Chapter 6: Looking In
“Hey, Sky, wait up!”
Sky came to a halt, looking back down the large hall of the castle had had been walking along just in time for Rainbow Dash to land beside him. He gave a wan smile. “Hey, Rainbow.”
She folded her wings neatly, falling in beside him as he continued to slowly walk. Her smile was only a little more steady than his, reflecting the awkwardness he sensed from her. “So, uh… you’re going to talk with Chrysalis?”
He looked down the hall again; her chambers lay just around the next corner. “Yeah,” he replied, quietly.
“You want me to come with you?” When he looked back to her, Rainbow quickly added, “I mean, I don’t really have anything else to do, and it’s kind of boring just sitting around, so…”
Sky smiled, and this time it was full and genuine. “Sure, if you want.”
“Cool,” Rainbow replied with a nod, looking a little more confident than she had a few moments ago. “So, what do you think she wants to talk about, anyway?”
“I don’t know,” he said, smile fading again. “Probably the same load of horseapples she tried to pull with Nictis.
That prompted a snort from Rainbow.”If you want, I can just buck her snout in if she tries anything nasty. I’ll totally do it.”
Sky couldn’t help smiling at that. “We should probably try being a bit more diplomatic.”
“Pfft,” Rainbow succinctly replied, before adding, “If she wants to be treated diplomatically, maybe she should try being diplomatic.”
“I’m not sure if she really understands what being diplomatic is,” Sky said. “Or if she does, she just doesn’t care.”
“Well she better learn pretty quick,” Rainbow replied, flashing a grin that didn’t at all match the faint but steady concern he could still sense from her.
They arrived at the door to Chrysalis’s chambers just a minute later. Once again, there were three armored changelings standing guard at the door, though this time there were no weapons present. Curiously, none of the Royal Guards carried spears, either. Then again, with them being unicorns, spears were probably superfluous.
The changeling in charge was the same as before, the one Sky now knew was named Elytron. He stood at the head of their little formation, eying them critically as they approached. He had apparently made very good time in delivering his message.
Sky’s heart was starting to beat harder as he approached, the unpleasant feeling of adrenaline starting to build in anticipation of what lay beyond those doors. “I’m here to see Chrysalis,” he said, then added, “And this time, I was invited.”
Elytron scowled, but stepped aside, pushing open the door. He remained there as Sky started to enter, but then stepped in as Rainbow moved to follow. “Not you, pony,” he growled.
Rainbow’s expression hardened in an instant. “Back off, pal,” she growled back, eyes narrowed. “I’m with him.”
“No pony enters without the queen’s orders,” the guard replied, stepping forward to bring himself nose-to-nose with Rainbow.
“Oh yeah?” she said, stepping forward until their snouts met. “I’d like to see you try and stop me.”
“Rainbow…”
She drew back a few inches, looking past Elytron to Sky. “I’ll be okay,” he said.
Rainbow frowned, visibly wavering for a few seconds before finally snorting. “You’re lucky,” she said, poking Elytron in his armored chest; he looked completely unimpressed by the gesture. Stepping back, she addressed Sky again. “I’ll be out here. Just yell if you need somepony to come knock some heads together.”
To tell the truth, he would have felt a lot better if she’d been there with him, and he got the impression she knew it. Despite that, it was clear they weren’t going to let her in, at least not without Chrysalis’s permission. That thought made him pause a moment. “Maybe I can convince Chrysalis to let you come in, too?”
Elytron snorted, as if indicating his opinion on his prospects, while Rainbow gave a reluctant nod.
Sky returned the nod, reluctantly stepping into the room. Elytron followed, shutting the door harder than was really necessary, then grunting something unintelligible at Sky before continuing on through the room. Sky didn’t pay much attention to the rest of the room, which seemed to match what Nictis had to say about it, earlier. “So what’s your problem, anyway?” he asked.
The background hint of anger in the other changeling grew in response to his question, and he refused to even look at Sky as he walked on. “My problem is that I am dedicated to protecting the hive, and traitors like you only serve to weaken it for your own selfish pursuits. You’re a disgrace to our entire species.”
“Hey, I’m trying to help the hive, too,” Sky replied. “We don’t--”
“I don’t want to hear it,” Elytron growled.
Sky grumbled under his breath. “Yeah, ‘cause ignorance is doing you so much better.” Elytron bristled, giving off a fresh surge of anger, but he said nothing.
Once they had passed to the rear of the rather crowded main room and the fifteen other changelings in it, they reached the large doors leading to the bedroom. Elytron paused, rapping his hoof twice against the door before cracking it open and peeking his head inside. “My queen, Azure has arrived.”
Sky snorted, missing whatever reply Elytron received. The other changeling simply stepped back, jerking his nose toward the door. “Enter.”
He resisted the urge to shoulder past the soldier as he stepped through the doorway.
All the fear and uncertainty returned the instant he saw Chrysalis. She was standing before one of the windows, looking out of it contemplatively. He swallowed, walking a couple steps closer, until he found he couldn’t bring himself to approach any further. Alone in a room with her, the queen seemed even larger and more imposing than before. The adrenaline was flowing strong in a confused slurry of fear and excitement, and he had to focus to control the trembling that tried to take hold of his hooves.
He cringed a little as those acid-green eyes turned toward him, and the feeling of her emotions struck him. She was no longer unreadable, instead giving off a clear sensation of disapproval and irritation, but also that of curiosity, and a few lingering, lighter emotions that he couldn’t quite identify. “So,” she said, finally breaking the silence, “we have a few things to discuss, Azure.”
The irritation that had previously been so focused on Elytron returned in force, with a new target in mind. “Stop calling me that.”
The corners of her mouth crept upward. “And why shouldn’t I call you by your name?”
“Even if it was my name, it’s not now,” he replied, his own emotions warring between anger and fear in her presence. Finding anger the more palatable choice, he added, “If you want to talk so bad, the least you could do is call me by my real name.”
“I thought I was,” she said with a smirk.
Sky’s stance strengthened, his head rising defiantly. “We’re not your subjects to be bullied around any more. If you want something from us, you can at least pretend to show some respect.”
Chrysalis narrowed her eyes, anger rising for a moment, but it slowly died down again as a cold grin grew. “You will always be my subjects,” she said. “And speaking of respect, if a drone showed such disrespect back in the hive, he would be punished. Harshly. You should consider yourself lucky… Sky.”
Sky blinked, giving her a doubtful look, but said nothing.
She turned away, walking back to a large collection of cushions. “Now then, if we’re done with that pointless diversion, I have questions for Equestria’s chosen changeling representative.”
“Like what?” he asked, not even bothering to hide his skepticism.
“To start with, how much love are you all gathering?”
He frowned, eying her. “A lot.”
Chrysalis snorted as she sat, shooting him a glare. “Of course it’s a lot. That was obvious when so many drones started leaving to gorge themselves here. I was asking for specifics.”
“Well, it’s not like there’s some unit for measuring love,” Sky said, though the statement made him curious if some changeling had ever developed such a system. “Every one of us takes in enough to feed ourselves, even the newest arrivals. Ponies are very friendly once they get used to us. Nictis says I get enough energy from all my friends to easily feed every changeling in Ponyville and then some, and there are a few others that get about as much as I do.”
Chrysalis was nodding faintly. “...Decent, but not impressive. I would have expected more.”
“It’s more than enough for all of us,” Sky pointed out.
“But not any better than what a skilled Infiltrator could bring in. There are only, what, twenty, thirty changelings living in Ponyville?”
“Something like that,” Sky said, “but apart from Nictis, not a single one knew what it was like to be full before living there. Now they do.”
Chrysalis paused, considering that a moment. “That’s a little better,” she said. “Though it’s disgusting to see so much love selfishly hoarded and wasted like that.”
“It wouldn’t be wasted if more changelings came to Equestria,” Sky said.
“Or if you bothered to share,” Chrysalis countered. “You don’t even try. So much for caring about your hivemates.”
“Like you would have let us!” Sky snapped. “Last I heard, there were rumors that you were executing changelings you caught leaving the hive!”
“An exaggeration,” Chrysalis said with a wave of her hoof. “I merely discourage them from leaving. Thanks to the disloyalty of a few, some punishments have become necessary for the good of the hive.”
“The good of the hive?” Sky snorted angrily. “I’m starting to think Celestia cares more for the hive than you do.”
Chrysalis’s forehooves slammed down as she rose, her horn lit, and Sky wilted, abruptly reminded of how tiny he really was. “Watch it,” she growled, glaring down at him. “I am being lenient with you, but my patience has limits!”
Sky ducked his head slightly, remaining silent, while his heart pounded almost painfully hard.
“That’s better,” Chrysalis said, with a faint and momentary sneer. “Now then… where were we?”
The way she practically purred the question made Sky hesitate, but he eventually mumbled, “Something about the love we were gathering…”
“Ah, yes,” Chrysalis said. “Though I suppose calling it ‘love’ is exaggerating things, isn’t it?”
Sky hesitated, flicking his wings. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, you’re not gathering love,” she replied. “You’re gathering little bits of sympathy and friendship, love’s watered-down and second-rate substitute. Friendship won’t feed the hive.”
“It’s feeding all of us just fine,” Sky said, ears drooping a bit. “Besides, a few of us have found love, and the rest of us are… working on it.”
Chrysalis gave a disdainful look. “And you?”
Sky flicked his wings again. “I’m… still working on it.”
Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “It’s been a year. When you were acting like a proper Infiltrator, it took you only a few days or weeks to start harvesting love. Now you’ve been here an entire year, and you still haven’t managed it.”
“That’s different,” Sky replied, which earned a derisive snort from Chrysalis.
“Of course it’s different!” she shot back. “That’s the point. Your way just isn’t working as well, and it’s time you wake up and recognize it.”
“This isn’t about food!”
“Of course it is,” Chrysalis replied. “That’s what love is to a changeling.”
“It can be a lot more than that,” Sky said. “If you’d ever loved some… someone, you might get it.”
Chrysalis gave a cold smile. “Then I hope I never do. Love makes ponies dumb. It makes them do stupid things, things that something like us can take advantage of. It’s a weakness the hive can not afford.”
Sky stared for a moment, blinking, before blurting out, “Love isn’t a weakness!”
“Oh, really?” Chrysalis replied, still smugly smiling. “Do tell.”
“How about all the friends I have?” Sky said. “Some of the most important ponies in Equestria consider me a friend, and are willing to do anything they can to help me. On top of that, they give me more energy than I could possibly use on my own, and they don’t even mind, because they want to help me!”
Chrysalis was again looking over to the window, as if he was no longer interesting. “I’m not hearing anything there that can’t be done just as easily by any Infiltrator,” she said. “Easier, even.”
“Because that’s working so well for your Infiltrators,” Sky shot back. “They steal some love, then get found out, and have to run away and start all over again. But us? Ponies know what we are, and what we’re doing, and they’re willing to help us. Your Infiltrators can’t do that.”
“Of course they can,” Chrysalis said, dismissively. “Infiltrators pretend to love ponies all the time, and there’s nothing that would stop them from doing that without a disguise. That doesn’t mean they have to actually love the pony in return.”
“But we don’t have to trick and manipulate them, either! They want to help us.” His ears drooped a bit as he added, quieter, “Besides, it’s nice to have others who actually like me, not just who I pretend to be.”
Chrysalis let out a scornful laugh. “Sentimental nonsense. How in the world did you ever become an Infiltrator?”
“Maybe I just understand ponies better than you do,” Sky grumbled.
“Or maybe you hit your head harder than I thought,” Chrysalis said, smirking. “If you understood ponies half as well as you thought, you would have been able to coax one into giving you their love by now.”
“I’m taking the time to do it right,” Sky shot back. “I’ve got all the food I need. I’m not pursuing love for the sake of food, I’m doing it because I actually care about her and--”
“Her?” Chrysalis cut in, eyes darting back to him.
Sky bristled, wings buzzing angrily. “That’s none of your business.”
“You are my subject, one of my Infiltrators, and are currently trying to convince me that your pursuit of love for a pony is anything other than a disgusting expression of sentimentality unbefitting of a changeling. It is absolutely my business!”
Sky grit his teeth, glaring at her. His first reaction was to refuse, dreading what a face-to-face meeting between Chrysalis and Rainbow Dash could easily devolve into… but then, Rainbow had asked to come with him. “...She’s waiting outside, actually. She wanted to come with me, but your guards stopped her.”
“Hmm,” Chrysalis mused, before looking past him to the door and calling out, “Elytron.”
Sky looked back as the door opened, and the soldier in question peeked in. “Yes, my queen?”
“Is Rainbow Dash waiting outside?”
Sky’s ears shot up as he snapped back around to Chrysalis, but she didn’t react to it. Behind him, Elytron answered, “She is, my queen.”
Chrysalis nodded. “Bring her in.”
“At once.”
The door clicked shut behind him, and Chrysalis’s gaze drifted back to Sky. On meeting his eyes, she smirked. “What? Are you really so surprised that I should keep track of my wayward subjects?”
“You better not be planning anything,” Sky said, voice wavering between angry and concerned.
“And you had better show more respect,” she countered, eyes narrowing again, though her smirk returned a moment later. “Besides, you’re an Infiltrator. It’s your job to gather love for the hive. Why would I try to sabotage that?”
Because you’re evil, he thought, even as another part of him instinctively quailed at even thinking that about her. “Just… please don’t,” he asked, quietly.
Chrysalis frowned, considering him for a moment. Then she snorted, turning away again. The silence lingered for a minute, until he caught the muffled sound of Rainbow’s voice through the door. She sounded angry, though he couldn’t make out any words until the door opened.
“--stuck up little dung beetle!” Rainbow said as she flew through the door, glaring back at whoever she was lashing out at. Elytron, most likely. She continued on until she was hovering beside Sky, leveling the same glare at Chrysalis for an instant before looking to Sky with a much less-hostile expression. “Everything okay here?”
“Pretty much, yeah,” Sky said with a faint smile.
Chrysalis, however, was eying Rainbow with a curious smile. “So, this is the pony my lost little Infiltrator has fallen in love with.”
Sky stiffened in alarm, eyes wide, and he felt the sudden awkwardness and worry in Rainbow at the statement. She covered it up well, however, as she fixed her glare on Chrysalis again. “What’s it to you, huh?”
“I am the queen of the changelings,” Chrysalis replied with a smug grin. “It’s up to me to make sure my subjects are fed. Sky here wants to convince me that his way of gathering love is better.” She let out a short chuckle. “So far, I’m not impressed.”
Rainbow didn’t look impressed, either. “Gathering love?” she asked, dryly. “Really?”
“Of course,” Chrysalis said. “Changelings feed on love. You’re basically a walking sack of food to him.”
“She’s not food!” Sky snapped.
“She’s a pony,” Chrysalis replied. “They will always be food, regardless of whatever ridiculous sentiments you attach to them.”
“He means I’m not just food,” Rainbow said. When Chrysalis looked back to her, the pegasus smirked. “What, did you think I’d be surprised? I did kinda notice he was a changeling, you know. So he gets some food from me, big deal. It’s not like it hurts me any.”
“It certainly could,” Chrysalis mused. “Not that I care. What I care about is the well-being of the hive. Sky here has been trying to convince me that his way of gathering love is better.” She leveled a condescending glare at Rainbow. “But after meeting you, I can see he’s wrong.”
Rainbow met her glare, flying closer to stay eye-to-eye with the larger queen. “And what the hay is that supposed to mean?” she snapped, to which Chrysalis responded with a sharp-toothed grin.
“You’re something of a hero among ponies, aren’t you?” Chrysalis said, sounding rather amused. “A pony so loyal, some ancient artifact of loyalty chose you as its bearer. Undoubtedly one of the most loyal ponies around, but as soon as you found out that one of your friends was actually a changeling, even you couldn’t see him the same as before.”
Rainbow went rigid for a second. Then she snarled, moving in until her nose was only inches from Chrysalis. “That’s a load of crap!”
“Is it?” Chrysalis said, her smile growing. “I heard how things were when you thought he was a pegasus. He thinks we can get love just as easily through honest means, but his prospects died the moment you saw what he really was. If you’re what passes for loyalty around here, then it’s clear we can never trust Equestria.”
Sky could see Rainbow bristling as Chrysalis spoke, a tremble of fury passing through her until she snapped. “That’s it!”
She had just started to draw a hoof back to strike when she was enveloped in a green glow and pulled back. “Rainbow! Stop!”
Rainbow Dash struggled furiously in an attempt to reach Chrysalis, and Sky grunted as he fought to hold her back with his magic. It lasted only a couple seconds before Rainbow relented, looking back and forth between Sky and Chrysalis. “Fine,” she spat. “You’re just lucky he’s here to stop me, or I’d kick your ugly flank all the way back to your hive.”
“I’m terrified,” Chrysalis dryly replied. “In any case, I think we’re done for now.”
“Well I’m not!” Rainbow snapped, though Sky was happy she didn’t try to lunge at Chrysalis again; holding her back was surprisingly draining. “I know what you did to Nictis and his friend. If you ever try anything like that with Sky, then I’ll show you just how loyal I really am!”
Chrysalis watched Rainbow for a couple seconds with a bored expression before finally speaking. “Done yet?”
Rainbow snorted, finally answering, “Yeah, I’m done,” she answered, though she still glared angrily.
Deciding that Rainbow had cooled off enough, Sky released his magic just as Chrysalis spoke again. “Good. Now get out.”
Rainbow growled something under her breath as she turned and flew toward the door, and after a moment’s hesitation, Sky’s wings buzzed to life as he flew after her. She flew right past Elytron, ignoring him and all the other changelings in the room as she went to the front doors, threw them open, and flew out. Sky followed quickly behind her; she wasn’t flying all-out, but her anger drove her on at a rather swift pace.
Soon her flight slowed as the angry tension faded from her body, and eventually she landed in the middle of the hall, her wings drooping. She glanced over to Sky as he landed as well, her expression dulled. “Sorry.”
They started to slowly walk, and he stepped in close to her. “Sorry for what?”
She hesitated, wings shuffling slightly; now that her anger had mostly faded, he could sense the awkwardness rising in her, among other jumbled emotions. “Eh, you know, going off like that.” She kicked her hoof against the floor as she walked. “The princesses would probably be pretty ticked if I ruined everything by kicking Chrysalis’s face in.”
“Eh,” Sky said with a weak shrug. As much as he wanted these talks to go well, he couldn’t really blame her. “You know, I kind of wanted to do the same thing, myself.”
Rainbow gave a short, humorless chuckle. “Some help I was, though. I went to try to help you out, and instead I just make things worse.”
“I think she’s trying to pick a fight or something,” Sky said, which provoked another angry snort from Rainbow.
“Well it’s working,” she grumbled, then shook her head. “Sorry, I just…” Her wings shuffled again for a moment, followed by her ears drooping. “Ugh. I’m going to go fly around a bit and cool off.”
She spread her wings and took off. Sky raised his wings as well, intending to fly after her, but instead he hesitated. As he watched her streak away, he let his wings slowly settle down to his back. He wanted to go flying after her, but the jumble of emotions he’d sensed were confusing. The one thing that was clear was that she had just taken off without waiting for a reply. She probably wanted to be alone for a bit.
With a sigh, he started to walk again. He should probably find one of the princesses, or maybe Subtle. Even with as short as his conversation with Chrysalis had been, they would probably want to hear about it.
And to tell the truth, he really had no idea what to do next.
Nictis frowned faintly as he slowly paced around the small tower room. With every step, he focused on the peculiarities of the movement: the added weight in his legs, the way the soft skin stretched and folded, the extra heft and flexibility of the feathered wings tucked neatly at his sides.
“What’s wrong?” Subtle asked, drawing his attention away from his pacing. She and Princess Twilight were seated at a fairly large table, one which was dominated by a large, highly-detailed map of Canterlot. Various books and scrolls were scattered around it for the princess’s studies, and Spike was in the process of adding a few more to the stack beside her.
“Nothing is wrong,” Nictis replied, looking back down to his hooves and the grey coat that covered his legs.
“Come on,” she said with a chuckle. “I thought Infiltrators were better at lying than that.”
Nictis shot her a scowl. “I’m not lying.”
“Being creative with the truth, then,” she said, holding a smile until Nictis sighed.
“Part of any good disguise is internalizing every detail of it,” Nictis said, slowly walking a couple more steps. “An Infiltrator has to be instinctively familiar with every peculiarity of the form they take. Any hesitation or mistake can give you away.” He came to a halt, again raising a hoof as he looked down at it. “It’s been half a year since the last time I tried to pass myself off as a pony, but already this body feels as natural as if I’ve had it all my life.”
“You spent almost ten years as Meadow Song,” Subtle pointed out. “That’s a lot of time to become familiar with it, and you didn’t really change much there. You just changed colors and swapped out the horn for a pair of wings.”
Nictis grumbled faintly as he turned to look at the mirror again. The mare that looked back certainly held many similarities with his long-held disguise. The new form had the same kind of lean elegance and grace, even if the details were different. Her coat was a pale gray, with a short and somewhat spiky silver mane, and a cutie mark depicting a falling meteor. “I’m trying to do good things,” he said, watching as the reflection moved exactly as he expected. “I’m trying to help changelings and ponies, but I’m always struggling at it. It’s hard, and half the time I don’t even know what I’m doing. The only thing I’m really good at is fooling ponies.”
“Normally I’d disagree with your assessment and point out how you’re wrong, but fortunately that particular skill you’re so good at is one we need.”
“Great,” Nictis grumbled. “So now I’ll be able to add ‘fooling my own kind’ on the short list of things I’m good at.”
Subtle shrugged. “Well, at least it’s for a good cause.”
“It was always for a good cause!” Nictis shot back, rather more sharply than he intended. He paused a moment before speaking again, softer. “Keeping everyling fed was a good cause. It’s just the methods that were wrong.”
“No argument, here,” Subtle said. “But if you’re worried about method, don’t. We’re not trying to trick some innocents, or even Infiltrators just looking for food. They aren’t here for food. They’re here as a threat, and they’ve already attacked ponies. You should know more than anyone what they could do.”
“I know,” Nictis said with a sigh. “It’s just… I know they already consider me a traitor, but I don’t like the idea of acting against the hive.”
Subtle shrugged. “Far as I’m concerned, you’re not. You’re doing a lot more to help the hive than they are.”
Nictis turned to glare at her for a few long seconds. Finally, he relented, relaxing slightly. “Can’t anyone just let me have a good sulk for once?”
With a broad grin, Subtle leaned back in her chair. “Sorry, no time for sulking. We’ve got a lot to do!”
“Which is why I’ve been pacing back and forth for the last hour,” he dryly remarked.
“Okay, we’ll have a lot to do soon,” she corrected with a dismissive wave of her hoof. “Patience.”
He shook his head, choosing not to reply further. Instead, he continued his slow pacing, despite how unnecessary it had proven. It’s not like there was anything better to do. Princess Twilight still had her nose buried in her books, offering no chance of conversation to pass the time; probably for the best, though, as he was rather uncomfortable talking with any of the princesses. The nearby Royal Guards--two pegasi in Subtle Tea’s service, and a pair of unicorns to protect the princess--didn’t seem to be very talkative types, at least not on-duty. That just left Subtle, and while she appeared relaxed and casual, there was a look to her eyes that told him she was deep in thought.
After a couple more minutes, the sound of wingbeats and the quiet clinking of armor announced the arrival of another Guard at the tower balcony. A moment later Thunder Chaser trotted in, his breathing coming just a bit harder than normal. He glanced around the room, then made his way to the map-and-book-laden table.
“Your Highness, Miss Tea.” He dipped his head to each in turn, though Princess Twilight looked the tiniest bit confused when she glanced up from her book. “Six changeling Infiltrators just turned themselves over at the main gate, about a minute ago.”
Subtle sat upright, suddenly very serious. “Well, so far, so good. What’s the situation down there?”
“All quiet,” he replied. “They were completely cooperative, barely even glared at us. They’re being escorted to Chrysalis’s chambers right now, under heavy guard, and messengers went out to every post to be on alert.”
“Good,” Subtle said with a nod. “Assuming they don’t try anything colossally stupid in the next few minutes, this seems like exactly the sort of thing that might prompt Chrysalis to send out another message. You ready to do some tracking, princess?”
“I think so,” Princess Twilight replied. “Yes.”
“Should be soon,” Subtle said before turning back to Thunder Chaser. “You’ll be with Feather and Autumn for now. If we get a good location from this, you’ll all be moving out immediately. We might have to act very quickly, which means you may not have time to link up with the rest of the Guard. As such, I’m putting Nictis as my second-in-command for this little job; if I’m unavailable, you’ll all be following his directions.”
Both Thunder and Nictis started to object, but Subtle silenced it with a wave of her hoof. “He knows the methods and tactics of the changelings we’re looking for more than anypony here, and his judgment is already key for this operation. This is just making it all official.”
Thunder Chaser hesitated, but nodded.
“Well then, everypony, get ready. It’s about time to get to work.”
Nictis had nothing to do, so he simply continued his slow pacing. Yes, it was useless, but it was still better than sitting around doing nothing. Meanwhile, Thunder joined the other Guards, and Princess Twilight reluctantly set aside her books to focus entirely on her magic. She had claimed that she had been maintaining a detection spell the entire time she had been reading--and given her apparent proficiency with magic, he didn’t doubt it--but now turned her full attention toward Chrysalis’s chambers, just a few floors below them.
The tension held even as the minutes dragged on. Almost ten had passed by the time Princess Twilight abruptly looked up. “That’s the spell. Spike!”
The young dragon leaped forward, already pulling out a piece of parchment and a quill, while the princess closed her eyes to focus. A moment later, she began rattling off a series of numbers, which Spike quickly wrote down.
As soon as the numbers stopped, she took the parchment and quill in her magic and scribbled out some mathematical formulas. It took only a few seconds before she turned to the map, snatching up a protractor and ruler. Lining them up, she jabbed her hoof down on the map. “There! The target was at those horizontal coordinates, and 232 feet below our--no, below Chrysalis’s position.”
Both Subtle and Nictis leaned over the map, looking to the spot indicated: a building in the middle of the lower part of the city. “How precise is this?” Subtle asked.
“I kind of shortcut some of the math by rounding,” Princess Twilight admitted with a nervous smile, “So it’s only within about three feet of accurate. Plus the target location was moving at first while I was taking numbers. I’d estimate their current position at about five feet south-southeast of that location, give or take about three feet.”
“So, precise,” Subtle noted. “On a secondary street near a main road, looks like a house or maybe a small store. Nictis, can you find your way there?”
Nictis was already looking over the area, noting landmarks. The map itself was incredibly detailed, almost like a drawing. “If the area looks anything like the map, yes.”
“Good. Get over there as quick as you can, keep an eye on it. I’ll leave it to your discretion whether you follow anyone leaving or keep watch. Go.”
She turned to address Thunder Chaser and the other Guards as Nictis kicked off of the ground and shot out the window, wings pumping hard. He shot out over the walls, receiving a few looks from the Guards, but none rose up in pursuit of a pegasus flying out of the castle.
He built up speed as he dove close to the rooftops, which whipped by at an uncomfortable speed. The pegasus form certainly seemed to be a faster flyer than his natural body, even if the wings were unpleasantly heavy, but fatigue was building quick. He made a mental note to base future disguises off somepony like Rainbow Dash if speed was going to be an issue; she and Sky were rather more suited to that sort of flying than he was.
As he approached the lower city he cut his descent, feathered wings spread wide to bleed off speed. His destination lay just ahead, easy enough to find; while not on one of the major streets, it lay near where two crossed, and had a small square nearby, landmarks that made finding his destination easy. He was further pleased to see that the area was fairly busy, with several small shops.
A slow arc brought him down over one of the streets, where a couple of two-story shops blocked line of sight from his target. With a quick flutter of wings, he slowed the final bit to land at a casual trot. Nopony paid him any mind, one nice advantage of the location. He had seen the dirty looks such a landing had brought Sky from the nobility and upper-class ponies living in the upper city--which is to say, dirtier than the usual looks he got for being a changeling. It wasn’t quite fair to say that they all looked down on such things, with only a portion of them making any fuss about it, but they did seem to have an unfortunate tendency toward snobbery.
Down in the lower city, however, nopony made any note of a single pegasus swooping down for a landing.
Nictis slowed to a casual walk just before rounding the corner, a faint and friendly smile on his disguise’s face. He looked around the street as he walked, taking in details of his target each time his gaze swept past it. It was a closed-down shop, slightly unusual for a moderately busy place like that, but not so much as to be suspicious.
Various questions immediately came to mind, with one in particular leaping to the front: had they lucked out in finding such a place, or had it been prepared for them? The size of the city made it likely that there would be a few places like that already in existence, but finding them might be problematic, and who knew when the owner might show up again? On the other hoof, it would make sense for any prior Infiltrators to establish some safe haven in the city, and if they were lucky, it might leave a trail of information that could be followed.
But for now, he pushed those questions to the back of his mind. They were worth considering, but it was something Subtle and her staff could look into later. Right now, he had his own mission.
His expression almost faltered at the thought. A mission. He turned the word over in his mind, considering it. It was all so familiar and unpleasantly comfortable. He had direction. He had a goal. He had something to apply his skills to, and part of him was excited to make use of them again.
He pushed that sensation down. Now is not the time to be emotional.
Spotting a nearby alleyway leading behind the building, he turned down it. The first step was to reconnoiter his target, to ensure noling could slip out without him noticing. Sure enough, the building had a back door leading out into the alley. That gave him two exits that he had to simultaneously keep an eye on.
He also couldn’t help but note that the alleys of Canterlot were easily the nicest and cleanest alleys he had ever seen.
As he left the alley, he took in the rest of the area. Now that he had found the building in question, he needed a way to observe it while remaining inconspicuous. Fortunately, one of the shops across the way was a small restaurant, with an open outdoor dining area that had a clear line of sight to the front door of the building, a clear view of one end of the alley, and was close enough to the other that he should catch anyone leaving it. It was a perfect excuse to loiter in the area without seeming suspicious, and to tell the truth, he could use a bit of food.
He ordered one of the smaller hayburgers and a drink. It was something he could finish off quickly, giving him a perfect excuse to get up and leave without looking out of the ordinary. He then took a seat and relaxed, acting as if he was simply a normal pegasus mare, enjoying a sunny and relaxing day. Nothing distinguished him from any of the other ponies around him, in either behavior or appearance.
He looked around, taking in the sights just as a tourist might. He didn’t immediately look over the building in question, instead letting his gaze wander, only taking in the details as his eyes passed by it.
There wasn’t much to see, which didn’t surprise him. It was a fairly typical two-story building, with white stone walls topped by a brown roof that stood somewhat mismatched against the more common blues and purples of neighboring buildings, but not enough to stand out. The windows were dark and shuttered, though without looking neglected or completely abandoned, with a simple sign in the front window declaring the property “sold.”
After taking in the details, he turned his attention to his newly arrived meal, keeping the building in the periphery of his senses. He only needed to know if someone came or went from the building, but at the moment, it appeared completely quiet.
One particular flicker of motion did draw his attention, but in the opposite direction: a trio of pegasus Guards had landed atop a roof a block away, the gray form of Thunder Chaser among them. With the increased Guard activity, they didn’t appear unusual in the slightest. Nictis shuffled his wings before turning back to his meal, figuring that would be signal enough that he had noticed their arrival.
As he ate, he considered the situation. For the most part, it was simple. He merely had to keep an eye on the building and anyone who came or left, and so long as he kept his attention up, that should be covered. A changeling in a pegasus disguise might slip out the back entrance and fly off, which he might not see past the roof, but the risk was small. In any case, there was little he could do about it on his own.
What he could do, however, was consider what precautions an unknown number of changeling Infiltrators might take. Observation from the windows of the building was possible, although with the way most of them were shuttered, the view from inside would be poor. That might be considered acceptable if they considered the risk to be low, but it seemed like poor planning to do so.
Nictis considered the various ponies gathered around, taking in details of the crowd whenever he looked around. A changeling or two posted out in the crowd, watching for potential threats, seemed like a sensible defense for a safe-haven used by several changelings. There was no telling how many Infiltrators might be involved, but it made sense to assume the worst.
The passing glances around the crowd showed nothing immediately out of the ordinary, but that was to be suspected. Instead, he merely kept tabs on what was going on. Anyling posted as security would be loitering, while trying to look like they weren’t, much as he was. It would take time, especially if they were any good; since none immediately stood out, any sentinels were either good or absent.
It was only a couple minutes after his arrival when the door of the shop opened, and a pair of false ponies stepped out.
One of the pair, disguised as a pegasus, seemed a touch on-edge. It was nothing too overt, but his eyes darted around alertly, as if looking for threats. The other, who appeared as a unicorn mare, seemed to be quite the opposite, bearing an uninterested look as if everything around was beneath her notice. She broke her dour look for only a moment as she lowered her head to her companion, whispering something to him. His glances immediately stopped, though his ears remained perked up and alert as they began to walk down the street.
Nictis casually took another bite of his hayburger, tamping down the nervous excitement that threatened to take hold. There was no need to rush. At their current pace it would take them well over a minute to reach the corner and slip out of sight, more than enough time to finish up his meal without rushing. It took only a couple more bites, and he rose. Even still, he made sure to take his time; he took a moment to neatly wipe his mouth on a napkin, neatly gathered up the trash and dropped it into a bin, and even gave a quick wave and call of thanks to the staff before stepping out into the street.
It was a risk following them, he knew. More changelings might leave from their safe-house, but it was a location they already knew about. Two potential Infiltrators leaving together was too notable to pass up; it represented not only a chance to apprehend a couple of Chrysalis’s agents, it provided an opportunity to learn more about their operation. Whatever their destination was, it must have some importance to them, whether it was some target or simply another safe refuge.
The pair had just gone around the corner by the time Nictis was following, but he didn’t worry. The long legs of his assumed form let him make good speed with a casual, but brisk, walk. Half a minute later, he had travelled far enough to see the pair once again. Nothing seemed obviously out of the ordinary about them, nothing to differentiate them from any of the ponies they walked among.
He followed, slowing his pace slightly to maintain distance. The pair was heading further into the city, weaving easily through the crowd, and passing right by the building that Thunder Chaser and the other Guards were perched on top of; the trio did their best to look as ordinary as possible. Occasionally, the pegasus would find an excuse to casually glance behind them, but there was nothing to see; Nictis was just another pony travelling in the same direction as them, not even taking notice of their presence. He had to ignore the feeling of exhilaration every time the false pegasus looked away without seeing him; there was a sense of pride in being able to fool another Infiltrator, a satisfaction in being able to do something he was unquestionably good at and, for the most part, free of guilt.
They continued on for some time, with nothing of significance occurring. For the moment, they were walking down a fairly well-traveled street, the kind of place where they could blend in easily as just another couple of ponies, but which also gave more cover for anypony tailing them.
As they continued on, Nictis “allowed” himself to be momentarily distracted by the storefronts and landmarks they passed. He only had to glance at them occasionally to keep tabs on them, and the less time he spent looking at them, the less chance he had of being discovered.
He had just finished with one of these “distractions” when he looked back to see a pair of undisguised changelings walking his way.
The sudden feeling of alarm passed as he spotted his quarry, still disguised, still walking along just like before. He felt like smacking himself; there may not be nearly as many changelings in Canterlot as in Ponyville, but it shouldn’t be such a strange thing to see them walking down the street. They even looked vaguely familiar.
It took a moment before he produced a name. Shale. That was the one who seemed to be leading the way, saying something that had the other laughing along with him. Nictis remembered him out in Ponyville a few months ago, helping the other changeling get accustomed to life among ponies. He’d eventually moved to Canterlot to take up a job opportunity with another changeling already living there. Nictis had only ever met the other changeling once, though he was pretty sure he was the one walking beside Shale. They’d probably be happy to see him, he thought, if not for his disguise.
Their happiness faded slightly as they walked past the two disguised changelings Nictis was following, uneasy glances meeting cold stares. Nictis could only imagine the emotions they must have sensed from the two. Nothing nice, given their reaction.
They continued on, and as the pair neared him, Nictis gave a friendly smile and nod. Both changelings returned the gesture, along with a feeling of thanks that they didn’t know he could sense. Nictis felt just a little guilty. It was, after all, a lie. He wasn’t really a pony, accepting and welcoming these changelings as they would any other pony. But then, the hostility they had just received had been a lie, as well; the pair he was following weren’t really ponies, either.
They continued on, making their way further into the city.
Several minutes later, the false pegasus glanced behind him again, but this time his gaze turned upward, holding a moment longer before turning back to his companion just a hair too quickly. Nictis mentally cursed, and resisted the urge to look back himself. He didn’t really need to, he had obviously spotted something suspicious, and that probably meant that Thunder Chaser or one of the other Guards had not been quite so discreet as they thought; while Nictis could blend into a crowd, golden-armored pegasi tended to stand out a bit.
Sure enough, the pair had broken their silence, which had held the entire time they had been walking, and were now talking quietly among themselves. It lasted only a few moments before they went silent again, neither of them glancing back.
As they entered an intersection with a tiny side street, the false unicorn nodded, and they split. Each trotted off in opposite directions down the side street, immediately slipping out of sight.
Nictis mentally cursed as he snapped his wings out, powerful strokes lifting him quickly into the sky and starling a few ponies by the sudden leap. As he passed the second-floor balconies he nosed over backwards and rolled level, instantly spotting the trio of pegasus Guards perched just a block back. He pumped his wings hard, speeding back to them.
“They’re alert!” he shouted as he banked into a sharp turn before them. “Follow me!”
With that he shot back toward the intersection, the Guards following quickly behind him. As they reached the intersection, he backwinged, coming to a momentary hover. “You two!” he called out, pointing back to the group following him, then to the side street. “Get the pegasus, he went that way! Thunder, follow me!”
With that, he powered into a short dive before rocketing along the street in the opposite direction. Several ponies looked up curiously at the sight of them flying by, but none were the unicorn he was looking for.
Several minutes later they flew back the way they came, but quite a bit slower. The disguised changeling had evaded them.
When they found the other two Guards, they discovered that the other changeling had not been so lucky. He was undisguised and pinned in the middle of the street, weighed down by the two pegasi. All were breathing heavily, and one of the pegasi--Nictis was pretty sure that was Autumn--had a hoof raised warningly over the changeling’s horn, a clear warning against using magic.
Nictis and Thunder Chaser landed in the circle of onlookers. Thunder bound right up to them, ready to help them restrain the changeling. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah,” Autumn said, though he winced a little. “Just be careful with this guy. He kicks.”
The changeling didn’t respond. In fact, apart from the heavy breathing, he seemed perfectly calm. Even his emotions were calm, with only hints of anger and nervousness. His eyes were active, however, analyzing everything he could see.
“Be careful with him,” Nictis said, eying the changeling. “He’s looking for an opening.”
The changeling’s gaze turned to him, a hint of irritation flitting across his senses before vanishing again. Then he tried a new tactic: closing his eyes and slumping to the ground limply, remaining as passive as possible.
Thunder sighed. “Well, at least we got one of them. What now?”
Nictis shook his head. “I don’t know… I guess get him back to the castle, and then meet up with Subtle.”
Thunder nodded and turned back. “Autumn, see if you can find some pounders to help get him to the castle.”
“Got it,” Autumn replied and took to the sky, while Thunder took his place at the changeling’s head.
“Pounders?” Nictis asked with a raised eyebrow, which prompted a faint smirk from Thunder Chaser.
“Ground pounders,” he said, giving a couple gentle beats of his wings for emphasis. “Guards without these.”
“Cute,” Nictis dryly replied, refraining from rolling his eyes.
Fortunately, the changeling they had caught thought better of trying anything. Between the Guards holding him and the crowd of concerned onlookers, he must have decided there was nothing he could hope to do at the moment. Only a few minutes later, Autumn came trotting up to them with a half dozen other Royal Guards, mostly unicorns. There was also another pegasus. Nictis recognized her as Glimmer, the same Guard who had interrupted lunch the previous day.
As Thunder and the commander of the other team of Guards discussed what to do with their prisoner, Glimmer led Nictis off to the side to quietly speak with him where the other changeling couldn’t overhear.
“Subtle got Golden Aegis to assign a squad of Guards to raid that building she sent you to. They’re setting up two blocks south, but she wants to get your input before moving in. She also said she’d like Thunder’s team to join her, too.”
Nictis nodded, looking back to the other Guards. A couple unicorns had already surrounded the changeling, who was rising to his feet under their direction. “I guess we’re done here, anyway.”
Glimmer arced close over the roof of another store and dropped into the gap between buildings, with Nictis and the other Guards close on her tail. They had flown low over the rooftops, trying to balance speed with some measure of discretion. The gap she had led them to proved to be a tiny courtyard, a small back-lot between a few stores and houses, with a couple alleys leading off to the street. He backwinged quickly, cutting speed to carefully pick out a landing spot; the small courtyard was packed, with about twenty ponies gathered around. All but one were clad in the golden armor of the Royal Guard, and a half dozen carried spears.
The only pony not wearing armor was Subtle, who was already stepping up to Nictis as he landed. “You’ll want to drop your disguise for this,” she said with a wry smile.
He grunted, knowing what was coming next, and let his disguise drop, returning to his natural form in a flash of green that made a few nearby ponies twitch. “I really can’t wait to be done with these stupid scans,” he grumbled.
“Soon, hopefully,” Subtle said as she gave the Guards a nod. After the quick dispellings failed to reveal any changeling impostors, Subtle nodded. “Good. So what happened?”
“A pair of changelings left the building, so I followed,” Nictis said. “They spooked when they spotted one of the Guard following along. They split and ran. The Guards caught one, but the other got away.”
“We need to move quick, then, before he manages to alert them,” Subtle said, “At least this confirms it’s the right place. I didn’t even think about elevation until Sparkle mentioned it, and it’s surprisingly hard to find a topographical map of the city, even in the engineer’s office.” She quickly shook her head. “Anyway, not important. We’re planning to raid the building to capture any changelings hiding there. Any objections?”
Nictis frowned. Part of him objected strongly to the idea of helping to direct pony soldiers into capturing members of the hive, but he shook his head. “No.”
“Then how about tactical advice?” she asked. “I’m sure Aegis wants the best picture he can get before going in.”
Nictis’s frown deepened as he looked to the armored unicorn, who had turned his entire attention to the changeling. Nictis hesitated for a moment before speaking. “They’re probably Infiltrators, so their first reaction is going to be to flee rather than fight. They should only try to fight if they’re out of other options and cornered, and even then, they aren’t soldiers.”
He hesitated a moment as a thought occurred to him. “Although… they may also be determined to not be taken alive. At least when I was being trained, we were taught to die rather than be discovered or captured. It was all to preserve the secret of our existence, which doesn’t really matter any more, but still… they might be willing to fight to the death. They may even commit suicide to avoid capture.”
There were a few murmurs among the Guards, a few of them looking concerned at that news, while others looked shocked or disgusted.
“It was a long time ago,” Nictis added. “I can’t guarantee things are the same now. Actually… actually, I can’t guarantee much of anything. The idea of being captured alive was unthinkable back then, but so was an outright invasion. Some things must have changed since then. They might not even be Infiltrators. Chrysalis might have brought well-trained soldiers, instead.”
Aegis was nodding, though he didn’t look very happy with the news. “We’ll just have to be careful. Hit them quick and hard with disorienting and stunning spells.”
Turning to the Guards, Golden Aegis spoke louder. “Okay. Team one, you’re going in the front door. The blueprints put the stairway just inside and on the right. You’ll push up and clear the second floor. Team two, you go in the rear door and clear the first floor, then hit the stairway and go down to clear the basement. Weapons team.” He nodded to the collection of ponies carrying spears. “You will follow team one and hold in the entryway until called for support. Fliers, you lead the way and secure the sky and all airborne exits, then keep watch for any runners.”
He was met with various grunts and nods of acknowledgement. There were a few uncertain looks exchanged, but there was no hesitation in their movements as they formed up.
“We’re going in hard, before they get the chance to do anything stupid. Use concussion, flash, and stunning spells liberally. We don’t know if they’re going to fight back, so don’t give them the chance. Everypony ready?”
A chorus of “yes sir” answered him, and he began to lead them down the alley, toward the street. Subtle nudged Nictis. “You’re with me,” she said. “And you should disguise up again. Another flash of green followed, and he followed along in silence, ignoring the acidic feeling growing in his gut.
Aegis came to a halt just before the end of the alley, with Subtle and Nictis halting alongside him. The Guard captain paused to look back over his shoulder, watching the earth-bound Guards stacking up behind him, then up to where the pegasus Guards perched, wings tensed and ready for flight.
“Okay,” he said with a nod. “Let’s go.”
Silent but for the jingle of armor and the clopping of hooves, the Guard trotted forward.