In Sheep's Clothing

by Kydois

Chapter 22 — Tastes Like Mine

Myiasis

I breathed out slowly as I felt the warm water from the shower head run through my mane.

I brought my hoof up to my forehead and groaned, hoping to rub away the throbbing. The party was supposed to have gone much better than it actually did. We managed to hit a lot of the nobles despite the setbacks, so the operation was not a failure in that sense, but losing Fancy was a huge mistake.

My mind kept wandering back to it. The emotional surge. It had to have happened during the surge when that damnable pony started singing. She was not meant to perform. There was nothing on the party’s itinerary that called for her, and yet she was up there as if she was supposed to be up there. The drone I had guarding the pods was knocked out without anyling else knowing, and the drones patrolling outside were waylaid by a phoenix soon after the surge began. The pods themselves had been split open by somepony else, but who in Equestria could have slipped past to open them? It was too much of a coincidence. It had to have all been planned out.

But who? Celestia? It was her phoenix who harassed my guards, after all. In fact, because her phoenix was involved, there was a huge possibility that she was aware of the whole debacle, and without knowing Fancy’s location, it was impossible to be certain. I almost hoped it was Celestia, because the other possibility was Chrysalis.

A chill ran down my spine, despite the warm water running over me.

My hive managed to catch some of her changelings, especially over the last couple weeks. We disposed of them quickly, but it was impossible to catch all of them in such a huge city like Canterlot. The strength of her hive now was unfathomable, and her arrival in Canterlot was only a matter of time. The only reason she has not arrived in force to wipe my hive out was likely the same statute that kept changelings safe from the other races, namely the necessity of discretion and secrecy in all operations.

But Chrysalis was cunning. After years of getting her hive beaten down and diminished, she completely steamrolled Queen Psyllid in but a single day. While I was initially thankful that she had done so since I myself had been facing significant pressure from the outsider queen, it only put Chrysalis in a far more threatening position when she absorbed the hive she had conquered.

There was no telling what the conditions were for her to come do the same to my hive, but she was probing, and I had to keep her out as long as possible. There was always the sense of teetering on the brink, the edge of a long cliff to nowhere. Mistakes were costly.

I punched the wall of my shower with a low growl. I had a lot of work to do, both to cover the potential fallout of Fancy’s abduction from under my nose and to solidify my hoofhold in Canterlot and prepare for the worst. All I do now was in preparation for that moment. Some stupid worm, some insect, managed to slip by, so I needed to strengthen my net. I needed to be able to stop any encroachment, no matter whether I could detect them or not.

Chrysalis will not take Canterlot. The center of pony civilization will not be taken by some uppity intruder.

This is my city. My claim. My hive.

MINE.

Celestia

I walked out onto my balcony, breathing in the fresh air high over Canterlot, but there was little time to enjoy my brief break. Cadence was watching Overwatch and Lily in my chambers, which left me a few minutes to attend to other, more difficult problems.

I brought out the small sapphire from behind my peytral, holding it out in front of me in my golden magic. It was originally supposed to just let me keep tabs on Overwatch, but I had not expected it to also serve as a point of contact between me and Crystal. It was hard to tell exactly what the corporal had cast on it, but it appeared as if it took advantage of the existing auditory components of my enchantment to transmit somepony else’s voice. It only further lent credence to my theory that Crystal, whoever she was, was a very experienced spellcrafter and mage.

“Crystal,” I said to the sapphire. “Are you there?”

“I am always at your disposal, Celestia,” she replied, her two-toned voice coming through clearly. “I do regret that I cannot meet you personally, Princess, but circumstances do not permit me such a luxury at the moment.”

“Circumstances?” I raised an eyebrow. “What sort of circumstances?”

“The sort that I am not willing to share at the moment. My apologies.”

I breathed out a sigh. Too much to hope for, perhaps. “In any case, you certainly seem to find yourself in interesting company. A merpony and some sort of shapeshifter, fighting against other such shapeshifters,” I said, staring out over the city. “How did you find yourself working with them?”

She hummed, musing. “Desperation, in the case of Miss Lilywater. I had to take what I could get back then, and she was very willing to help me,” Crystal said, very matter-of-factly. “Meeting Overwatch was a sheer coincidence, but once I discovered that she was not all what she appeared to be, I moved to open communications with her and offer my assistance. With her, I was in a much better position to act and gather information in Canterlot. Thanks to both of their… unique skill sets, I consider both of them very important assets to work with.”

“I see,” I said, thinking. “So why Canterlot? It sounds like you already had plans here.”

“I had my suspicions that Canterlot would be… important. Nothing more.”

Vague answer. “And now you are aiding Corporal Overwatch’s investigation as an… expert on the enemy?”

“I am, yes. I confess that while I do not know fully the internal workings of our opposition, I do possess much information about their abilities and strategies.”

“So you know what they are?” I said, keeping the eagerness out of my voice. “Are you willing to share this information with me?”

“No, unfortunately,” she replied. “While it is difficult to explain fully, revealing too much information would be against both my and Overwatch’s interests.”

I narrowed my eyes at the sapphire. “Explain as much as you can then, because if my ponies are going to be threatened, I would rather not have information that could protect them be dangled just out of reach without reason.”

“I know, Celestia. Believe me, I am well aware of the pains of leadership, but you must understand that Overwatch’s race learns from a very young age that they are never to reveal themselves intentionally to protect both themselves and their families,” she said, her voice firm. “That you were able to get as much information as you did from Overwatch is a result of her inexperience and morality. She is much younger than the mask she wears.”

“I will make note of that then.” I took in a deep breath, using the gesture to temper my irritation. “A very secretive race then, like the breezies?”

“Not quite as fragile, though no less dependent on ponies,” she said, slightly more conversational now that I had calmed myself down a little. “They are, in a sense, parasites, and their awareness of how parasites are perceived only feeds their reticence, though in this day and age, I believe it is more to their detriment than benefit. If it were up to me, perhaps they could change their ways, but I am in no position to do that at this moment.”

She paused. “They do no harm to ponies so long as they do not go overboard, in case you were concerned.”

I breathed out a sigh of relief. Maybe something good could come out of this after all. “If it were up to you? If I may ask, what is your purpose in helping Overwatch stop these others?”

“Quite simple. I wish for more openness so that they may better thrive in the new world, as symbiotes rather than parasites, but this group in particular would do harm to any potential relations between their race and ponies should they continue their actions.”

I furrowed my brow. “You say you wish for more openness, yet you refuse to tell me about them in greater depth. Surely, the faster we are able to understand them, the sooner we can end this problem and establish relations?”

“Do not be in such a hurry, Celestia. They prize their anonymity. You would do no favors by attacking that which they has kept them safe for centuries,” she said, as if scolding me. “If you use your knowledge to take care of the problem quickly, others may be fearful of putting themselves at your mercy in the future.”

I sighed. “Alright, I submit that it would be hasty to end the problem so quickly, but why not tell me more about them regardless? If not their abilities, what about their culture? What they look like normally? Even their name?”

“That,” she said, and I could hear her smirking. “That, I will tell you when the time is right, but given that your ponies are being threatened, I have my concerns as to what you might do with such information at this moment.”

I huffed. “So you would have me wait around while you fix the problem?”

“Call it an… internal struggle among their kind. Rest assured that those who have foalnapped your ponies have no intention of doing them harm.”

I released a long breath. “Fine,” I said, grimacing. “So you say that it would be more beneficial for them to be more open about themselves, but what is your stake in this?”

“I merely wish to see harmony.”

“Is that all?” I said as I redirected my gaze back over Canterlot, watching the tiny ponies below go about their daily business. “I have met with plenty of nobles and ambassadors, all wishing to curry favor with me. You play with your cards close to your chest, Crystal. Is that the only motivation you have?”

She paused for a moment. “No, admittedly, but it is not an insignificant portion of it. The other part is, well… call it a bit of soul searching.”

I brought my front legs up on the balcony railing, still staring down into the city. Soul searching? That could mean any number of things, and from her refusal to answer some of my other questions, I would not be surprised if this was simply another vague answer to deflect further queries. Still, she sounded sincere, so it was possible that her involvement in this situation was more for personal interest than material gain.

I sighed. Perhaps it mattered little what her motivation was, only that she was helping, though the amount of information she was willing to reveal gave me few opportunities to provide any assistance of my own. Frustrating, to say the least, but I was no stranger to frustration, especially in my line of work.

“Say, Celestia. I will say one thing,” the sapphire spoke again, taking me out of my musings. “Have you ever heard of the story of Lady Iridescent?”

I raised my eyebrows. “I have, though I am surprised you know of it as well. It is a very old story and not all that well known.”

“I am… quite versed in history and the stories that come with it,” she said, as if choosing her words carefully. “Do you remember the prevailing themes in it?”

I took a moment to think. It had been such a long time ago, and retellings of the tale often chose to emphasize different aspects. “I would have to say… betrayal. Vengeance,” I said. “It was often used as a cautionary tale.”

“And the ending?”

I hummed. “There have been many debates over the precise ending of the story, but I would have to say it ended with Hearth’s Warming.”

“Yes, that makes sense,” she said, sounding a bit distracted. “The defeat of bitterness and hatred with friendship and love. A fitting end.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Is there a reason you asked?”

“Of course. I just do not wish to tell you at present.”

“Bit for your thoughts?” I said with a smirk. “At least spare this old mare a few trustworthy tidbits of your knowledge.”

She let out a barking laugh. “Really now, Celestia, all of my knowledge is trustworthy. I have not yet told you a single lie.”

“Nor have you given me the full truth,” I said with a chuckle. “Some Element of Honesty you are.”

“Honesty is quite overrated,” she replied with an amused snort. “Loyalty is a much better basis for harmony.”

I shared a laugh with her, but she had given me more food for thought. She was trying to communicate something to me, but what, and why with that story in particular? Betrayal and vengeance? Perhaps it was part of that soul searching she mentioned, but it gave me the impression that she knew as little of her true motivations as I do if she wanted to ask me for my personal allegorical ending to a story.

She didn’t seem like a fool. She had done it on purpose, in her own convoluted way.

I would puzzle this out later, after Overwatch’s investigation tonight. Perhaps she would even come clean with the full truth as she said she would, though what she considered the “right time” was woefully unclear. Now, however, I needed to figure out what possible approach I could use to convince her to share more of her knowledge.

I needed to show her that it would be in her best interest to include me in her plans, somehow.

Nymph

This would be the second time in two days that I was breaking into Fancy’s mansion, but at least getting back in was much, much easier without hundreds of ponies and guards walking around. The mansion itself was dark since the owner was still staying in the castle, but the lights outside were still on. A close scan with my empathy sense revealed nopony nearby, but I suppressed my emotional signal regardless as I made my approach.

After checking the harnesses for my axe and fumes, as well as making sure one of the pockets in which Crystal sat was secure, I climbed my way back in through the master bedroom. Trying to sneak in through a prominent door like the back entrance still put me on edge, even knowing that there was no one there to see me, and the bright lights on the back patio were definitely not conducive to stealth. It was too similar to a spotlight, and that was the last thing I wanted on me.

The balcony door was unlocked, and I slipped inside. I wasn’t surprised that the pods had been removed, so I continued without a second thought out the bedroom door, overlooking the banquet hall. Sounds from Canterlot echoed in faintly, but the inside of the mansion was eerily quiet. The detritus from last night had been cleaned out, leaving the banquet hall almost entirely empty. With the lights out, it only made the room feel… cold.

I shivered into my scarf as I descended the stairs to the first floor. The ring sat heavily on my horn, letting me know that I was always under surveillance, no matter how many ponies were around me. Despite being in an empty house, my nerves were on edge. With a little trial and error, I managed to find the basement, my hoofsteps near silent as I prowled down the steps. The wine cellar was only just across the room, past some of the servants’ workplaces and the kitchens, and I made my way inside.

It was even darker down here, and I quietly lit up my horn to give myself some light to see by. The boxes and long racks of bottles were cast in a faint green glow, and long shadows danced across the walls whenever I moved.

“So it begins,” Crystal said.

I took a deep breath and looked around, keeping a close eye on the ground. A multitude of long lines scored the stone beneath me, likely from something being dragged or pushed along the floor. The pods, perhaps? If there was a giant hole here, it shouldn’t be too hard to find anyways, but I followed the scratches anyways.

Turns out, while everything else had been cleaned up, there was still a circular hole in the ground on the far side of the cellar. It was wide enough for three ponies to go through side by side, boring straight through the stone flooring. The sides were smoothed out, though not without its imperfections. I knew my own hive had no problems with digging wherever they pleased, so I wasn’t too surprised that they had managed to do this, but my pony sensibilities were still quite amazed at the work.

I stepped in. The walls of the tunnels were slick, sloping downwards at a steep angle, but that in itself wouldn’t present an issue for changelings that could cling onto anything. Still, I had to proceed carefully. It would have been pitch black without the light from my horn, and even then, it was hard to see exactly where I was stepping.

After a short time the tunnel leveled out slightly, though only to about a thirty to forty-five degree slope downwards. Eventually, however, the tunnel turned sharply upwards, and I found myself climbing rather than descending.

I raised an eyebrow. The change in direction in itself seemed a bit unusual, but I followed the tunnel upwards regardless. Although the tunnel was still about the same width, the walls around me seemed rougher, as if done in a hurry. It got slightly brighter, and to my surprise, I emerged into open air, just under a few trees near the edge of the city. It couldn’t have been very far from Fancy’s mansion, and when I turned around, I could still see the walls on the edges of his property.

I heard a small voice in my ear. Celestia’s. “This does not bode well. They could be anywhere from here.”

“Silly Princess. Go back. We missed something.”

I nodded and retraced my steps, going all the way back to the point where the tunnel tilted up suddenly. I increased the glow on my horn and looked closer at the point of intersection. Moving over a few meters, it was apparent that the tunnel’s walls had changed in quality. The tunnel I had descended from also had a floor that looked like multiple objects had been dragged over it, while tunnel going back outside had no such markings.

“Think they redirected the tunnel?” I asked Crystal.

“Of course they did. The hole in the mansion was likely to be a bit more permanent, but with Fancy gone, they had to expect somepony to investigate. Easier for changelings to simply dig more than to try and cover up a hole of that size.”

I cursed under my breath. Where could the tunnel have originally led then? It wasn’t like I had much experience with digging tunnels, and I had no easy way to break open a tunnel that had been blocked off.

Maybe Vice had a point to carrying around a book of explosive runes, “just in case.”

I closed my eyes and listened. This far under the ground, the sounds of the street had died out, but I swore I could’ve heard some sort of… static-y white noise? I felt around on my empathy sense, which detected a few signatures farther under me, maybe three or four around where the original tunnel would have led should it have continued on.

I grimaced. “It doesn’t look like going down the original tunnel was an option after all. I think there are guards at the bottom.”

“So it seems,” Crystal replied. “I wonder if Celestia knows where it might lead.”

I cleared my throat and muttered under my breath. “Celestia. The original tunnel was blocked off. This one going up was just a distraction.”

“Are you sure?” she said, a note of surprise in her voice. “That’s an awful lot of work to do in one day.”

“They can handle it, I believe,” I said, before I gestured towards the ground. “Do you know of anything that could be further down from here?”

“Canterlot’s sewer network. After seeing the hole in Fancy’s cellar, I have little doubt that the sewer walls would serve much more of a hinderance.”

I blinked. Now that I thought about it, the noise I heard could just as easily have been the roaring sound of rushing water. It made sense, actually, to use the existing sewer network instead of digging around everywhere, especially with how extensive the underside of Canterlot was said to be.

“Got it, Princess. I’m going around through the top.”

---

The roads weren’t very far from the exit of the decoy tunnel. It was a bit trivial how easy it was to find a ponyhole cover, and with the streets empty at night, I didn’t have to worry about anypony seeing me go in. A quick sweep of my empathy sense also revealed nothing immediately below me. I slid in and closed up the hole after me, making my way down the ladder quickly.

Immediately after I hit the bottom, the smell hit me. It wasn’t a bad smell, necessarily, but it was incredibly damp and musty, like soggy newspaper. The roaring in the distance was much more pronounced now, perfect for obscuring light hoofsteps. I had to watch myself carefully, but my empathy sense should let me keep out of danger from any patrolling drones.

The light coming from above wasn’t very bright, but with Overwatch’s eagle eye combined with a changeling’s low-light vision meant that even a little brightness trickling in from above was enough to let me see where I was going, unlike the tunnel the other changelings had dug. In addition, dim crystals were placed at regular intervals along the walls, likely powered by the incredible amounts of water rushing through.

There was a saying I—or more likely Overwatch—remembered hearing once. It said that only half of Canterlot was above the ground, and after seeing the sprawling dungeon before me, it became apparent that it might well have been completely true. Though dark and damp, it was nevertheless large and spacious. Bridges crossed over where rivers ran through, the water as quick as rapids.

I grimaced at the various junk left lying around in the corners. A bedroll here, a bag of discarded belongings there. Cardboard boxes were scrawled on and made into either signs or homes. It seemed that with all this space down here, it wouldn’t take much to attract some of the less-than-fortunate ponies to make their dwellings here. I knew that some of the guardhouses, including mine, had a sewer beat, to keep unwanted ponies out of here, but it could only be so successful, I supposed.

With all this space, however, it did make navigation a bit easier. With a little reorienting, I made off in the general direction towards Fancy’s mansion.

“You are headed back?” Crystal chimed in.

“Only to confirm that the tunnel connects to the sewers.”

“Very well. Continue.”

I slunk through the dim lighting, never straying too close to any light source and keeping a very close tab on my empathy sense. I knew I detected others down here when I was still investigating the hole, and running into anypony without good reason would be extremely… inconvenient, to say the least.

It was a good thing I was, because soon enough, I could detect a few signatures, coincidentally in the same direction I was going. My initial estimate was right. There were about four just ahead of me, two of them stationary and two roaming around. The doorway to the next room was closed, but I had few doubts that it was being watched.

I scanned the wall. Luckily, the river ran through to my destination, so there was a simple grate separating the two rooms that extended to the ceiling. It was also poorly lit, so I clambered onto the wall and made my way over, taking a little peek through it.

There was a giant mound of what I assumed was dirt, coupled with a few stone blocks. Two construction ponies were busy filling out the massive hole in the wall, just about as large as the tunnel I came from. Two guards also trotted around the area, though never lingering far from the doorway.

“Well, Princess, it looks like you were right,” I heard Crystal say faintly in my ear. “The tunnel did go to the sewers.”

A sigh. “So it seems. Corporal, continue investigating. Those pods had to have been taken somewhere.”

I took a deep breath myself and slowly made my way back to solid ground.

Comments

[Alondro]

Can't trust these dang chernglerngs.

*puts DDT mines all around his house*

[Misdirection]

I missed the last chapter until just this very moment, but yay two chapters for me! Excellent work!

[TartarusFire]

The doorway to the next room was closed, but I had few doubts that it was being watched.

But then it wasn't

[Charles Farrow]

I can effectively now say that I've caught up. And man has it been a journey.
The pacing was great, the characters were interesting, unique and believable. The plot wasn't very hard to figure out, but it was an enjoyable experience to do and there was still some cool exploration of myths and legends that helped build the story even more!

All In all I've been really enjoying it so far, And I look ever so much forward to seeing what happens next!

[Kydois]

9403827
9409364
Thank you both for the glowing words, and I hope to continue the trend! :P

The myths were originally just a way to add in some worldbuilding for flavor, but I've realized that over the four I have planned out, they're steadily becoming more and more involved with character building. I'm planning on releasing the next myth this Saturday as part of a sort of break week for me before we continue with Nymph's little adventure, and it'll become pretty apparent which character I'm character building from that chapter.

See you then!

[Razzy]

Serwer level!