Interrogation
“Hush now,” Starswirl said, glancing over his shoulder. “You wanna let everypony know I’m still alive?”
“Right, sorry,” Celestia said, crossing the room and sitting on one of her large cushions. “What name are you using this century?”
“Al,” Starswirl answered.
“Al?” Celestia asked, eyebrow raised skeptically. “Well, it’s simple at least.”
Starswirl nodded. “Full name’s Al A. Kazam.” He turned back to the desk, ignoring the princess’s groan. “I’ve heard you’ve been having problems with changelings lately.”
“Among other things,” Celestia confirmed.
“Makes sense, they finally settled on a new queen, which means the main hives will be moving in unison. They’ll be out for revenge.”
“Yes, we’ve noticed,” Celestia said dryly. “We sent their beloved queen to the moon after all.”
“It’s more than that,” Starswirl said. “This new queen, Lirean. She’s Chrysalis’s younger sister.”
The princess blinked and straightened a bit.
“A sister that Lirean was rather fond of, truth be told.”
“Wait,” Celestia said, lifting a hoof. “If Chrysalis had a sister, why did it take a full ten years to recognize her as the new queen.”
“I was getting to that,” Starswirl said with a scowl. “I guess I should say Lirean’s the youngest sister, rather than younger.”
“Ah,” Celestia said, nodding in understanding.
“Three sisters,” Starswirl continued. “Chrysalis, Rosalia, and Lirean. Rosalia didn’t see eye to eye with the others. Once Chrysalis was out of the way, she and Lirean really started butting heads.”
“What finally settled the dispute?” Celestia asked.
“Rosalia just up and disappeared.”
Celestia thought for a moment before sinking further into the cushion, ears falling flat. “You don’t think...”
“I do. Lirean’s crazy, and I mean certifiably. If my sources are to be believed, Chrysalis had to keep her on a short leash, and Chrysalis was no shining beacon of kindness herself.” Starswirl turned back to her, face grave. “Sorry to say it, Princess, but you’ve got a killer in this sugar bowl you work so hard to maintain. A smart one too. She prides herself in deception, and all of her loyal followers are skilled actors.”
Celestia groaned again. “Can this get any—”
“You really want to finish that, Princess?” Starswirl interrupted her, grinning. “Cause things can get worse, as a matter of fact. The others are getting restless.”
“Others? You mean the windigos and specters?”
“‘Course. My research showed some interesting similarities between them over the past few years.” He turned and picked a paper off of the desk.
“You mean besides the fact that they’re all three pony like creatures that feed on emotions?” Celestia asked, a small smile gracing her lips.
“Yes,” Starswirl said, ignoring the sarcasm. “I’m starting to think they’re different kinds of the same species, like how ponies are split into pegasi, earth ponies, and unicorns.”
Celestia blinked, the smile faltering.
“And if that’s the case, there’s a chance that someday, the three groups may act as one. The fact that the specters and windigos are starting to become restless doesn’t bode well.”
“You really believe that?”
“Yeah. I’ve been studying the magic of all three of them. Let me tell you, it wasn’t easy getting samples. The same magic that unicorns control directly is used by pegasi to fly and manipulate the weather, and by earth ponies to make them stronger and faster. Well, the same magic that lets changelings change and feed on love exists in windigos and specters. The windigos use it to take on their semi incorporeal appearance and feed on hate and anger, while the specters feed on fear and change their shadows rather than themselves.”
Celestia shook her head slowly, trying to clear her thoughts. “So you think Lirean got rid of her sister, took control of the changelings, and is trying to gain control of the other two races?”
“It looks that way, though to be completely honest, I think there may be somepony even higher up. Lirean doesn’t have the temper to plan things out that far.”
Celestia sat in silence. Just how big were the changeling’s plans? Before she could come to any kind of conclusion, a shimmering cloud of green fire flowed through the window and coalesced into a scroll. She caught it automatically and unrolled it. After a moment she stood, eyes widening.
“What’s that?” Starswirl asked.
“A letter from one of my subjects,” Celestia answered. “Do you have some time to spare? I think this kind of thing would be right up your alley.”
“I could probably spare a few minutes. Why?”
Celestia rolled the scroll and placed it aside. “They managed to capture a changeling, and are holding it at my pupil’s house.”
Starswirl chuckled. “Well, that’s impressive.” He followed Celestia out of the room and down the hall. “Hey, I had another thought.”
“Oh?”
“You know how there are three kinds of ponies, and three kinds of, uh, whatever they’re collectively called?”
“Yes. You just explained it,” Celestia said, rolling her eyes.
“Well, there are actually four kinds of ponies, when you think about it.”
Celestia paused to glance at him with a confused frown.
“I wonder if they have their own answer to alicorns.”
Celestia shuddered and started walking again. “I didn’t want to sleep tonight anyway.”
*****
Four ponies and a dragon sat in a circle, looking down at the changeling. Scootaloo and Applebloom had stopped at Twilight’s house on the way to the castle, and had found Spike at home. Rather than risk the last few miles to Canterlot Castle, they’d sent a letter. Princess Celestia had arrived several minutes later, accompanied by an older stallion who’d introduced himself as Al.
“Let’s start simple,” Al said in a quick, gruff tone. “What’s your name.”
The changeling hissed and spat in his direction. It struggled against the tape wrapped around its wings and legs.
“Now, try and make this easy on yourself. Tell us what we want to know, and there’s no reason we can’t all get along,” Al said.
“I will never betray our glorious leader,” the changeling said.
“I haven’t asked you to betray anypony, I just want your name,” Al said with a shrug.
“This is a waste of time,” Scootaloo said. “Where’s Thistleroot?”
“Hush, girl,” Al snapped, earning himself a glare. He turned back to the changeling and lowered his head to look it in the eye. “Now, I can get the answers I need. The only question here is whether you’ll able to dress yourself when I’m done.”
“St... Al,” Celestia admonished quietly.
“They used mind magic first,” Al said, straightening and glancing back at her. Celestia simply stared down at him in silence until he shrugged. “Your country, your laws I guess.” He turned back to the changeling. “So there you have it, I’m not allowed to tear your head apart and take what I need.”
The changeling gave him a mocking smile.
“So, how about a box?” Al continued.
The changeling frowned in confusion.
“Yeah, I’m thinking a nice, concrete box. With air holes of course. A little bit of food delivered every day through a chute, a blanket to curl up with. With no communication or contact with a living being for as long as you live. No love, no laughter, just you, a floor, a ceiling, and 4 boring, unchanging walls.”
The changeling shifted uncomfortably, turning his eyes from Al’s gaze. “You might as well just kill me. I’d starve, right?”
“Nah. I’m what you might call an expert on nonponies. I’ve done enough research to know you can live just fine off of pony food. It wouldn’t be comfortable, feeling your magic dwindle each day, feeling dull and tired, but you’d survive.”
Scootaloo felt Applebloom shudder next to her.
The changeling shifted again, gaze bouncing across the room, looking at anything but Al. Finally, it said, “My name is Effigy.”
“See, that wasn’t so hard, now was it. Now, Effigy, things would go better for you if we got this young mare’s friend back alive. Where is he?”
“I don’t know,” Effigy said.
“You lying—”
“I said hush,” Al said over her. “Let me work here. Now, what did you do with him after you abducted him?”
“We took him to a house on the edge of the city and gave him to ponies. They carried him away. I haven’t seen him since,” Effigy answered.
Celestia stiffened. “You gave them to a group of ponies? Or changelings that looked like ponies?”
“They were ponies,” Effigy answered. “We can tell when one of our own is disguised. They weren’t changelings.”
“That’s...” Celestia trailed off.
“So the changeling’s are working with ponies now? Who the hay would want anything to do with them?” Al asked.
“The Cutie Mark Crusaders?” Scootaloo suggested.
“We’ve already looked into them,” Celestia said, shaking her head. “Star Shine is still under suspicion, but the group itself is...” she trailed off.
Scootaloo wasn’t listening. She was glaring down at the changeling, body tensed.
“Scootaloo?”
“He looked over here when I said the Crusaders, and then looked away real fast,” Scootaloo said. Applebloom nodded in confirmation. “I’m right, aren’t I? You changelings are working with the CMC.”
Effigy shifted his weight to turn away from her.
“To what end?” Celestia asked. “We’ve investigated every office holder and all of their funds. The group itself is just what it appears, a social group for ponies with a common interest. Most of the members are younger than you. What could the changelings gain?”
“Now wait a second,” Al said. “What’s this Crusader thing?”
“It’s a social group that’s become popular in the past few months,” Celestia said.
“And it’s full of young kids?”
“For the most part. The officers and organizers are older, but a lot of the members are—” Celestia froze, eyes widening. Several seconds passed.
Scootaloo had never heard the princess curse before. It sounded odd in such a calm, regal voice.
“What’s the matter?” Applebloom asked, glancing between the older ponies confusedly.
“Changelings don’t need shady bank accounts or brainwashed cults,” Al said. “An innocent social club is exactly what they would want.”
“They’re using the CMC to get to know ponies,” Scootaloo said, catching on. “They can get to know the ponies well too, with all their talk about being yourself.”
“And then once they know enough about somepony, they’ll replace them,” Al said. “They can learn about that pony’s family, and replace them too. One at a time, until the changelings outnumber the real ponies.”
“They may have already started replacing the members,” Celestia said. “We’ll have to act quickly. The dampening spells are designed to weaken changeling magic, but it’ll be pointless if they bury us in numbers. I’ll order the Crusaders to cease their meeting tonight until further notice.”
“I wouldn’t do that, if I were you,” Effigy said from his spot on the floor. “At least, not if you want to see your friend alive again.”
“What was that?” Scootaloo demanded, moving to take a step forward. Applebloom held a leg up, keeping her friend back.
“I’m just saying,” the changeling said with a bitter grin. “If you move against them, they will probably kill him to hide the evidence, right? You won’t find any proof of your suspicions.” Effigy’s smile widened. “Of course, your time is limited either way. They’ll kill him anyway, once they find out I’ve been capt—” The changeling’s head made a satisfying thunk as Scootaloo bounced it off the floor.
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Sorry if there are mistakes. Had a friend of a friend have a crisis, and I got the honor of being the one to call the cops, while I was halfway through my last preread. Hitting the publish button and going to sleep.
Oh mai. I like the direction this is taking. I can see a lot of good things coming from this chapter.
That said, here are a couple things I saw that really stood out:
Fact, the subject, is singular. Needs the singular verb to match it, so "don't" should be "doesn't"
Looks like you accidentally a word. Should be "bounced it off" if I'm not mistaken.
Enemy alicorn things? You better deliver on that because it sounds fucking amazing.
1973953 Jeez, that must've sucked....I mean...YOU had to call the police, so....yeah. The impact is that much more noticable.
1973953
Um... sorry if us readers have somehow "pressured" you into writing...
But this chap is extremely revealing nevertheless!
1974779
Nah, the chapter itself was already written, I just usually go through it while posting looking for mistakes like the ones 1974080 pointed out.
DALEK 23494785! USE THE VISUALIZER TO SPY ON THIS DIMENSION AND SEARCH FOR A SPECIES ON PAR WITH ALICORNS. GO! IMMEDIATELY!
1975402
why'd you have to call the police o.o?
1973953
My Primary concern is that everybody is okay and that nobody is seriously hurt. I can wait more time for a story to update especially if problems in the real world are causing delays.
1976138 1976204
No one was hurt. It was stuff with a friend of a friend and I was the only one with access to a phone.
So, I take it that crystal ponies are just a subspecies of earth pony in your headcanon.
Starswirl is a troper...