//------------------------------//
// Unmasking The Agent 
// Story: The Queen Is Dead, Long Live the Queen 
// by Diamond Sparkle 
//------------------------------//

Princess Rarity thought quickly. Clearly, one of these ponies was most likely a changeling, as it would have been almost impossible for a changeling from another Hive to infiltrate otherwise due to the fact that a password was given through the Hivemind in any Hive worth it's love, and changed every day. That way the sentries knew who to let in and who to keep out, or if need be attack at once. But being welcome guests the ponies had not been made to give the password and could not be expected to know it. So that was how the saboteur got in. She almost shook with barely suppressed rage. If the love in our love well had been poisoned, it would have been near impossible to gather enough new love to replace it without going on love raids, which would have wrecked the fragile truce between pony and changeling. Clearly that was what the  infiltrator wanted to do. And every second that the infiltrator is not caught endangers everything that I am working so hard for.  She whispered in the ear of one of her changelings, and then said "I am highly displeased with what happened here. A changeling love well is the most important part of the entire Hive, and one of you ponies nearly wrecked it. So I'm going to have to ask you all to leave."

What she did not let them know was that she had ordered a spell activated on the main door that would undo the change spell on the changeling agent. It was not left on all the time; maintaining it long term would cost a lot of love energy and besides, it would make the agent feel dizzy and rather sick in the short term. And "friendly fire" on one's own changelings was a risk if they forgot that the spell was activated and entered the Hive still in disguise. No Queen worth her love wanted to needlessly hurt members of her own swarm. Pony after pony passed through with no effect, and then the nineteenth pony, a yellow pegasus named Big Noise with a note cutie mark, suddenly burst into green flames for a second and staggered around, revealed as a black-shelled changeling of Hive Chrysalis. The gate guards quickly grabbed him before he could escape and snapped an anti-magic ring onto his horn. Rarity walked up to him.

"What do you have to say for yourself, traitor? I can barely control myself right now from ramming my hatred for you right down your throat. You have endangered the welfare of the entire Primary Hive, not just the adults but every nymph, grub, and unborn egg in the place, by striking at our love well. You would have forced us to make war on the ponies to survive."

The changeling replied "I am no traitor. I was not born in your Hive, neither did I join it. My loyalty is to Hive Chrysalis, and Queen Chrysalis is furious with you for willingly opening your hive to ponies. It goes against the Changeling Way-ponies are food, not friends."

"Against the Changeling Way? Your Queen really has a nerve, given what she did in attacking Canterlot. Revealing the existence of changelings as more then a myth in doing so and making life much harder for changelings all over Equestria. And she thinks that I'm against the Changeling Way? Where is the real Big Noise? Tell me, or I will have you exposed to the hatred of my entire Hive, which would surely be fatal."

"He was taken to Hive Chrysalis, no doubt to use his tasty love as food for the grubs."

"You will be held here as a hostage for Big Noise's safe return. My Ambassador will be sent to Hive Chrysalis with the news and with a ten day deadline to hand Big Noise over if she values the safety of her subjects. If that has not been done in time, I will have to decide your fate, and it won't be very nice. Whilst I do understand that you were obeying the orders of your Queen, what you tried to do was outrageous. Guards, take him to the dungeons and lock him in a cell. He is to be given physical food and water, and light in his cell, but of course no love. And I want him at least for now to remain alive, otherwise we will never get Big Noise back. "

She turned to the ponies. "You can come back inside now, the agent amongst you has been unmasked, and there is quite a bit left to see." The ponies filed back inside for some more sightseeing. And two ambassadors were sent out to explain the situation, one to Queen Chrysalis and one to Princess Celestia. However angry she might be, Rarity was pretty sure that Queen Chrysalis would still respect basic diplomatic protocol and not harm or hold hostage her ambassador. After all, her Hive sent diplomats to places too. That evening she personally led the ponies back to their own country. The ponies had brought quite a few things, and her Hive now had plenty of legitimate Equestrian bits to buy things from Equestria with. It would have been a very good day, but the attempted sabotage had spoiled things a bit.