"We can't let her talk to the Queen."
"No, of course not," Elytra agreed. "It would ruin everything if you returned to the hive with Twilight. Chrysalis would destroy you and come after me."
"Even if she didn't, Cadenza would execute me as soon as Twilight brought me back," Carapace said grimly. "After a visit with Queen Chrysalis, they'll know that I'm not here to negotiate an alliance."
Elytra had been pacing--a very odd gesture for a Changeling--but now he stopped. "Why are you here?"
"I think I was meant to lower their defenses. They wouldn't fear us anymore, or be on the lookout for Changelings, so the Queen could attack whenever she wanted to."
"Will she try again with Gossamer?"
"I really doubt it."
"We need to discourage Twilight long enough for you to disappear into the city." Elytra looked thoughtful. "I suppose that I could kill her..."
"No! Are you crazy?" Carapace snapped. "They'll blame me!"
It thought that the other Changeling almost looked relieved by its quick rejection of the idea. But since it couldn't taste any emotions coming from him, it didn't say anything.
"Perhaps we should--" Elytra stopped suddenly, and looked at the door. "Did you hear a gasp?"
Carapace ignited its horn and yanked the door open with faltering green magic. There was a burst of magenta light, and then a pile of old books thudded to the floor. Loose pages went everywhere.
Green fire flashed behind it, and it glanced over its withers to see Elytra in its true form. Green eyes, a green shell, and a short, stiff mane a shade lighter than its own.
"Come on, let's go," Elytra said, pushing past it. "It's over."
"Cadance?"
Cadance rolled over and opened her eyes, seeing the last light of teleportation fade around a pony standing next to her bed.
"Twilight?" she asked sleepily, yawning. The tip of Twilight's horn glowed briefly, and a candle in an alcove on the other side of the room lit up. The crystal walls refracted the light, into an all-encompassing rosy glow.
"You were right," she said miserably. Her mane was mussed into disheveled spikes and there were bags under her eyes. "I'm sorry."
"I was right about what?" Cadance sat up.
"Changelings. Carapace. She--Claymore is a Changeling."
"What?!"
"I heard them talking." She closed her eyes briefly. "Carapace came to lull you into a false sense of security. Captain Claymore--or whatever his real name is--has been here much longer."
Cadance leaped out of bed, hurriedly slipping on her shoes, crown, and collar. "Where are they now?"
"They saw me. I think they went into the city."
"Alright." Determination--born out of rest and a new confidence in her decisions--rose in her. "Twilight, I saw you perform a spell during the invasion. It stripped the Changelings of their false forms. Can you do it again?"
"Of course!" She looked a little insulted.
"Then round up all of the magically strong unicorns in the royal guard and teach them how." Halfway out the door, Cadance hesitated, then turned around. She scrutinized Twilight for a moment before slowly saying, "Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake--"
"Clap your hooves and do a little shake," she finished. "Cadance, it's me!"
"I know." She sat down and pulled the smaller mare into a brief hug. "But you can't be too careful. Gather the unicorns, and take them into the city when they've learned. We'll catch these Changelings."
"Our most common forms are unicorns, a mare and a stallion," Elytra murmured. "They'll be unconsciously looking for those. This is better."
"It's uncomfortable," Carapace hissed.
"I know, but it's necessary."
"Why is it uncomfortable?"
"You identify yourself as a mare. And I consider myself a stallion. This is uncomfortable for me, too." Elytra awkwardly rearranged her wings on her back. "I'll explain later."
"Why not now?"
She was silent, and Carapace could guess the reason well enough. The sun was beginning to rise in the east, flooding the city with light. Despite the early hour, the streets already held a crush of beings. It was much easier to move through them than it would be in a few hours, but still. There were far too many ears around.
"If anypony asks, your name is Fallow," Elytra said suddenly. "Mine is Thermal. We're tourists from Equestria, looking to maybe move here."
Carapace said nothing. Currently a stallion, he was in the form of a slender green earth pony. His cutie mark was a trio of vague-looking leaves--all he had been able to think of in the heat of the moment. Nothing about the disguise fit him. He had no idea why it bothered him so much; before coming to the Crystal City, he had been perfectly capable of being comfortable in any form. Mare or stallion, unicorn, pegasus, earth pony, or even alicorn. What had changed?
He glanced over at Elytra, unable to quell a sudden burst of jealousy. She looked so much calmer as a pale yellow pegasus mare. But then again, maybe she'd had more practice, being different ponies in dangerous situations.
"We'll stay in these forms for a week," she decided, "until things are a little safer. Then we can morph into something a little more...accommodating, and find somewhere to live."
"And then what?" Carapace pressed.
"We...live." Elytra looked surprised by the question. "We get a jobs, we make friends to feed off of, we act like ponies. For a few years. And then we'll need to find Twilight Sparkle again."
"What? What does she have to do with anything?" Carapace couldn't help feeling irritable. He knew that part of it was hunger, but he was too nervous to tap into the buffet of positive emotion around him.
"It's complicated. Later, I promise." Elytra stared straight ahead. "For now, try to relax. Looking jumpy won't help us."
"And so what does it do if the pony isn't a Changeling?" a stallion in the back of the room called.
"I don't know." Twilight motioned him to the front of the room with a hoof. "Let's find out."
It was two hours after the escape of the Changelings. Twilight and every unicorn soldier capable of performing her spell were gathered in one of the palace's rarely-used war rooms, doing their best to train a crack squad to find the fugitive monsters. It was going better than expected.
As the stallion nervously shuffled his hooves in front of her, Twilight closed her eyes and concentrated. This spell was different from any she'd ever performed before. It was rooted deeply, nearly automatic, and it felt...ancient. The only magic she could really compare it to was that which made up her Element.
The power built swiftly in her horn, and she released it without even thinking. A small yelp from the stallion made her open her eyes.
He staggered a little, eyes rolling in different directions, then shook it off and grinned.
"No worse than a blow to the head during training!" he proclaimed.
"Good thing you have a hard head, Convoy!" somepony yelled. The other soldiers laughed. Twilight rolled her eyes.
"Do it to me," she told Convoy, planting her hooves firmly on the opaque crystal floor.
He screwed up his face, his horn glowing blue for a moment, and Twilight felt something like a hoof wrapped in cloth striking her. Her vision skewed, and she blinked to clear it. She felt fine.
"Did I do it right?" he asked anxiously.
"You were great." She turned to the rest of her "class." "Does everypony else understand what to do?"
There was a chorus of "yes"s. She nodded, satisfied.
"Then let's go." Twilight turned and led the soldiers out of the room. "Remember! Nopony performs the spell without my--"
There was a sudden whoosh sound, and one of the stallions yelled. The others laughed as Twilight turned around to see him stumble our of line.
It occurred to her then that the city might be in trouble.