[Present]
[Celestia]
Celestia was nervous, an emotion she had felt only two other times in the past three millennia; when she and her sister confronted Discord, and when she banished her sister to the moon. For Spy to make her nervous enough to pace was a testament to how damned difficult he was to find. It was only made worse by the fact that she was coming here today. Celestia knew slightly more about changelings than she did Spy, which honestly did not mean much, but she felt no small amount of certainty that Queen Chrysalis was coming here more out of curiosity than anything. After all, what could make Celestia desperate enough to contact her?
Two dead Elements of Harmony, one her very own student, both of them murdered in her castle, where she had brought them to protect them. And failed, spectacularly.
There was a knock on the door. Celestia blinked, feeling where the sun was in the sky. Right on time.
“Enter.”
The doors to Celestia’s study were opened slowly by two of the four guards standing outside them. Luna’s recommendation. Spy showed reluctance to take on more than three highly trained guards at a time, according to her. Each guard stood in a corner of the room, keeping all other guards in sight. They had, after a briefing on the history and abilities of Spy, decided against heavy armour, feeling mobility would be more useful. Still, the armour they did wear was professional looking, if not the sort most ponies would think the Guard would use. It was solid black, with no insignias or names anywhere on it.
Chrysalis breezed past the Guards without a second glancing, sauntering into Celestia’s study like she owned the place. The Changeling Queen stopped slightly out of hoof’s reach from Celestia’s desk. She gave Celestia a long look.
“You look terrible.”
Celestia resisted the urge to sigh, because she knew Chrysalis was correct. Even immortals such as her required rest, it was a necessary function required to maintain a physical body, much like eating and all that entailed. And she also knew Chrysalis was trying to provoke her. Instead, Celestia said, “I have a problem, and I believe you can help me with it.”
Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “Yes, you said as much in your letter.”
Celestia continued as if Chrysalis had not spoken. “I am prepared to offer you almost anything for your help.” Chrysalis made to speak, but Celestia talked over her. “Terms for your assistance will be discussed after you have heard the problem.”
Chrysalis closed her mouth, nodding.
Celestia pushed a folder - with her hoof - towards Chrysalis. It was not very thick. “This folder contains all known information on a being known as Spy. This Spy is the problem I require your assistance with.”
Chrysalis slowly opened the folder with magic. “What, is he not accepting invites to your tea parties?”
Celestia took a deep breath. Finding it inadequate, she took another. “Spy assisted my sister in her rebellion. He infected her with Nightmare Moon.”
Chrysalis glanced up at Celestia, a split second of surprise showing on her face before she went back to the folder. She read through the entire thing, a not very difficult task, before speaking again. “This cannot be all the information you have on this creature, Celestia. It doesn’t even list his species!”
“Spy is the only known member of his species I have found in a thousand years of searching.”
Chrysalis looked at Celestia for a long moment before speaking. “Let me see if I understand you correctly. You want my assistance in finding this Spy. He is capable of non-magical invisibility, can render you discorporeal with a single blow, can assume the identity of almost anything, has murdered two of your Elements in your own home, along with love knows how many other ponies, and has been evading capture for, what, a week now?”
Celestia nodded. “You seem to understand the situation, yes.”
Chrysalis let out a sigh. “Why should I attract this Spy’s ire, Celestia? What could you possibly offer me to risk taking on something you and your sister, in all your power, cannot?”
Celestia knew, had learned the hard way, that in a negotiation where you are the buyer, you never start as high as you are willing to go. Always start lower, just as the other side will start higher than the really want. But she did not have time for the rounds of negotiations, for offers and counteroffers, for the months of hammering out small details. So she was going to offer Chrysalis exactly what she wanted. “Integration.”
Chrysalis blinked twice, slowly. “Explain.” The Changeling Queen’s voice had taken on a faint buzz, Celestia noticed. Almost an echo.
“I mean exactly what I say, Chrysalis. Assist me in this one matter, and I will let your Changelings into Equestrian society. They can walk openly. You said in a proposal you made, decades ago now, that you could survive on the love in the air if only you’re subjects could move openly. Well, this is your chance.”
“That may no longer be possible,” Chrysalis said. “Our numbers have grown a great deal even with the limited food.”
“Our numbers have grown even more,” Celestia reminded her. “I need your answer today. Now.”
Chrysalis looked shocked at that. “You are truly desperate, aren’t you? A drowning pony, desperate for anything that might keep them afloat.”
“I have been made desperate.”
Chrysalis thought for only a second before speaking. “You have a deal.”
For the first time in just over week, Celestia smiled.
[Spy]
The amount of guards in the castle might have been intimidating to a lesser man, but for me getting passed them all was child’s play. I probably could have done it without killing any of them, but what’s the fun of that? I’d been hiding for two weeks now, and I was getting bored. Time to make a move.
I had White in my sights. She went walking in the garden a lot the past week, which were only lightly patrolled. She would pause under one tree and watch the birds in it. She cried a lot at first, but thankfully she stopped. Her voice when she talked was enough to make me want to stab her in the ears, when she cried I honestly considered removing her vocal cords. And probably the rest of her throat while I was there.
I crept up behind her, not even disguised - were those ears just for show? I was inches away from her when her nose twitched. She froze. I think she even whimpered. God, she was pathetic.
Something buzzed near me, a fly or something. I ignored it.
“Please,” White pleaded. “Don’t kill me.”
I was on her left, just behind her head. I placed a hand on her shoulder. “Now, why would I go and do that?”
“You don’t have to. You already killed two of the Elements, you don’t need to kill anymore.
The buzzing got louder.
“Ah, mon petite cheval, you assume I do this because of who you are. The truth is,” I said, leaning down to whisper in her ear, “you mean nothing to me.” I stood back up. “Your Princesses are my aim. And, as I cannot kill them, I’ll simply have to make them wish I could.”
The buzzing was getting ridiculously loud now.
White started to turn around, so I flexed my wrist and a knife fell into my hand. A little jerk, and it slipped between two of her vertebrae, severing her spine where it met her brain. I breathed in, waiting for the disguise to take over me.
I frowned. Something was wrong. Normally I was slightly aware of how I looked as a pony. I was faintly aware of the wind moving through the fur, of the tail and how it sat. But I had no fur. I had a horn, I could feel the weight of it on the forehead. But I had wings as well. Four of them, very light ones. I wandered over to a nearby pond and looked into it.
I was a bug.
What. The. Fuck?
I was a bug. My legs looked like cheese - they had holes, not that they were yellow. I was a matte black with blue eyes and translucent wings. I had fangs, and holes in my freaking legs. What possible purpose could that serve? Shit. I should have looked like White. I needed to look like White for the next part of my plan
There was buzzing from right behind me. I turned, and saw more of the bugs, along with pegasi guards, flying right for me. Shit, time to jet. Cloak up and I sprinted away, into the castle. God, I wish I could use these wings. Or the horn. Both would be amazing, but one would be fine.
Then again, it would take away the challenge. I’ve never been a fan of god mode in games.
I managed to lose most of them shortly after entering the castle, but I still had one of the bugs on my tail. No pun intended. The little voice in my head always got a little antsy when I went a few hours without killing anyone, so I dropped my cloak just as the bug following me came around a corner and met it’s eyes. I jumped, like I was surprised, and led it up a set of nearby stairs. Halfway up, I jumped backwards and came down on it’s back, bringing my knife down as I did.
Voice appeased, I cloaked again and snuck off. The buzzing stopped for now, but as I wandered through the castle, I heard it faintly. Whenever I did, I turned away from it. I needed a new plan - or did I? All I had to do was find the real White. Unless she was always a bug. Hmm, problems, problems. I’d never seen the bugs before, and I don’t think I’d heard of them. I needed a new, non buggy disguise, and then information. A passing maid gave me the first, and a guard so helpfully pointed me towards the library I even let him live.