There had been no introductions made at the station: As soon as Driftwood and Rarity had stepped off the train, the Lieutenants of each cohort confirmed transfer of ‘ponies of interest’ from one to the other, and then Twilight had instructed everyone to immediately follow her to town hall. That there would be no questions asked by anyone until later was emphasized twice.
The scene at town hall was one of organized calm; the rest of the Guard cohort had established a perimeter around the building — which was not terribly tall, but nonetheless had an unusually large footprint for a town the size of Hoofington and appeared utilitarian to the point of boredom— and both ponies watching the front door snapped off crisp salutes as the party approached, but aside from a nod from Twilight, they all marched right on through the doors without missing a step.
The interior continued the story that began outside: The main hall was quite large, and the raised platform at the other end made it clear the space was used for town council meetings. The floor was dark hardwood in the center with a strip of dark blue carpet one and a half lengths wide running along the perimeter, and the space was broken up by four large support columns spread out near the center. Several windows looked outside, though it was too dark to see much, and an assortment of doors lead off the main hall to other rooms, most probably offices. A few short, potted plants brought a touch of green, and everything was lit by gas lamps rather than candles or even oil lamps. The construction all in all looked very modern and even recently finished, and was again utilitarian to the point of boredom.
Since they had left the train platform, the air surrounding the party had been filled with tension, which Driftwood keenly felt as a mixture of apprehension, fear, anger, and disgust, and it wasn't possible to determine who was feeling what. Rarity had been sewn to his side the entire way, and it left him wondering how much of that tension had been directed at her.
The party overall had settled into an uneasy silence. The Guards had spread out, and while most were monitoring the many doors leading off from the main hall, some were engaged with logistics work; these same ones had made a small pile of the luggage Rarity and Driftwood had brought. Twilight was conversing with two more Guards off to one side, too far for Driftwood to hear, but the transverse crest on the helmet of one marked him as the Lieutenant, which likely made the other the Sergeant-at-arms.
Pinkie Pie had slipped away at some point on the way from the train platform, and some Guards had been earlier dispatched to find her. Along the wall — located away from any doors or windows looking out — was a small collection of cushions, three of which Fluttershy, Applejack and Rainbow Dash had decided to sit on, though it was clear that Dash was in no way interested, given the tremors in her wings. Rarity nudged Driftwood in that direction regardless, and he followed her after a moment of hesitation.
Fluttershy noticed them first and immediately averted her gaze, seeming to shrink in on herself. Applejack and Dash both offered frowns, focused more on Driftwood than Rarity, but the tremors in the latter’s wings rapidly intensified until she shot into the air with a frustrated yell, immediately halting all other activity in the hall and drawing all eyes to her.
“Look, why’re we even bothering with all this?” she demanded of no one in particular. “We already know which one of us is the changeling, so let’s just bash him and put him in chains already!”
Twilight opened her mouth, but was cut off by Rarity. “If that had ever been the plan, we would never have left the train station,” she said, drawing herself up as tall as she could. “Never mind that there is no reason at all to do it. Driftwood is harmless.”
Dash fixed Rarity with a harsh glare. “I figured you’d say something like that.” She turned her glare onto Driftwood, who startled backwards several steps, eyes wide. “I ought to give him a good thrashing right now, see if that doesn’t wake you up.”
“You will do no such thing, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity said curtly. She very deliberately interposed herself between the Dash and Driftwood, head lowered slightly.
“Yeah?” Dash said back. She landed on the floor, far too close for Driftwood’s comfort, head lowered to the same height as Rarity’s so she could get right in her face. “Well, who’s going to stop me? You?”
“That’s enough!” Twilight interjected forcefully enough to draw the attention of both Rarity and Dash, their eyes slightly wide. “Both of you behave. We’re not fighting over this.”
Neither one of them looked particularly admonished, but instead exchanged a final glare and then turned and walked a few paces in opposite directions. Twilight shook her head, and then turned her attention on Driftwood. “I understand that this is more comfortable for you, but I will have to ask you not to wear a disguise in here. Nopony outside can see in, so you won’t need to worry about that,” she said.
Driftwood shuffled his hooves for a moment, but then breathed a light sigh and allowed his second skin to burn away, eyes directed downward. The feel of the air around him changed, becoming a mixture of fear, anger and revulsion, as he expected. The Guards, at least, seemed to have solidified an opinion of him, and settled on a kind of indifferent tolerance. How they had managed to do so as quickly as they had was a mystery to him, but at the least they weren’t contributing to the oppressive weight of every other emotion.
“Thank you,” Twilight said, every bit sounding coolly professional. “Lieutenant, your orders are unchanged,” she added, receiving a nod of reply before she turned around and walked toward one of the door leading from the hall to another room. “Come with me, please.”
Driftwood swallowed hard, and then forced his legs to move and carry him after the Princess.