The Devil’s Trick
by soundslikeponies
"You must learn, at times, not to pursue things too far," the Princess had told Twilight, but she had to know the truth.
No one quite knew how Chrysalis had penetrated the heart of Canterlot. By Cadance’s account, Chrysalis hadn't impersonated her until sometime after the shield had gone up. It had been just over a week since the invasion was repelled, but the question remained: How had Chrysalis slipped through their ranks completely unnoticed? While she was defeated for the time being, it was worrying that if she had slipped through their guard once, it was likely she could do it again.
Deep beneath Castle Canterlot, Twilight's horn glowed in the belly of the Royal Library. It was a sacred trove with works dating back thousands of years. As such, it remained closely guarded at all times. Candles were explicitly forbidden along with any source of flame.
Twilight gave a nod to the two bat ponies standing guard. Their eyes—bright, sharp, and slitted down the middle—followed her every movement. Fewer than two dozen ponies had permission to enter the archives, her being one of them. Even the guards standing watch outside had explicit orders never to enter.
With her, Twilight carried a journal. During the invasion, an officer of the guard had gone missing. From those Twilight had talked to, it seemed no one knew where he went, or even what he was doing, prior to his disappearance. He was another of the less than two dozen ponies who had permission to enter the archives, and his last entry led her here, the place he had hid the torn-out pages of his journal. Twilight had originally thought he may have been related to how Chrysalis had gotten into the city, but upon reading his journal, those thoughts quickly faded. Twilight gave an involuntary shudder as she recalled the last entry in his journal.
Officer Scry,
March 5th,
To you who are reading my journal: I fear I've overstepped my bounds. What I have stumbled upon may only be labeled as conspiracy. It spreads farther and deeper than I'd ever dreamed. I regret now my lack of discretion in investigating such matters, as I know now that it will be my undoing.
This will be the final entry I write here. The rest I plan to hide deep within the Canterlot Archives. If you who are reading this are an ally of freedom, harmony, and the realm, know that I hid them in hope
And it ended there, in the middle of a sentence. Five days had passed since he was last seen. Every day that passed, the chances he still lived waned. What had interrupted him in the middle of such an important entry? Was it written mere moments before his disappearance?
Twilight combed through the shelves, shining her magic on them. The hidden pages of his journal were the key to what truly happened the day of the invasion, Twilight was sure of it, but between the absence of any light other than her own and the sheer enormity of the archives, today would be the third day she would spend down here, searching.
"Argh!" Twilight cried out in frustration as she hit the end of another shelf. Nopony was around to hear her. She marched to one of three long wooden tables at the far end of the library and slapped the journal down upon it, flipping it open to the last entry.
She had read his last entry countless times, looking for a clue on where he'd hidden the missing entries. By all accounts, it seemed as though whatever clue he planned to put in there was never written. The way the writing looked hastily written made her wonder whether the officer had known something was coming for him. It also made her think he had stumbled upon something big—big enough there was somepony who would go to any length to make sure he wouldn’t be able to tell anyone else.
Twilight let out a sigh. Her eyes glazed over the last paragraph.
This will be the final entry I write here. The rest I plan to hide deep within the Canterlot Archives. If you who are reading this are an ally of freedom. . .
Freedom... Twilight pondered. She came up with nothing.
. . . an ally of freedom, harmony. . .
"Harmony..." Twilight said aloud. The word seemed to dangle on her tongue, though she wasn't quite sure why.
Her eyes snapped open. The Elements of Harmony!
Rushing to the shelves, Twilight began combing through them with renewed speed.
"Elements, elements," she muttered under her breath. Then, she spotted on a spine: The Origin of the Elements of Harmony.
Twilight pulled it carefully from the shelf, looking around where it was seated for any papers.
There were none.
Twilight opened the book, flipping through its stiff brown pages with care. There were pictures of a great white tree, the Elements, Celestia, Luna, and Discord, but there were no journal entries tucked within it. She sighed as she shut the book. Harmony hadn't been a clue, just wishful thinking on her part.
She walked back to the table, bringing the book back with her for later referencing. Returning to the journal entry, she reread it again and again. As minutes stretched to hours with no further theories becoming apparent, her mind drifted back to the conversation she had with Princess Celestia in the castle halls...
"If Chrysalis infiltrated the castle once, she could do so again."
"Twilight, you must understand," Celestia said, the patience in her voice beginning to run thin. "Nearly sixty ponies are still missing after the invasion, more than a dozen of which are guards. I do agree: the fact that she managed to pose for so long as someone of Cadance's stature is worthy of concern, but Chrysalis is defeated. It’s doubtful she would risk making any move against us with her forces weakened. Our priorities right now are with returning missing ponies to their loved ones. After we accomplish that, we may turn our focus elsewhere."
"But there's this officer," Twilight insisted. "He wasn't seen at all during the battle. Reports have his last sighting as being a full day after the changeling attack. Why did he go missing then? Why did barely anyone see him in the days leading up to the invasion?"
"Are you implying he may have been involved with the invasion?" Celestia asked.
"What? No! I'm just saying that it's suspicious. He vanished after the changeling invasion, and his j—" Twilight caught herself. She glanced down the hallway behind them. A pair of guards stood by an open door to the gardens, while nearby a group of three nobles debated intensely with one another over what sounded like some matters of finance.
They weren't alone.
Celestia arched a brow at her. "His what?" she asked.
Twilight bit her lip. "Nothing," she said, shaking her head. She turned to leave. "I'm sorry, Princess. I have to go."
"Twilight, wait."
Celestia's voice froze her, and she turned back around.
"You must learn, at times, not to pursue things too far," the Princess said. "After the attack, ponies need reassurances of stability and safety. I would truly appreciate it if you were by my side during this time."
Twilight closed her eyes. All she had ever wanted was to be by the Princess’s side and hear her say those words, but she couldn’t shake the strong gut feeling she had.
"Sorry, Princess," Twilight said, "I won't bother you again unless I find something."
Twilight shook her head to clear her mind. After three days spent combing the library for the missing entries, she was beginning to doubt whether the journal truly led anywhere. Maybe the missing entries had already been found and destroyed. Maybe he'd never gotten the chance to hide them at all.
Twilight's eyes traced the last entry again.
If you who are reading this are an ally of freedom, harmony, and the realm, know that I hid them in hope
Twilight kept rereading that line, again and again. She was hung up on it.
know that I hid them in hope
I hid them in hope
Twilight's brow furrowed. The phrase rang a bell with something she'd read in The Origins of the Elements of Harmony, but she couldn't remember what.
Opening the ancient tome, Twilight began flipping through its pages again, until she stumbled upon it.
Chapter 7: The Influence of Hope
Twilight sat up, her eyes glued to the title. After another moment or two, she began to read.
The nature of the Elements' magic is still something of a mystery. We know that the Elements are powered by emotions of their given names, and the Element of Magic is powered by communion and harmony, as the name of the elements would imply. There is, however, another element to their activation that is lesser known: Hope. According to a series of loose writings by Starswirl the Bearded, titled, "Sources of Magic Inspiration", hope is an element present in all magic, and even in . . .
Twilight closed the book. Rushing back to the shelves, she began scanning the shelves. "Sources, sources..." she muttered under her breath. She nearly moved onto the next shelf, before she caught the title of a small, unassuming book at the end of the shelf near floor level. She picked it up and read its spine: Sources of Magic Inspiration.
Twilight flipped it open. Tucked between the cover and the first page of the book, were a series of loose pages, their color mismatching the rest of the book. They were journal entries. Officer Scry’s name was on the first one, near the top of the page.
Twilight took the pages out, putting the book back upon the shelf, and then going back to the table.
The journal entries seemed to be in order. She began by reading the first one.
Officer Scry,
March 2nd,
An army of changelings attacked Canterlot. The invasion was successfully repelled by Captain Shining Armor and Princess Cadence, the latter of which the changelings' queen, Chrysalis, had been impersonating for several days prior to the attack. The Captain and the Princess joined their magic in a spell, ending the invasion a mere hour after it had begun.
When the attack first struck, I was tasked with alerting Princess Luna of the situation. I was on my way to her chambers where she was sleeping, but I was stopped on the way to her tower by another guard. "Under no circumstance was she to be disturbed during one of her daily rests," he told me. “Everypony available is to head to the city and fend off the invaders there.” Then he pointed me back in the direction of the battlefield. He apologized. "Orders from above" were the words he used. I had half a mind to ignore them. The city was under attack. We needed both our princesses.
I obeyed my orders against my better judgment. I've been looking for the guard I ran into that day, but I've yet to find him.
"Orders from above". Something about this doesn't sit well with me.
Twilight shuffled through the missing journal entries. There were only five pages and four entries, two of the pages belonging to the last entry. A frown crossed Twilight's lips; she had expected more.
She began reading the next entry.
Officer Scry,
March 3rd,
I met with Princess Luna today. She seemed busy, dealing with the aftermath of the invasion. I got the chance to voice my concerns about the order I received during the invasion, but the Princess seemed dismissive of it. As it was her duty to see the moon through the sky, it was the ongoing order of her personal guards not to let anyone disturb her while she was resting during the day, except for matters of the utmost importance. Apparently what had most likely happened, was somepony hadn’t remembered the second part of the orders. As she dismissed me, she said she'd speak with her guard and make sure her orders are more clear in the future.
Misinterpreted orders. Apparently that's all it was. I chalked up the apprehensions I had to me being overly paranoid. Still, something nagged at me, so I asked the Princess whether she knew the guard that stopped me. I described him to her and she did indeed know who he was.
She informed me he was among the dozen or more guards who had gone missing during the invasion... But I saw him shortly before it the invasion was repelled, safe within the main castle. All the other ponies who had gone missing were out in the city during the invasion. I hadn't even reached the walls before the invasion was repelled, so how had he become counted among the missing?
I'm not sure what to make of any of this. The idea that someone silenced him sounds ridiculous, but his disappearance is equally bizarre. Who did the order originate from? If it was given out of malice rather than incompetence, why would anypony want the invasion to succeed?
Twilight's brow furrowed as she reread the entry. If what he wrote about this other guard who gave him the order was true, the nature of his own disappearance became a lot more startling. Nearly as disturbing, was the idea of somepony so deep within their ranks willing to turn traitor at the promise of power.
She’d been introduced to dozens of nobles while studying as Princess Celestia’s student here, in Canterlot. Even as a child, she could tell many of them had ulterior reasons for making her acquaintance. The Cornwalls, the Fluers, the Bluebloods... Could one of them have been the traitor?
Twilight shuffled through to the next page.
Officer Scry,
March 4th,
Every investigation I made today was met with dead ends. But while I may have made no tangible progress, I'm more certain than ever that there is still a danger within our walls—somepony who wanted the changelings to succeed. I'm inclined to wonder whether it was the same pony who helped Chrysalis slip into our ranks unnoticed. I've been trying to think who could possibly desire such a thing. In Canterlot, there are half as many nobles clawing for power as there are nobles. It is easy enough to picture any of them jumping at a position of power in a new monarchy.
But only two of those nobles have the intelligence to pull such a thing off, and personally knowing them, I'm extremely doubtful either of them would gamble their current power away on a chance, not with how much they stood to lose. Both of them are too intelligent to take that bet.
What I do have is another theory: Chrysalis is a queen, not a princess. Could there be a changeling king? Could he have been among us this entire time, posing as a noble?
A king. The possible significance of Chrysalis’ title hadn’t even occurred to Twilight. She had just assumed her title implied she was queen of a hive, not a queen with a king as they understood it. From what she’d read on the changelings after the attack, the hive was controlled by a single queen. There was never any mention of a king—but it could have been something they had overlooked.
A whisper passed through the archives, causing Twilight to look up sharply. Her ears swiveled around, listening to the dark.
Nothing. Silence followed.
Twilight slowly turned back to the journal pages, sitting closer to the edge of her seat. There was one last entry.
Officer Scry,
March 5th,
I've been wrong. Celestia save my soul from what I've discovered—I've been wrong about everything.
I thought Chrysalis could have only snuck in with the help of someone else. There were only two ponies who I felt could have snuck her in. I was right in assuming neither of them did, but there is a third pony capable, one I had dismissed before even considering. It is somepony with the patience and knowledge to orchestrate an attack against Canterlot. It is somepony with deep, frightening thirst for vengeance. They have pulled wool over all our eyes this entire time, living among us.
When I was a cadet, my drill sergeant asked me whether I feared death. I don't fear death, but I now fear this pony's wrath. And it is wrath. Anger is wild, emotional. This is not anger--do not mistake it as such. This is a weapon. A carefully crafted, finely honed axe set to be our execution.
Chrysalis was only a test. The changeling invasion was a false start. It was meant to test our defenses, meant to lure us into thinking we'd won, that we were safe. It was a test to see whether Princess Celestia could be overcome, and it was a test to see whether the Elements of Harmony could be rendered useless. Our enemy now knows they can overcome both, and they are preparing to make their move.
Somewhere in the back of my head, I'd been wondering: how did an entire army go unnoticed until it was on top of us? There was no way that many changelings could have hidden as citizens.
They were summoned—no, created, by their queen.
Chrysalis, the Changeling Queen. A shapeshifter.
I began to wonder: what's to say we ever saw her true form?
I dug through the archives for texts about shapeshifters. The real changelings went extinct nearly two thousand years ago, but I found one other account of a being who could shapeshift.
She was banished to the moon a thousand years ago, by her sister, Princess Celestia.
She is a magical being powerful enough to create an army, she's a shapeshifter capable of fooling Princess Celestia herself, and she's been biding her time for a thousand years in exile.
Why hadn't she been there when the changelings attacked the kingdom? If the Elements of Harmony had truly pacified her darker side after her return, why hadn't they done the same a thousand years ago?
She is the patient wrath that will be our end.
The Nightmare of the Moon, Princess Luna.
Twilight drew in a stuttering breath, frozen to her chair, her mind reeling at what she'd just read. Her pulse pounded in her ears. The silence between heartbeats was deafening.
Rainbow Dash had seen Luna take on the form of the three shadowbolts in the Everfree Forest. Twilight, herself, had seen Luna shapeshift during Nightmare Night. How easy could it have been for her to simply change when the elements had struck her?
Nopony saw Princess Luna during the invasion, not until much later the same evening. The changelings had been dead for over a thousand years; the only pony who’d remember them in any detail would be…
Hoofsteps clacked against the wood floor of the archives behind her. Twilight whipped around, knocking over her chair as she flared her magic to see who it was.
Before her, lit by the pale light of her magic, Princess Luna stood. Her eyes narrowed, their color the chill blue of death.
"Good evening, Twilight."
