Pen Pals

by Shaded Changeling

Chapter 14: Maiden Meetings

Spinnekop wasn’t sure how much time passed while she tried to clean off the Chandeliers without magic, wings, or clear vision, though she was eerily aware that she had managed to finish up cleaning all but one of the chandeliers. That particular chandelier was the one Spinnekop was currently working on, which was very difficult considering her vision was blurring out quickly and she kept blinking and having small blackouts.

“Come on…” Spinnekop grumbled as she fumbled around with the last few crystals on the chandelier, her eyes causing the image to distort and spin around one another, making it very difficult to get to the crystals. “Just… A few…”

Spinnekop’s hoof managed to bat at the last few crystals, dislodging as much of the dust as it was going to with her vision like this. Every shift of her muscles caused a slight string of pain to shoot through her body, but she was determined to get these last few crystals finished, and then… Well, she hadn’t thought that far ahead.

As she weakly smacked the crystal in a very pitiful attempt to knock off the dust, hoping that she would be able to tell the dust was gone, she felt an itch in her nose. She tried to scrunch up her snout to hold off the ensuing reflex, but it only succeeded in making the itch stronger. Before she knew it, she felt herself take a deep breath before, “ACHOOO!” She released a loud sneeze which succeeded in knocking off the dust that had clumped onto her Carapace and the uncomfortable dress, but also succeeded in making her entire body shoot further under the chandelier, coming to a stop under the central cluster.

Oh great… Now how am I going to… “Ow…” She groaned. “Thinking hurts…” She said, raising a hoof to her head. “Maybe I shoul-” Before she got a chance to even formulate the last word, her body agreed with her and went fully limp. My, this stone is mighty comfort… She barely managed to get that thought out before her eyes slammed shut and her mind shut down along with it.

---

Clear View had a very strange vacation. Not in the normal way she expected when she kept on trying to clean the cloud chandelier, but when she looked at a newspaper to see that an unknown pony-like race of insects. The very first thing on her mind was, Oh great, the Castle is going to be a mess. Right before reading about how their Queen had defeated Celestia. Then her mind ran to HOLY CELESTIA!

After she had gotten the message, she tried to keep it out of her mind and just enjoy her vacation, but the thought kept bothering her and then she just had to go and check up on her employer.

To say the least, she was perturbed. She had to cut her vacation short, and she knew she would be put right back into her job until all of the chandeliers were clean. She walked up to the Castle doors and, after a rather intrusive scan, was let in.

The first thing she did was walk towards Lace’s office and knock on the door. “Come in.”

The Pegasus pushed open the door. “Lace…”

The Unicorn looked back at her. “Oh, Clear! I’m surprised to see you back so early.”

The Aquamarine Pegasus sighed. “Well, once I heard what happened, it kept bugging me and I decided to come back and help with the clean up.”

“Well, I would say that it is amazing you returned. But I had you temporarily replaced until the end of your vacation.”

“You replaced me?” Clear replied in shock. “H-How could you do that? I thought that you trusted me!”

Lace sighed. “Clear dear, I did not fire you. I had a rather helpful young mare come and ask. Since she was able to fly, I decided to put her on a trial period.”

“But…”

“Clear, if you would like, I can bring you to her. I had her clean the chandeliers around the castle. Once you see her I am sure you will understand.”

Clear sighed. “Alright… But I swear that if she is a griffon I will scream.”

Lace snickered. “Oh don’t worry, she isn’t a Griffon. She merely wanted to help a bit in light of the recent attack.”

Clear smirked. “Good.” She blinked. “So… How long has she been working here?”

“Only a few hours.” Lace looked up at a clock. “Huh… I was going to wait a little bit before getting her, but I suppose now is good enough.”

“Why were you going to-?”

“Well, I decided to make a deal with her, about my usual stipulation.”

Clear groaned. “The dress… Please tell me you didn’t make her fly with it on.” She very clearly remembered her first day working at the Castle. She tried her best to keep herself from flying, but the first time she took off, any number of Guards kept whistling at her. She could have sworn one of them had given her more of a wandering glance than she would have liked. Unconsciously she glanced over at the cabinet that she knew held the dresses, and shivered.

“Well, she did offer her services.” Lace replied.

“You are one cruel Unicorn. You know that?” Clear replied.

“Oh, I’ve been told numerous times.” Lace replied. “Now do you want to see her or not?”

Clear nodded. “But I am not okay with being replaced, even temporarily. I wish you had told me.”

“It only happened today, dear.” Lace replied as they walked up the stairs. “Even if I sent you a message, you wouldn’t have gotten it.”

“Well… Anything interesting happen while I was gone?” Clear asked. “Besides the insect ponies.”

Lace and Clear continued to talk while they walked, speaking about small things that occurred throughout the weeks she had been gone. How she fired a member of the Night Staff, how annoying cleaning everything was, and how glad Clear was she didn’t have to be there.

When they entered into a certain hallway, Clear almost walked into a Chandelier. “What in Tartarus?” She said, looking at the low hanging cluster. “Why are these this close to the ground? Don’t you need magic to do this?” Her eyes widened. “You… You didn’t hire an Alicorn did you?”

“In a ways, I suppose I did.” Lace replied. “She could very well be an Alicorn, but I believe she prefers a Unicorn.”

Clear twitched. “Lace… Enough with the riddles. Who is she? You haven’t told me anything.”

“That is because she wishes to explain herself.” Lace walked around the chandeliers, taking her hoof and running it along a few of them. She looked at the Hoof and nodded approvingly. “She’s very good.” Lace said with a smile.

“But… Lace, I…” Clear groaned. “Just tell me something!”

Lace sighed. “Alright… Clear, she is a rather special case and I know you will take it badly.”

“Special case how?” Clear asked. “Come on, Lace.”

“Deciding what to and what not to tell you is difficult when they have so much to hide.” Lace replied. “You can ask her yourself, I’m sure she would have put these back up if she had left.”

Clear groaned. “Fine…”

Lace nodded and walked down the hall. Clear still wanted to know more, but realized that trying to get any information from her employer was a terrible idea. She followed Lace down the hall and kept her mouth shut as she thought about the new maid. Having a new Pegasus meant she didn’t have to work as hard, and maybe could have someone to talk to, though the idea of someone taking her job was something she hated.

As Lace walked towards a specific chandelier, she ran her hoof across the top. “Hmm… This one still has a bit of dust on it…” She said. “I hope there is a reason.”

Clear sighed. “Maybe…”

Lace kept on walking, heading towards the last few chandeliers, but stopped as she neared the last one. “Oh bugger…”

“What is it, Lace?” Clear asked as she walked next to her employer. Looking under the last chandelier, she felt her self cringe back slightly.

Lying under the chandelier was one of the insect ponies she had seen in the newspaper. It was lying in a ‘T’ position with it’s legs spread out, the only thing that was confusing was that it was wearing the familiar pink maid outfit that every single maid both hated and loved seeing. Hated because of their experience with it, and loved because it meant they might be getting another member. Though right now, Clear was more focused on what was in the dress.

“Lace…” Clear said, pointing at the black insect pony lying under the cluster of crystals. “W-What is that doing here? Why is it wearing one of your dresses?”

“Clear, this is the mare that I decided to put on a brief trial peri-”

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME!” Clear shouted. “They attacked Canterlot! How can you just let one of them in here?”

Lace sighed. “This young mare is trying to help us. She doesn’t wish to be the violent type; she even wants to be Cadence’s hoofmaid-”

“Are You serious! Oh my Celestia you have got to be kidding me!”

Lace walked over towards the chandelier and lit her horn, lifting the Changeling up and pulling it out from under the chandelier. “Spindle, are you alright?”

The Changeling groaned. “No… I don’t wanna go to training today…”

“Spindle?” Lace asked.

“Mimic… I…” The Changeling blinked. “Oh… Hi Lace…” She said, feeling her head pound again. “I’m sorry about…” She waved her hoof towards a chandelier. “The… Whatchamacallits… I kind of uh…” She blinked a bit keeping the ‘Uh’ going. “Brain… I’m sorry.”

“Well, what happened Dear?” Lace asked.

“Well I was uh… Cleaning the… crystal… things.” She said. “Then I had a… Idea… To lower the chandeliers because I… Needed to stay closer to the ground and…” She blinked and fell back a little before catching herself.

“Spindle, are you alright?”

The Changeling shook her head. “I’m sorry, Lace. I used a lot of my stored Love to lower the Chandeliers… And I’m… Kind of out of…” She began to fall back down before jolting herself back up. “Out of it. Love is like our energy. I used all of it, so I feel really…” Her head fell down.

“Spindle?” Lace said, raising her hoof to shake Spindle a little. “Are you okay?”

Spindle sniffed. “Ngeh.” She said. “Sorry… I can’t really keep myself awake…”

“Would it help if I allowed you to feed off of me?” Lace asked, getting a shocked look from Clear and what would be a shocked look from Spindle had her eyelids not been halfway down her eyes at all times.

“I can’t do that to you…” She said.

“Yeah Lace, what if it has some kind of… side effect? You don’t know what it could do.”

“Oh, I didn’t say you could take much.” Lace replied. “Just enough for you to be able to walk.” She turned back to the Changeling. “You can regulate that correct?”

Spindle nodded. “Uh-huh. Just tell me if you feel lightheaded or anything.” Her horn began to glow as she let the flood of positive emotion flow into her. A primal instinct began to rise within her, telling her to take everything that was there, leave the pony dry. She almost let the instinct take over as she fed, but managed to hold back on it as her mind began to push away the fog. As her horn died down, she blinked. “Oh… I feel so much.” She heard a ringing and then pulled her tail back under her body. “I forgot about that…”

Lace raised her hoof to her head and rubbed it a little. “My, you were hungry weren’t you?”

Clear looked at Lace. “Are you alright?”

Spinnekop didn’t notice the Pegasus, but once she did, she backed away and was covered in a green flame, taking on the guise of the sea foam Pegasus. “Wh-Wh-Who are you?” She said.

“I’m Clear View, the one whose job you are currently taking.”

Spinnekop shrunk back. “Oh… Right.”

“Lace, are you okay?” Clear asked.

“Yes, yes. I am fine.” Lace replied. “Thank you for the concern.” She said, lowering her hoof. “Let me just… See about getting these raised.”

Spinnekop opened her mouth, but Clear pointed her hoof at her. “Don’t you dare.”

“What?” Spinnekop asked.

“Don’t… Just Don’t!” Clear said. “I don’t know what you can do, so just don’t do anything!”

“But I want to…”

Clear shot her a glare. “You just stay away from-”

“Clear.” Lace hissed. “This young Changeling wishes to be Cadence’s Hoofmaiden. She was badly injured in the shield blast and is trying to rebuild her life.” She said, with more venom than Spinnekop had heard before. “Her entire family has forsaken her.” Gee… Thanks for that… “Besides that fact, I have spoken with Celestia, and she trusts young Spindle.”

Clear stared at her shocked. “L-Lace. She… What?”

“Yes Clear, Celestia trusts young Spindle. So there is no reason why you should be giving her such hostility. She only wishes to restart her life.”

Clear blinked. “Lace…” She took a breath and let out a deep sigh. “Alright… Lace, I don’t know about this, but I will try. Though I’m not sure about the others…”

Lace sighed. “I’ll handle them… I’m sure they will understand. Right now I need to work on fixing these chandeliers.” She walked down the hall towards the gem that held the chandeliers in place. As she touched her horn to the gem, the chandeliers all began to glow. She began to lift the Chandeliers up and to the ceiling, as they reached halfway off the ground, a clicking was heard as the Chandeliers dropped a few inches and stopped.

“That is good enough for now. I will get one of the others to help raise them the rest of the way, but for now…” She shook her head. “I don’t have the energy to lift them any higher.”

Spinnekop sighed. “I’m sorry, Lace…” She said. “I know that I probably shouldn’t have tried to lower the chandeliers myself… I wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t want to teach me…”

Lace waved her hoof. “It’s no trouble Spindle. I do not blame you. I should have told you the issue with lowering them. Despite that I came to tell you that time is up.”

Spinnekop sighed. “So… Can I take this thing off now?”

Both Lace and Clear giggled. “Not yet.” Clear said. “You still haven’t had a chance to meet everypony.”

Spinnekop shrunk back even further. “E-Everypony?”

Clear nodded and smirked. “It’s a tradition that every new maid introduce themselves to our happy little family.” She said, putting her hoof over Spinnekop’s shoulders. “Right in front of everypony.”

Spinnekop twitched as she let out a small whine. “C-Can I not? Please? I-I don’t want to cause any troub- EEP!” Clear lowered her hoof to touch at the base of Spinnekop’s wings, which caused her to let out the startled shriek.

“Oh come on, Newbie. You are the newest addition to our little family. Not to mention the first Changeling, so why not just enjoy it?”

Spinnekop gulped. “I-I-I… Uh…”

“Just think about it.” Clear lowered her head down to whisper in Spinnekop’s ear. “There will be plenty of emotions shared between all of us. Maybe you could even get a little snack.”

As if prompted by her words, Spinnekop’s stomach growled. “Food actually… Sounds really good right now…” She replied.

“Well, it is around lunchtime.” Lace replied. “That is why I wanted to get you around this time. Now I don’t know about Changelings, but I would be furious to miss my lunch break.”

“Y-Yes we do need actual food as well as love…” She looked at the hoof still across her back. “Could you… Move… that please?”

Clear shrugged and moved her hoof. “So, you ready to meet the rest of our family?”

Spinnekop sighed as the green flames covered her as she removed her disguise. “I-I guess…”

The three of them began to walk down the halls, after a while Spinnekop looked up at Clear. “Just to be sure… There are only a few more maids around the castle right?” She asked. “I mean… No more than like… ten, right?”

Clear just smirked in response.

---

Spinnekop couldn’t be more afraid. There were over thirty maids on the day shift alone! That was only the Mares as well, apparently there were more servants as well, but Spinnekop would overcome that hurdle when it was thrust at her unexpectedly instead of right now.

She hadn’t felt this much stress since she met with Celestia, which was only one day ago! Is this my life now? One stressful situation after the other? Spinnekop took a deep breath. It wasn’t as bad as when she was with Celestia, she had days to sit and simmer in the stress. Instead she was just going to be thrown into the pot and was going to be baked like a pie. I really need some food…

“So you ready, Spindle?” Clear asked, standing inside the small room to the side of the main maid lounge. A place where the Maids could relax in between shifts or cleaning away from male eyes. Apparently it was useful…

“Kind of…” Spinnekop replied. “You’re sure that Lace convinced them not to kill me?”

Clear nodded. “Lace can be very convincing. As long as you are wearing that, they will know Lace trusts you.”

“Did I have to keep the bell on?” Spinnekop asked, looking back at her tail, now wrapped loosely around her hind leg, trying to stop the bell from ringing. “I’m trying to calm down, but having this ringing all the time is bothering me…”

“After.” Clear replied. “You even get to keep the bell.”

Spinnekop sighed. “Great…”

Lace poked her head into the room. “We’re ready.”

Clear smiled. “Go get ‘em tiger.” She said. “I’ll be right next to you.”

Spinnekop gave a halfhearted smile as she began to walk out of the room; she looked over at the crowd of ponies. A majority of them were Unicorns, but a good quarter of them were Earth Ponies. Her instincts were telling her that everything she was doing was wrong. Every time she moved, she felt like she was committing another crime. Every step was a trampling of the doctrines that kept them safe for eternity.

When her heavy hooffalls managed to bring her to the middle of the cleared out section they had made, all the ponies’ eyes staring down at her as she tried to shrink down to be less threatening.

“Everypony,” Lace said as she walked next to Spinnekop. “May I introduce the newest member of our little unit? Now I know that many of you are still… less than hospitable towards other Changelings. But I give you both Celestia and my seal of approval on her.”

A Few of the maids began to murmur amongst themselves. “For those who do not know, this young Mare was here during the Invasion, however, after seeing the destruction her fellow Changelings were causing, she couldn’t be part of that world anymore. She merely wants to rebuild her life.”

A few of the ponies looked at Spinnekop with concern, but a lot more of them still looked at her with anger. “Now, I think it is time that she tell you her name.”

Lace motioned to Spinnekop, who looked up at her in fear first before the reassuring smile helped her calm down slightly. “M-m-my N-nam-me is… S-Spinne… Spinnek-kop…”

A few ponies waved at her.

“Young Spinnekop here has proven herself to me, and I want for all of you to treat her as you would any other member of our little family here.”

“Why?” One of them asked.

“Because she has shown no want to harm us, and she only wishes to make up for that event.” Lace replied. “Now, while I will certainly treat her like any other new employee, I will not allow large amounts of negative feelings towards her for what the others did.”

“How do we know that she isn’t just trying to spy on us?” Another maid asked.

Spinnekop sighed. “Because I can’t go back…”

“What?”

“I can never go back…” Spinnekop replied. “Every Changeling in the Hive is under orders to capture or kill me… If I ever go back, Queen Chrysalis would make me wish I was dead…” Spinnekop sniffed. “I can’t see me friends… I can never see my home… I never even got to meet my parents…” Her eyes began to fog up. “I’ve spent nearly my entire life trying to train to fit in… But all that happened is that everyone I care about got pushed away.” She rubbed her eye. “Please… I… I just want to live my life.” She reached up and put her hoof on her pendant, raising it to look at the compass needle as it spun to face the south.

Lace nodded in understanding. “So, I think it is time for you all to meet the new Member, so come and talk with her if you like. Show her the ropes a bit. Meanwhile, I need to gather some things. Clear, make sure that Spinnekop isn’t harmed.”

Clear nodded. “Count on me.”

Lace nodded and walked out of the room and headed towards her office, as son as she was gone, a few of the ponies began talking amongst themselves, and a couple of earth ponies began circling Spinnekop.

“h-Hi…” Spinnekop said. “I-I just wanted to say that I didn’t do anything during the Invasion, and I-I…”

“So this is what a Changeling looks like.” One of the maids circling her said. “I have to admit, I thought they were more…”

“Scary looking?” The other circling maid suggested.

“Yeah. I thought they looked more buggy.”

“More legs, bigger fangs, maybe a stinger.”

“Exactly.”

Spinnekop began to relax her legs as she pushed up from her position. “Well… Uh…”

“From what we heard, after the shield went down it was complete pandemonium. Only a few pictures could be taken, most of them unclear.”

“Well that would…”

“So it is quite an honor to meet you. You may be the first Changeling to show yourself to Ponykind.”

“Well I wouldn’t say all of ponykind…” Spinnekop replied. “I kind of want to keep myself secret…”

“Great job at that.” One of them said.

Clear walked over. “Are you two going to let her talk to anypony else or just shark her all afternoon?”

Spinnekop’s stomach growled again, she let out a nervous laugh. “You don’t happen to have any food here? I’m kind of hungry…”

“No problem, Spinnekop.” Both of the mares that had been circling her stopped and were both smiling at her. “So how are you enjoying your first day?”

“Well… I got hit on by a Royal Guard… So that was an experience.”

The three mares groaned. “Wing…” They all said at once.

“Sorry about him… He get’s a little frisky around ponies dressed in maid outfits. I swear…”

“Oh… It was no trouble…” Spinnekop lied. “So uh… Food?”

“Right.” Clear said. “It’s just over here.”

Clear began to walk towards a table, with Spinnekop slinking behind her, very aware of some of the looks the staff were giving her, mostly glares and confused expressions. She continued to slink up until she was just in front of the table, before slowly peeking up over it. On the small table was a bushel of apples, a few bananas, a coffee pot, and a bowl of other varied fruits. Spinnekop looked over at the apples, glistening in the light; she felt her mouth start to water as her stomach growled. “Is it alright if I…?”

“Go ahead. I mean if…” Spinnekop reached up and grabbed and apple, before taking a large bite out of it. The Crunch it made easily turning a few heads as the now half eaten apple was chewed in Spinnekop’s mouth. She turned to look at a few of the ponies and blushed a little, swallowing the chewed up apple she gives a small nervous chuckle. “Sorry… Loud Apple…”

Some of the maids glared at her, but most of them just shook their heads and went back to what they were doing. Spinnekop looked back at the apple in her hoof and took another bite out of it.

“So,” Clear said, watching as Spinnekop ate the rest of the apple. “What is a normal meal like for you?”

“Oh… You know.” Spinnekop replied, looking at the finished apple and levitating over an orange. “A little bit of hay, some oats, a cup of lo-” She began but stopped. “Nothing… It’s not important.” She replied, stabbing the orange with her fang and pulling down, before splitting the orange in half.

“Well… That can’t be all you ever eat.” Clear replied. “I mean, it’s a good budget meal, but far from the most nutritious.”

Spinnekop nodded as she tore the peel off one half of the orange and threw a wedge into her mouth. “Yeah… But when you have to feed thousands and thousands of Changelings, all without drawing attention to the massive purchase, we can’t afford to be picky.” She tossed another wedge into her mouth. “I mean, in winter, you are lucky if you get anything other than oats and hay.”

“Yeah, being bugs I doubt winter is the most hospitable time of year for you.” Clear replied.

“Well, during winter, I usually got taken out to see a lot of the cities by Cloak. The only real danger we have is our wing membrane freezing.”

“Yeah… I feel that.” Clear said, extending her wing. “Got a nasty case of frostbite on this puppy, I was grounded for the next few weeks while it healed.”

Spinnekop nodded. “If it happens to me, my wings could actually become brittle, and break!” Spinnekop replied. “Then I’d be grounded until it heals, but who knows how long that could take.”

Clear looked at the thin membrane attached to Spinnekop’s side. “Yeah, you definitely got the short end of the stick there.”

Spinnekop threw the rest of the orange into her mouth. “Chrysalis, I’m still so hungry.”

“Well, we’ve got plenty of fruit here. Do you need something else?”

“Yeah. More of it!” Spinnekop grabbed another apple and took a bite out of it. As she chewed on the juicy fruit, she looked up to see another maid walking over, a light green Earth pony with a yellow mane.

“Clear, what are you doing back so early?” She asked. “I thought you were excited about your vacation to Los Pegasus’ Cloud district.”

“I was…” She sighed. “Until Changelings decided to bomb the city with their faces. Then I came back to make sure everything was oh- What are you doing?” She looked to her side where the Earth Pony was forcibly flexing her wings. “Stop that! No don’t…” Clear shivered before lifting her hind leg and planting it firmly on the Earth Pony’s chest and kicking her off.

“Ow…”

Spinnekop already ducked under the table for fear of being caught up in something. “What have I told you about doing that!” Clear said, letting out another shiver. “You know that I hate being touched there!”

The Earth Pony pointed her hoof up. “But a Changeling wouldn’t know that.”

Spinnekop was going to correct her, saying that any Infiltrator that would be sent here, now, would likely know everything about their disguise, but kept her mouth shut.

Clear groaned. “I’m not a Changeling, you idiot… The Guards are still scanning everypony that enters. The city, and then again for when they try to enter the Castle.” She walked over and helped pull up the Earth Pony. “Where did Spindle go?”

Spinnekop waved from under the table. “Here…” She crawled out from under the table, keeping the dress from getting damaged, which was not easy as she tried to climb from under a table. “I was just…”

“HI!” The Earth Pony said, standing right in front of Spinnekop as she stood up, Spinnekop let out a distressed chirp and launched herself towards the ceiling. As she turned herself to try to stick to the ceiling, she forgot about fact her hind hooves were currently in shoes, so she ended up dangling by her front hooves.

The Earth Pony looked up at her while Clear facehoofed. “Lime…”

“What is she doing?”

Spinnekop tried to keep herself planted on the ceiling, but her front hooves couldn’t hold her up as well as it used to, and she fell to the floor with a small crack. “Ow…” She said as she reached for her backplate to make sure it wasn’t cracked.

“Oh… Sorry.” Lime said, reaching down to help pick up Spinnekop. “I get excited when we get a new maid.”

Spinnekop moved her hoof and twisted her body to look at her backplate, seeing no blue leaking through the pink dress she sighed. “No… I’ve just been really jumpy. Between Celestia and Shining Armor, I want to prove myself… But…”

“Well I doubt that you have a problem with Celestia.” Lime said. “She would have already kicked you out if she didn’t think you deserved a chance.”

“Yeah but…”

“Come on. You’ll be fine. I mean if Princess Cadenza does trust you, there is nothing you need to worry about.” Clear replied. “By the way, how was the wedding?” She asked Lime.

“Oh it was amazing!” Lime said. “Pinkie Pie from Ponyville showed up and handled the entire reception! I never saw a Pony move that fast before. She was all happy and energetic and...”

“I get the picture.” Clear replied. “Did you go?” She asked Spinnekop.

Spinnekop shook her head. “No… I was in the dungeon…”

Clear blinked. “For what?”

Spinnekop sighed. “Well… I got in a fight with a Changeling by the name of Clobber, and then I hit the wall… So I couldn’t really move…”

The door to the room opened as Spinnekop was talking, she didn’t bother to look over at the door, assuming it to just be Lace. When some of the maids started to get quiet, she turned around to see a Pegasus glaring down at her, armored in gold as she stood over Spinnekop.

Spinnekop shrunk down as best she could. “Umm… Hi…”

“I’m not happy about this.” She said.

“H-Happy about what?” Spinnekop said, backing up slightly.

“You.” She hissed. “When Captain Armor told me about you, I thought it must have been some kind of joke. Yet here you are.” She glared back at Spinnekop.

“Whirlwind? What are you doing here?”

“I’m here, because I wanted to make sure this bug knew what would happen if she tries anything.” She let out a growl and ground her teeth.

Spinnekop shrunk down more. “O-o-Oh… You do-d-d-don’t have t-t-to do that… C-c-captain Armor alr-r-ready did that…”

“Yeah… I’m sure he did. But I’m not going to let that stop me.”

“Whirlwind, you’re scaring her!” Clear said as she looked at Spinnekop’s distressed face.

“Good, that means she’ll listen.” Whirlwind poked Spinnekop in the chest. “Now I don’t know exactly what your angle is here. Whether you honestly want to help or are just doing this to save your own sorry flank, and quite honestly I don’t care. But know this, a lot of good ponies got hurt in that attack and a lot of great Guards got badly injured. So I will make this very clear.” She leaned in to look Spinnekop directly in the eye. “If you hurt anypony and I do mean any pony, I will make sure that they won’t be able to tell it was a Changeling. Get me?”

Spinnekop opened her mouth, releasing a quiet whine, and then closed it. Her legs began shaking.

“Whirlwind!” Lace shouted. “What are you doing?”

“Just making sure this Bug knows her place.” She squinted at Spinnekop and then pulled away, walking back towards the door. “I’ll be watching you…”

Spinnekop hid behind Clear, looking over the Pegasus as Whirlwind walked out of the room. The silence following the visit remained as Lace walked up to Spinnekop. “Don’t pay her any mind, Spindle. She can get a little hot headed, but I promise you she wouldn’t do anything too… Spindle?”

“Are you sure I can’t just lock myself in the dungeon and save everypony the trouble of trying to kill me…”

Lace sighed. “Spindle dear. Nopony is going to try and kill you. Cadence would make sure of that.”

“I don’t know… She seemed really angry.” Spinnekop said, stepping out from behind Clear. “Maybe I should just ask Cadence if I can stay in the room…”

Clear scoffed. “Come on… You aren’t seriously worried about Whirlwind are you? She’s a lot of bark without much bite.”

Spinnekop whined.

“Spindle dear, you aren’t honestly worried about her going through with a threat like that are you?”

Spinnekop nodded. “I-I just… I don’t want to risk it… Everypony is still so aggressive after the attack, and I just… I don’t want to die… I only just got healed from my fight with Clobber! I don’t want to go through that aga-” Her eyes widened. “oh…”

“What is it?” Clear asked.

“Oh… Uh… Nothing… J-Just a crazy idea.” Spinnekop said.

“Well, if you are sure.” Lace replied. “I can’t seem to find my camera. Have any of you girls seen it?”

The other maids shook their heads. “Damn… I was hoping to find it…” She sighed. “So how are the others treating you?”

“Well…” Spinnekop started.

Lime grabbed Spinnekop and pulled her over. “Oh, Spin here is practically a part of the family already!”

“Yeah… Eh-heh…. Part of the family…”

“I see you already met Lime.” Lace replied, a smile on her face. “Well, so long as she is a friend, the others will come along soon enough.” She looked around the room. “Ah, there it is…” Lace walked over to a large camera. “Time for the photo.”

“Photo?” Spinnekop repeated.

“Oh, right. I didn’t tell you.” Clear said.

“Every time we get a new Maid, we take a picture to commemorate!” Lime said. “It’s tradition!”

“Yup.” Clear said. “So come over here Spinnekop.” Clear walked over to the side of the room as the other maids lined up in three lines of fifteen.

Lime and Clear stood in the middle of the front row Spinnekop in-between them. Lace looked over the group and nodded, pushing down the button before walking over to stand on the far right. Spinnekop took a deep breath and smiled as the camera let off a bright flash. Spinnekop blinked a few times as she watched Lace walk over to the Camera.

“Perfect.” Lace said. “Alright everypony. I’ll have these to you by the end of the day tomorrow. Now we need to get working, enough time wasted. We still have plenty to do.” The Maids nodded and headed out of the room, leaving about ten around the room. “Spindle, could you come with me, please.”

“Oh Uh… yeah.” Spinnekop said, following Lace out of the room as she carried the camera.

“I’m glad that you are making friends with some of the others, Spindle.” Lace replied. “I was worried you would just shrink down and ignore everypony.”

“Well… I did think about it…”

Lace chuckled. “Yes… I figured you would… Though I think you should break that shell… No offense meant.”

“Oh… None taken…” Spinnekop replied, noticing they were heading towards Lace’s office. “Where are we going?”

“Back to my office.” Lace replied. “I believe it is time for me to hold up my end of the bargain.”

Spinnekop’s eyes lit up. “Oh Chrysalis, Yes! I can’t wait!”

Lace gave another chuckle. “Yes… That is what they all say. I’ll even let you keep the bell.”

Spinnekop blinked before noticing the ringing and looked back at her hooves and tail. “Oh… Uh…” A Whistle caught her ears and her tail shot in-between her tail. “Yeah… Uh… Let’s just… Go…”

Lace smiled as she led Spinnekop back towards her office. As soon as they were through the door, Spinnekop rushed over to the small changing room and began to pull off the pieces of the dress. When she got to the ribbon tied on her tail, she tried to grab it with her mouth, but couldn’t get at the base of her tail where the ribbon was located, and her hooves couldn’t get at the small ribbon. Oh yes, she could use magic to get it off, and while levitation didn’t take much energy, it is better to be able to walk around disguised…

After about a minute of trying to get the ribbon off without her magic, she sighed and walked out of the changing room. Lace was busily looking over the camera. “I need to get a newer model…”

Spinnekop sighed as she walked over to Lace. “Lace, could you help me with this?”

Lace looked back at Spinnekop to see the ribbon still attacked to her tail. She let out a giggle and lit her horn. “No worries, Spindle.” The ribbon untied itself and floated over to the desk. “You can keep it if you like.”

Spinnekop looked at the ribbon and sighed. “I guess…” In a wisp of green flames, she transformed back into Spindle Weave, looking back at her familiar form she sighed. “So… What’s first?”

Lace smiled as she put the camera down and looked back at Spindle. “Well, the Hoofmaiden is the personal servant of the Princess. They tend to the needs of their employer. Were we in Saddle Arabia, you may need to do a little more than that.” She winked, “Luckily though that particular usage hasn’t been necessary for quite a while.”

Spindle sighed. “Oh good…”

Lace walked over to a closet. “Now, Equestrian Hoofmaidens are a little different. You are to act for the betterment of Cadence, acting as a close friend to her and help her when she needs it. If she asks you to do something, you should do it, however if you think it is beyond your capabilities, then mention that.”

“So, it is kind of like a Caretaker?” Spindle replied.

“In a way…” Lace said. “From what you told me, Caretakers are to do anything they are told, regardless of feelings, they also seem to care for their Queen first, is that correct?”

Spindle nodded. “Though, she rarely needs them… So they look after the Pupae and the castle.”

“Well, I certainly hope you will help take care of the castle if I should need you. You simply need to remember that you answer to the Princess first. Should she ask something of you, you are to complete that task first. When you are not required by Cadence, you get free time. You can spend that time around the Castle, going to the town, looking around the Gardens, or simply stay in your room.”

Spindle nodded. “um… How would I know if Cadence needs me if I’m out in Canterlot?”

Lace grinned. “Well, that is one of the things Cadence needs to get you. It is a small crystal that you need to keep with you at all times. It will glow and vibrate when Cadence activates the other half, if this happens; you know you are being called.”

Spindle blinked. “That sounds a lot like the crystals we use to communicate to Infiltrators.”

“Does it?”

“Yeah,” Spindle replied. “Though we can send entire messages through it. They are heavily guarded most of the time, since you don’t need the Hivemind to use it.”

“Well, that certainly is interesting.” Lace replied, giving a nod. “I’m sure that Cadence will get you your crystal soon enough. For now though, would you be opposed to helping clean off the chandeliers you missed?”

Spindle shook her head. “Though… Before I do that… I should probably eat something…” As if on cue, her stomach growled.

Lace smiled. “Then follow me, dear. I’ll show you this wonderful little café just outside the Castle walls.”

Spindle’s eyes widened. “Y-You mean… L-Leave the Castle?”

“Well of course. You can hardly expect the chefs to cook for everypony in the castle.”

Spindle gulped. “I-I-I don’t know Lace… I-I think I’ll just wait here…”

Lace sighed. “Spindle dear, it is only a stone’s throw away from the Castle walls. We’ll be there and back before anypony notices we left.”

“But the Guards… They’re checking everypony to make sure they aren’t Changelings… What will they do to me?”

Lace sighed. “Yes… That may be an issue… I suppose we will simply need to show them first…”

Spindle looked at Lace in fear. “Y-You don’t think they’ll j-just throw me back in the dungeon… Do you?”

Lace chuckled. “Given how many times you have asked to go back there, I thought you would be happier.”

“Well…” Spindle shrunk back. “It’s a bit different when you may just be thrown to the wolves… Then when they know it is me…”

Lace snickered. “Come on, Spindle. It’s my treat. I’ll even take the hit for being a Changeling if you’d like.”

Spindle sighed. “No… I’ll… I’ll come…” She replied. “Just… Can you promise me we won’t…”

Lace’s horn lit up and levitated the ribbon up to Spindle’s mane, “Stay still for a moment.” Spindle felt her mane pulled a little and twisted around as Lace worked, when she was finished, she held up a mirror to Spindle.

In the right side of her mane, a small ribbon was tied just behind her ear. “Uh… How will this help?”

Lace sighed. “Be honest, if a Changeling were to see a ribbon in your mane, would they think about transforming it?”

Spindle opened her mouth, but then thought about another option. “Maybe… If I transform it away while we are out… I can prove it is me when we get back.”

Lace grinned. “I can try to hook it up with the gate guard. They know me pretty well. So come on, let’s get some lunch.”

Lace led Spindle out of the office and towards the large golden doors of the castle. As Lace opened the door, Spindle shivered as the wind blow through her mane and fur, a sensation she hadn’t felt in a long while. What caused her to shiver again was the number of Guards around the castle grounds. She counted at least thirty just within her field of view, there were more up on the walls, and four standing next to the gate, spears in hoof. “I’m having second thoughts…”

Lace smiled at Spindle. “Come on Spindle. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

“But if I stay here there is nothing risked…. So I’ll just…”

Lace rolled her eyes and grabbed Spindle. “Come on…” She said, pulling Spindle with her by her tail. “You cannot stay inside these walls forever…”

“But I can delay it… At least until Shining Armor doesn’t want to kill me.”

“Spindle, Cadence would run him up a tree before she let him do anything that drastic. Lighten up, he never said you had to stay in the castle did he?”

“Well… Not to my face… And in no particular terms…”

“Then that means you can lighten up a bit.” Her magic stopped dragging Spindle. “I’ll promise to take the blame should the Captains temper rise that much.”

Spindle picked herself up and looked around, noticing the Guards around the area, she quickly made the decision that going through with this would save her more trouble… What with the guards everywhere. It would look weird for her to walk back in now… Right?

“Okay… But I’m not going to enjoy it.”

“I never said you had to, now come on.” Lace said as she continued to walk across the path towards the gate. Spindle took a deep breath and followed after her, trying very hard not to scream or something equally stupid. She didn’t even realize they had reached the gate until she walked into one of the Royal Guards. Looking up she squeaked slightly, startling the guard.

“Lace, you’re later than normal.” One of the guards said.

“Yes, well… We had a new member join and I had to show her the ropes.” Lace glanced at Spindle. “She is Cadence’s new Hoofmaiden.”

One of the guards tapped another on the shoulder and whispered to the other. “You know… We heard some very interesting things about her Hoofmaiden.”

Lace nodded. “Yes… Yes… Listen, she is a Changeling, but we have an idea to avoid that…”

The main Guard looked at her curiously. “Well, Spindle Weave, is currently under express surveillance, not to leave the grounds of the castle, without a reason or an escort.”

Lace sighed. “Well, I would like to inform you that I am acting as her escort, and you have my word she will not attempt anything.”

“How do we know it really is her coming back?” A Guard asked. “Not some other Changeling.”

“We have that covered.” Lace replied, motioning to Spindle, who caused the pink ribbon by her ear to disappear. “Spindle agrees that no Changeling would realize the importance of it. When she returns, she will show you the ribbon to prove it is us.”

The Guard rubbed his chin. “Hmm… Alright Lace. But you owe me for this one, and both of you need to submit to a dispelling charm.”

“Agreed, we’ll be back in about an hour.” She said as the Unicorns opened up the gate. “Come along, Spindle. We have quite a bit to talk about.”

Spindle looked out at the white stones of the city, all glistening in the high sun’s glow. Spindle’s legs shook a little at the thought of walking back out into the city this soon. She sighed, before nodding and taking her first steps out into the city.

Lace looked down at her and smiled. “I’m proud of you Spindle, now let’s get some lunch.”

“Okay…” Spindle squeaked. “So long as I don’t need to talk to anypony…”

Lace snickered. “Alright Spindle. I’ll handle the talking, you just try to act normal.”

Spindle took a deep breath and stood up fully. “Okay… I think I’m ready…”

“Then lets go. Brave new world out there to explore, and there’s nothing to hold you down.”

Spindle smiled at the aging Unicorn, letting out a small chuckle. “Well… Where is this place you keep talking about?”

“Oh… I want it to be a surprise. Just follow me.”

---

“Get up, Prisoner!”

The Changeling looked up to see the guards, Halberds in claw, glaring down at him. The two of them opened the cage and grabbed the chains holding him to the wall, pulling against them, which in turn pulled against the Changeling’s collar. “You have a lot to answer for.”

The Changeling’s ears fell back against his head as he was yanked through the halls of the dungeon. When he was allowed to breathe normally again, he was thrown to the ground in front of a throne.

Looking up, he saw a number of skulls, Pony, Changeling, Griffon, all of them with one thing in common, a large crack through the center of their foreheads. But what scared him the most, was the figure in the throne, currently looking at it’s hoof.

“The Prisoner, as you requested.” The Guards said.

“Excellent.” The figure looked down at him. “So… I’ll cut right to the chase, where is she?”

The Changeling began shivering. “I-I don’t know who you…”

The chains around his neck were grabbed and pulled. “Do not lie to me!” The Figure said. “I know full well it was her, why else would you be here?”

The Changeling began shaking as he looked at the number of Changeling skulls around the area. “I-I-I…”

“Do not test my patience. Give me an answer.”

“I don’t know…”

The figure smirked. “Weak… You crumple at the very sight of a Queen. It is pathetic. But I do not care for how much of a spine you have. For the acts you have committed against my people are most heinous. I could have you executed right here…” The Guards raised their halberds and brought them down next to the Changeling’s head. “But I want answers. Answers, that you can provide.”

The Changeling looked between the two halberds, each jammed into the stone floor as he swallowed loudly.

“Now, I have been working extremely hard to remain calm in this situation, because I want to know what she could have possibly been planning. What possible advantage could crippling my food supply give?” The Queen looked back at the Chained Changeling as the Guards pulled their halberds from the ground. “My family has spent generations trying to get a working relationship with the King going, and I refuse to allow her to destroy it, a war between us would most certainly end in the utmost bloodshed, bloodshed that would not be good for either of us. So I want to know… What was her plan?”

The Changeling looked up at the Queen, wide-eyed in fear.

“So I want to know… What exactly was her plan? What could have possibly been worth nearly destroying the relations I have built up these many years? I certainly know it is her, so tell me…” The Guards raised the Halberds so the blades were placed directly under the Changelings throat, causing him to jolt his head up to try and avoid the blades. “Where is she?”

Author's Note:

HOOOOOLLLLYYYYY GOOOOOOODDD! This took far longer than it should have.

I am so sorry for that... Other things came up and stories and.... *Sigh* I'll do better next time

But who is this mysterious Figure? Find out next time on 'Pen Pals'.

Comments

[DualKitsune]

[QueenChrysalisForever]

AAAHHHHHHHH Noooooo I neeed to knooooow! My insane amount of curiosity will drive me crazy until the next chapter! Loved the chapter though, glad to get another one as I have missed reading about our favorite little changeling.

[Starcat5]

Looks like the Queen of the hive in the Gryphon Lands was making an alliance with the Gryphon King. One that Ol` Cheese Legs ****ed up with her distraction for Luna. And she is PISSED!

[Warrior Kitten]

7223344
Meh, most of it was repetition.

[Razzy]

... So far it looks that Chryssie is the least cruel of the Queens.

I imagined Spinnekop lying with her legs up and curled up, like a bug.

[ChakatRedstripe]

Still loving this story!