A Changeling Tradegy

by Reddling Rain

Raspberry Creek

The travel over the mountains had thankfully gone without incident. Prominence and Pupae had taken turns with the drones in pulling the wagon over the mountains. however, in the two days it had taken to cross from Three Hooves towards the new town, Lazni had been watching the shift in the weather. Although fresh water was available and dehydration was no longer a primary concern, a new force of nature had emerged to threaten them. The skies were no longer threatening storms, but the beginning of winter snow.

Lazni was quite sure that when they reached the next town, which was little more than an outline on the horizon, that they could easily replace a family living in the town in order to have a place to stay warm. Prominence and Pupae were breathing easy for now, but Lazni knew that the spies of Hive Lalartu would eventually discover them in this new town. Lazni had been one of these spies before, and it was never a question of if they could find something; only when they would find that something.

When the group reached the outlaying farmland Prominence called for a full stop. Everyone gathered inside of the wagon, cramming inside with the boxes. Lazni was already here, resting with the nymph, who had opted to have no name, by her side. It had been Prominence and Pupae's turn to pull the cart, and both of them had heavy breathing as they nodded heads, Pupae addressing the group at large.

"Soon we will be in the town, and while we are going in disguised as traders, Prominence and I are planning to take control of the town by whatever means necessary." Pupae announced.

Although Lazni was happy to see the two of them working together for a change, her jaw dropped at the statement. "Doesn't that seem a little unnecessary and-- well, difficult for just the six of us to pull off?"

"Not with you at our side." Prominence said, pointing at Lazni with one of her disguised hooves.

"Prominence is right. I can trick a pony or two with my mind tricks, and she can set things on fire, but you're the spy. You're the master of subterfuge. I've convinced Prominence that we should try to do a quiet takeover. Even if these ponies do worship changelings, I don't believe they'd just throw everything at us we ask for."

"I'm confident that they would, but I'd rather not pull this wagon all the way to the next town if that isn't the case." Prominence reasoned.

Lazni gulped, trying not to say anything. She wasn't comfortable with the idea that others were relaying totally on her performance for survival. At least before if she had failed, then Lalartu would have just sent another spy in order to ensure the hive was cared for. There was no such safety net this time. Either they all survived or they all failed, and the pressure was absolutely crushing down on every inch of Lazni's chitin.

"We need to get some more information about the town first." Pupae said. "Once we find good targets to replace, then we'll capture them in the night. Oh, and Prominence's little 'plans' for the townsponies--"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Pupae." Prominence said. "We can talk about that later. We will talk about it, but not now." Her fiery eyes turned to Lazni, giving her a firm nod, turning her eyes between lazni and the nymph. "My plans cannot succeed with you, and you."

"Why me?" The nymph asked, looking up solemnly.

Prominence gave a grin, showing off her smaller and more refined changeling princess fangs. "Because together we are going to make these lands greater than they have ever been, and you happened to be lucky and get caught. Don't worry yourself, you'll be well taken care of."

Prominence stepped out of the wagon, followed by Puape as they prepared to pull the wagon the rest of the way into the small town. Lazni felt the nymph's arms tighten around her waist, hugging her close like young drones held their caretakers.

"Lazni?" the nymph asked quietly.

"Yes?"

there was silence for a few moment,s only the sound of the drones sleeping breaths being broken up by scared gasps from the nymph. "Hivemother always said that you were one of the bravest of her lieutenants. We could trust you and you'd protect us. You'll protect me, right?"

Lazni was not sure how to reply right away, only lifting her hoof and stroking the mane of the undisguised nymph. Lazni decided that right now the Nymph needed comfort, and it'd be important for her to at least be disguised when they arrived in town. "Of course I'll protect you." The words felt almost as good for Lazni to say as the relief breathed out by the nymph.

"Prominence scares me." the Nymph said, slipping into a doze. Lazni dared not respond that many times, she felt the same way when dealing with the Princess.

---

Once the changelings had made their way inside of the town, Lazni had taken the helm of the coach and was directing the others on how to move about the city. Although it felt weird to be commanding a queen and a princess, Both of them were awkward around ponies at best. Lazni, however, was an expert at dealing with them, her extensive travels having contributed to her abilities. The group wandered around the streets for a time until they finally stopped outside of an Inn that was ajoined to a sleepy looking tavern, collectively known as Spinning Copper Inn and Bar.

Lazni could take a good guess as to why the inn had come to this name, but made a note to ask later and sate her curiosity-- a town full of drunk ponies was a town of loose lips. Lazni asked Pupae to accompany her, giving an order to the drones and Prominence to take the wagon around back and secure it in a stall behind the inn. This was such a place that most of the streets and buildings were accommodating for travelers and traders, which seemed to be the lifeblood of the town's commerce. Lazni entered inside, disguised as a white unicorn and took a look around the lobby.

The inn had a fire pit with massive stones around it reflecting heat, the entire inner lobby overly warm. Lazni winced as she stepped inside, glancing across the lobby at the innkeeper. Even though the sun was not down yet. Lazni could smell the scent of alcohol from across the room. An open bottle laid slightly aside on the desk, away from the inn's ledger and the innkeeper's untouched dinner.

"Pupae..." Lazni hissed under her breath. "Let's make him show us to our room, and then work your magic." Pupae gave an ever so slight nod to show she understood, letting Lazni take the lead as they approached the front desk.

"A room for six ponies, please." Lazni chimed, looking at the drunk pony and trying not to gag. The innkeeper looked at her with tired eyes, then gave a grunt and pulled a key out from under the desk.

"On' night, siks silvers." The innkeeper blabbered. Lazni motioned for the innkeeper to lead the way, not worrying about what a sick silver was. As long as they were careful and gave Pupae time with the innkeeper, they wouldn't be paying anyway.

"Yes, of course!" Lazni smiled, trying to look like a pretty young mare for the innkeeper. "Can we be lead to our room?"

"Aye, ah'm goin'." The Innkeeper mumbled, taking a swig from his bottle before starting off up some stairs. Lazni waited for the innkeeper to reach the top before following, not wanting to be crushed by drunken falling ponies.

At the top of the stairs the Innkeeper hung a left, positioning them in an area that seemed to be over the tavern below. Lazni gave him a happy nod as he opened the door to their room, showing them inside and motioning to the six hay mattresses.

"Perfect!" Lazni remarked, "Just one more thing..."

Now it was pupae's turn to work her magic, Lazni closed the door leading to the hallway and watched as a burst of magic shot from Pupae's horn, slamming into the face of the innkeeper. the pony stumbled, barely hanging to his balance by using a bedpost. There were two more bursts, and then his tired eyes were wide open, staring deeply into the glowing green of Pupae's eyes.

"He needs to fill out the ledger correctly, but collect no money from us for the stall or room. He mustn't tell anypony of this." Lazni whispered.

"You will do as you are told. By me, for me." Pupae whispered, her voice a silken song. "You will fill out the inn's ledger as if the room you are currently in and it's rented stall are paid for, but you will collect no money from the inhabitants. Believe me, you will tell nopony that you are doing this. You will do as you are told."

The innkeeper gave no visual or audio response, but with a wave of her hoof, Pupae ended the glowing in her eyes, letting the spell apparently fade from the innkeeper. For a few seconds he looked confused, then dropped the key to the room on a bed, turning and trotting from the room.

"Queen Pupae, that was amazing!" Lazni could feel her voice cheering ever so slightly as she looked admiringly at Pupae.

"Naturally." Pupae said dismissively. Lazni grabbed the key to the room in her mouth and turned, Pupae following her as they exited the room and went down to the lobby to meet Prominence and the others. Sure enough, they had already managed to park the wagon and were waiting across the room, away from the smell of the drunken pony. The drones, Prominence, and the nymph all had disguises up and waved to Lazni as she descended the stairs. the two groups approached wordlessly and headed up the stairs in pairs. When they were safely back in their room with the door locked and the curtains drawn darkly over the window, they all let their disguises die.

"So all is well, Lazni?" Prominence asked, opening her satchel and approaching the only desk in the room. She laid out the map here, using faint light that slipped passed the side of the curtain to illuminate the paper.

"Yes, we should have the room and stall free of charge for as long as we need it. Pupae did all of the real work though, Prominence." Lazni said.

"Yes, I'm sure," Prominence said dismissively, continuing, "One of the stallkeepers told me that there is a mayor in this town, she's known for her eccentric ways, matched only by her ability to know what is best for the town. I'm planning to replace her."

"..Don't you think that's moving things a little fast?" Lazni asked.

Prominence gave a shrug, "No faster than Lalartu will move once she finds out where we are. Our best defense right now is hoping for an early winter. Soldier drones would freeze to death before they arrived with any haste. I'm certain that Lalartu will recuperate her soldier numbers, perhaps we should do the same."

"We don't have the space for that." Lazni pointed out simply. the room was a little crowded already with the six of them, and there was no way they'd be able to fit cocoons or any sort of hatchery and rearing grounds for young changelings.

"We will after we replace the mayor." Prominence said. "I'd like for you to set up a meeting with her, Lazni. Pupae, yourself, and myself will go and... well, do what we changelings do best."

both of Pupae's drones gave a slight giggle at this, Pupae herself looking rather enthused at the prospect of taking over a small pony town for their desires and needs. Lazni didn't dare voice her concern, but she felt extremely uneasy about this. Ponies were animals that did not react well to sudden changes, and if their mayor began making crazy decisions then there was a chance questions would be asked. Lazni assured herself that Prominence probably already had a plan for this though, and it wasn't worth worrying her with undue concern.

"Of course. We can say it is some sort of trade meeting." Lazni suggested.

"Excellent," said prominence, waving her hoof. "Go now. Try to set up the meeting for tonight. The sooner we get started, the better." Lazni raised her brow slightly, but in a flash of light and flame she had her disguise on again, giving a firm nod and turning towards the door.

---

Lazni did not immediately make her way to the mayor's home, mostly as she had no idea where exactly to look. After asking for directions several times from friendly ponies, she had found herself at the center of town, where a large stone house was to a courthouse and a flower park. Four gates of wrought iron stood open, and on the side of each gate was a plaque that read "Raspberry Creek Mayor's Residence." Lazni stepped forward, making note of the old architecture that made up the stone house, as well as the landscaping done for the gardens, tress, and shrubs. She was far from an expert on houses, but Lazni could tell by looking around that this house was very old, perhaps almost as old as the town itself. Despite the buildings apparent age, tireless care had been used to maintain every inch of the grounds, keeping the stone smooth and the cobwebs away.

The front doors were open when Lazni approached them. The courthouse and the Mayor's Residence met at a cross section, with a ramp leading out the way Lazni had come in, and on the opposite side a ramp leading down to the flower garden. The connecting hallway expanded out in the middle in the form of a square, creating a place for an indoor fire pit much like the inn between the two buildings. Lazni slowed to a stop here, looking around at a few old ponies gazing into the fire, clearly enjoying the silence of each other's company. They looked up at the young mare joining them, the majority quizzically raising glasses in order to make out who they were looking at.

"Uh, beg pardon." Lazni was a little sheepish with all of these ponies staring directly at her. "I am a merchant's assistant, and she has asked to meet with the mayor, tonight if possible."

"Mmmh, a merchant?" One of the ponies, who had the look of a clerk, said as they pulled out a ledger book and opening it slowly. The pony possessed giant eyes that were magnified by her massively thick glasses, giving her a bug-eye'd appearance. "The last of the merchants for the fall left last week, it must be important for you to risk being caught up in the winter snow!"

"Uh, yes, very important." Lazni said, feeling her gut sink slightly. Assuming that there had been ponies on the caravan before Lalartu's soldiers hijacked it, what important message might they have that wasn't going to reach the town now? "She would like to meet with the mayor as soon as possible."

A mare sitting next to the clerk raised a hoof, waving it mildly. "I will be in my chambers. Tell your mistress that I am awaiting her news."

Lazni needed to hear no more. She quickly turned and galloped away, down the twisting and turning streets and not stopping until she had reached the inn as a panting mess. She had to take a minute to breathe before she could explain the situation to Pupae and Prominence back at their room in the inn.

"These ponies are too easy." Prominence smirked. "I'm curious what the news might be, but I think we'll find out in due time. Let's go steal ourselves a town. Pupae, Lazni, with me. The rest of you stay here and allow no one entry inside until we return."

"And why are you in charge? I'm the queen here, after all." Pupae snorted, nonetheless letting Prominence have her way.

"For now." Prominence grinned visibly, motioning for Lazni to lead the way back to the Mayor's Residence.