Conspiracy
Warden glanced back over his shoulder at the praetorian guard coasting along silently behind them, blue eyes flashing in the dark like eight hovering balls of light chasing them through the shadows. The little indicator on Warden’s necklace kept fluctuating; the gem flashing different shades of brightness as they passed over houses that were emitting magic. A stage show was happening in the square, and Kuno had already tilted to avoid it, heading down a side-street, her smaller wings buzzing enthusiastically, no more than a low drone beside him.
“Do you see the guard following us?” Warden asked quietly, just loud enough to be heard over his wife’s wings.
Kuno tilted her head back, looking over her shoulder at the far-off sight of a pegasus guard following them at a safe distance, and then flashed him a toothy grin. “I saw them, yes. Not surprising, considering my… aggressive exit.”
“Celestia might have to punish all of us collectively for it,” Warden cautioned.
“Worth it!” Kuno grinned, flashing him that toothy smile again.
The six of them came to a backwinging stop at the top of the main gate into the changeling consortium. Kuno waved a hoof, dismissing the praetorian guard, and they quietly fanned out, disappearing into the castle walls.
“Do you practice that?” Warden asked.
“What?”
“That whole,” Warden waved his hoof the same way Kuno did, “and they all just vanish. You have to have practiced that.”
“What, no!” Kuno protested, but her toothy smirk told otherwise.
Warden smirked, and then paused, eyes narrowing over the edge of the castle gates, following a figure in the distance wearing a familiar suit.
“What are you…” Kuno asked, following his line of sight, before tilting her head very slowly to the left. “Is that…?”
“It is,” Warden said, before he took a step up onto the parapet and then dropped down off it, wings spreading out into a glide, until he could hit the ground and give a reflexive limping step before straightening up and remembering his hoof didn’t hurt any more, chasing after the figure in the suit. “Hey!”
The changeling blinked, paused, and then rounded to find both Kuno and Warden staring at her. She was a smaller changeling, with a red feather tucked in a hole in her horn. But most notable of all, she was wearing a Wonderbolt flight suit. Blue and yellow, with matching goggles, the flight suit, normally skin-tight, was loose and baggy around the changeling’s form; or at least, this particular form. A single lightning bolt marked one side of the suit, so it was a female wonderbolt’s outfit.
“Pinion, where did you get that suit?” Kuno challenged.
Pinion smiled, revealing her sharp little fangs, giving them both a sweet giggle. “How do you say…? A covert meeting,” she grinned, wings buzzing. “I know it doesn’t fit me but I like it so much I thought I’d keep wearing it!”
“Someone gave you a flight suit?” Warden asked, stepping closer and reaching a hoof out, tugging on the material for a moment, finding it stretchy and pliable. And moreover, from his experience with the wonderbolts, he could feel that it was authentic. The fakes all had less elasticity and bad seams, but this particular flight suit was flawless. It had to have been made for a wonderbolt themselves!
“The owner of it said that it would… accentuate the experience. In not so many words,” Pinion hummed, giggling to herself happily, little wings giving another buzz. “Demanded that I wear it, actually, as part of the session!”
“Oh, were you performing?” Kuno asked naively. “One of them sick and you had to fill in?”
“Not… exactly,” Pinion responded, blue eyes flashing mischeivously.
“It was a freaky sex thing, wasn’t it?” Warden asked blankly.
“A lady never kisses and tells!” Pinion said with a wise nod. “And my contract swore me to secrecy!”
“It was a female wonderbolt, wasn’t it?” Warden pressed.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Pinion sing-songed, turning on her hooves and prancing away, loose flight suit wobbling with her steps.
Warden watched the changeling go, head tilting slowly to one side. “You don’t think it was…?”
“Honestly?” Kuno responded, giggling to herself for a moment. “I would be stunned if it took her this long.”
Swarm slowly wrapped and unwrapped the pencil from her violently-green mane, staring glumly down at the pages of the book. “I don’t understand the question,” she whined.
Wrought Iron looked over top of his own book, squinting. “What question is it?”
“Number fifteen! It asks which pony is most attuned to magic.”
“Unicorns, obviously,” Wrought Iron said smugly.
“Changelings, definitely!” Swarm growled. “They can change shape at will! That’s way more magical than a unicorn!”
“But there’s no changeling answer in the book!”
“Exactly!” Swarm growled, pursing her lips. “There’s only pegasus and earth pony and unicorn! But neither of them is right. I’ll just put ‘changeling’ down the bottom.”
“That’s now how it works,” Wrought Iron said with a shake of his head. “You have to choose from the answers there. You can’t just go writing in your own answers because the right answer is one of the answers right there!”
Swarm opened her mouth to respond with a ‘well obviously not’, but then paused, puzzled. She closed her mouth, and looked up to see a mare storming towards them.
They were in the library, in the ‘research’ section, doing homework, and it was definitely somewhere where they were allowed to be; in fact, it was one of the few places they never got in trouble for being in. But this mare was staring pure venom at them both as she advanced.
“Hi mom!” Wrought Iron chirped as the mare prowled right up to them, before he clocked the look in her eyes and shrank backwards, tail giving a nervous flick.
“Hello ma’am,” Swarm said as courteously as she could.
“Wrought Iron, outside, now!” the mare almost snarled, and Wrought Iron shrank back further, ears flattening.
“Y-yes mother,” he stammered, submissively picking up his book, not even using his magic to do it, holding it in his hoof lamely. He glanced at Swarm, and then bowed his head. “Sorry, Swarm,” he mumbled.
“What?” Swarm asked blankly. “Is Wrought Iron in trouble?”
“Don’t you talk to him!” the mare hissed, and rounded on Swarm. “You and I need to talk.”
“W-what?” Swarm asked again, blinking, shrinking back herself, her wings giving an anxious little flutter. “Did I do something wrong?”
“Yes!” the mare growled, pointing a hoof at her accusingly. “Stay away from my son, do you understand?”
“W-what? But I didn’t do anything-”
“-Do you understand?!”
Swarm’s ears flattened back all the way and she lowered her head. “But… but he’s my friend…”
“Stay away from him!” the mare reiterated, her voice a low, dangerous hiss. “You do not speak to him! You do not walk with him! You are not friends! Do you understand?!”
Swarm’s eyes sparkled with tears, and she bit her bottom lip, shaking her head. “N-no! I don’t understand! What did I do wrong?!”
“I don’t care if you don’t understand, missy, stay away from my son!”
“Is something wrong?” a stern voice cut across their conversation, and Swarm looked up at the librarian, who had appeased from between a row of shelves.
The mare didn’t even spare a glance for the librarian, instead holding a narrowed, venomous stare directly at Swarm. “No. There’s no problem. We’re done here,” she snapped, turning on her hooves and marching away towards the front door.
Wrought Iron was loitering near one of the shelves, and he shrank backwards as his mother snapped at him, ordering him outside, leaving a confused and teary-eyed Swarm all alone.
“Kuno!” one of the praetorian guard rushed into the queen’s bedchambers, and Warden struggled up out of the embrace of his larger wife, wings limp and mane unkempt, blinking at the guard. A moment later, Kuno lifted up as well, staring at the intruder. “Hmmm?
“It’s after midnight,” Kuno groaned.
“You have a visitor!” the praetorian guard announced.
“It’s after midnight!” Kuno repeated.
“I assure you, you’ll want to hear what I have to say,” a deep voice said from the doorway, one neither Kuno nor Warden were familiar with.
“Who’s there?” Kuno asked, voice trembling for a moment as she summoned up the correct inflection to befit a queen.
The batpony in the doorway smiled, revealing his pointed fangs, and then gave a bow that Warden didn’t feel was quite sincere. “Sir, madam, I am Shadowwing, spymaster and leader of the dark guard.”
Warden tried to drink quietly, pouring a large volume of coffee into his muzzle and swallowing heavily.
They were seated at the quiet table that Kuno and Warden often ate meals at; a rough-hewn wooden table with legs that were all different lengths, one of the very first tables made by the changeling consortium and a table that Kuno refused to part with.
“Spit it out,” Kuno stated.
“I know who killed Green Hoof,” Shadowwing smiled from across the table.
The batpony looked almost menacing. In proper light, he was slightly mangy, with enlarged canines and a curious scar that cut from his cheek, bisecting his left ear, and leaving a split in it that added to his unsettling appearance. His voice was deep, smooth, and somehow soothing, and completely at odds with his bizarre appearance.
“I’m listening intently,” Kuno stated, her gaze not wavering from Shadowwing’s own.
“I do not know how far your investigation has progressed,” Shadowwing started, and Kuno snorted, rolling her eyes. He paused, arching an eyebrow at her.
“You’re the spymaster, you should know more about how far we are into the investigation than we do,” Kuno pointed out.
Shadowwing gave her a long stare, humming thoughtfully, before carefully choosing his next words. “Well, given that I am the spymaster, it would also be prudent that I not… play all my cards, so to speak.”
Kuno’s eyes narrowed intently, and she, in kind, measured the batpony. “You already know that we know it was a batpony.”
“Indeed I do,” Shadowwing said with a warm smile that was made slightly terrifying by his scar. “You are very astute,” he complimented, and Kuno inclined her head in acceptance.
“And you are very shrewd,” Kuno responded bluntly.
Warden watched both of them, looking back and forth, his coffee now forgotten, drinking in the details of their conversation and trying to understand the subtext.
Kuno waved a hoof. “You know how far we have progressed, and now you’re here to offer information, jumping the gun to ‘reveal’ to us that it was actually a batpony.”
“You wound me,” Shadowwing responded, feinging distress. “Having a murderer in my company is somewhat of a… thorn in my side. I can hardly remain a true and virtuous leader while I have that in my employ, can I?”
“No, you could not,” Kuno said suspiciously.
“So let us dispense with the facades,” Shadowwing stated, stamping his hoof on the table with an air of finality. “I am not here to ingratiate myself, nor to foment distrust. I am merely here to clear my name.”
“And how are you going to manage that since I already cut off your big reveal?” Kuno asked dubiously.
Shadowwing smiled, revealing his teeth and making Warden immediately distrust him.
“Because, madam, I can not only reveal the species of the perpetrator, but I can tell you exactly who did it.”
Kuno paused at that, eyeing the batpony with slight distrust but reluctant excitement. “You’re… you’re certain who did it?”
“Completely,” Shadowwing said smoothly. “In fact, I have a witness who can attest to finding the perpetrator shortly after the murder, acting quite suspiciously.”
“That’s… that’s hardly concrete evidence,” Kuno grimaced, looking at the spymaster with narrowed eyes.
“You’d be hard pressed to find another batpony who was caught washing blood from their hooves and face on the same night as the murder.”
Kuno sucked air over her fangs, her wings buzzing anxiously. “I’m listening.”
Shadowwing gave a peculiar whistle, and a figure appeared at the window, carefully climbing through it. At first, Warden thought it might have been Spectre, but this batpony was larger and heavier. He stepped completely through the window, dropping down onto the floor and then bowing in Kuno’s direction. “Madam?”
Kuno stared at this new intruder in her home, and pursed her lips. “Yes?”
Shadowwing turned to the new batpony, and nodded.
“My name is Onyx, madam. And I caught my superior washing blood from her face and hooves on the night of the murder. Right after hearing commotion from the grounds here. I am certain she is the murderer.”
Kuno fretted, her front hooves dancing, weight shifting from one to the other and back again. “You’re certain? She’s the murderer? You’re really just telling me?”
“Really,” Shadowwing responded calmly. “It is in my best interest, after all.”
“Yes, yes it is,” Kuno almost growled. “Spit it out, who murdered my friend?”
“A batpony by the name of Umbra.”
I can't promise timely, consistent updates. But I haven't forgotten this series, or this fandom 
I've just been busy! My endless apologies.
Never feel bad about nagging me for updates 
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sir, it's been like 2 years.... I'm going to have to reread the whole thing before I remember all of what's going on.
well time to reread EVERYTHING <3
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You and me both
It's alive!!!!
Wow, it's been so long since there was an update, I completely forgot this even existed.
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It sparks joy that I recognize names from the early times and that you guys are still here
FINALLY UPDATE!
Have to re-reading this masterpiece once more ♡
Well holy shit, I was wondering if you'd come back!
Spitfire... that was priceless!
Ok, now we only need to take it to Luna and than a interrogation. Was it a personal motivation? Magical manipulation? Perhaps a political move?
This is a brutal cliffhanger.
Love it ♡
its back
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Or Fleetfoot, depending on which material one reads ...
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still here, now i just need to re-read everything
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If you want to keep writing, I'll keep reading.
I will admit I'd written you off in the last 24 hours when I noticed you hadn't even logged in over the last 2 weeks.
Now back to it Mr. Pegasus, you got plenty of unfinished fics.
An update to my favourite series after two years.. welp, time to reread everything!
Ooooo... this story is a blast from the past!!
How uplifting it is to see old stories come alive again
Wow! I'm glad this is continuing! Hope it's not too much longer for the next one, but I'm invested, so whenever you can manage it, I'll wait!
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I've already typed out a little bit of the next chapter! Like 40 words lmao. But it's a start!
I have to tread carefully and tie up some plot points and resolve some things, because stuff will start happening quite quickly. It's like that moment in Mass Effect where it flashes up the warning 'oi, m8, your decisions are set in stone from this point onwards. Sure you wanna keep going or are you gonna finish those sidequests?'
Wow, this is still going. I think I fell off after somewhere in volume 3.
Simple wonderful!
I can’t wait to see we the story goes! Thank you so much for the continued story and thanks for the early dock. Though by the time I got the message the new chapter was already out lol. 
Wait, thought every changeling was quarantined for the duration of the "investigation"?
The responses on tests aren't the "right" ones, they're merely the "expected response". Knowledge is not immutable, hopefully things can improve once the current crisis is resolved.
Hooves and face? Guess those teeth aren't just for show.
Seems the issue is running deeper than expected. Stupid politics!
Welcome back! This is indeed a good day. There are many changeling stories but this is undoubtedly one of the best, and I've been hoping you would continue this whole time. Thank you for granting my wish!
Yes!! It’s finally back!!
you can't do this to me, I don't have the time to reread the entire series from the start again :P
Very intriguing chapter, though! I feel bad for Swarm, and worse for Wrought Iron...
It's alive!!!!
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👍
✌
Text to speech is a thing, I literally stopped listening to radio in he car with exception to news because of accident reports etc.
How could I Bing read hundred of chapters in a week otherwise
Though I recommend some external reader websites.
Ever had one of your favorite voice actors read you a story?
ACTOR Will Smith, Commander Shepard from Mass Effect, former president Obama... A.I. reading stories is bloody entertaining
But to be fair, the good ones need to be rented.
But I rather listening to a female Commander Shepard than the default text to speech voice from Android
Yay update! And a good chapter at that
Welcome back.:D
Took long enuff'
Queue it's alive comments
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I bristle at AI voices, ghastly things. I'd rather have Microsoft Sam or Hatsune Miku read it.
But even still, I read faster than I listen. It's just that it's a lot of words :P
Alright, breaking out the party time mentats.
If video doesn't work click here.
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Don't forget the video clips.
I forgot this series existed until this updated last week. Realized I had the first two saved to a bookshelf for future reading, so naturally I went and binged the series. Extremely good, through and through. I'm glad you have returned to this story; I am very eager to see Green Hoof avenged.
We do not know how to feel about your stories, but they are interesting.
Alright, hard to catch up with the last arc of "Da Sex Mansion". Worth it, tho. Hope the fic continues onward.
Let's gooo a new chapter!
I’m still here as well, been reading Affliction since 2012 and it was the story that made me join this site once I realised that it had sequels here.
Love the series. Hope the next update doesn't take two years
Oh my goodness, this story. Oh my goodness, this series. Oh my goodness, years have come and gone. Thank you for reminding me just how much I loved these characters. I will be waiting for more.
I don’t care how long it takes. I’ll be here until this series ends.
Thank you for writing this excellent series! Kuno and Warden are such a lovable and entertaining couple. I really hope you continue the story!
In honor of this chapter's title, though, I want to share a disturbing fringe theory that I can't seem to shake. The stories in this series typically feature a sudden heartwrenching twist in the climax, a horrifying realization/confrontation that badly hurts Warden — physically and/or psychologically. Several times, the twist revealed a terrible truth that one of the protagonists did something awful.
A common trope in stories with a big twist is for characters to say something painfully ironic in hindsight, something that they regret after the twist is revealed. Kuno — and especially Warden — have spent a lot of time talking about how badly they want to kill the killer, so it would be painfully ironic if the killer was someone they really don't want to kill. Narratively, it would also make a far bigger emotional impact if the killer was a major character who we already know (and like) instead of some batpony we have not met.
In Volume Four, Warden underestimated how strongly he felt about Mint Green and Green Hoof. He had intense mixed feelings he did not fully understand.
We know from Volume Four that Warden has experienced amnesia during his recovery. Some periods of time are absent from his memory. He cannot remember what he did during those periods.
Chapter 1 had a timeskip between Warden and Kuno having sex and their waking up to learn about the murder. If I understand correctly — and maybe I don't! — we do not know what they did after having sex and before waking up.
A running theme in this story is Warden increasingly favoring violence, and whether he favors it too much.
We know that the killer was a pony and not a changeling — probably a pony trained in combat, like a Guard.
Warden recognized the dagger used by the killer.
When the detective floated the possibility that Kuno killed Green Hoof, Warden threatened him with a dagger.
I have a bad feeling about this. I really hope that my suspicions are wrong. Warden has suffered more than enough for multiple lifetimes. I would love to see him live happily ever after, which would be rather difficult if it turns out that he was the killer all along.
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I don't like to spoil things, but in case I die before I finish this series or something weird, I will absolutely clarify that Warden is not the killer
My plans to shakeup poor Warden's life even further are a bit wilder than that!