//------------------------------// // Act II ~ Chapter 12 // Story: Unending Love // by Azure Notion //------------------------------// “Sweet Leaf! Welcome and come on in.” Long Scroll stepped back out of the doorway and waved a foreleg into his house. “Thanks, Scroll.” Sweet Leaf smiled, rubbing her hooves on the doormat as she passed into the entryway. “Of course!” Scroll closed and locked the door. “Do you have your crystals?” Sweet Leaf nodded. “I do. One second.” She turned to her side, nosing open her saddlebags and pulling out her tightly twisted up sack in her mouth. “‘ere oou go.” “Many thanks!” He took the bag in a fetlock and tilted his head back. “We’re in the living room as always. I’ll be in after I put these away. Feel free to tell the others we’re clear to change.” “Sure, can do.” Sweet Leaf nodded as he turned and headed down the hall. She followed him past the family photos of him and his husband. As he continued straight, she turned right and went through the first doorway. A quick scan of the room and Sweet nearly pursed her lips at the fact that she was, yet again, the last to arrive. It was the third month in a row she’d been last and she’d been meaning to correct the pattern, but she had let it happen once again. “Heyyo! There she is!” The near offensively pink mare seated at the far couch beamed and waved a hoof high in the air at Sweet Leaf. “Hey, Rose,” Sweet replied as she unstrapped her saddlebags and set them over next to the other saddlebags. She then trotted to the other couch and took a seat next to Warm Plate. “Hello, Sweet Leaf.” A white mare sitting on the other couch next to Rose Petal nodded and gently smiled at Sweet Leaf. “Hi, Silver.” Sweet returned her smile. “How’s Hoofington been treating you?” “Pretty good.” Silver Star levitated her cup of tea from the coffee table. “I’m finally getting settled in, and life with the ponyfriend is going great. They’re a way better source than the last town, thanks to Skitter’s connections.” “That’s really good. Oh, by the way,” Sweet Leaf looked around to all the other changelings, “Skitter told me that we’re good to change.” “Hot damn, finally.” Rose sighed without even a hint of her usual bubbliness before transforming into Vexor. Firefly dropped her disguise and began pouring herself a cup of tea. “That’s funny. Usually it’s Tarsus that’s grumpy at this point.” “Hey!” Tarsus transformed and glared at Sweet. “Oh hush, you know it’s true.” Vexor levitated up a cookie and a napkin. “And I got a nasty cold last month. Being back in my own chitin feels wonderful after that miserable train wreck.” “A cold?” Silver Star asked, the last to transform. “Is that common in Hoofington?” “Thankfully, it isn’t,” Skitter said as she came around the corner and headed for her usual spot on her loveseat. “At least not any more common than most other towns. We don’t get a whole lot of changeling traffic, so it was likely one of those rare pony-changeling cross-species viruses. But it is Spring, so I’d bet it was a holdover from flu season last year. “By the way, everyling. After four months, Pincer here,” Skitter nodded to the recently transformed Silver Star, “has finally managed to advance her relationship with her ponyfriend enough to produce love crystals.” “Hey, congrats!” Firefly clapped her hooves together a couple times and gave Pincer a big smile. “I could have gotten that far with him in three.” Tarsus said under his breath. Vexor cleared his throat. “It’s them. And I doubt it.” He turned to Pincer. “And certainly, congratulations are in order! It’s quite the milestone. Here’s to a long and fruitful collection!” He levitated his tea cup into the air. “Hear, hear!” “Definitely!” Everyling joined in the cheer except Tarsus, Firefly noticed as she took a sip of her tea. She almost rolled her eyes at his typical unused tea cup, plate, and napkin. “Speaking of disguises,” Skitter said, putting her cup back down on its saucer, “the hive sent out a request for us lead collectors to try and solicit methods to keep our acting skills sharp. I’ve thought up a method I’d like to try for today and the next couple meetings.” She levitated up a box, a pile of books, and five clipboards with sheets of paper on them. “I present to you, Ogres and Oubliettes.” “That’s a bit unexpected.” Vexor raised an eyeridge. “We’re already acting in the form of our roles with our sources and around pony society. Why do they think we need additional practice?” “Well,” Skitter began, magicking over a set of books to each changeling, “after the wedding, we lost a bunch of collectors. Pincer here can attest to that, her skills notwithstanding.” Skitter nodded to their newest collector and received a smile back. “The hive isn’t saying how many, but I’d guess at least half a dozen to a dozen, if they thought it necessary to ask in-field collectors for suggestions.” Tarsus hummed. “Okay, but, how is this supposed to help? We do a little role play and suddenly we’re better collectors?” Firefly looked back to Skitter. She thought the idea was neat, but she kind of agreed with Tarsus. It didn’t seem like all that effective a strategy. “The thing is,” Skitter continued, “In O ‘n O, play is usually relatively slow paced. During combat, players are usually given between thirty and ninety seconds to make their decisions. Each full turn lasts six in-game seconds. Today, we’ll be going with ninety seconds per player to get used to the game. However, I expect you all to take these books home and study them. Become familiar with the universe and get to know the characters I’ve created for each of you. Because next game,” she lowered her head and looked at each of them in turn, “you will have forty-five seconds during your turn to make a decision. All sessions after that you’ll be limited to fifteen real-time seconds.” “What the heck!” Tarsus cried out. “That’s way too unfair! There’s no way we can learn that much in two games!” “Tarsus, would you please calm down,” Firefly gave an exasperated sigh. Maybe she needed to follow through with what she told Roast and sit Tarsus down for a talk. “Skitter is doing this for a reason and I think I can see what she’s trying to do. Real life rarely gives us time to think out our actions, so why not emulate that with a game? Plus, we have two months to prepare. It’s not like this is happening next week.” “Right you are, Firefly.” Skitter smiled at her before addressing the group again. “I also intend to include your performance in my quarterly briefs to the hive.” “That—hmph. Fine. Whatever.” Tarsus crossed his legs and Firefly couldn’t help picturing him as a colt that just got told he had chores to do. “I, uh, have a question,” Pincer started. “Mhm?” Skitter hummed. “Well, I was kind of thinking… aren’t these get-togethers supposed to be about relaxing and getting away from our daily stressors, not adding to them?” “I actually second that,” Vexor jumped in. “I was definitely looking forward to today specifically as a time to unwind and recoup. I’m not certain we can maintain any decent level of performance if we’re worried about the next meeting on top of our daily roles.” “Hmm. I suppose I see your point.” Skitter tapped a hoof on her fangs in thought. Firefly didn’t have that big of a gripe about it, but that might be because of her new method of relaxing and unwinding around Roast. Thinking about it, she could see things from the others’ point of view. Maybe… “If I could make a suggestion?” Firefly spoke up and the others turned to her. “I understand and I like the utility of making the game more challenging and life-like, but maybe we could go about it a little differently?” Skitter furrowed her brow. “I’m listening.” “How about instead of making this about how fast we can make decisions, we make it about how well we can perform. We could use the next couple of months for settling into our characters and the group, and then we rotate them every month or two. We’d have to make decisions based on how the character thinks. It would keep the game challenging, but still fun, friendly, and relaxing.” “That’s… a pretty good idea.” Skitter raised her eyeridges and nodded in appreciation. “What do the rest of you think?” “I like that a lot better, yes.” Vexor nodded. “I think that could be fun, but perhaps still include regular get-togethers every now and then.” “Tarsus?” Skitter turned to him. “Yeah?” He looked up to her. “Uh, I guess that works. I mean, I still don’t think we need practice for the thing we’re already doing every day, but at least it won’t be as bad.” “Good enough.” Skitter nodded. “Alright, do any of you have to leave within the next three or so hours? Firefly shook her head along with the others. She technically didn’t have anything to do, but she really did want to go shopping with Roast and then go out for that walk through the park. They didn’t get to spend a lot of time outside the cafe, but if they only got to do one thing later, that was fine. Keeping the others from getting suspicious was more important than a night out. “Perfect!” Skitter said with a big grin. “Then let’s get our chats out of the way and move to the dining room table in, say, thirty minutes?” Firefly shrugged and nodded. A little sacrifice now was worth the rest of the month with him. “On my mark, Ivory and Breeze,” Tarsus began, glancing at Pincer, then Firefly, “and we shall show them the meaning of holy retribution.” Firefly only barely managed to hold back her snicker. Tarsus paused for a few beats, then yelled, “Let's show them Tartarus!” “As you charge around the bushes, all four timberwolves are already facing your direction and growling thanks to Amethyst Glow’s loud battle cry.” Skitter said, rolling a die behind her cardboard screen. “Roll a d20 for initiative and add your dexterity.” Firefly glanced at her four dexterity, then picked up her twenty sided die and gave it a roll. “Fifteen.” “Twelve,” Pincer said after her own roll. “Eighteen,” Vexor added. “Five,” Tarsus grumbled. “What did you roll, Tarsus?” Skitter asked. He huffed and looked away. “Two.” “Alright, so since my character is already poised to strike, she goes first on a surprise round.” Skitter began. “Then she goes again in the normal initiative, then Vexor, Firefly, Pincer, the timberwolves, and… Tarsus, your character managed to recover from tripping over a root. You go last.” “Stupid dice.” Tarsus crossed his forelegs and grumbled some more. “Okay.” Skitter spoke up. “Reminder that you’ll all need to pass a d20 AC check of thirteen before you attack. You’ll all add your class modifiers and proficiency bonus. Except you, Firefly. Since you used Wild Shape and took the timberwolf’s form, you take its strength, dexterity, and constitution stats.” She addressed the group again, “To hit them, the number you’ll need to meet or beat is thirteen. Otherwise, you miss. I won’t always tell you the AC in the future, but you all are still learning.” Skitter cleared her throat and continued. “Serene Meadow sneaks out from behind a tree and sneak attacks the rightmost timberwolf.” Her horn lit before one die, then a couple more, clattered behind her screen. “Ah, damnit!” she cried out in Serene’s voice. “Piss off you overgrown saplings! She does ten damage to the rightmost timberwolf with her surprise attack and its attention is now drawn to her. The timberwolves then go into an offensive stance and growl and snarl at the lot of you. Alright, because Tarsus decided to shout your arrival, none of you share in the surprise round.” “What?!” Tarsus threw his hooves in the air. “That’s completely unfair!” Skitter shrugged. “You yelled and broke stealth. These things matter. Just be glad you’re learning this on easy fights. With that, it’s back to Serene Meadow again.” Skitter rolled a die behide her screen. “…And misses, her dagger sliding off its back, barely leaving a scratch.” “Stop sucking, Meadow!” Vexor rolls his dice. “It’s not my fault!” “Uh huh, sure!” He rolled a die. “I got a fifteen to hit. I loose my arrow at the same timberwolf for,” a couple more dice roll, “nine damage.” “And that’s one timberwolf waaaay down!” Skitter cried out in Meadow’s voice. “Get ‘em Breeze!” Firefly gave her best impression of a timberwolf howl. “I charge the left timberwolf and perform a bite attack.” She magicked up her d20 and rolled it, “I got a seventeen to hit.” She rolled her d4. “And I also do ten damage.” “Another ten damage.” Skitter scribbled behind her screen. “Timberwolf bites against creatures also have to succeed on a 1d20 strength saving throw,” Skitter said. “With your strength modifier of one, you’ll need to roll a ten or greater.” “Uhh, okay.” This game was more complicated than Firefly realized. She rolled and sighed in relief at the number. “Eleven plus one.” “Alright, that’s ten piercing damage and the timberwolf staggers backwards in pain, surprised at being attacked by a fellow timberwolf,” Skitter replied. “Pincer, your turn.” “This fight will be over before it begins,” Pincer spoke up as she rolled her dice. She winced as she looked down at them. “I gallop forward and attempt to smash my hooves into the middle right timberwolf and only do four damage, thusly eating my words.” “Don’t forget when you do your unarmed attacks, you can do another as a bonus action.” “Oh, right!” Pincer rolled another d20 and promptly blew a raspberry. “Nope, miss.” “Two damage and a miss, alright. Your first strike barely manages to knock a few sticks off its hide, while it shifts out of the way entirely of your second. And with that, it’s now the timberwolves’ turn,” Skitter said and began rolling several dice before peeking over her screen. “The middle right timberwolf makes a lunge and bites Ivory Rose for nine piercing damage.” Pincer let out a restrained scream, “I will not be beaten so easily.” Skitter looked over to Tarsus. “The middle left timberwolf attempts a bite at you, Amethyst Glow, but misses as you shift away just in time. The final timberwolf is staring you down, Firefly, uncertain what to do. It’s going to growl and hold its turn. And now it’s back to the top. Amethyst, you’re up!” “Today is not your day, you worthless imitation!” Tarsus cried out. “Timberwolves are technically their own species, Ammy!” Skitter called in Serene Meadow’s voice. “No one asked you!” Tarsus glared at a grinning Skitter before rolling his die. “And today is especially not your day! Natural twenty to hit!” Firefly cheered with the rest of the group. “Nice!” Tarsus rolled another die. “That’ll be six doubled plus two!” “Augh!” Skitter cried out. “Get this green tree goop off me! You didn’t need to blow it apart! Screw you, Amethyst!” “Apologies. I believe this is what the foals call, ‘deserved,’” Tarsus harrumphed. “Ugh…” Skitter mock wiped her face before rolling her dice again. “Serene Meadow attacks the last undamaged timberwolf for six damage. Vexor, your turn.” Vexor rolled his dice. “I loose my next arrow, finishing off that timberwolf with eight damage.” “Great!” Skitter said. “The timberwolf takes an arrow nice and deep in the shoulder and is very unhappy. Firefly, you’re up.” Firefly growled. “I lunge at the last, wounded timberwolf.” Firefly grabbed her dice and rolled. She grumbled at the second d20 roll. “And I fail the bite’s strength save by four.” Skitter rolled some dice. “Okay, so, as you go to bite at it, it reels back out of the way and headbutts you to the ground. You are knocked prone and the timberwolf is freed from its stupor. It’s going to then take its held turn, lunging forward and biting Flowering Breeze for eight damage.” Firefly inhaled and let out her best howling scream. “Breeze!” Tarsus cried. “Hold on!” Pincer grabbed her die and rolled. “Damn. I run to plant the timberwolf back in the ground, but I miss. Again.” “Hehehe.” Skitter grinned and rubbed her forehooves together. “And that means it’s the timberwolf’s turn!” Firefly’s eyes grew wide. “Wait! I thought the timberwolf just went!” “Nope.” Skitter shook her head. “And yes, technically. Turns can be held until a specific action or until a character desires to take it. If the character’s next turn comes up in the initiative order, the held turn is forfeited. It took it before then, so it gets to take its next turn as normal.” Her horn lit up and dice clattered behind her screen. Firefly’s eyes raced across the timberwolf’s page, but none of it helped. She hadn’t even considered that eleven HP wouldn’t be enough! She thought for sure that surprise would keep her safe. “The wounded timberwolf limps forward a step and lunges for Breeze’s neck, dealing—” Everyone paused at the doorbell ringing from the hallway. “That’s probably them.” Skitter pushed her chair back and got up. “Don your disguises, everyling, just in case.” “Wait, who’s them?” Vexor asked, transforming into Rose Petal. “And you can’t leave us hanging like that! Is she dead or alive?!” Skitter changed into Long Scroll and winked. “You’ll have to wait and find out.” Her male form turned and clopped his way along the kitchen tile and onto the wood of the main hallway. Firefly, along with Pincer and Tarsus, shifted back into their collector disguises. A few seconds later, the front door opening and quiet talking resounded from the hall. “Them?” Tarsus echoed Firefly’s thoughts as he looked at each of the other disguised changelings. Vexor shrugged. “News to me. I had no idea anyling else would be joining us today.” Multiple sets of hooves on wood floor grew louder and Firefly and Vexor looked to the hallway while Pincer and Tarsus turned their chairs to see the newcomers. A moment later and Long Scroll came back into the room followed by two mares. Firefly near-immediately sensed two unfamiliar sets of pheromones. As she looked over the two, the leftmost mare met Firefly’s gaze. Firefly’s attention reverted to Long Scroll as he addressed the collectors. “Alright, everyling. These are a couple guests staying in Hoofington for the next few weeks or so. They belong to a newly formed survey team ordered by the hive. Everything they’re going to ask of you, I’ve already gone through. So, please have confidence in their abilities. With that, I’ll let them take it from here.” He made his way back to his seat at the end of the table. The disguised mare on the right stepped forward. “Good afternoon, everyling. Skitter is correct. I am the leader of a group formed on-demand to perform research surveys on collectors, their skills, and their sources. I’m sure you have many questions, but we’ll get to those in a little bit.” That… doesn’t sound good. Firefly thought. She’d have to warn Roast about this as soon as she got home. Her eyes flicked back to the other mare and a chill ran down her spine. Her eyes were still on Firefly. Calm, girl. It doesn’t mean anything. “You may call this disguise Crystal Flash and,” the survey leader dropped her disguise, leaving a masculine-looking changeling in her place, “you may call me Clypeus. This here is Capitate. She’s my right-hoof ‘ling while we’re here.” He gestured to his companion. Her eyes finally came off Firefly as she dropped her disguise, then smiled and waved a hoof at the collective group. “Circumstances permitting, I will be remaining in Crystal Flash’s disguise during our time in Hoofington. However, my team members will be alternating disguises as needed. Keep your noses out for ours and other new pheromones. I wish I could have introduced the rest of my team, but we’re a few too many to have easily and surreptitiously made it in Skitter’s wonderful abode. Instead, the rest are idling outside around the block. “Now then,” he began slowly pacing back and forth in the kitchen, “you know what we’re here to do. However, how we’re going to do it is trifold and these are in no particular order. First, we’ll be conducting an interview with you about your sources. We’ll ask about their behavior, their apparent feelings towards you, the kind of activities you partake in, and many other questions. We don’t have time for this today, so we’ll schedule a time to conduct it with each of you later.” Easy peasy. Firefly held back her grin. I’ve honed my emotions and reactions more than enough over the last several months. “Next,” he paused his pacing, “show of hooves, are there any of you here who do not think you’ll be able to have three to five outings with your sources in the next month?” All of the collectors kept their hooves down. “Perfect.” He resumed his pacing. “We’ll be observing your and your source’s interactions during these outings. We’ll provide instructions later on how to inform us of these ahead of time, to the best of your ability.” That’s not too bad. Firefly quietly hummed to herself. Roast and I can definitely make that work. Though do I even tell him? He might get performance anxiety and blow the whole thing. Hmm… “Finally,” Clypeus paused again and faced the changelings at the table, “during your interview we’ll be asking a few, more personal questions. These questions will help us in our last goal, which is to take your place for a day, preferably on a non-working day.” Firefly held back a wince. That was going to be less easy. It might be best for us to act as if I’m not even a changeling for the next couple months. No way to spill the beans if the beans are safely tucked away. “Now, before we continue, I’d like to have a word with Skitter in private.” Long Scroll nodded and got back up, following him back out the hallway. Silence reigned for a few seconds before Vexor spoke up, “Well, this next month is going to be interesting.” Tarsus hummed in agreement. “I’ve never heard of the hive conducting one of these.” “Same here.” Firefly nodded and pursed her lips. “I’m guessing the hive is trying to figure out if there’s any commonalities among us undiscovered collectors. I’d bet they already interviewed the collectors that got sent back to the hive.” “Oh, speaking of,” Vexor turned to Pincer, “did anything like that happen to you before you got reassigned?” Pincer shook her head. “Nope. If they did, it was probably after I got sent out here.” She looked over to the remaining survey ‘ling. “Hey, Capitate, is this the first city you all have been to?” “Clypeus will be answering questions as soon as he returns,” Capitate answered simply. “Fair enough, I guess.” Pincer shrugged. Firefly shrugged as well, but she kept her confusion tucked away behind a little smile. That seemed kind of odd to her. It was a simple question, unless they had multiple teams. Except Clypeus made it sound like there were several other members. There’s no way the hive had enough trained infiltrators or collectors or whatnot to spend on more than one of these. That feeling in her gut was nagging at her. “Anyway!” Vexor broke the silence again. “That O ‘n O game was crazy, am I right?” “Seriously!” Tarsus exaggeratedly rolled his eyes. “Skitter can eat chitin dust for keeping us in suspense like that. Right, Firefly?” Firefly shrugged again, her feelings matching back up with her smile. “I do want to know what’s going to happen to Flowering Breeze, but I’m sure Skitter has her reasons.” Tarsus rolled his eyes. “Yeah, like being a smarmy little—” “Firefly!” Skitter’s undisguised voice barked from the hall as hoof clacked loudly against wood. “What?” Firefly put her hooves up defensively. “Tarsus said it, not—” “I need to speak with you.” Skitter, undisguised, stomped through the doorway, her hard gaze set unmovingly on Firefly. “Now.” Firefly’s breath caught in her throat. “Uh, sure. Okay.” She pushed her chair out and got up. She made her way around the table and her nerves were building as both Skitter and Capitate eyed her like a hawk. “Come.” Skitter turned and walked back down the hall. Firefly followed and a burst of panic filled her as she noticed Capitate trailing behind. She watched Skitter turn into the livingroom and a few steps later, she herself paused at the doorway. The coffee table had been pushed aside, now cockeyed to the left with used tea cups and napkins scattered across it. Skitter stopped where it had been and turned around with a scowl while Clypeus held a neutral gaze. “In.” Capitate ordered. Firefly stepped into the room. She glanced back and saw Capitate had stopped at the doorway. She was certain her breathing exercises would be of no help here. “It seems you haven’t been entirely honest with me, Firefly,” Skitter said low, commanding Firefly’s attention forward again. The silence hung and Firefly realized it wasn’t a rhetorical statement. “I… am not sure what you mean.” “Horseapples!” Skitter's eyes narrowed at Firefly. “I wasn’t training you out of your love. You were keeping me blind.” Firefly felt like her heart skipped a dozen beats. “I-I didn’t! I wasn’t! I promise! I loved those sessions!” “I cared for you, Firefly. I spent dozens of hours with you. It didn’t even cross my mind once.” Skitter’s glare faded into sadness. “But to think, you’re nothing more than a spy among spies.” Firefly’s eyes shot wide open and she vigorously shook her head. “No! I’m not! I haven’t done anything like that!” “Feeding the ponies intelligence?” Skitter’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Why, Firefly?” “I didn’t!” Firefly growled. They weren’t listening! “Not even once in my life!” “Firefly.” Clypeus began, his voice firm and even. “By the power vested in me by the great Queen Chrysalis herself, I am placing you under arrest for treason.” “I am NOT a TRAITOR!” “You will keep your voice down,” Clypeus hissed. Firefly huffed and glared at the two changelings. “I am not a traitor. I have never once acted against—” “Honestly, I’m not sure I care,” Clypeus cut Firefly off. “While the survey team was here, we were instructed to perform an investigation into your source and your love-dense crystals. We impersonated you preemptively for the survey, and what a surprise it was to find that Fine Roast knew all about the Hoofington collectors. He knew their names and he knew of today’s gathering. He even knew about your love crystals. Do you deny this?” Firefly’s jaw nearly clattered in anger. “You know what? No. I don’t.” She looked to her leader. “Skitter, I’m sorry for lying to you. I promise I loved every second I spent with you, but I had a reason.” “What reason, Firefly?” Skitter almost sounded desperate. “What could possibly lead to this?” Firefly’s eyes flitted back and forth from one changeling to the other. She settled on Skitter, took a deep breath and spoke. “I love him. “I love him more than anything. But more than that, he loves me.” She tapped a hoof on her own chest. “Not Sweet Leaf, the disguise. But Firefly, the changeling. He’s known about me for years and I only found out after the invasion. Heck, he didn’t even know what I was until—” “And yet you told no one,” Clypeus accused. “No, I didn’t!” Firefly stamped her hoof. “And you want to know why? That exact reason you came? That’s why. My love crystals are so dense because it’s love directed at me, not at Sweet Leaf. Not at some facade.” The words spat out of her mouth with more venom than she knew she had. “If you take me away, if you break us apart, you lose that.” Clypeus huffed and glared at her. “Even if that’s true, you told a pony about changeling state affairs. And even if what you say isn’t a lie, it’s no longer within my control. Fine Roast has already been taken captive and is on his way back to the hive.” Ice cold water doused Firefly’s fury and she was vaguely aware of her haunches hitting the floor. “W… what?” “The changelings will have delivered a message to the queen and she will be expecting you. You may plead your case with her.” “N-No, please!” Her hind legs shot back up. “It’s not too late! It was today! I would know if it wasn’t! They can’t have made it far!” “Firefly…” Skitter said softly as she shook her head. “This isn’t up to us and it wasn’t up to you. The rules are in place for a reason.” “Why?! Why are they in place? How could this possibly have been a bad thing?!” “I don’t know. That’s for the queen to answer, if she chooses.” Firefly’s mouth trembled open and breath caught in her throat. The taste of her salty tears filled her mouth and she squeezed her eyes shut. It can’t be real. We’re going to go to the park, spend time together. We’re going to see Aura soon and— She gasped and her eyes shot open. “What?” Clypeus asked, raising an eyeridge. I can’t tell them. They can’t know. But they’ll find out on their own. At this point, it’s a guarantee. They know about the interrogation. It’s only a matter of time and that’ll spell Tartarus for her. And for me. I… I can’t not tell them. Firefly briefly closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Forgive me, Aura. “Please. I’m telling you of my own free will. I promise there is no ill intent by either of us.” Clypeus narrowed his eyes. “There’s one other pony who knows I’m a changeling. She’s known for about seven months.” “One other—” Skitter’s eyes grew wide in shock that Firefly had rarely seen on her face. “No. Firefly, do not tell me what I think you’re going to tell me…” Firefly nodded. “Refined Aura.” “Dammit, Firefly! The detective?! Are you insane?!” “No! I’m not!” Firefly barked back. “I promised and I’ll promise again that there is no ill intent. Roast—” she deflated at how she knew that would sound, “Roast was the one that confirmed it to her. During the investigation, she found out on her own and Roast was desperate not to lose me. So he pleaded with her and she sided with me and Roast.” “Oh sweet Chrysalis…” Clypeus angrily rolled his eyes and then bared his fangs at her. “And, yet again, you told no one! Tell me, exactly, how do you know you’re not the cause of so many of us being discovered?!” “I…! Me?!” She put a hoof to her chest before thrusting it to the side. “That was our Quee—” “I would remind you of who you will be pleading your case to,” Clypeus interrupted. Firefly set her hoof back down and took a deep, calming breath. It barely helped. “I threatened her, okay? I’m not proud of doing that to someone I call friend, but I bluffed and told her that she’d be watched and taken away if she told anyone. However—and this is not a threat—Aura is smart. She knows changelings replace ponies. She’ll have some kind of countermeasure in place in case she gets captured or replaced. Trust me when I say, you don’t have the skills to impersonate her. She is far, far too unique and special and wonderful for anyling to try.” Clypeus held his glare for several long seconds. “So, in other words, you have no idea what that detective may have done. If you had said something, maybe the hive could have handled this properly. Perhaps it wouldn’t have even come to this. Assuming your word means a Chrysalis damn thing, you still made a decision on the hive’s behalf and offered no chance to mitigate any risk.” He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Regardless, we will investigate and provide the results to the queen. She will decide how to handle this disaster.” The breath Firefly hadn’t even realized she’d been holding finally let itself out. She wished there was more she could say. She wished she could tell Aura herself, to warn her. Aura deserved nothing but the best. But that would have to do. Arguing further would only dig both her and Aura deeper. “If there’s nothing else you’d like to incriminate yourself with…” Firefly glared at him, but remembered that one last detail. “I’m not sure what can be done, but Roast and I had agreed to spend some time at Aura’s house. Around one or two O’clock next Sunday, I believe.” “We will handle it. Anything else?” Firefly glanced to the floor and thought. After a long moment, she looked back up to Skitter and Clypeus. “Just… please take care of the cafe. Put a sign up or something and make sure none of the ovens are on. I don’t want anything to happen to the place.” Clypeus donned his Crystal Flare disguise and the same was heard behind her. “Then please, transform into an earth pony mare of yellow coat, teal mane, and green eyes with a cutie mark of a cut gem. Your name will be Rhinestone. Then turn around and follow Capitate outside. Do not try to escape and do not attempt to signal anyone. We have more than enough changelings to prevent such foolishness, but I would rather not make a scene.” “Yeah, yeah. I got it.” She took on his requested disguise and turned around. With one final kernel of spiciness, she looked to Capitate and said, “Let’s go, cupcake.” The glare she received was almost enough to make her grin. Almost. “All aboard!” The train conductor called from outside and a few minutes later, the train pulled forward. Firefly wanted to glare at the changeling disguised as a unicorn reading his paper in front of her, or yell at the mare with a bored expression next to her. Or any of the ponies here. For all she knew, they bought the entire car out, just to watch her. But she was certain she’d only anger them or even blow their disguises altogether. She instead turned to the window. The crowds and tall buildings were slowly replaced by quaint houses. Then fields and grasslands, the long stalks of grass shifted in the wind, as if waving goodbye. Her anger slowly melted away as the realization of what had truly happened washed over her. She’d never see her home again. Never make another cup of coffee, never see the smiling faces of her customers. And she might never see Roast again. The queen might not even hear her out. He could be trapped in a cocoon for the rest of his days while she was forced to— She stumbled out of her seat, tears welling up in her eyes, and rushed down the aisle to the restroom at the end of the car. Her turbulent insides felt a minuscule drop of relief at the vacant sign. Throwing the door open, she stepped in and quickly shut and locked it. Then the first sob hit. The second and third wracked her body and she fell to her knees. “I… haugh… Roast. How did… what can I…” She didn’t know what to do. Didn’t know what she could do. She felt trapped, like an animal in a cage. There was no way to fight back. Running would only doom them. She had to stay quiet. She couldn’t keep quiet. “There’s nothing!” Firefly whispered out through her tears and rolled to her side. She held her hindlegs close and buried her face in her mess of limbs. “I can’t! I can’t do anything!” Three sharp knocks caught her next sob. “Just… Just a minute!” she called back from the floor as normal as she could. She stood up, anger and frustration and agony and despair running through her. They wanted to take everything from her. They wouldn’t even give her the space to cry. Firefly turned to the sink and blearily looked herself over in the mirror. She was a wreck. Dirt clung to her mane, her face matted with tears, snot dripping from her nose. She snorted out, sending mucus flying onto the mirror. Grabbing some tissues, she cleaned herself up as best as she could. She ran her hooves through her mane and knocked free the dust and dirt before transforming the unruly mess into something more orderly. Finally acceptable, she inspected herself one last time and took a deep breath. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. And exhale. Good girl, Firefly. You can handle this. One more time. One. Two— Four knocks, more urgent this time, stole her held breath. With one last shake to clear her head, she flushed the empty toilet and faced the door. She unlocked and opened it and, sure enough, outside was one of her charges with a none-too-happy look on her face. “Sorry, all yours.” Firefly gave a half smile and squeezed out past the mare as they exchanged places. The door slammed shut behind her and Firefly gave as much of a glare at the door as she dared. She huffed and walked back to her seat. Her other charge gave her a single glance over his newspaper as she sat down before turning back to his paper. She sighed and set her chin on the windowsill. Before she even had time to fog up the glass, the stallion cleared his throat and she sat up to look at him. He gave her a tiny eyebrow raise, then smiled, dropped the smile, and smiled again. Firefly put on a little smile for him, but inside she fumed and did nothing to hide her emotion from any other emotivores. He merely went back to his reading. Piece of manure. She kept her fake smile and looked out the window. Can’t even let me be for one second. Soon enough, the other mare returned and the three of them settled into an uncomfortable silence. Despite it all, she could only take a morbid solace in the knowledge that Roast was soundly asleep while they transported his cocoon. Over time, the scenery outside slowly shifted from green fields to cliffs and crags as they passed by Canterlot, then slowly to desert as they neared Appleoosa. In the same way, Firefly’s smile had been steeled several times at the behest of her captors, but slipped to disinterest once most ponies had departed at Canterlot and Ponyville. Much like the dry tumbleweeds and cacti passing by her window, her unhappiness had settled itself on her face. The stallion across from her hadn’t said anything, nor had the mare beside her. They had, however, infuriatingly continued to give her little time to herself. They’d follow her to the food and drink station and only give her a few minutes to relieve herself. After two days on a train with them, Firefly felt pretty justified in being quite upset. Thankfully, those two days were nearing their end as the tiny farming town of Appleoosa came into view. The train gave a little jerk forward as it began its deceleration. Firefly straightened up and stretched, very ready to at least be walking instead of sitting silent next to two unfamiliar changelings. A few minutes later, the train finally came to a halt. Firefly sat, waiting for instructions from whoever would be escorting her next. The stallion stood, pulled his saddlebags from under his bench, and looked at her. “Come, Rhinestone,” he said simply and walked out of the aisle. Firefly raised an eyebrow as she stood, very aware of the two other passengers that had remained after Ponyville. She could only surmise that she was correct in there being more than the two changelings that had initially escorted her onto the train. Sure enough, the two others in the car took their place behind her as she followed the stallion and mare from her row out the train. The dry, desert sun hit as she stepped from the cooled passenger train. She’d been through Appleoosa once before, but the ‘lings around her gave her no time to appreciate the quaint town. As expected, there was no one to greet them and they wordlessly made their way down the train platform and onto the main road. Firefly wanted to ask where they were headed, if they planned on taking a detour for food and rest, or if they were to power through the desert and on to the hive. A grimace formed on her face and she was fairly certain of the answer she’d receive. Instead, she remained silent and followed along as her questions were answered for her. Northbound out of town they headed, without making a single stop. She merely hoped they had plans for food and drink between Appleoosa and the Hive. After what must have been over an hour of silent trekking, her escorts ensured nopony was watching and let her off the main road. A ways into the rocky, bush-laden terrain, they stopped at a large, well-hidden tarp. The lead stallion wasted no time in removing it and Firefly mentally sighed at the sight of an open-topped cart with barrels and sacks containing what she hoped was water and food. “Plerum, you’re pulling first,” the leader spoke. “You got it, Coxa,” the one apparently named Plerum replied and began getting herself hitched. “As for you, Miss Rhinestone,” the leader she now knew as Coxa began, contempt dripping from his voice. He opened his saddlebags, producing a collar and leash, “you will need to transform into a canine, perhaps half your height.” Firefly stared at Coxa, then at the collar, then back to Coxa. “Excuse me?” she asked with no small amount of indignation. Coxa rolled his eyes. “A dog. Change into a dog. One that can fit this collar.” “I heard you the first time,” Firefly spat, “and no. I will not be masquerading as a common house pet. I can walk on these damn legs.” Coxa scowled and stepped up into her face. “You no longer have the right to choose. You gave that up the second you turned your back on the hive.” Firefly huffed in his face, leaning in until her nose nearly touched his. “I have never once turned my back. And I will not—!” The hoof came faster than she could react and Firefly cried out in pain as she landed on her side. Shock filled her as she held a hoof to her stinging cheek and stared ahead at nothing. She hadn’t been hit in… she couldn’t remember the last time. Out-of-place sorrow and guilt filled her as she remembered kicking Roast in the stomach when she fled all those months ago. “You can either do as I say,” she heard Coxa’s voice say above her, “or you can become a problem.” She broke from her stupor with a sudden flash of fear as she saw the other two unhitched ‘lings step up. Firefly expected the worst, but was relieved when they stopped short and gave concerned glances between Coxa and Firefly. “Hey, Coxa,” the mare that had flanked her on the train whispered, “I’m pretty sure Clypeus didn’t give us permission to hit her.” “Shut up! Do you want to side with the traitor?!” “No, but she—” “Clypeus isn’t here! I am,” Coxa snarled back before turning to Firefly. “Now, are you going to be a problem?” Firefly grit her teeth and put her hoof back down, a fire lighting back inside of her. She stood up and glared at him, remembering how much power she truly had. Most of her love may have been stored away in the crystals the day before, but Roast’s love was far from weak and the hive had no choice but to ration for months on end. Except… “No,” she huffed and changed into a dog, the furious glare never leaving her face. There was little doubt in her mind that she could outperform all four of them if it came to a fight. But it would only give them more arrows for the queen to fire back at her. Fighting wasn’t worth the chance of getting Roast back. Coxa narrowed his eyes down at her. “Good.” The collar levitated over and wrapped itself around her neck. A surprised squeak escaped her as she found herself lifted by his magic and put into the cart. She choked as the leash tugged without warning towards the front of the cart. Several coughs later, she rubbed at her throat and turned to see the lead tied to a cargo mount point. “Now stay,” Coxa said, peering over the edge of the cart. “If you need anything, bark.” He turned from view and a moment later, the tarp levitated up and covered the front half of the cart. “And try not to need anything.” Firefly felt the frustration boil up tears in her eyes. She took a deep breath and settled down for the ride. She wouldn’t give them the pleasure of hearing her cry again. A hard bump jostled her awake and Firefly blearily looked around in the dark. She stood up and was immediately reminded of the indignity around her throat. The enmity for where she was quickly burned through her sleep-addled mind. She could feel the need for the facilities, but she refused to speak up, or bark up as it were, until she couldn’t hold it anymore. Every time, Coxa wouldn’t even give her the courtesy of relieving herself on her own. Rather he had one of the four take her by the leash and lead her behind some bushes or a rock. At least the other three had the decency to turn their backs. It was nighttime as she peeked over the edge of the cart and she saw they’d left the desert road and were traveling on sand. The sight of two disguised unicorns clearing the tracks behind them made it clear they were nearly there. A few minutes later, a raven landed on their wagon with a loud caw and a flurry of pheromones. “Good morning,” Firefly heard Coxa say, “we’re here with a special delivery.” Magic tinted her vision and a sudden jerk lifted her out of the wagon, leash and all. She was set down on the ground between the wagon puller and Coxa, her lead held by his magic. “We’d like an escort for her, if you wouldn’t mind.” The raven snapped its head to the freshly-vacated wagon and then back, tilting its head several times. It came down and landed next to her, only a few centimeters shorter. She had no doubt the guard could smell her, both the pheromones and her sweaty, grimy body. “Why?” It asked. “She needs to be taken to a prison cell.” It eyed her once more. “Ah. Is this the one we’ve been expecting?” He nodded. “That’s correct.” “Standby.” It flew off into the darkness and cawed loudly two times. A moment later came another three now-distant caws. Several long and degrading moments later, five ravens flitted down onto the wagon. The middle raven spoke up, “Take the wagon to the depot. You,” it pointed a wing at Coxa, “bring her to west entrance three. We’ll be escorting from above.” Without waiting for a response, all the ravens took to the air. Sand began crunching under the wagon wheels as it moved onward without Firefly and her captor. A tug on her leash pulled her in the opposite direction. “Come on.” Firefly huffed and walked alongside Coxa. “Could you please take the leash off? There’s five guards watching. Even if I tried, I doubt I’d be able to escape.” “No,” he simply replied. “Then… could you at least spare me the embarrassment and take it off when we get to the entrance?” He snorted. “I would. If you didn’t deserve worse.” “I didn’t—!” Firefly cut herself off and huffed again. She saved her breath and took solace in that at least few changelings would see her and fewer would know who she was. Probably. Navigating the hive was either going to be a challenge or even more degrading if she couldn’t walk down the vertical tunnels herself. A few moments later, they arrived at west entrance three. She had personally never used it, but like any good changeling that worked outside the hive, she knew the location of all of them. Or, at least, the ones they made collectors memorize. Two ravens flew in and landed at the first bend several meters in. Firefly and her captor went in and two other ravens followed. After the first turn, the front ravens shifted back into their changeling forms. Firefly’s captor and the rear ravens did the same once past the bend. One of the changelings in front turned around and looked at Firefly, her eyes roaming and inspecting her canine body. After a moment, the guard spoke in a feminine voice, “Remove the leash and let her shift back.” Coxa shook his head. “The traitor doesn’t deserve the courtesy.” “That decision is not yours to make.” The guard took a step closer and narrowed her eyes. “Remove. The leash.” He glared for a moment longer before looking down and magicking off the leash. Relief filled Firefly as she shifted back into her normal form. She looked to the guard with no small amount of gratitude and quietly said, “Thank you.” The guard looked at Firefly for a moment longer, then turned back to the stallion. “Return to your caste lead and file a report of your journey with the infiltrators. We will escort her from here.” Her captor bared his fangs and gave a low hiss. “Fine,” he said and stomped past them into the hive. Another wave of relief flooded her and she hoped she’d never meet that ‘ling again. “Come,” the guard said as she turned and continued onward, flanked by two in the rear and two in front. Firefly followed as they led her through corridors and tunnels, deeper into the hive. She did her best to walk with dignity and ignore eye contact with any of the passing changelings. Thanks to her sessions with Skitter, she’d gotten far better at concealing her emotions, and was grateful changeling chitin couldn’t show the flush of embarrassment on her cheeks. She hoped it looked like she’d been provided a guard retinue rather than a prison escort. Despite the curiosity of onlookers, she was infinitely more grateful she wasn’t paraded around on a leash. As they continued further, she distracted herself by looking over at the two guards in front. On the side of the crinet protecting their necks, their rank insignia caught her eye. To her chagrin, her knowledge of guard ranks had faded with her time in Equestria. It didn’t help that she brain dumped it all after training. She looked to who seemed to be the leader on the left. Focusing on the crinet, she saw the rank and immediately remembered that guards with changeling head insignias were officers. The engraved rank showed the outline of a changeling head with a star-topped horn, a pair of changeling wings, and two peytral-like chevrons below. She furrowed her eyeridges. If her spotty memory served her, the hive only had need of around half of the nine officer ranks Equestria’s structure had. Still, it seemed like a high ranked insignia. Firefly silently huffed at her forgetfulness. Hoping to glean a bit more, she glanced at the other guard and saw only the changeling head, a pair of wings, and a single chevron. A chill ran down her back, her eyes shooting back to the leader. Whoever it was, they were near the top, at least two ranks above the other. She wasn’t sure whether to be offended or worried that they’d had such an important changeling waiting for her arrival. Her thoughts were interrupted as the group finally arrived at the prison. An out-of-place-looking iron bar door was set into the rock face with a changeling in guard armor posted outside. Their crinet sported a changeling head with a simple pair of changeling wings. The guard’s pheromones made their way to Firefly’s nose. His head turned as he noticed them and his body followed suit immediately after. “Ma’am!” He gave the lead guard a salute. She returned his salute. “Open the door.” Without a word, he nosed under his armor, grabbed a key, and unlocked the door. A pull and the door groaned open. He stepped inside and Firefly’s entourage followed. “A.M. cell. Is that correct, ma’am?” “Correct.” He nodded back and led the group to the third cell. Firefly wasn’t sure if that meant the other two didn’t work or if he chose it arbitrarily. She watched as he unlocked, opened the door, and backed up. “Please enter the cell,” the lead guard instructed. Firefly took a deep breath and nodded, entering the second cell of her life. Surprisingly, it had one more amenity than the pony jail did. There was the bed, a waste hole, a water basin, and a little end table bolted to the floor near the front. It would have been a perfectly horrible place to put her engraved amethyst and picture frame on. She fought the tears that welled up in her eyes. Behind her, the door groaned and clanged as it closed and locked shut. “Firefly,” the lead guard called and drew Firefly’s attention as she tried to blink the wetness away. “These cells are lined with anti-magic runes. You will not be able to cast, change forms, or consume love within these walls. The queen will be notified of your arrival and will see you when she deems fit. Until then, you will be brought to a separate area for meals. Questions?” Firefly simply shook her head. The only question she had, the only pony on her mind, she didn’t dare ask about. The lead guard turned towards the two that had been at Firefly’s rear. “You both will serve as first shift.” Both guards saluted. “Yes ma’am!” She returned the salute and left with her other subordinate and the outer cell guard. Firefly turned and climbed up onto the bed, facing away from the guards outside. She laid down and rested her chin on her hooves. As she closed her eyes, an overwhelming sense of deja-vu filled her. But this time, she didn’t care who saw her tears.