You are right, 'Anidis' isn't exactly a name from which I can relate to but you can call me Pure Pearl, nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you Pure Pearl and now, if I may, what brought you to this part of Canterlot? I never thought to find a pony of your caliber on a city like this."

The white mare kept her confidence as she kept addressing Valeris.

"Well, I always wanted to visit Canterlot, you know? I used to visit this place on a monthly basis with my mother, may she rest in peace, and I always enjoyed seeing other ponies passing by, always in a state of limbo between enjoying themselves and rejecting anything that weren't like them. Quite different of the ponies from other cities where they tend to be more welcoming of strangers."

"Oh, really? So you came here to remember your fillyhood? Nothing wrong with that I suppose but it doesn't change that it cannot be the only reason, am I correct? After all, I've heard that security has increased on Equestria and even the trains tend to be harder to get by, considering how everypony is screened now to ensure that no stranger is using their transportation system."

The white mare grinned her smile a little bit before answering as she ordered a little salad with a small cup of green tea.

"You are right on one regard, the increase in security in Equestria made it a bit harder for me to travel, which is why I didn't use the train to come here. You should use the panoramic route some times, the view of Equestria is wonderful to say the least, it also helps a lot to avoid screening from any type of guard that most ponies tend to suffer from."

Valeris raised her eyebrows at this, considering the distance between Diamantis's former hive and Canterlot, this travel must have taken quite a while to make. But that wasn't the only thing Valeris wanted to know of her old friend.

"Well" -, Valeris continued, - "that explains quite a bit but, I would still like to know about you. Why would you take the trouble of making such a long trip to Canterlot? I mean, it would be silly if it were for just nostalgia, wouldn't it?"

The white mare gave Valeris a smile that showed pride as she responded.

"You got me there Lightning Cleverness, for I also came to see my new territory."

Valeris gave her a concerned view.

"New territory? You bought a piece of land here in Canterlot?"

"Not exactly. While there is a little house I have bought here so, both, me and some acquaintances of mine can live in Canterlot and see what the elite does, we're also certain that our most recent adventure can assure us some substantial gain in the long run."

"Substantial gain? You are speaking as if you could control Canterlot."

"And who says I can't?"

Valeris eyes widened as she heard those words with the same confidence Anidis had, days before the battle between her and The Great Coalition.

"That's a wild claim" -. Valeris continued with as much calm as she could muster. - "Could you please explain me how you plan to take over Canterlot? As far I'm aware, that would imply in fighting both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna and I'm sure that wouldn't be an easy battle."

"Well, defeating Celestia wasn't that hard for Chrysalis and, I assure you that, Chrysalis wasn't that big of a deal. Those two princesses won't be that hard, after all, they haven't seen something like me. Wouldn't you agree?"

Valeris had flashbacks of how Anidis killed with her blades Queen Castis, Princess Manticoris and almost kill her heir as well, as how she almost took one of her legs, and wondered if the equestrians had a chance in the first place, but there was something else in the plan that wasn't fitting.

"Well, I cannot assure you that you would win" -. Responded Valeris. - "But that also doesn't solve the other issue that you haven't answered me yet. You would need another alicorn to replace the princesses and, so far, you haven't told me how you plan to fix that."

Anidis simply moved her hooves in a negative way as she responded nonchalantly.

"Spoilers. All I'll say for the time being is that I came well prepared for everything, as you may have already noticed."

"That is a big talk considering that you've been talking about force, and never of following the legal road to achieve something, after all, an old friend of mine taught me that only brutes use force to bend others to their rule."

Anidis's smile vanished as Valeris said this words, as her eyes were filled with a small hint of pain at the memories that surfaced with those words, before her smug smile returned and she continued on her speech.

"Perhaps, in a world where the State of Rule is respected and diplomacy is the way of solving problems, I would believe it. But your friend was quite ignorant of how little diplomacy means; when you don't have the strength to show that words are the first mean you prefer to use, rather than a way to run away from trouble. If you don't believe me, please tell me, where did words took your little friend back then?"

Valeris held her emotions as they tried to surface, empowered for the memories given to her for that fateful day she failed to stop the other queens from invading Anidis's hive. She did her best to hold those emotions down as she kept her calm facade and continued her response with an even tone.

"Perhaps, back then, your words would hold true. But things have changed Pure Pearl, might no longer makes right and words are the main way to fix the problems between other nobles."

Anidis's face held itself as if it was trying to stop something from showing, rage perhaps? And she kept talking but this time with a little air of toxicity on her tone as well as the usual smugness she always had.

"Really? The please tell me, where was the diplomacy when nobles had to cannibalize each other in the search for peace?"

"..."

"Where is the diplomacy when there are still criminals rejecting a system that supposedly was designed to bring peace?"

"..."

"Where is the diplomacy when a noble prefer to use war against her own friend, instead of trying to help her to become part of the system she designed?"

Valeris remained in silence as she took Anidis's anger into her heart and did her best to stop it from taking her over. She understood it but she responded with the hard truth as she kept her calm demeanor.

"The diplomacy was, when those nobles were given the choice between peace and war. Diplomacy was, when they were given multiple chances to stop their violence, but preferred to attack innocents that had nothing to do with the system they so much declare to fight; and diplomacy was gone in the moment you decided to transform your return into a petty vengeance, that almost take my heir away from me."

Anidis remained silent as she look at her friend up and down and giving a big look at the leg where her blade stabbed Valeris and caused her permanent damage. As the two disguised changeling queens looked one another, none of them wanting to give up their ground as the two forces measured each other up to see how resolved they were on their positions. It was then that Anidis decided to speak up first.

"While I disagree on calling my return petty, you are right on how I almost take an innocent away for it and for that, I apologize as well as for the wound in your leg."

Valeris raised her eyebrows at that, knowing Anidis for not being the one apologizing first, but she knew what she had to do.

"And I apologize for not trying to reason with you first, even if taking away a noble's property would have normally meant the end for any other noble."

"Well, you should remember that I'm not a normal noble" -. Anidis said as she brought back her smug grin. - "You should remember, for all the times I defeated you at strategy games, back when we were young and visited each other out."

Valeris smiled at the memories of how the two of them would play war games in an attempt to see who was the superior princess, as they created imagery of them conquering the other hives and becoming the sole rulers of the whole species. More than once she dreamed of having her friend side by side with her to fight back during the Unification War, and more than once she wondered how it would have been had she been with her.

"But I have to say" -. Anidis continued. - "After seeing your exploits, you did a very good job in the wars that came after I had to run away. Not a single defeat on any battle lead by you and you even managed to do it with the help of other queens, you have to tell me how you convinced Logos, Panacitum and Minerum of joining your side by the way. Those tree never got involved in any war. Even I thought of it impossible to do."

Valeris felt glad at hearing someone celebrating her, after who knows how long of only getting attacked by the media, and the fact that it came from a friend that she never managed to defeat, it felt like a divine gift.

"And I will add" -. Anidis kept on talking. - "The fact that you managed to create such a system to work, I never thought so many queens would accept it, especially the lower queens. Again, you did quite well, it's almost the same as I would've done."

And Valeris no longer felt good, knowing exactly what else Anidis would have done.

"It was one of the things the queens had to agree to in order for the system to be accepted" -. Valeris quickly responded. - "No queen could be above the others, we all would have equal power even if being the Ladies of both the High and Lower chambers have a symbolic sign of leadership."

Anidis just kept her grin as she heard Valeris and her tone of voice were drowning in pride as she responded.

"I know, that is why I think you really needed me there. No queen would've been able to stop us from achieving it had it been the two of us leading the Unification War."

And Valeris, not for the first time and not for the last time, felt conflicted under the knowledge that her older self would have accepted that offer, as well as she wondered if she could even give it a thought, and, finally, fulfill those dreams she had when she was a nymph, but she then remembered how that mentality almost took away one of the few changelings she cared about the most, as well as she remembered how siding with her would mean to break her vows. So she decided to go back to the ground and respond.

"I am aware of it" -. Valeris said while keeping her calm tone of voice, and trying to remember to keep the language in a sense that ponies listening couldn't realize what they were. - "And there is nothing I would've liked more than fighting side by side with you but that's in the past, we are in the present and, right now, you committed multiple misbehavior acts that are yet to settled before even thinking of letting you join the club."

Unsurprisingly to Valeris, Anidis kept her smile as she followed her along the game of pretending.

"Understandable, of course, perhaps we could negotiate about it? Your club did ask for me to let them check if I had no skeletons in the closet, perhaps we could forget about it?"

"Absolutely not" -. Valeris responded while slightly rising her tone of voice, erasing Anidis's smile for a brief moment. - "You have nothing worth negotiating and even if our protegé's mother was alright, it still doesn't erase your others misconducts, from which you still have to respond."

Anidis looked back at her friend as the two queens once again measured each other up, before Anidis decided to continue the conversation as if they were making simple talks, signed with her smug smile returning to her features.

"In that case, all I have to do is getting something worth negotiating for, don't worry, it won't be small fry" -. She then looked back at her clock before continuing the talks. - "Sadly, I have to end our discussions, for I have other things to do here on this wonderful city but, before I go, is there anything you would like to know? After all, who knows when we might see each other again."

Valeris gave it a thought and remembered something crucial that she always wanted to know since the very first day she realized that her friend was alive and well, even if her return meant the murder of Queen Zirconis.

"Actually, I do" -. Valeris said with the most sincerity her voice could muster. - "It's been 30 years since the last time I saw you alive. Even though your body or your sister's was never found when your mother's hive was invaded, I always thought you were gone or hiding somewhere, but I never found you as much as I tried to search for you. So I would like to know, where were you hiding this whole time?"

Anidis gave a thought for a brief while before responding as her smile gave a slightly mischievous tone that made Valeris slightly nervous.

"I will answer if you respond me this other question" -. She commented. - "Please tell me, where are you holding your mother?"

In the moment she heard that, Valeris felt a mixture of shock and fear that she hadn't felt in decades. Nobody knew what she did to her mother, except from the usual she let filter away to the press, but she never revealed if she was either alive or dead. As Valeris looked back at Anidis's eyes, she no longer looked at a changeling queen that just entered in a moment of luck to get back to power, she was now looking at a queen that premeditated her strike with cold calculation as she made a single question to the violet-eyed queen.

"How long have you been spying on us?"

"Long enough. But don't worry, I'll answer you the day you decide to provide me that information. Meanwhile, I'll give you a tip for the next time you decide to fight me: don't have so many experts with you, for it's better to have a bad general than two good generals. Now, see you soon, next time we meet, it'll probably be on the club, with me on the top."

Valeris gave her friend a long serious stare as she took on her challenge.

"I won't make it easy to you."

Anidis simply smiled with joy at her words.

"And I don't expect you to."

She then put her hoof at one of the of the news on The Informer as she said her good byes to her friend.

"Meanwhile, I recommend you to look back at the other hives, for I think they need your help against the current threat. Goodbye, my friend."

Valeris gave her a hard glare as she also said her goodbyes.

"Goodbye my friend, I hope we can meet up again under better circumstances."

And, as Anidis's figure of a white unicorn mare started to fade among the crowd, Valeris decided to look back at the news and see what was Anidis meaning by that, which only brought her fury as she read with contempt at what she saw. A news that sent a chill to both Twilight and Spike as they read it.

Changeling hive attacked last night
Hive Aquaria, a minor hive under the protection of Queen Amaryllis and her hive, Piroxia, was attacked last night as a series of violent strikes took the guards by surprise and let the intruders entering into the hive and bombed the love reserves, trade goods as well as stole a big amounts of public funds from the hive as well as leaving a total amount of 30 casualties, all lethal, by the end of the attack. While there are no indications of who was behind the sinister move, many are suspecting that the CAHL is behind it, but more investigation is required for this. Hive Aquaria is one of the few changeling hives located near the sea, which makes it a prime target due to it being an economic backbone for Hive Piroxia as well as a source of goods for both Equestria and the changeling hives, only surpassed by Hive Hidroxia and Hive Riveria. In the meantime, Queen Liquis has assured that a story will be made up to assure the Equestrians won't suspect a thing for the slow in sales this week.

Twilight saw at Diamantis as she read this, remembering how she said yesterday to the other ponies about the existence of rogue changelings and she was now afraid for her life as well as the well being of the ponies in Ponyville. Surprisingly though, Diamantis remained calm as she heard the news from Twilight and kept on reading her mail, action which made Twilight feel indignation at her.

"How can you remain calm as a hive was attacked? Aren't you worried that this could be us?"

Diamantis remained calm as she started to put all of her mail, already read, into a series of piles to have them better categorized and answered Twilight.

"I would if we were on the same position as them."

Twilight got quizzed by this as she tried to understand her new boss.

"Same position as them? What do you mean?"

Diamantis stopped at what she was doing just to look directly at Twilight as she kept her calm demeanor.

"Hive Aquaria, even though is a minor hive, it's a backbone for the hives as well as Equestria's economy. It has huge strategic positions as well as important connections, which makes it a target for many other changelings, in fact, any hive that entered into battle with Hive Piroxia always aimed first at Hive Aquaria since it's the main source of resources to all the hives under the protection of Queen Amaryllis. There is also the fact that, being coastal hive, it's pretty much an easy target that rogue changelings tend to aim at.

We, instead have none of that. We're too small to have any strategic importance, we don't have any type of economic strength to become a profitable target, and we are too close to Canterlot to even consider to make an attack and, not only that but, we're also under the protection of Queen Fortis and Queen Varelis as well as Princess Celestia. Trying to attack us would be foolish for there would be no gain from it."

Twilight gave it a thought and, though she saw the logic in that, it was still troubling to say the least.

"But" -. Twilight continued. - "Aren't you worried for what happened to a fellow queen?"

"Of course I am, but I cannot do anything useful to help her if I don't have the hive running on the first place."

She then went back to her letters and finished organizing them, at which Twilight finally let her curiosity took her over and ask about it.

"What are those letters, by the way?"

Diamantis simply smiled as she answered.

"This, my dear Twilight, is the mail from our subjects regarding what ideas and jobs they could offer so the hive could help them out" -. She then moved her hoof at the three piles she made from them. - "This pile is for the offers worth thinking about, this other pile is for the ideas that aren't feasible as of now but are worth thinking over once we start growing and this other pile are for ideas just not worth thinking about."

Twilight then took the first letter on the pile of ideas worth thinking and got surprised at who wrote it.

"Applejack!? She decided to give in!?"

Diamantis just kept her smile.

"Yes and her idea isn't bad, if my hive manages to aid Sweet Apple Acres, then it could become a powerhouse among the equestrian farming industries and we wouldn't have economic problems, but I would have to talk first with the owners of the company before deciding if it should be done."

Twilight then returned the letter to the pile as she wondered what other ponies wrote Diamantis for ideas she could fund, and wondered if she should have put her own ideas into the mix but, as she wondered, the library's door opened with Rainbow Dash entering with a small letter.

"Hi egghead, is Diamantis in here? I found a letter addressed at her on your mail."

"Rainbow" -. Said a frowning Twilight. - "Why did you revised my mail? Don't you know the problems that could entail?"

Rainbow simply tried to brush it off with a slight remark while keeping a soft tone.

"Hey, I wanted to help you out, can't I be an awesome friend and help you get the mail for once?"

In that moment Spike noticed something on one of Rainbow's wing and pointed it out.

"Rainbow, what are you holding on your wings?"

Rainbow blushed as she tried to fake her shame and moved her wings to hide whatever she had with her.

"Nothing, I don't know what are you talking about, I was just- Hey!"

Diamantis used her magic to take both her letter as well as what Rainbow was hiding, revealing it to be another letter addressed at her, making the young queen to smile with a slight smug.

"I see, so you too wanted to give your own ideas?"

Rainbow was turning red as her mouth failed to explain and her brain failed to work around an excuse for the letter.

"Don't worry, my Rainbow" -, continued Diamantis as she looked at Rainbow as if she were a filly discovered from doing something she wanted to keep in secret, - "I don't mind you writing to me, now, let's see."

After a brief reading, with Rainbow starting to feel anxious as she waited for the queen's approval or rejection of her letter, Diamantis simply looked at her subject with a soft demeanor.

"Your idea isn't bad, in fact, is one of the reasons I saw you as a good Defense Administrator" -. Rainbow started to smile as she heard those words. - "But, sadly, as nice as a small group of flyers capable of competing with the Wonderbolts sound, I cannot accept it."

Rainbow's smile was then dashed as she tried to understand why the idea was rejected.

"You see" -. Explained Diamantis. - "For your idea to work we would require advance training on the drones and we don't have neither the drones to compete against the Wonderbols neither the means to make it give us money back. I need ideas that will give us the money to pay back the debt as well as to help us out but I will keep it for later, does that sound good for you?"

Rainbow then looked dejected at the ground as she simply accepted, leading Diamantis to look at her second letter, which she noticed having a royal seal. As she opened it, and read its content, her face started to illuminate with glee as she started to fly in the air as if she was given a big prize.

"Yes! I was waiting for this since quite a while!"

Twilight and Rainbow looked at each other with curiosity, wondering what was in that letter, at which Diamantis simply read with her voice.

"Queen Diamantis, you are hereby invited to Queen Fortis's coronation, this letter works as your invitation, so careful with losing it, and it can be used to travel to Hive Castleen, where you will be received with the upmost respect you deserve and you will be given a chance to talk with Queen Fortis herself. Signed: Queen Fortis. P.S.: You can bring over whoever you feel deserves to go along with you."

Twilight and Rainbow quickly understood what it meant for them to read the letter as Spike asked away.

"So, does that mean that you'll be going to that hive? What for? I thought that Fortis was already a queen, why a coronation now?"

Diamantis, in her joy, answered as if she got the best thing in her life.

"The coronation is to make it official. Since both her mother and sister died, that made her the De-Facto queen of Hive Castleen. This coronation makes her the queen A Priori, and the invitation is my chance to formerly recognize her as queen as well as to prove my loyalty to her, as a minor queen, under her protection and you" -, she aimed at Twilight and Rainbow, - "as well as your friends are coming with me."

"What!?"

The First Journey

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As Twilight and her friends were waiting for Diamantis to finally come to the train station, it was impossible to ignore the air of annoyance they were feeling right now. Sure, the idea of going to one of the great hives and to know more about them sounded good, but they still would have preferred it if Diamantis told them of her plan to take them to it, days before the invitation could come. Still, it was quite strange to say the least.

"Ah still don't get it though" -. Said Applejack, still annoyed at this turn of events, as she made sure that her hat wasn't falling over. - "Why do we have to go along with her when her hive isn't done yet?"

Twilight simply sighed at this, perfectly understanding where Applejack was coming from but still feeling the necessity to explain what was going on.

"That's because Diamantis considers it important to have all of us going with her, so we can start getting familiarized with how changelings live as well, so she can prove how ready she is to have a hive."

Even though Twilight's words explained the situation well enough, they still found themselves on an unfair situation at their lack of choices on the matter. As they were still waiting for Diamantis, Rarity decided to bring up some questions to make some time.

"So, Twilight dear" -. Twilight turned at Rarity to see what she wanted. - "Has Diamantis told you anything about this hive we're going to or about this queen we are about to visit?"

"Well" -. Twilight started to remember. - "From what Diamantis has explained me, this hive is called Castleen and is, I think, the most populated hive as well as the second most powerful hive among the changelings."

Rainbow Dash perked up at this as her other friends gave this a thought.

"Wow, really!? And Diamantis is going to be under her protection? That sounds awesome."

"I know Rainbow Dash. And we already know her queen: Fortis."

"Oh!" - Rarity continued. - "Its that nice queen that acts so well mannered and treats everypony so well?" - Twilight nodded. - "Well, now I am quite eager to meet her properly" -. Rarity then looked at her three bags holding her clothes. - "Oh, I hope I brought enough for this journey, now I feel I'm going with a great lack of clothing for this preparation."

But, before Rarity could even move back to her house, Diamantis made her appearance on the station, disguised as the same brown pony they all saw that day she foalnapped them, as she appeared with only one small bag following her, much to Rarity's worry.

"Diamantis, dear, is that all you are going to take for something as monumental, as, meeting the queen you are going to recognize as your leader? I fear that may not be enough."

Diamantis looked at Rarity with a great amount of confidence on her face as she responded.

"Do not worry, Rarity, I am carrying all I need for this journey. The invitation, bits, some food, books to read and scrolls in case I find something worth noting. Since I don't have a hive yet I have no need to wear any type of special clothes for the occasion. Now, if you excuse me, I have to buy the tickets for the train."

In that moment Twilight realized a problem that she never thought about: They were going to a changeling hive through the equestrian trains, and Diamantis didn't look aware enough to process on the implications of how said journey, could endanger the secrecy of Castleen's location; and she wasn't keen on figuring out how real were those myths of getting disappeared but, before she could even say something to her, Diamantis spoke first.

"Now, I want you all waiting here as I buy the tickets, you could arise some suspicions."

As all the mares got baffled by that statement, they decided to wait and see what Diamantis was planning to do. They saw how she got close to the booth, she started to talk and everything looked fine. When she showed the money for the journey, the pony at the booth looked back at them and tried to mask a face that could spell worry, something that made Twilight and her friends wonder what they were talking about. In that moment, Diamantis showed what it looked like to be a badge of some kind and that made the pony freeze his face. He quickly took the badge and hid inside the booth, after a few seconds passed, he went out with seven tickets and gave them to Diamantis along her badge while trying to keep a happy face.

Twilight and her friends were shocked at what they saw. They weren't sure, but they all knew that something happened in there that wouldn't, normally, happen had the two of them been a pony, but it was hard to say what.

In the end, Diamantis came along with a happy expression as she showed the seven tickets for them.

"You see? No problem. Now, let's wait for the train to come and" -, in that moment a whistling came, telling all of them that the train was about to stop, - "Oh, never mind. Here it is, well let's get on board."

She then gave six tickets to Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie respectively as they eyed the ticket out to see what it could be saying, but their faces went with shock as they read the direction the ticket spelled for them as the train finally stopped.

"Wait a minute!" - Said Pinkie Pie. - "I know this direction, is in the middle of nowhere and is hours away from here."

Nopony wanted to ask Pinkie how she knew where it exactly was, but the feeling was the same and Diamantis didn't look fazed by this.

"Don't worry, that is why I brought some books, so we can read while waiting on the journey."

As all the ponies except Twilight sighed at the statement, Twilight decided to wait a few minutes with Diamantis while the other mares entered into the train and asked her from where she got the books. It shouldn't have surprised Twilight that Diamantis took them from the library, but it did surprise her that Diamantis actually borrowed it by following the library's rules, and that Diamanti's selection of books went from pony magic to even politics. Once the train opened, they started to to enter but, as this was happening, Twilight had to make a brief pause before entering when she saw a couple of blue and yellow feathers on the ground, as well as some streaks of pink hair on the ground.

She had her ideas of what they were, but she didn't want to pressure the owners of this feathers, and hair, about it.

The train then departed to the west of Ponyville as all the mares started to chat with Diamantis about Hive Castleen and how it was. She started to make a sheepish smile as she tried to answer:

"Well..." - She began. - "It's a very nice place to visit. I remember how my mom and I would go there whenever both her and Queen Castis had to make some discussions of relationships between hides, meanwhile, I would be sightseeing the hive to do something fun."

"Queen Castis?" - Asked Twilight with slight concern. - "Was she the previous queen before Fortis?" - Diamantis nodded. - "And what happened to her?"

Diamantis looked at the ground with some nerves before answering as if dodging a question.

"Well, both her and her first daughter, princess Manticoris, died not too long ago. This makes Fortis the next in the line of succession."

"Oh, I'm so sorry for her" -. Responded a worried Fluttershy. - "I don't know how I would feel if my parents or my brother passed away..."

"Indeed, darling" -, continued Rarity, - "At the very least we have a better understanding of why this coronation is so important" -. She then put her right hoof on her head as she started to dramatically speak, revealing, without realizing, her developing fangs. - "Oh! The tragedy! She lost her closest relatives and now must endure being a queen when she wasn't even supposed to be it! And the worst part, I didn't even bring the right clothes for the event neither did a proper dress for the new queen!"

Diamantis made a sheepish smile as she tried to calm Rarity down.

"Oh, don't worry, she probably already has some drones making the ceremony dress for her and we aren't supposed to bring gifts, our presence alone will suffice."

All the mares got weird out at this.

"Really?" - Asked Twilight with a slight concern as she turned her head sideways. - "And why not? I thought that royals would bring presents for such an event."

"Well, not necessarily" -. Diamantis continued. - "It used to be a custom but the practice was stopped a few decades ago; now, the presence of a royal works as an indicator of who recognizes the newest queen. The same way, depending of who goes also works as a mean to show how much respect is given to the new queen, and that's also why I'm bringing you with me, that way I'm showing my recognition as much as I can to Queen Fortis."

Twilight's eyes quickly bulged, realizing that this was the perfect opportunity to increase Celestia's relationship with Queen Fortis, and it was also right then when she lamented never bringing Spike with her, leaving him back at the library to take care of everything while she and the girls went to this hive.

"Why you didn't tell me?" - Asked a baffled Twilight. - "I could have told Celestia so I could act as her representative and show that Equestria also recognized her as a queen."

Diamantis gave it a thought before quickly answering back with worry.

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea Twilight, we're still not allowed to interact with ponies and Celestia putting her hoof right now could cause a political scandal that, right now, would only harm our unity in the long term."

"Wait, we?" - Applejack rebutted. - "Ah'm sorry little lady but we're still not changelings as far Ah'm aware."

Diamantis made a smug smile before answering.

"Oh, really? Then how come that Rainbow's and Fluttershy's feathers are falling? Or Pinkie's hair is shedding or Twilight's eyes are transforming? Or that Rarity is growing Fangs? And, are you really that determined to keep that hat on your head?"

All the mares quickly blushed at this remark, not able to admit the reality of what they had to endure, starting for Rainbow Dash.

"That's not it!" - She said with a slight denial in her angered voice. - "I'm just shedding my feathers a little earlier, that's it."

Diamantis then looked at Rainbow with a serious look before responding.

"Are you really sure of that? I understand that you don't want to admit it but once those wings fall off, you'll have to admit it" -. She then looked at the rest of the mares with a serious look which was very unusual of her. - "Once we get the permission, you'll have to tell your family of this before they realize too late what is happening to you. That is why one of my plans is to speak with each one of my subjects to help them cope with their transformation and that includes you, so once we get back, we'll have this conversation. Understood?"

Twilight and her friends looked at each other with a certain feeling of shame as they all nodded to Diamantis, accepting for now their fate.

After that, not much of interest happened except for Diamantis asking both Twilight and Rarity about Equestrian society and how it moved as well as all about magic and history, something which both mares enjoyed talking about. Meanwhile, Pinkie and Rainbow would be discussing about what kind of pranks they could pull out once they turn into changelings and Fluttershy and Applejack discussed about what kind of animals could live in Castleen (although for different reasons).

Hours later, the train started to make a stop in the middle of nowhere, with only a simple platform waiting for them and a large barn with a big house not too faraway from it, and it was in that moment when Diamantis rose from her seat.

"Alright, we reached our station!"

All the mares looked at her as well as the station and wondered if she was right at all, there was nothing but green plains and an endless extension of pasture going in front of them, as if that was the only thing on existence on this forsaken place on the planet, but they decided to follow Diamantis nonetheless and wondered if those empty plains were just a facade.

As they left the station and went to the small barn in the hopes of finding something, they started to hear a distinct sound that broke the quiet silence created by the plains they were into. The more they closed into the barn the more they noticed how dead it seemed at first glance with its old wall that cried for a new cape of fresh paint, the splintered wood that screamed to be replaced for something more durable, the lack of farmers at the vicinity with the exception of one pony that was creating the noise they were hearing as they got closer to the barn. It was the sound of an axe chopping wood.

This pony stallion in question, looked as if the passage of the seasons were already wearing him down, but still holding enough physical strength to work around for an extra couple of years. He was chopping pieces of wood with a large axe and, from the mountain of wood besides him, it looked like if he had been at that for the whole day.

As the mares and Diamantis came across, the stallion looked at them with suspicion in his eyes and stopped his axing as he decided to address them, with a tone of voice that only showed doubt and a silent fierceness, coming out as rude for the mares and changeling queen.

"Greetings, what reason do you mares have to visit our farm?"

Applejack took a closer look at the barn, wondering what kind of farm this was, as well as why would such stallion be so rude to a group of visitors. Nonetheless, Diamantis acted as if nothing was wrong.

"Greetings, good sir!" - She said with joy and confidence in her voice. - "My name is Queen Diamantis and I was invited by Queen Fortis to her coronation" -. She then took out her invitation and showed it to the stallion, who gave it a good read before giving it back to her. - "And I would like to know if you have a mean for us to get there or at least give us a direction to move around on this plains."

The stallion eyed Diamantis, still in pony form, for a while with scrutiny, same as with Twilight and her friends as they felt his gaze searching for any kind of danger. He then answered with a tired voice that spoke slowly and gave a big emphasis on the strong syllables as he showed no emotion on his speech.

"And what about them?" - He said as he aimed his hoof at Twilight and her friends. - "Are they aware of where they are or are they here by accident?"

Diamantis looked at Twilight and her friends as she deciphered what the stallion meant before answering.

"Oh, no. They are ponies but they will become part of my hive so they are coming with me for this celebration."

The stallion gave them all a piercing look and with a fierceness. It made Applejack remember how Big Mac could look when angry, even when looking calm, but then his eyes relaxed as he turned to the barn and shouted.

"Morgul! Casius!"

Two young stallions, an orange one and a brown one, came out from behind the farm not too long after that, with a build that Applejack recognized as still learning how to do the chores in a farm. The brown one quickly talked to the old stallion, as the orange one started to look at Diamantis and her group with the curiosity common of colts that never came out of the house, or weren't aware of the outside world. The brown one had a similar accent as the old stallion but with more energy on his voice and determination as he spoke.

"Yes papa?"

"Go and call Raphus, Guri, Wilder and Welder. Tell them that it's important and..." - he then eyed Diamantis as he made his last part on the order. - "warn them to hold their tongues. We have fine ears in here."

"Yes Papa!"

The two colts shouted before leaving and running behind the barn to who knows where, leaving the mares and changelings alone in an uncomfortable air of distrust and alienation, whose silence no one had the courage to dispel. A couple of minutes later, the two colts came back with a group of well made stallions, whose body shape could very well compete with Big Mac in a strength competition. An image that made more than one mare blush for a brief second as the old stallion talked to the young ones with his slow paced voice.

"Listen to me, here, this fine ladies are here to see the coronation of our little thunder" -. All the mares turned their heads as they heard that name and tried to figure out what it meant as the old stallion continued. - "So I want the four of you" -. He said as he aimed at the strong stallions with his hoof. - "To take them to the hive on the cart. Considering how dangerous is the road, the four of you will do a fine entourage to protect them, should something bad appear in the journey and you" -. He then aimed at the two young colts. - "will be driving the cart as these four are pulling the cart."

The four stallions' faces got shocked and were about to respond, when the old stallion responded with a cold ice tone of voice that sounded more threatening than it should, considering his tone of voice.

"And if any of you dares to complain, you will be herding Ye Old Herd for a whole year and through the fire cutter route. Understood?"

The stallions were about to probably complain, but then the old stallion started to get closer to them and, as he got closer to them, his eyes started to show some degrees of anger that scared both the stallions and the mares. Making the stallions to remain shut and went to bring the cart. As this happened, Applejack couldn't stop herself from wondering what kind of farm this was, and why would a changeling queen would have something like this so separated from her hive.

"Ahm" -. Applejack voiced. - "Excuse me sir."

The stallion turned around and started to look at her with certain scrutiny as he answered with a voice that only showed distrust for the stranger.

"Yes?"

Applejack gulped as she tried to make her next question very carefully.

"Huh, well, you see, Ah'm Applejack, from the Apple Family" -. The old stallion didn't show any signs of interest or recognition at the name, bringing nerves to the poor Applejack. - "We are a family of farmers and, as fellow farmers, Ah would like to know what kind of farm this is."

The old stallion scrutinized Applejack as the mare wondered if she didn't cross any type of taboo when making the question but, at the end, he decided to answer on his slow accent.

"Manure."

As Rarity started to feel disgust, the other mares could only ask again 'what?'

"Manure" -. The old stallion repeated once more. - "We have multiple cattle of cows so we can produce, mainly, manure out of them. We use that manure to export it to other farmers. We also produce milk, leather and meat."

The mares were starting to feel slightly sick but the old stallion kept on talking.

"We use this expands of land to move the cows into other pastures, where they can eat peacefully and we later collect their manure, and milk, to later sell it to other ponies; while the cows that are too old to move are given the euthanasia, so we can later trade its meat and skin with other hives that need it either to trade it with carnivore species or for themselves."

Applejack was about to raise her hoof to ask the old stallion to stop but he then said something else that took her off guard.

"Your family is our biggest manure buyer."

Applejack froze at that, unable to register that information. A few minutes later, the cart appeared, being pulled by the four stallions and being lead by the two young stallions. It was a cart very much reminiscent of the carts used in Appleloosa. With a roof to stop the sun and a small set of windows for the mares to look around. As they were boarding it, Twilight couldn't help but to listen the conversation between the old stallion and the young ones.

"Alright, listen here, you colts. This aren't simple mares. One of them is a queen, and the other are very important ponies, so make sure nothing happen to them, understood?"

"Yes papa!"

"Also, while the travel may be dangerous, Marcel's group left this morning for hunting so all you have to do is to keep your eyes up and make sure nothing takes you by surprise, understood?"

"Yes papa!"

"And, finally, if I discover you stood in the hive when I need you here, working on the farm, I'll send you to fish alligators for a week. Understood?"

"Y-yes... papa..."

"Good, now move it! I need you here working for tomorrow!"

And with that, the cart departed, allowing the mares to see how behind the huge barn was a medium sized house that looked about to fall apart, as it also needed some workaround, as they started to leave the place. Letting the old stallion to keep chopping some wood alone once more.

As the cart moved around, the mares felt safe enough to talk about what they were recently told.

"Can you believe such a thing?" - Rarity begun. - "Diamantis, dear, when you told me that changeling hives made their own businesses to finance themselves I never expected such disgusting practices."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"She means about the manure" -. Rainbow added right away. - "But also, seriously? Meat? Do you know how unethical it is to sacrifice cows for bits? How would you feel if your carapace were used to make money?"

Diamantis started to look around, trying to find a proper way to answer that question.

"Well... there are records that we used old carapaces to add extra layers of armor whenever we went to battle so there is a probability that we used our carapaces to make money..."

All the mares had their mouths hanged as Rainbow said what they were all feeling.

"You are unbelievable."

"Hey, don't take it so bad on the lady."

All the mares tried to look around until they managed to see the young, orange, stallion looking at them from one of the windows as the cart was still moving.

"We need to find our ways to survive and it isn't as if we felt happy when sacrificing someone like Miss Daisy."

The mares were in shock but that feeling was quickly changed to annoyance at the uninvited guest.

"Excuse me" -. Responded Rarity. - "But it is very rude to enter into a private conversation."

The young stallion blushed as he tried to get out of the mess he was getting into.

"My apologies, good ladies, but it was hard to not listen when I can hear your voices on the driver's seat."

Twilight and her friends started to blush at this, realizing that they weren't as discreet as they wanted.

"And I couldn't let you talk that way about papa's farm without knowing what we have to go through."

"Go through?" - Twilight asked as she saw her friends with doubts. - "What do you mean by that?"

The young stallion was going to answer when a green aura surrounded him and yanked him back to the front of the car as he was greeted by an angry brown young stallion.

"Casius, what are you doing?"

Casius tried to think about what he was doing before one of the stallions pulling the cart responded with great joy.

"Isn't it clear Mogul? He is finally realizing that he needs to find a female juice to be the grown up he so much wants to be!"

As the other three stallions started to laugh, Mogul simply blushed and quickly scoffed at the stallion.

"Silence Welder! You know what papa said about your way of speaking and-"

"And he said to not do it in front of the mares and we're not in front of them."

This was quickly followed by another stallion answering in an almost comical way.

"Besides, the one endangering us is Casius and his needs talking to foreigners."

Casius quickly blushed as he tried to keep his cool.

"Look, it's just that we rarely get visitors and I want to know more about them."

"We don't get enough visitors?" - Asked Welder. - "Maybe we should see if Veritis can get the message and visit you over more often."

As Casius and Mogul were turning red, Mogul quickly tried to shut them down and defuse the situation.

"Is Princess Veritis now, and you should better shut up or, else, we'll tell papa what you were doing in the milking area when he sent us to look for you."

The four stallions quickly froze as they started to shake in fear at that threat before Welder quickly recovered and responded back.

"Alright, alright, we'll cut it out but you colt better watch out what you are going to talk about, because we don't know where they come from, alright?"

The orange stallion slightly smiled as he went back to the cart's inside to talk to the mares. As he entered, he saw how they were looking at him expectantly except for the pink mare who, for some reason was blushing. He smiled as he asked if there was something wrong.

"No, nothing" -. Answered Applejack. - "It's just... what was all that about?"

"Oh!" - Responded Casius. - "No, it was just the colts being colts. So what were we talking about?"

The mares looked at each other before reminding him about the 'problems' the farm was going through.

"Oh, yeah! Those, well, there has recently been some wild animals hunting down the cows."

As he said this, Applejack felt a chill running down her spine as she started to hope for nothing like that to ever happen to her farm. Just the idea of some manticore or chimera attacking Sweet Apple Acres scared her to no end, but that reminded her of something she heard just not too long ago.

"So, that hunting group is to chase down the animals?"

"Yeah" -. Casius added with no figment of sorrow. - "We just can't let them kill our cows and after killing Ms. Thabita last night, it's a matter of us or them."

"Hum, excuse me" -. Fluttershy decided to ask. - "But why can't you just repel the monster or ask your queen for help? I don't think its right to kill an animal that has to hunt other animals to stay alive."

Casius looked up for a while before cryptically answering.

"Alright, before answering I need to know, what is your reason to go meet Queen Fortis?"

Diamantis quickly answered, whether it was because she understood Casius' concern or because she was eager to answer away.

"Oh, that's quite simple. I am going to become a queen very soon, so I am coming to her coronation as a evidence of my submission to her."

Casius nodded and continued with his answer.

"Well, at the beginning, when it was only one cow every few months, we were just increasing the security but, as time passed, more and more cows started to be taken to the point that even our guards were being killed in the process. As of now, we lost 20 cows and 6 guards. So we decided to start hunting them down before they kill the whole farm.

Regarding asking the queen, that's a bit tough. You see, Castleen's territory is very expansive and most of our population are farmers, so there isn't many actual soldiers available to help, especially after what happened a few months ago. We lost too many guards after that encounter."

"A few months ago?" - Twilight asked, just as Diamantis was realizing what was being brought up. - "What happened a few months ago?"

Casius, not aware of who this mares were neither that their loyalties were to the Equestrian princesses, instead of the changeling monarchs, he was about to give them the information before Diamantis quickly shut him up and whispered to his ears.

"This mares may be mine, but they are still ponies and their allegiance isn't clear enough yet. I have orders from Queen Fortis herself to not mention Anidis or the fight the queens had against her, and I warn you that they must not know about it."

Casius quickly stammered before correcting himself and changing the conversation.

"Don't worry about it" -. As he said this, Twilight and her friends were looking at Diamantis with some levels of annoyance but they said nothing. - "Well, the point is that the crown doesn't have enough resources to help us so we have to take care of the problem on our own."

"Wait a minute!" - Interrupted Rainbow Dash. - "You want to tell me that you have been hunting dangerous animals on your own? - Casius simply nodded. - "Are you actual changelings?" - Casius nodded, not understanding the reasoning behind the question. - "I don't believe it!"

Casius, feeling angered at this, started to respond quickly.

"Of course I am. The only reason we wear this pony shapes of because we are so close to that train station, but I have no fear of being what I am."

In that moment his body lighted into green flames, revealing his real changeling body shape, which wasn't too different from what Twilight and her friends saw from the wedding. The only difference being how his body was much more colorful with some shades of orange and yellow, and he had less holes on his hoofs and his voice remained the same.

"As you can see, I am a changeling and I have no fear of any animal that hurts my family."

"Family?" - Applejack asked. - "You see this farm as your family?" - Casius nodded. - "How so?"

"Well, it's kind of hard to explain. You see, Castleen's farms are separated from each other, to the point where those living in the farm are the only inhabitants you may ever know in your whole life so we end up seeing each other as family. That is why we feel so bad whenever our cows are attacked by wild animals."

This way of life got the interest of the equestrians as they started to wonder more about this changelings, after all, if Castleen was the second most powerful hive, why were its subject in such a bad state.

"So" -, Twilight continued, - "I remember your papa calling Queen Fortis 'our little thunder', do you know why is that?"

Casius features light up as she mentioned it but, remembering what Diamantis told him, he decided to be very careful with the information he was about to indulge.

"Well, that's because he personally know Queen Fortis."

Twilight's eyes bulged as she heard this, quickly prompting Casius to continue.

"You see, since long before I even came to the farm, former Princess Fortis visits our farm to constantly check how are we. Sometimes the visits are for royal reasons, like overseeing the production of our goods, but more often than not, she visited us to see papa and our family. Granted, now that she is going to be now Queen Fortis, that means that she won't be able to visit us as often, which has made papa slightly sad."

In that moment Pinkie Pie interjected, trying to give her piece on this matter.

"Don't worry, we can later make a party with the two of them so they can spend some time together."

Casius gave the idea a thought, wondering how the equestrian parties worked and hoping that it could help papa to feel better before thanking Pinkie Pie.

"And that's it?" - Asked Rarity. - "There's nothing else the crown can do to provide your farm with help against that vermin? How do you even know that they are worried about your farm's well being"

Casius gave it a thought before answering confidently.

"Yes, I am certain that the queens always have us on their minds. We help them and they ensure that we have what we need, it's a good system. And it isn't as if we cannot do anything on our own, that is why we have a hunting party right now going after them."

The mares started to look at each other with doubt at the potential overconfidence, Rainbow Dash being the one voicing her concern.

"Are you sure about that? I mean, we are speaking about at least one manticore and those aren't simple things. How do you plan to take care of them?"

ROAR

That sound was so familiar that all the mares opened the cart and looked outside as it stopped so everybody could watch how a manticore was running from a pair of changelings using lazos. While it looked amazing for the common eye, Applejack could see how skillful this changelings were.

Even when flying at high speed, this changelings were able to remain on the manticore's side, making it to move wherever they wanted as it tried to run away from its chasers. Eventually, the two changelings started to move their lazos at the air with a finesse that took Applejack years to master as they were looking at their prey with complete calm in their eyes.

The manticore tried to run away but no matter where it ran into, the two changelings were always on its sides and chasing it away with their lazos and, suddenly, with only a simple shout, the two changelings threw their lazos at the beast's neck, perfectly passing through its head without clashing each other out, and pulled in opposite directions.

The manticore started to feel how the two lazos were suffocating it as it tried to lash out and cut the ropes holding his neck but, as it tried to move, more lazos came out of nowhere, as the rest of the hunting pack showed up and started to subjugate the beast as it failed to save its life. Eventually, its eyes glazed out and stopped moving as it no longer was capable of breathing and its body no longer had the air to function; which brought the changelings to gleefully shout in satisfaction at this.

Meanwhile, Twilight and her friends were shocked at how a bunch of farmers subdued and killed such fearsome beast without even using magic. If this were the common folk of the Castleen hive, then they didn't want to imagine how dangerous were their Royal Guards.

After that, the mares didn't have much more to talk about and they preferred to either see the views out of the cart or chat with Casius about how they took care of the cows or if they had plans to farm other types of goods as well as talking about how was life in Equestria and Ponyville, something he took with great interest.

In the end, as the hours passed, they all fell asleep on the road. They woke up when the cart suddenly stopped and they started to hear shouts outside the cart as the night was already beginning to set in.

"Halt! Who are you and why are you taking this cart to the castle!"

Mogul's response sounded weak and filled with doubts and fear.

"I am from the north-eastern farms, the Magnus Farms" -. Applejack almost shout with surprise when she heard the name. - "And I'm here to deliver a group of changelings invited by the queen herself to witness the coronation."

"Really!? Then why are you still looking like a pony and, to corroborate your testimony, would you then pass us the permissions so we could-"

"Is that you Mogul!?"

This new voice sounded with energy and happiness that could only be compared with Pinkie Pie, making them all curious as of who were the newcomer although they, including Diamantis, only felt shock when they heard the answer to their silent question as Mogul responded.

"Princess Veritis? Wh-What are you doing here?"

"Oh! I'm here to welcome all the changelings, both royals and common folk, that comes here to see my mom's coronation!"

The energy and happiness was becoming too familiar to Twilight, now wondering what could possibly happen if this princess ever met Pinkie Pie. The fear became higher when she remembered that they were going to meet her very soon.

"Princess!" - The guard's voice sounded cautious and worried, as if this wasn't the first time the princess has done this kind of acts. - "You should wait inside the castle while we check if this drone is transporting what he claim to be transporting."

"Oh, don't worry! I know Mogul, if he is here then that means that Papa Magnus" - Applejack almost choke herself once again when she heard that name. - "deemed this changelings safe for us!"

"Princess, you really aren't trusting those low-"

"YES! I! AM!"

"Princess!"

"Mogul!"

"Hum- Yes? Princess?"

"First, you can call me Veritis, second, is Casius inside the cart? You two are never apart and, thirdly, don't you think this is amazing? My mom is going to become a queen and-"

"Yes, Casius is in there!"

In that moment the cart opened and Twilight, her friends and Diamantis saw a grinning changeling that looked like she was starting to develop her royal features, with features such as the cat-like irises, starting to grow or the first signs of a crown starting to grow on her head. Her carapace was of a mixture between the colors chrome, steel and platinum, with the platinum being the one showing the most, as her life-filled eyes were of a bright golden color while her mane was vibrating a bronze-like color that, almost, shone as if it were the real metal, she was grinning a contagious smile that only showed love of the kind only a true friend could give to another and that it was willing to become friends with anyone. She looked at the ponies with no signs of hatred, disgust or predatory eyes while seeing at Diamantis with an air of familiarity (even though this two has never met before) and then her eyes filled with an extreme joy that only Pinkie Pie could understand, as she set her views on the orange changeling that knew her since they could remember.

"Hi Casius, I'm so glad to see you here, I was so afraid that you would miss mom's coronation but now you and Mogul are here and we can see together the coronation tomorrow and, look at this, you brought friends, are you the ones invited by my mom to recognize her as a queen? If that's so, great, I love to meet new changelings, they are all so different and colorful and they all bring interesting stories of their homes, do you have stories? Why are you still looking like ponies? You live among ponies? I hope you can then tell me about them later but, for now, I would like to say:

Welcome to Hive Castleen!"

The Blind Princess

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Days has passed since Queen Castis started the mobilization of her drones on Hive Castleen to go to war. The details weren't very clear since the royal family rarely explained what they were doing, or why they were doing it on the first place. All the drones knew is that if the queen needed them, then it was something dangerous for the hive and it should be fixed soon, so they responded to her with complete loyalty or, at least, that what was the explanation that was given to Fortis, every time she asked why nobody complained of their current problems or why they followed orders without question.

Ever since she was a nymph, Fortis followed the orders of the royal family without question and this was no exception. She was aware that, whatever was the reason why Queen Castis was mobilizing them, it very likely was against something that could put in danger her simple life style back home, and she was willing to die defending that life as well as her family. That is why she was now among the soldiers, in the middle of the night, on a territory that she never saw before, surrounded by multiple changelings that she has never met before and to fight a mysterious enemy. All she could do was to wait for her queen to appear and give them all a speech before starting the battle. Meanwhile, Fortis would use her time to listen to what the other soldiers were saying.

"Do you know against who is the battle?"

"I've heard that the battle will be against Hidroxia..."

"What? But we are friends with Hidroxia, what happened?"

"Not sure, but whatever it was, now we must fight them now."

"Is it true that Princess Manticoris will also join the battle?"

"Yes, I saw her on the way to the battlefield."

"Are we ready to defeat Hidroxia? They aren't a weak hive."

"Don't worry, we got to the battlefield first and we got the numbers. We'll win as we always do."

Listen was the best Fortis could do as she waited, it helped her to stop the voices of doubt in her head that has been forming very recently, as her body has been starting to change. What used to be a normal changeling's body now looked so different, that, Fortis was now wondering if she was sick of some unknown disease: Her eyes were starting to have pupils, her head was starting to have a protuberance, she was starting to get taller and her body was starting to demand more and more love to sustain itself. Her biggest fear was that she would die due to a lack of love more than anything, but she was also afraid that she would be unable to live with her family anymore, or that she could be cast out of her hive due to her appearance. Thankfully, no other changeling has made any comment about it so far.

"Is the queen!"

Fortis quickly looked up and saw the figure she has always heard so much about but never saw first hand: her queen. She was surprisingly beautiful with her golden carapace, her slim figure, her eyes that looked so soft but with a hidden flame capable of smolder those she desired to eliminate, and her crown, which shone in the moonlight with a brightness that, only made her look majestic. It was as beautiful as Fortis imagined she would be.

"Silence all! The queen is going to talk!"

As the order came, so it was followed. All the changelings shut their mouths as they wondered what was their queen going to say, was she going to explain her intentions? Was she going to say what was going on? Where was Princess Manticoris? Those were the questions going around the soldiers and, thankfully, the queen quickly started to answer with her voice, a voice that started to talk softly but which it was still holding back its power over others.

"My drones!" - She begun. - "I know that you are wondering why are we mobilizing against Hidroxia!"

This quickly tuned up all the drones on the same thought, did something happened between Catleen and Hidroxia?

"Hidroxia, as we all know, has been a very important and historical ally to us, in Castleen, but tragedy has struck there and our relationship with that hive may now be in danger."

All the drones started to shiver at that, whenever Hidroxia went to a war, Castleen helped them and whenever Castleen went to war, Hidroxia would help it. Hidroxia was a very important trade partner with Castleen, Hidroxia's changelings usually went to Castleen to know them better the same way that Castleen changelings would go to Hidroxia to see their marvels, like their famed water fountains. The idea of having all of that broken down was scary to every single one of them, including Fortis.

Of course, Fortis, as well as many other farmers and common drones, didn't have the money to make such a journey, for only the elite that lived inside the hive (and not on the farms surrounding the hive) had the money to leave their territory, but that was a very different matter.

"I've been informed that my great friend, Queen Apothesis, has been removed from her position as ruler of Hidroxia!" - As she made her silence, all the changelings gasped as they became shocked by this. Who could dare to remove a queen? Thankfully for them, the queen continued. - "I understand your indignation! Which is why I could only fall in sorrow when I was informed by very trustworthy sources of who did it! It was her very own daughter, Princess Valeris!"

There wasn't a single changeling who didn't feel disturbed and disgusted by this. It was a long held tradition for the princess to wait until her mother would decide to pass her the title, this was more than a simple coup, it was anti-natural.

"Indeed! Apothesis's daughter was unable to wait and decided to take the throne by force! And, not only that but, when I sent some of my most important figures to talk to her and see her enter into sense, she not only decided to not listen, but she even dared to threaten us to break our relationships if we didn't recognize her as Hidroxia's new queen!"

The drones were now starting to feel anger towards this make believe monarch who was trying to play with what she could not understand.

"But fear not, my drones! For my sources also tell me that Apothesis isn't dead, she's still alive somewhere in there, and all we have to do, is to remove the fake queen from her throne and force her to bring back her mother to the throne!"

Years later, Fortis would learn that the source that provided all of this information to Castis was Queen Cerebelis.

"And this is why I'm mobilizing you, my fellow drones! I am now asking you to come with me and my daughter, Princess Manticoris, to bring back stability to Hidroxia, for it is not only for us, but also for them, for Hidroxia, so we can help them as well as everything can go back to the way it should be among the changeling society. And now, who is with me?!"

Her response was given with the sound of roars as the drones were starting to move their spears, the soldiers were starting to sheath their swords, even those who were unarmed were preparing to use any spell they could. Naturally Fortis couldn't but shout as well as she wanted to bring back order and stability to Hidroxia, she wanted to show her loyalty to the crown, she wanted to prove herself that her new appearance wasn't going to turn her into a liability to the hive. Which is why she never understood why the queen took a moment to look at her (while she was looking at her army) directly and, instead of disgust, she looked baffled at first and angered later on.

Fortis, of course, wasn't sure of how to process that stare but she wasn't going to let that stop her from helping to the hive and, so, they all mobilized against Hidroxia. Hoping to bring a peace they never knew it was in danger on the first place.

The drones quickly started to follow their queen who, instead of rising them on the air, decided to stay at ground level and avoided using their flight as they got closer to Hidroxia in the middle of the night. The drones were moving on a single line behind their queen, knowing that Manticoris must probably be not too far away from them, as nerves were starting to fall on the drones, now soldiers, especially the ones who had been in more than one battle.

Even though they were all whispering, Fortis could not stop herself from listening them as their voices sounded more and more nervous.

"This doesn't make sense, we should have met them already."

"Maybe this is a surprise attack? You know, that would explain why we are being so quiet."

"That's the thing, we may be silent, but what we would do at best is to force them into a fight they were not prepared but they should be aware of us by now."

"And, maybe we are doing a good job at staying hidden?"

"Impossible, no changeling army is that good."

Years later, after meeting Queen Cerebelis and fight along her, Queen Luxis, Queen Lixis and Queen Valeris on the Unification War, Fortis would learn that this statement was false, there was one army with enough stealth to pass by all changelings as well as their security and infiltrate even in the highest levels of security. The same one that was commanded by the queen who informed her mother of what Valeris did.

"But, in that case where are they? The last time I went to a battle, it was a common idea of two changeling armies to meet in the middle of the battlefield but we're about the cross their lines."

"Exactly, this doesn't make sense, why would that supposed monarch not mobilize her drones to fight us?

"Maybe..."

Said a voice among the crowd, a voice that wouldn't survive the night but that Fortis would, later, be told of how he was one of the few generals in Castleen with enough military experience to properly formulate a battle plan.

"...It isn't as much that the queen didn't mobilize her drones..."

In that moment, as a strange sound started to vibrate around the changeling line, a single emotion started to surround Fortis's body, an emotion that she only felt once, and it was the time she thought she could face a manticore on her own when she was but a simple nymph.

"... Maybe it is more that the queen is waiting for us to fall wherever she wants us in."

Fear.

When all the drones looked around, trying to search for the source of the noise that was growing louder and louder, they started to see how, suddenly, the stars above night sky were now moving and growing bigger, as Hidroxia's changeling army started to remove their cloak and sky bombed Castleen's line.

The enemy drones fell on an almost perfect formation, as every single one of them attacked the enemy line from both sides, but never hitting one another. They all fell on a single swoop as, holding a rapier on their hoofs, they took down at least one changeling per each barrage, creating chaos among the drones and all that was left of that famous bravado that made Castleen so fearful, was now reduced to a bunch of fleeing drones that couldn't tell apart friend from foe, making their lances useless, while the enemy was quickly killing whatever changeling was out of line or wearing a spear.

Queen Castis quickly tried to take control of the situation, rising into the air while her horn was now creating a new spell, but that was quickly dashed as her horn was quickly attacked in the middle of the air, stopping whatever spell she was trying to form, by an incoming spell, and her body was then quickly beaten to the ground by most, if not all, the enemy drones who were now tackling her with all their might, forcing her to stop moving long enough to put a ring on her horn that quickly stopped her from making any type of spell. Before Fortis could even realize what was going on, she was pinned to the ground thanks to a, now dead, changeling, whose body was pierced by one of those rapiers. All the while the drones were now trying to flee and her queen was now being taken away into, what she could guess was, Hidroxia.

The very next day, she would be informed that the soon to be recognized as De Facto Queen Valeris used a never seen before strategy, for she went against the changeling rules of war and managed to create an ambush that was never outside of the theory, for no changeling army (no exception) has never managed to mimic the night sky so well that they couldn't be detected on time for the strike.

Valeris also broke an unwritten rule that all queens followed by instinct: All queens would always be on the front line, directing their drones as they charged. Valeris, instead, decided to stay behind the line, waiting for the rival queen to appear first and then strike her before she could react.

But that would be the next day, in that moment, all that Fortis's mind could think about was how her queen was being taken hostage and she was the only drone who still hasn't ran away.

She quickly leap into the sky and tried to get close and save her queen. She flew as fast as she could, she could see how close she was getting to her, she could see how the enemy drones were trying to stop her but their spells couldn't formulate a strong enough attack that could even delay her. Fortis was now going to save her queen but those dreams were quickly destroyed as an immense force kicked her down, sending her into the ground with a power mighty enough that it made the poor drone think that her shell was about to break.

Fortis, knowing what was at stake, quickly tried to reincorporate herself into the air, but that same force quickly kicked her once again, sending her into the ground once more and, this time, it started to charge a spell with enough force that, even though Fortis was only looking at the ground as she tried to get up, she could see how bright it was glowing as its intensity was now illuminating her features. It was then that Fortis heard a voice, feminine in nature, that froze her in fear.

"If you try once more to raise yourself, I'll make sure that this spell will keep you on the ground forever."

There was something in that cold and commanding voice that was letting Fortis know very well that, whoever it was talking to her, the threat was more real than she was willing to accept, which, in turn, froze her in complete fear as her body no longer listened to what little valor Fortis was now trying to muster.

"Turn your face up and look at me now."

Fortis started to slowly move her head. Now, whether she did it slowly as a sign of rebelliousness against the voice or absolute fear to not make it angry, she wasn't exactly sure, but she preferred to do it slowly. As she turned her head up and decided to look at her attacker, she saw something that she never thought she would ever look at, something that, in other cases, it would have brought her absolute wonder but, on this occasion, all she felt was absolute terror.

She saw a changeling queen that, with her blue carapace and lightning blue eyes, was looking at her with the most threatening look that she never thought was possible of making. It was a look devoid of the love Fortis always saw on her papa, it was devoid on the warmth she always saw on the female drones that taught her how to feed on love, it was devoid on the righteousness that she ever saw on her own queen and it was only filled with the authority and coldness that could only be harbored by a queen devoid of love for anything more than power or, at least, that was what Fortis thought in that moment, for she would later harbor that same look on The Battle of the Green Fangs, years later, on the Unification War.

This was the first time Fortis ever met or saw Queen Valeris.

Despite all of that air of might, power and superiority, something within Fortis managed to come up and decided to respond to Queen Valeris, with a tone that would be unthinkable of a drone to use against a queen, not that Fortis cared at that moment.

"So, what are you going to do?" - Said Fortis to a Queen Valeris that was now raising her eyebrows at this response so unexpected from someone who was supposedly filled with absolute terror. - "Because, I warn you, as long as this humble drone has a single shed of love and magic running through my veins, I will fight for my queen, even if that means fighting an uneven battle against a changeling queen."

For a brief moment, it looked like Queen Valeris was going to struck down Fortis but, almost immediately, she then started to look at Fortis with a better level of scrutiny and then she simply laughed at her with a simple, almost silent and dismissing smile.

"Is that so? Please tell me then, what does a blind princess think it can do against an actual queen?"

Those words quickly froze Fortis as she tried to make sense of what they meant.

"Blind... princess? Does she means me? But... I'm not a princess... I'm just a simple drone... so what-"

"Now listen" -. Continued Queen Valeris, making Fortis pay attention to her once again. - "If you want to prove yourself to your queen, instead of fighting a battle that you cannot win, I recommend you to stay with your hive and lead them, because very soon you'll all that will be left from this mess of a hive."

Queen Valeris then shot her spell at Fortis, immobilizing her long enough for Queen Valeris to leave and secure Queen Castis as her prisoner, another thing that was unheard of at the time and that caused complete revulsion among the other hives in general.

By the time Fortis managed to reincorporate herself, she saw how what was left of her hive was now trying to move around the battlefield, now with the enemy away, and see who were down and who were still alive.

As she started to fly around, for in the distance, Fortis could see some spells flying back and forth. It didn't take too long for Fortis to realize what was going on: Queen Valeris was planning to capture both the queen and the princess and probably, that way, to submit Castleen to her wishes. As that knowledge ran through Fortis's mind, the same energy that helped her to rebel against Queen Valeris took her over and made her shout at what little drones were left on her vicinity.

"Fellow Drones!" - She shouted as the drones started to look at her. - "Our queen has beet taken by the usurper queen and now look!" - She then pointed at the direction where the next battle was taking over. - "The usurper queen is now trying to do the same against our princess! Are we really going to let her get away with that!? Where is the bravado that made Castleen so feared!? Brothers! Let's stop this night from turning into a tragedy and lets fight, so we can at least show that Castleen isn't a hive that can be messed up with nor taken lightly!"

And with that said, and with enough drones moved by her words, Fortis charged at the enemy drones with a bravery that would only be surpassed by herself, on the Battle of the Green Fangs, and managed to strike Hidroxia's drones with enough force to drive them back at their hive, saving Princess Manticoris from being taken hostage as well.

A few hours later, as both beaten armies merged and moved back to Castleen with the taste of a sour defeat, Fortis was taken from the lines, as Princess Manticoris was asking for the brave drone that saved her and tried to save her mother as well. In the end, surprise took over both Fortis and Princess Maticoris, as they each saw a reflection of themselves (with one being more bronze like and the other being more silver like) wondering why there was a drone that was so similar to each other.

"Who are you!?" - Commanded Princess Manticoris at the poor and confused Fortis. - "And why do you look so much like me?"

When they returned to the hive, what originally was going to be the planning of a series of attempts to bring back Queen Castis quickly turned into something else, as the lack of a queen created a vacuum of power that was quickly used as an excuse by certain hives to invade Castleen, attempting to take over its territory, inadvertently, creating the second to last war in all of changeling history. A war that would be the shortest ever recorded, lasting two years, but that it would also be the most destructive to ever be recorded, with a level of destruction that would leave all the hives involved in it almost in bankruptcy and that almost make Celestia, as well as the ponies in general, to discover the changelings but that is a story for another time.

For this story, was the one about how a blind princess discovered the future that she never knew she had, a future that would turn her into the changeling queen we all know today.

In The Hive of The Blind

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The idea of seeing a small changeling version of Pinkie Pie certainly was, among the strangest things for Twilight to ever witness, but here it was in front of them. Nonetheless, they tried to make a proper greeting; after all, this still was the new heir to the throne of Hive Castleen. So they followed Diamantis's example and they bowed to Princess Veritis as their future queen presented herself.

"Greetings Princess Veritis, my name is Princess Diamantis, and I am here to show my respects and recognition to the crowning of the, soon to be, Queen Fortis with the company of my future advisers, including my future Speaker, Twilight Sparkle."

As the six ponies raised and greeted the princess, they prepared for any type of answer that could have come up from Veritis, except for said princess to get close up to them and analyze them with her own innocence filled eyes.

"Wow! These are ponies?" - Said Princess Veritis in an excited and gleeful tone of voice. - "My mom and the infiltrators have told me of them and have even shown me their appearance but I've never seen an actual pony so close to me. Are you filled with pure love or do you have other emotions? Well, you must clearly have other emotions if you look so startled right now, what are-"

"Princess..."

Both Princess Veritis and the ponies turned to see one of the guards getting closer to them while trying to keep his calm demeanor.

"I understand that you must be very interested in meeting the visitors, but I'll remind you that other citizens as well as royals from other hives are coming, and this will only delay your Highness's coronation. So, please, could you let them pass so we can greet the other visitors? You can talk to them after all the guests have arrived."

Pricess Veritis gave both Diamantis and the ponies a good look before looking at her side. When Twilight and her friends turned around they saw, to their surprise, at least another four carts waiting for their turn to enter, quickly understanding what was going on right now, not that Veritis seemed to care too much about it.

"Oh, silly me" -. She said as she simply smiled and waved her hoof. - "Oh well, you can pass. Enjoy the coronation, I'll be searching for you" -, and she then decided to lower her tone to give it a much sinister tone, - "later" -. She then looked at the cart's riders and also said to them in the same gleeful tone, common from those who haven't seen their best friends in a long time. - "And please come in later, I really want to catch up with you two."

The group of ponies and changeling then decided to move on towards the entrance as the cart (and its changelings) started to leave, giving them time to look around their surroundings to grasp at where they actually were.

As Rarity looked back and see what other changelings were coming in, she saw the next cart being left by one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen. It was a pearly white changeling queen with multiple colored gems all over her, with piercing red eyes that moved with complete grace and finesse. She was followed by a, young, changeling princess who was more creamy white with sky blue eyes, who also moved gracefully and with extreme care. Surprisingly though, Princess Veritis was much more calmed with this two, even though she seemed to be just as excited to see them as Diamantis and her entourage.

Rainbow Dash took her moment to analyze the guards who, unlike the farmers, who seemed robust and strong for their hard work, this soldiers looked more like they created their strength and held a look of disdain for both her and her friends. Even though Rainbow understood the reason behind the disdain, she just couldn't stop but feeling angry at them for that but she wasn't sure that she was capable of taking them on and she didn't want to ruin this chance for them so she decided to stay calm.

Fluttershy managed to keep her face calm even though she felt completely afraid on her inside. She deeply wanted to leave but she knew what was at stake here and that gave her enough resolve to stay there. Nonetheless, she just couldn't stop herself from feeling watched like prey by the other changelings and that only made her feel cornered.

Applejack, as hard as she tried, couldn't but try to remember where she had heard the name Magnus before. She was sure that she may have heard of them before, after all the Apples apparently bought manure from them, but she wasn't sure from where and, even more, if that farm belonged to this hive, did that mean that the Apples were depending on changelings to work? How much did Fortis owned regarding this farms? Now she was going to be under Diamantis's watch, did that mean that the Apples were going to be under further changeling control? These were the things plaguing Applejack's mind and the faster she talked to Twilight about it, the more she would be able to assess the situation.

Pinkie Pie, meanwhile, tried to think of what kind of party would Veritis like, perhaps she would try to create something new? What kind of parties did changelings have? Was chocolate part of it? Maybe this would bring something new or interesting to her, after all, those who were pulling their cart looked like they would like a good party, maybe Veritis could tell her more about it?

For Twilight, though, she just couldn't but marvel at the grandeur of the place. Just by looking at the sides, she could see that she was in some kind of massive cave underground but the roof had some kind of spell that turned it transparent, allowing visitors to see the sky. The walls had lights all over them, allowing the cave to look like a theater (and, perhaps, that was the intention considering that they were going into the hive itself during a coronation) and, sure enough, there was a guard waiting for them right there, Twilight could see how the entrance was filled with an inviting light, making her feel like if she was on a new Grand Galloping Gala.

And all the while, the ponies couldn't help but to wonder what was going on through Diamantis's head. She was so young and yet she was acting very mature right now, perhaps it was a natural thing for changeling princesses to act like that? If so, maybe Veritis was just pretending to be so easy to excite?

When they got to the hive's entrance, the guard quickly asked them who they were and, surprisingly so, he didn't look at any of them with spite or anger. Whether it was because he actually held no problem or because he was better at masking his emotions, they weren't sure.

"Name please."

His voice was suave and kind, it seemed as if he didn't mind to stay in there waiting for who knows how long. Diamantis quickly answered.

"Princess Diamantis, future queen of the future hive in Ponyville and followed by her future advisors, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Twilight Sparkle."

The guard kept an even look before looking at the palace's inside and shouted:

"Please honor Princess Diamantis! Future queen of the hive in Ponyville! Followed by her future advisors: Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Twilight Sparkle!"

In that moment all of the mares and changeling princess took a moment to see how the entrance was filled with a red colored carpet that went through the whole entrance, the walls were of a white color that made them wonder if it was actual marble with multiple, beautiful lamps both on the walls and ceilings that all shone with mixed sources (some with fire, others with magic) and all of this combined with the stairs that were in front of them were adorned with gold covered handles with a great painting in the upper floor. All of that made the entrance alone look like a place capable of rivaling Canterlot Castle in magnificence and grandeur.

But what made them more astounded were the other changelings in the entrance. Whether they were royal or not, they all were wearing clothes that resembled their high birth or that they were wealthy. Some were wearing some kind of tuxedos, or fine dresses, there were even some princesses that were wearing what looked like to be the most expensive jewelry avaiable, making Diamantis and her pony helpers feel completely naked.

"Diamantis" -. Said Twilight, in a very low tone of voice, to the princess. - "Are you really sure it was a good idea to come without a proper dress?"

Diamantis gave them all a look before gulping.

"I think I may have committed a miscalculation."

In that moment, the guard decided to quickly talk to the newest guest as quietly as possible.

"If you go to the left side besides the stairs, you'll find a store that loans suits that are fitting for the occasion."

With a silent 'thank you', the mares and changeling princess moved to the aforementioned place and sought for fitting clothing for them.

Just looking at Rarity's face was enough to tell everyone how embarrassing all of this was for them, embarrassing enough that they would all be hearing Rarity ranting about it on the way back home (and a few days later) about how disgraceful it was for them to go in such a way, or how she was planning to show them all who Rarity was when it came to dresses, among other things.

Nonetheless, being so close to the entrance gave them a few advantages, like hearing the names of those two royal changelings that were right behind them.

"Please honor Queen Luxis, queen of the hive Minerum, as well as her daughter, the Princess Luminis!"

When Rarity and her friends turned around, they saw, to their surprise, how Fortis came all the way and even hugged said pearly white queen and started to discuss. Conversation that none of the ponies were capable of hearing.

"Fortis" -. Started the white queen. - "I am filled with joy for being here on your coronation. I never thought that this would be possible and, my apologies for saying this, but I personally think that you were more fitting to be a queen that either your mother or your insufferable sister" -. She then took a moment to give Fortis a better look and see how much she has changed since the last time they met. - "I have to say, your wing look fabulous right now. It's like it was never cut at all, I hope you give a raise to the drone that fixed your wing."

Fortis simply smiled as she tried to hold something inside of her.

"Oh, I thank you for the compliment, it's amazing what you can get when you mix Minerum's resourcefulness, Panacitum's medical knowledge and Hidroxia's skills. But enough about me, why don't you go around the place and make yourself comfortable with the others here."

She then turned and saw the changeling princess looking at her expectantly.

"And I suppose you must be Princess Luminis, is that correct?"

Seeing her nodding made Fortis very happy.

"Indeed, Queen Fortis, it's been quite a while since the last time we met face to face."

Fortis tried to remember that time, a time where the idea of being the next queen wasn't even a thought for her.

"Oh, I remember now, it was in the last Great Council of the Queens, almost five years ago, last time we met. That makes you 19 years old, is that correct?"

Luminis was now trying to hold her smile at the idea of being remembered by another royal but, nonetheless, she kept her cool demeanor.

"Indeed, Queen Fortis, I am now 19 and preparing myself to take my mother's throne when the time is right."

Luxis couldn't but form a grin as she simply giggled.

"When the time is right? Don't tell me you are planning to dethrone me like Valeris did to her own mother. I thought I taught you better than that."

The princess blushed at that and blurted a quick rebuttal.

"Do- don't misunderstand me, my queen, I am just talking in a position where our hive goes through the same event Castleen is going through, I have no intentions of doing to you that barba-"

Luxis giggles and smug smile cut short her daughter's nerves.

"Worry not, my young princess. I have no doubt in you and your loyalty, I was just teasing you, but do bare in mind on being careful of talking about that in front of Valeris, she might get touchy about it."

"Worry none" -. Responded Fortis. - "I doubt she'll get mad at you for that but do be careful about mentioning it to her daughter, Prisis, she is quite defensive about her mother's past, alright?"

Luxis quickly took the moment to ask more about it as Luminis simply nodded and let the elder to discuss.

"Oh, that reminds me, have you seen the other queens? You know, Valeris, Cerebelis or Lixis?"

Fortis made a quick thought before looking at her entrance guard, the guard quickly noticed his queen and responded to her question.

"Queen Cerebelis hasn't come yet, although she is known to just appear at this type of celebrations, Queen Valeris arrived not too long ago with her daughter, Princess Prisis, while Queen Lixis will soon arrive."

In that moment he turned around and, in the distance, one could see another cart being opened, revealing a familiar electric changeling queen with large but fragile wings slowly but surely coming out to the celebration. Something that made Fortis quite happy.

"I suppose that is it then, I guess there is only one more guest I have to put my interest in. Have you seen my newest queen? Princess Diamantis?"

The guard peeled his eyes as he remembered the princess and her entourage of ponies.

"Princess Diamantis is here, she got here right before Queen Luxis and her daughter but, due to their improper coming, I sent them to loan a more fitting dress for all of them."

Fortis simply smiled.

"Oh, that is so kind of you. Thank you very much, when Lixis comes here just tell her where we are, she'll be pleased to meet that young princess."

The guard simply held his emotions back and nodded to her, letting Fortis free to search for Diamantis as she was being followed by a curious Luxis and Luminis.

Suffice to say that, during this whole time, the ponies and changeling princess were just looking at the conversation happening but were unable to figure out what they were talking about as they were finding a proper dress to wear, which is why they started to panic when they saw the two monarchs, and princess, coming their way and some of them weren't ready yet to receive them.

"No, this one has too many flowers... no, this one has a horrible mix of colors that doesn't compliment each others... Oh, Celestia, this one is green..."

If it weren't for the fact that most of the guest were inside the palace and that the loaned dresses were hidden by the stairs, most royals and guest would have found the view quite hilarious.

As the ponies were starting to panic, Diamantis quickly talked to them.

"Calm down all of you, I know this may give you some anxiety but, trust me, just calm down, let me do the talking and only talk if they talk to you, alright? This is nothing different from meeting Princess Celestia, all you have to do is to stay calm and respectful."

With that said, all the ponies, including Rarity (who finally found a white dress with purple gems decorating it) managed to calm down and knelt down as the royal changelings got close enough.

"Greetings, your majesties" -. Said Diamantis as she knelt down to both Fortis and Luxis. - "I'm humbled with your presence."

At that, Luxis made a brief glance at Fortis and gave her an approval nod for the princess's behavior, Fortis responded soon afterward.

"Greetings, princess Diamantis. I'm glad to see you accepting my invitation and coming to my coronation, once the event is over, we can properly discuss for the drones I'll be borrowing you."

This statement made Luxis to raise her eyebrows.

"Borrowing drones to a princess, Fortis? What, please tell, could be your reason to do it?"

"Haven't you heard?" - Responded a calm Fortis. - "This little princess will be forming her own hive very soon."

Luxis couldn't stop her shock from showing.

"Already, but she looks so young, how old are you?"

Diamantis started to blush as she looked at herself being forced to answer, which was going to be heard by her future workers no less.

"I'm 15 years old... your majesty..."

"15!?"

Everybody turned around at Luminis, whose face looked in a mixture between surprised and angered.

"That's impossible, I'm 19 and I'm still not ready to have a hive!"

In that moment a series of thought crossed through Luxis's mind, both memories of a certain event that transpired in the Collective's Palace about a month ago as well as what the newspapers were talking about very recently.

She had to ask.

"Princess Diamantis, dear" -. She said in a calm tone that was only hiding a storm that all of them were well aware of. - "Could you please tell me where is that Hive you are going to make?"

Both the princess and the changelings were starting to shake at her, fearing that everything was going to get worse than the Grand Galloping Gala, but Diamantis decided to respond, as rules of etiquette ordered.

"Ponyville, your majesty."

Luxis immediately realized who she was and who were those ponies right there and many thoughts started to pass through her mind but, before they could focus in either her mind or voice, Fortis took her in and talked to her.

"Isn't that great? So young and she is going to hold a hive on her own."

Luxis gaze quickly moved towards her fellow queen and if Fortis was aware of the indignation, anger, disgust or even a glimpse of all the turmoil going through Luxis right now, she was quite good at faking it, because Fortis looked completely unaware of it, much to the ponies shock.

"That reminds me" -. She then got closer to her. - "If you find Cerebelis, please mention her that I have to talk to her before the coronation begins, that conversation includes Valeris, Lixis and you as well."

All the changelings and ponies were baffled at this sudden change of topic, even more as Fortis then decided to exclude Luminis.

"My apologies princess Luminis, but this is a conversation between queens, I hope you can understand."

Fortis then gave Luxis a glance and something in the way it was looking at her told Luxis that, whatever it was, this conversation was urgent, prompting her to agree with her fellow queen.

"I suppose that's how it is" -. She then looked at her baffled daughter and said to her. - "My apologies Luminis but this a conversation that may be too important to ignore" -. She then gave Diamantis a look and added. - "Now, would it be too much from me to ask for you to aid a fellow princess and help her on the etiquette for this kind of celebrations? I'm not sure of how well can she fare by herself and I doubt that the other royals may be as merciful as we are."

Luminis gave both her mother and Diamantis a look before accepting her demands, much to the queen's joy, and watched them depart, whispering something between each other and for no one else to hear.

"Is Valeris, somehow, behind this?"

"Of course she is."

While adding a confused Queen Lixis (who was just discussing with an Amber-colored changeling queen in that moment) to the group.

Luminis then decided to share a glance at Diamantis (and it was impossible to not notice her bitterness) before finally addressing her.

"I suppose I never introduced myself properly, hadn't I?" - She then knelt down in respect and saluted. - "Greetings, my name if Princess Luminis, from Hive Minerum."

Diamantis then knelt down and saluted as well.

"Greetings, my name is Princess Diamantis, future queen of the future hive in Ponyville" -, she then turned to Twilight and her friends and presented them as they knelt in the order they were named after, - "and this are my future administrators: Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy."

Luminis's eyes quickly glowed at hearing those names.

"Oh, I know who they are. The Elements of Harmony, saviors of all Equestria thrice. The first by defeating Nightmare Moon and redeeming Princess Luna, the second time by turning Discord into a statue and the third by aiding the defeat of Queen Chrysalis" -. She then turned to Diamantis. - "I am quite surprised that you convinced them to become part of your hive, please tell, how did you do that?"

Diamantis started to get nervous, she was aware that the deal was supposed to stay secret to the equestrians but she was told nothing about whether or not the other changelings were supposed to know about it but, thankfully, for her, Twilight Sparkle decided to answer.

"My apologies but it was promised that the reasons why we accepted would stay secret. Isn't that right, my queen?"

Hearing those words almost shocked Diamantis but she regained herself quickly and took Twilight's words quickly as an answer.

"Indeed, when they were convinced to join me, it was promised by both parts that we would keep it a secret."

Luminis accepted the answer but, for her, it still wasn't enough for her, so she decided to discuss a little bit more.

"Alright then, I suppose, but, please tell, when are you planning to transform them? I can see quite well that they are still equestrians and the transformation wax can take a while, are you going to transform them while you are searching for more drones?"

Diamantis was trying to form an answer when Luminis saw how Twilight's eyes suddenly changed between its normal coloration and the common blue reserved for changeling drones. She then decided to give a better look at the other ponies and quickly realized what was going on.

"Hold on" -. Luminis continued. - "Don't tell me that you already used the transformation wax but released them before the transformation was complete?"

All the ponies and Diamantis became worried at that, not knowing what to say. Thankfully, Luminis didn't seemed too mindful of that.

"Well, I have to say, this is the first time I hear of something like that. I heard rumors that the transformation wax would still work even if you removed the ponies from it if they stayed in there for enough time... I suppose this proves correct that myth."

Those who still remembered the conversation held between Celestia, Luna, Valeris and Fortis, were also remembering Valeris's story of what happened with the transformation wax. If what Luminis said was true, then, how come Valeris was aware of the answer to that myth but never revealed it to the public? Was she even telling the truth or she was bluffing back while hoping to scare Celestia with a myth?

But, if she was bluffing, then how come she made up such a detailed story just to make up a story?

"Nonetheless, I think you should finish the transformation" -. Continued Luminis. - "It's preferable to finish it and wake up as a changeling rather than seeing slowly how your body mutates. I doubt it'll be a nice experience."

An uncomfortable silence came after that, making Luminis wonder if she said something wrong, but Diamantis changed the conversation before the silence became too uncomfortable.

"We may discuss about it after the coronation is over but, and I hope you don't mind me changing the topic, I have to admit that, right now, I don't think know enough about the etiquette regarding this kind of celebrations. I thought that just my presence would suffice and I seemed to be wrong. Does that means that I had to bring a present as well?"

At this, Luminis chuckled before answering with a more lighthearted tone.

"No, you don't. That custom died long before you were even born but you should have brought proper clothing to this and any future celebration you find yourself in, understood?"

Diamantis nodded while trying to ignore any potential look from Rarity as she tried to continue the conversation.

"I'll sure do, now, is this your first coronation? Because this is my first time and I would like to know how to properly behave."

Luminis gave a closer look at her appearance before saying anything else.

"Well" -, she began to talk, with a tone of voice that shown her criticism but not any kind of ill intent, - "for starters, you should walk more uptight and with dignity. Even if you are a hiveless princess, you must still act as the royal changeling you are.

On the second place, you definitely must have some control over your future administrators. Since they are here, that means that anything they do will be used as an idea of what kind of royal you are.

And, on the third place, You better be careful with the royals you may encounter in here. Some of them, like Queen Lixis or Queen Amyrillis, may be nice to you but not all of them will treat you with kindness and some queens are better to stay as far away as possible."

This gave all the ponies and princess some curiosity and, for the better or the worse, was the first to make the question.

"Like Queen Valeris?"

Luminis gave Twilight a very scrutinizing eye that made the unicorn flinch and squeak a small response.

"Is just that, the few times I've been close to her she always gives of this feeling of-"

"-her just wanting to kill you?"

Seeing how Luminis finished the conversation with such a non-worried tone almost disturbed the ponies but, considering who they were talking about, they were starting to get used to it as Luminis continued.

"I've been with her before, I know what you are talking about and you aren't the only one who feels it."

She then gave the idea a thought before making a smile and answering Twilight's question.

"Don't worry, she may act serious and cold... and be really scary, but she is of good intent... at least that is what my mother says about her."

Seeing her doubt made all the ponies uncomfortable and, noticing this, Luminis tried once again to dissuade them of their fear.

"But don't worry, she isn't a tyrannical monster that will destroy you if you don't agree with her. She wouldn't have achieved all of this if she were like that."

It was Applejack who decided to interrupt this time around.

"Achieved? What has she achieved?"

Luminis gave her once more an scrutinizing look before answering.

"Well, to start off, she has the most powerful hive among the eight great queens of Changeling society, she is the Lady of the Higher House in the Collective's Palace and, most importantly, she ended all the changeling wars almost ten years ago, among many other things."

Seeing the ponies baffled faces, Luminis had to force herself from smacking her own face when she remembered the fact that this were ponies and they probably weren't aware about changeling history, but she had to be sure.

"You didn't tell them, didn't you?"

Diamantis simply moved her face in a negative way as Luminis now had to explain all of that to the ponies.

"Alright, I can explain but, princess, if this are going to be your administrators, you must remember that they need to know about us, sooner or later, alright?"

Diamantis simply nodded before Luminis decided to explain some more details.

"You see, before the first Great Council of the Queens, almost ten years ago, it was a very common theme between changelings to be at war with each other."

The ponies gasped at this revelation, not too sure about what to say but Luminis made sure that they didn't interrupted her again.

"Horrible, I know. Every two to four years on average, some hives would go to war against each other, sometimes for territory, other times for political disputes, some other times because their allegiances would end, it could be for almost any reason; this lasted for so long that there is no record of when has the first war ever happened, and it was like that until almost 15 years ago, when Valeris declared war with the help of another four hives (including mine and Castleen itself) to all the others and, after four years of war, her alliance, The Great Coalition, managed to obtain a victory that resulted in peace among all the changelings, something that, to this day, was considered impossible."

The ponies gave those words a thought, remembering the day when the negotiations happened and how Valeris looked so calm at the idea of fighting Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, was that for her military experience? Twilight was now wondering just how different could have that fight gone from what she originally thought.

"Peace?"

All the ponies and changelings turned around and saw a reddish female changeling wearing a green dress, it was as an uninteresting appearance as it could be but her condescending tone was enough to draw the attention to her.

"Can you really call this peace when there are still rogue changelings like Chrysalis? Even if you want to ignore her, not all changelings have benefited from this and many of them have been suffering, or do I have to remind you of The Purge of The Middle Queens Valeris committed 8 years ago?"

Luminis flinched but she quickly responded back.

"I don't remind you inviting you to our conversation miss...?"

"Lady Vertebrae, at your service."

"Well, Vertebrae, you should know that it is very rude to enter into a conversation" -. She then looked at the ponies. - "or to talk when nobody has talked to you yet."

The ponies flinched at that while Vertebrae simply scoffed at that.

"May be so, but I cannot stand here while listening how are you praising that barbaric queen although, I shouldn't be surprised of that, after all, your hive is part of that 'Great Coalition' that has only brought more harm to us than good."

Luminis got shocked at this blasphemy and retorted.

"Harm? Can you really call 9 years of peace 'harm'? Sure, I have never said that it was perfect, but, for the first time in history, we can now solve our conflicts without having to go to war, trade routes between changelings are helping our hives to increase in numbers and, yes, we may have to deal with groups like the CAHL from time to time, but they are nothing compared to wasting your resources in a potential war or being cut off from all other hives by alleging neutrality."

By this point, Luminis looked like she was now started to lose her calm while Vertebrae was just smiling at her.

"Alright, you can stay as blind as you want but you cannot deny that Valeris herself is a monster and anything coming from someone like that is destined to fail."

By this point Luminis was cut short of arguments and could only stay silent.

"Really? Could you please provide some actual evidence?"

Everybody turned around and saw a light blue changeling princess with her body starting to form the body of a proper changeling queen but the one thing that stood out the most about her, and the one thing that shocked the ponies the most, was the huge scar going through her eyes. From the upper side of her right eye to the lower side of her left eye.

"Because, as far I am aware of, most of what Queen Valeris has done has been justified or is a correct move from the right perspective."

Vertebrae simply smiled at her.

"Would you look at that, I shouldn't be surprised of seeing Valeris's daughter defending her but I do have to say, haven't you heard that is rude to interrupt?"

"Tough words from someone who has recently done so. Please practice what you preach."

"It would still be better than someone who dethrones her own mother."

"It's not like she was a good queen to begin with."

"Or what about starting three wars between changelings? All of them bad for us and with one in particular being the worst in all of our history."

"Please, she only officially started one, the other one was by accident and she never started the third one, those are just lies spread by her enemies."

"Or what about those who have been exiled for criticizing her?"

"Do you mean those who fled after being discovered aiding her enemies and were later pardoned after the wars were over? Or those who have alleged to be exiled but are still living within her hive?"

"Oh, I suppose you are then going to justify her being the sole ruler of all the changelings then?"

"Those are lies, she doesn't rule over the other queens, she let them do anything they want as long as it is under the law and follow the rules of changeling society."

"You mean the ones she created?"

"It was agreed between all of them and ratified on the very first Great Council of the Queens."

It was a back and forth between the accuser and the defendant, with none of the spectators being able to tell apart who was the liar and who was the one telling the truth and all of them were starting to feel uncomfortable until a ring was heard with a changeling announcing in a loud voice.

"Too all the invited guest: The preparations are done, you can all come to the throne room to see Queen Fortis coronation. Please follow the helpers at the halls that will direct you there!"

At this, Vertebrae simply smiled and ended the discussion.

"I suppose we can end this conversation later. See ya then."

And with that, she disappeared into the hallways, with none of them wanting to get any closer to her. Valeris's daughter then decided to give the ponies and princesses a glance and decided to speak to them.

"My apologies for that rude behavior, I just really don't like seeing individuals like that whose only desire is to speak ill of others."

Luminis simply smiled and responded with a kind voice.

"Oh, don't worry dear Prisis, I actually want to thank you, for I was running out of responses to that dreadful royal. Ugh, I still can't believe that there are changelings that think like her."

Prisis then decided to give Diamantis, as well as the ponies, a closer look with her penetrating gaze, letting very clear to Twilight how similar was the daughter, compared to the mother, as their eyes had a certain threatening essence that scared her a lot.

"Well, I recognize the Elements of Harmony which means that, if the news are right" -, she then gave Diamantis a quick look, making the princess flinch, - "you must be the changeling that foalnapped them."

Diamantis couldn't stop herself from blushing and stuttering.

"I-uh-yes, I did... I mean, I know now that it was a bad..."

Prisis simply moved her hoof as a sign to ask her for silence as she simply responded, with a still calm voice.

"We can talk about it as we move to the throne room and see Queen Fortis's coronation" -. She then moved her hoof to herself. - "My name is Princess Prisis, daugh- first born by Queen Valeris, from Hive Hidroxia."

The ponies wondered about that skip as Luminis simply rolled her eyes at that, meanwhile, Diamantis decided to properly present herself.

"My name is Princess Diamantis" -, she then thought about the ponies and continued, - "future queen of the future hive at Ponyville with my fellow administrators, Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy."

They all noticed her lack of mention of her mother and made them all question why but for different reasons each. For the ponies, they wanted to know what was the taboo of mentioning DIamantis's mother, was it related to Diamantis now being on her own? While the Princesses were wondering why was she trying to keep secret something that all changelings were aware off, maybe the ponies weren't supposed to know about it?

Nonetheless, they started to move through the white hallways as they all contained stained-glass windows which all had either foreign views or changeling figures that Twilight nor her friends could guess who they were.

"So..." - Diamantis continued, directing her new question at Luminis. - "If Princess Prisis was already aware of what I did, and you didn't seemed surprised by it, does that mean that you were feigning ignorance when you asked me how I convinced them?"

Luminis simply chuckled at that.

"Indeed I did princess... you see, my mother told me how you were among the few secluded hives known so far so, once I was left alone, I decided to see how well could you fare among other changelings."

"And...?"

"Well, it wasn't the worst case scenario but it also wasn't the best you could have done" -. She then turned and looked directly at Twilight and her friends. - "And that includes you."

Twilight and her friends opened their eyes and, Twilight, tried to respond to that.

"Us? But I said that it was a secret."

"Yes you did but after that stammering it was quite obvious that it was a just made up excuse. You should have it prepared either in accordance with Diamantis, your future queen, or by your own. There are many queens, princesses and royals searching for any sign of weakness to seize it and all of you gave it to them, you must prepare for next time, understood?"

The Ponyville guests looked at each others eyes, deciding that they would need to meet each other again and make a better preparation for next time. They all nodded, accepting their silent agreement and continued on their journey.

"And" -, Diamantis continued, this time with a more secure tone of voice, - "do you have any advice for me?"

Luminis looked at her, this time with a softer look, and sighed.

"My apologies, my humble partner, but I have none. I may be studying with the best knowledge avaiable to become a queen, but I have little to no practice of it."

Diamantis started to look down in disappointment when, without a warning, Prisis decided to give her piece.

"I have some practice."

Diamantis's eyes glowed with hope at that and waited for Prisis to tell her more while Twilight would listen and keep all of what she has been looking so far to herself and later analyze what she would tell Princess Celestia.

"At the beginning is hard" -, Prisis started to say, - "since you have no idea where to move but, once you start hearing your subjects and order their necessities based on what matter to the hive as a whole, you start to get an idea of how to move around. Some subjects will demand you to do the most menials tasks that they alone could settle while some will humbly ask you for help on problems that they alone cannot handle, sometimes it would be viceversa and sometimes none of them."

All the observers looked curiously at Prisis when she said that, hoping for her to elaborate but she only said.

"Hive Hidroxia have seen some crazy weeks from time to time."

She then continued.

"When it comes to finances, while it is true that you should have one or two main sources of income from your subjects" -. Twilight's friends perked up at those words. - "You must always remember that your subjects will want to try their own ventures and your help could give them more help than you could think. Sure, some, if not most of them, will fail but I assure you that the ones that will succeed are going to repay you beyond your initial investment and those who fail will feel grateful to you for at least giving them the chance to do it. Just be careful with how you handle the money."

Diamantis was, at this point, angered of not bringing something to take notes of but, thankfully, Twilight was and after a quick agreement to share them when they returned to Ponyville, Prisis finished her advice.

"Regarding security, I wouldn't try to do much because you will be in Ponyville and that place is much safer than other hives, due to it being located so close to Canterlot, like you wouldn't believe, but one or two guards to protect your changeling citizens will suffice."

With all of that said, Diamantis looked once more at Prisis and thanked her, at which the bluish princess simply said 'you welcome'.

"Prisis" -. Suddenly said Luminis. - "Please tell me, how old are you again?"

Prisis looked at her curiously and responded.

"I'm 18, why?"

Luminis just remained baffled and said in a tone of voice that reminded the ponies of a certain fashionista.

"I have to speak to my mother quickly, you are just one year younger than I and you are already starting to handle a hive while I haven't even tried. This is completely unacceptable, unacceptable I say!"

The ponies, except Rarity, just couldn't stop from giggling, causing the changelings to look at them with wonder and ask what was so funny.

"Sorry" -. Started Rainbow Dash. - "it's just that you remembered us of Rarity and her way of acting with her fru fru attitude."

Both Luminis and Rarity blushed at that and said... at the same time.

"What? excuse moi! But I am quite sure that showing how well educated you are as well as following the norms isn't something to... joke around..."

As they realized that they talked at the same time, Diamantis couldn't but join in the laughter while Prisis just smiled while it looked like she was trying to hold a laugh, although she still decided to join in the fun.

"You know what they say, so is the mother, so is the daughter."

At this all of them, except a blushing Luminis and Rarity as well as Prisis, who was still trying to look collected even though she was laughing on the inside, were laughing at their expenses. In the end, both Luminis and Rarity joined in the laughter for a bit as they started to get close to the throne room.

"Alright" -. Said Luminis. - "Both Prisis and I have to get to where our mothers are so I guess this is a temporary good bye but, who knows, maybe we could meet again. After all, with the next Great Council of the Queens getting closer and closer, perhaps we could decide to meet each other again before that event begins, maybe we should invite other princesses?"

Prisis gave it a thought and added.

"I don't see a reason to say no, Veritis would surely join and Pituiris just loves to have fun, especially in celebrations."

"Pituiris?"

Asked a curious Twilight, at which Prisis decided to respond.

"Yeah, she is the daughter of Queen Cerebelis. she's more similar to her mother than she would like to admit but less... uhm... dangerous... and more... uhm... prankster... if what she does could be called a prank."

"Really?" - Asked a curious Pinkie Pie at the idea of meeting a fellow prankster. - "What kind of pranks she does?"

"Oh, he usual" -. Said Prisis, not knowing the world danger she was starting to set. - "making traps, scaring others, as long as she can have her fun she will do anything to anyone. In fact, I think her favorite is to pretend to be someone else and just say comments that... would... infuriate others..."

As both Prisis and Luminis started to connect the dots, their faces quickly started to fill with anger at which they simply said their farewells, they put a facade of calm and prudence and walked into the throne room, leaving Diamantis and the ponies (except Pinkie Pie) into a state of mystery, wondering what was all that about.

Nonetheless, they saw the next room and prepared themselves for what they were about to face.

"Alright girls, are you ready?" - Said Twilight, at which all of them nodded. - "Alright, just remember what we were told and..."

"Let's go."

And with those final words coming from Diamantis, they all made their best stances and entered into the room.

It was a huge white room with lights all over the ceiling with windows that were open to the exterior, letting many common changelings watching the coronation with happiness and joy, while the room itself was filled with royal changelings of all colors on both sides of the wall, letting Queen Fortis on the middle, right at the end of the room, letting her to be seen by all the queens, princesses and royals in the room.

Diamantis, Twilight and her friends picked up one of the last seats, letting them very far away from the throne and Fortis but, in exchange, they could see the balcony, which allowed to see a wave of changelings shouting and screaming in joy as they were bathed by the moonlight and the torches illuminating them.

How were they seeing the event was a mystery to Twilight, for she was unaware of how there were giant speakers on the outside (she would realize when the ceremony began, as the sound from the exterior would reach her ears more than the sounds on the interior) but she could sense their joy as the idea of having a new queen was finally coming.

And when the ceremony began, her mind just couldn't keep up with magnificence given to it, only Celestia could match something like that, should she want.

It all began with all the lights shutting down and a small chorus that started to sing on a low tone in parallel to the lights being out. As each light was once again turned on, they, each individually, started to focus solely on Fortis and her bronze like carapace, making her figure shine and glow as the chorus started increase their tone and singing, making a lyric that was on a language that Twilight couldn't make out but it wasn't equish.

As they all saw Fortis alone, with her white dress adorned with gems of all colors, with the most simples on the bottom and the most rare and expensive on the top (with a pink diamond in the shape of a heart being at the top inside a crown) and each shining thanks to the lights. She looked magnanimous and solemn, as if all of them were simple figures compared to her and she was a holy being being brought down from the skies by an all mighty being that was sending its blessing in the form of a queen (what Twilight wasn't aware off, was that it was exactly about that what the song was chanting about) and, as the song went in crescendo, the more lights were focusing on her to the point that she herself was starting to illuminate the room, making it shine in multiple colors that gave off each a different kind of emotion. covering each one of the guest but then, with the song keeping its tone but still managing to sound more saint and holy, the lights started to focus on the pink gem at Fortis's crown, turning all the room into a lovely pink color that gave the idea of her transmitting her love.

And in all of that time, Fortis appearance shifted with the tone of the song, at the beginning, she was impassive and distant but as the lights were focusing more on her pink diamond heart, her features started to get softer, as she started to look at everyone with love and compassion.

The song then reached the top of its crescendo but with the chanting just keeping the pace as if the blessing couldn't be contained and now had to spread to everyone around them and all of the ceremony reached its peak as the song got into a single high note, with the light being reflected on the pink diamond heart now being so bright that it was even reaching the outside and Fortis now smiling in a way that Twilight has only seen in Princess Celestia.

To say that the ponies were enchanted with the event was only putting it lightly.

They loved it.

When the chanting finished, all the lights returned to normal, finally allowing Twilight to see the room properly and it was amazing to see how she wasn't the only one mesmerized by what she saw. Not only her friends but even the queens were astounded and with many of them letting their mouths hanging in shock at what they saw.

Even Valeris couldn't stop herself from tearing up at that while the other queens around her were smiling a pure smile that was just too strong to keep down while Prisis and Luminis were unable to process what they just saw.

Twilight would later figure out that Veritis stayed quiet for the rest of the ceremony, as she herself could only look at that and feel at peace with herself.

Not too long after that, an old changeling in white robes came out of nowhere, or he just appeared while everybody was blinded by the light, and moved next to Fortis. His voice was soft but with authority as he then asked to her.

"Do you, Fortis, swear to uphold the laws and traditions bestowed upon you?"

Fortis's voice was strong and powerful as it could be heard on the outside.

"Yes, I do."

"Do you, Fortis, swear to defend your citizens with your life and do anything you can to keep them safe and happy?"

"Yes, I do."

"Do you, Fortis, swear in the name of the almighty creator that you will uphold his values and make an example of them to this and any future generation until the day you resign or cease to live?"

"Yes, I do."

"Then. I declare you. In the name of those above us and with all among us as witnesses. Queen of Hive Castleen. Should you fail, may our witnesses act as judges and determine your fate."

And with that said, the interior of the throne room was filled with hoof stomps that showed the acceptance of all the queens, princesses and royals while the exterior was filled with a resounding roar that drowned any type of sound or comment on the inside.

While the audience was still applauding when Fortis then started to move into the outside, quickly followed by the elder in white robes. Her pace was slow but careful, always showing grace as she never lost sight of what was in front of her but never losing her essence of care and protection.

Twilight never felt something like this since those days when she met Princess Celestia.

When both Fortis and the elder changeling got to the outside, the roar increased in levels that Twilight never thought was even possible but, with a simple move from her hoof, Fortis managed to calm them down so the ceremony could continue.

The elder look at the audience and declared.

"I present you, your new queen! Queen Fortis, The Manticore of the Plains! May her rule shall bless you all into a new age of prosperity!"

The audience roared once more but this time with more calm, allowing some comments to be said in the inside, between the royals. In Twilight's case, the two besides her and Diamantis.

"Well, I'll admit that it was fancy."

"Same, considering where she comes from, I was expecting more of a circus from her part."

"What do you think it was all that about?"

"I'm not sure, probably some ancient ceremony that became outdated or something she decided to make up out of nowhere, you know how she has always been."

"Yeah, and to think that she is the actual daughter of Castis."

"The tragedy."

"If either her or her daughter hadn't been murdered, we wouldn't be suffering any of this."

"So you really think that she'll do it?"

"Change the administration? Of course she will. I don't know of a single noble or royal who is befriended with her, I bet you right now that she will get closer to that dreadful Valeris and her barbaric practices."

"Don't mention it, just the idea of seeing those commoners getting in their high clouds because they think that the queen is one of them... ugh, disgusting."

"Indeed... what do you-"

"Shhh."

The conversation was interrupted when Fortis decided to raise her hooves, signalling her desire to speak.

Her speech was well toned as it gave the feeling of power and authority, one that was quite well telling who was the one in charge here.

"My fellow citizens!

Thank you all for coming here! I understand that many of you have been recently worried with the murder of our previous queen as well as our first princess, Queen Castis and Princess Manticoris and I was there with you when the sarcophagus of both my mother and sister where sent to the to the eternal rest with the other queens that Castleen had through its history.

The following days after their murder were dark, especially when there is a new threat on the horizon.

But fret not!

I have been given the responsibility to protect you and so I shall do for I, for the last few days, have been exploring our territory, each one of our farms and hives under our protection and I have seen the state all of you are.

I have seen your struggles!

I have seen your predicaments!

And so, I, starting this very day, will begin making the changes needed for us not only to recover from all our hurdles but also to face the new challenges that are coming, both on the inside and the outside.

No longer will you be used as labor by other queens and get no retribution from that!

Before you realize, a new Castleen will be right before you, one that will be able to give you all the income you need to, not only, survive but, also, to sustain your whole families and beyond.

And to those who dare to threat Castleen's livelihood, I warn you already that you'll meet the fury that made us all so feared among the great hives.

Thank you all for being here, I promise you; you won't regret this bright future nor miss our dark past!

May you all be blessed and have a great future!"

She then bowed to the audience and, in response, the whole public started to stomp into the ground with so much strength that the interior started to slightly shake.

And with her speech over, Twilight could hear the last part of that conversation.

"And to think that she is daughter of Castis."

"How much do you give her?"

"With those blind subjects accepting anything she says like the dumb idiots they are? We'll have her for a long time."

"Well... it was nice while it lasted."

In that moment the ceremony ended and all the changelings started to move on their own, some went directly to the carts and left while others stayed for a while longer to make some final deeds before leaving.

Such was the case of Diamantis, who was now in front of her new queen, bowing in respect as she was now recognizing her as her queen with Twilight and her friends as witnesses.

Or, better said, with Twilight alone as her witness since her friends were already sleeping with a tired Princess Veritis who spent the rest of the night playing along with them and now were resting due to how late it was. It was surprising to see Diamantis being so woken up while feeling so tired, if her drowsy eyes were anything to go by.

"I, Princess Diamantis, recognize you, Queen Fortis as my Lady and sovereign ruler. May your rule last... *yawn* ...my apologies, until the twilight of your life."

Fortis then got closer to Diamantis and, in a sign of recognition, responded.

"And I, Queen Fortis, recognize you, Princess Diamantis, as my subject and future queen of the hive in Ponyville. May our relationship last beyond our generations."

Diamantis smiled as she finally made the first proper step to have a hive but her tiredness wasn't allowing her to stay up. Thankfully, Twilight managed to catch her and keep her up as she herself was already used to staying awake at night, a view that made Fortis chuckle.

"Well, it makes glad to see you so committed to this. Do not worry, I already have planned who to send to your hive. I'll send six drones, the best qualified I can find to help you to start the hive's construction."

Diamantis could barely stay awake but she managed to mumble something that Twilight translated.

"She says that she is thankful for that."

Then Fortis got closer to the two of them and said in a low tone.

"Now, the amount of changelings from a foreign hive indicates the amount of influence they can have on you so I deeply recommend you to not accept any amount close to what I am going to give you, it could send a bad message to the others."

Diamantis, once again, mumbled something and Twilight translated it.

"She understood."

Fortis then decided to take a more proper look at Twilight and, as she smiled, talked directly at her.

"And I thank you for accepting so well being a part of all of this. I really don't know what would it be of her without someone like you."

Twilight smiled at that and responded.

"Thank you Queen Fortis, I'm really still trying to get used to this. My eyes will, sometimes, scare me when I look at them in the mirror and I sometimes feel a deep hunger that cannot be filled no matter how much I eat but I at least have Spike to fill it" -. She then looked at the already sleeping princess. - "I really don't know how she has managed to stay like that with nopony to feed her."

Fortis smiled and responded in an already knowing tone of voice common from mothers who were aware of who were they talking about when it came to a daughter.

"I'm sure she has already done something, if she was capable of feeding 30 of you as well as herself for a whole week, then I have no doubt that feeding only herself would be no problem."

She then looked at the other ponies and continued.

"That reminds me, I talked with Valeris as well as the other queens and it was agreed that the next queen you should meet is Queen Luxis."

Twilight remembered that pearly white queen from earlier.

"The one that was talking to you? Luminis's mother?"

"Indeed, her. After talking for a while, she became very curious with Diamantis and want to personally meet her but I do recommend you to prepare very well before going to meet her, she is very secluded."

Twilight's curiosity peaked.

"More secluded than this hive?"

Fortis simply chuckled.

"Yes, even more secluded than me. She live in the north."

"Oh! So, somewhere above Manehattan?"

"No, more to the north."

Twilight's eyes started to bulge at the realization.

"But, beyond that is..."

"Exactly, the frozen north."

Twilight quickly tried to make sense of that.

"But, what is a hive doing so secluded in there? In fact, how have they managed to stay alive in the middle of so much coldness?"

Fortis looked back, remembering her previous conversations with Luxis, before trying to explain to the curious unicorn.

"Well, from what she explained me, it used to be easier to get love when the hive was created but that was a long time ago. Now, her hive, Minerum, has managed to remain alive thanks to trade and having good relationships with both Valeris and I but, before that... I'm not really sure. All she says about it is 'I would personally prefer to forget that era if it were possible to me.'"

Twilight opened her mouth in surprise and tried to wonder when it would be the right time to move, after all, it wasn't close to summer yet and that meant that the frozen north would be even colder than usual by now. Nonetheless, she was thankful for knowing that.

"Thank you, Queen Fortis" -. Said Twilight as she bowed in respect. She then remembered something in particular about the coronation and decided to ask. - "Before I forget, those lights in your coronation, as well as the singing, what was all that about?"

Fortis chuckled and responded.

"Oh, it was an old ceremony that a friend of mine, Queen Lixis, told me about."

"Really?"

"Yeah, She told me that the old queens used to do that as a mean to represent the first changeling queens and how they were always promising to share their own love to their subjects."

This was a piece of information that Twilight wasn't aware of.

"Share their love? Can changelings share their own love?"

Fortis decided to hum before responding.

"Well, I do think they can but very few try. Many tend to be afraid to share their emotions with others or... at least... that is how it has been in Castleen since I can remember... and I intent in changing that."

Twilight then looked at Fortis in a new light, now that she finally managed to properly meet her. Perhaps she was a potential puppet working for Valeris, but she definitely was someone who she could see as a nice queen. Someone she could trust... if it weren't for...

"Oh!" - Twilight said. - "I remembered and, my apologies for asking but, what is your relationship with Queen Valeris?"

Fortis gave her a curious look and simply giggled.

"Oh, well, you can think of it as friendship or, at least, the closest thing to friendship you can have with someone like her."

The statement alone made Twilight baffled and almost make her forget that it was late.

"Friends? How could that be?"

Fortis simply smiled.

"Well, I'll simply say that our first meeting wasn't on the best of moments but, as the years passed and as we started to get to know each other out, we started to see each other more as equal... or, at least, I hope so."

"You hope so?"

"Well, before my coronation, she told me that I was now a 'half-blind queen'"

Fortis then started to laugh at that, much to Twilight's worry.

"I'm not sure that was a compliment."

"Oh, it wouldn't be if it didn't come from her. Trust me, she may look terrifying on the outside but she is kind... you never heard that from me, understood?"

"Uhhh... sure..."

And with that, Fortis simply smiled with a level of kindness that Twilight has only seen in mothers and those who only feel love towards their neighbors and said.

"I suppose we can end the conversation with that. Now, if you excuse me, I'll call for someone to help you and your friends to spend the night in here. You can leave tomorrow, understood?"

"Yes, Queen Fortis."

"Good, I wish you and your friends a good night then."

And, when Twilight finally got someone to help her, she departed from the queen's throne room and went to a nice and comfortable room that, while nothing like Canterlot Castle, it was still a good sign of hospitality from the queen herself.

Author's Notes:

Alright, I lost my internet on friday morning and I had to write all of this in the meantime. Since I'm not sure if the internet will be out again, I'll post this now and search for typos later. Please tell me where they are if you find them.

I hope you have enjoyed this, this was among the chapters I wanted to write the most when I started this story and it's among the most important ones in the whole story.

Now, I am going to write one or two chapters of Legacy of Kain: Harmony's Rise before coming back to this. The next chapter for this story will be a sort of interlude well you'll know what was discussed between the queens as well as some other stuff that happened that I didn't have enough space to add here.

Have a nice day.

EDIT July 8th of 2019: If you like this and you want to support me, you can do it through my Ko-Fi. Feel free to check it out.

The Coalition's Reunion

View Online

Being late to a coronation wasn’t something that a queen like Lixis was known for, neither most queens invited to Queen Fortis’s coronation; nonetheless, Hive Castleen was so distant from common means of transportation (something considered by many queens a defensive advantage against invasions, although, it also was a detriment for trade and tourism) that the only way you could reach the hive early was if you either teleported (which wasn’t well seem due to old customs) or you decided to go very early and, as much as Queen Lixis wanted to be early, very few queens or nobles were capable of achieving such feat, since not many were used to make that kind of journey.

Nonetheless, even someone like Lixis didn’t mind getting late to a coronation from time to time, especially when, practically, all the other queens also got late; at least based on what the changeling on the entrance informed her, which gave her the time to go around the castle-like-hive and catch up with the other queens about the most recent news both between the changelings and the equestrians.

Especially the news regarding the yet to be queen being captured by the equestrians, just to be saved by two major queens (and Lixis was already betting on who were those two) and, unilaterally, negotiate with the equestrians a sort of “truce”. To say that the last few days between the changelings have been agitated would be a serious misunderstanding.

Even though Lixis’s hive, Panacitum, is the most isolated hive among all the changeling queens (something that even Cerebelis has admitted, which is outstanding considering that nobody to this day knows where Cerebelis’s hive is hidden) that hasn’t stopped her from trying to get the most recent news, regarding what is happening among those close to her dominion, and her emotions on the most recent events were infuriating to say the least.

When she first heard to the young little princess back in that day in the Collective’s Palace, she felt quite disheartened knowing full well that her hive could have been saved, but that it was preferred to sacrifice her to that blasted Anidis. Then the news changed to how various equestrians were foalnapped and when she heard of the young princess being responsible of that, she felt anger at the lack of responsibility on the way her situation was being handled; then she heard of the arrangement between those two queens, and the equestrian princesses, and Lixis could only feel fury of the kind she hasn’t felt since the days of her youth, when she tried so hard to keep her hive away from all and any kind of war between changelings.

She was well aware that the peace was brought not only through the fires of war, but also through the promise that all, and any kind of, problem that could affect the changelings could be solved through dialogue and negotiation in the parliament. The fact that in this (almost) ten years of peace there has been no war, with some hiccups here and there (like The Middle Queens Purge and the guerrillas) which was normal in a society that was trying to leave the times of war once and for all, it was a testament of how this new system was actually working. Peace was, for the first time in all of Lixis’s life, something achievable; she thought that she would no longer have to keep her hive and subjects hidden from the other queens and that, perhaps, she could finally focus on leaving her hive with a successor.

But then these two queens had to throw a wrench on the system. What was the point of creating a system where all queens could discuss how to drive the whole society when two queens (their power among the other hives notwithstanding) were acting on their own and make deals unilaterally?

“Lixis, are you listening?”

Hearing those words quickly brought Lixis back to reality and saw, once again, Queen Amaryllis and her amber-like carapace. She tried to remember but, sadly, Lixis couldn’t remember what she recently said. She was either too distracted or her age was starting to weight on her.

“My apologies, but no” -. Responded the young-looking queen. – “I mind was somewhere else, what were you saying?”

Amaryllis’s wings fluttered a little bit as she repeated her question.

“I was talking about how this situation with the equestrians was developing. Just after Chrysalis’s attack, the ponies in my territory were very agitated but now, thanks to this agreement, they are extremely cautious and distrustful of each other. My drones, as well as the queens under my protection, have more and more problems to collect love when the ponies can’t even trust in their own wives and husbands. This is extremely frustrating.”

“Oh, my, I completely understand you” -. Asserted Lixis. – “My hive has also felt the distrust and division among ponies, our love flow has reduced to a point that we would be suffering of love scarcity were not for our trade deals with Castleen, Hidroxia and Phisis.”

Amaryllis flinched at that and tried to give a piece of her mind that would aid the queen.

“You have my condolences. I may have not fallen into love shortages but it really worries me how the love flow is starting to lower” -. She then started to look at the ground, worried of what was to come, then looked at Lixis with a hint of fear and asked. – “Do you think the shortages may reach critical levels and see a repeat of what happened almost 17 years ago?”

Lixis’s mind quickly teleported her back to the second to last war between changelings, of how the love shortages were so critical that the war worsen everything to never before seen levels and almost destroys the fabrics of society. For a brief moment, she wondered if there could be a repeat of that event but a quick analysis of what was happening both among the equestrians and changelings quickly dissuade those fears.

“I doubt it Amaryllis” -. Said a calm queen Lixis. – “I doubt the equestrian monarchs are willing to let their subjects fall into such negative emotions when they believe in love and harmony. The same way, our love stores may be getting reduced, but it will only get into a crisis if this last for far too long, which is why I think that ‘deal’ was made.”

In the moment she said that, Amaryllis features quickly grew dark and with anger, evidence proven true by her wings fluttering with strength for a few seconds.

“Oh yeah, that ‘deal’” -. As she said those words, Lixis could notice how Amaryllis put as much despise and hatred as she could, much to her worry. – “I almost forgot about it” -. She then looked at Lixis with a very serious look and asked. – “What do you think is going to be Valeris’s excuse for that?”

Lixis was stumped by the question, not for how direct it was but for what it implied.

“Valeris? My apologies but, while I am aware that certain newspapers have hinted at her as the one behind it, there isn’t any conclusive evidence that actually proves it. So-“

Amaryllis moved her hoof in a manner that asked Lixis to silence, which she followed even though it was rude, and talked in a calm manner that implied how much anger she was holding in that moment.

“Lixis, I know you don’t like to jump at conclusions and I am well aware of how the media tends to be biased against Valeris (as well as many queens that share our position) but both you and I know that, even though both the equestrian and changeling press talks about one changeling queen making that deal with the equestrian princesses, there were two, and only two, queens that were involved in that.

The first one was Fortis, since she admitted in the parliament that the newbie queen involved in all of this was under her protection and the only other queen that could ever dare to, not only, put her influence into this, but also, decide to, unilaterally, make a deal with those princesses without talking first to us, is Valeris.

Now, I may not be as close to her as Fortis, Luxis, you or even Cerebelis, but I still remember how she fulfilled her part of the deal, all those years ago, when we both fought in the duel that ended in me accepting defeat to her. Not only that, but she also showed to have a logic that explains her almost erratic way to behave, which is why she managed to have so many queens working together with her in the Unification War. I know that.

This is why I ask you, Lixis, both as a fellow queen as well as a friend, what do you think is her excuse to do this? I’ve asked other queens, both under my protection as well as those equal to me and I’ve heard what our subjects say on the media. Unless she can make a good explanation to this, this action cannot be seen as anything else but the works of a queen that thinks of herself as an empress and none of the queens that signed up to this system ever agreed to allow one queen to rule over all.”

Amaryllis then softened her features and looked at Lixis with a view that only showed worry, one that Lixis never thought someone as strong and proud as Amaryllis could ever show.

“So, please, answer to me, for I am worried. If this doesn’t get fixed soon, it may be a return to the age of wars and none of us want a return of that and I am certain that even Cerebelis doesn’t want to go back to that millennial era where many of us died for territory and dwindling resources and multiple hives could be destroyed or created in a blink of an eye. Please…”

Lixis took a moment to think as she looked at the pleading eyes of Amaryllis, a queen she still remember meeting when she was just crowned after her mother died in the middle of The War of The Supremes. She could remember how she grew up to be a strong queen capable of defending her hive and how she was always there to help her whenever she felt worried or in doubt and to see her now, with the same face of doubt and worry she showed her almost 27 years ago when they first met, back in that coronation, made Lixis feel the weight of the storm looming towards the lifestyle she worked so hard to create.

Lixis’s heart broke at that display of emotions. So she gathered all her thoughts and gave her friend the best answer she could give.

“My friend, I understand your worries and I share them. During these nine years of peace, there have been nights where nightmares invade my dreams and reminds me of the age of wars, and all the friends I lost during that era, and there are some queens whose rotting corpses still plague my eyes every time I close them. My heart ache at the fact that I never had neither the strength nor bravery to defend or save any of my friends. That was one of the reasons I joined Valeris in The Unification War and is also why I was there when the first Great Council of the Queens was made. I swore that I would never allow war to ever come back and that I would do everything I could to make sure of it.

That is why I understand and share all of your sentiments. To the point of admitting that one of the reasons I came here was to meet Valeris and ask her about this ever growing problem, so worry not, for I intend to find out what is going on and make sure that none of this bring us back to that destructive era.”

As she said this, Amaryllis’s features went back to normal and showed her appreciation to her kind friend with a smile. She then decided to calm down and, to smooth everything up, deciding to change the conversation into something far more interesting.

“Thank you, now, did you hear? There are rumors that the newbie queen is here, and she decided to bring the Elements of Harmony with her.”

Lixis’s eyes widened and quickly tried to get into the gossip.

“Really? And what did she bring here? Did she brought any gift, or she thought that her presence alone would suffice?”

Amaryllis was going to answer, but Fortis and Luxis quickly came and took Lixis with them, saying that ‘they needed to talk in a more… private place,’ and didn’t allow the, young looking, queen to search for the equestrians and personally talk to both them and the newbie that started all this escalating scandal.

It didn’t take long for the meeting to be made within Fortis’s castle, in an isolated chamber, far from the other guest who could be trying to spy on them and hear what the queens Cerebelis, Lixis, Luxis, Fortis and Valeris were about to discuss.

For the first time in weeks, the Great Coalition, that force that trampled and pulverized so many queens in The Unification War and marked the beginning of a new era in changeling history, was going to discuss about the most recent development, far from the ears of changeling society and away from the common blocks and procedures in the Collective’s Palace that, usually, made it so hard to properly discuss any type of law and, just by looking at most of the queen’s eyes, one could guess what was the sentiment controlling their hearts.

One by one, from Cerebelis, to Luxis, to Lixis and to, by a minor extension, Fortis, were all looking at Valeris (who didn’t look too worried about what was going on right now) and were expecting her to explain what she just did.

For the blue queen though, while she usually got this kind of reception from those who despised her (such as Queen Zirconis, Queen Faustis or Queen Gracchis) she was well aware that she deserved to be received as the bad one, so she took a slip of tea, and opened up the conversation with the best commentary her mind could make up on the spot.

“Thank you for allowing this meeting to be made, Queen Fortis, it was very kind of you” -. She then looked at her equals and addressed them as well. – “Thank you as well for coming here, Queen Luxis, Queen Lixis and Queen Cerebelis. Even though you were invited to the coronation itself, you had no obligation to gather here.”

Maybe it was for patience, maybe it was because they were used to this kind of behavior from Valeris and they knew she wasn’t ill intended with that way to open the reunion or maybe they were focused more on other issues, but they all decided to ignore how almost cynical she made it sound to be and focus on the matter at hand, with Luxis being the first to enter in the exchange.

“Queen Valeris, first off, greetings and salutations. I hope you had a nice time in our days off; secondly, what were you thinking when you told that rookie to take equestrians and turn them into drones?” – She then took a sip from her tea and then continued her questioning. – “I am aware that her mother’s hive was invaded by Anidis and Fortis already explained me the need to replace her before the next Great Council of the Queens, but I seriously expected much more from you. Did you really think that a princess was going to do perfectly what took years of practice to all of us? Especially, when taking into consideration that we only do it, when those equestrians have no other desire in their lives to add numbers to an already populated hive, while she did it to try and create an entirely new hive out of equestrians that already have their lives planned out? It was a disaster waiting to happen.”

As she took this moment to rest and drink more tea, Lixis decided to interject and, with Luxis’s consent, give her own opinion on the matter.

“Now, I usually am not the one who likes to bemoan and chastise, for I know we all aren’t perfect, and we tend to do blunders from time to time; but this is outrageous, Queen Valeris. Acting in such a way is not only irresponsible and almost irrational but you are crossing a fine thread that could destroy the very fabric of peace we all sworn and tried to create so many years ago when we decided to join you on this coalition” -. She then took a deep breath, allowing some of her nerves to calm down, and continued. – “I’ll admit that neither you nor Fortis have given us the full picture and I know you well enough to tell that you wouldn’t commit such heinous act with no real reason, which is why I ask you for an explanation, a satisfactory one, that can allow us to work out a plan that can ensure us a better future for all changeling kind.”

As Lixis finished, the rose Queen Cerebelis decided to interject as her eyes didn’t look like harboring any kind of positive emotion.

“As you may know, I try to keep my hive hidden, so we can tell what is going on both among the equestrians as well as the changelings, and our abilities to remain undercover allow us to know where are the winds moving to; many of them are moving towards separation. The Great Queens are worried and many Minor Queens are seeing this as an opportunity to try and break away from us, with queens such as Visis, Faustis and Vulgaris to reunite and create their own confederate republic with the help of groups such as he HRF and CAHL” -. As she said this, all of the queens growled, wishing they could just do something about it but being well aware that there was nothing they could do at the time being. – “But, thankfully, since this kind of disruption could drive us into a new war, something that all changelings (including Faustis, Visis, Vulgaris and all the other queens involved into this separatist movement) want to avoid at all cost, the only way for something like this to have any kind of success is if no explanation is given soon to the population, and here is where I reprimand you, Queen Valeris” -. As she said this, Valeris remained in her stoic position, well aware that she deserved this even though she still didn’t like it, and allowed Cerebelis to end. – “Now, after hearing and reading most of the public opinion as well as obtaining some private opinions, I can assure you that the only thing stopping a war in the foreseeable future is the fear itself to it. No queen wants a return to the times of war and no drone wants to be involved in it either; that is our biggest advantage but it will only last if we manage to explain what was recently done, because the other sentiment driving the public opinion is the idea of Valeris being the one empress ruling over all of us and no queen, including myself as well as the other queens in here, could ever accept the idea of having a monarch ruling over any of us. That is the biggest taboo in our culture and history.

Now, I know you well enough, Queen Valeris, to say with complete confidence that you have no desire to be an empress, and I will defend you against those kinds of accusations to no end, for I know for a fact, that you faced your best friend, because you could not let into your heart the despotic idea of creating a queen to rule over all queens, idea that the vile Anidis has no trouble with. But there is so much I can defend when you decide to break the very rules you created and, unilaterally, make an agreement with the equestrian princesses. And there is so much the changeling society can accept from you, before they decide that the fires of war is a better alternative to live under a peace of subjugation and slavery to a yet to be supreme queen.

So I ask you, Queen Valeris, for an explanation to this recent development of events; so I can defend you from those who are willing to put their own ambitions and desires above the common good, as well as to defend a work of peace that is so fragile and under threat in all fronts; for I may be able to see and hear beyond what a normal changeling queen can, but I am still a mundane queen made by a greater power and I cannot read minds.”

Seeing Queen Cerebelis, a queen known for taking almost anything with laughs and be completely confident in most of the events of changeling life so serious was almost surreal, to the point that most queens could only feel fear at what was to come if they didn’t do something quickly.

Fortis then decided to take her turn and speak her piece.

“Now, as you may know, this is my first time being an official member of this coalition. My mother, Queen Castis, used to be the one involved into this kind of reunions and, since she was training my sister, Princess Manticoris, to be her successor, I was never given the proper training to be the kind of queen that could decide what to do” -. All the queens, including Valeris, wondered where she was planning to go with this, so they allowed her to continue. – “That is why I usually don’t try to object the ideas that come from you and I openly supported Princess Diamantis’s idea of taking equestrians to form her hive. When I saw she also foalnapped the Elements of Harmony as well, I decided to go after Valeris for advice, since she was among the few queens that would treat me with enough patience, and respect, to provide me with a proper guide into the life of a royal changeling. Sadly, I never realized that I were being spied on and that allowed the equestrian forces to locate Diamantis as well as the foalnapped equestrian citizens. When I got there with Valeris and realized what was going to happen, I’ll openly admit that my mind was being harbored with emotions to fight the equestrians and defend the princess under my jurisdiction, emotion that the equestrian princesses were, probably, keen on following as well.”

When Fortis uttered those words, Cerebelis, Luxis and Lixis gasped at how that would have ended for all of them. A fight with the equestrian monarchy, after the invasion in Canterlot, would have only resulted in the utter destruction of the love supplies and, no matter how it was looked, it was better to make a disastrous deal that could bring a temporary peace to a measly fight that would only ensure the long term destruction of the species.

“That is why” -. Fortis continued. – “I have to apologize for my behavior, should I have been more vigilant as well as prepared for the what could've been, this whole mess wouldn’t have happened.”

After hearing that, Lixis, Luxis and Cerebelis finally had a better understanding of the situation, including the knowledge of how close they were to have a complete breakdown of the fragile society they were working for so long, but they still needed to hear word from Valeris herself, who was yet to speak.

“After hearing your concerns” -, Valeris began, - “I have to admit that I should have acted with more care and prudence but, as you may have noticed, when I saw how the soon to be queen was discovered by the equestrian princesses, it was clear that something had to be done to keep the peace among changelings and equestrians, which is why I demanded for a negotiation to be made, but I have to explain something that many on the public opinion don’t seem to get or inform: That deal isn’t complete or ended. I have always stated that it would be an initial draft, that, needed to be discussed with the other queens before making it a definitive agreement with Equestria, part of said discussion included to reform our laws regarding our relationship with the nation of ponies in its entirety.”

In the moment she said this, all the queens (minus Fortis) gasped at the complete insanity of what she was saying.

She wasn’t just trying to change a simple law; she was trying to face one of the four taboos among changelings. The idea of keeping the specie in the shadows was so ingrained in their mind, that it was considered treason the sole idea of trying to change it in any way whatsoever, in fact, it was the main reason why Chrysalis was now considered an outcast.

“Valeris, honey” -. Interjected Luxis with extreme worry on her features. – “Do you understand what you are implying? I am well aware that there has been some debate recently, but there is a reason why the only ones making a case for opening up with the ponies are some changeling queens, and not drones or even royals, no one is willing to break that taboo.”

“I have to agree with Queen Luxis” -. Quickly intervened Lixis. – “This isn’t something we can simply get away with. Sure, we can make a discussion in the parliament regarding that deal but the idea of trying to change the Relationship Law just cannot go, even if we approve it on the High Chamber, it would never be allowed in the Lower Chamber when most of the queens in there aren’t even under our jurisdiction, even more, Queen Chrysalis and Queen Charbonis were under Fortis’s jurisdiction and they are no longer in there and we know Visis (who is also under Fortis’s jurisdiction) wouldn’t agree to it so, from the 13 queens that we could whip to approve it, only 10 would agree to it and the Low Chamber has 28 queens seating there as of now. We would have to make Amaryllis, Dustis and Gardenis to approve it as well as convince their own queens to approve it on the Low Chamber. How do you plan on committing such romantic adventure when we are talking of facing a taboo that has existed even longer than I?”

“Not even that” -, included Cerebelis, - “are you aware of how much would be changed with this? From our communication systems, to our schools, to the press, to even the way we relate to other species. My job, as well as my hive’s and the hives under my jurisdiction, has always been to ensure the secrecy of the changelings since before you even knew we existed, and the main reason for that is because we have seen how the ponies are educated regarding other species. Do you really think it is safe to endanger us to a group of xenophobic equines that sees us as a bunch of parasites? How do you plan to change all of that in a matter of days?”

Valeris took a sip of her tea and looked back at her fellow queens, her eyes speaking for her about the determination made towards this plan, and responded:

“I am quite aware that the equestrians won’t be open towards us so easily, even if their princesses ordered them to be. That is why part of the deal consist on having the equestrian known as Twilight Sparkle studying both our transformation wax and see if there is a way to revert its effects, as well as our society and give her the permission to report back to her princess all she finds about us.”

The queens remained silent for a while as they tried to properly analyze the response and what it entailed. After a while, Luxis decided to make her first question towards this part of the deal.

“Alright, I understand the part of allowing Twilight Sparkle studying our society, that way she can act as the first gateway for the equestrians to know about us and, I suppose, both the other Elements of Harmony, as well as the other equestrians being transformed, can act as a way to show the equestrians what we are capable off… but why allowing her to analyze our transformation wax?

The transformation wax is the mean we have to transform non-changelings into one of us, it is vital for our survival, especially when our numbers are dwindling. Not only that, but let’s say that she finds a way to stop its effects or that she found a way to reverse the process, don’t you think that breakthrough could be harmful to us as the equestrians would try to use it against our society?”

Valeris smiled as she heard this and gave her response.

“Indeed, any breakthrough she may have would a detriment towards our society. That is why I’m not afraid of what she could discover, for she isn’t the first one that has thought about researching the transformation wax.”

The queens looked at each other as Fortis asked:

“Wait, you researched it already?” – Seeing Valeris nodding made all the other queens wonder as Fortis continued her questioning. – “Is this related to the story you told Celestia about the changeling that tried to force a transformation and forced you to murder the equestrian?” – As Valeris flinched for being reminded of it, the other queens (especially the ever thirsty for information Cerebelis) got curious about this story they never heard of, Valeris nodded and Fortis made her last question so far. – “And what did you find?”

Valeris’s smile grew as she simply said with a confidence common from those who have made certain that whatever they are going to say is fact labeled on stone.

“While there is a way to stop the effects of the wax in the middle of the transformation” -, when she said this all the queens gasped, - “There’s absolutely no way to reverse the effect or to make a counter wax capable of transforming a changeling into an equestrian” -. She then smiled with complete confidence, making the other queens wonder what she did on her research to be so sure of this. – “Trust me, I made certain of that, had there been a way to reverse it, I would have discovered it already.

At best, we will have to wait for a breakthrough on how the changeling genetics work before making new attempts because the wax doesn’t work through magic alone, it works through a mixture of magic and genetic modifications in such a way that just trying to stop it with only magic or only science won’t work. It needs a very specific mixture and principle to be followed, only to stop the transformation process, and said mixture works in a one-way travel. This isn’t considering that all the changeling queens use a different formula on the transforming wax. All the attempts my science team did to reverse it or to create a counter-wax were met with utter failure, and we mixed magic knowledge from all the magic wielding species known on this planet with the best scientific technology we had at the moment, and you are all witnesses of what kind of technology Hidroxia has, and all the attempts were met with utter failure.”

The queens were very surprised by this, with Cerebelis responding with a very interested tone of voice.

“I’m quite interested in that story of yours, it must have been a very especial case for you to have tried to reverse the transformation wax and make sure that this equestrian remained as a pony.”

For a moment, Valeris’s features gave sign of her feeling sad and her eyes (Lixis would swear to herself) looked as if she tried to hold tears, but her face quickly changed and went back to the cold hearted Valeris they all knew.

“Yes” -. She said with complete coldness in her voice. – “It was a very special case. One I hope you keep your eyes out from, for is none of your businesses.”

Cerebelis simply smiled, never caring or being afraid of this kind of threats, and remained silent, never promising to not investigate on that matter. Meanwhile, Lixis would try to bring the topic back on course.

“So, the research Twilight Sparkle is going to investigate is going to end in failure? And you made the deal knowing that she will fail? My apologies Valeris, but I never thought of you as one that would do such kind of treachery.”

Valeris gave Lixis a serious look at which, to the queen’s credit, she didn’t flinch.

“Do not be confused, Lixis, for it isn’t treachery. She still can try to find, on her own, a way to stop the effect of the wax. It’s been almost 20 years since I made those attempts, perhaps the advances of technology will give her an edge that I lacked back then, but the results of that investigation completely depends on her and how capable her mind is, for she will have both equestrian and changeling knowledge at her disposal, but it is her responsibility the way she uses those means on her research. Trust me, if she finds a way to reverse it, I promise, I’ll be among the first to congratulate and celebrate her for what she achieved” -. She then looked at the other queens and said, as a mean to calm them down. – “And, do not worry, if she does find a way to reverse it, I’ll then make an investigation to counter their wax, I promise.

In the meantime, at best, all Twilight will be able to research is the wax Diamantis used on them (if she still has some of it) and I’m fairly certain that it isn’t close to be the same formula used by any of us.”

Hoping that this would bring peace to their minds, Valeris then decided to rest this specific part of her case and continued addressing their concerns.

“But I am well aware that just her wouldn’t be enough, we also have to convince their own subjects on the idea of opening up to the equestrians, which is why I have decided that, when the time comes for debating the deal with equestrian, I plan to allow the media back into the High Chamber.”

Once more, Valeris’s companions were surprised and it was Luxis this time who decided to ask first about this:

“You? Allow journalist back into the High Chamber of the Collective’s Palace?” – Valeris simply nodded as the other queens were dumbfounded, especially Luxis. – “Is this a permanent move or, after this debate, will you restrict them again to what our official news dailies say and the transcripts of what was debated among us?”

Remembering very well why she decided to restrict the press into the High Chamber, Valeris decided to give it a thought and answered with an inflection that made it quite hard to guess where her emotions where.

“We’ll see, hopefully they’ll behave this time and won’t act like a mob. Besides, this time, we’ll have more than just newspaper journalist” -. The other queens quickly understood what she was implying, but they wanted to hear it from her. – “Since the changelings have been improving on the usage of the radio, I thought, what better debate to allow our subjects to hear our debates than the one regarding our relationships with the equestrians? If this works out, we-“

“We?”

Valeris looked at Cerebelis as she dared with a simple look at the blue queen, who quickly understood what she implied.

“If this works out” -, Valeris said with a slight tone of anger while looking at Cerebelis, - “I. May decide to allow the press once again into the chamber.”

Days later, after the communication would be released and told the press that they could cover in person the debate. All the queens and princesses (and many drones in private) would make bets on how would result this new round in the fight between Queen Valeris and The Press, with many betting on Valeris quickly restricting them again once they keep on attacking her figure one way or another.

"And, hopefully” -, Valeris continued, - “the Low Chamber will follow through and, also, allow the press into their own debates.”

Fortis, Cerebelis, Luxis and Lixis would privately debate, bet and laugh at the idea of Faustis allowing any type of journalist that criticizes her on the Low Chamber, also known as her domain.

“And” -, Valeris continued, - “since Ponyville may start to get radio signals from us very soon, the equestrians may also hear what we debate regarding our relationship with them, including their monarchs.”

Valeris’s allies quickly understood it and smiled at the genius of her strategic move.

“Well” -, said Queen Cerebelis as she gave this a thought, - “some would say that, should that newbie queen use one of our transmissions on a public avenue on Ponyville, it would be hard to tell if the inhabitants of Ponyville listened to our debates when, I sadly admit, there are no security forces making sure our privacy is protected.”

As she said this, the other queens smiled, glad to know that Queen Cerebelis would allow this move from Valeris for the long-term gain. Nonetheless, it was impossible to not notice how she was feigning having a problem as her voice was drowning on irony and casualness.

“While it would be sad that a rookie commit the blunder of using a changeling radio signal on the open in the middle of an equestrian town, there is no way for my security forces to stop it on this moment. It would take a while for them to reach Ponyville just to spy on her and I would rather inform myself better before sending my police on a blind inspection and who knows how long that would take.”

She then looked at Valeris and asked on that same casual tone.

“Tell me, did you think of this on the whim or you realized all of this that day you saw the equestrian monarchs capturing that rookie?”

Valeris took one more sip of her tea and, without looking, said on the same casual tone as Cerebelis.

“Please, Queen Cerebelis, you give me too much credit. I may or may not have thought some parts of this on that moment but, I assure you, that the finest details have been made as the events have developed.”

And, with that, all the queens started to laugh at what was about to be done, after all, they were all aware on the possibility of Twilight Sparkle telling Celestia of what she may hear on that future debate, if she doesn’t give her a radio tuned to Changeling stations on the first place, of course.

“Alright then” -, continued Luxis after they all stopped laughing, - “so what do we do with the soon to be queen? And I don’t mean Fortis.”

After hearing that, Valeris brought back her serious face and said as simple as possible.

“Since we need her to replace her mother and, since the next Great Council of the Queens is going to be on the following months, we need her to have 50 drones fast, I was going to ask you to please lend her some of your drones.”

The other queens quickly got serious as they understood the implications of this and Luxis was very keen on getting as many details as she could.

“Valeris, honey, to ask us this is to let that poor queen to be very easy to influence by all of us, are you really sure of this? And this question goes to you as well, Fortis. Since this queen is going to be under your protection, are you really sure about letting us to give her our drones?”

Both Valeris and Fortis looked at each other briefly and Fortis decided to answer on this occasion.

“I am well aware of the implications of this, but we have no other choice. We need as many queens on our side before the next Great Council of the Queens and Diamantis’s mother was among the, very, few that always supported us.

Not only that, but there’s also the fact that, thanks to Chrysalis, our survival is also going to be under equestrian influence, more than ever, and we need to play a very fine thread with them to ensure our lifestyle. This is something that Diamantis can play since she is going to have the Elements of Harmony working for her, as well another 24 equestrians turning into changelings as we speak. We need another 20 drones for her and she is too young to even lay eggs of her own.”

Luxis, Lixis and Cerebelis gasped at this, feeling horrified at the idea of throwing so much pressure to such a young figure, something that Valeris was well aware as her face never shown any type of happiness while Fortis was speaking.

“What you are going to do” -, Added Lixis, - “I’ve only seen it being applied on puppet vassals and on poor queens that lost their mothers too early due to war” -. She then closed her eyes to make sure her eyes didn’t tear at the memories of what happened to those queens that were subjected to this kind of fate. After repressing those emotions, she continued. – “What kind of guarantee can you give me that you will not use her as a personal tool to impose your own personal agenda?”

Valeris then responded with the most truthful tone of voice she could muster.

“I already did that discussion with Fortis that day after we sent her to Ponyville, before this whole mess was thrown at us, and I promised that I would never use her for my own personal gain, for I’ve also studied our history and I am well aware of what happens to those queens that are subjected to be a puppet vassal.”

Fortis then looked at her fellow queens and continued.

“And now I ask you, as she will have to be sent to you to gain the drones needed to officially have a hive, to please swear to me that you also won’t use your drones or your influence to pressure her for your own personal gain. She already has to go through a lot and the last thing that I want is to also suffer from the political fight between higher queens.”

The other queens looked at each other and Lixis decided to answer first.

“Alright, for this won’t only be of good influence for her but it will also be beneficial for us, as this oath will be to ensure that we won’t let our ambitions to divide us.”

Luxis and Cerebelis looked at each other, after hearing Lixis’s words, and quickly decided to join her on the oath of never using those drones to put pressure on Diamantis nor, that, they would use this situation on her to search for a personal gain on equestrian politics, even though one of them would be highly tempted to not do so.

“Alright then” -, said Valeris as all the subjects they needed to discuss were ending for the time being, - “I suppose that we now have everything laid out for now: there will be a discussion about the equestrian deal, we’ll use that discussion as a mean to let the equestrians to hear from us, as the journalist will be allowed into the High Chamber of the Collective’s Palace once more, we’ll see what Twilight Sparkle discover from the transformation wax and we’ll give some of our drones to Diamantis so she can have a hive very soon. Now, while Fortis will be the first to give her drones, I personally think that Luxis should be the next one on the list” -, as Luxis was about to respond, Valeris quickly continued, - “it doesn’t have to be now or next week. For all we know you could start seeing the arrangements of the next meeting after our debate, so the Elements of Harmony are a bit more familiarized with you.”

Seeing that none of her fellow queens had any other problem to say, Valeris decided to put an end to the reunion.

“And now, I think Fortis needs prepare for her coronation. We’ll let you to decide what to do as well as how to deal with the equestrian guest we now have.”

Fortis gave this a thought as she realized that it was very late and it could be rude to return the equestrians in the middle of the night.

And with that, they all finished their tea and left the reunion.

After that, they all left to the coronation which went beyond any queens expectations, for all the Great Queens were there as well as many minor queens (with the remarkable mention of Queen Vulgaris, Queen Visis, Queen Montis) as well as envoys like General Vertix, representing Queen Numbis, queen of only changeling hive in Cloudsdale, or Lord Styx in representation of Queen Zulis III, of the ever bizarre Hive Marabia. There also were multiple journalist in the middle of the crowd as well as in the room with all the royal changelings who covered the events, creating one of the most covered coronations in the changeling’s recent history.

And so, after that, all the queens started to leave, back to their respective hives to rule over their subjects and all the queens had their respective opinions of what transpired that night, such as Queen Lixis.

While she was moving on her cart, all her mind could think off was on the storm coming soon to both Equestria and the Changeling Union.

In all her life, she never saw a situation as fragile as this. Sure, the threat of an ensuing war between changeling hives wasn’t knew but the idea of keeping that peace was never so treasured as now and, even more, with the inclusion of the equestrians into the mix, it was hard to tell what could come out of all this danger looming towards them.

It could be the beginning of a new, peaceful, era but it could also be the peace before a never seen storm. A storm whose result was impossible to predict even for this ancient (although young looking) queen who has seen more than she ever had the right to see.

And, still, as anxious as she was on the possible war this could ensue, she was as excited as ever to see what will happen.

But those were the thoughts of a queen that had no heir and an age that no one was capable to guess. Other queens, much younger, such as Luxis, were a different case as their lives were modeled in a different way that gave them a different viewpoint.

“Luminis, my daughter” -. The princess of Hive Minerum quickly turned and saw her mother with a worried face as she looked at what little views the plains of Castleen could provide in the middle of the night. – “There is an issue that’s been plaguing my mind recently and I would like to hear your input on it.”

Luminis’s face was filled with worry since her mother very rarely asked her for her input, only for the more serious issues and it always was for the personal types.

“Sure, mother, you can ask me.”

Luxis turned back and looked at her daughter for a few seconds as she wondered how to phrase the question until, finally, it was made.

“Do you think I did wrong on joining this?”

Luminis’s mind took a few seconds to digest the question.

“Wait, what do you mean by that mother? Joining what?”

“This coalition, of course. Do you think I did wrong?”

“Mother why are you asking me this all of sudden?”

Luxis took a moment to think back on what has transpired recently and how different everything was just a decade ago and continued.

“Well, I was remembering how everything was before The Unification War, how we didn’t have to worry about what the other queens, or their hives, did, we didn’t have to worry about the issues plaguing Equestria, about how we may not have it easy, sure, but we also didn’t have to fill obligated to work for other issues. Back then, I decided to join this because I was tired of having our hive living in misery, I wanted to bring back our hive to its old glory and to be part of the big players once again and, so far, I feel accomplished but, sometimes, when I remember all we had to go through, all the queens we had to destroy, all the hives that were finished for the war, all the negotiations we now have to go through if we want to make a simple trade deal, and now how close we may be to a new war if we don’t go through this fine thread carefully. Whenever I have to remember all we had to lose and take in order to gain what we needed, I wonder if it was worth it” -. She then asked her daughter once again. – “Do you think I did the right thing?”

Luminis understood the gravity of said question and decided to look at the outside to think. For how long she reflected on her mother’s question? She doesn’t know, but she took her time to remember how living on Minerum was before the peace, before The Unification War, before even meeting Valeris and even what her hive’s records remembered of before even her mother was born and, after thinking in all of that, she answered with the best she could make out.

“I was born in the middle of The Civil War and it was because of my birth that we didn’t become part of said war. During my early years, I was witness of how our hive, despite having enough numbers to be considered a great hive, it, was so low on love and resources that you could count the number of changelings that didn’t live in poverty with your head. I remember, from my escapades, of how very few younglings were capable of surviving their hunger. The only thing allowing us to survive was a blind stubbornness that refused to allow death to take us out all at once, and I will always wonder how we managed to survive all those centuries despite living in the Frozen North.

Then, Valeris came and offered us to join her in that risky adventure in exchange of love, resources and the means to put all our technology to good use beyond distracting our citizens of how precarious their lives were, at the price of going to war, following her command during said war and putting at risk, more than once, our sovereignty whenever foreign troops had to be moved through our territory and we changed traditions that were considered parts of our identity.

The pay-off resulted in our dead tolls reducing to never before seen levels, the poverty has reduced dramatically, we are the third strongest hive among the great queens, our voice is taken into consideration whenever the Parliament has to create or reform a law, our technology has influenced and revolutionized all changelings across Equestria.”

Luminis saw her mother as seriously as she could and decided to give her conclusion with the wisdom becoming of those who are preparing to inherit the throne.

“Had you not accepted that deal, I would have; and if I had to choose between this way of life and what we had before, I would choose this a thousand times over. Mother, even if you doubt, I am certain that you did the right choice and I will be there for you no matter what transpires in the following days.”

Hearing those supportive words, Luxis decided to relax and sit the rest of the night with her daughter as they shared their stories of the coronation.

“And what do you think of the soon to be queen, my daughter?”

Luminis remembered her good times with the princess and her equestrian envoys and simply responded:

“Oh, she was delightful. I have to say, if she is the one who is going to receive me whenever I visit Ponyville, then I am so eager to visit them on the following weeks. I want to see how that place is before the equestrians become witnesses to what a changeling can do to them.”

A similar situation was happening with the queen and princess of Hive Logos as the two of them were laughing at the jokes they were making at the guests that night, with Princess Pituiris being the one boasting about how she was teasing a bunch of princesses.

“Oh, mom, you should have seen her face” -, laughed the light-pink princess as her mother was suppressing the giggles, - “Prisis was so angry as I dissed her mother that she would have turned red had she been able to show any kind of emotion.”

“My lovely daughter don’t be fooled by them” -, commented Cerebelis, - “Hidroxia’s royal family may be masters at restraining their emotions but they are very prone to let their emotions drive them and that makes them so easy to tease.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I just teased Valeris with her constant fights with the press and, had I gotten enough time, I would have also teased her about some of her most recent blunders” -. She then giggled with joy as she remembered Valeris’s face when she was reminded of that time she had to duel Amaryllis, the amber queen almost roasted Valeris more than once in that fight because the blue queen went to that fight half prepared. – “Those glares may scare the other queens but I find them hilarious.”

Pituiris took a moment to think back at what happened that day and, after some thinking, decided to ask her mother’s opinion.

“By the way, I’ve been hearing what the other queens think, so far, and I know that you were speaking to Valeris and the other queens in the coalition so… what have you decided to do to stop all of this from melting into chaos?”

Cerebelis looked at her daughter with uncertainty as she remembered what was discussed. She may have looked confident back there, but she still had her personal doubts about its execution and how effective it would be, especially when it came to the Equestrians and their dismissal of races different from theirs.

She then smiled, as she remembered the amount of times the changelings have been close to be dismembered and still managed to pull through and said to her daughter.

“It’s a secret.”

Pituiris harrumphed and played along her mother’s way of talking.

“Oh, come on, that’s not fair. I’m your daughter.”

“It may be so, but there are some secrets and surprises that must be kept from even your closest families.”

Pituiris’s smile vanished as she heard those words and went back to the window, isolating herself from her mother as she mumbled.

“Well, it wouldn’t be the first secret you held from me.”

A similar coldness was found on the cart moving the Hidroxian Royal family, but it wasn’t because there was tension between the mother and the daughter; it was more because the family’s nature was to be cold between each of them.

Both Valeris and Prisis were looking at the cart’s surroundings, each trying to find a topic of conversation but failing at it.

“That coronation was something to behold.”

Started the princess with a cold tone of voice, with the mother quickly responding with the same cold tone of voice.

“Indeed, in all my life as a queen, I’ve never seen something like it.”

Prisis remained silent for a while, effortlessly trying to keep the conversation going, before remembering something about her mother.

“Your coronation wasn’t like this, was it?”

Valeris remembered the day he removed her mother, and the ensuing chaos that came from it, and answered with her usual cold tone of voice.

“No, it was a mess. The minor hives under our protection rebelled at the start, with Queen Zulis III being the first one to openly rebel.”

Prisis scoffed at that.

“Of course she would.”

Valeris smiled at the comment and continued.

“And, after much talking with the minor queens, she was the very first one to recognize me as the successor of Hive Hidroxia.”

This shocked Prisis, forcing her to make an actual facial expression, much to Valeris’s delight of seeing her daughter showing emotion.

“Really!? Her? Of all queens!?”

Valeris smiled as she finally got something to open up a conversation with her daughter and continued.

“Yes, my princess, she was the very first to recognize me but, since I had to be crowned very quickly in order to stabilize the hive, it was a very lonely crowning and without much fanfare compared to Fortis.”

As she mentioned this, Prisis remembered something that she would like to be certain for future references.

“That reminds me, she was there when Castis tried to invade Hidroxia all those years ago, wasn’t she?”

Valeris’ mind went back to that battle, her very first, and how she won so easily but she also remembered her first encounter with the now Queen Fortis and how she wasn’t even aware back then of her status as a royal changeling.

“Indeed, she was.”

“And how much has she changed from back then?”

Valeris gave it a quick thought and, said with much calmness.

“Well, back then I called her a ‘blind princess’ since she wasn’t aware of her royal status.”

“Oh” -. Prisis tried to wonder how it was possible for a princess to be unaware of her position, but she quickly asked. – “And now? Do you still consider her blind?”

Valeris took a moment to think on how Fortis has changed through all this years. How she became more determined and knowledgeable, of how she has managed to keep her hive in place despite it losing a queen and a princess but, also, how she was still committing blunders that have put into danger the changeling society.

“No” -. Valeris responded. – “I think she is now half-blind.”

Prisis took her moment to analyze what her mother said and after some thinking, she decided to keep her comment to herself.

Valeris, meanwhile, decided to take advantage of her daughter’s silence to ask about something else that happened that night.

“Now, if my memory doesn’t fail me, I remember that you were mingling with the Elements of Harmony, is that right?”

Prisis quickly remembered her little encounter with Twilight Sparkle and the other ponies as well as the future queen Diamantis and answered.

“Yes, I did my queen.”

“And, what do you think of them?”

Prisis took her moment to think about the ponies and, after some quick thinking, answered.

“Well, at first glance, they looked as any other pony I’ve seen but reflecting quite well their respective elements, but I would need seeing them for a longer period of time to give you a better opinion of them.”

“I see.”

As the cart was falling again on its typical and uncomfortable silence, Prisis decided to do one last attempt to make a conversation before going back to her musings.

“I also met Diamantis.”

Valeris’s eyes widened as she remembered that she, too, was invited to the party, not because she wasn’t interested but rather because her mind was having other priorities, after all, Diamantis was Fortis’s responsibility.

But she wouldn’t miss another chance to make a conversation with her only child.

“Oh, really? And what do you think of her? Do you think she is prepared to make a proper queen? Or does she need some practice?”

As Prisis remembered how Diamantis went to the coronation without the proper clothing and invited six equestrians to a changeling gathering but, she also was well versed and showed to be proactive regarding changeling customs but, just as with the ponies, that was only a first impression.

“I think that she may need some help to be a proper queen but I may be wrong.”

Valeris simply smiled.

“I see, well, we can see if something can be arranged for you to meet her in Ponyville on a future day.”

As Prisis heard this, she wondered what her mother could be aiming with this, but she would ponder on that later. It was very late, and she was feeling tired.

It could not be said the same about the heir to the Castleen throne though, if she was already being known for something, was for being very energetic, even for foals of her age. So energetic, in fact, that she had no problem staying late with her mom, saying the farewells to the changeling guest.

“See you soon, Lord Styx” -, said the new Queen Fortis to the last guest leaving her hive, - “please salute Queen Zulis from my stead and, if you ever need something different from your usual food, you can ask me.”

“And if you ever need something interesting to do that isn’t the usual royal bureaucracy, you can join us into some shark hunting” -. Said the royal envoy with his usual harsh but well natured tone of voice as his clothes hid some scars that Fortis wondered if they were done for the shark hunting or something else.

“Thank you, Lord Styx, I’ll consider the offer.”

And, right before the cart closed, the royal changeling shouted.

“And is: Queen Zulis III!”

And, with that, the cart departed as Queen Fortis waved the farewell with her daughter right behind her, also waving the farewell but with much more enthusiasm.

“Do they really do shark hunting mom?”

Fortis looked at her daughter with delight as she answered with a lovely tone of voice.

“Yes, they do. Since Hive Marabia is a fishing hive, they tend to go after sharks whenever they want to get something different on their diet or if they want to sell meat at a higher price.”

“And who eats that?”

“Well” -, responded Fortis as she tried to remember what Valeris told her last time she pondered on Hive Marabia, - “there are some changelings that like the taste and there are some species in Equestria that tend to import it to their respective kingdoms.”

The young princess opened her mouth in surprise as she wondered how it would taste something so demanded.

“It must probably taste really good if so many want it, right?”

“Hum, probably. I’ve never tasted it.”

Veritis, gave it a thought before getting an idea.

“I know, why don’t we go to Marabia and taste it on our own? It will even be fresh.”

Remembering what Valeris told her about Marabia’s Tartarian heat, for a moment, Fortis remained reluctant, but she also remembered where the hive was located and responded to her daughter.

“We’ll see. We first have to make some preparations, after all, we just can’t go to their hive empty handed, right?”

Veritis nodded as the two of them started to move back into the hive.

“And what about the young princess with her equestrians? Are they leaving yet?”

Fortis remembered Diamantis and the reason why she was still in Castleen.

“No, Diamantis has something else to do with me before leaving and, since it will be too late by the time we end, I decided to let them stay the night in Castleen so they can leave in the morning.”

Fortis’s smile beamed as she heard this and asked with joy.

“Really? So I can play with them!?”

Fortis gave it another thought, it would be nice to have someone to actually play with Veritis instead of just following her.

“Sure, in fact, I’ve even heard that one of the ponies likes parties and playing games.”

As Veritis’s smile was started to widen to non-possible levels, Fortis decided to add her simple condition.

“But you’ll have to ask the ponies first, understood?”

Veritis nodded as she started to go with her mom back to the hive, ready to see if she could stay awake for some more time. Meanwhile, the mother would remember the conversation held before her coronation and hoped that her rule would survive the incoming storm that was moving toward them.

The Battle of The Green Fangs

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Somewhere in the lands, close to The Frozen North, where the ice can be seen from the distance and the cold wind can reach those living on the plains, there was a small regiment of changeling soldiers. It was morning, so they were all starting to make the proper shifts between the night and day guards; they were all in guard and prepared for an enemy attack, for they were aware of the importance of their position. They were in the frontier between Castleen, ruled by Queen Castis, Minerum, ruled by Queen Luxis, and Visectia, ruled by Queen Visis; they were all aware of how Queen Visis could attack at any moment, since it wasn't a secret to anyone of her desire to invade Castleen's territory and become a Great Queen, and these troops weren't going to allow it, even if they had little resources to fight.

They could feel the cold going through their carapace, as they had little protection against the weather, and they were waiting for the scouts to come back with wood, love and other edibles that could fill their bellies and protect them from the cold, hoping they wouldn't suffer any attack during this war. This was because they didn't have much weaponry avaiable to fight, they didn't have any of those weird gems made by Minerum neither medicines, like the ones from Panacitum. All they had to defend themselves were spears and some blades reserved for the high ranking officers, including their princess, who didn't have much training on the art of war since most of the better trained soldiers were on the other fronts, helping the war effort while their ally, Hive Hidroxia, was fighting on the other side of Equestria.

By this point, what would later be known as the Unification War was at its peak, with the changeling territory hidden within the kingdom of Equestria divided in two parts: on the Eastern side, Valeris was fighting to ensure the other Great and Middle Queens would give up to her demands. On the Western side, Queen Castis was fighting to do the exact same goal but, the difference being, that Castis, despite having more troops and resources than Valeris herself, wasn't gaining many battles and the queens on her side were giving a bigger fight than Valeris's front. Between the two queens, there were many Middle Queens that wanted to get involved on the war, mainly to earn some territory for themselves, and they were only being blocked by Queens like Cerebelis and Lixis, making sure that no queen on either side would manage to fuse their armies and grow stronger, with Queen Luxis, and Princess Fortis, only having to worry for the hives of Visectia and Bizektia.

This were the things passing through the mind of Princess Fortis, as she wondered why she was given the task of making sure Queen Visis wouldn't dare to cross Castleen. It was true that, as a Princess, Fortis had the duty to defend her hive and subjects but she didn't have much training nor enough resources to fight, on the case of Visis taking the offensive, in fact, the more she thought about it, the more it felt to Fortis as if she was given an unfair position.

It's been seven years since Princess Fortis, now 23 years old, was discovered by her sister, Princess Manticoris, after saving her from being foalnapped by Queen Valeris, and all Fortis has known ever since then its the annoyance of being a royal, the suffering of knowledge and the loneliness of popularity, what a great way of thanking her.

It wasn't enough that she was separated from her family on the plains, but she was also forced to make studies that she had no interest with and, even though she was being told that the drones liked her, she was only surrounded by royals who never seemed to appreciate her while having a very secluded life. It would have been fine if she was given any task whatsoever to practice being a princess but, the problem was, she was never given such responsibility.

Whenever a Minor Queen came to Queen Castis for advice or help, Fortis would be put aside or neglected from this information. Whenever a common drone came for an audience with the queen, either for advice or for help, Fortis was denied of access to this moments. Whenever the Royals were going to debate on the creation of a new law, Fortis was never invited to such events.

Not even when Valeris came to Castleen and negotiated with Castis the plans regarding the war, not even an explanation about that (including the why would Castleen and Hidroxia become allies again) was given to Fortis, but she was still told that she had a duty as a Princess of Castleen, and it was this same excuse what forced her to stay on such a precarious place, preparing for an invasion that she wasn't sure if it would come or if she had the resources to defend against.

It was under this mindset that Fortis was looking at the Frozen North, hoping that, should an attack come, Queen Luxis would follow her promise of aiding Castleen against Visectia or any other hive trying to invade her post. Granted, Luxis was also a queen with very few warriors but just her presence would help.

In the meantime, Fortis would try to gather resources to keep the morale of her troops up and see if she could increase her strength against any potential invader. Sadly, she wouldn't get more chances to do so as her scouts returned with the companionship of a drone, who didn't belong to her hive or any of the hives in the Great Coalition, and who was holding a saddle bag that looked too well decorated to be a common soldier.

As the drone entered into the post, he took out a scroll from his saddlebag and shouted openly his desires to speak with the post's commander, as he was bringing a message from Queen Visis herself. Worried for this new development, Fortis quickly met the messenger and asked for his intentions.

"Greetings, commander" -, said the messenger, fully aware of Fortis's position as a princess, - "I've come in the name of Queen Visis to ask you to surrender this military command post to her."

Seven years ago, for that rudeness, Fortis would've slapped the changeling right there but, today, she knew better. She, instead, remained calm and ignored the fragrant insult the drone committed by not addressing her by her royal position.

"This is a demand that I cannot concede, for I lack the authority to move on my own but, even if I had the authority, there's also the military importance of this post. It's what marks the frontier between Castleen, Minerum and Visectia, to surrender it, I would be letting our enemies to invade Castleen with no restriction."

The drone kept his calm facade and responded with simplicity.

"Queen Visectia also warns that, should this demand to be denied, she'll then use her might to attack this post and continue towards Castleen. This letter is just a formality towards your soldiers."

"Queen Visis should remember" -, Fortis continued, - "of how Queen Luxis is also sided with Castleen and, should Queen Visis try to invade this post, she would have to fight a queen and a princess together."

"Do not be so confident on Queen Luxis, for she may be too busy dealing with Queen Bizis right now. Should you try to fight back, Queen Visis will be done with this little scrap before Luxis gets even close to defeat Bizis."

As she heard this, Fortis tried to think on the opportunities being given to her.

On one side, if Fortis surrendered, then Castleen would be open to be attacked by the enemy and who knew how much levels of destruction would be made before her mother could take care of her. That isn't even counting the possibility of what would happen to her if she allowed Visis to take her as a prisoner.

She could fight but, if she tried to delay her until Luxis could come to help, it would only be an assured defeat. She was well aware of how little resources she had at her disposal. This only gave her one choice, if she was going to fight, she would have to do so with victory as her objective.

"In that case" -, Fortis replied, - "you can tell Queen Visis to fight Princess Fortis. I'll be waiting for her."

For a brief moment, the drone looked as if he was trying to hold a laugh but his face remained calm and responded with the same attitude.

"Alright then, I'll deliver Her Majesty your response, commander."

He then left the post, leaving Fortis alone with her subjects in order to prepare her plans against Visectia. No defensive plan was going to be made, if she was going to win, the offensive was the best strategy.

A few hours later, the forces of Castleen, lead by Princess Fortis, met the forces of Visectia, lead by Queen Visis, in the plains close to the Frozen North. Visectia had 1500 troops, all of them ready to fight with light armor, blades, spears and even war gems; meanwhile Fortis had 500 drones with no armor and only holding light spears as weapons.

Visis had her army divided into three divisions: one on the left flank, one on the middle and the other on the right flank; Fortis could only have her army united into a simple garrison that would move wherever she ordered them to. Fortis was well aware of how everything was against her, but she would not waver against the army surpassing her, she would fight and win this or die trying.

As such, instead of waiting for Visis's troop to attack first, Fortis waved her blade and signaled her troops to mobilize to the air. She (and what little drones of her knew of spell craft) then started to cast a shield spell that would protect her troops from magical attacks, forcing Visis to try and attack her with a direct confrontation.

Here is where Fortis would start the second phase of her strategy. She started to move her troops around the battlefield and made small attacks against each flank individually, thanks to her shield spell, she was capable of getting close enough to make light attacks against the enemy soldiers and flee before they could properly respond; this, in turn, made each flank to fall in her taunt and started to chase her around the battlefield, creating three groups of masses that were trying to catch up to her.

In the meantime, Fortis would keep her watch on the flank being lead by Visis and try to keep her in the front of her troops, this is why Fortis would keep on moving her soldiers around the battlefield; she had to make sure that Visis's troops would be close enough, so they were on a constant chase, but far enough to stay mobile and outmaneuver her enemy.

Visis would, occasionally, try to make attack on a distance along her troops to see if she could hit Fortis's weak army, but Fotis would remain on keeping her troops on the air, despite the cold wind hurting them, to keep on having the advantage on agility. Meanwhile, Fortis would notice how the three flanks would, as the fight kept progressing, merge more and more into a single, massive, unit that was only focused on chasing her around rather than having a solid strategy that would have destroyed her on the long run.

How long Fortis had to stay on this tactic? She wasn't sure, the sun's position was irrelevant to her, but she did take notice of how her enemy was now a single unit, chasing her around and had their queen in the front and center of the massive attack unit. Just as she wanted.

Fortis quickly started to move back to her post, her troops following with no doubt on her leadership, and saw, to her glee, how Visis was chasing her with no question of what could possibly be her enemy's strategy. For all Fortis knew, or cared, Visis probably thought she was a dumb changeling due to her humble origins, perhaps Visis was thinking that Fortis was a coward that was just trying to delay the inevitable, it didn't matter. In the end, all of those were exactly what Fortis was planning to capitalize on in order to win.

As soon as she was far enough from Visis's troops, she activated the spell that rose a wall of green fire between her troops and Visis's, she quickly stopped and shouted the order that would be remembered in Castleen's military history:

"Turn over!"

In that moment, all of her troops stopped their flight and turned back, following her princess's orders, and went straight to the wall of green fire, at full speed, while using their magic to create a small shield that would protect them from the flames. As Fortis managed to get on the front of her troops once more, she gave a great shout that was immediately followed by her troops.

When Visis's troops managed to reach the wall of green fire, the last thing they hoped to see coming out of it were a changeling army shouting with great fury, their fangs, being colored by the green fire, gave off the illusion of being made of the same fire that could harm normal changelings. Neither Visis nor her troops had enough time to properly plan the next move, they immediately stopped their chase and, all the drones in the front of the massive unit of 1500 soldiers, turned around and tried to run away from the furious Castleen changelings.

As the Visectian troops in the front started to run, they quickly clashed with the troops in the middle, who also crashed with the troops in the back, and created a chaos that was made worse by the Castleenian troops that were going through all of them without stopping. In the end, while many historians debate on the exact numbers, it cannot be denied that the chaos generated by Castleen caused most of the casualties inflicted on Visectia.

What originally were 1500 troops of great soldiers capable of standing up to Queen Valeris herself, were reduced to less than 1000 soldiers who fled from the battlefield, with their queen (one of the most promising, and respected, among the hives in Equestria) being defeated, and captured, by a simple princess that was raised by simple, common, drones. Not only that but, as it would later be find out, Visectia put so many resources on the invasion (which were also taken by Fortis's troops) that the hive became bankrupt and most of its workforce was too weak to properly work after the battle.

In other words, Fortis turned a Middle Hive (a hive that was close to be part of the Great ones, such as Hidroxia, Castleen, Piroxia or Logos) into a Minor Hive and, Visectia, was so weakened after its defeat that, in order to survive, it would seen itself forced to accept to become into a vassal, subjected to Castleen's rule.

It didn't help that Bizektia, Visis's ally and sister hive, was destroyed to the ground by Queen Luxis, with not even a queen or inheritor to take the crown. With no ally and surrounded by two powerful regents, Visis became a Minor Queen that would, forever, feel grudge towards Fortis as the princess of Castleen, thanks to her victory, would solidify its position, both among the Castleenian society and the Great Coalition; while Visis, the queen of Visectia, would require Castleen's help to keep her hive afloat and would only show her scorn in the Collective's Palace.

Meanwhile, Luxis would notice Fortis's strategic ability and would have her on her side to fight off the queens causing troubles to Lixis and Cerebelis in what would be known as "the middle campaign" of The Unification War. Fortis would never have the full command of changeling troops again, in the war's duration, but she would always be there in the war reunions that Valeris would make and Fortis's voice would always be listened by the other queens.

What many historians would always find interesting is that, while Castleen have the records of Fortis being the victor of the Battle of the Green Fangs, for some reason, she wouldn't have the same recognition outside of Castleen. It would also be found as "fortuitous" of how Fortis wasn't so well known outside of Castleen until Queen Castis and Princess Manticoris died.

The Journey Back Home

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As Twilight woke up in her room, she took a moment to see around and remember that she wasn't sleeping on Ponyville, she slept on a royal changeling hive and she could barely stop herself from trying to investigate more of this place. She turned around and saw her friends, now starting to wake up, as they all noticed how they were all being woken up by natural light.

Twilight, being the one most woken up, tried to search around for the light source and found it. It was a small window on the upper sides of the room, said window had near it a series of mirrors that reflected the light around the room, creating a lot more light than what would be usually possible and made the room more lively.

"Good morning girls... wow, I didn't notice how fancy this room was last night."

As Twilight turned around and saw Rainbow Dash, she followed through and looked at the room as well. The walls were well cut and painted with beautiful mixtures of orange, brown and dark yellow, making the illusion that the room wasn't carved out. The furniture was all of cedar and coated so it wouldn't fall victim to the problems of time and there were paintings everywhere.

"Ohh, I have to agree with you, darling" -, answered Rarity, - "All these furniture looks wonderful and the paintings are of great quality and they look so well preserved" -. She took a moment to look at the painting of a young, golden and regal changeling queen holding a golden scepter with a big, red jewel, on the top. Looking at the royal garments, the changeling's demeanor and the dark colors surrounding the figure, Rarity took a guess to value the painting. - "Well, this painting must be worth hundreds upon thousands of bits. I wonder who this changeling was."

"Well" -, Fluttershy guessed, - "she probably was a queen, if we go by her looks."

All the girls looked at the painting, wondering who probably was the imposing figure, before their stomachs reminded them of their hunger.

"Well" -, Twilight giggled, - "we can probably guess while eating. Let's go girls."

They were about to leave when they noticed two ponies still sleeping, Applejack and Pinkie Pie, and as they got closer to wake them up, shock overcame and forced them to gasp at their appearance. Both mares started to wake up and greeted their friends, not getting why they were looking at them with complete shock.

In the case of Applejack, a simple move of her hoof towards her head told her all that was needed to know, as she felt a small protuberance on her forehead and quickly covered it with her hat. In the case of Pinkie Pie, meanwhile, she wasn't immediately aware of why her friends were looking at her with those faces but, as she waved at them, she then noticed some pink hairs falling from her hooves; she then looked over at her body and saw how there were many parts lacking any type of hair, but that wasn't what scared her (or her friends) it was, rather, how instead of flesh, on the hairless spaces, one could see blackness that was slowly expanding on her body.

Seeing Pinkie Pie quickly hiding under her sheets brought some concerns on her friends as Pinkie started to peek out her eyes from the bed.

"How much did you see?"

Twilight and the other girls started to look at each other, worried, and answered.

"Not much" -, answered Twilight Sparkle with a calming voice, - "don't worry, Pinkie, you aren't the only one going through it. We can keep it a secret."

Pinkie took out her head from the bed's sheets and responded with some hints of worry on her voice.

"I know you're also going through it, it's not that; it's just... it's not so noticeable on you. How am I going to explain the Cakes or the other ponies at Ponyville that I'm losing hair? We can't tell anyone or else we might get disappeared... girls, I don't want to disappear."

Twilight tried to think of something to help her friend, but she came up with nothing. She had no knowledge of illusion spells at the moment and she wasn't sure if she could come up with anything at the moment, but she then had an idea that would help, not only, her friends, but also the other ponies that were being transformed into Changelings.

"I know, considering we are in a hive belonging to a Changeling Queen, maybe they have something in its library that could help me to create an illusion spell to cover us up."

Twilight's friends gave her some questioning looks but didn't have anything good to retort, so they conceded on her plan. It was in this moment when the room's doors were opened and a group of changeling guards entered in, they looked at Twilight and her friends with certain scrutiny, while keeping their faces neutral, and asked with an even tone.

"Greetings, did you rest well last night?"

All the ponies nodded before the guard continued.

"We're here to escort you, so you can have your breakfast. Are you ready to come?"

The ponies looked at each other, noticing how they still needed to brush themselves before answering.

"Would you mind if we take a few minutes before departing? We've just woken up."

The guards nodding and were about to close the door before Twilight moved towards them.

"Uhm, excuse me" -. The guards stopped and looked at Twilight to see what did she want. - "You see, we are transforming into Changelings but we still live among ponies. So, I would like to know, if you could escort me to your library and see if there is some book on illusion spells, so we could keep our transformation a secret."

The guards looked at each other before muttering something for a moment, they then turned towards Twilight and nodded.

"Follow us."

Twilight quickly followed them and took the opportunity to give a bigger appreciation to the well made halls, as the walls were so nicely chiseled, and painted, that it didn't look like they were carved out to begin with. She also noticed how the lights came from the wall themselves (as the candles were off) and gave the illusion of natural light by shining a small yellow glow from the upper sides of the walls to the roof itself. She looked down and noticed how the red carpet was still there, it even felt as the same fabric to the one used in Canterlot Castle.

This Changelings may be a completely different species that lived underground, but their royalty wasn't very different from Equestria's.

In the end, after crossing many doors, passing many halls and going through many floors; the guards stopped in front of a big, ornate, double door that had a Changeling Queen carved on the right side and a manticore carved on the left side. All Twilight felt as she looked at the doors was the majesty of the place. As the doors opened, Twilight saw, to her delight, a big amount of books that, while not as big as Canterlot, it easily surpassed Ponyville's library.

"Here it is, miss pony" -, said one of the guards, - "you can ask the receptionist for the magic section. Once all your friends have been moved to the dining room, we'll come to get you, alright?"

Twilight nodded and went to the receptionist, a young female changeling (Twilight was wondering how she knew her gender) that looked too bored to even care of where she was.

"Hum, excuse me" -, asked Twilight in a very low volume, - "you see, I am in the middle of a transformation and I would like to know if you have anything on illusion magic."

The receptionist gave Twilight a look and, what originally looked as a face of disgust, was quickly replaced with a face of curiosity, before she told Twilight where to go.

"Third hall to the left, I recommend you 'Introduction to Shape Shifting' by Dulimax and 'The Secrets of Shapeshifting Through the Lenses of Science' by Darix. They are on the upper side of the hall."

Twilight was going to ask about the face of disgust, but she preferred not to, she just wanted to focus on the spells she needed right now.

As Twilight moved through the files, she managed to find the, very thick, books that were recommended to her; that didn't stop Twilight from looking at the other books, on the shelfs, and realize that some of this books were either novels or historical records of the hive's past. It took a lot of effort from Twilight but, remembering that she was going to leave the hive later that day, she decided to focus on the books she just acquired and sought for a spell that she could use right away to cover her friends's changes. She would later see if she could get a copy of this books.

As she was reading the books, Twilight was suddenly visited by a figure she didn't expect to find on the library.

"Greetings, young pony."

Twilight almost screams from the shock, but she managed to refrain herself from doing so and noticed how the one talking to her was none other than Queen Fortis. Twilight quickly knelt but Fortis rejected this gesture.

"Please, do not kneel before me, we're not on an official meeting and I've always been a bigger fan of casual conversations."

Twilight raised herself from the floor, surprised by this revelation, and decided to make the situation more casual, as requested.

"Oh... ok... well... hi Queen Fortis, what are you doing in here?"

Fortis kept her smile as she started to move around the books.

"Well, as the new Queen of Hive Castleen, I must asses the state of my hive and determine what changes are needed for our survival" -. She picked a book, read its title, and then put it back where it was. - "The same way, since I was never properly trained to rule, I also need to investigate more on certain aspects that has been brought to my attention as of late" -. She then picked another book and, after reading the title, she held it with her magic and sought for another book. - "Granted, some of this research is only to reinforce some ideas that's been crossing through my mind as of late but, after our situation with Diamantis was brought up, I've forced myself to do much more research than I thought was needed."

As Fortis picked up another book and grabbed it for herself, Twilight tried to take a better look at the books she was taking as she tried to keep the conversation going.

"And, have you found something of use so far?"

Fortis gave Twilight a quick look before a smile was drawn on her face, much to Twilight's curiosity, and answered with a motherly tone that reminded Twilight a lot of Celestia.

"Well, considering the great hurdle that will come from the deal your princesses did with Queen Valeris and I, I am very certain that I'll need a lot of historical and legal help for the oncoming days."

Twilight's curiosity started to pick up as she now wanted to know what kind of problems was Fortis going to face.

"Really? I mean, I understand that there were some things that really angered the other queens, but, I've never been told just how badly the situation is, actually."

Fortis' face remained neutral as she considered Twilight's words.

"The problem goes beyond just Valeris and I acting rashly but I'm not sure we have the time to properly explain all of that. After all, you must leave in a few hours and you must have something important to do if you need those books."

Twilight looked at her books, reminding her of her friends in need, and made a sheepish smile as she tried to explain herself.

"Well, yeah. You see, my friends and I have been transforming more and more, each day, and, since we must keep all of this a secret, I was searching for an illusion spell to keep us all disguised while you and the other queens try to fix all of this."

Fortis gave this a thought and, after looking at the books Twilight just picked, she decided to search for the specific spells Twilight needed to disguise both herself and her friends. After a few minutes of search, Fortis materialized a parchment and started to transcribe the details of the spells that Twilight needed for her friends and gave it to her.

"Here, you can read the details of how such spell can be applied and how it works" -. She then started to smile as she started to move out of the library. - "I hope this helps you out, we really don't want you to be discovered before the discussions begin."

Fortis then started to check out the books she was looking for, Twilight in tow, and continued to talk to Twilight.

"I'm certain that the next reunion in the Collective's Palace will be in a few days and, until then, I feel it won't be safe for any of you to be around by showing your transformation."

As Twilight heard this, there was a word that picked her interest that she wanted to understand now.

"Collective's Palace? Is that where the queen gather to discuss about legislation and the relationship with other species?"

Fortis looked at Twilight with her motherly smile and answered Twilight's question.

"Yes, although we discuss more than that."

Twilight wanted to ask many more details, but she then remembered her mission and decided to ask more on the pertinent questions.

"And you are planning to discuss about the deal soon? What do you plan to say in there?"

As Fortis was about to answer, the librarian finished checking the books and gave them back to Queen Fortis with a very pleasant smile. As both Fortis and Twilight were about to leave, the librarian gave Twilight another glance and shot her another look of disgust as the doors got shot down, although Fortis apparently didn't notice this and continued answering Twilight's question.

"Well, I do have planned some things to say but, overall, that's the main reason why I'm picking up this books. I'll try to research as much as I can about this subject matter before the reunion of the High Chamber begins."

Twilight gave Fortis another look of confusion, a look that Fotis quickly answered.

"The Collective's Palace is divided on two chambers: The High Chamber and the Low Chamber. Each chamber is composed by Great Queens and Lower Queens respectively, with the High Chamber being the one in charge of the relationship between the changelings and other species."

As Twilight and Fortis were moving out from the library, they were greeted by a pair of guards which then decided to escort the two of them to the dinner room, so they could eat along the rest of Twilight's friends. As they were moving along, Fortis continued her explanation.

"All the Great Queens must gather on the High Chamber, at the very least, once a week and discuss about the latest advances they have gathered both on the development of their hives and the committees they work on" -. Seeing Twilight's confusing stare, Fortis decided to explain a bit more. - "A Committee is a branch within the Collective's Palace that focuses on a certain aspect of the changelings' development, determine if a new law is needed or if something important has been found, and work with the other committees to ensure the stability of the Changelings in general."

"Well, I must say" -, Twilight added, - "for a system like this, which requires of other queens to keep it going, that means you and the other queens must really trust each other to be able to work this out."

Fortis made a small chuckle, befuddling Twilight, and clarified.

"Oh, no. It's not that we trust each other; it's more that we all find the other alternative to be much worse."

For a brief moment, Twilight wondered what could she possibly mean by that but, she then remembered something last night that the other changeling princesses mentioned, something that made her fur shiver.

"War... you prefer to work together to be at war with each other out again."

"Indeed" -, Fortis responded as she nodded at Twilight's realization, - "we are going to be at ten years since all the changeling queens vowed to never go back to war. I must say, back then, I was skeptical of how this could work but, I'll admit, this resulted far better than anyone anticipated... I suppose we all are indebted to Valeris, even if most of us will never admit it."

Twilight quickly glanced at Fortis, remembering what kind of queen Valeris always looked like to be, and asked for a clarification.

"Well" -, answered the queen, - "when Valeris started her war against the other queens, she wanted to impose this system, alleging that it would stop the wars, and I remember many changelings being doubtful of it. In fact, I remember one newspaper predicting that we would have a new war in less than a year but, look at where we all are, almost ten years later."

Twilight gave this a thought and only one question came out of her mind.

"But... is just that... I didn't think of Valeris as the one who wanted peace" -, seeing Fortis' looking at her with a slight tone of severity made Twilight flinch, - "sorry, I really thought she was the kind of queen that only wanted to rule over all the other queens."

Fortis smile was then completely erased from her face as she looked at Twilight, no longer looking motherly or well meaning. Her silence made Twilight feel anguish as she worried over the idea of saying the wrong words, but Fortis then relaxed her features and answered as if nothing wrong was said.

"Well, you aren't the first one to think like that."

Twilight's face quickly changed from worry to curiosity once more as Fortis continued talking.

"You see, many queens doubted Valeris' intentions when she defeated the other queens ten years ago; they all thought that she was going to crown herself queen over all queens, which has always been the desire and fear of any queen involved in a war, and this fears were further increased when she started to work as the Lady of the High Chamber but, surprisingly, she hasn't done anything that implies her will being imposed on other queens. In fact, she even made it a rule that, any queen chosen as the Lady of the High Chamber will have her term lasting for 5 years, with a reelection for another 5 years to be allowed, but anything beyond that is banned."

Twilight gave this a thought and made some speculations but Fortis simply clarified them for her.

"That means this is her last year as the Lady of the High Chamber and some other queen will have to take her position. That doesn't sound like a queen wanting to rule over all of us, doesn't it?"

Twilight reflected on this and, after seeing some truth in Fortis' words, she decided to apologize.

"Sorry, I suppose I jumped to a few conclusions back then."

Fortis smiled once more and released a chuckle, answering with a lighthearted laugh.

"Oh, don't worry about that. You aren't the only one letting prejudice judging her before getting to know her, and you'll probably won't be the last either. Just learn to not judge a book by its cover. That's a lesson that, I'm certain, both of our species should learn, don't you agree?"

Twilight got surprised by that, as she remembered the librarian and how she looked at her with disgust, while she and her friends felt disgusted with their own non-pony parts and decided to think about that later on. Meanwhile, without even realizing it, the two of them were already at the doors of the dining room, with a growl on Twilight's stomach being the one thing reminding her of what she needed the most right now.

As the doors opened, Twilight saw, to her delight, her friends, and Diamantis, eating happily their breakfast of hay with cooked eggs, while Diamantis ate a pair of cooked fish with fried eggs which were adorned with a pinkish kind of syrup. They were all together eating in a very well polished table, adorned with flowers of multiple kinds, and each of her friends had fruitful drinks, served in golden cups, as Fortis and Twilight sit on the table and ordered their food. The ponies were going to salute Fortis, but she asked them to remain casual and continue their conversations as if nothing happened.

As the ponies, and changelings, finished their morning food, Twilight decided to share with her friends the illusion spell she found and how she was planning to study it on the way home, while Diamantis and Fortis were discussing the final arrangements for the members to be sent into Ponyville.

"So I have to prepare rooms for six more changelings?" - Asked a thoughtful Diamantis. -"Well, I'll see what I can do but it won't be simple. I don't have the bits to pay for an hotel and the cave in White Tail Woods is quite far away, but I think I can still do something" -. She then asked for confirmation. - "And they'll be there to help me build the hive?"

Fortis nodded as she started to clarify.

"Yes, my little one, since you'll have to teach the future hive members to be part of changeling society, and you'll have to move to other queens to ask for more members, I thought it would be best if these drones I give you are focused on building your hive."

Twilight and her friends listened with extreme care as they tried to search for anything that could help them. Sure, they have enjoyed their stay on Castleen, but they were still loyal to Equestria and it would require much more than a good meal to make them change their allegiances.

"Thanks, your Majesty" -, responded Diamantis, - "that only leaves me with one problem, so far. While I am planning the details for my hive, I am quite needing some kind of help for information" -. Fotis raised her eyebrow in curiosity as Diamantis continued talking. - "You see, I don't have much time to focus on reading the news so, I fear, I won't have the time to follow what you and the other queens discuss on the Collective's Palace."

As Fortis heard this, and seeing an opportunity, she started to smile as she called one of her maids and whispered something to her and, whatever was whispered, made the maid to quickly leave the room. Both the ponies and the young changeling queen wondered what was she planning, but they got their answers as the maid returned with a couple of radios, made out of a dark polished wood, being transported with magic.

For Twilight, this was a mystery but Diamantis could only grin at what she was seeing.

"Two specialized radios? For me?" - Seeing Queen Fortis nod with her head only made Diamantis to smile with happiness and almost jump in the air. - "Yes! Things are going to improve so much now!" - After turning around and see her future administrators confused with the exchange, Diamantis decided to clarify. - "Well, Twilight, Rainbow, you must be aware of how there are changeling news diaries."

As both ponies nodded, all their friends freaked out at the piece of information that wasn't shared with them, but Twilight and Rainbow promised them to explain about it later. They then asked DIamantis to go on.

"Well, in the last few years, changelings have been developing to also enter into the radio broadcasting. The problem is that, since we have to remain hidden, we must use magic to tune up the changeling radio waves; that is, unless we have a specialized radio that can catch both radio waves, and this is such type of radio... but why two radios, your Majesty?"

Fortis smiled as she looked at Diamantis with care.

"Well, the first radio is for you, so you can listen to what happens among Changelings on the radio" -. She then looked at Twilight and her friends. - "The second radio is for them, so you can either listen for yourself what happens among us."

Twilight and her friends got shocked as they heard this. They didn't expect this kind of generosity from Fortis, it was kind of strange.

"You see" -, Fortis explained with complete calm, - "after discussing a bit with Valeris, we agreed that it would be beneficial for us if Twilight had a personal radio, that way she could research on her own about our society" -. She then gave a sly smile and added. - "She could even share this piece of information with Celestia, of course, I only hope she doesn't mind you using it" -. Fortis looked at the ponies, focusing on Twilight, as her smile gave a sensation of deviousness that started to creep out Twilight. - "After all, what better way to know about us and report to Celestia, while preparing yourself to be Diamantis' speaker, than having a source of information to use on your own time?"

There were many questions and doubts Twilight was having at this very moment, this felt so out of place and dubious but it would be very counterproductive to reject the offer. Twilight could later ask Celestia about it but, for the time being, she had no other choice but to accept the offer.

"Thanks... Queen Fortis. I deeply appreciate your gift" -. She then gave the two radios a look and, after seeing how shiny they were despite being of a dark tone, she added. - "Wow, this must have been very expensive."

"Indeed" -, responded Fortis with deviousness now gone from her face, - "I had to buy them from Hive Miria, for it's the only place where this are produced."

Diamantis wore, briefly, a shocked face before going back to normal and continued talking.

"Well, that explains it" -. she then started to give it a look and saw with a better detail the dials and buttons it contained as excitement filled her voice. - "Oh, I really want to start using it. It will help me so much to be up to date with the changeling news."

As she said this, a soldier came and announced what many knew was going to happen but weren't sure when.

"My queen, I am here to inform you that the cart to escort the guest is finally prepared to transport them back home."

All the ponies were sad after hearing that. They were expecting to stay for a few more hours but, after reminding themselves that they had other things to arrange in Ponyville, they accepted this and moved on to leave.

The farewell was quick but nice, with Princess Veritis promising to visit them sooner than they thought, as the cart was moving them back to the Magnus Farm. Just like the first trip, the journey with the cart was almost uneventful, with the difference being that Twilight was now studying a new spell, and Rarity was discussing with Diamantis about how beautiful was the palace in Hive Castleen, and how dreadful it was from them to not have proper clothing, Diamantis would remind herself to never summon Rarity's wrath ever again, while Rainbow was trying to talk with Fluttershy, Applejack and Pinkie Pie about the changeling news diaries.

After reaching the Magnus Farm and taking the train back to Ponyville, Rarity decided to ask about one last thing she remembered from Fortis' coronation.

"Now, there is something I would like to know. What was that of calling the queen 'The Manticore of the Plains' all about?"

Diamantis looked at Rarity with certain level of doubt but answered nonetheless.

"Well, that's her title."

All the ponies were confused at that and asked Diamantis to continue.

"It's a custom between the Changeling Queens to earn titles, since that is what define their figures. In example: Queen Luxis is known as 'The Lightning Queen' while Queen Amaryllis' title is 'The Insectoid Dragon'. Most of this titles are earned through military actions but there are queens, like Lixis, that earned their titles through other deeds. In the case of Fortis, she earned her title after leading and winning The Battle of the Green Fangs."

This caught Rainbow's attention and prompted her to ask about it. Diamantis then decided to tell the story of how Queen Fortis, being on a huge disadvantage, managed to defeat on her own an army that surpassed her on numbers 3 to 1 and leading her armies with the bravery of a manticore. While Rainbow was the one listening with more intent, and Twilight being the second most attentive to the tale, the other ponies weren't so keen on the idea of war, even though it was quite awesome to hear how Fortis managed to win with so many odds against her.

"Hold on" -, said Twilight as Diamantis finished her tale, - "if almost all the queens have earned their titles through military actions, does that include Queen Valeris?"

Diamantis nodded unconcerned.

"And what did she do to earn 'The Unifier' as a title?"

Remembering hearing that title on the meeting between Celestia and Luna, Diamantis decided to clarify a bit more.

"Well, technically, she earned it after unifying all the changeling hives, but that is a title that is more oftenly used by her supporters than by her" -. After seeing the ponies confused, she decided to explain some more. - "That meeting was the first time she ever used it to refer herself, I don't know why but she only uses her other title when referring herself."

"And what is her other title?"

Seeing Rainbow actually invested made Diamantis strangely proud. She never thought these ponies would be interested in Changeling history so quickly.

"The Warrior Queen."

None of the ponies were impressed by that and even finding it a bit cliché until Diamantis clarified why she earned that title.

"She earned it because she won all the battles she lead on the war."

None of them noticed how there was some doubt on Diamantis' face as she said that, their bodies were to focused worrying to the idea of how dangerous was Queen Valeris, especially when having such a lovely and, at the same time, dangerous queen as Fortis.

The Preparations

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As the train reached Ponyville and the ponies (and, future, changeling queen) dropped from the station, preparing themselves to go back to their houses and rest a little bit. This would remain true for Twilight, who wanted to use her resting time to write her report to Princess Celestia about what has transpired so far.

Sadly, this would not be, as a group of ponies were waiting for both her and Diamantis on the library. They were all wearing cloaks covering their bodies, making it hard for the unicorn and changeling to see who they were, but one of them decided to speak.

"Oh, Celestia, I'm so glad to see you finally back."

Despite the cloak, Twilight managed to recognize the pony in question as the one in charge of educating the foals in Ponyville.

"Miss Cherilee? Is that you? Why are you wearing those clothes?"

The pony professor, as well as the other ponies besides her, flinched when asked but, thankfully, they started to remove their clothes, only to reveal how their eyes no longer looked equestrian, as their irises were now gone and only a huge blue was there; the horns of the unicorns were now filled with holes and, in the case of Cherilee, there was a protuberance growing on her forehead.

"As you may have noticed" -, responded Cherilee, - "our bodies have been transforming in the last few days and we're no longer capable of going outside without rising any suspicion. If I remember correctly, you said that we cannot talk about this to anypony under the risk of being disappeared, but me growing a horn isn't something so easy to cover!"

Just hearing the exasperation in her voice was tough but, thankfully, Diamantis didn't look concerned. In fact, she simply turned over to Twilight and said with a calm voice.

"Twilight, do you remember when I told you, and your friends, of how we would have to discuss about your transformation once we got back to Ponyville?"

Twilight nodded expectantly, wondering where she was going with this.

"Well" -, Diamantis continued, - "gather your friends and the other ponies in here, we'll have to do that conversation now."

Twilight nodded and looked at Spike, giving him a simple order.

"Go get the girls, we'll have to gather the other ponies who are transforming as we're speaking."

Spike nodded and moved to the library's door just to see Rainbow going through it while being followed by other pegasi.

"Twilight" -, Rainbow almost shouted, - "I think we have a problem in here."

"Oh, I have to agree with you."

The ponies, and dragon, turned around and saw Rarity also entering into the library with even more ponies in tow. Before anyone could react, the library was already filled with the 30 ponies Diamantis once foalnapped, with Spike offering drinks to the guest while Twilight was trying to discuss with her friends (as well as Diamantis herself) about what should be said to the ponies.

"So" -, started Twilight Sparkle, - "what could we tell them?"

The ponies looked at each other as they wondered what was necessary to inform the other ponies.

"Well" -, commented Rarity, - "we could tell them that we now have the protection of a queen, as well as we are now developing a spell that could disguise them."

Diamantis gave it a thought after hearing Rarity's idea and agreed with it but, before they could agree on anything else, the ponies started to ge impatient.

"Hum, excuse me" -, said Lyra Heartstrings with her now twisting horn and with a falling coat, - "when are you going to begin? We are getting anxious here."

Diamantis looked at the ponies and, after some quick thought, decided to step up and started to talk.

"Alright, my little subjects, tell me what is troubling you."

Cherilee stepped up and removed her cloak, revealing how her hair was falling from her body and her back was starting to develop a small pair of transparent wings, which were quickly fluttering as they were growing.

"As you can see" -, started the school teacher, - "the transformation has been developing at a much faster rate than any of us could predict. At the beginning, I could just make some faulty explanations here and there saying that I was having an allergic reaction of sort, but, by this point, I cannot explain this... wings neither my friends here can explain why are their horns twisting or getting holes."

Lyra moved forward and added.

"Not only that, but some of us have jobs that require our services be done on the outside. This condition is making it harder for us to properly work without endangering our lives."

Many of the gathered ponies started to nod as some of them started to notice something from the element bearers.

"And why they don't have signs of being transformed as many of us?"

Twilight reacted in that moment and decided to respond before it could get out of control.

"This isn't true, we are transforming just like you are" -. In that moment her eyes turned blue once more as she started to open her mouth, revealing a small group of growing fangs. - "As you can see, we are transforming like you. It's just that, for some reason, it's slower paced on us."

The ponies then started to look at Diamantis for answers, at which she said with a sigh.

"When I took you, you were placed on the transformation wax so Twilight and her friends were put last. At the same time, Twilight and her friends were released from the wax first, so the speed at which they are transforming is much slower than the rest of you."

This was a statement that caused many of the ponies to raise their eyebrows in doubt.

"Hold on" -, quickly asked Rainbow Dash, - "if you were planning to give us important roles under your rule, why we were placed last and not first?"

Diamantis then started to sweat, making the ponies wonder what was she thinking about.

"Well" -, the young queen said, - "I thought that it was better to transform you on the idea of leaving the best for the last..."

None of the ponies openly sighed or facehoofed out of respect to her, but they were all wondering if this hive was going to survive with a queen that committed this kind of mistakes.

"Anyhow" -, Diamantis continued, - "I would also like to add that, in the case of Twilight and her friends, as well as anypony who doesn't seem to be transforming on the outside, that the transformation also affects you on the inside. So, even if you seem normal on the outside, you can be sure that you are still transforming on the inside."

Twilight moved her head sideways as she wanted to ask more.

"How so?"

"Well" -, the young royal said, - "if you are transforming on the inside, perhaps you should be able to use changeling magic by now."

Twilight beamed at that, wondering if it was possible and she then remembered she had a quick way of figuring it out.

"Of course, if that is true, then I should be able to create that spell Queen Fortis gave me the notes of."

"Wait" -, asked a pony who, while it was cloaked, it sounded quite male, - "what spell?"

Twilight then decided to announce the results of her visit to Hive Castleen.

"Well, while we were away on Hive Castleen, I met with its queen, Fortis, and she gave me the notes to properly create a spell that could allow us to disguise our appearance."

The ponies started to get anxious at the announcement of this development and wondered if the spell was ready.

"It isn't done yet, but I'm getting close. I just need some time to create the spell and, once its done, I'll share it with you."

The ponies were about to complain but Diamantis then interjected before the situation could get out of hoof.

"Now, now. I now this is important to you, but unless you are willing to provide Twilight a hoof, she is already working as fast as she could. I promise you, I saw her working on the spell on our way back and, after seeing the notes left by Queen Fortis, I am certain that she will have the spell done in a matter of days."

Twilight would have it done in less than two days, after working on it almost non-stop, with only one stop made for her to properly sleep for a couple hours.

The ponies then looked at Diamantis, wondering what was she doing in the meantime.

"Well, if you want to know about me" -. The future monarch said. - "I, along my future administrators, went to Hive Castleen, under the rule of, the now officially crowned, Queen Fortis, and we got the approval to be under her protection. Which means that she will provide us with help by both giving us funds later on as well by providing us of 6 more changelings that will be here to help us in the developing of our new hive."

The ponies started to look at each other as they remembered what those new changelings would imply.

"Do not worry" -, added Diamantis before any of her future subjects started to worry, - "Queen Fortis promised me that she will never use those drones as a leverage against us."

"And" -, Cherilee interjected, - "what kind of evidence do we have that she will follow through her promise?"

Diamantis froze for a moment, trying to find a good answer to that. Thankfully, Twilight came forward and answered on her behalf.

"Well" -, the unicorn scholar responded, - "while we don't have sufficient evidence to trust in her word alone, after meeting her face to face, I can say that she at least behave much nicer than the other queens and nobles we met during her coronation."

Twilight's friends nodded as Pinkie Pie added.

"Yeah she treated us all nice and she even let us sleep in a chamber that had this big picture of a golden changeling queen" -. Nobody noticed how Diamantis' face went into shock as she heard that. - "And she has this little cutey daughter that likes to move everywhere and play with everyone and she may even visit us sometime later."

The ponies gulped as they tried to imagine a smaller version of Pinkie Pie, but in a changeling version, going around the town playing with everypony she met.

Celestia forbid she actually befriends the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

Diamantis then stepped forward and quickly added a bit more into the conversation.

"That is right, not only do we have the protection of a major queen and 6 more drones to add into our hive, but we are already working on creating a spell that will help you to stay disguised while the deal is being discussed" -. Knowing this wasn't enough, she decided to add something else to ease the worries of her subjects. - "And, I promise you, once you start to wield changeling magic, I'll help you out to use said magic to properly transform into other ponies, or yourself if you prefer."

This did made the ponies to relax a little, with the unicorns and the ponies who were developing horns (Applejack included) started to see if they had something like that yet.

"And..." - Diamantis continued, gathering once more the attention of her subjects, - "as a sign of good nature, Queen Fortis gave me two of this radios."

She then took the changeling radios given to her by Queen Fortis and showed them to the ponies.

"With this, we can now hear changeling transmissions through the radio."

Seeing the ponies were confused, Twilight decided to explain them how the changelings were working on the radio broadcasting, and how useful it would be for them to hear what the changelings were talking about, so they asked them to tune it up and hear a radio station.

Seeing everypony interested on hearing the changeling radio, Diamantis decided to turn on the radio and tune the radio waves until she could find a station worth hearing.

"Let's see..." - sought the young changeling, - "AM..."

As the tuner was moving, the ponies were hearing the stations belonging to ponies.

"Princess Celestia is well intended, we can all agree on that, but this deal only spells doom on us..."

But then Diamantis changed the frequency.

"Now let's go FM and activate the magic transmitter/receiver."

Then the voices changed into ones none of them ever heard before,

"...in a society that is capable of recovering with no problems of an invasion from a species they never heard off, but lose their minds when there is a chance for peace with said species."

"The worst part..." - added a second smooth, and female, voice in the conversation, - "...is that we are talking about a species that likes to think of itself as loving and harmonious, but has an education system that emboldens hatred and distrust towards other species."

Some other voices agreed with the second voice and, after that, the first voice decided to continue.

"And we have to live with them because they are our best love source so far, and it will remain like that until we, as a species, is capable of trusting each other out but, sadly, we are far away from that."

Diamantis decided to look at the tuner and responded.

"Well, it sounds nice but let's see if I can find something else."

And continued to change the tuner after hearing another voice that picked her interest.

"...and look, Caex, the issue with this deal isn't actually about talking with the equestrians, since there has been more and more citizens on the side of opening ourselves up to the outside world. The real problem, Caex, is that, by acting unilaterally, Queen Valeris has created a big uncertainty that makes all of us to feel unsafe regarding our future."

This Changeling's voice was male, raspy and calm, with a certain sense of knowing what he was talking about. He was then followed by another voice, presumed to be Caex, who had a smooth and relaxing tone of voice, which also gave a sense understanding but still willing to ask for clarifications.

"This is, if I understand you correctly, more related to the worries of Valeris becoming the tyrant, most, citizens fear she could become, rather than the idea itself of talking to ponies. Is that correct Pistilum?"

"Yes, if Valeris decides to become the ruler above all, that would put into danger the peace that has allowed us to develop so far ahead because, the truth is, that not a single soul among changelings likes the idea of going back to the era of wars."

"With the exceptions of groups like the CAHL and the HRF."

"With the exception of groups like them, who doesn't have actual support from the populace, they coerce the citizens of other hives, to follow their instruction, while they are being funded by dark figures to disrupt into the union and create chaos among us."

There was a slight silence, as the ponies tried to digest all the information they were being given, but Caex started to talk again.

"I would like to ask you more about them but, alas, our time is up. Hopefully we can talk more about this in another time, Pistilum?"

"Sure" -, quickly responded the raspy changeling, - "it's always a pleasure to talk to you and clarify any doubt you, or the audience, may have."

"That was Pistilum" -, said Caex as he was ending his program, - "head of the corporation Data Gatherers and economist, giving his opinion of the most recent developments on the potential deal between the Changeling Union and the Equestrian Monarchy, as well as the potential effects of our opening to other species.

This is especially important" -, he recapped, - "because the Great Queens will gather in three days to discuss about the deal itself and, for the first time in years, journalist will be allowed back into the chamber with the radio station 'The Union,' FM 90.3 being the first radio station, in our history, to be allowed into the chamber to broadcast, live, the debate among the Great Queens."

This was soon followed with a huge gasp between the ponies listening but the transmission didn't stop from being done.

"This is the station 'The Success,' FM 70.5 and AM 560 and we'll be trying to see if we can broadcast the transmission through them, both by getting the permission and by searching for the proper equipment to do so.

Talked to you Caex, on the show 'The Interview' and I say farewell to you."

Once that was heard, all the ponies tried to digest what was heard but Diamantis was the first to react by silencing the radio and talking directly to Twilight.

"Twilight, I know you need to write a report to Princess Celestia as well as to analyze those notes given to you by Fortis but, right now, I need you to focus now to gather the ponies here, in an orderly manner, so I can discuss with them about what kind of problems they may be facing and give them counsel.

Once we are done with that, you can focus on the spell or write to the princesses. Is that alright to you?"

Twilight tried to think of a response, but this was all so sudden that all she could do was to nod and, with the help of her friends, order the other ponies to properly talk with Diamantis about the issues they were facing right now.

Twilight's Report I

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From: Twilight Sparkle
To: Princess Celestia
Dear Princess Celestia, I'm writing to you my first report of what I've found about Changeling society so far. I am quite excited to inform you what I have found so far from them, for it's so similar and, at the same time, so different from us. By that, I mean of how there are certain aspects of Changeling society that we share (such as our system of royalty and the usage of the media) but it's so different at the same time, with having so many queens working together instead of having an unified monarch.
From what I have gathered, the changeling society has been at peace for almost a decade and the current system has been made to keep that peace as long as they can. Now, from what Diamantis has explained to me, the changelings have been in a state of civil war for the last thousand years and the queens are now trying to keep the peace among the changelings.
I know this would seem as the changeling queens being friendly to one another but, in reality, they don't really trust each other and would rather cut ties with one another but, afraid of going back to war, the queens have learnt to work together as a mean to search for personal gain as a mean to avoid conflict.
This is something that I have taken as a personal lesson. Friendship may not be so simple to attain between former enemies, but it can still be gained if both parts are willing to put aside their differences in the search of a common goal. The fact that the common goal is peace and the betterment of the changelings as a whole, is something I find very encouraging.
Now, I have also learnt a lot about the queens you met during the negotiation for the deal: Fortis and Valeris.
For Queen Fortis, I'm certain you must remember her for being the kind queen that seemed to be controlled by Varelis during the deal's drafting. Well, from what I gathered, she was the princess of her hive until not too long ago. While I haven't found the reasons behind the end of both Queen Fortis' mother and sister, it looks like Fortis wasn't planned to be the one ruling her hive (Castleen) but, since the queen and first princess were no longer there, there was no other choice but to crown her and, to celebrate her coronation, Diamantis was invited to the event.
This was useful to me, for I gained access to the changeling nobility (which isn't very different from the equestrian nobility in Canterlot) and managed to see how their governing system works. On that regard, it looks like Castleen is a system where the nobles use the workers to gain wealth for themselves and, not only that, but also, the workers aren't well treated in general, with low wages, no security to defend themselves from monsters such as manticores and the population is too blind to realize that they are being abused. Thankfully, Queen Fortis said that she aims to reform the whole hive, even though the nobles doesn't seem to kindly of that.
I also happened to meet the daughters from the changeling queens allied to Fortis and, thankfully, they're not as dreadful as the other nobles but I do wonder how much do their personality reflect that of their respective mothers. Especially when it comes to Queen Valeris' daughter, Princess Prisis.
You see, while we remember Valeris to be a very imposing figure that was willing to get what she wanted, her daughter seemed to be friendlier and open to other's ideas, although too protective of her mother, which is a great contrast from her mother and her silencing of Queen Fortis during the deal. This leads me to the most conflicting part of what I gathered so far and is regarding Queen Valeris.
From what I gather, the changelings used to be at war with each other and it was Valeris the one who put an end to said wars. The thing is that, apparently, she also removed other queens in the process, including her own mother! Can you believe that? How could she remove her own mother from the throne? No matter how awful she could have been, it's just inconceivable for a monarch to be removed.
This is what I find so conflicting about this queen in particular. She seemed to have done good or that tries to do good but in such a way that she would look like a villain on the same level as King Sombra or Nightmare Moon, and she is supposed to be the "good queen" when compared to Chrysalis!
In all honesty, I would like to have your opinion, as well as Luna's, on the matter, for I cannot think properly of how to look at her.
I would also like to update you on the matter of Diamantis forming her hive with us, your little ponies, and she seems to have good intentions so far. She already gained the protection from Fortis and has started to talk to all of us about the changelings we are going through, how our hormones will affect our thinking and... well... it reminded me a lot of when I had the talk with my parent all those years ago, but I won't complain, I think I have a better understanding of how this new body will be like and I'm glad to know that our minds won't be changed and we'll still be the same as before, just with a new look.
With that said, Diamantis told me that it would be a bit hard to find the samples of the wax she used on me and the other ponies because it was a "especial formula" but that she would try to get it to me.
That is the most important to report, now, I'll go into what Diamantis have told me so far about the system between the queens, some things I can only pass of as rumors or not confirmed yet, as well about the new radio I sent you, trust me, you'll like it.

This was the third time Princess has read Twilight's letter, she read it out loud the first time so her sister could know what she said, but that didn't stop her from reading it again, trying to determine a what course of action to take with this new information.

"Sister" -, asked Celestia, - "what do you take from this?"

As she turned around, she found her sister tuning the changeling radio back and forth between the ponies and the changeling transmitters. They couldn't believe how well hidden the changelings were, not only on the radio, but even possibly on the trains and among them for who knows how long and they were none the wiser.

Truly skillful to avoid detection.

"Well" -, Luna answered, - "we'll admit that the enemy was severely underestimated. If they have managed to remain among us for so long undetected, then they'll probably have multiple mechanism to ensure their existence among us even if we wanted to remove them from Equestria."

"Indeed" -, Celestia said as she turned back to the letter, - "and this system clearly shows that any type of move we wanted to do would imply a fight against, potentially, 37 queens... we are severely under prepared for this task ahead of us."

"We better have a plan of action before the nobles decide what to do then" -. Lune shuddered as she thought of the nobles trying to make a plan to "recover" any asset owned by changelings, and the ensuing conflict it would create. - "I recommend to scan the guard first, followed by our scholar institutions. Afterwards, we'll be trying to see how much do the changelings control before we start making a complete negotiation with this queens."

Celestia thought about it as she looked at the radio given to both Twilight and Diamantis. It was very convenient for Queen Fortis to give, exactly, two radios that would allow them to openly listen to what the changelings said, especially when the queens were going to discuss the deal so soon. Luna thought so as well.

"Well, at least we'll have some leverage if the nobles decide to push for some mad idea."

"I suppose that only leaves one more thing to worry about as the days proceed."

Luna then decided to put her hoof on the last part of Twilight's letter, the one referring to a queen named "Anidis" and how the queens were bent on making sure they knew nothing about her.

"Friend or enemy?"

Celestia gave it a thought and considered. Just because the queens weren't fans of her didn't mean she was worse, but also that she nice.

"We'll have to wait and see, I don't plan to risk Equestria to a wild card."

She then reread the parts regarding what Valeris did to ensure the peace among the changelings.

"Especially when it's potential enemy is being ruled by another..."

Luna agreed on that and decided to continue tuning the radio until they found a station playing Changeling music. It was an interesting song about a mare asking the sun to protect her lover, who was leaving her house, with the lover responding how he was still in love with her and how he promised to come back.

"At least we can say they have good taste in music, even if it isn't what we're used to listen."

The Lady of the High Chamber

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“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 Notes:

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.

The Hidden Gamble

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As the radio station went back to its regular program, with the promise of explaining what just happened in the latest meeting in the High Chamber, Twilight was trying to understand what she just heard but the other ponies were making so much noise that it was impossible for her to even listen to her own thoughts.

"How is that possible!?" - Shouted a Cheerilee - "How can a queen eliminate some laws just like that!?"

"What kind of queen says on public that she plans to annihilate others from her own especies!?" - Shouted a troubled Lyra.

"How can the other queens abide to her rule!?" - Shouted Octavia. - "She behaves more like a tyrant than a monarch like Celestia!"

"Please, one at a time" -. Said a nervous Diamantis as she tried to calm down her soon to be subjects. - "I can't solve your doubts if you shout all at once."

"It's really hard when we just heard a queen using her power over others to force her will!" - Shouted Thunderlane. - "It would be far better if Celestia doesn't agree to anything with her! I don't want to live under the rule of such queen, I already have a hard time accepting you!"

"Silence..." - Tried to ask Twilight to no avail.

"Excuse me!" - Shouted Rarity. - "Don't dare to tell what Princess Celestia should do or not, we're not dealing with a queen like Chrysalis which you can beat easily!"

"Oh, what do you know Rarity!" - Shouted back Thunderlane. - "You can barely do physical effort, you wouldn't be able to even beat a rabbit on hoofwrestling!"

"Hey, don't talk at my friends like that Thunderlane!" - Shouted Rainbow Dash. - "I've personally seen that queen and Rarity is right, she isn't someone you could beat!"

"Maybe you wouldn't but Celestia probably would!" - Shouted Cheerilee. - "She, with Princess Luna, are strong enough to fight her!"

"Silence." - Said Twilight on a higher tone, but to no avail.

"Valeris isn't that weak of a Queen, she can very well fight and she wouldn't be alone, she has the other members of The Great Coalition siding with her."

"Hum" -, added Fluttershy in a weak tone of voice, - "I have to agree with Diamantis here, sorry, but I saw both Queen Valeris and some of the other queens back in Castleen and they looked to be very strong."

"Fluttershy" -, said Lyra in an annoyed tone of voice, - "you're not helping. Especially when you sound like you're siding with them."

Fluttershy hid her face under her mane as she felt scared on the current situation. The shouting would've escalated even more if it weren't for Twilight, who got more than enough from the shouting and let her anger ablaze her semi pony form as she made everyone calm down in front of her.

"Silence!"

As everyone was silenced by Twilight, the scholarly pony decided then to take the situation on her hands before it could get out of control once more.

"Shouting won't help getting answers, if you want to have an explanation, you must first let others explain, got it?"

The ponies looked around each other before nodding and letting Twilight carry over the situation. She then turned towards Diamantis and started to clarify.

"Now" -, started Twilight, - "I think this is a good time to clarify some of the things we heard in there, and the first one I would like to have clarified is: was Anidis the queen that invaded your mother's hive and forced you out?"

Diamantis flinched as she heard the question and, for some brief moments, she tried to find a way to avoid answering but, now that the other queens made it so obvious, she found no other way but to answer.

"Yes" -, Diamantis responded dejectedly, - "I ran away from my mom's hive when Anidis invaded. She asked me to go to the other queens and bring them her letter, hoping that they would help me get my mom back, but in reality, that letter asked them to train me to be a Queen and that there was no hope to save her."

All the ponies gasped at this, now realizing how dire was Diamantis' situation, making Rarity hug her while making a dramatic scene.

"Oh, you poor thing, to be separated from your mother and having to deal with a grown up world, oh you...!"

"Fluttershy" -, responded a calmed down Octavia, - "please do remember that this little... nymph... transformed us all into a bunch of... changelings. Don't let this drive you away from what we have to deal with right now."

"I have to agree with Octavia" -, Twilight added, - "We have to focus on this" -. She then looked at Diamantis and asked for more information about Anidis. - "Diamantis, what can you tell us about Queen Anidis? Is she dangerous for us?"

Diamantis froze as she heard the question and Fluttershy, still hugging her, felt how Diamantis' body chilled as her mouth started to shake and her eyes were looking desperate. Fluttershy quickly started to tight the hug.

"Hum, Twilight" -, responded Fluttershy, - "I think this question may be too much from her, it looks like she hasn't recovered from this."

"No" -, interrupted Diamantis as she started to split apart from Flutteshy's embrace, while her hoof was still shaking, even if slightly less than before - "I can do this, just, give me some time to prepare."

All the ponies stood there as Diamantis prepared herself and started to talk.

"Alright, I suppose I should start from the beginning, I come from the hive and my mother, Queen Charbonis, was the sole ruler of that place. I was her only daughter and successor, not even the elites had a problem with that but, sadly, we were a very small hive, adding the fact that we weren't in a place of great importance, except being a stop before Queen Zirconis' hive, so we really weren't interested, nor could, have a big army. Naturally, once Anidis invaded Queen Zirconis' hive and removed her from power, we were just an easy picking."

As she looked at her future subjects, they were all invested in her talk, she kept talking hoping this would help her gain more trust in them.

"When it comes to Queen Anidis, I rarely heard about her from my mother and I wasn't too interested in reading history books, but her mother's tale was mostly a taboo subject. No one liked to talk about the invasion of her hive for reasons I didn't understand until very recently, but what I've managed to gather from her is that she isn't a queen to take lightly."

"How so?" - Asked a curious Lyra. - "What makes her so different? That she managed to resist an invasion from the other queens?"

"It's not only that, the rumors say that she managed to kill both Queen Castis and her daughter, Princess Manticoris, leaving only Fortis to become the new Queen of Castleen; she managed to crush the Great Coalition's forces and even that she managed to harm Queen Valeris."

All the ponies gasped at this, now wondering how a fight between Celestia and Luna against this dangerous queen would end like.

Twilight quickly remembered, on her first encounter with the queen, how she was limping on one of her legs, was that Queen Anidis' fault? Could the princesses defeat a foe like that?

"Girls" -, said Diamantis as she referred to her future administrators, - "do you remember Valeris' daughter, Princess Prisis?" - It took a moment but all the elements remembered the princess and what made her unforgettable, the large scar on her face. It didn't take long for them to connect the dots as Diamantis confirmed it. - "Yes, that large scar on her face was made by Queen Anidis."

And as the realization of how dangerous Anidis was settled on the ponies, each of them started to shake in fear, with Thunderlane gathering enough strength to ask.

"And, that queen, Anidis, would she try to conquer Equestria?"

Twilight's eyes bulged as she started to ponder on it, could Equestria really take her on if five armies couldn't stop her?

"I-I think so."

All the ponies were too afraid to even gasp.

"What do you mean with 'I think so'?" - Asked Rainbow Dash. - "Are you sure? How come?"

"W-well" -, tried to answer a scared Diamantis, - "there's plenty of changeling history depicting queens trying to take Equestria for themselves and Anidis is rumored to want more than just revenge. If she wants to rule over the changelings, so why stop there and not go after Equestria?"

In that moment, all the ponies understood that maybe, just maybe, siding with Valeris, and the other queens, wasn't as bad of an idea as they originally thought.

That's just a rumor, though" -, said Diamantis as she tried to dissuade the fear in the future changelings, - "we don't have many reasons to believe she would-"

"We're back" -. Sounded the radio, with Caex as the host, with his soothing voice that brought a much needed feeling of calmness to the ponies. - "Our apologies for taking so long, we just received a confirmation to interview one of the queens from the high chamber and we were waiting until we could properly begin."

The ponies quickly decided to pay attention to the radio as they wondered who would be in the interview.

"And, I have to say, this was a nice surprise, it's rare to have you here as our guest, Queen Luxis. Are you tired from using that teleportation spell?"

"Not at all, my dear" -, sounded the voice of Queen Luxis, with the inflexions Twilight and the girls remembered from their meeting at Castleen, - "it wasn't that long of a journey and, I have to say, coming here is an honor to me. I love your programs, with the air of dignity and respect you always bring, and this was an opportunity to come I couldn't resist."

"Well, thank you" -, responded the journalist with satisfaction, - "it's also an honor for me to have you here as our guest, Queen Luxis, and I think we should start by asking the most important question: What'd just happened?"

"That's a fair question, Caex" -, answered Luxis with no worries on her voice, - "I suppose I should begin by explaining that, in the simplest of terms, we've begun a transitional period for the Changeling Union."

"A transitional period?" - Ask a dumbfounded Caex. - "But hasn't been the last 10 years a transitional period already?"

"Well, it has been, but it was just one step" -. Respond Luxis. - "The last 10 years has been a transition from the old system of all queens on their own, with a small handful of powerful ones controlling everything, to the new system, where all the queens have a voice of their own and help the nation to move forward. Now it's time to make a transition into an era where we can open ourselves to other nations."

"But this is quite abrupt" -. retorts Caex with a slight hint of worry on his voice. - "The system we now know was accepted by all the changelings because they were all tired of the wars, why do you think this would be accepted now?"

"Well, it's true, the changelings aren't quite ready for this step but we've been forced to make this choice. Hadn't we been discovered by Equestria, is far more likely we wouldn't have needed to change our legislation."

There's a short silence in the radio as the listeners were wondering why nobody was talking, leaving them some time to think on what Luxis just said, before Caex spoke back.

"If you mean the invasion of Canterlot by Chrysalis, yes, it can be understood, but I don't think she was the only factor behind our discovery, there's also the issue with the changeling queen that foalnapped the elements of Harmony."

"Yes, it's true, but hadn't Chrysalis made her attempt on Canterlot, it's far more likely we wouldn't have faced such scenario with the Elements of Harmony."

"How come?"

"You see, after Anidis managed to resist our attack, Valeris was informed of Chrysalis' plan to invade Canterlot. So she had to choose between trying to keep on fighting Anidis or go back to Canterlot, now, I understand if some see her choice as wrong, but I consider as correct her decision to go after Chrysalis. Ironically enough, she was thwarted by the ponies before we could actually mobilize our armies."

"I see" -, responded Caex with no worry, fear or anger on his voice, - "and, from what I can guess, by allowing Anidis to reign free, she invaded the hive of the princess, now queen, which lead to the abduction of the Elements of Harmony, is that correct?"

"Yes, you are correct" -, Luxis then clarified, - "if it weren't for Chrysalis, we would've kept our focus on Anidis, which would've meant that poor queen would be now be passing her days with her mother."

"And what would you say to those who think you just used Chrysalis as an excuse to justify your mistake?"

The ponies who heard that gasped, no pony journalist has ever been that daring to Princess Celestia, these changeling was either stepping out of line or the queens were far looser with journalist than they were expecting. Hearing Luxis', seemingly, joyful laugh probably meant the latter.

"Well, to them, I say I would love to see you trying to choose between an invader queen with more power you could ever fathom and taking out a pretender queen, trying to seize the power needed to rule over all queens. It wasn't an easy choice, but I preferred to take my chances fighting Chrysalis than fighting the invader into an attrition battle that would've left us weakened to fight Chrysalis anyways."

"I suppose that's a reasonable way of thinking" -, responded Caex as he went for the next question, - "but that still leaves other questions just as important, like about the newest queen, the one who foalnapped the Elements of Harmony, she broke changeling law by forcefully taking a group of ponies, isn't there any kind of retribution to her? After all, one of Valeris' narratives when she started the purge of the middle queens was 'everyling is equal before the rule of law' or was that just a political convinience?"

Yet another pregnant silence, lasting two seconds, was in the interview before Luxis anwered once again.

"Well, that's a good question. Your queen is very loose if she allows you to do this kind of questions to other queens."

"Yes, she allows us to be very critical of other queens, including herself" -. Responded Caex, still in a professional voice. - "which is why we must ask if this new queen will get some kind of trial or punishment for what she did."

Since Luxis was Valeris' secretary in the Collective's High Chamber, her responses could be considered as the response from Valeris. Many of the ponies, while accepting the rule of Diamantis, were hoping something could be done to the one guilty of their punishment. Even if she sounded nice, they weren't going to forget that easily what she did to them.

"Well" -, Luxis finally answered, - "that would have to be discussed either in the Collective's Palace or the queen in charge of her has to decide what kind of punishment to give her."

Diamantis released her breath as she heard this, while some of the ponies (such as Thunderlane) got a bit frustrated, hoping that Twilight and her friends, since they met the queen in charge of Diamantis, Fortis, they could talk about what Diamantis would have to face for breaking the law.

"I suppose that's how things work" -, answered Caex, no sign of resentment, anger or indignation in his voice, - "but that process usually takes a while, aren't you afraid of citizens losing faith in the system for this kind of procedures?"

"I understand the concerns but, sorry, no system is perfect."

"The Equestrian may not be prefect" -. Mumbled Cheriless. - "But at least it didn't give de-facto immunity to those in power."

"I suppose no system is" -. Answered Caex, again, in a calm manner, no emotion betraying him. - "Now, other questions that has been arised after this session are other important details in the deal, such as allowing Princess Celestia's protegé to investigate the transformation wax. Isn't it dangerous to allow a pony to reverse the wax that allows us to get more citizens during harsh times? Or what if the Equestrians decide to weaponize the process against us?"

"Valid concerns, some of which I share with you" -. As she said this, Twilight paid more attention, hopinng to learn something of importance on the part of the deal involving her. - "This is something I talked with Queen Valeris about and she has made some concessions about it."

Twilight's ears perked up as she hoped to hear anything that would allow her to see what was Valeris to allow on her investigations, but Luxis quickly dashed her hopes.

"While what was agreed on the deal will remain, including Celestia's protegé being able to share with any results she could find, Valeris has said that anything beyond giving the protegé a sample of the transformation wax used on her, as well some tools to work with it, is off the table; and, regarding how much freedom she'll have, while the initial deal struck allows her to investigate the sample freely, The Collective's Palace can debate and determine how far can she investigate as well how much of our changeling investigators will allow to be public. Anything beyond that, I'm not allowed to say except that the queens will have to legislate on that."

Thankfully for Twilight, who was feeling very dissheartened from hearing that, Celestia was hearing the radio interview and only Luna will ever witness how much anger was pouring from her sister's mouth after hearing that.

"So she plans to apply redtape to Twilight's investigations? That's so close to break the deal we made."

Luna, just as angered as Celestia, decided to add.

"Alright then, the Diet will have a fun time debating on what must Twilight investigate or else the Changeling queens will face equestrian investigations into their affairs."

For a brief moment, Luna worried about what Celestia was saying but she would regretfully adimt she was already planning on doing just that after hearing Luxis.

"Granted" -. Added Queen Luxis. - "This isn't taking into account that the Equestrian Parliament will have to review said deal and determine what do they agree with and what not

"I suppose that will ease part of our audience. That leads to the next topic" -. Said Caex, with a hint of optimism on his voice, although still professional. - "What are your plans on the two queens that has been the main topic of discussion lately? Queen Chrysalis may now be isolated but she can still be a danger and Queen Anidis may be remaining in the hive she invaded, but that doesn't change she invaded two hives, killed at least two queens and one princess, and planning to invade two nations. Those two have broken changeling laws as well but not much has been done about it."

Luxis' response was, to say the least, swift.

"If Chrysalis knows what is good for her she will remain in her new home, she had a chance when she was given Canterlot to handle and wasted that opportunity with her egomaniac ambitions."

"Tsk" -. Chasted Chrysalis in her new throne as she picked the signals from a radio she stole from some equestrians not too far from her new hive. - "Of course, I'm the ambitious queen because I tried to conquer Equestria, but Valeris and her lot are the heroes because they managed to conquer us all under the disguise of 'unity'."

She then moved slightly away as she heard the interview, hearing how Luxis was mocking her attempt and labeling her as a traitor, despite Luxis being allied with a princess that tried to force all the queens to stop their fights through dialogues and coercitives 'compromises' for the betterment of the collective. Quite interesting that Valeris' Great Coalition was the one benefitting the most during this 9 years of alleged peace.

It wasn't too different from how Princess Celestia made three pony species to unite, expanded pony territory through the continent, made all the ponies believe that false doctrine of so-called friendship and, instead of punishing her own sister for that coup attempt, she forgave her and compromised to share the throne with her. Meanwhile, the unicorns would be the ones with more nobles, the species were sent to work on specific areas of society and, fittingly enough, those with more magic, or wealth for that matter, ended up being the most benefitted from this new system designed by this two alicorns with massive amounts of power and practically untouchable by law.

"In the end, Valeris is no different from Celestia and her lies about 'Harmony' and 'friendship'" -. She said with complete disgust in her voice, still grudgemental over the fact she was extremely close of removing two of the figures she disliked the most due to how similar they were.

And, as she remembered the equestrian's values of trust and forgiveness, along how Anidis was interested in getting the queens that killed her mother, with one in particular too close to Valeris for her to allow to be sacrificed; she decided to make a plan that, hopefully, would manage to destabilize both Valeris and Celestia. At best, it would bring chaos and allow her to get back to power, at worst it would only sow dissent through both species and, even if they bring peace, neither would trust in one another.

She then looked at her guard and made her order. One that, hopefully, would work even if it backfired on her.

"Call Thorax and Phalynx, I have the right job for those two."

As the guard left, she decided keep on listening to the interview.

"Regarding Anidis, well, we first must summarize the damage done by her army and, after determining the price she must pay for he crimes, we then would have to see if she can enter into the Council of the Queens."

"You really are planning to let her in? After invading two hives?"

"Well, it's not as we want her in the Collective's Palace, but we cannot let her be, gathering her forces on the territories she conquered while we remain as sitting ducks, shouting about how to fight her. We must first organize the Changeling Union so we can be better prepared to face her and, hopefully, we'll have the leverage to keep her in line, should she decide to keep on breaking changeling rules."

"Heh" -, chuckled Queen Anidis as she heard Luxis speaking, - "they really think they have a chance against me" -. She then levitated her personal radio to her as she sat on what used to be Zirconis' throne, trying to guess the full scale of Valeris' plan. - "Or, maybe, Valeris is trying to feign superiority while also trying to get the Equestrians on her side, hoping that, by the time I'm on the Collective's, she'll be able to have me under control with the help of the equestrians and the other queens."

She gave it a thought, it was sound enough. Valeris didn't have the military power to defeat her, so the next step would be to gain allies that could give Valeris more power, while delaying any conflict with her by adding her to the council and, hopefully, increase Valeris' military power in the meantime. That way, regardless of what route Anidis chose to control the changelings and ponies, Valeris would have the means to stop her.

"It looks like you have stepped up your game, old friend" -. Said Anidis in respect of the changeling princess that used to think, back when they were nymphs, the best strategy to beat her on board games was by sending the drones to the end of the board and turn them into elites, instead of using all of her agents for other, more effective, changeling tactics. - "But, that won't be enough, I came prepared for such scenarios. I will be among the Great Queens and, no matter how much you try to increase your military, they'll never be match to the weaponry I got from the place I was hiding from."

She then gave it a thought about Valeris uniting forces with Celestia but that was quickly dismissed.

"Even if Celestia conceded to unite in order to fight me, there's no way for Valeris to inform her without breaking Changeling rules, if anything, the Equestrians will be divided and the nobles will try to stop any possibility of working together until it's too late."

She then heard a knock on the door, once she allowed the interruption, a multicolored guard, wearing a golden armor with a violet cross surrounded by a great, blooming violet emblazzoned on his chest, opened the door of the throne room.

"My queen" -. Said the guard with green grapey eyes, sky blue head and purple legs. - "Your sister would like to have a talk with you. She has concerns about you and the equestrian host you brought with us."

Anidis nodded as she heard this, no evil on her face and no sign of being bothered by the news.

"Do bring her in, I would like to talk to her of recent developments I have heard from our contacts in Equestria and the changelings."

The guard nodded before closing the door. He tried to avoid looking at Anidis, but the queen could see the worries on his eyes as Anidis muttered to herself.

"My dear sister, your worries may be on the right place, but we must not stop until all the queens that destroyed our life face their proper judgement."

Her features then turned grim as she remembered the day her mother's hive was invaded and she saw herself to run away from the invaders, unable to defend her hive and only capable of figthing those who were on her immediate way of escape. She could barely escape with her sister, some dozens of servants and a few guards, with only a tenth of the royal treasuries in toe, as they hid from all the other queens and tried to repopulate their hive.

Something extremely hard to do when you live under conditions where being a changeling isn't possible. She survived and thrived under such circumstances, but she would never forget, nor forgive, all the queens involved in that invasion, especially the ones Valeris tried to protect from her justified vengueance.

And, as she looked at her sisters' silluetter opening the door, all her grim thoughts were vanished, as one of the few things that brought her happiness entered into the room. Anidis, remembering how Princess Celestia forgave her own sister for her coup attempt, as anyone who loved deeply her sister would, always trusted in how she could always rely on the last family member she had. At the same time, thinking on possible scenarios to plan against, she tried to figure out if the Equestrian princesses would be willing to reject Valeris if they knew of her plans to invade them.

Unbeknown to her, they were discussing something close to that.

"I don't know Lulu" -, responded Celestia, - "I understand your concerns, but I think we must first organize our priorities."

Celestia and Luna were already trying to dissect Valeris' tactic based on what they heard on the interview with Queen Luxis but they were having a hard time prioritizing their moves.

"I understand, sister" -. Responded Luna, while she was trying really hard to not make a scene. - "But we cannot sit idly while she is clearly stating that she doesn't plan to follow the deal we made while there's another queen besides Chrysalis trying to invade us."

"I agree with you" -. Responded Celestia, anger shown in her face but still more collected. - "But we always agreed that said deal was temporary while we worked together to make a better one, especially one that could open the Changelings to us."

She remembered the day she made the deal with Valeris and Fortis, along all the concessions she had to make in order to avoid a huge conflict between Equestria and who knew how many more hives, and all the grievances she had to deal with from Valeris.

"If anything" -, Celestia added, - "I think this is a good chance for us to make a better deal, no, a pact that will allow us to help not only the ponies that were foalnapped by Diamantis, but even the ponies that has been part of the changelings since before we knew of them."

Luna calmed down as she gave it a bit more thought and relaxed enough to properly think.

"You are right but we must find a way for the Diet to properly determine how to handle this deal with the changelings while we plan on how to handle this invader queen."

"But how?" - Asked Celestia. - "If we even hint at it we could have a big scandal both between the Equestrians and the Changelings, since we aren't supposed to know about it."

Celestia tried think a solution to their conundrum. She knew Valeris and the other queens would be paying attention to anything she said, and whatever decision The Diet did, regarding the Deal she had with Valeris. It was quite clear the radio was given to them to indirectly provide information of what was going on among the changelings.

"Luna" -, Celestia responded, - "when Twilight reported us about changeling nobility, she said that they weren't too different from pony nobles, right?"

Luna quickly summuned Twilight's report as she gave it another read.

"Yeah, she didn't specified but I have a guess at what she meant."

Celestia nodded.

"So do I" -, she then looked at the radio as she was starting to get an idea, - " if anything, they'll vote and approve based on what is the most convenient to them."

"In other words" -, Luna conceived with her sister, - "all we have to do is to lead the debates so the nobles think that they are voting for their best interest."

The two sisters started to smile as the plan started to take form in their heads.

"That won't be too hard" -, Celestia said, - "after all, they already like to masquerade their positions as is they were interested in the common pony."

"So" -, Luna asked, - "when do we call on The Diet to start debating?"

Celestia gave it a thought as she considered on how the Equestrian media was already portraying everything.

"Soon, after all, our little ponies has been worried for enough time about what is going on here."

Meanwhile, as the interview was on its final segment, Caex decided to make some of the final questions he had for Queen Luxis.

"Now" -, he said, - "I suppose that leave us with one final doubt regarding the next Great Council of the Queens."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, as the next Great Council is coming, what many were originally expecting was Queen Valeris to pass down the mantle of 'Lady of the High Chamber' to Queen Castis but, after her passing as well as her daughter, Princess Manticoris, many are wondering if Valeris will keep her promise by giving the mantle to Queen Fortis or if she will pass the mantle to someone else."

"Oh!" - Luxis said as she started to giggle at the implications of the question. - "Please! Don't be silly, there is no reason for Valeris to change her opinion on Fortis since there is no other queen avaiable for the job."

"Really? Because Queen Amaryllis has shown intent on being the next Lady of the High Chamber, will Valeris allow this?"

"Probably" -, said Luxis with Glee, - "She allowed competition against her twice, both against Zirconis, and there is no reason for her to not allow Fortis to be challenged, if anything, it would show that we have the right to determine who will be the Queen leading us."

"Well" -, added Caex with a hint of doubt, - "suppose that's true but that also leads to another question, what about you?"

There was no silence for this question, but Luxis felt as if the world stopped as she was asked this.

"Apologies?"

"I'm sorry, Queen Luxis, it's just that there has been rumors going around about you wanting to be the next Lady of the High Chamber and there are some changelings openly supporting you from taking the mantle."

Luxis took her time before answering with a slight giggle.

"Oh, I thank the support but that is out of the question."

"For Valeris?"

"Oh no, it's not for that. You see, when we, Valeris, Fortis, Cerebelis, Lixis and myself, formed the alliance to end with the wars, we promised that we wouldn't interfere with each other. It was that unity what allowed us to gain so many important victories at the start of the war and, while our Great Coalition is now more diplomatic than an actual oath, we still follow it because it's thanks to that unity that we've been here and managed to achieve so much.

Besides, my hive is in the Frozen North. We barely get any love to survive, and our forcepower could barely hold during the Unification War, how can I even think of challenging Fortis when I have so little resources to even hold my own hive? Sure, I may have the support of some, but I doubt any queen, especially queens like Amaryllis or Cerebelis would allow me to go for the mantle of 'Lady of the High Council' when, in practice, I don't have that much power or influence."

"Thanks for informing us" -. Said Caex with no hint of joy, dissapointment or boringness on his voice. - "And, with that, we are done. Thanks Queen Luxis, for this interview, it helped a lot to clarify what happened today and what we must expect on the future days."

"Same, Caex" -, responded Queen Luxis with joy, - "it was a pleasure to speak to you today, I hope we get a similar chance in the near future."

And, as the transmission ended, in the far north, in the frozen lands, a small spark of magic shone for a brief second.

Nothing big happened, but the area surrounding the spark started to rise in temperature at a very slow rate.

The Councelor Queen

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"Alright then" -, said Diamantis as the interview was done, - "now that the meeting in the Collective's Palace is over, it's time to go back to other important things."

All the ponies, turning changelings, looked at Diamantis expectangly.

"It's been a while since the last time I talked to all of you, I need to know how you have been doing, regarding your transformation."

All the ponies blushed at this, knowing where Diamantis was going with this.

"Is it really necessary?" - Asked Rainbow Dash. - "We just heard a big discussion between the queens and a following interview, I'm sure many of us have other things to do."

Diamantis looked around and saw how most of the ponies looked tired. Cherilee was packing her papers, Octavia looked like she needed to rest, Thunderlane was already moving to the door, Rarity was wearing something to cover her horn and mouth, Pinkie straight up disappeared; overall, nopony seemed eager to talk to Diamantis.

"Alright, fine, but we'll have to talk tomorrow then."

"What!?" - Asked Cherilee. - "No way, I have to work at school tomorrow and tell my students how they performed in their most recent test, while teaching them about history."

"I have to do a reharse" -. Said Octavia.

"Ah have to work at the farm."

"Tend the animals."

"Work on my dresses."

"Work on the weather."

"Wait, Rainbow, isn't tomorrow your free day?"

"SHUT IT THUNDERLANE!"

"Look!" - Shouted Diamantis with a tone of authority. - "I know it must be embarrassing to you, and very personal, but if I'm going to help you to adapt to changeling culture and to keep your life as Equestrian citizens, I need to know how you are doing with your transformation into a changeling and that won't happen if you don't tell me how are you doing."

All the ponies looked down, avoiding seeing Diamantis at her eyes while she just sighed and looked at Twilight.

"Twilight, could you please help me make a schedule to organize the days I have to see each of my new subjects."

Diamantis ignored the grumbles from some of the ponies who weren't fond of being future subjects to her. Twilight, meanwhile, had her eyes shine as she heard one of the words she loves the most.

"Sure, I can help you organize all of this" -, she then looked at the other ponies and added, - "but it would take me a few days to do so, is that alright to you?"

Diamantis sighed as she heard this, but she relented.

"Alright, sure, but we'll have to talk while we're working on this, and that is not an option."

Twilight cringed as she heard this, while her friends were giving her encouraging smiles, but she accepted.

At the next day, as Diamantis was on Twilight's library, using her foal disguise, Spike was feeling unease as he could fill an untold tension on the room, one formed by how Diamantis and Twilight were talking about what each future changeling did on their daily life to eschedule the best moments to properly talk.

"So basically Rainbow Dash rarely works?"

"Technically" -, explained Twilight, - "it's quite funny if you think about it, she works so fast on the weather that she has more free time than anypony."

"I suppose I would have to schedule her for whenever she has free time but I could talk to her more often than that" -. Analyzed Diamantis. - "But this is more of a convenience than anything else. I would still have to see for a proper time to talk to everypony else."

Twilight then blushed as she remembered the last time Diamantis tried to talk with the other ponies, which prompted her to ask.

"By the way, how do you plan to talk with us?" - Twilight nerviously asked. - "Last time wasn't so good."

"Really?" - Asked Diamantis with a lot of doubt. - "I don't think it was so bad, wasn't it?"

"You asked me if I was planning to live off from Spike's love towards me, while Spike was hearing."

Spike shuddered at the memory of the question, not really wanting to know what was Diamantis meaning when she asked that.

"I mean, it doesn't really matter what kind of love he has for you, what matters is that he loves you so you can feed from him" -. She then remembered something just as important. - "That reminds me, I have to teach you all how to collect love from other living beings in case your hunger for love starts to develop before I can buy you processed love sources."

Remembering how Chrysalis fed from Shining Armor, and how it affected him, Twilight shuddered at the idea of subjecting Spike to that kind of process.

"I think I will wait."

"Well, then, let's hope we have love supplies before your bodies start demanding it."

"And how long do you think it will take for that to happen?" - Asked a worried Twilight.

Diamantis gave it a thought before answering.

"Well, it's hard to say, since most ponies tend to be on a coccoon, where they are love fed constantly over the time needed for them to transform. But I calculate that as soon as you have access to changeling magic, it's the only moment where it would make sense to me."

"I think that makes sense" -, responded Twilight with some doubt, - "although it doesn't answer when will we really need to ingest love."

"Sorry, but it's the best I can give you... especially when you don't tell me about how your transformation has been developing."

Twilight flinched when she heard that, knowing very well what Diamantis meant by that.

"Your horn has been developing holes, they are unnoticeable for now, but I managed to see them when getting close enough to you yesterday."

Twilight remained silent.

"Does it scare you the idea of no longer being a pony?"

"..."

Nobody answered for a few moments, knowing how important this was, and how much he didn't want to be there, Spike decided to leave the best way he could imagine.

"Oh, look at the hour, I'll go see if Pinkie need some help to test her cupcakes."

And with Spike gone, Diamantis made her next question.

"You still haven't found a way to cope it with Spike, right?"

"..."

Diamantis didn't make another question, she just decided to wait until Twilight answered while she was reading all the schedules left to analyze. In the end, Twilight decided to answer.

"Yes."

Diamantis left Twilight's answer to sink for some moments before making her next question.

"You're afraid of doing to Spike what Queen Chrysalis did to your brother, right?"

"...Yes."

Diamantis sighed, kind of understanding where she was coming from.

"I don't blame you, force feeding tends to leave harsh side effects on the ponies who suffered from it."

"And..." - Twilight asked. - "Will I have to force feed love from others to live?"

Diamantis gave it some thought before answering.

"Well, thanks to our companies processing love into types of food, you aren't really forced to do that, but I have heard theories of ambient love and of possibilities of others sharing their love to us, but they have never been really tested out."

"Really?" - The idea of having something to test during her transformation process really changed Twilights mood, if slightly. - "Well, I suppose I have something to look forward to when the time comes."

"And how have you been trying to hide your transformation?"

"Well" -, Applejack answered, - "since Ah've only been growing a horn so far, it has been easy to keep it from mah family, but it still feels wrong, you know? Ah don't want to keep this from Applebloom, Big Mac and Granny."

"I see, and they have never asked or suspected about it?"

"Well, Ah think they noticed how Ah always keep mah hat on, but they never ask."

"And that pressures makes you want to come clean, right?"

"Yeah."

Diamantis took a few moments to think about what she was told by Applejack, it was true that there (probably) were no spies from Cerebelis in Ponyville yet, but she already screwed big by foalnapping and forcing the transformations, and she was yet to face any kind of punishment from it. She didn't want to allow Applejack, or any other pony for that matter, to break the secrecy law and potentially risk a harsher punishment, and that's not even talking about what would happen to Applejack, and her other subjects, for breaking the secrecy laws.

She didn't want them, or their relatives, to be caught by Cerebelis' forces. The rumors alone, about what happens to Logos' prisoners, are too terrifying to even consider taking the risk.

Applejack, meanwhile, was feeling each day more and more constricted for having to hide this to her family. It felt like lying, she wanted to tell them about what was happening to her and what would be her soon future, would her family hate her for hiding all of this? A part of her said no, but she also couldn't stop this huge feeling on her heart ordering her to tell the truth. At the same time, she knew what would happen to her, or her family, if she said anything about the changelings.

And knowing who was to blame, right in front of her, and that one guilty changeling of her current situation was going to be her new boss, didn't help at all.

Diamantis sighed and responded.

"I suppose I could send a letter to Queen Fortis about it, hopefully, she will let me know just how far we can go with the secrecy."

It took full 30 seconds to even comprehend what she heard.

"What?"

"Well" -, Diamantis responded, - "The Chamber of the High Queens did suspended a lot of laws, including the secrecy law, and I'm yet to be a queen oficially, so I'll send a letter to Queen Fortis asking about our situation and see if some of us here could tell some information about what is going on."

Applejack took some moments to think about the implications.

"But doesn't that mean...?"

"Yes, risking being dissapeared by Cerebelis, but I cannot bear the thought of seeing you, or Twilight, like that."

"B-but, that would put you in danger, right?"

Diamantis gave Fluttershy and her falling feathers a good look before answering.

"You've been receiving multiple letters from your family, right?"

"Y-yes..." - Responded Fluttershy with some hesitation. - "But I don't think it's worth the risk" -. She then shrunk as she thought about being disssapeared. - "I prefer to wait until the risk is gone."

Diamantis gave Fluttershy a small smile as she heard that.

"Well, thanks, but I think it would be safe to cover my bases. I'm certain Fortis will say no, but I prefer to ask her, just in case. In the meantime, I think this is something worth taking notes about."

"Hum... taking notes?"

"Yeah, I think taking notes will help to get a better understanding of what my subjects want and how to improve later."

"And let me guess, Twilight approved it?"

Diamantis looked at Rainbow Dash, wondering why she had that smirk on her face, and answering with honesty.

"Well, yes. Why?"

Rainbow Dash increased her smile.

"Oh nothing, it's just that it seems so fitting."

"Huh... ok." - Diamantis finished writing her notes before adding. - "Alright, now, something else I would like to ask, have you considered how your life will change once you become a changeling?"

Rainbow's smirk vanished as she thought about it.

"You want me to be part of your administration, right?"

Diamantis nodded and proceded.

"Yes, I want you to be in charge of the defense of the hive, that means you'll have to be careful of who is a danger for us and who isn't. You'll also have to prepare to protect this place from potential dangers."

Rainbow Dash looked at the ground of the library as she heard this.

"B-but, what about my training? I don't know much about defence, shouldn't I have some sort of training into that? Heck, I was planning to join the Wonderbolts, doesn't that count? Can't you postpone my position until then?"

Diamantis gave it a thought before answering.

"Well, I don't think the transformation would wait that long" -, she didn't miss Rainbow's flinch, but she preferred to act as she didn't see it, - "and you would have to learn to keep your transformation while training, if not for the secrecy laws, then for keeping the ponies from not feeling uncomfortable of being with a changeling. You think you could handle that?"

Rainbow Dash stood up, shaking some feathers and hair from herself.

"No problem, you'll see, I'll learn quickly to change my looks, the fastest learner, and then I'll show you how capable I am to keep my looks with my training on the Wonderbolts."

"I'll hold you to it then" -, responded a smirking Diamantis, - "I want to see what Equestria's air force is capable for defense, its Royal Guard already left a very bad impression."

"You'll see" -, responded an emboldened Rainbow Dash, - "I'll be the best defense manager in equestriand and changeling history."

"It's 'Secretary of Defense'."

"Buck no, I won't use such an uncool term as secretary."

Diamantis smiled as she heard Rainbow Dash talking.

"Well, glad to know you are so enthusiast about it."

"Darling, I always give my best, no matter what."

Diamantis gave Rarity a good look, she noticed how Rarity was doing her best to hide her growing fangs with a concealed smile, how she was hiding her darker spots with make up and her eyes were starting to turn blue.

"Hopefully, you'll have a good time with the illusion spells."

Rarity gave Diamantis an 'oh' as ideas for dresses came to her.

"Oh yes, ideas are already coming to my mind. From dresses that can make you look thinner, to dresses that can turn from yellow to blue."

Diamantis got a little kick out of it, it would be fun seeing ponies and changelings debating on the true color of said dress.

"Well, nice to see you're seeing the good side to this, have you talked about this with your friends?"

"Have I!?" - Responded Pinkie Pie with enthusiasm, her hair falling as she spoke, Rarity's make up hiding the hairless spots on her coat. - "I've been talking with Dashie about the pranks we'll be able to do."

Diamantis' back turned cold for the pair of monsters that could potentially be unleashed, but it was too late for that.

"That sounds... great, and I hope everything works out."

"Yeah, will you really write to Queen Fortis?"

"Yes, Pinkie, I promise you the same way I promised Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Rarity..."

Pinkie stood there silent for a brief moment, wondered if she should ask her the Pinkie Promise, but that was for friends and right now she really didn't feel that close to Diamantis... but she could always give the first step, right?

"Do you Pinkie Promise?" - She asked as she started to look directly into Diamantis' yet to be, but close enough, cat-slit eyes.

"Pinkie Promise?"

"Yeah, it's the most important type of promise, if you break it, you'll your friendship foreveeeeeeeeerr....."

Diamantis gave it a thought as she wondered about the Pinkie Promise. On one hand, it sounded really dumb, but she also didn't want to be on bad terms with one of her future subjects.

"Sure... I Pinkie Pro-"

"Noooo, that's not how you do it, look, you have to say 'I Cross My Heart, Hope to Fly, Stick a Cupcake in my Eye'"

Diamantis felt a bit weired out, but she relented.

"Alright then, I Cross My Heart, Hope to Fly, Stick a Cupcake in my Eye. Is that good?"

Pinkie Pie gave a deep thought in less than a second before answering.

"Yeeperonie."

"Alright then" -, answered Diamantis, - "I hope this helps you, please, it you feel something is wrong or you need to talk about something important, you can come to me, alright?"

"Something important?" - Asked Pinkie. - "Like when I wonder if I should bake with chocolate or cocoa with sweetened milk? Or when I need to know if a kilogram of feathers is lighter than a kilogram of rocks? Wait a minute, they both weight the same, so why-"

"Pinkie" -, Said Diamantis before losing her patience, - "I mean things like how the process of an illusion spell is going, trust me, Twilight and I are working on it, or if you feel somepony is suspecting of you or if you are transforming faster into a changeling, ok?"

"Oki doki loki" -. Said Pinkie as she made a salute and left Diamantis alone in the Library.

This gave the future queen enough time to breath and relax.

"Alright, with Pinkie, we have 6, I now have to talk with another 24 while I have to make a planification of my first years of ruling, how I plan to budget everything, how my hive will work, trade relationships, diplomatic relationships, defense, how to present before the next queen, the buildings I'll have to make for 50 plus changeling subjects, searching for a mate to ensure a dinasty..." - She then looked at the clock and saw that she had to go see Cheerilee in a couple of minutes. - "Just another day" -. She then took a deep breath as she went out to see the professor, hopefully, she would feel nice after hearing that Twilight was starting to look for test subjects. - "Hopefully, it will get better in a few weeks."

The Fractured Unity

by Time Reaper

A Bitter Defeat

A New Composition

An Unadvised Transformation

The Unexpected Meeting

A Rock

A Hard Place

A Pressuring Meeting

Interlude: The New Queen Meeting Her New Drones

A Friendly Encounter

The First Journey

The Blind Princess

In The Hive of The Blind

The Coalition's Reunion

The Battle of The Green Fangs

The Journey Back Home

The Preparations

Twilight's Report I

The Lady of the High Chamber

The Hidden Gamble

The Councelor Queen