//------------------------------// // Loyal to What? // Story: Painted Mirror // by Lord of Turtles //------------------------------// “See, the problem I'm running into is the fact that there isn't a great deal I can do.” Raj said, staring up at the drifting snow as he leaned back on the lamp post. “It was easier when I felt more purpose. Waiting near the arch like I did, I felt like it was important. Later, after it got wrecked, I was stomping through the whole Everfree looking for another one. I didn't actually accomplish anything, but I felt like I did. I was active, it felt like I was working towards something, but it was all meaningless. See, that's the weird rub to it. Intellectually, I know that it was wasted time, but I still miss it a lot. Doesn't make sense, does it?” He turned towards his companion, curled up on the train platform. His hooves were underneath him and his hands were bound by chains. His wasted form was huddled under a cloak, trying to conserve his own meager heat. The creature glared, the menace undercut by his swollen-shut eye. “Don't get me wrong, I know that what I'm doing is important, both now and before. If I hadn't helped with the Apple family's dog problems, someone probably would have died. Finding that cure in the old griffon colonies definitely saved lives. Finding Jolly Roger's boat was super important. I know all that. At the end of the day though, the only progress I've made on getting home was that damn memory potion.” He drummed his fingers against his arm. “It's weird that false progress was so much more satisfying than the real thing.” The prisoner grumbled, giving his chains an experimental tug. “I have no idea what you are yammering about, but I am certain that I do not want to.” Raj held up his end of the chain, tightly coiled around his fist, and yanked back. “No reason to be a dick Tirek.” As far as royal assignments went, this one had been on the easier side. A few ponies had popped up in Baltimare with their magic siphoned out. Raj had been summoned and tasked with finding the renegade prisoner. It had only taken him a few hours of going around the city before the centaur had approached him. He though Raj would be on his side, coming to aid his fellow Briarus spawn with his escape and rise to power. Raj had availed him of that notion when he cracked his hornlet and punched him in the face. Tirek snarled from his seated position. “I will treat you however I choose traitor.” “I don't that scans for me. How can I be a traitor here? I've never even heard of Briarus before last year. I'm not part of any war, never have been.” “Yes you are!” Tirek spat. “You were the moment you drew breath on whatever world you hail from. Briarus gives us only two commands; do not war with your kin, and never be a friend to pony folk. You have violated both you disgusting beast. You're not better than my pathetic brother.” “The gargoyle, right? How does that even work? What with him being a winged humanoid and you being a horned and behooved guy. Like, what was your mom? Cause one of you was a real pain in the ass to get born.” Raj said back diffidently. “Your ignorance hurts.” Tirek said back as he crossed his arms, trying to keep warm. “All of Briarus' children can interbreed with each spawn retaining a true form of one of their parents.” Raj paused, a slightly disgusted look on his face. “Great, so if I'm truly stuck here I can start a second family with a giant snake or a minotaur. Awesome, good to know.” Tirek snarled and turned away, muttering darkly to himself. “Again, I don't get that. You've been locked in Tartarus for god knows how long, this is probably the first conversation you've had in centuries, and you want me to be quiet. I'm surprised you're cutting off just because I won't help you get revenge for Briarus' death.” “Briarus is not dead.” Tirek said flatly. “Everything I've read and heard says otherwise.” The centaur's eyes flicked over to Raj. “Then everything you've read and heard has been a lie. Briarus is not dead, none of the Titans are. The idea is ridiculous.” “Doesn't mean it's not true. The Faustmare killed them, in the Shattered Lands.” Tirek chuckled. “If our lord Briarus lacked the power to kill his fellow Titans, then the mother of horses certainly did as well.” Raj was quiet for a moment. “You know, you're not the first one to tell me the Titans are alive. But if they are still around, where are they? I've talked with things that were impossibly ancient, and none of them know where they are.” A devious smile came to Tirek's long face. “I have some theories. There is little to do in Tartarus but think. I'll share them with you, provided you remove these chains.” he held up his bound hands. Raj turned to him. “I saw what you did to those ponies Tirek. If I wasn't under strict orders to bring you back alive, I would have taken your head off just for that. If I let you go, you'll do that more. No sell.” “Orders? Feh, you're nothing but a lapdog.” Tirek spat. “Yup.” Raj said back, almost meaning it. “I have the information you seek. I can help you find your way home again.” Tirek said, pleading. “You and several others I'd wager. I'll take my chances on several others.” Tirek sighed. “Pity.” He stood up and shouted, scissoring his arms apart and snapping the links of the chain binding him with a hard crack. Raj bolted up fully, suddenly alert. His hands hovered over the Apple Axes and he said. “Come on, are we really doing this again? I took you down no muss no fuss before.” Tirek hoofed at the ground with a back leg. “You sucker punched me before. I believe you'll find me to be a much hard combatant in a fair fight!” He lowered his head and charged, his single horn sparking. * * * Several hours later, Raj kicked open the door to the throne room, Tirek bound in chains and draped over a shoulder. “Captain! Were thou successful?” Luna asked from her side-throne next to her sister. “Yup.” Raj said back plainly as he walked forward. “Was Tirek much trouble?” Celestia asked as she descended the steps from her throne. “Not much.” He hefted the prisoner off his shoulder and gently lowered him to the floor. Tirek was unconscious, a thin cut on his head still dribbling a line of red. One of his forward legs had a jink in it and his eye had swollen even more. “I had to subdue him twice.” “I can see that.” Celestia said, a faint note of disgust in her tone. “Good work Captain. The minotaur wardens will see to transporting Tirek back to his cell in Tartarus.” She nodded at a pair of guards to take the unconscious centaur away. Once the stallions had cleared the prisoner away, Luna nodded to him and said, “You are dismissed Captain. Return to Ponyville with the gratitude of the crown.” “If I may, Princesses. I have something I wish to discuss.” Raj said. “With both of you.” Both of them looked surprised for a moment, Celestia perhaps a bit impatient if Raj didn't imagine it. The solar princess answered him first, “We are both rather busy Captain. You may arrange an audience through the royal majordomo, she will see that you are allotted the time you require.” Raj considered taking the rebuffing in stride and just leaving. He tossed that out almost instantly however and was working out how best to phrase his refusal of that when Luna managed to do it for him. Princess Luna turned towards her sister slightly and said. “Sister, this is Captain Rajrishi. If he hath a matter to speak with us, then it is a matter of some import. We should not place him amongst the petty lords and merchants that struggle for our attention. Besides, you know as well as I how rarely we both take court at the same time.” Celestia paused for a second, but Raj was pretty sure he saw a dozen separate thoughts flick across her mind in that time. She thought about refusing, lying, pretending to be sick, pretending to be busy, and then ultimately deciding that no excuse would be worth the effort of delaying the conversation for a few weeks at best. She smile quaintly and nodded, “You are quite right Luna. What is it you wish to discuss Captain?” He went right into it. “Something Tirek said before I captured him the second time. He told me that Briarus is still alive. That the Titans are still alive.” “Nonsense.” Luna said sharply. “Our mother slew them and ended the Forming Wars thousands of years ago.” “Yeah, I read your book. I know all that. It's just that these aren't the first people that have told me this. I heard it from Slitherscale, from Bakasura, and Torch was pretty cagey on the subject.” Luna waved a hoof. “Naga are lying beasts, the children of the Asura see no value in truth and the draconic folk cared nothing for Bahamut in life, we see no reason they would care much for him in death.” “Were you there Luna?” Raj asked flatly. “Were you there when the Titans died?” Luna hesitated a second before answering. “We... I was not. Injuries from battle had laid me low and I was in recovery during the final battle. I only awoke months later to find the Shattered Lands where they are now and mine siblings and mother gone.” “So the only one who was there, is you.” Raj said slowly, his eyes settling on Princess Celestia. Celestia gave a faint nod. “Correct. I stood at my mother's side during the final battle. It was an honor.” “I can only imagine.” A tense moment of silence passed between the three of them, Raj never losing eye contact with Celestia. Luna noticed this and said nothing, letting the instant pass. Celestia broke the quiet first. “Exactly what do you want to know Captain? Speak plainly.” “Are there any living Titans?” “None, aside from those that retired from the universe before the war. Beyond those, none yet live in this iteration of the universe.” Raj scrutinized everything about her that he could. Her expression, the micro shifts to her posture, even the slowly rippling pattern of her mane. He didn't pick up anything that told him she was lying. “Okay.” He nodded. “Good, thank you Princess.” He bowed and turned to march out. Princess Luna called after him. “Fare thee well Captain, we shall have need of you soon enough.” * * * Later that day a pony dropped from the ceiling of the library. He reacted to that about as naturally as one could expect; he swore, half drew his knife, and stumbled backwards into the shelf and then collapsed to the floor. The cream colored, two-tone haired mare stood on the table, eyeing him levelly. She waited for him to regain his feet before asking, “Are you okay Captain? Did I startle you?” “You're damn right you did!” Raj yelled as he stood up. “Who does that, who even does that? Hiding in someone else's ceiling? Why were you up there? How long were you up there?” She looked up for a moment in thought. “About six hours, give or take.” Raj's eyes went wide. “That's a long time to hide in a ceiling. Why were you up there?” “I was waiting for Twilight and Spike to leave the library.” She answered back calmly. “I need to speak with you privately.” “That makes sense. I have an important question before that though. Who the hell are you?” The mystery mare actually smiled at that point. “Maybe this will help.” Then she did something subtly odd. She shifted her weight, brightened her eyes and expression and just seemed to alter the way she held herself. However that was enough that recognition hit Raj like a bolt of lightning. “Bon-Bon? Why didn't-” He stopped when she reversed her subtle movement, shifting back. Raj was struck by the bizarre and completely illogical sense that the mare he was looking at was somehow a completely different pony from the one he was just speaking with. He shook his head. “Alright, that's freaky. Is that magic?” “No it is not. It's amazing how much you can do with just facial control, posture, and some voice alteration. Add in a prop and a pony can completely fade into the background.” A small note of smugness entered her tone as she explained. Not-Bon-Bon shifted into Bon-Bon and back again as another demonstration and Raj rubbed his head, already feeling a headache germinating in his skull. “Well, that's neat and all, but that doesn't answer my question. Why are you here?” “Right.” she let out a breath and paused. “I'm with the Secret Monster Intelligence League of Equestria, an organization tasked with handling all monstrous threats to the country. And I need your help.” Raj sighed. “Equestria has more ridiculous nonsense for me to do?” “I wouldn't classify this as nonsense sir. This is an important task.” She said crisply. “Yeah, of course. They're all important tasks.” He curled a hand into a fist. “I haven't even been home for half a day, you know that? I had to sleep on the damn train.” “I do know that sir. I've been following you most of the day.” “Of course you have. Dammit.” He rolled his hand. “Go on, give it to me.” She took a breath. “Do you know what a changeling is?” “Quadrupedal bug monsters that eat love and other positive emotions. Black carapace, glowing eyes, can assume the form of almost any living creature. A bunch of them took over the capital for a few minutes last year. Supposed to be dangerous.” Raj rattled off. “Correct. We have reason to believe that one or more citizens of Ponyville have been replaced by changelings.” She said flatly. That was startling. “For how long?” “Not long. A few weeks at the most. A small clutch of the buggers were found in Trottingham last month. We managed to extract from one of them that a team was sent to Ponyville, but our prisoner couldn't identify the targets. I was tasked with finding the cell and eliminating it.” She explained. “By yourself?” Raj asked, an eyebrow raised. “I'm very well trained.” Bon-Bon said without a trace of ego. “I have a very strong sense that they are here, but I haven't had any luck yet. So, I asked the Princess-” “Which Princess?” Raj interrupted. “Excuse me?” “Which Princess did you ask, Luna or the other one?” He clarified. “Does it matter?” “It matters a lot.” Bon-Bon hesitated for a moment and said. “Princess Celestia is the official head of S.M.I.L.E. These orders come straight from her.” “Of course they do.” Raj sighed and leaned back. This was going to be another bad one. “Please, continue.” Without missing a beat, Bon-Bon picked back up. “I asked the Princess if I could get your assistance with this and she sent the go ahead, that's why I'm here.” “Why sneak in and cling to the ceiling like you did? You could have just come in when Twilight wasn't here, not startled me or risked injury. There's nothing outlandish about a confectioner coming into a library.” Bon-Bon shook her head. “My cover may be blown. If that's the case, then I didn't want any changelings copping to you being in the know. Right now, a very realistic double is doing a very fair approximation of sleeping in my bed, recovering from a late night of candy-making.” “So when are you going to sleep?” Raj asked. “I'm not.” She said back flatly. “That's rough. So what do you need?” “I need you to try and find out who the changeling might be. I can't be everywhere at once and if my cover is compromised, I need someone else to be looking. Also, you're the only one I can be sure isn't a changeling.” “How's that?” “I attached a sticker to the back of your pants when you got off the train that had a small enchantment on it. When I recovered it, your aetheric resistance had stripped the magic off. A changeling wouldn't be able to imitate that.” She explained. Raj raised an eyebrow. “That's just like Twilight's old experiment. What, did you read my file or something?” “Or something, yes.” She said back shortly. “Great. So how am I going to be doing this anyway?” Raj said back, arms crossed. “When a changeling assumes the form of somepony else, they inject them with their venom to paralyze them and then siphon off any love they may have lingering on them. That process also gives them some small fragments of their memories, short term and recent long term. That is usually enough to pass casual scrutiny from their victim's acquaintances and loved ones. From there, they consume the love that other ponies send them.” She explained with a scholarly tone. Raj rolled his hand. “Yeah, I read the book Bon-Bon, get to how I stop them.” She gave him a sour look. “Try to engage ponies on older topics or something high context. Odds are they won't have the skill set of whomever they're mimicking so if you can force a display of competence, then you know it's the real deal. Also, changelings have trouble with low temperatures, especially if they're transformed.” “So pretty much anyone that seems like they're trying to avoid Winter Wrap-Up tomorrow?” “Well, maybe not. Winter Wrap-Up can be a drag.” “Alright, so all I need to do is subtly interrogate my friends to try and figure out if they're terrible bug monsters in disguise. Easy.” He said sarcastically. “Anything else?” “Yes, one last thing. We'll need some means of determining if one another have been compromised. Here.” She held out a hoof and a small scroll tied up in her grip. “I wrote the phrase on that scroll years ago, the memory of writing it would be well outside a changeling's range of retrieval. We'll use that as our code-phrase.” “Won't that be in my recent memories?” Raj asked. “Which is why you're not going to read it, not yet at least. If you don't read it, then it likely won't stick out in your thoughts. If it doesn't stick out, any changeling that replaces you won't think to take it off of you. If I tell you to read the note and you don't have it, then I know you've been replaced. If I don't ask for the note, then you know I've been replaced. When next we meet, read the note and we'll go from there.” “Fine. Anything else?” “Yes. This is highly classified information, it can't be shared with anypony else.” “Right, right, I don't know who could be a changeling.” Raj drolled. “That, yes, but it could be even worse if you tell the wrong pony. This would cause a panic in the town, paranoia would run rampant. I don't know what it is about this town, but the citizens here are very prone to spontaneous bouts of freaking out.” She said. “That's true. Way, way too true.” Raj said with a knowing nod. He'd had heard stories of the ponies of Ponyville rioting over a bunny stampede, a panic over a swarm of bugs, a brawl over a stuffed doll, and full quarantine panic over a sick child. Most recently he'd been witness to a full display of their powers of losing it when the whole town went on lockdown from Torch flying overhead. He didn't even have an idea of what a changeling being among them would cause. “Why didn't Celestia tell me about this earlier. I was in Canterlot earlier today, she could have told me about this then.” “The Princess couldn't be sure who might be listening. If there are changelings here in town, then there could be spies in court or even among the staff. It was an unnecessary risk divulging this to you there.” “I wish that made less sense, then I could complain about it.” Raj groused. “I'm sorry sir, I'll try to be more aggravating next time.” “Glad to hear it soldier. Alright, I'll probe the Elements and anyone else I have a history with. What do if I find one?” “Subdue it and contact the Princess by any means. If we have confirmed changelings, we don't need to worry about being subtle.” “God I hope I find a changeling then.” He said quietly as he started picking up the books he had knocked over. Bon-Bon nodded. “I'll contact you after Winter Wrap-Up tomorrow. Keep a close eye out during, if changelings are going to grab anyone, they'll do it while everypony is occupied and many are isolated.” her head perked up. “I have to go.” “Alright, just-” Raj turned back to her only to see her spot on the table stood empty. A second later, the back door off the kitchen opened and he heard Spike and Twilight enter, chatting about something amicably. To himself, he muttered. “Goddammit, I just got batmanned.” Before he went to greet the pair.