Chapter 1: An Unforgiving Past
“We watch you, Abandoned...”
The voices, synchronized and musical and somber, taunted Double-Take as she ran through corridors of black stones and gray mirrors that each seemed to hold a reflection of somepony, something other than herself. “Leave me alone!”
“You deserted, Abandoned...”
“You have no ide- Ah!” She tripped and stumbled, crashing into the icy floor, the solid surface sending a bone-shuddering impact through her rib cage and knocking the wind right out of her lungs. Her chitinous hide, thicker than a pony's but not quite an exoskeleton, did little to absorb the jarring shock. She scrambled to her hooves, the sound the galloping equine insects closing in forcing her onward.
The voices broke into separate entities, each distinct and familiar. Voices she wanted to hear again... and hoped that she never would.
“You left us.”
“We saved you.”
“We needed you.”
“Traitor!” the first called again.
“You're a failure!” accused the third.
“You left us to die... 'Miles to go,' Double-Take,” taunted the second once more in a sing-song melancholy.
Double-Takes eyes were tearing up, her friends' voices accusing her, trying her for a crime she...
Did she regret? “Do I?” she asked aloud with a shaken voice betraying only a small hint of inquiry, tears rolling down her cheeks.
She continued to run, but she didn't remember why. All she heard were the some accusations from the same voices, Changeling guards beating at her hooves. Rounding a corner, Double-Take charged for the nearest door. It burst open at her approach. She didn't question it. “These things happen... don't they?” She entered the door, full gallop, and found herself amidst...
“No...” she cried silently, her throat dry and her breath gone. She was in the middle of a distinguished group of guards. No, not guards, soldiers. The Shadow's Wings, Chrysalis's highest agents. She was staring at three Changelings on the Falsity Gallows, nooses around their necks, their horns broken and their wings bound. She recognized each one by name. They were all at one time her friends. They joined the Abandoned, the underground rebellion against Chrysalis.
The Tyrant Queen herself was there, up on the gallows, presiding over the execution. “This is what happens when you defy me, Whelps!” Her voice was ruthless, commanding, bloodthirsty. “You faceless fools, abandoned worms, who are so sure of yourselves as to declare open war, ha! your rebellion is a failure and you'll all die traitors.” She looked into the Shadow's Wings and spotted Double-Take. “You, Underwing!” she called.
“Yes, Your Ladyship?” Double-Take responded instinctively.
Chrysalis smiled. “Stand tall and know that you have proven yourself even among my highest. On this day, at this execution, you are no longer an Underwing. You rise in rank and gain the title 'Inquisitor!'” Cheers rang up from the crowds in the courtyard. “Do not squander this opportunity.” Her voice was biting with the last command.
“I will serve you to my fullest, Your Ladyship.”
Each of the Changelings on the gallows gazed down to her, and she met each of their hazy, tired, accusing stares. Their thoughts merged with hers.
“Double-Take...” Mirage thought, simply. She was best at being simple. “You should have left with us. This could have been different.”
Phantasm's mind was less organized. He had a lot that he wanted to convey, both good and bad. He damned her for betraying them and commended her for her skills in words that weren't really intelligible. He was too anxious, but his eyes would never betray it. Double-Take's heart stopped for a moment.
“I'm sorry it had to end like this,” Spectral Illusion at last communicated. “Find fire, old friend.”
And a Changeling in dark-blue armor pulled the lever. The three fell and, after several heart-wrenching moments, the ropes pulled taut with a single, simultaneous, sickening snap.
Double-Take opened her eyes to see the simple layout of her room in Ponyville. She blinked a few times before forcing herself upright. She was sweating, her heart pounding, her breathing burdened. Looking out the window, she saw that it was still dark, but a small shimmer of gold appeared on the horizon. She sighed, placing a hoof over her heart.
After a minute, she got up to wash her face with cold water. When she was gazing into the mirror, unsure, her eyes wandered instinctively to the large scar across her side. It was a sword wound from years ago. She froze for a moment, a sour memory infiltrating her already uneasy mind. With a shake, she said to herself, “No, that's in the past... The war doesn't concern me...” She shook her head again decided to make some tea to settle her nerves.
She settled down on a chair near the window of her balcony, staring into the morning horizon. She wanted the fresh air and she knew that it would do her well, but she couldn't risk being in disguise. It was a heart condition, unique to Changelings and rare among them. If she suffered any major stress, physical or psychological, and tried to shapeshift too quickly afterward, she could put herself into cardiac arrest. There were some other triggers for other Changelings, but Double-Take had only experienced the attacks with stress. “Maybe if I just open the window...” She stood up, easing herself off the chair, and pushed the window open, the fresh air rushing inside. After a few deep breaths, she sat back down at her writing desk. With a quill and a few pieces of papyrus, she wrote down every detail of the dream that she could remember.
A little while later, after finishing her tea and slowing her heart-rate to normal, she made some oatmeal for the pony-food part of her sustenance. She felt a bit weak, but it wasn't an alien feeling. She had adapted, just as she always had... Just as she had always needed to.
“No, that part of my past of done.” Her mind was absolute and her voice was defiant in her self-reassurance. “I will never go back, and I will never be forced to make those decisions again.” But her breath left her lungs in a heavy sigh once again. She shook it off. “It's a new day and you've got a lunch date with Rosie and Blossomforth.” She sighed, betraying both relief and disappointment. “In about five hours.”
So she got to work with her morning routine, which ate up about a half-hour. She had just finished making her bed when the package from the previous night caught her eyes. “Maybe just one...” She opened it up eager anticipation. There were two layers, separated by a layer of wax paper. The top held lollipops that looked like crystalline fruit, primarily melons: watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, even apples and lemons. The bottom layer held a sweet cake-like candy with a honey sugar-base, flavored with cinnamon, rosewater, and lemon peel, coated in dark chocolate and topped with mint. Sweetbark Delights were her favorite treats when Starlight was nursing her back to health in Hollow Shades. The Dragonfly brand was family-owned and operated in the forest town and had goods shipped all over Equestria. Double-Take decided to take one of the Crystal-Melon lollipops, a watermelon specifically. The lollipops were based on an old pony's tale about a Kingdom carved entirely from crystals, where even the ponies seemed to shine like translucent gemstones. But the legend says that the Kingdom, a province loyal to the Royal Pony Sisters, was usurped by an evil Unicorn. After a series of conflicts paramount to war, the Kingdom vanished, along with everypony in it.
Regardless of whether the tale was true or not, the lollipops were actually a special type of crystallized fruit, most of them shrunk through one means or another to a standard size. They looked like gemstones and were renown for a very unique taste. “Maybe I should give one to Spike.” She picked out a big crystal-apple and wrapped it up for Spike. “Hmm. Maybe Twilight would like a watermelon...” She shrugged. “No sense in having them if others can't enjoy them, too.” So after wrapping a few, she took a deep breath and shifted into her usual disguise, the same pony who sent her the delicious treats. She exhaled after the green fiery ring had subsided and then put the lollipops into her saddlebags, finally enjoying the one she picked out for herself. She smiled and closed her eyes, the sweet taste bringing back sweeter memories of two mares in a woodland town, smiling at their changeling friend.