//------------------------------//
// Out the window 
// Story: The Triumvirate 
// by Fedora71 
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Chapter 2

The changeling, Ancro, stood in the bubble staring at the Princess, awaiting her response. He did have a slight edge over her, at least he hoped. He was an empath. To imagine an empath, think of somebody who is more attuned to the world around them. They sense…things, and since coming to Equestria, it had been as though it had a steroid shot. The worst part for him was that he wasn’t sure if it was the Changeling’s innate ability or his own natural talent. His curiosity for this delectable question was like being taken to a five star restaurant and you weren’t allowed to know what you or anyone else was going to be eating.
“Ancro,” The princesses’ motherly tone snapped him back to reality from a cocky daydream. “What were you doing breaking into the library?”
“Looking for a book,” he answered, hoping she would leave it at that. He didn’t want to go into the details of how the plan had failed.
“About?”
“Recipes. I hear you have an amazing recipe for banana bread.” Ancro chuckled at his joke, but Celestia didn’t see the humor in it. As for Shining Armor, well, he just stood there like a statue.
“What book were you looking for?” Her patience was wearing thin.
“What does it matter, we weren’t able to obtain it.” He looked away from Celestia, and saw Shining Armor’s eyes widen with shock.
“We?” She asked, raising her eyebrow startlingly high as the shock hit her. “You were not alone.”
“Maybe,” Ancro answered coyly, tilting his head to the side. ‘Damn,’ he thought, ‘I just goofed.’
“How many?” Shining Armor demanded, breaking his stone expression.
“Chill Shiny, there were only three of us.” He took a deep breath, and prepared a statement in his mind. “I do not know of any attempts by the changelings to attack Equestria. We were just looking for a book, but…something kinda threw a wrench in our brilliantly thought out plan.” He changed the subject. This was going to be funny, and he was always the kind of person who could laugh at his mistakes and short comings.
“Which was…?” Celestia said in an encouraging tone, he could tell she was slightly interested.
“None of us know how to read.” He shrugged, smiling at the absurdity of breaking into a library to steal a book and not knowing how to read. The princess’s jaw nearly hit the ground. It was all Shining could do to not laugh. “I know, amazing how that thought hadn’t crossed our minds until after we broke in.”
“So, they left you behind?” Celestia asked, gesturing her horn at his slowly regrowing wing, trying to change the topic back to his companions.
“No, it was my own choice; they were somewhat reluctant about the whole idea.” He laughed nervously.
“In what way?”
“I knocked one out and sent him flying out a window, then sent the other one to catch him.” He smiled wryly and watched Celestia’s eyes, or eye, rather- widen. It was all he could do not to ask if she was able to see through her mane. They stared at each other for a few more minutes, Ancro smiling complacently waiting for her next question, Celestia somewhat afraid to ask. Ancro, after a while, felt the awkward moment permeate the air.
“…It has been…interesting talking with you,” she said, trying to sound inoffensive.
“Ah, thanks Princess. Next time, you’ll have to bring some snacks.” His meaning was sincere, though the comment was sarcastic.
“Perhaps,” was all she said as she left, with Shining Armor close behind. He let out a breath as her burningly powerful presence left the room, and slowly got further and further away. Her very presence was somewhat detrimental to his health. He hoped she would visit again.
She had left him alone with his thoughts. A position he was typically quite fond of. This time however, he was plagued by what he was hoping was unnecessary guilt. He thought back to a few days ago, and was trying to think of how it could’ve ended better.

-----

Stigandr levitated the window open for Scott as he dove inside the library, barely making a noise. The door on the opposite side of the room opened, and in walked three guards, barely visible in their night armor. As they rounded the corner several flashes of green light lit up the shadows, and only a changeling walked out.
“That’s going to keep me up at night, if you must know,” Ancro said sarcastically to his partners in crime. “I hate hitting anyone while their back is turned.”
The dirt brown unicorn, with the black mane and white highlights at the top, shook his head and rested a hoof on the changeling’s shoulder. “I’m sorry Ancro, but it had to be done.”
“Yeah, one quick discharge to the back of their neck knocks 'em out cold. Just wish it didn’t hurt me so damn much.” He smiled wryly at his friend, and sent a few quick jabs his way, which the unicorn easily deflected with his fore leg. They were about to go into the usual routine of some light sparring, but Scott had had had enough of that.
The griffon grabbed Stigandr by the mane and Ancro by the dorsal fin... thing, they still weren’t sure what to call it…even after a whole month. They hadn’t run into any changelings to ask.
“Guys, stop joking around. This is serious,” he whispered. Granted, his whispers were what most people consider normal volume. “Stigandr, you know how to get to the restricted section right?”
“Eeeyup, just down this hall,” he said, and pointed his hoof to a large pair of double doors as they stepped over the three unconscious guards.
“Ancro, change into something less conspicuous.” He had his fore claw over his eyes in exasperation. Ancro had the entire changeling package, including transformation, and they had seen him do it all the time. It’s just that Ancro didn’t like it. He was a fighter at heart, not a spy.
“Fine.” The changeling groaned while taking on his favorite form. It was a brown pegasus with a dirty blonde, relatively unkempt mane and tail. The form effectively made it look like he had just rolled out of bed. His fake cutie mark was a bed.  Ancro rolled his eyes as they stepped over the unconscious guards. They reached the door and slowly opened it.
“So… No locks?” Scott asked, as the door didn’t resist in the slightest.
“Guess not,” Stigandr said, as he walked inside.
So…besides the usual changeling countermeasures and increased number of guards, there hasn’t been a single improvement to security.” Ancro said this and turned his head to his friends. “Why did you all bring me along, again?”
“Figured it would be fun?” Stigandr shrugged.
“Makes sense,” Ancro replied. He walked inside the library and started to browse the books, looking at all the different titles that he had no means of understanding, or hopes of comprehension. While Ancro knew he couldn’t read pony, he thought Stigs knew how to read everything fine. When he looked over, he saw his unicorn friend staring at him expectantly.
“What are you waiting for Stigs, find the book,” the insectoid pony said, buzzing up and down the shelves.
“I can’t read pony, or Equestrian, or whatever it is.”
“Well neither can I,” Ancro said in shock. They both looked to Scott, who shook his head as his jaw hit the ground.
“Then why are youuu…” He drug out the last word, then face-taloned. “Wait, we broke into a library, and neither of you know how to read pony?” He exclaimed, while still keeping his voice quiet. “I thought both of you were hardcore bronies!”
“We're fans of the show, Scott. Doesn’t mean we know everything!” Ancro explained, throwing his holed hooves into the air.
“Well you know what happens when you assume!” The griffon said, throwing his claws skywards.
“It’s actually kind of funny,” Ancro laughed. “We hadn’t encountered this problem yet, guess we were lucky?”
“Lucky?!” Scott snapped. “I’m going to be stuck in Ponyl-er-Equestria.” He threw his wings out for emphasis.
“Until we learn to read,” Stigandr said, making his way towards the door. “C’mon guys, let’s go.”
“Just a minute,” Ancro absently mumbled from behind the bookshelf, seeing if he could force the words on the page to make sense. Neither of his companions heard him.
The griffon turned towards the door as well, but didn’t check his wings when he turned. It was a bad habit of his that had accidentally clothes-lined ponies before. This time, it hit the top of the bookshelf. They watched in horror as the shelf fell on top of the changeling. The dust settled, and he had managed to avoid any serious injuries... except for the shelf crushing one of his wings. Ancro was thankful for its amazing lack of nerves.
Alarms were sounded and the echo of hoof steps and armor clatter began to grow. The changeling closed his eyes and began to use his new empathic senses, making sure he was getting all of the information he needed. It wasn’t good. It seemed every guard in the castle was heading towards them. Ancro took several deep breaths and ripped his wing off. 'It’s okay, it grows back' he hoped, while showing some level of confidence.
In no time the library was surrounded as guards took up breaching positions at each entrance. Then they just waited. Ancro felt their anticipation and anxiousness... It was flooding through the doorways, and was starting to build up in him to the point where he was ready to bust down the door to start things himself. This was countered, of course, by Scott’s desire to panic and run. Both of his friends knew he wasn’t a fighter, and had tried unsuccessfully in the past to make him one. He just didn’t have it in him. Stigandr was trying to think of a way to talk themselves out, but was also trying to come up with a way to fight their way out if need be, which was starting to look like the latter. It was then that the changeling felt something; a very powerful presence. He tried to penetrate it, but while others' presences were like a jello and he could poke at them, this one was a solid piece of metal.
“We need to leave now,” Ancro said as he felt the presence. Something he had determined as a unicorn, at the very least, was charging up for something.
“How we doing it?” The griffon smiled halfheartedly. He may have looked vicious, but he was pathetic in a fight. “I can only carry one of you.”
“Take two trips?” Stigandr said hopefully. Ancro’s mind, however, had already come to the conclusion.
“We are going need a distraction,” Ancro commented, grinning cockily.
“How are we going….no,” Stigandr said, coming to the same answer. “You may be hung up on martyrdom for some reason, but we are not leaving you behind.”
“Stigs, we don’t have much choice. Scott can only carry one of us out of here.” He felt the spark of magic, and saw the pink shell forming around the library. “We are out of time!”
“We’ll take two trips,” he said, stomping his hoof. “We are not arguing this.”
“You’re right, we’re not. Scott catch him!” Ancro bucked him fully out the window, sending his friend flying off the cliff. The momentarily stunned griffon quickly gave chase. The changeling took a deep breath and thought back to an episode he personally favored. He thought of the only pony who would have reason, if not justification, to break into the restricted section of the library in the middle of the night. In a green flash, he became a violet unicorn with a purple and pink mane, a starry cutie mark adorned his/her flank. His remaining wing disappeared into his fur coat, and he took one final deep breath as he felt his friend’s presences leave the rapidly enclosing shield. He said a silent prayer that the patrolling pegasi hadn’t spotted them. Simultaneously the doors were bucked open and guards flooded in. Ancro smiled. He had timed the kick perfectly, of course what else was to be expected, he was after all…
“Twilight Sparkle?!” One of the guards exclaimed, running into the room after a unicorn blasted the door off the hinges. “What are you doing here at this hour?”
“What does it look like I’m doing?” Ancro answered, sitting at the table in the middle of the room and flipping the page to a book, a book he had held a thin glimmer of hope for being a guide to translate from Pony to English. It was not.
“Ma’am, you are reading, but what-how-why?” The unicorn stammered out, as Ancro flipped yet another page.
“I needed some light reading, and nothing at the Ponyville library interested me,” Ancro said, looking at the guard, trying his best to look at him like he was an idiot. A task he felt Twilight’s face was surprisingly good at.
“L-L-light reading?” The guard stammered, as he lifted the cover of the book. “H-H-how is Transmutation Amalgamation light reading?”
Before Ancro could give an answer, in walked the last pony in Equestria he wanted to see right now. Things were going so well, too...
“Twiley?” Shining Armor asked, as he walked through the door. “You’re the one who set off the alarm?”
“Oh, that’s what that was?” Ancro responded, not looking up from his book, desperately trying not to break the façade. “Sorry, was just absorbed in this book.”
“Why didn’t you send for it?”
“Oh, it was late and I didn’t want to be a bother.” A small bit of confidence filled Ancro as he thought he might be able to talk his way out of here. “And sorry about the mess, I was trying out a new teleportation spell.”
“It wouldn’t have been a bother; I would’ve delivered it when I came to Ponyville next week.” Shining Armor responded.
“Yeah, but I really wanted to see it now, cause I was reading something earlier today and something came up, and it’s just been bothering me.”
“Okay, well clean up when you’re done.” Shining Armor chuckled, and started to head out of the room. Ancro was so over joyed that he didn’t feel the panicked presence of a unicorn he had knocked out earlier.
“Captain, there’s a changeling on the loose!” he panted, and he didn’t need to look up to feel all eyes fall on him. Ancro couldn’t help but laugh at the turn of events. He charged the nearest guard before they had time to react.

-----

“Good morning, mister Stigandr,” the doctor said, walking in. “How are you feeling? Better, I hope, you took quite the fall.”
“Yeah, you could say that.” The brown unicorn groaned, or at least tried to, through his bandaged everything. He had been sedated for three days, but was due to make a full recovery in a week. He loved magic.
“Now don’t you worry. You’ll be perfectly fine in a few days, but I’d just like to know what the blazes you were doing in the Everfree forest in the middle of the night.”
“Well, you ever have one of those days?” he chuckled.
“I don’t quite follow.”
“You know, one of those days where stuff just goes all kinds of wrong.”
“Oh, you mean like that. Well, trust me, I’ve had those happen quite a bit,” he chuckled in return.
“Yeah, well, it was one of those days.”

-----

Scott caught Stigandr with time to spare as he fled away from the rapidly enclosing bubble.
“Scott, we have to go ba-Ow!” Stigandr looked to where Scott’s eagle claw had brushed him, and saw two black scorch marks. Ancro did not hold back.
“Um, you’re in no shape, bud,” Scott said, taking a look at the scorch marks midflight, “and just me and him, we don’t work,” he finished with a forced chuckle. Ancro had been his best friend for eight years, and they both knew that any time they teamed up, it sucked. Badly.
“I’m going to kill that bug,” Stigs groaned as they fled the scene.
“You and me both, bro. Well actually, just you cause he’ll kick my ass.” He tried to make light humor, but then heard Stigandr wince again as he accidently brushed the injury. “So, are there any doctors in ponyville?”
“Yeah, there’s a hospital,” he answered, a mixture of depression and anger fueling his voice.
“Good, that’s where we’re going. Lead the way.”
“Why not Canterlot?” He took a look back, and quickly found out why not Canterlot. The whole city was on alert. If they went back into the city, they might be noticed and then it just wouldn’t end well.
Stigandr pointed in the direction of Ponyville, and Scott took off towards the small town. They flew low and silent over the Everfree, neither of them wanting to think, much less talk, about what may have happened to their friend.
“So, do you know what they do with changelings when they capture them?” Scott spoke up, finally asking the question that was on his mind.
“I don’t know,” he answered.
“What?” He asked stunned. “How do you not know?”
“They never covered it in the show!”
“What about all those brony writers?!”
“They’re not canon!” He yelled, shaking his hooves.
“What!”
“That’s what people think goes on.”
“So, what about the clopfics?” The griffon asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Scott... Shut up and fly.” The unicorn groaned, closing his eyes and shaking his head.
They were most of the way to ponyville, when they heard someone shout ‘LOOK OUT!’ There was a thud, followed by a lot of falling and yelling, and a lot of swearing.

------

Scott was anxious to check out of the hospital, having been stuck there all night worrying about his friends. Of course, hearing about Ancro’s antics at the castle wasn’t comforting. The changeling had never known much restraint in a fight. The paper, or at least from what he gathered by questioning those reading it, had said it was a miracle that nopony was seriously hurt. They said he had been captured, and was being held in a prison.
He knew he needed to head back to Canterlot and free his friend. He still needed to find that book too. After some consideration he got up and headed towards the door. He eagerly walked out of the building, thankful that the door was open. Walking on clouds was bad enough, but if he had to turn one more cloud door knob…
“Excuse me, sir!” A pegasus he immediately recognized as his nurse interrupted his thoughts.
“Yes?” He turned around to face her, a task that had steadily gotten easier over the last month. When he first came to Equestria, he had been falling all over himself, and out of the sky.
“The name of the pony who paid your bill, you asked for it.”
“OH! Yes, well durh, what is it?” he asked, gaining a wince from the confused nurse and most of the nearby ponies. Scott isn't what you would call subtle.
“Yeah, well her name is Rainbow Dash.” She handed him a picture of her for good measure as if the name wasn’t enough. He was hoping it was a different pony, and that they just had a similar or identical name. He thanked the nurse and left, barely hiding his frustration. Of all the ponies that had saved him, it was Rainbow Dash, the one he believed adamantly to be a lesbian. Also a member of the mane six that Ancro had told him to avoid contacting for complicated interdimensional reasons involving balance and eternal champions and big universal words. He barely made the mandatory sanity check after that conversation.
First thing he knew he had to do though was track down Stigs. He knew alone he couldn’t break into what he assumed was a maximum security prison, even if it was probably ponified. To track down Stigandr, he needed to find out where he crashed. Right now the only one who knew that helpful tidbit was Rainbow Dash. He sighed with a shrug, what Ancro didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. He spread his wings and let out an eagle cry as he took off towards ponyville.




(Thanks to my friend Sara for cover art (shaya.laperro@gmail.com) and editing before I went back and mucked it up. Feedback is always enjoyable lets me know where I need improvement and helps me right a better story for your entertainment. Any questions or suggestions or anything just message me.)