Unending Love

by Azure Notion

Act I ~ Chapter 6

“I’ll be waiting for you.”

Firefly’s crafted smile nearly wavered at the pure sadness and despair that forced the tear from her husband’s eye.

“I… Okay. I’ll see you—” Fine Roast’s words caught in his throat.

Be strong. Be strong, Firefly. For him.

She so desperately wished she could offer him more comfort, wished they could have talked about what to do if ponies got too inquisitive. Instead, all she could do was hope the untrained stallion would be able to play his part, whatever that may be.

“Please come with us, ma’am,” Lieutenant Steel said, drawing her attention away from Roast.

Firefly nodded, fighting to keep her breaths steady, no matter how much her body told her to take a deep, calming breath. The lieutenant turned and she followed him to the door, the hoofcuffs forcing her to take short choppy steps. She clenched her jaw at the flood of anguish behind her as she stepped outside to the alleyway. There was nothing she could do about it.

Not a Chrysalis damned thing she could do for him.

“Okay, sergeant,” the lieutenant said, coming to a stop in front of a unicorn guard next to the carriage, “take her back to processing. I’ll come as soon as I’m done here.”

“Yes, sir.” The sergeant gave a sharp salute, only dropping it once Steel returned one of his own.

The lieutenant turned and walked back to the cafe, giving Firefly one last skeptical glance as he passed. She gave him a small smile and nod in return, but it did nothing to ease the suspicion flowing from inside him.

Her eyes were drawn back forward as the sergeant stepped over to the side of the carriage and pulled open the door. “Please step inside, miss.”

Firefly nodded and walked forward, taking her first step up. The familiar sound of the cafe door slamming shut behind her gave her pause. She turned her head, the sight of the shut door clenching her heart. Her lungs cared not for disguises and drew deep of their own volition as she was suddenly overcome with the regret of not having gotten one last look at him.

She slowly, quietly exhaled the deep breath and turned back to the carriage, taking the last step inside.

Sitting down at the back, she looked back to the door at the sergeant standing outside.

“Alright, ma’am,” the sergeant spoke, “sit tight. We’ll be leaving in a moment.”

Firefly nodded, the same pleasant, crafted smile on her face and watched as he shut the door with a clunk, another quieter clank sounding after.

She sat there, staring blankly at the door.

Noises, muffled talking, made their way through the carriage walls, but they were meaningless.

Breathing. Her own breathing. Not quite slow. More breaths.

Faster.

Her muzzle opened.

Panting.

Can’t stop!

“Oh sweet Chrysalis,” Firefly whispered, “what did I just do?”

She lifted her hooves and laid her head in them, her bonds rattling together.

How… How do I get out of this? I shouldn’t have gone with them, but there was nothing else I could have done! Ohhh what do I do?

The carriage jerked forward and a whimper escaped her lips before she could catch it.

Stop, she told herself and sat back, lowering her hooves back to her lap. Breathe, Firefly. Control yourself and think. Deep breath.

She closed her eyes and breathed in. One. Two. Three. Four. Five.

Exhale.

One more.

Another deep breath, held, and slowly let out. Shorter and shorter deep breaths left her before, finally, her breathing became manageable again.

Okay. She opened her eyes again. Now think. They’re trying to pin you as a changeling. How would they do that?

The lieutenant said they’d need both of us to come, so it had to be something that would involve us both. The only thing I’ve seen in the news is of the queen herself and a lot of those articles were focused on mind control. If they’re hoping to find me out with that, they’ll be sorely disappointed.

They couldn’t be banking on only that, though. What else? Firefly hummed softly for a moment before her brows furrowed and concern filled her. Memory spell? Do those even exist? Perhaps a truth-telling spell? Do those even exist? I really wish I knew more about magic.

Wait. A breath caught in her throat. They couldn’t have a… changeling detection spell, could they? It couldn’t be that simple, right?

If they were able to make a spell that found the difference between a pony and a changeling… she simply had to hope they didn’t, because if they did, there was no hope.

Okay. Alright. Let’s assume they don’t have a spell. What else could they do? The only other thing I can think of is to make sure I’m actually Sweet Leaf. Which shouldn’t be difficult at all, seeing as I made her.

Then… she let out a sigh, what do I do? If they have some other trick behind their flank and I get caught, I could end up being the one they use to develop a spell from. The damage that would do to the hive… it’s immeasurable.

So, then do I run? Do I escape or do I risk everything? Being in love doesn’t—can’t take priority over the hive. It can’t. The hive needs whatever secrecy it has left.

Were she any other changeling or if it were any other source, there wouldn’t even be a question. She’d run and that’d be it.

Though, what if I try to run and get caught anyway? I have enough love that I think I could manage it, but I can sense… she concentrated on the emotions around her for a short moment, only barely the two guards pulling the carriage. If they really did surround the cafe before my arrest, there’s got to be more following now.

She huffed and set her head against the back of the carriage. So there’s a chance I fail if I run and a chance I succeed if I stay. If I run now, Sweet Leaf is dead, but if I stay, she might live. And if Sweet Leaf dies, Roast and I…

Her brows furrowed. She leaned forward and frowned down at the floor. So concerned, she had been, about the hive and getting caught that she lost sight of why she was concerned in the first place.

She thought about it, about what leaving really meant. It meant she’d never see her husband again. She’d never enjoy another one of his iced Equestrianos. Never cook breakfast for him again. Never wake up on a Sunday morning, spending the first waking hour snuggling and basking in his warm love.

Never again.

Her stomach twisted itself and her mouth went dry. Her imagination couldn’t even begin to form such an idea.

Losing him would be utterly crushing, but could she afford to keep him? Who was she to put at risk, the love everyone said she wasn’t supposed to have or her queen and hive?

If I stay and somehow get out of this, I’ll be able to keep both. But escaping would undoubtedly keep the hive safe and it would mean… goodbye.

It was unfathomable. A life without his love. Without his…

Love. His love. Leaving him would hurt you, but what would it do to him? He was terrified when they came in and even more devastated when they took you. You told him it would all be okay. You promised him. You said you’d be waiting.

No. Firefly breathed in deep and steeled herself as the carriage slowed and made a hard turn, going up a little hill. This isn’t about just you anymore and you will not throw this away. You are better than them and you will find a way. The hive is important, but so is he.

He is important.

She took another deep breath and let it out, the well-crafted smile filling her face once again. It’s showtime, Sweet Leaf. Get ready for the most important part you’ll ever play.

Abruptly, the carriage came to a stop. A short moment later, the door clicked and popped open. A guard stood outside, his horn still lit.

“Alright, miss,” the guard said, sounding very similar to the sergeant from earlier, “please step out of the carriage and follow me.”

Sweet Leaf nodded and stood, stepping down the carriage’s two steps. Coming fully onto the cobblestone path she looked ahead at the sergeant, a little bit past him was a female guard. To the side, she noticed a fenced off area with several other guard carriages.

He and the mare turned and began walking to the building.

Sweet Leaf quickly stepped forward to follow, but yelped and stumbled from the short chain between the hoofcuffs on her forelegs.

“Careful!” a voice behind her said.

She quickly turned her head and saw two pegasi guards flying close to the ground. Further back behind the carriage stood two more unicorn guards. Sweet Leaf masked her surprise with a friendly smile.

“Thanks.” She wasn’t sure where they came from, but she bet her guess back in the carriage was right. They were probably part of the guards escorting her.

I’m doubly glad I didn’t decide to blindly run. Four unicorns and two pegasi would not have been fun to get away from. Roast might have made sure I have plenty of love, but I’m not certain it would have helped much against that.

Turning forward again, she saw the sergeant had stopped and was looking at her with a raised eyebrow. She gave him a sheepish smile. “Heh. I’m, uh, good. Forgot I had these things on.” Sweet Leaf lifted a hoof and shook it, jingling the hoofcuff chain.

“Alright.” He faced the building again and continued on towards the door marked Authorized Personnel Only.

Sweet Leaf followed the two guards up to the building, pausing as the mare pulled out a key and unlocked the door.

“Enter the building and walk forward.” The guardsmare directed, pushing the door open in her magic.

Nodding, Sweet Leaf continued inside into a small, almost hallway-like lobby with a mere wall mounted table and a single door on the far right. Her ears flicked back as a couple sets of hoofsteps followed in behind her, the door banging shut a moment later. From her right trotted the female guard, heading to the far door and unlocking it.

The mare looked back at Sweet Leaf and nodded her head to the door. “Walk straight through the door and go through the first door on your right.”

Again, Sweet Leaf did as she was told and continued on through the door, entering at the corner of a hallway. As she continued straight, she eyed the hall to her left and raised an eyebrow at the short hall with what appeared to be three barred holding cells on either side and a single barred door at the end.

Looking straight again, she came to the first open door on her right. She turned into the doorway and continued into the empty room. Straight ahead on the left wall was a desk with a rolling chair underneath and on the right was a wide, metal table with a chair on either side and a folder at the nearest side.

Hooves clopped up from the hallway and Sweet Leaf turned back to the door.

The guardsmare entered the room and looked Sweet Leaf in the eyes, jerking her head to the table. “Take a seat on the far side.”

Following the mare’s directions, Sweet Leaf continued around the table, eyeing the folder before taking a seat. Looking down in front of her, she raised an eyebrow at an odd little latch open with a small, horizontal groove embedded into the tabletop.

She looked up and stowed her curiosity and looked up at the guardsmare approaching her.

“Hooves,” the guard said, unamusement clear on her face.

Sweet Leaf furrowed a brow. “I’m sorry. What?”

“Hooves,” she repeated, raising a hoof and tapping the metal, “put them on the table.”

“Oh, alright.” Pulling her hooves out from underneath, Sweet Leaf placed them on top, the metal cuffs clinking against the surface.

The mare reached out and pulled her hoofcuff chain until it slipped into the groove. She flipped the latch down, clicking it shut before turning and heading back to the door.

Hinges squeaked from out in the hall, followed by hoofsteps and a loud clang.

“You ready?” The guardsmare asked, her head sticking out of the room.

“That we are,” a stallion’s voice replied from out in the hall.

“Good.” The mare turned back into the room.

Following her were two guards, a stallion levitating a medical bag and another mare levitating a clipboard. The new mare closed the door behind her and stood at the far wall, facing the table while the stallion set his bag on the desk, pulling out the rolling chair and sitting down.

The first guardsmare took a seat at the table and flipped open the folder. “Your name is Sweet Leaf, correct?” she asked without looking up.

Sweet Leaf nodded. “Yes, that’s right.”

“And you own the Sweet Roast Cafe?”

“Co-own with my husband, Fine Roast, but yes,” she corrected.

“Please state your age and date of birth,” the mare asked, still looking at the papers.

“I’m twenty-eight years old and was born on April twenty-first, year nine seventy-three.” Sweet Leaf’s eyes flicked over to the mare on the other side of the room. As soon as she began talking, the mare began writing.

Scribing what I say. Interesting. She held onto that little fact for later.

“You’ve been taken into custody on suspicion of being a changeling assuming the identity of Sweet Leaf,” the guardsmare finally looked up at her. “Do you have anything you would like to add to this or reveal any additional details?”

“No.” Sweet Leaf shook her head, shifting her forehooves and haunches from the uncomfortable positions they’d been forced into.

“Do you understand the reason for your arrest?”

She nodded her head, settling back into her seat. “I understand the claims against me, false as they may be.”

No reason not to be confident, Sweet Leaf thought.

“Are there any health issues you need to address that may be a risk to others or yourself? This includes any prescription medications.”

“No, none.”

“Very well,” the guardsmare said, looking back down and shuffling her papers. “According to the warrant, we are authorized to perform up to a non-invasive physical examination of both you and your husband, as well as a magic and enchantment inspection. However, your examination will include a cavity search for contraband. Do you understand this?”

“Yes, I read the warrant.”

She kept the neutral look on her face and breathed as normally as she could. The magic inspection. Stars, please let it be only that.

“Do you have anything you would like to reveal to us about any conditions, spells, or enchantments we may find on you or your husband before we conduct your examination?” She rearranged the papers and closed the folder.

“No.” Sweet Leaf shook her head again. “Unless Fine Roast goes out and buys some magical trinket today, neither he nor I have any enchanted items that I’m aware of.”

“Fine.” The guard scooted back and stood up out of her chair, turning to the other two guards. She reached back into her side pouch and pulled out a set of keys, hoofing them over to the stallion. “She’s all yours. I’ll be outside.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant Berry.” The stallion nodded to the guardsmare as she opened the door and stepped out.

Stowing the keys in his own pouch, he turned back to his medical bag. He stood there for a short moment before turning to Sweet Leaf, clipboard and pen in his magic. “Hello, Miss Leaf. My name is Lieutenant Haze. I’m the on-duty medic today and I’ll be conducting your physical exam. Unless you have any objections, Sergeant Fire behind me will serve as your chaperone today.”

Lieutenant Haze paused, looking back and nodding at the mare in question, before turning back and continuing, “Her specialty is magical in nature, but she has a secondary background in medicine and is sworn to keep any medical topics we discuss here private and confidential. However, due to the nature of this investigation and by authority of the arrest warrant, some or all of the medical discussion here will be used to compare against your records at the Hoofington Hospital. Do you have any questions or issues to address before we get started?”

Sweet Leaf almost raised an eyebrow at the stallion. From the example of the abrasive Lieutenant Berry, she’d figured that not a lot of ponies here were going to treat her with much respect. She was happy to be wrong. “No, I don’t believe so.”

“Excellent! Let’s get started then.” He took the sole seat across from her. “Over the past few months, have you experienced any excessive stress? This could be due to your work, relationships, emerging events, or any other causes.”

“No. I mean, just the ‘normal,’” her chains clinked as she poorly attempted air quotes, “stuff you’d expect from being one of the two employees at a cafe open six days per week and having one of your close friends turn out to be a changeling.”

“I see. How about any history of high blood pressure or heart issues?”

“For me, no. My mother has been diagnosed with hypertension, though.”

“Thank you.” He paused, writing on his clipboard before looking back up. “Any chronic medical conditions you’ve developed? Or are there any others on either of your parents’ sides?”

“As far as I know, no.”

“Perfect. Last question. In the past few years, were there any incidents that either caused you to seek immediate medical attention, or caused you to book an appointment with your medical provider that resulted in a diagnosis?”

“No. Erm well,” she hesitated, debating if it really counted. Then again, this sounded like it was for records checking, so it probably did, “actually yes. There was one time. About three years ago, a few months after Roast and I had gotten married, I had an accident with our espresso machine’s steam wand. We had one of those lever type steam wand valves on the side of the machine. Well, I was a... little inexperienced, but I wanted to do my part to help Roast run the cafe.

“I was rushing and I knocked over an empty cup beside the machine. I rushed to get it, but I wasn’t paying attention and, as I reached past the pulled-out steam wand, it caught inside my apron. I panicked, ‘cause, you know, that steam is really hot, and I flailed a little. Of course, my arm happened to knock the steam valve open and it blew steam right against my front.”

Sweet Leaf shrunk a little into her chair at the honestly quite embarrassing mistake. “It wasn’t on me for very long, but I, uh, screamed and fell back. Roast came from the kitchen and, after he saw what happened, he shut the valve and went to check on me. I remember being in shock and just staring at the thing. I don’t really remember what he tried to say. All I could think at the time was how I was supposed to be careful around the thing and there I was, going and burning myself in the first few times I’d used it.

“I do remember that he rushed everyone out of the cafe, threw me on his back, and ran straight to the emergency room. It wasn’t a very bad burn, mostly first degree is what the doctor said.” She took a deep breath and sighed before continuing, “But, well, I learned my lesson the hard way that day. If you don’t know something, don’t act like you do. Your pride isn’t worth it.”

“Mmm,” Lieutenant Haze nodded, writing down for a moment before he set the pen back on the table. He looked up at her, his emotions bringing more empathy than his smile. “Those are always hard lessons to take, but we all have to learn them at some point.”

“Heh, yeah.” Sweet Leaf gave him a smile in return. “Though, I wish the lessons didn’t cost so much.”

“Don’t we all.” He snorted. “Alright, unless there’s something else, we’ll now be moving on to the physical portion of this exam.”

Sweet Leaf sat up straight. “Nope, that was the only thing.”

Truthfully, back then, she’d locked up because she’d been more afraid of Roast getting suspicious rather than of her own folly. Now, though, the memory of his devotion only made her more anxious of what was to come.

And what she had to lose.

“Excellent.“ Lieutenant Haze said, breaking her out of her thoughts. He stood and turned around, walking back to the desk before setting his clipboard and pen on it. He pulled a pair of latex hoof coverings and a blood pressure cuff out of his medical bag, then turned back around. Pulling keys out of his side pouch, he walked forward and levitated the keys over the table, unlocking the latch.

Sweet Leaf moved to pull her hooves back to her lap, but hesitated, remembering she should probably keep them visible. Lieutenant Haze picked up the other chair in his magic and brought it around the table, setting it down next to Sweet Leaf.

He went about his work feeling her neck, listening to her breath, and other medical-y things. She noticed it was very similar to those annual exams she’d get as Sweet Leaf. While the exams were useless for a decent portion of medical issues that could arise in changeling biology, especially while disguised as a pony, some conditions could carry over.

Though when the cavity search came up, she did her best not to blanch. She hated that part of annuals as much as any mare.

“Alright, Miss Leaf,” Lieutenant Haze said, setting his clipboard onto the table, “that’s it for my portion. Please place your hoofcuff chain back into the groove.”

Sweet Leaf reached her hooves forward and let the chain drop back under the open latch.

Lieutenant Haze closed the latch with a click. He stepped back around to the other side of the table, taking the chair with him, before removing his latex hoof gloves. “I understand it may not have been the most pleasant, but I very much appreciate your cooperation.”

“Of course.” Sweet Leaf put on another friendly smile, making sure to hide her true feelings on the matter. “If it means I’m proven to be who I am and I get to go home tonight, I’m more than happy to do what you need.”

“Indeed. Now, next up will be my fellow guardsmare’s portion. It should be rather simple, though I’ll let her explain it.”

Haze turned to the desk, grabbing his clipboard and beginning to sit down. The mare, Sergeant Fire, Sweet Leaf believed, took a moment to finish writing before setting her clipboard on the desk.

The mare turned to her and stepped forward with a smile. “Hello! My name’s Dawn Fire and I’ll be doing the magical scan for any artefacts, enchantments, or spells you may have on you. Before I do, I’m obligated to ask, do you have any items or spells in or on your body that would be sensitive to magical probing?”

“No, I don’t.”

Firefly’s heart skipped a beat, but forced her face to keep the smile unwaveringly. This was it. If this was their detection spell, she was done. If it was only a magical scan, there shouldn’t be a problem.

I think. I’m pretty sure my metanoia doesn’t give off any magical energy when it’s not active. The organ that was responsible for shifting was also the one organ changelings couldn’t just shift away. Not only would the transformation not finish, and likely very painfully at that, if it did disappear, she’d be completely unable to shift again.

She almost shuddered at the horror stories she’d heard as a nymph and was more than happy to not find out how valid they were.

“Alright. I’m going to start magically probing your body. You may feel a slight tingling sensation.”

Up until now, it was as simple as going along with their requests. Now was the first big hurdle. Her vision suddenly tinted orange and she closed her eyes out of reflex, allowing herself a small, deep breath as her heart began to thump away in her chest of its own volition. Tingling did indeed cover her body, not overly unpleasant, but also not something she’d go out of her way to feel again. Especially after this.

She fought the urge to hold her breath in anticipation and apprehension, forcing her breathing to remain calm and steady.

Ages seemed to pass and, despite her best efforts, her nervous energy came out in a wing shuffle, the feathers barely rattling their cages.

Just as she was about to lose another battle to fidgeting, the tingling disappeared. She opened her eyes and looked at the guardsmare.

“Okay! Examination’s done,” Dawn chirped before raising an eyebrow at Sweet Leaf. “Are you alright, Miss Leaf? You’re a little flushed.”

Ugh. This is not what I wanted. Sweet Leaf gave a tiny huff before putting a half-reassuring smile on her face. “Yeah, the tingling was, uh, weird. I’ve never had one of those done before.”

“Ah,” Dawn said, brightening back up, “well don’t worry. Aside from a few very sensitive enchantments, there’s nothing harmful about a little magic probe.”

“Alright, so...” Firefly began, keeping her voice as normal as she could with a friendly smile on her face, “did I pass?”

Dawn gave her a sympathetic grimace. “I’m afraid it’s not my place to say, sorry.” The mare shrugged her shoulders. “That will have to come from the lieutenant or the detective after they’ve been able to review all the results.”

“Ah, that’s fine.” Firefly returned her shrug. “I understand.”

A small amount of relief came over her as she took in Dawn’s emotions. The mare showed no signs of concern, surprise, or suspicion. Hopefully that means I’m good to go. Either that or it would take somepony kicking her puppy to dampen her spirits.

Dawn Fire stepped back and faced the lieutenant. “You good to go, LT?”

“Yeah, one second,” Lieutenant Haze said, scribbling on his clipboard before sitting back. He stood and placed the clipboard and pen back into his bag. “Alright, good to go.”

“Alrighty.” Dawn turned to the door and stepped forward, opening it. “Lieutenant Berry? We’re good in here, ma’am.”

“Finally.” Firefly heard from the hall as Dawn stepped back, allowing the rather unpleasant lieutenant to enter the room. “You got the keys, Haze?”

“Yep, right here.” He reached a hoof into his pouch and pulled out the keys, holding them out and letting her magic pick them up. “Everything went smoothly.”

“Good,” Lieutenant Berry said, then turned, walking around the table along the far wall. As Haze and Dawn left the room, Berry levitated the keys and inserted them into the latch’s lock, popping it open. “Up.”

Sweet Leaf complied, scooting the chair back and standing. Facing the mare, she gave her a questioning look.

“Turn around,” Lieutenant Berry commanded, twirling her hoof, “walk to, and out the door. Follow the guards outside.”

Sweet Leaf did as the lieutenant asked and walked around the table. She continued and exited the room, seeing the guards in the middle of the hall on either side of the door, both of them facing left, back towards the cells. As she stepped out and between them, the guardsmare in front began walking forward and Sweet Leaf took that as her cue to move. Behind her clopped a couple pairs of hoofsteps.

They turned right at the corner, going down the same short hall of cells Sweet Leaf had seen when she came in. She glanced inside one of the cells and held back a grimace at the sparseness. Only a small metal bench, a bed, and a toilet graced the interior of each.

Though, as the guard came to a stop just after the second cell, Sweet Leaf couldn’t help but notice there was nopony in any of the cells.

Come to think of it, it is pretty big news whenever a crime happens. So these being empty kinda makes sense.

“Step aside,” Lieutenant Berry said from behind her.

Sweet Leaf looked back and saw Berry to her right. Stepping left, she let the mare pass and watched as she unlocked the second cell.

“Get in and walk to the far wall,” the lieutenant said.

Wordlessly, Sweet Leaf stepped forward into the cell, walking to the far side before turning around.

“No,” Berry called, halting Sweet Leaf mid turn, “face the far wall.”

Sweet Leaf held back a huff and turned back away from Berry. Once she had stopped moving. she heard two sets of hoofs come into the cell behind her, not a word spoken between the guards. Keys jingled and a moment later, she felt a shift and a click on her wing cages. Resisting the urge to watch them take it off, she held her head forward and felt as they slid the cages back off her wings.

“Alright,” Berry spoke up, hoofsteps echoing back behind Sweet Leaf, “now turn around and hold your forehooves out.”

Knowing that replying would be useless, she silently turned around, seeing the guardstallion exit her cell with the wing cages draped across one hoof. Keeping her eyes forward and the growing annoyance off her face, she sat back to her haunches and held her hooves out for the lieutenant.

More keys jangled as Berry levitated a small hoofcuff key and unlocked one side, then the other before she pulled them off.

Sweet Leaf pulled her hooves back and rubbed at the irritating feeling the cuffs left behind on her fetlocks.

“Turn back around and put your forehooves up on the wall, where I can see them.”

Sweet Leaf nodded and set her forehooves back on the floor. She turned back around and shimmied up to the wall before sitting down again. Putting her forehooves up onto the wall, she almost squished her snout against the cold stone before realizing she didn’t have to be quite that close. Her ears flicked back at the sound of the lieutenant’s hooves leaving her cell. Squeaking resounded in the cell and before the door clanged shut.

“Alright you can relax,” Lieutenant Berry said.

Dropping her forehooves back to the hard stone floor, Sweet Leaf faced the cell door again. Lieutenant Berry was looking in at her with an unamused expression and the two other guards had posted themselves in front of the empty cell across from hers.

“Get comfy,” Berry quipped. “I have a feeling they’re not gonna be ready for your interrogation for a long while.” Without another word, the lieutenant left back down the hallway.

Sweet Leaf watched her disappear from sight, and with nothing else to do, she hopped up onto the bed and sat down. A moment later, the loud clang of the door separating the holding cells came from around the corner.

Interrogation. That means they still haven’t found enough to condemn me. At least, I hope so. She breathed in deep and exhaled, her shoulders and back slumping in catharsis. Her bet paid off, at least for now. There were no fancy spells to detect her or force a shift back to her changeling form.

Though with all that out of the way, the only thing left to do was wait. And worry. Worry about her husband. About the interrogation.

What could they be interrogating me about? My family? All that is perfectly documented at town hall and there’s no way they had time to actually go talk to Sweet Leaf’s parents. They’re an entire day by train away. And they already got a medical background from me. What else could they ask? Had it not been for the guards outside, she’d have hummed and wiggled her eyebrows while she was thinking. She fought to keep the odd habits stowed away.

I guess they could ask about mine and Roast’s relationship. Though that would require them to, well, interrogate Roast. Which they can. Her lips curved up into a small smile. They’re in for a surprise if that’s what they’re going for. Roast and I have nothing to hide.

Her smile dropped again. Except he knew the whole time. ‘Cause you were as careless as Bobby Pin. You’re lucky he’s not like—no. Stop. Her head twitched before she caught her habitual head shake. That was a long time ago and everything turned out well. Besides this. And his confrontation a few days ago. Which I’m sure he can… make something up. Except he’s kind of bad at lying. Ugh, great. Everything was so simple when I only had to rely on me. There was hardly anything on teamwork back in training!

She let out a tiny, unsatisfying grumble.

Though… what else could it be about besides our history? She silently hummed, staring at the floor. There wasn’t anything else she could think of that they could use to confirm Sweet Leaf’s identity. Or Firefly’s. Family, friends, spouse, personal and medical details, what else was there?

Wait a second. She raised her eyebrow a tiny bit. Steel said that a validated source made the claims. I know it’s Wavy, there’s nopony else it could be, but… how would they have validated it? They wouldn’t have started a full blown investigation over her merely leaving, so it had to be something that they found. There’s no way Spindle left any resin behind, I know for a fact that she wasn’t making a cocoon. The only other thing would be—

Her mind went blank for a long moment as it hit her.

Oh no. I never checked with Skitter. I have no idea if she was able to get Spindle’s crystals or not. I stupidly assumed it was all taken care of. If she didn’t find them and they did, then they might tear up the cafe looking for mine. She shifted in place, her anxiety having nowhere to go. She desperately wanted to put her head in her hooves. Or get up and pace.

Or have Roast hold her.

Stars, this is not okay. I’m glad I at least remembered to move the crystals back under the floorboards, but finding a box full of crystals isn’t any less odd than finding a burlap sack. If they find it… It’s over. The chance of getting out of that is so low. No more cafe. No more— No. Stop. Stop it.

Slowly, silently, she breathed in deep.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Release.

Okay, Firefly. Be calm. Collected. You just have to hope they didn’t find it. There’s nothing you can do about it now. Maybe I can talk my way out of it. And if they do keep me locked up, Skitter will find out. She’ll ask for help. There’s no way the hive would ignore an imprisoned collector. It’ll be okay. You’ll be fine. You’ll be…

You’ll be alone.

Her face fell and her heart seized at the idea. All of a sudden she didn’t want to think about that anymore.

Taking what little privacy she had left, she turned away from the bars and laid down. She tucked her hooves under her chin, trying to hide her shaky breaths and hoping that Roast was taking this better than her.

---

A deep sigh escaped her lips as she leaned back against the wall on her hard, metal bench. Firefly had no idea how long it had been, only that the two-guard detail watching her had swapped what she assumed must have been an hour ago. There were no windows in the cell block and no way of telling time from the sun.

Her flanks were sore on all sides. The uncomfortable bench, ever too narrow to lay down on, made sure of that. She looked over at the bed and pondered if it had been enough time since she’d switched out the bed for the bench. Instead, she leaned back again and let out another sigh.

She tried her best to keep her mind off all the possibilities, but it was exceedingly difficult with no other distractions than laying on a bed, sitting on the bench, or counting the blocks on the walls. Which, as she eyed the wall the bed was bolted to, she already knew there were forty-four whole blocks on either side and thirty-nine on the back wall.

The useless knowledge did nothing for her constant anxiety.

Talking to the guards had been something she’d avoided. She saw no benefit in trying to communicate with them, especially because she didn’t want to risk giving away her nervousness. Plus, she’d had to use the toilet eventually and the cell provided no privacy for such matters. She held back a shutter, feeling awkward just thinking about it.

Eying the bed again, she wondered if she should try to sleep. If much more time passed in the day, there was no way they’d stick around past duty hours to interrogate her. At that point she’d have to find a way to sleep somehow, regardless.

Firefly wavered back and forth indecisively before she finally figured she might as well get off her flanks. She leaned forward to hop out off the bench, but her ears flicked and her throat seized at a barely audible sound.

Hoofsteps.

And a far away clunk before a clang, the same kind her cell door made. Louder, the hoofsteps came, but she simply rolled her eyes.

Come on, Firefly. How many times in the last several hours has somepony passed down some connecting hallway? They’re not going to—

Her eyes popped open at the clunk of the barred door around the corner. She took a deep, shaky breath hoping both for and against the idea that they were there for her.

The squeaking hallway door opened around the corner. More hoofsteps and a pause, before the door clanged shut. She stared ahead at the bed, but kept the hall in the corner of her eye.

From around the corner turned a guard, indistinguishable to her from all the others. He stopped in front of her cell.

“Sweet Leaf?” he asked.

She kept her eyebrows in their neutral place and calmly turned her head over to the familiar voice’s owner looking in at her. That voice was Lieutenant Steel’s, without a doubt and if he was here, that probably meant they were done inspecting the cafe.

And were ready to interrogate her.

“Yes?” she replied, sliding off the bench and moving to the middle of the cell.

“We’ve completed all the preliminary investigative activities and the next step will be your interrogation. However, should you desire it, you are allowed an attorney or other legal representative present during the interrogation. Would you like to request one?”

An attorney… Firefly pondered, looking off to the side and tapping her chin for show. That’s one thing we didn’t go over very much in training. From what I do remember, they’re funded by the crown and aren’t all that common. They’re usually used to keep the interrogation on topic and to keep the interrogated from getting overwhelmed. I... think I can manage those things myself. I hope. Plus, the Equestrian legal system is all about truth finding and reformation, and I doubt they’ll be very interested in reforming an enemy of the state.

“I don’t think so,” Sweet Leaf said, setting her hoof down and looking back at Steel. “I can’t be proven to be something I’m not, so it seems rather pointless.” On top of that, if they did discover me, there’d be even less of a point.

“In that case, our interrogator is nearly ready and we will be transferring you to the interrogation room. However, we will need to place restraints on you once more, so please turn around, walk to the far wall, and remain in place.”

Sweet Leaf nodded and repeated the actions she’d done hours prior, though this time butterflies filled her stomach.

Well, this is it. Time to face the music.

The cell door lock clunked and squeaked open behind her, followed by what sounded like two sets of hooves. She stood in place and saw from the corner of her eyes as two of them came up and stopped at either side. Clinking and jingling resonated in the small cell before the familiar cages slid over her wings. She resisted the urge to shuffle or flare the appendages as her wings were locked into place once again.

“Please turn around and hold out your forehooves,” Steel said from her left.

Wordlessly, she complied, turning around and sitting back, presenting her hooves. Steel, hoofcuffs in hoof, held out the open circles and placed them over her fetlocks, closing and clamping shut each in turn.

“Please stay there for just a moment,” Steel said as Sweet Leaf put her hooves down. He turned along with the other guard and left the cell. He and his fellow guard moved to either side of the door, facing inside the cell again. “Alright, please step out of the cell. We will be leading you down the hall to your left.”

Sweet Leaf stood and shuffled her way out. As soon as she was in the hall, the guard to her left turned and began walking down the same hall she’d been down once. Sweet Leaf eyed the closed processing room door as they passed it and her ears flicked back at the sound of her cell door closing. Stopping as the guard in front did, she turned her eyes to the keys levitating into the hall door’s lock.

Turning the key and pulling open the door, the guard proceeded through, Sweet Leaf following behind. Ahead was a T intersection going left and straight with another barred door past the intersection, segmenting the hall. Though, to the left he turned, leading her down a hall with four big metal doors on the left, two doors with restroom signs on the right, and yet another barred door at the end.

As they passed the first metal door, Sweet Leaf eyed its sign.

Observation Room 2? So I’ll be watched by more than just the interrogators. I suppose I should have expected they’d have more ponies than them watching. She followed the guard further down, stopping with him at the last door, labeled Interrogation Room 1. Next to it was its accompanying Observation Room 1 door.

The guard opened the interrogation room door, holding a hoof out into the room and looking to Sweet Leaf. “Please enter the room and take a seat on the far side of the table.”

Sweet Leaf nodded and gave him a smile, taking the short, choppy steps the hoofcuffs allowed into the brightly lit, beige room. Walking around the table, she raised an eyebrow at the setup. There were only two chairs, one for her and one for what she assumed would be her interrogator. Singular. The table, she noticed, was the same type of table in the processing room with a groove and latch on her side. As well, on the observation room side was a big glass mirror set into the wall.

Continuing around the table, she wondered what the mirror could be for. Or rather, she knew what it was for, but not how they’d use it to observe her. Magic, maybe? Don’t know why you’d need a mirror to do that, though.

She reached the end of the table and sat down. Figuring they’d want her in the same uncomfortable position, she put her hooves on the table, letting her hoofcuff chain lay near the groove. She kept the expression off her face, but she was not looking forward to having to hold her hooves in front of her for who knew how long.

“Ah, thank you,” Lieutenant Steel said as he approached the table. “But, before we lock you in, do you need to use the restroom first?”

“No.” Sweet Leaf shook her head. “I’m good.”

“Alright, then.” He leaned forward and pulled her hoofcuff chain into the groove before closing the latch. He stepped back from the table and looked at her. “The cooperation thus far has been much appreciated.”

“Of course.” Sweet Leaf nodded at him and masked her simmering anxiety with a smile. “I know you’re only doing your job and fighting you would only make my release take longer.”

“Yes, well, sit tight for a moment,” he said then turned to leave, going out the door and to the right. The quiet sound of another door opening then closing barely graced Sweet Leaf’s ears.

She eyed the open, unguarded interrogation room door with slight confusion, though she made sure to keep the usual, pleasant smile on her face. If they were testing her, they’d have to think she was a fool to try and escape with at least one set of heavy, metal doors in any direction she could go. Not to mention all the guards and her hoofcuffs.

Though, as she sat there, a faint burst of anxiety came from the observation room wall. She pointedly didn’t look over to the mirrored wall or raise her eyebrow at it.

Anxiety? That’s kind of odd. Do they have some sort of… emotive pony over there trying to draw a reaction out of me? Even if they don’t, this is going to be loads of fun. She sarcastically thought. Gonna have to make sure I don’t pay attention to them.

Outside, the sound of the door opening again broke her from her thoughts and the anxiety from the other room flared even further. From around the corner, the lieutenant walked back into the room, accompanied by another guard holding a coil of wire in her hoof.

The mare was practically pouring with nervousness.

Sweet Leaf watched with as neutral an expression as she could as the new guardsmare stopped at the mirror. The guard grabbed the connector on the end of the coiled wire in her teeth and leaned down. Extended a shaky hoof towards the wall, she flipped up one of two cover plates Sweet Leaf was surprised she hadn’t even seen.

A loud clack filled the room as the connector slipped off the mare’s shaking hoof. She tried again, only to result in another clack.

One more clack and Sweet Leaf’s eyes flicked over to Lieutenant Steel as he raised a hoof towards the mare. She looked back to the poor mare and noticed her eyes had closed and she was taking a deep breath. Her eyes opened back up and she carefully reached forward and pulled the cover up, holding it while she pushed the connector into the wall.

She stood back up and faced Sweet Leaf before stepping towards her, uncoiling the cable as she went.

”H-hello, miss,” the guardsmare began, a forced smile on her face, “If you could, please raise your forelegs. I’m, uh, going to need to put this around your chest.”

Sweet Leaf tilted her head and raised an eyebrow, before she noticed under the coils of wire was an elastic strap. “Uh, okay. What’s it for?” She felt bad for the poor girl. Maybe it was her first day on the job?

“It’s a heart rate monitor,” Lieutenant Steel said from his spot next to the door. “It’s a tool we use to help us determine if a pony is telling the truth.”

“Ah.” It was all Sweet Leaf could think to say as she lifted her forelegs as much as the secured hoofcuffs would allow.

This is… not good. My heart’s already beating like crazy. There might not be a whole lot to lie about with my and Roast’s relationship, but that won’t matter if they know I’m already nervous.

“Alright,” the guardsmare stood up and stepped back, “You’re all set!” she said a little too fast before turning and trotting out the door with naught but a nod to Steel on the way.

“As the mare said, all set,” Steel spoke up. “Again, sit tight. Somepony will be in shortly.”

Her heart still thumping away, she watched as he turned, walking out of the room and closing the door behind him.

Okay, Firefly. Calm down. No bad thoughts, no panic. You are Sweet Leaf and that’s it. You have no idea what love crystals are and you are not a changeling and for the love of Chrysalis, get that heart rate down!

As slowly as she dared, she took a few deep breaths, still sensing the faint emotions coming from the other room. Unsurprisingly, it seemed it was almost entirely the mare’s anxiety along with a hint of concern from somepony else.

Come on, Sweet Leaf. They’re more afraid of you than you are of them. No need to be nervous. It’s just a few questions. You can handle that. You’ll be okay. Everything will be okay.

Soon enough, the tension in her body began to lessen and her heart slowed a small amount. Not a lot, but enough that the fear of having walked into a trap no longer held her captive.

Seems the mare in the other room is calming down, too.

Eventually, the emotions from the other room abated enough that she could no longer feel them.

Minutes seemed to pass and Sweet Leaf’s mind began to betray her. Was this really a trap? Were they waiting for something? A spell, maybe?

Or are they trying to make me nervous?

Before she could ponder the question, the door handle clunked and turned, her eyes flicking over. The door opened and in stepped a light brown pegasus mare wearing a dark grey suit and tie. Her muted blue mane was put up into a bun, a few stray hairs attempting to escape.

Held in one of her wings was a thick briefcase and in the other, a coil of wire and a folder. She wordlessly walked forward, eyes focused downward. Reaching the table, she set the briefcase down on the floor and the folder on the tabletop before turning to the mirror. The wing holding the wire extended forward, the primaries separating one end of the cable. She leaned down and reached out with her unoccupied wing, deftly flipping up the cover plate and plugging the wire in next to the other cable.

She turned around and brought the coil back to the chair, taking a seat before unraveling the wire completely and sticking one end into her ear. Finally, the mare looked forward, unamusement clear on her face, but a small stream of nervousness, self-consciousness, and fear came from her clashed with the expression.

As Sweet Leaf waited for her to speak, she noticed the other mare’s eyes were focused a little down from Sweet Leaf’s. A few moments passed and Sweet Leaf grew a little nervous herself, having an urge to wipe her mouth clean of whatever the mare was staring at.

Is she doing this on purpose? Is this part of the interrogation? Trying to make me—

Without warning, the mare’s emotions cut off and half a second later, her eye’s snapped up to meet Sweet Leaf’s.

“You know,” the interrogator sighed, “this whole process would be a lot easier if you’d simply come out and say it.”

Sweet Leaf’s eyebrow rose. She certainly wasn’t expecting something like this. “Come out and say what? That I’m a dragon? ‘Cause that would carry the same amount of truth as what you want me to say.”

The mare’s eyes didn’t leave hers for even a second. “Your lie’s philosophical truth isn’t lost on me. You aren’t a dragon. You’re also not a changeling, at least, not right now. You’re a disguised changeling. But fine, we can play the game. It’s what we’re here for, after all.”

Firefly mentally paused as she noticed there were hardly any emotions coming from her anymore. It wasn’t like how an infiltrator was taught to shield their emotions, but like she was… unconcerned. Little wisps would flow out of her, tiny bits of happiness, little snippets of resolve, and fragments of curiosity, but overall, there was almost nothing.

It reminded her of the times she’d watch Roast get absorbed into coffee testing.

The mare’s hooves stayed in their place and her wings came forward to slide the folder in front of herself and open it at an angle away from Sweet Leaf. She reached into the center of the folder and pulled out a pen, setting it on the table.

Sweet Leaf squinted. Has she… used anything but her wings?

“State your full name, age, and occupation for the record,” her interrogator said, not looking up from the papers.

“My name is Sweet Leaf, I’m twenty-eight years old, and I’m a co-owner of the Sweet Roast Cafe along with my husband.”

“And your husband’s name?”

“His name is Fine Roast.”

A tiny, near-inaudible huff escaped from the mare as she set the folder down before closing it.

Sweet Leaf nearly squinted as her eyes caught a picture of the cafe on one side and on the other, a dense page, covered in red highlights with Sweet’s name in bold at the top.

The mare set the folder aside and snapped her gaze back up to Sweet Leaf’s eyes, interrupting her thoughts. “My name is Refined Aura,” she said, reaching a wing into her suit, pulling out a little wallet-like thing and flipping it open. An embossed Equestrian crown was on top and her name with some details on the bottom. “I am a detective with thirteen years of experience, employed by the Hoofington Guard and the Equestrian Crown, tasked with finding the truth in cases exactly like yours.”

She folded up her badge and put it back in her suit. “I was assigned to this case because I’m the best they have and I assure you, I will find the truth. Any slip-up you make, I’ll see it. Any inconsistency, I’ll catch it. So I would advise you, anything you have to confess, do it now.”

Sweet Leaf steeled herself. Don’t fall for her intimidation tactics, because that’s all they are. “Like I’ve already said multiple times, there’s nothing to confess.”

“If you say so.” Refined Aura raised an eyebrow, still not taking her eyes off Sweet Leaf’s. “Though, one does have to wonder, why did you come along so willingly? So calm, cool, and collected, even though your husband, if you can even call him that, was on the edge of a breakdown. It’s almost as if you knew escaping wasn’t an option.”

“Because I expected it.”

“Really? You expected the guard to come to your work and home and arrest you under suspicion of being a changeling?”

Sweet Leaf rolled her eyes. “Not exactly that, but when your friend comes into your shop one morning, screaming that you stole his wife from him, and you can’t dissuade him, you have to expect he’s not going to give up there. Fighting the guards would have done no good.”

“You’re at least correct there, but what about your husband? He was hurt, practically crying as you were taken away. It seems the two of you weren’t on the same page.”

A quiet click rang out and Sweet Leaf paused for a tiny moment. “...he wasn’t,” she said with a tiny bit of hesitation. “We hadn’t had time to talk about everything yet.”

“That’s surprising, honestly.” Another click. “From what I heard, it seemed like you two had a good relationship. Did you have a fight recently?”

“No, we didn’t,” she quipped and narrowed her eyes ever so slightly. “Do you consistently work eighty to ninety hours a week, Miss Aura? If you do, how do you and your special somepony handle it? With the influx of customers, we’ve been so bogged down and tired from work that we haven’t had a lot of time to talk. I get to work next to my husband and we have to fight together to make time for each other. Do you know what that’s like?”

Sweet Leaf huffed, a little surprised at her outburst. She didn’t need to defend herself and Roast like that. Aura was probably looking to get those reactions out of her, even as the brown mare’s eyes flicked away for a split second.

Wait a second. She’s… hurt?

It wasn’t deep and not a single bit of it showed on Aura’s face as the mare stared right back into her own eyes, but there was pain flowing from her nonetheless. Remorse bubbled up in Sweet Leaf, but quickly caught herself before it could show on her face.

It doesn’t matter. This is your enemy. She’s the one standing between you and Roast and you have no idea if she’s playing with you. This could be all part of her game.

“I’m afraid I don’t know what that’s like,” Aura said, her emotions settling without even a bit of change in her tone. “So I’ll have to trust you on it. Though that does bring up an interesting thought.” Aura’s head tilted a tiny bit to the side and one of her eyes squinted. “Why didn’t you go to the guard?”

“For a simple outburst? If I went to the guard every time one of my customers—”

“Not for that,” Aura shook her head, “for the night you got attacked by a changeling.”

Sweet Leaf’s head twitched back before she could contain it. Oh chitin dust. And of course Roast would have told them. Hiding it would have been far worse. But, damnit, what would he have told them?! Think like Roast! “I was… kind of in shock. Bobby Pin dragged me out and pounced on me. She was strong, really strong. Way more than I expected.” She looked down at the table as she made up her story. “I thought she was gonna hit me or something, but then the door opened and Roast confronted her. I guess she got spooked because she looked up at him and bolted down the alley.”

She looked back up at Aura. “I don’t know why Roast never suggested going to the guard. I was so shaken up that I didn’t even think about it. Maybe he noticed and thought it better if we held off. Like I said, we hadn’t had the time to talk about things yet.”

Aura simply stared at her for a few seconds before another pair of clicks resounded.

What is that noise?! Sweet Leaf stared back at Aura for a short moment, but noticed Aura’s wings were moving under the table. What is she… wait, where’s the pen? She glanced down at the table, but the pen she’d pulled out of the folder was nowhere to be seen.

She’s playing with it? Is she anxious again? Sweet Leaf looked back up at Aura. Not a single shred of nervousness came from her, nor really any distinct emotion. No. A tick, then? Or maybe this is another one of her games. Am I not supposed to mention it or will it look strange if I don’t?

“I see. Let’s move on, then,” Aura finally said, making up Sweet’s mind for her. “I’m sure you’ve been able to surmise already that we’ve interviewed Mister Roast earlier today. We asked him a few questions about your and his past, and I’d like to get your perspective of the events.”

Ha! I was right! Bring it, pony girl. I could answer these all day. She, of course, made sure to keep the confidence off her face, adding a pleasant smile instead. “Certainly. I’m sure you’ll be satisfied with my side of the stories.”

“We’ll see.” Aura said, shifting her eyes off Sweet Leaf to the folder, grabbing it and flipping it open, keeping its contents away from Sweet Leaf. After a moment of humming and lifting pages, she looked back up into Sweet Leaf’s eyes. “Alright, let’s start easy. For the second anniversary, what gift did Roast get you?”

Second anniversary. Roast got… wait, that was the year that I got Roast something. Her eyes darted back and forth between Aura’s. “You say you interviewed Roast. That means you got this information from him?”

“That’s correct.” Aura nodded.

“If that’s the case, then he forgot or you’ve got your information mixed up. We’ve had three anniversaries and he’s gotten me gifts two out of the three years. But our second anniversary was the one I insisted I get him something instead.”

“Hmm?” Aura raised an eyebrow before looking back at her folder and flipping through pages. “Ah, yes.” She looked back up at Sweet Leaf. “My mistake. I read my notes incorrectly. In any case, tell me about your second anniversary. What was it and what made you give him a gift instead?”

Sweet Leaf grumbled and narrowed her eyes. Not a single bit of confusion or sheepishness. That was not a mistake and If she’s trying to be subtle, she’s doing a bad job at it. Ugh. Except that’s probably the point. I’m really starting to dislike these mind games.

She released the tension in her back, trying to let go of her frustration without being obvious about it. Her eyes shifted down to the table and she hummed, recalling that day. “I didn’t think it was very fair that he do all the gift giving on our anniversaries. As far as who gives what and when, I know there’s no ‘set standard,’ in Equestria,” she tried to air quote, chain clicking as she was met with the same frustrating results as hours ago, “but I wanted to do something nice for him.

“One night, back before we got married, we were visiting his parents and the topic of engagement and anniversary gifts came up. The conversation was all about his mother getting such wonderful gifts from his father. I caught on pretty quick that growing up in his household, it was always the stallion giving to the mare. I’ve never really liked that philosophy, so I decided to even the playing fields, as it were.

“Instead of being subtle about it, I came out and said it directly. I told him that I would be getting him a gift that year and he was going to accept it whether he wanted to or not. He even asked me about it a couple weeks prior to our anniversary. In response, I smacked him with my wing. Playfully, I might add. I told him that it was a surprise and that if he asked about it again, all he’d get was more smacks.”

She paused, looking back up to see if Aura had anything to say. Her eyes were still awkwardly focused on Sweet Leaf’s and, yet still, no significant emotions came from her. With nothing from the mare, she continued.

“So, the day came and I took him out to dinner at our favorite restaurant. Afterward we went home and it was gift time. Though, let me tell you, it was not easy getting a hold of those things. Kopi luwak coffee is ridiculously expensive,” Sweet Leaf cringed a little, “and kind of nasty if you think too hard about it. Or at all. Anyway, I got him a kilogram of coffee, though I tried to be sneaky and put part of his other gift in the bag. I was a little clumsy and ended up spilling almost a third of the bag. I was so mad at myself for that.”

Sweet Leaf gave a small huff, still a little peeved at the five hundred bits she’d wasted. “Anyway. I wanted it to be a really big surprise, so I gave him the bag and told him to open it. Inside, I’d put a few brown topaz I’d commissioned to get carved into the shape of the beans on his flank. Except, it wouldn’t have been complete without the saucer and cup, so I commissioned somepony to make a replica of those, too.

“When I pulled out the saucer and cup, he started getting teary eyed. He’s always been more prone than other stallions to wearing his heart on his shoulder, whether that be sad or… protective…”

Firefly looked down at the table, melancholy suddenly overcoming her. Huh. I got so caught up in all this that I forgot we never got to have our talk. I'm not even upset at him anymore. If I get through this—no, if we get through this, I don’t even care if we never talk about it as long as we—

“Miss Leaf?”

Her head snapped up to Aura’s still locked gaze and raised eyebrow. “Sorry. I, uh, got caught up in the memory.” I’ve got to make it out of this. There’s no way I’m going to let all this be the last things we go through together.

“Continue, please.”

Sweet Leaf nodded and took a deep breath. “Right. Well, when I gave it all to him, he teared up pretty bad. I honestly wasn’t trying to make him cry, but I wanted to kick it home. So I told him that all my gifts were worthless compared to how much I loved him.”

Hm, I wonder if I… “And, uh, not that it’s related,” She put a smile on and let a blush overcome her cheeks, “but, I think that night was probably some of the best sex we’ve ever had.”

“Aheh… ohhh,” she dropped her smile and put her snout down on the table. “I don’t know why I said that,” she mumbled.

Is that embarrassment? Sweet Leaf sat back up, disguising her curiosity with a blush of her own, but annoyance filled her at the mare’s unwaveringly unamused face. Argh! She’s so dang good at hiding her expressions! I can’t tell if she’s playing with me or if she’s skittish. Sweet’s abashedness slowly dropped as her forelegs protested once again at being held out for so long.

“Moving on. I’m curious about your honeymoon. Tell me what happened then.”

“Alright,” she held back a sigh. Her flanks were already sore from the hours spent in the cell and she knew it was only going to get worse. “We both wanted to go somewhere special for our honeymoon. Eventually, the destination of Las Pegasus came up and since I’d never…”

---

“I think that’s enough background, Miss Leaf,” Aura said.

Sweet Leaf huffed from what had become a progressively more slouched forward position, envious of the detective’s relaxed and decidedly uncuffed position. Her eyes flicked away from the mare’s dead-set gaze to her extended wing. The pen was still being flipped back and forth between Aura’s primaries. Sweet wondered, yet again, if the mare had sat back and given up all pretense of hiding playing with the thing just to aggravate her.

If she was being honest with herself, it was working. Really well.

There were also all the little inconsistencies Aura had thrown into the stories she’d taken from Roast and Firefly was getting really fed up with it. Had already gotten really fed up with it.

“I’d like to go on to something a little different, if you don’t mind.” Aura leaned forward, not taking her eyes off Sweet’s. “Tell me about Roast’s love for you. What’s that like?”

“What his love is like?” Sweet Leaf asked, holding back a huff at the simple nod she received in response. I bet you asked Roast the same question. In fact, I bet you wanna know what it’s like, huh? Sweet Leaf kept the jab to herself and sighed, trying to sit up as straight as the cuffs would allow. Come on, Firefly, stop it. Don’t let her get to you.

“I guess,” Sweet began, “you could say it’s… sweet. And dedicated. He’s always looking out for me and will unwaveringly defend me if he thinks somepony’s even so much as giving me a hard time. It can get a little tiring sometimes, but in the end, all he wants is to do is make sure I’m happy and protected. He’s always concerned about my feelings and wants to do whatever he can to put a smile on my face. Inside, I get a little frustrated at him for it, but…” she sighed again, “he tries so hard at everything that I can’t help but let him do it.”

“Mhm,” Aura hummed, raising an eyebrow. “Sounds like an interesting relationship. You know, they say communication is key to a good marriage.”

Firefly bristled. “Yeah, like y—” she snapped her jaw shut. No! Get a hold of yourself! Do not get into a fight. Sweet Leaf doesn’t have a reason to defend herself against this mare.

“Yeah,” Sweet Leaf started again, making sure to keep her tone calm, “Roast and I had just talked about something like that this morning, in fact.”

“Really?” Aura smiled. “That’s good. Though, I’m also interested in the reverse. How would you describe your love for him?”

Firefly clenched her jaw and stared at that stupid, smug little smile on her face. She should have expected the question, but the matter Firefly found most shameful was she hadn’t ever really thought about it. So many of the last several months had she spent trying to deny her own feelings that she had no name or description for the love she now felt.

She loved him and… that was it.

Changelings were supposed to be the experts. They knew all sorts of love, from familial to friendly to romantic to lustful. And yet, here she was, struggling to find even a single thing to say.

Say something, don’t just sit there! Make something up if you have to!

She loosened her jaw and took a deep breath. “I… can I be honest with you?”

Aura raised her eyebrow yet again. “Certainly. Truth is what I value, after all.”

Sweet Leaf closed her eyes for a short moment before looking back at the mare in front of her. “I love him. He’s the most amazing stallion I ever could have asked for. He takes care of me, loves me, comforts me and…” What are you doing? Firefly sighed, wishing she knew. “And for the last long while, I’d been taking him for granted.

“He treats me like a princess and It’s so easy to fall into that sweet, giving, loving embrace that I’d gotten caught up and forgot it’s more than a one way street. Sure, I do my part as his wife. I hold him when he’s sad and I celebrate with him when he’s happy. I take him out to dinner and I take my turn cooking breakfast.

“Then I realized all I was doing was going through the motions. We love each other and we both know there’s no other we’d rather be with, but I’d lost that emotional commitment. I loved him, but I loved him because I loved him.”

She shook her head. “And that wasn’t okay. I had decided it was time to go all in and I began to love him. I shared myself with him, truly, and we talked. Oh stars did we talk. I made sure to communicate my feelings, but also listened to his. Guilt wracked me for the terrible pony I’d been, but he comforted it away, like he always does. He’d been feeling it too and he was so glad I’d come to h-him.” She took in a shaky breath as she felt a cursed tear drip down her cheek. “It started getting better after that. It was like a veil had been lifted and all that was left was… us, being with each other.”

Firefly stared right back at Aura and for the briefest of moments, the mare’s eyes flicked away and sympathy dripped from her.

Don’t take him from me. Let me make that story true. Please.

“So, to answer your question. He’s my world and I can’t imagine a life without him. I would do anything for him.”

And then the moment passed.

The sympathy disappeared and Aura’s eyes locked right back on hers.

“That’s… quite the story, I have to admit. But, to return your honesty in kind, I’ve grown rather tired of this game.”

Firefly narrowed her eyes at her and the sudden conviction the mare felt. And her breath nearly caught in her throat.

Roast! His unmistakable… everything came flooding from the observation room. Love, sadness, anger, despair, rage. Do not react! He is not there, Firefly!

“Did you feel that?” The mare’s mouth turned back up into that stupid, smug smile. “They just brought Fine Roast in. I want him to see this, to see what’s hiding behind that face.”

Aura looked to her side and reached down with a wing, a click sounding in the room. She pulled her wing back up, her smile growing wider.

And Firefly’s heart seized.

In her wings was the present box. The one she’d hoped against hope they wouldn’t find. She watched as Aura took off the lid and pulled out an evidence bag, tossing it on to the table in front of her, all the very familiar crystals clattering together.

“You know what these are, don’t you?”

Firefly shook her head, trying as much to shake away the deluge from Roast. “I’m afraid I don’t.”

“Are you sure, changeling?” Aura said, resolution and conviction suddenly flowing freely from her. “Because your acting has been superb, but your heart betrays you.”

“I said I don’t know what they are.” Roast, please! Stop!

Aura chuckled. “Ah, wordplay. Well, go ahead then. I’m very interested to hear this.”

“They’re Bobby Pin’s,” Sweet Leaf’s mouth provided as her brain was flooded with even more of Roast’s rage. But suddenly, the rage was cut off and in its place was the most agonizing, heart wrenching anguish Firefly had felt from anyone.

And for a fraction of a second, her eyes flicked over to the observation window.

Ice ran down Firefly’s spine as she saw Aura’s eyes narrow and her smirk grow ever so slightly larger. Confidence and resolution began spilling from the detective.

Don’t stop! They haven’t taken you away yet. Fight. For him.

“S-she brought them to me about a month ago. Said they were gifts for Wavy Palette and asked if I could put them somewhere safe, somewhere that even Roast wouldn’t find. She said she wanted it to be an absolute surprise. Maybe… maybe those are what she wanted that night.”

The smirk stayed plastered on the detective’s face as she shook her head. “The things we say to get out of trouble. Well, it’s been—” she cut herself off and narrowed her eyes, before letting out a deep sigh and plucking out her earpiece. “You’ll have to excuse me. Your—Roast just vomited in the observation room.”

Aura stood and turned around, opening the door and leaving, closing it behind her.

Firefly simply stared at the door. So much did she wish she could break down, but she had no doubt they were still watching her. Instead, she looked away, down at the table, at her bound hooves, at the folder.

She nearly chuckled. She’d been through something like this before in training, but it had been easy back then. All she had to do was act, with the only consequences being a failed test.

But now… Now she had something to lose, something very real and dear to her. Before today, she’d thought something like this would be easy. All she had to do was follow her training, put on a good show, and then she’d walk out with Roast at her side.

She’d been at this for six years, but not a single moment in those years prepared her for being in love.

Nor for the utter terror at the reality that she could lose it.

This wasn’t merely not easy; it was impossible. The game had been rigged from the start.

She knows. There’s no way she doesn’t. The interrogation was never about my past, it was all about how I reacted and it started the moment those guards walked into the cafe. And with that last blunder...

Cool finality washed over her and her body calmed. They’d dragged her into this game and she lost. It didn’t matter anymore. She just wanted it to be over with.

There was still a chance. A tiny, insignificant, shred of a chance that she hadn’t completely failed. That she could get away.

She steeled herself and, for that chance to hold him again, no matter how small, she held strong.

But yet, minutes passed and there was nothing. No interrogator, no emotions, nothing. And yet still, her forelegs continued to protest.

“Um, excuse me?” Sweet Leaf called out to the empty room. “Would I be able to have my forelegs unlatched? It’s getting really uncomfortable.”

She waited. After a long moment, nothing. Were they ignoring her or was the situation with Roast that big of a deal?

Before she could begin thinking up possibilities, the interrogation room door clicked open. Sweet Leaf looked up to see the guard come in. They all looked the same to her, so she had no idea who it was.

“We can unlatch you from the table until Miss Aura comes back,” the distinct voice of Lieutenant Steel said. “But when she returns, we will have to secure you again.”

“Sure, that makes sense.” She gave him the best smile she could muster. Though, “Miss” Aura? So she’s single, or at least unmarried. Interesting, but rather pointless knowledge, now.

Sweet Leaf watched as the lieutenant grabbed the folder, crystals, box, and briefcase in his magic before levitating a key up to the latch and unlocking it. She pulled her hooves back to her lap and rolled her shoulders.

“Thank you, Lieutenant Steel.”

He merely looked at her for a moment before nodding and turning away, leaving the room and closing the door.

There she sat, glad to at least relax her arms. She would have liked to stand or do anything but sit on her sore flank, really, but she had no desire to push her luck any further than she already had.

And so, with nothing else to do, she waited.

---

More time passed, what had to have been at least half an hour or more, and still no sign of Aura. Or any of the guards, for that matter. Pointedly, she’d tried her hardest to keep from thinking of what was happening. She still had the heart rate monitor on and she had no desire to give them any more reason to suspect her than the mountain they already had.

Plus, there was far too little information to go on for her to make an educated guess. Roast was upset, then he threw up. Aura left the room to go… check on him. Did he have to be taken to the hospital? Was this all a ruse? Were they getting ready to take her away? She didn’t know.

And you’re speculating again. Firefly sighed through her nose and tried, yet again, to think of nothing. Except when one thinks of nothing, they usually end up thinking about what they’re trying not to.

But then her ears perked up at the sound of a loud clang from the hall. Muffled voices sounded from outside the door and she went as still as she could, listening.

“...doing out here?”

Aura? Firefly thought, trying not to let the surprise show. The anger, determination, resolve, that just barely made it through the walls was… well, Firefly found the implications quite frightening, except none of it showed through the detective’s muffled voice.

The guard outside responded, but it was far too low for Firefly to hear more than garbled talk.

“Well, let me in,” Aura said, her voice much louder. “I’ve only got a couple more things I need from her.”

More unintelligible words from the guard and Sweet Leaf mentally growled at the half a conversation she was getting.

“That’s not necessary. Just come in with me and you can tackle her or whatever you want if she tries anything.”

A moment later, the door opened and the guard entered. In the doorway, stood Aura. Physically, all she was doing was looking at Firefly with slightly narrowed eyes. But, underneath…

So many emotions poured from her. Determination, confusion, resolve, anger, frustration and it was all Firefly could do to keep herself from tensing up.

Aura strode into the room, straight up to the table, and placed both her forehooves onto the table with a clop, her eyes flicking back and forth between Firefly’s own.

In a voice low, almost a growl, she spoke, “Do you love him?”

“W-what?” Firefly stammered, completely unprepared for that question.

“Do. You. Love. Him?” Aura narrowed her eyes.

Firefly couldn’t keep from clenching her jaw. I don’t know what she wants! What is she looking for?! How do I respond?!

“Answer me!” Aura stomped her hoof on the table.

“Miss Aura, I think—”

“Shut up,” Aura snapped at the guard before focusing right back on Firefly.

“Do you love him?” Aura repeated, softer, though her emotions hadn’t changed a single bit.

Firefly swallowed and opened her mouth. “Yes. I love him. I love him more than anything. I would go to the ends of Equestria and back just to feel his embrace.”

Aura simply continued to stare and Firefly clenched her jaw, staring right back. A long moment passed before Aura huffed out her nose, her eyes flicking down from Firefly’s as fatigue and finality became the forefront of the detective’s simmering emotions. “Fine,” she stepped back off the table and turned to the guard. “I’m done. Take her back to her cell.”

“But, ma’am, I need approval from Lieutenant—”

“Lieutenant Steel is occupied with her husband at the moment and I assure you, private, that the lieutenant trusts me and my direction. Return her to her cell.”

The guard looked at her for a short moment before pursing his lips and nodding. “Yes, ma’am.”

Aura turned and went out the door without another word, heading left.

The guard stepped to Firefly. “Please raise your hooves, miss.”

Firefly complied as he reached forward and fumbled his hooves around the strap on her chest. A short moment later, it snapped open and he stepped back, pulling it with him and setting it down next to the observation wall.

“Please get up and exit the room to the right.” The guard pointed a hoof to the door.

Firefly nodded and stood up, shuffling to the door. As she crossed the border into the hall, she peered left and her eyes grew wide in surprise.

There, standing at the end of the hall with the barred door open was Aura, looking back at her.

Their eyes locked. So many emotions were spilling from the mare, one after another, and Firefly couldn’t even begin to guess what was going through her mind.

Soon, an eternity spread across that mere half moment passed and the detective merely gave a tiny nod before turning away down the hall, the door clangling shut behind her.

“Please keep moving, miss.”

“R-right.” Firefly nodded and continued down the hall, following the same path back to the cell hall. Her body walked on as she stared into nothingness. The private let her through the door separating the halls and then into the same first cell on the right.

The cell door clanged shut behind her and immediately, exhaustion pulled at everything she had left. She stumbled to the bed, uncaring about the uncomfortable hoofcuffs or the binding wing cages and dragged herself onto the bed.

She was so tired as she laid there, away from the door. But her mind wouldn’t give her the reprieve of sleep. She put her head in her hooves.

What did she want? Did I say the right thing or did I just confirm everything? What could I have done? Was there even anything I could have done? I don’t understand!

Firefly raised her head, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. She held it until it forced its way back out as a shaky exhale. Her jaw trembled and tears filled her eyes.

It was all too much.

A throaty gasp tore from her and her eyes drew wide open as she realized. The guards!

With as much subtlety as she could, she leaned her head down and wiped the wetness off her cheek. Clenching her jaw, she stuffed the overwhelmingness back as far as it would go and tried to naturally shift herself so her forehooves hung off the bed.

Glancing left, the tension fell and a flicker of hope drew into her. No guards. They hadn’t posted anypony outside her cell and she’d been so distracted that she mustn't have heard the private leave.

She drew in tight as a shiver ran its way through her body and closed her eyes, letting out a quiet sigh. No need to put on an act. At least for now until they made their determination. Would they send her to Canterlot? Experiment on her?

Opening her eyes, she looked over at the bars of the cell door. Even with the amount of love Roast blessed her with, it couldn’t compensate for the kind of mass reduction she’d need to fit through those bars. And if they were certain she was a changeling, there was no way they’d transfer her with as small of a group as they did that morning. Though there was one thing she was certain of.

She’d lost.

Unless Skitter could get some infiltrators to come for her in the next few days, there was no hope.

A distant clang rang out and her ears flicked to the hallway as her heart skipped a beat. The hoofsteps came closer and dread filled her as the hall door around the corner clunked and squeaked open.

She rose and stepped off the bed. Gathering as much courage as she could muster, she turned and faced the cell door just in time for a pair of stallion and mare guards to come around the corner.

“Sweet Leaf?” Lieutenant Steel said, facing the cell as the other guard stood back near the opposite side of the hall. He looked her in the eyes before smiling and levitating out his keys.

Confusion filled her as he inserted the key into the lock. A clunk resounded and he pulled the cell door open.

“You’re free to go.”

A strangled gasp caught in her throat and she quickly pushed it down with a hard swallow. “I, uh, w-what?” She quite ineloquently sputtered.

“You’re free to go,” he repeated, maintaining his smile. “I apologize deeply for what we’ve put you through today. Miss Aura’s findings confirmed your identity and we have no reason to hold you here.”

Firefly’s mouth opened, but she couldn’t find any words. She’d been so sure…

“Unless you’d like to stay.” Steel gave her a lopsided grin. “I have a lot of paperwork to do tonight and I could use some company.”

“N-no!” she exclaimed, blushing as he let out a hearty laugh. “I mean, I was surprised that you were able to make the determination so soon. I thought there would be more… well, bureaucracy involved.”

“Thankfully, no.” He shook his head, stepping into the cell. “Let me see your hooves, please.”

She sat back and held them out.

“Honestly,” he continued, levitating a key to unlock her cuffs, “it was a huge deal even getting the mayor to agree to the warrant in the first place. And, in the end, I guess his concerns did have some merit.” He hooked the cuffs onto his belt and made a little swirl with his hoof. “Turn around so I can get those wing binders off you.”

Silently, she complied, too afraid to say anything in case it would shatter the reality of the moment. She heard the cages click before feeling them slide off.

She turned as she heard him step back into the hallway.

“Again, I’m really sorry for the rough treatment,” he said, giving her a sympathetic smile and holding his hoof out down the hall. “Please, let’s get you out of here. Your husband is currently waiting in the main lobby and we have a carriage arranged to take you home.”

“Alright. Sure.” Firefly nodded. She wanted to know how. And why. But the thought of seeing him overrode all her thoughts. The lieutenant stepped forward and she followed at his side as he began walking down the hall.

“I’m sure you’d like to get home, so I’ll talk as we walk,” he began as they passed through the open door separating the hall. “I’ve already spoken to Roast about this, but I’d like to inform you as well. We understand that taking you and your husband away from your work in the middle of the day caused a significant loss of income for your business. Please stop by the front office on Monday and they’ll give you a form for reimbursement. We’ll cover…”

Firefly half listened to him as they passed the observation rooms and through the same door Aura had stopped at. She breathed deep, turning left with Steel, trying to keep the wetness out of her eyes.

Closed office doors passed on both sides and then a waiting room alcove on the left. They turned right at the waiting area. Her eyes snapped to the sign hanging from the ceiling, seeing a right arrow and next to it were the only words that mattered.

Main Lobby.

More closed office doors, more unheard words from Steel, and then that final right. As they walked steadily towards that last door, the door labeled “EXIT”, she wanted nothing more than to sprint and burst through to find her love. But she held her gait and breaths steady.

Doors and more doors passed and had the sudden fear that this was just some cruel trick. That somepony would jump out of one of the rooms, crying out that she was a fake and they’d take her away. But the doors remained closed.

Her heart hammered away in her chest as three sets of doors were left.

Two remaining.

One…

Then they were there, standing in front of the door.

She watched as Steel held a hoof forward, twisted the handle, and pushed the door open.

Firefly gazed into the empty seats of the half of the lobby she could see. Her heart continued to tear away in her chest as she took a step and another and peered around the corner.

And there he was. The only one in the lobby.

Her eyes threatened to spill tears as he stood and locked eyes with her, love and adoration and care and joy and love.

She took one measured step after another.

Don’t run. Don’t run.

Five steps.

Four.

Two.

One.

They stopped and looked each other in the eyes. He smiled and tears spilled down his cheeks.

He rushed forward and swept her up in a hug.

“Sweet Leaf. Oh, Sweet Leaf. My Sweet.”

“Roast.” Tears rolled down her own cheeks, uncaring who was watching. “My love.”

A long moment passed as they held each other, basking in the warmth of their mate.

Sweet Leaf loosened her grip and he followed, pulling back from her.

“Thank you,” she said, giving him one more tear filled smile before turning around to see Lieutenant Steel. “We’re ready.”

“Of course.” The lieutenant stepped away from the door and walked around the couple to the main door. “We have a carriage waiting just outside.”

They followed him into the evening air, the sky a beautiful, streaking orange from the setting sun. Ahead was a carriage, pulled by two guards. She watched Lieutenant Steel stop at the side and pull open the door.

“Here you are,” Steel said. “Please remember to visit the front office at some point during the week to fill out reimbursement forms.”

Sweet Leaf felt herself nod and step forward to the carriage. Up she stepped and down she sat, taking the seat at the far end. Looking back, she couldn’t help but smile as Fine Roast finished climbing in and sat next to her.

“I wish you both a good night,” Lieutenant Steel said from outside the carriage.

“Thank you. You as well,” Roast spoke up.

The door swung closed and clicked shut. A moment later, the carriage jerked forward.

Sweet Leaf looked into the eyes of her love and she adored him as he stared back, seeking out her hoof with his own. It was like a dream and she couldn’t believe he was here, with her again. She wanted to say so many things. How much he meant to her. How happy she was to see him.

Instead, her mind said the only thing her mouth could get out.

“H-hi.”

He smiled even brighter. “Hi.”

“I lo—” A choke cut her off and a shaky breath was all she could muster, tears spilling down her face.

“I know. I love you too.” He scooted closer and wrapped her in his warm, loving arms. “I love you, more than anything.”

Author's Note:

Whew! Okay. Everything's getting resolved nice and neat with only a few more things to go before Unending Love is finished.

...

...

...

loljk we're not even out of Act I yet.

Everything up to this point and next chapter has been/will be addressing most of the immediate leftovers from Unchanging Love. After that, we'll be in brand new territory.

So, guys, gals, and non-binary pals, prepare your butts 'cause this roller coaster's got another few hundred thousand words to it.

Comments

[FullMoon]

So just guessing here... But I imagine Aura figured out that Sweet Leaf is a changeling- but she also could tell that Sweet Leaf and Fine Roast really do love each other.

I wonder what happened to Fine Roast though after he threw up, what led to Aura being so worked up and asking that final question? Gah! I wanna know!

Also how tf does this story only have 206 likes- freaking this deserves more-!

[hehelover]

It was midnight for me, I lay down, checked my phone, saw the update, and 40 minutes later here we are. I practically devored the 15k words and English’s not even my mother language. Don’t remember if I’ve said it before, but there are only a handful of works I’ve read on this site that can grab my heart like these two interrogation chapters did. Truly insane.

[TCC56]

That was a damn stressful one.

(Though I will admit, I was less worried about them finding out Sweet Leaf and more that any moment Refined Aura was going to tear off her disguise and be Chrysalis. Different problem, far more severe.)

[Silver Starlight]

You are damn good at tension, you know that? I had no idea how stiffly I was holding myself until I started typing this.

[hehelover]

As she continued straight, she eyed the hall to her left and raised an eyebrow at the short hall with what appeared to be three barred holding cells on either side and a single barred door at the end..

Now, though, the memory of his devotion only made her more anxious of what was to come

Her eyes opened back up and she carefully reached forward and pulled the cover up, holding it while she pushed the connector into the wall

As she stepped out and between them, the guardsmare in front began walking forward and Sweet Leaf took that as her que to move. Behind her clopped couple pairs of hoofsteps.

Some punctuation mistakes and one typo by the way. And I’m still guessing Roast fessed up to the detective in private.

[SigmasonicX]

Great job on the chapter! I suspect that Refined Aura knows Sweet Leaf is a changeling, and fudged her findings to hide this. Hopefully we don't get another interrogation for a while, lol.

[Teraunce]

Wow this chapter had me extremely stressed out and worried for Firefly. Good job!

[novkit]

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I think it came down to her orders:
"Find of the suspect was a changeling who stole the identity of a pony and is manipulating the loved one"

The suspect is a changeling, but did not steal an identity.

The changeling is not manipulating a loved one.

Therefore, no reason to detain.

[Azure Notion]

10478445

Also how tf does this story only have 206 likes- freaking this deserves more-!

Short answer: relatively new author, not a lot of exposure, OCs are the main characters (and all but one of all other characters at this point), and UL/UL2 are my only stories so far.

Long answer: ...read short answer, but imagine a bunch of exposition and expansion on each point.

[Azure Notion]

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As always, I appreciate the comments. Stressing over getting the chapter right is worth it in the end if you and other readers are able to draw such enjoyment from the story and connection with the characters.

10478505
And thank you much for the corrections!

[Azure Notion]

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10478582
Hooo, boy. Lemme tell you all, this chapter was rough. Definitely the most difficult one I've written thus far. As I said in my blog post, the first half's first draft was pretty bad. Not only did about 4K words have to be rewritten, but making sure all the emotions were right, conduced properly to the scene, flowed into one another, and revealed the right amount of information I was aiming for took a great deal of fine tuning. Not to mention the overall tension building.

Initially, the tension was kind of all over the place. There were mini resolutions that jerked the sense of tension back and forth, even some where it didn't fit the character's motivations and desires.

All that, on top of my freaky work schedule, were the real reason I couldn't justify pushing through to get it out in line with my "month" release estimate.

Though, in the end, I am very glad all that work meant you were able to enjoy it as much as you did.

[Azure Notion]

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Soon™ is all I can say on that.

[Sylvian]

The Detective knows....

But our favorite changeling coffee maker hasn't replaced anyone or kidnapped anyone, so she isn't technically breaking the law so no reason to charge her.

[Charedfirescale]

......She knew Sweet Leaf was a changeling, why did Refined Aura let her go?

[SkyStrike__]

NNNGHAAAAAH! My heart was as tight as Sweet's during that whole deal. Now that the chapter ended, it hit the release valve.

Also... Aura lied. In doing so, she saved 2 lovers from being eternally separated.

[Ghost Mike]

New commenter! Though I first discovered Unchanging Love back a little before you uploaded Chapter 4 of this one, and binged and instantly fell in love with both. Much of everything people have said about both stories is true: the vividness of the characters, the subtle but immersive glimpses into their perspectives at any moment, and the constant purr of tension throughout at the secret of Sweet Leaf being blown, because we’ve really grown to care for her and Fine Roast staying together. For someone who doesn’t care about romance much, and largely turns his non-existent spectral nose up at any Mane 6 Fanon Pairings, that’s a huge achievement.

I am very partial to a good old-school changeling story, and there’s a boatload of them, especially from around 2012, but the great majority follow a safe, typical pattern, or get a bit wacky and broad, or convoluted, and so on. I enjoy them, but they don’t really stick with me. My favourite changeling story is unquestionably the superb Without A Hive (only discovered it several months ago) and this shares some setup similarities with that one, though it’s otherwise quite different. If nothing else, they kinda prove that, for me at least, changeling stories might well be the rare (indeed, only) type of Pony fanfic that fates better with an all-OC (or nearly all-OC) cast. There’s always a bit of strain when trying to get the Mane 6 or others involved, I’ve found.
It’s probably also why the romance isn’t objectionable, as not only is it part of who changelings are, but by being all OCs, you’re not imprinting on our ideas of who the Mane 6 should be with (or, in my case, that romance shouldn’t be written for them).

Yes, anyway, like many, I was so eager for this chapter, that when it arrived, I actually reread, and fully absorbed, Chapter 4, to fully Refresh myself and be in the right zone. Interesting choice, given this one acted as a parallel to it! A lot of the same comments to make: the personal tension during the interrogation is like nothing else, and the parallels arguably made them all the stronger, comparing the different examples of how both character reacted during it all. I should have expected it, but seeing Sweet Leaf be arguably even more emotionally distraught and affected was quite harrowing. I sometimes have to take a step back and remind myself that she is, indeed, a changeling, and no matter that she’s fully personally committed to Fine Roast now and loves him so much, she still has her duty to the hive. Shows how much we, the readers, are right there with her. The description of the cold police rooms, the reminders of her being bound, and above all, Aura’s behaviour throughout this chapter: I actually read a decent bit slower then usual, it was that palpable.

Seeing how Firefly interprets Aura, and how she carries herself in front of what she believes/knows is a changeling, was really something. All the curveballs during her interrogation with the multiple layers to her mind games, as well as Firefly not knowing what to make of her wing-fiddling habits, it made for such a unique scene. And seeing her carry herself much more sternly, it almost felt like a different mare, but then that’s the sign of a good detective, I suppose.

And like everyone, I have questions and suspicions about both her final moments with Sweet Leaf, the looks they shared, the last emotions she emitted, and what her letting Sweet Leaf go actually means. Guess I’ll just have to wait 2 chapters and 2-3 months to find out. Which is a slight disappointment, as the Spindle material, while high quality and very technically proficient, isn’t AS immersive as the material back home with the couple (somewhat because we’re not yet as invested in her as Firefly, just by virtue of the former/her husband being the viewpoint character for most of the series thus far). It’s one area where I feel it would probably play out better as a finished novel rather then waiting on a new chapter every month, as I know that material will get both better, and more integrated with the main proceedings, and I see how it’s building to it already. Doesn’t make the wait any less (ghost) nail-biting (if I didn’t love the first story so much, I probably would have left this one until it was a decent chunk more chapters in.

Not even done Act I yet? Guess we’re looking at another case of a novella giving birth to a 300K+ novel sequel. But it can work, and so far, it is, oh so much.

Can’t wait for the next chapter (s)! And it’s proof as to the quality of these two chapters, that despite being light AU (presumably this canon won’t fit with the Season 6 finale, not that I mind), an all-OC cast bar minor Chrysalis, a story set many seasons back from where we are now, and from an author with no other works to his name, that it has as many fans as it does. The number of likes and views is impressive enough given all that, but getting picked up for an audio drama, with hundreds of auditions? That’s just the clinch on the cake, and Unchanging Love totally deserves it (though this story may prove far too long to dub in the same format, if my 300K+ prediction comes true - Unchanging Love was only 23K).

This comment/review is way overlong at this point, so: keep writing and take your time, I wouldn’t trade this’s fic’s quality, even slightly, for even instant new chapters, the quality is that good and crucial. Just, you know, as long as new chapters do come, of course.

Take care, Azure Notion! Big committed fan!

[Changeling404]

i love this story so much.

[Zilverfoss]

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That is the question isn't it?
We'd have to know Aura a lot better to tell, but here're some ideas for her decision;

- Sense of justice?
It could be by principle, coupled with empathy.
Yes Firefly / Sweet is a changeling - but 1) she genuinely and honestly love Roast, and vice versa. 2) Sweet never been anypony else. - She's not copying nor impersonating anyone - so by that account, she herself has done (almost) no wrong. - she might have come into Equestrian society on a fake birth certificate though.

- Tactician's asset
By letting Firefly go - knowing that she's unlikely to just suddenly disapear, not to mention you know her collateral, (Roast) you get a known factor among the network you're trying to uncover.
Watch her closely, and you might soon have several new potential 'nodes' of that network - expose her instead and you're back to square one with the 'opponent' doing even more to stay hidden.

Let the mind-games begin!

[Changeling404]

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Also there is a chance that the other changeling(s) also testing them, either right now or in the future.

[night and chaos]

I want to see more of Arura, I like how you write her

[Azure Notion]

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In due time, enlightenment shall come. And this is not the last time Refined Aura will grace this story.

[Sylvian]

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I sure hope not, she's an interesting character to be sure.

[Azure Notion]

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Wow! That is a lot to unpack. Thank you very much, for, as they say, comments are author food.

I'm always happy to have a new reader/commenter just as much as I am to see an old reader and I'm glad you've found UL/UL2 to be acceptable!

I, too, have read a great many changeling stories, including Without A Hive. I've always been a fan of changelings and through stories over the years, I also noticed a lack of, shall we say, depth of consequences. Or, at least a lack of those consequences being carried out. Often times the changeling would be suspected and accepted rather quickly or immediately chased out, but often forgiven soon after.

If you haven't read any of my blogs, Unchanging Love started as a mere daydream while in bed, then became a kicker to get me writing so I could be confident and experienced enough to write the stories I've been burning to write for years. While I love the thing, UL lacked a well thought out and defined plan/plot. Really, the main idea was, "Changeling knows she shouldn't love a pony, fights to not love the pony, but the pony knew all along that she was a changeling and loves her anyway."

And then I vomited the words all over the page.

I never actually planned to have a sequel. My plan was to have a cutesie, fluffy story for writing practice. But then people said, "When's the sequel coming?" So I hunkered down and wrote the plot for Unending Love. Because of what the base theme was and that I had my own changeling universe at my fingertips, I wanted to show that realism as I saw it from those consequences. The realism I felt so many other changeling stories (while often still very good) didn't have.

Society says no on both sides of the relationship. A species just failed at a violent overthrow of a nation capital. What happens when a member of that species gets caught? How would the media and ponies interpret and regurgitate the idea of that species, thus further changing that idea? How could the couple deal with that situation? Could they even deal with it? With the right lenses, I guess you could call this a modern, MLP version of the Romeo and Juliet plot, but with a bunch of twists.

In case you haven't noticed, I am also bad at getting to the point, so let me try to do that.

I did specifically design this chapter to be a compliment to chapter 4, seeing as it builds off that chapter directly, just from a different angle. And I'm very glad it came out as well as I'd hoped. The ultimate goal I have in mind when writing this story is to always, or at least as much as possible, keep the perspective in the moment. That means the character experiences events alongside the reader. It also means constantly showing and not telling, if you want to use that writing concept. Finally, it means very limited knowledge of the future. If the reader wants to know what happens next, they have to experience it (and wait for me to vomit more words and clean them up).

There are also relatively few things I put into my story that don't have a reason for. Which is a roundabout way to say those questions will be answered. Also, it's Roast's chapter next.

Hm, I seem to have lost the point somewhere. Oh well. Maybe that's because this story is all about the journey and when we reach the end, it'll be there, patiently waiting for us. It might be a little sad, having to say goodbye to our friends, but until then, we have an entire world ahead of us.

(or maybe it's because I'm scatterbrained and like to sound profound sometimes, but we'll go with the former)

P.S. The 300K+ more words is a rough estimate. The plot for UL2 has a total of 43 chapters and I can't seem to write "concisely" anymore. So really, we've only just begun.

[Silver Starlight]

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Hey, life is kicking all our asses anyway. S'all good, no need to rush anything.

[TerribleSpeller]

So, guys, gals, and non-binary pals, prepare your butts 'cause this roller coaster's got another few hundred thousand words to it.

I'm adding this story to my list of 'Reasons why not to die yet'

[Ghost Mike]

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Nice reply! Just a few specific parts to comment on here:

Yes, the lack of realistic consequences is often what is lacking in most changeling stories. I mean, given the moral and forgiving nature of ponies in Equestria, we shouldn’t expect (or, indeed, want) for retaliation against the changelings in the same manner as if such an attempted invasion against one of Earth’s capital’s by an outside force took place (one need only look through history, some of it recent, to know how we would react). Authors are so anxious to get to their desired result, they often neglect to get there properly. You have to Earn Your Happy Ending - and make no mistake, I prefer my endings happy, or at least bittersweet. But they have to fit.

I do remember that origin of Unchanging Love, now you mention it. Forgot due to reading that blog quite some time ago by now, of course. And sure, the plot was small and maybe not super-defined, but I think the hot demand for more, and it getting an audio drama version, shows it struck a huge chord with readers regardless. Not bad for a story intended as a writing exercise to hone your skills, me thinks!

Aye, a story like this is very much about the journey, and in stories like this, I’ve often found the last act can be weaker then what came before, just due to having to do all the cleanup, or because the real positive of the story was watching these characters react and adapt as their world changes around them. I might also state that I don’t really consider Unchanging and Unending Love as separate stories; given the nature of how this sequel came to be, and the fact they time gap between the two is no more then that for between two chapters, they do feel one and the same. Except, of course, for the sequel being the dividing point at which Sweet Leaf (does it say a lot about me, or the story’s affect and power, that I default to that name?) stops being the only viewpoint character.

Very limited knowledge of the future is the name of the game! We know very little about Chrysalis’ plan or Spindle’s objectives, and virtually nothing about what Sweet and Roast will do next, or what will happen to them. Other then some vague notions about where the story might be deep into Act II based solely on the blurb and cover art, I got nothing. That’s the mark of a good story! It’s all in full force in this chapter, where we’re lead to believe right until the end that Sweet Leaf will be dubbed guilty and held prisoner (or something similar), and then you throw us a curveball. As you should - the longer any stretch of a story follows the expected path, the less gripping it becomes, that’s Writing 101.

The 300K words was an estimate of the story’s total length, not what’s to come, and I made it on the statement of you saying we were at the end of Act I. Course, I’ve no idea what percentage of the runtime your Act I will be, so 400K is probably a better estimate. Heck, we could be looking at something approaching the length of War and Piece (587K) when this is all over. It’s not impossible.

Got a bit rambly again, I did. Literally the only advice I might have is for neat the very end of the story, and that’s not being afraid to end sooner then you might think. Given the story’s length, it would be easy to have 2-3 whole chapters for the denouement, after the climax, to wrapping up everything at the same intentionally glacial pace we’re at now. Of course, that’s probably 2+ years away at this stage, so it's early yet.

That’s all I’ve got, my friend. Keep at it!

[Dogman15]

"Seems the mare in the other room is calming down, too." I'm calling it again. (But I can't find where I first "called" it...?) One of the guards is a secret changeling. I can't remember who I speculated it was, though.

I don't understand this sentence completely: "A few moments passed and Sweet Leaf grew a little nervous herself, both having an urge to wipe her mouth clean of whatever she was staring."
Mostly the last half.

I think Refined Aura's "mistake" of asking "What did Roast get you for the 2nd anniversary?" was an attempt to trip up a changeling pretending to be Sweet Leaf, who might immediately make up something, invent a story for what "she" received on "her" second anniversary. Refined Aura wasn't expecting that the changeling she's speaking to now was the same Sweet Leaf from back then. That's what confused her.

"Kopi Iuwak coffee"? What's that?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopi_luwak
Oh wow.

“You’ll have to excuse me. Your—Roast just vomited in the observation room.” She was about to call him "your husband"!

"Aura strode into the room, straight up to the table, and placed both her forehooves onto the table with a clop, her eyes flicking back and forth between Firefly’s." Between Firefly's what? Firefly's eyes and what else? Her hooves? Whose hooves?

"She put her head in her hoofs." This should be "hooves".

"What could I have done? Was there even anything I could have done?" I think the emphasis would work better on the word "Was" rather than "could" in the second sentence. Consider that.

"She wanted to know how. And why." Because despite how sure Refined Aura was, they didn't have enough evidence to convict! Firefly played the part of Sweet Leaf perfectly! Saying Bobby Pin brought the mysterious items was the perfect cover!

Anyway, that's all I had to say here in these comments. I concur with everything all of the other readers have said on this chapter, and I'd have said it myself if I was more talented with words, or half as verbose as some of them.

10479001

getting picked up for an audio drama, with hundreds of auditions?

Oh, I didn't know any of this story's readers actually paid attention to that announcement. Thank you! I hope we can do the first story justice. One of my goals is to promote that story to attract more readers.

this story may prove far too long to dub in the same format, if my 300K+ prediction comes true - Unchanging Love was only 23K

You are right about that. The screenplay I wrote for Unchanging Love came out to exactly 99 pages (100 including the title page). In screenplay format, each page is approximately one minute of screentime, so just the first story would be about an hour and forty minutes if done as scripted.

[Goodluckfox]

Firefly and Roast are soooo gonna be under surveillance from now on. The Crown know she’s a changeling, but one that is sticking to her cover story so hard and appears unwilling to abandon their mate that she’s not a flight risk. Firefly needs to somehow get the message out that she’s compromised.

[Alicon Glactistar]

Before she could ponder the question, the door handle clunked and turned, her eyes flicking over. The door opened and iIn stepped a light brown pegasus mare wearing a dark grey suit and tie. Her muted blue mane was put up into a bun, a few stray hairs attempting to escape.

Opened and in stepped.

[Divine Path]

That Aura isn't normal. There's got to be something to her. It's lucky she seems to be well-intentioned!

[Rhawkas]

Gotta say, as much as I enjoy this story, the chapters being 7k+ words (or 15k+ words in the latest chapter) is a bit of a turn-off for me. It just feels way too long for a single chapter and makes me put off reading it. Personally, I find chapters that are around 2-3k words are ideal.

[dzamie]

What a thrilling read. You do an excellent job communicating the characters' emotions and encouraging the reader to share them. I really felt Firefly's tension throughout this, very well done!

[Dogman15]

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Just read it in pieces. No one's making you read it all at once. Fimfiction even remembers your place across devices.

[Rhawkas]

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That's what I usually end up doing. I don't know what causes it, but sometimes the browser on my phone (which is what I use to read probably 95% of the time) forgets where I was, even when I place a bookmark whenever I stop reading for a bit. Normally it's just annoying when that happens, but it can be a real pain when stories have massive chapters like this one.

[Azure Notion]

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That it is...

And that's why I only use Home Grown, USDA certified organic tension! The most premium quality product for the most discerning of individuals. Find it in stor(i)es near you today!

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I'm glad you're enjoying it, though I certainly hope you mean a "bucket list" type of reason! I'm pretty big on de-stigmatizing mental health and mental disorders, so even if someone says that seriously, that's okay. There are lots of people to talk to, including me (when work lets me).

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Ah! I hadn't realized that was you estimating the word count. I had said in the author's notes, "...this roller coaster's got another few hundred thousand words to it," so I thought that's what you were referring to.

And as I mentioned, I have the entirety of Unending Love already planned out. I can only hope it will turn out as well as I hope it will, but I can say that I cannot wait until I get to write so many sections of the story, including the climax, denouement, and after.

Though, once again, I very much appreciate the comments and the enthusiasm. And believe you me, while UL2 might not have been "the story I've been dying to write," I am still very much excited to get more of Firefly, Roast, and Spindle out for you and all my other readers to read.

10479886

"Kopi Iuwak coffee"? What's that?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopi_luwak
Oh wow.

Yep. I've actually had some myself. Very smooth, no bitterness whatsoever. And certainly no... unwanted remains.

Firefly played the part of Sweet Leaf perfectly!

While Firefly certainly tried to play the part perfectly, she failed in several areas. From a purely dialogue perspective, she did a pretty good job, though there were a few points where she could have done better. But remember that at the very beginning, Aura gave her a warning: that the interrogation was only partially about what Sweet Leaf's answers were.

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Thank you! I'd only just now been able to go back and fix the mistakes all you attentive readers seem to dig up for me.

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Nope, you are certainly correct. There has been hints and revelations about her scattered throughout, though.

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That is 100% fair and I can understand. Many published novels often cap at 80-120K words and there are lots of people who prefer that length of tale. For me even, there have been a few stories over the years that I just couldn't get into because of the chapter length. I suppose the only solace I can offer is that the story will never meander around as I try to figure out where to go with it. All major plot has already been written out in advance and all that's happening now is my telling of that story.

But if that's not your thing in the end, that's not your thing and no feelings are hurt. Regardless, I very much appreciate you taking the time to let me know.

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Thank you very much! I try to do my best to get you my best. It means a lot that you all take the time to say how you've found my tale so engaging.

[AxelFones]

What a roller coaster lol. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.

[Marker]

That was a most delightfully suspenseful chapter. And I have a suspicion that Aura's side of the story deserves another chapter's worth.

[Serpent_Underscore]

Definitely worth the wait. As others have been saying, that was one tense chapter. I love how at the beginning, the deciding factor for Firefly staying put wasn't the fear of capture if she failed her escape, or even how the loss of Fine Roast would impact her personally, but the fact that he'd be devastated if she ran off, successfully or not.

I'm also very pleased to hear that there's much more planned for the story.

[Pikachu17]

Aura makes me think of L from Death Note

[Reese]

Another quite enjoyable chapter, and, as you say, something of a roller coaster! :D
Thank you for writing, and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next. :)

[Eternal Samson]

Noooooo!!!!!! Not hundreds of thousands of words!!!!!!! My heart can’t take it!!!!!! It’s so well written I can feel the story so powerfully. The tension it generates in me and the absolute can’t look away it brings just like all the non fan fic I read in normal books( normally simply meaning published and non brony, which according to general society is weird but screw society)

[KittyrinnAiko]

I'll be perfectly honest, both their behaviour pegged them as guilty. Fine Roast more so than his wife. An innocent person who is accused of a crime will be on the verge of panic and going through an emotional roller coaster. Also, innocent people don't fall asleep, at least not until exhaustion takes over. Fine Roast's behaviour would have the detectives looking at him very suspiciously. His wife is accused of being a changeling and he fell asleep in the waiting area.

[Azure Notion]

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This won't be the last time we see Aura nor will questions about what happened outside the interrogation room go unanswered. As my favorite phrase goes: "Soon™"

[Azure Notion]

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Firefly might not be the best at knowing how to feel towards Roast, his feelings, and the situation, but she can at least use that brain of hers to logic her way through how she should feel.

[Azure Notion]

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That, my friend, is a compliment of the highest order. I'm afraid I might never be able to attain Death Note levels of depth, but I shall try my best.

[Azure Notion]

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This roller coaster is coming to a lull in the track and we can all breathe a collective sigh of relief. Don't get too comfy, though, for roller coasters wouldn't be very entertaining if they stayed in that lull forever.

[Azure Notion]

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This humble cyber nerd shall endeavor to continue providing engagingly heart seizing moments to fulfill your reading pleasure (and pain).

[Azure Notion]

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Firefly had never gone through the mental scenario of being pegged as a changeling and improvised, perhaps a little (or a lot) inconsistently with a real pony. Though, there could have been explanations for such behavior. But with more and more mistakes, her tiny flubs became not so tiny anymore.

The same could be said for Roast. Should he have tried to prevent himself from falling asleep? Absolutely. But, he was already exhausted, the high of the adrenaline began to fade and, with nothing else to keep his attention other than his own thoughts, he succumbed to his body's demands. Though, to keep it in context, the investigators would be seeking to explain the anomaly that is Sweet Leaf and only turn their eyes to Fine Roast once a significant enough event were to happen (i.e. him vomiting).

All of these actions on their own would be a little odd, though potentially explainable with some (false) context. But put together? Absolutely, they are undeniably incriminating.

[Reese]

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Thanks. For both. :D

[KittyrinnAiko]

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I can honestly see the authorities keeping an eye on them in the future.

I loved how it was presented. If there was anything I'd want to change when Roast was told they would find his wife he should have said made some declaration about knowing where she was, they'd taken her, or say a snarky remark along the lines, what do you mean you'll find her, you have her, you didn't lose her, did you?