"I Didn't, I swear!" Sugar Drop exclaimed.
"I'll need proof of that." Search Light said, squinting at her.
She sighed, " Mrs. Pepper was a kind pony, was always rough on her employees, but she was a great boss. I wouldn't do something like that!" Sugar began to sob.
"Rough on her employees? What is that suppose to mean?" Arigos questioned.
"S-she *sniff* She has always been a little harsh, especially if any of us messed something up. She always wanted things perfect." She explained.
"Ok, thank you for the information. We are just here to make sure that who ever killed her gets the proper punishment, and that they don't hurt anypony else." Search reassured her, and turned to Arigos. "Come on, we have work to do."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Well, we might be able to confirm what the stallion at the counter said, and we might have a motive." Search told Arigos.
"Hmm?"
"Well, if Little Pepper was pushing her employees too hard, one might have snapped under the pressure. Pressing the mind to extremes like that is enough for somepony to kill." Search continued.
"Ah, that sounds reasonable." Arigos said. "So what's the plan?"
"Ask a few more employees about how hard exactly she was pushing them to do their best." Search said.
"Well then, lets get to it." Arigos said cheerfully.
The next few hours consisted of Search and Arigos asking the other employees about how they felt bout their boss. The answers ranged, but all had the same beginning. She had been harsh to her employees. Always pushing them to their limit so that the restaurant was perfect.
"Well, at least we were able to confirm what Sugar Drop said." Arigos muttered.
"Yea, I suppose so... Hmm." Search mumbled.
"What is it?"
"Well, Sugar Drop is the only unicorn at the restaurant. So she must be the killer." Search concluded.
Suddenly an idea struck Arigos. "What if she isn't the only one here that could use magic?"
"What are you getting at?" Search wondered.
"What if another changeling is here, working at the restaurant?" Arigos said.
"You're insane! How would we even be able to find out if he even IS a changeling?" Search exclaimed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So, Mr. Register was it? Was there anything you neglected to tell us about the murder?" Arigos began.
"I...Have no idea what you are talking about." He lied.
"Well, for one, you neglected to tell us you we're in fact a changeling." Search told him.
"I...uh..." Mr. Register sputtered.
"One other thing, what's your first name Mr. Register? Arigos questioned.
"But...I..." Was all Mr. Register managed to say before he bolted out from behind the cash register. Before Arigos could even react, Search had body slammed and pinned the poor cashier on the ground. The force of the impact caused the disguise to drop, and it was plain to see that he was in fact a changeling.
"Now then, I'm going to ask nicely. Did you kill Miss Pepper?" Search hollered in the creature's ear.
"N-no! We swear! Please, I beg you, we do nothing wrong!" It cried.
"Well, its not like your on vacation. Your here for a reason." Arigos accused. The changeling stared at the ground for a moment, and sighed.
"We gather love for hive. We can explain further. Please let us up. We swear not to run." It begged. Search glanced are Arigos, looking for confirmation. Arigos nodded and Search got up and off the changeling.
"What's your name, and why are here?" Search questioned.
"We already said. We gather love for hive."
"And your name?" Search asked.
"We have not name. We live and die for hive. Hive all that matters. Name is pony thing. Not changeling." It explained.
"I have a name." Arigos said.
"You are pony. You have name." the changeling muttered.
"Wrong." Arigos said, dropping his disguise, and thus playing the duo's last ace in the hole.
"No, impossible! You changeling. You help me, yes?" It begged.
"The hive is not my home, and never will be." Arigos said, his face blank.
"What....are...you?" the changeling wondered.
"My name is Arigos. and I do not work for the hive, or the queen." Arigos said, his eyes narrowing. "I do what I do because I am alone. The hive abandon me. I would have died if not for the kind help of....It doesn't matter. You know who killed Miss Pepper, and that's all that matters." The Changeling marveled at Arigos. No Changeling has ever survived without the hive. What made him special?
"B-but, she lives still. Not dead! She changeling!" It exclaimed.
"Whoa whoa whoa. What?" Search said.
"She group leader. She fake death. Benefactors need us no more. Better to fake death then die." It confessed.
"Benefactor? Who would aid a group of changelings?" Search Light questioned.
"We not know. We are only drone. Only Leader knows."
"Take us to her then." Arigos commanded.
"That...not good plan." It muttered.
"And I...Not care." Arigos said, a deep frown on his face.
"Your corpse. Not Mine."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As the cupboard was opened, Search said, "So you honestly want us to believe that the changeling base is underneath this restaurant?"
"Yes," said the changeling. He began poking around inside, until a small click was heard.
Suddenly, the cupboard began slowly sliding over to reveal a tunnel leading down into the dark.
"Crafty," muttered Search.
"We try," said Argios.
The trio continued down a slanted path that did a 180 degree turn and continued down. The temporary hive was right under the restaurant. The place was incredibly dark, lit only by sparsely placed globs of luminescent goo**.
"How much further?" Search wondered.
"Not much. Almost there." The changeling said.
The changeling was not lying, and soon they reached the main hive quarters. There stood a changeling slightly larger than the two guard changelings flanking her.
"So, you are the two that have blown holes through my escape plan?" She asked.
"Afraid so." Search said. "What exactly are you escaping from?"
"Our benefactors." She said.
"And who might they be?" Arigos questioned.
"You don't know?" She said, surprised.
"No? Should we?" Search said, cautiously.
"I would have hoped so. Even I do not know what their agenda is....but nothing good can come of them."
"Who are they?" Search asked.
"I will answer a question for a question." She bargained.
"Hmm, I'll bite. What do you want to know?" Search said.
"Who, are you?" She asked, gesturing to Arigos. "Who are you and what are you. To survive being abandon by the hive? It is unheard of."
"Heck, even I don't know." Search said.
Arigos looked at them both for a moment, hung his head and sighed. He looked up at the being who had once been Miss Pepper. "Lets just say, I have my own benefactor. Now I want to know who yours is."
"I will tell you all that I know. But you must promise my safety. My allies are done with me. They will kill me. Don't like loose ends."
"Can we do that?" Arigos said, looking at Search Light.
"Yeah. Come with us. The other changelings stay here." Search commanded.
"No! They will be killed! Let them return to hive! They have done nothing wrong." She exclaimed.
"Fine." Search scoffed.
"Who were you helping?" Arigos asked.
"Spectral."
**The exact origin of this glowing gelatinous mass is unknown. It has been studied by a very lucky, and then sequentially unlucky scientist who succumbed to an unrelated changeling attack that set his home on fire. The only notes recovered from his research (presumably the first ones) read: "It jiggles when poked" and "Dissolves copper."