You breathe in the sweet Vesalipolis air as you step out of your taxi onto Tower Plaza into a huge crowd.

And immediately cough it back up. Unlike most high-level government secretariats, the Great Queen's Tower is situated right in the middle of Vesalipolis city rather than in some wealthy enclave. The greyish smog of a factory complex taints the otherwise bright visage of Tower Plaza.

The plaza itself is a huge park with several main streets of the city meeting at a roundabout that runs along its edge. That damn taxi driver dropped you almost directly opposite the Great Queen's Tower itself- a massive skyscraper that easily takes up the skyline even amongst Vesalipolis' spires and towering apartment buildings. You turn to complain to the driver- you paid to be delivered right to the tower- but he's already gone.

Changelings. Assholes.

On the bright side, a walk through the park will give you time to think and walk yourself through the operation. You clutch your coat tightly and set off through the massive gilded gates, ignoring surprised stares and piercing glares by other passerbys. The path to the tower is a wide, straight avenue, flanked by all manner of shops, cafes and restaurants, but it feels too exposed. Eventually you find a group of smartly dressed changelings too absorbed in conversation to notice you, and tag along close behind them.

After a few minutes of walking, the panic of being around so many changelings wears off, as you're lulled into a trance by the rhythmic beating of hoofsteps and chatter of early-morning commuters. You review the operation in your head.

1. Cross the changeling border through a weak checkpoint in Olenia; done that. A squad of less expendable agents escorted you on a secret ship into Olenia, then gave you documents that would let you cross into the Changeling Lands easily. That was the easiest part of the mission.
2. Stay low and very slowly make your way to Vesalipolis to familiarize yourself with changeling culture. It was surprisingly easy to get odd jobs as a charcoal-coated, blue-haired unicorn (Changeling colours! Neat.)- the upper class changeling populace has become used to poor deer and ponies from Olenia seeking work. Most of them were nice enough, but you only stayed with them for a few days at a time, before boarding a train or hitchhiking onwards to the next hive.
3. Use one of your pre-prepared identities to get an excuse to visit the Great Queen's Tower regularly.
4. Find and copy important documents or other notable events at your discretion.
5. Leave at your discretion, when the situation heats up, or when you find Agent Mesocoxa; the changeling spy who disappeared.
6. Win the war! Or, well, help it along. At the very least, S.M.I.L.E will give you a hefty bonus once you return home. Heck, you might even knighted. 'Lady Cold Strike'. You can only dream.

The smartly dressed changelings stop abruptly as you exit the park. Moving around them, you see why- the roundabout. Cars and trucks whizz past at unbelievable speeds, all proudly displaying either the Changeling or more often than not, the logo of the Grifforian Reich Automobile company.

Across the road sits the Great Queen's Tower. An amalgamation of steel and glass, cleverly engineered to mimic a hive carved from a mountain. You can't even turn your head far enough to see the peak of this monolith. "Balconies and windows stick out almost haphazardly from the sides of the tower, with countless external staircases and hallways connecting presumably high-traffic parts of the tower.

The entrance to the tower is an outdoor lobby seemingly cut right out of its base, allowing for vehicles to directly unload their occupants at the entrance. Three entire lanes are needed to facilitate this what with the constant stream of bureaucrats, insanely wealthy tenants, and simply tourists coming and going.

Porters and welcoming parties escort these guests, guiding the flow of ponies, deer, and changelings- no, people as you will have to call them, through the giant open doors of the tower. A statue of Chrysalis herself wolfishly grins at the people parting around her. Smug bastard.

There's a large fenced-off area with several smaller buildings next to the tower- likely staff quarters and administration for maintaining the building itself. A truck loaded with garbage exits the area.

A crowd has built up on your side of the crosswalk, waiting for the traffic to ebb, and you're stuffed between two important-looking changelings in- damn, that is a SNAZZY military outfit. Full black coat, grey collar and cuffs, gold-embroidered officers' cap, purple eyes- ah, something is happening.

A full squad of changeling soldiers blocks the traffic, pushing heavy barriers onto the street in practiced, fluid motions, and waves ahead the crowd. It's no wonder why- a single vehicle could effortlessly kill or injure several high-ranking officials just by refusing to stop. As you get closer to the tower you notice more security. There are soldiers everywhere, military vehicles parked deliberately to control pedestrian movement, and you even spot a couple of changeling Queen's Guards- Chrysalis' personal military unit.

You're feeling more confident with every step as you cross the street, hidden in the crowd- if changeling intelligence was watching you, they'd have nabbed you before you got into their most important government building.

You're in the clear. Good job.

"Ma'am! You, the unicorn with the blue hair in the suspicious coat! No, the other one! Yes, you. Get over here!"

You're stopped by a soldier, likely military police judging by the uniform, at the other end of the road. As you leave the relative safety of the crowd you feel a sense of rising dread. Should you fight? Should you run? Where can you run? Will-

The changeling grabs you by the coat and pulls you behind a military truck too fast for you to react, out of sight of the commuters. Another military police changeling is standing there, smoking a cigarette. He eyes the two of you curiously.

You open your mouth to protest at this pseudo-foalnapping, but the soldier speaks first.

"Pony. You'll be coming to the Tower often?"

You silently nod as you try figure out what this could be. A random security check? The soldier keeping you busy while the intelligence agency shows up?

The soldier slowly nods back, as if thinking. "You can leave now, ma'am."

That was... weird. You awkwardly back away from the soldier.

"Wait! Pony. You are in danger." His tone is much more urgent, almost threatening.

Finally! The part where they dramatically throw a bag over your head, tie all your legs up with a single rope, and throw you into a bus.

The soldier looks at you seriously, fins twitching nervously. "There are 'lings who want to see Her Majesty's Tower free of ponies and deer. Do not make yourself a target. If you need help, you can trust the Reichsarmee. We will protect you. Now go. The Queen wills it!"

"The Queen wills it," you mumble back. You leave and rejoin the throng of people steadily marching to the lobby. What just happened? It seemed too specific and almost scripted. Was the intelligence agency trying to get your guard down? Or is there genuinely a threat that you need to watch out for?

In any case, no changeling would be sympathetic to a pony like you. He's using you for something or the other. You try to make it the rest of the way without attracting any attention.

The crowd filters into lines at the stairs leading up to the entrance. A soldier gives you a quick patdown, then asks for your entrance card. Oops. You don't have one. He gives you an unamused look and points at a series of desks arranged against the side wall. Each one has a queue lining up to get an entrance card.

Great, in the span of five minutes you've unnecessarily called attention to yourself twice. You excuse yourself and hop down to grab a card.

After waiting in queue for a few minutes it's your turn. The receptionist bares her fangs at you. Or maybe she's just smiling. It's hard to tell with changelings, they're all ugly anyways.

"Why, hello! May I know who I'm speaking with, ma'am?"

This is it. You consider which identity to use. You can pose as a changeling with an emotional attachment to a certain disguise- you do have all the relevant papers forged to deal with the legal hassle that comes with permanently disguising yourself. Or, you can pretend to be a pony collaborator. Those are rare but not unheard of, especially with the changeling occupation of parts of Equestria.

For either option there are multiple identities to choose from. Some of them are riskier, but may get you access to more private areas...

It's time to choose.

You introduce yourself as...

Which identity will you use to infiltrate the Great Queen's Tower?
A - Cold Heart, a pony businessmare looking to expand her gold mine with direct investment from the Changeling government.
B - Fatal Strike, a pony mercenary. She's reporting to the military after a successful mission.
C - Former Corporal Coldors, a changeling war veteran meeting with his military friends and finishing some business with the Veteranenabteilung.
D - Coldors, a female changeling lawyer who is lobbying on behalf of certain groups for changes to the love rationing.
E - Captain Coldors, a middle-ranking female changeling officer visiting from Olenia.

Option A wins the vote with 66.67% of 6 total votes.

Author's Note

And so it begins! For my convenience, please do begin your comment with the letter A/B/C/D/E so I can easily tally up the votes! Remember, voting closes at midnight UTC-0 on Tuesday. That's about three days of voting. Choose wisely!