“And they lived happily ever after,” said Kyria to the wide-eyed changeling nymphs. She was just telling her aunts and her mother, a love story about a changeling queen who fell in love with a pony. As she finished, Alternia and Simulacris squealed with glee, while Chrysalis, who had long given up trying to look disinterested, raised her hoof.
“Really? But can ponies and changelings really live together?”
Considering that the story was drawn from the relationships between her aunt Sebastiana and Retariusil, her own mother and her past lover Voulge, and numerous other tales, Kyria nodded fervently. She had done research before she started dating Klaus after all.
“Yes! Well, maybe not right now, but someday,” said Kyria.
“Tell us another one!” begged the tiny Alternia, expanding her blue eyes so wide, that Kyria was wondering if she was going to have a cuteness overload. Oh how she wished she had a camera.
Chrysalis chuckled but got up and trotted across the nursery to where Mirage was gently humming to a sleeping Belladonna.
“Mirage?”
“Yes A-Chrysalis?” said the princess, smiling at her aunt.
“Is mommy going after the bad queen?”
“Yes.” Now completely focused on her aunt, Mirage studied the child queen’s face. “Any other questions, Chrysalis?”
“Who are you?”
“I’m sorry? Can you say that again?”
Chrysalis pursed her lips. “Mommy has friends, but they’re… older. Way older. I don’t get it.”
If I was in a mission… I’d just walk away, or tell Chrysalis to mind her own business, but…
“I promise to tell you one day, Chrysalis, but right now, I can’t. It’s very important that I don’t tell you.”
“But I can keep a secret!” insisted Chrysalis.
She looked so earnest, but Mirage couldn’t. Not to a child. Still, she smiled. “Oh Chrysalis, I know how badly you want to know. I remember when I wanted to ask my mother and my aunts' secrets. They wouldn’t tell me and only later did I realize why. But what about I tell you a small secret instead?”
“What?” asked Chrysalis, clearly not disappointed. Mirage wasn’t sure if it was because she was a child, and therefore easy to distract, or because she just wanted to know something.
“My peytral and Kyria’s peytral can store sooo many tools and weapons,” whispered Mirage, cheerfully.
“Really? What kind?”
“That’s a secret,” said Mirage, winking. Chrysalis puckered her lips in the most adorable pout, which the princess could only sigh at. “Sorry, Chrysalis, but maybe one day.”
“At least that’s not a no,” muttered Chrysalis.
“Mirage, Kyria, we need to talk,” said Facere trotting up to the two.
The princesses glanced at each other and nodded. They’d just put their aunts and mom to sleep. “Yes, Facere?” asked Kyria.
“First off, have you resolved your mutual problem?” he asked.
Mirage sighed, but she did manage a weak smile. “As much as we could.”
The changeling smiled, but almost immediately after, his face stiffened. “Unfortunately, we have a problem. Remember you mentioned that it was possible for a changeling to open a portal to let the enemy into the hive? Well my changelings have searched every inch of the hive and I think you are right, but that also means that they might have left an infiltrator in our hive before they made their escape.”
“Why- wait right.” Mirage cut herself off and nodded. “They wouldn’t have left a changeling behind if they were using a tunnel. You don’t guard a secret tunnel and it could be discovered at any moment. However, they can leave behind a changeling who knows how to open a portal and he or she can exit anytime they want.”
“But why stay? They’ve failed to go after m-the little queens,” said Kyria.
“Perhaps, but we can’t assume that Chamelia’s children were the only objectives, Kyria.” Mirage turned to Facere. “Does Queen Thera know?”
“We’re heading to report to her now.” He knocked on a wooden door to what Mirage thought was Thera’s chambers. “Your Majesty, it’s Facere. Sorry for interrupting, but may I come in?”
Nobody answered and Facere sighed. “Great, she must be asleep. Thera always liked to turn in early.”
Something about the scene didn’t make sense to Mirage, though. It took her a moment, before she suddenly realized it.
“Facere, where are the guards?” she asked.
The changeling blinked and the two princesses jumped as he started hammering on the door with his hoof. “Thera! Thera! Open up!” He twisted the doorknob but it didn’t open. “It’s locked… what the hell? She knows better than this!” He turned to the sisters. “Smash the door open, hurry!”
“Kyria, watch our rear,” snapped Mirage, her horn flaring. “CLEAR!” She hit the door with a blasting spell that shattered the lock and charged in, scanning the room.
Queen Thera was off her bed, writhing on the ground, her bedsheets tangling up in her limbs. Foam was bubbling around her mouth. Somehow she must have been inching to the door because she was halfway across her room.
“Shit! Kyria, emergency aid kits! Quickly! Facere, call for the medics!” screamed Mirage, crouching down next to Thera.
“But-”
Kyria felt numb, but she pushed past her grandfather and rushed to Mirage’s side, pulling out one of their emergency kits from her peytral. “Don’t worry, she won’t die! We have-we have stuff!”
Facere blinked, but nodded and took off, while Kyria turned to Mirage.
“Stuff?” Mirage asked, even as she unpacked her emergency kit.
Kyria opened her emergency kit. “Well do you want me to spoil the future with advanced medical tech that won’t be invented for a thousand years?”
Mirage shook her head and shrugged helplessly. “Stuff it is then!”
The assassination attempt during the signing of the Changeling-Equestria Non-Aggression Pact, and the events over the Eastern Sea had convinced Alternia, Celestia and Luna that their loved ones would need to carry top of the line emergency first aid kits. These kits proved useful, and were improved upon over the numerous crises and close calls over the years with the latest Equestrian—and later, Kelpie—medical technologies. Marked with a black cross, they contained bandages and numerous potions to at least save a changeling or pony’s life.
“Kyria, it’s been awhile since I’ve performed first aid, and you just re-certified. Can you take the lead on this one?” Mirage asked.
That question took Kyria aback, but she nodded. “Alright, first, we are going to give her the Life Potion. It will only suspend her condition by a few minutes, and buy us some time.”
“Got it,” said Mirage, pulling out a clear bottle of shimmering liquid. Every family member had one of these potions, which employed both Equestrian magic, Zebra alchemy, Kelpie medical insights, and changeling poison know-how. The issue was that this potion could only buy time for the user, and not heal their injuries.
Uncorking it, Kyria gestured for Mirage to hold Thera’s mouth open and emptied it, before forcing the queen’s mouth closed. Thera managed to swallow and she relaxed, but her eyes were rolled back and her breathing was faint.
“What next, Kyria?” Mirage asked.
“How long has it been? We might be able to make her throw it up—” Kyria frowned and pursed her lips “—If she was writhing… it could either be pain or a poison that attacks her nervous system.”
Mirage nodded. “Maybe both, but if it’s in her system it might be too late. We need to go for something drastic—”
“Bag,” wheezed the queen.
“Bag? What bag?” muttered Mirage, looking around.
Kyria thought for a moment, trotted over to the open door, but instead of walking through the frame, she looked left and right.
Sure enough there was a drawstring bag, slotted right in the corner of the room. It had been hidden from their view by a closet. Levitating it, she quickly brought it over and opened it. The bag was full of corked potions bottles of various colors, wrapped in cloth to protect them.
“Nice work, Kyria,” said Mirage, pulling out another emergency kit. She had another bottle of phoenix tears on standby. “Queen Thera, which bottle?”
Thera wheezed, trying to move her lips, but only foam weakly gurgled from her throat. She weekly gestured at Kyria’s hair and Mirage promptly pulled out the bottle with purple solution and held it up.
“Blink once if no. Twice if yes.” said Mirage. Thera blinked twice and Mirage uncorked the bottle and poured the viscous liquid into the queen’s mouth.
The effects were immediate, her breathing steadied, and the foam seemed to stop bubbling from her throat.
“Thanks,” wheezed Thera.
“You’re welcome,” managed Kyria, standing up as chevaliers, in the white of Thera’s hive, thundered into the room and surrounded their queen.
Of course, as soon as Kyria and Mirage were ushered out of the room, the younger changeling princess promptly sat down on her haunches, ears flopped down.
“Did that… is she going to be fine?”
Mirage forced herself to wear a calm mask, but also wrapped one leg over her sister’s shoulders. “Thera-Queen Thera’s a master potioneer. And she doesn’t die. Not until later,” she whispered, too softly for anybody to hear.
“But we don’t know if we are in closed or open time loop!” whispered Kyria.
Gritting her teeth, Mirage gave her sister another comforting squeeze. “I know, but we did our best.”
Suddenly, something seemed to have occurred to Facere, because he instantly stiffened.
“Mirage, or Kyria, open a portal to the nursery. Now!” he snapped.
“Wait, why—” Kyria froze. “Oh.” Mirage was already opening a portal to the nursery and had drawn her cutlass and shield.
“Some changelings get three squads to the nursery now! This could be a distraction!” Facere snapped.
Mirage was already through the portal, shield raised. Glancing over the edge, she scanned the room.
But all she could see were the ten, very surprised, guards and her mom and aunts in their beds, sound asleep.
“Did you see anything out of the ordinary?” she demanded.
“No, miss!” snapped one of the guards.
“Stay on alert. Queen Thera was poisoned. It might have been a distraction,” Mirage ordered.
The door to the nursery flew open and Facere ran in. “Oh, Mirage! Good job. Queen Thera-”
“Has been poisoned. I know. You—” Mirage blinked and froze. “Facere, how did you get here so quickly?”
The changeling frowned. “I got a report from a guard that Thera has been poisoned.”
Kyria, who had just gone through the portal, which was now closed, came up from behind Mirage and stared at him. “But you’re at Thera’s chambers. That means…”
“One of them is an imposter!” snapped Mirage. The changelings in the room leapt into action, forming a wall between the sleeping children and Facere.
“It must be the changeling at Thera’s chambers!” exclaimed the Facere in front of them. “We have to hurry back. He or she will try to kill Thera again!”
“We don’t know if you’re the infiltrator or not!” snapped Kyria drawing her short-hafted poleaxe from her peytral.
“Oh come on! If I was an infiltrator, I would have fled once I saw two queens standing in front of me!” hissed Facere.
Mirage tried to read the emotions of the changeling in front of her, but all she could feel was fairly warranted exasperation and frustration.
“Tell us something only the real Facere would know.”
“You’re Chamelia’s granddaughters and I gave you that shield and Kyria that poleaxe,” said Facere.
Mirage frowned. That wasn’t entirely well known information, but it wasn’t exactly private. Still, there wasn’t much Facere could really say… safely that is.
“Mirage, we don’t have time for this. We have to hurry back to Thera’s chambers!” hissed Facere.
“Facere, tell us how we are related to you,” said Kyria in a voice that stammered at first, but firmed up toward the end of her demand.
Facere frowned. “I am married to your grandmother.”
“No. Not that. The other one.”
Mirage glanced at her sister. “Kyria, what are you--”
Her sister gave her a look that basically screamed trust me.
Then she did something odd. With one hoof, she tapped her chest, just above her heart, then pointed at her eyes, and finally pointed back at Facere.
Heart… eyes… Facere- Ohhh nice, sis! Mirage nodded and braced herself.
Kyria looked Facere in the eye. “Tell us the secret that has wide-ranging consequences. I know it’s dangerous for you to say it, but we need to know.”
Mirage watched, all her senses on the changeling in front of her, watching his emotions and expression.
There! There was genuine confusion and curiosity from Facere, which meant-“He’s the imposter!” At the same time, Mirage fired a bolt of magic at the changeling.
Facere scowled and threw up a pink magic shield. Pink wasn’t her grandfather’s magic aura. Kyria fired a beam of magic at the imposter, which the changeling blocked again, before fleeing through the open door.
“Stay here! Reinforcements should be on the way!” snapped Mirage as she chased after the fake Facere. The dumbstruck guards nodded and the two queens raced through the door, but the imposter… whoever it was, had disappeared.
“He… or she must have used a portal to get out,” hissed Mirage.
“That or portaled to somewhere else in the hive,” muttered Kyria. “We can’t chase the imposter though. He… or she might double back on us.”
“Agreed. You let Grandmother know. I’ll stand watch,” said Mirage. She managed to grin at Kyria. “Nice job signalling me to watch his emotions to see how he’d react to the hint. Very intuitive of you.”
The younger sister chuckled. “Knew you’d figure it out.” Kyria let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. “I… that was close, though.”
“Too damn close,” muttered Mirage.