//------------------------------// // Visit // Story: Mirage // by Trump-12 //------------------------------// Sweetie Belle looked nervously at the entrance to the forest. “Are you sure the path is safe?” “Relax,” replied Scootaloo. “Like I said, I can take on anything in here.” She shifted into her true form, and started walking. “Come on.” The other two hesitated for a second before following her in. For a few minutes, they walked in silence, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle not wanting to catch the attention of anything dangerous, and Mirage using her taller stature to scan the path ahead. Suddenly, she stopped holding out a hoof to stop the other two. A short way down the path, a large clump of bushes shook with the passage of some creature. The two ponies stepped back as Mirage lowered her horn and began to charge it with magic. The bushes parted to reveal a single zebra. Mirage relaxed again, while Zecora’s eyes widened, and then quickly narrowed. “I confess I did not expect to see a false one in the Everfree.” Her eyes drifted towards the pair of fillies behind Mirage. “Come here, fair Sweetie Belle and Applebloom, before this one leads you to your doom.” “Hey!” shouted Mirage. “I would never hurt my friends.” Zecora looked angrily at her. “Your kind came to my land in days long back, they thought we would make an easy snack. We quickly rooted out their spies, seeing through their transparent lies. When their secrets came to light, each of them did try to fight. Zebras in battle don’t hang about, we fought back hard and drove them out. You claim your companions are your friends, prove you aren’t just using them for your own ends.” “How am I meant to do that?” Zecora stopped and thought for a moment, before opening her saddlebag and pulling out a small pouch. “This powder can interrupt your mental magic, if they run away, then that would be tragic.” She stepped forward and blew a bright red dust over the group. Nothing happened. “It seems you were telling at least part of the truth, their lack of fear is a partial proof, but that does not rule out everything your race tries, for children are easily controlled with lies.” “I admit I lied to them for months, but I couldn’t keep doing that, especially after that mad queen ruined the wedding.” Mirage sighed. “Nothing I say or do will be enough to convince you, will it?” “I suppose that if I must, I should extend you a measure of trust. To live in this forest one must be protected, the monsters who come near my home are simply rejected. So follow me to my hut, though it is no palace, its protections will block those with hearts full of malice.” “Why bother, it's not like I haven't been there before.” Zecora frowned. “If that is the truth and you aren't telling lies, then what was the nature of your disguise?” Mirage quickly turned back into Scootaloo. “This is a surprise, as from what I recall, you should not be able to get that small.” “It’s pretty rare, but I’m just that awesome.” She glanced back at Sweetie Belle, who looked like she was about to ask a question, and subtly shook her head. Zecora’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Whether or not you are Scootaloo, it will still take time before I trust you. I have already told you what you must try, or to these two you must say goodbye.” Scootaloo sighed. “Fine, let’s just get it over with.” Thirty minutes later, after a brief detour to Zecora’s, where they had confirmed that her protections would indeed let Scootaloo in, the two ponies and a changeling arrived at the hive. Applebloom hated being lifted up to the entrance in Mirage’s magic, but that was mainly because earth pony magic tended to act almost like a sixth sense when in contact with the ground, which often made flight disconcerting. As they rounded the corner to see the hive, both ponies’ jaws dropped. “Whoa…” “It's pretty,” said Sweetie Belle. “What's it made of?” “Spent love,” replied Mirage. “Can't get any more magic out of it, but leave it for a while and it gets really strong. Holds active love quite well, too.” The three of them walked towards the entrance. “How’d y’all find such a big cave?” asked Applebloom. “We dug it out ourselves. Changelings are great diggers. Almost any changeling could match the top rock farmers in Equestria.” As they crossed the threshold of the hive, Applebloom stopped for a moment, eyes wide. She glanced briefly down at her hooves, before continuing. Mirage spoke up again. “The area near the entrance is where most of the guards live, so they can respond quickly if we get attacked. There are also a few living at the top of that ramp, to trigger the hive’s defences. There’s a massive ball of spent love up there which rolls down to block the tunnel.” She smirked. “It’s also great for riding a scooter down if you can fly, although I kind of got banned from riding it in the hive after I nearly ran Mum over.” The other two giggled. As they made their way up through the hive, Mirage pointing out important areas, they passed a dark tunnel leading into the rock at the back, surrounded by warning signs. “What’s down there?” Applebloom asked. Mirage shuddered. “Deliria’s Labyrinth. My great-grandmother, Queen Deliria, went a bit nutty in her old age. She built a massive, creepy maze of tunnels, sealed them with spent love crystal, filled them with traps and hidden compartments and hid most of the hive’s valuables in there. If nothing else, she was a genius at construction. We still haven’t found everything, which is the only reason it hasn’t been sealed off. I went in there once.” She shuddered again. “Not doing that again.” “Can we get closer?” Applebloom asked. At Mirage’s look, she continued, “Ah don’t wanna go inside, Ah just wanna check somethin’.” “Well…” Mirage hesitated. “I suppose as long as you don’t go past the opening, it should be OK.” Applebloom walked slowly towards the tunnel entrance, before lifting her hoof and placing it on the stone wall next to it. She held it there for a moment, and then moved it over to the smooth green crystal of the tunnel entrance. Again, she waited for a few seconds, before she turned around and walked away. “Er… Applebloom?” Mirage asked. “What was that all about?” “Ah’ve been gettin’ a weird feelin’ in mah hooves since we got in here. The rock feels normal, but whenever Ah touch the crystal they get all tingly.” A look of confusion crossed Mirage’s face. “Really?” Applebloom nodded. “And everything else is normal?” “Eeyup.” “Huh. I’ll check with Mum, but it’s probably nothing to worry about. Let me know if anything changes.” Mirage looked over the side of the ledge they were standing on and pointed at several large blocks of crystal in the middle of the hive, each glowing brightly. “Anyway, those blocks over there are the main love storage for the hive. They leak slightly, but that’s why they’re in the middle, it’s more likely that someling will absorb it again that way. They’re each sorted into different types. Most hives have one each for romantic love, love of friends, and a mixture of the two. We also have several extras for various combinations of those two with the weird love for every intelligent being that Pinkie puts out. Trust me, it’s strange.” “Pinkie is always strange,” said Sweetie Belle. “Remember when she tried to tell us that getting her cutie mark made Equestria?” “Blueblood, what have you learned?” “Jet Set and Upper Crust have recruited approximately twenty nobles and assorted high fliers to their cause, including Crème de la Crème, while eight have joined Emerald Shine. As expected, the latter group is taking a far more moderate approach, with a few of the more reasonable nobles also expressing interest in it, although none have joined yet. “There was a lot of boring discussion at Upper Crust’s party, but the summary is that they intend to make life difficult for ponies suspected of being changelings. I suspect that there may be cases for harassment in future, although I also suspect, in the present climate, that few juries would convict a pony for harassing a changeling. Given that Queen Imago’s daughter has been exposed to the population of Ponyville, and that one of the members of the group, one Spoiled Rich, also lives there, I suspect we will see trouble within the next few days. I would suggest alerting your student to the situation as soon as possible.” “What do you know of Spoiled Rich?” “Honestly, not a huge amount. She comes from a rich earth pony family, but is considered by the nobles to be little more than an upstart. Opinions are fairly evenly divided between those who despise her and those who think they can use her. The latter group tend to act like they care about her opinions, while disregarding them entirely. She is unlikely to have any influence in the group, but she is highly ambitious, and there is little she wouldn't do to get in the leaders’ good graces. “Put simply, she is an ideal pawn, and they will use her to test the waters. If she gets away scot-free, they will feel able to act more openly. Punish her harshly, and they will work in the shadows.” Celestia grimaced. “So I am left with a choice between allowing my apparent ally’s daughter to be harassed for a chance at the bigger fish, or personally defending her and warning the ringleaders away. Wonderful.” She sighed. “Good work, Blueblood. I’ll see if Twilight knows anything more about Mrs Rich.” “How the hay did you do that, Applebloom?” Mirage shouted as she stared at the shattered remains of the portable love container (a ball of love crystal) they had been kicking around. “These things are almost indestructible!” “Ah dunno. Ah just tried to buck it as hard as Ah could, then the tinglin’ got really strong an’ it broke.” Mirage sighed. “We really need to speak to my mother about this.”