Chapter One: The Library
Hello, the name is Word Weaver and this is my story. We’ll start at the beginning, at the Canterlott Royal Library circa two months after the wedding of Princess Mia Amore Cadenza to Captain of the Guard Shining Armor…
“Sweetheart, can I get some help over here?”
“Sure thing, Spookie, back right bookshelf again?”
“Yes.”
I guess calling it “my” story isn’t entirely accurate. Spookie is my coworker at the library archives… and more specifically, my wife of two years. She is the light of my life, and probably the only reason I’ve survived the past few months. Or senior year at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, but that is an altogether different tale. In short, this is OUR story.
I sighed a bit as I ambled over to help. The Archive room is not very large, though it is kept scrupulously clean. It only contains the main, public history and the “Major Events” books, plus the back door to the Princess’s private study. Not that we’re let in there, ever. In any case, neither one of us is one to lift an Ursa Minor unassisted, and this particular bookshelf seemed to be made of the vegetable equivalent of pure lead every time we tried to move it. After leaning down a hair to give her a quick peck, my blue on her blue-gray cheek, we both braced ourselves for the lift. We work well together, as long as nothing too distracting interrupts-
“I do hope I’m not interrupting anything TOO important,” came a very distinctly accented voice from the private door, quite the surprise at that time of night. The bookshelf fell six inches to the floor with a crash remarkably similar in volume to the Royal Canterlott Voice. Then again, we both hit the floor just behind it, surprise and effort taking all of the grace out of our bows as Luna, the Princess of Night, made her way into the main archive room. I truly shudder to think what might have happened if she hadn’t learned that the aforementioned Royal Canterlott Voice was no longer needed in normal conversation. “We have much to discuss.”
“We’re never too busy to make time for you as needed, Princess. To what do we owe the honor?” As if anypony would say no to one of the Princesses when they come in with that tone of voice…
“Weaver, you keep the primary archives updated. What has been happening for the past two months in Equestria?”
Not the question I was expecting, to say the least. Luna keeps watch over the night itself, her sister over the day. In fact, I should have been the one asking HER the question for the histories. “Your Majesty… I’m not sure what you are looking for, but almost nothing of note has happened within Equestria since the Royal Wedding and the expulsion of the Changelings. The Builders in Canterlott are swimming in bits from repair work, even at their highly discounted disaster rates. Shining Armor is back on the job with renewed vigor and a constant smile on his face. Applebuck Season had somewhat higher returns than normal, though the demand is up for Sweet Apple Acres apples after Miss Applejack’s catering, along with a minor rush at Carousel Boutique. Rumors of Changeling buildup are currently unconfirmed by Royal Guard sweeps along the borders, approaching the point of outright disproval, and the Dragon Migration is winding down as the adults settle into the Far North volcanic range. In short, Ponyville is getting a bit richer, no threats are materializing, and security is high. Is that what you needed, Ma’am?”
“Nearly so, archivist. What you just told me more or less confirmed my worries, and those of my sister.”
Sometimes I really do wonder if I should have stayed in the city general library. I just gave her the all-clear on the entire country and she gets MORE worried?
Spookie spoke up for the first time “Love, I think Princess Luna has a point. Now that she brings it up, why isn’t Queen Chrysalis building up her hive forces? They all have wings, so the survivors of the attack should have been able to concentrate by now.” The diarch smiled. My wife had done what she did so often, she saw straight to the heart of the point and started dissecting. “The Royal Guard and Wonderbolt patrols not finding anything doesn’t mean the Changelings aren’t out there. By definition, they can hide anywhere.”
Oh, no…
“That is exactly it” Luna said, confirming the sudden fears of my own. “The purpose of the invasion was about sustenance for them, and they should have been getting desperate by now. That no further attempts have been made is a very bad sign for us. Weaver, given that, what do you say about the chances of another invasion being imminent?”
Desperation, will, plus the means to apply the former? Not a good sign at all. “Um… One moment. Zero buildup when they should have been concentrating for a strike probably means that you are correct with the theory of infiltration. If they are getting that close to the end of their resources, in fact, their best move would have been to start a month ago, and go for a high-value target early. It would have to fit a few major criteria, though.”
“Continue”
“Right… it would have to be large enough that they could leech enough love for a population of at least several hundred and for them to be able to blend in without everypony noticing. However, it would have to be small enough to avoid the extremes of impersonal city living, though that only really happens in Neigh York and Las Pegasus. In addition, Ponyville and Canterlott would be invalid targets due to security here and the Element Bearers there. Queen Chrysalis couldn’t afford those losses if discovered. If I had to venture a guess, I’d say either Hoofington or Manehattan.”
“Exactly. Let me add one last clue to all of this.” She brought forward a small scroll I hadn’t noticed she was carrying. “We have received word from a source in Manehattan that there has been an unusual amount of ponies moving in, but nobody seems to know where they’re staying.”
“Not the biggest of clues, Princess”
“Perhaps from anyone else, but this came from Airborne Ranger. You of all ponies should know what that means.”
Ugh… I’ve written enough about that Pegasus to give my horn writer’s cramp. Former Royal Guard turned to Border Patrol turned to Wonderbolt for three seasons, now retired after doing more for Equestria than anyone had any right to ask. He’s brave enough to have earned his Medal of Galloping Gallantry the hard way, and not one to spook easily. If he’s saying something is up, it probably needs at least some investigating. “Manehattan it is, at least for a start.”
“Good, you two pack your saddlebags. You take the Express there tomorrow.”
“What?” both of us exclaimed.
The princess became deadly serious very quickly. “Word Weaver, Spookie, your unique skills make you ideal for finding Changelings where they hide. We cannot afford another mistake here, not while confidence is still recovering from the invasion. Suspicion of one another impedes harmony like nothing else can. If what We think is going on is true, it needs to be nipped in the bud immediately. Do not make Us repeat Ourselves.” She turned and walked out the way she came in. A moment later we heard the sound of rushing wings as she took off from the private balcony to wherever her duties led.
“Sweetheart, I’d better go to the room and start packing. The Friendship Express doesn’t leave until early afternoon, anyway, so we can sleep in.”
“I’ll join you in just a sec, love. Just let me reshelve these and lock up. We may be caught out there for a while, so I want this place set up to run without us if I can. I’ll leave a note for the assistants.” Spookie walked up the back steps while I set to my own work and my own thoughts.
It has been a while since I’ve heard Princess Luna shift to the royal plural outside of an official address, she must be very concerned to have backslid. What does she mean by unique talents, anyway? We’re librarians, for crying out loud. Quiet? Good with words? Organized? There are real limits to how far that can take us, especially if the Changelings are willing to kill to preserve their secrets. And why not send the Element Bearers? That is even more concerning…
It was a while before I got to sleep that night. Might have been never if I had been alone, but my nerves were no match for the comfort of snuggling in with Spookie. My thoughts eventually stopped themselves well after midnight, and we slept until well after Celestia came forth to watch over the day.
** ** ** ** **
Manehattan is not the largest city in Equestria by far, nor does it have the history and gravity of Canterlott, but in order to fit in to the city Spooki and I had to make at least a few concessions to higher style. I was used to wearing at least some clothing among the Unicorns, though in this case a simple cyan vest would be plenty. I also swapped out my large-lens working glasses for smaller, more stylish black ones. Add in a fresh cut to my normally-messy ink-black mane to finish the look, and I could fit in with the lesser elite anywhere. With the white highlights (my own, NOT added later) I might even look elegant. It was a good thing short tails were in season, since it is much easier, to say the least, to cut one short than to grow one out in a day.
My wife, of course, outdid me in the looks department any day of the week. I may be biased here, since my heart always beats just that bit faster around her, but I doubt it. While short tails may be in fashion, she likes to keep her own pink hair long (a move, I suspect, is aimed at me and nopony else) and kept it braided for practicality, with her bangs swept to the side to keep them out of her large, blue-green eyes. Like me, she also has white highlights, and always manages to somehow get them to show intricately through the braid. She didn’t bother with a vest or dress, but her dainty hooves were practically sparkling white from her one concession to the high style, a Mareovingan hooficure. She was wearing one bit of ornamentation, though I was as well. Both of us wore our simple golden wedding bands around the base of our horns, hidden under our hair.
Manehattan isn’t very far away from Canterlott, just a couple of days if you’re hoofing it. Aboard the Friendship Express, the trip would only take six hours. The station was much busier than usual, though given the season I probably should have expected it. The Friendship Express was not a singular line. Instead, several radiated out from Canterlott to form a train network with several other larger towns. Steam filled the air as trains came and went, their conductors and crew stocking up to make sure their trips went smoothly.
Spookie and I boarded at the call and made our way to a private cabin, one of the main perks of being on a royal mission. It would let us chat freely, for one. It would also, just incidentally, be several times more comfortable than being in coach. Predictably for a couple of married librarians, the first thing that we did when we got there was settle in together and pull out a couple of books. I picked More about Manehattan, Spookie the library’s only copy of Shifting Shapes: the Changelings. Both were likely outdated (especially hers), but much better than walking into the situation blind.
It didn’t take long for the inevitable questions to come out. “Spookie, find anything useful? If this book is right, Manehattan is going to be a lot like the market districts of Canterlott. A lot of neuveau riche trying to look impressive, lots of workers at their trades. Mostly a Unicorn town, with a few notable Earth Pony families. Not too many Pegasi, they tend to find it constraining.”
“Not too much here, this book was written before the reign of Queen Chrysalis, and the author had no firsthoof experience. A Changeling can perfectly mimic the look, sound, and even material of anything it sees for more than a second or two. They have no problem holding the shape indefinitely, even when asleep or extremely distracted. They only revert upon death or sudden unconsciousness, or when magically compelled to.”
“Any idea if they can do the same for inanimate objects?” I asked.
Her eyebrows furrowed a bit. “The author had no clue, though from the Royal Wedding we know at least that they can manifest clothing. I think it’s safer to assume that they can.”
“I was afraid of that. Are there any spells there that might help?”
“A couple, but they’re a bit complex. The only one that is reasonably fast would take a lot of power to use if it was needed more than once or twice in a day, it’s meant more for dedicated magi or someone on the caliber of a Captain of the Guard. That’s how I found the book, actually. Shining Armor just returned it not long ago.”
“Not an ideal situation, love.”
“No kidding. Princess Luna had a point about our talents being a big help, though.”
“Meant to ask if you had any idea what she meant. We’re librarians, after all, not detectives or fighters or Bearers.”
Spookie looked at me like I’d missed something extremely obvious… again. “Maybe not, but we have a few things on our side. Check your flank, the cutie mark says it all.”
“An open book, circled. What exactly do you mean?”
“Your talent is with words and language, not just literature. Changelings don’t inherit memories when they assume a new form, so there will almost always be something off about them. You are pretty likely to notice the smaller patterns that most of us can’t. Now look at mine.”
I grinned hugely. “Gladly, love.”
She grinned back at me, blushing a bit. Easy as it was to do so, I never got tired of making her blush. “I have a butterfly in the same colors as my mane and coat. I blend in with the background, with crowds, with dark and quiet rooms. Nopony notices me, but like the smaller animals I notice them. Why do you think I was so surprised when you came over to talk to me that first day of junior year at Celestia’s School? I’m not even sure half my teachers remembered my name until I raised a hoof.”
“That… makes sense. Think you’re up to applying it on the offense?”
“Now you’re the one who’s losing me, Weaver.”
“You’re good at hiding, at blending in. Can you look around the town and find the places where ponies could hide in plain sight? That is probably where we’re going to find the first Changelings.”
The conversation continued for about an hour after that, until our own trains of thought ran out of steam. We lapsed into a shared silence, neither of us feeling the urge to fill the air with unneeded words as we read further. It was comfortable, and comfort was what we both needed. Some time after, there was a knock on the door. One glance outside told us that we weren’t anywhere close to Manehattan, so I got up to go see what it was about.
When I opened the door, nopony was around. However, whoever had knocked left a flier at our door. I looked it over briefly; there was going to be a magic performance in one of the otherwise-unused cars, starting in about a half-hour. The banner across the top showed a wand and moon.
** Word Weaver’s Journal (Part One): Unicorn Society **
Outside observers to Canterlott society often question Unicorn high society. In order to understand it, the first thing to know is that, for several thousand years, it was a magocracy. That is, until Princesses Celestia and Luna took over the movement of the heavenly bodies, all that mattered to them was that their leaders be capable, as a group, of performing the task. Raw potential was the sole determining factor of one’s place in society.
Now to transition to modern times. Magical strength tends to run in families, with the foals of powerful unicorns tending to also be powerful. This, therefore, means that society tends to see one’s lineage as being more important than oneself, and that they tend to be less concerned with what you have done as opposed to who you are or what station you hold. These stations also strongly tend to stay in family lines, since young colts will be taught the trade nearly from birth and often will manifest a similar cutie mark.
The final ideal of the Unicorn elite is, in essence, that of a Princess. The diarchs, especially, are revered to the point of worship. A mare’s beauty is defined by how similar one looks to them, trends are set by their words, and fashions frequently imitate their works. In fact, this forms another rapid indicator of one’s status. That is, the closer one lives to the Castle, the higher one’s station must be. Anyone staying within the castle itself is accorded the highest respect by default, while the further one lives away from Canterlott the lower one’s starting point becomes.
A prime example here would be the Element Bearers of Ponyville. Despite saving Equestria twice and assisting with a third time, with their pictures in stained glass here in the castle, any of them can walk down the streets of Canterlott unrecognized. Simply put, their parents were not important, so neither are they. Now, once they have children, said children will inherit the status and prestige of their famous parent’s heroism and wealth from the royal rewards. Until that time, though, no amount of awards, celebrations, or actions will ever give them true status in Canterlott high society.
