Changeling Doll: White Lie

Chapters

Into the flames
Trust
Distrust
Friends
Death
Blood Stains
Double Agent
"I don't know."
Angel
Kindness and Calculation
So that means...
Stars

Into the flames

The glittering crystal halls echoed with the distinct sound of hooves clopping.

White Lie walked purposefully down the hall leading to the throne room. This was the moment on which the whole operation hinged.

Disguised as a unicorn named Stately Writ, he spent months searching for an opening. Something that would allow him to get close enough to gain the trust of the royal couple. He finally found one in the passing of their aged assistant, and at this very moment was heading to the throne room to give his weekly report of the empire's economic pursuits, and put into motion the events that would either save himself and his kin, or destroy them.

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza was the one pony in all of Equestria whose trust was absolutely essential in order to ensure that the mission would go well. After the incident in Canterlot a few years ago, they knew that very little could convince the princess that changelings could be anything but enemies of the equestrian race. Now, with the other princesses making progress, she was the only pony standing between them and a hope of a future.

”Cloak, before I go in, is there anything else from the others to report?”

”No, Prince. So far as we have gathered, Poker and Quick are in place and it appears that things are going well so far.”

”What of Quick and the Light Princesses?”

”She hasn’t reported any troubles, and we can still detect her connection to the hive mind.”

White Lie inhaled. He knew that Quick was a skilled infiltrator, however, she was a wild card, and he worried that at any moment, her connection would simply disappear, and everything would be lost. That she would be lost…

Trying to keep himself on task, he shook the perturbing thought out of his head. They were too far into this now to worry about what the outcome would be. They had planned for months, making sure everything was in place, and now the chips would fall where they would, and they would have to live with the result.

”Thank you, Cloak.”

”Good luck, your highness. If anything happens, it has been an honor.”

White was now approaching the throne room doors, two guards standing outside keeping watch, showing no reaction to the disguised changeling.

”Cloak?”

”Yes sir?”

”I will report as soon as I can. If you don’t hear from me within a week, then extract the others, and continue on with the secondary plan. Understood?”

Silence.

”Cloak?”

”Y-yes sir. Understood.”

”Always face forward, Cloak.”

”Always sir.”

”We will speak later.”

He closed the connection before the goodbyes could continue. If there was a moment for them, it was now, but time was not on their side.

He now stood at the large crystal doors outside the throne room. One of the guards coughed.

“So uh, State. You forget how to the open the door?” He smirked.

Damascus Steel, the guard whose understanding of humor was wide and whose stomach for strong drink could empty the royal wine cellar in one night, had been a good friend to him for the last few weeks as he struggled to adapt to the royal environment.

Whenever there were moments that the task of being the royal assistant became heavy or tedious, Damascus was always there to help him relax. Whether it was a simple joke, or a night on the town, he always knew what would help loosen Stately's nerves.

White Lie, that is Stately Writ, threw a smile in his direction. "Oh, no. I'm just waiting for you to open it for me."

Damascus chuckled. "Oh, but of course, your highness." He pushed the door open and made a short mock bow. "Should I announce you as well?"

"I don't think that will be necessary. Thank you."

"As you wish, m'lord," Damascus said with a wink. State chuckled.

As the door closed behind Stately Writ, he found his smirk falling into a stern frown. He knew what was coming, at least in part. He'd evaluated the personalities of the princess and the captain enough to know that even if he played his cards the best he could conceive, it was unlikely he'd make it through this unscathed.

Walking up to the crystal throne, Stately could see that princess Cadence was absorbed in a stack of paperwork while Captain Armor was tracing paths across a map of the Crystal city. Despite this, both of them were sitting against each other in an intimate fashion, Cadence's dainty form on the captain's built physique.

They were adorable together. Even with the couple focused on things other than one another, White Lie could feel the love oozing from the couple. It was very refreshing.

It was too bad that it wouldn't last very long.

"Oh, State!" Princess Cadence had heard his hoofsteps and looked up from her papers. "I apologize, I got so caught up in other things that I had forgotten that we were having our review today. I don't have the forms that the commissioner had requested, right now, but I will get them to you as soon as possible."

"It is okay your highness." Stately smiled and bowed as he arrived at the foot of the throne.

Captain Armor glanced up from the map. "Ah, one moment, State. I am just finishing up a few details on the property divisions. Feel free to speak with my wife while I work on it." And with that, he was back to work.

State had planned for this. They were always doing last minute touches on something as the meetings went on, and so he would simply continue with the standard report until they had finished.

"Yes." Cadence stole a loving glance at her husband before turning to Stately Writ. "So, what is the report for today."

State stood at attention, and went down the list in his mind. "The trading agreement between the Crystal Empire's merchantry and Appleloosa is in its final stages. CU has finished preparations for their summer courses to start and have returned the remaining funds after saving a small safety net. And the library is asking for assistance regarding a crystal culture marketing plan."

Cadence raised an eyebrow. "A crystal culture marketing plan?"

"Yes. They feel that after all this time under the rule of Sombra, they should have some sort of program that promotes the reinstatement of, or at least the education regarding, the Crystal Empire's old cultural tendencies, pre-sombra, to assist the city in returning to its former pace and feel."

"Oh... And what sort of assistance are they asking for?"

"So far as they have informed me, what I've told you is the only thing they have established so far. They have no idea how to go about beginning such a program."

Cadence smiled and nodded. "That shouldn't be too difficult. Ask them about available times to meet regarding the topic, and we'll let them know what works best."

"Of course, your highne-..."

"Aaaaaand done!" Captain Armor had set his quill to the side and was now rolling up the map. "Here you are State. Make sure to remind them that this is only still a draft and a few details still need to be discussed before it can be finalized." The map was now floating in front of Stately Writ.

He didn't move to grab it.

He stared at the scroll knowing that he couldn't take it. There'd be no point. Even if things went well with them, it was unlikely that he would be the one delivering that map to where it needed to go. And there was no way he'd be able to deny taking it without them asking why. Now was indeed the time. But he didn't expect it to feel so... sudden. It was like trying to jump into a cold lake.

And so, with a deep breath, he put away his fear, and began his run up to the edge of the water.

"Princess. Captain. I'm afraid there is something else I must discuss with you."

The two rulers of the Crystal Empire were confused at Stately's sudden solemness, and looked at each other before the princess spoke. "What is it? Is everything okay?"

He lowered his head. Now was the time to jump.

"I'm... not exactly the pony you think I am, and I'm afraid I need to be fully honest with you now."

Shining took on a concerned expression, and slowly moved into a protective stance in front of his wife. "State?"

Midair. And now for the splash.

"I'm a changeling."

Silence.

Both the princess and captain stood there with blank expressions. Stately Writ began slowly bowing his head as the tension in the room built up. All he could do now was await their judgement.

"Pfffft! Hahahahaha!"

Stately looked up to see the captain laughing, and Cadence stifling her laughter.

"What?"

Shining Armor was wiping a non-existent tear from his eye as he continued to chuckle. "Ahahaha, that's... that's a good one."

"This is not how it was supposed to go..."

"...dangit..."

Green flame consumed his body, tearing away fur and hair to reveal a black carapace beneath.

Suddenly, there was a flash accompanied by a deafening crack. White Lie threw his hooves in front of him and closed his eyes.

"That's it... they've killed me... I've failed..."

Darkness.

Trust

The floor was cold.

And hard.

It was also rough, like stone.

It wasn't very comfortable, so White Lie adjusted himself a bit. The scraping of metal as he moved was surprising.

"Wait..." he thought, "What-... what is-"

White Lie's head shot up, his eye wide open.

He was in a small room. Stone floors, crystal walls. His legs were chained to one of them.

"Cl-GAH!"

A small electric shock had shot through his horn as he tried to reach out to Cloak. "Unnggh!" He moaned rubbing his horn in pain.

"I don't recommend using magic in here."

White jolted, turning to see that across the room were bars. On the other side of those bars stood Shining Armor.

"Sorry about the blast earlier. Cadence is still quite a bit jumpy about changelings since our wedding," he said, apparently sincere, but remaining completely stoic.

White Lie grunted as we shifted his weight to sit up. "It's okay your maj-... your majesty. It's not the first time it's happened to me." White knew he needed to stay on good terms with Shining, if he ever wanted even a chance of getting the support of the princess. Though the chains and cell - and that whole being knocked out thing - weren't very hopeful signs, he would still try.

Shining Armor squinted his eyes into a suspicious glare. He opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated before taking a slow, tense breath. "Where is Stately Writ?" he asked.

"I am Stately Writ, or at least I was."

The captain's glare intensified. "The real Stately Writ."

White Lie began to slowly nod his head. "I am the real Stately Writ."

Shining's horn activated, a pinkish glow adding light to the room. "You are, or rather were, Stately Writ?"

"Yes sir." A nod.

Shining's horn glowed green for a second before returning to it original pink hue. Shining didn't react. "After what happened in Canterlot, you should understand that we are hesitant to trust a changeling that we find suddenly taking the place of our assistant. If there is any way you can prove that you are who you say you are, now would be the time to do it."

"I'm-... not sure if I can do that. I have only been here a few weeks. I can simply say that I have been here as your assistant since your old assistant passed away."

Green. "So it was you who caused our assistant's passing?"

"No sir."

Green. "You don't think it a coincidence that you happened to show up at our gate claiming to be his replacement not a day after he died? That is very suspicious."

White tilted his head, confused, but he answered anyway. "It was not a coincidence. I had been looking for any opening that would allow me to safely get close to you and the princess, though not with ill will. His unfortunate passing presented a much easier opening at the right time. While I am sorry for your loss, it was then or never for me."

Green. Shining Armor didn't move, still glaring through the steel bars.

White Lie didn't look away. "You don't believe me, do you?"

"No."

"Even though your lie detection spell is telling you otherwise."

Shining's glare intensified. "Yes."

"Why?"

"Why are you here?" Shining didn't answer the question.

"To gain your trust."

Green. "Obviously, as that is the goal of deception, but why do you need our trust?"

"Not to betray or harm you or any pony in any way."

Green. "Why then?"

"We need your help."

Green. "We?"

White Lie stifled a wince. It was too late to back pedal. "Yes."

Blue. "Who all is we, and where are they now?"

"Changelings among ponies."

Blue. Shining's glare weakened. White felt the faintest scent of fear through the bars. Fear would not help their cause.

"We mean no pony any harm."

Green. Shining was still tense.

"And we are not friends or allies of Chrysalis."

Green. Shining's expression became one of confusion. "And you need help for... what?"

"We believe something is coming."

Blue. "Like an invasion."

"We don't know yet."

Green. "Are you and your friends the cause of whatever may be coming?"

"We do not believe so."

Green. "And why not?"

Silence. White Lie was already giving away more than he should, or safely could, at this point. "I... cannot tell you."

Blue. "If you want our trust, you’re going to have to be more open than that."

White Lie hesitated to respond. "I am still... uncertain. Uncertain if I can trust you with certain things. I want to be able to trust you with that knowledge, but at this point I cannot be sure that you won’t abuse it."

Green. Shining gave a dry chuckle at that. "So I cannot trust you and you cannot trust me, then?"

White Lie decided to ask a question in return. "Can I trust you?"

"You can trust me to protect the ponies of Equestria with my life, and if there is a changeling threat, then you can be certain I will do everything in my power to stop it."

"Can I trust you to also protect changelings who seek to help ponies and hope to be helped by ponies?"

"That depends."

"On what?"

Shining Armor hesitated to respond. “Whether or not I can trust them.”

That answer would have to do. At this point, there weren't many other options. "Then I will trust you, but not with everything, yet."

Green. Shining nods. "Then my question still stands. Why do you think whatever may be coming is not because of you and your friends?"

White Lie took a deep breath before responding. "Because Chrysalis still seeks to take the love of ponies."

Blue. "And how do you know this if you are not her friend or ally?"

"Because we were part of her hive, but are no longer."

Blue. Shining Armor was silent for a few moments, apparently deep in thought. Eventually, he stood. "I still do not know if I can trust you. And who is to say that even if you are telling the truth, you won't later betray us? So for now, I will think about what you have said, but I cannot guarantee anything. This discussion will continue later." He paused, then asked, "What is your real name?"

"I am White Lie."

Blue. Shining's lips pursed. "Thank you for cooperating. Goodnight, White Lie." The door out of the room opened, then soon after shut behind him, a large metallic clang sealing it.

White Lie bowed his head. Inspecting the chains locked onto his legs, it was clear he wasn't getting out of them. Slowly he lowered himself onto the ground. It wasn't comfortable, but that was the least of his worries at this point.

There wasn't much he could do now beside wait for the decision of the captain and the princess. The ball was rolling, and it could not be stopped. Either things would go well and they would gain an ally, or he would remain trapped down here, or worse, tortured or killed. Not that that worried him most.

What worried him most was what was going to happen to his friends. Cloak, Poker, Quick... A shiver ran over him. He quickly shook the dark thoughts out of his head.

No. He could not think about that.

White Lie looked up at the torch light flickering through the bars, watching it dance across the floor.

Closing his eyes, he focused on his breathing.

Slow, calm, collected.

Sleep soon overcame him.

White was awoken to the slam of the dungeon door. Snapping his eyes open he saw Cadence on the other side of the bars.

Her hair was frayed, her jaw was tense, and her eyes burned right through him. White Lie pulled instinctively back into the wall.

Cadence stepped up to the bars, her expression unchanging. "Thanks to you, I can't sleep. So we're going to have a little talk." A small spark connected from her horn to the bars.

Suddenly, a painful shock ripped through his entire body. "GAAHH!" White collapsed onto the ground.

"Now," Cadence sat down in front of the cell, "you're going to tell me where your friends are."

A cyan glow gently lit the room.

Distrust

White didn't get up, trying to buy himself time to think. In sudden and unexpected situations, he liked to pause before taking action. Reacting instinctively here could be very detrimental.

Feeling for the emotions of the princess, he felt a combination of bitter hatred and confusion. He noted that he had never felt these emotions from the princess before. Had the wedding incident been that traumatic to her? She was abandoned in the caverns and nearly lost everything to Chrysalis. But in the end their love won. White didn't know exactly what happened after that because he was flushed away as the other changelings were, but he had heard that the wedding continued anyway and that the princess was fine.

"I know you're conscious," the princess said. "Are you going to answer me?"

White Lie wanted more time to think, but didn't want to let the princess get any more frustrated than she already was. "I'm thinking," he stated simply.

"You don't have much to think about," she pressured. "Either you're going to tell me where your friends are, or I'm going to shock you again."

"It's not that simple, your majesty." White kept his head facing away and his eyes closed. He wasn't going to face her until he was ready, or at least until he absolutely needed to.

"And why not?" she demanded.

Time to roll the dice. "Because princess, at the risk of making you even more angry, I don't think that either of us is in the state of mind to reason properly. I am taking a moment to collect my thoughts so that I can propose, perhaps, a more reasonable discussion."

Silence. But only just enough to think a simple thought.

"Whatever reason the princess is angry doesn't matter. She's angry, and she wants information. Delay her."

"And just what would that reasonable discussion be about?" The princess' voice, though still tense, was slightly less tense than it was earlier.

White Lie slowly lifted himself off of the ground. Soon he was facing the princess. Then he opened his eyes.

"Princess... What do you want to do to my friends?"

Her expression became even more aggressive. "I am the one asking questions here. Not you."

"Princess, I'm going to be frank with you. If I feel there is any risk at all that you are going to hurt any of my friends, I will take the knowledge of their whereabouts to the grave. My cause is worth far more than just my life, so I'm going to be clear about this. If you want to know where my friends are, I will need to trust you. In order for me to trust you, we'll need to talk about a deal, and until that point, you will get nothing out of me."

White Lie watched as the princess chewed over his words. For a moment, he thought he could feel fear coming through the bars. It was quickly replaced with smugness.

"You're the leader, aren't you?" Cadence smirked.

White Lie raised an eyebrow, keeping a poker face. "What makes you say that?"

She gestured with her hoof towards him. "You hold yourself like one. You speak like one." Her smirk left. "Tell me, what would happen if your friends' leader were to disappear?"

Now the final test.

White Lie smirked in return. "Well, Chrysalis wouldn't be very happy."

Intense confusion slipped through the bars.

Gotcha.

"Hello, Chrysalis."

Shock. Anger. A green flash.

"I will find your friends, and I will kill every last one of them." Chrysalis spat, her fangs visible with every word.

"They'll kill you first."

Her horn glowed. "And what if I kill you now?"

White Lie's smirk only grew. "As I said, Chrysalis won't be very happy with what happens next."

He felt anger flood the room as Chrysalis' glare burned.

Suddenly, a spark connected her horn to the bars.

"GAAAAAHH!!"

Pain ripped through White Lie's every limb, causing him to collapse on the floor.

Chrysalis leaned forward with a murderous glare. "I call your bluff." Her horn lit more intensely, charging for the killing blow.

A click. The door to the hall opened, and there stood Damascus.

Chrysalis couldn't turn around fast enough before Damascus got off a shot. It hit her squarely in the face, knocking her against the bars. But she recovered quickly. "You little wretch!"

Her horn was still charged, so she used it on Damascus.

A blinding flash filled the room.

Damascus slammed into the wall behind him.

Chrysalis was gone before he hit the floor.

"No!" White pulled against the chains."No! Damascus!"

Damascus' helmet clanked on the floor next to his body, bouncing down the hall. Damascus however, didn't move.

"Damascus!"

The shackles held strong against the tugs. White looked over the locks, desperately looking for any way to release them.

There wasn't any.

"No no no no no..." White pulled futilely. He looked back at Damascus' body.

No breathing.

No motion.

Nothing.

"Come on, buddy. Please get up. Please get up."

But there was no response.

No...

...please no...

Friends

Stately Writ sat at a lone table in the cafeteria. Nopony else was there. It was too early in the morning.

A bowl of soup sat in front of him.

It had already gone cold.

As much as he wanted to, he couldn't bring himself to eat it. He knew he needed nourishment, but eating nothing felt better than eating anything right now.

He didn't know if he could do it. He didn't know if any of this would work. It was... a long shot, to say the least, but he had also thought things through as best he could and he knew of no other way. His friends, all off on their own for the first time, trying to do the impossible in a way that only changelings can do.

He didn't enjoy deceit. It was no fun for him. He just liked being... him. Hiding behind a mask everyday just ate away at the real him behind it. He knew that the only real friends he had were changelings, changelings that knew who he really was and what he was really like.

But now, he was amongst ponies, working with them, talking with them, managing relations between them. He did appreciate the fact that most of his job consisted of simply being a messenger; the words were never his anyway, so he really never had to pretend anything. Working alone also helped with that. But this also meant that he had no friends nearby, and he very much feared making any with ponies beyond those he had to. Eventually, they would find out, and it probably wouldn't work out too well.

So he sat, staring at a bowl of soup, thinking of his friends... praying for their safety.

"Oh, maker, help us... please."

The cafeteria doors swung open, giving way to a small group of stallions. Guards coming in for breakfast.

Stately Writ ignored them. Focussing intently on his bowl, he hoped that they would pass through without speaking to him as they usually did.

He listened to their playful chattering as it moved from one side of the room to the other. Once the sounds of their voices reached the serving counter, he prepared to pick up his bowl to drop it off in the wash rack and leave.

"Hey."

Stately Writ almost spilled the contents of his bowl as he jolted. Looking up, one of the guards was standing across from him.

The guard lifted a hoof pointing towards the bowl.

"I see you haven't eaten, today. Is everything alright?"

Stately Writ didn't want to talk right now. "Yeah, I'm fine." He turned to put his bowl away.

But the guard continued.

"You're Stately Writ, right? I see you in here every morning by yourself." He followed Stately Writ to the wash racks. "You're the assistant to the Princess. I guard the door when you give your reports."

Stately Writ poured the contents of his bowl into a small drain, and set the bowl on the rack next to it. He didn't want to seem rude, so he turned to the guard. "It's a pleasure to meet you..."

The guard put on a sly smile. "Damascus. Damascus Steel. But the ladies call me Daaaaam." He wriggled his eyebrows and stuck out his tongue.

Stately Writ couldn't help but snicker.

"There we go! There's a smile!" Damascus patted Stately's shoulder.

Stately Writ let out a sigh. He hadn't realized he had been frowning.

He had no idea what to say.

"Come on, sit down for a little bit. It looks like you've got something to get off your chest. I may not be a therapist, but I can tell when somepony needs someone to talk to."

Damascus led him to a seat at another table, far from the rest of the guards. Stately just followed. He knew he wasn't getting out of this one. He didn't want to lie and say he was busy.

He also didn't want to fabricate some fake story about what was bothering him. He just didn't want to talk.

Maybe if he just said nothing...

"So what's bothering you, dude?"

Dangit...

What could he say? "It's... the new job and everything. Moving to the crystal empire, being away from my friends. I'm just... not used to it."

Damascus sat and listened, neither smiling nor frowning. Just listening. He didn't respond, clearly waiting for a bit more.

Stately sighed. "I miss them. I'm... worried about them."

It was silent for a moment before Damascus spoke up. "You wanna know something?" He smiled. "I recently had a daughter. A little filly. And sometimes it is so hard to come to work in the morning. Sometimes she's asleep, but sometimes she's crying and I have to let my wife take care of it while I head off and leave them at home. It's... just... sometimes life is like that. We can't always be with everyone when we want to be with them, but we still have to truck on ahead and do what needs done, right? I imagine that's why you're out here isn't it? Because you needed to come out here."

Stately nodded. "Yeah..."

Damascus thought for a moment. "Have you tried making new friends here?"

"Not... really... No."

"Well, you've got one now." He stuck out his hoof. "Hi. I'm Damascus."

The gesture drew a faint smile from Stately. Somewhat begrudgingly, he reached out and shook Damascus' hoof. "Stately Writ."

Damascus returned the smile with a bright and honest one. "Pleasure to meet you, State. Can I call you State? That okay?"

State chuckled. "Heh... Sure why not?"

"Schweet!" Suddenly, Damascus stood from the table. "Now let's go get us some mornin' grub!"

Rolling his eyes, State followed suit. Maybe having just one friend would be good for him.

White Lie's throat was dry. He lay on the stone floor, exhausted.

He had called out for help multiple times, but it seemed nopony heard.

Lifting his head, he looked up, through the bars, at the unconscious Damascus in the hall.

"Please... don't let anypony else die because of me..."

Hoofsteps echoed in the distance. White seized the opportunity.

"Help! Somepony!"

The hoofsteps grew quicker and louder, becoming clear as they approached.

Turning the corner was Shining Armor, giving a panicked glance at Damascus before rushing in to the cell room. Cadence arrived behind him, immediately tending to Damascus.

"What happened?" Shining demanded.

"Help him, now!" White shouted.

"Shining, I'm not getting a pulse," Cadence called out.

Shining hesitated, taking one last unsure look at White Lie before turning around and joining his wife.

White Lie tilted his head to get a better view.

"Come on, buddy. Please wake up..."

Death

"...beat... beat... beat... inhale... beat... beat... beat..."

"...pulse..."

"...beat... beat... beat... exhale... beat... beat... beat... beat... beat... inhale... beat... beat... beat..."

"...pulse..."

White Lie watched helplessly as Cadence and Shining Armor took ahold of Damascus in their magic; cyan glowed through his fur and magenta surrounded his skull. His chest expanded and contracted under Cadence's magic, and Shining Armor would fire pulses of magic into his horn between breaths.

"...beat... beat... beat... exhale... beat... be-"

A cough shot from Damascus' lips, his entire body convulsing inward with the force. Cadence and Shining turned off their magic immediately and pulled away, letting Damascus' body relax. Slowly, he stopped shaking and began to breath gently.

Cadence gently placed a hoof on his neck, feeling his pulse. "He's stable now."

Shining nodded. "The medics can check the rest of his vitals."

"I'll get them." Cadence turned to leave, stopping to glance at White before trotting away.

Shining Armor sat next to Damascus, keeping a hoof on him, feeling his pulse and breathing, looking him over for any other signs of damage.

White Lie lay on the floor with his eyes closed, breathing heavily.

"Thank the gods he's alright..."

Ever since the Canterlot invasion, White Lie didn't want see any more ponies die. Now, because of him, not only was Damascus almost killed, but all of the ponies here were also in great danger.

Opening his eyes, he turned to look at the still breathing Damascus. He found himself facing Shining Armor who sternly returned his gaze.

Shining spoke. "You know what happened, don't you."

White looked down at Damascus. His nose was bleeding, his expression, though gentle, was one of pain.

Shining coughed before continuing. "If you want him to get better, you need to tell us what happened so that we know what to check."

"But if I tell you everything that happened, you won't trust me anymore... and far more ponies than him will suffer because of it..." White thought.

"White Lie."

White looked up at the captain.

"I spoke with Cadence about the things you said." He let a small smirk escape before becoming serious again. "She's the princess of love for a reason. She said we should give you a chance. That we should help you."

A chance? What does that mean?

"However, I do have my own conditions about this. My first condition is that you answer truthfully every question that I ask you. And if I ask for more information, you give it. Understood?"

White nodded.

"Good. My second condition is that you are not allowed anywhere but where we say you can go, and you will be escorted at all times by guards."

"Wait, you mean you're letting me out?"

"Of this cell yes, but not out of the castle. You will stay here until we can determine what to do with you. You will be disguised of course. The only other ponies who know you are a changeling are guards and we would like to keep it that way."

Another nod.

"So, do you want our help?"

"Of course."

"Then you're going to tell me what happened in here."

White Lie hesitated, but ultimately knew that it was best that they knew what they were dealing with. "Chrysalis."

Shining Armor's eyes went wide. "Chrysalis was here?"

"Yes. She-... she was imitating Cadence again, trying to get information out of me."

The captain's expression suddenly became very serious. "What did she want?"

"She wanted to know where other changelings were. That was all she got to ask before-..." White stopped.

"Before...?" Shining prompted.

White swallowed. "She was going to kill me for refusing to answer. Damascus arrived just in time." His eyes fell once again to Damascus, still breathing, still bleeding.

Shining continued. "What was she doing here? Why you?"

White shook his head. "I don't know. No one expected her to be in the field herself so soon. She usually sends other changelings in first to gather the information."

"What does that mean?"

White Lie took a deep breath. "It means either she's much angrier than we thought she was, or it means that she is far more prepared to act than we thought she was. Both of those are bad things."

"I need to you tell me now, White Lie." Shining's tone was stoic. "What is Chrysalis planning."

"Death." White sat up in his chains. "She's planning death."

"Then she's already started."

"What do you mean?"

Shining armor looked up the hallway to the entrance and swallowed. "The two guards that were posted outside... their helmets were-..." Shining shook his head. "Anyway, we sent Damascus to escort you to us. No doubt he saw them on his way in."

White Lie was shaking now. "No... Not again..."

"It seems that Chrysalis got away. But now, knowing what we're up against, we don't have much time to waste. As soon as Cadence returns with the medics, you're going to come with us and we're going to talk about what we need to do."

White Lie was staring at the ground, his breathing heavy. If Chrysalis was already killing, then that meant that she probably had other changelings killing elsewhere right now. Although it looked like they were only after him and his friends, that wouldn't last very long.

"Poker... Quick... Please be okay."

"Poker? Quick? What are you talking about?"

White realized he had thought loud. "Oh crap."

"White Lie? What are you talking about?"

Just as White Lie was about to speak, hoofsteps echoed down the hall bringing Cadence and a few other medical ponies along with them.

"Here he his. Please take him immediately for inspection."

"Yes ma'am," they responded, rushing to set a stretcher where Shining had been sitting a moment before.

As they were lifting Damascus onto it, Shining Armor had walked up to the cell door and was in the process of unlocking it. After doing so, he entered and swiftly unlocked the chains around White's legs with his magic. "You're coming with me. Let's go."

White stood and caught a glance of Damascus before he disappeared around the corner with the medical ponies.

His thoughts were interrupted by the captain. "Come on. Put on your disguise. We don't have much time."

"Right." White shook his head and followed Shining Armor out of the cell.

Blood Stains

"Do you have the castle map from last week in your office?" Shining asked as the dungeon entrance approached.

"I do, sir," White Lie, now disguised as Stately Writ, responded.

"Good, we're going to need it."

Up ahead, sounds of medical trollies and workers could be heard busily moving around. Shining stepped through the door without so much as turning his head.

As Stately Writ passed through, turning to see what the commotion was, his vision was filled with a deep red.

Gasping, he turned the other way. On this side, shards of crystal lay scattered across the floor. Based on their positions, it didn't take long to identify the source: a crushed helmet on the floor next to-...

Bile burned in his throat as he realized what it was... who it was.

Images of hundreds of ponies flashed in his mind, all of them behind bars, all of them afraid. Parents protecting crying foals as green blasts lit the cell walls. The sounds of hissing, yelling, screaming, and death rang in his ears. No love was felt that day. Only anger, and fear.

So much fear.

"Oh maker..."

"State!"

White Lie jolted. Shining Armor was holding him up by the shoulders "State, come on. We don't have much time."

Shaking his head, Stately Writ turned and followed Shining Armor down the hall toward the assistant's office.

"Cloak... Cloak, come in."

"Prince White Lie! You're okay?"

"Cloak, this just escalated to a Code Silver."

"What? But how? Chrysalis hasn't had enough time to-"

"Listen to me, Cloak. Chrysalis was here, and she most certainly has agents elsewhere. Warn the others and make sure all available eyes are on them. Copy?"

"C-Copy! Uh... what about you?"

"I'll be fine. Just make sure that Poker and Quick are protected. Please."

"Yes sir. And I'll be listening."

"Thank you."

White Lie shuddered as the bile was pushed back down, his legs nearly giving out again as he did so.

This wasn't going as planned.

As Shining Armor led Stately Writ through the castle, they found Cadence leaving one of the archive rooms.

"It's not there," she said.

"Don't worry," Shining responded. "State has it in his office."

Cadence glanced back at Stately Writ and nodded before joining Shining. It wasn't long before they had arrived at the office. Shining Armor opened the lock before being followed into the room.

Stately Writ went straight for one of the drawers in his desk and pulled out the map, handing it to the princess and the captain. They didn't wait, simply opening the map on the floor of the office and seeking out the weak and strong areas of the castle. Stately walked around and sat between them beside the map to listen and possibly help.

But he couldn't hear anything but screams, and couldn't see anything but blood and the light of deadly magic.

Those ponies, so many of them, waiting to return home – hoping to be released – but instead...

Instead they would never see home again.

"State?"

Shaking his head, Stately looked up to see worried looks from both leaders. "Huh?"

Cadence tilted her head in concern. "Are you okay?"

"Yes. Of course. Why?"

Cadence pointed at Stately. "You were crying."

"I-..." Looking down, he managed to see wet spots on the floor before his vision went blurry as moisture followed gravity up to his pupils. "I-I'm sorry."

There was a short moment of silence before he heard Shining Armor walk over to his side.

Wrapping a hoof around his shoulders, Shining pulled him close."It's okay."

Stately collapsed into Shining's embrace, all strength having left his body. Nothing was okay. Ponies were dead because of him, and only more would follow. He had led his team into a trap, and now all of them were in danger. "No it's not," he managed to hiss through the sobs.

Shining didn't respond. He simply held Stately as he shuddered and wept. Cadence soon joined, both of the leaders of the Crystal Empire comforting a disguised changeling.

"Ah! He's in here," Shining Armor said, pulling his head out of another door. "Though it looks like he's still unconscious."

Shining held the door open for Stately Writ. As he entered, he noticed that the room had been designed as if it were a miniature hospital. There was a check up table on one wall, a few chairs beside it, and a counter with a sink and various medical supplies. On the final wall was a cyan bed, and a few monitors beeping intermittently. In the bed, was Damascus.

His eyes were closed, his breathing was gentle, and his mane was a greasy mess. If it weren't for the monitors and the smell of sanitation, one would guess that he was simply sleeping off an exhausting day.

"He's going to be fine. Don't worry." A mare in a white coat stood at the door giving the kind of smile a mother would give her foal while she whispers 'Everything's going to be okay.'.

Shining nodded. "Angel."

"Captain," she nodded in return. "State."

Stately Writ couldn't remove his eyes from the monitors, scanning everything, looking for anomalies, worrying that something was secretly wrong. It was a feeling that simply wouldn't go away.

A hoof on his shoulder pulled his attention away.

"State, he's going to be fine."

Angel Touch was the castle nurse. Stately Writ had spoken to her a few times, mostly on official business, but Damascus tried pushing them together, especially when he was drunk. While it was clear that Angel was open to the idea, Stately Writ wasn't so keen. Not that she wasn't likable or attractive, because she definitely was, but as White Lie, he had a commitment to someling else. That, and he didn't want anyone else to suffer because of what he had to do.

Now, however, he had already revealed who he was to a few ponies. Thankfully, judging by how she looked at him, she still didn't know, and Stately Writ was determined to keep it that way.

"He was out for quite a while," Stately wondered allowed, "That wouldn't do anything?"

Angel's expression became a touch more stoic, but maintained its gentleness. "Well, there are many possibilities, but he is breathing, and all of his vitals look good."

"Give me the worst case scenario."

Angel tilted her head, clearly hesitant to answer. "There's not really reason to suspect that-"

"What is the worst case scenario?"

Taking a deep breath, Angel responded, "The worst case is that he stays in a coma. But given that all signs point to him waking up soon, worst case is that he has amnesia or other memory loss caused by the long term oxygen deprivation."

Stately Writ turned to scan the monitoring equipment again.

"But, uh, I don't think that's likely to happen," she quickly inserted.

Turning back, Stately gave his own gentle smile to Angel. "Thank you."

She smiled back. "My pleasure."

A cough came from behind them both. They turned to see Shining Armor nod to Angel for privacy.

"Oh. Of course." She quickly nodded and started her way out of the room. "If you need anything, I'm just around the corner."

When she was gone, Shining went to stand beside Stately.

"So what's your plan now?" Shining asked.

Stately shrugged. "For now, I just want to get my bearings. I completely understand that you don't want me as your assistant now that you know who I am."

"No," Shining stated, "that would raise suspicion as to why you're still here. We both thought it would be best to keep your identity a secret for now. So until you leave, your stuck as our assistant."

Stately smiled at that.

"Plus, you did a pretty good job while you were-... well, before we knew you were a changeling. We'll just say that you're carrying classified information so the guards don't question why they have to follow you everywhere-"

Suddenly, Damascus shifted in the bed, his eyes blinking as they adjusted to the light. Shining Armor and Stately Writ instinctively held their breath, inching closer to the bed. Damascus squinted, glancing around the room until he found the two ponies standing nearby. His eyes locked on to one of them.

Then Stately felt a hoof slam into his jaw, knocking him to the ground.

Shining placed a hoof on Damascus' chest as Stately rolled on the floor, groaning.

Shining Armor chuckled. "Well, at least we know his memory is working."

Author's Note

Sorry about the long wait. Life is quite unfair to me now days, but don't worry, I'll show life what for! ;P

Thanks for being patient everyone. I've got some fun plans for this story, and I'm planning on getting them out pretty quickly.

Until next chapter!
-PiercingSight

Double Agent

"I trusted you!" Damascus yelled.

"Damascus!" Shining Armor held him from jumping off the bed to attack Stately Writ.

"I'm sorry," State said, blood dripping from his muzzle.

"Well, sorry doesn't resurrect ponies, State!"

"Damascus! Sparrows!" Shining Armor gave Damascus a serious look, which he understood, and begrudgingly held his mouth shut.

But Damascus had already said all he'd needed to. State knew that because of him, ponies had died. Ponies that both he and Damascus had known.

The door opened and a flustered Angel quickly trotted in. "What's all the yelling? Why-" She stopped when she saw Stately Writ crouched over a tiny puddle of blood. "State!"

She swiftly moved to assist him, but he held a hoof up to stop her. "I'm okay. I deserved that. Go help Damascus."

"What do you mean?" She tried once more to move in and help, but was again stopped.

"Just go help Damascus."

She seemed to have understood, because she stood up and went over to Damascus' bed. "So uh... now that you're awake, is there any pain anywhere except your head?"

Stately looked up to see Damascus' glaring at him, apparently not hearing her question.

"Damascus, you need to answer her," Shining Armor commanded.

"I'm thirsty... and my back left leg aches," he said without taking his eyes off of Stately Writ.

"Okay, uh... well, I'll get you some water. And we'll take a look at your leg when I get back, okay?" She was clearly unsure what to make of the situation, but seemed to sense the seriousness of it and decided to leave.

Once the door was closed, Shining Armor turned back to Damascus. "State's identity does not leave this room. Do you understand?"

"You trust him?! He's a changeling! He's the reason Jasper and Rusty were killed, and I almost went with them!"

"Sparrows, Damascus!"

"I don't care if anypony else hears! He's dangerous!"

"Damascus!"

"I should have let her kill him."

"DAMASCUS!!"

Stately Writ walked out and closed the door behind him. Blood drips left a trail as he hobbled away from the door. Seeing Angel up the hall talking with an assistant medic, he decided to go the opposite direction. It didn't matter where he went really, so long as it wasn't there. Unfortunately, his vision blurred up again, making it difficult to avoid the walls.

He bumped into one and stepped on something slippery, causing him to fall onto his side with a cough. Thinking about it, he probably slipped on his own blood. Thankfully it was far enough away from the medical room that he felt comfortable just laying there.

His worst fears had been realized.

Ponies were dead.

Ponies were in danger.

He'd lost all trust, and now...

...now he was hated by one of the ponies he cared about the most.

Bleeding to death in the hallway was at least better than being tortured to death by Chrysalis.

Gentle beeping woke White Lie from his sleep. He tried to open his eyes, but the light of the room overwhelmed them, so he closed them again, submitting to baser senses. Touch told him he was on a bed. A strange pressure pushed in on the side of his face. The smell of sterilization and iron reminded him of why he was unconscious.

"Ungh..."

"It-... It's okay. Just don't move." Angel's voice was unmistakable. However, there was something wrong with it. It was laced with... uncertainty? Fear? Some complicated emotion between those two.

"Is he awake?" Shining Armor asked from a short distance behind Angel.

"It appears-..." White Lie's eyes shot open. This was his changeling voice.

Looking down he found that in his unconsciousness, his disguise had deactivated, revealing his chitin armor and changeling form.

He turned toward Angel and Shining Armor to see her pulling away while Shining stepped forward.

"You are lucky Angel found your blood trail and followed it. A little longer and you'd have been gone," Shining stated simply, his professionalism framing everything as dry facts, something he did when he was working hard to hide his emotions. "However, we don't know how to treat wounds in changelings, so if you can change back, it would be much easier to help you."

White Lie was in too much shock to do anything but comply. "Yes sir."

A green wave of flame and he was once again Stately Writ.

As soon as he transformed, a strong wave of complicated emotions flooded the room. It wasn't difficult to find the source.

"Alright, Angel, you may work now," Shining said, just as dry as before. Turning to Angel, he found her frozen in place, her entire body shaking, with tears streaming down her face. "Angel?"

No response.

"Angel, I need your help right now. Can you do this?"

Closing her eyes, she nodded her head.

"Thank you. Please work quickly, we need to speak with State when you're done." And with that, he removed himself to the opposite end of the room and stood next to another bed in which Damascus lay, looking on.

Angel approached hesitantly. State lay still, not wanting to risk breaking her currently delicate courage. She reach towards his cheek and pulled up a bandage that had been taped over a large gash.

State inhaled as the pain shoot through his jaw, causing Angel to pause and take a quick look into his eyes. He realized that she had been avoiding eye contact until then.

She slowly continued to inspect the wound. "The suture on the artery needs redone, but other than that it appears fine."

Angel reached over and pulled out a small scalpel, and proceeded to operate.

As she went through the procedure, talking herself through each step, every once in a while commanding Stately to hold still or turn his head, which he did. The emotion that had before flowed from her entire being was nowhere to be felt. Only the cold calculation of a doctor performing a delicate surgery.

White Lie had always been amazed by the ability of ponies to turn off their emotions in a moment of need, and now as Stately Writ, he had seen both Shining Armor and Angel Touch demonstrate that ability to an extreme degree, a testament to both their skill and professionalism.

After some time, Angel pulled out fresh gauze, re-covering the now shut wound. "You can talk now, though be very careful because you don't want to disturb anything too much before it has time to grow back together."

"I'm sorry," State said gently.

And that broke it. Her mask of steel shattered and the emotions returned.

She turned to leave quickly.

"Thank you, Angel. Go rest up now," Shining said with clear compassion in his tone.

Angel paused at the door before turning around and speaking to State. "And it needs to heal s-so... so don't be a... don't become... don't transform." And with that, she swiftly shut the door behind her and left.

Angel deserved so much more than just an apology, and State feared he would never have the chance to correct that.

"State." Shining snapped Stately's eye from the door back to the captain. "Something concerns me about Chrysalis being with you in the dungeon."

Shaking his head, he responded. "I'll tell you everything I know."

Nodding, Shining continued, "How did Chrysalis know to find you in the dungeons?"

"I don't know."

"You have no idea how she found out? None at all?"

"Well, I have some ideas, but I couldn't detect that she was using any of them."

"Detect?"

Stately Writ paused. Up to this point, he had not intentionally revealed anything regarding the working of changelings or changeling strategy. Every piece of information he gave to Shining Armor now would be used against his own kind.

What... what if Shining Armor had only faked trusting him so that he could gain this information? What if the goal of Shining Armor and Cadence had been to, ultimately, destroy them?

But... deception like that... that's only a changeling thing... right?

"State."

Stately Writ snapped out of his thoughts to see that Damascus had sat up in his bed and was looking at him intensely.

Damascus took a deep breath, then shook his head. "I don't know if I know you, anymore. I really hope that you've always just been... you. It's real hard to pull off that shy, depressive shtick that you've been pulling without actually being that way. But I could be wrong."

"Damascus-..."

"Shut up."

State promptly shut up.

"Now, you know me, and you know that I'm telling the truth when I say that if you are who you say you are... if you help us... I will help you. And I also know that you know you can trust us.

"But, if you betray us, I will kill you."

State didn't feel like arguing the point. Not much to argue, really. He had learned long ago that Damascus was usually right, and that he definitely wasn't prone to lying.

So he simply nodded his head. "Understood."

"Good. Now what do you know about how Chrysalis found you?"

Stately Writ lifted himself from his side and sat up on the bed. "Well, I can only think of three ways she could have found out. The first is that she has a changeling spy somewhere in the castle, but I haven't detected any other changelings in the two weeks I've been here."

Shining Armor, who had been standing silently to the side, stepped forward. "Can you explain detection?"

"Of course-... sir. Changelings can sense the emotions of the ponies around them. Ponies leak emotion constantly. Changelings cannot. They just don't have the ability to. And while I've been here, I've detected emotion from everypony in the building."

"And the other options?"

"The second thought I had was that Chrysalis herself was a spy here, but she rarely enters the field herself, and she isn't the best at keeping her emotions in check, so she tends to give herself away easily."

"That explains how Twilight figured her out before," Shining noted.

"So you can't detect her?" Damascus asked.

"Not exactly. Uh... the queen of a hive is constantly leaking emotions just as a regular pony would. Her disguise can potentially deceive even changelings, but knowing her, she can't control herself long enough to prevent being caught. But leaking emotion is how she feeds her hive when she is the only one capable of hunting love. That's why she wanted your love," State hesitantly nodded toward Shining. "Your love for Cadence kept our hive alive for about two weeks."

Shining shifted in place. State could feel a mix of anger and discomfort spilling from him, but Shining shook his head, and the leak was stopped.

Damascus noticed Shining's discomfort. "And the third option?"

Stately Writ looked at Shining Armor and hesitated before speaking. "The third option is hypnotism."

Anger and fear suddenly flooded the room.

Damascus appeared unaware of the change. "Hypnotism?"

Shining Armor had sat down and was now shaking.

State leaned forward. "Sir, are you okay?"

Damascus turned to see Shining Armor put a trembling hoof to his forehead. "Captain?"

Shining held up a hoof. "N-no..."

"I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to-"

"It's... I'm just... I'm just..."

Damascus carefully slid out of his bed and went to stand in front of Shining Armor, careful not to touch him. "Captain, breathe. Deep breaths. You're here in the medical wing with me and State. It's okay. Just take slow, deep breaths."

Shining looked up and scanned the room, breathing slowly and carefully as his shaking began to subside.

Once the shaking stopped, he lifted his hoof and placed it on Damascus' shoulder. "Thank you, Damascus."

"Of course, sir."

"Damascus, could you go find Angel? I think she may need your help. I need to speak with State privately for a bit."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Go help Angel. I'll call for you after."

Damascus looked Shining over, making sure he was stable, then stood to leave the room. "Yes, sir. If you need me, just call." As he was closing the door he glanced at State, just as Angel had.

It was a look that State didn't want to get used to.

The door shut, and once again, it was just Stately Writ and Shining Armor.

"State, I have to apologize. I haven't been entirely honest with you."

Stately Writ returned his gaze to the captain.

"When you transformed in front of us in the throne room, I was the one who blasted you unconscious. Cadence stopped me from doing anything worse."

State didn't know how to respond, so he didn't, waiting while Shining Armor collected his thoughts.

"I-... When Chrysalis attacked at the wedding, I didn't take it as well as Cadence did. While she was trapped in a dungeon, I was hypnotized into believing that Chrysalis was my wife. I did things that I never would have done had I known-"

"That's not your fault."

Shining Armor looked up at State surprised. "What?"

"There's nothing you could have done, and no way you could have known. Chrysalis' hypnotism isn't like normal hypnotism. It's much stronger. It's designed to create a powerful mental blindspot around the pony that she has replaced. There's no way for the victim to detect it, in fact, the victim tends to deny any possibility that something is wrong.

"What Chrysalis did to you is not your fault. There's nothing you could have done."

"But," Shining stammered, "it feels like there was. Like I wanted to do those things."

"It always does." Stately Writ slid off his bed and stood in front of the Captain. "And Captain?"

Shining Armor looked up again to see State smirking.

"I would have blasted me too."

And with a chuckle, the tension in the room released.

Shining armor stood up. "Well, we should get going. Cadence is expecting us soon." As he opened the door, he paused. "Oh, State?"

"Yes, sir?"

The captain smirked, "I trust you."

Author's Note

I had written most of this chapter before The Times They Are a Changeling aired. I found it interesting how close the reactions were, from Shining in particular.

It'll be fun to continue this in the wake of a new changeling episode.

Angel

It was the anniversary of the wedding of Cadence and Shining Armor. A band was playing an upbeat tune, ponies were chattering away at tables and the bar, and Stately Writ and Damascus Steel had just walked into the party.

"Dude, seriously, we gotta get you a mare," Damascus said matter-of-factly.

"Damascus..."

"We can't let you wither away out here. Every stallion needs a mare."

"Damascus, I've sort of already got someone back home."

"You're married?" Damascus raised an eyebrow.

"No, but-"

"Engaged?"

"Well... no, but-"

"Have you even dated her...? er... or him... not judging or anything," Damascus waved a hoof wide-eyed.

"Her... and no."

"Okay then, what's the problem with checkin' out the local fish?"

But I'm a bird, thought State. "Ehhh..."

"I'll be your wing-colt, come on!" Damascus put a hoof on his shoulder and started leading him into the crowd.

Back before they left the hive, there was what was called pony culture training. Things like newspapers, story books, school books, and random pony items would be snuck into the hive to teach the soldiers what life as a pony was like so that they could more easily blend in. The training covered everything from Equestrian politics to popular music and dances. There was even a slang and vocabulary class. However, so far as State could remember, the term 'wing-pony', at least referring to a social setting, never came up. State tried his best not to look confused by the term.

Damascus noticed. "Dude, it's simple. You say hi, then I brag about how awesome you are, say I have to leave, and then sneak off so you two are alone. Just don't clam up. Actually talk to the chick and it should work out."

State blinked.

"Dude! What did I just say about clamming up?"

State threw a hoof into the air. "I can't do it! I don't know how to talk to mares!" You can infiltrate the highest rings of pony society, but you can't talk to mares. Brilliant.

"Did you really have a mare back home, or did you just make that up?"

"Yes, I really did."

Damascus raised an eyebrow. "Really? Have you even spoken to her?"

"Damascus, I just can't do this. Please don't make me."

Damascus squinted at State as if he was concocting some devious plan. "I think I know just the mare," he said before suddenly scanning the room.

State sighed, trotted over to a table, and sat down, resting his head on a hoof as Damascus disappeared into the crowd. A few moments later, Damascus returned accompanied by a mare that State faintly recognized. She had her mane done up and was wearing a lovely red dress that complimented her white fur, indigo mane, and teal eyes.

State realized he was staring and shook his head.

"State, this is Angel." Damascus said, holding a hoof up to present her. "Angel, State."

Angel turned to Damascus with a deadpan look. "This isn't another one of your crazy plans to get me laid is it?"

"No, of course not." Damascus shook his head before pointing to State. "This is a crazy plan to get him laid."

"Damascus-..." State and Angel chided in unison.

Damascus smiled victoriously. "See, you two are perfect for each other! Now, I've gotta go use the little colts room. You two have fun now!" He waved a hoof over his shoulder as he trotted away.

"Dude!" But it was too late. Damascus was already lost in the crowd, probably looking for a good vantage point to spy on them. State shook his head.

"Quite the friend you got there."

State looked up to see that Angel had sat at the table and was shaking her head as well.

"He means well," State replied. "Though, sometimes I wonder if he enjoys watching other ponies squirm."

Angel chuckled. "Yeah. He likes to do that."

There was a small moment of silence, just long enough to throw State's mind into a panic trying to remember what he had learned in his training. "Uh... you look nice tonight," he managed to stammer out before the silence lasted too long.

She smiled. It made her pretty. "Why, thank you! You don't look too bad yourself."

State looked down and remembered that he wasn't wearing anything because he wasn't planning to come to the party at all. "Heheheh. Thanks."

"So, you're the assistant to the Princess, right?" She asked. State was grateful that she had. He hated asking the questions.

"Yes ma'am. And you...?"

"I thought I remembered you. I work in the medical wing as a nurse. I've seen you come by every once in a while."

"Oh?" State thought back to the ponies he saw there and he remembered a nurse in white coat with her hair done in a bun. "Oh yeah! I remember now. You don't usually have your mane down."

"Yeah..." She waved a hoof in the air. "I'd rather my mane not run through blood and vomit." She smirked. It made her look cute-...

Dangit...

"Well, it looks really nice when you let it down."

"Thank you. I'll remember that if I'm ever I'm out and about again."

"Work a lot?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "You've never known a nurse have you?"

"I don't get out much either."

Angel chuckled, her hair bouncing along with it.

These ponies are going to be the death of me...

Mustering his courage, State took a deep breath and, "So what made you want to become a nurse?"

Stately Writ looked down the hall to an open room where he could hear the voices of Damascus and Angel. It sounded like she had been crying, both of them talking in hushed tones.

"You'll get a chance to talk to them." Shining Armor placed a hoof on State's shoulder. "Promise."

State only sighed.

"Come on, let's go."

Nodding, he followed closely behind the captain as they left the medical wing.

Kindness and Calculation

"Shining, could you leave the room please? I'd like to speak to State in private," Cadence asked as tenderly as always.

Stately Writ didn't need his changeling sense to know that, however loving her tone, such a request made the Captain very uncomfortable. Shining visibly hesitated to respond.

"Yes, ma'am," he finally managed before trotting out of the throne room and closing the door.

The moment he was gone, Cadence's expression became very grave. "I told him not to hurt you. I thought he was above that."

State tilted his head in confusion, "Your highness?"

"I strictly forbade my husband from laying a hoof on you, and you come back with a gash on your snout," she seemed to get angrier as she declared her evidence.

"Oh! This?" State pointed to his cheek. "That was Damascus. He... uh... he wasn't very happy with me. I guess I deserved it."

The princess' expression softened immediately. "Oh. Well, that's understandable. Friends aren't too keen on being betrayed by friends," she said with a chuckle, as if remembering some past lesson learned.

State was still somewhat confused. The princess was much more relaxed and positive than he thought she'd be.

"If you don't mind me asking, your highness, why did you order the Captain not to harm me? For all you know, I could be an extremely dangerous spy."

"A few things," she said as she began to pace across the floor. "One, I'm usually good at knowing when someone is being sincere, or genuine. I felt you were. However, I also had a decent amount of evidence that proved you were innocent."

State was going to have to learn to not make his confused face as often. He felt he was wearing it too much. "Evidence?"

"When you entered for the briefing, you gave the proper report exactly the way we asked of you before. You were, in all ways, just the same as you had been over the weeks before with us. If you were an assassin, you'd have killed us already, but instead, you decided to reveal yourself and put yourself at our mercy. Such a changeling would either have to be really stupid, or really sincere."

"Or both."

"Or both," she nodded with a sly smile. "But in the end, I trusted you from the moment we took you to the dungeon. You're still the State I know, even though I now know you're also a changeling."

"So... all of this...?"

"...was for my husband. He needed to come to trust you on his own terms. And I trusted him to come to that conclusion without making too big a mistake."

"Like torturing me?"

She pursed her lips. "While he says it is sometimes necessary, I disagree for the most part. It never hurts to remind him of that." She smiled.

State nodded. So it seemed his plan had worked just as he had hoped, with the exception of making and then hurting new friends. That was something that he would need to take care of. As much as he knew he wasn't going to stay in the Crystal Empire long, he never liked leaving ponies hurt. Even when he was in Canterlot-...

State decided to distract himself before he got too far down that train of thought. "So, was there anything you wanted to talk about?"

Cadence looked pensively into the distance. "Yes, there's something about this whole thing that has me a bit concerned."

"And what is that?"

"How did Chrysalis know where to find you?"

State thought over what he had told the Captain. "Well, I have three theories, but I'm not sure which of them, if any, is correct."

"And they are?"

"Either a changeling spy, which I doubt seeing as I haven't detected any changelings beside myself in the castle, or Chrysalis herself was spying here, but I also doubt that because she doesn't do field work."

Cadence had stopped pacing and was now fixed on Stately Writ. "And the last?"

"The last is hypnotism. Basically, a pony who has been hypnotized by Chrysalis is being used as a spy to gather information. It would guarantee that I wouldn't be able to detect them unless they gave me direct access to their mind. They wouldn't even know they were doing it."

The princess stared unblinking. State could see the cogs turning in her head.

After a few moments of silence, Cadence spoke. "There is something I would like to make you privy to. There were only four ponies who knew about your whereabouts: Myself, Shining Armor, and the two guards that were standing guard outside the door. They helped transport you there. One of those guards was recently killed by Chrysalis."

It didn't take long for State to realize where this was going.

The princess continued. "So either Chrysalis killed her own spy, or-..."

"Damascus..."

It seemed that the amount of danger that State would put his friends in would never end. State prayed to whatever gods there might be that it wasn't Damascus. Regardless, ponies were now dead because of him and the rest were likely to be soon.

"State."

State looked up to see the princess had approached and had a hoof on his shoulder.

"I know that look. It's the look my husband gets when he dwells too long on past battles. Inevitably he is always weighing the same question: 'Was the victory worth the sacrifice?' While he always concludes the answer to be yes, he never stops asking. So I want to ask you." She looked him in the eyes, seemingly seeking an answer for herself. "Will this victory be worth the sacrifice?"

State thought back to his time at the hive, to the merciless slaughter he had seen. He thought back to the plan Chrysalis had presented to them after the wedding, and the blood thirst in her eyes not a few hours ago. He remembered talking with the others, realizing that they were rebelling against the most dangerous creature in Equestria. They knew that it was likely many of them would not survive, but they knew that if they didn't pull this off, many more innocent changelings and ponies would die.

It was the only shot they had.

"Yes... If we pull it off."

"Then that's all I need to know." She pulled away. State could detect no emotions from her, as if she too had abandoned all feeling for military calculation. He had never seen her this serious before. "Now, tell me everything you know about hypnotism."

So that means...

"...It's a lot like normal hypnotism. It only works if the pony being hypnotized is trusting enough to be hypnotized. It would require that they not suspect anything. The way that Chrysalis accomplished this with the captain was by taking the place of the one pony he trusts without reservation, that being you."

Princess Cadence looked up from her contemplation, but only seemed to enter into a more intense state of contemplation, however this time she was staring directly at Stately Writ. "So how do we know if somepony has been replaced?"

"I can sense changelings who have replaced ponies, but with Chrysalis, I have to go with how they act. She's not very good at holding her temper, and so if I can flare it, then I'll know it's her. But..."

Cadence tilted her head. "But...?"

State looked away from the princess' intense stare. "She doesn't need to replace a pony in order to hypnotize them into giving away secrets. She only needs to take the form of somepony the target trusts for a small moment, long enough to talk to them alone, and that's when she would hypnotize them, only needing to ask one or two questions before ending the hypnosis and then leaving."

"So it could be any of us..." It wasn't a question.

"Yes," State nodded. "Though, as a changeling, I'm immune. Not to mention I was in the dungeon that she would have had to ask the location of at the time."

Fear and anxiety slowly built up in the room, and it wasn't only Cadence.

"So what can we do?" she finally asked.

State furrowed his brow. "I think the only thing we can do is check on everypony that the three of you trust. Did you or Shining talk to anypony else between me revealing myself and when Chrysalis arrived?"

The princess shook her head. "Shining wouldn't leave my side after that. I was actually outside the door of the dungeon when he spoke with you."

"And what about Damascus?" State asked, not hiding his anxiety.

A worried look overtook Cadence. "His wife came to walk him home, but he said he decided to stay-..."

"His family," State muttered.

Both of them ran for the doors.

"Cloak, are you there?"

"Yes, sir! What is it?"

"I need you to scout out Damascus' house, now!"

"Where is it? What are we looking for?"

"There should be a mare and a filly there. If they're missing or replaced, we need to find them!"

Shining Armor jumped as the doors slammed open. Cadence galloped up to him asking him where Damascus' family lived.

"Why? Are they in danger?" He tensed to run.

Cadence nodded vigorously. "We think Chrysalis may have replaced them to get information from him."

"Cloak, incoming address!"

After Shining gave the address he began to lead the way. "How do we know if they've been replaced?"

"I've already got my friends on it. Changelings can tell when a pony has been replaced." State nodded.

"Friends?" Shining asked skeptically.

"We communicate telepathically. So long as we are within a few miles of each other, we're connected."

Shining slowed to a trot. "Then what are we supposed to do?"

"I need to leave the castle," State said. It was a statement, not a question. State was already backing towards a window.

"What!? Like Tartarus you do!" the captain instantly had a bubble spell around Stately Writ.

"Captain, please! I can't let any more ponies die because of me! Not tonight!"

Cadence was beside Shining Armor at once. "Shining, trust him."

Shining Armor stared hard into Stately Writ, his eyes searching for a reason to keep State there. For a moment, State worried that he wasn't going to concede, until...

"You come back. We need you here."

State nodded, and was out the window as White Lie the changeling, flying into the night.

Please, don't let me be too late...

Author's Note

Short chapter, I know. Next will be much larger. Things are getting intense.

Stars

The cold night wind sent a shiver through the side of White Lie's jaw. That's when he remembered the gash from earlier.

"Dangit!"

Thinking quickly, he transformed back into Stately Writ, however, this time with wings. Thankfully, it seemed that the transformation hadn't undone the stitching, despite deforming it a bit.

Normally it was against changeling protocol to have both a horn and wings, for obvious reasons, but this was an emergency, and White Lie couldn't afford to risk bleeding out.

White Lie continued to speed toward Damascus' house.

But what was Chrysalis doing right now? Would she even be at Damascus' house? It was a bit odd that she appeared and disappeared so quickly. The entire castle had been put on lock-down following the incident, and considering there hadn't been any further problems, it seemed unlikely that Chrysalis was still inside. She wasn't good at restraining herself when angered. Had she fled?

Or did she plan for that?

Did she know I would go to protect Damascus' family?

If she hypnotized Damascus, it was entirely possible that she would know about their friendship, and that she would use it to-...

White Lie quickly flipped upside down and pulled up, diving hard toward one of the main city streets below.

"Cloak!"

"Your Highness! We're almost to the house."

"Change of plan, I won't be meeting you. You and the others take care of Damascus' wife and daughter. Make sure they're okay."

"Yes sir! What happened?"

"I'll explain later. Also-..."

As White Lie neared the street, he angled his approach, then kicked off of the ground with his hind hooves and pushed hard with his wings, launching him back toward the castle. He kept low to the ground, speeding toward the crystal heart at the end of the road.

"-the HMP will be me."

"What? No! Sir, you shouldn't-!"

"Just worry about yourself. I'll warn you of any threats at the house. Please trust me."

Silence.

"Good luck, sir!"

HMP or HiveMind Pulse. A changeling spell that allowed one to sense any and all nearby hivemind users by connecting to them for a short moment, and, if the caster so chooses, establish an indefinite link with any of them before it wears off. The more magic put into the spell, the greater the radius of its reach. However, due to its nature, it also severs all of the caster's existing hivemind connections prior to reaching out.

It is normally used to help establish temporary or even new hiveminds, such as in situations where a small stealth team wishes to be able to communicate with each other without potentially exposing the main hivemind. If one of them were to be caught, it is possible that a magic user could invade the mind of the captive agent and abuse the hivemind connection to gain information.

Another situation where it would be useful would be if a small group of changelings decided to break off and start their own hive.

However, there is one more, lesser known application of the spell, thought to be too risky to ever implement tactically, because a final effect of the spell is that it loudly broadcasts the location and immediate thoughts of the user to any hivemind user within range.

Clearing his mind, White Lie closed his eyes and cast.

In his mind's eye, a field of stars suddenly appeared in all directions. Some brighter than others. Each one broadcasting its thoughts into the world.

Scattered lights put off positive feelings about the cool breeze, the moisture in the air, and the minerals in the dirt.

A clump of thousands of tiny stars twinkled with thoughts of finding sugar and protecting the hill.

And six blindingly bright sources behind him put off thoughts, and even visuals, of a mare and her child.

But those thoughts were interrupted, and their attention suddenly drew to the new intruder into their minds.

White Lie kept his mind blank as he continued searching. Any thoughts or plans would be immediately revealed to every hivemind lifeform in the city.

Three more brilliant lights appeared in the distance. The warm, kind light from the crystal heart was too intense to even give attention to. But there was another inside the castle, moving swiftly down hallways and up stairs approaching the throne room. Its thoughts were murder. But it immediately recognized the mental intruder, and its attention slipped southward towards the final light.

Chrysalis was fleeing. Her thoughts focused on Canterlot and her revenge. Before White could process this, her mind flashed back in his direction, knocking him out of the spell.

White Lie blinked, restabilizing his flight path.

She can block that?

There was no time for those questions.

"Cloak! Three in the house, the mare and foal are alive. Keep them that way."

"Yes sir!"

And with that, White Lie pulled up, aiming for the path of the assassin on an upper floor of the castle.