//------------------------------// // 4 - Res Ipsa Loquitur // Story: Reprogramming // by sunnypack //------------------------------// Chapter 4: Res Ipsa Loquitur it speaks for itself Smirch and Duft were most surprised when they came back to find the room had become a colourful mess. “Ah excellent,” I said. “I need your help.” I almost turned away, but something caught my eye. I grinned and pointed a hoof to the corner of my mouth. “You have a little something there, Duft.” Duft touched the small mustard stain splattered on the corner of her mouth. She flushed furiously and hastily swiped her mouth clean… to the chuckle of her comrade. “Smooth.” “Quiet, you.” Still grinning, I gestured for them to take a seat beside me. They took theirs hesitantly on the floor. “Don’t worry,” I reassured them. “The hospital has one of the cleanest floors in Equestria.” Smirch raised an eyebrow. “Yeah but Princess? Yours has a bug on it.” I swatted the guard on the arm, but he looked more affronted at the breach of protocol rather than the blow itself. “So what are we doing?” Duft asked, staring at the changeling curiously. She flicked a mane strand away from her eye. I thought it was strange that a guard should have a fringe that consistently blocked vision out of one eye, but I didn’t bring it up. Could be a sensitive issue. Besides, there were other cards in play, so to speak. “We’re going to run a few tests,” I said. “I would use myself as a benchmark, but I’m an outlier.” “Outlier?” Smirch queried innocently. “For what?” I tried unsuccessfully to dampen my reddening cheeks. “I don’t have very good hoof-eye coordination.” Smirch chuckled softly as I reddened further. “You fit right into the stereotype, Princess.” Is he referring to the royal archetype or the nerdy one? Studying Smirch’s smug little smirk carefully, I finally decided that it was probably the royal one. It was less galling, but only by a little. “Okay,” I continued slowly, with a gesture at the cards. “We’re going to test you with these. Each has a different message on them, with specific instructions written on them. You have to try your best to fulfil them. Anytime you can’t, or you don’t want to, you can tell me to stop. Sound fair?” Duft widened her eyes and licked her lips nervously. “This isn’t one of those surprise military tests that the Canterlot guards get set, is it?” She eyed the cards with newfound suspicion. “Because I didn’t study for this.” Smirch’s smile was gone in an instant. Served him right. “I’m not that great at standardised tests,” Smirch replied hesitantly. I raised an eyebrow at him. “Oh these are tests,” I said. “But they’re anything but standard.” Duft and Smirch glanced at each other, locking eyes for a brief moment while they silently communicated something. “Hey can we—” they both started. “No,” I replied firmly. Then I rolled my eyes. “They’re just simple logical tests, with some hoof-eye coordination and emotional intelligence. Nothing too strenuous, I promise.” Duft sighed. “Oh okay,” she said. “Never thought I’d join up to do tests. I left school because I didn’t want to do any more.” Smirch shared a look with his partner. “Then we hit the Training Grounds and it was a whole different thing, eh Duft?” Duft giggled at Smirch’s waggling eyebrows and settled down on the floor again. “Alright Princess, what are we going to do first?” I smiled, relishing the electric feeling of beginning a test. Experiments always got me excited, and I couldn’t help but get caught up in the whirlwind of my own enthusiasm. “We’re going to test some of the changeling’s latent abilities,” I started in an instructional tone. “We’ll begin with cognitive, move to motor, and end with emotional. I’ll need you two to act as a benchmark.” —————— “Alright,” I said pleasantly, settling down. “Conjugation.” “Conjuuu—what now?” “Conjugation, it’s basic literacy, Duft.” “I-I knew that!” “Sure.” Duft hurried to write her attempt down, while Smirch took his time, not looking pressured at all. Praegus held the pencil in his hoof eyeing the writing implement with neutral curiosity. He examined it and then looked at what Duft wrote. Duft scowled and drew her cards towards her. “Hey!” she exclaimed. “Don’t cheat!” The changeling cocked its head, then took the pencil in its mouth and wrote something down on its paper. After it wrote it down, I took all three and compared them. Smirch’s writing was surprisingly neat and perfectly spelled. Duft’s on the other hand was shocking mouth-writing that was borderline illegible. Conjugation was spelled right as far as I could tell. Praegus’ was something else, though. “Hey, look at this,” I said in amusement and showed the two guards. Smirch blinked at the writing and straightened. Duft reddened and glared at Praegus. Praegus’ paper was a perfect imitation of Duft’s writing down to even the minute scribbles as she fumbled with the curve of her ‘j’. “Now it’s just mocking me,” Duft grumbled. I shook my head. “No I don’t think so, I don’t think Praegus has ever written before. It’s just copying you.” Duft frowned at her writing, then glanced over to Praegus’. “All the same Princess, I don’t know if it’s serious or secretly laughing at my expense. Can we do something different?” I sighed. “You’re right,” I mumbled, mentally kicking myself for including writing skills in my tests. “Next one.” —————— “We’re going to attempt an emotional test,” I announced, sweeping the room for their excitable reactions. “I need you to hug Praegus.” Duft and Smirch looked confused, Praegus simply stood there, as usual. “No, please, don’t all leap forward at once,” I muttered. “How do we determine a changeling’s emotion?” Duft asked. “Uhh, don't they suck them out or something?” “Well, yes, but that doesn’t mean they don’t experience them. The changelings I fought in Canterlot were very expressive and their Queen was certainly… emotional. Besides, everypony likes hugs, my friend told me so. Even if they don’t, that’s still a somewhat emotional reaction. Success either way!” I urged her on impatiently with a hoof. “Don’t worry, it won’t bite. I’m ninety percent sure that won’t happen.” “Ninety percent?!” I frowned. “Those are reasonable odds.” Duft shifted. “I’m beginning to become uncomfortable with this.” I smiled at her and nodded encouragingly. “Not to worry,” I said, “just pretend I’m not here.” Duft reddened. “When you say that it makes me more self-conscious about it.” Smirch made a sound that sounded suspiciously like an amused chortle, but it transformed quickly into a coughing fit when Duft glared daggers at him. “Go on,” he managed to say through a wobbly smile. “We’re honour-bound to follow the Princess’ orders.” “I wouldn’t say it’s an order…” I began, but trailed off when Duft suddenly gave me a hopeful look. “Consider it a polite request.” Smirch came alongside me and gestured at me with a lazy hoof. He didn’t say anything, but merely waggled his eyebrows. Duft pursed her lips, and opened her mouth, but evidently thought the better of it and faced the changeling instead. “Hey,” she said. “I’m just going to, uhh, just—” Duft stretched out her hooves and wrapped them awkwardly around the changeling. Smirch grinned. “See? That wasn’t so bad.” “It’s like hugging a brick,” Duft complained as she separated from the changeling. “It feels so… cold and alien.” I tapped a quill to my lip, debating whether or not I should add that to the notes. Yes. Yes I should. For completeness. From the test it was clear that Praegus barely registered the friendly gesture. I did some rough equations. If friendship was quantifiable, then there should be a way to transfer some to Praegus, right? “Are you writing something, Princess?” Duft asked suspiciously. Smirch laughed. “Oh don’t worry about it, I’m sure the Princess is just making sure her notes were complete. She’s just being thorough.” I nodded at Smirch. “You’re right, I was. Private Duft’s emotional state is important observational evidence.” Smirch looked pleased. “See?” “For completeness, I think you should try as well.” I’ve never seen a grin die quite as fast as Smirch’s. I imagine one day I would look back at this moment and have a little giggle when things get quiet. “Oh,” he said. “Right.” Smirch didn’t have to worry, the test didn’t yield anything different. Praegus stood there stiffly as Smirch awkwardly slipped his hooves around its neck. I wrote down the result and tried not to sigh too loudly. I tapped a hoof impatiently on the floor. “Next test.” ——————— “Okay Praegus. We’re going to test your hoof-eye coordination skills. I want you to build something as high and wide as you can with these. Use as many as you want.” “Yes, my Princess.” Praegus took the pack of cards from my hooves. I made a small tower of cards which I was secretly proud of to demonstrate. Duft and Smirch were busy trying to beat my record. I grinned, regarding my tower of twelve whole storeys. Book stacking is a translatable skill I tell you! I busied myself with finishing the rest of my preliminary report on Praegus. I fumbled with the words to describe what Praegus’ reactions were like until I remembered an old term from Star Swirl’s first spells on golemancy. “Programming…” I murmured, writing the word down. The art of following a well planned programme. It fit so well. I heard a sharp gasp. “Princess!” Duft was gesturing frantically at the other side of the room. Smirch glanced up curiously, then let the cards in his hooves fall to the ground, seemingly forgotten. I turned almost woodenly, tensing myself in anticipation. My eyes widened and my jaw went slack. Praegus looked at me expectantly while the rest of us just sat there gobsmacked. “H-How…?” Duft trailed off, her eyes flicking up and down the monstrosity as if she’d seen a row of grizzly bears performing ballet. Smirch looked at his own disappointing construction, and returned to me with a soulful look as if I were the one to blame for what the changeling did. Okay, I gave the order, so in a way he was justified, but there was no way… I shook my head, clearing my wandering thoughts. “Well,” I began, enunciating the word like I was mincing it with my teeth. “Looks like we know how good its spatial recognition is.” Smirch and Duft could only nod along with me silently. Sergeant Wheeler also chose that moment to step in. The door opened and his curious head poked in. “What’s with all the…” The words lapsed in his throat as he stared up at the tower of cards. “Wow, Princess, if you wanted a castle, you could have just lodged a construction permit with Town Hall.” Smirch and Duft concealed grin behind modest hooves, as I felt my cheeks flush with colour. Oh so he wants to play it that way? “Perfect!” I said, bounding forward. “We need a larger sample size. You can take part in the next test.” “Test?” he asked in a querulous tone. He slowly backed out the door, but found his hooves dangling in the air as I brought him back into the room with magic. “Yes,” I told him primly. “A test. Consider this a polite request.” “N-No, I couldn’t impose—” “I simply must insist,” I pressed. “But I have to guard you…” he trailed off unconvincingly. I just rolled my eyes at him and pointed to the cards. Sergeant Wheeler vented a despondent sigh and gathered some cards, starting the hopeless pursuit to catch up to Praegus’ impressive castle of cards. “Excellent,” I said, then relented at their looks. “Oh alright, I’ll give it a go again.” —————— I knew the tip of my tongue was protruding out the corner of my mouth, but I couldn’t help it, the operation was delicate. Behind me, Sergeant Wheeler stood behind with a bored expression, the polar opposite of Smirch’s and Duft’s shared trepidation. Come on, just a little bit more. With a small clatter, the collection of playing cards came crashing down. I groaned in frustration while Smirch and Duft threw up their hooves. Sergeant Wheeler shook his head, but his lips twitched into a small smile of admiration. “That changeling sure has a lot of fine control,” he remarked, coming off the wall he was leaning against. We had been waiting for the doctor to get back from signing the rest of the paperwork. They wanted to run just a few more tests on me before they gave me the all-clear. After examining the changeling, they had shook their heads and gave unequivocal assurances. Much of their efforts had yielded generic results. Changeling physiology was too divorced from regular pony physiology to warrant confidence. Still, after giving Praegus its name, the changeling had settled down without too much of a fuss, and the medical staff assured me that it was as healthy as anything could be… at least given what they knew. Meanwhile, Praegus had other ways of surprising us. “I think that’s it,” I murmured, filling in the last of the parchment with my own notes. I rolled up the scroll and tossed it onto the desk a little more forcefully than I had originally intended. “Thank the heavenly body of Celestia,” Smirch moaned, and Duft nodded emphatically, despite my disapproving glare. Such language. Smirch and Duft were on the ground groaning, Sergeant Wheeler blinked wearily and swayed a little, but still managed to stay on his hooves. I blinked at them. How had they gotten so tired? “What’s wrong?” I asked with a raised eyebrow. Smirch looked at me like I was a rampaging hydra. “Princess we’ve been at this for hours, aren’t you tired?” I glanced at Praegus, who looked fine, and then at myself. I knew I tended to go overboard when there was investigating to be done, but I hadn’t felt that tired. I gave myself a once-over. “Oh,” I mumbled, when I realised the problem. “Sorry.” Alicorn endurance must outpace most other ponies. My wings shifted restlessly as I grappled with another thing that set me apart from other ponies. Sergeant Wheeler gave me one of his lopsided smiles. “Don’t worry about it, Princess. Some of us are professionals.” He directed the last sentence at the two splayed ponies on the ground. “Well you came later,” Duft complained. “We were here doing this for a couple of hours before that.” “I can be professional,” Smirch added. “As soon as I take a nap.” Sergeant Wheeler snorted, but let the point drop. “In any case, we now know a little more about our ‘friend’ here,” he muttered. “These results are just…” His eyes flickered around as he tried to put a hoof on it. “Whacked?” Duft put in helpfully. “Monstrous?” Smirch added. “I was going to say unexpected,” Sergeant Wheeler cut in. “This puts a new perspective on these critters.” I nodded along. I had suspected that changelings were as intelligent as any other pony, but Praegus was something else. Excellent hoof-eye coordination, a quick and logical deducer, high numerical and problem solving aptitude all pointed to a particularly exceptional type of changeling. The changeling produced results that were consistent as if it were some kind of super-pony. I never would have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. Even more disturbing was the implication that these skills were common for all changelings. I stifled the thought. Even it were true, that didn’t change the fact that something had to be done. “Alright,” I began. “Let’s review—” I was interrupted by furious knocking on the door. “Sergeant! Sergeant!” The door, for lack of a better phrase, blew open. Miggle burst in waving panicked hooves. “Ch— Ch —” “What?” Sergeant Wheeler took a couple of steps forward. “Ch—?” “Changelings!” Miggle spluttered. “What?!” —————— Miggle took a moment to collect herself before saluting us all awkwardly. “Changelings,” she repeated. “Changelings were spotted along the town border!” I glanced at Praegus, but the changeling didn’t respond, it simply stared at Miggle. “What were they doing there?” Sergeant Wheeler demanded. “How many?” Miggle shook her head. “I just heard from a pegasus patrol. One of them are tracking the changelings, and they spotted a couple of them lurking around the edge. She’s standing outside ready to take you to them, Princess.” Sergeant Wheeler’s face twisted into a grimace. “We’ll have to gather a guard—” “Forget it,” I said, belaying his order. “This might be the chance we’re looking for to find out just what Praegus was doing here. Take me to the pegasus, we’ll fly there.” Miggle nodded, but Sergeant Wheeler cut me off. “No,” he said. “No?” I asked him calmly. “No,” he reaffirmed. “I can’t let you go with so few guards.” “We don’t have time to waste,” I shot back. “We need to get to these changelings before they leave. Besides, I don’t think they’re here to cause trouble.” Sergeant Wheeler frowned at me. “How do you know that?” I shrugged. “If they really wanted to get into the city or spy, there’d be a lot less conspicuous ways to do it. They haven’t even disguised themselves as ponies.” Sergeant Wheeler conceded the point, but still stood firm. “Princess, I can’t allow you to go out with such a minimal escort, it could be a trap.” “Don’t worry,” I said patiently. “Remember, I can teleport? I’m sure I can handle a little danger.” “All the same—” “Enough,” I said, nearing the end of my patience. “I know you’re concerned about me, but I’ll be fine, you’ll see. I can handle anything, probably better than you can.” The instant the words slipped out of my mouth, I wanted to drag them back. Sergeant Wheeler’s cheeks mantled, but he made no further move to block me from going. He stared at me with anthracite eyes, then gave me a stiff bow. “Yes, Princess.” I wasn’t in the mood to feel too guilty. Sidestepping him, I headed out the door with Praegus following close behind. I could feel my eyebrow twitch. Another problem. The changeling. “Stay here,” I told it. Praegus looked at me blankly. “I mean it.” “I must follow you,” Praegus insisted. I considered the likelihood of the changeling doing what I asked. It would probably find a way to follow me. From the sidelong glance that Sergeant Wheeler gave the changeling, I knew he was thinking the same thing, though he would lack the wings to keep up. “Alright.” I sighed. “Just don’t do anything unless I tell you to. Can you fly?” “Yes, my Princess,” Praegus replied. At least there was that. I studied Praegus for a moment longer feeling the familiar sensation that things were slowly spiralling out of my control. Before that could overwhelm me, I turned to Miggle. “Lead the way.” Miggle glanced back at Sergeant Wheeler for a moment, before skittering out in front. ——————— Miggle trotted down the hallway, weaving her way through the hospital staff. I found the doctor outside staring at me intently. Before I could even formulate an excuse, the doctor just sighed in resignation and waved us away. She mumbled something unintelligible, but I had the distinct feeling that she was just getting tired of us disrupting normal hospital routine. Again I felt that guilty stab, but I quashed it under the new priorities. I would apologise the Sergeant and the hospital later, right now I had to find out what the changelings were doing so close to Las Pegasus. Though Miggle’s quietude was starting to get on my nerves. “Look, I—” “Almost there, Princess,” Miggle said quickly. Her tone was so falsely cheerful I had to bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from snapping at her. I silently swallowed the ugly feelings. It wasn’t like me to flare up like that or dismiss anypony’s concerns. What would the Princess say? I stopped Miggle, holding a hoof out. The guard reluctantly turned around and scrupulously avoided my gaze. I took a deep breath. “Listen, I-I didn’t mean all of that back there, I know you’re all trying to help.” Miggle flushed, but didn’t say anything. Not hearing the bombastic pony answering frenetically was unsettling to say the least. I marshalled my thoughts, trying to phrase my next sentence so it wouldn’t look like Winona’s breakfast. “There’s just been a lot going on,” I continued slowly. “I’d appreciate it if you could forgive me for being so hopelessly out of my depth.” Her armour creaked slightly as the silence wore on. Finally, Miggle replied. “It’s not really me you have to apologise to.” I nodded glumly. “I know, I’ll tell Sergeant Wheeler I’m sorry.” Miggle’s smile broke out like the dawn. “Alright Princess, but I think Wheelie needs to relax a little. He takes his job really seriously, and sometimes it puts him at odds with some ponies.” “I shouldn’t have shut him off, he was only trying to help,” I muttered with a groan. “If it makes you feel better, I think he worries about you a little too much. You seem like a mare that can take care of herself.” Miggle coughed as she realised what she said. She gave me a meek smile. “Uhh, sorry, sometimes my mouth gets away from me. Forget about it for now Princess, you were right about hurrying, the changelings could be gone.” Miggle surged forward. “Faster now!” I followed Miggle with my ever-present shadow accompanying me not far behind. Outside the hospital, the streets were mostly empty. There were a few ponies I caught gawking at a guard, a princess, and a changeling in their midst, but they quickly ducked their heads and went on with their business when Miggle pointed at them and gestured for them to move on. To the left was a pale orange pegasus that stood at attention as we approached. “Private Firefly reporting for duty, ma’am.” “Relax, Private,” I told her. “We need to find the changelings, can you lead me to them?” Firefly finally noted Praegus, her head shifted a couple of inches in surprise before she brought it back. “Yes, ma’am!” She gave Praegus a hesitant once-over before taking to the air. I shot off after her, straining to keep up with the sudden acceleration of the fervent filly. I was only mildly surprised that Praegus kept up with me, only a few feet behind. The changeling could probably fly better than me. “Take care!” yelled Miggle after us. I gave her a small wave, but was quickly back on task. Firefly was streaming ahead, and I didn’t have the luxury to take it easy. Las Pegasus’ tall buildings and cloud architecture grew smaller as we rose in altitude. Firefly glanced back and banked slightly to let me catch up. “Sorry, Princess, I’ll take it slower!” I nodded gratefully at Firefly. “Thanks! I’m still a little new to flying in general.” Firefly grinned and pointed a little ahead and below. There was a river snaking its way below us, and a forest. The tree line was a little ways in, but White Tail Woods looked imposing as ever. “They were near the rail line,” Firefly explained. “We spotted them coming from the mountains though, but they went into the forest.” “What happened? How’d you see them?” Firefly glanced at Praegus and then back at me. “Well you probably know more than we do, Princess, but I bet my wings that it’s to do with the changeling you have there.” “What makes you say that?” “They were waving at us,” Firefly replied shortly. “We didn’t risk landing, but they didn’t fly up to meet us. They said something about finding a lost changeling.” She shrugged and pointed back at Praegus. “It doesn’t take a genius to figure they were probably talking about the changeling you found, Princess.” I nodded at the assessment. What she said made sense. “So the changelings, what were they like? Can you describe them to me?” Firefly looked uncomfortable. “I don’t know what to say, their looks are kind of disconcerting, not all that different from the changeling there, but that’s all I know of them.” Firefly pulled up sharply, and so did I, but with a slightly more awkward aerial stumble. Ahead, a navy-blue pegasus made her way towards us, from here her long mane hair streamed out from her helmet. “Firefly!” then she noticed me with Praegus. “Princess!” She gave a clumsy mid-air bow. “That’s Moonshaker,” Firefly said by way of introduction. “Don’t worry about that,” I chuckled. “You don’t need to bow to me.” Moonshaker grinned toothily. “You’re here to see the changelings, then?” Her eyes danced with enthusiasm. Firefly narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “I take it they’re friendly?” I hazarded. Moonshaker nodded vigorously, unaware of Firefly’s rising ire. “We talked a lot.” “You did what?!” Firefly shot back, her eyes afire with furious scrutiny. Moonshaker shrunk back under her glare. “Do you know the meaning of observe, not interact?!” Moonshaker cringed. “I was only—” “They’re the very basics of your training!” Firefly snapped. “Now, now,” I began, before they could blow it into an argument. “We’re all here for the same thing, let’s—” Praegus darted forward, choking of the rest of my sentence. “Another,” the changeling said. “Another?” Firefly asked. “What’s that mean?” “It’s funny,” Moonshaker said. “When you were nearby, they said the same thing.” “They?” A ripple of foreboding crept up my spine, chilling me despite the warmth of the sun. Moonshaker glanced back warily to the clearing she came from. “The changelings,” she confirmed. “What does that mean?” I murmured more to myself than to the others. Firefly twitched an ear. “Beats me,” she replied with an inquisitive tilt of her head. “But I think we should investigate.” At my nod, the two pegasi streamed forwards with me trailing behind. Moonshaker alighted closer to the edge of the forest, while Firefly, Praegus and I hugged closer together nearer to the centre of the clearing. Praegus was staring with laser-like intensity at the suspiciously dense knot of bushes near where Moonshaker was standing. Moonshaker peered at the forest, trying to make out something. She muttered something indistinguishable, and the chilling reply of a changeling echoed back. The voice was more characterised, less mechanical than Praegus and much more, for lack of a better word, sinister. Gradually, a pair of changelings emerged from the hedge. At first I thought they looked similar to Praegus, but I noticed some key differences. Praegus had no distinctive colour on its back, while these two sported a faintly mottled green colour. Praegus had smooth, matte chitin, while these changelings tended to be more glossy in colour. Also the one on the left seemed to be limping slightly and they both looked tired, as if they were carrying a heavy burden that none of us could see. I wondered briefly if it were a ploy to garner sympathy or if they really were as worn as they looked. To the side, Firefly tensed up, but Moonshaker waved her down, waggling her eyebrows in a way that suggested we should go with the flow. Almost reluctantly, Firefly relaxed, but was on her guard as the two changelings approached with Moonshaker. “Hello, pony princess, pony guards.” As the changeling on the left spoke, they both gave a slight bow of deference. She had a distinctly feminine tone, unlike Praegus’ androgenic monotone. It was yet another difference between them. The other one kept glancing at Praegus, clearly interested, but the changeling didn’t say anything. “I’m Twilight Sparkle, that is Firefly and I believe you’ve already met Moonshaker.” I gestured to each in turn. “What brings you to Las Pegasus? We don’t see many changelings.” The changeling relaxed slightly, and shared a look with its partner. The tense atmosphere between us went down a couple of notches. “That went better than I expected. I am… Silken, this is… Moth,” the changeling on the left said. “We were looking for a changeling.” I glanced at Firefly who just shrugged. Moonshaker shook her head in negation. Looks like they hadn’t given their names before. “Were?” I raised an eyebrow. “And are those your real names?” Silken and Moth shared a look. “No,” she said finally. “They’re not. Names are… complicated for changelings.” I had a sudden flashback to Prageus’ naming. “Alright, but you haven’t answered my question.” Silken took a couple of hesitant steps forward. “We were looking for a changeling around here,” she continued. “We got a call.” I blinked. “Are you talking about this changeling?” I gestured at Praegus. “We found this one in the forest close to death, and you mentioned a call?” Silken and Moth shared another look. “Stop it!” I snapped. “Why do you keep looking at each other?” “Apologies, Princess” Silken said quickly. “We did not mean to cause offence. We’re just confirming facts.” “Facts,” I pressed. “What facts?” Moth was the one who spoke this time. “To know if this changeling is special, and if it can help us.” Firefly looked as lost as I felt. “What are you two talking about?” Silken sighed. “I think it is best if we start at the beginning. Moth, you’re more familiar with the ancient tellings, why don’t you start?” Moth stared back at Silken, clearly unwilling to speak. “Moth…” Silken insisted, her tone brooked no compromise. Finally, Moth sighed and nodded slightly. His eyes fixed upon me as he settled into a well-rehearsed narrative. “Long ago,” he began as if he were chewing each word thoughtfully, “at the beginning of changeling history, what you call ‘the changelings’ lived independently as solitary hunters.” “Solitary?” I interrupted. “You exist as collective group now, don’t you?” Silken regarded us with an unreadable look. “It wasn’t always like this. Please, hear the rest of the story.” I settled back as Moth continued in a deep, almost gravelly tone. “As solitary hunters we were usually regarded as little more than another dangerous creature to be wary of. Ponies, like yourselves, simply tried to avoid us, or routed us out from time to time.” Moth gave a despondent sigh. “Though lately it hadn’t been any different.” He shook his head, then resumed. “It would have continued if it weren’t for Queen Prime.” Silken gave a shudder, but didn’t say anything. “Who’s Queen Prime?” Moonshaker eventually ventured in the awkward silence. “Queen Prime was the first Queen. She was the first of what you would call ‘changelings’. Before that we didn’t have such a name.” “Why?” I blurted out. Moth stared at me. “Because we gained the ability to shape-shift.” My mind reeled with the implications. “Does that mean that you get all your abilities from your Queen?” “Certain abilities,” Silken stressed. “But it comes at a heavy price.” “Well, not as it used to be,” Moth muttered, looking uncomfortable. He continued, albeit more reluctantly. “Each changeling is bound to their Queen strongly, dependent on the magic they have shared with their changelings. The more magic is shared, the higher the connection they have with their Queen. They may share all or some of the abilities that the Queen possesses, but in return they are bound to serve the Queen.” He looked away. “Queen Prime was the first Queen, but she was a tyrant, thinking she was some sort of divinely-inspired changeling goddess. “When Queen Prime’s rule had gone far, your own princesses, the Royal Sisters, destroyed Queen Prime when she threatened the balance of power. The changelings lost their connection with Queen Prime, but some rose to take her place. The art of sharing a link has been lost to all except these few Queens, and they all zealously guard the secrets.” Moth scuffed the ground with his hoof. “This wouldn’t be much of a problem because the sharing happens between changelings as long as they are both willing. Once they are bound, they both share a covenant, to protect one another. A noble cause however misguided the first Queen was.” “So you don’t have a Queen?” I asked tentatively. Silken snorted. “Of course not, or we wouldn’t be talking with you. No, I’m quite thankful I’m not a part of that kind of drone system. The sharing is a choice, but lately—” “Silken!” Moth growled, stopping her. “We don’t even know if they’ll help.” “But they have—” “We don’t even know if it’s true!” “What’s true?” I interjected. Silken pointed a hoof at Praegus. “This changeling… we feel something from it.” Moth frowned at Silken. “Surely it couldn’t be. I mean I know I felt it too, but—” “What else could it be?” Silken lapsed into a brief silence. “We could ask her.” Moth laughed. “Don’t be ridiculous.” Tired of being ignored again, I spoke up. “Ask what?” Silken twitched as if she had forgotten we were all standing there. She shifted her hooves uncomfortably as she answered. “Ask if you have joined with the changeling.” My eyebrows drew together as I mulled over her words. “Joined? What do you mean joined? As in made a connection?” Silken nodded. “The changeling you have there has made a declaration of sorts.” She swallowed. “You might not like what it has told us.” I sighed, rubbing my aching temples with the twisted conundrum of their gnarled narrative. “You’re not making much sense. I think you’re asking for help, but I’m not understanding how we can give it. I don’t even know if half of what you said was true.” My lips twisted bitterly. “We haven’t had the best experience with changelings in the past.” “It’s her,” Silken growled. Moth nodded. “Who’s ‘her’? Just, oh, never mind that.” I wanted to give them a chance, but my patience was starting to wear thin. “So far you’ve been giving us a roundabout explanation of why you’re here. It’s time to be straight with us, or we’ll have to escort you out of the town’s limits.” Silken shared another look with Moth, but this time they nodded. “Did you share any magic with that changeling?” Silken asked suddenly. Not expecting the question, I just blurted out an answer. “Y-Yes, but I don’t see how—” “It’s her,” Silken said to Moth, she turned back to me. “You don’t know what you’ve done.” “I saved Praegus from near death, what would you have me do, let Praegus die?” Moth stamped his hoof angrily. Immediately, Firefly and Moonshaker tensed. He glanced their way, then visibly calmed himself. “I’m going to let that one go, since you don’t know anything about us.” Silken put a hoof on Moth’s shoulder and gave him a look, then took over the conversation. “Of course not,” Silken assured me quickly. “What Moth means is that you’ve started a chain of events that we can no longer intervene with.” “What do you mean?” I demanded testily. Silken held up her hooves in a placating gesture. “What we mean is that you’ve linked with that changeling and named it. It’s no longer free. You’ve started your own Swarm.” “What?” I teetered back a couple of steps. “What’s a Swarm?” “I’m telling you, she doesn’t know. She can’t help us,” Moth growled. “Quiet!” Silken shot back, she turned back to us again. “That changeling is special. Now that you’ve started to link with it, it’s calling individuals in the area to join with the Swarm.” She grimaced. “That doesn’t normally happen.” I couldn’t help but feel curious. “Why?” I asked. “Because there’s only three Queens left in the world!” Silken said. “There aren’t any more. One is desperately old, the other is crazy and the last is so hopelessly powerless her changelings are slowly dying out. You couldn’t have possibly learned how to share with a changeling! I didn’t even know it was possible that you could.” “Only three?” I murmured. Firefly glanced between us with a confused expression. “Could you… I don’t know, make more?” Silken looked at Firefly as if she were daft. “Don’t you think that if we could we’d already have done so? The only way to make a new Queen is to share magic with a blank changeling. It’s rare that such a changeling exists, and even rarer that there would be one willing to share magic with it. It’s a dangerous process, and only the current Queens know how to do it, and only one of them has the power to do it.” Her eyes bore down on Firefly. “Many have failed trying. It’s practically impossible even if we wanted another Queen.” Sharing magic, a blank changeling… I stumbled back a few steps as I started to see what the two were saying. “T-That means…” I trailed off, unable to say it. Silken nodded slowly, her eyes studying me critically. “You’re a Queen,” she announced. —————— I shook my head from side to side, doggedly trying to make sense of what had just happened. “But… I can’t…” Words died in my throat as I tried to articulate a coherent response. Nothing came close. “You’re a Queen,” Silken insisted. “That’s the only explanation possible, but that’s not important right now.” “Not important—” Silken waved an impatient hoof. “We’re not here for you, we’re here for the blank changeling. At least…” she sighed. “At least that’s what we were here for originally. Now that it’s linked.” Moth nudged Silken. “Do you think it’ll still work?” Silken gave him an annoyed glance back. “How should I know? We don’t know if they’ll even help us.” “Help you with what?” I was getting sick of these two changelings darting all over the place. It was like trying to fit a hoof through the eye of a needle. “We don’t even know what your problem is.” Their plight was beginning to feel insignificant to the escalating situation of my own. Silken regarded me thoughtfully, her expression belying the careful weighing of options unseen from behind her eyes. Her thoughtful countenance hardened as she came to a decision. “You might of heard of the failed invasion of Canterlot.” Her words were slow and cautious, like treading on strewn glass. I nodded, my eyes narrowing. “Yes, I was there.” Silken eyed me as a mouse would a cat. “Were you… directly affected?” I kept my expression carefully neutral. “As much as anypony else.” Silken bit her lip. “Chrysalis is one of the Queens as you may know, but she’s different.” Silken took a deep breath and closed her eyes as if to gather courage. “Chrysalis is delusional.” I raised an eyebrow. “I gathered as much.” Silken looked slightly surprised, but suppressed it quickly. “I guess that saves us a little time by way of explaining just how crazy Chrysalis is.” Silken rubbed a sheepish hoof to the back of her head. “Chrysalis let her duty consume her. She took the precept to save her Swarm from starvation to conquering all that is non-changeling for food. “For most, her views on what constituted for the survival of the Swarm were considered extreme, and most started leaving after the failed invasion showed the true cost of following her grandiose designs. You may have noticed that things were quiet lately. At first, we thought that Chrysalis had merely retreated with those that were most loyal to her, but we found out something worse.” Silken paused to take a breath. The cauldron of emotions were so raw and unfettered that I couldn’t help but sympathise slightly with the stricken changeling. Impartial, impartial, impartial! Keep. Being. Impartial. At last, Silken seemed to find the resolve to move on. “Chrysalis began collecting more changelings for her Swarm. We thought she had managed to convince her deserters to return, but it soon became clear that they weren’t joining because of some twisted rhetoric.” “She was good at that,” Moth added bitterly. Silken inclined her head in agreement. “Somehow, Chrysalis found a way to manipulate Queen Prime’s sharing magic. She forced those to join with her against their will.” Moth spat. “She’s broken the covenant.” Silken nodded glumly. “This is all very saddening,” Firefly drawled in a way that suggested she found it anything but. “I don’t see how this affects us.” She glared at either one. “And for the record, I don’t trust either one of you.” As Firefly spoke, Moth gritted his teeth and made to move forward, but Silken held out a hoof in warning, forcing the changeling a step back. “I told you so,” he growled, eyeing Firefly. “They wouldn’t help us.” Silken sent me pleading look. So far I had tried to remain carefully neutral, although with Praegus in the mix and the potential for what seems to be some heavy changeling politics, I didn’t know where I sat, much less where Equestria sat. Personally I wouldn’t have had anything to do with changelings, but slowly I was beginning to understand that there was a lot more behind these changelings than I once thought. There was still this issue of them claiming I was a Queen. It was far-fetched, but not entirely impossible... Things were starting to go way over my head. Were these the sort of things Princess Celestia and Luna dealt with for thousands of years before? Enough of that. I concentrated on a pegasus technique Rainbow taught me and I gently flexed my wings. I found the action calming. Moonshaker noticed and gave me a weak smile. Her small gesture of encouragement bolstered my confidence. I could handle this, I was a princess now. Cadance wouldn’t balk from a simple geopolitical cross-species diplomatic nightmare. Well okay, maybe a little. “Hold it, both of you.” I turned to Moth. “That’s not true. We may not have the best experience with changelings but what Chrysalis is up to concerns me. We’ll hear you out at the very least.” I gave him a small smile. “Besides, we’ve gotten this far, we should hear the rest.” Moonshaker nodded and tentatively raised a hoof. “I’m in favour of helping them,” she said quietly. Firefly started as if she had forgotten that Moonshaker was there. “I don’t like to see anypony hurt.” “How do you know this isn’t some elaborate plan cooked up by Chrysalis to lure us in—” Firefly rounded on Moonshaker pointing a hoof towards me “—or to snag a princess?” “We don’t,” I answered for Moonshaker. “We don’t know anything about these changelings or what their motivations are.” “See—” “Princess—!” I held up a hoof. “But. What ponies would we be if we turned our backs on somepony who needed help? I don’t know about you but I would want to live in a world where ponies trusted first and then bore the consequences later, wouldn’t you?” Firefly looked like she bit a lemon, but under my steady gaze she turned her eyes to the ground. “Yes, Princess.” I softened. “Your desire to protect us is admirable though, I can’t fault you for that.” Hypocrite, I thought guiltily. Sergeant Wheeler also wanted to protect you, but you chewed him out. I shook my head. I had to make amends, but now wasn’t the right time. “Anyway,” I said loudly as if I could smother the voice in my head with my own. “You both look dead on your hooves. Perhaps we should continue this conversation back in Las Pegasus?” Once again Silken shared a look with Moth. “You would take us in, Princess?” she asked timidly. I cocked an eyebrow. “I don’t see why not.” Moth shook his head. “You ponies are too trusting,” he grumbled. I had started to turn away, but at his comment I turned back with a disconcerting smile that made him take a step back. “Well you will be under watch by a dozen guards, I’m going to put a tracking spell over you and you’ll be inside a changeling-proof barrier for the duration of your stay.” I arched an eyebrow. “So no, not one hundred percent trusting.” Silken chortled at Moth’s wide eyes before bounding forward. “I like you,” she said to me, catching me by surprise. “You’d make a good Queen.” She cocked her head at my stricken expression. “Too soon?” “Y-Yeah,” I said. “Let’s not discuss that for a while yet.” —————— Miggle gave me a cross between a salute and a wave as I landed with the changelings in tow. “Keep them under guard but provide them with everything they need within reason,” I ordered. Miggle gave me a jaunty salute again and trotted off with the changelings. From her direction I assumed she was taking them to the local guard precinct. Well that was one problem delayed. Looking ahead, I caught Smirch and Duft standing awkwardly near the front of the entrance to the hospital. They gave me a nervous salute as I approached. “Is Sergeant Wheeler inside?” I asked tentatively. Duft shook her head. “He’s at the orphanage.” “The orphanage?!” I couldn’t keep the surprise out of my voice. “He said he was there to ‘take care of something’,” Duft replied warily. “What’s he doing there?” I asked. Duft shrugged. “I don’t know, that’s all he said. Do you want to go there?” “Yes,” I said. “Can you take me there?” Duft nodded. “Of course, Princess.” She turned to Smirch. “You coming?” Smirch grinned. “I don’t really have a choice. Sergeant Wheeler still hasn’t retracted our standing orders to guard the Princess.” I didn’t say it out loud, but I was glad those two were coming along. —————— I didn’t know what I was expecting. Maybe a rundown little apartment block with a rusted cast-iron gate and a gnarled garden beyond repair. Perhaps a sour, rotting house that housed sour ponies. What I’ve heard and what was reality was different. It was clean and crisp, with cheerful colours and decorations and equally cheerful staff. I greeted the receptionist who nearly fell over herself when she recognised who I was. “P-Princess Twilight! What an honour you’re here!” she exclaimed. To say that I was uncomfortable at the attention I garnered would be an understatement. I don’t think I’ll ever be truly comfortable with the abject adoration some ponies showed when I simply talked to them or passed them by. “Hello, Miss…?” “Tulip Cross! Just call me Tulip, I don’t much like the name Miss Cross.” She giggled, motioning down the corridor. “The foals like to play games with my name and sometimes I become Miss Cross!” Duft chortled, but quieted as Smirch gave her a look. “Well I’m here for a pony—” “Oh! Well, I better get Butterscotch!” The mare scrambled out of her seat and bolted down the corridor. “Miss Scotch! Butterscotch! You have a special visitor!” I glanced back at Duft and Smirch with a raised eyebrow but they both shook their head in mild confusion. An aged mare made her way down the corridor. She was spritely for her age, with a cane that suggested she used it more for aesthetics rather than function as she practically sprinted towards us in a bustling heap. “Hello!” She gave a curtesy. “Your Highness!” “That’s alright,” I said hastily. “No need for that, I’m not here for an official visit.” “Oh dearie me, when I heard from Miss Tulip that a Princess had come I thought the Equestrian Social Services department had found something unsatisfactory with this establishment, why I had a bout of panic I did. Dear oh dear.” She clutched an aged hoof to her chest. “Gave me a fright, that did.” “No need to worry,” I assured her. “I’m just looking for a pony.” Her eyes sparkled with barely concealed enthusiasm. “Certainly, Princess! Right away!” She clapped her hooves loudly. “Girls, boys, we have a special visitor, line up, line up!” My eyes widened as it suddenly became clear that there had been a misunderstanding. “Uhh no, actually—” “Don’t be shy, don’t be shy, Your Highness, I’m sure they’re all just as nervous as you are.” Butterscotch reached out and pulled me along by the hoof as I sent out a ‘help me’ look to Smirch and Duft. They mostly shrugged and mimed talking. I tried one more time. “Look I think there’s been a—” Any further words were drowned out by the excited chatter and clamour of a bucketload of foals. “Hey, who are you?” “Can’t you see she’s a princess you doof?” “Hey who’re you callin’ a doof you goof?” “Wait, is that Princess Twilight?” “You mean the one that took on Discord and Nightmare Moon? Woah, no way!” “Where did you come from?” “Where are you going?” “Who’re you going to pick?” “Oh! Pick me!” “Pick me!” “Me! Me! Me!” “Uhh…” I wanted to tell Butterscotch that I wasn’t really here to adopt a pony, but the hopeful gazes of the gathered foals made it harder by the second to say anything. I swallowed, trying to gather the courage to tell them. “Princess?” At his familiar voice, my head shot up to Sergeant Wheeler who looked like he was simultaneously trying to look surprised, exasperated and amused at the same time. The three warred across his features until it settled mostly on amused as he regarded me. “Fancy seeing you here, Princess,” he said. “You seem popular.” ‘Help me’, I mouthed silently. Sergeant Wheeler shook his head and turned to Butterscotch and whispered something in her ear. “Oh my,” she said, reddening. “My deepest apologies, Your Highness, I thought—” she shook her head “—well never mind. Come now everypony! The Princess is only here to visit, maybe she’ll come down later and meet with you all.” Butterscotch began to corral the foals down the hallway, and sulking, many of them reluctantly left. When the room quieted, I jumped in. “Sergeant, I’m—” “Actually it was my fault, Princess.” He sighed. “To tell you the truth, I’ve been feeling kind of bad about our last, uhh, chat. You’re a powerful pony used to danger and making difficult decisions. I didn’t respect that.” He paused. “I guess I felt a little… inadequate around you, like an extension rather than a part of your protection.” He took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Princess.” I shook my head. “Hold on,” I said with a frown. “I was supposed to apologise to you! You’ve got it the wrong way around!” I took a breath and toned down my voice. “Actually,” I said uncomfortably. “It occurred to me that I was being rude.” I stared at the floorboards. “And arrogant. I mean sure I might have had the confidence that I could handle things on my own, but there’s a fine line between confidence and recklessness. I think I hoofed a little close to being reckless. You’re only concerned for my safety, and you’re trying your best to look out for me. What I mean to say, I mean what I want to say is… I’m sorry too.” Sergeant Wheeler smiled at that. “That was sappy.” We both turned around in surprise to see Puff making her way down the corridor. “Puff!” I said with a grin. “What are you doing here?” Puff’s smile faltered a little. “I live here.” Oh. Things started falling into place fast. Suspicion crystallised into certainty. Oh dear. “Well,” I said quickly. “What was Sergeant Wheeler doing here?” Sergeant Wheeler rolled his eyes. “This little troublemaker has been wandering outside the building limits again.” “I can’t help it!” Puff replied with a pout. “It’s so small and cramped in here.” She mumbled something I could only hear at the edges of my hearing. “And there’s nopony to play with.” “You have to ask for permission,” Sergeant Wheeler asserted. “Or you’ll make Butterscotch worried.” “I know,” Puff said sullenly. “She’s nice, even if they…” Puff shut her mouth firmly. “Even if they?” I asked gently. “Nothing,” Puff said. “Puff, if we can help…” “I said nothing!” Puff suddenly yelled, scrambling off. I stared after her for a while then turned to Sergeant Wheeler who sighed. “It doesn’t look like the other ponies are giving her a hard time,” he said in answer to my look. “She just doesn’t get along with many—” he bit his lip “—all of them.” “Why?” I asked. “She seems pleasant enough.” “Well yes—to us—but Puff finds it hard to communicate with other foals,” he said. “We don’t know why. She just  shuts down in front of them.” “It must be difficult,” I murmured. Sergeant Wheeler nodded. “She tries though, and that’s what breaks my heart. She tries so hard, and she’s awfully proud…” I glanced down the corridor regretfully again, before making my way to the door with my silent retinue. “Let’s go.” ——————— I got Sergeant Wheeler caught up on the changeling situation. Even though I wanted to help Puff, the priority right now was to deal with the mystery of the two changelings. Sergeant Wheeler paced outside the room, though Duft and Smirch had gone inside to help with the dozen other guards. He looked as agitated as I felt. Several times I could hear him mumbling about possible plans and counter strategies and though I was curious to know what his training said about dealing with this kind of situation I didn’t want to interrupt what looked like a deeply thoughtful process. Instead, I occupied myself by studying the various knick knacks of the Sergeant’s adjoining office. It wasn’t surprising that he had little by way of personal effects, but what I did find surprising was there was only one. Apart from a curious stuffed doll, Sergeant Wheeler didn’t have much else on his desk. I think I expected him to have a few photo frames, maybe a family, but there was only that doll and a few certificates mounted on his wall. I wondered at the significance of the little doll, but decided to put it aside for questions later. Instead I scanned the certificates. “Most dedicated guard of Las Pegasus,” I whispered to myself. “Highest performing guard ten years running…” “Sorry, did you say something, Princess?” Sergeant Wheeler called from the door. I shook my head, simultaneously dispelling intriguing thoughts about the sergeant’s private life. “No,” I said. “Are you ready?” Sergeant Wheeler coughed. “I think I’m ready. Or as ready as I’m ever going to be, Princess.” I got up from my seat and stretched my wings. I winced slightly. “Are you okay, Princess?” Sergeant Wheeler asked, his face etched with concern. I chuckled softly. “Oh I’m just not used to flying around for long distances. I only just recently got these wings. Sometimes growing a pair is not as glamorous as some ponies make it out to be.” Sergeant Wheeler wore a lopsided smile I was beginning to recognise was his response to something amusing I said. “What? Was it something I said?” “Nothing,” he replied. “Just thinking of some of the problems of being a Princess.” I rolled my eyes. “Nothing you’d have to worry about in your lifetime,” I mumbled. He chuckled as I glanced at the door. “Let’s not keep them waiting.” “I’m sure a few of the guards are starting to feel cramped in that room,” Sergeant Wheeler added wryly. I opened the door. I don’t know if my jaw could unhinge itself from my skull and break through the two storeys we were situated on in the local guard precinct, but by the Stars they were trying. It was a full five seconds before I could find my voice. “What in Celestia’s name just happened?!” Smirch and Duft were on ground with the changelings straddling them in a very compromising position. The other guards were looking on interested, but none made a move other than straightening slightly, inclining their head in my direction, and showing varying degrees of bemusement. Smirch recovered first. “We can explain. So, wait, Princess—!” I slowly shut the door and turned to Sergeant Wheeler. “This explanation better be the most amazing explanation I have ever heard explained in the entirety of all things explained.” Sergeant Wheeler gave me another lopsided smile. “I’m sure it will be.”