“Did I mention how much I don’t like this?” Loopy said. She paced around the lair like a restless tiger in a cage, lack of sleep powerless to stop her thanks to the might of anxiety and enough coffee that it was considered an unusual amount even in Seasaddle. “Legally I could just leave the city until it’s over. I’m a free pony! Free changeling, anyway. It could be like a vacation, except instead of going somewhere you stay away from a place!”
“You’re overreacting,” Bon-Bon said.
“I am not overreacting,” Loopy countered. “How am I supposed to react to this news?” She pointed accusingly at the newspaper on the table as if it contained a death threat that named her personally.
Bon-Bon held it up. “King Thorax is coming to Seasaddle as part of an official visit,” she said. “He’s going to speak with industry leaders and the city administration about bringing technology and jobs to the changeling hive.”
“Yes, exactly!” Loopy said. “No offense, because I know everypony just loves him, but I don’t want to hang out when I know he’s around.”
“I’ve met him a few times,” Lyra said. “He’s sort of a dork. Kind of reminds me of Princess Twilight, actually.”
Bon-Bon nodded, agreeing with her wife. “By all accounts, King Thorax’s only bad trait is that he tries to do too much himself. It tends to annoy the creatures that are supposed to be doing the jobs he takes for himself.”
“That fits,” Loopy muttered. “And now he’s coming here to deal with things himself.”
“Wait a minute, I know what this is,” Lyra said, standing up and grabbing the paper from Bon-Bon. She held it up in front of her while she stalked towards Loopy, smirking. “You think he’s here for you!”
“A changeling only stays alive when they’re aware of threats around them and stay paranoid,” Loopy said.
“That’s a yes,” Lyra said. “What is it? Did you two used to date? Oh my stars, that would be so cute - two rogue changelings, finding love in each other’s hooves, fighting against social norms and then torn apart by fate!”
Loopy blinked rapidly. “What?!”
“No? That’s too bad. I bet Whisper West would love to write a prequel to her books that had you and Thorax as star-crossed lovers.”
“I didn’t know Thorax. He wasn’t some kind of famous changeling, and I left years before he did. He was just a face in the crowd.”
“Look, he’s just here to get the big tech demos from all the usual people and be wowed and amazed by flashing lights and sounds,” Bon-Bon said. “Do you remember what Doctor Roll said about developing synthetic ponies? There’s almost no infrastructure in Equestria, and that goes double for the changeling hive. He’s probably just doing some sightseeing.”
“I don’t know,” Lyra said. “Reformed changelings get really excited about stuff. Maybe the hive will become the next big technology hub.”
Loopy nodded. “Reformed changelings are all dealing with more emotions than they’ve ever had in their entire lives. It’s like being on drugs.”
“Drugs like antidepressants,” Lyra sighed. “You’re a real stick in the mud sometimes, Loop d’Loop.”
“Yeah, well, you’re the ones who want me to hang out with Thorax. Why don’t you do it?”
“We’re all helping with security,” Bon-Bon said. “So… we are. We don’t expect anything to happen, but it’s an international matter and we’ve got jurisdiction, technically. SMILE has to at least stay involved.”
“If it makes you feel any better, you’ll have friends there,” Lyra said. “Whisper West is even on the guest list.”
Loopy flinched. “What?”
“I guess Philtrum wasn’t the only changeling who liked her books.” Lyra shrugged. “I’m pretty sure it’s one of those things where he’s going to shake her hoof and tell her how happy he is that she paints changelings in a good light and they do a big photo op and she gets to push her latest books in the paper for a few extra sales.”
“Ugh,” Loopy groaned. “Fine. I’ll help with security.”
Lyra patted her back. “I knew you would. Don’t worry, I’ve been on tons of visits like this. They’re all the same.”
Loopy sat on top of the building across from the press event. It was, predictably, pouring. The clouds roiled above her, trapped and swirling in the city’s infamous air pocket. It could be dizzying to look at them, sweeping in circles and unable to escape.
The party was in a glass-walled restaurant, a massive rotating disk that was supposed to give the diners an always-changing view of the city as it slowly took them around in a circle. It was an impressive technical feat, and normally Loopy would have jumped at the chance to have dinner there just for the novelty of it, but the company was keeping her far away, in costume, hiding in the shadow of a neon sign.
It was impossible to miss Thorax. Even from across the street, he was a huge neon-colored shape in the windows. Loopy was pretty sure he couldn’t see or sense her from this distance, but it made her chitin crawl to see him talking to Whisper West.
“Stupid…” Loopy muttered. “I should have talked to her and told her not to come.”
“How’s the weather out there?” Lyra asked, her voice cutting in over the radio.
Loopy snorted. “I promised I'd help with security, but I didn't promise I'd be in the same building. How’s your romantic dinner?”
“Not as romantic as I want. Bon-Bon was getting motion sick and had to go for a walk somewhere the ground wasn’t spinning under her hooves.”
“I’m not surprised. I don’t think ponies were meant to spin around while eating.”
“There’s still time for you to join us for dessert,” Lyra said. “You wouldn’t even have to change.”
“No thanks,” Loopy said. “I’m really enjoying myself.”
There was a streak of violet-white light. Loopy saw the glass crack. The pane right next to Thorax broke, and by the time she understood what was going on, it had already exploded inwards. Thorax stood up, making himself an even bigger target, and froze in confusion like the big dumb moose he was.
“Lyra, get everypony out of there!” Loopy shouted.
“Got it!” Loopy had the distinct pleasure of watching Lyra tackle Thorax out of the way before a second shot ripped through the broken pane, crashing into the table behind them and blowing the plastic and wood apart.
Loopy had gotten a good look at the shot this time, because she’d been ready for it. “That angle… no way!”
She stepped over to the edge of the building and looked down. It was all flat and boxy shapes, panels of painted steel bracketed between tall windows, and that made it easy to spot the anomaly from above, a thin shape sticking out of the building two stories below.
Loopy jumped over the edge, grabbing the barrel of the weapon and putting all her weight into it. The pony on the other end yelped in surprise, the weapon torn right from his hooves. She followed up by swinging through the open window and kicking him out of the way.
“Nice aim,” she said, tossing the weapon aside and closing on the pony who’d fired it. He was wearing piecemeal armor, like he’d scavenged the plates from a junkyard and spraypainted them black. The metal mask covered all but one eye, making his expression blank.
Almost as blank as his emotions.
Loopy should have been able to sense fear, or anxiety, or anger, or something from the stallion, but she might as well have been trying to read a statue.
“So, you want to give up, or--?”
The stallion pulled a smaller weapon and fired without saying a word, a bolt of light cracking over Loopy’s head. She hadn’t sensed it coming but she was still faster than he was, rolling along the floor with the motion of her dodge and into his legs, taking him down in a heap.
He grunted and tried to bring his weapon to bear in the grapple. Loopy was close enough to see the two crystals in the mechanism snap together and spark as it went off, the bolt close enough to her face to rip through her mask.
The stallion’s eye went wide, and he kicked her away.
“Changeling…” he muttered, getting back to his hooves in what should have been blind panic but felt like a machine going through the motions.
“Well, it’s not exactly a secret at this point,” Loopy admitted. “After all, Whisper wrote all those books about me.” She got up more carefully, watching him. She could feel an emotion, just a tiny touch of it now. Fear.
He looked at the window, looked at Loopy, then grabbed something from a tactical saddlebag and threw it at her. She jumped back and the canister hit the floor between them, smoke pouring out of it and quickly filling the room. Loopy swore, started after him, and collapsed to her knees, coughing. Something in the smoke was making her head spin and eyes water. She forced herself up and to the broken window, gasping for fresh air.
By the time she could breathe again, the armored stallion was long gone.
“Buck,” she swore.
“This glintlock was produced for the royal guard,” Bon-Bon said. They had the long rifle the assassin had used on a table in a conference room of the hotel. It was closer than the Mare Lair and, more importantly, Thorax had wanted to be included and Loopy had flatly refused to let him go anywhere near where she slept.
“I didn’t think they used weapons like this,” Thorax said. “Shining Armor would have mentioned something.”
“They don’t.” Bon-Bon tapped the numbers stamped into the wooden stock. “These were made as part of a qualification run, to see if the Guard should adopt them. There were only about a hundred made, and most of them were tested to destruction. They have a nasty tendency to explode at a moment’s notice.”
“Guess this one was built well,” Loopy muttered. She had a wet rag over her eyes, and her damaged mask and hat were on another chair. “What about the smoke grenade?”
“That was home-made. Whatever he put in it, I can’t tell you without sending it to a lab for a week so they can run tests. All I know is, it doesn’t affect ponies the same way. It’s specifically an irritant to changelings, and that’s probably deliberate.”
“He must really hate us,” Thorax sighed, looking down. “I’m sorry I dragged you all into this.”
“Don’t apologize,” Bon-Bon said. “It’s our job to keep you safe. What concerns me is the amount of planning that went into the attack. This isn’t a case of him just stumbling into you, or reading the news and making a snap decision. He had specialized gear, he had to find the right room to use… this is something he planned for a long time.”
“The only thing he didn’t get was practice,” Lyra said. “I think the rotation of the restaurant threw off his aim. He didn’t know how much it would affect his aim at that distance.”
The door opened, and everyone in the room turned.
“It’s just me,” Whisper West said. “I grabbed some drinks from the place downstairs and another wet cloth for Loopy.”
“Thanks,” Loopy said, swapping to the new rag. “It still feels like I tried to use hot sauce for eye drops.”
“Just keep washing it out,” Lyra advised, nodding thanks to Whisper West and taking a bottle of lemon-lime soda. “It sucks but there’s nothing else we can do right now.”
“I might be able to heal it,” Thorax offered. “I could--”
“No thanks,” Loopy said, cutting him off. “I don’t need your help.”
Thorax winced. “Sorry.”
“I’m just going to wait outside,” Loopy said. “Thanks again, Whisper.”
Loopy got up, and Whisper put a hoof on her shoulder.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Loopy said. “I just need some space from… things.” She meant Thorax and literally everyone in the room knew it. She walked outside half-blind, lifting one edge of the towel and trying to focus through the blur of tears and stinging pain.
“Wait,” Thorax said, following her out into the hallway. “I just… I wanted to have a chance to talk to you alone.”
“I know,” Loopy said. “That’s why I’m leaving. I’d rather not do this right now.”
“I just feel… I thought I found all the changelings that needed help, but I missed you, and the longer it goes on the more awkward it is and I’m really not good with these situations and I’m starting to have a panic attack because you’re just standing there and not saying anything and I can’t even tell what you’re feeling!”
“We’re not having this conversation,” Loopy said.
Thorax winced. “Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. It’s--” Loopy paused, sensing something like the ghost of fear wafting down the hallway, then shoved Thorax aside. A bolt of crackling magic shot through the space his head had been a moment before.
The armored pony was standing at the other end of the hallway. He adjusted his aim and fired again. Loopy could barely see and didn’t react in time. A couch appeared in front of her, the cushions exploding as they absorbed the hits. Thorax hefted it in his magic aura and threw it down the hallway. The armored pony ducked to the wall, letting the couch go past.
“How did he know which floor we were on?” Thorax asked.
“He probably followed Whisper West from the corner shop,” Loopy said. “It’s what I would do.”
“You’re a threat to Equestria!” the pony shouted. There was conviction behind his voice, but Loopy still couldn’t really feel any strong emotions. “Changelings can’t reform! It’s just an act so they can weaken us from inside like the parasites they are!”
“That’s not true!” Thorax yelled. “We’re better than that! We just want to be friends!”
The door to the conference room cracked open. Loopy met Bon-Bon’s gaze and motioned for her to go around to the other exit and flank the pony shouting at them. It was a very complex hoof signal and some amount of interpretation was required, but she was sure Bon-Bon understood the general idea.
The armored pony took a few more shots, just keeping Thorax and Loopy pinned behind what little cover the hallway offered as he advanced towards them.
Bon-Bon crept up behind him and went for his hoof, using his blind side to her advantage. She grabbed his hoof near the elbow and twisted, making him drop the short glintlock he was using. He turned and slammed his steel-plated face into her snout, knocking her back.
“Don’t protect them!” he ordered. “They’re just using ponies! You’re a food source to them!”
He picked up the glintlock and pointed it at Bon-Bon. Yellow magic surrounded the weapon when he pulled the trigger.
“Get away from my wife!” Lyra shouted. The weapon shivered in the pony’s hooves, the crystals in the mechanism sparking and arcing uncontrollably. He threw it aside and shielded himself. The glintlock went off like a bomb, the casing exploding and throwing shrapnel across the hallway.
“You can’t beat all of us,” Loopy said.
“You’re right,” the armored pony said. He grabbed two canisters from his belt and tossed them in either direction. Smoke filled the hallway. Loopy cursed and backed off. Her eyes were still watering from her last experience, and this had the same awful stink.
“Stay back!” Loopy warned.
“I’ll get him!” Bon-Bon shouted, rushing at him. She got flung through the door into the conference room, shattering the lock. Whisper shouted in alarm from inside as smoke filled the room.
“I can’t see anything through this…” Loopy growled.
“Hold on,” Thorax said. He turned and threw a bolt of force at the windows behind them, fresh air and wind sweeping into the room and pushing the smoke away. The smoke started to clear, and they saw the stairwell door swing shut.
“I’ll get him!” Thorax yelled, charging through the last of the smoke. He pushed it open and felt the resistance from the wire going taut as he did, and was just wise enough to realize he made a mistake. There was a blast of light and sound, and the changeling king was thrown back in a shower of sparks and whistling fireworks.
“Lyra!” Bon-Bon shouted, pulling herself free of the broken door.
“On it!” Lyra already had the fire extinguisher, putting out the erupting fountain before it could set the hotel ablaze, spraying foam into the smoke and fury until it quieted down.
“Is anypony hurt?” Loopy asked.
“Only my pride got really injured,” Bon-Bon said, rubbing her snout. “Nothing broken.”
“I’m fine,” Lyra said. “Just don’t ask me to do anything too complicated with magic for the rest of the day. The feedback from that blast really hurt.”
“I’m okay too,” Thorax groaned, getting up and brushing ashes from his carapace where roman candles and fireworks had bounced off him. “I can’t believe he set a trap on the door…”
“Where’s Whisper?” Loopy asked, looking around the room.
Whisper West gasped when the bag was taken off her head. “I could barely breathe in that thing! You almost killed me, you psychopath!”
“I apologize,” the armored pony said.
Whisper’s eyes slowly adjusted. She was in a spotlight in an otherwise dark room. She looked down at her hooves. She’d been chained to a concrete block.
“You should let me go now,” Whisper said. “Mare Do Well is going to come for me, and you’re not going to like what she does.”
“I want her to come for you,” the armored pony explained. He started taking off his tactical gear, checking each piece as he did. “I didn’t think she was really a changeling. I thought that was just a story. That’s fine, though. Just one more bug to squash.”
“Why do you hate them so much? What did King Thorax or Mare Do Well even do to you?”
“I don’t hate them. I don’t hate anything. I can’t feel things like that anymore,” the stallion said. He took off his mask and stepped into the light. Whisper West gasped. “They took that from me,” he said through scarred lips, one eye an empty crater. “I’m not doing this out of hate. I’m doing this because it’s my job.”
Whisper swallowed. “Please, just let me go! I won’t tell anyone where you are!”
“Don’t worry. I won’t hurt you. Once this is all over, and both of them are dead, you’ll be free to go. It’s nothing personal.” He put his mask back on. “Some bugs just need to be exterminated.”