The Friendship Summit

>A burst of magical energy springs outwards as you materialize into a lush green valley.
>Taking in a deep breath, the air feels warm and humid as it flows through your nostrils.
>The sun shines brightly upon your pink coat and purple mane, causing you to squint while gazing off into the horizon.
>A large spire looms in the distance, covered in vines, flowers, and abundant greenery.
“HA!  Once again, straight to the Changeling Hive!”
>“Umm… Starlight?”  A blue unicorn wearing a large pointed hat interrupts.  “We went over this last time, didn’t we?  This is not STRAIGHT to the hive!”
“Oh come on Trixie, we’ve arrived much closer than before.  I remember the last time we teleported here we appeared all the way over there.”
>Starlight motions to a small cliff directly behind her.
>Trixie rolls her eyes with dissatisfaction.
“Well… we better get moving, don’t want to be late for the Friendship Summit!”
>“Ugh…”  Trixie sighs in disgust.  “I have no idea why I let you convince me to come along. THE GR-R-REAT AND POWERFUL TR-R-RIXIE has no time for this!”
“Now, now Trixie, this is a really big deal!  You should be honored that you received an invitation!”
>“Don’t you know I have very important things I should be doing instead?!”
“Oh really?”  You say smugly. “Like what?”
>“Umm… well…”
“Hmm!”
>You smile to yourself as continue to look towards the large changeling hive in the distance.
“We'll we better get going, we’re running late…”
>“Ugh... FINE…”  Trixie sighs
>The two of you make your way to the Changeling Hive.
>“I sure hope nothing happens to us this time…”
“What do you mean?”
>“Oh come on!  You remember!”
>Trixie looks at you sternly.
>“It involved a certain overprotective changeling with nothing better to do, carrying a giant burlap sack, charging out of nowhere screaming-”
>“TRESPASSERS!”  A menacing voice calls out from behind.
>“Yeah… just like that…”  Trixie says as the two ponies hesitatingly turn around.
>“THOUGHT YOU COULD DISRUPT THE FRIENDSHIP SUMMIT!  NOT ON MY WATCH!”
>Wings buzzing heavily, the large dark green changeling descends from the sky, landing to the ground in a flurry of dust and leaves.
>The drone eyes the two ponies angrily through the cloud of dust, readying his giant burlap sack.
“NO!  PHARYNX!  WAIT!”
>The drone pauses for a moment, burlap sack held high.  As the dust slowly settles, the drone sees two familiar ponies hesitantly staring back at him.
>“Well… if it isn’t my two favorite pony friends, Trixie and Starlight!”  Pharynx says with a smile as he tucks away his sack.
>The ponies both let out a sigh of relief.
“Nice to see you again too Pharynx.”
>“Here for the Friendship Summit?”
“Yeah, you guessed-”
>“YOU’RE LATE!”  The drone angrily interrupts.
>Starlight nervously places her hoof behind her head.
“Well sorry about that… THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE had some important matters to attend to.”
>Trixie responds back with an innocent look.
>“Yeah sure…”  The large drones say, rolling his eyes.  “Well you better get going to the hive, the Summit is already underway and from what I’ve heard, my brother Thorax can use all the help he can get right now.”
“What do you mean?”
>“Let’s get moving and I’ll tell you along the way.”
>The three begin to make their way to the large spire.  At the base of the tower, a large assortment of chariots and wagons lie vacant, their occupants already inside.
>“I know my little brother is doing his best to improve the Changeling Kingdom’s foreign relations with this whole Friendship Summit thing… but he’s definitely bit off more than he could chew this time…”
“What do you mean?”
>“Well... it’s just the whole idea of it all…”
“Getting leaders from all over the world in one place to promote coexistence and harmony between nations.”
>“Exactly!  That’s the problem!”
“What do you mean.  It sounds like a great idea!”
>“Yeah sure, in theory, but when it actually comes down to it…”
>The three of them enter into the Changeling Hive and begin roaming the large array of winding tunnels.
>“I have no doubt that Thorax is good with all that mushy friendship stuff, but brokering peace and cooperation with all the other nations... well…  I’m not sure anyone can pull that off…”
“Pharynx, don’t worry about it.  King Thorax is one of the premier experts of friendship out there. With all the close friends he’s made I’m sure that together we’ll have no trouble promoting harmony among the other nations!”
>“Well... I sure hope you’re right…"
>The drone opens up a large set of double doors, revealing a large cavern filled with a multiple creatures from throughout the world.
>"...because if not...”
>As the three enter the room, a giant cacophony overcomes them.
>“...we’ll have to rebuild this entire place… again...”
>Throughout the room lie several large tables, each with an assortment of fine food and drink.
>Sitting at each table is a mixture of different creatures--griffons, donkeys, minotaurs, zebras, yaks, ponies, hippogriffs, dragons--every possible race imaginable, and each fiercely arguing amongst themselves.
>“Well… have fun.”  Pharynx says as he turns around.
“Wait, your not staying for the Friendship Summit?”
>“No, resolving friendship problems is more your thing, not mine.”
“Are your sure?  I have a feeling there is going to be a lot of important friendship lessons learned today.”
>“Ugh… you’re really starting to sounds a lot like Twilight…” Trixie mutters under her breath.
>“Yeah… I’m sure.”  Pharynx says bluntly, “I need to work outside security... plus, I’ve got all the friendship I need right here.”
>Pharynx pulls out his burlap sack from beneath his carapace and gives it a few loving strokes.
>A few moments pass as he looks up to see Trixie and Starlight staring at him awkwardly.
>“Uhh…. see ya!”
>The drone flies out the door, slamming it shut on his way out.
“Well… time to get work.”
>“/Great/” Trixie says reluctantly, as both unicorns walk into the room.
>Changeling drones--each carrying hors d'oeuvres and drinks--hesitantly buzz around the room, doing their best to keep the delegates entertained and well fed.
>At the first table sit several yaks, ponies, and hippogriffs. Of the ponies you immediately recognize Applejack and Rainbow Dash.
>A changeling drone approaches the table, filling each glass with a sparking liquid.
>“Well would ya look at that!” Applejack exclaims, “They’re servin' nothin’ but the best, Apple family cider!”
>“Really!” Rainbow Dash's eyes go wide as the changeling finally begins to fill her cup.
>One of the yaks--which you identify as Prince Rutherford--takes a swig of the cider. The large yak swashes the liquid around in his mouth and pauses. After a few moments of intense introspection, a disgusted look forms on the yak's face and he spits the liquid out to the ground.
>“PONY CIDER NOT BEST CIDER! YAK CIDER BEST! YAKS DESTROY!”
>The yaks immediately begin viciously pounding the table with their hooves.
>“Now wait one gosh darn minute!” Applejack interjects, when suddenly one of the yaks slams the table so hard it causes Rainbow Dash's glass to spill all over the ground.
>“NO! Don’t waste it!” Dash yells in shock.
>The blue pegasus scoops up the glass from the ground and holds it shakily above her mouth. Not a single drop remains. Dash looks desperately to the changeling server.
>“Y-you have more… right?!”
>The drone looks at the empty glass and then into the empty jug he is carrying.
>“Sorry… but that was the last of it…”
>“NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”
>Rainbow Dash cries out in agony as she collapses to the floor in grief.
>Applejack immediately turns to the yaks and a shouting argument unfolds. Several changeling servers, along with Queen Novo and Princess Skystar, quickly rush in to try and settle things down.
>“Umm… looks like there’s no seats open at this table Starlight.” Trixie says hesitantly. “Lets try over there.”
>Part of you wants to stay and help, but there are already several changeling drones and hippogriffs trying to mediate things.
“Alright…”
>The two of you walk over to a table made up of griffons and dragons, one of which you immediately recognize as Princess Ember.  Next to her sits an adolescent red dragon, boastfully telling a story to the entire table.
>“So I followed the bird all the way back to its nest.  I tried to sneak up behind it, but the dumb thing saw me and flew off!"  The red dragon yells in disdain.  "But... when I looked into the nest, I spotted these three large eggs.”
>The dragon uses his claws to show their large size.
>“And then what…” Hesitantly asks one of the female griffons.
>“Then... I ripped the nest from the tree and smashed it against the ground!”  The red dragon shouts with a toothy smile.
>The feathers on the griffons immediately become ruffled.
>“Garble…” The Princess Ember says warningly as she shoots him a dirty look.
>“What!?  It was only a stupid bird!”
>“Hold it right there you overgrown iguana!”  One of the griffons yells back.  “You’re the one who’s stupid, you lizard-brained brute!”
>The red dragon lunges at the griffon, but is held back by Princess Ember.
>"Well-"  The red dragon says, struggling to get free Ember's grasp "At least this over-sized iguana has a bigger hoard than the combined wealth of that run down dump Griffonstone!"
>The table erupts into a giant argument as the dragons and griffins fiercely yell at each other.  Just as you are about to step in, a few changelings swoop in to help make peace, along with a familiar face.
“Twilight!”
>“Hi Starlight…”  The princess says with a exhausted look upon her face.
>Before you can say anything else to her, the princess turns her attention to the griffons, each of which has their talons out, angrily digging into the wooden table as they stare furiously at the dragons.
>“We better let Twilight handle this one Starlight.”  Trixie says, tugging you away by the shoulder.