Compass looked out the musty window toward the light shining in his eyes. He grabbed the blinds with his mouth and pulled them shut. Now there were only two stars on the floor, small specks of light that came from fresh holes in the blinds. His tongue went from one fang to the next, gathering the dust that had been misplaced. He spat onto the wooden floorboards and moved to the table set up by the wall. While the house was in pitch darkness, Compass’s eyes sorted it out perfectly. His ears, while being a bit hairy, were capable of detecting even the slightest step from downstairs. Those who lived with him maintained the same gifts, and yet... And yet, on the table, were an envelope, a pamphlet, and a poster. All collected by the residents of this manor, all foreign and foreboding in nature.
Compass had brought his people out of the crumbling foundations of what had once been a proud nation. He had seen Celestia’s armies trample the souls he had cared for, and now there was propaganda in his new home. Taking shelter in a dilapidated mansion on the edge of Canterlot, these refugees had worked hard scavenging what they needed from their well-to-do neighbors. They only went out at night, and as far as the ponies knew this building was deserted and haunted at best. And yet someone trotted into their abode, leaving them with messages of change... Of surrender. Someone knew they were here.
Compass looked down upon the envelope, and pulled out the note inside. It had been addressed to him: “Compass, I know who you are...”
A smirk creased his snout. “I know who I am. Who I was. The time may have changed... But the war goes on.”
A creak in the floor broke his concentration. He turned eagerly to the source, only to see another resident.
“Soldier?! Report!” he shouted.
“No sign of any intruders yet, sir...”
“Do we know how he got inside?” Compass’s voice was plain, if not monotone.
“We can’t say for sure... If it was a pegasus it could’ve come through an open window. Uh... A unicorn could teleport inside, or a... An earth pony could have jumped in through an unlocked window or...”
Compass sighed. “The door.”
Soldier was knocked out of his stupor. “What?”
“Tell the others to start locking the front door.”
“But we never do that... they’ll forget!” Soldier reasoned.
“I know. But a closed door makes much more noise.” Compass grinned. “Keep an ear out for trespassers.”
“I thought there was only one?” the confused pony asked.
“If they really know who I am, then they’re not working alone,” Compass growled.
As Celestia’s sun rose above the Canterlot skyline, a purple unicorn made his way through the city streets. Walking at a calm pace, his glasses would not resist to sag and slide down his snout. Green magic kept them in place over his yellow eyes. His hearing, on the other hoof, appeared to be perfectly fine as his large, hairy ears gathered the usual, unwanted attention that most bats would feel. Under the glasses, his eyes were round and at home under the Sun. The telescope cutie mark and lack of armor would often instill enough of a “normal” vibe to keep the ponies calm. But there was never anything to fear from bat ponies from the start.
The wind was blowing in the city again. The unicorn’s blue mane began to obscure the saddlebag on his right, but it was the heavier one. Needlessly, he would glance back at it, as if expecting it to fall. The wind kept blowing. It grew colder as he reached his destination.
The darkened windows of the abandoned estate were foreboding to everypony in the town. The tales of the ghosts that dwell within had reached his large ears, but he did not care. He knew what was inside. Yet a frown creased his snout because for the first time on a windy day, the door remained quiet and still.
“That’s not a good sign,” he said in a whisper, talking to himself. “But I did come all the way here...”
He looked at the saddlebag on his right, then to the one on the left. Magic carefully opened it just enough for him to take a peek inside. Papers, a pen, and a marker were all accounted for. He turned back toward the former mansion. He calmly and quietly made his way up the small steps of the porch and toward the front of the door. Safe from the wind, his horn glowed bright enough to pull a piece of paper from his left bag.
“Just gotta make sure it’s ready for sending.” His eyes scanned the paper from behind his glasses, from the beginning of this address to the word “help” at the bottom. “I do not want to make another mistake.”
With a gulp and a raised hoof, he carefully touched the door. It was latched. Magic slowly turned the knob, and his hoof quietly pushed the door open. The purple unicorn trotted inside, using his magic to silently latch the door behind him. He moved from the light of the door into the black darkness inside.
“Just one quick message and we’re out of here,” he mouthed, not breaking his habit.
The green marker was pulled from the left bag and popped open. His head shifted quickly to either side to check for movement. His ears ever alert, he put the marker to work on the wall. It would take but a damp cloth to clean, but he was sure they didn’t know that. Finally, the words “Hail Celestia” were written upon the wall in their native text.
He took a break from his small, quiet breaths to mouth more words, “That shuffling is getting closer.”
The marker’s cap popped back on as he carefully sidestepped away from his writing. He placed it back in his bag in time to hear something drop from the ceiling. He jumped back in time to hear the sound of a hoof hitting the ground where his neck once was. The unicorn’s horn glowed with enough light to cause the bat pony to squint; the magic retrieved the note from the left bag and with a bright flash turned it to ash. Both parties blinded by the magic trick, the horn now searched for an object from the right bag. It didn’t find it in time. The bat pony, still blind, charged the off-guard unicorn. Now on the floor, his green light showed the bat pony’s smug face.
The unicorn lifted his front hooves toward his head. “I’ll come peacefully” he said. “Take me to Compass.”
The bat pony smiled. He looked over the fallen unicorn and sniffed. His fangs dug into the unicorn’s skin as he pulled the intruder off the ground. The saddlebags remained on the ground, which bothered the unicorn. Pulled forward by the bat pony, he glanced back to see another bat attempt to pick up the bags, then peek into the heavier one.
The unicorn’s gaze was jerked back around as they approached the stairs to the basement. The bat went behind and nudged the unicorn forward; his horn was barely bright enough to illuminate the steps. The bat hissed and prodded all the way down, but his captive remained silent. There was no fear in his strides, or hesitation. He followed his captor’s orders through the dark hallways of the manor’s basement.
Finally, they reached an empty room. The unicorn’s green light illuminated a chair, and he was led to it. The bat sat him down, and he could hear the flapping of leathery wings swooping into the room. It landed somewhere a few paces in front of the unicorn.
He could hear the shuffling of a hoof going through his own saddlebags. “Is this all he brought with him?” a deep voice said.
“Check the other one...” the scavenger responded, his voice much higher.
A bright green light brightened the room and the unicorn saw the two bat ponies shield their eyes from his bag. Adjusting quickly, the deep voiced bat reached in and pulled out the lantern. Its green fire cast strange shadows on the wall. He set it down on the floor, and sent the captor and scavenger out. A large door slammed shut behind them.
“So you’re the pony that’s been circulating all this propaganda...” The bat pony smiled, awaiting a response. His patience was short, and his smile faded. “You say you know who I am?”
The unicorn smiled. “Ah, Compass! I was worried you were having some lackey interrogate me for a moment there...”
“You don’t recognize me? I didn’t think I had changed much over my years of service to the Queen...” Compass’s eyes focused on the unicorn, attempting to remember a name.
“Well, I have,” the unicorn said, lifting a hoof toward his glasses. “My perceptions are not as strong as they used to be.”
Compass’s patience wore thin again. “Who are you?”
The unicorn chuckled. “You don’t recognize me? My name is Midnight Masquerade.”
The bright yellow eyes of the bat blinked and his fangs glistened in the light. “I don’t believe you. I never have, and I never will.” Compass’s gaze turned to the envelope, then the bags, the lantern, and finally back to the unicorn sitting in the chair. “Foresight.”
The smile faded from the unicorn’s snout as his brow furrowed. “I killed Foresight a month ago at least. I refused to relinquish my namesake.”
“Your namesake?” Compass chuckled. “You mean to tell me you’re not over a thousand years old, ‘Midnight Masquerade?’”
“My knowledge is; my body is not,” Masquerade explained with no emotion.
Compass sighed, and smiled. “I don’t want your life story.” Midnight’s face remained blank. “Alright, what do you want from us?” The bat looked at the unicorn’s longer ears. “You’re obviously one of us and you want us to join Celestia’s army or something...”
“That all depends...” Masquerade said, stretching his front hooves. “Are your minions hiding or waiting?” Compass’s head crooked to a side. “In case of emergency, say... some royal guards break in, do your bats hide from the light with their ample abilities or do they strike the ponies down?”
“Celestia doesn’t want cowards?”
“I’m just wondering how alive all your friends will be in ten minutes.” A grim smile creased Midnight’s snout.
“And how would they know to come here? I got every pony in town chatting up how haunted this place is!” They were both smiling now.
“Within seconds of entering this place, any pony can see the plain message I wrote to you and your ‘friends.’” Midnight leaned forward. “But they won’t be able to read it.” The smiles disappeared as Compass grew more confused. “It is in the Ancient Language of our kind...”
A look of pure horror overtook Compass’s face for a second, but he shook it off. “I will give you one chance to cover up your work and leave this place for good.”
“The Queen told me something similar a long time ago.” Midnight smiled again. “I didn’t take that chance either.”
“Then we are at an impasse...”
The heavy door creaked open as a strong hoof pushed it away. A bat pony as big as Compass trotted inside, his steady breathing betraying the walk he had made.
“What is it, Timber?” Compass asked the silhouette before Midnight.
The pony’s voice was deeper than Compass’s. “I spotted a group of armed guards heading this way. It doesn't look like a standard patrol...”
Compass did not flinch. “Get our soldiers in ambush positions. Give them bows and spears, and make sure that any intruders are taken care of.” He blinked, and grew more anxious. “Now!”
“Yes, sir!” the bat said, turning and slamming the door in haste. The galloping hoofsteps could be heard as he ascended the stairs.
Midnight’s eyes went from the darkness that shrouded the closed door back to Compass. The bat’s face was smug, awaiting the pony’s comment.
“I’m impressed, Compass.” Midnight chuckled. “You hide your fear so well.” The bat glared at the pony. “I know there’s a reason why you never got promoted to a leadership position...”
Compass grinned. “You and I both know she held me back. So if you think I’m scared, then you believe that she’s right.” Midnight’s mouth opened but his thoughts were derailed. His mouth closed as he gulped. Compass chuckled. “You can still stop this. Just leave and tell those stupid soldiers that we don’t exist and we can put this behind us.”
Midnight’s confused countenance avoided Compass’s eyes. His gaze finally settled upon the lantern he had brought with him. He took a deep breath, and turned back toward his captor.
“No. This is your grave, not mine.”
Compass just smirked. He turned from the stern pony, chuckling. The lantern was lifted into the air, revealing a table in the back of the room that held Midnight’s saddlebags.
The loud BANG of the front door being forced off of its hinges dragged the unicorn’s gaze to the dark ceiling. Looking back toward the bat revealed the large table hurtling towards him. The direct hit knocked his back off the chair and onto the cold, cement floor. The table landed on top of him with force of Compass’s weight. The bat’s hooves pushed it down, resisting the pony’s strength. Midnight was pinned.
“I really, really doubt that,” the bat whispered.
Midnight’s bare eyes turned up to the ceiling with hope. The footsteps of at least four soldiers could be heard at the now open entrance of the house. Midnight gasped under the weight of his captor, who took a hoof off of the table. The steps made their way to the message the pony had written.
The bat looked back down toward the pony that was still struggling to breathe. “What’s the matter, Foresight? Not enough of your own namesake?” The bat laughed, and the ceiling lit up in green.
And his strong hoof struck the table, crushing the pony underneath.
He screamed.
Several minutes earlier...
The six soldiers finally found their destination: the haunted manor on the edge of town. Nopony was ready to go inside but the unicorn captain pushed them onward. One of the subordinate unicorns refused to be intimidated, taking point and laughing at the rumors.
A smug smile ruffled his snout as he trotted to the front door. “So this is the place?”
“Yes, Mirage...” the captain confirmed, hesitant to see what the soldier was planning.
“Are you sure?” one of the earth pony soldiers asked. “Is it... safe?”
“Of course it isn’t!” the captain yelled. “Our mission is to secure this building, but the reasoning is that somepony submitted an anonymous tip that there are changelings hiding out inside!”
“What if they’re... ghosts?” a pegasus asked.
“There’s no such thing!” their officer denied. “Besides, this ‘source’ is apparently very reliable. But there can’t be too many changelings inside for it to be delegated to a troop our size. Just stay calm, and secure the building!”
He turned and nodded to the unicorn at the door.
“Yeah, guess I should knock, right?” he said, rearing up. A powerful kick from his hind legs sent the door off of its rusted hinges and onto the floor inside the house, and not landing softly.
“MIRAGE!” the captain screamed, yet not as loud as the door. “How are we going to get the element of surprise if you just alerted everything in that house to our presence?”
The unicorn simply chuckled. “You have me patrolling this street every day, sir. I got sick of hearing the door creaking in the wind!”
“That’s no excuse to potentially jeopardize an entire mission!”
“Maybe they’re scared now?”
The captain sighed and motioned for the others to enter the house. Everypony made their way inside, with Mirage and the officer taking up the rear. The other unicorn in the squad used his horn as a flashlight for his companions. The squad stopped at the lit up wall in front of them that was covered in strange runes. Mirage pushed his way to the front to see it, then was pushed out of the way himself by the captain.
“It’s changeling writing,” Mirage said, standing half in the dark.
“How can you tell?” the skeptical captain responded without blinking.
“It’s... green.” The pony pointed his pale yellow hoof toward the light green markings on the wall. “What else could it be?”
“Let’s keep going, colts...” the captain said, turning from the writing and Mirage. He gestured to the unicorn and a couple others. “You three go down that hallway...” a quick head turn mid-sentence sent the three soldiers down the corridor with haste. “You two are with me...”
Mirage and the pegasus trotted calmly behind the captain. No words were spoken as they carefully surveyed their surroundings with two “flashlights” lighting their path. It was a few paces of walking before they heard the scream. A high pitched wail echoed throughout the halls of the manor, like a banshee at full speed. The lights flew around the walls, checking everywhere for the source. There was nothing.
A lower pitched scream sent the three ponies turning and running. This time, it was one the soldiers. The word “ambush” bounced off the walls as the three backtracked and advanced toward the source of the cry.
Around the corner, their eyes caught a glimpse of a large bat pony close a door. In the room, the three soldiers just lay there. Motionless. A bat pony swooped down just long enough to sniff and poke one of them before Mirage’s spear penetrated its skull. The body simply turned to ash, leaving behind nothing but a bow and a couple arrows. The captain’s horn scanned the area as Mirage took back his spear and secured the armaments. Two bat ponies charged the three, only to be defeated as well by the team’s spears. The bodies also turned to ash.
“Bastards took them by surprise...” the captain said, looking over the bodies of their fallen companions.
“Definitely changelings.” Mirage stared at the closed door, obscured by the darkness.
“Definitely a setup!” the officer said. “These changelings were too well prepared...”
Mirage’s head turned back toward the captain. “One of them got away, sir... we can’t let them get away!”
“Private Desert Mirage,” the captain said, sternly. “These fiends set up a strong enough ambush to kill our squad’s better half! And I have dealt with enough of your shenanigans for one day!” He turned toward the dead unicorn, and picked him up off the ground. “We’re taking our fallen back to their families.” He took one last glance towards Mirage. “Now either help your friends or die here alone. We are retreating.” He looked over to the shaking pegasus. “Now.”
The two ponies gathered the trio of deceased soldiers. Desert Mirage simply stood there. He lit up the two ash stains on the floor with his horn and, finding no more ammo, turned back toward the door. His spear was his favorite weapon, but he was amazingly accurate with the bow. Now they were both tucked within his armor.
As the pegasus and unicorn turned with their heavy load to leave the building, the captain glanced back one last time. “Mirage, we’ve lost enough soldiers already. If you don’t turn around right now, you will be decommissioned. I will not be responsible for another--”
The door in front of Mirage creaked open, interrupting the captain. The handle stopped glowing. “Goodbye,” the soldier said, solemnly. He descended into the darkness, and the door closed behind him in a pale yellow haze.
Mirage’s horn lit up just long enough to see the stairway. He carefully navigated the steps in pitch darkness.
He was not alone.
An unseen hoof shoved him forward and he tumbled down the steps. His spear rolled out of his weakened grip and into the blackness of the basement. Mirage looked back toward the staircase, only to see a silhouette moving quickly down toward him. He rolled out of the way and readied his bow in the darkness. A flash of his horn revealed a large pony directly in front of him. A strong punch from its foreleg threw the soldier back into a wall, dropping the readied arrow, and barely holding onto the bow. His legs and sides ached, but he charged a stronger flash spell. He activated it, running to the side to lose the brute. The light blinded the bat pony for just a second, and the unicorn was gone. An arrow pierced the bat's side, and it screamed in a much lower voice than Mirage had expected. It turned to see the soldier readying for another shot.
The bat pony charged. In the darkness, Mirage only felt the recoil of his shot now. And heard the soft grunt of a bat pony, and the large THUD of it hitting the ground.
Desert Mirage lit up the corpse of his fallen foe. He saw the arrow protruding from its head, then looked at the one in its side. He chuckled. “Yep... still makes them turn around.”
After a few seconds of scanning the area with the flashlight spell, Mirage found his spear again. He turned back toward the body of the bat, and poked it gently with the sharp end. Speckles of blood could be seen on the floor, and now on the tip of his spear. A confused frown bent his snout.
He turned from the corpse to the sounds of voices, only to find an eerie green glow seeping into the basement from underneath a door. The soldier trotted towards it in the dark, his magic grabbed the handle as his foreleg readied his spear. With a swift, yet futile pull he found that the door was locked. He put his ear to it. He could hear a faint whimpering, as if somepony was in pain. Then there was a gasp, and a few loud hoofsteps.
The door suddenly gave way, opening into the room. As the unbalanced Mirage hit the ground, he could see a pony weakly lifting an upside down table off of themselves. The entire room was bathed in green light. The soldier reached for his spear, only to see it kicked away by another angry bat pony. It growled at Mirage, who simply glared back at it. He smiled as his horn brightened, knowing just the spell to use. He fired a blast from his horn. The bat dodged it. The green glow overtook the room and Mirage found himself floating. Then, an unseen force pushed him toward a wall as the green haze disappeared. He rebounded off the wall and rushed the bat with his bare hooves. His foe smiled and, with a burst of green flame, revealed its true form. The changeling hissed at Mirage and its horn glowed bright green, ready to attack.
Mirage stepped forward. The changeling's magic pulled the soldier's spear from the darkness. Mirage charged, pulling at the spear with his magic. The weapon finally slipped out of both their grasps and rolled toward the third pony still laying on the floor. The yellow eyes of the pony met the soldier's as its hoof reached for the spear. The changeling saw an opening. It pushed the soldier to the ground and lunged for the spear. Its green magic pushed the third pony away from the weapon. The monster turned with its weapon, grimacing.
Mirage simply smiled back. "It's good."
The changeling glanced back toward the third pony only to see that it had a glowing horn. It stopped. The heavy table fell onto the changeling's head. Mirage trotted slowly toward the creature and lifted the table off of it. The changeling writhed on the floor, whimpering. The soldier simply smiled as he readied his weapon for the final blow.
"Wait!" a deep voice shouted. The third pony lifted his hoof. His voice grew more quiet when the soldier stared at him. "Don't... Don't kill him..."
Mirage simply stared. This pony looked like a bat, but he was a unicorn like him. Eye and coat colors were hard to see in the dim, green light. Magic pulled some saddlebags from the darkness and to their owner. The pony reached in and pulled out a scroll to show the soldier.
"My name is Midnight Masquerade..." he said, unraveling the scroll in the light. His voice was weak. "I work with the princesses... I track down rogue changelings..."
Mirage pulled his spear away from the writhing changeling and trotted closer. The scroll he was presented with was signed by both Celestia and Luna, and gave its bearer great authority over anything related to changeling "immigration." Mirage sighed and let the stallion put the note away.
Midnight stowed the scroll away carefully, making sure nothing could possibly damage it within his saddlebag. He tucked it into place and searched the once heftier bag for what the changelings didn't remove. He turned from the bag, his hoof on the item, only to see a blood-stained spear pointed at him.
"'Midnight Masquerade,' huh?" Mirage smirked. "The Midnight Masquerade? As in the fictional changeling?"
"I'm not..." Midnight started, losing his train of thought. "I... I honestly didn't think ponies even read those books..."
"So... you're real?" Mirage questioned, losing the smirk.
Midnight breathed a sigh of relief. "Of course I'm real. The books are marked Fiction to keep identities and locations a secret."
"Huh..." Mirage finally lowered the spear. "So why are you a bat?" Midnight stared blankly back at him. "...Again?"
"I was born this way," Masquerade said proudly. "...technically."
The light dimmed in the room, and Midnight quickly turned toward his lantern. His hoof pulled the rope from his bag and he trotted toward the lantern with it.
"This is a bad time to get sidetracked," he said sternly.
He turned toward the growing darkness and pulled a chair into the light. The whimpering that Mirage could still hear in the darkness was silenced. Magic sat the unconscious changeling into the chair, and tied it up with the rope.
"Perfect." Midnight turned back toward Mirage. "How many changelings did you kill on the way here?"
"Just... three?" Mirage scratched the back of his head. "Does the bat pony count?"
Masquerade shook his head. He picked up the lantern in his mouth as his magic put his saddlebags onto his back. He turned from the pony and left the room.
Mirage left the changeling in the chair and followed Masquerade with his flashlight spell. The green haze managed to keep ahead of him, and finally disappeared at the top of the stairs. Mirage ascended the stairs after it, and as he opened the door he could see the entire room lit up in green.
"It's always good to keep spare fuel handy," Masquerade said, turning from the stains on the floor where his squad mates were slain. "It seemed one of the changelings managed to drop it in here." Masquerade frowned with worry. "...where's the rest of your squad, Mirage?"
"They kind of... died." His eyes looked up to the ceiling. A sudden realization brought them back to the eyes of the other unicorn. "How do you know my name?"
"O, I got that right?" Masquerade said in disbelief. "I have a few connections in the military... I think your name came up once in a conversation or something..."
"Really?" Mirage asked excitedly. "What about?"
"I barely recall a rant about insubordination..."
The enthusiasm vanished. "Oh..."
Midnight turned away, trotting down the hall. His lantern floated around him, moving from wall to wall while its wielder looked for clues. Finally, he reached the light green markings from earlier. He placed the lantern on the floor and searched his saddlebags, too busy to see Mirage catch up to him.
“Can you read those runes?” the soldier asked.
The purple unicorn looked from his saddlebags to Mirage, then to the wall. “Hail Celestia.” His voice was higher, with more twang. Mirage gave him a confused glance that was replicated on the unicorn’s face. “I’m... I’m not sure where that came from,” he said in his normal, deep voice. His hoof reached for his throat and his eyes scanned the runes again. “That changeling downstairs must have hurt my voice when he shoved that table onto my throat.” He turned back to Mirage. “Remind me not to read anything aloud in public.”
"Where are you going?" Mirage asked the unicorn that was now trotting back into the darkness.
"I've got to check on our 'friend.' You should get back to whatever is left of your team." The trotting came to a sudden stop and his eyes peered back at Mirage from the darkness. "And don't say anything about me. ...They'll never believe you."
Mirage smirked as the friendly changeling disappeared into the darkness. The pale yellow unicorn trotted out toward the light, and made his way back down the street. He was not sure if Masquerade was serious, but he did know that his captain always is.