//------------------------------// // Chapter 19 — Tastes of Nobility // Story: In Sheep's Clothing // by Kydois //------------------------------// Nymph Saturday. The week had been tense, though through no fault of the week itself. Even guard work had been surprisingly light, and there were few altercations which required my direct intervention. That just meant that there was a lot of free time to brood about the upcoming operation. And to run face first into things because I’m entirely too distracted and I really should have been looking where I’m walking, but that’s beside the point. No more time left. Fancy’s party. The sun had already disappeared completely behind the horizon and the street lights were slowly winking on. Dexter and Sinister were already disguised as two of the staff inside, busy helping prepare for the upcoming celebration. Outside the estate gates, a massive crowd had gathered. Ponies huddled over their cameras as they pushed for spots closer to the entrance. Guards stood here and there, helping to keep the crowd back. Though night had fallen, the golden gates were as well lit as they were in the afternoon, drowned in the lights of the news crews. Nobles drank in the attention, giving waves to the cameras as they made their way in. I swung my foreleg back and forth over the edge of the building I was on, directly overlooking the entrance. It was confusing why ponies seemed so interested in the lives of these nobles, even enough to stalk them to a party of all things and take pictures of them at the front door. Did they do it for bits, maybe? The spectacle of those born into wealth? A paragon of what ponies should be? A coach rolled up, and I recognized it as the one in which Tango, Lily, and Crystal, tucked in the folds of Lily’s dress, were going to be arriving in. The noise of crowd picked up at the sound of another arrival, audible even from the rooftops where I sat. With a deep breath, I leapt over the edge of the building, dangling from the top for just a moment before making my way down. Cadence I brushed a lock of my curled mane out of my eyes and smoothed out a few of the wrinkles in my dress when our coach rounded the corner, and we got our first look at our destination. Lily clapped her hooves like an excited foal as we pulled up to the entrance of Fancy’s home, gawking at the throngs of ponies already waiting there for us. It’s rare that I get excited about one of these sorts of parties, full of nobles puffing up their chests at each other, but Lily’s enthusiasm about well… everything has really rubbed off on me. Even getting fitted for dresses was an adventure, and Lily was curious about all sorts of things. I know Auntie Celestia wanted to keep an eye on her, but being with Lily was almost like foalsitting. The good parts, anyway. It’s rare for an adult to be so excited about seeing new things, free from societal trappings, and being around her really wears off the rough edges from the years of jadedness. “Woss all this about then?” she said, pressing herself against the window. “Cor, that’s a buncha ‘eathens that wanna take pictures of us.” I giggled. She had the strangest habit of calling ponies “heathens,” but it didn’t seem like she ever meant it in a bad way. It was so normal for her. “It’s just the cameras,” I said. “News outlets and reporters love these events, anything that can get them articles on noble and celebrity life. Don’t pay too much mind to them, but don’t be surprised if you pick up a tabloid tomorrow that claims we’re dating.” I took a sharp breath. “Oh, I almost forgot! While we’re in there, call me ‘Lady Amore.’ I’m a lesser noble, so hopefully, we don’t draw too much attention.” She saluted me as the coach came to a stop. “Gotcha! I’ll follow your lead, Lady!” I smiled back at her before lighting my horn and popping open the door. As I stepped out, my dress finally got its first opportunity to breathe. I had gone with a light cornflower blue to contrast with my pink and purple mane and coat colors. It was a light dress with a few layers, enough to be comfortable and draw a few eyes. A few tasteful pieces of jewelry helped to complete the outfit. Even though my noble persona wasn’t all too well known and I enjoyed a little obscurity, I still enjoyed feeling beautiful, and I could help but pander to the crowd’s expectations with a toss of my mane and a smoldering look. When Lily stepped out, the cameras only clicked more wildly, which I had half expected. Unlike me, she was a complete unknown, leaving plenty of room for speculation. I suggested an eye-catching flaming red ensemble to match her mane, and it had certainly performed admirably in getting everypony’s attention. “Ooh, never ‘ad so much attention on me before! Intense blokes, aren’t they?” Lily said, gaping at the reporters. Something caught her eye up above, and she eagerly jumped up and down and pointed skywards. “Ooh, ooh! It’s Philomena! Hey Philo!” I heard a familiar squawk and looked up, just as the phoenix plopped herself right onto my beautiful mane. The cameras immediately recognized the phoenix as Auntie’s and went into overdrive. Of course. I picked up Philomena with my magic and placed her onto Lily’s head instead, where she chuckled at me, but at least she stayed up there. She blew a small jet of flame at the ponies at the front, close enough to frighten them, but not to actually singe them, and we all shared a laugh as we quickly made our way in through the gates before anypony could start yelling. Fancy’s front yard alone was a spectacle. The lawn was fresh, and the topiary had been expertly trimmed into all sorts of ponies and animals. Tall trees lined the edges of the property, giving the mansion a sense of isolation despite still being part of Canterlot, albeit on the edge. A fountain sat just in front of the stairs leading up to Fancy’s home, and a few guards stood along the path up. Fancy himself was just at the top of the stairs alongside his new wife, Fleur. It was about time they got together anyways. They had a thing for each other since way back, and they were just so cute together. They beamed down at me as I took the lead, trotting up to them with a wide grin. “Fancy! It’s so good to see you!” I called out, embracing him in a half hug before doing the same with Fleur. “And Fleur, you’re looking as beautiful as ever. You still need to tell me how you get that bounce in your tail.” She smiled back at me, her hoof absentmindedly playing with her mane. “Perhaps another day, ma chérie. Don’t forget, I still owe you a spa treatment,” she said with a wink. Fancy chuckled. “My goodness, it’s good to see you here. I sent the invitation, but I hadn’t expected you to come, dear!” I nodded. “I wanted to at least see how you two were getting along. Oh, and Auntie sincerely apologizes for not making it, but she sends her best regards. She’s been very busy lately.” “No worries, dear! I’ll just have to settle for seeing her tomorrow then.” He turned to Lily. “And who is this? Is this your ‘diamond in the rough’ you’ve been telling me about?” Lily strode forward and shook hooves with him energetically. “That’s me, luv! Good t’ see ya!” Fancy laughed. “Spritely one, aren’t you! I look forward to hearing your voice later,” he said, before addressing the both of us. “We’ll catch up later, but welcome! Come in, come in, and enjoy yourselves! The catering should be ready, but save a little room for dessert later, eh? You can talk to the servers if you have any particular wine tastes, and they can get you something from our wine cellars. We only ask that you not enter a few areas of the mansion, but the guards will tell you where the restricted areas are. You are free to go wherever you wish on the first floor though!” I nodded and bowed to both of them. “Of course, Fancy. I’ll see you two inside!” I said, before Lily and I made our way through the open doors behind him. The inside was bright. The chandelier in the main foyer was a bright collection of twinkling glass stars, and it seemed like there wasn’t a single dark corner inside. Lily stared in awe at the extravagance, whether it was the polished flooring, the fresh flora and clean decor, or even just the butlers. The entrance hall was huge, and there was a massive table stretching along one side with a veritable feast, though most of the food was hidden under metal covers, likely being saved for later. The room next door was the ballroom, wherein sat a large number of circular tables, each with a bouquet in the middle and plenty of chairs. Lily frowned at all the shiny, covered platters. “Why’d they get all the food out, but not even let anypony have any?” I shrugged. “It’s something the nobles do. Gotta have a proper time for everything,” I said, shaking my head. “Heathens, aren’t they?” She grinned. “Aye, a real kooky bunch they are,” Lily said as she scanned the room. Some of the other guests in attendance had taken note of us, especially the phoenix still sitting comfortably atop Lily’s head, though their gaze hadn’t lingered for long on us, reserved for more esteemed nobles. A few camera crews had made their way inside, likely so that Fancy could draw in even better publicity. It seemed less like a private party and more like a miniature gala, though I had no real preference for either. Really, only Auntie could enjoy a “party” like the Grand Galloping Gala. “Oh, there are ponies with food!” Lily said before her excitement dulled a bit. “Oh, looks like it’s only tiny food.” I scanned the room and saw what she was talking about. There were a few butlers and maids amongst the nobles with platters of hors d'oeuvres and buckets of ice and wine bottles. “Those’re just the appetizers, to make the main course that much more enticing. C’mon! Let’s go get some!” I said before making my way to one of the butlers. “Hello sir!” He turned around smoothly, giving me a polite smile. “Greetings, milady. How may I help…” Lily bounced up beside me, and the butler gave her a strange look, almost as if confused. He straightened out quickly, however, and returned to his original composure. “How may I help you two?” Nymph I jostled my way to the opposite side of the street, pushing past some of the night time traffic and trying to ignore my growing claustrophobia. It was surprising how far from Fancy’s manor I had to go just to avoid any guards. Irritatingly, they had several streets locked down tight, and I had to go around if I wanted to avoid any potential changeling linking me to Fancy’s party. I wove my way down an alley into some of the forested areas inside Canterlot and paused. I heard water, likely from one of the rivers that wound its way through the canals that ran through the city itself, but there were no telltale signs of ponies. Though the guard was watching the street carefully, they were less than attentive of the space behind them. Still, there could be pegasus guards ready to catch any sneaky fliers, but I could make it through as long as I stuck to the shadows. I suppressed my emotional aura and I moved towards my destination. Of course, even then, it wasn’t completely smooth sailing. There was still, beyond all reason, a few pegasi camped out behind Fancy’s backyard with cameras. Thankfully, I could rely on my empathy sense to avoid them, though with a few drawbacks. “Ooohhh…” I groaned, rubbing at my burning nose and glaring at the tree in front of me. I picked myself up and carefully tiptoed my way around it and finally came face to face with the boundary of Fancy’s property. I placed a hoof on the wall and began to climb when I heard Dexter’s voice over the link. “Nymph?” I took a deep breath as I slowly pulled myself upwards. “Yes? What do you need?” “You know why your roommate is here?” Sinister butt in immediately. “Wait, that green earth pony’s here? Really? How in Tartarus did a pony living in a crappy condo get to attend a party like this?” “She’s…” I considered telling them the truth, that I had purposely gotten Lily in there as a possible escape plan, but Sinister… Feh, forget him. He’s not going to have anything good to say about one of my ideas anyways, and it’s not like they would believe I could do anything anyways. “I guess she managed to hit it big,” I sent to them as I crested the top of the wall and began making my way down. “I suppose so. Anyways, looks like dinner is about to start soon. How’re things on your end, Sini?” “Just tried exploring the basement a little. Guard presence is abnormally high down here for a place only the staff is supposed to have access to. Wine cellar’s completely off limits. Even tried pitching a fit about not being able to do my job. I don’t like what’s going on, but I’m gonna keep an eye on it.” “Got it. The party’s starting up here. They’re opening the ballroom.” I slunk my way further in, making my way closer to the mansion so that I could easily sense what was going on inside through just my empathy sense. The hedges were the perfect height and not too far apart from each other, letting me traverse the area under nearly constant cover. The pool and the tennis court were open spaces that I wasn’t willing to pass, but I had no need to be much closer. I took a deep breath, closing my eyes as I sunk down into the grass within the hedges and trees and reached out with my empathy sense. Cadence I had picked a table at random in the banquet hall, somewhat close to the stage where Fancy was giving his welcome speech, sitting comfortably before our food. Lily had two overloaded plates on her side, and I couldn’t help but feel jealous looking at it compared what comparatively little I had gotten myself. I had a figure to maintain, of course, though with Lily’s more… active personality, I suppose she could get away with eating that much. Even with Lily making off like a bandit, there was still a ton of food, almost too much for the crowd gathered here today, which was saying something considering just how many were here. I almost felt bad about not being able to have a taste of every single dish, but I had to watch myself, even if the fettuccine alfredo was calling my name. “So it would give me and my wife no greater joy than to see everypony mingle, get more food, and enjoy yourselves!” Fancy ended with a flourish to polite applause. It’s quite unusual to see the differences between the whoops and hollers of the bar patrons and the restrained ovation of the prim and proper, though I had to hide a snicker when Lily stomped her hooves on the table as applause, jostling the food and surprising Philomena, who was already picking through the plates. Luckily, there wasn’t anypony else at the table to get offended, so that was a headache avoided. I looked over to Fancy and Fleur, who were approaching our own table, but they were intercepted by a servant, who whispered urgently in their ears. Fancy nodded and mouthed a small, “another time then,” to me before following the servant away. I put on a smile, though I was a bit disappointed. There weren’t many nobles that I wanted to really converse with outside of Fancy, and I had spent a lot more time with commoners than the upper class. I could still mingle with nobles—I hadn’t forgotten high-brow etiquette, at least, especially after teaching somepony else about them—but I wasn’t part of any noble social group. So it was a bit surprising when somepony did come to our table. Voluntarily. She had an off-white coat with a light pink and purple mane. Her body was fit and her horn was well filed, but nothing really stood out in particular besides the intensive grooming. “Why hello, hello,” she drawled. “You two look pretty interesting. May I have this seat?” “Course y’ can!” Lily said through a food-filled mouth. I asserted my own consent with a nod, though how Lily’s manners hadn’t scared her off surprised me. “My thanks.” The noble took a seat gracefully, holding out her hoof. “Lotus Veil.” I took her hoof and shook it. “My name’s Lady Amore,” I said. I had heard a few things about her, though mostly through whatever gossip filtered through the grapevine to me. “So, what makes us so interesting?” “Oh, just caught my eye, is all,” she said, resting her head on a hoof. “I’ve never seen either of you two before, though I could have sworn I recognize your friend over there. What’s your name, dear?” “M’name’s Lilywater!” She took a moment to swallow. “Don’t think I’ve ever seen you b’fore though.” Lotus’s eyes widened just a little. “Really now? And here I thought I had made myself pretty well known. I’m the owner of the trading company Busy Bee, though I have branched off into other ventures as well. In fact, I’ll have you know that my people are also doing the catering for this event,” she said, before looking closer at Lily. “That being said, you look so familiar. Where have I seen you before…” She raised her head off her hoof and raised her eyebrows. “Ahh, I remember. You were the one talking with Princess Celestia back at the Summer Sun Celebration, weren’t you!” She burst into a loud belly laugh. “Oh, that was wonderful. I think you gave ol’ Pure Legacy an aneurysm with your antics.” Lotus leaned in closer to Lily, grinning widely. “So you’re familiar with the Princess now? Not everypony finds themselves the perch for her beloved pet. Tell me about yourself. You must be important if you’re here, of all places.” Lily let out a hum, though she looked strangely at Lotus. Her ear flicked off to the side occasionally as if she had heard something nopony else could hear. “‘Fraid I’m not as important as you make me out t’ be, luv,” she said, sticking her tongue out. I cleared my throat. “She has an exceptionally talented voice. I wanted to introduce her to Fancy as a bit of an opportunity for her.” I said carefully. “You mentioned you did the catering here? It’s quite different than what I was expecting from a noble party.” Lotus chuckled haughtily. “Let’s say that Fancy knew who his audience was, and I was in a prime position to provide the best, being able to get supplies from all over Equestria,” she said, taking a nearby bottle and filling her glass with wine. “The rich may pretend to have ‘good taste’ in food and drink, but deep down, well… I suspect he knows the greatest vice of the nobility: excess. After all, what’s the point in having so much money if you can’t get more than everypony else, so we set out to serve the best food and the most food instead of the overpriced ‘tasting’ nibbles that the food critics love to put on a pedestal.” She took a sip of her wine before aiming a smirk at me. “I give them what they want, and in turn, they show nothing but love and appreciation for us.” Lily choked on some food and coughed a couple times before she managed to down her bite. She cleared her throat. “Sorry there! Went down the wrong way. I need to jus’... ‘ead to the water closet for a bit,” she said before hurrying off. Philomena squawked in confusion before taking off after her. “I’ll go check up on her,” I said quickly. “Make sure she’s alright.” “Go right ahead, dear,” Lotus said. “Whatever you need.” I hurried off after Lily, a bit thankful for a reason to get away from Lotus. She seemed alright on the outside, but there was just something about how she spoke that really sent shivers down my spine. Nymph I flinched from a sudden sharp spike in my empathy sense. I had kept an eye on many of the ponies moving about inside and was a bit curious about a few ponies going upstairs, but two of the ponies up there had suddenly shifted to shock and fear. They shifted about for a few moments before one went dark. “Did you feel that?” Crystal said. A few moments after, the other was also subdued. “I did. What was that?” “No clue. I have asked Lily if she could maneuver closer to it, but it seemed like a very messy takedown. It was on the second floor, near the back.” I peeked over the bushes, trying to match what I felt over the empathy sense with the building in front of me. “That room… there’s a balcony on it. A lot of dark windows too.” I narrowed my eyes further. “I’m going to try and see what’s going on.” “I see. Be cautious. The guard presence is high. I suspect the servants may also be involved.” I nodded to myself and scanned the area once again. A few guards, both unicorn and pegasus patrolled around the mansion, but the rooftops seemed clear of any presence, thankfully. I ducked down into the hedges again and moved back into the treeline. I stayed down, moving from tree to tree until I had maneuvered my way around the brightly lit tennis court, which would have broken any cover I may have had. Through my empathy sense, I tracked the guards in their patrol. There was going to be a moment soon when I could sneak through. I’d have to move quickly though. I needed to at least make it beyond the balcony if I was to avoid detection, and bringing out my wings for flight would be too noisy an option. I focused on my empathy sense, waiting until the last guard finally rounded the corner. I took off at a sprint, keeping low to the ground. I had covered the distance all the way to a statue close to the mansion when the next patrolling guard came by. By now, I had a rhythm to how the guards patrolled. There were windows of about ten seconds at regular intervals in which I could work. Thankfully, I didn’t need to peek around the statue to count out when the next opportunity would come. I took a deep breath as the guard plodded behind the corner, and I darted out again. The window to the room right under my destination was dark and I sensed nopony inside. Probably safe to disturb. I leapt to the wall over the flower beds, softening my impact by bending my legs and clinging tightly to the stone. My hooves made small clops as I ascended, but the commotion inside was a helpful mask, and I made it up to the balcony without so much as a suspicious twitch on my empathy sense. The guards outside wouldn’t be able to see me on the balcony, so I safely tiptoed my way over to the door and peeked inside. Though it was dark inside, I could at least tell there wasn’t anyone inside. A large bed sat to one side, and I caught the edges of a dresser and mirror. I squinted. There was something large and round in the corner. They weren’t moving, but a few muffled emotions echoed from them. “Something strange is going on.” It was Sinister. “That’s been a lot of things today,” Dexter replied. I tried the door and scowled as it refused to budge. I scanned the edges of the door frame and found a latch on the inside. “No, I mean like, the basement. Every time I pass through, I can sense more and more ponies somewhere in there. No definite count, however. The empathy field’s too dense, and the ponies’ signatures aren’t strong. I think I sense something underneath me too. ” I tentatively reached out with my magic, slowly pushing at the latch. It gave way and I jumped a little when it opened with a loud click. “Mm… Strange. I’ve noticed a few guards and servants asking for guests to step aside one at a time. Something about their wine. Been relatively constant.” I tried controlling my breathing, keeping my ears and senses on full alert, but I relaxed after a few moments of silence. Further probing, however, uncovered a few guards upstairs with me, with one just outside the door to the bedroom. Sinister spoke again. “See if you can follow them. Check out where they go, cause if the enemy’s making their move on this scale, we need to bust our butts out of here.” I pushed open the door, closing it quietly before moving silently towards the opposite corner. I had to steel myself before rounding the edge of the bed, and my heart sunk at what I saw. It was what I had expected to see. Pods. Two of them. I made my way over, trying to take a look inside the first. “Crystal, I’ve got pods. One of them’s got a stallion. Unicorn, white coat, blue mane. Likely a noble judging by his suit.” I turned to the other one. “Other one has a unicorn mare, white coat, very light mane.” “It’s Fancy and Fleur.” “Oh Celestia’s Sun. Are you sure?” “As much as I can be without being there. I believe a servant called for their attention and pulled them away just after their speech.” I breathed in deep before opening up my hivemind. “Dexter, Sinister. I’m upstairs in one of the bedrooms.” “What?” Sinister replied. “Thought we told your scrawny butt to stay outside. Why in Tartarus are you on the second floor?” “Because I’m the only one they can’t detect.” I snorted, but plowed on. “There’s two pods. Fancy and Fleur are both here.” “By the sands,” Dexter groaned. “Great. We need to get out of here. The entire mansion has been confirmed to be enemy territory.” “You got a plan for getting out then?” Sinister snapped. “There’s probably a whole legion of Royal Guards outside, and who knows how many of them are infiltrators if they can get both Fancy and Fleur and pod them in the house. The other servants are probably also changelings since they wouldn’t be able to keep them out of the master bedroom otherwise without noticing the damned things.” “Roll with it, and stay cautious. Nymph, good job, but you need to get out. No more stupid risks.” I frowned, looking inside the pods. Leave? Just get up and go? I grit my teeth. I had two ponies right here. I had the owners of this mansion right here in front of me. Just the thought of leaving them to their fate sat poorly in my gut, but I couldn’t act recklessly. There was still a guard outside the door who would most certainly enter the room if he heard any suspicious sounds. I needed to take care of him first, but killing or knocking him simply unconscious would raise alarm, and then I would have much more than just one guard here. The matter of getting the ponies out was another problem, but if Lily could sing the nobles into an emotional storm like at the bar, I could feasibly remove them without being detected by any infiltrators, but I still needed to get the guard out of the way. I bit my lip. “Crystal, I need help. There’s a guard outside of the bedroom where the pods are kept. How do I get rid of him without alerting the rest of their infiltrators?” “Are you…” She sighed. “of course you are. You would risk trying to break out two ponies in the middle of this many potential changelings. You are a fool.” I frowned, staring harder into the pods, at Fancy’s unconscious face, and ground my teeth. I felt a familiar anger rise up in me, like bile. “If you are committed to doing this, there is one possibility, though I am loathe to even try to suggest this.” “What is it?” “Your memory spell. The rangers could infiltrate other hiveminds by integrating other changelings’ magic into their own, but the spell you have will simply copy everything. Theoretically, it would turn you into them, and your victim would still have a ‘presence’ in the hivemind.” I blinked. “The first time I used this spell turned me into a stupid magic-defective hybrid thing. How is this going to be any better? If it’s a memory spell that copies everything, wouldn’t I lose everything about myself?” “Maybe, maybe not. It is all theoretical, though judging by your reaction to other magic, it may only be temporary until your magical field snaps back to its current state. The copying does not copy everything. It will leave your core intact, so you have no worries about turning into someone else entirely, so long as you make sure that your target is a changeling.” I swallowed. “And you’re sure this will work?” “No, but I have made a deeper study of the rigidity of your magic field and I would place good odds on it. As I said, you are a fool, but if you are determined to be a fool, I will offer some assistance. Unlike some assets, you are not replaceable, and I expect that above all, you will not get yourself killed.” “I’ll try not to,” I said, before straightening up. It was going to be a huge risk, using the memory spell again, but it sounded like the only way to be able to help Fancy and Fleur. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew there had to be a better way. But none that I could think of at the moment. Celestia protect me, Steel Blade was right. My hero complex was going to get me killed one day. I just hoped it wouldn’t be today.