//------------------------------// // Chapter 11 // Story: My Life As A Royal Changeling // by Tangent //------------------------------// “According to your file, you have some experience with teaching and tutoring?” Queen Whatevra Wa’Nabe asked the changeling currently standing before her for review. One Miss Quiz if going by one of her most commonly used pseudonyms. Which was exactly what Queen Whatevra was going to do as she had yet to figure out how to pronounce the changeling name written in her file, and didn’t feel like asking. “I have performed such duties while in the hive and while abroad during infiltrations, my Queen.” “Good. Go see Bookworm to have your Miss Quiz identity refined, then I want you to insert yourself as either a tutor or teacher in…” Whatevra pretended to think about it for a moment or two before continuing. “Sire Hollow, in Equestria. While you are there, I would like you to introduce the concept of pen pals and staying in touch with one’s friends even if they move away to the students.” “My Queen?” “It is to our benefit if ponies are able to develop and maintain stronger friendships. Friendship is a form of love after all. And I would like to see if this experiment pans out the way I expect that it might.” “I see, my Queen. I will not fail!” “You may go,” Queen Whatevra dismissed Miss Quiz. That should nip the events that would otherwise lead Starlight Glimmer into a lonely spiral of despair and a potential time war in the bud before it even becomes a possibility! Well, hopefully anyway. Queen Whatevra wasn’t sure exactly how old Starlight Glimmer had been compared to the Mane Six, nor what any of their ages currently were (or if any or all of them had even been born yet for that matter). Still, this was the best shot she could think of for preventing Starlight Glimmer’s time war that didn’t involve either outright killing her or sticking her in a pod for something she hadn’t even done yet. That was a slippery slope that Queen Whatevra wanted to avoid as much as possible when she could. Now, what other changelings currently available in the hive had interesting talents or abilities? O o O o O As Queen Whatevra continued going through her predecessor’s personnel files (and marveled at the fact that Queen Chrysalis had bothered with having personnel files maintained), she took note that not all changelings were created equal. Or, perhaps more to the point, there wasn’t a single linear path of progression from newbie to experienced that all changelings followed. Nor, for that matter, did they all share the same abilities with the basic power sets that they technically all shared as Changlings. Just as her memories of the show had shown that ponies could vary greatly within their various tribe’s signature ability sets, so too did the changelings. Some were more powerful or talented with telekinesis and/or magic, almost just like unicorns in this respect, although the percentage of high power generalist casters was much lower in comparison, nor did changelings have as many high power specialists. Very few changelings could hope to match the fastest pegasi in the air, and the one saving grace of the lackluster peak of the best changeling attempts at weather control was that they had the ability at all. Queen Whatevra could sit on a cloud and maybe nudge it about a bit, but thus far all her attempts to make any cloud produce either rain or lightning on demand had accomplished was self-inflicted soaking no matter which way she thought the cloud was actually aimed. A trait she apparently shared with her “mother,” who was equally abysmal with weather manipulation. On the other hoof, she was satisfied with her general telekinetic abilities, and her magic lessons were coming along nicely. Especially given the age her subjects thought she was (as opposed to the age she remembered being, which might not fare so well in comparison). So far, she had managed to turn a piece of slate hot pink, neon green, dayglow blue, eye searing red, and a sort of off kilter plaid involving all of those colors at once. Her magic tutor was apparently both proud and appalled at this accomplishment. Even more so in both cases when Whatevera decided to have it framed and hung up in one of the semi-permanent rooms that she was using as an office. Specifically behind and to the left of where she normally sat so that anyone looking in her direction couldn’t help but also see it as well. Whatevra wasn’t sure where she was going with this little experiment, but so far it was serving as a useful filter separating those who could stay on task from those who ended up staring at it whenever they happened to be in the room. “Leaving aside the terrible color composition (even though I really don’t want to), you may want to work on your pattern alignment. Some of the lines are crooked or of irregular thickness, and I’m not positive, but I think there may be a subtle underpatern of a heart. Or maybe an elephant.” Queen Whatevra Wa’Nabi blinked, looked at the slate behind her, then back at the file of the changeling before her. Nope. Nothing at all about any artistic ability or talent with design. Just a notation that while his pony disguises were fair to decent, he couldn’t change his voice at all and could sing well enough to peel paint off of walls (literally - they had tested!). “Sour Note, was it?” “Yes, my Queen?” “Your new name is Fine Detail. Go see Bookworm to have a profile made for this identity, and then get kitted out for an infiltration mission as a new student at the Manehattan Institute of Fine Arts.” “Yes, my Queen!” “One more thing, Fine Detail.” “Yes, my Queen?” “You are expressly forbidden from singing in any Equestrian art gallery. I would like to avoid causing an international incident just because you made some canvas blank again.” “Yes, my Queen.” As Fine Detail left Queen Whatevra’s impromptu office, she made a few additional notations to the file before putting it away to her left and drawing the next one from the stack on her right. Looking back at the eyesore she had produced, Queen Whatevra Wa’Nabi could just barely make out what might be a sort of vague outline of what could potentially be a potato hidden in the plaid pattern. Which would have been more impressive if she had been trying for a subtle image at all instead of it just being an accident of chance. Still, it was a new medium and tool set for her, and she had lots of time to get better. Turning her attention back to her self-assigned task. Another hidden talent discovered (and on its way to blossom into either an artist or an art critic), and so many more to go… O o O o O Moonbeam looked around nervously as the Changeling Umbradepths Troop Expedition approached the tall, jagged spire of dark stone that jutted up from the barren ground of the Badlands. “Welcome to Jasper, or what’s left of it,” Lieutenant Catastrophe informed her. “Queen Whatevra Wa’Nabe has been insistent on us using the proper names for things ever since she reopened the Royal Archives.” “Lieutenant!” Captain Mayhem admonished her subordinate’s breach of what she felt should be operational protocols. Just one more thing to go over with the young queen about before the expedition set out again. Mayhem didn’t actually care whether the mission itself was frivolous, as it involved valuable training for her and her troops, but if they were going to start involving any outsiders in the mission goals, then she felt that there should be at least some rules for such set up ahead of time. “Anyway,” Captain Mayhem decided to address a slightly different issue, “until and unless the Queen commands otherwise, Moonbeam, you are to be escorted at all times while you are within Jasper. In part due to security reasons that I will not go into, and in part to prevent you from becoming lost as the internal layout shifts around you. Frost and Flambé will be your designated escorts today. They will keep you out of trouble. Waspinator, Lampyrid, the two of you will escort Flake to Holding.” “Um… Okay?” Moonbeam acknowledged. She understood, at least in part, that her new friends were ostensibly part of a military force and thus had rules that they had to follow. Pretty much like the guards she occasionally encountered back in Canterlot. It was just that she had so many questions and no idea how to ask them! Or, for that matter, even if she should be asking them at all. And, with these uncertain thoughts, Moonbeam allowed herself to be led into a hole that had opened up in the base of the HiveSpire of Jasper. She really really hoped that she wasn’t making a big mistake, while also being dead certain that it was far too late to back out at this point. Waspinator, for his part, was just looking forward to getting some more target practice in at the range while they were here. Maybe he’d have some free time after Flake was podded…