Aurick let out a tired yawn as he reached for another gem. He had spent a vast majority of the day simply enchanting the gems, as he was the only one capable of doing so. When the unicorns he requested had arrived, he drew up a plan for them, so that they could work without his supervision. Carving into the walls, inserting gems, melting gold, etc. Everything that they could do to give him more time to work on the gems.
And work he did. By the afternoon, he had completed forty gems for the room, and was about to get started on the forty-first. That is, until someone decided to clear their throat from next to him.
“Aurick.” A familiar voice called his name, and looking up from his work, he found Celestia. The alicorn stood next to him, a small smile on her face. “I am glad that you are striving to complete my request, but I’ve been informed that you have not spared the time for food as of yet.”
“So?” He asked with a small frown, proceeding to pick up the gem he was about to use.
“I understand that you may be a little pressed for time on this matter, but I would rather not see you run yourself ragged in the process. At least for tonight, would you like to join us for dinner?” She asked, not hiding the hopeful smile on her face. Aurick couldn’t help but sigh at the sight of it.
“Fine, but if I can’t complete the enchantment, then you can’t blame me.” He told her firmly.
“I understand, though I have no doubts that you will pull through all the same.” She told him confidently, making the elf roll his eyes as he stood up. “Shall we?”
~-~
The dining room was exactly as he remembered it. However, instead of Twilight, a new pony took her place. This one was coloured pink. Excessively so. Though not nearly as bad as Pinkie Pie. On top of that, she was an alicorn. One that he had certainly not met before.
Could this have been their niece?
Ashwyn had joined them as soon as she had seen them moving out, and now she swiftly found a seat next to his own as she looked at the new face. The mare was looking at the pink alicorn with a strange look that Aurick couldn’t place.
“Glad to see my sister could remove you from your work.” Luna smirked, taking a sip of coffee. Despite the late hour, Aurick couldn’t help but feel jealous of the lunar mare.
“You only have yourselves to blame.” He pointed out, an idle hand reaching out to run through Ashwyn’s mane. It was enough to shift her attention to him for a short moment, having not taken her eyes off the pink mare until then. She returned to her staring, but didn’t make it so obvious, and looked elsewhere on occasion.
“Hmm, that’s fair.” Was Luna’s reply. “All the same, I’m glad you could join us."
“Indeed. Though I believe we should introduce you.” Celestia chimed in before gesturing towards the unfamiliar alicorn. “Aurick, Ashwyn, this is our niece, Princess Cadence.” The white alicorn smiled wide as she spoke of her niece
“A pleasure.” The newly named Cadence said. A hoof extended towards him as she spoke. He was swift to take it in his hand and shake it. She did the same for Ashwyn, and though she followed through, she ended up staring at the hoof with the same strange expression from before. Aurick could see Cadence’s eyes narrow slightly, and a small frown come over her face before returning to a neutral smile.
Before anything else could be said, however, their food arrived through the door. Plates were set, food delivered, and silverware placed in the blink of an eye as the servants swiftly and efficiently did their duty. Then, just as swiftly as they had appeared, they left, their food before them as though they had been there the whole time.
Cadence took a look at what him and Ashwyn were eating and raised a brow, but said nothing on the subject. Aurick also raised a brow, but not for the same reason. It was due to the fact that Ashwyn hadn’t started to devour her food as soon as it was placed before her. Normally nothing could stop her from satiating her hunger, but this time, she didn’t seem to even register that it was there. Her eyes were still on Cadence.
Aurick couldn’t help but wonder what it was that Ashwyn was seeing. He knew she was a bit antisocial, and didn’t exactly like a lot of ponies, but this was different. She always simply ignored them, not stared at them. It was enough to make Aurick start looking at the alicorn more closely too, though he didn’t make it obvious.
The dinner continued, and small talk was made. Ashwyn barely said anything, but Aurick decided to test the water with some questions.
“So you’re the bride to be?” He asked, earning Cadence’s attention.
“Of course!” She responded, her smile wide. Aurick couldn’t help but think it was a little off, but it he doubted that was what Ashwyn was seeing.
“Who’s the lucky guy?”
“You haven’t heard?” She asked, genuine surprise on her face.
“Nope.” He responded with a calm smile. The mare blinked at him for a moment before plastering a smile on her face.
“Well, my dear Shiny is the Captain of the royal guard!” Aurick’s eyes narrowed, as he still was unable to determine what Ashwyn knew that he didn't. He began to doubt he would be able to figure it out, and resolved to simply ask her when they were alone.
~-~
Aurick collapsed into the bed, sinking into the soft mattress. He felt if he stayed on it for too long, it might swallow him whole, but he didn’t really care at that moment. He was tired from enchanting gems all day, and he wanted nothing more than to simply fall asleep.
Ashwyn cuddled up next to him, almost as tired as him. She had been flying high in the great hall, carving paths with her claws and slotting in gems where they needed to be. He had just closed his eyes and nearly allowed sleep to claim him before he remembered something he had to do.
“Ash.” He mumbled, gently shaking the mare at his side. Her own eyes opened, half lidded, as she was likely about to fall asleep as well.
“Hmm?”
“What did you see with Cadence?” She stared at him for a short moment, confusion apparent in her eyes as she blinked slowly.
“Oh!” She exclaimed after she remembered, before lifting a paw to poke her snout. “Not see, smell. She smell strange. Not smell like pony.”
“She doesn’t smell like a pony?” Aurick repeated, his own confusion showing. The mare in his arms nodded.
“She not smell like pony. Is strange. She smell more like bug.” Ashwyn continued.
“A bug? That’s odd.”
“Hoof feel weird too. Like is fake.” She told him, making his brow raise. He felt the same hoof and he couldn't tell. What did this mean, though? He felt like he should know. Like he read about it somewhe-.
“Changeling.” He said as the realization came over him.
“Changeling?”
“Yeah, I read about them when I first arrived. They’re supposed to be a shapeshifting race of insect-like ponies that feed off emotions.” His eyes widened as a thought came over him. “What if they’re the ones attacking?” Ashwyn didn’t seem to understand the implications of that for a moment, but eventually her eyes widened like his.
“They be anyone.” She whispered.
“Exactly.” Aurick bit his lip as he started to think of what he should do. Should he tell Celestia and Luna? Would they believe him over their niece? He doubted they would, despite their friendship. Would they even be able to find out? Was there a spell to make them reveal their true form? He knew of one in his homeland, but he never learned it, as he never had any issues with shapeshifters.
He scratched at his beard as he pondered what he should do. He silently thanked Ashwyn for her silence in that moment, allowing him to think. Luckily for them, he was a swift thinker, and an idea came upon him before long.
“Ash.” He started, earning her attention once more. “I’ve got a plan.”
“Is good?” She asked, a hopeful smile on her face.
“One can only hope. I’m going to have to rely on you for this, because I still need to make that barrier Celestia requested.” He told her with a smirk.
“Why do that? If she is leader of attack, then we kill and it be over, right?” Ashwyn asked in confusion.
“No, and we don’t even know if she’s the attacker. For all we know, that’s the real Cadence, and she’s just always been a changeling. I need you to find that out. If she’s the threat, we need to deal with her, but we can’t kill her. We need her to call off the attack and to tell us where the real Cadence is.”
“Right.” Ashwyn confirmed after a short moment of thought. “What… What should I do?”
“I’m going to need you to see if you can find more changelings in the castle. If you do, I’ll need you to go to the library and find out if they have a hive mind or something similar. I know it’s a common thing among insects. If they don’t, then bring one of the changelings to me and I’ll make them talk. If they do, then we’ll have to go after the head of the operation and get them to stand down for their leader’s life.”
“And what if I can’t find out in time?”
“Well, if she is the attacker, she’ll be inside the barrier. With no way out and no way for reinforcements to get in.” Aurick grinned at her. It was enough for Ashwyn, as the mare shared a similar look.
“Sounds good.”