Having nothing better to do, you've been wandering the ground floor of the Great Queen's Tower for the past... two, three hours? It's much harder to how much time has passed without any sunlight. The layout of the ground floor only adds to that feeling.

Despite the extraordinary size of the atrium, it only takes up a fraction of the actual floorspace of the building. The rest of the floor boasts a myriad of government services, military offices, a full hospital, and what you guess is an off-limits storage complex. The Tower is almost a city in its own right. You could comfortably live, work, and die here without ever setting hoof outside.

If you could afford it, that is. And enjoyed the idea of never leaving the Tower.

The area is thankfully much easier to navigate than the cramped labyrinth of the hotel, though. All the hallways are spacious- enough for a heavy tank to drive straight through- and have large, visible signs informing you exactly where everything is. They're laid out almost in a radial pattern, with straight hallways from the atrium intersecting other, smaller ones. It is still limited by the shape of the building, and the need for rooms of special sizes; some corridors come to an abrupt end or suddenly narrow or widen.

At this time of the day, it's mostly deserted- everyone is already at work- so you can just relax and enjoy the sights. You still tense up a bit whenever you pass a stray changeling, your paranoia from last night not entirely dissipated yet.

You note that the architecture here is quite different from the rest of the Tower. Instead of instilling a sense of awe or intimidation it's simply... pleasant. Chandeliers cast a soft light over gray walls draped with curtains and the occasional artwork. The floor tiles are brick rather than marble or some other stone, giving you the impression you're walking along a street rather than inside a building. Even the doors to rooms are reminiscent of storefronts and office building entrances.

Hm. There must have been a thriving city center here before the Tower was built. Perhaps it was planned on the same street layout?

It's when you spot a large squad of armed Reichsarmee soldiers silently moving down the corridor in your direction that you decide to cut your little tour short. They're almost certainly just passing by, and not looking for you, but you'd better not risk getting into trouble. You instead turn around and retrace your hooftsteps back to where you faintly remember seeing a sign to the post office.

It isn't hard to find. A massive sign hanging from the ceiling of the hallway proudly declares Post Vesalipolis. The post office itself opens directly in the corridor. The only thing separating it is a sparse series of supporting walls and pillars along what would normally be the wall. 'Inside', a long counter runs in front of a series of lockers built into the wall, with benches lining the supporting walls opposite.

Aside from a couple of workers seeing to a group of changelings picking up letters and packages, and another few employees mopping the floor and dusting the counter, it's completely empty. The post office was clearly built to handle hundreds of visitors at once- you guess the loose separation between the post office and the hallway is so no one has to wait at a door- but at this time of the day, it's nowhere near capacity. You don't spot any mailponies- mail-lings?- either.

You recall the post office back in your neighborhood in Canterlot. The little building was always full of ponies clamouring to receive long-awaited packages or send urgent letters, with couriers chaotically flying in and out- literally, in the case of pegasi- as they delivered between the office and the city mail center, or individual households.

There's none of that here, though. You go in and you come out. You can't imagine striking a friendly conversation with these stiff, faceless employees, changeling or not, like you would with the postmasters back home.

Anyways, you have a letter to send. There are stacks of thick paper, pens, and envelopes conveniently placed at intervals along the counter. You grab a pen and paper with your magic and lay it on the counter. You've had plenty of time to think about the actual contents of the letter while you were exploring.

You carefully write out each letter in a mechanical, blocky font, making sure there's nothing to indicate your identity.

To the Eisenwagen,
Thank you for your assistance. Your customer support agent provided me with some very treasured resources on how to approach my problem. However, I would like to request further assistance in utilizing said resources. It is all quite unclear and, though I am asking my good aunt for assistance, it will be some time before she gets back to me. Please send your response to the last place I saw your customer support agent. I may not be personally present to pick it up, in which case simply leave it in a discreet location.
Warm regards,
A potential customer.

The good old 'this is a perfectly normal conversation' trick. What is to the average reader a slightly awkward letter should be a very clear appeal for help to the Eisenwagen people, if they're capable of adding two and two. If Ella has actually contacted them, that is. Maybe she hasn't got the chance to and you're about to make a random anti-government group very, very confused.

Either way, there's nearly no risk to you. You slide the folded letter into an envelope and press a piece of wax to it with your magic.

You consider for a moment what to seal it with. Something impressionable, but that can't be connected to you.

Poking your horn into the wax, you make two sharp incisions. One long, vertical one, intersected by a short, horizontal line near its base. A dagger. You melt the wax with your magic and press it into the envelope. The dagger symbol warps somewhat, but it's still recognizable.

Scribbling 'Eisenwagen' on it, as Ella instructed you last night, you look around to see if anyone is watching. It seems they're all still preoccupied in their tasks. You simply leave the letter on the counter and hope it'll reach its destination, calmly exiting the room as if you've just been looking around.

Hopefully you don't have to worry about the Eisenwagen for now. You'll have to keep checking the stairwell next to the lobby for a response. It'll be a little inconvenient, but by not giving a specific location you ensure only Ella knows where to find you.

Damn, maybe you are cut out to be a spy after all. You're collecting vital information, making friends, and as far you can tell no one's remotely suspicious of you yet. You take a deep breathe and allow yourself to relax as you enter the atrium. There's nothing to worry about. There's no pressure or time limit breathing down your neck-

Gah, look at the time! It's nearly two o'clock! You need to get to the State Bank NOW. You fly- metaphorically- past steadily growing crowds of office workers and other 'lings entering or leaving the Tower in search of lunch. You get quite a few angry shouts and glares as you shove past random 'lings, but there's no time to be polite if you want to find Captain Konrad.

You reach the elevators and spot a nearly full one. The attendant has their hoof on the sliding door.

"Wait! Don't close the door!" You stumble and trip in your haste, sliding the rest of the way into the elevator on your belly.

"Missus, ya could have just asked. No need for them- for fancy maneuvers. You ain't a racecar," Adelheid complains as he helps you stand up.

You grin sheepishly at him. "I, uh, slipped. Floor forty-three, please."

"Right."

You stand near the door of the elevator, taking a quick glance at the changelings. There's a pair of office workers silently chatting, an old couple in fancy clothes, and a trio of rowdy soldiers loudly laughing and joking. You turn your muzzle away from them.

You're reluctant to make conversation with Adelheid with the other changelings in the elevator, and simply watch as they get in and out. When you reach your destination you simply give him a nod before entering the lobby.

A large group of changelings in office shirts are waiting to board the elevator. You suddenly realize they must be from the State Bank and start scanning each face for Captain Konrad.

"Are you searching for someling, madame?"

You turn around to see Lord Tibia alone in the lobby.

"Uh, yeah, actually. There was a 'Captain Konrad' at the, uh, State Bank yesterday. I think he works for you and I wanted to talk to him."

Lord Tibia strokes his chin thoughtfully. "Well, madame, you've put me in quite the mess."

You blink at him. "What?"

"You see... Captain Konrad does indeed work for me- or rather, for Her Majesty's State Bank of Pax Chrysalia- but he is officially on leave at the moment. I'm afraid that I cannot disclose his current whereabouts as per military confidentiality law."

"Oh..."

"However..." Lord Tibia winks at you with a glint in his eye. "You already know his whereabouts. You know that he lives on the fifth floor of Block C in the Heer Housing Complex, just north of the Great Queen's Tower."

"Uh, thanks?" You have no idea why Lord Tibia would help you without asking why you're looking for Captain Konrad, but you'll take it. "Yeah. Thank you. Wait, I could have just asked you this earlier in the morning..." you mutter the last statement to yourself. Why did you get it in your head that you needed to wait for some lunch break? Lord Tibia was there the whole time.

Lord Tibia nods back. "Good luck on your endeavours, madame. I must warn you, though. The good captain will not be in an agreeable mood."

"He did seem pretty, uh, upset yesterday..." You muse. "I'll be careful."

"Missus, Lord Tibia, I don't mean to rush ya but we've got a lotta 'lings waiting here. Are ya coming or not?" Adelheid calls out. You step back into the elevator.

"You gentlelings go ahead. I shall see to some unfinished work in the meantime." Lord Tibia steps back from the elevator and watches silently as the door closes and it slides down.

You slip down the smallest alleyway off the north of Tower Plaza you can find. It feels good to be outdoors again. Despite the biting, chilly air, the rays of the high sun against your fur make you feel warmer than you ever did in the Tower. It feels good to be able to move without worrying as much about being watched, too.

You have a map in your saddlebags that you picked up for free from the hotel reception, which thankfully has the Heer Housing Complex very clearly marked just a couple of kilometers north of Tower Plaza.

Passing between the rows of towering apartment buildings, you eventually arrive on a commercial street full of changelings. You stop and eye a busy inn. It's not the homely furniture and electric heaters that draw you in, it's the sign declaring 'Telephones Here'.

You quietly open the door and trot around full tables towards the back of the inn, where two telephones sit unattended. There's some sort of celebration going on, with a soldier standing on a table and giving a fiery speech to much cheering.

At least, you guess it's fiery. You don't pay much attention as you pick up a telephone receiver and dial '0' for the operator.

The response is so immediate you look around, thinking someone else is speaking to you for a second.

"Switchboard operator, Tower Plaza. Good afternoon, how can I assist you?"

"Yeah, uh, can I get a line to Vaverfront, Olenia?"

You know S.M.I.L.E has safehouses and listening posts all across Olenia and occupied Equestria. This is the quickest way you can think of getting them to arrange collection for the intelligence you've gotten. The line is silent for a moment before another operator picks up, this one a deer with a strong Olenian accent. "Vaverfront telephone service."

"Could you put me through to, uh, a specific number?"

"Sure. Read it out now."

You carefully pronounce the number for the local listening post by memory. The line falls silent again.

"Hello?" You ask carefully in Equestrian-language. Still, no response.

Ah, right. This is an insecure line. You pull out the telephone cable slightly and stick your horn against the exposed copper wire. With your magic, you run a specific current through it, very, very unreliably encrypting and decrypting the signals. You just have to pray S.M.I.L.E encryption hasn't changed in the past few weeks.

"Hello, hello?"

A pause.

"Who is this?" comes a short, snappy response, punctuated by a shriek of static.

You let out a sigh of relief. Your improvised encryption/decryption is actually working. You check noone is listening- the 'lings are still focused on that soldier- before whispering, "Agent Cold Strike. I've successfully infiltrated the, uh, Tower in Vesalipolis. I have obtained vital information and drawn up maps of the Tower. My cover is intact. Please advise."

Another pause. This one unnervingly long.

The voice suddenly comes back. "Agent, I have the Director herself listening in for the next five minutes. She's taken a personal interest in your operation. A full report of the situation is expected, but that will be collected by a courier. Make your five minutes count."

Five minutes? The Director!? You've only met her once, but you know she's one of the most important ponies in Equestria right now. And the most important in the intelligence community. Why is she personally listening to some random agent?

Still, it's a great opportunity. The Director could point at a mountain and have it moved. And here you are, telling her which mountain should be moved.

"Understood. When is the, uh, Director going to tune in?"

"She's already connected to the receiving line. Four minutes, fifty seconds."

Ack. Think fast. What's more important?

The layout of the Tower, with its hidden underground area? The document you got seems important, but it's so vague... it might not look good if you talk about it without figuring out what it means first.

You could introduce the Eisenwagen... S.M.I.L.E is always interested in finding changeling groups to aid the fight against Queen Chrysalis. This one seems to be embedded right at the heart of the Changeling government itself. Still, like with the document, you know almost nothing about it.

It's time to choose...

What do you want to primarily tell the Director about?

A - Explain what you've learned about the Great Queen's Tower.
B - Talk about the document you found.
C - Emphasize the potential value of the Eisenwagen as an ally of Equestria.

This choice will not have immediate implications, but is significant. Choose wisely.

Option B wins the vote with 66.6% of 3 total votes.

Author's Note

And finally after only eight chapters we reach the spy part of the spy fic! Spy stuff is actually pretty fun to write, it turns out, especially when combined with magic.

In other news, here's a fun new kind of choice. Whereas all the previous choices have had an immediate effect, this one will not materialize for a while. This kind of choice will build up background and context for future events in both this fic and the universe. You won't get them a lot, though, so...

Choose wisely.