Echoes of Harmony

by BronaFides

Corrupted Hearts

Once she was alone, Twilight let out a yawn, then made her way over to the meal that had been brought for her. It was some type of local grain, boiled with their local fruits and a just a hint of apple, dusted lightly on top with powdered Rillik blossom to give it a little extra bite. The flavors complimented each other so well. I wonder if we can get south past the Badlands to get some of this when we get back. Pinkie could double or triple the Cake's monthly sales numbers with these new flavors. She thought about Pinkie and Applejack still in the kitchen. Those two aren't just watching the prince, they're touching all the food he gets! We should be able to to head off any poisoning. Twilight sighed and relaxed as she took the next bite. No, they have to be looking at each other when they take the poison, so it wouldn't be in the kitchen... She sighed again as the anxiety returned as quickly as it left.

She glanced around the library quickly, tallying how many shelves they had checked. They covered all the more obvious sections right away, so all that was left was to find a random misfiling of some use. She slammed her hooves on the table in frustration, nearly spilling her breakfast. She lifted her dishes, then headed to the kitchen herself. Pinkie and Applejack confirmed her thoughts, that they were monitoring all the food, and also that Princess Chrysalis was almost never in the kitchen in person.

“Almost?” Twilight asked.

“Well, they say she comes by for an inspection once a year,” Applejack explained, “and to thank them personally.” Twilight opened her mouth, but Applejack continued, anticipating the question. “It just happened last month, so it'll be a while until the next one.” Applejack took off her hat, dusting the flour out of her mane and agitatedly scratching her head, reflecting her own frustration. “The staff all adore her, sugarcube. I don't think it's anypony here.”

“So it has to be an matter of state,” Twilight said.

“There not expecting any big parties until about a month from now,” Pinkie added.

“Maybe... Rarity has some information on something political brewing,” Twilight said. “Has anypony seen her this morning?”

“She's at court right now,” Applejack said, “so if there's some dirt to dig up, she's your pony."

"Well, except actual dirt.” Pinkie Pie added, rubbing her hoof on her chin in mock seriousness.

Twilight arrived at court through one of the side doors, where she had seen the nobility standing the day before. Most were merely watching, some seemed to take interest enough to take notes of the proceeding, and some were aside in small groups whispering and gesturing excitedly. Rarity was in one much group, a larger one at the far end of court.

“So you can see why my house would be best suited to handle the local sale of your crops,” a younger earth-pony stallion was summing up as Twilight approached. “You need but suggest to Her Highness upon completion of your trade agreement.-”

“See?” An older unicorn mare interrupted, commenting to a another unicorn nearby, “this is why the earth ponies should never have been added to the nobility. No subtlety.” The other unicorn chuckled lightly, then the first turned to Rarity. “Surely thou can appreciate the grace and good nature garnered by a more... traditional house?”

“Ladies, Gentlecolts, while I would love to give a definite answer, I'm afraid there's still just too many details to outline with Her Highness before we can begin to discuss such arrangements.” Rarity's eyes locked with Twilight's just long enough for her to give a subtle wink. “Alas, it seems my dear retainer is in need of me. Some trivial matter, I'm sure. I shall return shortly.”

“Sorry to interrupt,” Twilight said once they were out in the hall and out of the guard's earshot.

“No, your timing was perfect. The situation would have escalated, but now the two of them will fume at each other, even more committed to securing the trade rights. Lord Golden Wheat is clearly more qualified to handle the crops, but Lady Ruby Rose has enough influence to muscle into any market. It's a hard choice.”

“You do remember that you're not actually here to trade apples, right?”

“Of course, Twilight.” Rarity turned to look directly at her. “But if you want them to notice you enough to speak to you, you have to be worth their while.” She furrowed her brow. “Of course, they're far more practical-minded than the elite of Canterlot.”

“They have to be. Things are tough now. Listen, would any of them have enough of a quarrel or benefit enough to... poison the Prince and Princess?”

“I should think not.” Rarity had begun shaking her head even before Twilight had finished her question. “Some of the older unicorn families are upset with the integration of the earth ponies and the pegasi into the hierarchy, but they seem to have no lack of loyalty here. Speaking of?”

It was Twilight's turn to shake her head. “Fluttershy might be on to something, but otherwise we're stumped there, too.”

“Are we sure it's here?”

“The ancient book said so, and that book did a good enough job leading us to the elements.” Twilight sighed. “Maybe there's something more to it. I'll get with Starswirl and see if we can get the book to be more specific. I didn't want to risk anything happening to it... since we need it later.”

“Well, then, I'll return to court and see what kind of price I can get for our imaginary apples. Come to think of it, I'll actually be choosing which house to embarrass...” She chuckled to herself as she moved back toward the hall.

Unless we fail, then both houses will just become changelings. Twlight walked the short distance to the royal guest chambers where Celestia's entourage was staying, she reached up to knock only to have the door open first, Starswirl emerging with the book on the Elements of Harmony hovering in front of his nose.

“Oh, Twilight,” he said, surprised. “I was actually just coming to look for thee.” He held up the book. “I tried to subtly use a finding spell on the book, and, well, see for thyself.”

Twilight looked, and saw that there were additional words in the description of the element of loyalty, written as if by an unsteady hand, become more blurry as the words continued. “Previously held by the royal family of Aurelia, but then mysteriously disappeared as... Lord Sombra wished...” she squinted, trying to make out the words. “still... resides in the castle... in the form...” She sighed. “It's so close, maybe if we just tried a little more.”

Starswirl shook his head sharply. “I tried, and the page began to smoke under the strain. I don't think we should risk any further.”

“So, it's in the castle anyway. I can call Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy back from the perimeter and the city and we can refocus the search.” Twilight opened her mouth, but the echo of hooves approaching made her change her words. “The novel sounds riveting.” She began flipping the pages randomly in the book. As chamberlain came around the corner, he nodded absently at the two unicorns as he passed by.

“Yes, it's the best fictional extended biography of Clover the Clever that I've read.,” Starswirl asserted, following her lead as Chamberlain moved out of earshot. As he continued, a heavily armored pegasus knight passed by. As she passed, she raised her visor, revealing herself to be Iris Dash. She winked at them, then closed the visor. “He's quite a... fascinating figure... all on his own.” He raised a questioning eyebrow at Twilight as he stammered through the distraction.

“Yes, he was present at the discovery and founding of Equestria, was he not?” She resisted the urge to put her hoof on her forehead as she continued the banter.

“Indeed...” Starswirl trailed off, as the hall was now empty except for the two of them again.

“Sorry,” Twilight Sparkle said, looking in the direction that Iris had just disappeared. “For her, that's subtle.”

“And why is she following Chamberlain anyway? I thought I had clarified the situation to the pesgasus' satisfaction?”

“There's been... a complication,” Twilight Sparkle said tersely.

“Thy mission or ours?”

“Ours.” There was an awkward silence for a moment while Starswirl waited to see if Twilight would elaborate. Maybe if I just told him that Chrysalis was in danger...

“I see,” Starswirl said finally, the moment passing while Twilight debated internally. “Use caution, as Chamberlain is a particular favorite of Her Highness.”

Twilight opened her mouth, then closed it, nodding and turning to leave. She sighed, feeling uncomfortable being unable to talk to him freely. She returned to their suite, where Pinkie Pie and Applejack were already asleep in their beds after keeping an eye on the prince all night. She collapsed on one of the fluffier couches, trying to figure out what she was missing, and finally drifting off into an uneasy sleep.

Rarity woke her along with the others when she returned to the room to prepare for dinner. “I'm sorry, Twilight, it's not that the nobility is particularly innocent, but none of them hold any ill will for their princess.”

Twilight sat among her friends during dinner, Applejack and Pinkie still bleary from their short shift sleeping, Rainbow and Fluttershy exhausted from the day's fruitless search. Even Rarity's interjections into the chatting were diminished. Iris was absent, presumably still on her reconnaissance mission. But Chamberlain is here, so what is she doing? Twilight kept expecting the guards to burst through the doors any minute with the rainbow-maned changeling in their custody.

“Thy dedication is amazing,” Celestia commented to her quietly as she passed by, “but please, dearest Twily, do not work thyself ill!”

“But time is of the essence,” Twilight mumbled, wondering if she really looked that exhausted, of if Tia just knew her that well.

“Indeed, but I finally have hope that we can defeat Discord, thanks to thee.” She smiled as Luna nudged Twilight and smiled in agreement.

“Tia, Luna, my thanks,” she smiled back, though weakly as they turned and proceeded to their place by Chrysalis. Only, my current problem has nothing to do with Discord Suddenly, Twilight felt a tingling sensation along the back of her mane and a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. Doesn't it?

“Princess, hast thou opened the gifts from the Canterlot delegation yet?” Twilight interjected, interrupting whatever conversation was taking place.

“It's been taken to our quarters,” Chrysalis replied, her tone cordial despite the breach in etiquette, “but we've been too busy to examine it further. Why ask thou?”

“It's just... King Discord...” she paused briefly, to try and gather her wording carefully.

“Our thanks for thy concern,” Chrysalis interrupted earnestly, smiling, “but we take the threat seriously, and it's been thoroughly examined by our most trusted servants.” The glance and smile at Chamberlain wasn't necessary for Twilight to know who she meant. The sensation in her stomach only became more uneasy. Twilight glanced at the others, and their various expressions of concern let her know that they understood the meaning of her question.

The rest of the meal passed slowly, none of them urging the conversations longer. Iris arrived a few minutes later, apologizing for her tardiness. She settled in and caught Twilight's glance as she ate, her eyes overtly darting an Chamberlain. She definitely found something. Well, we can't act on anything right now, but at least we can keep an eye on everypony. Indeed, as long as Chrysalis and Cocoon weren't in the same place, the poisoning could never happen.

When the meal ended, Iris immediately landed next to Twilight as she left. Twilight nodded and added as quietly as she could, “we'll get back to the room and discuss it.” Her eyes darted around the room, and Chrysalis was still discussing something quietly with Celestia, but Chamberlain was nowhere to be seen. She began walking faster, and the rest of the girls changed their gait to match. Twilight did her best not to burst into an outright gallop, then stopped suddenly. She glanced down the halls and they were alone, so she summoned her magic and teleported them to their room.

“I was right, he is up to something,” Iris babbled almost before they had finished materializing.

“The poison has to be in that chest,” Twilight said almost at the same time. “Pinkie, Applejack, find Cocoon and stick with him. If he doesn't get near Chrysalis, it never happens. Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, see if you can't track down Chamberlain.”

“That might be harder than you'd think,” Iris said, causing the other two pegasi to halt as they were about to launch in flight. “The book he got from the library, I had to know... so I broke into his room.”

“Iris Dash!” Twilight scolded, “what if you'd-”

“The book!” Iris yelled, cutting off Twilight's interruptions. “It was a magic treatise entitled 'On Metamorphosis.'”

Twilight felt all the blood rush away from her face, and the tingling in her mane again. She whispered almost inaudibly. “The changeling spell.” Iris closed her eyes and nodded somberly. “Well, look for him anyway, or anybody suspicious.”

“Ya' mean more suspicious than us, sugarcube?” Applejack adjusted her hat nervously.

“It's true, I'm not even sure anypony would believe us... but there is somepony everypony would trust.” She turned to Rarity. “Go to Starswirl, tell him the message is from me, that Princess Chrysalis is in danger.”

“Are you sure, Twilight? Doesn't he already know too much?”

“Maybe not enough. We've played it safe, and now things are moving too fast for us. We need all the help we can get right now.” Twilight took a deep breath and added as everypony disbursed on their mission. “Okay, Iris, let's get to that poison before they do.”

Iris nodded, leading the way with a fierce expression. They rounded corner after corner, Twilight barely slowing long enough to check for guards. Strangely, they seemed to miss all the patrols. We're making good time, we're bound to get there before-

Her thought was interrupted as she nearly collided with Princess Chrysalis. “Oh!”

The princess turned and looked at her, her expression neutral. An awkward moment passed before Twilight realized an explanation was expected. “Ah, dear highness, I was hoping to catch thee.” Not a lie. Where had Iris gone? Twilight had gotten distracted in her headlong charge and not even realized the rainbow-maned pegasus had slipped behind a large, ornate flower pot nearby, from which she now waved silently.

“Indeed, Twilight Sparkle?” the princess replied. “Thy demeanor was distant at dinner, we expect something was on thy mind.”

“I-I hope this won't sound too forward,” Twilight stammered, “but I still feel uneasy about the gifts from Canterlot. I do not doubt the skill and care of thy servant,” she added quickly, noting Chrysalis' suddenly furrowed brow, “but I'm sure Tia – er, thy cousin has told you of my familiarity with Discord's trickery. I beg thy leave,” she bowed her head to the floor. “It can do no harm to check again.”

“I suppose thou art correct, Twilight Sparkle,” Chrysalis said after a moment's deliberation, dropping the Royal plural for Twilight for the second time. Her horn glowed lightly and opened the door to the Royal chambers. “Please, come inside.”

“My thanks, Princess,” Twilight sighed relief. “I will be brief, but thorough.” In the corner was the chest that she recognized. She lifted the lid slowly, as if expecting some trap to be sprung just from that motion alone... which she immediately realized was unwarranted since it had been opened once before. She scanned the contents carefully, lighting her horn to feign the magical analysis, but also to light the dark corners of the chest. Trinkets, baubles, gold, griffin feathers... It would be SOME sort of drink. Twilight's desperation reached a fevered pitch when she realized there was an empty spot, a circle left in the dust outline on the bottom, where a bottle could have been.

Twilight almost jumped when Chrysalis said, “Hast thou investigated to thy satisfaction, Twilight Sparkle?” Her dual-green eyes glinted with benign amusement that still felt mocking to Twilight.

“I-I... suppose my fears were unfounded, Princess.” She bowed apologetically.

“But thy concern touching,” Chrysalis smiled again, then as the door clicked behind her, she turned. “Oh, I didn't expect thee back so early,” she muttered.

“Yes, the kitchen seems to be having some troubles tonight,” Prince Cocoon answered her. “So I thought I might join thee for a time?” Twilight just managed to hold in a gasp.

“Yes. Of course,” Chrysalis replied, her tone reflecting surprise. “If thou could excuse us, Twilight?”

“Of course,” Twilight left the room slowly. How did he get past Pinkie and Applejack? I can't leave them together! Calm down, Twilight. The poison's not in there. But where is it? As she passed him, she saw Iris gesturing wildly but silently from her hiding place. She pointed to the Prince, then to her own mane.

Twilight turned and caught a glimpse of Cocoon just before the door finished closing. Amongst his silver mane, a single hair stood out, the same color as Chamberlain's.

“Changeling,” Twilight exhaled in a sigh of relief, smiling slightly.

“Why are you happy about that?!” Iris exclaimed as quietly as she could, reaching up to touch her mane where her own transformation flaw identified her. “He can't be up to any good, pretending to be the prince.”

“But that means it doesn't matter if the two of them are alone. It buys us some time.”

“The tale's been off so far, how do you know it matters if it's the real prince or not?”

Twilight tensed again. “I don't. We need to know what's going on in there.”

“Spying on the princess is a serious proposition,” Starswirl whispered suddenly, causing Twilight to jump and Iris to take flight in surprise. She turned to see him, Rarity following behind. “Thou art absolutely certain that she's in danger?”

“It's... why we're here,” Twilight said, looking at him desperately.

He nodded, then perked up his excellent ears, furrowing his brow in concentration. “I've been too distant, and I wish to make amends,” he repeated as he heard.

“Which one?” Twilight asked.

“The prince.” Starswirl continued, “Let us drink, then. I have a rare cider I've been saving for a special occasion.”

Before he'd even finished, Twilight began charging the door, her horn glowing as she forced open its magically reinforced locks. “Prince Cocoon, I need to speak with thee right away, it's an emergency!” The two had filled wine glasses floating in front of them, and for an instant, Twilight thought maybe she was too late, but both turned to look at her, Chrysalis in surprised dismay, Cocoon with an angry glare.

“Can't it wait?” he said as Twilight and Iris, who had followed her lead, began physically jostling him from the room.

“No, apologies. Apologies, Highness!” Twilight yelled back at the bewildered princess.

“Twilight, thou cannot honestly suspect the price,” Starswirl said hotly, shifting from hoof to hoof in discomfort.

“I do not,” Twilight said firmly, “But this is not the prince.”

“Do you even understand how dangerous that magic is?” Iris said, her low, scolding tone fierce enough to make Twilight take half a step away from her.

“What would a pegasus know of magic?” the form of Cocoon practically spat. “It's a risk I'll take for her. She deserved better than that simpleton.”

“Chamberlain?” Starswirl said incredulously, his ears twitching. “I can hear that it's thee, but... it's not thee.”

“Changeling magic,” Twilight said shortly. “Chamberlain, please, thou cannot possibly understand the danger you're putting her in!”

“What harm can a love potion do?” he said dismissively.

“Plenty,” Twilight answered.

“Sugarcube, you've got him!” Applejack declared as she and Pinkie clamored around the nearby corner.

“Fire's all out, your Princieness!” Pinkie smiled, “Why don't you come back to the kitchen and sample the new batch we have ready?”

“Wait, there really were troubles in the kitchen?” Twilight said.

“Sorry, Twi, I was... tired, and I lost track of a batch of muffins, and they got a little overdone,” Applejack explained.

“Then where's Cocoon?” Twilight countered.

“But-” Applejack gestured at the fake prince in front of her.

Twilight ran back to the Royal Quarters at full speed, passing the approaching Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, unable to stop and answer their puzzled expression. I'll tell her an assassin is disguised as the prince. We can take them both, get rid of the poison, and get it sorted out. As she rounded the corner, she opened her mouth to speak to the princess, then closed it again.

Prince Cocoon and Princess Chrysalis had the drinks to their lips, and were tipping the half-empty glasses down. She watched helplessly as the binding magics did their work, and the two looked into each others eyes, unable to even look away to acknowledge Twilight, their smiles broadening.

Twilight turned and walked away slowly, passing the others as the now-familiar tingling ran through her flank.

“Where are you going?” Iris asked with a puzzled expression.

“It doesn't matter,” Twilight said, feeling as if the voice came from far away as she added. “It's too late. We failed.”

Author's Note:

Or, it can take me even longer to post the next chapter. Sigh. Well, I do hope you enjoy, as a lot happens in this one!

Comments

[Mermaid]

Well that sure is a cliffhanger. D:

[Razzy]

Good job, Faillight!

Cya
Raziel-chan