"Cold Heart. I'm from Changeling-occupied Equestria."

Cold Heart. S.M.I.L.E made special preparations for this identity. You have everything you need that 'proves' your family has owned a gold mine for decades- in fact, the Heart family and the gold mine itself are very real, though it's unlikely the Changeling government has any records of them. If the changelings do decide to investigate for whatever reason, they'll find everything to be in order.

The only thing that would disprove your story would be if they sent someone to talk to the Heart family, had a lengthy discussion about their future plans, and found out that Cold Heart, their daughter, is actually living safely in Canterlot under the Equestrian government.

Overall, this is the safest bet, even if it limits your access to the military side of Great Queen's Tower heavily.

The receptionist raises an eyebrow- stretches her eye- one of her eyes expands upwards ever so slightly in an approximation of raising one's eyebrows. Phew. Changeling facial expressions are uncanny caricatures of normal pony expressions.

"You mean the territory of the Provisional Protectorate of Freed Equestria?"

"Yes. That."

"Well, Miss Cold Heart, I'll need your identification papers and travel papers."

You ruffle through your saddlebags and pull out the relevant miniature booklets containing your documents, double-checking to make sure you're not handing over the papers of some other identity. You've heard enough horror stories from the S.M.I.L.E instructors to risk making such a devastating mistake.

The receptionist's horn lights up as she floats your papers over and begins going through them. At the same time, she telekinetically lifts up a pen and starts filling out a form on the table.

You whistle appreciatively. Those are impressive multitasking skills. She's not even looking at the form she's filling out!

"Your papers seem to be in order, so I'm just noting down your details here. You'll need to show this to enter the Tower, then immediately go and submit it to the entry card office- it's directly to the right of the interior lobby. They'll get a card printed for you, and confirm that your business here is relevant. If you're a tourist, you'll need to pay a fee for the one-day card."

The receptionist rips out the form and practically throws back the form and booklets. "Have a great day, ma'am. Chrysalis wills it. Next!"

You shuffle past the lines queuing at other receptionist desks and stand in a relatively quiet part of the outdoor lobby as you recheck the details on the form the receptionist gave you. Her handwriting is so immaculate that you can't tell apart what's handwritten and what's printed.

BY CONFIRMATION OF HER MAJESTY'S ABTEILUNG FÜR IDENTIFIKATION, THE FOLLOWING DETAILS ARE RELEVANT AND CORRECT FOR THE HOLDER OF THIS DOCUMENT.

NOTE THAT THE HOLDER OF THE DOCUMENT IS A NON-CHANGELING.

Name: Cold Heart of the Heart family.
Given Name: Cold Heart
Father's Name: Loyal Heart
Spouse's Name: N/A
Nationality: Changeling Lands
Age: 35 (B-24/10/0977)
Sex: F
Appearance: Dark grey coat, grey horn, blue mane, green pupils, white markings around hooves
Place of Stay: N/A

Purpose of visit: TBD
Document status: Travel papers must be verified.

THIS DOCUMENT SHOULD BE DISCARDED AFTER USE AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED VALID IF SUBMITTED AFTER TODAY (2/10/1013)

'Nationality: Changeling Lands'? You suppose they can't just put you down as 'Equestrian'. It would damage Chrysalis' ego too much to be reminded that Equestria still exists. Ah, well, at least you got the form without much hassle. The receptionist didn't notice anything wrong with your papers either.

You rejoin one of the queues to enter the Tower. The guard- a different one from the one who turned you away earlier- barely looks at your form before waving you through the rotating metal door. So much for identification.

You breathe a sigh of relief at the heated interior as you enter... yet another security checkpoint, this one in a small, rather unremarkable hall- though the ceiling is astoundingly high. It's no wonder the queues are so long with this much security. A trio of visibly tired Queen's Tower guards are patting down changelings and searching their saddlebags.

The saddlebags.

The saddlebags.

You forgot to get rid of the unused identification papers. Idiot. Absolute moron. You can't exactly shrug off having a pile of travel paper booklets, identification cards, and passports in your bag. The line ahead of you slowly dwindles as you struggle to think of some way you can get yourself out of this mess.

Panic. Panic and dread is all you can feel. What if you just try to leave-

"Hey, pony! It's your turn. Stop wasting everyling's time," the changeling behind you snarls. He's wearing an expensive-looking business suit.

"Right- right, sorry." You step in front of one of the guards. Your panic must be obvious to him- changelings are experts at reading emotions, and the guard appears old and wizened too. He smiles reassuringly at you as he pats you down.

"Don't worry, ma'am, this is just a routine check. You have nothing to worry about. May I see your saddlebags?"

...

"N-no?" You mumble.

"Um. I'll have to insist on searching them, ma'am." The guard is starting to get suspicious. You can see the edges of his mouth turning down into a frown.

You try to think of something, anything, to prevent the bags from being searched.

"The- well- I- I'm not allowed to-"

The guard leans in closer and whispers, "Ma'am, is someone following you? Do you need help?"

Praise be to Celestia and Luna and whatever gods the griffons worship, they have brought you sheer and pure SALVATION.

You nod very slightly, trying to contain your inner glee and relief.

"Come with me, ma'am. The rest of the queue, please wait. We apologize for the delay."

There's a staff-only door to the side of the hall. The guard leads you through it amidst the collective groans of the rest of the queue.

The door leads to a small security room with a few chairs, a desk, a water dispenser, a rack for guns, and a wiring box labelled 'alarm system'. Another changeling, this one in a fancier version of the Tower Guard uniform- a senior, you guess- is going through some documents at the desk, facing the wall.

"Sir. This lady says she's being followed."

You take the opportunity to rapidly dispense your unneeded papers into a large dustbin, as neither of the changelings are looking at you. You're slightly giddy at how the situation turned around and find the thought of a janitor discovering the papers in the security room exceedingly hilarious.

"Uhuh... you know the protocol, take her to the central security ro- oh, it's a fucking pony. Get her out of here before she grabs a gun and blows our heads off, yeah?" The changeling at the desk finally turns to face you.

"The weapons rack is locked, sir," observes the guard. "I don't think ponies can materialize ammunition out of thin air, either."

You're warming up to the guard. He's not that bad. For a changeling.

"Yeah, yeah, just- get that thing out of my sight. Kick her out."

The guard salutes and escorts you back out of the security room. He smiles at you apologetically.

"Sorry, ma'am, I should have anticipated that. I can't kick you out of the tower in good conscience, but I can't waste anymore time helping you, either. You'll need to go to the central security station. Now, can I search your saddlebags?"

"Oh, yeah. I'll be fine. Thanks. Thank you."

You can't believe changelings are this gullible. He's completely satisfied with searching your saddlebags and doesn't ask any questions about why you were so defensive about it earlier. The guard doesn't even a bat an eye at the amount of money you're carrying with you- though given how many rich changelings visit the Great Queen's Tower everyday, he probably sees moneybags of cash twice this large on a daily basis.

Paper money is so much more convenient than bits. You file that away as the one good invention changelings have made that they didn't steal from the Griffonian Reich.

The guard inspects your sheathed knife for a moment before handing the saddlebags back to you.

"Thank you for your patience, ma'am. Remember, the central security station is right off the lobby. You can't miss it. Chrysalis wills it."

"Chrysalis wills it."

The changeling who's been waiting behind you for so long sighs in relief as you move past the guard through the open wooden doors at the end of the hall.

Oh. Big.

The lobby is indescribably massive and stunningly lit. The ceiling is shrouded by the darkness though, giving the impression it goes on forever.

The lobby is more of a three-story atrium surrounded by only the most costly, high-class restaurants and cafes, able to afford what must be the highest rents in the world. Three separate receptionist desks, each with multiple changelings staffing them, are embedded into the walls of the atrium, with another one directly in front of you.

Behind said desk, in the middle of the polished marble floor, is a towering statue of Chrysalis in the middle of a fountain, water flowing from her horn. Unlike the statue outside this one has Chrysalis in her Changeling Navy uniform and is painstakingly plated with coloured metal representing her iconic black-and-green chitin.

The upper two stories run as a balcony around the center of the atrium, ending at the opposite wall from the entrance. Here hangs the flag of the Changeling Lands- a black trident with a crooked center prong, shaped like Chrysalis' horn, two blue wings erupting from the side against a clear white background.

And below that, a poster shows Chrysalis triumphantly standing over the entirety of Equus.

The ego is strong with this one...

It's this poster that shakes you out of your awed trance. You note a more important detail.

Despite the sheer size of the atrium, you can't spot a single support pillar. It gives you the uneasy feeling that the entire structure is permanently on the verge of collapsing.

Shaking your head to clear those thoughts, you trot towards the receptionist desk directly in front of you. The lobby mercifully spreads out the crowds so you don't have to worry about brushing into a stray fin or accidentally bumping into someone.

At least, until something grabs onto your right foreleg. You raise it to observe a tiny changeling nymph clinging to the leg, wide bright eyes staring straight at your face. It gives you a goofy grin.

Disgusting. A little changeling vermin. You try to shake it off, but it clings on even tighter.

"W-w-why don't you have holes in your legs weird-looking-miss I mean not weird in a bad way because that would be rude and we aren't supposed to be rude 'specially not on a trip like this I like your mane and your tail it looks pretty cool-"

Can't... shake off... tiny changeling...

"-hey aren't you a pony Mister Snap told us ponies are kind of brightly coloured but you're not very bright you're honestly kind of normal coloured which is cool too I think you'd pass as a changeling if someone looked at you from very far away your fur is pretty soft though it's like cotton but not are you a spy do you have a spy gun and sunglasses like in that movie about a pony who's a spy and tries to kidnap Her Majesty but she uses her powers to defeat him and save the day yippeeeeeeee!"

The nymph finally stops to breathe. You use this opportunity to peel it off with your other foreleg and hold it up by the neck to your face.

"Listen up, little guy. Our legs are heavier because they don't have holes, right? All the better for stomping little 'lings who don't have a concept of personal space. Now, where's your, uh, dad or whatever?"

Good job, Agent Cold Strike! You went from an about-to-be-discovered nervous wreck to threatening foal murderer in less than a minute. The academy would be so proud.

"That would be me, mare." A tired-looking changeling stallion has shoved his way through the crowds and stands in front of you, wings and fins twitching in a telltale sign of worry. About a dozen more nymphs are crowding around his legs, generally chatting and playing or simply looking around.

"The urge for violence practically oozes off you," he observes drily as he extracts the pouting nymph from your foreleg.

Now this is bad. You don't want to draw attention to yourself, especially not by threatening someone's nymph. You're a pony, you're supposed to be all happy and friendship-y!

Why does he have so many nymphs with him anyways-? Nevermind that, you've interacted suspiciously with four separate 'lings already. You'd better apologize and explain it was a joke.

The changeling just smiles at you, though. "I'm pulling your leg. I'm Snap."

"Snap," you repeat.

"Yes indeed. I'm, uh, not the father of any of these little 'lings, but I'm one of the caretakers at their nursery. We raise changelings communally- we rarely see our parents, unlike with you ponies. Thank you for taking care of Aspen who shouldn't have run away in the first place."

Aspen looks up at the two of you innocently. "I wanted to see the pony!"

Mr. Snap sighs, shaking his head. "They're all spoiled. Back in my day nurseries were... oh, sorry, I didn't even- what's your name, if you don't mind me asking?"

Given how well the situation turned out- you learned an important detail about changelings which probably should have been in your briefer before you started the operation- you're in a decent mood. You raise your voice a little to be heard above the din of the lobby and the nymphs.

"I'm A- I'm Cold Heart. Nice to meet you, Mr. Snap."

"Oh, please, it's just Snap. Where are you headed, Cold Heart? What brings you to the heart of the Changeling empire? Hanz, do not pull on Aspen's wings!" Snap rubs his forehead in exasperation.

"I'm here for business. I was just about to go get my entry card printed. Uh, enjoy your trip."

"We're here for a couple more days. I'll see you around, Cold Heart?"

"Sure..."

You carefully step around the nymphs and finally manage to approach the desk. One of the receptionists has clearly overheard your conversation. He gives you an amused smile and points behind you.

"The entry card office is to the right of the entrance."

You look around and spot the office, nestled in the perfect location for someone who's just entered the Tower to not notice it. It has a fancy glass door and a large illuminated sign above it.

You're not sure why the sign needs to be illuminated, given how the lobby is lit by artificial lights at all time.

The office is a small space with a couple of sofas, a radio, and a table laid with refreshments. The only thing that separates it from a regular lounge is the desk with a bored changeling manning it and an open doorway where you can hear some changelings chittering and the whirring of machinery.

"Form," he asks without looking up from a magazine he's reading. You float it over to the desk with your telekinesis.

"I'm here to get some investment from the government."

Hearing your Equestrian accent, the changeling perks up. He carefully sets aside his magazine and looks over the form.

"A pony, huh? I just got somepony like you earlier in the morning, before the morning commuters arrived. Your form seems to be in order. I need some additional details before we print out your card. You're here for investment, you said?"

"Yes. I have the ownership documents of a gold mine-"

The changeling smirks at you. "That won't be necessary. We don't need any special proof to provide such a basic entry card- you'll only need access to the most public parts of the Tower. I'm putting you down for a one-month stay, but you can get the card extended at any time if you still have work to do." He trots over to the back room and hoofs the form over to someone before returning. "That'll take a couple of minutes to get printed. Do you know where you want to go, pony?"

You shrug. "I thought I'd look for the provincial bank for changeling-occupied Equestria."

"Ooo yeah, pony, about that. We don't have any."

"Oh. You have a bank for each of the other provinces."

The changeling grins viciously, pleased at having surprised you. "Your flower fields and pastures are still an unincorporated territory. There are some other organizations you can go to, though. The State Bank of Pax Chrysalia is a brand new organization, but they did shift some quite high-ranking officials to its office here in the Queen's Tower. I heard they were fuming about losing their cushy old jobs, but you can't weasel your way out of a direct order from Her-"

You've heard quite enough. Disgruntled desk workers can be exploited and manipulated... "Alright, I'll visit them, then."

"Not so fast, pony." The changeling ruffles through some papers in a desk and pulls out two brochures. "Take a look at these, too. There's nothing stopping you from approaching multiple organizations, but if both are serious about your investment or whatever you could get caught up in a interdepartment rivalry. Then you'll be stuck here forever, pony."

One is for the Organisation zum Wiederaufbau von Equus- Rebuilding Equus- which seems to be a fund for developing changeling-occupied lands and the Olenian and Polar Bear Protectorates. It's a quite well-established organization which must have deep ties with the civilian and military administration, along with a considerable budget. You flip through the rest of the brochure, reading between the filler to note the names of key individuals you could work with.

The other is...

"'Make a petition to the Queen's Secretariat'?" You look up from the considerably more cartoon-y brochure, featuring an awed changeling in farmer's overalls clutching a pile of gold.

The changeling winks at you. "The Secretariat will go through petitions and find ones that Her Majesty might be interested in. You didn't hear it from me, but Queen Chrysalis quite interested in ponies living under her rule. The Secretariat is almost certain to forward your petition."

Hm. You don't really see any special benefit to meeting the Queen herself, though wild assassination plans do flash through your head. Your more reasonable idea is to use the inevitable weeks waiting for the petition to go through to snoop around the Tower. You doubt you can hold up to special scrutiny of your identity by the Queen, though.

You'll have to think this one through carefully.

It's time to choose.

You set your mind on visiting...

Which government organization will you visit first? You may not get the opportunity to visit other ones!
A - Organisation zum Wiederaufbau von Equus, a well-established fund with deep roots in the changeling government.
B - The State Bank of Pax Chrysalia, an extremely new financial organization whose upper management have a grudge that could be exploited.
C - The Queen's Secretariat, where you can petition to meet the Queen. It'll take a while so it could provide an excuse to stay at the Tower's hotels.

Option B wins the vote with 80% of 5 total votes.

Author's Note

Phew, this one was a lot longer than expected! Don't expect 3k words for every chapter, though- the target is 2k words on average.

I noted from the first chapter that no one voted for the changeling options, which I expected. It was good to see a few votes for option B though. It's interesting to consider how wildly different the story could have gone if another option won.

As always, leave your answers and other thoughts in the comments.