//------------------------------//
// 04 - Inspiration 
// Story: A Matter of Interest 
// by PhycoKrusk 
//------------------------------//

Early Evening
Village of Fishermare's Landing, Lipizza Province
Seventeenth of High Summer, Anno Concordia 2067

The chime of a bell signalled the arrival of Second Glance and Modus Tollens, and a subsequent look around confirmed for them the presence of various odds and ends for sale, but especially fishing tackle and equipment.

From behind the counter opposite the door, a unicorn's head popped into view, ruby-colored coat and orange mane streaked with black standing out brightly against the dark wood making up the walls, shelves, and most everything else in the shop. Immediately, her face lit up, and there was nothing to contain her excited whisper of, "Customers!" At once, she bounded onto her hooves, gave a toss of her mane, and leaned on the counter. "Welcome to the Tide's Bounty, gentlecolts! Anything in particular you need? Bait? Oh! A deep sea rod, perhaps?"

With a chuckle, Second Glance trotted up to the counter, Tollens close on his heels. "No, no, I'm afraid we're not here to buy- Candy beans!" How the jars of brightly-colored sweets on the counter had escaped his notice at first was a question the Investigator would never consider, primarily because there were jars of candy beans sitting right there on the counter. Without another thought, his hat floated off his head and expelled three bits, which clattered onto the counter even as one of the jars lit up and levitated into the hat the money had come from. The hat itself settled back on his head exactly as if it did not have a large jar of candy hidden inside of it. "Yes, please!"

It was another moment before Second Glance realized that something — his hat, perhaps? — seemed to have startled both Tollens and the unicorn managing the shop. "What are you both looking at?" he asked.

"Nothing!" Tollens blurted out before anything could be said, and then before anything else could be said, he cleared his throat. "Please excuse the, er, display, ma'am, but are you Rip Tide, the owner of this shop?"

Quite suddenly, the unicorn looked very nervous. "Yes?" she said, somewhere between a reply and a question. Rather than continuing, the earth pony looked to the unicorn he'd come in with.

"Oh yes, of course. I am Second Glance, a Crown Investigator from Canterlot. My associate is Modus Tollens, an investigator in training. We are investigating, of course, a matter of interest for the Princess, and it's come to our attention that you might be able to provide some assistance to us."

Tide, for her part, appeared in some way resigned. "Okay," she said. "Just, can I close the shop, first? I promise I'll be quiet."

In hindsight, the confusion shared by the two Investigators made complete sense. "Beg pardon?" Second Glance replied.

"Really, I won't be any trouble. Just, let me close the shop. Please?"

For a change, it was Tollens who made the connections first, giving a chuckle. "No, no, Ms. Tide. We're not here to make an arrest. The Princess isn't interested in you." The sudden look of horror the covered his face was just as unexpected as Tide's bizarre and misplaced compliance. "Which is not to say she doesn't find you interesting. I mean, what I mean is, if she knew you, she would surely find you interesting! I mean, I find you interesting! I mean- That is-" He suddenly wheeled on Second Glance. "Start talking before I say something else!"

The senior Investigator was well in control of his amusement. Which is to say, he was not laughing outloud. "What Mr. Modus means," he began after calming himself more fully, "Is that it's come to our attention that you might be able to answer a few questions to assist with our investigation, if you have some time. Your neighbors were not, I admit, particuarly discrete about this shop's proprietor being a changeling-" Tide froze at the clear implication- "But simply being one has not been made a crime, so we've presently no quarrel with you."

"Oh." At once, Tide relaxed, and was visibly relieved. "Okay. What sort of questions did you have?"

"Do you know the Prince of Ponyton?"

The moments that followed were not filled wholly with silence. After the first few moments of Tide clearly trying to decide if she should say anything, both Second Glance and Tollens busied themselves drawing out notepads, and a fountain pen and pencil, respectively.

"Well, I do know him, a bit. I met him two days ago, at the Summer Sun Celebration. You're, erm, not planning to arrest him, are you?" The concern in the changeling-unicorn's voice did not go unnoticed.

"So far, the only solid crime we can charge him with is impersonating a pony of title. And if we're being honest, I'm not convinced the Princess Twilight will press for that, when all is said and done."

At that, Tide relaxed even further. While provincial ponies held little love for Equestria's newest princess, the same was clearly not true of changelings. "Tell us about what happened on the day you met the Prince, if you wouldn't mind," Second Glance continued, to which Tide was all to happy to comply.

"I had gone to the Celebration," she said. "I don't usually go to things like that, because my disguises aren't very good, but everypony was having a grand time, and I thought it would be good for me to go. Especially I hadn't, ah, eaten for a long while." Both Investigators looked at Tide briefly when the topic of eating came up, but neither comment on it and the matter was dropped as they returned to their notes.

"Any case, I was at the Celebration. It wasn't really a good idea, because my disguises aren't very good. I forget details if I don't keep them simple, and even then they aren't very stable. I, I lost my disguise when I was in the crowd, and they reacted accordingly, so I panicked and ran back to my house and locked the door and hid. I guess I thought I could sneak away again when they forgot about me. Like they would just go back to what they were doing if I hid for long enough.

"It sort of worked, because it was a long time before anyone thought to check my house for me. The Prince had arrived while everypony was running around, and somehow convinced them that he was an authority on changelings, because when they finally did show up, they were following him."

"Mmhm." With a quick flourish, Second Glance finished a note and looked back to Tide. "And what happened then?"



Rip Tide winced and recoiled in her hiding place as the sound of the front door being bucked open reached her ears. All things considered, she was probably lucky that no one had decided the best way to deal with her was to burn down her house and be done with it. This fact did nothing to calm her nerves, and if she hadn't been held rigid with fear, she was sure her wings would have buzzing anxiously.

"Sir, for the last time, stand back. You have no idea what a cornered changeling might do." That voice, she recognized as belonging to Spearhead, retired from the Equestrian Army, now serving as captain of the Fishermare's Landing watch. Although a far cry from overzealous, he was nevertheless uncompromising. If she could not slip away, he would find her, and then she'd be in trouble. Why didn't she leave when she had the chance?

"On the contrary, Captain, I know precisely what a cornered changeling might do, and rest assured that my total sum of knowledge on the subject far outstrips anything you read in the brief primer Canterlot sent you. Assuming you bothered to read it at all." This second voice Tide did not know, and her fear briefly gave way to curiosity.

"Are you calling me incompetent?"

"No, Captain, I'm calling you obstinate. But regardless of what you are, you will obey my orders and stay out of my way. That is a prince's command."

All at once, Tide's chest tightened. She had never met a prince before, but she knew they all came from Canterlot (at least, she was certain they did). If there was a prince in Fisherman’s Landing, then it meant that the Crown must have been aware she was a changeling. And if the Crown was aware, there would worse for her than no escape; there would be no mercy.

If there was further argument, it was not forthcoming, and Tide was certain she could hear the glare that this Prince was leveling at Spearhead. She herself was doubtlessly doomed.

"Rip Tide?" the Prince called out. The changeling tried to make herself even smaller in response. "It's safe to come out from hiding, Ms. Tide. I'm not here to incarcerate you, and woe unto anyone who tries to do so without my expressed permission."

Another few tense moments passed, and then finally, Tide felt brave enough to push open the cabinet she'd been hiding in and step out, peering around the door at the ponies occupying her living room. Spearhead was there, she knew, and now she recognized a second watch pony as well, Kingfisher; a frequent customer of hers, she recalled at that moment for reasons which escaped her. And lastly, the one pony she didn't recognize, and the only one absolutely pleased to see a changeling's face peeking into the room. And also the only one not wearing an armored vest and skull cap, or carrying a spear.

"There we are, now. You see? No nasty surprises." The Prince casually trotted towards Tide, and though frightened she managed nonetheless to stand firm. "It is Rip Tide, is it not?"

The question, though not sudden, threw Tide off-balance, its phrasing surprisingly gentle. "Yes, sir."

"And you are the original?"

Again, Tide was thrown off-guard, this time because the question was startlingly insightful. "Y-yes, sir. There is no other Rip Tide." And she stuttered, briefly. "That is, I haven't replaced anypony. I made up the pony, so I could blend in. But my name really is Rip Tide!"

The Prince simply nickered. "I know, and it's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Tide. I'm the Prince of Ponyton, and from what I've heard, it's been some night. You've caused quite the stir."

"And are accordingly under arrest!" Spearhead suddenly barked. Tide wilted away and before she realized what she was doing, hid herself behind the Prince. He, however, was plainly displeased with the turn that eventshad taken.

"On what grounds, Captain? Giving her neighbors a fright?"

"On the grounds of being a changeling!"

"Yes, she is a changeling. And you are a pegasus, and a lout besides." The Prince stalked toward Spearhead aggressively, steps measured and head lowered, seeming less a pony in that moment and more an angry tiger. Spearhead stood his ground, but Kingfisher shrunk away slightly, withering under the Prince's glare. "Perhaps you should be arrested on those grounds."

"Those are not crimes!"

"Neither is it a crime to exist!"

Tide's ears rang from the Prince's outburst despite her distance from him, while Spearhead and Kingfisher stared wide-eyed, their caps blasted off of their heads, the Prince having been not one yard distant from them when he spoke. They all knew they had witnessed something they had only ever heard about, and had never dreamed of experiencing for themselves: The Royal Canterlot Voice.

"This changeling has, through her actions, brought harm to no one, and is guilty of no crime other than the crime of existence, in which all of us are complicit. Thou shalt cease at once thy delusional accusations of wrongdoing-

Or thou shalt suffer the full volume of volume which our mighty lungs can produce!"

A moment of tense silence passed, broken when the Prince cleared his throat to ask, "Have I made myself clear?"

Spearhead and Kingfisher were unable to do more than numbly nod their affirmation.

"Excellent. Now then, let's all sit down at the table, and allow Ms. Tide to explain to us exactly what she was doing in the middle of the crowd at the Summer Sun Celebration." Although the Prince was in no hurry to sit down, the other three present all but galloped into the kitchen and sat down firmly at the dining table. Once the Prince had joined them, a few more seconds of nervous quiet passed before Tide finally spoke.

"I was hungry." Deciding this was an inadequate explanation, she drew in a deep breath and then continued. "I'm not much of a changeling. I'm a terrible actress, and my disguises are no good. I always forget details, so I'm always afraid of getting caught, so I usually avoid ponies unless I need something from them. I haven't felt like I've really belonged anywhere, ever. But I saw everypony out there and they were all so happy... I just wanted to be a part of that. I didn't mean to cause everypony to panic. I just wanted to be with them. I just, I wanted to belong somewhere...."

Tide had not expected, in any way, to be suddenly swept into the embrace of the Prince. Even if she had, she would have expected it to be the result of him attempting to smother her, and not the warm comfort that it was. "Poor thing," he said. "You poor, lost little girl. You don't have to run, not anymore. Everything's going to be just fine."

For a fleeting moment, everything was just fine. She wasn't dead, wasn't being arrested, and she wasn't hungry. It was that last thought that gave her pause as she realized that it was true. This stallion, who she had never met before, indeed who was not from (town) and had never even heard of heard of her in passing was not only protecting her from the armed watchponies that came in with him (and who were likely very, very puzzled by this turn of events), but was feeding her, the space around him all but saturated with a rich, almost fatherly love that she knew came unbidden.

And the instant Tide realized that, she buried her face into his chest and cried harder than she could remember having ever cried, and for more than a fleeting moment, felt that everything would be just fine.

After a minute, she'd managed to calm down enough to add to her explanation. "Everypony here is just so wonderful. They're kind and warm and caring, and they love the friends they have. And I was always so afraid because of that. What happened if I slipped, or I couldn't hold my shape? What if changeling hunters came from Canterlot and found me? I was always so afraid what would happen, I couldn't make any friends. Not real friends. If they weren't close, they wouldn't find out, you know? So, I just pretended to like my solitude. I pretended to like being alone, and I was pretty good at it for a change, so everypony thought I was happy. Even though I wasn't. I'm never happy"

"A changeling is most alone in the company of others," the Prince summarized. Tide only offered a weak nod in response, sniffling and leaning back into the pony who had become her one source of safety. At the very least, both Spearhead and Kingfisher felt markedly less angry than they had been, and were even a bit sympathetic to her, although the latter seemed to be having some trouble with his hearing. So it seemed, until he posed a question at an entirely normal volume.

"How is it, your highness, that you know so much about changelings?"

"As it happens," said the Prince with a smile, "A neighbor of mine once turned out to be a changeling. Once the fuss died down, he stayed around and continued to be a good neighbor, albeit with peculiar predilections and a penchant for phycology. I don't doubt that Ms. Tide's neighbors will, after this, think much the same of her."



"What happened next?" Second Glance asked.

Tide drew in a deep breath, just as she had in her story. "The Prince led me outside, and got everypony to calm down, even if he had to use the Voice to do it. I've never heard anything so loud before. Then, he explained who I was, what I was doing there, and what happened that day. Reactions were, mixed."

Rather than Second Glance, it was Tollens who asked the next question, rolling his pencil to one side of his mouth. "Mixed in what way?"

"Well, some ponies were still really angry, and some of them felt really bad for me. I know because they came to me later and asked me a bunch of questions, especially about my family. I just got real quiet then and they stopped asking, so I think they put some pieces together. That I didn't like talking about it. Most ponies just sort of, shrugged, I guess. I guess they figured that since I wasn't causing problems before, there was no reason things couldn't go back to how they were before. Almost how they were before, at least.

"It was nice, though, having ponies ask about me, and not having to worry about my disguise slipping." Tide looked down at the counter with a wan smile. "It’s… nice, feeling like I belong somewhere, even if only a little bit."

Second Glance finished a note and posed a final question. "And after this discussion with the village, what happened then?"

"There's not much more to tell, I'm afraid. The Prince stayed for the Celebration and made merry, booked a stay at the inn, and the next morning left on the north road." Tide was answered with nods and some more scribbling.

"A final question, if I may?" When Second Glance received his own nod, he asked plainly, "Could you provide a description of the Prince for us?"

Like the Mayor Woodhouse before her, and dozens of other ponies before him, Rip Tide's expression moved from even, to confused, to frustrated. "He's, this tall... and, this wide...."

"I thought as much. Wherever he acquired that charm, it's preventing you from remembering his features. Didn't want to risk you giving that information out by accident, I suppose."

The look of hurt that passed over Tide's features was not missed by Second Glance, but if he meant to say anything else, it was lost as Tollens immediately responded, "It's nothing to do with you, Ms. Tide.

"What I mean is that it's not an issue of trust, as you seem to think. In the bits and pieces of information he's left us, the Prince has made it clear he wants our help with something. The bit with his identity is just a test to see if we can track him down without an easy solution like a sketch or photograph. He wants to be sure we're the right ponies for the job."

It was a hasty fabrication, but the look of relief that then spread across Tide's face indicated that it did its job in appeasing her. "I wish you the best of luck, and I'm sure he chose well. But your few minutes are up. I really do need to open shop again. Or, close up, I guess. It's so late, already."

"Of course, Ms. Tide." Second Glance's pad and pen vanished back to wherever it was they came from (on earlier questioning by Tollens, the Investigator's answer of, "What do you mean?" had been less than helpful), while Tollens stowed his own utensils into his vest pocket.

Whereas Second Glance turned and made directly for the door, however, Tollens paused when another question occurred to him. "Ms. Tide?" he began, turning back towards the changeling — or unicorn? — behind the counter. "It's not really related to our investigation, but I'm curious. Everypony knows that you're a changeling. Why keep up the disguise?"

"Well, why do you wear a vest?"

Tide's answer did not catch Tollens off-guard. Rather, he considered her words for a moment, and then smiled brightly and nodded. "Thanks," he said, and then gave a second nod. "Be well, Ms. Tide."

"You also," she replied with a smile of her own. Tollens again turned and followed Second Glance out the door, and Tide closed it behind them. After a moment, her horn flashed with magic and she pressed her ear against the door, straining her now-augmented hearing.

"That may have been a proper lie." It was Second Glance who spoke first. "There is, I'm sure you're aware, no evidence that the Prince is concealing his identity as some sort test for us."

"There's no evidence that he isn't doing that, either." Tollens, somehow, managed to sound as if his partner were attempting to dispute a known fact, even though he'd done nothing of the sort. "And even if I knew for a fact he wasn't doing that, it wouldn't have changed what I said. You saw her face, Investigator. She could have been the Changeling Queen and I still would've said it. I couldn't stand to see her looking like that. I had to do something."

"Honesty might be a lost cause, but if Kindness is your inspiration, there may yet be hope. You're a good pony, Modus Tollens."

Breathing as quietly as she could, Rip Tide continued to listen to the clip-clopping of retreating hooves, until she was absolutely certain that what she had just learned, that someone had told a white lie for her just because he couldn't stand to see her feelings hurt, was not imagined.

"Modus Tollens," she whispered to no one, "You're the best pony."