Cara woke the next morning to the sound of the membranous door opening and Mimic stepping in. “Cara! Spinnekop! Wake up!”
Cara was up before Mimic even mentioned her name; she climbed out of the covers and stepped onto the floor. Noting the large pile of wood shavings near Spinnekop’s bed.
Mimic saw them too and shook his head. “Spinnekop. Spinnekop!”
Spinnekop grumbled a bit but rose out of the bed slowly.
“Spinnekop, mind explaining this?” Mimic asked, motioning to the wood shavings.
Spinnekop yawned before running a hoof over her eye. “I was… thinking, Sir…”
“Uh-huh.” Mimic said. “Where is it?”
“Where’s what?” Spinnekop asked, grinning innocently.
“Spinnekop, the carving, Now.” Mimic demanded.
Spinnekop sighed and opened the bottom drawer of her dresser with her magic, pulling out three woodcarvings each one only an inch tall, but the amount of detail was astonishing, even by her standards. Each one was of a different race of Pony, each with marginally different features, but for the most part they retained the same basic features.
Mimic looked at them. “What are these?”
Spinnekop sighed. “They’re… designs for… my pony form…”
Mimic raised an eye ridge. “Pony form?” He replied, eyeing them closely. “Why?”
Spinnekop traced the ground with her hoof. “Queen Chrysalis assigned me a mission, she said I would need a pony form…” She replied. “I was just trying to get an idea for how it would look…”
Mimic looked at the carvings, they were highly detailed, the Pegasus in particular, with the wings being just the right size and angle for a fast flyer, with the detail of each feather taken into account. “How did you carve this?”
Spinnekop’s horn lit up again as a small knife levitated from out of the drawer, Mimic eyed it. “You used this?”
Spinnekop nodded. “I’ve kept it for a year…”
Mimic looked at the carvings again. “Well?”
“Well what?”
“Have you decided on which one you will use?” Mimic asked.
“Umm…” Spinnekop replied, tracing a circle in the wood shavings. “I was actually going to ask you about it…”
Mimic sighed. “Cara, report to Commander Mandible, he will be administering your Scout test!”
“Yes, sir!” Cara replied, with a salute before hurrying out of the room.
“Spinnekop,” Mimic sighed. “You are to come with me to my office.” He said sternly. “Bring those carvings with you.” He placed them on the dresser.
“Yes, General…” Spinnekop replied she picked up her left foreleg and began to walk behind the captain. She was led through the empty barracks, the other Changelings having left for their tests. She stepped through the door to see Mimic take his seat behind his black chitin desk.
“So… Spinnekop…” Mimic said as he looked over the desk. “How long have you spent on this?”
“Most of the night…” Spinnekop replied. “I just… Needed to finish it by this morning.”
Mimic sighed. “Spinnekop… Spin… Don’t work yourself to death. I know that I-”
“The Queen needs me to finish them though!” Spinnekop replied. “She told me to have my first letter to the Alicorn finished today!”
Mimic looked at Spinnekop in surprise. “That… She assigned that to you?”
Spinnekop nodded. “She told me last night…”
Mimic paused for a second, looking off to the side in thought, before sighing. “Spinnekop, you should have told me immediately. I am here to help you.”
“But I thought that…”
“Spin, I’m the closest thing to an Infiltrator you have, let me help you.”
Spinnekop looked up at Mimic, and nodded.
“Now, have you at the very least considered the ramifications of each race?”
Spinnekop nodded. “I kind of like the Unicorn…” She replied. “Because I… Want to be able to use my magic.”
“Was that how you made those?” Mimic said, pointing at the carvings.
“Well… I used it to steady the stick, while I carved it…”
“Have you thought any further on it?”
Spinnekop shook her head. “I… Only got that far… I fell asleep.”
“So do you have a name figured out?”
Spinnekop shook her head.
Mimic tapped his chin. “Perhaps you should base it off of your own nickname you enjoy using so much.”
Spinnekop looked up at Mimic, placing the carvings on the desk. “Is that safe? Me using my own name in a disguise.”
Mimic waved his hoof. “Plenty do it, Mirror Match, Broken Fang, personally I don’t, but plenty do it.”
“Umm…” Spinnekop replied thinking. “I’m not sure…”
“Perhaps it could relate to your little talent here.” He motions to the carvings. “And if I’m not mistaken, you also have quite a knack for crafts, given what I’ve confiscated from you over the years.”
Spinnekop blushed. “Yeah… Um…”
Mimic chuckled. “Listen, I know that you aren’t old enough to have a fully self-sustaining Pony form. So why not just focus on the details. Do you have a color scheme you wish to use?”
“Uh…” Spinnekop looked over the carvings. “Why not these colors?” She indicated the carvings, while the colors of the bodies had been carved into a near white color, the Unicorn had her mane carved from some of the outer wood, giving it a darker brown appearance. “I kind of like how this one looks.”
“Well, let’s see what you think about it.” Mimic stood up from his desk and walked into a cleared section of the room. “This will be the first time I do this from a carving instead of a picture… but it should work the same.”
Mimic was covered in a flare of red flame, and replaced with a almost yellowish white unicorn mare, her straight brown mane curling up at the ends. “How’s this?” Mimic asked.
“Wow…” Spinnekop replied. “That looks… Perfect.”
“Care to give this mare a name?”
“Um…” Spinnekop said in thought. “Well… Spin… Spin…Spindle?”
Mimic rubbed ‘her’ chin. “That could work… But you still need a last name. Perhaps you could play off the first word… How about Spindle Weave?”
Spinnekop hopped. “That would be perfect!”
Mimic laughed. “I thought you would like it.” He returned to his normal form. “Listen, Spin, the rest of the recruits will be out for the remainder of the day, doing their various tests. I will help you if you need it, but it is up to you to decide what to write.” His horn lit up as a map levitated from one of the drawers. “This is a map of Equestria, pick a town or city to start off with, all except the capital city, that city is where the Alicorn lives, we don’t want to say that you are too close. Personally I recommend Manehatten. It is far enough away from Canterlot to warrant the writings, and we know a lot about it.”
“Uh-huh…” Spinnekop replied. “Um… General?”
“Yes, Spinnekop?”
“How do ponies… Write to each other?”
Mimic looked back at Spinnekop. “Well… First, you should describe yourself, your name, tell her you are a Unicorn from Manehatten or wherever you decide. Write a few things about yourself, like interests and hobbies… then, ask her some questions.”
“Okay… What if I fail? What if I write something I’m not supposed to…”
Mimic walked up to her. “You won’t, and there is no real bad things you can do here, it may only slow down her opening up to you, ponies are naturally trusting, she won’t think you are bad unless there is a legitimate reason to believe so.”
“I… I hope so…”
Mimic looked over at Spinnekop, who was now fidgeting with the pendant around her neck. “I’ll… Read over it before you send it to Chrysalis, if it helps.”
Spinnekop nodded. “Thank you…”
“Don’t thank me yet.” He replied. “Get going, you have a letter to write.”
Spinnekop nodded and began to walk towards the door. “Wait!”
Spinnekop looked back to see Mimic levitating the Unicorn carving towards her. “You might as well have this, it being your disguise and everything… It would be against the Hive’s best interests.”
Spinnekop grabbed the carving in her magic. “Of course, sir. We wouldn’t want that.”
“Dismissed, Spinnekop.” Mimic said, allowing Spinnekop to leave. She walked out of the office and returned to her quarters, grinning as she took the wood carving and placed it on top of her dresser.
She looked next to the carving, where she placed the envelope she had been given to her from Chrysalis. She levitated it close to her, and pulled her knife from the drawer and opened the envelope. Inside, were a few sheets of paper, an inkwell, and a quill. Spinnekop pulled out the objects and looked at them curiously.
Ink had been incredibly difficult to get inside the Hive, the only way to gain any would be to go into a pony town and purchase some. There was little need for ink unless filing a report or for the higher officers.
She looked over the materials and then at her room, looking for something to write on. She settled for the dresser, taking the quill in her magic and dipping it into the inkwell, she glanced over the blank page. How should I start this? She moved the quill around her magic, before settling on an idea.
“Dear Penpal…”
Write your name, and some basic information…
“My name is Spindle Weave, I live in Manehatten in…” Spinnekop tapped her chin. What do the ponies call them? In the Hive, there was no real family, any Changelings that were abandoned or had their parents killed pressed on, they did their best for the Hive. “An Orphanage.”
Spinnekop tapped her chin. “I’m a young Unicorn, only five years old. My hobbies include carving and decorating.”
After that… Ask her something.
“What do you do for fun? Do you have any friends? My best friend is named Cara, she has been one of the only ponies that seems to like having me around, the others tolerate me. Not that I mind, I’m fine with my life how it is.”
It wasn’t perfect… Far from it, but it would be acceptable. So Spinnekop took the quill and lowered it to the bottom of the paper. “From, Spindle Weave.”
Spinnekop looked over the letter before nodding happily with it and placing it into the envelope. She walked out of her room and began to walk towards Mimic’s office, her head held high as she had completed her first task in the mission. All that remained, was the wait…
Later that evening, Spinnekop was busily carving details into her Unicorn Figure, she hadn’t had time to adjust the horn, or the full facial features in her sleep deprived state. So now she was carving out the spiral in the horn, slowly ensuring it retained a constant indent the whole way along the horn. She was just finishing the base of the horn when the membrane opened.
“Spin… What are you doing with that?” Cara asked walking into the room, her carapace was covered in small scratches, but nothing was really bad about her appearance, she simply had mud and grime everywhere.
“Mimic allowed me to keep it, since it is my base form.” She replied placing the knife next to the figure on her dresser. “So, how was your day?”
Cara sighed. “It was terrible…” She replied. “I almost failed my first test…”
Spinnekop’s eyes widened. “What! Why?”
Cara sat down on her bed. “It was a race amongst all of the scouts, we had to get through the forested area outside the Hive, we were just dropped in random spots, equidistant from the Hive, and had to make our way back…”
“I was one of the last ten to get there that got in…” Cara replied. “Stupid Alpha Cluster…”
Spinnekop sighed. The Alpha Cluster was made up of the best soldiers available, they were often scattered throughout the other groups, to either keep them on their hooves, or to annoy everyling. They always walked with their heads high, and barely even respected anyone from the other clusters. They constantly won any challenge against anyone from other clusters, and were on their way to be the best class of every rank; Mimic was the only General in Chrysalis’ army that didn’t come from the Alpha Cluster, and he rubbed it in their snouts whenever he could.
“Don’t let them get to you, Cara…”
Cara huffed. “Easy for you to say…” She replied. “You are on your way to be an Infiltrator… I’m just a Scout…”
Spinnekop hopped off her bed and walked over to Cara. “No… You are the best Scout I know… Those Alpha Queen kissers couldn’t hope to be as good as you. I bet they won’t even pass the first real test!”
“You think?” Cara replied looking up at Spinnekop. “I just… I hate getting shown up by those jerks!”
“Well… Show them that you aren’t somepony to mess with. You’re good at that.”
Cara smiled. “Well… I guess that the whole point of a Scout is to think outside the box and gather intel…”
“You’re great at that! I bet that your next test will be right up your alley!”
Cara smiled. “Well… You got me to feel better.” She replied. “So how was your day?”
A few days later, A courier Changeling walked into the main dining cavern, easily identifiable by the larger wings, smaller stature, and pair of bags over his back. He walked through the hall, looking for a particular Changeling, as he found her, he flew above the rest to come to a halt above her. “Message for Spinnekop.”
Spinnekop looked up at the Courier, he was holding a white envelope in his magic and levitating it down to Spinnekop. “This came in today from our outpost in Manehatten.” He said. “The Queen wishes for a quick response.” He then turned and flew off.
Cara looked over at the Envelope. “Who do you know in Canterlot?” She asked.
Spinnekop looked over the envelope, it was a clean white, and the stamp was of a stylized sun, in front of a sky blue background. On the front of the Envelope, scrawled in blue ink were the words. “For Spindle Weave.”
“Who’s Spindle Weave?” Cara asked reading the name.
“That’s me, Cara…” Spinnekop replied. “This must be from my target…” She stood up. “I’m going to head back to the barracks… See ya later.”
Cara waved back to her as Spinnekop ran through the Hive, heading back to her room, when she got there, she quickly grabbed her knife and opened up the envelope.
The letter inside was written in beautiful blue ink, that didn’t betray the young handwriting.
Dear Spindle Weave,
My full name is Mi Amore Cadenza, but please just refer to me as Cadence. I am an Alicorn from Canterlot, it isn’t as interesting a city when you live there sadly. I’m really sad to hear about your living conditions, I do hope that you get more friends. To answer your questions, I do enjoy reading love stories, call it what you will, but I enjoy seeing two ponies that love each other so greatly get together. I do have friends, and some that I wouldn’t classify as direct ‘friends’, I kind of just know them.
I am curious about your parents though…” Spinnekop felt her heart drop. “Unless it is a touchy subject, if so, just tell me and I will not press any further. Also, if it is not too much to ask, could I see some of your craft? I am interested in the carvings. I do hope that everything turns out okay for you.
From,
Mi Amore Cadenza
Spinnekop looked over the letter then grabbed her inkwell and quill as well as the journal. She opened up the journal to write down any information she had been given. While not much… it was something.
“Mi Amore Cadenza… Lives in Canterlot… likes love stories…” Spinnekop looked over the information. “It’s not that much… But anything is better than nothing…”
She closed the journal and looked over at the carving of the Unicorn she had finished, a little bit of her spare ink had been used on the mane to give it a slight sheen, a small stick she had managed to get Cara to give her sitting next to it. She sighed at the unfinished product she had worked on during the night, it was a basic carving, mostly just the front outline, the rest of the figure was still stuck in the wood.
Spinnekop had planned to finish it during the nights, but now it seemed like it would need to be done now…
She sighed as she levitated the unfinished figurine over to her, alongside her knife. “I guess I can… It’s all for cover right…”
A few more days passed, and Spinnekop had sent her response that night, with her newest carving inside. It was nearly lights out when the response from Cadence was delivered to her. A Courier entered her room and held the letter out to her.
Dear Spindle,
I’m impressed by the figure you sent me, it is so accurate, despite the coloration being a bit strange, it is a beautiful piece. I’m surprised to hear that the Orphanage isn’t allowing you to do it more. I understand your wishes to not speak about your parents, so I will not bring them up unless you mention them.
I decided to send you something in return for your own craft. While it isn’t much, I hope that it will help.
Spinnekop looked into the package and pulled out a picture of a small pink Alicorn, standing in front of a large golden gate, in the distance there was a white and gold castle.
I know it is a bit weird to think about it, but in just a few years, I’ll be living here alongside my Auntie Celestia.
Spinnekop let out a gasp.
Cara looked over at her. “What is it?”
Spinnekop looked over the words, her open mouth not closing as she read over the words. “Aun-Auntie… Celestia…”
Cara looked over at her. “Say what?”
“Cadence!” Spinnekop replied. “She’s… She’s the niece of Celestia!” Spinnekop’s horn lit up as she levitated over her journal, quickly writing down this new information. This is HUGE!
Spinnekop began to look over the rest of the letter.
This was taken on my first tour of the castle, while I didn’t get to view a lot of other rooms, it was still amazing.
Spinnekop kept trying to look over the letter, but it was overshadowed by the huge glaring words… Auntie Celestia…
She eventually managed to force that away to read the rest of the letter.
I really want to invite you over to our place, but I feel like it would cause problems. However I do want you to know that I am waiting for your next letter with anticipation, hearing from you is always an interesting point of my week.
From,
Cadence
Cara was looking at Spinnekop in surprise. “Your friend is the Niece of Celestia!”
Spinnekop nodded. “She… She likes my work…”
Cara looked at her dumbstruck. “That is what you got from that?” She shook her head. “Come on, Spin.”
“Sorry…” Spin replied. “I just… Nopony has ever liked my work before…” She caught the glare from Cara before adding. “Other than you. Of course…”
Cara rolled her eyes. “Spin… That is a huge detail… You shouldn’t forget that.”
“I-I know…” Spinnekop replied. “It’s just… I’ve never known somepony to openly enjoy my work… It feels… Good.” She replied, a small grin forming on her face. “Is this what you feel like when you beat course records?”
Cara nodded. “Accomplishment is a great feeling, though I think you are getting a little bit of pride mixed in there, after all, you made the figurine, I just run really fast.”
“But you do it so well…” Spinnekop replied. “I’ll write a reply tomorrow…” She sighed removing her pendant. “I need to get some spare paper to keep in here.” She said. “I’m tired of going and talking to the customs Changeling every time I want a sheet of paper.”
“Well, it is difficult to get in the Hive.” Cara replied. “We only have so much before we need to buy more. We need to ration it.”
Spinnekop sighed. “I know… But you would think given my mission I ought to have some kind of backup supply, in case I want to change the writing.”
“Talk to Mimic about it.” Cara suggested. “I’m sure he could pull a few strings.”
Spinnekop sighed as she placed the pendant on the dresser, right over the Unicorn carving she had made. “I’ll need to think about it later… Tomorrow is the day I get assigned to a new commander.”
“Ooo…” Cara said with a little wince. “Good luck. Hopefully you don’t get assigned the Alpha Cluster’s Captain… What with you being an Infiltrator now.”
“I’m not a full Infiltrator, I never got the job, I’m just… On a mission.”
“That you were hoof picked for by the Queen, herself,” Cara retorted. “Face it, you are an Infiltrator.”
Spinnekop smiled. “I guess you’re right, and with the best scout in the dang Hive.”
“Oh, you flatter me.” Cara replied. “Now let’s get some shut eye. Big day for both of us, tomorrow.” She said, climbing under the blanket. “Night, Spin.”
“Night, Cara.”