Phase 2: Escalation, Part 1
Dawn was about to break over Ponyville. The first light had become visible on the horizon. Smoke had appeared from the Sugarcube Corner chimney as the first set of breakfast foods went into the oven. Four white, golden-armored pegasi tromped past it towards Carousel Boutique.
Two of them moved around the back of the building, while two of them walked to the front door. Taking positions on either side of the door, the right member of the door group knocked loudly. “Royal Guard! Open this door!”
A long time ago, Mir had been worried about the government busting down where she was hiding. It wasn’t always a concern, but being nabbed while you slept would be rather ignominious for one such as herself. It was a simple matter to mess with her subconscious a little, to make herself jolt awake whenever she heard one of a few phrases she felt would encapsulate the “authorities coming for me” experience. One of which, of course, was “Open this door!”
Mir sprung to her feet in seconds with only a tiny bit of wobbling as she remembered she was currently quadrupedal. A sneaky glance out from behind the curtains confirmed that there were armored goons outside. Is that that Twilight princess? Luna said she’d send me my credentials, but those don’t look like her people at all. Maybe those bat-ponies that showed up last night to take Tirek away were the guys who were supposed to deliver the paperwork. Stupid! Should have asked them, they did look like Luna’s kind of people.
“Croix! Get up. Just in case…”
“Good morning miss Rarity.” The leftmost guard was reading from a sheet of paper as the right one watched Rarity and the inside of the house. “Due to a credible allegation of Changeling influence, we are required to examine you for signs of Changeling mental influence, and to determine if you are a Changeling yourself. We…”
“Now see here!” Rarity glared at the reading stallion, head lowered and eyes narrowed. “There is absolutely no sign of any changelings in this establishment, or indeed in this town.”
“I’m sorry ma’am.” The rightmost guard broke in. “We’ve received a specific allegation that your foreign guests may be changelings. After official approval to investigate, we are required by law to check you over. This shouldn’t take long. We’ll be taking you to the town hall’s courthouse annex for your check. Your guests will be taken to Princess Twilight for specialized checks.”
“I knew it! That nosy bookworm is trying to pull something. Well we won’t show up unprepared.” Mir’s telekinetic aura locked the last catch of Croix’s armor into place. “We’re both ready to go if this turns bad. Let’s see what they want for now though.”
“Hmph. Well, if you insist. I will require you to provide me with a coffee however.”
“Ok,” said the rightmost guard, “I think there’s a coffee machine in the courthouse lobby.”
“All right, I’m going to remove my curlers now, so don’t be alarmed.”
“Of course ma’am.”
The curlers levitated to a nearby table.
“Do you wish me to call my guests down?”
“No ma’am. We’ll do it ourselves. Stomper, please escort miss Rarity to the courthouse.”
The leftmost pegasus nodded, then pointed towards the town hall with his wing.
“Yes, yes I’m going.” Rarity stepped forward past the two guards. Stomper fell in behind her.
As they walked off the remaining front door pony was joined by one of the other two. They began towards the stairwell leading up, but a creaking noise and clomping announced their quarry was coming down.
Both pegasi sprung backwards, keeping their eyes on the staircase. An armored hoof emerged into view as their eyes narrowed. Both of them tensed for action. The armored stallion emerging down the stairwell seemed to be a fellow pegasus, but his armor was much heavier than the traditional royal guard armor. A lance of some sort was strapped to his back. He regarded them calmly and stepped to the side of the staircase.
A second pony emerged, this one a unicorn with an odd-looking horn. She was much smaller than the pegasus and was wearing much lighter armor. It might not have even been armor at all, just some sort of spandex costume. Regardless it didn’t look like normal clothing.
After a brief internal deliberation the remaining front door pony spoke. “Greetings. Due to a credible allegation of changeling activity, we are required to take you in for questioning. Princess Twilight Sparkle has requested to personally preside over your questioning. Please disarm, and then come with us immediately.”
Mir glared smugly at the guardsponies. “What happens if we refuse?”
“As a resident of Equestria you are required to comply with its laws. While we realize that the Changeling Verification Act is unpopular with many citizens, it is the law of the land as implemented by Parliament and signed by th– Princess Celestia. If you do not comply we will be forced to arrest you.”
Mir pondered. The “Changeling Verification Act” sounded to her like many historical laws that used fear of one particular out-group to allow a government to break its own rules to harm individual citizens for the benefit of the government or certain members of it. She had no idea what a “Changeling” was.
“Where will we be meeting with the Princess?”
“In her command center at the library.”
That altered the calculus quite a bit. The library was small. Mir had full confidence she could win a fight with these guardsponies, and she felt that if necessary she and Croix together could handle four or five times as many. The whole is stronger than the sum of its parts, after all. In a space the size of the library the forces they could bring to bear on them would be limited. If Princess Twilight really did have hostile intentions towards her, the two of them could flatten the whole place in seconds. There was still one card to play, though.
“Are you aware that Princess Luna has recognized me as an ambassador from my nation?”
“And what nation is that?”
“Neo Elemia.”
The two guards looked at each other for a tiny moment, never quite letting the two suspects out of their peripheral vision. Then they turned back, scowling. “Never heard of it.”
“Do you have any documentation?” The second pony added.
Damn. “She said it would be sent to me. We conferred while she was dreamwalking.”
“Even if that’s true, while we can’t arrest you, Equestria’s treaty partners have recognized the need to conduct Changeling verification. Even ambassadors can be required to show their bonafides. Please come with us.”
“Very well.” I got them to drop the “disarmed” part. That should be enough if things go bad.
“You! The cheater!” As he entered the library, Croix’s vision was filled with blue and rainbow. “You’ve got some nerve…” A purplish aura covered Rainbow and yanked her back.
“My apologies.” Twilight didn’t sound sorry, and sat suppressing a scowl at the far end of the library.
The main space of the library had been transformed. The reading tables and cushions had been moved about to create a sort of pen in one corner of the room. Mir scanned it over, noting the inhabitants. At the far end on a pile of cushions sat Princess Twilight Sparkle, staring directly at her horn. Between the two of them, on the floor, stood two “plain” type ponies she didn’t recognize, one with pink coloring and one with yellow. The pink one seemed to be breathing heavily for some reason and the orange one looked nervous about the whole thing. The three guardsponies were surrounding Croix, as he was the one that was visibly armed. And of course that was the only thing that drew Twilight’s attention away from her.
“Why is that stallion armed?”
“Uh, ma’am…” The stallion sweated visibly, his head ducking slightly. “These ponies claim to be an ambassadorial mission from Neo Elemia.”
“That’s not a real country.” Twilight’s eyes narrowed as she stood upon her throne of random library cushions. It wobbled slightly, and she flared her wings and adjusted her balance for a moment.
“Hah! Got you now, cheater!” Rainbow flew over to crow in Croix’s face, but was once again dragged back in a purple aura.
“Rainbow, please let me handle this. Now then. Since we’ve established you’re not representing a real country, you are not entitled to the privileges of a diplomatic mission. Please hand over your weapon to the guards.”
“I have already given the details of this to Princess Luna. She has confirmed my ambassadorship.”
“Really?” Twilight grinned as she jumped off the cushion pile, swooping down in front of Mir. “Would you mind if I asked her this right now?”
“Go ahead.” Luna seemed on the up and up. If she confirms what I said, maybe this whole patch of idiocy will evaporate.
“Very well, Spike, I need you to – EYAH!” Twilight had turned around to find Pinkie Pie standing right behind her, staring forward with eyes locked with fear.
“Twilight, why are you talking to a hole in space?”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “I beg your pardon?”
Pinkie shakily waved a hoof towards Mir. “I can see there’s a thing there, but I can’t see it. I can see the air all around it and it reflects light and it’s got a horrible color palette. But. I. Can’t. See. It.”
“Hmmm?” Twilight turned around. Mir was regarding Pinkie as an odd, but annoying curiosity. Her slight scowl was almost certainly offense at the “horrible color palette” comment. Twilight could see why Pinkie would say that, Mir was harshly black and gray.
“It’s like it’s there but there’s nothing there but I can’t see it and…” Pinkie’s hoof reached out slowly towards Mir’s nose. “I… I… I…” The hoof inched closer. Mir regarded it with disdain, but didn’t move or even flinch.” The hoof wobbled closer. Closer. Contact.
“AAAAAA!!!!!! I touched a hole in space!” Pinkie recoiled and flopped onto her back, skidding across the floor and slamming into Twilight, causing them both to collide with the cushion pile, which collapsed and buried them.
Mir attempted to stifle her laughter, but couldn’t stifle the grin.
Twilight emerged from the pile with a cushion impaled on her horn. Mir lost it, falling on her rump laughing. “That.. ha… was amazing. Best comedy act I’ve seen.”
Twilight disintegrated the cushion in a shower of sparks (thankfully extinguished by the library’s anti-fire enchantments). She reached with her forehooves into the pile of cushions and dragged Pinkie to the surface. “Pinkie! Get ahold of yourself! What’s wrong?”
“I… can’t… can’t…” Pinkie’s eyes had lost focus and her fur was glistening with sweat.
Twilight turned to Mir, and shouted with the Royal Canterlot Voice, “What did you do to Pinkie?”
The tables slid slightly on the floor as Mir, Croix, Applejack, and the guardsponies weathered the storm. Rainbow was protected by the purple aura holding her to the wall.
“I have done nothing to that pony. I am worried, however, that she has suffered a brain aneurism. I could attempt to heal that if you wish.” While healing the brain itself was hard, the blood vessels within it weren’t too bad.
“NO! Don’t you use magic. Spike, change of plans. Take Pinkie to the doctor right now.”
A purple and green tiny humanoid figure emerged from one of the doors. “R-right, Twilight.” He walked up to Pinkie, and grabbed her left foreleg, hauling her to her feet. “Follow me please.”
Pinkie walked forward following Spike almost to the door of the library, when a strange convulsion seized her and she flipped upside down, did a split with her rear legs while pedalling her front ones, then flipped back upright. “Something weird is happening at Fluttershy’s place! We gotta check on her!” Pinkie’s voice was excited but wavering, as if she didn’t entirely understand what she was saying.
Twilight teleported next to Pinkie and shook her head sadly. “Pinkie, I hate to say this, but I think you’re unwell. Please, go to the Ponyville hospital and let them have a look at you.”
“Ah...alright.” Pinkie lowered her head and resumed following Spike, but as she turned back to look at Twilight, she caught sight of Croix and shivered. “Maybe something is wrong with me….” She walked out with her head bowed as the door closed.
Twilight held her forehoof over her face for a moment, then removed it and turned to face Mir again. “Right, I was going to contact Princess Luna so she could shoot down your little deception.”
“Ahm sorry, but afraid Ah got to interrupt you too. Can we talk fer a sec?”
“Fine.” Twilight was practically glaring at Applejack as she led her into the kitchen.
“What’s this all about, Twi? Ah get that you don’t like the Changelings much, but this all seems so unlike you. Did Discord start being bad again and make you mean? You and the whole Parliament?”
Twilight sighed and lowered her head, then raised it again to look Applejack in the eyes. It seemed warmer than the harsh glares she’d been exchanging with Mir, but still didn’t seem quite friendly to Applejack. “There’s more to this whole Changeling situation than we’ve been able to let on. The information I’m about to give you is classified at Triune Level. Don’t tell anyone else without my permission.”
Applejack gulped. “Ah… swear.” Normally she’d Pinkie Promise, but doing that now seemed poorly-timed.
Twilight took a deep breath with her foreleg across her chest, then extended it as she released it. She leaned in close and whispered conspiratorially, “It all started in the immediate aftermath of the attack on Canterlot. It looked like Changelings were being thrown from the city, but the spell wasn’t really accelerating them normally. It was actually carrying them with a constant speed. If the changeling hit a barrier that was more solid than they were, it stopped rather than kill the Changeling. That’s love for you I suppose.
“The point is that there were a fair amount of Changelings too indoors for Shining and Cadance to blast outside the city. They were held in place for the full duration of the spell – which turned out to be 5 hours, by the way – and were collected once it ended. Shining had the guards pile them into some old disused cells in the depths of the EUP barracks. They were secured with all possible measures, including locked-on magic inhibitors. And they all escaped.”
“What?!?” Applejack reared back with shock.
“Nopony knows what happened.” Twilight lowered her head. “No free pony, anyway. All the guards watching them at the time of the escape vanished, along with a few more between them and the exit. Every last one of them vanished one night while Shining was on honeymoon. No clues. No evidence. No leads. That’s what has the government spooked. That’s what killed his career. That’s how the nobles strong-hoofed Princess Celestia herself into passing the Changeling Verification Act." Twilight paused for a moment, eyes widening with an internal revelation. She lowered her head further. "I lied about Princess Celestia overreacting. I’m the one who’s overreacting.”
“...Darn.” It was a lot for Applejack to take in. “Just… try ta ease up a little, ok? You’re starting to act like an ornrier pony.” Applejack nudged Twilight's head with her forehoof, bringing them eye to eye again.
Twilight smiled. It was the first time Applejack had seen her smile since she’d tested the Changeling reveal spell on her. “I’ll try, Applejack. Her behavior is still very suspicious, I can’t trust her.”
Applejack smiled back. “That’s all Ahm askin. Fer you ta try.”
“OK, let’s go back in and do this properly.”
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It's great to see an update to this story!
And what's wrong with Pinkie?
6656289 Pinkie is seeing Mir as her connection to the Ar Tonelico system.
6656495
6656806 Oh! I mixed them up, so Pinkie is seeing Croixes un-magicness?
6658472
Thanks.
I never played the games so i'm unfamiliar with it.
6665430 Well, Mir did explain that humans from her world could not use magic so that might have carried over in some way even with the pegasi transformation.