//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Interview with a Changeling // by Obsidian Ink //------------------------------// (Disclaimer: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is copyright to Hasbro. This is a non profit work of fanfiction, so please don't sue.) Shining armor sat in his office, going over report after report from his division of the 'Day' guard. Reports littered his desk, ranging from jaywalking to murder (of which there was thankfully VERY little of in all of Equestria). However, there was a very large pile that was in it's own separate bin, marked 'Changeling sightings'. Or at the very least, supposed changeling sightings. Ever since the disaster that his wedding had nearly became, Equestria was caught in the grip of Changeling paranoia. Any time anypony did anything remotely out of character suddenly everypony thought that pony was a changeling. This general paranoia was making it impossible for Shining to do the one thing that would have set everypony's mind, his own in particular, at ease about the whole thing, Finding leads to the truth of what had happened to Chrysalis and her army after the love empowered spell had literally cast her and all the other changelings not only out of Canterlot, but out of Equestria completely. Nopony could say if she or any of her evil kind had survived, or if they were trying to sneak back into Equestria, or anything regarding them for that matter. It was as if they had just vanished off the face of the earth. The phone rang. A brand new invention by a pony inventor named 'Bell Tone' out of Manehattan. This being Canterlot, it had everything that bits could buy, and instantaneous vocal communication between the guard posts back to their commanding officers had been top priority as soon as word of this invention reached the princess's ears. Shining picked up the phone with his magic and held it with the earpiece and mouthpiece in the proper locations... instead of reversing the thing like he had the first two times he'd tried to use the thing. “Captain Shining Armor's office, Shining Armor speaking.” Of course, the guard weren't the only ponies with phones in Canterlot. “Shining!” the lovely, cheerful voice of his wife, Princess Cadence, piped through the line and into his ear. “Oh, good, I was worried I'd miss-dialed this silly thing again.” A small smile came to Shining's face. “Hey honey! Everything ok at home?” “Oh, everything's fine. Actually, I just got in, was out at the Canterlot Foal's hospital all day. I got to read stories to a bunch of yearlings. They're all so cute! Seeing the poor things smile left me feeling lighter than air!” The smile on Shining's face broadened. “I'm sure they loved every minute of it. I mean, they did have 'Equestria's best foalsitter' reading to them, after all.” Cadance giggled. “Oh, stop!” Shining chuckled. “Was there anything else Cadence? Much as I love hearing from you, I'm kinda at work, so...” “Right, sorry. I just wanted to make sure you remembered our dinner plans for tonight, at Linguini's?” Cadence asked. “I haven't forgotten. I'll meet you there at five o'clock. Promise.” “Great! Love you Shining. Bye!” Cadence said. “Bye hon.” Shining said, then hung up the phone, and sighed. * * * * * To say that dinner that night didn't go well would be a colossal understatement. It had been several weeks since that disastrous dinner. Things between Shining and his wife were admittedly strained, blowing up at her over her concern for his late hours and distant behavior had not been his finest moment. He'd made several attempts to make it up to her, but they didn't seem to be working as well as he'd hoped. It had been another late night, pouring over reports of 'Changeling' activity all over Equestria, taken from every division of the day guard, in every city. Even the reports from the night guard passed through his scrutiny, looking for any signs of truth to the stories. Anything that would show if there was a resurgence, any encroachment... or some news that would finally put his mind to rest, whatever that might be. He now lay in bed, opposite from Cadence, their backs to each other. In the days since he'd at least gotten better at hiding his restless nights from Cadence by forcing himself to lay still. He would listen to Cadence's breathing as she lay next to him, close enough that he could just barely feel the warmth of her body. It was reassuring, knowing she was there in the same bed as him, warm and soft and alive. She was safe there. It should have brought him comfort, but instead, all he could feel was a cold rage at the creature that had hurt her. That had imprisoned her in a cold, barren cave and left her there to starve to death while it had come to take her place at his side. The creature that had taken what should have been the happiest time of both their lives and turned it into shambles. * * * * * The phone rang downstairs. The sound was muted through the stone walls and the heavy wooden door and the distance that separated the master bedroom from it's place in the study, yet it was still enough to wake Shining from the sleep that he had finally managed to find. He opened his eyes still bleary and unfocused. It was dark, no light in the room save for what came from one of the streetlights outside. After listening to it ring about half a dozen times he forced himself to get up, carefully, hoping not to disturb the pink alicorn that was asleep next to him any moreso than the phone was, and carefully crept down the stairs so his hooves tapping on the stone floor wouldn't disturb her either. The phone was easily past it's twentieth ring by the time he finally picked it up. “H-hello?” he asked, dumbly. “Captain Armor?” the deep and resonant voice of one of the night-guard, transformed by princess Luna's magic along with the rest of their bodies, came through the line. “Yeah... yeah, is something wrong soldier?” Shining said, his brain waking up. “We've got a bit of a situation sir.” Shining groaned, and looked over at the large grandfather clock “It's... 3 in the morning, soldier, Don't you have a C.O. on duty?” “Sir, the 'problem' is asking for you. By name. Refuses to talk to anypony else.” “Asking for... me? Who is it soldier?” “It's... it's a changeling, sir.” Shining groaned. “Soldier, if you're bothering me at this hour over some civilian freaking out because he noticed a neighbor doing something strange-” “Sir, this changeling is in it's natural form. We verified it wasn't a prank with a battlemage lieutenant. We brought it to an interrogation room on our captain's orders, but it refuses to answer questions, and just keeps asking for you, by name, over and over.” The nightguard on the other end said, quickly, to stave off any anger from the captain who also happened to be a prince. Shining's jaw suddenly decided not to work. “Ah.. uh?” He shook his head, clearing it enough to speak. “Where is it being held?” “We're holding the changeling in Interrogation room three at southgate garrison, sir.” Southgate was essentially the main entrance to Canterlot, and not a short trot from his home. Shining grimaced. “I'll be there... soon.” he said. Better not to give an actual time. He needed to clean up and get into uniform... and down a couple mugs of coffee. “Very good sir.” Shining heard the night guard say before he hung up. Shining stood there for a solid minute while he let the reality of what he'd just been told hit home. A changeling. An actual, unmasked changeling, had been captured, and was now refusing to speak to any pony but him? Shining didn't know if he should be elated at his good luck, fearful of the fact that changelings were apparently still present around Canterlot, or enraged that one, or perhaps more of those filthy monsters had just brazenly approached his city. “Shining? Is everything okay?” Cadence's sweet voice came from behind him, tinged with worry. Shining turned around to see she had descended the stairs after him... when she'd got there he didn't know. “Go back to bed sweety... I have to head out.” he said. “Official guard business?” She asked, sorrow creeping into her beautiful voice. “Yeah....” he said, then walked past her, headed to the master bath. Cadence stood there, watching him, worry wracking her heart. * * * * * An hour later, Shining armor arrived at southgate, wearing his full suit of enameled armor. A brief shower and a cup of coffee at home, and another, much stronger one he'd grabbed from Pony Joe's doughnut shop on the way over had his brain fully functional by the time he arrived. He still wasn't any closer to understanding the situation though. The purple and blue armored, creepily transformed night guards greeted him with smart salutes as he arrived. “Glad you could make it sir. Right this way.” One of the over sized, bat winged, needle fanged, cat-eyed frea- ah, ponies, said to him. Shining still wasn't quite used to the nightguard. Devoted guards-ponies who had accepted Luna's blessing and duties to protect Equestria while others might sleep, they were technically an ancient order, but having been gone for a millennium and then reintroduced abruptly with her return made them at best curiosities, at worst... best not to think on it too much. “I know my way around Southgate soldier. Thanks. Interrogation room 3, right?” The wicked looking fincrest helmed head nodded, and the transformed pegasi opened the doors to the garrison keep with their wings. Shining trotted in, barely glancing at any other ponies that were up in the keep at this hour... all either night guards or attendants. A strange feeling washed over the unicorn as he walked through the perpetually busy lobby. Southgate garrison's keep was the main hub for Canterlot's guard, and by extension, all of Equestria. Sure, they reported to the offices up in the grand citadel in the city's center, and those ponies to the princesses, but this was where everything happened on a day to day basis, and Shining had spent his days as a lieutenant here. He knew the place like his own hooves, and seeing no familiar faces was disconcerting. Pushing such melancholy thoughts out of his head, he focused and picked up his pace to a fast trot through the halls, heading for the interrogation rooms. This being Canterlot, they were usually used on jewel thieves and other high caliber criminals looking to rob the wealthy manor homes of the nobility, or those crazy enough to steal something from the palace. Shining wasn't sure they'd ever been used for something like an invading monster. When he got there, he ignored the main door into the actual interrogation room, and instead slipped into the observation room, behind the enchanted one way mirror. Inside, one of the captains of the night guard -Shining couldn't remember the pony's name- was standing, watching as one of his subordinates tried to get the changeling to talk... without success, it seemed. The creature was about halfway between the size of a mare and a stallion, and its face was rather androgynous, carrying features of both male and female ponies, though perhaps leaning a little more to the male aspect. Pockmarked diaphanous wings half as long as its forelegs sprouted from a iridescent dark purple shell covering a large portion of it's back, a bit different from his memories of the attack on Canterlot, where every changeling's back plate had been iridescent blue. A frill of grey membrane stretched between twitching carapaced struts replaced a mane, and it had a short, curved, sharp edged horn with no spiral to it whatsoever sprouting where a unicorn's should be. Its eyes were pools of blue, deeper at the edges and lighter at the center... where a normal pony's iris and pupil would have been. The changeling's tail was a strange thing indeed, now that he had a chance to actually look at it. Tattered grey filmy looking strands that seemed to mesh into shimmering diaphanous material near the base. It's lower legs and weird hooves were full of gaps, instead of fully fleshed out, it's limbs were apparently carapace over each individual bone, with just enough extra space for musculature. The thing was so... so alien, and yet so pony-like at the same time. Looking at it made shining either want to be sick, or fly into a murderous rage. He forced himself to calm down and spoke to the night guard Captain... who's name he didn't know. The day and night guards didn't mingle much. “Anything yet?” he asked. The night guard captain shook his head, not taking his attention off the changeling in the other room. “Every once in a while it'll say it wishes to speak to you,” the other officer said. “But beyond that, nothing.” “And how did this thing get captured again?” Shining asked. “It wasn't.” The nightguard captain said, turning his golden eyed gaze on the suddenly even more confused Shining. “I can hardly believe it myself, but it walked right up the main road to southgate, carrying and waving a white flag.” “You're joking...” Shining said, flabbergasted. “Wish I was Armor, wish I was.” the other captain said with a snort. “Think you could take over? My lieutenant's been at this since the thing was brought in and he hasn't gotten squat out of it.” * * * * * The door opened in the middle of one of the night guard lieutenant's demands for answers, cutting him off. All three occupants of the room, the changeling, the lieutenant, and one extra guard who was there just to make sure the changeling didn't try anything, looked up as he entered. “Stand down lieutenant, I'll take it from here.” Shining said, walking in. The lieutenant let out a snort, nodded, and quickly exited the room. “Greetings, Captain Shining Armor.” the changeling said before Shining could get a word in. The beast's voice was calm and even, not betraying any emotion whatsoever. “You know me?” Shining asked, startled. “Every changeling on the continent, at the very least, knows what you look like Captain. You made quite the impression.” The changeling said, fluttering it's diaphanous wings. Shining's eyes widened. “How...?” “I'll explain that detail later... Please, sit down. It's late and you must be tired. If I could have put this off till morning, I would have, I assure you.” the changeling said, gesturing with one hoof at the vacant chair opposite it... him. It's voice did seem to have a masculine quality to it. Nonplussed, Shining took the advice and pulled the chair out, sitting down. “Alright, you came here to talk. Let's talk.”