A Disguise for Love

by BrightMind

Chapter 15: Search Party (3rd Person POV)

Simon had made it to Icey's Café, walking at a slow, reverent pace. His overcoat was covered in black soot, and so was his fur. He dreaded the idead of telling Spy Glass he couldn't save that picture.

Simon walked through the front door of the café, the bell over the door rang, drawing the attention of all the ponies in the quiet and surprisingly unpopulated room. Spy Glass beckoned him over to the table he was sitting at. Simon dreadfully made his way to the table, an sat down across from him.

"Did you get it?' Spy Glass asked. Simon pulled the burned briefcase out from under his overcoat without saying a word. Spy Glass unlocked the case and opened it up. "This case contains professional investigation equipment. Being contractors, private investigators usually need to get around... legal obsticles, so I have a few other tools and gadgets in here, but I doubt we'll need them. There is also an addition of my own in here. Important for me, and if this case entails what I think it will, possibly the whole case."

"What is it?" Simon asked.

"We'll get into it if it comes to that. Thanks for grabbing the case, I know you went through a lot for it. Now, how about that picture?" Spy Glass asked. Simon turned away from his gaze before muttering his response.

"I'm sorry, Spy Glass, I couldn't save it..." He said, solemnly.

"What do you mean... You couldn't save it?" Spy Glass asked, trying to keep his composure. But it was clear that his grateful demeanor slowly faded, and he began to grit his teeth.

"Well... there was in issue... It was in trouble and i had to save him. As I did this, the picture frame slipped out from my coat, or something.... The frame shattered and the picture didn't survive... I'm so sorry!" Simon said as sincerely as possible. Spy Glass looked like he was about to snap, but before he could, he got a hold of himself. He took a deep breath to calm himself down. His anger turned inro a distant, solem tone.

"It's okay, Simon. I know it's not your fault. I have no right to be angry or dissapointed, frankly, I knew you probably weren't going to be able to do it. I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up," Spy Glass said. "It's my fault... if I hadn't chased her away, maybe she'd still be here with me. Maybe I wouldn't have to rely on someone to save the last shred I had of her," Spy Glass sighed. "Look, kid, I'm doing so much for you right now. I'm sticking my neck out, risking my job and well being for you. I just want you understand what I'm sacrificing for this..." Simon sat in silence for a moment, thinking to himself.

"I'm sorry... I guess I could take it a little bit more seriously. I could be more appreciative and less apathetic about thwle things we do," Simon says sincerly.

"Thanks, kid, glad you understand," Spy Glass said, still cold and distant.

"Before we continue, Spy Glass, may I ask you something?" Simon asked.

"Shoot," Spy Glass responded.

"If that picture ment so much to you, why did you keep the last one in your office?" Spy Glass looked down shamefully at the table, before giving his answer in a regretful tone.

"Well, when she first left, I was angry wirh her for some reason. I didn't want to think of her or even remember that she exsisted. So, I began getting rid of everything that reminded me of her. Old bed, furniture, clothes, jewlery, et cetera. All I had left where the pictures... I tossed them in the fireplace, one by one. But the remorse hit me when I was holding the last one in my hooves. I couldn't bring myself to toss it in. I knew I was in the wrong, I had no reason to be angry with her. She didn't deserve how I treated her and she certainly doesn't deserve to be forgotten. I couldn't destroy it, but it hurt to much to have it at home. So I left it on my desk at work. That smile always got me through a rough day."

They both sat in a solemn silence before Spy Glass finally pulled himself together. "Well, let's get down there, the scene isn't going to investigate itself," Spy Glass said in the most cheerful tone he could muster up. "Lead the way, Simon!"

---

Simon opened the door for Spy Glass, who quickly made his way into the trailer. "Alright, kid," Spy Glass started. "You mentioned a sign of a struggle. What evidence do you have?"

"Well, the only tangable evidence I have is that dent in the wall," Simon said, pointing at the dent in the in the trailer wall. "I'm not sure how I didn't notice this when I walked in, especially if I was already aware that something was off." Spy Glass inspected the dent in the wall.

"It's very shallow, it would be easy to miss if it weren't so large," He said as he ran his hoof over it.

"Large?" Simon asked "It doesn't look very big."

"It doesn't! But your only looking at the deepest part of the dwnt, the most obvious part. If you run your hoof over it, you'd be able to feel a divet much larger and unnoticible to the eye," Spy Glass explained. Simon stepped closer and felt the wall with his hoof. He didn't feel it at first. But as he moved his hoof further up the wall, he noticed it.

"Wow!" He said "What could have made a dent this big?" He asked.

"In most cases, a lot of things. But in this this case, there isn't anything around that matches it, and I highly doubt that the assaultant brought something of this size with them and left with it and your mother. The only thing that could have made that dent is a pony. Given how high up it is, magic had to have been used to cause it. So I think it might have been your mother," Spy Glass said. Simon felt very uneasy. "Since magic was used, that means they probably also teleported away," Spy Glass continued.

"B-but that means..." Simon began, terrified. "That means we can't trace her!" He finished. Simon felt as though he were about to cry for his mother.

"Usually, yes. But I think I have an idea of what this could be," Spy Glass said as he began unlocking his breifcase. Simon listened intently, and watched as Spy glass opened his case and removed what appeared to be a small green stone. "I found this a few years back," He began. "I don't remember where or why I decided to put it in my pocket. In fact, the only thing I really remember from that day is a changeling charging up a spell to immobilize me and failing to cast it. It took me a while to realize that this was the cause.
"This crystal has the power to interfere with and detect changeling magic. This is how i've managed to survive and stay hidden from them for so long!" Spy Glass revealed. Simon once again felt uneasy, this time for a different reason.

"Is that also how you managed to keep finding changelings?" Simon asked nervously.

"Well, sort of," He answered. "See, it doesn't exactly work like a medal detector. But, if a changeling has used magic in this area withing the last couple of hours, I'd be able to know. I usually just use it to help me find a lead."

Spy Glass put the stone down on the ground. "Spy Glass, could I ask you something?" Simon asked.

"Shoot," he replied.

"Do you know exaclty what happens with the changelings the you capture?" Spy Glass was about to answer the question in detail just before realizing he couldn't do so honestly.

"You know what? I don't think the princess ever really told me what she does with the changelings... clearly, they don't remain in the dungeon because it's always devoid of changelings by the time I catch another one. But it is definitely not in the Celestia's nature to execute them, even if they were pure evil. I suppose it's a question I could possibly ask her in the furture. Why do you ask?"

"I haven't been entirely honest with you... it's true I've never met my father, but I know he wasn't a changeling," Simon said.

"How can you be sure? What does this have to do with what I told you?"

"Because my mother is a changeling... I didn't want to tell you because I knew what would happen. I'm half pony and I don't have changeling magic. So my father had to have been a pony," he said. "I want her back, so I'm no going to comprimise the investigation by letting you beleive that changeling is involved. We're looking for a changeling."

"A changeling mother.... kid, we have to get your mother back!" Spy Glass says

"To turn her in?" Simon asked solemly.

"No! I think I can keep her out of the princess's custody! This is important, kid! What was your mother's name?" Spy Glass said quickly.

"I-I don't know! She had a lot of names! I always just called her 'mom'!" Just as Simon said this, Spy Glass's stone lit up brightly. The flash startled them both. "I'm guessing that means my mom was probably using her magic?" Simon asked

"It's much more than that, kid," Spy Glass said, fascinated as he picked up the stone. "It has never shined this bright. It's never even come close. This means that hundreds of changelings had to have been involved."

"Hundreds!?"

"That, or one incredibly powerful one. This means that your mom has to be at the changeling hive," Spy Glass concluded.

"How are we going to get her then?" Simon asked with a tone of hopelessness in his voice. "It's too dangerous to go there!"

"That's why we're not going alone! We'll need to stop somewhere so I can talk to a friend. I'm calling in a favor! We need to help your mom, kid! It looks like she could be in a lot of trouble!"

"Wait! We're just going to walk right in? If we can do that, why didn't you do it before?!"

"Because I risk my life going near the hive! Even with all the help in the world, the odds are against me, and all of Equestria needs my assistance. But now it's personal! Tonight, it's not about Equestria!" Spy Glass said. "Now, we're going to stop by the Canterlot dungeons. Hopefully there are still a couple of changelings who can tell us where the hive is."

Just as the two were ready to go, the door of the trailer swung open, followed by a familiar voice. "I'm back, dear!.... Oh..." There in the doorway stood Cloudy Cuddles, but niether of them were fooled by the disguise and the changeling knew it after just a glance around the room.

"Will this one do well for an interrogation?" Simon asked

"I'd say so!" Spy Glass replied. The changeling dropped their disguise and put his hooves up in surrender.

Author's Note:

WE ARE ALMOST THERE EVERYONE! The next chapter will be the last in this story, then I can finally begin working on my next project! I hope you guys are as excited as I am. I have a couple one shots planned and something even bigger as well. So if you are enjoying the story, please be sure to follow me so you don't miss out on what's next. For updates about my stories and projects as well as more of my content, follow me on amino ( I'm most active on Equestria Unofficial Fan Club) BrightMind82 and my Tumblr brightmindartist.

I started doing revisions to my previous chapters and I left an extra note in the author's notes of most of them. So things should be much cleaner and everything should make more sense. As of now, I'm still going through and editing them, so bare with me.

Thank you all for reading and I hope you have a great day.

Comments

[swarm chaser]

ch5

One thing however, did not not change when she did: the bump on her abdominal area.

repeated word
ch6

but instead to here with him.

but instead to be here with him
ch8

betrayal costed us!?

cost

pain and suffering you had caused the hive!

extra word
ch9

the rouge spies

rogue
ch11

even if it costed

cost
ch12

the fear struck me harder than it did for any changeling.

the fear struck me harder than it did for any other changeling.

So I'm here to make you deal!

So I'm here to make you a deal!

rouge

rogue, it's misspelled 5x in ch12

The interplay of chrysalis and butterfly feels strange as its best friend and i'd kill you where you stand if I didn't need your information.
ch13

"You want to burn down the whole building?! That's insane!.

This is a horrible plan endangering lives and damaging property when they could have made up a story and did whatever they wanted. Almost anything would have been a better plan than this including walking in the front door and walking out with the case, What big loss would it be if they fired him since he's implied to be loaded from years of regularly finding changelings at 200k each.
Then the photo burns and the mouse loses his tail all because somehow this was the best plan they could come up with.
Oh and he sent a foal into a burning building to get things.

At no point does anyone ever give any thought that burning down part of the building might have not been the best plan.

ch14

better for he poor mental health

her

she won't lie a hoof on him

lay
ch15

about thwle things we do,

the?

I was angry wirh her

with

But in this this case

repeated word

I'm no going to comprimise

I'm not going to compromise

The time jump, especially considering one of the main characters is a private investigator supposedly one of the best and yet 5 years of nothing?

butterfly starts out saying in ch12

"But Chrysalis has no intention of harming you. In fact, if you can tell her what she needs to know about the investigator and the rouge Changelings, she will let you and the kid go. She's even got a cozy little house set aside for you guys in the Crystal Empire!" Butterfly said happily.

but then later in ch14

"Will he get to stay with us in the Crystal Empire?" Melony asked hopefully.

"Oh... I don't know about that... when the queen said 'out of the way' I don't think she meant just out of Canterlot. I think she just wanted to put him in a cell or exile him from equestria all together..."

I think the subject was supposed to have switched from simon to spy glass but there doesn't seem to be a transition so it appears she's being told she won't be able to be with her son.

ch15

Maybe I wouldn't have to rely on someone to save the last shred I had of her,"

Maybe you shouldn't have burned down part of your building as a distraction??

The changeling dropped their disguise and put his hooves up in surrender.

Really?? just like that? No attempt to deny it or flee?

[BrightMind]

11102142
Thank you! I'll be sure to use this next time I have time to edit!