Enchantè

                                                            Interrogation

“Where are we going?” Lorewise yelled to his wife as they both ran up the streets of Ponyville. They rushed past many ponies making their way to Applejack’s farm for the party, causing a few of them to stop and stare at them as they ran.

“We have to find Princess Twilight! She’s the only one that can help us!” she panted. Neither of them were young ponies anymore, and the pace was taxing them both, but fear for their son made them go on.

“Are…you…sure…she can help?” he breathlessly asked.

She spared a glance at him over her shoulder. “She’s the only help we have.”

Lorewise still had his doubts, but he knew his wife was right. He could only hope this was a Princess in more than name. Soon, they found themselves in front of the Golden Oaks Library, and they hammered frantically on the door.

“Princess Twilight! Princess Twilight!” called Willow.

“Alright, alright already! Don’t break it down!” they heard from the other side. The door opened, and they found themselves face to face with the smallest dragon either of them had ever seen, dressed in a tuxedo! In any other situation they would have found the sight amusing, but they were far past that now.

“What’s the rush?” the dragon asked.

“We need the Princess now! It’s urgent!” cried Willow.

“I’m coming” said a voice further in. Soon she appeared at the door, dressed in a satin gown and wearing her full regalia.

Seeing her for the first time, even Lorewise fell to his knees with his wife and said, “Your Highness! Our son is in trouble!”

“Please stand and come in, and tell me everything! Spike, let everyone know I’m going to be late.”

Spike ran off to Applejack’s, while Lorewise and Willow made their way inside. Motioning for them to sit, she asked, “Now what’s going on?”

Quickly, they both explained their “son’s” odd behavior after his speaking to Fluttershy.

When they’d finished, Twilight asked, “So you don’t think that’s him?”

“No, Your Highness,” said Willow. “I know my son, and whatever that is in his home, it’s not him.”

Twilight got up and began to pace. “If it’s not him, then logically there’s only one other thing it could be, barring an illusion spell.”

Stopping to face them she ordered, “Take me to him. I just hope I’m wrong.”

    The fake Pawise was still lying across his victim’s bed, growing more nervous with each passing minute. In order to impress his Queen, he’d volunteered for this duty, but now he was having second thoughts.

Like most drones, he was not a great thinker, but the assignment was supposed to be an easy one. His Queen had been observing Ponyville for months, long after their defeat at Canterlot. By blending in and listening, she’d hit upon a plan to take over the town, but the only snag she hadn’t foreseen had been the reformation of Discord and his relationship with those same mares that had beat them before. She had to find some way to take him out of the picture, but nothing had presented itself until this unicorn had shown up.

He had to admire his Queen’s brilliance: reading the unicorn’s reaction to Fluttershy, kidnapping her and taking her place, encouraging the relationship. Discord’s reaction had been a long shot, but this is why she’d purposely taken the one pony she knew he was especially fond of. Now another of his kind was keeping Discord occupied while he and his Queen were going to announce their wedding tonight at the party.

But the Changeling was in trouble. His victim’s parents had been acting strangely towards him since he’d first shown up. Though his Queen had assured him ponies lacked the wit to see through his disguise, he was starting to have his doubts. If the plan failed, it would be entirely his fault.

Just then he heard the front door open, and his “mother” called out, “Pawise? Can you come out here? There’s somepony here to see you.”

Just a few more minutes, he thought to himself, and I can go meet the Queen and get this over with. He could fool these ponies!

Bracing himself, he sauntered out the bedroom. “Yes, Mother?” he said, barely keeping the smirk off his face. All amusement and self-confidence died when he saw who was with them. He had to think fast.

“Oh! Hello Princess!" he said. "Shouldn’t…shouldn’t we all be at the party now? I better go get dressed.”

Twilight stopped him with a single word: “No.”

This is getting worse! “But…but it’s MY ‘welcome party’! I can’t be late!”

Twilight was imperious, as Lorewise and Willow stood with her and watched. “You are not going anywhere until you tell me who you are and what you’ve done with Pawise.”

As he started to protest, she held up a hoof and said, “Don’t bother. I don’t know who you are, but there’s one way of finding out.” As she lit her horn, the Changeling’s nerve broke, and he tried to rush past them out the door.

Lorewise tackled him, gripped him by his throat and screamed “Where is my son?! Where IS he?!” He drew back one hoof and was about to start beating him when Twilight stopped him.

“There’s an easier way.” She lit her horn and passed its light over the fallen pony. All three were horrified when his true form was revealed. Willow pulled her panting husband off it, while Twilight held the Changeling aloft in a force field.

It twisted and shrieked, “Let me go! Let me GO!! The Queen will kill me if she finds out!”

Her expression a mixture of disgust and pity, Twilight answered in a dangerously soft voice, “The Queen is the least of your worries. I’M here.” Drawing him close, she forced him to look her in the eyes. “Where is Pawise?”

The Changeling felt he had nothing more to lose, as he knew his life was now forfeit.“Go suck on a rotten apple, you stupid pony! I’ll tell you NOTHING! I’m dead anyway!”

Lorewise growled, “Let me have him, Your Highness! He’ll talk to ME!” Twilight didn’t answer, but her eyes had narrowed into slits. Slowly, surely, the force field in which she held him was starting to shrink.

“Wait! What are you doing?!” cried the creature. The field continued to shrink as Twilight remained silent. Now the creature could barely move, but he tried one last act of bravado.

“You…you wouldn’t! Our Queen told us you’d be no threat!” squeaked the Changeling.

“Did she?” said Twilight, as she continued to compact the field. Now it was having trouble breathing, and started to gasp for air. The creature tried once more to keep silent, but then it looked in Twilight’s eyes, and saw no mercy there. Willow hid her face in her husband’s shoulder.

“All…alright! Alright…I’ll…tell…you! Just…let…me go!” it wheezed.

Instead of doing so, Twilight only stopped the shrinking and held it there. “Start talking.”

“He’s…he’s….(gasp) in the Forest! In…in a cave north…north of Froggy Bottom Bog! He’s…still (gasp)…alive! Now…please…please let me go!”

Twilight then released the pressure, and lowered him to the floor, where he collapsed gasping for air. She stood looking down at the miserable thing, while Lorewise stared at her with newfound respect and awe. His son had been right about her! Twilight wasn’t done.

Leaning close, she said, “Where is your Queen? I want to know everything!” All defiance gone, the Changeling proceeded to tell her all he knew, causing them all to gasp in horror when he was done.

Turning to Pawise’s parents, Twilight said, “I have to stop the party! Wait here with him, I’ll be back as soon as I can!”

“But what about our son?!” cried Lorewise.

“I promise you sir, once I go I’ll bring back help, and then we’ll all go to save him and Fluttershy! Trust me!” Without waiting for an answer she teleported away. As soon as she left Lorewise rounded on the creature.

“On your feet! You’re taking us to our son!”

“But Lore! The Princess said—“his wife began.

“We CAN’T wait! Despite what this thing said," giving the cringing Changeling a kick, "our son could be hurt! We need to go NOW!”  Willow had a brief moment of indecision, and then her look of determination matched her husband’s.

“Wait here!” Running into the bedroom, she jerked a sheet off her son’s bed and ran back. Rolling it into a makeshift rope, she said, “Hold him!” Quickly she bound the creature’s wings tightly onto its torso, and then jerked him to his feet.

Grabbing him by the neck, she placed herself an inch from his face and snarled, “That’s our son you captured. Lead us to him, or I promise you’ll wish you’d died when the Princess had you!!”

For the second time that night, the creature looked into a pony’s eyes and saw no mercy.

         No mercy at all.