//------------------------------// // Chapter 12: Take a Stand! (Melony's POV) // Story: A Disguise for Love // by BrightMind //------------------------------// "Well, well, well, Melony, hasn't it just been too long since we've talked" she said to me. I quivered under her gaze, fearing for my life. "Well, don't you have something to say to me, traitor?" The queen said as she began to pace. I gathered my courage and finally spoke. "W-what do you want with me?!" I said. Those were the only words I could spit out. All changelings fear their queen, whether they knew it or not. After my many years of exercising my own thoughts and feelings and having betrayed the hive in one of the most treasonous ways, the fear struck me harder than it did for any changeling. "Well I want you dead; my preferred method of dealing with traitors like you. But I know you have important information that I can't extract with force. So I'm here to make you deal!" She explained to me. I knew no matter what the offer was it would be a lose-lose situation. "N-no!" I said as firmly as I could. "What did you just say to me?" She said slowly through gritted teeth. Her fury was on the rise and I knew I could never survive while up against her. "I-I said no... No matter what you have to offer, I don't want it!" I replied as I continued to dig my own grave. She picked me up in her magic in one swift motion and before I knew it, the air was being choked out of me as her vice-like grip surrounded me in her aura. "I don't think you understand! I don't have the patience to-" "Your majesty?" Said a familiar voice from behind the door of the cell I was being harassed in. "There you are!" She said happily and walked into the cell. "I've come to report..." She slowly trailed off as she saw me, and I saw her as she stepped into the light. "MELONY?!" Her excitement is what gave it away, and I was now certain who it was. Boy, has she changed! "Butterfly?" I replied through short, choked breaths. There was not another second of hesitation. With lightning-speed, Butterfly scooped my out of the queen's vice grip and into her own much tighter and torturous hug. "Oh my Queen's great name, it's been forever!! I missed you! I thought you were dead! Where have you been? Are you okay?" She askes rapidly, almost on the brink of tears. "I'd be.... better if... I could breathe..." I said while trying to gasp for air. "Oops! Sorry!" She said before letting me go completely. I fell to the ground gasping for air. "Captain, is there something you needed to say to me? I'm in the middle of something VERY important!" Chrysalis said, seeming to be on the brink of tearing us both in half. Butterfly whipped around and saluted her queen. "Your majesty, I am here to report that we were unable to track down any of the rogue changelings. The investigator has been spotted a few times, but we could not acquire any information on him other than the fact that he probably knows more about us than we do about him," Butterfly said, standing at attention. Chrysalis did not seem happy about this. "Have you fools even tried a direct approach?! It sounds to me like you are actively avoiding him as well as all of your duties!" "We sent in a few spies to gather some information. Things are kept on the downlow when it comes to changeling hunters. No one knows anything about him, and those that do are usually silenced. The spies that even managed to get close to him or anyone he knows can't stay in his presence for more than an hour without being caught," Butterfly reported. "And what of the captured changelings? Have you found any information on them?" The queen asked. "All the changelings that have been caught can not be traced. We had a few spies sent to the Canterlot dungeons and there were no changelings anywhere. Not even the guards know where they are kept." "Wait," I started, butting into the conversation. "You don't think they are... executing changelings, do you?" I shivered at the thought. "WERE YOU ASKED TO SPEAK, PEST?!" Chrysalis barked loudly, frightening both Butterfly and me. The queen took a deep breath to cool herself down. "The rouge makes a good point though, you should consider looking for a burial sight or tomb. At least if we know for sure that they are dead then we can assure that they are not spilling any more secrets," she said as Butterfly's happy-excited demeanor dropped. "Rouge?" Butterfly repeated, looking back at me. "Oh no, no, no! I've known Melony forever! She would never betray the hive!" Butterfly said firmly. "She fell in love with the investigator we're trying to gather information on. She has a foal that follows her around I assume is their son. She probably has some very important information," the queen said after a short pause. "That.. That sounds like her..." Butterfly says and turns to me. "Melony, what happened?" She continued, giving me a concerned look. Butterfly and I have been very, very close through out my whole life in the hive. So it's only natural she learned a bit about me. For instance, how easily I fell in love. And of course since changelings feeling emotion is NOT so natural, my heart got broken a lot. Butterfly and I weren't so different. Though she didn't fall in love as easily as I did, she was very caring and open, so she was there for me when no one else was. She also saw things in me that no one else did. She was promoted to Captain to help strategize the attack on on Canterlot, and she's the one who appointed me as one of the deep cover spies. She claimed that because of my caring and naturally loving personality, I would blend in with the ponies well. I suppose she had the right idea, considering I stayed safely in presence of an ace changeling hunter for years without being suspected. Past her bubbly and caring personality, she was no stranger to strategy and logic and she didn't have to give up any of that while in her position. She's nearly unbreakable. "It wasn't long after the plan was put into motion," I started. "I had met a kind stallion at a Café. He seemed clueless as to who I was, so I decided to feed off of him. He was in the middle of an investigation on a mare, and it just so happens that I was keeping lookout for this mare, so I told him what I knew. Well, I couldn't help myself... I jumped the gun and I... uh... kissed him..." I blushed at the thought and paused for a moment. I waited for someone to interrupt me, but no one did. "Well I expected him to be angry, but he wasn't. One thing led to another and we ended up married-" "AHA!" Chrysalis interrupted. "So you have been living with the ponies for over a decade! You refused to return! You ARE a traitor!" Chrysalis barked. I cowered before her waiting for her to tear me to shreds. "Your majesty, may I interrupt?" Butterfly said. "What is it?!" The queen said, clearly frustrated with being interrupted yet again. "As you know, changelings tend to be incredibly adaptive to their environment as a side-effect to their abilities. This means Melony is more pony than she is changeling right now," Butterfly said to her. "What's your point?" "Melony is terrified of you, she defies you and your intimidation only makes it worse!" "And what do YOU know about changeling needs?" She said sharply. "Need I remind you that four-fifths of the surviving troops from the attack on Canterlot were the troops that I trained?" Butterfly argued. "Is this rouge not also one of them?!" "As a matter a fact: no!" Butterfly stated firmly. " I APPOINTED her to this position because I assumed she would be best for the job. Given she's gone this long without being caught, it's probably safe to say I wasn't incorrect. At the time 'this rogue' was being trained I was not a captain. In fact, if my memory doesn't fail me, both Melony and I have been trained by you personally!" Butterfly said to the queen sternly, her voice was condescending. Chrysalis was not happy with this response. "I SHOULD HAVE YOUR HEAD FOR SPEAKING TO ME IN SUCH A TONE!" The queen barked furiously at the captain, before being cut off by the very changeling she was talking down to. "But you know as well as I do that judging by the survival rate of my subordinates that I may be yours -as well as the whole hive's- only chance of survival while getting your revenge," Butterfly stated calmly. The queen took in a deep breath to regain her composure. "Very well," she said. "You interrogate the pest!" She said before turning her back away from us. "However," she said just before leaving the cell. "Do not think that this is going to reflect well on you, Captain." Chrysalis then left us completely alone and did not return. "Now that she's gone, what happened?" Butterfly asked to me again. "I already told you..." I replied. "Melony, you know that's not what I mean. Your heart is broken; I can feel it. What happened?" I looked down at the ground and remained silent for a moment as she waited for my response. Once I realized she wasn't going to break the silence herself, I spoke. "I couldn't help hiding who I was, especially not from him, and especially not after he started hunting changelings. I decided to show him my true form..." I said as the tears began welling up. I then continued the best I could through sobs. "H-he told me to leave! That he didn't want me there.... that I was a m-monster!! I guess the years that I gave him didn't matter to him anymore...." "Shh... it's okay, hun... th-the child... is it his?" She asked me. I only nodded trying my best to compose myself. "H-he doesn't know, though... He doesn't know where I am anymore. And poor Simon doesn't know who his father is!" I say, unable to hold back my sobs. "Simon... that's his name?" She asks. I nod yet again. "Well, I'm sure Simon is going to have a great life with a mother like you," she says with a smile. "Wh-what?" I asked. Butterfly giggled and put her hoof on mine. "Well, don't tell her I told you," She began. "But Chrysalis has no intention of harming you. In fact, if you can tell her what she needs to know about the investigator and the rouge Changelings, she will let you and the kid go. She's even got a cozy little house set aside for you guys in the Crystal Empire!" Butterfly said happily. I let out a small gasp at the thought. "What rouge changelings?" I asked. "Well along with you, there were three other changeling spies that did not return the night before the attack, presumably with information that could have prevented our defeat," she responded. "I'm pretty sure one was captured at the first performance, but I don't know about the other two." "That's alright, it's the investigator she's really after. If she can get rid of him, finding the other two won't be so difficult." "B-but... I don't want to put him in danger..." "Oh... oh, Melony!" She said in realization before pulling me into an embrace. "Melony, you know I can't mend a broken heart, but I can still be there for you while it heals," I sobbed softly over her shoulder. She just held me there for a moment. "Look," she began again. "I can't get her to forget about this investigator, and I can't convince her you don't know anything. But I can stall her until you're ready to speak. How does that sound?" I only nodded, knowing I wouldn't be able to speak without breaking down completely. "Alright, but I do need to warn you," She continued, looking me dead in the eyes. "Melony, I say this in the least threatening way I possibly can. If you don't talk, Chrysalis will use Simon as leverage..." I let out a sigh. "Check in with me in a week..." I say. "I'll be ready by then... c-can you promise me something?" "Absolutely!" "The investigator, do you promise not to hurt him?" Butterfly smiled at me and nodded. "I'll see what I can do!" She said before leaving the cell.