//------------------------------// // Invitations // Story: Mirage // by Trump-12 //------------------------------// The classroom fell silent as Scootaloo walked in. All eyes watched her closely as she calmly took her seat between Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. The room tasted bitter to Scootaloo, filled with suspicion and fear. She could handle it for a while, but she would have to step outside at some point to clear her system. Rumours had spread quickly through the town, and now pretty much everypony knew she was a changeling, although her status as royalty had been better hidden. Slowly, whispers spread across the room, starting at the furthest points from her and moving gradually inwards. Those sitting closest remained silent. They might not have liked the idea that a changeling was in their class, but none of them wanted to provoke her either. On the other hoof, there was always one. “What are you doing here?” came a sneering voice. “This is a school for ponies.” The class fell silent again, wondering what would happen next, and making it easy to hear Silver Spoon’s whispered warning. “Are you crazy? She’s a changeling!” Diamond Tiara just laughed. “Please, she can’t be that dangerous if she can’t even figure out how to fly in a form she chose for herself. Why else would she hang around with those losers?” “Who?” Scootaloo asked. “The loyal friends who love me for who I am? Forgive me if I see that as a good thing.” She smirked, before adding one last comment. “And quite tasty too.” “Ha! See!” Diamond practically shouted, looking at the other two. “She just thinks of you as food.” “No she doesn’t! At least she gets something from us,” Applebloom shot back. “The only way a changeling could feed off you would be if they turned into a mirror.” She froze. “Scoots, can changelings do that?” “Nah. I could probably manage a reflective pony, but it would look ridiculous.” “No more ridiculous than you usually look, Scootaloser,” Diamond called. “In fact, you all look ridiculous, why don’t you just take them somewhere else and drain them so the rest of us don’t have to see their stupid blank flanks all day.” Scootaloo stood up, eyes flickering with green light, but before she could say anything, a voice cut across the room. “Diamond Tiara!” Cheerilee screeched from the doorway, looking livid. “I am well aware that your mother’s position on the school board makes you think you can’t be punished, but there is still a line, and you just crossed it. I have never heard such a disgraceful comment in my life.” Diamond Tiara’s ears flattened under the teacher’s glare. “On top of that, I was asked by Twilight Sparkle, on behalf of Princess Celestia herself, to make sure Scootaloo was safe today, and I assure you that if the princess gets involved, your mother’s position and reputation will mean nothing. I can’t let this continue. You can spend your lunch hours for the next week in here with me.” The entire class looked stunned at the normally mild teacher’s outburst. Cheerilee took a few deep breaths, visibly calming down, before speaking again, in a slightly strained voice. “Now, I hope you all have the homework I asked for on Friday.” After her previous display, everypony pulled out their homework as quickly as possible. “So, I was thinking,” Scootaloo said as the Crusaders walked out of class. “I’ve been to both of your houses, but you’ve never seen where I live.” “So?” asked Applebloom. “It’s not like you could’ve had us over without tellin’ us you were a changelin’.” “Of course not, but now you know, that’s not a problem any more. So, what do you think? Wanna visit a changeling hive?” “Isn’t it in the middle of the Everfree?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Is that safe?” “Please, I’m a royal changeling. Since I don’t have to hide that anymore, there’s nothing in that forest that I can’t beat with the right shift.” Applebloom stopped. “You can turn into something that can take on a dragon, but you can’t do a mirror?” “Bigger is easier than smaller. I still need to be able to fit all my internal organs into whatever form I take, and I don’t have to worry about parts of my natural body sticking out of something big. If I go for something small, I have to be careful about how I rearrange everything, and I have to basically destroy the parts which would stick out. If I wasn’t a royal, I wouldn’t even be able to get this small, and I won’t be able to once I’m a queen either, too much size difference.” “You’re starting to sound like Twilight,” teased Sweetie Belle. Scootaloo stopped and made gagging noises. “Hey! I’m going to be queen one day, I need to know this stuff. I’m not an egghead.” Sweetie Belle smirked. Princess Celestia groaned. Her day had seemed to be one long string of nobles demanding to know what she was thinking. Anti-changeling sentiment in Canterlot, and Equestria in general, was strong, and it wouldn’t surprise her if there were groups being set up to oppose them. With such a tenuous agreement in place with Queen Imago, such a thing could be a disaster. She had asked Imago to send a message to the other queens, stating that she didn’t hold them responsible for Chrysalis’ actions, but she didn’t expect any responses: changelings were naturally suspicious of anything that could be a trick. Her worries about how Twilight and her friends were doing in the North did nothing to ease her nerves about the situation. She still didn’t fully trust Queen Imago, even if she had found her fairly likeable. Imago had clearly stated that most changelings were highly skilled at acting, presumably including herself and her daughter, leaving their personalities open to doubt. She was more inclined to trust Princess Mirage due to her long term connection to the Crusaders with no apparent ill effects, but she was still setting up some contingencies in case of a betrayal by either party. As she left the throne room, she found Prince Blueblood waiting for her. She smiled. Blueblood had been one of the first through the doors this morning, ranting about changelings, which would normally have annoyed her immensely… if she hadn’t asked him to do it. Blueblood was her secret weapon against scheming nobles. He projected an image of being a pompous pain-in-the-flank, which made the ones who actually thought that way gravitate towards him. Any information gained would then be passed straight to her, allowing her to prepare arguments against their proposals which she could appear to have come up with on the spot. “Blueblood. What have you learned?” “I received invitations to no fewer than three house parties with the aim of setting up a group against changelings. I directed the second and third towards the first, so as to only have one group to watch instead of three, although I suspect it may split into two groups anyway.” “Who were the three?” “The first were Jet Set and Upper Crust,” Blueblood said. “As you know, they are two of the most vocal ponies of those I surround myself with, so it does not surprise me in the slightest that they would try organising such a group.” He shook his head. “Next came Crème de la Crème, which surprised me. She always had strong opinions, but hasn’t tended towards action in the past, although her son was injured in the attack, which could explain it. I expect that she will either follow the first group or not bother, given time to calm down.” “And the third?” Celestia asked curiously. “Emerald Shine. Not really unexpected, but I think she will be much easier to work with or around. Her well known hatred of Jet Set means she’s unlikely to join that group, leading me to believe that she will continue to form her own group. She’s always been swayed by results more than words, so if we can go a few months and show that this arrangement is working, her group will probably break up on its own without having done much. If anything she probably sees it as a precautionary measure, rather than any true belief that your agreement won’t work.” “That’s not so bad,” Celestia said, after a moment of thought. “I knew there would be opposition when I went into this, but one possibly dangerous group and another one not so threatening is better than many unconnected threats. I’d like you to be my eyes and ears in Jet Set and Upper Crust’s group. Your public persona puts you closer to their circles, and they are the bigger threat as far as anypony can tell. Was there anything else that stood out to you?” “At some point, somepony managed to slip a message into my pocket without my noticing. It reads, ‘Good acting, but your emotions betray you,’ and is signed, ‘P’. Given the content, I believe that one of the local queens arranged it, and the list you gave me would suggest Queen Phantasm was responsible. I believe she was testing whether it would reach you. She may attempt to establish full communications in the near future. Given the local attitude towards changelings, it would make tactical sense for her to open friendly talks with the local powers.” Celestia’s eyes widened. “Assuming you are correct, that is good, albeit slightly disturbing, news. I was expecting the other queens to remain hidden, at least for a while, but if some line of communication can be opened, we may be able to control the situation better. It worries me that you were unaware of the message being passed, but it is not unexpected from such a secretive race, especially with magic and shapeshifting at their disposal. Just check regularly for new messages, this may become a more permanent arrangement. Is that everything?” “For now. I will alert you if I find anything else, Princess.” Blueblood walked off, reestablishing his public face, as Celestia pondered these new developments.