Agent Penny Lane slowly stowed her badge away as she regarded the mind-boggling scene before her. Changelings. Enemies of Equestria, by all understanding. Being a Canterlot mare Penny had been there for the invasion during the wedding. She recalled a sky full of buzzing blackness and the defeat of the enemy by a wave of love.
She shook her head and looked closer at the scene. Mayor Verdant still looked dejected and defeated, the Changelings in the hidden room were still huddled together, looking at Penny with fear in their blue eyes, while the Changelings with the mares were still kissing them, and... crying.
“What is going on here?” Penny asked loudly. “I can't think about what to do when I have no idea what this is.”
“Would it help to tell you the whole story?” Verdant asked.
“Depends on what the story is. But I'm... not inclined to just call in the royal guards and sweep you all away without at least hearing this,” Penny said.
Verdant nodded, and heaved a small sigh. “At least they sent a reasonable one. Let me tell you how it used to be...”
- - -
“I have been Lady Mayor of Trotford for quite a while. I was hoof-picked by the Count of Emery and never faced a no-confidence vote from the town citizenry. In all that time there has never been a true, serious problem in this place. It is like the rest of Equestria. Peaceful, pleasant, if plagued by minor inconveniences.
“One minor inconvenience did not even enter my mind because it was pernicious. It plagued this town like a cancer. Surely you noticed, Agent Lane, we have a very even distribution of stallions and mares. That would not normally be a problem. In most towns, the stallions are very sweet and sedate, and enjoy the fruits of civility and stability. Our dark secret was that the stallions we seemed to grow never really grew mature.”
The stallions of Trotford whooped and cheered as they danced around a great bonfire. The blazing conflagration lit the night in a fierce orange light, while the smoke darkened the moon. They paraded around the edge of the burning pike of broken furniture and scrap wood, guzzling beer and spirits.
“This is awesome, man! So completely awesome!” A unicorn stallion shouted, throwing a bottle of whiskey onto the fire. The shattering glass and eruption of blue flame brought a cheer from his fellow inebriates.
“I'm never getting married ever! I wanna just party and get drunk!” A pegasus stallion shouted, doing wobbly tricks in the air until he hit the ground and knocked himself out cold. Rather than render aid, the other stallions split their reaction between cheers and laughter at his expense.
“Yeah! No marriage! No Marriage! No Marriage!” The stallions chanted the slogan loudly, drinking, stumbling and throwing bottles into the fire.
“Mayor Verdant... I don't want to say you're a liar but I have the feeling there may be some amount of exaggeration happening in this explanation of yours,” Penny said.
“Would it shock you if I said it was only slight? They have a great preference for drinking, playing games and a lack of commitment. It is quite frustrating, as you might imagine. They may never have made a bonfire, but they certainly did all but say they were opposed to marriage. You've spoken to a few of our locals. Does that seem out of character given what you heard?” Verdant asked.
“Actually... no. Alright, I admit I've met more mature stallions elsewhere. Please go on, Mayor,” Penny said.
Verdant nodded “I suppose I had always been very self-sufficient, emotionally speaking. It was never much of a concern for me. But I am Lady Mayor of this town. These ponies are my ponies, just as much as we are all Celestia and Luna's ponies. I could see how the mares lamented the circumstance. How they hated it. It saddened them. If they went to bed with a stallion they woke up alone. They would never bother to do anything but play games with their friends and drink.
“The sadness grew all the keener when word arrived, about the royal wedding of Princess Cadance and Shining Armor. They all desperately wished to go. But, time, exclusivity and other such real life factors prevented it. Worse, a few of the more tactless stallions mocked the desire to see something like a wedding. As far as they were concerned, weddings were boring unless there was free food and an open bar.
“So we all arranged a private party. We gathered past the edge of town, facing Canterlot. It was less than a speck as far as we could see. But we were still able to see some portion of it. It was enough for those who gathered to celebrate love and togetherness. And to wish they could have it too.”
The mares of Trotford threw blankets down on the ground and set down baskets full of pastry and bottles of wine. There was a muted joy in it, smiles switching to frowns and back again. The few with binoculars passed them around to those that didn't have them, allowing each one, in turn, to look at the shining city of Canterlot.
There wasn't much that could be seen through the relatively low-power binoculars normally used for birdwatching and weather duties. But to pull the great city that much closer, to make the speck just a little bit larger, was precious to them. It also created a little bit of conversation. There were speculations about the shimmering bubble that seemed to be be enclosing the palace area.
“Guess they really, really want weather security,” Verdant said with a chuckle.
“They have enough pegasi, they really shouldn't need to get fancy for it,” a pegasus mare said.
“Let them have it. They can get as fancy as they want. It's a royal wedding,” a unicorn said.
“It's a wedding. You should get what you like on your wedding day,” another pegasus noted.
“Like a decent stallion to do it with,” a grumpy earth pony said, slugging a mouthful of wine.
“Let's not think about that. This is a wedding. We may not be there, but we can see the place it's happening and we can imagine what it might be like,” Verdant said, with as much cheer as she could muster.
“And we can read the society magazines tomorrow. They'll have all the details, with photos. That'll be almost like being there,” the first pegasus said, the other mares nodding agreeably.
The food and wine were shared around, the conversations attempting to stay light and positive, mostly focused on speculation on the details of the wedding. Cadance's dress, Shining Armor's formal regalia, the decorations in the throne room, the food.
Speculation on details turned into fantasy wedding planning. The desires and ideals of what could be done. They said, with laughter and frustration, which stallions looked nice, then quickly mentioned all the flaws they knew existed. Even Verdant eventually got caught up in things and talked about her ideal stallion and details on the wedding she would love.
The great city was losing their focus as things turned to the problems of Trotford. Occasionally someone would look through the binoculars, which was what made them aware the bubble of magic was no longer there. That inspired a few comments, and some talk about how it was just another part of an extra-fancy royal wedding.
Nothing seemed to happen on that front, which made the mares disinclined to pay attention to the distant city. They were all taking a break from conversation to munch on pastry when the explosion came. The corona of bright light creating a radiant halo over the top of Canterlot drew all the Trotford mares' attentions. They cheered it on, and stomped their hooves in applause for the impressive display.
“Those royal folks, they really know how to throw a party!” a unicorn mare cheered, toasting with a glass of wine.
“That must be the sign that Cadance and Shining Armor are married! Good for them,” an earth mare called out.
“I'd want something a little more subtle than a giant explosion. Maybe a few fireworks. Maybe some doves or something,” Verdant said.
“You know what it was now, of course. The wave of love that defeated Queen Chrysalis,” Penny said.
“We know all the details. As you might imagine we were very keen on knowing everything that happened that day. We all have read up on everything. I'd almost say we know about as much as the BESI and Canterlot Royal Security. But that's not important. What really caught our eyes, and the gaze of our binoculars, were the falling stars,” Verdant said.
“'The falling stars'?” Penny asked.
“They radiated out from every point of the corona as far as we could guess. Someone watching through the binoculars noticed them. They also noticed that they were streaking towards us. A small cluster of black shapes wrapped in green and lingering traces from the explosion in Canterlot,” Verdant said.
Those with binoculars tracked the shapes. They were in a tight cluster, streaking very fast though losing momentum to settle into the velocity of free fall through the air. The pegasi calculated the arcs and found that a large group would fall in the woods outside of town, just a bit further away than the picnic.
The whole gathering abandoned their picnic and rushed to the indicated spot, arriving in time to see them crashing down with a terrific crash and a giant cloud of dirt erupting into the air. The soil rained down all over the mares as they reached the spot, with the last of the black figures hitting the ground wrapped in a fiery field of green.
It took a moment for the dirt and dust to settle. The environment was surprisingly still and quiet. No birds chirped in surprise, no animals skittered in retreat. The wind itself was silent, not even the trees giving a rustle. All they could see in the aftermath was cratering and furrows from the impacts and dragging as the impact momentum was used up.
- - -
“You found Changelings in there. The ones that had been rightly blown out of Canterlot,” Penny said, with a touch of smug superiority.
“We're aware of what they did. We're also quite aware they were acting at the behest of Queen Chrysalis. You mentioned her yourself, Agent Lane. Seems there was a bit of an explanation there, right?” Verdant asked.
“You weren't there. But fine. You found the Changelings,” Penny said with a snort.
“We found them. They were dazed, understandably. I guess the green fire was an aspect of their magic, what they used during their assault. In this case they used it as shields to prevent serious injury. We all looked on them, not having any clue what they were. But we knew how they appeared. They were injured, starving, dazed, helpless and in need. We're Equestrians. We care for those in need and in pain,” Verdant said.
“They were enemies of Equestria. They're still enemies of Equestria,” Penny said sternly.
“We had no idea at the time. I told you, they were injured and in need. Seeing these poor, helpless, unknown creatures moved us. We had to do something,” Verdant said. “We had this storage area under city hall, with additional storage. We could hide them here, and allow them a chance to recuperate, rest and get their heads together.
“We had hidden and cared for them for nearly a month, getting them to talk about themselves. They had confessed to what they did for Queen Chrysalis, how they had been desperate for love. They had little food and less love. Both of their bellies were gripped with gnawing hunger, and they had believed their queen when she promised them plenty.”
“That's not an excuse, you know that. You know that can't wipe away what they did to Canterlot,” Penny insisted.
“Did they trap you? We know they did that to many...” Verdant said.
“No, I was caught in the BESI office so I missed most of that but... I was there so I know what they did. I saw it,” Penny said.
“It's understandable you'd feel like this,” Verdant said.
“Never mind that. Just get on with it. How did you end up viciously kidnapping stallions and replacing them with Changelings?” Penny asked, with a touch of hate in her voice.
“And here I thought you were the open-minded and merciful sort,” Verdant said.
“I need as much information as I can get. This is important. And I was surprised at the moment,” Penny said.
“We didn't have any plan, except to give them tender affection and food, help them recover and get strong. Then it happened,” Verdant said, motioning towards a pinkish pegasus mare and a Changeling. “We'd been... developing a bit of affection for them, while going about normal lives. Iris there was engaged to one of the local stallions. He ran off, in the middle of the night, but didn't tell anyone. No one knew what had happened. But he did come back, and he did marry Iris.”
“The Changeling. You had him take the guy's form, and marry her as him. I get it, he's a quick substitute and it can't be good being run out on. But really... just a random Changeling?” Penny asked incredulously.
“His name is Obscura. He was a siege drone, and now he makes the best homemade basil-rosemary bread in town, and also likes playing cards,” Iris said, nuzzling against the Changeling beside her.
“My bread is only okay,” Obscura said in a buzzing voice. “But I do like playing cards. It's much more fun than simply waiting around in a hive.”
Penny peered at Obscura. “Well... you can talk. I thought there was some kind of nonverbal communication going on. And you have... some humility. So you picked this one because..?”
“I did have affection for the stallion I was going to marry. But I'd also been feeling something for Obscura while I was helping him recover. He comforted me when my fiance left, saying he could taste my sorrow. How can I not like a line like that? It was better because I could tell he meant it,” Iris said, hugging Obscura tight.
“Changelings feed on love, for a portion of their diet. But they don't need to forcibly extract it like Chrysalis did. She did that for the sake of her own greed,” Verdant said.
“We usually sneak in, gather some love and sneak back out,” Obscura said. “We've impersonated husbands... but there is something to being one. Just doing things we would normally do for the sake of fitting in or keeping our partner pleased creates a feast of love. We can gorge ourselves freely and there is always more love that just flows out over the town.”
“Changelings actually can nurture love, like a garden. They want peace and plenty and stability, because the love flows freely, flows easily, and is guaranteed to remain far into the future. Rather than getting used up it just multiplies,” Verdant said.
“Let's say I believe you, and that's not set in stone. But let's just say I do. I understand one stallion running off in the night and you having a Changeling take his place. What did you do to the others?” Penny asked, narrowing her eyes.
“Every town... has needs...” Verdant said delicately. “Regular infrastructure repair, hiring of outside contractors, salary for permanent or temporary employees. A lot of money that can be lost in the system. Hire a sloppy accountant, move the sums around, get kind folks to sign off as employees who never did a day of work, pitch in to do certain essential repairs at a very reasonable price.”
“I'm not the Equestrian Revenue Service. That doesn't mean anything to me, and has nothing to do with the stallions being replaced with Changelings,” Penny huffed.
“Stallions who like to have fun can have fun anywhere. They don't even need to have their own names to do it...” Verdant started.
“Are you saying that you bribe stallions to leave under new identities? How can you even manage something like that?” Penny queried.
“We engage them in a contractual agreement, that for a lump sum of money they agree to a confidentiality agreement and relocate to a new location, with a fully legal new identity. It helps being a mayor who knows how the system works,” Verdant said with a smile.
“Hmm, well, you can look like them but... wait... in the briefing the original subject mentioned his friend was questioned frequently, to get all the details of his life and personality. Date a stallion long enough, get the right information out of him and it's easy to get someone else to be like them, especially trained infiltrators,” Penny said.
“It is so much easier than going in mostly blind, having to fake a way through guesses and what gets revealed by talking,” one of the other married Changelings noted.
“Honestly... are you telling me to trust that you, enemies of the state, thrown away from an invasion, are just innocently living in a town waiting for stallions to be bribed to you can take their places? Do you have any idea how insane that sounds? And that all you want to do is get married so you can have love? All I know of you Changelings is you sucking the love out of the innocent and overrunning my city,” Penny stated gruffly.
“You can think what you want. You listened to us,” Verdant said, trotting to the door and unlocking the bar, sliding it aside and opening the banded door. “Go on, then, back to Canterlot. Tell them everything. But tell them everything. Don't let your personal bitterness and incredulity make you shade the facts. Those who have married are happy, the mares are delighted, the Changelings have full bellies and our town works better than it ever has.
“Agent Lane...” one of the Changelings in the hidden room said softly, looking down and slightly away. “You don't know us. You don't trust us. We used to be an assault squad. Now we live in here, with as much company as possible and just want... we just want to get married to these kind mares, settle down as husbands and be good fellows. That can't be bad, can it?”
Penny snorted softly and turned to the door. “You'll know what I decided. And don't bother to try just leaving. I'm here because I'm trustworthy. There will be investigations with a fine-toothed comb if the big stuff isn't still here. Something is going to happen.”
She marched her way down the darkened corridor, and began mentally preparing her report and thinking about how fast she could arrange transport home.