They are different!
There wasn't always a time where the great and shining castle of the Princesses seemed to resonate with the happiness that they had. It was once a symbol of the pitiful sadness that the lunar sister, Princess Luna, had in her heart. She moped inside of the castle walls; always seeming to briskly walk through the corridors and sinking in the sadness she once experienced. It was an outright atrocious act to hear that the Princess of the Moon would spend her days wallowing in the feelings that everypony experienced with every day. The difference between her and everypony else however, was that she had very few friends. Apart from her personal assistant, Reginald, she knew very few of the ponies in the castle. Luna had nopony to voice herself out to and let her emotions flow. She needed someone to talk to, but more often than not she just wished for one thing, and one thing only: a friend.
Some ponies believed that she could not assimilate into society with every other pony. Others believed that she could come back even stronger than ever, forming a New Lunar Republic and overthrowing her sisters rule. It was a preposterous idea in Luna's mind, and she failed to understand why anypony would want her as a ruler. She could barely talk to anypony without using the Royal Canterlot Voice, which could nearly bursts eardrums if you were to close to her. The pony that instilled the most faith in her possible assimilation was her regal sister, Princess Celestia. She believed that Luna could make the jump, if she applied herself and used a few unorthodox techniques to earn some true friends. Celestia believed that she could, but does that mean that Luna will do as she needs or bring Canterlot to its knees once again?
Princess Luna walked through the halls of the Canterlot Castle, her hoofsteps clicking and echoing rhythmically while her head focused onward towards her sisters quarters. Celestia had requested her presence, and there was no reason to be requested at this time of day. Most ponies were just waking, and the sun had barely risen over the eastern horizon. Her turquoise eyes gleamed brilliantly as the early morning sun reflected off of them. Mornings were never exactly her thing, but she was at least glad Celestia had managed to request her presence before falling into her much needed sleep. But what Celestia wanted, she gets. And she wanted Luna, and there she was before her quarters looking up at the massive, gold plated doors.
It was covered in ornate designs, ranging from the fabled mythical monsters that hid beyond Equestria's borders to the reunification of the celestial sisters. The thought of what she did to her sister... and everypony else during the time as Nightmare Moon stung her heart to think about. She felt guilty for everything that happened, even though ponies told her that it wasn't her. It was her, but the darker side of her. A side she wished to never have released again. Luna inhaled a large breath of air and raised a regal, and articulately designed covered hoof, to the door in front of her. There wasn't much else to do at this point besides hope that what Celestia wanted was nothing more than a simple request to attend some simple, and not to mention arid, governmental event somewhere in Canterlot. At least that was what she hoped, but she could always be wrong, seeing as how she was more than fifty percent of the time in a society she barely understood.
Luna raised a hoof and closed her eyes, not liking to bother her sister even if she was requested into her chambers. The hoof came down with a powerful, yet gentle, force. But it never came down on anything. Where she had once expected there to be a door, now stood in front of her Celestia, the ornate golden doors shrouded in her golden aura.
“Sister, I see you have come to join me,” Celestia said in a semi-formal tone, motioning her hoof to Luna. “Please, come in.”
She stood silently for a few seconds, trying to come up with some sort of appropriate response for her sister. There was nothing to say though, her mind was firing blanks. She succumbed to her sisters wishes, and walked with a head held high into her sister's room. Celestia now stood behind her desk, sipping at a freshly brewed cup of tea, the paper tab still hanging over the side of the cup. The lavender effects in the tea followed the bits of steam up into the air, infusing the room with a gentle lavender aroma.
“Please, Luna. Sit,” Celestia asked her kindly.
Luna followed her sisters directions, even though it sounded more like a request of sorts. “SISTER,” Luna echoed in the Royal Canterlot voice, “Ahem, sorry... Still trying to get used to that. Why hast thou requested my presence this day?”
“I have noticed that you have been acting...” Celestia said as she thought of a generally nice way to tell her, “somewhat depressed as of lately. I am truly worried for you, Luna.”
“But there art no need to be worried for thou,” Luna relied. “Thou does feel fine, as I can assure you.”
“It is still what I have noticed of the way you walk Luna,” Celestia sad matter-of-factly. “I only wish for the best of you, and that is why I put this, quest, upon you. I ask that you leave the castle for at least one day whether it be during the night, or during daylight hours, that does not matter. All that you have to do is attempt to make friends.”
“But Tia...” Luna whined.
“I request that you do this,” Celestia told her in a harsh, but caring, voice. “I am doing this for the best Luna.”
“As you wish, sister. On this night, I will go forth and attempt to make some 'friends'. But first, I must rest as you take over the duties of the sky.” Luna gave her sister a graceful bow and turned back towards the door, walking out with her head slightly lower than when she went in. She walked back towards her quarters at a brisk pace; her bed calling and awaiting her presence. It would only be a matter of time before she would be forced out of the castle to make some 'friends' by Celestia's guard, and she needed all of the sleep that she could get.
That night, Luna raised the moon high into the sky, much farther and brighter than she usually made it. But this was not without reason; she wished to have slightly greater vision in the night. With the moon glowing upon the forests and the hills, Luna took flight from her balcony and gracefully glided across the dark, night sky. The moonlight glimmered off of her feathers, making her a yet another beautiful addition to the stars that shone overhead. While she seemed at peace with everything around her, Luna's mind was anything but peaceful.
Friends... she thought to herself. Why would Sister want thyself to make friends? Do I not have enough in Canterlot already? A deep harrowing sigh escaped her lungs. It's not like anypony is going to be out and about this late during my night..
Luna continued to soar over the forests near Canterlot as her mind tried to find some reason to why Celestia would think she needed more 'friends'. Not too far ahead of her in the trees, was a small clearing; a few ponies sitting around a fireplace made out of stone. As Luna drew closer, she could more closely make out the figures sitting around the crackling fire. There was at least three ponies, and they were all huddled close to the fire in an attempt to ward of the cold closing in around them. Theses ponies seemed different to Luna, but she just couldn't place her hoof on exactly what it was. She knew that there was something... different. She could feel it, but she pressed on and prepared some sort of speech in her head to speak to these ponies.
There was nothing to lose here, besides any confidence that she had built up. Gently hovering down next to them, Luna cleared her throat and began to speak.
“CITIZENS OF... *ahem* Citizens of Equestria, it is I, Princess Luna. And I wish to be your friend!” she ended with a small grin.
One of the ponies in the group jumped at the use of the Royal Canterlot Voice, obviously something that they had not been used to. It was as if they were completely ignoring her, as they didn't react to her wish to become friends, nor did they run in fright at the name of Luna. There had to be something wrong with these ponies, and Luna was bound and determined to find out.
“Is there something wrong with thou?” Luna asked with some concern. “I only wish to help, what is thou's name?”
The pony sitting directly in front of her had begun trembling, as if he feared her. He slowly turned his head, holes in both of his ears and fangs hanging over his lips. The wings attatched to his back were also riddled with holes, and resembled that of a dragonfly. With a deep breath he spoke. “I have no name...” and brought his hooves over his head, expecting some sort of beating. But nothing came down upon him.
Luna scampered backwards, her horn becoming shrouded in an aura of a dark blue. “Ch-Chan-CHANGELINGS?” She shouted. “MY SISTER HAD BANISHED THOU MONTHS AGO!”
“Please!” One of the others cried out. “We are different, Princess... Erna!”
“My name is Luna. And you are Changelings, you are all the same and just wish to feed off of the love that flows through Equestria!” Luna scoffed back at them. “There is no way to tell whether or not you are really 'different'!”
“Please... Luna,” They seemed to say in unison. “Test us in any way you please, we very well promise that we are different! Anything you ask of us, we will do it!”
A devilish smile came across Luna's face. “Is that so?”
“Yes, anything!” A Changeling called out with a raspy voice.
Luna's horn began to glow once more, and the Changelings feared being banished once more as they closed their eyes. A small pop ensued, making the entire situation anti-climatic. A small bowl of glowing, rainbow colored liquid sat in front of them. They knew what it was, as did Luna.
“That before you is pure love, in liquid form,” she grinned. “If you are to be my friends, then you shall not feed off of any love whatsoever.”
The Changelings had began to drool over the bowl of what they craved so much. They kept looking between Luna, and the bowl of love in front of them.
“...Or face banishment,” Luna continued.
It took all of the willpower that the Changelings had to just keep them from devouring the entire bowl, but somehow they contained themselves. That surprised Luna the most, and actually gave her a sliver of hope that they might actually be different. She glanced them over once more, trying to decide what to do with these creatures. She wanted to seem less as of a threat to other ponies in Canterlot, and most other cities around Equestria, so the first step would be acceptance of a different species, right? Maybe if she just accepted them as they were, other ponies would like her more...
“Come with me,” Luna called to the Changelings who were still enamored with the pure love taunting them. “COME with me, I'm sure Celestia would like to be meeting you.”
They didn't necessarily want to go with Luna to talk with the other Royal sister who had banished them the first time, but they had no other choice. They turned towards her, and nodded their heads and followed her as she took flight towards Canterlot.
"Oh Tia will be so happy that I made some friends!" Luna squealed as she flew through the sky, the changelings following close behind. "Now what to name them..."