Smoke and Mirrors

by TeaPartyCannon

Rating: everyone
Tags: Comedy, Fluttershy, Adventure, Pinkie Pie, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Sad, Changelings
Length: 91655

A changeling needs the help of Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy to avoid imprisonment.

After the disastrous invasion of Canterlot, an injured changeling wakes up near a small cottage and is quickly discovered by two of the last ponies she ever wanted to see. Now, with the help of her new "friends," she has to remain undetected in a town high on changeling hysteria that would not hesitate to throw her in the Canterlot dungeons should her true nature be revealed.

Simple, right?

Too bad she couldn't have picked a worse form to stay inconspicuous...

Many thanks to ZuTheSkunk for the cover image!

Published 2012-04-28 08:14:03 UTC
Last updated 2013-01-02 05:09:41 UTC

Chapter 2: Truly a Miracle

Mirror slowly opened her eyes, dimly noticing that the world around her was once again fractured into multiple images through her compound eyes. Shaking her head to try and clear away some of the weariness she felt, she looked down and saw that she was covered by a thick pink and orange blanket with a butterfly print. The changeling quickly squirmed out from under it and stood on top of the pillow she had been lying on. Frantically glancing around, she briefly wondered what was going on when the events from before came rushing back to her.

Looking down at herself, Mirror saw that she was back in her original changeling form, her Pegasus disguise having failed when she was knocked unconscious. So much for remaining inconspicuous. Nice going, Mirror Match.

Still fuming silently, the changeling glanced down again and saw that her broken foreleg was now covered in a white bandaged cast. She gave it an experimental shake and step, noting with delight that it did not burn with pain at either action. Did one of those ponies do this? That was nice of them.

Mirror shook her head again to clear out the thought. Chrysalis’s crown, Mirror, focus! These ponies are the enemy! They’ll throw you in the Canterlot dungeon the first chance they get!

The changeling’s anger quickly turned to doubt, however, as she looked at the cast on her foreleg; an obvious act of kindness. So then, why did they help me?

Without the previous noise of the animals surrounding her back outside, Mirror was now painfully aware of how the only thought in her head was her own, and how she had truly lost all connection with the swarm. She felt terribly alone without their thoughts surrounding her. Hoping to take her mind off it, she slowly observed the room that she was in. It was a bedroom with a very natural feel to it, thanks to the wooden structure, vines, and bird houses lining the roof supports. The room itself was rather sparsely decorated, with a large bookshelf and a few paintings being the only extraneous additions within it. It was quiet, calm, and it filled the changeling with a sense of comfort and relief.

At least her previous weariness was gone. Knocked unconscious or not, she felt much better than she did when she first woke up in that crater.

The soft sound of hooves on wood suddenly caught Mirror’s attention. She froze and stared down at the stairs leading to the first floor of the house. The yellow pony she recognized from before quietly stuck her head out, looking at the now-awake changeling with a mix of curiosity and fear in her eyes.

The changeling and Pegasus stared at each other for several seconds, neither one moving an inch. The awkward tension was beginning to get to Mirror, who quietly began feeling for her magic in case she needed to defend herself, only to be painfully reminded once more about her broken horn and lost power.

Several more seconds passed, and Mirror decided to ease the tension by smiling at the Pegasus, who she now remembered was called Fluttershy. Unfortunately, her smile came out forced and nervous, and the only thing her smile did was show off her long, sharp fangs, startling Fluttershy and sending her hurrying downstairs with a soft ‘Eep!’

Mirror’s smile fell and she let herself fall down onto the pillow she had been clinging to, smacking her face into it. Of course, since it was a pillow, the impact wasn’t nearly as forceful as she would have liked. I am an idiot. A complete idiot. Might as well throw me in a dungeon right now, since there’s no way I’m getting out of this without some sort of miracle.

Suddenly the bright pink earth pony from earlier popped her head out from the stairway. “HI!”

Mirror screeched in shock and instinctively dived under the bed’s covers. They were quickly pulled off, however, and the changeling found herself staring into the smiling face of Pinkie Pie.

“Silly Matchie, there aren’t any ponies under there; we’re out here! Come on out already! That means you too, Fluttershy!” Pinkie said, turning her head back to the opening in the floor. In response to her friend’s call, the timid Pegasus slowly climbed back up the stairs and entered the bedroom.

Satisfied, Pinkie Pie turned her attention back to Mirror. “Are you alright, Matchie? Did you sleep well? We were really worried when you crashed into that tree and didn’t wake up; I mean, Rainbow Dash crashes all the time and she’s always completely fine! Well, there was that one time where she ended up in the hospital, but I’m pretty sure that was a special case! You are alright, though, aren’t you?”

Mirror stared blankly at the pink pony, trying to keep up with the flood of words escaping the pony’s mouth. When she realized that Pinkie was done talking and waiting for an answer, she hastily nodded and stammered out, “Y-Yeah, I-I think so...”

This got both Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy to look at her in slight shock. Mirror felt very uncomfortable underneath their gazes. “What? Never heard a changeling talk before?”

Fluttershy shook her head while Pinkie said, “Nope! The changelings we fought in Canterlot just made mean noises like ‘grr’ and ‘hiss’ and stuff like that. Never heard one speak before, unless you count that evil Queen Meanie who tried to ruin the wedding-”

“Her name is Queen Chrysalis!” Mirror shouted in anger, interrupting Pinkie Pie. “And she is not evil! She is a caring and wonderful ruler who only invaded Canterlot so that her subjects wouldn’t starve and could survive! You have no right to talk about her like that!”

Ending her tirade, Mirror suddenly realized that both ponies were staring at her in complete shock; Pinkie’s jaw was even hanging open, leaving the earth pony was completely speechless for once. Her indignation was quickly replaced with embarrassment, and the changeling turned around and plopped her face into a pillow to hide her shame. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…” She tried saying, though her words were muffled by the pillow and the two likely didn’t hear her.

Mirror felt two hooves wrap around her waist, and the changeling was pulled up into a hug from behind by Pinkie Pie. “It’s okay, Matchie. You’re right; I shouldn’t have said those things in front of you like that. I mean, if you started saying mean things about Princess Celestia, I probably would have gotten angry about it too!”

“Really?” Mirror asked.

“Totally! I mean, sure, they’re completely different since Princess Celestia never tried invading the changeling land as far as we know, but that’s not important right now, is it?” Pinkie said, spinning Mirror around so that the two were facing each other. “You must really look up to her, huh?”

“Yeah,” Mirror said, “She’s my queen, after all. She takes care of the entire swarm, and she gave us all life. So she’s not just my queen; she’s my mother too, I guess.”

Really?” Pinkie asked. “Queen Chrysa-watsit-”

“Chrysalis.” Mirror corrected.

“Right, Chrysalisa-watsit, she’s your mom?!” Pinkie’s grin widened even further, and her eyes shone with excitement. “So if you’re the daughter of a queen, does that make you a princess?”

“What? No!” Mirror shouted, surprised at the idea. She had honestly never thought of it like that before. “The entire swarm, we’re all her children. They’re all my brothers and sisters. If you went by that logic, we’d all be princes and princesses.”

“You’re all princes and princesses?! That’s so amazing!” Pinkie Pie cheered, obviously missing the point of what Mirror had said.

Caught up in her excitement, Pinkie started bouncing up and down on the bed, going on about changeling royalty. Mirror, who was a lot lighter than Pinkie Pie, was thrown into the air with each bounce. Since they were on a bed, crashing into it each time didn’t hurt, but it was still really annoying nonetheless.

Mirror was just about to put her wings to use and fly off when Fluttershy flew next to the bouncing Pinkie Pie and whispered something in her ear. Mirror’s keen hearing picked up little phrases like “...should stop...” and “…you’re scaring her…”, but her frequent meetings with the bed were making it difficult to concentrate.

When Fluttershy finished talking, Pinkie suddenly stopped bouncing, letting Mirror hit the bed one last time with a little “Oomph!”

Pinkie Pie picked Mirror up again and pulled her into another hug. This pony has no sense of personal space! The changeling thought. Well, at least it lets me take in her love more easily. It is really nice after all; very sweet…

“Matchie, I told you before, there’s no need to be scared. I promise I won’t do anything to hurt you.” Pinkie Pie said, pulling away from her.

“Oh, you mean like last time?” Mirror asked, a hint of agitation entering her voice as the memory of the invasion came back to her.

“What last time?” Pinkie asked, cocking her head to the side in confusion.

“What, you don’t remember?” Mirror asked back.

“Um, not really.” Pinkie said, looking thoughtful. “Should I have?”

“How can you not remember me? You shot me in the face with unicorn magic!” Mirror shouted.

“That doesn’t narrow it down much. I shot a shot a lot of changelings in the face with unicorn magic. And my party cannon; can’t forget my party cannon.” Pinkie Pie said, still trying to recall the incident Mirror was talking about.

“S-Seriously?! You had me take your form, then you blasted me because you’d “seen better!” How can you not remember-!” Mirror said, her voice quickly rising in volume, before she suddenly stopped. The changeling stood still for a second longer before her entire body drooped down and an aura of depression radiated out from her.

Of course she wouldn’t remember me. She thought. Why would she? It’s not like I’m anything special, after all. I’m just a simple drone; I’m just like every other changeling in the swarm. Just like every… other… changeling…

The changeling’s sudden misery was affecting the two other ponies as well. Fluttershy looked highly uncomfortable, and even Pinkie’s smile looked the slightest bit more nervous. “Hey now…” Pinkie said, placing her hooves onto Mirror’s hole-ridden ones. “If being forgotten upsets you that much, I won’t do it again. I’ll remember you from now on.”

“No, it’s okay.” Mirror said, recovering and trying to look unbothered. “It’s not your fault. I was just one out of hundreds of changelings, after all; nothing special.”

“Hmm, I think I do remember you now.” Pinkie Pie said. “Well, I say you were definitely the most fun out of all those changelings, so that makes you special in my book! How many of them would have actually tried to be me?”

“Well, actually a lot of my siblings took your form- oh, you mean actually you.” Mirror said, smiling at the realization. “Yeah, I suppose most wouldn’t try to get in character during a battle.”

“Exactly! That makes you the most fun!” Pinkie agreed. “Even if your disguise did need a little work.”

Mirror swore she heard a record needle scratch right then and there. Her smile fell away instantly, and she glared at the pink earth pony for once again insulting her abilities. Pinkie Pie was unaware she had said anything wrong.

“Um, excuse me,” Fluttershy spoke up, having been silent for quite a while. “Miss Match?”

“Uh, you can call me Mirror; it’s my name. My real name, that is. I just added on the ‘Match’ part in order to make it sound more pony-like.” The changeling said sheepishly. And it’s still just as stupid and blatantly changeling as when you first made it up!

“Oh, okay. Mirror, if you don’t mind me asking, what happened to your… horn?” Fluttershy asked, the last word coming out as a barely-audible squeak. Mirror caught it anyway.

“Oh, that. It must have broken off when I crashed after the invasion. I don’t know what happened for sure.” She said, choosing to leave out the fact that she was nearly incapable of using any magic without it. Better not make myself look any weaker than I already am.

“Oh, I’m sorry for your loss.” Fluttershy said. “Will it grow back?”

“…Yeah, it’ll grow back in time.” Mirror lied. It’ll never grow back on its own. Not without Queen Chrysalis’s magic, anyway. I’m stuck like this unless I can find her again.

“…You know what I think we need?” Pinkie Pie suddenly spoke up, grinning happily. Both Fluttershy and Mirror looked at her in confusion.

“What? It’s not another song, is it?” Mirror asked, feeling that annoyingly familiar sense of anxiety bubbling within her.

“Nope! What we need is some tea! And cookies!” Pinkie answered. “Tea and cookies! It’ll be a tea party!”

Mirror looked to Fluttershy for an explanation. “Tea party?”

“Well, I made some tea and Pinkie baked cookies while we were waiting for you to wake up, so… tea and cookies.” Fluttershy said, not having much of an explanation beyond that.

“A tea party for the three of us! It’ll be so fun! I’ll get it all ready!” Pinkie Pie said, hopping off the bed and bouncing down the staircase.

Mirror fluttered her wings and landed on the ground, stepping in line with Fluttershy and following Pinkie Pie down the stairs. The changeling could still sense the pegasus’s unease, and she felt she had to try and dispel some of that fear somehow. “…I’m sorry.”

Fluttershy looked up at Mirror, surprise evident in her expression. “Sorry? For what?”

“For scaring you after I woke up. I’m sorry; I was just trying to be friendly.” Mirror explained.

Fluttershy looked at the changeling’s face for a few more seconds, studying it before giving a small smile. “Oh, that. You don’t have to apologize for that; I overreacted. It was my fault. It was sweet of you to say sorry, though.”

“Thanks.” Mirror said, giving a smaller, more relaxed smile than before. A little bit of Fluttershy’s fear had lessened with her apology, and that was good enough for now.

When the two reached the first floor of Fluttershy’s cottage, they found that Pinkie Pie was already setting up the small table, placing a plate of sugar cookies next to a flower-decorated teapot and three similarly-designed teacups. Mirror took a look around the main living room. Like the bedroom, it had a very natural feel to it, with a lot of wooden furniture and several animal houses and nests along the ceiling. She couldn’t help admiring just how quaint and calming the entire place was.

“Come on Matchie, eat up!” Pinkie called. Mirror looked over and saw that both she and Fluttershy were already sitting at the table. “It’s delicious!”

Mirror sat down and looked at her cup of tea and share of cookies. A shadow of doubt was starting to creep into her as she thought about the situation. Two ponies happily chatting with her and inviting her to eat with them… it almost seemed too good to be true. Why are they doing this? I’m a changeling, I tried to hurt them and their land was almost destroyed because of the swarm. Why are they being so nice? They’re not trying to lull me into a false state of security, are they?

“What’s wrong?” Pinkie Pie asked, her mouth full of cookies that she had messily dug into. “Your tea will get cold if you don’t drink it. You don’t want cold tea, do you?”

“…You didn’t put in sleeping pills or anything like that so you could throw me in the Canterlot dungeons, did you?” Mirror finally asked, still staring at her tea. Admittedly, the question was pretty ridiculous, but the doubt was getting to her and she had to be sure.

“…Silly Matchie!” Pinkie Pie said, laughing at the thought. “What kind of friend would I be if I drugged ponies and dragged them down to dark, underground dungeons? Not a very good one, in my opinion.”

“I suppose, but, you know, we did try to take over Equestria…” Mirror said, the volume of her voice dropping with each word.

Pinkie waved her hoof dismissively. “So what? That’s all in the past now! Nopony got too hurt, after all, so everything’s fine. Though, I suppose you guys did get hurt, but if you think about it, you’ve sort of made up for it that way then, right?”

“I guess… you promise you won’t do anything, though?” Mirror asked.

“Yup! I Pinkie Promise I won’t throw you in a dungeon or let anything bad happen to you!” Pinkie Pie said.

“Pinkie Promise?”

“Yeah! Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” Pinkie recited, doing a series of hoof movements along with the chant. “You can count on me!”

Mirror still didn’t quite understand what a “Pinkie Promise” was, but she knew that the earth pony was sincere in her vow. Relaxing, the changeling finally took a sip of her tea and started munching on one of the cookies. Both were very good, she had to admit; Pinkie and Fluttershy were both clearly talented at making food. Still, neither the tea nor the cookies really appealed to her in any way but taste. She fed on love and emotions, after all; pony food provided little sustenance to her species.

“How is it?” Fluttershy asked.

“Delicious. The tea has just the right spice and the cookies are really sweet.” Mirror answered. Just because tangible food didn’t nourish her didn’t mean she couldn’t recognize quality food, after all.

“Thanks Matchie! We figured we might as well have something for you to eat when you woke up, and what better to wake up to than tea and cookies? Well, I think cupcakes are better, but sugar cookies are good too.” Pinkie Pie said, going off on a tangent again as she started talking about different kinds of desserts and the best time to eat them.

“Speaking of which, how long was I out?” Mirror asked, taking another sip of her tea. She decided not to tell them that their kindness and happiness fed her much better than any sort of food.

“Just a few hours. Nothing too bad.” Fluttershy answered.

“…And cheesecake is best in the afternoon when- oh, right! And now that you’re feeling better, Matchie, you can just finish eating and we can head out to Ponyville!” Pinkie Pie added.

Mirror, who was in the middle of her sip, suddenly sputtered and started choking on her drink. Barely getting it down, she gasped out through large, deep breaths, “Go out?! To Ponyville?!”

“Yeah, you can’t stay in Fluttershy’s cottage forever. You have to go out and meet everyone in Ponyville eventually, so why not now?” Pinkie explained. “Besides, the sooner we get there, the sooner I can start making preparations for your welcome party!”

“B-But I can’t!” The changeling cried, panic seizing her once more. “Your friends, they were at Canterlot! If I go meet them, they’ll all hate me!”

“They won’t hate you, silly! I mean, sure, they can hold grudges every now and then, especially against those who have tried to destroy Equestria, but that doesn’t mean that…” Pinkie suddenly broke off as she actually heard the words coming out of her mouth for once. “…Yeah, they’ll hate you.”

“Exactly! That’s why I can’t go!” Mirror repeated.

“But you’re a nice changeling; you’re not like those other ‘Meanie McMeaniepants’ changelings. Sure, they’ll be mad at first, but if we explain things to them-” Pinkie Pie said.

“NO!” Mirror shouted. “All they’ll see is another changeling that tried to conquer Equestria. They’ll have me thrown in a dungeon, or banished to the badlands, or thrown in a dungeon in the badlands! There’s no love in the badlands!”

“But-” Pinkie tried again.

“No! No good will come of your friends or any other pony in Ponyville seeing me. You promised you wouldn’t let anything bad happen! You Pinkie Promised!”

This got Pinkie Pie to stop talking. She looked thoughtful for a moment before giving Mirror a warm smile. “Alright, Matchie, a promise is a promise. We won’t tell them that you’re a changeling, right Fluttershy?”

“Of course not; it really would just cause more harm than good. There were a lot of Canterlot guards in Ponyville when we came back, after all.” Fluttershy agreed. “But, you’re still a changeling. Maybe you could just be somepony else when we’re in Ponyville?”

Mirror thought about it for a moment. She had taken the form of many ponies in the past; surely she could do the same this time around? The changeling closed her eyes and summoned up her magic, the glowing green cocoon enveloping her once more. The covering of magic disappeared in a flash, and the grey-maned Pegasus pony she had been before stood in her place.

Fluttershy looked warily at the transformed changeling. “Um, Miss Mirror, that pony…”

Mirror frowned in confusion. “What about her? She doesn’t live in Ponyville, does she?”

“Well, no, but-” Fluttershy began.

“Aw, come on Fluttershy! There’s nothing to worry about! Oh, this is going to be so exciting!” Pinkie Pie squealed, pulling both Fluttershy and Mirror into a big hug. “The three of us will be like one big happy family!”

“Family?” Fluttershy repeated.

“Don’t you think you’re getting a little ahead of yourself?” Mirror agreed with the Pegasus. “And will you stop hugging me?!”

“What’s the matter? Don’t you like it?” Pinkie asked, letting go of both ponies.

Mirror opened her mouth to reply, then stopped as she really thought about it. Did she like it? Sure, the constant hugs were a little irritating, but close physical contact was always the easiest way to feed on love. And in a way, it actually was pretty enjoyable. She snorted in frustration before replying, “Never mind, it’s fine.”

Pinkie Pie let out a short giggle and started hopping towards the door. “Well then, let’s go, you two! Time’s a-wasting and we have a lot to do today!”

Mirror turned back towards Fluttershy, “What was that you were saying about this form?”

Fluttershy looked at her for a few seconds, then sighed. “Never mind. It’s nothing.”

Spreading her wings, the Pegasus turned and flew after her friend. Mirror was more than a little concerned about her answer, but told herself that it was just Fluttershy being what seemed to be her normal timid self. It can’t be that important if she won’t tell me what it is.

As she followed them out the door, the changeling reflected on the day’s events. The first two ponies I meet in this new town, and they’re both willing to accept me despite what I am. This is truly a miracle.

Still though, I have to wonder: what am I getting myself into with these two?

Chapter 3: Misadventures in Ponyville Part 1

On the way to Ponyville, Mirror honestly found herself becoming more and more confident about her future. Sure, Fluttershy had said that there were Canterlot guards within Ponyville and one slip-up could mean a lifetime in the dungeons or worse, but she had two ponies with her who she could trust to keep her secret and she was relatively sure that her shapeshifting and acting skills would help her avoid trouble. She felt like this plan to integrate into pony society might actually work out after all.

Now that they had actually entered Ponyville, however, she was becoming more and more uncertain of that fact. When she looked around the small, humble town, she saw that many ponies were giving her curious looks, and some of them were whispering to each other while casting glances in her direction. The distance between them was a bit too much for her to hear what they were talking about, but their lack of subtlety had Mirror quite convinced that whatever they were saying about her wasn’t good. None of them approached her or her friends as she, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy continued walking through town.

Feeling highly uncomfortable with this strange amount of attention, Mirror put on a burst of speed and flew ahead of Fluttershy to stand close beside Pinkie Pie. The pink earth pony took note of her anxiety, but didn’t seem bothered by it.

“Something wrong, Matchie?” She asked as she continued bouncing through the town.

“They’re all staring at me.” Mirror whispered, landing next to her and glancing back at a group of three earth ponies who she was certain were talking about her.

“Oh, don’t worry about that! You’re just new here, and a new pony is always a big deal in Ponyville!” Pinkie said, dismissing her worries.

“Are you sure about that?” Mirror asked, still doubtful.

“Totally! I told you, as long as Fluttershy and I are here, you have nothing to fear!” Pinkie said, lowering her voice so that none of the other ponies heard her last statement.

Mirror just nodded and looked ahead, trying to ignore the watching eyes around her. “So, where are we going?”

Pinkie Pie stopped bouncing and began looking around. “Well, Twilight’s library is really close by, so Twilight will probably be there, and Rainbow Dash should be there too, since they buddied up together! And after we meet them, then we can head to Carousel Boutique or Sweet Apple Acres to find Rarity and Applejack, since Twilight paired them together, too! So the first thing we’ll do is go to the library and meet Twilight and Rainbow!”

With that decided, Pinkie Pie started bouncing along again, while Mirror stared after her and sighed. “Fine, whatever you say.”

Fluttershy walked up to and stood beside the changeling. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. Thanks for asking.” Mirror said. She looked around again and saw two Canterlot pegasus guards patrolling nearby. They didn’t seem to have noticed her yet, but Mirror spread her wings anyway and shot past Fluttershy, flying to catch up to Pinkie Pie.

The three soon found their way to Twilight’s library, which Mirror saw was a large tree made into a building. She assumed that the tree must have been hollowed out in order to make room for the library inside. Pinkie Pie hopped up to the door and excitedly knocked on it.

A few moments later, the door opened, revealing a small purple dragon with green scales. The dragon smiled upon seeing Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy.

“Pinkie, Fluttershy! It’s great to see you girls again!” He greeted. “Did you need something?”

“Hi Spike! Are Twilight and Rainbow Dash home?” Pinkie asked him.

“Yeah, Twilight is, but Rainbow-” Spike began.

“Thanks, we have to talk to her! We’ve got some big news to share!” Pinkie Pie squealed, hopping past Spike into the library. Fluttershy followed after her, while Mirror came in last.

“Big new? What-” Spike began, but stopped upon seeing Mirror. “Hey, who’re you?”

“I-I’m Mirror Match.” Mirror answered. Trying to ignore her nervousness, she looked him over curiously. She had never seen a dragon before. He’s smaller than I’d imagined a dragon to be. Maybe he’s still a baby?

“Mirror Match?” Spike repeated, looking at her suspiciously. “But wait, aren’t you that pegasus from-”

“Spike!” A voice called out. Mirror and Spike looked over to see a purple unicorn walking down the stairs, an open book magically floating in front of her. Mirror took note of her dark purple mane and tail with a single pink stripe and her six-star cutie mark, recalling that this unicorn was also present at the battle at Canterlot. “Who is it? Is Rainbow Dash back yet?”

“Um, no, but-” Spike started, only to be interrupted once more by Pinkie Pie.

“Hi Twilight! It’s so good to see you again!” Pinkie greeted the purple unicorn.

“Pinkie,” Twilight gave a good-natured sigh. “We saw each other this morning. It hasn’t been that long. By the way, did you see Rainbow Dash on your way here?”

Pinkie shook her head. “Nope, haven’t seen her! We were hoping she’d be here with you.”

“Well she’s not. She flew off shortly after we got here.” Twilight said, frowning and snorting in frustration. “She’d better come back soon or I’m going to go get her myself. At least you and Fluttershy are listening to my partnership safety measures, though.”

“Um, Twilight? We have a new, uh, guest here.” Spike said, catching Twilight’s attention and pointing a claw at Mirror. The disguised changeling had taken an interest in the library’s large collection of books and was currently sifting through one of them.

Twilight looked at Mirror for a second in disinterest before turning back towards Pinkie. “Okay, I’ll be with her right after-” Twilight’s eyes suddenly widened and her jaw dropped as she did a double-take at the pegasus, staring in complete shock at her.

Mirror once again felt that uncomfortable feeling of attention on her and looked up from her book just in time to see Twilight appear in front of her in a purple flash of magic. The unicorn’s smile was even wider than the ones she had seen on Pinkie Pie, and she was lightly bouncing on her hooves with childish glee. Mirror could have sworn her heart dropped into her stomach right then and there.

“Um…” Mirror said, giving Twilight a small, nervous smile. That giddy spark in her eyes was very unnerving to the changeling. “Can I-”

“Oh. My. Celestia!” Twilight squealed, the smile never leaving her face. “You’re Daring Do! The coat, the mane, the cutie mark; you’re really Daring Do!”

“What-?” Mirror began again, only for a book to be telekinetically shoved in front of her face. Looking at the cover, Mirror saw that it read “Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone.”

“Wait…” Mirror pulled the book out of the air and studied the cover. The pegasus pony on the cover was an identical copy of her. No, she’s not the copy, I am! I chose the form of a fictional character! Of all the rotten luck!

When Mirror thought about it, she actually did remember seeing this pony before. Hadn’t she been a librarian once for a couple of days in Hoofington? She must have seen this Daring Do character in one of that library’s books. This is bad. This is-

“You have to tell me how you did it!” Twilight said, pulling the book away and thrusting her face into Mirror’s, inciting a yelp from the Pegasus. “I mean, you’re a storybook character! Well, you’re obviously not a storybook character, considering you’re standing right here, but storybook characters aren’t real! It’s not scientifically possible; you’re not scientifically possible!”

“I, uh…” Mirror word’s caught in her throat, leaving the changeling speechless. She started subconsciously backing away from Twilight, who walked forward as she did so, continuing to bombard her with questions.

“Although, maybe it’s possible you’re not the Daring Do from the story, at least not exactly,” Twilight went on. “Are you the inspiration for her character? Are you the author, maybe? Perhaps you were friends with the author?”

Mirror soon found her back pressed against the wood wall of the library, leaving her pinned between it and the gushing unicorn. She wanted to take to the air, away from the purple pony, but her wings stayed pinned to her sides and refused to listen to her.

“I’m a big fan of your series; I’ve read all your books.” Twilight continued, levitating the Daring Do book in front of Mirror again. “Meeting you face to face, this is like a dream! You have to sign this book! Actually, don’t sign this book, this is library property. I’ll get my personal copy in a few minutes, then you can sign!”

“Please, stop-” Mirror was shaking from the anxiety now. The changeling found herself wishing the ground would open up and swallow her right there. Twilight was too caught up in her fan-glee and curiosity to notice.

“You have to let me interview you!” Twilight said. “Or maybe run some tests. Are you a magic construct based off of Daring Do, by any chance? That seems like a logical explanation for a fictional character showing up here, and its right up Pinkie Pie’s alley to pull a pony out of a book. Anyway, these tests, I promise they won’t hurt in the slightest, I just want to-”

The large amount of unwanted, obsessive attention focused on her was driving Mirror to her breaking point. Thoughts of what Pinkie had mentioned about her friends on the way to Ponyville, especially about Twilight, ran through the distressed pegasus pony’s mind: about how Twilight was a powerful unicorn and the personal student of Princess Celestia herself. Worse-case scenarios about the unicorn discovering her true nature and obliterating her with a single spell, or just plain handing her over for Celestia’s judgment, flashed through her thoughts as well. She couldn’t take it. Get away from me, stop getting so close! Get away, get away, get away-

“GET AWAY FROM ME!” Mirror screamed. Closing her eyes, she turned and lashed out blindly; her back hooves connected directly with Twilight’s face, sending the surprised unicorn crashing to the library floor several feet away.

A collective gasp rang out throughout the room. “Twilight!” Spike cried out, running to the unicorn’s side.

Mirror stood frozen for several seconds, staring at the scene before her with wide, horrified eyes. Oh dear Chrysalis, what have I done?

“I’m sorry!” Mirror cried, running to stand beside Spike at Twilight’s side. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to! You were just too close; you kept asking questions and you just kept getting closer, and I panicked and, and, I’m sorry! Please forgive me!”

Tears were pooling in the changeling’s eyes as she apologized over and over again. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hit you and I-”

A purple hoof placed itself over Mirror’s mouth, prompting the transformed pegasus to stop talking. Pulling her hoof away, Twilight slowly picked herself back up, standing a little unsteadily, but righting herself soon enough. Mirror let out a shaky sigh of relief that she saw Twilight was okay.

“Ow, that actually hurt.” Twilight winced, placing a hoof over her snout. “Don’t beat yourself up over it though; I’ve been through worse.” The unicorn eyed Pinkie Pie as she spoke, the pink pony smiling sheepishly in response.

“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you! I really didn’t!” Mirror said.

Twilight just shook her head. “I told you, I’ve been through much worse. And anyway, it was partly my fault. That was extremely rude of me to just do that to you without warning. I mean, I didn’t even introduce myself to you first!”

“…O-Okay.” Mirror said, taking deep breaths to calm her nerves. It’s okay, it’s okay. She doesn’t hate you, nopony hates you. She forgave you, after all. It’s all okay.

“I mean, really, where did my manners go?” Twilight asked, giving an embarrassed laugh. She held out a hoof to Mirror. “I’m Twilight Sparkle, by the way. Pleased to meet you.”

Mirror reached out her hoof to grab Twilight’s. “I’m-”

“Hey Twilight!” The library door burst open as a blue pegasus with a rainbow mane shot into the room. Mirror screeched in shock and dashed behind Fluttershy, cowering beneath the yellow pony’s tail.

“Rainbow! I told you we have to stick together! The changelings are still out there, and we can’t risk any of us being ponynapped and impersonated!” Twilight reprimanded the rainbow-maned pegasus, giving her an annoyed glare.

“Aw, lighten up Twilight!” Rainbow Dash said, waving a hoof in dismissal. “Rarity and Applejack split up as soon as we got back, and they’re perfectly fine! This whole ‘buddy system’ thing is ridiculous!”

“I don’t think it’s ridiculous.” Pinkie gave her opinion on the matter. “I think it's loads of fun!”

“Oh course you do.” Rainbow Dash scoffed. She turned back towards Twilight and held out a book in her hooves. “Anyway Twi, I had to leave to go get my book! I finished it! “Daring Do and the Alicorn’s Shadow” was amazing; one of the best ones yet! You have the next one, don’t you?”

“Oh course I do, but you still didn’t have to go leave. You could have just read the next one here and gotten the book later.” Twilight said.

“Speaking of Daring Do…” Spike said, tugging on Twilight’s tail to get her attention and pointing to the timid pegasus hiding behind the other timid pegasus.

Knowing that their attention was on her once again, Mirror decided to face the inevitable and slowly crawled out from behind Fluttershy. She turned to face Rainbow Dash and the two made eye contact for exactly three point five seconds before Rainbow started fan-filly squealing.

“Ohmygosh,ohmygosh,ohmygosh,ohmygosh, EEEEEEEE-!” Rainbow’s high-pitched squeal of delight forced Mirror to cover her own highly-sensitive ears to avoid going deaf. She cast a desperate glance at Pinkie and Fluttershy, silently begging them to help. Both ponies exchanged nervous looks, though, not knowing how to handle the situation.

Once again, Mirror found herself all too literally face-to-face with another pony. “You’re Daring Do! THE Daring Do! I can’t believe this, I am your biggest fan!”

“Good to hear…” Mirror said nervously, but it came out so soft that she doubted the rainbow-maned pegasus had even heard it.

“I can’t believe you’re actually here! This is a dream come true! I’ve got to take advantage of this moment…” Rainbow Dash trailed off. She suddenly gasped and held up “Daring Do and the Alicorn’s Shadow” to her. “Here! Sign this book!”

The book was forcefully pulled out of Rainbow’s grasp by Twilight’s magic. “Rainbow! This is library property!”

Rainbow Dash glared at the purple unicorn. “Oh come on, Twilight! You can’t tell me that this library, which you own, wouldn’t benefit from having a Daring Do book signed by Daring Do herself!”

“But I’m not-” Mirror began.

Rainbow turned her attention back to Mirror, eyes gleaming with excitement. “This is so cool! You look just like how I imagined you, down to every detail!”

“Well of course she does, Dashie!” Pinkie said. “She’s on the cover of every book! How could she not look like how you imagined?”

Mirror shot an anger-filled glance at the pink earth pony. You knew?! You knew all along this would happen and you didn’t tell me?!

“Yeah, but she looks exactly like what you’d expect from the greatest adventurer of all time! This messy mane,” Dash tugged on Mirror’s hair as she spoke, “these strong, durable wings,” She pulled up both of Mirror’s wings to full length to show, “and of course this adventuring cutie mark!” Dash gave a light tap to one of the compass rose cutie marks for emphasis.

“Hey, stop that!” Mirror growled, spreading her wings and fluttering a short distance away from Rainbow Dash. She had been rather terrified at first when Rainbow Dash had shown up, but the pegasus and her violation of the changeling’s personal space was pushing down that fear and replacing it with anger and annoyance.

Rainbow looked at the disguised pony with slight surprise, the action having brought her attention to Mirror’s injured leg, which was still wrapped in bandages even after her transformation.

“Oh wow, your leg! Did you injure it? How? Where?” Rainbow Dash asked, lifting up Mirror’s bandaged leg.

“I told you to stop that!” Mirror shouted, forcefully pulling her leg away and hopping backwards. Her indignation at the pegasus had pushed aside all thoughts of fear or paranoia out of her mind.

“Hey, what’s your deal?” Rainbow asked, flying up to her. “You were a lot nicer in the books!”

“Well maybe I’d be nicer if you showed some respect, stopped invading my space, and gave me some time to think!” Mirror shot back, wings flaring outward and tail lashing in frustration.

Rainbow was shocked by her outburst, and the blue pegasus pony descended to the ground. She looked away from Mirror and pawed at the ground in embarrassment. “…You’re right. Maybe I did go a bit too far. But can you blame me? You’re Daring Do; you’re the greatest adventurer in the history of adventurers! Your books are so cool they got me into reading!”

“But I’m not Daring Do!” Mirror cried.

At this, Rainbow Dash fell silent and every pony in the room looked at her with shock and confusion.

Rainbow was the first to break the silence. “What do you mean, you’re not Daring Do?”

“Exactly that. I’m not Daring Do; my name is Mirror Match.” Mirror said. A part of her was screaming at her that this was a bad idea, but Mirror ignored it. She couldn’t keep up the charade of a character she knew nothing about; she’d only get discovered sooner.

“Mirror Match? What kind of name is that for a pegasus?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“It’s my name!” Mirror shouted, though inwardly she agreed. That part of her that always insulted the name was probably laughing hysterically right now.

“But I don’t get it,” Twilight spoke up. “If you’re not Daring Do, why do you look so much like her?”

Mirror was about to reply when Rainbow Dash flew up in her face again. “Yeah, why? You’ve got her mane, her eyes, her wings…” Rainbow said, reaching for her mane only for Mirror to slap her hoof away.

“What did I just say about that?” Mirror growled.

“How can you not be Daring Do? You’ve even got her adventuring cutie mark!” Rainbow continued, pointing at the compass roses.

“But it’s not an adventuring cutie mark!” Mirror said.

“It’s not?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion. Rainbow Dash mimicked the action.

“No! It’s a traveling cutie mark!” Granted, that sounded a lot better in her head, but it could still work if she played her cards right.

“A traveling cutie mark? Yeah, right! I think I know what you really are!” Rainbow Dash said, pointing a hoof at Mirror’s snout. “I think you’re a changeling spy disguised as Daring Do!”

Everyone except Rainbow Dash and Mirror gasped at the accusation. Twilight and Spike were absolutely shocked, while Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy looked like they wanted to intervene, but weren’t sure how to without worsening the situation.

“What? I’m not a… whatever it was you just said!” Mirror said, thinking quickly despite the fearful pounding in her chest. She couldn’t let things fall apart here!

“What, you haven’t heard about the changelings yet? Princess Celestia sent messengers out to every city and town to spread the word.” Rainbow Dash said.

“I don’t have a traveling cutie mark for nothing, you know!” Mirror retorted. “I haven’t been to a single town in days. I only just arrived in Ponyville this morning!”

“Oh yeah?” Rainbow Dash asked, still suspicious.

“Yeah! Fluttershy and I found Matchie near her cottage this morning!” Pinkie Pie intervened, hopping next to Mirror. “We were going to show her around Ponyville today and introduce her to everypony, and we came here first!”

Mirror gave an inward sigh of relief and smiled gratefully at Pinkie Pie. Thanks for backing me up.

Rainbow Dash still didn’t look convinced. “Alright, fine, but that still doesn’t explain why you look exactly like Daring Do? Well, have you got an explanation for that, too?”

“It’s a coincidence!” Mirror shot back desperately.

“Really, a coincidence?” Rainbow repeated, “You really expect us to believe that it’s a coincidence you look exactly like the main character of a very popular adventure book series?”

“Yes! It’s just a coincidence! A series of horrible, unfortunate coincidences…” Mirror trailed off, letting her head and wings drop low.

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked, trying to be the voice of rationality in the interrogation.

“It… it really is just that.” Mirror said, sadness entering her tone of voice. Come on, Mirror, you can do this! Tell them a story, make it believable. You’re a changeling, remember, you make up stories all the time! You can come up with something!

She continued on. “My parents, well, let’s just say they really liked the Daring Do series. A lot. And when I was born, a pegasus with magenta eyes, a tan coat, and a grayscale mane and tail, they instantly noticed the similarities; they were ecstatic. They named me Mirror Match, since I was, well, a mirror match of Daring Do, and they did everything they could to make me exactly like her. They made sure my mane had her same messy look, and they took me out constantly; camping, hiking, you name it, in the hopes I’d discover a talent for adventuring. They saw me as nothing but their little doll to model as they saw fit.”

Mirror paused at that point, and briefly looked around. Everyone, especially Twilight and Rainbow Dash, looked captivated by her story. Good. “After a while, I’d had enough. I wanted an identity for myself. So I left, and I traveled in order to find someplace where I’d be liked for who I was, not who I looked like. But during my travels, I got, well, you know…” She looked forlornly at her cutie mark. “Who knows, maybe that was fate’s way of telling me my destiny really was to be nothing but a copy of Daring Do after all.”

Still wearing a mask of misery, Mirror looked around, silently and somewhat guiltily relishing in the looks of horror on Twilight, Rainbow, and Spike’s faces. Good, seems that my story did the trick. Maybe now they’ll stop questioning me.

“Oh my, I’m so sorry Mirror.” Twilight was the first to speak up. “We didn’t know.”

“Yeah, sorry.” Rainbow Dash agreed. “That was horrible of me, accusing you of being a changeling just like that. It’s just, you know, hysteria. The whole town’s completely on edge over them right now.”

“That’s okay. I don’t blame you, as long as you understand now.” Mirror said, pushing down the small feelings of guilt forming within her. What’s with me? It’s not like I haven’t lied to anypony before, so why’s it bothering me now?

Twilight walked over and placed a hoof on Mirror’s shoulder. “Well, as long as that’s settled. I can’t believe your parents would do something like that, though.”

“Yeah, those rotten jerks!” Rainbow Dash growled. “What kind of parents could do that to their kid? It’s unbelievable! If I ever see them…”

“No, its fine now, I’m not going to worry about them anymore and you shouldn’t either.” Mirror said. “Though, who knows, maybe this’ll finally be the town in which I can start over.”

“Of course, and if that’s the case, allow me to officially welcome you to Ponyville!” Twilight said. “If you ever need anything, just come and ask us. We’ll be happy to help.”

“Yeah, what she said! Though if you don’t mind, I mean, I know you probably hate the series by now, but Twilight’s really the only one of my friends I can talk to about it. So, if you don’t mind, maybe we could get together and talk one day?” Rainbow asked, smiling nervously.

“Sure, I’d like to do that.” Mirror said, nodding and smiling warmly in turn. Note to self: read every Daring Do book before ever talking to this mare again.

“Well, this has certainly been a barrel full of laughs and drama, but it’s about time we got going now.” Pinkie Pie said, jumping into the conversation. “Time’s a-wasting and we have a lot of ponies to meet!”

“Alright. Bye, Rainbow, bye Twilight!” Mirror said, addressing both ponies as she started walking towards the door with Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy.

“Hey, what about me?” Spike asked.

“Bye, Spike.” The disguised changeling said as she passed him. The dragon smiled at the recognition.

“Goodbye girls! You’ll be in for quite the excitement, Mirror.” Twilight said, remembering her first visit to Ponyville. “Trust me, I should know.”

Mirror nodded in acknowledgement and shut the library door behind her as she walked out, turning to Pinkie and Fluttershy.

“Wow Matchie, that was quite the story!” Pinkie told her. “I actually believed it for a while. Before I remembered it was fake, that is.”

“Where did you come up with that?” Fluttershy asked.

“Made it up on the spot.” Mirror said, walking past them. “Though I hope I never have to do that ever again...”

The changeling stopped and stared as she saw a large group of ponies approaching them. She had a feeling that it was because of her, and sighed inwardly. I have this slight feeling that the universe hates me.

The group of ponies quickly formed a half-circle around the three. Mirror could hear some of them whispering something, but too many were speaking at once to make anything out.

Finally, an earth pony with blue and pink hair and three candies for a cutie mark spoke up. “It is her! Daring Do! It’s really her!”

Mirror felt her heart sink again as the mob of ponies broke out into loud chattering about her and began slowly walking forward. Not again…

“Never fear, girls! I have a plan!” Pinkie said.

“You do?” Mirror and Fluttershy asked, looking both fearful and hopeful at the same time.

“Yep, and I’m sure it’ll work! If Twilight can do it, so can we!” Pinkie said. The pink pony then pulled out a record player from nowhere. “Come on, girls, let’s… Yakpony Sax!”

Pinkie Pie turned and bucked the player, starting up a wacky, fast-paced tune. She pulled out her party cannon and set it off right next to Mirror, who shrieked and shot off, leaving the other two to catch up while the crowd of fan ponies followed them.

Dashing into a nearby costume shop, a short ruckus left the three ponies standing behind the store’s display window in ballerina outfits. They stood and posed just as the crowd rushed past them, though not two seconds later, Mirror lost her balance and fell over, attracting their attention. Leaving the costumes behind, the three shot out of the store in the opposite direction.

Running out of Ponyville to the nearby lake, Pinkie Pie hopped into a fishing boat on the shore, with Mirror and Fluttershy jumping in after, and paddled off, ignoring the boat’s owner’s indignant shouts. Once they were out in the middle, Pinkie Pie took out three fishing hats and plopped two on her friends’ heads, who looked at her in confusion as she pulled out a fishing rod. Feeling a tug, Pinkie pulled on the rod, pulling out a grey pegasus with a snorkel mask. Several other ponies in snorkel masks surfaced around the boat, so Pinkie dropped the rod, the pony still on it, and quickly paddled back to shore. They jumped and took off running.

Going back to Ponyville, the three ponies ducked into another store. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy ran out the other door, Fluttershy in a dress and bonnet and Pinkie wearing a fake beard and Hawaiian shirt, pushing a baby carriage between them. The crowd of fans ran right past them, and the two looked into the carriage. A baby Mirror was glaring at them both, magenta eyes narrowed in annoyance. Smiling nervously, they turned and carted off in the other direction, ditching the clothes once again. Turning a corner into an alley as the mob ran past them yet again, Mirror jumped out of the carriage into a nearby dumpster. A brief flash of green followed, and the pegasus, now fully aged once more, tossed off her bib and diaper and flew off again, the two following her.

Coming out into the open again, Mirror suddenly stopped as she saw two Canterlot guards facing away from them just several meters away. Fluttershy, who had been flying behind her, crashed into her due to the sudden stop, and Pinkie Pie bounced into them right after, sending all three sprawling on the ground in a heap. They quickly recovered and dashed behind a fruit stand as the guards turned in their direction, but seeing nothing, the guards shrugged and left. Looking out from behind the stand to make sure the coast was clear, the three ponies shot off again.

As they entered back into the main part of town, Pinkie Pie suddenly shouted, “Wait!” The other two heeded her call, turning to face her in confusion. Pinkie turned and bucked her record player, which was set right next to her, turning it off. “There! I think that’s good enough for now!”

Mirror looked around and realized they were back in front of Twilight’s library, and that several other ponies that weren’t part of the mob were now staring at them. “We’re right back where we started!”

Mirror then heard a cry of “There she is!” from behind her, and turned to see the crowd of fan ponies chasing them once more. She felt ready to cry. Why didn’t I pick a different form? Why didn’t I listen to Fluttershy’s incredibly vague warning?

Well, regrets weren’t going to help her right now. Ducking behind Pinkie Pie, the changeling cowered and shouted, “Do something, Pinkie!”

“Alright Matchie, just leave it to me!” Pinkie said. She cleared her throat, then hollered at the top of her lungs, “AHHH! IT’S A CHANGELING! EVERYPONY RUN!”

The pink pony pointed at a random blue stallion, who only had time to say “What?” before five ponies jumped him. Everypony else who had heard her began screaming and running in terror. Pinkie gave a smug smile to her completely shocked changeling friend.

Her smile quickly fell away, however, as a green light flashed briefly from under the pile, and one of the Canterlot guards, who had come to break them up, pulled a dazed changeling out from the pile.

Pinkie turned back towards Mirror, who looked one step away from having a panic attack. “I Pinkie Promise you I was not expecting that,” She pleaded.

Fluttershy looked nervously around. “Maybe we should leave.”

“Agreed, let’s go!” Pinkie Pie said, laughing nervously as she and Fluttershy started pulling the unresponsive pegasus-changeling away.

In the surrounding chaos, no one noticed the three ponies quickly fleeing the scene.

Chapter 4: Misadventures in Ponyville Part 2

The three ponies slowly trudged through Ponyville. Mirror and Fluttershy were walking beside each other, not talking, and even Pinkie Pie seemed strangely subdued, having stopped bouncing in favor of walking normally. She glanced guiltily back at her changeling friend, then turned away, lost in her own thoughts.

“Why didn’t you warn me about this form?” Mirror whimpered to the yellow pegasus beside her.

Fluttershy just looked at the ground, avoiding eye contact. “…I’m sorry.”

Mirror sighed and looked back towards the road. Now that she had been given the chance to stop and calm down and her rush of adrenaline had worn off, she was keenly aware of how sore and tired her body was. Especially her leg; even if she had spent more time flying than running, she had still put far too much stress on it while it was still healing. She limped along slowly, her body screaming for her to stop and rest.

The transformed changeling suddenly felt something soft and warm press against her coat, and she turned to see Fluttershy beside her, supporting her as they continued to walk down the empty street. All the other ponies had long since left to see the commotion that the three had accidentally raised.

“You look like you’re tired.” Fluttershy told her, her voice gentle. “Here, you can lean on me for support if you’d like.”

“Thank you, Fluttershy.” Mirror said, letting the pegasus help her. Reflecting on her situation, she realized that despite the love these two had given her back at the cottage, the changeling was still in no condition to be doing anything remotely strenuous yet.

Feeling Fluttershy’s love so close to her though, Mirror couldn’t help but absorb it in greedy amounts. She was well aware that she shouldn’t be taking in love this quickly (Fluttershy still needed energy, after all), but Mirror was tired and needed the strength. She’d make it up to the pegasus later.

“Hey, how long do you think my leg’s going to take to heal?” Mirror asked Fluttershy, looking at the bandaged appendage.

“Well, I’ve never tried treating a changeling before,” Fluttershy said, her voice so soft that Mirror had to strain to hear it. “But Rainbow Dash’s wing healed three days after being broken once, so I’d assume yours would take about as long as that.”

“I see…” Mirror said. She looked up from the ground just in time to see Pinkie Pie jump in front of them, staring directly into Mirror’s eyes.

“Oh, Matchie, I’m sorry! I didn’t know that pony was actually a changeling!” She apologized. “It was an accident! Please forgive me!”

And there it was. The one topic Mirror had been purposely pushing to the back of her mind in order to avoid having a nervous breakdown. Sighing shakily, the pegasus-changeling struggled to fight back her growing distress.

“I-I know, it wasn’t your fault. You couldn’t have known. I didn’t even know, and I’m one of them!” Mirror said, glad that there were no ponies around to overhear them.

“…Did you know him?” Fluttershy asked.

Mirror was taken aback by the question. “I… I don’t know. I mean, he was probably my brother, but most of the swarm’s changelings are my siblings, so that doesn’t mean much. He looks the same as most of them, and without my horn, I can’t tell him apart from the others!”

Mirror let herself fall to the ground and rested her head on her hooves. “I wonder if he’s been calling out to me.” She said softly. “I wonder if he’s been trying to contact me telepathically, to tell me that he was there, and I never knew because without my horn, I… I can’t hear or even recognize him.”

“Ah, come on Matchie! Don’t be so down!” Pinkie said, pulling the changeling off the ground and into a tight hug. Mirror didn’t protest. “It’s not your fault it broke; you don’t have to take the blame for it. Come on, turn that frown upside down! Please?”

“I know. You’re right, I know. But I should have done something.” Mirror said. “I feel like I should go back and help him, but what can I do? I’ll just get arrested too, and all this trouble will be for naught.”

“But you don’t even know if you know him!” Pinkie protested. “For all you know, you could have never spoken to him a day in your life!”

“…That is a big possibility. The swarm is near infinite in numbers, after all.” Mirror sighed and let go of Pinkie Pie, standing on her own. “I wonder, if one changeling ended up here, do you think others might have, too?”

“Possibly,” Fluttershy agreed. “But we don’t have any way to tell, do we?”

“Not without my horn, no.” Mirror confirmed.

“Well then, nothing we can do about it then, right?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“I suppose not.” Mirror sighed. “Maybe what I’m upset about is that this just confirms my worries. They’ll never accept me; if I reveal myself, they’ll see me as nothing but an enemy.”

“But we accept you.” Fluttershy said. “Isn’t that enough for now?”

Mirror stared at her, surprise evident in her eyes, before a small smile crossed her face. “…Yeah. You two like me, and I suppose that is enough for now. I really am grateful to you both for taking me in.”

“Oh, Matchie, we’re the Elements of Kindness and Laughter, remember?” Pinkie said, ruffling Mirror’s mane as she spoke. “What kind of Elements of Harmony would we be if we rejected you based on what you looked like?”

“Well, what about Zecor-” Fluttershy began, only for Pinkie to quickly cover her mouth with her hoof.

“We agreed to never speak of that again, remember?” Pinkie whispered, blushing slightly in embarrassment.

Mirror giggled softly and gave them a full smile. “Thanks, you two. I needed the cheering up.”

“That’s the spirit, Matchie! We could all use a little help when we’re feeling down!” Pinkie said. “And about that changeling, don’t worry; I’m sure things will work themselves out eventually. Well, probably…”

Mirror tried her best to ignore the uncertainty in Pinkie’s voice and focus on another subject. “So, where are we going next? After all this, I kind of just want to go back to the cottage.”

“What? You can’t! We still have so much to do!” Pinkie said. “You at least have to meet Rarity and Applejack before the day’s over!”

“Okay, okay, whatever you say.” Mirror said hurriedly. “So again, where are we going?”

Pinkie Pie thought about it for a moment before an idea came to her. “I know! We’ll go to Carousel Boutique! You see, Rarity’s a fashion designer; she makes clothes for other ponies. We’ll go see her, and not only will you make a new friend, but she may be able to make you a new disguise!”

“A new disguise?” Mirror repeated. “You mean, something that’ll help me look less like Daring Do without drawing more attention?”

“Exactly!” Pinkie confirmed, adding a little trill to the ‘x’ sound as she spoke.

The earth pony turned and started bouncing away once more. “Race you there!”

“What? But Pinkie, I’m tired! Wait up!” Mirror groaned, spreading her wings and flying after her. Fluttershy just followed behind at her own pace.

The three soon arrived at Carousel Boutique, which, true to its name, was a clothing store designed to resemble a large carousel, complete with riding horse statues towards the top of the building. Mirror thought the place looked rather fancy and refined compared to the rest of Ponyville.

Pinkie Pie didn’t even bother to knock this time as she just threw open the boutique’s door. “Rarity! Are you here?”

The unicorn in question, who had been carefully working on the stitching of a hat, jumped at the sudden noise and dropped both the needle and hat. Quickly regaining her composure, she turned around and put on a smile for her cheerful friend.

“Pinkie Pie! What a surprise! I didn’t expect to see you here. Is this a friendly visit, or did you need something?” Rarity asked.

“Uh, both! Fluttershy and I have some big news!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

“Really now, big news? I have some too, you know. I bet my news is bigger, though!” Rarity said.

“You’re on!” Pinkie said, accepting the challenge. She pointed a hoof at the open door, where Mirror and Fluttershy were just entering.

Rarity’s eyes lit up when she spotted Mirror. “Oh, well hello! I don’t believe I’ve seen you around here before! Welcome to Carousel Boutique! My name is Rarity; it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Pleased to meet you, Rarity. I’m Mirror Match.” Mirror said, taking in the unicorn’s appearance. She had a white coat and an elegantly coiled purple mane and tail, along with deep blue eyes and three diamonds for a cutie mark. The changeling couldn’t help thinking she looked very beautiful.

“Mirror Match? What a lovely name.” Rarity smiled warmly at her.

“Thank you! Finally somepony thinks so!” Mirror said. Hah! Take that, part of me that thinks my name is stupid!

“Although, I can’t help but think you look familiar.” Rarity said. “Are you that pegasus from-”

“No! I mean, yes, but, I mean, ugh! It’s complicated.” Mirror said, frustration welling up once again at the sensitive topic. She forced herself to stay calm.

“Well, if that’s the case, I won’t bother you about it. Celestia knows all the complicated problems I’ve had before.” Rarity said. Mirror silently thanked the unicorn for not pursuing the subject.

“Hey, speaking of which, what’s your big news, Rarity?” Pinkie Pie asked her.

“Big news?” Fluttershy repeated.

“Oh, you two won’t believe what happened this morning! My cousin, Sparkler, has dropped in unexpectedly for a visit!” Rarity revealed.

“Your cousin? You never told us you had a cousin.” Fluttershy said, she and Pinkie wearing similar confused expressions.

“Yes, well, Sparkler and I have never exactly… got along well. She’s haughty, overbearing, and, though it pains me to admit it, rather similar to myself. The two of us just don’t mix very well.” Rarity explained.

“…Are you happy to have her over, then?” Mirror asked.

Rarity stared at the pegasus, surprised by the question. “But of course! Even if we don’t always get along, she’s still my older cousin! She’s family, and I love her all the same. After all, this is the first time she’s come to visit me in five years!”

“Five years?! Why is she coming to visit now, then?” Fluttershy asked.

“She told me she was in town for a while on business matters, and decided to pay her little cousin a visit. Despite our differences, I couldn’t let her stay in some plain old hotel room. She’s going to be staying with Sweetie Belle and I while she’s here.” Rarity answered.

“Wow, that’s so exciting!” Pinkie Pie said. “But a little bit suspicious. Hey, maybe you’re right; maybe that wasn’t the only changeling in Ponyville after all, Mirror!”

“Maybe…” Mirror tried to keep calm and looked back at Rarity, waiting to see what her reaction would be, when she suddenly saw a small flash of green flicker in the unicorn’s eyes. The light was gone as quickly as it came, however, leaving the changeling to wonder if she had just imagined it.

“Did you see that?” She whispered to Pinkie Pie.

“See what?” Pinkie whispered back.

“That light in her eyes, you didn’t see it?” Mirror asked.

“Ah, nope! Nothing out of the ordinary!” The pink pony replied. “Why, was it weird?”

“…Ah, no, never mind.” Mirror said. She quickly looked at Fluttershy, who didn’t seem to have noticed anything odd either. Am I the only one who saw that?

Rarity finally decided to address the statement. “If you’re implying that Sparkler is actually a changeling in disguise, then you should know that your accusation, while… plausible…” She sounded like she had trouble getting the word out, “…is ultimately incorrect.”

“What do you mean?” Fluttershy asked.

“I’m sure you must have noticed, but not even the queen of those horrible creatures could be bothered to actually act like the pony they impersonated, whereas Sparkler acts exactly like how I remember her… well, I guess she does seem to be more haughty than usual, but I suppose spending five more years being the head of an Equestria-renowned jewelry business would do that to you.” Rarity growled out the last part of the sentence.

“Equestria-renowned?” Fluttershy repeated.

“Oh yes, Sparkling Jewelries, the most famous jewelry chain in Equestria. All of the Canterlot nobles wear her designs, but you’re not likely to recognize her as its founder unless you’re extremely involved in the fashion world.” Rarity explained.

“Your cousin is that famous?” Fluttershy asked, to which Rarity nodded in response. “Wow, I’m sure we’d all like to meet her.”

“Yes, well, unfortunately she’s not here at the moment.” Rarity said. “She’s acquainting herself with the rest of Ponyville. But I hope you all realize now that Sparkler is not a changeling. It’s simply too impossible to even consider.”

“I… never implied that she was.” Fluttershy said timidly.

“Good, and let’s keep it that way. Because if you say otherwise to anypony and get my cousin arrested, I’ll never forgive you!” Rarity shouted. Fluttershy nodded quickly in agreement. “Good! I’m glad you understand.” The unicorn smiled, her demeanor doing a complete 180.

“Don’t worry, Rarity, we won’t! It’d be really mean of us to sentence somepony just because of suspicious circumstances, after all!” Pinkie said.

“What about Zecor-” Fluttershy began, only to be once again cut off by Pinkie Pie’s hoof.

“I thought we agreed to never speak of that again?!” Pinkie said, casting a quick glance at Mirror.

“R-Right…” Fluttershy squeaked once Pinkie removed her hoof.

“Oh, but now this means I’m going to have to throw two parties to welcome you and Sparkler!” Pinkie said to Mirror. “I wonder if I can combine them? Do you think that would work? I’ve never tried one party for two guests of honor before!”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine, Pinkie, but I’ll talk with Sparkler later, just to be sure.” Rarity said.

“Thanks Rarity!” Pinkie said. “Anyway, I’ve gotta go! I have to go set up and send out invitations; everything has to be perfect! Fluttershy, I’m leaving you in charge of showing Matchie around the rest of Ponyville, okay?”

“Um, okay…” Fluttershy looked nervously at Mirror, who quickly turned away, looking uneasy as well.

Great, I’ll see you all at Sugarcube Corner at five! It’s going to be so much fun!” Pinkie said, zooming out the door and slamming it shut behind her.

Mirror stared at the door that the pink pony had just exited through. She couldn’t quite place it, but she felt like she just lost something important when the earth pony left. Oh well, can’t do anything about it now. Maybe I’ll figure it out later.

“Well now, I believe Pinkie Pie said you needed something?” Rarity asked, catching Mirror’s attention.

“Oh, right! Well, as I’m sure you can tell, I look a lot like Daring Do,” Mirror said. “There’s a story behind this, and I’ll tell it to you, but it’s really been causing me a lot of problems lately.”

“I see. Yes, Daring Do is rather popular among the ponies here, that’s for sure.” Rarity nodded.

“Exactly, so I was hoping you could make me look… you know, less like her.” Mirror admitted.

“Oh, you mean a disguise?” Rarity asked.

“No, not exactly. I just want something that’ll make the similarities between us less noticeable.” Mirror explained. The last thing I need is to get involved in recursive disguising. That’s always annoying.

“Hmm, ah! Idea!” Rarity said in a sing-song voice. She grabbed the changeling and began leading her to a large mirror. “Come stand here. I have just the thing to help you!”

“You do?” Mirror asked, her voice hopeful.

“Indeed I do! This unkempt mane of yours- no offense- is an iconic part of Daring Do’s image. Therefore, a little change to it should help you with your dilemma.” Rarity explained.

“So, you mean a manestyle change?” Mirror asked. Huh, never had one of those before. Not a real one, anyway.

“Exactly!” Rarity said, magically picking up a brush and scissors. The unicorn began brushing Mirror’s mane. “Now, why don’t you tell me that story while I work? Make the time go by.”

“Oh, okay…” Mirror said. The changeling then began reciting her fake backstory once more as Rarity worked, brushing and snipping off small bits of hair, along with an occasional magic spell to make the hairs longer.

“That’s quite the story.” Rarity commented once Mirror finished. She took the scissors to an uneven part of the pegasus’s hair, cutting it straight. “How did you feel about all that?”

“Well, I guess it’s not too bad anymore. It wasn’t that fun, being forced into activities I never really enjoyed, but it’s all behind me now. I’ve finally got the chance to start over, here in Ponyville.” Mirror said, casting a glance at Fluttershy, who had settled down with a magazine in order to watch them.

“And how is it? Your first time in Ponyville, that is?” Rarity asked, casting a knot-removal spell on her mane.

“Fine I guess, there have been a couple of incidents, though.” Mirror said. She began telling Rarity about her visit to Twilight’s library, but was interrupted when she reached the part about freaking out and attacking Twilight.

“So, let me get this straight. You… bucked Twilight.” Rarity said.

“Yeah…” Mirror said sheepishly.

“…in the face.” Rarity repeated.

“It was an accident!” Mirror insisted. “I panicked!”

“No, no, dear. I believe you. Keep going.” The unicorn said, snipping off another lock.

Mirror continued her story, soon reaching the end. She waited to see if Rarity would comment on it.

“And Rainbow just accused you of being a changeling?” Rarity asked. “That’s rather rude.”

“Yeah, I thought the same.” Mirror said.

“You’re not a changeling, though, are you?” Rarity asked.

“No, of course not!” Mirror said quickly. “If I was a changeling, do you really think I’d be stupid enough to attract attention to myself by taking the form of a famous fictional character?”

“It does sound pretty ridiculous.” Rarity agreed.

“Exactly! I mean, come on!” Mirror said, smiling a little too widely. Dear Chrysalis, I am an idiot!

Desperate to get onto another topic, Mirror continued the story of what happened after they left the library, all the way up to when they came to Carousel Boutique, leaving out all the parts that could hint at her true nature as a changeling.

“…and here we are now.” Mirror finished.

“…A changeling in Ponyville? That’s rather worrying.” Rarity said.

“Yeah, I suppose…” Mirror trailed off, not knowing what to say.

Snipping off one final lock, Rarity put away her tools and grabbed two magenta hair bands, tying them onto Mirror’s mane and tail. “There! All done!”

Mirror looked into her reflection, silently taking in Rarity’s work. Her grayscale mane and tail, now straight and tidy instead of messy, were both considerably longer and fuller to the point where they almost touched the floor. The top of her mane still had a ruffled look, but it was fuller and more refined-looking than before. Her mane hung off to one side of her head, and both it and her tail were tied at the ends by the magenta hair bands Rarity had added. Wow…

“Do you like it? I styled Rainbow Dash’s mane this way when we all went to the Grand Galloping Gala, but she wouldn’t keep it afterward. I can tell that you’re not quite as… impatient as she is, though, so you should be able to hold it together much better than her.” Rarity explained. “And if I say so myself, I think a more sophisticated look suits your personality quite well, don’t you think so?”

“I… I love it.” Mirror said, still staring at her reflection in amazement. She turned and gave a genuine smile to the white unicorn. “Thank you, Rarity! I don’t know how I can repay you!”

“Think nothing of it, dear! I’m always willing to help out a friend!” Rarity said, clearly flattered despite her words.

“Friend?” Mirror repeated, her smile faltering the slightest bit due to nervousness.

“Well of course! Any friend of Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie is a friend of mine!” Rarity said. “I’m just glad you’re happy with my work.”

“Yeah, it looks great.” Mirror said. “Still, there must be some way I can repay you for this.”

“Well, if you insist, I could use a pony to help model some of my dresses for me.” Rarity said. “Could you do that for me?”

Mirror nodded. “Sure, trying on two or three dresses won’t hurt.”

Three hours later, Mirror found herself trying on her twenty-seventh dress (she had kept count) for Rarity to inspect. The dress was blue and gold and looked suspiciously like a showgirl outfit, and it was about three sizes too tight for her.

“Well, what do you think?” Rarity asked her as she held up a measuring tape.

“I think it’s cutting off my circulation!” Mirror gasped, struggling to breathe. “How tight is this thing?!”

“Hmm, perhaps the sash could stand to be a little looser. Stand up for me, will you?” Rarity commanded.

Mirror groaned but complied, rearing up on her hind hooves and using her wings to balance herself. Rarity began magically loosening the gold sash around her body.

“Hey Rarity,” Fluttershy suddenly spoke up, looking up from the magazine she had been reading. “Is it true that Chrysa- er, the Changeling Queen and Princess Celestia are in a forbidden relationship and that the chrysalis the princess was put in was supposed to…?” She trailed off at the last part, not wanting to say it out loud.

“WHAT?!” Mirror shouted in shock, losing her balance and almost falling off the podium she stood on. Rarity’s magic, which was still active towards the sash, was the only thing that kept her from doing that. Through Rarity’s help, she steadied herself again and fell back onto all four hooves.

“Fl-Fluttershy dear…” Rarity began, looking very nervous. “You shouldn’t believe everything those tabloids write. They’re all mostly lies for the purpose of selling stories to as many ponies as they can!”

“Then why are you reading-?” Mirror began asking, but Rarity quickly sent her a glare that clearly said ‘be quiet right now or I’ll personally show you that article.’ Mirror opted not to finish her question.

“Are you sure about that? These photos are pretty realistic. Not to mention pretty intimate-looking…” Fluttershy said, trying to look closer at one when the magazine was promptly yanked out of her hooves by Rarity’s magic, crumpled up, and thrown in the trash bin.

"Alright, I think you’ve both stayed here long enough! Thank you for your help, Mirror, I really appreciate it!” Rarity quickly said, roughly pulling the dress off of Mirror.

“Hey, watch it! I just got this cast on this morning! You’ll pull it off!” Mirror cried as she struggled against it.

Rarity quickly succeeded in pulling it off, though, and began herding both ponies towards the door. “Here Mirror, take this hat, it’ll do marvels for helping you blend in better,” She quickly put a large yellow sunhat with a magenta ribbon on Mirror’s head. “Anyway, thank you for visiting, but I really must get back to work now! So many orders, so little time, you understand, don’t you?”

“But Rarity, I don’t understand what-” Fluttershy tried saying as they were pushed out the door.

“Really Fluttershy, take it from one of your best friends. Don’t read those tabloids ever; they’ll poison your innocent mind! Anyway, it really was nice of you to visit, but I’ve kept you too long and you simply must get back to seeing the rest of Ponyville! Okay bye!”

With that, Rarity slammed the door to her home shut, leaving both ponies in a shocked stupor at her doorstep.

“…What just happened?” Mirror finally asked, pulling off her giant hat to take a look at it. Is magenta my iconic color or something?

“I’m not sure…” Fluttershy responded, still not fully understanding why Rarity had freaked out. “But she’s right, we’re supposed to be at Sugarcube Corner in an hour, and we still have to see the rest of Ponyville.”

“Okay, so where to next?” Mirror asked, putting her sunhat back on.

“I’m not sure. Maybe we could head to Sweet Apple Acres and see if Applejack-ah!” Fluttershy started walking away, but as soon as she took one step, her legs gave out and she fell to the ground with a soft gasp.

“Fluttershy!” Mirror cried out, fluttering to the pegasus’s side and helping her up. “Are you okay? What happened?”

“I… I don’t know. I feel so tired all of a sudden…” Fluttershy said, struggling to stand up. “I know a lot happened today, but I didn’t expect it to take this much out of me. Sorry.”

“You have nothing to apologize about.” Mirror told her, feeling a stab of guilt run through her body. She’s like this because I’ve been feeding off her love all day. I didn’t mean to take so much, but it just happens automatically sometimes. This is my fault.

“Here, lean on me,” She instructed. “Should we head back to your cottage?”

“No, there’s no need to go all the way back. I’ll be fine once I get something to eat, hopefully…” Fluttershy said.
“Is there a store or restaurant nearby?” Mirror asked, looking around.

“The market is just a few minutes' walk from here.” Fluttershy said, her voice quieter than normal. “I don’t really like going there; the ponies aren’t exactly friendly, but there’s plenty of food stands there.”

“Then that’s where we’re going. Come on, I’ll help you.” Mirror said. Wrapping her wing around Fluttershy, she helped support the pegasus the entire way to the market, setting her down at a table with a shady umbrella cover. “Wait right here. I’ll be back with something for you soon.”

“Wait!” Fluttershy said, but the pegasus-changeling had already flown off and disappeared amongst the large crowd of ponies there. “But you don’t have any money to buy anything with…”

Pushing her way through the crowd, Mirror emerged into open space and began looking around for a suitable food stand. To her delight, she quickly spotted an apple cart being tended to by an orange earth pony with a blonde mane and tail, both in a ponytail, and three apples for a cutie mark. Looking at the Stetson hat the mare wore, Mirror realized that she had been one of the ponies at Canterlot, and as such, an Element of Harmony and one of Pinkie’s friends. That must be Applejack. I’m sure she’ll be able to help.

Mirror unfurled her wings and flew over to the earth pony’s cart, the pony in question hidden behind it. “Hi there, you must be Applejack.”

“Yes indeed ma’am, that’s me. What can ah do for-” Applejack popped her head out from behind the cart, abruptly breaking off as she got a good look at the pegasus. Her surprised stare filled Mirror with anxiety.

“Um, is something wrong?” She asked nervously, her good hoof pawing at the ground.

The question brought the earth pony back to reality. She shook her head and smiled at the disguised changeling. “Sorry, ya just… reminded me of somepony, that’s all.”

“Yeah, I get that a lot.” Mirror said.

“Well anyway, yer correct. Ah’m Applejack. Ah don’t believe ah’ve seen ya around here before. Ya new in town?” Applejack asked.

“Yeah, I am. I just got here this morning. I’m Mirror Match.” She responded.

Applejack gave her a strange look when she introduced herself. “Mirror Match, huh?”

“Wh-What’s wrong with it?” Mirror asked somewhat defensively.

“Nothin’, it’s just a rather strange name for a pegasus, that’s all.” Applejack responded. “Sounds more like a unicorn name.”

“Yeah, well, it’s my name; can’t do anything about it.” Mirror said. I really should have come up with something more original when I had the chance.

“Hey, no need to get defensive, yer name’s perfectly fine. It’s a pleasure to meet ya, Miss Mirror! Anyway, did ya need something, or did ya just come here to chat?” Applejack asked.

“Um, well, I was actually looking to buy an apple. It’s for my friend, Fluttershy. You know her, right?” Mirror answered.

“Oh? Yer friends with Fluttershy? That’s pretty impressive. She’s real timid, ya know? Didn’t think she’d warm up to a stranger like yerself.” Applejack said.

“True, but I’d say we get along pretty well.” Mirror said. “So anyway, I’d like to buy an apple, please? These look really good.”

“Well, ya have good tastes, then. These here are apples fresh from Sweet Apple Acres, bucked just this mornin’. Best apples on this side of Equestria.” Applejack said.

“Really?” Mirror asked.

“Well… probably.” Applejack said, sounding a little uncertain about the claim. “Anyway, yer new in Ponyville, so ya get yer first apple free of charge! It’s a little promotional thing we’ve got goin’ on.”

The earth pony took a bright red apple and placed it in a small bag, handing it off to Mirror. The changeling looked in the bag at the plump, luscious fruit and felt a feeling of longing welling up inside her. It does look really good. It won’t do anything for me, but it still looks really tasty…

“Um, is it okay if I have one more apple, please?” Mirror asked.

“Sure, ah’d never turn down a chance at business. Course, yer goin’ to have to pay fer this one.” Applejack said. “One apple, so that’ll be one bit, please.”

Mirror suddenly frowned as she realized that she didn’t have any money on her at all. A hot feeling of embarrassment swept through her. Wow, I can’t even buy what’s likely the cheapest thing in this market. How could I not have remembered I needed money to buy anything? Stupid!

“Um, I don’t… have any money.” Mirror admitted, her ears folding back in shame.

“Really?” Applejack frowned. “Not even one bit?”

“No… I’m sorry.” Mirror said, staring down at the ground to avoid looking at the earth pony.

Applejack stared at her for a few more seconds, then sighed. “Well, if you really can’t afford ta pay, ah suppose I can let ya have another freebie just this one time…”

“EXCUSE ME…” A voice called out, so loud and echoing that Mirror had to cover her ears to avoid going temporarily deaf. Both she and Applejack looked to the source of the voice. A unicorn mare was walking towards them, the glow from her horn quickly fading away as she approached.

“There, now that I’ve got your attention…” She continued in a normal, cultured voice. Mirror took a good look at the unicorn. She had a blue coat and an elegantly coiled purple and red striped mane and tail. Her eyes were a deep blue, and her cutie mark was a trio of dark blue jewels. She wore a pair of red, stylish glasses, a gold necklace decorated with rubies, and two saddlebags with diamond clasps. If it weren’t for her colors, Mirror could have mistaken her for Rarity.

“Um, who are you?” Applejack asked, glaring lightly at the new arrival.

“Oh, where are my manners? So sorry!” The unicorn said. “My name is Sparkler. Are you Applejack, by any chance?”

“Yeah, that’s me. Did ya need somethin’?” Applejack asked.

“No, no, just getting to know the locals, as you say. I assume you know my cousin, Rarity?” Sparkler asked.

“Yer Rarity’s cousin? Ah didn’t know she had one.” Applejack said, eyeing her suspiciously.

“We don’t exactly get along well. But, I’m staying here in Ponyville for a while, and Rarity has generously offered to let me stay with her during my visit. So in the meantime, I’m getting to know the townsponies better. You understand, right?” Sparkler explained.

“Well, ah suppose so. Ah’ll ask Rarity about ya later.” Applejack said.

Sparkler frowned slightly at the comment, then turned to look at Mirror beside her. “Hello, dear. What’s your name?”

Tensing up slightly, Mirror turned to look at Sparkler. She felt her fear quickly draining away, however, as she looked into the unicorn’s eyes, which were filled with warmth and kindness. “Uh, I’m Mirror Match.”

“Mirror Match… such a wonderful name.” Sparkler said. Mirror felt herself blushing at the praise. “So, what are you here for?”

“Oh, I… I’m buying an apple.” Mirror answered. “Though I suppose it’s not really buying, since I don’t have any bits…”

“Ah’m givin’ her a freebie just this once.” Applejack explained. “She’s new to Ponyville, so ah’m cuttin’ her some slack, that’s all.”

“Oh, there’s no need for that.” Sparkler said, her horn beginning to glow. One of her saddlebags opened up and two gold coins floated out of it. She handed them to Applejack, then pulled two apples from the pile. “There, I’ll take one for myself, if you don’t mind.”

“Um, sure…” Applejack said, watching the unicorn as she turned and placed one of the apples into Mirror’s bag. She held up her own apple and took a bite out of it. Swallowing, she frowned at the fruit, then rolled her eyes and took another bite before walking away.

Mirror quickly looked between the bag and the departing unicorn, then swept up the bag and flew after her. “It was nice meeting you Applejack. Hey, wait up!”

Without waiting to hear what Applejack said next, Mirror quickly caught up Sparkler. “Why did you do that?”

“Do what?” Sparkler asked in a tone that feigned innocence.

“Pay for my apple. You didn’t have to.” Mirror answered.

“Oh, that. Well, it was only one bit; hardly a large investment.” Sparkler said.

“But… but I don’t even know you!” Mirror said. “We just met!”

“Doesn’t mean I can’t help you out, now does it?” Sparkler replied. Her horn glowed once more, and the necklace she wore was lifted up off her. She placed it around Mirror’s neck and smiled. “Here, another gift from me to you. Don’t worry, I’m not losing anything by giving it to you; I got it from a vendor here for a remarkably low price.”

Mirror placed a hoof on the necklace, stunned into silence. All she managed to get out was one word. “…Why?”

“Why? Because I want to be your friend, that’s why.” Sparkler said. She turned and began walking away. “If you ever need me, just come by Carousel Boutique, okay? I’d love to see you again soon.”

Mirror just stood in silence long after the unicorn had disappeared into the crowd. Suddenly remembering the apples she carried, she snapped out of her trance and quickly flew back to Fluttershy, who was still sitting in the shade of the table’s umbrella.

Mirror pulled out the two apples and set one in front of Fluttershy. “Here, eat this. I met Applejack, and she gave me these.”

“Oh, really? She gave them to you for free?” Fluttershy asked, taking a small, dainty bite out of the apple.

“Well, she was going to, but Sparkler showed up and paid for one of them for me.” Mirror said.

“Sparkler? You mean Rarity’s cousin?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yeah, her. She’s pretty high-class, but she’s also really nice and generous.” Mirror tapped her hoof to one of the rubies on her necklace. “She gave this to me.”

Fluttershy stared wide-eyed at the necklace. “She gave that to you? It’s really pretty, and it looks expensive too.”

“Well, she said she got it for a low price, so who knows.” Mirror said. “Hey, Rarity’s the Element of Generosity, right? Maybe it runs in the family.”

Fluttershy chuckled slightly at the idea, and the two began eating their apples in silence. Eventually, Fluttershy brought up another topic. “Hey, Mirror? About that article, do changeling chrysalises really-”

“No! No they do not!” Mirror forcefully whispered, tensing up at the question.

“Then what do they do?” Fluttershy asked.

“Well, they, uh… they… turn ponies into changelings!” Mirror said, so quickly and quietly she almost thought that Fluttershy hadn’t heard her. Judging by the pegasus’s surprised expression, however, she had.

“Oh. That's... awful...” Fluttershy said.

“You think so? It's something to be celebrated amongst changelings.” Mirror said.

Fluttershy still looked rather bothered by the revelation. “So… are you…?” She asked.

“No, I’m not.” Mirror whispered, quickly looking around to make sure no one was listening in. “There are natural changelings that are born from eggs, and then there are synthetic changelings transformed by chrysalises. They’re pretty much indistinguishable except for slight attitude differences, though.”

“Oh, I see…” Fluttershy said, falling silent. Mirror took off her sunhat and placed it on the table, looking very uncomfortable at having disclosed that information. I’ve probably tainted her innocent mind or something.

“Hey, is that Daring Do?” A pony’s voice rang out. Mirror froze in fear.

“I don’t know, the mane’s completely different.” A second one replied.

“Let’s go and find out!” The first one said.

“Oh, feather!” Mirror cursed, quickly putting her hat back on. She took off, pulling Fluttershy along with her. “We’re leaving, now!”

Once they had flown far enough away from the market, the two pegasi landed and began walking at a slower pace.

“I think we should head to Sugarcube Corner now.” Fluttershy said. “It’s almost five. Come on, it’s this way.”

Fluttershy leading the way, the two eventually reached a large bakery styled after a gingerbread house. “Does Pinkie Pie live here?” Mirror asked.

“Yes, she does, along with Mr. and Mrs. Cake, and their children, Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake.” Fluttershy answered.

There’s a dessert theme going on here. Mirror observed. “Hey, what exactly are we doing here again? With all that’s happened today, I kind of forgot.”

“You’ll see soon enough.” Fluttershy said, pushing the bakery’s door open.

The room inside was dark, but as soon as Mirror stepped through, the lights flipped on and a large group of ponies, led by Pinkie Pie, jumped out and yelled, “SURPRISE!”

In fact, the collective greeting almost drowned out Mirror’s screech of shock and panic as the pegasus-changeling turned and flew off at breakneck speed, leaving her hat behind. The sunhat slowly drifted down onto Fluttershy’s head.

The room was silent for several seconds. “…Um, is she coming back?” Fluttershy asked, lifting the hat out of her eyes. She winced as she heard the dull sound of something impacting a hard object, followed by a distant cry of pain.

“Uh…” Pinkie said, pulling out a long scroll of paper and looking through it. She frowned as she threw it aside. “…No, she’s not. Alright everypony, sorry! Party’s over! We’ll try again another time!”

The group let out a collective sigh of disappointment.

“But, you’re still welcome to some cake and party favors!” Pinkie Pie added with a smile.

The ponies let out a combined cheer.

Mirror laid on the branch of a tall tree near Fluttershy’s cottage, feeling utterly dejected. Her injured hoof hung limply off the side of the branch, still stinging with pain from where she had hit it against a stop sign in her mad dash out of Ponyville. Just great. I’ll be lucky if this ever heals properly now.

“Hey Matchie?” Hearing the familiar sound of her nickname, Mirror looked down from the tree and saw Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy standing at its foot.

“Oh, hey. What are you doing here?” She asked.

“Looking for you. You just took off so suddenly, we wanted to make sure you were okay.” Fluttershy answered.

“Is something wrong? You can tell us, Matchie. We just want to help.” Pinkie added.

“…I’m never going to be able to blend in as a normal pony.” Mirror admitted. “I’m too nervous about being caught, and I can’t calm down and stop worrying about it.”

“What are you talking about, Matchie?” Pinkie asked. “You did great today! You made lots of new friends! I talked with Twilight and Rainbow and Rarity while we waited at the party for you, and they all said they loved meeting you!”

“Really?” Mirror asked in disbelief.

“Totally!” Pinkie said. “You don’t have to worry about being seen as weird or anything! This is Ponyville; you can never be too crazy for us!”

“I don’t think that’s something to be proud of.” Mirror pointed out.

“Yeah, I guess not, but so what? We love you, Matchie, and we’re going to help you every step of the way! We wouldn’t let anything happen to you!” Pinkie said.

After a long moment of silence, Mirror smiled and flew down from the tree, wincing as she landed on her injured leg.

Fluttershy ran forward to check the leg. “You’ve knocked it out of place. I’ll have to reset this. Here, come inside so I can treat you.”

As Fluttershy led her towards the cottage, Mirror turned back to Pinkie Pie. “Hey Pinkie, could you do me a favor?”

“What is it?” Pinkie asked.

“Could you go to Twilight’s library and get me some Daring Do books?” She asked. “If I’m going to sell my story, I need to know what I’m talking about. Just don’t tell Twilight they’re for me, okay?”

Pinkie smiled and nodded. “Don’t worry, Matchie, You can count on me!”

Mirror nodded and turned away, but stopped when Pinkie called something else out. “Oh, by the way…”

Mirror turned back towards her. “Yes, Pinkie Pie?”

“I like your mane.” Pinkie said, giving her a friendly smile.

Mirror blushed lightly. “Thanks.”

With that, Fluttershy led the changeling inside the cottage. Pulling out her medical supplies, she reset the hurt leg and recast it. By the time she was done, Pinkie Pie had returned with the first eight Daring Do books, then left to help clean up the failed party. Three hours later, Mirror was laying in Fluttershy’s bed, still in her pegasus guise with her hat and necklace cast off, reading the first book.

“How do you pronounce that?” She asked herself as she read. “Ahu-zot… Ahu-e-zot…Ahu-Ahuizotl, there, that’s it! Ahuizotl!”

“Hey, Mirror, how are you doing? Are you feeling okay?” Fluttershy asked as she walked up the stairs.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m at the part where Daring Do gets the Sapphire Stone stolen by Ahuizotl.” Mirror answered. “This is actually pretty good.”

“That’s good to hear. That’s halfway through the book, too; you’re a pretty fast reader.” Fluttershy commented.

“Well, I’m pretty smart for a changeling.” Mirror said. “I was taught to read by Queen Chrysalis herself, you know.”

“Really?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yeah. Well, me and a few others, but most changelings are taught by the older drones. It’s a special honor for the queen to teach us. But it’s all part of our training to blend in as ponies. We can’t read pony-written things in our natural form; our eyes see differently from a pony’s. So we learn to shapeshift in order to read. That’s why I’m still in this form.” Mirror explained. To demonstrate her point, she closed the book and set it aside, then changed back to her changeling form.

“I see. Well, I think it’s time we both got to bed, now. See you in the morning.” Fluttershy said, turning to go back down the stairs.

“Wait!” Mirror cried, stopping the pegasus. “Where are you going to sleep?”

“Oh, just downstairs on the couch. You can sleep in my bed.” Fluttershy answered.

“What, no! I can’t just take your bed after everything you’ve done for me! You can sleep here; the bed’s big enough for us both!” Mirror said.

Truthfully, she was afraid of spending the night alone; she usually had the constant company of her siblings in the back of the mind to ease her, but with her horn broken and her connection cut off, she was scared of being completely alone in the dark.

“Just, sleep with me tonight, please?” Mirror pleaded, her bright blue eyes wide with fear.

After a moment of contemplation, Fluttershy relented. She turned off the lights and climbed into bed, Mirror squirming to the side so that there was space between them. An hour passed and Fluttershy fell asleep, but Mirror stayed awake, too busy thinking about the day to sleep.

Sighing in frustration, the changeling crawled out of bed and fluttered over to the open window. She looked up at the stars and the full moon, feeling herself slowly relax as she did so. I suppose today didn’t turn out so bad after all. I wasn’t found out, and I made new friends. Two of them don’t even care that I’m a changeling! I just wish I knew what happened to the swarm; what happened to that changeling from earlier today? I’m not sure I want to know.

Mirror yawned and struggled to keep her eyes open. Oh well, maybe I’ll find out one day. I’m too tired to think about it any further.

As she stared up at the night sky, memories of a song that Queen Chrysalis would sing to soothe her and her siblings as hatchlings came to her mind. Mirror closed her eyes and recalled the tune, altering the lyrics to suit her situation.

“This day has been just perfect,
The kind of day of which I’ve dreamed since I was small,
And despite my early woe,
I have two true friends to show,
Who knew I’d have such fortune after all?”

Her song finished, Mirror stared down at the ground. A dark shape suddenly sprinted across the yard, jumping into a bush and then sprinting off towards the Everfree Forest. The shape moved too fast for her to accurately make out.

Nonetheless, Mirror felt frozen with fear. Was that a pony? Did it see me in this form? Quickly backing away from the window, she turned and climbed back into bed, keeping her distance from Fluttershy to avoid possibly scaring her in the morning.

Despite her worry, Mirror soon drifted off into a deep, but troubled sleep.

Chapter 5: Trying it Solo

Mirror rested on the couch in Fluttershy’s living room, wearing her pegasus disguise and flipping through the last few pages of a Daring Do book. It had been four days since she first woke up in Fluttershy’s backyard, and she had spent most of that time in the cottage, refusing to go back to Ponyville. The unidentified shape she had seen on her first night had set her paranoia on edge once more, and she was now lying low for a few days just in case she had been discovered.

During those past three days, her only company had been Fluttershy, who had stayed with her for the past two days without leaving, and Pinkie Pie, who would come around about twice a day to share news and desserts. Mirror had been allowed to remain at the cottage by herself once before, but a bizarre incident led to her being banned from ever being alone with Fluttershy’s animals again. Mirror closed the book as she reflected back on that particular incident.

“Come on, Angel, eat the carrot!” Mirror pleaded, holding out the vegetable to the white rabbit. The stubborn bunny shook his head and glared silently at her.

“Look, I get that you don’t like carrots,” She said. “But Fluttershy trusted me to care of her animals while she was out at her weekly spa trip with Rarity and I can’t let her down, so please, just eat the carrot!”

Angel just shook his head again and blew a raspberry at her. He was rewarded with a carrot to the head. “Fine, be that way! I’m not Fluttershy; I don’t have to put up with your attitude! Starve for all I care!”

Turning around to go tend to the other animals, Mirror felt the orange vegetable connect with the back of her head. Thanks to her outer shell, it barely hurt, but something in her snapped anyway. Spinning around with a scream of “That’s it!” she lunged at the rabbit and the two vanished within a large cloud of dust.

Later that night, Fluttershy returned to the cottage to find the birdhouses and burrows all boarded up, Angel hanging from the ceiling, upside down and suspended by rope, and Mirror asleep on the couch, scuffs and scratches covering her black carapace. When the pegasus woke Mirror up to ask her about it, the changeling claimed that the animals had assaulted her and that Angel had threatened her with bodily harm, so she had acted out in self-defense.

Surprisingly, Fluttershy believed her. But Mirror was still banned from ever being alone in the cottage with Fluttershy’s animals ever again. This suited Mirror just fine; she had quickly decided that animals hated her, and that she hated them back, so this had worked out for all of them.

Mirror blinked as the flashback ended. And to this day, I still can’t figure out how we managed to kick up so much dust in that fight when the cottage is so clean…

She looked back down at the Daring Do book she held in her hooves; “Daring Do and the Wooden Mask.” It was the fourth in the series, and Mirror’s favorite one currently. I love stories about the corruption of good characters; they remind me of watching ponies in changeling chrysalises turn into changelings themselves. I probably shouldn’t tell Fluttershy that that’s actually kind of fun to watch.

Mirror reopened the book to her current page with her hoof, lamenting the fact that she couldn’t use magic to flip the pages anymore. She placed a hoof to her forehead, where her horn would be, and sighed. I wonder if I can summon any kind of magic at all through this. Might as well try; I’ve got nothing better to do.

In a flash of green, Mirror reverted to her true changeling form. Through her new eyes, the words on the book’s pages became completely unreadable, so she set it down on the ground and closed her eyes. Concentrating, she willed the magic within her to rise up and channel itself through her broken horn. After a long moment of intense focus, she felt her magic finally surge, but something didn’t feel right. Opening her eyes, Mirror saw a large ball of crackling green energy forming in front of her damaged horn. Even worse was that although she was no longer concentrating on it, the ball was quickly growing bigger.

“What the-” Was all she got out before the orb of magic suddenly expanded outward and burst, filling the room with a destructive green light. The explosive energy launched Mirror across the room, leaving her to hit the wall and fall down with a pained grunt. Opening her eyes, the changeling saw that the blast had obliterated the couch she had been lying on and left a bunch of smoking, charred holes in the floor and walls. The birds and squirrels had all retreated into their homes in fear.

Mirror just stared in shocked silence at the ruined living room. A burnt plank of wood broke off from the ceiling and crashed to the floor. “Oops…”

Fluttershy rushed into the room from the kitchen, a look of alarm and worry on her face. “What happened? I heard an explosion, and… oh…”

The pegasus stopped short as she saw the state of her living room. A grunt from the side caught her attention, and she turned to see Mirror slowly picking herself back up off the ground. Fluttershy flew to her side and helped her regain her footing.

Mirror looked between Fluttershy and the room several times before she finally started talking hysterically. “I-I’m sorry! I was just trying to use magic, but my horn, and the magic; I just lost control of it! I didn’t mean to!”

“I-It’s okay, Mirror! It’s okay! I’ve been meaning to redecorate anyway! Please, don’t be upset over it!” Fluttershy said, trying desperately to calm the changeling to no avail.

“But it’s my fault! I have to do something about it! Help you rebuild, go make some bits to pay for the damages, anything!” Mirror pleaded.

Fluttershy just shook her head and stood her ground. “No. It was just an accident; you said so yourself. I’ll just get somepony to help me make repairs. Oh, maybe I’ll see if Apple Bloom can help! She’s Applejack’s little sister, and she’s been developing a remarkable talent for construction recently.”

“Are you sure?” Mirror asked, glancing guiltily down at a smoldering black crater beside her.

“Positive. As long as you’re not hurt, it’s okay. Though you probably shouldn’t try using magic again; Twilight’s mentioned many times that casting magic with a broken horn is a disaster waiting to happen.” Fluttershy said, grabbing a rug and dragging it over a hole in the floor.

As the rug moved, however, something on it shifted, catching Mirror’s eye. She quickly picked it up, a look of horror crossing her face as she realized it was the Daring Do book she had been reading. The book was unsalvageable: only a few charred pages remained, the rest burned to ashes, and the cover was blackened to the point of illegibility.

“Ah! The book! I’ve destroyed library property! Twilight’s going to kill me!” Mirror panicked, waving the ruined novel around. “What do I do?”

An idea suddenly came to her right then. “Oh, I know! I’ll just get another one to replace it! Then I can’t get in trouble for it!”

“Oh, but you’ll need money to buy another book,” Fluttershy pointed out. “I can-”

“No! You are not giving me money to buy another copy!” Mirror refused. “We’re already going to need those bits to fix up this room, and I am not leeching off you for something as trivial as this! I’ll just go to Ponyville and work to earn the bits myself.”

“Really? You’ll have to go alone, you know. I need to go Sweet Apple Acres and see if I can get Applebloom’s help.” Fluttershy said. “Are you sure you’re okay going alone?”

“I’ll be fine; I’m sure I can handle it. It can’t be that hard to make a few bits, right?” Mirror asked. Hopefully…

“I suppose not. I’ll come with you to Ponyville, though. We can split up once we get there.” Fluttershy said.

“Sounds good to me.” Mirror said, donning her modified Daring Do disguise and flying out the door. “Let’s go, then!”

Leaving the cottage, the two pegasi walked down the road to Ponyville at a quick pace. Mirror noted with delight that despite the abuse she had put it through, her leg was healing at an admirable rate, and she could now move at a fast trot without it hurting. With luck, she’d be out of the cast within the next few days.

Soon enough, they entered Ponyville, where the two bid each other goodbye. “You’re sure you’ll be able to handle being alone, right?” Fluttershy asked.

Mirror grinned and waved her hoof dismissively. “Come on, just because I’m used to working in a group doesn’t mean I’m completely helpless on my own. I’ll be fine.”

“Okay then, if you say so.” Fluttershy said, turning towards Sweet Apple Acres. “Bye Mirror, I’ll see you later!”

“Bye Fluttershy!” Mirror called out. Once the yellow pegasus had left, Mirror began looking around for a book store. Recognizing one by the sign with a book on it, she quickly flew over and entered the shop.

Looking around, Mirror noticed that there were very few ponies within the store. In fact, there were no ponies, the only one there was the shopkeeper, a brown stallion with a beige mane. Well, I suppose it makes sense. Who’d actually buy a book when there’s a perfectly good library nearby?

Nonetheless, the changeling quickly searched through the store until she found the Daring Do books. Quickly picking out the one she needed, she smiled and looked at its price. Her smile fell away instantly.

“Twenty bits?! Who pays twenty bits for a book?! You can buy a whole apple pie for two bits! This is outrageous!” She screamed at the book store owner. The pony didn’t look at all bothered by her tirade.

“This is the only book store in town, so that’s the price, miss. Take it or leave it.” He said, nonchalantly taking a bite out of an apple he had on him.

Mirror gave him her most venomous glare and put the book back on the shelf. Stalking out the door, she muttered just loud enough for him to hear, “No wonder everypony just goes to the library instead…”

Walking outside, Mirror silently fumed and wondered where she was going to get twenty bits from. Considering her options, the changeling hit upon an idea. Well, Rarity’s the Element of Generosity, and I’m sure her job must make a lot of money. Maybe I can ask her for some work. Come to think of it, Sparkler also said I should visit if I needed anything. Alright then, Carousel Boutique it is!

Quickly flying over to Rarity’s home, Mirror knocked politely on the door and waited. A few moments later, the door opened, revealing Sparkler standing behind it. The unicorn smiled upon seeing the pegasus. “Mirror, dear! What a pleasant surprise! I haven’t seen you since your first visit!”

“Yeah, I’ve just been staying at Fluttershy’s cottage. Helping her out, you know?” Mirror responded. Well, technically it’s not a total lie…

“Yes, well, it’s good to see you again! Please, come in, come in!” Sparkler said, inviting the changeling inside. Mirror entered the boutique, spotting Rarity walk in from another room to greet her.

“Mirror, it’s so good to see you again! I was wondering if you were ever coming back to Ponyville!” Rarity said. “We didn’t scare you that badly, did we?”

“No, of course not. I just… overreacted.” Mirror said, grinning sheepishly at the memory of the failed surprise party.

“See, cousin dear? I told you she’d come back.” Sparkler said. “So, Mirror, did you come to take me up on that offer? If you need anything, just ask.”

“Actually, I do.” Mirror said. “I need money to buy a book. Twenty bits, to be exact.”

“Twenty bits? That’s quite a lot of money.” Rarity pointed out. “Why don’t you just go to the library? I’m sure Twilight will have whatever it is you want.”

“I can’t go to Twilight’s library; it’s complicated. Do you have any work I could do in order to make some bits?”

“Well, I’m afraid our type of work requires quite a bit of specialized skill.” Rarity said. “There’s not much you can do besides more dress modeling.”

“Oh…” Mirror grimaced, not looking forward to more of the uncomfortable dresses.

“Hmm, you don’t seem too keen on that idea, do you?” Sparkler asked her. Mirror shook her head in response.

Rarity giggled softly. “Don’t worry, dear. I think I know just what you can do.”

“You do?” Mirror asked.

“Indeed. You see, a while back I gave Pinkie Pie a star-print fabric pattern for her to use as decoration for one of her parties. One of my new dress orders requires that print.” Rarity explained. “But even with Sparkler helping me, I’m much too busy with my other orders, and I have no time to retrieve it from her. If you can go to Sugarcube Corner and convince Pinkie to return that fabric, I’ll give you twenty bits as thanks.”

“Really, that’s all? That doesn’t sound too difficult.” Mirror said. “Alright, I’ll do it!”

“Thank you, Mirror. This is actually very important; I simply have no time to spare on other things. So many ponies have been requesting new clothing after the Canterlot invasion.” Rarity said. “I’m not sure why; fashion is important, sure, but you’d think it be one of the last things on most ponies’ minds after such a disaster.”

“Yes, but you don’t have to worry about that right now.” Sparkler said, pressing up close against Rarity. “Just focus on fulfilling those orders. I’ll be right here to help.”

“Thank you, Sparkler. I must say, at times like these, I appreciate having your expertise to assist me.” Rarity said. She turned to look at Mirror, who was watching them curiously. “So, Mirror. That fabric?”

“Oh, right! Yeah, I’ll go get that now!” Mirror said, snapping back to attention and blushing in embarrassment. “I’ll be back soon; you can count on me! Bye!”

With that, Mirror quickly left the boutique and began walking in the direction of Sugarcube Corner. Approaching the gingerbread-themed bakery, she pushed her way through the group of ponies waiting in line, muttering “Excuse me,” and “Sorry,” the entire way through. Finally getting to the front, she walked up to Pinkie Pie, who was managing the counter.

“Hey Pinkie, I-” Mirror began, only to get grabbed by Pinkie and forcefully pulled into the kitchen. Once in, Pinkie stopped and faced her with a smile.

“Matchie, you came back! I knew you’d come eventually!” Pinkie squealed. “I need your help!”

“What? But I-” Mirror tried.

“Alright, here’s the deal. Mr. and Mrs. Cake are out with the twins, and they’ve left me in charge of managing the bakery!” Pinkie said.

“That’s great, but-” Mirror said, again being shot down as Pinkie kept talking.

“I know, right?! Anyway, one of the customers wants a dozen rainbow-iced cookies. The cookies are baking in the oven right now, but I’m out of rainbow water!” Pinkie explained.

“Rainbow water? What’s that?” Mirror asked.

“Liquid rainbow, of course! Rainbow water is normally really spicy, and I mean really spicy! But if you use it right, you can make delicious, sweet-tasting rainbow icing!” Pinkie said. “Anyway, the closest supply of rainbow water is in the waterfall at Rainbow Dash’s cloud home, but I have to cater to all the other customers! I don’t have time to get my flying machine and fly up there!”

“I think I see where this is going.” Mirror said. She was well aware of how the magic of the three pony races worked. “As a pegasus, you want me to go fly up to Rainbow Dash’s house and get you some rainbow water.”

“Exactly! I knew I could count on you! Thanks, Matchie!” Pinkie Pie said. “You won’t have any trouble finding it, I promise you! It’s a big cloud home and the sky is clear today! It’d be hard not to see it!”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll do it, but there’s just one thing,” Mirror said. “The reason I came here; Rarity said she needed a star-print fabric pattern she gave you a while back, so she sent me to get it.”

“Oh, yeah, that! I used that for the New Moon Celebration Party we had two weeks ago!” Pinkie recalled. “Well this works super-duper perfectly, then! You get me the rainbow water, and when you get back, I’ll have that print ready for you!”

“Okay, I suppose that’ll work.” Mirror said, sounding a little uncertain. Nonetheless, she smiled and turned to walk out of the kitchen. “See you later, Pinkie!”

“Bye Matchie!” Pinkie Pie waved after her.

Mirror pushed her way past the waiting ponies again and emerged into the streets of Ponyville. Unfurling her wings, she took the skies above Ponyville, searching for the cloud home Pinkie had described. She soon spotted something white on the edge of Ponyville and flew over to it. Sure enough, the white object was a house made of clouds with a fountain of rainbow water pouring down beside it.

Mirror suddenly realized she didn’t have a jar or anything to fill with the rainbow water, meaning she’d have to ask Rainbow Dash for help, provided the mare was home. Sighing, she flew over, landed on the soft cloud, and knocked on the door. Since the door was made of clouds, there wasn’t much of a knocking noise, but nonetheless Mirror settled down and waited to see if Rainbow Dash would answer.

“Hey Mirror! Come to see me?” A familiar voice said from behind her. Jumping in shock, Mirror whirled around to find Rainbow Dash hovering a few feet in front of her. The pegasus chuckled at her startled reaction.

“Rainbow Dash! Hi, long time no see!” Mirror said, grinning nervously at the pony that had come so close to uncovering her secret when they first met.

“No kidding! Where have you been all this time?” Rainbow Dash asked, landing in front of her. “Love the new manestyle, by the way. Is that the same style as the one I had at the gala?”

“I’ve been helping out at Fluttershy’s.” Mirror answered, choosing not to elaborate. “And yeah, it is. Rarity did it for me. Anyway, I can’t stay long; I need your help.”

“Help? What for?” Rainbow Dash asked, raising an eyebrow. “Well, whatever it is, it’ll be no problem for the fastest flyer in Equestria!”

“I’m sure it won’t be.” Mirror muttered, then continued more loudly. “Pinkie Pie needs some rainbow water to make icing for her cookies. I forgot to bring a jar, so I need to borrow one from you in order to carry it.”

“Oh sure, go ahead! Personally, I’ve never liked those rainbow cookie things. Don’t let Pinkie fool you; those things are still plenty spicy even with all the sugar. But yeah, you can have one!” Rainbow Dash said.

“Really? Thanks Rainbow Dash!” Mirror beamed happily.

“No problem! Though, if it’s not too much trouble, can I ask you a favor?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Mirror frowned, feeling her spirits drop as she realized where this was heading. “What is it?”

“I’m trying out this new stunt to impress the Wonderbolts. It’s pretty simple, but I need a thundercloud to perform it.” Rainbow Dash explained.

“So go get a thundercloud.” Mirror said. “What kind of stunt are you doing anyway?”

“That’s classified. I just came up with it recently, and I’ve still got to try it out. I’ll show it to you once I’ve perfected it.” Rainbow Dash answered. “But the problem is that the sky’s been cleared and we aren’t scheduled for another storm in weeks!”

“Right, so how exactly am I supposed to help you here?” Mirror asked.

“Well, it’s simple, really. The clouds in the sky have all been cleared, except for the ones at Sweet Apple Acres. It’s been pretty dry recently, and Applejack said the orchard needed rain, so there should be some thunderclouds over there. I just need one for now.” Rainbow Dash explained.

“So why do you need me for this?” Mirror asked. “You’re not too busy, are you?”

“No, but…” Rainbow Dash said, looking rather uncomfortable. “Applejack and I aren’t on the best of terms right now. I kind of made her pretty mad yesterday.”

“What did you do?” Mirror asked. Applejack did seem a bit irritable when we first met, but she seemed nice enough. What could you have possibly said to make her so mad?

“I don’t know! I was just doing what I normally do; a bit of taunting, trying to provoke her into going a few rounds with me so we could see who was the better athlete; nothing out of the ordinary, and she just snapped at me!” Rainbow Dash said.

“Are you sure she’s okay?” Mirror asked.

“Yeah, I mean, she apologized and told me that she was just stressed out because Applebuck Season’s started up again, but I don’t want to go make her mad again so soon by asking for one of the clouds.” Rainbow Dash said. “You understand, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, I understand.” Mirror grumbled, spreading her wings and taking off in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres. “I’ll go get your cloud. Just have the rainbow water ready for me, okay?”

“No problem! Thanks, pal!” Rainbow Dash called after her.

Mirror didn’t look back as she flew towards the apple farm outside Ponyville, marked by a group of dark clouds hanging over it. I just realized that I’ve never actually been to Sweet Apple Acres before. Good thing these clouds are here!

Flying over the orchard, Mirror spotted a cloud that was a darker shade of grey than the surrounding ones. Marking that one as a thundercloud, she flew up and landed gently on top of it. Sitting on top the dark cloud, a thought came to her. I never did have that many opportunities to play with these before. What happens if you stomp on them?

Quickly taking off a short distance above it, Mirror stopped and shot straight down, bringing her front hooves crashing against the thundercloud. The shockwave from the impact produced a thunderous boom and a single bolt of lightning, which struck an apple tree below it, catching fire to the tree.

“Ah!” Mirror shrieked, hopping off the cloud and staring in panic at the fire. She quickly rushed off and grabbed a lighter cloud. Remembering some basic weather training she learned, the changeling threw it over the fire and hopped on it repeatedly. A torrent of rain fell from it, dousing the blaze instantly.

“Whew, that was a close one.” Mirror said, sighing and relaxing into the raincloud.

“Excuse me? Exactly what do ya think yer doin’?” The accented voice came from below Mirror this time. The changeling shrieked and hopped off the cloud, kicking it away and looking down at Applejack, who was dripping wet from the rain shower. She grinned nervously at the drenched earth pony.

“Hey, Applejack… How are you doing today?” Mirror asked, trying and failing to feign innocence.

“Oh pretty good, if ya ignore the lightning strike and rain shower over mah head!” Applejack said, glaring at the pegasus. “Don’t go ignorin’ mah question! What are ya doin’ here?”

“Well, I need a thundercloud. Rainbow Dash wants it for one of her flying tricks, so I need to get her one so she’ll give me some rainbow water, which I need to give to Pinkie for a… star print fabric, I think it was, which I need to give to Rarity for the bits to buy a book.” Mirror explained.

“…Sugarcube,” Applejack said at last, “That’s a mighty convoluted plan for so simple a task.”

“I know…” Mirror groaned. “So anyway, that thundercloud, please?”

“Ah don’t know. Considerin’ ya set fire ta one of mah trees and doused me in rain water, Ah’d say ya owe me somethin’ in exchange.” Applejack said.

Mirror felt her left eye start twitching involuntarily. “Oh, come on! What could you possibly need?!”

“Oh, nothin’ much. Ah just need ya ta go find Applebloom. She headed off with Fluttershy a while ago, and she took a bunch of tools with her. Ah need the hammer she brought with her.” Applejack explained.

“Why?” Mirror whined.

“There’s an old apple cellar out in the orchard. Don’t ask me why, it was just built out there. Real inconvenient; it’s why we got a new one.” Applejack said. “Anyway, the chains coverin’ the entrance are lookin’ worn and damaged; Ah think somepony might be tamperin’ with it. Ah’m takin’ mah tools out there to fix it and make sure nopony goes down there and gets hurt, but I need a hammer to finish the job.”

Mirror finally noticed the small toolbox lying beside the orange earth pony. “What, so she took the only hammer you had? You live on a farm and you only have one hammer?”

“Well we did have more, but they all broke in a freak construction accident.” Applejack said, opening the toolbox and pulling out a splintered hammer head. “But anyway, that’s the deal. Ya want that thundercloud, yer gonna have to help.”

“Fine, I’ll go do it.” Mirror groaned, deciding that it wouldn’t be the best idea to anger the earth pony by arguing further. Without waiting for a reply, she shot off at breakneck speed across Ponyville towards Fluttershy’s cottage. Reaching it in a matter of minutes, she stopped just before crashing into another tree and barged into the house.

“Fluttershy! Is Apple Bloom here? I need a hammer so I can give it to Applejack for a thundercloud so I can give it to Rainbow Dash for something so I can give that to somepony for something else!” Mirror shouted, waving her hooves in the air as she spouted out more fast-paced nonsense.

Fluttershy and a yellow earth pony filly with a red mane stared at her in shock. Fluttershy was holding a new piece of wood to the ceiling and a hammer in her mouth, while the filly, who Mirror assumed was Apple Bloom, seemed to have been directing her before she came in.

“Um, Mirror? Are you okay?” Fluttershy asked, landing and looking at the changeling with concern.

“Fine, why wouldn’t I be?” Mirror asked, taking notice of her twitching wing and pulling it in. She looked at Apple Bloom and smiled. “Hi, I’m Mirror Match! Are you Apple Bloom?”

“Yup, that’s me!” Apple Bloom said, smiling back. “So yer Mirror? Fluttershy’s been telling me all about ya!”

“Really? That’s nice.” Mirror said, walking up to the filly. “Anyway, your sister wants that hammer back for some reason I can’t remember, and I need it if I want to get a thundercloud. So, please?”

“But Mirror, what about that Daring Do book?” Fluttershy asked.

“I’m working on it!” Mirror snapped in sudden anger, causing the pegasus to shrink back in fear. A look of guilt crossed Mirror’s face. “I’m sorry, Fluttershy. I’m just really frustrated right now.”

“I-It’s okay. I can’t fault you for something like that.” Fluttershy said, glancing somewhat guiltily in a different direction. Mirror ignored this and went back to Apple Bloom.

“Come on. Hammer. Please?” Mirror begged, her smile growing ever wider.

“Sorry Mirror, but Ah need this to fix up Fluttershy’s house!” Apple Bloom said.

“Doesn’t Fluttershy have another hammer you could use?” Mirror asked.

“It broke in a freak construction accident.” Apple Bloom said. Mirror’s eye twitched more violently this time.

“Of course it did. You know what? Forget this. I have a better idea! See you later!” Turning around, Mirror shot out of the cottage, flying towards Ponyville. Spotting an area where several construction workers were building a house, she ducked into an empty alley and peered around the corner at a toolbox lying on the edge of the plot of land.

“Yup, this is the perfect plan! I’ll just steal it! No one will ever know!” Mirror said to herself, giggling in a slightly off-kilter way. Slipping back into the alley, she sat down and continued talking. “But how do I get close without attracting attention?”

A moment later, an idea came to her, and a light bulb appeared above her head. Glancing up at it in confusion, Mirror took it and tossed it away. How did that get there?

Quickly dismissing the oddity, though, Mirror closed her eyes and concentrated. A green cocoon wrapped around her and disappeared in a flash, leaving a perfect copy of Pinkie Pie standing in her place.

“It’s perfect! Pinkie Pie’s so crazy already that nothing she does can attract too much attention!” Mirror said. Moving out of the alley, she mimicked Pinkie Pie’s joyful bounce and hopped towards the construction site. Inwardly, she hoped that none of the ponies there would notice the cast still encasing her left leg.

Reaching the construction site, she stopped in front of the toolbox and waited. A few of the workers looked up at her to see what she was doing. Clearing her throat, Mirror smiled and cried out, “Look! Look at that distraction over there! It looks like cake!”

Surprisingly, it worked, and when the construction workers looked away in the direction she had pointed to, she grabbed a hammer from the toolbox and raced back into the alleyway. Looking back and seeing her gone, the ponies simply passed it off as another of Pinkie Pie’s antics and continued working.

Seeing that her plan had worked, Mirror happily laughed out loud for several seconds, then snapped back to reality, checking to make sure that no one had come to find her. Seeing the coast clear, she hid behind a trash can, transformed back into her Daring Do disguise, and flew off towards Sweet Apple Acres.

Reaching the farm, she quickly sought out Applejack, dropped the hammer in front of the earth pony, grabbed a thundercloud, and raced off with it before Applejack could say anything. Once she was a short distance away, Mirror stopped and sat on the cloud, happy that something had gone right today.

“Ha! Finally! Now I just have to go give this to…” Mirror trailed off as she realized that, with everything that had happened, she had completely lost track of who wanted what and why. “…Who do I give this to again?”

“Um, Mirror, dear? This is a thundercloud. Hardly suitable for dressmaking, I’d say.” Rarity said, staring in confusion at the pegasus riding the dark grey, rumbling cloud.

“No! I know a thundercloud fit somewhere into the equation here! I’m just not sure where!” Mirror screeched. Her right eye was dilated and her left eye and wing were twitching violently.

“Mirror, are you sure you’re okay?” Sparkler asked, looking rather worried.

“I don’t know! It’s been a long day, with a lot of stress, and I’m trying to keep up with too many ponies and their needs at once! I can’t take it anymore!” Mirror screamed, breaking down and sobbing into the thundercloud. It rumbled at the impact, but fortunately didn’t electrocute her.

Rarity and Sparkler exchanged looks between themselves and the crying pegasus. Finally, Sparkler sighed and levitated a small brown bag above Mirror’s head. The transformed changeling looked up from the cloud at the bag, which dropped down into her hooves.

“Here, twenty bits. Something tells me you need this more than we do.” Sparkler said.

“What? But I didn’t even get you what you wanted!” Mirror protested.

“It’s okay, dear, really. I’ll just go pick up the fabric from Pinkie later. You don’t need me here at all times, do you cousin?” Sparkler asked Rarity.

“No, I suppose I don’t. Go on, Mirror, take it. I’m not the Element of Generosity for nothing, you know.” Rarity said.

“…Thank you. I don’t know how I can repay you.” Mirror said, a grateful smile crossing her face. She looked down at the thundercloud she rested on. “But what am I supposed to do with this? And those other promises I made?”

“…I think I’ve got an idea.” Rarity said, picking up a pencil and paper. “Why don’t we sort it out together? Figure out who wants what, and then you can go deliver to them. How about that?”

“Okay, that’ll work.” Mirror said. “Let me think… I was supposed to get the fabric from…”

“Pinkie Pie.” Sparkler helped.

Mirror nodded. “Right, Pinkie, but she wanted me to…”

And so, Mirror, Rarity, and Sparkler quickly composed a list of requests, which Mirror used to finish her deliveries in record time and head off to the book store. After yelling at the shopkeeper some more about his ridiculous prices, Mirror left the store just as the sun started dipping beyond the horizon.

I didn’t realize so much time had passed. Mirror thought, flying off towards Twilight’s library with the book in tow. She knocked on the door and waited.

A few seconds later, the door opened, Spike standing in the way. “Oh hey, Mirror! How are you doing?”

“Fine, thanks for asking.” Mirror said quickly, walking inside. “Is Twilight home?”

“Right, here, Mirror.” Twilight said, walking down the stairs. “Nice manestyle, by the way.”

“Thanks!” Mirror said, smiling. Her grin fell as she shoved the newly-purchased book in front of Twilight’s face. “Here’s your book back. I’m done with it.”

“You were reading Daring Do books?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow. “I didn’t think you’d be willing to read them again after what you went through.”

“I was feeling nostalgic.” Mirror said, suddenly remembering that these books were supposed to cause her great emotional trauma. “Or masochistic. One or the other.”

“Well, did you enjoy the book?” Twilight asked, magically taking it from her.

“Yeah. It was one of my favorites as a filly.” Mirror said, her voice flat.

“Really? Mine too! Well, I’m not sure if it’s my favorite one, but “Daring Do and the Cove of Candles” is a great book!” Twilight said.

“Wait, what?” Mirror asked, Twilight’s words catching her attention. “What did you say?”

“I said I’m not sure if it’s my favorite-” Twilight repeated.

“No, after that!” Mirror said.

“…“Daring Do and the Cove of Candles” is a great book?” Twilight said hesitantly.

“That! Let me see that!” Mirror yanked the book out of her hold and read the title. Sure enough, the book read “Daring Do and the Cove of Candles.”

Mirror smacked herself in the face and groaned. “I bought the wrong book! How did that even happen?”

“Bought? I don’t understand…” Twilight said, but trailed off as Mirror started heading towards the door. “Where are you going?”

“Out. I’ll be right back.” Mirror said, flying out into the evening sky.

“I want a refund! NOW!” Mirror screamed, wrapping her hooves around the book store owner’s neck and shaking him violently. The poor pony could barely speak through her choking grip.

“I-I’m sorry, m-ma’am, but you b-bought that book ten minutes ago! W-Why would you-” He managed to get out before Mirror pulled him forward so that their faces were an inch apart.

“Listen here, buddy. I’ve been flying all over Ponyville all day doing favors for other ponies just to get one of your ridiculously overpriced books!” Mirror growled. “Now you’re going to give me the book I want, or so help me one day you will wake up trapped in an inescapable cocoon being constantly drained of every happy feeling you’ve ever experienced for the rest of your miserable existence! You got that?!”

Though the threat sounded rather far-fetched, the stallion saw in her mis-sized, glaring eyes that the pegasus meant every word. Nodding fearfully, he quickly ran off to find the correct book as soon as she released him.

“Alright, now here’s your book!” Mirror growled, shoving the right book into Twilight’s hooves and stalking off.

“Wait! Are you okay?” Twilight asked cautiously, more than capable of recognizing signs of instability when she saw them.

“No, not really. I just really want to go back to the cottage and rest now, if that’s fine with you. Bye Twilight, I’ll see you tomorrow, maybe.” Mirror said, closing the door behind her and flying off into the darkening sky towards Fluttershy’s cottage. She reached it just as the sun disappeared and the stars began to come out.

Opening the door and walking in, Mirror noticed that Apple Bloom was gone, and that the living room looked as good as new compared to the mess it had been this morning. Fluttershy was right; that filly’s got quite the talent.

Having heard the door open, Fluttershy flew into the room to greet Mirror. “Mirror, you’re back! How did it go? You seemed pretty upset when I saw you earlier today.”

Mirror sighed and closed the door behind her, shifting back into her natural changeling form as she did so. “…I am never going back to Ponyville alone again. I’m just a drone; I’m not cut out to be operating on my own after all.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Fluttershy asked. “I have some hot tea ready, if you’d like.”

Mirror thought about it for a moment, then gave a nod and a small smile. “Sure, I’d like that.”

Sitting down for a cup of tea in the kitchen, Mirror began telling Fluttershy about how her day went. It wasn’t long before the changeling, still recovering from her previous breakdown, went off tangent, though.

“…And if a pony somehow manages to escape its chrysalis before the transformation is complete, which generally won’t happen unless it was made by only one changeling, in which case it could be weak enough to break out of, they’ll end up as some mutant pony-changeling hybrid.” Mirror said, sipping her tea as she spoke. “I’ve never actually seen one before; I’m just going off what the older drones tell me, but-”

“Um, Mirror?” Fluttershy interrupted, looking rather disturbed for reasons Mirror couldn't quite figure out. “Not that this isn't...interesting... but how did we get on this topic?”

“…I don’t know.” Mirror replied. She stared down at the ground in embarrassment. “Sorry.”

“No, it’s okay. I can see you don’t want to talk about today. Why don’t we talk about something else?” Fluttershy asked, taking a sip of her tea.

“Like what?” Mirror asked.

“Well, Pinkie Pie and I have told you a lot about pony life, so… why don’t you tell me about changeling life?” Fluttershy suggested.

“Oh, okay!” Mirror agreed, her mood brightening considerably. “Well, we all live in a large hive within a mountain in the Badlands. Queen Chrysalis says that there used to be a really beautiful valley where the hive is, but if there was, it’s long gone now. Anyway, in the hive, some changelings stay behind at all times to tend to the eggs and hatchlings, while other changelings, like me, go out for a few days and collect love. We then bring it back to the hive, where the queen absorbs it and spreads it amongst the entire swarm.”

“It… sounds like a close family.” Fluttershy said.

“Well, of course! The swarm is our family, and Queen Chrysalis is our mother! She loves all changelings, even the synthetic ones born from cocoons! Though I can’t really say she feels love for all the non-changeling species out there.” Mirror said. “But we look out for each other; we always make sure everyone’s safe and has enough love to survive. We only have each other, after all; nopony will show sympathy to a race of love-draining emotion eaters.”

The changeling sighed, looking melancholic. “I miss the swarm. I feel so alone.”

Fluttershy moved to say something, but Mirror stopped her. “I know I’m not really alone; I’ve got you and Pinkie and your other friends. But still, sometimes I just wish I knew what happened to all the other changelings.”

“…I’m sure you’ll find them again someday.” Fluttershy said, giving a sympathetic smile.

“I hope so.” Mirror said. The room fell silent, and suddenly a little bump was heard from under the table. Confused, Mirror made a move to check under the white cloth covering when something pink shot out from under it.

“SURPRISE!” Pinkie Pie shouted. Both Fluttershy and Mirror screamed and clung together for security. Pinkie grinned at them, bursting out laughing at the sight.

“W-Where did you come from?!” Mirror yelled, trying to recover from her scare. Fluttershy slowly let go of the changeling, but was still visibly shaking.

“From under the table, duh! I’ve been waiting for a good time to jump in!” Pinkie said.

“Did you know she was there?” Mirror asked Fluttershy.

“Um, no.” Fluttershy replied.

“I see.” Mirror said. Sneaky ninja pony.

“Guess what, Matchie? We’re holding your Not-So-Surprise Party tomorrow!” Pinkie announced.

“…What?” Mirror asked, a hint of fear showing.

“Your Not-So-Surprise Party!” Pinkie repeated. “You don’t like surprise parties, but that’s okay; Fluttershy doesn’t either. So I’m telling you beforehand, so you aren’t surprised when you come!”

Pinkie pulled out a written invitation and handed it to Fluttershy. “Make sure to be at Sugarcube Corner by seven! It’ll be so much fun! Okay, bye!”

With that, the pink pony sped out of the house, leaving Mirror and Fluttershy in stunned silence. While Fluttershy recovered quickly enough and went to wash their dishes, Mirror remained behind, thinking about what Pinkie Pie had said. One thought flashed prominently in her mind.

This isn’t going to end well.

Chapter 6: Your Not-So-Surprise Party

Mirror peeked around the corner into a small chamber secluded deep within the hive. The walls glowed with an eerie green light, and in the center of the room, suspended from the ceiling, was a large glowing chrysalis. A cream-colored pony with an orange mane was floating within the cocoon’s liquid. Seeing that her eyes were open and that the pony was awake at last, Mirror smiled.

The changeling trotted across the rough, rocky ground to the cocoon, grinning at the pony within. The earth pony stared at her, wide-eyed and confused.

“Hi, I’m Mirror!” The changeling said. “What’s your name?”

The pony looked at her a moment longer, before suddenly slamming her hooves against the skin of the cocoon. She seemed to be shouting at her, a look of anger on her face, but the green goo absorbed any sound she had made. Mirror was unfazed by the outburst.

“If you didn’t want this to happen, you shouldn’t have come to the hive.” Mirror told her. “We only do this to ponies that discover our hive; we lose a lot of potential love doing this, after all.”

The smile returned to Mirror’s face as she continued speaking, though. “But don’t worry; this isn’t a bad thing! You’re in a conversion chrysalis made by Queen Chrysalis herself, not a regular holding one; you’re going to become a changeling! You’ll be able to fly, use magic; come on, you’re an earth pony, so surely you’d be happy about that! But most importantly, you’ll be a part of the swarm; our family! Even Queen Chrysalis will love you!”

The earth pony wasn’t at all convinced. She continued slamming her hooves against the chrysalis, yelling soundless words that didn’t look pleasant based on her mouth movements. Mirror frowned in confusion.

“Why are you so angry? This is wonderful! Not many ponies get the honor of joining the swarm, but here you are now! Do you not want to be part of the swarm?” Mirror asked.

The earth pony shook her head frantically. Mirror could see a hint of fear in her anger-filled eyes. “Why? If you’re worried about what your pony family will think, there’s no need to. Once you’re a changeling, you’ll have our natural shape-shifting powers; you can just change into your pony form and head straight back to them. Provided you return every so often to share your love with the swarm, of course.”

Still, the trapped pony shook her head and glared. The changeling sighed and looked straight into her eyes. “Maybe you don’t like it now, but you’ll see; once the transformation is complete, you’ll understand why it’s a blessing to be part of the swarm. You’ll be thanking us for this.”

A buzzing noise sounded through Mirror’s head, and the distant hum of thousands of changeling thoughts were tuned out to make way for a single, powerful voice. “All battle-fit drones report to the main chamber. The invasion will commence in one hour.”

Mirror smiled at the news. She turned back to the earth pony. “Well, you won’t have to worry for much longer. We’re staging our invasion of Canterlot today; we’re going to take over Equestria, and the swarm will never have to worry about starvation or rejection ever again!”

“Um, Mirror?” A soft voice called from the chamber’s mouth. Turning around, Mirror saw a wingless changeling with purple eyes standing outside it. “Are you coming? I kind of need your help getting to the main chamber.”

“I’ll be right there, Ditto!” Mirror said, looking back at the earth pony.

“You’ll thank us for this once the transformation is complete. You’ll see, being part of the swarm will be the best thing to ever happen to you. I promise.” Mirror said, giving one final smile before turning away and flying to the entrance. Wrapping her hooves around Ditto’s body, she lifted her up and flew down one of the hive’s many tunnels towards the main chamber.

Mirror sighed, staring wistfully at the small green chrysalis that Fluttershy’s caterpillar, Wormy, had encased itself in the day before. Her thoughts moved to that earth pony she had spoken with just before the invasion. Enough time should have passed by now for her to have transformed. I wonder if she’s okay.

Mirror shook her head and frowned. Chrysalis’s crown, Mirror, why do you even care? It’s not like you cared the first time you spoke to her! Still, I wonder if she’s happy now…

A cool breeze blew through the backyard, and Mirror turned to look at the setting sun. It would be seven soon enough; almost time for her Not-So-Surprise Party at Sugarcube Corner. Sighing, she trotted across the backyard, the animals keeping their distance from her as she walked past. The pegasus-changeling ignored them as she walked back inside the cottage.

Inside the house, Mirror walked past Fluttershy, who was giving a bowl of salad to Angel for dinner. She was just about to climb the stairs to their bedroom when the pegasus called out to her. “Oh, Mirror! Are you ready to go to the party yet? It’ll be starting soon, and the guest of honor has to be there before it can.”

Mirror groaned and turned to face her. “Please don’t make me go, Fluttershy. Every pony in town will be there, and it’ll be crowded, and I’ll panic and be discovered for sure!”

“You don’t know that for certain.” Fluttershy reasoned.

“Yes, I do! I’ll lose my nerve and somepony will figure it out!” Mirror yelled.

“But you held yourself together well enough the first day!” Fluttershy pointed out.

“That’s because you and Pinkie were there with me! You should have seen me yesterday; I completely fell apart!” Mirror said.

“And we’ll be there for you this time, too.” Fluttershy said. “Pinkie Pie is hosting the party, so she’ll be there to help you. And if it gets to be too much for you, you and I can leave on the pretense of social anxiety. How’s that?”

Mirror thought about it for a moment. “Well, I suppose that’ll be okay. But you have to promise to stay close to me! I don’t want to be left alone!”

“I promise I’ll stay close to you to the best of my ability.” Fluttershy said. “Now, are you ready to go?”

“Um, hold on a second.” Mirror quickly flew upstairs and came back down wearing the gold necklace that Sparkler had given her. “I figured that if I’m going to be the guest of honor, I should look nice.”

“I’m sure Sparkler will be happy to see you with that.” Fluttershy said. “Come on, it’s almost seven. We’ll have to fly if we want to make it in time.”

“Right, let’s go.” Mirror said. The two pegasi flew out of the cottage towards Ponyville, idly chatting most of the way. Within ten minutes, they flew down and landed in front of Sugarcube Corner.

Mirror stopped and stared at the bakery’s door for several seconds, looking increasingly uncomfortable. “…You know, I think I’m just going to leave, actually. My changeling senses are telling me that something very bad is going to happen, so I’m going to leave before-”

Mirror turned to leave, but nearly fell over when she felt a sudden pull on her tail. Looking behind her, the changeling saw Fluttershy, her grayscale tail in the pegasus’s mouth, and a pleading look in her eyes.

“You can’t go!” Fluttershy said through the mouthful of hair. “We told Pinkie we’d be here!”

“We did no such thing!” Mirror protested, trying to pull her tail free, but Fluttershy held a surprisingly strong grip on it. “I can’t stay here! Something bad is going to happen to me and it won’t be funny!”

“What makes you think that it would be funny?” Fluttershy asked.

“I don’t know, but it won’t!” Mirror cried. The two pegasi continued their impromptu game of tug-of-war when the door to the bakery flew wide open. Pinkie Pie poked her head out and smiled brightly at them.

“Hi girls! I knew you would come! Come on, the party’s about to start and we wouldn’t want you to miss it!” Pinkie said, rushing out and grabbing Mirror. Fluttershy let go of the transformed changeling’s tail, letting Pinkie pull the protesting pony inside the bakery.

“Wait, Pinkie! I don’t-!” Mirror tried saying, but promptly froze up as soon as she found herself facing a crowd of ponies all staring expectantly at her and Pinkie Pie. The changeling’s heart quickened and she struggled to remain calm. “Uh…”

“Alright everypony, let’s PARTY!” Pinkie Pie shouted, a bunch of streamers somehow shooting into the air at her declaration. Every pony in the room cheered, and the bakery was soon alive with chatting, eating, and dancing.

“Well, Matchie? What are you waiting for? We’ve got a party going on here!” Pinkie Pie cheered, bouncing off towards the large table piled high with various pastries and desserts. Mirror stood there in silence, uncertain of what to do. This isn’t anything like changeling parties…

“Are you okay, Mirror?” Fluttershy’s soft voice sounded from behind Mirror. The changeling turned to see the pegasus approaching her. “I told you I’d be here for you.”

“Yeah… thanks, Fluttershy.” Mirror said, giving a shy smile. It fell away as she walked forward into the party, uncertainly looking around at all the other ponies. “What should we do?”

“Maybe we should try and find Rarity? Or Twilight? Everypony in Ponyville is here; who do you want to talk to?” Fluttershy asked.

“I don’t know, I…” Mirror trailed off as her keen hearing picked up the word “changeling” from a group of earth ponies nearby. “Hold on a second. I’ll be right back.”

Leaving a confused Fluttershy behind, Mirror weaved through the crowd until she was right in front of the three earth ponies. She put on her most natural-looking smile as she broke into their conversation. “Hey, sorry to interrupt, but I’m new in Ponyville, and I’d like to get to know everypony while I’m here. I’m Mirror Match, by the way.”

“Mirror Match? Oh, right, you’re the Daring Do look-alike! The one this party’s being held for?” One of the ponies, a pink mare with a green mane, asked.

“Yeah, the Daring Do look-alike…” Mirror growled, a hint of annoyance showing before she put her smile back on. “So, what are your names?”

“I’m Daisy,” The green-maned pony said, “This is Rose…” She pointed to the white mare with the red and pink mane, then to the pink pony with a blonde mane. “…and this is Lily!”

“Pleased to meet you!” Mirror said cheerfully. “So, what were you three talking about just now?”

“Oh, it’s just awful!” Rose cried. “You know that changeling the guards caught a few days ago?”

“The one Pinkie pointed out?” Mirror asked, trying not to look too nervous or curious.
“Yes, that one!” Lily said. “It escaped last night!”

“What? Really?” Mirror struggled to keep from looking too pleased at the news and to limit her reaction to genuine surprise. He escaped? Thank Chrysalis, that’s such a relief!

“Really! The guards say it just slipped out of its cage and ran when they were taking it to be transported to Canterlot.” Daisy said.

“What do you think happened to him- I mean, it?” Mirror asked, quickly covering up her slip-up. Luckily, the three ponies didn’t seem to notice.

“I don’t know, but I hope it stays away!” Lily said. “A creature like that in Ponyville? Oh, the horror! And what if there are more of them?”

Mirror kept a straight face as she pushed down her growing indignation. Creature? It? Just because we’re not ponies doesn’t mean we’re monsters!

“Yes, well, you three should be careful.” Mirror said, a small smirk on her face. “Changelings are shapeshifters, after all. There could be dozens in Ponyville, and we wouldn’t even know it! They could be anypony; even one of you!”

She pointed her hoof at each of the three earth ponies, who looked more and more horrified as she went on. While a part of her got a sort of sadistic pleasure out of scaring the gossipy mares, her conscience brought back all her feelings of guilt and fear, quickly sucking all the enjoyment out of it. Did I ever feel these sorts of things towards ponies before I ended up here? I’m not sure…

Mirror now took notice of how the three ponies were looking at each other with fear and slight suspicion. Embarrassment flooded the changeling as she realized what she had done. “Of course, that’s just theory and superstition! I’m sure none of you are changelings, really!”

Daisy, Rose, and Lily were all giving her confused looks now. Mirror began instinctively backing away. “Alright, well, it’s been a pleasure meeting you, but I have to go bake some… streamers… okay, I’m going now. Bye!”

With that, Mirror turned and fled into the crowd. Desperate to get as far away as possible from the three mares, she didn’t pay attention to her path until she bowled straight into another pony, sending them both crashing to the ground.

Shaking her head to clear out her dizziness, Mirror found herself staring into the face of a familiar purple unicorn. Both she and Twilight grinned uncomfortably at each other.

“Woo! Go Matchie!” Pinkie Pie cheered, bouncing up to them. “I didn’t know you swung that way! I think I have another party to plan for the future!”

Once the pink party pony had bounced off again, Mirror realized that she was lying on top of Twilight in an awkward position. Letting out a small shriek of surprise, she hopped off Twilight and hovered nervously in the air. Twilight picked herself up, and the two looked away, both embarrassed by what had just happened.

“I…I promise it’s not like that!” Mirror said quickly. “I just, it was just, Pinkie just-”

Twilight cut off her unintelligible stuttering. “Don’t worry, I understand. I know what you mean. Pinkie is…”

“…Pinkie.” Mirror finished for her.

“Right, Pinkie.” Twilight nodded, chuckling softly. “We really should try and keep our meetings less physical, though.”

“Yeah, I suppose so.” Mirror said, suppressing her own little giggle.

“By the way, are you okay now?” Twilight asked. “You were acting really strangely yesterday.”

“I’m fine, Twilight. I was just a little stressed, that’s all." Mirror said. Memories of threatening the book store pony with unending pain and torture flashed in her mind. “Okay, really stressed, but I’m fine now.”

“That’s good to hear. You know, your behavior yesterday reminded me a lot of that new Cutie Mark Failure Insanity Syndrome concept being researched now.” Twilight said.

“Cutie Mark Failure Insanity Syndrome?” Mirror asked.

“It’s a new idea some psychologist came up with to explain the psychosis that’s so common in ponies. There’s research being done on it right now in Canterlot to test its credibility and to see if it can be made a legitimate medical term.” Twilight explained. “In short, it’s a mental illness that afflicts ponies when their special talent comes into question. It usually causes them to go insane trying to carry out their talent, but some cases are more… extreme than others.”

“Really? How bad was mine, then?” Mirror asked.

“Well, going by my own experiences, you were around the middle.” Twilight said. “Irritable and unstable, but I’ve seen better and worse.”

“I see.” Mirror said, looking at her own cutie mark. “I don’t see how that relates to me, though. My problem had nothing to do with how much I had to travel to appease everyone… okay, maybe that did have a little to do with it, but I still don’t think it fits.”

“Well, what else did you do?” Twilight asked.

“Uh…I threatened a shopkeeper…” Mirror admitted. She frowned sheepishly at Twilight’s thoughtful expression.

“Hmm, sounds like anger issues.” Twilight said. “Do you mind if I run some tests on you about that? Does your family have a history of mental illness? Any at all?”

“I don’t feel comfortable answering this question!” Mirror said loudly. What am I supposed to say about a family of thousands of emotion-drainers? Does megalomania count? Because Queen Chrysalis might have that…

“Right, sorry. I forgot that most ponies don’t like those sorts of questions.” Twilight said, chuckling softly. “Just look at me; all this time in Ponyville and I still don’t have basic conversation completely down!”

“Heh, I’m not all that good at it either.” Mirror said, remembering all the times her conversations ended in panicking and retreating.

Both of them stood there in silence, trying to come up with something to say. Finally, Twilight broke the awkward silence. “Well, it’s getting a little crowded in here. I didn’t realize so many ponies lived in Ponyville; it feels like there are more here than usual.”

“Maybe, but I doubt anypony would miss a Pinkie Pie party.” Mirror said. “Everypony in town is supposed to be here, after all.”

“That’s right, but regardless, it’s really crowded in here. I’m going to go outside to get some fresh air. Want to come with?” Twilight asked.

“No thanks, I’m going to go see if I can find Fluttershy or Pinkie Pie. I kind of lost them.” Mirror said.

“I see. Well, good luck, then. I hope you find them. Have fun, Mirror; this is your party, after all.” Twilight said, walking away towards the bakery’s exit.

“I’ll try. Thanks, Twilight!” Mirror called after her, but the unicorn was already gone. Turning to go off herself, Mirror was suddenly pulled forward into an open space by a pair of pink hooves.

“Hi Matchie! Enjoying the party?” Pinkie Pie asked. “Come on, dance! A party just isn’t complete without dancing!”

“Dancing? But I don’t know how to dance!” Mirror protested.

“Really? Then I’ll just have to teach you!” Pinkie Pie said, gasping in delight. “Don’t worry, I totally promise it’ll be totally fun!”

Pinkie let go of Mirror and began showing off a few moves. “It’s really easy! You just bounce a little on your hooves like this, then you kick one of your front legs and one of your back legs out like this, then you pose, and then switch, and you’re dancing! Here, watch!”

Hopping between two dancing ponies, Pinkie bobbed on her hooves, eyes closed and shaking her head with the music. Smiling widely, she stuck out her right foreleg and left back leg and started shaking them, still bouncing on her grounded legs. The party pony suddenly spun around, kicking out her other legs and smashing them into the two ponies beside her, sending them crashing into the walls. Mirror winced as Pinkie Pie held her pose, oblivious to her own actions.

“There, see?” Pinkie asked, opening her eyes and grinning. “Now you try!”

“Um, okay…” Mirror said, slowly bouncing lightly on her hooves.

“Faster! Don’t be shy!” Pinkie shouted.

Startled, Mirror began bouncing at a faster pace, then stuck two of her legs out, remembering Pinkie’s instructions. Shaking them lightly, the changeling tried spinning around like Pinkie had, only to lose her balance and fall to the ground with a pained “Oof!”

“Uh, it’s like I have four left legs!” Mirror growled, getting back to her hooves. “Changeling dances are so much easier.”

“Really? What are they like?” Pinkie Pie asked, thrusting her face into Mirror’s, their muzzles touching. Mirror pushed her away, an annoyed expression on her face, and started flapping her wings.

“It doesn’t involve a lot of leg movement. Most of it takes place in the air, where our wings allow us to perform dance moves that require a lot of control and precision. It’s not possible with pegasus wings; they’re not maneuverable enough.” Mirror said, her voice low so that only Pinkie Pie could hear her.

“Wow, you should totally show me sometime!” Pinkie whispered excitedly.

“Maybe, you know, when we’re far away from all these ponies!” Mirror whispered back.

“Right, gotcha! I’m really looking forward to it!” Pinkie squealed, wrapping Mirror in a hug. The changeling looked surprised, but didn’t struggle.

Mirror blushed lightly and smiled. “Right, I’d be happy to show you later. By the way, have you seen Fluttershy? I kind of lost her.”

“Hmm, I think I saw her near the dessert table a little while ago. You should go check there!” Pinkie said.

“Alright. Thanks, Pinkie!” Mirror said.

“No problem! Bye, Matchie, have fun!” Pinkie Pie waved, jumping right back into the crowd to start dancing again, although most ponies were keeping their distance from her now.

Choosing to fly above the large groups of ponies instead of pushing through them, Mirror flew over to the dessert table and landed beside the punch bowl. She looked around, but didn’t see Fluttershy anywhere. Must have missed her. Just great.

Sighing, Mirror poured herself a glass of punch and downed it in one gulp. Huh, berry. Well, at least it’s not orange. I hate orange punch.

Feeling a presence behind her, Mirror turned around to face a cream-colored earth pony with an orange mane and a bunch of carrots for a cutie mark. Mirror thought she looked familiar, but the cold stare the pony was giving her set her nerves on end and kept her from placing exactly where. “Um…hi. Have we…met before?”

The mare kept up that cold, harsh stare as she spoke. “Yes, I believe we have.” She suddenly cringed, holding a hoof to her head. “Are you Mirror Match?”

“Y-Yeah, that’s me.” Mirror stuttered, her heart pounding for some reason. She tried to put on a more natural-looking smile. “But you can call me Mirror. Everypony does. Well, except Pinkie Pie, but, well, she’s a special case. Who are you?”

“…My name is Golden Harvest.” The mare introduced herself. “But my friends call me Carrot Top.”

“Oh. So what should I call you?” Mirror asked.

“Are you my friend?” The earth pony asked.

“Uh, well…we just met, so I guess not…” Mirror said uncertainly, taken aback by the question.

“Then you’ll call me Golden Harvest. Remember it, Mirror.” Golden Harvest growled, venom lacing her words as she turned and strutted off into the crowd of ponies.

Mirror stood still, utterly shocked into silence by the pony’s harsh treatment. Was it something I said? Or did? Did I do something wrong? She looked so familiar, and she said we met before…who was that?

Sighing, Mirror tried to take her mind off of Golden Harvest by taking a bite out of an apple cupcake. The pleasant taste calmed her down enough for her to focus on the conversations going on around her. Pricking her ears, she tried listening to find one she cared about, and stopped once she heard a familiar voice.

“…and then she just kicked Twilight right in the face!” The mare’s voice, which she recognized as Rainbow Dash’s, rang out clearly.

“Really? She just bucked her fer no reason?” Applejack’s voice came next.

Mirror looked and saw Rainbow Dash and Applejack talking at the far end of the dessert table. Her ears, still retaining their changeling keenness, picked up every word, but they were still almost drowned out by the talking going on around her. Ducking under the table, Mirror crept forward to listen in more, relying on the tablecloth to keep her hidden. This is a bad idea, but then again, I’ve had plenty bad ideas since I came here. What’s one more?

“Well, I don’t think so. I wasn’t actually there for it; Pinkie Pie told me what happened.” Rainbow Dash said. “She said Twilight was getting a little too up-close-and-personal about the whole Daring Do thing.”

“Ya mean like how you were around her?” Applejack asked, a hint of smugness in her voice.

“Hey, she looked exactly like her! You can’t blame me for getting excited! But still, I wish I could have been there to see that! Twilight’s an egghead, sure, but she doesn’t need to be bucked in the face for it!” Rainbow Dash laughed.

Whether it was from force of habit or a simple slip in judgment, Mirror jumped up to defend herself against the claim. Unfortunately, she forgot she was under a table, and ended up slamming her head into it. “Ow!”

Both Rainbow Dash and Applejack stopped talking and looked for the source of the sound. Applejack soon realized where it had come from, and lifted up the tablecloth to see Mirror lying on the ground, rubbing her aching head.

“Mirror? What are ya doin’ down there?” Applejack asked. Rainbow Dash looked under as well to see what Applejack was talking about.

“I…uh…” Mirror said, crawling out from under the table and standing nervously in front of the two ponies.

“Were ya eavesdroppin’ on us?” Applejack asked, frowning at her. Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow in wordless confusion.

“I-I just overheard you, and I wanted to find out what you were…” Mirror trailed off as she noticed that some of the ponies nearby were beginning to stare at her.

“Well? What did ya want?” Applejack asked again.

“I…” Mirror couldn’t get more than that out. The pressure from Applejack’s glare and Rainbow Dash’s curiosity, along with that of the other ponies, was starting to crush her. “I…have to go water…the…sun…well, look at the time! I gotta go! Bye!”

Without warning, Mirror turned and rushed out the bakery door, flying so fast that the resulting wind knocked several ponies over. Rainbow Dash and Applejack stood there in silence.

“…One day, I’m going to challenge that pony to a race! I wonder if a thundercloud going off next to her will be enough to get her going…” Rainbow Dash said. Applejack gave her a deadpan stare in response. “…What?”

Mirror beat her head repeatedly against a tree on the outskirts of Ponyville, scolding herself and punctuating each word with another bash. “What. Is. Wrong. With. Me? It’s like I’m magnetically attracted to bad ideas and trouble!”

She slammed her head against the tree one more time, then collapsed onto the branch she was standing on. Her head was aching almost as badly as it had when she had first woken up in Fluttershy’s backyard. “Okay, that was a bad idea, too. No surprise there. Oww…”

Mirror moved around so that she was staring up at the night sky, the moon reflected in her eyes. Distracted by the stars, she almost missed a green twinkle of light in the sky from out of the corner of her eye. Confused, she turned to see that the light was quickly growing bigger, and with a jolt, she realized that it was growing closer as well. Eyes widening, Mirror leaped off the branch just before a green blast of energy blew it to pieces.

Mirror landed on the ground, charred pieces of wood raining down around her, and scanned the sky for her attacker. Another large bolt of magic shot down from above her, which she nimbly avoided. “Who are you? Come down here and show yourself!”

Her attacker seemed to acknowledge her challenge, as a dark shape shot down from the sky towards Mirror. Flaring her wings, she took off just as the shape shot through where she had first been standing. Both Mirror and her attacker landed and turned to face each other.

Mirror’s eyes widened in shock as she got a good at her opponent. The creature was a changeling, nearly identical to herself except for the intact horn and its slightly larger size. The changeling’s solid blue eyes were glowing green with hate and malice. Another changeling! There really are more here! But why attack me? Doesn’t she recognize me?

Mirror gulped and took a step back. She didn’t recognize the changeling at all. “Who are you?”

“Who am I? Who am I?! You know who I am!” The changeling screamed at her, her body shaking with rage. Her voice carried the same buzz-like undertone that all changelings had, but despite it sounding familiar, Mirror couldn’t trace it.

“N-No, I don’t think I do…” Mirror said, taking another step back as the changeling took a step towards her.

The changeling’s glowing eyes intensified further. Green flames wrapped around her, forming a cocoon that disappeared in a flash. Standing in her place was the orange-maned mare from the party.

“Golden Harvest?” Mirror recognized her at last. “What are you-”

“Be quiet!” Golden Harvest yelled. Mirror cringed and fell silent. “Shed that stupid disguise, Mirror! Show me what you really are!”

Shocked, Mirror said nothing as she reverted to her changeling form in a flash of green light. She felt her broken horn and looked at the furious pony. “You…you can recognize me?”

“Your aura is fuzzy and broken, but it’s unmistakably changeling!” The mare growled. “Not to mention you used your own name as part of your new identity! It’s not that hard to make the connection!”

She is right about that. A part of Mirror told her, but she immediately shut that part down. Now was not the time. “Why did you attack me? We’re both changelings, aren’t we?”

To Mirror’s surprise, Golden Harvest started laughing. The laughter escalated to the point where she couldn’t concentrate on holding her form, reverting back to a changeling. Mirror felt cold fear welling up inside her at the sound of that hysterical, insane laughter.

“You really don’t know!” The changeling managed to get out. “You...you really don’t remember me!”

“Sh-Should I?” Mirror asked cautiously.

“Of course you should!” Golden Harvest shouted, startling Mirror back into silence. “It was only a week ago! How can you not remember me, when you came to me right before your Celestia-forsaken invasion began?!”

Mirror’s eyes widened in realization. “Wait, you’re that pony that was in the conversion chrysalis. You’re a synthetic changeling!”

“Changeling? Ha! I’m a pony, through and through!” Golden Harvest yelled. “I’m just a little different now; changed. But I’ll find a way to change back, and I’ll make you pay!”

“Pay? What did I do?” Mirror asked. “How did you even find me? I’m cut off from the rest of the swarm!”

“It doesn’t matter how I found you!” Golden Harvest snapped. “All that matters is that you pay for what you did!”

“But I don’t understand! What did I do?” Mirror asked again.

“What did you do?!” The pony-turned-changeling screeched, her left eye twitching violently. “What did you do?! How about trapping me in that cocoon and turning me into this!”

“What? But I didn’t do that!” Mirror protested. “I told you, you were put in that chrysalis because you discovered our hive at a critical moment. Something had to be done about you. But I wasn’t the one who put you there!”

“Liar!” Golden Harvest screamed, firing another bolt of green magic from her horn at Mirror. The changeling simply leaped to the side to avoid it. “That was your chrysalis, and you turned me into a monster! Admit it!”

“But I didn’t! I can’t generate conversion chrysalises! No changeling can!” Mirror yelled. “Normal changelings are only capable of creating holding chrysalises, used for imprisoning and preserving our enemies. Only Queen Chrysalis herself has the power to make one capable of transforming a pony! I didn’t do anything! You have to believe me!”

“…Even if you didn’t do it, you still could have stopped it!” Golden Harvest said, her horn glowing as she charged up another attack. “You were there! You spoke to me! You could have gotten me out before anything happened!”

“Why would I?” Mirror asked. “Why would I have released you? I was happy for you! I was happy that you were going to be a part of the swarm; of our family!”

“HAPPY?!” Golden Harvest screamed. “Being part of the swarm was the worst thing to ever happen to me! You ruined my life!”

The furious changeling shot out a large blast of magic towards Mirror. Flapping her wings, Mirror took off into the air, out of the blast’s range, only to be tackled to the ground as Golden Harvest slammed into her moments later. Rolling a small distance, the synthetic changeling pinned Mirror to the ground.

“I don’t understand. What could possibly be so bad about it?” Mirror asked.

“Just think about it, you monster.” Golden Harvest growled. “Thousands of thoughts in your head during every waking moment of every waking day, with no way to turn them off. Your own thoughts being broadcasted to these thousands in turn, not able to keep anything hidden. Absolutely no privacy at all; your soul laid bare to every changeling in the swarm! How do you live with it?!”

“I was born with it!” Mirror answered. With a surge of strength, she kicked her hind legs into her attacker’s stomach, bucking the synthetic changeling off and onto the ground. Both changelings quickly got back up and faced each other.

“Being a part of the swarm, being able to hear their thoughts and having my thoughts heard in turn; I was born that way! I don’t know anything different!” Mirror explained. She touched a hoof to the stump that used to be her horn. “My horn broke when I crashed after the invasion failed. I’m cut off from the swarm now. The only thoughts in my head now are my own, and I can’t recognize a changeling even if she’s right in front of me. I’ve got privacy, but I’m all alone now.”

“…So the horn is the connection?” Golden Harvest said, placing a hoof to her own horn. “That’s perfect! I just have to break it then, and I’ll be free!”

Seeing that the former earth pony was smiling and looked fairly happy, Mirror allowed herself to relax the slightest bit. “So, are we okay now?”

“No, we’re not!” Golden Harvest growled, eyes glowing green again. “Those who witness evil and do nothing to stop it are just as guilty themselves. Do you understand? I’m going to kill you. I’m going to make you suffer for ruining my life by allowing this to happen!”

“I still don’t understand!” Mirror said, taking to the air to put distance between herself and the insane changeling. “What’s wrong? You can fly, you can use magic, you can shape-shift to assume your original form, you still have your personality so nopony will notice anything’s wrong, and you now know how to cut off your connection with the swarm since you seem to hate it so much! What’s different now?”

“Everything’s different now!” Golden Harvest yelled. She began firing off bolt after bolt of green energy at Mirror, who swerved through the sky to avoid them. Mirror noted that the blasts were getting smaller and taking longer to fire after each one.

She’s using up way more energy than she should to cast spells. Well, she was an earth pony, after all. I’m not surprised she has no idea how to use magic properly. Mirror thought.

“My friends, my family,” Golden Harvest went on, “Everything’s different with them now! I can feel their love, I can feed on it, but I can’t feel love for them! They’re like strangers to me now!”

“What are you talking about?” Mirror asked, stopping. “I can feel love for my friends just fine! Where do you get the idea that- AH!” Distracted by the synthetic changeling’s words, she failed to see and dodge a coming blast before it was too late. Mirror screamed in pain as destructive magic surged through her body. When the attack ended, she fell out of the sky and crashed to the ground with a dull thud.

As Mirror hit the ground, something inside her clicked into place. She opened her eyes, now cold and focused with no fear or confusion, and picked herself up. Standing tall and firm, she faced her opponent. “So that’s how it’s going to be, then? Fine. I’ll teach you to spurn my hospitality.”

With a roar of fury, Golden Harvest flapped her wings and shot towards her. Holding her ground, Mirror jumped into the air at the last moment as the changeling flew under her. Spinning around, she slammed both back legs onto Golden Harvest’s shell, knocking her to the ground, and planted both forelegs onto her head, pushing it into the grass. “All I did was try to help; to help you feel welcome! I didn’t have to, but I was too excited for you to not help! Why couldn’t you have accepted that?!”

Golden Harvest struggled in Mirror’s grip, making it difficult for her to maintain her hold. If there was one advantage synthetic changelings had over natural-born ones, it was that they were oftentimes bigger and physically stronger than their counterparts. Golden Harvest quickly regained the upper hoof, knocking Mirror off and forcing her to take to the sky. She shot after her, but Mirror simply swerved around to avoid her attack. Mirror took note of how unrefined and clumsy her attacker’s flying was. She can’t have been a changeling for very long. She hasn’t got flying or magic fully down yet. In terms of power, she’s stronger than me, but in terms of skill, she might as well be a hatchling.

Moving to avoid another ram, Mirror bucked her opponent as she flew by, sending her crashing to the ground. Mirror landed and stared her down as she got back up. She’s determined, I’ll give her that.

“Look, I’m sorry! I’m sorry that becoming part of the swarm didn’t make you happy; I’m sorry that you can’t learn to live with being a part of it like I’ve learned to live without it!” Mirror yelled. “But how can you expect me to sympathize with you, to feel regret for my actions, when I can’t even understand what’s wrong?!”

Golden Harvest was silent for a long moment before a cruel smirk crossed her face. “…Ha. See, this is why you’ll never be able to live life as a pony.”

This stopped Mirror cold. Fear crept its way back into her. “What do you mean?”

Realizing she had touched a nerve, Golden Harvest’s smirk widened into a sadistic grin. “You’re completely alien. You can’t understand why ponies value their own private thoughts, you can’t understand why we’d want to be able to love somepony outside the swarm, and you can’t understand why ponies wouldn’t want to be turned into one of your kind against their will! And it’s your inability to understand that’ll do you in. One day, you’ll slip up, and they’ll figure it out, and then where will you be? Feared, hated, alone! Death will be a mercy for you; one I’ll happily give you!”

Golden Harvest lunged towards Mirror, who didn’t even try to get out of the way. Crashing to the ground, the insane changeling pinned her down, but Mirror barely took notice, lost in her own thoughts. But I can love. I do have friends. I’m a changeling, but I thought I was learning…

Golden Harvest smiled maliciously and began charging up another spell. Mirror closed her eyes and waited for the end to come. After several seconds of silence, though, she opened her eyes the slightest bit to see what had happened.

She opened them fully when she saw Golden Harvest standing above her, a hoof held to her head and her spell interrupted by something. The synthetic changeling only had the time to give a small, confused “What…?” before she suddenly started screaming in pain. She stumbled off of Mirror and landed on the ground, screeching and holding her hooves to her ears as though she were trying to block out some sound only she could hear.

Mirror flipped over onto her hooves and scrambled away from the shrieking changeling. Confusion and terror filled her, and she was starting to worry that the noise would attract the Canterlot guards out here and get them both captured. I have to help her! I’ll never earn her forgiveness if I don’t, and she’ll get us both into trouble if she keeps this up!

Mirror ran up to Golden Harvest and tried to hold her down as she struggled and continued to scream. Though the high-pitched noise hurt Mirror’s ears and disorientated her, she raised her voice to try and get through to her. “Golden Harvest! Listen to me; I’m trying to help! Golden Harvest!”

Seeing that her words weren’t getting through to the former pony, Mirror desperately racked her brain for another idea. One soon came to her, though she immediately worried that it would do more harm than good. Just one bad idea amongst many, I suppose…

“Carrot Top, listen to me!” Mirror shouted as loudly as she could. She was rewarded with a hoof slamming into her face. Stumbling back, Mirror opened her eyes to see Golden Harvest standing, her ears folded back and her unfocused eyes glittering with pure hatred.

“Only my friends are allowed to call me that! Only my friends! And you will never be my friend!” Golden Harvest shouted. She lunged for Mirror once more as Mirror steeled herself for the attack.

Once again, though, it never came, as a purple blast of magic shot out of nowhere and blasted Golden Harvest across the field. Bewildered, Mirror stood there for several seconds until she heard the buzzing of wings. Looking up, she saw another changeling fly down and land.

The changeling was male and stood slightly taller than Mirror. What separated him from every other changeling, however, was the dark blue chest plate and helmet he wore over his body and head. Unlike the other two she had seen, Mirror recognized him right away. “General Carbon?!”

Sparing a glance at her, the changeling general faced down Golden Harvest as she once again picked herself back up to continue the battle. How is she still standing? Mirror wondered.

Narrowing his eyes, Carbon immediately charged up a powerful blast of green magic and shot it at her. Golden Harvest was too hurt to dodge and let out a scream of pain as the magic coursed through her. As the light faded, she fell to the ground and laid still.

“Is…is she…?” Mirror asked, not wanting to finish the question.

“No, just unconscious.” Carbon answered. He looked down at Mirror and smiled. “It’s good to see you again, Mirror. I was worried for you.”

“You were?” Mirror asked, smiling despite her fear. “I’m so glad you can recognize me!”

“Yes, well, it was difficult to tell exactly who you were thanks to that,” Carbon said, gesturing to her broken horn. “But I was able to make the connection easily enough. My apologies, though; when I figured it out, I spread the information to every changeling in Ponyville’s range. Golden Harvest must have picked up on it.”

“Wait, the rest of the swarm knows I’m here?” Mirror asked. “Why hasn’t anyone said anything to me?”

“We knew your horn was broken. You wouldn’t have recognized anyone, and could have jeopardized our cover if we had tried anything.” Carbon said. He gave her a somewhat accusatory look. “Well, you would have jeopardized more changelings’ covers, anyway.”

“Th-That was an accident! We didn’t know!” Mirror stuttered. “What happened to him, anyway? I heard he escaped.”

“Reflect? Yes, he escaped. We helped him.” Carbon said. “I organized several changelings together, and we attacked the guards and rescued him while they were getting ready for transport.”

“What happened to the guards?” Mirror asked.

“…It’s better that you don’t know.” Carbon said simply. Mirror felt a flutter of fear in her stomach.

“…What happened to her?” Mirror asked, looking towards Golden Harvest’s unconscious body.

“The swarm doesn’t take kindly to rebellion. Any changeling that tries to rebel or desert the hive is severely punished through mental assault.” Carbon answered. “As for what led to this, well, some ponies just can’t handle being part of the swarm. This is a common result of conversion.”

“What? That’s horrible!” Mirror gasped. “Being part of the swarm is supposed to be a good thing! The best thing that could possibly happen! Why would conversion end up like…this?!”

“You’re too young, too idealistic; you wouldn’t understand.” Carbon said. He then smiled down at Mirror. “Would you like to meet the changelings here in Ponyville? I’m sure they’d all be happy to see you again.”

“Really?!” Mirror asked, her eyes lighting up at the thought of finally being with other changelings.

“Of course. You’ll be able to finally stop hiding from that Element of Harmony wielder you’re living with and stay with us!” Carbon said. “You’ll finally be amongst family again!”

Mirror’s smile fell at the thought of leaving Fluttershy. “What? Why? There’s no harm; she knows who I am!”

Carbon frowned, his eyes narrowing in disbelief and anger. “What?”

“Fluttershy! She knows I’m a changeling! Pinkie Pie, too!” Mirror explained. “They know, and they’re okay with it! They’re my friends, sir!”

“Friends?” Carbon repeated, his voice full of distain. “Changelings can’t be friends with ponies! It’s impossible!”

“What do you mean?” Mirror asked. “They like and accept me despite what I am, and I care about them! I like being with them, and they like being with me. The three of us are friends. How is that impossible?”

Carbon kept his steady glare on her for several moments before they widened in realization. “You have the empathy sickness.”

“The…what?” Mirror asked.

“The empathy sickness!” Carbon repeated. “Every so often a changeling returns to the hive with the ability to feel emotions towards non-changeling species. It’s called the empathy sickness.”

“How is that a sickness?” Mirror asked. Well, this does explain those weird feelings of love and guilt I’ve been having lately, but I didn’t think they were bad! How could they be?

“It hurts our ability to survive! How would we be able to feed if we felt compassion for our food sources and guilt every time we took love from them?” Carbon asked back.

“That doesn’t mean anything! I can feed just fine! There’s nothing wrong!” Mirror said.

“…Would you choose them over the swarm?” Carbon asked suddenly.

Mirror was taken aback by the question. “What? No! I mean, I love the swarm, but with my horn broken, aren’t I just a liability? Aren’t I better off just staying with one of the Elements? And what of Queen Chrysalis’s orders? She said that we’re supposed to blend in and stay hidden in the event of her absence, so isn’t it better that I stay with ponies that know me and can help me?”

“…I suppose so. Though I have to wonder if the Queen’s orders still hold up in the event of her death.” Carbon said, still looking upset. Mirror looked horrified at the thought of Queen Chrysalis being dead, but he brushed it off. “Come on, we should get back to the party before any guards show up.”

“But…what about her?” Mirror asked, pointing to the unconscious Golden Harvest.

“She’ll wake up soon enough. Hopefully she’ll have the sense to go back to the hive.” Carbon said. A green cocoon surrounded him, leaving in his place a brown earth pony stallion with an hourglass cutie mark. He began walking back towards Ponyville. “Are you coming?”

“Um, yeah. Hold on, I’ll be there soon.” Mirror said. Fluttering her wings, she flew over and landed beside Golden Harvest. Placing a hoof to the unconscious changeling, she thought back to when they had last met back at the hive. One piece of their one-sided conversation stuck in her mind.

“You’ll see, being part of the swarm will be the best thing to ever happen to you. I promise.”

Mirror stared down at Golden Harvest, her eyes filled with dismay and sadness. “I’m sorry...”

Turning away from the unconscious changeling, Mirror slowly trotted back towards Ponyville, putting her disguise back up as she neared the village.

Unbeknownst to all who had been there, a lone changeling watched from high up in the sky. When Mirror had left, she landed on the ground and looked towards the village.

“High-General, the traitor has been located. Should we proceed with his incarceration?” She asked telepathically.

“…No, leave him be.” A smooth female voice responded.

“But, High-General, he-” She began.

“Trust me, Photo, this is for the best. This will all work out in our favor. You’ll see.” The High-General said.

“…Understood, High-General. What should be done about the synthetic changeling, then?” Photo asked.

“Bring her back to the hive. We’ll see if we can’t convince her to accept the swarm as her true family.” She answered.

“And if she won’t?” Photo asked.

“Then we rehabilitate her, of course! We won’t let this one slip through like so many others before her. We’ll keep her alive and willing, through any means necessary.” The High-General said.

“Understood, High-General Double.” Photo said, cutting off their communication.

Mirror opened the door to Sugarcube Corner and slowly walked in, feeling numb inside. The Not-So-Surprise Party was still in full swing. Pinkie Pie bounced up to the changeling, with Fluttershy following close behind.

“Hi Matchie! Where have you been? We’ve been looking all over for you!” Pinkie Pie asked.

“Outside. Sorry to have worried you.” Mirror said, her voice flat.

Fluttershy gave her a concerned look. “Is something wrong, Mirror?”

Mirror looked up from the ground at the two ponies. She felt tears coming to her eyes. “Can I…talk with you two somewhere? Somewhere private?”

Both ponies look confused, but Pinkie Pie, quickly recovering, smiled and nodded. “Sure thing, Matchie! Let’s go up to my room! It’s plenty private up there!”

Bouncing along, Pinkie led the way up to her room, with both pegasi following behind her. Fluttershy kept close to Mirror, giving her silent support as they went. Eventually, they reached Pinkie Pie’s room and entered. The lights were off, leaving the room in darkness.

“Alright, here we are! What did you want to talk about, Matchie?” Pinkie Pie asked.

Mirror stared at the two of them, memories from before springing to her mind.

“You’ll see, being part of the swarm will be the best thing to ever happen to you. I promise.”

Her emotions reaching a breaking point, Mirror broke down sobbing and leaped at Pinkie Pie, wrapping her hooves around her and reverting back to changeling form, to both ponies’ complete surprise. Pinkie slowly returned the hug, comforting the changeling as she continued to cry, though her changeling form kept any tears from falling.

“P-Pinkie…Fl-Fluttershy…I..I..” Mirror sobbed, unable to articulate her words.

“There, there, Matchie. It’s okay.” Pinkie Pie said, patting the changeling’s back. “What happened? You can tell us; we’re your friends, remember?”

The pink pony’s words only served to make Mirror cry harder. Fluttershy gently wrapped her hooves around Mirror to offer support and comfort as well.

Finally, Mirror was able to get one sentence out. “I…I broke a promise…”

Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy continued to embrace Mirror in a comforting hug as she cried. Below them, the party went on, with almost all of its guests unaware of the events that had occurred that night.

Chapter 7: Of Cupcakes and Flutterponies

Mirror slowly took one step after another through a leafy tunnel until she emerged into a beautiful valley. Lush green grass and trees covered all of the area except for its rocky cliffsides, and hundreds of flowers lit it up in a rainbow of colors. A waterfall flowed down into a river that stretched throughout the entire valley.

Hearing the sound of laughter and the fluttering of wings, Mirror looked up to see a group of ponies flying above her. They were entirely unlike the ponies she had seen and known of her entire life; though they flew through the air like pegasus ponies, they had large, translucent butterfly wings instead of feathery bird ones.

“What is this place? It doesn’t look like anywhere I’ve seen before.” Mirror said to herself as she walked forward into the valley. She stepped up to the bank of the river, still looking towards the sky at the ponies above her.

A cool breeze blew through her mane, and a quick glance at her white hooves told her she wasn’t in her natural changeling form, or even in her default pegasus form. A look at her reflection in the river confirmed this. Her coat was pure white, and her mane and tail were a bright yellow. Her eyes were the same magenta color of her pegasus disguise, and she wore a large purple bow on her tail. Like the ponies above her, she had two purple butterfly wings sprouting from her back. The strangest part of her new appearance, though, was her lack of a cutie mark; both sides of her flank were completely blank.

To say Mirror was confused would be an understatement. This form was completely new to her, and she had never had the need to create an entirely new disguise for herself. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a pony like this before, either. Where am I?”

Looking back up at the sky, Mirror watched as two more butterfly-winged ponies flew down and landed amongst the flowers. As they landed, the petals broke off and flew up around them, carried by a strange wind. Mirror stared at them in awe, their appearances telling her that they were different from the other ponies in the valley.

The older pony stood as tall and lean as Queen Chrysalis, which gave Mirror the impression that she was the ruler of these ponies. She had a light yellow coat, a flowing pink mane, and light pink eyes. A red antenna adorned her head and seemed to act as some sort of crown, and her pink wings sparkled and glowed with light. Her cutie mark was three pink roses and seven rose buds.

Standing beside her was a much younger pony, no more than a child, who still stood as tall as the ponies that flew through the valley. Her coat was a light sea-green and her mane and tail were a glossy blue. Her eyes were dark green, she possessed a smaller green antenna, and her light blue wings gave off the same sparkling light as the pony beside her. Like Mirror, she had no cutie mark, but that was likely due to her young age. Despite their differences, Mirror knew that the two winged ponies had to be related.

“Those ponies have to be royalty; there’s no doubt about it. So, if the taller one is the queen, then that would make the smaller one the princess, wouldn’t it?” Mirror looked at them in confusion. “…What is all this?”

Mirror continued to watch the two ponies. The princess seemed to be saying something to her mother, but Mirror was unable to hear what they were saying. It wasn’t a matter of them being too far away to hear; there was simply no sound coming from them even though they were clearly conversing. The young princess looked upset for some reason, and even though the queen seemed to be comforting her, her sour expression remained. She turned away from her mother, closed her eyes, and looked to fly away.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake violently, knocking Mirror off her feet and out of her thoughts. Flapping her new butterfly wings, she lifted herself off the ground and watched in horror as the sky filled with dark, thundering clouds. The ponies around her screamed in terror and desperately tried to fly away as a dark phantom, lit up by energy constantly shifting in color, appeared in the sky. The being surrounded itself with crackling energy, which shot down to the ground right in front of the queen, who held her daughter protectively close behind her. As the lightning cleared, the phantom hovered before them in a corporeal form.

What floated before them was the strangest creature Mirror had ever seen. The best she could compare him to was a chimera, but even that failed to describe him fully due to the amalgam of various Equestrian species that made up his body, more complex than any chimera she had seen. The strange being smiled maliciously and snapped his griffin-like talons, releasing a huge wave of green magic over the entire valley. The force of the magic wave threatened to knock Mirror and the rest of the butterfly-winged ponies out of the sky, but it passed quickly enough. The valley became silent.

A burning pain suddenly shot through Mirror’s body. Her wings gave out, sending her crashing to the ground below. Through the pain, she was dimly aware of the other ponies experiencing the same thing around her. Her vision fractured, and she could see her white hooves melt into the black, hole-filled hooves of a changeling. Looking behind her, her breath caught in her throat as she saw her wings were on fire, quickly burning down until they were small, dull, and perforated. Another stab of agony went through her as she felt her horn burst out of her forehead.

Letting out rasping gasps of pain, she looked back towards the two royals. The princess was lying on the ground, twitching with an expression of pure agony on her face as she gazed at the jagged horn that protruded from her head. With her new horn and black, hole-filled body, Mirror realized that she looked exactly like a young Queen Chrysalis. Though the queen seemed to be in just as much pain, she stood tall and glared up at the chimera floating above them, even as she slowly transformed herself. The creature was doubled over with laughter, paying no mind to the queen’s glare as he relished in their destruction.

With her forced transformation finally complete, the pain subsided just enough for Mirror to become aware of her surroundings. With a jolt of horror, she saw that the beautiful valley was dying around them. The trees, grass, and flowers wilted and withered away until the ground was rocky and barren. Mirror tried to move, but her body wouldn’t respond to her commands. The ground shook once more, then split open beneath her. She fell down into the bottomless fissure, screaming the entire way.

Mirror crashed face-first onto the floor, shocking the changeling out of her sleep. Wildly looking around, she soon realized that she was not lying broken at the bottom of a crevice, but was instead lying on the floor of Fluttershy’s bedroom, next to their bed. Morning sunlight streamed in through the open window, and Mirror felt her heart rate slow back down to normal as she realized she was safe and okay.

It…it was just a nightmare. Oh, thank Chrysalis, it was just a dream! Mirror thought, picking herself up and looking around. It was indeed morning, and the bed she shared with Fluttershy was empty. The pegasus must have already woken up.

That was some dream, though; so vivid… Mirror walked over to the open window and looked through it. Her view outside of the sunny field was quiet and peaceful. No one was out and about just yet.

Memories of the previous night, of the mad with anger Golden Harvest and of General Carbon, who had saved her, came flashing back. After that horrible experience, she had left the party long before it ended, not having the will to be around so many ponies and possible-changelings anymore. The cottage at the edge of the Everfree Forest had been the best place to be alone for the night.

First Golden Harvest, then that weird nightmare; if it’s not one thing, it’s another. Mirror sighed, feeling near-overwhelming guilt and frustration bubble up within her. It’s not fair! Why couldn’t she learn to live with the swarm? I’m getting along just fine without it! But seeing her so angry and upset, it hurt, and I don’t understand why…

Deciding that she wasn’t going to get anywhere talking to herself in the quiet bedroom, Mirror trotted downstairs into the kitchen, where Fluttershy was busy preparing a plate of pancakes.

“Good morning, Fluttershy!” Mirror said in the peppiest tone she could muster. The pegasus turned around in surprise, though when she saw the changeling, her expression softened into a more comforting, motherly one. She must be thinking about last night…

“Mirror! Good morning, how are you feeling? Any better?” Fluttershy asked, giving her a sympathetic smile.

Mirror couldn’t help but smile back. “Not really. Last night was really…upsetting, and I don’t think I’ll be getting over it just like that.”

Fluttershy flew over to the table, set down the plate of pancakes, and invited her to sit down. “Do you want to talk more about it while we eat?”

Mirror sighed, but nodded and sat down in her seat. The two ate in silence for a while as she tried to find the words to start with. “…I just don’t understand. All my life, I’ve been raised with the belief that being a part of the swarm was the best possible thing; that if you were a part of it, you had a family that loved you and true happiness. It’s what Queen Chrysalis has told me, it’s what the older drones have told me, and it’s what I’ve been told every day through our connection.”

“…And then, this synthetic changeling, Golden Harvest, shows up, completely insane and murderously angry, and blames me for everything that happened to her!” Mirror went on, “And the worst part is that she’s probably right! I met her right before the invasion, I could have got her out, but I didn’t, because I thought she’d be happy with us! I told her she’d be happy with us! But she wasn’t! She was crazy and miserable and it’s all my fault!”

“…It’s not your fault.” Fluttershy said, after a period of thought.

“Huh?” Mirror asked, looking at her in confusion.

“We’ve been together long enough for me to realize that changelings and ponies think very differently. You honestly thought you were giving her a better life by not freeing her, right?” Fluttershy asked. Mirror nodded in response. “Then it’s not your fault. You can’t help having been raised from birth to believe that changing ponies against their will was ultimately for the best.”

Mirror nodded, but winced slightly at the blunt wording. Fluttershy continued talking. “I’m not saying it was okay for you to leave her. You didn’t know. But what happened was an awful, awful thing, and to be honest, I haven’t slept as well as I usually do ever since you told me about the conversion process.”

Mirror shrank into her seat, looking ashamed. “Sorry.”

“No, it’s okay. You sounded so happy when you were talking about it; I didn’t want to interrupt and ruin it.” Fluttershy said.

“…It’s hard.” Mirror lamented, “To be told one thing all your life, only to find out that you’ve been dead wrong all along. During our battle, I honestly felt like a part of my world was being stepped on and shattered before my eyes. I mean, I understand that ponies view us as monsters, but I thought that would change if they experienced our way of life.”

“But you understand now, don’t you?” Fluttershy asked, “Ponies don’t think the same way as changelings. We value individuality and privacy, and most ponies would never want to be connected to thousands of thoughts at all times. Maybe changelings see conversion as a blessing, but ponies see it as a living nightmare.”

Mirror thought about Fluttershy’s words. “…Changelings don’t empathize with ponies. We’re not supposed to; we’re supposed to see your species as a food source and nothing else. General Carbon says I have empathy sickness, a mental disease that allows me to feel love and other emotions towards creatures outside the swarm.”

“Is that why you’re so different from the other changelings?” Fluttershy asked.

“Well, I was still pretty friendly for a changeling even before getting this sickness, whenever that was. But yeah, I think that’s the reason why I’m attached to you and Pinkie and why I feel so terrible about Golden Harvest. This is all so new and confusing; I don’t know how to deal with it.” Mirror sighed.

“I guess you’ll just have to deal with it as it comes. When the opportunity presents itself, you’ll figure out what to do.” Fluttershy said, giving a supportive smile.

“Thanks for the pep-talk, Fluttershy, but if I don’t do something, the guilt and uncertainty will eat me from the inside out.” Mirror said, “I have to do something; I have to find Golden Harvest, and I need to find some way to help her!”

“You really think you can fix this?” Fluttershy asked.

“I don’t know, but I have to try!” Mirror said, She hovered in the air as she spoke. “Maybe it’s just the empathy sickness talking, but I’ll never be able to live with myself if I don’t at least try to help Golden Harvest. If it’s the last thing I do, I will find a way to help her regain her life!”

The cottage door suddenly swung open and Pinkie Pie rushed in. “Matchie, I need your help!”

“AH!!” Startled by the sudden entrance, Mirror shrieked and dove underneath the table. Pinkie pulled the changeling out by her tail.

“Matchie, I know you’re still vulnerable and traumatized over what happened last night, but I really need your help!” Pinkie Pie panicked, “I need you to cover for me at Sugarcube Corner!”

“Wait, what?” Mirror asked, double-taking at her words. “From all your panicking, I thought this would be urgent.”

“This is urgent...to me!” Pinkie Pie said, adding in the last part as an afterthought.

“So what’s the deal this time? I’m not going to be dragged on another fetch quest, am I?” Mirror asked, looking annoyed at the thought of her last lone endeavor into Ponyville.

“…No. Rainbow Dash and I had this huge prank extravaganza planned for today where we’d take every prank we could think of and pull them all over Ponyville. We were planning this for weeks, and it’s going to be so fun!” Pinkie squealed, then snapped back to business. “Or at least it was, but Mr. and Mrs. Cake have to be out of town until tomorrow morning! Pound and Pumpkin have a babysitter to watch them, but now they want me to run Sugarcube Corner for them!”

“I still don’t see what the problem is here.” Mirror said, “So your prank extravaganza thing clashes with you having to watch the bakery. Just tell Rainbow Dash and have her put it off until tomorrow. Problem solved.”

“No, you don’t understand!” Pinkie Pie wailed, “I Pinkie Promised Dashie that we’d do it today! I Pinkie Promised! I can’t break a Pinkie Promise, I mean, can you imagine that: Pinkie Pie breaking a Pinkie Promise? No, it’s unthinkable! Please, Mirror, just for today?”

“How do you expect me to manage a bakery by myself? Knowing my luck, I won’t even be able to bake a cake without setting the oven on fire!” Mirror said.

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that! The Cakes were really nervous about trusting me with Sugarcube Corner, so they left a huge list of instructions for me! You can use that!” Pinkie said.

“But still, I’ve never baked before! Or ran a business! What if I run into a problem I can’t solve?” Mirror asked.

“If it’ll help, I don’t have anything planned for today, so I can come and help you, if you’d like.” Fluttershy offered, “Well, at least until noon, anyway. Then I have to come back and feed all the animals again. But I can come back after that.”

Mirror thought about it for a moment, then relented. “Alright, fine. Hey wait, don’t I have to pretend to be you if I’m going to take your place?”

“Yup! You get to be me for a whole day! Isn’t that exciting?” Pinkie Pie said.

“But I don’t know how to be you!” Mirror cried.

“Ah, it’s easy. You just have to really happy, bounce a lot, and compliment everypony!” Pinkie said. “Here, try it on me! Compliment me!”

“Uh…your love tastes like cupcakes.” Mirror finally said. Well that was stupid. Have I learned nothing from all my time here?

Pinkie was silent for several uncomfortable seconds, then broke into a wide smile. “Aw, thank you! See, just like that; you’ve got this! Though, try to make it sound less changeling next time, okay?”

“Alright, got it. When do I have to go?” Mirror asked.

“In about half an hour. Don’t worry, I’ll keep out of sight and keep Rainbow Dash away from Sugarcube Corner so that nopony wonders why there are two Pinkies in town. It’ll be perfect!” Pinkie Pie cheered.

“I guess, but…” Mirror trailed off.

“What’s wrong?” Pinkie asked.

“I was going to go see if I could get any word on Golden Harvest and try to help her.” Mirror said, “This whole thing sounds like one big distraction.”

“Well, you can’t help somepony if you don’t know where they are, can you?” Pinkie asked.

“No…” Mirror agreed, remembering how Golden Harvest had disappeared by the time she returned to the cottage last night.

“I’ll help you out, then! I’ll listen around and see if I can find out anything about what happened to her! Knowing is half the battle, after all!” Pinkie said, “It’s the least I can do, since you’ll be helping me with this!”

“…Thanks, Pinkie.” Mirror said, smiling. She was then swept up into a hug by the pink pony.

“No problem, Matchie! See you later! You too, Fluttershy! Bye!” With that, Pinkie Pie released her and bounced out the door, closing it behind her.

The silence between the two didn’t last as long this time. “Well, I suppose we should get going then. I want to stop off at Twilight’s library before we go, okay?” Mirror asked.

“Okay, but why?” Fluttershy asked back.

“I had this really weird dream last night.” Mirror explained, “Well, it was more of a nightmare, but I want to see if Twilight has any books on what I saw in it.”

“Alright, that shouldn’t take too long. We’ll want to be on time to help Pinkie, after all.” Fluttershy said.

“I know, I know. Let’s go, then.” Mirror transformed into her pegasus form and flew out the door. As she flew through the sky, she relished the feeling of wind blowing through the fur on her left leg. Fluttershy had finally decided that her leg was fully healed and removed it from its cast last night before she went to bed. Mirror had been too upset to enjoy it then, but she now took full delight in it as she zipped through the air, slowing down every so often to keep pace with Fluttershy.

Soon, the two arrived at the large tree house that contained Twilight’s library. Mirror pushed open the door and walked inside, Fluttershy behind her.

“Hey Twilight, are you…home…” Mirror said, trailing off as she looked at the purple unicorn. Twilight was hovering in the air, held up by a pair of beautiful butterfly wings. Twilight looked away from one of her books and smiled down at them.

“Mirror, Fluttershy! I bet you’re wondering what I’m doing, right?” Twilight asked.

“Right.” Mirror responded.

“Well, Fluttershy already knows this, but I’m sure you don’t. For the Best Young Flyer Competition a while back, I tried out a spell to give a pony wings so that we could accompany Rainbow Dash to Cloudsdale and watch her compete. The spell turned out to be really complicated, though, and I only had the magic power to make it work on one pony, Rarity, and the rest of us had to use a cloud-walking spell to get there.” Twilight explained, “It’s a long story, but it ended with the wings burning up and Rarity almost falling to her death. These wings are made of gossamer and morning dew; they’re very fragile.”

“It was the day Rainbow Dash pulled off that Sonic Rainboom!” Fluttershy told Mirror.

“Really? I must have missed it.” She said. I was probably back at the hive or something. A Sonic Rainboom, huh? That would have been nice to see.

“Right, well, I’m just doing some experimenting to see if I can make these wings a little more durable. We wouldn’t want something like that to happen again.” Twilight said, landing and flapping her wings a few times. “So, did you come for a visit? Spike’s out getting some supplies right now, but if you need anything, I’m sure I can help.”

“Actually, I do need your help. I had this weird dream last night.” Mirror said.

Twilight froze. “What kind of dream?” She asked.

“I’m not sure. I was in this valley that I had never seen before. The strangest part, though, were the ponies in it. They had butterfly wings, just like the ones you have now.” Mirror explained.

Mirror could feel an aura of anxiety coming off the unicorn as she looked up towards the second floor of the tree house. “Ponies with butterfly wings, huh? You must be talking about flutterponies.”

“Flutterponies?” Mirror repeated. Is that what they’re called?

“Yeah, they’re mythical ponies that were said to live in an isolated valley. If they ever existed, they don’t anymore.” Twilight said. “Hold on, I have a book on them, if you’re interested.”

Flapping her magically-made wings, Twilight flew up into her bedroom and brought down an old-looking book. She handed it to Mirror who read the title; “Mythical Creatures of Fantasy and Reality.”

“The book talks about a lot of species, but flutterponies have a pretty detailed section.” Twilight said.

“Why was the book up there?” Mirror asked.

“Well…after the changeling invasion, I started looking for books that might have anything on them. I thought that book might have some useful information, so I’ve been planning to read it.” Twilight answered, “Anyway, is that what you came here for?”

“…Yeah, it is. Thanks, Twilight!” Mirror beamed. She turned to Fluttershy. “Hey Fluttershy, how much time do we have left?”

“I’m not sure, but we should probably get going soon.” Fluttershy responded.

“What are you girls doing today?” Twilight asked.

“Errands.” Mirror said, before Fluttershy could respond. “We have to go pick up some stuff at Sugarcube Corner before the line gets too long.”

“I see. You should get going, then. Morning rush has probably already started.” Twilight said.

“Yeah, probably. Anyways, thanks for the book, Twilight! I’ll be sure to return it when I’m done!” Mirror said, tucking the book under her wing and trotting out the door. Fluttershy exchanged a few words of farewell with Twilight before following after her.

As the two neared Sugarcube Corner, Mirror stopped and stared at the long line waiting in front of the bakery door. They must be waiting for Pinkie to open. Better hurry, then.

Mirror ducked into an alleyway and threw her book to Fluttershy. “Hold this!” Hiding behind a wooden crate and having Fluttershy confirm that the area was clear, she used her shape-shifting powers to change into a mirror image of Pinkie Pie. She came out and started towards the bakery, making sure to add a little spring to her step as she went. Despite everything that had happened, she couldn’t help but feel happier at the chance to be someone else and get away from it all for a bit.

“Excuse me, coming through! Sorry everypony, we’ve had a few unexpected delays, but Sugarcube Corner is now open for business!” Mirror said as brightly as possible as she bounced past the line of ponies and threw open the bakery door. She went behind the counter as Fluttershy took a seat at a nearby table and waited for her first customer.

A cream-colored earth pony with a blue and pink mane came up first. Mirror recognized her from the Daring Do fan-mob that had chased her on her first day. Mirror grinned and greeted her, relying on the descriptions Pinkie had given her about all the ponies in Ponyville to identify her. “Hi Bon Bon, what can I get you?”

“Hi, Pinkie! I’d like two watermelon cupcakes, please. I’m getting one for Lyra, too.” Bon Bon said.

“Sounds fun! Two watermelon cupcakes, coming up!” Mirror looked down into the glass display case, scanning for whatever looked like a watermelon cupcake. They weren’t labeled, though, so she had no idea what she was looking for.

Uh oh… Mirror thought. A yellow hoof reached in and grabbed two cupcakes covered in a reddish-pink icing with black sprinkles. Looking to her left, Mirror saw Fluttershy pull them out, place them in a bag, and hand them to Bon Bon. “Here, that’ll be two bits, please.”

The earth pony nodded and pulled out two gold coins, placing them on the counter and taking the bag. She got out of line to let the next pony though.

Mirror raised her eyebrow at Fluttershy. The pegasus smiled supportively. “Don’t worry, I’ve helped out here plenty of times before. I know what to do.”

“Thanks, Fluttershy.” Mirror smiled. Together, the two ponies served costumer after costumer for the next fifteen minutes. After that, the next pony to come up was a brown earth pony stallion. Mirror recognized him right away, to her surprise.

“General Carbon?” Mirror asked in a hushed voice. Fluttershy looked at him in shock and confusion as she realized that this was the changeling Mirror had told her about.

The earth pony raised an eyebrow at Mirror, but smiled good-naturedly. “I’m not sure I know who this “Carbon” you’re talking about is, Miss Pie. Is he a new friend of yours?”

“Um, yeah! He is! He looks a lot like you, you know; I just got you guys mixed up for a moment! Sorry, but it’s all sorted out now, Doctor Whooves!” Mirror laughed nervously. Thank Chrysalis Pinkie told me about every pony in Ponyville, I wouldn’t know his name otherwise! Still, maybe it’s for the best that he acts like he doesn’t recognize me; it’ll keep his cover hidden better.

“That’s quite alright, Miss Pie. I’m sure there are plenty of ponies similar to myself running around!” The Doctor laughed. “Anyway, I’d like half a dozen rainbow-iced cookies, please.”

“Half a dozen rainbow-iced cookies, coming right up!” Mirror looked beneath the counter display case, but didn’t see anything rainbow-colored. She looked at Fluttershy, who shrugged.

“…If you’ll excuse me for a moment, I’m going to go check in the kitchen. We seem to be out right now. Be right back!” Mirror said quickly, then zoomed through the doors into the kitchen, where a bunch of sweets were already premade. She saw a long scroll of paper hanging from one of the cupboards, so she ripped it off to read it. The list had detailed instructions on how to prepare various kinds pastries.

“This should be useful.” Mirror said to herself, setting the list down and looking into the oven. A cake was baking within, and would need to be taken out soon. She turned to the table counter. A plate of cookies was set out in it, and they were still warm to the touch. Mirror guessed that Pinkie had pulled them out of the oven before she left. Looking to her right, she saw a bowl of rainbow icing that just needed to be spread onto the cookies.

Grabbing a knife, Mirror scooped up some of the icing and spread it out over six cookies. Looking triumphantly at them, she remembered that Pinkie said that rainbow icing was really sweet. Well, she hasn’t steered me wrong yet. Besides, I’ll need a sugar rush if I want to keep this up all day.

Quickly making another cookie, Mirror threw it into the air and caught it in her mouth. Swallowing, she mentally counted the seconds. She reached three before she started screaming and a jet of fire burst from her mouth. Panting heavily, she looked for something to put out the scorching taste, then rushed to a large cake and thrust her face into it. Pulling it out, she sighed in relief as the pain was instantly doused by the sugary frosting.

Sweet, my carapace! I should have trusted Rainbow Dash on this one. Mirror thought bitterly, only now remembering the pegasus’s warning. Scooping up the cookies into a bag, she walked back out and gave them to Doctor Whooves. The stallion stared at her with mild confusion.

“You’ve…got some frosting on your face.” He pointed out.

Putting a hoof to her face, Mirror realized that it was indeed coated with frosting from the cake. She smiled brightly and shrugged it off. “It’s a new thing I’m trying out. Do you like it?”

The Doctor stared at her a moment longer, then nodded. “Yes, it looks very good on you. Thanks for the cookies, Miss Pie!”

“No problem! You look great, by the way! Come again!” Mirror waved as he left, adding in the compliment as an afterthought.

Walking back behind the counter, Mirror noticed that Fluttershy was still looking at her frosting-covered face. “Um…are you alright?”

“Fine, no need to worry!” Mirror said. Regardless, though, she decided it was better to get all the frosting off, so she stuck out her tongue and licked it off in one go. Briefly wondering how she managed to do that, the changeling shrugged and continued to work. Another half-hour soon passed. “You know, this isn’t too hard.”

“I’m glad you’re enjoying it.” Fluttershy smiled.

Mirror nodded and turned to the next pony in line. “Welcome to Sugarcube Corner! How may we help you?”

The pony was a black unicorn with a black and silver mane and purple eyes. The unicorn was staring at her in surprise, and Mirror felt uncomfortable underneath her puzzled gaze. She realized that she had no clue who this pony was, even with all of Pinkie’s knowledge in her memory. Despite her nervousness, Mirror put on a wide smile. “Hey, are you new in Ponyville? You must be, because I’ve never seen you before! I love meeting new ponies! What’s your name?”

The unicorn seemed to be in deep thought for a moment, then replied, “I’m Moonbloom. You’re Pinkie Pie, right?”

“Yup, that’s me! Pinkie Pie, party pony extraordinaire!” Mirror said, posing for good measure.

“Well Pinkie, I have this friend; her name’s Minuette, I’m sure you know her. Anyway, I want to throw her a surprise party, since her birthday’s coming up soon.” Moonbloom explained.

“Really? That’s great! I’m sure it’ll be lots of fun!” Mirror gushed, being sure to mimic Pinkie’s excitement towards parties.

“Exactly, that’s why I need to talk with you somewhere private. You know, to discuss it?” Moonbloom said.

Mirror’s smile dropped as she realized she was being asked to plan something she knew nothing about. “Well, I’d really love to, but we’re kind of busy right now…” It was true; the line was still pretty long.

“Oh, I know! I just want to tell you about my ideas for it. We can plan it later.” Moonbloom said.

“Alright, let’s go to the kitchen to talk about it.” Mirror relented, hopping into the kitchen. Moonbloom followed in shortly after, and Mirror noticed she was limping on her left hind leg. Wonder where she got that from…

With the door closed behind them, Mirror turned away from the unicorn and began looking at the list of instructions the Cakes had left. “So, what did you have in mind for the party? We have to make it as fun as possible, you know!”

She heard Moonbloom giggle behind her. “You can drop the act, Mirror. It’s just us now.”

Mirror froze, the list falling to the floor. She turned around and stared at Moonbloom in shock. “How…how did you…?”

The unicorn’s horn glowed, and her eyes flashed green. When they cleared, they were a solid purple. She smiled softly at the earth pony. “It’s me, Ditto.”

Mirror stood frozen in shock, wide-eyed and her jaw hanging open. Ditto started to look somewhat uncomfortable as the time wore on. Just as she opened her mouth to speak again, she was suddenly swept up into a hug by an overjoyed Mirror.

“Ditto! Oh, Ditto, it’s you! Thank Chrysalis, you’re okay! You have no idea how happy I am to see you!” Mirror gushed, holding the changeling tight.

“That’s…great, but…Mirror…my ribs…crushing me!” Ditto struggled to get out as Mirror’s grip tightened. Realizing this, Mirror let go of the changeling, who fell to the ground and gasped for air.

Mirror blushed in embarrassment. “Sorry. It’s just, well, I’m happy to see a friend after all this time. The last two changelings I’ve met since ending up here haven’t been all that…friendly.”

“Yeah, I heard about that. Your horn broke, so you can’t see any of us unless we reveal ourselves.” Ditto said. “You’ve talked with General Carbon already, right?”

“Yeah, I have, but I don’t want to talk about it.” Mirror said, trotting over to the sink and pouring a glass of water for herself. “Anyway, let’s not talk about me. I want to hear about you. How did you fix your eyes? They actually looked pony-like! And where did you get that limp?”

“I learned an illusion spell that makes my eyes look like a pony’s, and my leg broke when I crashed after the invasion at Canterlot.” Ditto said, “Luckily, I met somepony kind enough to help heal it. It’s not perfect, though, so I’ll have a limp until it heals.”

“Huh, both my foreleg and horn broke when I crashed. Fluttershy helped my leg heal, though, so the only problem now is my horn.” Mirror said, “Isn’t that funny? You’re a changeling with a horn but no wings, and I’m a changeling with wings but no horn. Funny, huh?”

“Um, I guess…” Ditto said, looking unsure on how to answer.

“So anyway, where have you been all this time? I’ve been staying at Fluttershy’s cottage; are you living with anypony right now?” Mirror asked, taking a drink of her water.

“Actually, I am! I’ve been staying with Twilight at her home.” Ditto answered.

Mirror suddenly choked on her water and started coughing. Forcibly setting the glass down, she gasped heavily for several moments before gasping out, “Twilight?!”

“That’s right. After the invasion, I crashed into her tree house. I stayed there for three days until she came back, but I was unconscious for most of it. I’m surprised nopony noticed and came looking.” Ditto explained, “Anyway, she and Spike came in, she found me, she freaked out and accused me of threatening Ponyville and waiting to ambush her, and I told her that that wasn’t true. There was a lot of shouting that morning.”

“And she just let you stay?” Mirror asked.

“Yeah, she saw how injured I was and how I wasn’t a threat to anypony, so she agreed to take care of me. I didn’t really understand why at the time, but now I do; she was just being a good pony and helping someone who really needed it.” Ditto said, “Of course, she was still a little freaked out over there being a changeling living in her house, so she kept me a secret and confined me to her bed whenever anypony came over and didn’t let me go out. This is the first time she’s let me leave; she told me last night that if I didn’t do anything bad while she was out at your party, she’d trust me to go out.”

“Huh, that sounds like what me, Pinkie, and Fluttershy are doing.” Mirror said, laughing nervously at the irony. She took another drink of her water.

“Um, yeah, about that…I might have told her that you were also a changeling…” Ditto said hesitantly.

Once again, Mirror choked on her drink at the revelation. “You what?!”

“I just recognized that you had the aura of a changeling! I didn’t know it was you! I figured that if Twilight was okay with me living with her, she’d be okay with you being with her friends!” Ditto defended herself.

“And was she?” Mirror asked.

“Well, she did get a little caught up in her friends keeping such an important secret from her, but she calmed down pretty quickly once she remembered that she was doing the same thing.” Ditto said.

“Okay, well, as long as she hasn’t told Celestia on us…” Mirror sighed.

“No, she hasn’t. She trusts me.” Ditto said.

“…So, how’s it been? Living with Twilight?” Mirror asked.

“It’s been nice. I was never well-liked at the hive anyway; you and Queen Chrysalis were really the only ones who cared about me. But living with Twilight has been nice; she cares enough to keep me fed, she’s got plenty of interesting books for me to read, and, well, it’s been nice. Even though we invaded Canterlot and tried to enslave Equestria, she still trusts me…” Ditto trailed off, looking rather upset about something.

“Something wrong?” Mirror asked.

“Well, she trusts me. She trusts me not to do anything that’ll bring harm to Ponyville, and I don’t want to lose that trust.” Ditto confessed, “I want to tell her about the invasion, but General Carbon will be so angry with me if I do! Maybe I’ll just hide under a rock while it’s going on-”

Apparently, Mirror still hadn’t learned her lesson about drinking while talking with Ditto, as she once again choked on her water and spent half a minute gasping for breath. Finally, she got one word out. “Invasion?!”

Ditto winced at the volume of her voice, hoping that no one had heard her. When no one came, she answered, “You didn’t know? General Carbon didn’t tell you?”

“No, he didn’t tell me anything! What invasion?” Mirror panicked.

“Keep your voice down! We don’t want anypony hearing us!” Ditto whispered, “General Carbon is planning an invasion of Ponyville soon using the changelings that were blown here by the blast and the ones that were already here undercover beforehand.”

“What? Why? That goes completely against Queen Chrysalis’s orders for a situation like this!” Mirror whispered back.

“…General Carbon is convinced that Queen Chrysalis is dead.” Ditto said.

“But that’s impossible! Queen Chrysalis is immortal; she’s lived for over a thousand years! She can’t be dead!” Mirror said.

“I know, but no changeling has seen or heard from her ever since the Canterlot invasion failed. If she is alive, she’s probably in no condition to lead us.” Ditto said.

“But, what about High-General Double? She’s second-in-command to Queen Chrysalis; only she has the authority to declare war! Does she know about this?” Mirror asked.

“General Carbon has been using magic to separate the thoughts of the changelings in Ponyville from the rest of the swarm. Unless she knew about the invasion beforehand, I don’t think so.” Ditto explained, “Besides, most changelings like High-General Double, but a lot don’t approve of her having her position and only listen to her because Queen Chrysalis said to. I think General Carbon sees this as a chance to prove himself over her and gain control of the swarm. He’s got plenty of support; a lot of the changelings here would prefer him as High-General over her.”

“…High-General Double and General Carbon never did get along. Now that I think about it, they were always fighting with each other for power.” Mirror said, “But still, attacking Ponyville so soon, and without Queen Chrysalis! That’s suicide!”

“Maybe, but what can we do? He’s a general, and we’re just soldiers. He has more power than us.” Ditto said.

“It doesn’t matter! The Queen’s word is law, and nothing can overrule it! I have to find General Carbon and make him see that!” Mirror decided, “When is the invasion?”

“I don’t know. Soon, I’d guess.” Ditto answered, “General Carbon said he’d give the signal when it was time.”

“Then there’s no time to waste!” Mirror said. She began trotting towards the door. “Where would Doctor Whooves would be at this time? He’ll have to follow his schedule if he wants to keep his cover, after all.”

“Doctor Whooves? What makes you think that General Carbon is Doctor Whooves?” Ditto asked, raising an eyebrow.

Mirror froze and turned back to the changeling with growing horror. “What?”

“General Carbon isn’t replacing the Doctor,” Ditto said. “He’s replacing-”

A loud, high-pitched beeping noise suddenly rang out, cutting Ditto off mid-sentence. Covering their ears, both changelings turned towards the source of the noise, the oven, which had smoke billowing out from it.

“Ah, the cake! I forgot all about it! Dear Chrysalis, can I not do anything on my own?!” Mirror growled, quickly grabbing the fire extinguisher. She opened the blazing oven and pressed the nozzle, firing white foam inside. The flames were quickly doused, leaving only a ruined oven and blackened pastries behind.

“Mir-uh, Pinkie, are you alright?” Fluttershy asked, poking her head inside. Ditto quickly cast her illusion spell over her eyes again. “What’s going-”

“Everything’s fine!” Mirror said quickly, “We just need a new oven, that’s all! But beyond that, nothing’s wrong! There’s nothing to worry about!”

“…Okay, if you say so…” Fluttershy said hesitantly, deciding not to press the issue and pulling back out into the bakery’s main room.

Sighing in relief, Mirror turned back to Ditto, who had her hoof to her head and seemed to be in deep concentration. She set her hoof down and gave Mirror an apologetic look.

“…I have to go. Sorry, Mirror.” Ditto said, quickly walking out the door. Mirror moved to follow her, but decided against it as the changeling left.

Was General Carbon talking to her? If General Carbon isn’t Doctor Whooves, then who has he been all this time? I wish she would have told me. Mirror walked back out into the bakery and got back behind the counter. Fluttershy took note of her somber expression.

“Is something wrong?” Fluttershy asked.

“We can talk about it later.” Mirror said quickly. She put on a bright, fake smile for the grey, blonde-maned pegasus in front of the counter. She recognized her as Ditzy Doo. “Welcome to Sugarcube Corner! How can we help you?”

“I’d like a blueberry muffin, please.” Ditzy ordered. Fluttershy nodded and looked to find one in the display case. “Hey, have you guys seen Carrot Top around?”

Mirror felt her heart skip a beat. She struggled to keep her smile up as she replied, “You mean Golden Harvest?”

Ditzy’s unaligned eyes widened in surprise. “You know about that? She doesn’t like anypony calling her by that name; she prefers Carrot Top. You must be really close friends to know that! That’s so great! So, have you seen her anywhere?”

Ditzy’s words only served to depress Mirror further. Does she really hate me so much that she doesn’t even want me calling her by the name everypony else calls her? I can’t believe it…she’ll never forgive me, will she?

As Mirror’s spirits hit rock bottom, she swore she heard the sound of a balloon deflating. Her pink hair fell over her right eye, long and straight and darker than before. Looking at her body, she saw that her coat was a darker shade of pink as well. Both Ditzy and Fluttershy noticed this and gave her concerned looks.

“…Nope! Haven’t seen her! Sorry, you’ll have to ask somepony else!” Mirror said. She grabbed the muffin and shoved it into Ditzy’s hooves. “Here, it’s on the house! Now if you excuse us, we’re going on lunch break!”

The line of ponies groaned and grumbled. “But you’ve been open for less than an hour! It’s not even noon!” One pony complained.

“Well then we’re going on breakfast break!” Mirror snapped. “Now everypony out! We’ll be open again in an hour!”

Fluttershy silently motioned for them all to leave. No one wanted to argue with an angry Pinkie Pie, so the ponies slowly filed out of the bakery, still grumbling all the while. Ditzy left as well, but not before placing a single bit on the counter as payment for her muffin. When Mirror and Fluttershy were the only ponies left in the bakery, the timid pegasus finally spoke up.

“Mirror, does this have to do with Carrot Top?” Fluttershy asked.

Mirror pushed past her and sat down at the table, grabbing the book she had gotten from Twilight. “No, of course not. It doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that she hates me so much she won’t even let me call her by the nickname that everypony else is allowed to use! Why would you think that?”

Fluttershy winced at the hurt and anger in her voice. Mirror felt guilt crawl in her heart once more and sighed. “Sorry Fluttershy. I’m just trying to deal with a lot of stuff right now. I’ll talk to you about it eventually, I promise.”

Mirror flipped open her book and began looking for the section on Flutterponies. I can’t tell her about the invasion. It’ll just worry her more, and it won’t do any good. If I can’t find and convince General Carbon to stop, then we won’t be able to do anything about it without blowing the cover of every changeling in Ponyville.

Finally finding the section labeled “Flutterponies: Fairies of Fantasy,” she began to read, hoping to take her mind off her problems.

Flutterponies were a mythical race of ponies with butterfly wings known for their power and beauty. Their magical wings gave them the ability to both fly and to perform magic without a horn. They lived in relative isolation within a land called Flutter Valley, which is believed to have once been within the area known today as the Badlands.

Flutterponies fed off the love of the land and the love ponies had for each other. In return, they used their remarkable powers to care for the land and help it to prosper. They were a neutral race and preferred to stay out of conflicts unless it directly affected them. Despite their gentleness, they were a powerful race whose magic was capable of defeating the strongest of foes. While no flutterponies exist today, there has been evidence from Pre-Celestian times to support their existence, but this evidence is insubstantial and prone to fraud.

Mirror read on, enraptured by the information the book held. If what’s written in this book is true, then could it be possible? Could changelings be what are left of the flutterponies? If so, why would Queen Chrysalis not tell us?

As Mirror read, she quickly lost track of time. All too soon, Fluttershy told her that their “breakfast break” was up and that they needed to get back to work. Mirror transformed into her happier-looking Pinkie form, and the two continued to tend to the bakery’s costumers until noon, when Fluttershy had to leave to feed her animals, leaving Mirror to run Sugarcube Corner by herself until Fluttershy returned an hour later.

Eventually, the time came for the bakery to close. Pinkie Pie still hadn’t returned, so Mirror opted to stay and wait for her while Fluttershy headed back to the cottage. Waiting in Pinkie’s room, the changeling looked at her reflection in the mirror and dropped the perky shell to see a darker, straight-haired Pinkie Pie behind it.

Mirror ran a hoof through her surprisingly long hair. She put on a small smile. It actually doesn’t look too bad.

Finally, the door opened and light spilled into the dark bedroom. Mirror turned around and smiled for Pinkie Pie, who stood in the doorway, staring in shock at her appearance. After a few seconds, she grinned and spoke.

“That doesn’t look like me at all, silly!” Pinkie said, giggling.

“Maybe not now,” Mirror said, leaping onto the bed and bouncing on it as it settled, “But this must have been you at one point, right? How else would it happen to me as soon as my spirits were shattered?”

“What happened? Running the bakery wasn’t that bad, was it?” Pinkie asked.

“Oh no, not at all! I had Fluttershy’s help, so everything went completely fine!” Mirror said, her voice quickly growing louder and more angry. “In fact, nopony ever suspected that I wasn’t you! Even when your friends came by, I kept up my cover perfectly! I was the perfect replacement for you!”

Pinkie looked thoughtful as she spoke. “…Does this have to do with that time I insulted your shape-shifting at Canterlot?”

Mirror narrowed her eyes and glared. “As a changeling, I take great pride in my shape-shifting abilities. I don’t enjoy having them belittled, especially when I can’t see what I did wrong!”

Quickly engulfing herself in a green cocoon, she leaped off the bed and landed in front of Pinkie, now a brighter replica of the hyper earth pony. “What did I do wrong?! I’ve checked it over countless times, and even Fluttershy can’t find what differentiates me from you! What part of me is so off that you could say you’d “seen better” than a shapeshifter?!”

Pinkie stared at the angry changeling in silence, maintaining eye contact until she suddenly burst out laughing. “Oh, Matchie! I can’t believe you’re still upset over that! You changelings really hold onto your grudges!”

“What do you mean?” Mirror asked, backing off and raising an eyebrow.

“Well, a grudge is when you harbor negative feelings towards somepony that wronged you, so holding a grudge means you don’t forgive easily! Also, did you know that grudge rhymes with fudge? I did, but I didn’t know if you did-” Pinkie Pie rambled on.

“Not that! The other thing!” Mirror growled.

“Oh, that! Right!” Pinkie laughed, “Oh Matchie, there’s nothing wrong with your disguise!”

Mirror stared at her, completely dumbfounded. “…What?”

“Your disguise is perfect! Even I can’t tell us apart!” Pinkie said.

“…What? But if you thought that, why did you say you’d seen better at the invasion?” Mirror asked.

“Hey, we were fighting for the fate of Equestria! I was just getting into the spirit of things! You know, taunting, you fight like a cow, that sort of thing! Not that cows are bad fighters, but you know what I mean!” Pinkie said.

“…So, there’s nothing wrong with my imitation? You approve of it?” Mirror asked.

“Absolutely!” Pinkie nodded, putting emphasis on the word.

Mirror blinked, then slowly put on what was probably her most genuine smile since meeting Ditto that day. “I’m…I’m glad you approve, Pinkie.”

“No problem! Oh, by the way, I asked around Ponyville about Carrot Top for you!” Pinkie said. Her smile dropped into a frown. “Nopony’s seen her since last night. The guards haven’t arrested any changelings, either.”

“…Then she either escaped somewhere else, or she’s back at the hive.” Mirror said, “She knows about the horn’s connection to the swarm. I wonder if she’s tried breaking it yet.”

“I don’t know, maybe. So, what are you going to do?” Pinkie asked.

“I’m not sure. Without my horn I have no way to find her.” Mirror sighed, “Maybe I’ll just wait until after the invasion. If we all live through it, anyway-”

“Invasion? What invasion?” Pinkie asked.

Mirror froze, silently cursing herself for letting that slip. Nice going, featherbrain! Well, no sense avoiding it now…

“…I met a friend today; a changeling named Ditto. She told me that General Carbon is planning an invasion of Ponyville.” Mirror explained.

“What? Then we have to tell everypony!” Pinkie said, somehow looking both excited and worried at the same time.

“I’m not sure that’ll help. It’ll just get everypony on edge, and it may just make General Carbon prolong the invasion or declare it sooner. I don’t even know who or where he is, so I can’t talk him out of it.” Mirror said, “Besides, without Queen Chrysalis, we’ll be much weaker than before. I’m sure you and your friends will be able to handle it when the time comes.”

“What about you? What will you do?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t want to fight against other changelings, but this is a direct violation of Queen Chrysalis’s orders and by law, I’m required to apprehend traitors to the swarm.” Mirror said, “I’m not sure what I’ll do.”

Pinkie said nothing, instead choosing to hop onto her bed and gesture for Mirror to join her. “Come sleep with me tonight!”

“What?” Mirror asked, not sure she had heard that right.

“Come sleep with me tonight. It’s just us until tomorrow morning, and we’ll be up before Mr. and Mrs. Cakes come home.” Pinkie said, “Come on, it’ll be fun! I’m sure Fluttershy won’t mind.”

Mirror sighed and changed back into her changeling form. She fluttered onto the end of Pinkie’s bed. “What about the invasion?”

“We’ll figure something out tomorrow. It’s too late now.” Pinkie said, “Besides, you don’t even know where to start looking for this “General Carbon” guy. We can go investigate tomorrow and use our detective skills to find out who’s a changeling and who’s not!”

“Do either of us have detective skills?” Mirror asked.

“Well, I’m pretty sure I do. Maybe. We’ll find out tomorrow, won’t we?” Pinkie said.

“I guess so.” Mirror walked over to Pinkie and curled up under the covers, keeping her distance from the pink pony like she had with Fluttershy. To her surprise, Pinkie pulled her next to her in a tight hug.

“Um, Pinkie? What are you doing?” Mirror asked, feeling a little uncomfortable.

“Come on, Matchie! If we’re going to sleep together, we might as well do it right!” Pinkie said, giggling at the embarrassed changeling.

“Are you sure this is allowed?” Mirror asked.

“I don’t see why not. Plenty of ponies do this!” Pinkie said. “Now just relax! You’ll never fall asleep if you stay so tense and nervous!”

“Right…” Mirror said, forcing herself to relax. She was sure that she would be blushing if changelings were capable of such a thing. After several moments of silence, Mirror decided to speak up again, “Hey Pinkie, do you think things will work out?”

“What do you mean, Matchie?” Pinkie asked.

“Well, it’s just, the invasion, the whole conversion problem, the changeling hysteria; it’s all so complicated. Do you think everything will be okay in the end?” Mirror elaborated.

“…I think so! Everything always turns out alright in the end!” Pinkie said. “You know that old saying: “It’s always darkest before the dawn!” Don’t you worry; we’ll get our happy ending!”

“…I hope so.” Mirror said, smiling softly.

“I do too! But it will happen, trust me!” Pinkie smiled back.

Her fears calmed just the slightest bit, Mirror felt herself relax and slowly drift off to sleep. Just before that happened, though, Pinkie spoke up once more.

“By the way, next time we do this, we’ll remember to invite Fluttershy! We’ll have three times the fun!” Pinkie said.

“W-What?!” Mirror stuttered.

“What? A slumber party with three ponies is three times the fun of a slumber party with one pony! It’s not even a slumber party in that case!” Pinkie giggled.

Mirror just grinned at the childish pony and focused on getting to sleep. It soon came, and she drifted off, feeling that it wouldn’t hurt to let go of her troubles for just one night.

The glowing chrysalis split open with a sickening rip, dumping its inhabitant onto the hard stone floor. Giving a pained shout, the creature shakily stood up and shook off the strange liquid, taking in large gulps of stale air. Her wings fluttered in agitation, but she forced them to lay still. With a jolt, she realized that she had wings, and this painful realization nearly made her break down and cry right then and there. She pushed down the urge, though; she had far more important things to worry about.

Shakily walking towards the entrance, marked by a sliver of moonlight shining in through the crack in the wooden boards, she stopped in front of it and closed her eyes. Her twisted horn glowed and fired an explosive blast of green magic at the door, blowing it to pieces. Fresh air rushed into the room, and she breathed it in greedily after days of imprisonment within her cocoon.

Climbing up the stairs, she finally emerged from the cellar into a dark apple orchard. Her horn glowing once more, an apple was ripped from the tree and shot towards her. It smacked into her snout and fell to the ground, but she ignored the slight pain and picked it up. Taking a bite, she relished in its taste and the much-needed boost of energy it gave her. The urgent information she had suddenly came back to the front of her mind.

Moonlight shone down into the orchard, illuminating it clearly. The light revealed a dull orange coat, a messy blonde mane, and two solid green eyes lit up with alarm and terror.

“Ah…Ah have ta warn the others!” She gasped in a voice rusty from disuse, “Queen Chrysalis is in Ponyville!”

Chapter 8: Seven Years of Bad Luck

Twilight shook her head and sighed as she looked down at Spike, who was sound asleep in his bed. Placing her hoof on the sleeping dragon, she tried rocking him awake. “Spike…Spike?”

The young dragon ignored her, shifting away from her hoof while mumbling something in his sleep. Twilight snorted in frustration. She did not have time for this.

Her horn began to glow, and a large orb of water quickly formed above Spike. When it was a sufficient size, she ended the spell and let the water pour down on the sleeping dragon. The ice-cold liquid shocked him awake, evoking a loud cry of surprise.

“Twilight! What was that for?” Spike cried as he stood up and wringed out his tail. “You got my bed all wet! It’ll take forever to dry!”

“Sorry Spike, but you weren’t getting up when I told you to!” Twilight said, “It’s almost noon! You were supposed to be awake much earlier than this.”

“Well maybe I would have been, if you and Ditto hadn’t been keeping me up all night with your gushing over “Goldwing the Magical!” Spike growled.

“It’s “Goldhoof the Magical,” Spike,” Twilight corrected him, “And it’s a very well-written and intriguing adventure-mystery series!”

“Yeah yeah, whatever.” Spike said, ignoring Twilight’s glare. “Just admit it; you’re still upset over Trixie calling you a liar about the Ursa Minor thing, so you’re more irritable than usual.”

“She has no right to come back here and claim that she was the one who got rid of the Ursa Minor!” Twilight said, her words filled with anger. “Her claims were full of logical fallacies! How could anypony have believed her?”

Obviously, Spike’s statement had hit home. Twilight was still fuming over the blue unicorn that had returned to Ponyville two days ago. The pompous showmare had claimed that she was the one that vanquished the Ursa Minor, and that Twilight had struck a deal with her to make it look like she was the one that defeated it. What infuriated Twilight most was that some ponies had believed the lying unicorn, simply because they couldn’t prove that she was wrong.

“Come on Twilight, this is Trixie we’re talking about. Nopony with any sense is going to believe her.” Spike said, trying to reassure her.

“Then what does that say about the ponies that did believe her?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Uh…” Spike was at a loss of words to answer.

Twilight sighed and began telekinetically picking up several books lying on the floor. She dumped some into Spike’s claws, who barely managed to keep a grip without falling over, and began putting the rest away in their proper spots on the shelves. “Well, I’m not going to think about it right now. I won’t let it bother me. I already let Ditto leave to go pick up some food at the market an hour ago, so you’re going to have to help me clean up around here.”

Spike huffed in annoyance and grabbed the ladder, leaning it against the library shelves. He climbed up and began to organize the line of books, muttering to himself all the while. “And I thought living with one bookworm was bad enough…”

Apparently, he wasn’t as quiet as he thought, because Twilight heard and turned to glare at the baby dragon. “I’m just kidding, Twilight! Sheesh…”

Twilight shook her head at the dragon’s attitude and turned back towards her work. Inwardly, she hoped Ditto would come back soon so that she’d have someone more willing to help her. Spike was a good assistant and she loved him, but he could be so snarky and belligerent sometimes.

The door to the library suddenly flew open, slamming into the wall. The unexpected noise startled Spike into almost falling off the ladder, only for Twilight’s magic to steady him just in time. Twilight turned to glare at whoever had just come in.

“What are you-” The unicorn broke off as she saw exactly who it was. Applejack was standing in the doorway, unsteady and barely keeping on her feet as she swayed slightly from side to side. Her coat, mane, and tail were dirty and messy, her eyes were dull with exhaustion, and her iconic Stetson hat was nowhere to be found. Twilight’s first thought was that the earth pony had somehow gotten into a wrestling match with a manticore and lost.

“Applejack! What happened to you?!” Twilight cried out, concern filling her voice as she ran over to her friend. The earth pony barely had the energy to speak.

“Twi…please…help…” Applejack breathed, struggling to make any audible sound. Her legs suddenly gave out and she collapsed to the ground.

“Applejack-!” Twilight began, but broke off as a green cocoon of flames suddenly surrounded the earth pony. Her eyes widened in horror as the flames cleared away as quickly as they had come.

Where Applejack had been was a creature that both greatly resembled her and was wholly different at the same time. Her coat and hair were much duller in color, and her mane and tail were stringy and filled with holes, those same small holes filling her legs as well. A dark orange, saddle-like shell covered her back, and two small, perforated insect wings stuck out from it. A short, twisted horn stuck out from her forehead, she had two long, sharp fangs, and her eyes were solid green, compounded, and filled with fear.

Twilight gasped and instinctively leapt away from the terrifying creature. Her horn began glowing with a dangerous light as she glared at it, watching the creature for any sign of hostile movement. “Who are you?! Are you a changeling?! What have you done with Applejack?!”

The changeling-like pony’s eyes lit up with alarm as she tried to back away from the angry unicorn. “Twi, please…listen ta me! It’s me, Applejack!”

“A likely story, changeling!” Twilight growled, not believing her for a second. “What’s your game? Why don’t you change back into your real form?”

“This is mah real form! I mean, it didn’t use ta be, but it is now!” Applejack pleaded, “Please Twilight, Ah’m not lyin’! Ah got trapped in one of those chrysalis things; the same as what Princess Celestia was put in! Ah barely got out lookin’ like this!”

The sheer desperation in the changeling-pony’s voice nearly convinced Twilight that she was telling the truth, but at the same time, she didn’t want to believe that this horrific creature was one of her best friends. She had to be certain.

“Alright then, Applejack,” Twilight began, emphasizing the name with a suspicious tone, “If you’re really her, you should be able to answer any question I ask you about her life, correct?”

“C-Correct…” Applejack stuttered. She looked so vulnerable that Twilight had to fight to keep up her angry, logical facade.

“Alright, listen closely. If you can answer this right, I’ll believe you.” Twilight said, “When my friends and I went on our quest to find the Elements of Harmony and defeat Nightmare Moon, what did Applejack do to prove to me that she was the Element of Honesty?”

Applejack was silent for several moments, then looked up and locked her solid green eyes with Twilight’s own purple ones. Her voice steady, she answered, “When we all went ta the Everfree Forest, we were walkin’ along a cliff side, and the cliff gave out. We all fell down it except Rainbow and Fluttershy. They managed ta help Pinkie and Rarity, and Ah caught a root stickin’ out of the rock, but you were barely hangin’ off the edge by yer hooves. So Ah went down ta help. Ah told ya that if ya let go, you’d be safe. Ah said that was the honest truth, and ya trusted me. Even though you didn’t know that Rainbow and Fluttershy were waitin’ ta catch ya, ya still trusted me ta tell the truth.”

Twilight stood frozen, eyes wide as her mind tried to comprehend what she had just heard. That conversation between them had taken place in the Everfree Forest, with no one around but their friends. Furthermore, the words they exchanged had been between her and Applejack alone, and the creature before her had recalled everything with the precision and emotion that could only come from personal experience. Though she didn’t want to believe it, she couldn’t deny the truth: this half-changeling, half-pony creature was her friend, Applejack.

“A-Applejack! Oh, Applejack, what happened to you?!” Twilight cried, tears coming to her eyes as grabbed onto the mutated pony and helped her to stand. Applejack flinched as the unicorn’s love and concern flooded into her, giving her the energy to stand on her own.

“Ah…Ah don’t really know. After we all got back here, Ah split up from Rarity and went home ta do some apple buckin’. Then, when Ah got ta the orchard, Apple Bloom followed after me and Ah let slip about that old apple cellar out there.” Applejack explained, “She wanted ta see it fer herself, so we went down there, and when as Ah turned mah back, there was a flash of green, pain, and then nothin’!”

Twilight thought Applejack’s words over, then gasped as a revelation hit her. “You don’t think the Apple Bloom that followed you was a changeling, do you?”

“Ah don’t know, maybe. All Ah know is that when Ah woke up, Ah was trapped in this weird cocoon, and Queen Chrysalis was right in front of me!” Applejack said.

“Queen Chrysalis? You mean the Changeling Queen?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, her! But, how did ya know?” Applejack asked, “Ah only knew because she told me so herself.”

Twilight froze and looked away as she realized her mistake. She couldn’t tell Applejack that she was willingly harboring a changeling in her house, not after what the earth pony had gone through. “…I just used deductive reasoning. We only know of one changeling queen, so this Queen Chrysalis must be her.”

Twilight turned back towards Applejack, fire in her eyes. “Was she the one who did this to you?!” At this point, Twilight wasn’t sure if her hate for the Changeling Queen could grow any further; the tyrant had already hurt her brother, her foalsitter and her mentor, and she had tried to take over Equestria. And now she had come this close to turning one of her best friends into a monster! The unicorn was certain that the next time they met, she would not be merciful.

“Ah don’t know. Ah blacked out again shortly afterwards, but she said something about “provin’ Ah deserve ta keep mah life.” Ah don’t know what that means, though…” Applejack trailed off.

“So, what? Do you think she was testing to see if you could break out on your own?” Twilight asked suspiciously.

“Maybe, Ah-! That’s not important right now!” Applejack suddenly shouted. “Twi, Queen Chrysalis is here! In Ponyville! And there’s more!”

“More? What more could there be than the Queen of Changelings hiding out right here in Ponyville?” Twilight asked.

“She’s not the only one hidin’! On mah way over here, Ah kept out of sight, but Ah saw a lot of ponies who looked really weird. There was some sort of green fire on them, and some part of me is tellin’ me that those ponies are changelings!”

“You can detect changelings? This must be a result of your mutations.” Twilight said. A though suddenly came to her. “So if you can see them, can they see you?”

“Ah don’t know, maybe. Recently, there has been some weird buzzin’ in the back of mah head; like voices, but too faint ta make out.” Applejack said. “But Twi, there were a lot of changeling’s out there, maybe even more than actual ponies! Do ya know how bad this is?!”

“I know! I know this could threaten the safety of everypony in Ponyville if left alone!” Twilight said, looking very stressed.

“Well, what are ya waitin’ for, then? Write ta Princess Celestia, tell her what’s goin’ on!” Applejack yelled.

“I…” Twilight trailed off as she thought about the situation. Queen Chrysalis and her changelings being in Ponyville was something that would need to be reported to the princess right away. But if Princess Celestia did come, what would happen to the changelings that weren’t causing trouble, like Ditto or Mirror? As much as Twilight didn’t want to admit it, she had grown attached to the shy, wingless changeling that she shared so many interests with, and she was scared of what Princess Celestia would do if she found out about her. Maybe if she went and found Ditto now, she could convince Princess Celestia to help without condemning every changeling in Ponyville.

“…Applejack, does anypony else know about this?” Twilight asked the former earth pony.

“No, Ah came straight here as soon as Ah had the energy ta do so. Ah couldn’t bear it if mah family saw me lookin’ like this…” Applejack said miserably. No tears formed in her eyes, though, and Twilight hit upon the sad realization that the changeling-pony wasn’t capable of that anymore.

The earth pony’s condition scared Twilight. Her looking like this meant that changelings were capable of transforming ponies into them by mutating them in chrysalises. She didn’t want to think about how many of the changelings they had fought had could have once been ponies themselves, or how close Princess Celestia and Applejack had come to sharing the same fate.

“…I’m sorry Applejack, there’s something I have to do first.” Twilight said, hurrying towards the door and trying her best to ignore the changeling-pony’s curious stare. “You’re exhausted, so I need you to stay here and recover your strength. If you go out as you are now, you’ll cause a panic. Spike will take care of you while I’m gone.”

“Me?” Spike asked, sparing a nervous glance at the mutated earth pony. She merely glared at him in response, silently daring him to say one word about her appearance.

“Yes, you! I’ll only be gone a little while. I have to find somepony first…” With that, Twilight ran out of the library, slamming the door behind her. Spike and Applejack were left alone in tense silence.

“So…uh…” Spike began, lost for words. He suddenly screamed as a green light surrounded him and pulled him directly in front of Applejack’s face. Her new horn was glowing as she glared at him.

“You heard her. Somethin’ real bad is comin’, and Ah’m goin’ ta need mah strength for when it does come.” Applejack said slowly. “So either start thinkin’ about Rarity or get me an apple, because this whole mess is just gettin’ started.”

“Pinkie, this is a stupid idea.” Mirror said, fidgeting with her black bowler hat. “And I’m just as stupid for going along with it!”

“Aw, come on, Matchie!” Pinkie said, donning her own deerstalker hat. “This’ll be fun! And it’ll totally work, trust me!”

“Alright…” Mirror groaned, “But why do I have to be Trotson?”

“Because I’m leading this investigation, so I have to be Sherclop Holmes!” Pinkie said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Mirror opted not to say anything more on the matter, though she still fumed about it silently. But I don’t want to be the lowly assistant who asks silly questions with obvious answers!

With that, Pinkie pulled out a magnifying glass and shot out into the market, rushing up to different ponies and quickly and invasively looking them over. Mirror groaned as she followed the earth pony. This is not how you go about looking for changelings…

As Mirror walked up to Pinkie Pie, who was currently inspecting a purple earth pony with a messy mane, the changeling stopped and tried to think of something to say. “Uh…hi, Berry Punch! We’re just…uh…”

Berry Punch gave both her and Pinkie odd, lingering looks. “Hi…”

Unfortunately for her, this gave Pinkie all the “evidence” she needed to thrust her magnifying glass into Berry Punch’s face and shout, “Ah ha! See! She looked at you weird! That has to mean she’s a-!”

Before Pinkie could get any further, Mirror blanched and threw herself at Pinkie, knocking them both to the ground and covering up Pinkie’s mouth. She turned back to Berry Punch and quickly said, “I am so sorry! We’re just playing a game; nothing to worry about! Nothing to see here; you can get back to your life now!”

The earth pony raised her eyebrow in confusion, but didn’t press the issue. As she walked away, Mirror turned to reprimand the pink pony she still had locked in her hooves.

“What were you thinking? You don’t just go announcing random ponies as changelings in the middle of a crowded market square! Do you want a repeat of that first day?” Mirror whispered angrily. She let go of Pinkie to let the pony get back on her hooves.

“But Matchie! She was giving you a weird look. If other changelings can tell that you’re a changeling, then any weird looks they give you should be interpreted as a sign!” Pinkie defended herself.

“…Alright, you have a point there.” Mirror admitted, “But that weird look was directed at you, too, and it was probably because we’re wearing these silly hats and doing nonsensical detective work and violating other ponies’ personal space!”

Pinkie thought about it for a moment, blowing bubbles out of a pipe she procured from nowhere. “Huh. You may be on to something, lowly assistant.”

“…I hate you.” Mirror growled, flapping her feathery wings in agitation.

“Ah, lighten up, Matchie! I’m just kidding!” Pinkie said, “You take things way too seriously sometimes!”

“I…that’s not important right now!” Mirror shouted, then went back to whispering. “How is this going to help us find General Carbon? He could be anypony!”

“…Hmm…” Pinkie hummed, deep in thought.

“Well? What’s the plan now?” Mirror asked expectantly when the earth pony didn’t say anything.

“…I got nothing.” Pinkie finally said. Mirror facehoofed and fell over onto her back. “…Matchie?”

“Oh, there you girls are!” Mirror picked her head up at the sound of that familiar, soft-spoken voice. Seeing Fluttershy walk over to them, she got back on her hooves and smiled happily at the pegasus.

“Hi Fluttershy!” Pinkie greeted her.

“Hi Pinkie!” Fluttershy greeted back. She turned to Mirror and asked, “Where were you last night? You didn’t come back to the cottage. Did something happen?”

Mirror shook her head, her smile not leaving her face. “Nah, I just decided to stay over at Pinkie’s for the night. She said you wouldn’t mind.”

“Yeah, and next time, you should come! The three of us can have a slumber party together!” Pinkie added in.

“Well, as long as you’re okay. I was worried when you didn’t come back, but I suppose it’s fine now.” Fluttershy said.

Mirror bowed her head in shame. “Sorry for worrying you.”

“Oh, you don’t need to apologize. I told you, it’s fine now.” Fluttershy insisted. Mirror nodded in acknowledgement.

“Fluttershy, Pinkie, Mirror! It’s good to see you all again!” Rarity’s voice called from behind them. The white unicorn walked up to them, her cousin Sparkler close beside her.

Sparkler smirked as she spoke. “You three are just inseparable, aren’t you?”

“We could say the same about you two!” Pinkie laughed.

Sparkler giggled softly at this. “I suppose we are. But wouldn’t you want to spend as much time as possible with a relative you haven’t seen in years?”

“…Yeah, I suppose so…” Pinkie said. Mirror noticed that the earth pony actually seemed to be seriously thinking the question over.

“But really, the three of you are almost always together!” Sparkler said, “Such a close group of friends…”

Mirror blushed at Sparkler’s words. “We’re not that close…”

Right after speaking, the changeling gave a small shout as she was swept up in Pinkie’s grip. The earth pony wrapped her right foreleg around Mirror’s shoulder. “Don’t be so modest, Matchie! We’re all friends here! It’s nothing to be ashamed of!”

Mirror slipped out from under Pinkie’s foreleg and nodded. “Yeah, I know. It’s just…weird. I’ve never had friends like you guys before.”

“Yes, I imagine a childhood of being seen as a copy of a storybook character would result in that.” Rarity said. Sparkler nodded her agreement, though her expression was unreadable.

Mirror nodded silently, hoping not to discuss the topic of her fake history any further.

“By the way, Pinkie, Fluttershy, did you know that that showmare Trixie is back in town?” Rarity asked.

“No, I didn’t know she was back.” Fluttershy said, looking at Mirror, who shrugged in response. We must have missed her, whoever she is.

“Of course I did! I gave her an invitation to come to Matchie’s Not-So-Surprise Party!” Pinkie said. She suddenly looked unhappy at the memory. “She didn’t come, though…”

“I’m not surprised. No doubt the “Great and Powerful Trixie” considers herself above such festivities.” Rarity said, rolling her eyes. “She actually had the nerve to come back and claim that she vanquished the Ursa Minor and that Twilight was a fraud! Can you believe her?”

“That’s awful...” Fluttershy said.

“This Trixie sounds like quite the attention-seeker.” Sparkler observed. “Aiming to win the crowd’s love and admiration; perhaps she’s a changeling herself?”

The five mares fell silent as they considered the possibility. “…Huh, I never thought of it that way…” Pinkie said, deep in thought.

Not knowing who Trixie was, Mirror found that the conversation held little interest to her. While Pinkie and Fluttershy continued conversing with Rarity and Sparkler, she looked around the market for anyone else she knew well. Turning away from her friends, she could see Applejack running her apple stand and talking with her little sister. The market was too crowded with ponies for her to listen in on what they were saying, though.

I just realized that I might have an eavesdropping problem. Mirror thought absentmindedly. She shrugged and dismissed the thought. Not my fault changeling hearing is so much better than pony hearing, though.

Mirror watched as Applejack ruffled Apple Bloom’s mane, earning what she assumed to be shrieks of protest from the young filly. Applejack gave her a mischievous smile, her eyes closed. When she opened them again, Mirror’s heart skipped a beat as she saw the earth pony’s eyes light up with a bright green glow for a split second. Apple Bloom’s eyes flashed briefly with a similar light, after which she ran off as soon as her sister let her go.

Mirror took a hesitant step forward, as though she couldn’t believe what she had just seen. “It can’t be…”

“Mirror, is something wrong?” Mirror turned to see Fluttershy giving her a concerned look. The pegasus’s words had attracted the attention of the other three ponies as well.

“Um…I just-” Mirror broke off at the sounds of fearful screaming and angry shouting nearby. The changeling whirled around to face the source of the sounds: a black unicorn cornered by two Canterlot unicorn guards.

“It looks like another changeling’s been discovered...” Sparkler sighed, shaking her head.

Mirror barely took notice of the unicorn’s words, however. She focused on the black pony cowering before the guards. Please, don’t let it be her…

One of the guards shouted something at the transformed changeling, who opened her eyes to reveal solid purple underneath. Dismay and horror filled Mirror as her fears came true. Ditto!

“Wait! Don’t hurt her!” Throwing aside all thoughts of rationality and self-preservation, Mirror spread her wings and shot into the growing crowd of ponies coming to witness the event.

“Matchie, wait!” Pinkie cried out to the changeling, a hoof futilely extended towards her.

“Oh dear…” Fluttershy said. The two dashed after their friend into the crowd of ponies, leaving Sparkler and Rarity to exchange confused looks and follow.

Mirror pushed her way through the crowd of ponies, finally bursting out into open space and skidding to a halt between Ditto and the two guards. She stood tall, her wings spread out imposingly and her gaze determined as she stared down the two surprised guards.

“You can’t hurt her! I won’t let you!” Mirror yelled, casting a glance behind her at Ditto who looked at her with similar surprise to the guards, but with a hint of gratitude as well. She quickly averted her gaze to face the guards once more.

“Miss, you may not be aware of this, but this creature you are defending is a changeling. We have received several pictures from an anonymous source showing her transformation and true form. Please, stand aside and allow us to apprehend it before it can do any further harm to Ponyville.” One of the guards said, recovering from his shock and returning her stare.

“But you can’t! She hasn’t done anything wrong!” Mirror insisted. She could hear the muttering of the crowd, confused and suspicious, but she didn’t pay it any mind. Ditto needed her help.

“Ma’am, this creature is a changeling, one of the monsters that threatened to destroy Equestria. She is dangerous and must be-” The guard broke up as his partner motioned for his attention. “What is it, Spell Tome?”

The second guard, Spell Tome, pointed towards Mirror and asked, “Hey Grimoire, Isn’t she the pony that shopkeeper told us about? The pegasus that assaulted him and threatened him with torture?”

Mirror froze as she realized what they were talking about, a wave of fear and embarrassment washing over her. Feathers. Should have realized that was going to come back and bite me in the flank someday.

“Um, is that really important right now-!” Mirror’s words caught in her throat as Grimoire suddenly raised his spear and pointed it at her throat.

“You’re under arrest for assault and threats of torture!” Grimoire told her.

“Hey, that’s not fair! You ponies get into fights all the time and nopony ever-” The spear was now hovering mere centimeters away from her neck. “Woah, now! Let’s not get violent; there are foals here!”

Cautiously raising her hoof, Mirror pushed away the spear and backed away, closer to Ditto. “And anyway, this isn’t about me! This is about her!”

“Ah yes, the changeling.” Grimoire nodded. He pointed his spear at Mirror once more. “I’m telling you one last time, ma’am; step aside and allow us to apprehend this creature before we have to forcefully remove you!”

“Stop pointing that at me!” Mirror growled, leaping backwards away from it. “And you can’t apprehend her; she hasn’t done anything wrong!”

“She is a threat to the citizens of Ponyville and must be-” Grimoire began.

“But she isn’t!” Mirror cut in, “She’s a mutant; she has no wings and her magic is weak. She can’t even shapeshift properly!”

Mirror heard Ditto let out an indignant “Hey…” and glanced back at the changeling, giving her a light glare that said ‘be quiet and let me help you!’. Ditto nodded and didn’t say anything more.

“…You seem to know a lot about this changeling.” Grimoire said slowly, “But how could you know so much unless you’ve known about her and haven’t alerted the guard, in which case you are aiding a criminal, or you yourself are also a changeling?!”

The crowd of ponies let out shocked and horrified gasps, but Mirror, to her credit, kept her face straight. She turned to Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, who had pushed their way to the front. Seeing their dismayed expressions, guilt filled her and she gave them both an apologetic, sorrow-filled glance. I’m sorry…

Closing her eyes, she slowly turned back towards the guards. I wish this didn’t have to happen, but I can’t let another of my siblings suffer in front of me.

Her eyes snapped open, revealing pupil-less eyes that glowed with a dangerous green light. The guards looked visibly shocked, and several ponies took a step back, fear spreading amongst the crowd. Standing tall, she directed her venomous gaze towards the two guards before her. “I am Mirror, a changeling, and I will not let you harm another of my siblings!”

Grimoire was the first to recover from his shock. Eyes narrowing, he shot his spear towards Mirror, intending to run her through. The changeling saw it coming, however, and twisted around so that the weapon shot past her. The spear stuck into the ground, and when Grimoire tried to pull it out, Mirror aimed a light buck at his horn, hitting it and disrupting the flow of magic.

Turning back towards Ditto, she shouted, “Don’t just stand there! Run!”

Startled, Ditto closed her eyes and concentrated. Her horn glowed, and a burst of green magic surrounded her. In a flash of light, the changeling vanished. Was that a teleportation spell? Strange, she shouldn’t have been able to do that so easily…

“After her! Call for backup if you have to, just don’t let that changeling escape!” Grimoire yelled to his partner. Spell Tome nodded, his horn beginning to glow for another teleporting spell, only for Mirror to take to the air and land hard on his back, interrupting his attempt.

“I told you I wouldn’t let you harm her!” Mirror yelled. The stallion thrashed around to free himself, and Mirror struggled to maintain her hold. She quickly lost her grip, however, and was thrown into the air. Spreading her wings, Mirror caught herself and hovered in the air for a split second before a blast of blue magic knocked her out of the sky. The changeling hit the ground with a painful-sounding thud.

Before she could recover, a large, armored hoof slammed onto her chest and pinned her to the ground. The force pushing down on her kept her from moving. “Resisting, huh? You just made this a whole lot worse for yourself…” Grimoire growled down at her, his horn glowing as he raised his spear once more.

Twilight quickly trotted in the direction of the marketplace, where she had instructed Ditto to go when she sent her out over an hour ago. With luck, she’d find the changeling quickly, bring her back to the library, and still have time to alert Princess Celestia to the coming threat.

As she neared the market, though, Twilight quickly became aware of the lack of sound emanating from the square. Coming closer, she saw that many of the stalls were empty, and the area around the market was uncharacteristically devoid of ponies.

Dread slowly filled Twilight as she approached. “It’s so empty. Where is everypony-”

Before she could finish her sentence, a bright bubble of green light suddenly appeared before the unicorn. Holding up a hoof to shield her eyes, she didn’t react in time to avoid the black shape that emerged from the magic burst. The shape crashed into Twilight, knocking them both to the ground.

Opening her eyes, Twilight saw a black unicorn with a black and silver mane and solid purple eyes staring back at her. “…Ditto?”

Fear lit up the changeling’s eyes as she scrambled off of Twilight. “Twilight! Twilight, I’m sorry! I am so sorry!”

“Sorry, for what?” Twilight asked, picking herself up. “Ditto, what happened? Why aren’t you using your illusion spell?”

Ditto looked ready to burst into tears. Even before she started talking, Twilight realized that she already knew the answer. “…They found out! Somepony saw me sneak out two nights ago and they took pictures and gave them to the guards! I am so sorry!”

“Wait, you snuck out?” Twilight repeated. “I told you not to! I told you that you needed to stay hidden!”

“I know, and I’m sorry! I betrayed your trust, and for that I am so sorry!” Ditto cried. “I should have told you everything sooner!”

“Should have told me everything sooner? What haven’t you told me?” Twilight asked.

Ditto froze as she realized what had slipped out. “I promise I’m not a traitor! I owe you my life and I would never to anything to hurt you!” She pleaded, “I only found out yesterday, and I should have told you, but he would have been so angry with me if I did! Please, forgive me!”

“…Ditto, what have you been doing? What’s going to happen?!” Twilight asked, placing her hooves on Ditto’s shoulders and looking the hysterical changeling straight in the eyes.

“…There’s going to be an invasion!” Ditto shouted.

“You’re not actually going to kill me, are you?” Mirror asked, a hint of fear in her voice. “I thought Equestrian guards used nonlethal force to subdue their enemies.”

“Your kind tore apart, ruined, and ended lives in that invasion.” Grimoire growled, “Equestria will be better off with one less changeling in it.” He readied the spear to stab it through her throat.

“Grimoire, Spell Tome, what are you doing?! Stop!” A familiar voice cried out. Mirror and the two guards both turned to see Twilight running towards them. The unicorn stopped a short distance away, panic written across her face.

“Miss Sparkle, this creature is a changeling; she has deceived the citizens of Ponyville and aided in the escape of another changeling.” Grimoire informed her, “She must be disposed of immediately.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes at the guard. Ditto’s warning mattered much more than getting rid of one of the few changelings that were friendly towards ponies. “What I see is two guards hurting a pony who has earned my trust and who has done nothing wrong! We have far more important things to worry about than this!”

“…Spell Tome!” Grimoire yelled to his partner. The stallion looked expectantly at him. “Expose this creature for what it truly is!”

Spell Tome nodded, his horn glowing and firing a light blue beam at the changeling. Mirror closed her eyes as the numbing wave of magic washed over her, stripping away her pegasus shell and revealing the black changeling exoskeleton underneath. The crowd of ponies gasped in horror and exploded into fearful and angry murmuring.

Opening her now solid blue eyes, Mirror looked towards the ponies surrounding them. Without the threat against Ditto to distract her, she was now keenly aware, for the first time, of the hateful glares and the scared looks of the ponies in the crowd. These looks, along with what she knew to be their whispers of betrayal, struck her more deeply than any wound. Her spirit fell and her resolve melted away.

Not wanting to see the looks on her friends’ faces, she turned her gaze back towards Twilight. The unicorn’s expression was hard to read, but she didn’t look surprised at the reveal. Of course not. She already knew, after all.

The look on Twilight’s face quickly shifted to one of frustration at the uproar going on around her. “Stop this right now! We don’t have time for this! There are more important things to worry about than one changeling!”

“…Very well, Miss Sparkle. We’ll hear what you have to say…” A look of relief crossed Twilight’s face at Grimoire’s words. “…after this creature is taken care of for good!”

Mirror didn’t see the look of panic adorn Twilight’s face once more as the spear was raised above her head. Closing her eyes, Mirror waited for the final blow.

It never came. Instead of burning agony and her own cry of pain, all Mirror heard was Grimoire’s surprised shouting and a very familiar laughter. When the hoof was suddenly lifted from her chest, Mirror opened her eyes.

To her shock, the sight that greeted her was Pinkie Pie riding Grimoire around like a bull, laughing happily and having the time of her life. With a shout of “Surprise!”, the pink pony flicked the stallion’s horn, breaking his hold and causing his spear to drop. Mirror buzzed her wings and quickly got to her feet. She caught the spear as it fell and swung it around just in time to block a strike by Spell Tome’s own weapon. With a surge of strength, the changeling pulled it upwards, catching the heads of the spears on each other and wrenching the spear out of Spell Tome’s telekinetic grip. The weapon was sent flying into the air.

Both changeling and stallion were visibly surprised by this action. I don’t remember being strong enough to do that. Could Pinkie and Fluttershy’s love have really powered me up that much?

Hearing the soft flap of wings, Mirror looked up to see Fluttershy land beside her, Spell Tome’s spear held between her front hooves. “Why did you do this, Mirror?” The pegasus whispered, “Why didn’t you just stay hidden?”

Mirror sighed and gave Fluttershy another apologetic look. “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t stand by and let another of my siblings be hurt again. She’s my sister; my friend. You understand, don’t you?”

“Of course I do, and I would have done the same for my friends!” Fluttershy said. “But…now we’re all going to be in so much trouble…”

Shortly after Fluttershy finished speaking, Grimoire finally managed to buck Pinkie Pie off his back. The earth pony sailed through the air and landed next to the pegasus.

“That was so much fun!” Pinkie laughed, “Again, again! Let’s go again!”

At this point, Grimoire had had enough of their antics. The Canterlot guard glared at them with upmost hate and frustration. Even Spell Tome looked somewhat disturbed by his partner’s anger.

“Defending a changeling and attacking a member of the Canterlot Guard? You are all traitors to Equestria and by law, you are under arrest!” Grimoire shouted. The crowd broke out into more shocked muttering at this declaration.

Mirror flinched at the guard’s words and turned to her friends. Fluttershy looked upset but determined to protect her, and Pinkie Pie still looked as excited as ever. “You shouldn’t have tried to help me. Now you’re both in just as much trouble.”

Pinkie just grinned and replied, “Matchie, we’re friends! What kind of friends would we be if we didn’t help you when you needed it most?”

Fluttershy just gave a nod of agreement and smiled warmly at Mirror. The changeling returned the smile after a moment, but it soon faded as the reality of the situation sunk in once more.

“…Spell Tome, Maneuver 4! We’ll take them down here and bring them back to Canterlot for trial!” Grimoire commanded.

His partner nodded, and the two guards began charging up magic. Moments later, they fired two identical bursts of blue magic at Mirror, Pinkie, and Fluttershy. They readied themselves to get out of the way, but before they could do so, Twilight leapt in front of them. Her horn glowed, and a purple barrier sprung up in front of the four. The beams hit the barrier and exploded harmlessly against its magic surface.

Mirror stared at Twilight, who was concentrating on the barrier as the two guards continued to fire blast after blast in an effort to penetrate. “What are you-”

“Go! Run!” Twilight shouted at the three, not turning to look at them as she focused on maintaining the barrier. “I’ll hold them off and try to talk some sense into everypony, so just run!”

The crowd of ponies burst into frenzied shouting. Amidst the uproar, Mirror could pick out cries of “Monster!” and “Traitor” aimed at her, along with shouts of “Traitors!” and “Changeling spies!” directed towards Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Twilight. The insults towards her friends hurt more than the ones aimed at her.

Looking through the transparent barrier, Mirror turned her gaze towards Rarity and Sparkler. Rarity was the easier one to read, looking both shocked and upset, while Sparkler kept her face straight and her emotions secured. Despite this, though, Mirror thought she could see a hint of anger cross the unicorn’s face. Inwardly, she was thankful that Rainbow Dash wasn’t present; she didn’t want to think of how the pegasus would have reacted to all of this.

With each hit the barrier took, Mirror felt her heart break further. Of course this was going to happen. How could I ever think a changeling could live amongst ponies after everything that’s happened?

Fluttershy turned to Mirror and shook the changeling by the shoulder. “Mirror, we have to go! Please, Twilight can handle this, but we have to leave now!”

The desperation in the pegasus’s voice snapped Mirror out of her despair. She looked at Fluttershy, who gazed sadly through the barrier, and at Pinkie, who looked more serious than usual. She nodded in resignation. “Right, let’s go.”

Mirror and Fluttershy threw the spears they held aside. Giving one last regretful look back towards the crowd of ponies, the changeling turned and flew off, her two friends following close behind. They soon disappeared from sight, leaving Twilight to hold up her magic shield and continue trying to get through to the furious ponies and warn them about the threat that was closer than any of them could imagine.

In the chaos, no one took notice of the lone earth pony who hadn’t moved from her spot at her apple stand. Applejack smirked and chuckled softly at what was happening, though she felt a hint of annoyance at what it meant.

“I had hoped for a little more time.” She said to herself, “No matter, though. At least we don’t have to deal with those two empathy-stricken foals anymore. Serves them right, those traitors.”

The earth pony’s eyes flashed green as she smiled malevolently. Holding her hoof to her head, she sent out a single telepathic message.

“This is General Carbon, addressing all able-bodied changelings in the Ponyville area. It appears we’ve been found out. Begin the invasion.”

Photo flew through the winding, cavernous tunnels of the hive as fast as her wings could carry her, determined to deliver her message. Taking one final turn into a tunnel on the left side, she entered into a small chamber. Green flames floated along the walls and lit the room, revealing a few essential pieces of decorated furniture, a wide bookcase stuffed with books of all sorts, and a large map of Equestria along the far wall.

Sitting in the middle of the chamber in front of a small stone table was a petite changeling wearing a dark blue chest plate and a matching helmet with a large frill. A chess set and a ragged old doll were placed on the table. The changeling’s bright blue eyes turned towards her visitor, lighting up when she saw who it was. “Photo! How nice of you to visit me! How is dear Golden Harvest doing?”

The cheerful innocence in the changeling’s voice never ceased to confuse Photo. “The same as ever, High-General. She has proven remarkably resistant to our rehabilitation methods.”

“I see.” The High-General said, “No matter. Give it time; I’m sure she’ll come around eventually.”

“Of course, High-General.” Photo nodded.

Double gave a soft giggle and turned back towards her chess game. She never actually played chess against anyone, and the High-General herself said that the game was mostly set up for symbolism. No changeling completely understood what she meant by that.

“So, what did you want to tell me?” Double asked, “I know that’s not what you came all this way for.”

“…Oh, right.” Photo said, blinking and snapping back to attention. “High-General, we’ve received word that the invasion of Ponyville has begun. Should we begin preparation for battle?”

“Let me think on it.” Double said, “Go gather the soldiers and be ready for my decision. We shall move on my call.”

“As you wish, High-General Double.” Photo said, bowing. She turned and flew out of the room, sending out telepathic commands through the changelings’ hive mind to gather in the main chamber.

When Photo had left, Double turned back towards the ragged doll on her table. She picked it up and nuzzled it happily. “It’s all coming together, Mr. Smartypants!”

Setting the doll down, her horn glowed as she took the black king and moved it one space up. She smirked down at it “So, General, it would appear you’ve made your move at last. But I wonder, will this be your game-changing decision, or will our game finally have a rightful winner? I believe I know the answer…”

Grinning with excitement, she took the white queen and moved it diagonally upward three spaces, taking out a black pawn and placing her queen five spaces horizontal from the black king. She sat back to analyze the new position of the pieces.

“…Check.”

Chapter 9: It's Personal

Twilight snorted in anger and continued to pour more energy into her shield to strengthen it as Grimoire and Spell Tome kept bombarding it with magic. Neither guard listened to her as she tried to articulate her warning about the impending invasion from behind her barrier, and their constant attacks, along with the furious uproar of the surrounding group of ponies, were pushing her frustration to dangerously high levels.

One of the blue beams of energy created a crack in her barrier, which she quickly fixed before another blast did the same thing. What was with these guards? They were acting completely out of line and ignoring every word she said without giving her a chance to explain herself. Twilight made a mental note to inform Shining Armor about their behavior after this mess was resolved.

Twilight closed her eyes and pumped more energy into the barrier, her frustration and anger reaching a breaking point. “That…is…ENOUGH!”

The unicorn’s eyes snapped open and she pumped one final burst of magic into her shield. The barrier suddenly expanded outward, knocking the two guards and most of the crowd off their hooves. The shield dissipated, giving Twilight the chance to catch her breath and rein in her emotions as the ponies before her slowly stood back up.

“Everypony, just listen to me! For goodness’ sake, you’re acting like foals having a tantrum!” Twilight yelled, “Now, I am going to say what I’ve been trying to say and you are all going to be quiet and listen! Is that understood?!”

The crowd of ponies nodded meekly, having realized that Twilight was likely not a changeling spy and being unwilling to invoke the wrath of the Element of Magic. Grimoire and Spell Tomb looked away in embarrassment, but said nothing. Twilight gave a frustrated snort, but chose not to say anything else on the matter. There were more important things to attend to.

“Everypony, we are all in grave danger!” Twilight said. The crowd began to break into confused and frightened muttering again, but one glare from the frustrated unicorn stopped them cold. “There is going to be an invasion, right here in Ponyville! There are a number of changelings among us, disguised as normal ponies, and while this will alert them to having been discovered, it is imperative that the ponies here are made aware of this threat so that we aren’t-”

She never finished the sentence, as a blast of green magic shot out and hit her from the side, sending the unicorn crashing into a nearby cherry stand. The one responsible for the attack, an armored changeling, stood on top of an apple stand with a smug look.

“I believe you were going to say ‘caught off guard’?” General Carbon smirked. He closed his eyes and raised a hoof into the air. Without warning, several ponies in the crowd burst into green flames, dying down to reveal their true natures as changelings. More pillars of fire appeared as the changelings shed their disguises, sending the marketplace into chaos once more as the real ponies panicked and fled. A horrid buzzing filled the air as the insect-like shapeshifters took to the air and began to chase after them.

Twilight slowly picked herself up, ignoring the crushed cherry juice that soaked her coat and the traces of paralyzing magic that still lingered in her body. Her horn glowed as she cast a simple rejuvenation spell to bring herself back to fighting condition.

Looking around at the chaos and destruction the invading changelings were causing, she didn’t notice the slow trotting of hooves as someone approached her from behind. “A lovely sight, isn’t it?”

The unmistakable southern voice caught Twilight’s attention instantly. Turning around, she found herself face to face with Applejack. A flash of green in the earth pony’s eyes quickly reminded her that this was only a changeling disguising itself as Applejack, however.

Twilight glared at the changeling. “Queen Chrysalis, I presume?”

The grin fell away from the doppelganger’s face. “Queen Chrysalis? Not quite, but I’m the closest we’ve got to her at the moment. The name is General Carbon; it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“So you’re the leader of this invasion, then?” Twilight asked, readying herself for a strike against the changeling general.

Carbon smirked at her aggressive display. “You could say that. With Queen Chrysalis gone, there’s quite a power struggle amongst the changelings, and this invasion is key to proving my strength.”

“Gone? What do you mean, gone?” Twilight asked. Applejack had told her that Queen Chrysalis was alive and in Ponyville, so why would General Carbon say she was missing?

“That’s not something you need to know about. All that matters now is that Ponyville will fall to the swarm, and the remaining ponies in this pitiful town don’t have the power to stop it.” Carbon said.

“Your plan will never work!” Twilight growled, “Princess Celestia will catch word of this and stop you!”

“Oh, I’ve prepared for that. You ponies fall so easily for the hostage situation, and even your precious princess will have to back down once she sees how many ponies we have at our mercy.” Carbon smiled maliciously, “Especially when we have one of your Elements of Harmony, as well!”

The implications of Carbon’s words quickly dawned on Twilight. The changelings had indeed replaced a large amount of Ponyville’s population, but at the very least, their leader didn’t seem to realize that Applejack had escaped. She decided to keep this fact hidden from him.

“So what are you going to do now, then? Kill me?” Twilight asked, her horn glowing in preparation for battle.

The General just laughed at her words. “There’s hardly need for that. A dead pony can’t love after all, and besides, without the rest of the Elements of Harmony, you’re hardly a threat to us. If I recall correctly, you’re missing three…”

The General turned and began to walk away, one eye kept trained on her for any sign of attack. “I believe we’ve both got more important things to do now, anyways. I’ve got to make sure a certain treacherous changeling is out of the way for good, and you’ve got your friends to worry about.”

Carbon gave a nod to his left, prompting Twilight to turn to see what he was looking at. Amongst the fleeing ponies and attacking changelings, she could see Rarity lying on the ground, her hooves held to the sides of her head and an agonized expression on her face. Her cousin Sparkler stood protectively over her, glaring at two changelings that were hovering before them. The unicorn telekinetically tore two chunks of rock out of the ground and hurled them at her attackers, knocking them away.

“Rarity!” Twilight cried out. A flash of green light in the corner of her vision caught her attention, and she turned around to see that General Carbon had disappeared. Realizing that he had teleported away, she mentally kicked herself for not having done anything about him.

Quickly deciding that there was nothing she could do at the moment, she turned to three changelings that were flying toward her. She fired off three blasts of magic, two of them connecting with her targets, and quickly teleported before the final changeling could reach her. Reappearing right next to it as it hit the ground, she fired a beam point-blank, knocking it out cold.

Twilight raced off towards Rarity and Sparkler, firing magic blasts at nearby changelings as she ran. Right now, she had to focus on the invasion. It was the most immediate threat, and the one that would need to be taken care of first before its leader could be dealt with. She could only hope they had the power to stop it.

“…Matchie? Matchie? Come on, Matchie, please talk to me!” Pinkie begged, “At least say something!”

The changeling in question kept her back turned to the pink pony. “What’s there to talk about?” She asked, her voice soft and dejected. “My cover’s blown, everypony in Ponyville hates me, you, Fluttershy, and Twilight are now wanted traitors to Equestria, and our only safe haven is this hut way out in the Everfree Forest owned by a rhyming zebra!”

Mirror’s voice pitched in hysteria, and she forced herself to calm down. Crushing hopelessness weighed down on her once more. “Everything’s falling apart, Pinkie. How can you remain so positive that it’ll all get better?”

Before Pinkie Pie could reply, Fluttershy entered the room, a tray holding four cups of steaming hot tea balanced on her back with her wings spread out. A zebra wearing several gold rings on her legs and neck walked in behind her. The zebra carefully grabbed the tray and lifted it off the pegasus, setting it down on the floor in the center of the small hut.

“Thank you, Zecora.” Fluttershy said, folding her wings back in.

”The pleasure is all mine, young Fluttershy.” Zecora said, “I am happy to help both you and Pinkie Pie.”

Zecora turned her attention towards Mirror, who instinctively shrunk down and avoided her gaze. Why does she do that rhyming thing? It’s so weird…

“And what of you, young changeling?” Zecora asked gently, “Have you recovered enough to say anything?”

Mirror sighed and grabbed one of the teacups, sipping it slowly before speaking, “…It’s just, everything’s gone wrong. How can we hope to stop the invasion now?”

Pinkie smiled and put a comforting hoof on Mirror’s shoulder. “How else, silly? We go back to Ponyville and warn everypony!”

“But…we’re criminals.” Mirror said, “We can’t get near Ponyville without the guards coming to arrest us. Besides, Ditto said the invasion would begin soon. For all we know, that could have been the final straw to start it off. We could be too late.”

“Well in that case, we go back and fight!” Pinkie said, “Even if we are criminals, they can’t refuse our help in a time of crisis. They’ll have to let us help them!”

Mirror looked away from Pinkie’s smiling face. “…How can you be so happy? So optimistic that everything will turn out all right in the end?”

Mirror could sense Pinkie’s confusion at the question. After a moment, the earth pony replied, “Well, if I don’t, who will?”

The changeling froze, stunned by the simple answer. Closing her eyes, she waited a few seconds before engulfing herself in green fire. When it cleared, Mirror sat cloaked in her straight-haired Pinkie Pie form.

Both Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie winced at the memories the form brought up. Mirror turned around to face them, her expression still sad and serious. “I suppose you’re right. If even you lose hope, then what hope is there for the rest of us?”

This time, Zecora stepped up to answer her question. “Young changeling, of help you are in dire need, but retain hope, never give in, and you will succeed. You are capable of great strength, but only if you are willing to go the necessary length.”

Mirror stared up at the zebra, then lowered her head and sighed. “You can try to cheer me up all you want, but the fact is, we’ve landed ourselves in a really bad spot, and I’m not sure we can get out of it. And to think, this day started off so well, too…”

Closing her eyes, Mirror recalled the tune of her queen’s lullaby and sang softly to herself.

“This day was going to be perfect,
The kind of day of which I’ve dreamed since I was small,
But now my secret’s found,
And they’ve all failed to come around,
I fear I’ll never gain their trust again at all.”

Both Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy stared sadly at their friend as she finished her song. Pinkie in particular looked struck by the fact that her own voice was singing such a somber tune. The small forest hut fell into heavy silence.

A harsh knocking on the hut’s wooden door caught the attention of its four occupants. Mirror whirled around and got to her hooves, alarm apparent in her eyes.

“Ooh, I’ll get it!” Pinkie said, oblivious to the possible danger as she bounced up to the door.

“Pinkie, you don’t know who it could be! What if it’s one of the guards?” Fluttershy warmed her, keeping her voice down to a whisper.

“Relax, it’ll be fine!” Pinkie assured her, though her words failed to calm the fearful pegasus. She placed an ear to the door. “Who is it?”

“Pinkie, is that you? It’s me, Applejack.” The familiar, accented voice answered. “Open up, will ya? Ah need ta talk with ya.”

Mirror froze upon hearing Applejack’s voice, remembering what she had seen at the market before everything went wrong. I can’t let her see me!

The transformed changeling fled into another room, closing the grassy drapes that framed the doorway to hide her form. She peaked out through the small slit in the cloth to see what was happening.

“…Okie dokie, Loki!” Pinkie said. She opened the door and bounced away, allowing the orange earth pony to follow in after her.

“Applejack, for what reasons have you come?” Zecora asked skeptically, “Does it concern what these three are running from?”

“Pretty much. Ya’ll caused a pretty big commotion back there.” Applejack said, adjusting her hat. “Lots of ponies are pretty mad about it, ya know.”

“We didn’t mean to cause trouble. We were just protecting a friend.” Fluttershy said nervously.

Applejack smiled and nodded. Her eyes began to glow green, and the smile turned wicked at the alarm showing on the two ponies’ faces. “I know you didn’t mean it, but you still have to pay…”

A dark pink blur shot out from behind the drapes, crashing into Applejack’s side and knocking her into the wall. A few masks along the walls fell to the ground from the impact, and the hanging bottles rattled around.

Quickly recovering, the earth pony looked up to see Mirror glaring down at her, still wearing her pony disguise. “Get away from them! I won’t let you hurt them!”

The pony narrowed her eyes at the changeling. Rearing her hind legs, she delivered a solid kick into Mirror’s stomach, launching her off and allowing Applejack to regain her footing.

As Applejack advanced towards the winded changeling, Zecora pulled a bottle off the wall and shook it quickly. Popping the cap off, she chucked a cloud of green powder onto Applejack, the powder sticking to her coat. Her fur began smoking, and the earth pony began crying out in pain as green flames quickly laced her form.

“What did you do?” Fluttershy asked, watching the burning pony in horror.

“A simple powder to burn the skin,” Zecora explained, “And to reveal the true form concealed within.”

Finally, the flames cleared away, revealing an armored changeling where Applejack once stood. Mirror gasped in recognition. “General Carbon!”

“General Carbon is Applejack?” Pinkie asked incredulously, “How did I not see that coming? Of course an important changeling would replace an important pony! It’s so obvious now!”

“Um, Pinkie? What are you talking about?” Fluttershy asked.

“…I’m not quite sure.” Pinkie said after a long moment of thought. Fluttershy let out a quiet sigh of exasperation.

Carbon glared at Mirror as she leaped between him and her friends. “Standing against your own general, Mirror? It would seem your empathy sickness has completely consumed you, after all.”

Mirror pushed down the doubt that thinking about her empathy sickness always brought and glared defiantly at the changeling general. “I…I don’t care if my feelings are the result of some disease! They’re still my friends, and I’m going to protect them!”

The general closed his eyes and sighed. “Of course. Such a disappointment. It can’t be helped, though, and besides, the last thing the swarm needs is a disloyal soldier.”

This struck a nerve. “I’m not disloyal!” Mirror yelled, “I just know there has to be a better way to get the swarm what it needs than through an invasion!”

“Um, excuse me…” Both changelings turned their heads towards the timid pegasus that had spoken. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but if you’ve been Applejack all this time, then where’s the real Applejack?”

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about her. She’s perfectly safe.” Carbon replied, opening his eyes again. “She’s confined within one of our holding chrysalises, just like all the other ponies we’ve replaced, and none of them have been hurt…yet.”

“Yet?” Fluttershy repeated, shaking slightly with fear for her captured friend.

Mirror growled threateningly at General Carbon. “You lied to me about your pony disguise, didn’t you? You made it look like you had replaced Doctor Whooves, when you had really been replacing Applejack this whole time!”

Carbon waved a hoof dismissively. “Guilty as charged. If I had shown you who I was really masquerading as, you would have told your new pony friends right away. Changelings with empathy sickness can’t be trusted. It’s why I arranged for dear Ditto to be discovered.”

“…What?” Mirror asked, her left eye twitching once.

“What, you haven’t figured it out by now? Ditto has empathy sickness. She’s grown attached to the Element of Magic, and she’s no good to the swarm now. She would have just been a liability during the invasion, so I arranged for her to be revealed to the guards.” Carbon explained, “It was quite simple, really; she brought it upon herself by not being more careful when she went out that night. All it took was to have one of my soldiers steal the photos that some colt took of her and to deliver them to the guards.”

“…You did it? You’re the reason Ditto was discovered?” Mirror asked, her voice rising in volume. “You’re the reason I had to reveal myself to protect her?!”

“You have no one to blame for your misfortune but yourself. You chose to protect her and reveal yourself. Though I must say, you doing that worked out in our favor.” Carbon said, grinning maliciously. “No pony is going to trust you now.”

“Monster!” Mirror shouted. Lunging towards Carbon, she crossed the distance between them with unnatural speed. Before the general could react, the changeling had slammed into him once more, sending them both crashing through the door and out into the Everfree Forest.

Recovering first, Mirror slammed the general into a tree, her anger giving her the strength to pin him there despite him being older and stronger. “You’ve ruined everything!”

Carbon’s horn glowed and fired a blast of energy straight into her face. It blew her into a different tree, the impact breaking her concentration and stripping her of her disguise. The general slammed his hooves onto her back, pinning her wings down. Mirror struggled underneath his hold.

“I told you, you brought this on yourself.” Carbon hissed, “If you hadn’t tried to defend her, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“Ditto’s a part of the swarm! I couldn’t abandon her!” Mirror shouted.

“She’s a mutant! She’s weak! And her empathy sickness has only made her weaker!” Carbon shouted back, “It’s done the same to you, too! Changelings can’t care for ponies, it’s unnatural!”

“What’s wrong with empathy sickness? If it was that bad, wouldn’t every changeling know about it by now?” Mirror asked, “What’s wrong with being able to feel love towards ponies?”

“Empathy leads to disloyalty.” Carbon replied, “Just look at High-General Double.”

Mirror looked up at him in confusion, then suddenly felt the pressure of Carbon’s hooves on her decrease slightly. Summoning up all her strength, she pushed upward, knocking the general off and allowing her to take to the air. The dense forest trees left her little room for movement, though, so she turned back to face General Carbon.

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“You don’t know this either? I know you’re a young changeling, but could you be any more ignorant?” Carbon asked rhetorically. “High-General Double has had empathy sickness ever since she was a hatchling!”

“W-What?” Mirror asked, her surprise obvious. How did I not know about this?

“Queen Chrysalis preferred it to be kept a secret, but it’s not hard to figure it out.” Carbon said, “A freak teleporting accident as a hatchling lead to the High-General getting amnesia and being taken in by a pony family in Canterlot, where she bonded with a unicorn filly. When Queen Chrysalis came to retrieve her and wiped the family’s memories of her, poor Double went mad trying to convince the Queen to return them to the little unicorn. The only reason she even became High-General in the first place was to gain the Queen’s favor.”

…Is he lying? Mirror wondered, This sounds like a strange thing for most of the swarm to not know about, but then again, the elite changelings always keep certain things hidden from the average changeling. Could this be one of those secrets?

“…What does it matter?” Mirror asked after a period of silence, “High-General Double is a great leader and she does everything she can for the swarm! She’s a little weird, but she’s not crazy!”

“She cares more for one pony than she does for the entire swarm.” Carbon said, “In the wake of Queen Chrysalis’s disappearance, she is unfit to command the hive.”

“And you are?” Mirror challenged.

“Yes, I am.” Buzzing his wings, Carbon shot into the air after Mirror, who swerved out of the way and took off into the forest. The general followed after her, keeping a steady pace with her as they wound through the trees.

Constantly weaving through the thick trees, Mirror slowly put more and more distance between her and Carbon. She knew she could reliably outrun him; female changelings were smaller and faster than male ones, and the general’s armor gave him more protection, but it weighed him down as well. She couldn’t take him in a one-on-one fight, so she would have to rely on losing him in the forest.

Or that was the plan, at least, until a flare of green fire shot over her head and blew a nearby tree to splinters. Casting a quick glance behind her, Mirror dived and spun to avoid the beams General Carbon was sending her way. Of course, long distance attacks: the one thing I don’t have. Of all the times to not have any magic!

Straining her wings, Mirror put on a burst of speed to make up for the space she was quickly losing trying to dodge every attack. Looking down towards the forest floor, she suddenly saw a large patch of bright blue flowers coming up. Recognizing the plants, she grinned in delight. Oh, this is perfect!

Looking behind her, Mirror saw a green burst heading straight for her. She swerved and shot straight up into the cover of the tree leaves, avoiding the attack right as it shot past under her. General Carbon came to an abrupt halt and hovered in the air, scanning the thick foliage for any signs of the changeling. A rustling sound came from behind him, and before he could turn, Mirror shot out and landed on his back, holding his wings down with her hooves. Suddenly deprived of flight, the two changelings fell and crashed into the patch of flowers below.

Opening his eyes after the crash, Carbon’s breath caught in his throat as he saw the bright blue flowers surrounding them. Looking up, he saw Mirror still perched on him, smirking triumphantly.

“Poison Joke? Are you insane?!” Carbon yelled in panic.

“Of course I am. I have empathy sickness, remember?” Mirror said sarcastically, still grinning.

The general suddenly pushed off the ground, easily knocking Mirror off and into the Poison Joke as he flew above it. He turned and glared towards the changeling.

“Ugh, I don’t have time to deal with you anymore. I have an invasion to command and complete before the spores take effect.” Carbon said, regaining his collected demeanor.

Mirror’s smile fell. “Invasion? You mean it’s already started?”

“Much earlier than I would have liked, but yes, the invasion of Ponyville has begun. You have your friend Ditto to thank for that; that empathy-stricken foal just couldn’t keep quiet about it when she ran into the Element of Magic again. I’ll have to punish her for that later.” Carbon explained.

“Don’t you dare harm her!” Mirror yelled at him.

“And what are you going to do about it? You’re just a simple drone. You can’t do anything on your own, and I’m done with you. Goodbye, Mirror Match.” Carbon said. A burst of green surrounded him, and the changeling disappeared. Mirror glared at the spot where he had once been.

“Matchie!” Pinkie’s voice called out from behind her. Mirror turned to see Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy running towards her. The earth pony skidded to a halt at the edge of the Poison Joke patch, her pegasus friend doing the same and looking nervously down at the blue plants.

Mirror flapped her wings and flew over to them. “Come on, we have to go! I’ve got about ten hours before the Poison Joke takes effect, and while that’s plenty of time to stop an invasion, I’d rather get the cure before any weird things start happening. Now let’s go!”

“What? Has the invasion already started?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yes, it has, and I’m going to need a new form so that nopony in town recognizes me when we go back. Can you help me with that?” Mirror asked.

“You can count on me, Matchie! I have just the thing!” Pinkie said, saluting with her hoof. “I’m so, so happy you’re going to help us! That’s the Matchie I know!”

“…I’m doing this to help both you and the swarm, and for Ditto as well. General Carbon purposely got her revealed!” Mirror growled, “I’ll make him pay for betraying another changeling like that!”

“So it’s personal now? Good, because it’s personal for us, too!” Pinkie said, “That mean old changeling hurt Applejack and invaded Ponyville! And we’re going to stop him, right Fluttershy?”

“…Yes, of course!” Fluttershy said after a moment of uncertainty, determination now clear in her eyes.

Pinkie smiled at the pegasus’s will to protect others. “By the way, we’re going to need to stop off at your place first. If we’re going to be heroes, we need to look the part, if you know what I mean!”

“Um, no, I don’t think I know what you mean.” Fluttershy said.

“Well don’t worry, because I know what I mean!” Pinkie shouted, pulling Fluttershy in close to her despite the pegasus’s soft protest. “Now come on, girls! We’ve got a town to save!”

The changeling invasion was quickly leaving its scars on Ponyville. Many houses and streets had holes and craters blown in them by the changelings’ destructive magic, and the invaders themselves were attacking and capturing any pony they could find. While some ponies chose to fight back against their attackers for once, most followed basic pony instinct and tried to run and hide instead, though to little avail for both given the sheer numbers they were up against.

In front of one home was Ditzy Doo, standing protectively in front of a cowering unicorn filly. Three changelings laid unconscious around the pegasus, while three more hovered above her, readying themselves for another attack. Ditzy snorted in anger and pawed the ground, silently daring them to try.

The three changelings dove in at once, and Ditzy reared up in preparation. She stopped short as a white blur shot out of the sky and slammed one of the changelings into the ground. The other two stopped and turned to stare at the new arrival, only for it to shoot back up, buck one hard in the stomach twice and then uppercut it, and drive the other one down into the ground as well. All three were unconscious in seconds.

Ditzy and the filly stared in awe at the pony that had saved them. The pony was a white pegasus mare with a bouncy yellow mane and tail, purple eyes, and a cutie mark of three purple balloons. The mare stood on her hind legs and stuck her forelegs out wide, posing for them.

“SURPRISE!” The pegasus shouted. She giggled softly afterwards. “I’ve always wanted a good reason to say that.”

“Who are you?” Ditzy asked her, her unaligned eyes showing clear confusion.

“I’m Surprise, and I’m here to help!” The mare proclaimed. “Now go, run! There are more of them coming! I’ll hold them off, so you just run, okay?”

Ditzy stared at Surprise a moment longer before smiling. “Thanks, Mirror.” With that, she pulled the unicorn filly onto her back and took off running down the streets of Ponyville, out towards the edge of the town.

The pegasus froze at her words. How did she…oh, it doesn’t matter right now!

Mirror turned to face five changelings before her, all staring at her in shock. This is so much better! Pretending to be somepony else, being able to adopt their personality, and ignoring the flaws in my own. I’ll really have to thank Pinkie later for having such a vivid idea of her imaginary friend! Mirror may be timid and a weak fighter, but Surprise is definitely suited for the task at hand!

One of the changelings finally found her voice and scowled at the pegasus. “You’re on their side now, Mirror? You traitor!”

Mirror frowned and shook her head. “Traitor? I’m not a traitor! The Queen’s word is law, and this invasion goes completely against Queen Chrysalis’s orders to blend in and stay hidden. As a loyal soldier of the swarm, it is my duty to apprehend all changelings that disobey her orders. The changelings who follow General Carbon are the real traitors here!”

The changeling that had spoken cried out and fired a large blast from her horn. Mirror easily jumped over it and flew at her. Grabbing the changeling, Mirror pointed her towards the other changelings, took hold of her tail, and spun it around, forcing the changeling to fire off beams of magic at the other four. Once all had been hit and knocked unconscious, Mirror let go of her. Looking at the changeling’s stunned expression, she couldn’t resist laughing out loud.

“Learned that one from Pinkie Pie, first-hoof experience!” She said before socking the last changeling in the face. Her victory was cut short as a magic beam hit her in the back. Hitting the ground, she managed to hold her pony form together and looked back towards the sky, where General Carbon was hovering in the air.

“Still trying to stop us? When are you going to learn that you’re just a drone, and that you can’t do anything on your own?” Carbon growled as he landed.

“But that’s just it, sir. I’m not alone.” Mirror said, casting a quick glance into the alleyways on either side of her, where two dark shapes flitted past. General Carbon was too focused on her to notice.

“We’ll see about that. You still don’t have any hope of being able to defeat me. A mere soldier stands no chance against a general.” Carbon said, rearing up onto his hind legs with his horn glowing for attack.

“Probably not, but I can still try.” With that, Mirror spread her wings and flew into the air, shooting towards General Carbon as he fired a burst of green fire straight at her.

Chapter 11: The Truth Revealed

Mirror stared up at the regal changeling before her, suddenly feeling very small in the face of her queen. If this had been any other time, Mirror would have been filled with unadulterated joy; relief that her beloved queen was still alive after all. But now, looking into Chrysalis’s narrowed eyes and practically feeling the anger rolling off her, she was struck by the realization that the changelings had all made a big mistake and were about to be severely punished for it.

Chrysalis began to step forward, the changelings she passed quickly bowing fearfully as she turned a piercing gaze toward them. Mirror followed suit as her queen approached her and Double, while Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy took slow, cautious steps away from the three changelings. Dimly, Mirror noticed that Pinkie’s pastry cannon had suddenly disappeared, but she didn’t dwell on it as Chrysalis stopped before the kneeling High-General Double.

Chrysalis smiled down at the High-General, though her grin held no warmth. She took in the changeling’s current unicorn form. “High-General.”

Double looked up, a nervous, apprehensive look on her face. “Yes, my Queen?”

“…It’s good to see that you’ve been following my orders, at least. You’ve maintained control over the majority of the swarm in these difficult times, and you took action against those who would not follow you.” Chrysalis praised, “I’d expect nothing less from the second-in-command of the changeling swarm.”

The smile fell away. “However, I’m aware of the fact that you seem to have known of this invasion long in advance. I would have expected you to have struck it down before it reached this stage.” That mocking smile returned to her face. “Letting our personal vendettas influence our decisions, are we?”

Double chuckled nervously in response, but kept her head bowed, her eyes wide and panicked and her body shaking. Mirror felt herself shiver at the uncharacteristic look of fear on the High-General’s face.

A flash of purple light from behind Chrysalis caught the attention of all three changelings. Chrysalis turned to see Twilight, Rarity, and Ditto, the first of which glared at the changeling queen with pure hatred, her horn glowing for attack.

“Queen Chrysalis! So Applejack was right after all!” Twilight growled.

Applejack? Mirror thought, remembering what Carbon said about the earth pony being trapped in a holding chrysalis. But isn’t she…

Her queen smirked, giving a warm glance of acknowledgement to Ditto and Rarity before fluttering her wings and quickly crossing the distance to land before the three. Interpreting this as a sign of hostility, Twilight fired a burst of magic at Chrysalis, but a green barrier sprung to life before the changeling and harmlessly deflected the spell into the sky.

Chrysalis’s mocking smile remained as the light from her jagged horn died down. “Come now, Twilight, there’s no need for hostility; we’re all friends here. Isn’t that right, cousin dear?”

The changeling queen turned her attention to Rarity, who stared up at her in stunned realization. “Sparkler…”

Twilight continued to glare daggers at Chrysalis. “You! You were Sparkler this whole time!”

Chrysalis nodded, not looking away from the white unicorn. “That’s right. And I must admit, it was surprisingly…enjoyable, really.”

Mirror kept her eyes on her queen, focusing on the slight traces of emotion she could feel rolling off her. She felt strange feelings of warmth and fondness resonating from Chrysalis, which only served to confuse her further. She’s not lying. Queen Chrysalis actually seems to care for Rarity. But changelings can’t love ponies, unless… A jolt of realization struck her. Wait, does that mean-!

Queen Chrysalis suddenly turned around and began to slowly walk towards the center of the town square. “Now, I know you’re all just dying to know where I’ve been all this time. Rest assured, my beloved subjects, I have not abandoned you. Quite the opposite, in fact.”

What? Mirror wanted to voice her confusion at this claim, but fear of evoking her queen’s wrath kept her from speaking up. Chrysalis stopped walking and continued to speak.

“The first thing you all should know is that Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza’s barrier did nothing to strip me of my power, though being hit by such force did hurt…quite a bit.” Chrysalis said, clearly aware of the understatement. “I formed a shield around myself just before crashing in the Whitetail Wood near Ponyville, and survived with minimal injuries. I soon found that the shock, however, had temporarily severed my connection with the swarm.”

Chrysalis stopped and looked around, waiting to see if anyone would comment. Hearing no response, she went on. “My first instinct was to simply hide out and wait for my connection to reestablish itself, but I soon hit upon an idea; a question, if you will. For over one thousand years I’ve led and cared for the swarm, always giving them proper leadership as we searched numerous lands for food. So I thought to myself: what would happen if I left the swarm to decide and fend for itself? Left in the command of the High-General, would the changelings remain orderly and disciplined like they were trained to be, or would order collapse in a chaotic fight for power? Well, we’ve answered that question, haven’t we?”

“Wait, I don’t understand.” Chrysalis turned towards the source of the voice, seeing Twilight step forward with a puzzled look on her face. “Did you not know about the invasion?”

“Oh, I knew about it. That doesn’t mean I authorized it, though.” Chrysalis answered, giving a scolding glare to a group of changelings that had followed General Carbon. “I assumed the identity of a resident of Ponyville, taking advantage of her being out of town and of the changelings not yet being common knowledge. When you and your friends returned, the idea of feeding off an Element of Harmony was too much to resist. A quick search through Rarity’s memories revealed the perfect disguise, and I took the form of her cousin, the esteemed Sparkler.”

Twilight’s bewilderment quickly turned to anger, and she glared up at the changeling queen. “So you’ve been living with Rarity all this time. Did you do anything to her? And what about Applejack?”

“Er, what about Applejack, Twilight?” Rarity whispered, causing both Twilight and Ditto to freeze, nervous expressions on their faces. Sharing the unicorn’s confusion, Mirror looked to Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. Both ponies were just as puzzled and listened closely, concern for their friend clear on their faces.

Chrysalis waved a hoof dismissively. “Nothing as bad as what you’re thinking, likely. Just a simple hypnosis spell to keep her from suspecting I, or any of my children for that matter, could be changelings. Certainly nothing on the level of what I did to your brother.” The changeling queen smirked smugly at Twilight’s angry snort at the mention of Shining Armor. “As for Applejack…well, let me finish my story.”

Chrysalis turned around, raising her voice once more so that it could be clearly heard throughout the square. “Now, shortly after assuming my identity as Sparkler, I took a stroll through the marketplace. You can imagine my surprise at finding not only little Mirror with her horn broken…” Chrysalis looked at said changeling, who shrunk at the attention, “…But also General Carbon in the form of Applejack, the Element of Honesty!”

Rarity let out a soft gasp and turned to Twilight, who nodded silently in confirmation. Every other pony and changeling in the area knew about Carbon’s replacing of Applejack, so none were surprised at the news.

“In order to remain undetected by my subjects, I cut off my connection with the swarm.” Chrysalis continued, “For the most part, the severing works both ways. The swarm can’t hear or recognize me, and I can recognize, but not hear, the swarm. That is, unless I focus on their thoughts. A look into the general’s mind told me where Applejack was being held. Imagine my delight at having one of the Elements of Harmony practically gift-wrapped for me; the temptation was too much to resist.”

“So you tried to turn her into a changeling!” Twilight yelled. Horrified gasps rang out from the ponies, and Mirror’s blood ran cold as she realized that Carbon was wrong: Applejack had been in a conversion chrysalis all this time, not a holding one.

Chrysalis frowned and rolled her eyes. “Well, technically it never got that far. Half-Changeling is a better term. After all, the process is gradual; it takes over a week to complete, and I cast an illusion spell over the chrysalis to keep any changeling from noticing. Besides, she escaped before a full conversion, didn’t she?”

“No thanks to you!” Twilight snorted.

That arrogant smirk returned to Chrysalis’s face. “On the contrary, Twilight, her escape was all thanks to me.”

“What do you mean?” Ditto suddenly spoke up, “You changed Applejack. She knew you were here, didn’t she?”

Twilight turned to Ditto, surprised that the changeling knew about that part of Applejack’s story. Before she could say anything, however, Chrysalis spoke again.

“Yes, she did, when I came the second time to help her. You see, I caught a stray thought about the invasion shortly afterwards. Naturally, I looked into it, and what I found out made me absolutely furious.”

An aura of palpable anger rose from the changeling queen, and every changeling nearby recoiled in fear and shame. Double pressed closely against Mirror, though the High-General’s troubled expression confused her as to which of them was supposed to be receiving comfort from this act.

“Such blatant disobedience cannot be tolerated. I would have put a stop to it then and there, but the invasion force was only a small percentage of my changelings, and I needed to see how the rest of the swarm would act in response.” Chrysalis said, “But I anticipated the trouble this could bring, so I arranged for a sabotage.”

Chrysalis held her head up high, proudly taking in the audible gasps of shock from both the ponies and her changelings. “I weakened the chrysalis containing Applejack, so that she could escape and reveal the presence of changelings in Ponyville. Her appearance would have spoiled Carbon’s treasonous invasion and allowed me to personally teach him his place in the swarm!” The Queen ended her speech in a snarl, her wings buzzing angrily.

Mirror was still transfixed on the emotions emanating from her queen, noticing something odd about them, something so subtle that only a changeling looking for it could pick it up. She’s…lying. Or at least, not telling the whole truth. But what is she hiding? I don’t think she’s lying about helping Applejack, so…could it be the reason why she helped?

Chrysalis’s anger subsided, her smug, regal attitude returning once more. She smirked and stared up at the roof of the town hall. “Well, Applejack? Aren’t you going to come down and thank me?”

All eyes turned to the tall building, where after a few moments of silence, an orange earth pony head stuck out from behind the roof. Applejack crept out and jumped to the ground, looking completely normal and carrying an unconscious Rainbow Dash on her back.

“Oh! Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy cried out, flying over to help Applejack set the pegasus on the ground, with Pinkie, Twilight, and Rarity not far behind. Ditto stayed where she was, an uncomfortable expression on her face as she watched the group of concerned ponies.

Chrysalis chuckled at their concern for their unconscious friend. “Ahem. Applejack? Don’t you have something to show us?”

Applejack’s head jerked up, her ears folded and her tongue silenced by her nervousness. She looked over at Twilight, who put on a weak attempt at a comforting smile and motioned with her hoof for her to go ahead. Applejack closed her eyes and let out a sigh, engulfing herself in her fiery cocoon and revealing her true appearance. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie gasped in fright, while Rarity fainted in an overdramatic fashion, prompting Twilight to frantically try to revive the theatrical unicorn.

Applejack cringed at Rarity’s reaction, her wings drooping. “Nopony else faint, please.”

Mirror stared at Applejack, feeling a short-lived rush of excitement at seeing a half-changeling for the first time before overwhelming guilt crushed it. I shouldn’t feel happy about this. This is awful…

Twilight soon succeeded in rousing Rarity, but the white unicorn was clearly fighting the urge to faint again as she looked at Applejack’s mutated appearance. The half-changeling let out a sad sigh and stared at the ground, not wanting to look anyone in the eye. Suddenly, Pinkie Pie stepped forward and wrapped her hooves around Applejack, to her obvious shock. Fluttershy joined in soon after, then Twilight, and finally Rarity, so that all four ponies were holding their friend in one large group hug with Applejack standing frozen in the middle, her solid green eyes blank with incomprehension.

Finally, her mind cleared up and she looked around at her friends in disbelief. “Ya…ya’ll don’t mind?”

“Of course we don’t mind, Applejack!” Fluttershy responded.

“Yeah, you’re our friend, no matter what you look like! No matter what, you’re still you!” Pinkie added.

“We still care about you, Applejack, even if you do look like…this…” Rarity said, grimacing slightly. She quickly covered it up with a wide smile and a hasty, “But you make a lovely changeling, really!”

“Applejack, we’ve all been through too much together for us to reject you over this. And I promise, no, I Pinkie Promise, I will find a way to help you.” Twilight finished, performing the hoof motions and accidently jamming her hoof into her open eye at the end. The unicorn let out a pained shout, rubbing at her eye with an embarrassed grin.

Applejack’s dumbfounded look quickly melted into a grateful smile. She happily returned the hug to her friends. “Thanks, girls.”

A few pained groans caught the ponies’ attention, and the group looked to see Rainbow Dash slowly getting to her feet, stumbling forward a bit. “Oh, my everything…what did I miss?”

The pegasus looked up and focused on them through her bleary, dizzy vision. “…Pinkie, Fluttershy, why are you wearing those Mare-Do-Well costumes?”

“We thought it’d be fun! Sheesh, how many times to I have to explain it to everypony?” Pinkie sighed, shaking her head.

Rainbow slowly nodded, her unsteady legs shaking beneath her. “Right, well, AJ, remind me to never fly through lightning again. I think I need a nap.”

With that, the pegasus’s legs gave out and she collapsed, unconscious once more. The group broke apart, and while Pinkie and Fluttershy checked on Rainbow Dash, Twilight gave a curious glance at Applejack. “Fly through lightning?”

Applejack shook her head. “Don’t ask me. Ah don’t really get it either.”

Mirror watched the scene with a smile, touched by the ponies’ display of friendship. She looked at Queen Chrysalis, who observed them with a warm gaze that Mirror had only ever seen her direct toward hatchlings before. She really has it, doesn’t she? Empathy sickness…

Suddenly, Mirror felt a pair of hooves wrap around her, and she looked to see Double clinging to her. “Um…High-General, could you…”

She trailed off as she saw the tears in the unicorn-changeling’s eyes, and followed her gaze to find that she was staring directly at Twilight. After a few seconds, the realization hit her that Twilight was the unicorn filly from Double’s foalhood that Carbon had mentioned. She slowly moved her foreleg and draped it over Double’s shoulder, offering silent support to the distraught High-General.

“She’ll never say anything like that to me…” Double sobbed.

Mirror just held her position, giving her a sympathetic smile while trying to ignore how awkward it was for a simple soldier to be comforting the High-General of the changelings.

Mirror’s eyes drifted to Carbon’s unconscious body, and her heart skipped a beat as she saw him move the slightest bit. She nudged Double and frantically motioned with her head towards the recovering general. Double quickly wiped away her tears and morphed back to changeling form. The High-General trotted over to Carbon, her cheerful grin giving away none of the despair she had experienced just moments ago.

“Welcome back to the land of the living, General!” Double chirped, “Well, for now, anyway. And look who’s here to see you!”

Sensing that Carbon was awake, Chrysalis turned away from the ponies and began to walk toward the general. Carbon stared at the very-much-alive changeling queen with a mixture of disbelief and fear.

“General Carbon, so good of you to finally join us.” Chrysalis said with fake happiness. “It’s a shame you missed the entirety of my explanation, but no matter; it’ll be recounted for all the swarm to hear at your trial.”

“Queen Chrysalis, how-!” Carbon began, but Chrysalis’s hoof slamming down in front of him cut him off abruptly.
“Silence!” Chrysalis roared, “You will speak when your Queen tells you to, and only when your Queen tells you to! Is that understood?!”

Carbon gave a hasty nod, and Chrysalis’s raw anger subsided, but only to the point where she glared down at the changeling with thinly-veiled resentment. “General, you of all changelings should know that in the event of my absence, only the High-General has the authority to issue any sort of militaristic command. Regardless of whether I was dead or not, your actions were a direct disobedience of my established law. That is treason, General.”

“You’re a criminal!” Double said in a sing-song tune. Chrysalis’s annoyed gaze on her quickly reduced her to meek anxiety once again, though.

Chrysalis turned back to the general. “And in addition, you betrayed a changeling to the Canterlot guards and actively tried to kill another.” Chrysalis glanced at Ditto, then Mirror as she spoke before looking back down at Carbon. “High-General Double is right; you are a criminal. And you know the punishment for criminals…”

Carbon’s eyes widened in terror, but he held back any words he wanted to cry out. He closed his eyes and bowed his head before his queen. Mirror stared at the general in awe, surprised that he wasn’t begging for forgiveness after all he had done. Chrysalis, however, grinned at his display of humility.

“Holding onto your dignity, even in the face of judgment. I’d expect nothing less from one of my generals.” Chrysalis praised, her horn glowing brightly. A beam of green light burst forth from it, connecting with Carbon’s horn for exactly two seconds before a blinding light emitted from it. When the light faded, Carbon opened his eyes and looked to see a small pile of ash before him. He lifted a hoof up to his forehead, where he felt only a stump where his horn had been.

“Separation from the swarm; that is the punishment for criminals under my law.” Chrysalis declared.

Mirror resisted the urge to throw up as she looked at the remains of Carbon’s horn, now thankful that she had never been able to find the rest of her own horn in the crash. Double, on the other hand, took sadistic pleasure in the Carbon’s despair as he looked at the ashes in a stunned stupor.

Chrysalis turned to the five ponies, most of them looking shocked, though Twilight just looked angry instead. The changeling queen rolled her eyes. “What? You should be thanking me. He is responsible for this invasion and everything it’s brought about, after all.”

Applejack looked at the general who had taken her form and hissed softly, her eyes narrowed. “Ah’m not complainin’.”

Twilight looked uncertainly at the general. “...I...guess he did deserve it...”

“Good. He did put Applejack in that chrysalis originally, you know. I’m simply making sure he gets what he deserves.” Chrysalis said, a sinister smile gracing her face.

Mirror looked up at her queen, the question that had been on her mind once again coming up. She found the will to make her voice heard. “Q-Queen Chrysalis?”

Chrysalis turned her attention to the young changeling, an eyebrow raised. “Yes, Mirror?”

“I…” Mirror trailed off, the fear of addressing her queen with such a personal question choking her words.

Chrysalis came up to her and ran a hoof gently through her mane, a comforting smile on her face. “Yes, dear? What is it?”

Chrysalis’s soothing tone gave Mirror the courage to voice her question. “You…you seem to care for Rarity, and Applejack too, but…changelings can’t love unless they have empathy sickness, right? So, how can you, unless you also…”

Mirror trailed off, expecting anger for daring to suggest that her queen was ill, but to her surprise, Chrysalis just smiled widely. “I’m glad you asked that, dear.”

Chrysalis spoke out, her voice rising in volume. “Changelings, I’m sure many of you are aware of the recent phenomenon within the swarm known as empathy sickness. It is a rare occurrence, and relatively new as well, the first case appearing less than twenty years ago, in our own High-General Double!”

A few shocked murmurs rose up amongst the changelings, many having known the High-General had empathy sickness, but not that she was the first one to have it. Even Carbon seemed surprised by this reveal.

“Ever since, I’ve searched for the cause of empathy sickness; trying to find just what could make a changeling able to love when a normal changeling can’t form a bond with a pony no matter how much time they spend with them.” Chrysalis went on. She paused briefly, smiling proudly. “And at long last, I think I’ve finally figured it out.”

A new wave of chatter broke out. Chrysalis stopped waited for it to die down again before speaking. “The key was in the two newest cases of empathy sickness; the changelings Mirror and Ditto!”

Twilight’s eyes widened, and she cast a questioning look at Ditto, whispering, “You have empathy sickness?”

Ditto nervously looked down at her own hooves. “I…I only found out recently…”

“Ahem…” Chrysalis coughed, catching the two’s attention before continuing. “The cause of empathy sickness lies in the love of the ponies they fed on. Mirror befriended the Elements of Kindness and Laughter. Ditto bonded with the Element of Magic, as did Double all those years ago as a hatchling. And as for myself, I resided with the Element of Generosity for a time…”

Mirror’s eyes widened as she put the pieces together, and a quick glance at her pony friends proved that they understood as well. The Elements…

“Empathy sickness is contracted when a changeling feeds off the love of a bearer of the Elements of Harmony.” Chrysalis revealed, “I’m not sure how much love is required, though I assume that it varies among changelings. For myself, it took a few days before the first glimmers of sympathy arose. However, this explains the rarity of the sickness, as it can only be contracted from six specific ponies, as well as why it is such a new development, as these ponies are the first bearers of the Elements in over a thousand years, excluding the princesses Celestia and Luna.”

The changelings were stunned by this revelation. Mirror looked towards the ponies, astonishment clear on her face. So that’s why I can feel love; it’s because of Pinkie and Fluttershy! And Ditto and High-General Double, they can feel it because of Twilight. So, is empathy sickness really a sickness, then?

Double glared over at Ditto, though for completely different reasons. “Lucky changeling, she gets to keep Twilight’s friendship…” She hissed, voice dripping with envy. Catching her words, Mirror looked nervously over at the older changeling, concerned about the High-General’s priorities.

Ditto took no notice of the High-General’s jealousy, though. She looked distraughtly toward Twilight, muttering softly to herself, “So it’s true…my kindness, my being friends with Twilight, it’s all because of an illness. It’s not natural…”

Twilight quickly recovered from her shock to glare up at Queen Chrysalis with suspicion. “So what, then? You’re saying you can feel love now? Are we supposed to trust you now?”

Chrysalis frowned in thought. “No, I suppose not. After all, you ponies can feel love, yet you’re all still remarkably intolerant and fearful of anything different from you. Keep this in mind, though; it’s not the changelings’ fault that we are incapable of empathizing with ponies.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked, her hostility replaced with curiosity.

Chrysalis smirked, clearly amused by the question. “I’m surprised how little Celestia’s told you. You see, we changelings were once…”

A ball of light as bright as the sun itself suddenly appeared in the air, and Chrysalis trailed off as she turned to glare at it. The changelings and ponies nearby shielded their eyes from the light, and when it faded, a tall white alicorn with a flowing, aurora-like mane descended to the ground. Princess Celestia met Chrysalis’s gaze, the anger clear on her face.

Chrysalis chuckled softly, averting her gaze. “Celestia, so good to see you again. Better late than never, I suppose. How’s the horn doing?”

Celestia’s eyes narrowed further, her horn beginning to glow with yellow light as though answering the question for her. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t get rid of you right here and now, Chrysalis.”

Chrysalis put on a look of mock surprise. “Such hostility; and to think you and I used to be such good friends. I guess that’s all in the past now, though, isn’t it?”

Mirror watched the two rulers curiously. Friends? Queen Chrysalis and Princess Celestia were friends? It never seemed like that…

“But to answer your question,” Chrysalis went on, “It’s simple, really. I have changelings stationed in every major city in Equestria, ready to wreak havoc the moment I give the order. Your guards are stretched thin as it is, and my children will be able to easily overpower them with so few numbers. And finally, there’s only one of you, and Luna will be of no help at this time of day. Do you see where I’m going with this? Equestria will be in ruins before you can do anything about it!”

Celestia moved to say something, but Chrysalis cut her off. “And before you say anything, defeating me won’t do any good. I still have enough power from Shining Armor’s love left over to defend myself, and with the power of the Element of Generosity fueling me as well, you won’t be able to kill me before I give the order to attack. So it’s quite simple, Celestia: you kill me now and doom Equestria in the changelings’ last stand, or you listen to what I have to say. Which will it be?”

Celestia’s expression didn’t soften in the slightest, but the glow from her horn quickly dimmed and disappeared. “What do you want, Chrysalis?”

“Oh, I want a lot of things.” Chrysalis mused, “I want the changelings to be able to walk the streets of Equestria in their true forms without fear. I want us to go back to what we used to be. I want Flutter Valley to return to its former beauty. I want my mother back!”

Celestia winced at the changeling’s anger and rising hysteria. “What happened to Queen Rosedust was not our fault! You were the one who killed her!”

“I had no choice!” Chrysalis shouted, desperation emanating from her. “Mother had given up, she was just wasting away; someone needed to step up and take charge to ensure the survival of the changelings!”

“And you decided to become that “someone” by gaining eternal life at the cost of her own!” Celestia retorted.

“Be quiet! What right do you have to reprimand me?” Chrysalis yelled, “You and Luna brought him to our home and let him change us! You did this to us, and when we needed your help, you abandoned us to our fate!”

Celestia recoiled, a look of guilt crossing her face. “Chrysalis, I-”

“Wait!” The two arguing rulers turned simultaneously to see Twilight staring up at them, eyes wide with incomprehension.

“I…I don’t understand!” Twilight continued, “Princess Celestia, Queen Chrysalis, what happened?”

Chrysalis smirked, looking back at Celestia with contempt. “Hmm. So you didn’t tell them. I should have known you wouldn’t own up to your mistakes.” She turned back to Twilight. “Tell me, Twilight, what do you know of the flutterponies?”

Twilight looked taken aback by the question. “Flutterponies?”

“Yes, flutterponies. Go on, tell us. What are the flutterponies?”

“…Flutterponies were a mythical race of butterfly-winged ponies whose wings gave them the ability to use magic without a horn. They fed off the love of the land and the love that ponies had for each other.” Twilight said, speaking as though she were recalling information from a book.

“That’s correct. Creatures with insect-like wings and magic that feed off of love…” Chrysalis said, “What other species do you know of that fits that description?”

Twilight was silent for several moments, but slowly, her confusion gave way to a dawning realization. “…The changelings.”

“That’s correct.” Chrysalis said. She turned to face the crowd gathered around them. “Changelings, listen well to your queen! We were not always like this! We did not always have to hide our true forms in fear! Once, we were a peaceful race known as the flutterponies, living isolated during the time of the spirit of chaos, Discord’s, reign. Until one fateful day…”

Chrysalis spun suddenly to face Celestia, eyes burning brightly. “Until the day Celestia and Luna came to Flutter Valley to find the last piece of the Elements of Harmony and revealed us to Discord!”

“You knew it was necessary, Chrysalis!” Celestia defended herself, “Discord had to be stopped! Queen Rosedust understood that!”

“Yes, mother did. She let you into Flutter Valley, cooperated with you even though you knew Discord was after you! He was content to leave us alone, but then mother fought against him to give you time to escape. Discord punished us by turning us into this.” Chrysalis growled, “If you hadn’t come, we’d still be the flutterponies!”

“And Discord would still be ruling Equestria!” Celestia countered, “The Elements of Harmony had to be formed, for the sake of all ponies!”

“And what of our sake?!” Chrysalis retorted, “I had a kingdom, countless ponies that trusted me to save them! When I came to you for help, you and Luna left us! Abandoned us! And worse, you rejected us and left us to rot in the wasteland that used to be our home! We were ponies, too; where was your love then?!”

Celestia’s indignation faded, replaced again by guilt. “…You’re right. Luna and I were still young at the time; we were foolish and close-minded. I spent many years after trying to find a cure for the flutterponies, and I considered using the Elements of Harmony to break Discord’s curse, but by then, Luna had…I should have tried harder. I’m sorry.”

Celestia regained her composure and fixed Chrysalis with a steely gaze. “But we weren’t the only ones at fault. Even with the curse, you should have tried to peacefully integrate into Equestrian society. But instead, you kidnapped and replaced ponies, stealing love from their friends and families, and just recently, you replaced my niece and tried to take over Equestria! The fear changelings gather from all the other species is your own doing!”

“Hmph, that invasion was justified. I needed to feed my people, and if I could get my revenge on you as well, so much the better. But you’re forgetting one thing, Celestia: changelings can’t love.” Chrysalis growled, “Don’t you understand? Peace was never an option. Our only hope was to find a way to revert back to our previous forms. But you gave up, you refused to help us! Discord may have cast the curse, but ultimately, the creation of the changelings was your fault!”

Chrysalis’s horn glowed, and the changeling queen disappeared in a burst of green light. She reappeared in front of Celestia, their horns crossing as the changeling and alicorn pushed against each other, both glaring into the other’s eyes.

Several changelings looked ready to intervene on their queen’s behalf, but stopped suddenly at a telepathic command from High-General Double. The little changeling watched the spectacle with wonder and curiosity, the only calm one amongst the group of anxious shapeshifters. On the ponies’ side, Twilight was frozen in shock as she struggled to comprehend all she had heard, her friends watching with concern.

Mirror watched Chrysalis and Celestia’s conflict, experiencing similar feelings of confusion trying to sort everything out. So it’s true then! That book; we did use to be the flutterponies after all! But, that story about Discord and the princesses…Queen Chrysalis sounded so angry and upset. To think that we thought we were only invading Equestria for food; I never imagined that Queen Chrysalis would have such a personal reason behind it…

“A thousand years of festering hatred…terrible, don’t you think so?” Double’s voice snapped Mirror out of her thoughts, and she turned to see the High-General watching her expectantly, waiting for an answer.

“Y-Yeah, terrible…” Mirror muttered, “So, this is Discord’s fault then?”

“Discord, the spirit of chaos and disharmony…yes, I believe so.” Double mused, “Queen Chrysalis blames Celestia, though; I guess she needed someone to blame who wasn’t frozen in stone. No wonder she was so eager about the invasion. Do you think there’s any hope?”

“I don’t know.” Mirror answered hesitantly.

“Well, I think so. You want to know why?” Double asked. Mirror cocked her head, but gave a small nod. “Because of that!”

As she spoke, Double raised a foreleg and pointed towards the six Element bearers. Mirror followed her hoof, at first seeing a newly-conscious Rainbow Dash being helped up by Applejack and Pinkie Pie, then catching sight of what the High-General was really pointing at. She saw Spike run up to Twilight, a large, golden book in his claws and an excited expression on his face. Ditto, spotting the dragon, snatched the book out of his claws with her magic and levitated it in front of Twilight, speaking to the unicorn with a wide grin. Twilight took the book and hid it behind her, a determined smile crossing her face as she turned and nodded to her friends, speaking words that Mirror couldn’t catch with all the nearby chatter. Chrysalis and Celestia were too preoccupied to notice.

Mirror watched the unicorn slowly walk up to the two rulers. “What is she doing?”

“Saving us.” Double answered, looking at Twilight with pure admiration in her eyes.

“Everything is your fault!” Chrysalis yelled at Celestia, mad eyes narrowed into nearly-invisible slits. “It’s your fault Discord came to Flutter Valley! It’s your fault our home is nothing but a wasteland! It’s your fault mother had to die, and it’s your fault the flutterponies are gone! All of it is your fault!”

“Chrysalis, please!” Celestia said, a hint of desperation showing through. “I’m sorry for what happened, but you need to-”

“Stop it, both of you!” Twilight yelled out, surprising both the changeling queen and alicorn princess and dissolving their argument. The changelings, seeing this, quieted down as well. Chrysalis turned a suspicious eye to the unicorn, while Celestia stared curiously at her student.

Now that their attention was on her, Twilight felt nervous about speaking to the two royals, one of them being her own princess, in such a way. She quickly put on a determined face to hide her worry. “Princess Celestia, Queen Chrysalis, please listen to me: we won’t solve anything arguing like this!”

“Oh, really? And what do you propose we do?” Chrysalis said, though she seemed to be curious nonetheless.

“We make peace, of course.” Twilight said simply.

Chrysalis scoffed at her words. “Peace. And how do you make peace with a species that can’t feel empathy?”

“I believe you already know the answer to that, your highness.” Twilight said. She couldn’t resist smirking at the stunned look that crossed the queen’s face at her show of respect. “I’ve thought about what you said, and I think I’ve figured it out. Discord’s curse is chaotic in nature. But the Elements of Harmony are the opposite of his power. That’s why empathy sickness occurs; the power of the Elements of Harmony cancels out Discord’s magic and part of the curse. Empathy sickness isn’t an illness, it’s a cure!”

“…So is that your plan? Give the swarm empathy sickness? There are thousands of changelings; how do you plan on getting them all?” Chrysalis asked, looking somewhat nervous.

Twilight smiled and pulled out the large book, its title, “The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide,” in full view. “With this!”

Chrysalis’s breath caught in her throat as she stumbled backwards. She watched as Twilight opened the book and took out five golden necklaces and a golden tiara from its hollow interior. “The Elements of Harmony?! W-What are you going to do?”

Seeing the uncharacteristic fear on her queen’s face, Mirror took a step forward to help, but Double’s hoof on her shoulder stopped her.

“Just watch.” Double told her. Mirror forced herself to sit back down and watch the events before her unfold.

Despite Chrysalis’s reaction, Twilight kept up her confident demeanor. “We’re going to help you, Chrysalis. We’ll help the changelings to be loved again.”

“The changelings were never loved,” Chrysalis said, “We were always hated! The only way we could possibly be loved is if we were to become the flutterponies again!”

Twilight shook her head. “No, it’s not, Chrysalis. The Elements of Harmony can turn the changelings into flutterponies, but the truth is that the flutterponies are gone.”

A sudden chatter broke out amongst the changelings again, prompting Chrysalis to give them all a glare and a telepathic command to be silent. Chrysalis looked back at Twilight, giving her a nod to continue despite the worry still lingering on her face.

“The flutterponies are gone; they have been for nearly a thousand years now.” Twilight said, “Every changeling that was once a flutterpony is long dead now, except for you. All of these changelings here, your entire swarm, they were born this way. Being changelings is all they know. If we were to turn them into flutterponies, it’d be no different from the conversion that you yourselves force on ponies.”

Mirror saw Double wince at the statement, though she wasn’t sure why. She turned back to the scene, closely watching her queen for any reaction. An aura of sadness seemed to surround Chrysalis, but the changeling queen continued to listen carefully to the unicorn before her.

“Then what is your plan? It can’t really be to give the entire swarm empathy sickness, can it?” Chrysalis asked.

“But it is; the Elements of Harmony have the power to do that. When you think about it, Chrysalis, it’s really quite clear,” Twilight said, “The changelings are feared by ponies because they replace their loved ones to steal love, but a changeling is perfectly capable of creating their own identity to make genuine friends. The only reason they don’t is because changelings can’t form bonds with ponies; they can’t make friends. And for a race that feeds off love…don’t you see? Discord’s curse wasn’t changing your forms; it was taking away your ability to feel love! That’s the curse we’re going to break!”

Levitating the five necklaces, Twilight placed them onto the necks of her friends. The Element of Honesty, upon being placed on Applejack, glowed unstably for a moment before settling down, much to the changeling-pony’s visible relief. Twilight placed her tiara onto her head, and after a moment, the Elements of Harmony began to glow brightly, a wind suddenly picking up around them. Ditto and Spike quickly backed away from the six as the force of the gales increased.

Chrysalis took another step back, still looking anxious. “But…what if it doesn’t work? We’ve been like this so long; what if the Elements just destroy us instead?”

“They won’t, Chrysalis.” The changeling queen turned, eyes wide with shock to see Celestia smiling at her. “You were right. Leaving you alone when you needed our help most…I won’t make the same mistake twice. This time, we’re going to help you.”

Chrysalis stared at Celestia, a few tears coming to her eyes. Slowly the changeling relaxed and looked back towards the Elements of Harmony. As the bright glow increased and the wind grew stronger, the six ponies rose into the air, their eyes closed as the magic flowed through them. Suddenly, their eyes flared open, white light blazing within, and a large rainbow shot up from them and into the air. The rainbow reached a high point and then broke apart into six smaller rainbows that fell down to the outskirts of Ponyville. Hitting the ground, the rainbows shot around in a circle, combining and rising up to create a whirling, colorful tornado around the entirety of Ponyville.

The wind within the tornado threatened to blow every changeling and pony off their feet, but the gales were warm and comforting despite their ferocity. Mirror kept a hoof around Double out of concern that the smaller changeling would be blown away, feeling her disguise burn away under the intense waves of magic all the while. Opening her eyes a bit, she peered out towards Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, their eyes and necklaces glowing with pure white light.

Is…is this really going to fix everything? Can the Elements of Harmony really help us? Mirror wondered. The warm magic washing over her relaxed her body, and her eyes began to droop with drowsiness. She looked around, seeing that the other changelings, Chrysalis, and Celestia were also feeling the same effects. Even Carbon and Double were being lulled into sleep by the harmonious energy. Mirror’s eyes were drawn back to the six ponies in the middle of the magic storm, and to the yellow pegasus and pink earth pony that had been there for her all this time.

A grateful, admiring smile spread across Mirror’s face. Of course they can, because they’re friends. The best friends I could ever hope for…

As Mirror slipped into a peaceful slumber, the last thing she saw was the six silhouettes in the center of the rainbow tornado as it slowly expanded outward across Equestria.

Chapter 12: Family and Friends

“Hey, hey Mirror! Rise and shine, sleepyhead!” A familiar voice called out, breaking through the thin veil of sleep clouding Mirror’s mind and rousing her into consciousness.

Mirror slowly opened her eyes, her body feeling more relaxed than it had been since before the invasion. The bright sunlight fractured in her eyes, and she could see her black, hole-filled hooves in front of her. She let out a soft sigh.

I’m still a changeling, that’s good. Did the Elements work, then? She wondered. She looked up and saw High-General Double smiling down at her, the small changeling’s hoof held out in front of her. Mirror took it, and Double helped her get back on all four hooves. She smiled gratefully at her superior.

“Thanks, High-General. What happened?” Mirror asked.

“Oh, nothing much. See for yourself.” Double said, gesturing with her hoof to the town square.

Mirror looked around to see that most changelings were still waking up from their slumber. Double and Carbon were both awake, though Carbon still laid on the ground, acknowledging nothing but the remnants of his horn. Mirror looked away from him to Queen Chrysalis and Princess Celestia, both of which were slowly picking themselves up off the ground. Lastly, she looked at the six bearers of the Elements of Harmony, who were slowly waking up as well.

Across the square, Twilight picked herself up and shook the drowsiness from her mind. She looked over to her friends to make sure they were okay. Her eyes were drawn to Applejack as she slowly picked herself up, and a hint of disappointment crossed the unicorn’s face when she saw the earth pony’s insect-like wings flutter lazily. Applejack sat up and stared down at her hole-filled hooves, taking a few seconds to absorb the fact that she was still a changeling. She let out a melancholic sigh, her ears and wings drooping.

Twilight gazed sympathetically at her friend. “I’m sorry, Applejack. I guess the Elements of Harmony just couldn’t change you back without changing all the other changelings as well.”

Applejack looked up at her, smiling weakly. “Yeah, Ah know. Ah don’t blame ya, Twilight; we tried our best.”

Rarity walked up and laid a comforting hoof over the half-changeling’s shoulder. “If it makes you feel any better Applejack, I think you make a beautiful changeling.”She said, giving an encouraging smile.

“Yeah, you’re the coolest changeling I’ve ever met!” Rainbow Dash said, flying in front of her. The pegasus showed no signs of the previous injuries her reckless stunt had left her with. “And like we said, we don’t care if you’re half-changeling; not as long as you’re still you!”

“Thanks fer the encouragement, girls.” Applejack said flatly, “Ah’m just wonderin’ how Ah’m goin’ ta explain this ta Granny Smith. Don’t think she’ll take too kindly ta me comin’ home half-bug…”

“If you’re family is as close as I've observed over these past few days, they’ll accept you no matter what your species is.” Queen Chrysalis said, walking up to the six ponies. A hint of pride entered the changeling’s voice. “And if not, you can always come live at the hive. We’ll accept you.”

“Ah’m sure it won’t come ta that…” Applejack muttered, looking away uneasily.

Twilight looked up at the changeling queen, “Well, what about you? Did the Elements of Harmony work?”

Chrysalis looked thoughtful, a smile slowly crossing her face. “Yes, I believe it did. Everything feels so much more warm and clearer, as though a fog has been lifted from the mind of the swarm. I suppose I should offer you my thanks, Twilight Sparkle. You and your friends have done the changelings a great service today.”

Twilight grinned proudly, similar smiles adorning her friends’ faces. Across the square, Mirror looked to Double, silently asking for permission to join her friends. The high-general nodded her permission, and the younger changeling rushed forward.

“Pinkie! Fluttershy!” Mirror called out. The two ponies looked in her direction at the sound of their names, and when they saw Mirror, they both smiled and Pinkie held her forelegs out for a hug. The changeling jumped right into them, knocking the earth pony over with the momentum she had gathered. Both started laughing as soon as they recovered, ignoring the stunned looks the other ponies were giving them.

Mirror stepped off Pinkie to allow the pony to get back on her hooves. She turned to Fluttershy, the look of sheer happiness not leaving her face. “You did it!”

“Yeah, but, do you think it will help?” Fluttershy asked, her smile giving way to an uncertain frown.

“I’m sure of it. High-General Double thinks so, and she has a knack for knowing this kind of stuff.” Mirror said, gesturing toward the High-General, who was currently glaring at Ditto with clear animosity as the mutant changeling limped over to Twilight. Mirror quickly looked back toward her friends, smiling widely and pretending she hadn’t seen that.

“Hey changeling, back off!” Rainbow Dash growled, jumping in between Twilight and Ditto.

“Rainbow, there’s nothing to worry about. This is Ditto, she’s my friend.” Twilight told the pegasus, who stared at her in shock.

“Friend? You’re friends with a changeling? Since when?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Well, since we got back from Canterlot.” Twilight answered, a small frown on her face. “Trust me Rainbow Dash, Ditto’s no threat. Right, Ditto?”

“No, of course not!” Ditto agreed somewhat nervously. She held out a hoof to Rainbow Dash. “I’m Ditto. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Rainbow Dash!”

Rainbow looked at the extended hoof suspiciously, then relented and held out her own hoof to shake it. “Well, if Twilight trusts you, then I guess I do too.”

“That’s great, Dashie! And in that case, we want you to meet somepony, too!” Pinkie Pie said, jumping in and pulling on the surprised pegasus. She pointed toward Mirror, who shrunk down at the sudden attention.

“This is Matchie! You remember her, right?” Pinkie asked.

“Matchie? You mean…Mirror? You’re a changeling, too?!” Rainbow Dash asked incredulously.

Mirror nervously pawed at the ground as she spoke. “Um, yeah…I was worried about what would happen if any of you found out, so I kept it a secret. But I’m really, really sorry!”

“Wait, you two were harborin’ a changeling, too?” Applejack asked, walking up to them.

“Yeah, Matchie’s our friend. She’s been staying at Fluttershy’s this whole time!” Pinkie said.

“Please don’t be mad at us,” Fluttershy pleaded, “It’s just, with all the guards and the fear of changelings that everypony’s been so wrapped up in, we didn’t want to tell anypony, not even you.”

“What? You didn’t trust us?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“No, I didn’t trust you.” Mirror interjected before either pony could speak. “Like I said, I was too afraid of being thrown in a dungeon or banished to tell anyone except Pinkie or Fluttershy the truth. I made them Pinkie Promise not to tell.”

“Ah, that explains it.” Applejack said, relaxing. Mirror raised an eyebrow at this, wondering what power the Pinkie Promise held to these ponies to suddenly make Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy’s actions acceptable.

Rainbow Dash was still in disbelief. “So wait, that story you told us about your foalhood, about Daring Do, none of it was true?”
“None of it.” Mirror confirmed, looking guilty. “I’m sorry, but you were so close to figuring me out, and I needed something to convince you that I wasn’t a threat. I really am sorry for lying to you, though.”

Rainbow Dash calmed down as Mirror gave her apology. “Huh, and to think I thought you were telling the truth. You sure had me fooled.”

“Actually, I figured out that her story was false rather quickly.” Twilight said, jumping into the conversation.

Mirror stared at the unicorn, surprise lighting up her eyes. “You knew? How?”

“It was simple, really. Your story sounded genuine enough, but you made one critical error in your facts.” Twilight explained, “You see, you claimed that your parents were fans of the Daring Do series for a while before you were born, but the first Daring Do book was written only twelve years ago by an anonymous author. As a grown mare, you had to be more than twelve years old, meaning those books would have been written after you were born, not before it.”

Mirror blinked in shock, struck by Twilight’s deduction. The mistake had been unavoidable; she didn’t know anything about Daring Do at the time, least of all the books’ publication dates, but she was amazed that Twilight had noticed that small detail. “Why…why didn’t you say anything?”

“Well, I knew your story was fake, but I couldn’t be sure you were a changeling because of it.” Twilight answered, “Even then, it wouldn’t have been right to accuse you with Ditto under my care.”

This caught Rainbow’s attention, and she quickly looked at the wingless changeling then back at Twilight. “Speaking of which, what about you? How come you didn’t tell us you were living with a changeling?” She asked.

Twilight’s ears drooped, the unicorn looking somewhat uncomfortable. “I was worried about what everypony would think if they ever found out I was harboring a changeling, and what would happen to Ditto if they tried to take her away.”

“Ya could have just told us.” Applejack said, “Granted, Ah was stuck in a chrysalis this whole time, but keepin’ secrets doesn’t do anypony any good.”

“Yeah, we would have helped if you had just told us.” Rainbow Dash added, “That’s what friends are for.”

“…Yeah, you’re right.” Twilight said. She looked at Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy and smiled. “I guess we learned a lesson about friendship, huh? You may have a secret that you think you can’t share because it’s dangerous or you’re afraid of what everypony else might think, but in the end, it’s always better to tell your friends about it. If they’re true friends, they’ll be there to help you no matter what.”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out in a mock gag. “Ick, you ponies are so sappy.”

“Don’t you feed off this sort of stuff, Chrysalis?” Twilight asked, grinning playfully.

Chrysalis smirked, “It’s a guilty pleasure.”

“So, let me get this straight,” Rainbow Dash said, “Twilight’s been living with a changeling, both Pinkie and Fluttershy have been living with a changeling, Applejack’s been living with a changeling-”

“Ah don’t think it counts as “livin’” if he took mah place and trapped me in a cocoon the whole time.” Applejack interrupted.

“Yeah, whatever, close enough.” Rainbow Dash dismissed her statement, much to the mutated earth pony’s annoyance. She turned to Rarity, smirking mischievously. “So who have you been secretly hiding?”

“Well, Queen Chrysalis was a guest in our home when she pretended to be Sparkler, but I don’t think it counts as “secretly harboring” when she’s been casting mind-control spells.” Rarity said, giving Chrysalis an accusing look.

Chrysalis shrugged. “I suppose I should apologize for that, shouldn’t I?”

“It would be polite.” Rarity said. She smiled afterward. “But I forgive you. After all, changeling or not, you did a remarkable job of caring for Sweetie Belle. She thinks very highly of you, you know.”

The changeling queen smiled, and Mirror laughed softly at the aura of satisfaction and happiness her queen gave off. Rainbow Dash, however, was stunned by her answer.

“…Seriously? I was kidding!” Rainbow groaned.

Rarity shrugged. “Well, you wanted an answer, so I gave you one.”

“Alright, fine. And Rarity’s been living with the Queen of the Changelings.” Rainbow Dash said, “Am I the only one who hasn’t been friends with a changeling this whole time?”

“Evidence says…yes.” Chrysalis said, chuckling as the rainbow pegasus pouted silently. She looked away toward Celestia as the princess approached, her eyes narrowing. “Don’t think I’ve forgiven you just yet, Celestia. You have no idea of the suffering my children went through these past thousand years due to your inaction.”

Celestia didn’t speak, so Chrysalis went on. “That being said…I’d like to begin discussing peace agreements between the changelings and the ponies of Equestria.”

Every changeling and pony, including Celestia, was visibly shocked by the queen’s statement. The changelings broke into chatter once more, but Chrysalis quickly silenced them, so they voiced their misgivings through the swarm’s link. Chrysalis brushed their concerns aside as she went on.

“I’ve realized that, after the invasion, it will be much harder for the changelings to obtain love the way we have for the past thousand years, and that now that we are capable of it, it might prove beneficial for us to give peace and love a try.” Chrysalis explained, “I’m not doing this for you; I’m doing this for my children. So for the sake of both our races, Celestia, do you agree to my request?”

Celestia smiled and nodded without a moment’s thought. “I would be honored to discuss peace agreements between the changelings and ponies with you, Chrysalis.”

Chrysalis smiled in satisfaction. “Good. Then let’s decide when our first meeting will be. Preparations will have to be made, after all…”

The changeling queen and alicorn princess walked away from the ponies, debating with each other as they went over the basis of their agreement. When they had gone, Mirror turned to Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, smiling once more.

“You did it! If Queen Chrysalis and Princess Celestia make peace between the changelings and the ponies, we won’t have to hide anymore!” Mirror said, grinning ecstatically.

“Yeah, and then we can all be friends without having to worry about being called traitors!” Pinkie added, “You’ll have to tell me more about how changelings celebrate, Matchie! I mean, imagine all the changeling parties I could throw! This is going to change Equestria forever!”

Mirror laughed at the party pony’s positive attitude. She turned toward Fluttershy, noticing that the pegasus seemed a little subdued. “Is something wrong, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy jumped slightly at the sudden question, but quickly calmed down. “It’s nothing.”

Mirror frowned. “The last time you told me something was nothing, I ended up being chased through Ponyville with Yakpony Sax playing in the background. What’s wrong?”

“…It’s just, ponies are still scared of changelings, and most changelings probably don’t like ponies, right?” Fluttershy asked. Mirror nodded in confirmation. “So, even if Princess Celestia and Queen Chrysalis make peace, there’s still going to be fear and hatred, isn’t there?”

“Oh, I see.” Mirror said, her own spirits dropping as she realized the pegasus was right. “Yeah, I guess you have a point. A thousand years of fear and deception isn’t going to go away just like that.”

“Yeah, but Fluttershy, Matchie, you’re both forgetting one thing!” Pinkie jumped in, “The changelings can feel love again! They all have that empathy sickness thing that Queen Chrysalis was talking about, so they can learn to be friends with ponies, and ponies can learn to be friends with changelings! It’ll just take time. And parties. But mostly time!”

“Time…” Mirror said, thinking about the earth pony’s words. She smiled and looked at Fluttershy. “Pinkie’s right. Nothing happens just like that; if we want things to change, we need to work for it, and we need to give it the time to change. I’m sure things will work out if we do that.”

The changeling turned and gave a grateful smile to Pinkie Pie. “You always know just the right things to say.”

“That’s what we’re here for, Matchie!” Pinkie said, playfully punching her in the foreleg and causing the changeling to cringe in pain at the forceful hit. “If you ever need that sad little frown turned into a big happy smile, just come see us! We’ll be happy to help!”

Mirror giggled, the pink pony’s laughter and cheer infectious. “It’s hard to stay upset around you, Pinkie.”

“You know it!” Pinkie agreed, pumping a hoof into the air. Fluttershy let out a soft giggle as well, her earlier concerns quelled for the moment.

A flash of green light caught Mirror’s eye, and she turned to see Double teleport right next to Twilight and Ditto, a scowl still on her face. She sworn her jaw hit the ground when the High-General violently shoved Ditto out of the way, ignoring the startled changeling’s cry as she stopped in front of a stunned Twilight.

“Out of the way, mutant, it’s my turn now!” Double said as she knocked Ditto away. She smiled up at Twilight, seemingly oblivious to the unicorn’s shock. “Hi, I’m High-General Double! But you can call me Twilight Wish!”

Twilight seemed to snap back to reality at that. “Twilight Wish? What?”

Double responded by switching to her unicorn form, surprising Twilight with its striking similarities to herself. “Twilight Wish! That’s me! We’re friends, sisters even! Of course, you don’t remember, but I do!”

Twilight stared at the changeling before her like she was completely insane. “Friends? What are you…I don’t even know you!”

“Oh come on, you don’t remember seeing me before at all?” Double asked, gesturing to herself.

Twilight scanned the unicorn-changeling uncertainly, a hint of recognition crossing her face. “I think…I do remember seeing you in Canterlot and Ponyville a few times…”

“Exactly! I’ve been watching you, waiting to see if Queen Chrysalis would finally give you back your memories and if you would recognize me!” Double explained, “But you never did! All this time, and you never once acknowledged your very first foalhood friend!”

Double descended into frustrated hysteria, and Twilight was left speechless by her outburst. The High-General quickly recovered, however, and put on a smiling face once more. “But that’s okay. It’s not your fault, after all. It’s not your fault Queen Chrysalis erased all your memories of me!”

Double’s voice rose at her last sentence, deliberately trying to catch Chrysalis’s attention. The changeling queen rolled her eyes and began to walk towards the two, knowing with growing frustration that she would have to get involved.

“What are you talking about?!” Twilight asked, completely lost.

“Allow me to explain, since that’s the only way you’ll get a coherent answer.” Chrysalis said condescendingly, ignoring Double’s indignant glare. “You see, as a hatchling, High-General Double here had a teleporting accident that resulted in her losing her memories and ending up in Canterlot. She was adopted by your family.”

“What?!” Twilight shouted, unable to believe what she was hearing.

“Yeah, that’s why we look so much alike!” Double added, pressing her snout against Twilight’s. “I based this form off you, but changed the colors so we could tell each other apart.”

“Indeed, and she lived with you for… about two years, give or take, convinced that she was a pony. I allowed her to stay because I wanted to see if a pony family was capable of raising a changeling.” Chrysalis said, “So you can imagine my surprise when I came to retrieve her and found that she had somehow bonded with you, despite the fact that changelings were incapable of feeling love for non-changelings.”

“And that’s because you’re the Element of Magic! You gave me empathy sickness, and we became the best of friends!” Double interrupted again, smiling brightly and throwing her hooves in the air.

“Of course, I couldn’t have that. Double is a prodigy, one of the most powerful and intelligent changelings to exist in centuries, and she had to return to the hive.” Chrysalis continued, crushing Double’s jubilant mood. “When I took her back, I suppressed the memories of everypony who had ever met Double, replacing them with new ones. In your case, it was a studious foalhood devoid of friendship.”

“What?” Twilight repeated, “You’re saying all my memories, all those long nights staying up studying as a filly, they never happened?”

“Oh, they happened,” Chrysalis said, “But they happened with Double there with you. I just removed all memories of her, locked them away deep within your mind.”

“Yeah, and since they’re still there, we can bring them back up again!” Double said. Mr. Smartypants suddenly appeared in front of her in a burst of green. “This is Mr. Smartypants! When I saw your Miss Smartypants doll, I wanted one of my own, so we had Shining Armor make another one. We named him Mr. Smartypants because we accidentally set his hair on fire, and so it was all short and boyish afterward. We were going to have a big wedding for them once we got older, but obviously that never happened…”

Twilight was at a loss for words, instead taking the doll and looking it over. There was no mistaking it; the rather shoddy craftsmanship was definitely her brother’s. “It…it looks so much like his work…”

“That’s because it is his work!” Double said, “I also have a scrapbook of all the fun times and memories we had together that I took when I left. It’s at the hive right now, I can go get it and show you!”

Twilight still struggled to find words, not sure if she should believe the strange changeling or not. On one hoof, Double and Chrysalis could both be lying for whatever reason, but on the other hoof, her joy and slight desperation sounded genuine enough, and Twilight couldn’t find any other explanation for the doll since she had her retrieved her own Smartpants doll from Big Macintosh and the plush was one -or two, she supposed- of a kind. Recalling how she trusted Ditto, she finally decided to give the High-General a chance. “Alright, I’ll go along with you for now and see if you’re telling the truth or not.”

Double’s eyes lit up with pure euphoria, and she looked ready to burst with excitement. Without warning, the overjoyed changeling tackled Twilight, knocking her to the ground and hugging her tightly. “I promise I won’t disappoint you! I’ll get your memories back, and then we can finally be friends again! I promise you I won’t fail!”

“Can’t…breathe…!” Twilight gasped, desperately trying to suck in air through the changeling’s vice-like embrace. Double instantly let go, giggling quietly as she watched the unicorn catch her breath.

“Sorry, Twilight.” Double said simply.

Twilight picked herself up and regained her composure. “There’s one thing I don’t understand, though…” She looked up at Chrysalis, an eyebrow raised quizzically. “Empathy sickness is caused by the Elements of Harmony, but you said that the High-General got it from me as a filly. How is that possible? We didn't have the elements back then.”

Chrysalis smirked. “ Isn't it obvious? The elusive Element of Magic, the sixth element stated to only appear when the other five are together. Where do you think it was all this time?”

Twilight thought about it for a moment before her eyes widened in realization. Chrysalis answered the question for her. “It was inside of you, that’s where.”

Double smiled and hugged Twilight once more, though this time the purple unicorn didn't resist, only blushing softly at the changeling’s clear affection. A green light suddenly engulfed Double, and the startled High-General appeared next to Chrysalis. The light from the queen’s horn died down as she spoke, ignoring Double’s childish pout.

“Now, High-General, your trip down memory lane can wait. We have to return to the hive to get everything in order and prepare for Celestia’s ambassadors.” Chrysalis said. She turned a critical glare to Celestia. “I trust your delegates will be open-minded and tolerant of us.”

Celestia nodded in understanding. “I will be careful in my choosing, Chrysalis.”

Chrysalis nodded and turned to her swarm. “Changelings, we are returning to the hive! All changelings who are able-bodied enough to fly, gather the wounded. You two,” She pointed at two changelings, “Assist High-General Double in securing General Carbon and leave immediately. I want him in chains by the time I return, understood?”

“Yes, Queen Chrysalis!” The swarm of changelings called in unison, saluting and getting to work. The two changelings Chrysalis had singled out flew to the incapacitated general and bound him with a gooey substance using their magic. Double reluctantly trotted over, not bothering to drop her disguise. She cast a disdainful stare down at Carbon, her horn lighting up. In a flash of green, all four changelings disappeared.

Three changelings flew over to pick up Ditto, but the wingless changeling stood back and shook her head. “If no one minds, I’ll be staying in Ponyville for a bit longer.”

The three changelings looked at each other in confusion, then to Chrysalis for orders. The changeling queen thought about the request for a few moments before giving a nod of consent. The three nodded back and flew off, two landing beside Mirror after taking notice of her damaged wing. Chrysalis smiled comfortingly at the two injured changelings. “Not to worry, you two. When we return to the hive, you will both be placed within healing chrysalises, along with the other wounded. Ditto, I trust you’ll be able to make it back to the hive on your own and soon?”

“Yes, Queen Chrysalis.” Ditto said, nodding.

Mirror smiled happily and turned to explain to Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. “Healing chrysalises are just conversion chrysalises used for changelings. They transform ponies, but they heal all injuries a changeling can get. It’ll fix my wing and horn!”

Pinkie grinned and embraced Mirror in another hug. “That’s great, Matchie! You’ll come back soon, though, right?”

The pink pony let go, and Mirror looked up hopefully at her queen. Chrysalis shrugged and nodded. “Mirror is a scouting drone who gathers love for the hive. She is free to come and go as she pleases. When she is healed, she, and any other changeling who wishes to, for that matter,” She nodded toward Ditto as she spoke, “may return once matters at the hive have been settled.”

Mirror smiled gratefully at her queen and turned back to her friends. “I promise I’ll be back as soon as things get back in order!”

Pinkie put on a look of mock indecision. “Hmm…do you Pinkie Promise?”

“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” Mirror recited, performing the actions as she went. She wrapped Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy in a loose hug.

“Come back soon, Mirror.” Fluttershy said.

“I will.” Mirror said, letting go and backing away. The two changelings flanked her on both sides, their horns glowing with preparation for the teleportation spell. She looked up at Chrysalis, who surveyed the area with a nod of approval.

“We’re ready.” Chrysalis declared, her horn glowing with a bright green light.

Mirror smiled at Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy one last time before disappearing in a flash of light.

Later that evening in Canterlot, Princess Celestia stood in her castle, staring out a window into the Royal Gardens below. There, she watched Queen Chrysalis stand before the petrified form of Discord, presumably speaking to the spirit’s statue. Shining Armor and Cadance, along with six other guards, stood nearby, watching the changeling with a wary eye. Celestia smiled at the sight, knowing that despite the misgivings of nearly every pony in her council, a new age of peace was finally upon them.

The flapping of wings from behind caught her attention, and Celestia turned to see a smaller dark blue alicorn with a mane and tail like the night sky land before her. A warm feeling of surprise ran through the princess at seeing her sister awake before sunset.

“Luna, I’m surprised to see you up so early. It’s barely evening, after all.” Celestia said.

“The power of the Elements of Harmony was felt all across Equestria. It would have been difficult for it to not have caught my attention.” Luna said, speaking more formally than her sister. “What has occurred to require their use?”

“Come and see for yourself.” Celestia said, moving aside to allow Luna to see outside the window. The moon princess’s eyes widened at what she saw.

“Sister, care to explain to me why our sworn enemy Queen Chrysalis is freely roaming the Royal Gardens?” Luna asked.

“Well, she’s not exactly roaming freely; there are quite a few guards watching her.” Celestia pointed out. A deadpan stare from her sister brought her back to serious discussion. “Though if you really must know, the Elements of Harmony were used to free the changelings from Discord’s corrupting influence, and that peace has finally come to the changelings and ponies. Peace negotiations with the Changeling Swarm will begin in three days’ time.”

Celestia smiled proudly, though Luna just gave her an exasperated look. “…Must you always do everything important while I sleep?”

Celestia just smiled and nodded in acceptance. “Very well, Luna. The next time the peace of Equestria is threatened, I’ll try to make sure it happens at night.”

“Do not patronize me.” Luna said flatly. She looked out the window, frowning slightly. “Are you sure we can trust her?”

“Luna, no matter how Chrysalis feels about us, she truly cares for her subjects.” Celestia said, “She knows that making peace is the best chance the changelings have of a better life; she won’t throw it away for revenge.”

“I suppose this is for the better, then.” Luna agreed, “We should not have abandoned them in the first place.”

“We made a mistake, that’s all. And we've been paying for it.” Celestia said, looking out at the changeling queen in the garden. “But now, after a thousand years, we finally have the chance to fix our mistakes. We can help the changelings, and bring peace at last.”

“Yes, we should be glad for a chance to reconcile with the flutterponies.” Luna said, “Though, what is she doing in the Royal Gardens? Should she not be back at her hive?”

Celestia smiled knowingly. “She’s just visiting an ‘old friend’, Luna.”

Queen Chrysalis stood before the statue of Discord, studying his new pose and laughing inwardly at his horror-struck face. She ignored the ponies behind her, not considering them worth her attention at the moment. She could feel the hate and anger radiating off of them, Shining Armor and Cadance especially, but this only served to amuse her further. Smirking, she began speaking to the petrified draconequus before her.

“Hello Discord, it’s so good to see you again.” She said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “How are you doing? Stone again, I see. I’m doing very well, thanks for asking. In fact, I’m doing better than I have in a long time. Perhaps you’d like to see how well?”

A cocoon of fire engulfed the queen, and the guards pointed their spears towards her, ready to attack at a moment's sign of hostility. Shining Armor and Cadance also steeled themselves for battle, but when the flames cleared, the sight stopped them cold.

A beautiful pony stood in Chrysalis’s place, standing tall and regal, her coat a light sea-green and her mane and tail a glossy blue. She possessed dark green eyes and a green antenna adorned her head where her crown had been. Her large butterfly wings glowed with a blue, sparkling light, and a trio of light blue butterflies made up her cutie mark. The smirk Chrysalis had worn before remained on her face.

“Do you see this, Discord? You must have thought you were so clever, preventing us from taking our flutterpony forms.” Chrysalis said to the statue, “Well, the joke’s on you now. The Elements of Harmony have restored our love, and we have made peace with the ponies. It will take time, but eventually, the changelings will live in harmony with the ponies, and the both of us, immortal and eternal, will be there to see it.”

Chrysalis stepped closer to the statue, her smug smile widening. “I don’t forgive you, you know. You turned us into the changelings, after all. You destroyed mother’s will to live and forced me to take over as the swarm’s queen. I lost many good friends: Morning Glory, Forget-Me-Not, Honeysuckle, all long gone thanks to you. Celestia and Luna abandoned us to our fate, but you gave us that fate in the first place. I will never forgive you for that.”

She took a few steps back from Discord. “And so, I’ll give you the only punishment I can. I’ll leave you here, frozen in stone, and you can watch as your last bit of influence on this world melts away and is replaced by harmony. The changelings will thrive, we’ll never have to hurt or steal for our love again, we’ll make peace, and you can watch as it all happens.”

Letting her flutterpony disguise drop, Chrysalis returned to her changeling form and turned around, walking up to Cadance and Shining Armor. The two ponies tensed up, glaring at the changeling queen with clear distrust.

“So, now that we’ll be working together toward peace, perhaps we should put our differences behind us. So, no hard feelings about replacing you, trying to steal your husband, and nearly conquering Equestria, right?” Chrysalis asked, speaking mostly to Cadance. The alicorn just continued to glare, not dignifying her with a response. “Well, it was worth a shot. Not that it matters much; you don’t really have much of a say in what goes on anyway.”

Shining Armor stepped up to speak for his wife. “If you try anything-”

“Oh, I wouldn't dream of it!” Chrysalis said, her voice as sweet as honey. “Although, if I was to try something, you’d try to stop me, wouldn't you? But if you wanted to stop me, you’d have to catch me, first…”

An excited grin spread across Chrysalis’s face as her horn began to glow. Cadance was caught by surprise while Shining Armor reacted quickly, his own horn glowing. However, before he or his soldiers could attack, the changeling queen disappeared in a burst of green light. The garden was left in silence.

“…I’m sure Auntie Celestia knows what she’s doing…” Cadance told herself, somewhat uncertainly. Shining Armor wrapped a hoof around her in comfort, and she smiled as the two looked up at the sky, where the sun was beginning to set and the warm hues of twilight were descending on the land.

“Come on, Applejack, cheer up. Ah’m sure today will be better than the last three days.” Apple Bloom said, smiling encouragingly at her older sister as they ran their apple stand in the market.

It had been four days since the invasion, and Ponyville was still recovering from the damages, though Chrysalis was at least responsible enough to send changelings to help with the repairs. Predictably, the peace treaty with the changelings was met with considerable protest, with many certain that the changelings were trying to lower their guard for attack. Luna, the more intimidating of the two princesses, quickly put a stop to the more radical protests, but many ponies still showed their contempt for changelings and any ponies that associated with changelings.

Applejack looked up and focused on one of the ponies in the crowd, who upon noticing her gaze, quickly ran away. The earth pony visibly slumped and took an apple from the stand, slowly biting into it.

“Yeah, sure. Face it, Apple Bloom, nopony wants ta buy food from a synthetic changeling.” Applejack said.

“So what if yer a changeling? Yer not a monster or anything!” Apple Bloom protested.

“Yeah, you’re still the same Applejack we’ve always known!” Rainbow Dash added, coming down from the sky to land next to them. “And I’ve been watching you get passed up and rejected by everypony here just because of a mutation you couldn’t do anything about! This whole changeling discrimination thing is stupid!”

“Yeah, but the only ones who’ll buy anythin’ are changelings themselves.” Applejack said. As if to support her statement, a pegasus mare trotted up to her stand and pulled out a single bit, tossing it to Applejack and grabbing one apple. The disguised changeling gave her a sympathetic smile and flew off, returning to her original form once she was high enough in the sky.

Applejack sighed wistfully before quickly shaking her head to clear out the negative thoughts. “But, I can’t let it get ta me! If Ah just show them Ah’m the same pony Ah’ve always been, they’ll have ta realize there’s no harm in buying mah food!”

“That’s the spirit, AJ, and we’ll be here to help you every step of the way!” Rainbow Dash vowed, Apple Bloom nodding enthusiastically beside her. After she spoke, though, she noticed a familiar brown earth pony in the crowd. “Hey Doc, wanna buy some apples from Sweet Apple Acres?”

Doctor Whooves stopped and turned to the trio of ponies, a look of panic crossing his face as he spotted Apple Bloom. The earth pony took off running, which Rainbow Dash and Apple Bloom took the wrong way.

“Hey, she’s not that scary! Come back here, you racist jerk!” Rainbow shouted indignantly, grabbing Apple Bloom and placing the filly on her back before shooting off in pursuit of the terrified doctor.

Applejack stared after them in shock, then smacked a hoof into her face. “Maybe Ah’ll just get Big Mac ta run things fer a while…”

“Having trouble?” Applejack jumped slightly at the sudden voice, turning to see Golden Harvest walking up to her. The disguised changeling gazed coldly at the apple farmer.

“Eh, a bit.” Applejack said, trying not to look to bothered. “Ponies are just still gettin’ used ta the whole “peace with changelings” thing, that’s all.”

“They’re scared of you.” Golden Harvest said bluntly, eyes narrowing. “They’re scared of us.”

Applejack’s eyes widened at the earth pony’s cold response, then narrowed into a glare. “They’re just gettin’ used ta everything. Things are changin’, and change takes time. They’ll snap out of all this fear and suspicion soon enough.”

“You’re just being idealistic.” Golden Harvest said.

“And yer bein’ pessimistic!” Applejack retorted.

“No, I’m being realistic.” Golden Harvest said, “Face the facts, Applejack, we’re not ponies to them, not anymore.”

Anger was clear on Applejack’s face as she jumped down from her stand and got up in Golden Harvest’s face. “Now you stop that right now! Ah know we’ve still got that changeling essence inside us, but that’s no reason ta think we’re less than pony now!”

“Keep your voice down! Do you want to attract attention?” Golden Harvest growled, looking out at the crowd, many of which were giving them a wide berth. “Do you see that, Applejack? That’s fear. These ponies are afraid of us, and it’s because they know what we really are!”

“Oh really? And what is that, exactly?” Applejack asked, silently daring her to say the answer they both knew was coming.

“Changelings! We’re synthetic changelings!” Golden Harvest said, eyes flashing green with anger.

Applejack backed off and returned to her stand. “Ah won’t argue with ya about this, Carrot Top. Ya can think what ya want, but we’re still ponies, and no fancy magic mutation is goin’ ta change that!”

Golden Harvest frowned and looked hatefully down at her own body. “Why couldn't the elements help us? Why couldn't they have gotten rid of the changeling essence?”

“Ah don’t know. Best explanation Twi can come up with is that the Elements of Harmony just plain don’t destroy anything, and when they purified the changelings, they couldn’t change us back without turnin’ all the changelings into flutterponies as well.” Applejack explained, tugging on the new Stetson hat she had gotten after losing her old one in Carbon’s ambush. The earth pony sighed wistfully as she looked at it.

Golden Harvest didn't say anything, so Applejack brought up a different question. “And anyway, why do ya even care? Ya broke yer horn, so ya don’t have ta deal with the connection anymore. Yer friends, Ditzy, Lyra, Bon-Bon, none of them care that yer a changeling. Mah own friends and family don’t care that Ah’m a changeling, either-”

“They don’t?” Golden Harvest asked, looking at the half-changeling in surprise.

“No, they don’t.” Applejack said proudly, “Ya want ta know what happened when Ah told them?”

“..Sure. Tell me.” Golden Harvest relented. Applejack grinned and delved into her tale...

-

Applejack stood in front of her grandmother, brother, and sister. Her earth pony disguise was still up as she finished her story. “…And...yeah. That’s what’s been goin’ on this past week.”

“Wait, yer sayin’ the Applejack we’ve been livin’ with since we came back from Canterlot was a changeling this whole time?” Apple Bloom asked in disbelief.

“Afraid so, little sis.” Applejack said, nodding. She looked away nervously, doubt rising up as she thought about what she would soon have to reveal. “He didn’t hurt ya none, did he?”

“He?” Apple Bloom asked before a burst of realization came to her. “Oh, ya mean the changeling! Nah, we were fine, right Big Mac?”

“Eeyup.” Big Macintosh said simply, nodding.

Applejack breathed a sigh of relief. “Whew, that’s good, then. Ah’m glad yer okay.”

“Yep, he didn’t do anything too bad. He was kind of a jerk, but we all thought it was just stress at the time.” Apple Bloom said. She frowned slightly and asked, “But wait, if the Applejack we knew was a changeling, then where were you?”

Applejack frowned, subconsciously reaching for a hat that wasn’t there. She was silent for several seconds before letting out a big sigh. “Ah was… captured, put in a chrysalis. It… Ah’ll just show ya…”

Closing her eyes, Applejack let her disguise drop in a burst of flames, revealing the half-changeling form it concealed. She kept her eyes shut, not wanting to see the looks of disgust and horror that she knew must have been on her family’s faces. Several seconds ticked by, her tension mounting all the while.

So needless to say, the mutated earth pony was shocked speechless when Apple Bloom hopped in front of her and shouted, “Cool! Yer like, half-bug, half-pony! And you have a horn and wings! Can ya fly, or do magic?”

Applejack opened up her eyes and stared at Apple Bloom’s excited smile, then looked up at Granny Smith and Big Macintosh, both of whom were smiling at her without a hint of the disgust or terror she had been expecting.

“Wait, ya don’t care? At all?” Applejack asked, stunned that both her friends and family could be so accepting of this.

“Nope.” Big Mac said, grinning proudly.

“Yer still our little apple, and we Apples stick together, no matter what.” Granny Smith said, “Don’t ya ever forget that, Applejack!”

Applejack’s shocked expression remained for a few more seconds before she chuckled and nodded, now feeling somewhat silly over having such little faith in her family. “Don’t worry, Ah won’t.” She looked down at Apple Bloom and smiled, “And as fer yer question: yes, Ah can fly and use magic. These wings and this horn aren’t just fer show, ya know.”

“Yes, well, don’t ya be usin’ any magic around this here farm!” Granny Smith said with surprising sternness. “We Apples are earth ponies, always have been and always will be, and we don’t need any fancy magic ta run this farm!”

Applejack laughed and gave a large, fanged grin. “Ah’ll remember that, Granny…”

-

“…And then we all had a good laugh about the whole thing while Granny fixed me a new hat.” Applejack said, tears coming to her eyes as she took off her Stetson and smiled down at it. “Ah’ll never forget the joy Ah felt that day.”

Golden Harvest looked moved by the story for a few seconds before her old glare returned. “What…What’s your point?”

Applejack looked surprised at the pony’s harshness, her previous indignation returning as well. “Mah point is that if ponies are goin’ ta judge ya based on somethin’ ya had no control over, then their opinions don’t matter.” She said, “They want yer hate; don’t give it ta them, Carrot Top.”

Golden Harvest snorted in frustration. “Say what you want, Applejack, but it doesn’t change that a lot of ponies are going to hate us for exactly that reason, and to be honest, I still don’t trust those changelings either. Changelings and ponies just don’t mix, peace or no peace.”

“Well aren't you a bundle of sunshine.” Applejack growled sarcastically.

“I’m just being realistic; this peace could last, but there are a lot of ways this could go wrong.” Golden Harvest said, “Do you know what happens when you put carrots and apples together?”

Applejack turned away, not wanting to look at the earth pony. She knew exactly what happened when apples and carrots were stored together.

“The carrots turn bitter, that’s what.” Golden Harvest answered for her. “And I've got a feeling that the changelings are the apples, and the ponies are the carrots.”

Applejack shook her head in exasperation. “Sheesh, and you wonder why Ah never invite ya over fer dinner.”

Looking everywhere but at Golden Harvest, Applejack’s eyes settled on an earth pony, whom she recognized as Berry Punch, and a changeling sitting at a table a fair distance away. The tables around them were empty, most ponies too scared to sit close, but Berry Punch was happily chatting with the changeling and nudging a strawberry smoothie over to him. The changeling looked away, seeming rather uncomfortable, but as the pony continued to beam at him, a small smile of his own found its way onto his face.

Applejack smiled, a glimmer of hope rising within her. “And fer the record, Carrot Top, Ah say you’re wrong. There is hope…” Golden Harvest just raised an eyebrow, not having seen the sight for herself.

“I told you, I just don’t like apples! Leave me alone!” Doctor Whooves shouted, suddenly shooting past the two ponies at speeds that would have impressed Rainbow Dash. Said pegasus shot past them two seconds later, Apple Bloom still riding her back.

“Ya take that back!” Apple Bloom shouted. Rainbow Dash suddenly put on a burst of speed, crashing into the stallion and then into multiple other ponies in the market, creating a big pileup of dazed ponies.

Applejack and Golden Harvest stared at the mess in stunned silence. Applejack facehoofed once more.

“Hey Twilight, how about this one?” Spike asked, flipping through a book of spells. “It reverses time in a concentrated area, so maybe you could use it on the ponies that were turned into changelings to return them to a time before they were converted?”

Twilight thought about the suggestion for a few moments, looking up from her own book. “Hmm, it could work, as long as the reversal is permanent, though I’d have to be careful with the output, otherwise I could end up accidentally turning the ponies used on into foals. Still, it sounds like a complicated spell; what are the drawbacks?”

“Well, like you said, it’s somewhat hard to pull off,” Spike said, reading closely, “And it’s a time spell created by Starswirl the Bearded, so it only works once.”

“I thought so. Time spells tend to be limited in use like that.” Twilight said, frowning. “We’ll just have to keep looking; we’ll find something to return those ponies to the way they used to be eventually.”

“Yeah, speaking of which, is this really necessary?” Spike asked, “I mean, so what if the Elements of Harmony didn’t turn the synthetic changelings back into ponies? It doesn't mean they’re not really ponies anymore.”

“And I completely agree with you,” Twilight said, “But unfortunately, many synthetic changelings don’t think so, and a lot of ponies that still fear changelings are convinced that the changelings that used to be ponies are freaks, or even traitors.”

“Applejack isn't too torn up over it.” Spike pointed out.

“Maybe not, but I've spoken to her recently, and she told me that her business is being affected because ponies don’t want to buy apples from a synthetic changeling.” Twilight said, “We’re doing this for their sake, Spike. Those ponies deserve to have a normal life, free from discrimination over something they can’t control.”

“Alright, alright, I get it.” Spike grumbled, going back to his book. “Sheesh, why do ponies have to be so phobic towards everything?”

Twilight ignored the dragon’s mumbling and continued reading her spell book. Finding nothing of help or interest, she tossed it aside and grabbed another of the countless books littering the library floor. After the invasion, she had requested the transfer of numerous spell books from the Canterlot library in the hopes of finding one that could help the synthetic changelings. Four days later, they were still receiving two books for every one they returned, and none of the spells they read proved promising, either being irrelevant, too difficult, or possessing too many drawbacks to casting on large numbers of ponies.

A bubble of green light appeared right in front of Twilight, popping and startling the unicorn out of her book. When the light cleared, Twilight found herself face to face with a smiling pink unicorn. She didn’t even have time to react before the unicorn pulled her into a tight hug.

“Twilight, it’s so good to see you again! I've missed you so much! I had to tend to the hive and make sure everything was running smoothly because Queen Chrysalis kept flying off to do other stuff! Oh, the wait and anticipation of this day has been torture!” Double sobbed melodramatically before perking back up again. “But now I’m here, and we can start our journey to reawaken your memories and be foalhood friends once again!”

The changeling’s grip proved once again to be too tight, so Twilight teleported out of Double’s hold and reappeared on the other side of the room, panting heavily. Now free from her suffocating grip, Twilight noticed that Double had brought another changeling with her as well.

“Ditto!” Twilight cried out, running over to the wingless changeling and looking her over. “Are you okay? Did they heal you?”

“Yeah, my leg’s all fixed now.” Ditto said, flexing her hind leg for emphasis. “It’s good to see you again, Twilight.”

“You too, Ditto.” Twilight smiled.

Double growled threateningly and stomped up to Ditto, the younger changeling cowering under her intimidating glare. “Alright, I brought you here, you got to say hi, so now you can leave and I can have my alone time with Twilight. Am I understood, soldier?”

Ditto nodded fearfully and backed away from the High-General. She quickly trotted past Twilight, stopping at the door. “I just came by to see you again and say hi. I’m going to go out and see more of Ponyville now, since I didn’t have much of a chance to before.”

“Alright, but be careful. Some ponies still aren’t too fond of changelings. Don’t get into trouble.” Twilight warned her. Ditto nodded in acknowledgement and walked out of the library. When the door shut behind her, Twilight turned back to Double, who still wore a scowl directed toward the door the mutant changeling had left through.

Twilight frowned at the obvious jealousy. “Was that really necessary?”

“Yes. I’ve waited years for this moment, and I won’t wait a moment longer.” The High-General said. Mr. Smartypants popped into existence beside her in a burst of light, and Double’s face broke into a wide grin once more, all traces of anger gone.

“Now, where’s Miss Smartypants? I’m sure they’re just dying to see each other again!” Double gushed, nuzzling her doll affectionately.

Twilight looked over at Spike, who seemed rather disturbed by the whole display. “Um, Spike? Could you go get Miss Smartypants while I speak with Double?”

It was a clear cue for Spike to leave the room, and he picked up on it right away. As the baby dragon began to climb the stairs to their bedroom, Twilight turned back to the smiling changeling before her. The High-General’s behavior reminded her of Pinkie Pie, right down to the eerily cheerful grin, and she had to struggle to maintain a neutral composure.

“So, let’s get started then, shall we?” Twilight asked, putting on an awkward smile.

Double didn't seem to notice or care about the unicorn’s discomfort. Another burst of green revealed a large book floating in the air. The book was purple with pink stars and glitter strewn over it, and the words “Sparkle and Wish” in green felt in the center. Double held it out for Twilight to see.

“It’s a little silly looking, but what can I say? We were fillies.” Double said. “And since we were both Twilight, I needed a nickname, so…Wish!”

Double sat down, placing the book on the ground and flipping it open to the first page. “This book has all our memories together stored inside; I kept it so I’d have something to remember you by. Come on, I’ll show you!”

Twilight sat down next to Double, and the changeling pointed to the first picture. It was a picture of Twilight and Double in her Wish form, both little fillies, along with Twilight’s parents and her brother, Shining Armor. “This is a group picture of our family we took the day you took me in.” Double explained.

Twilight stared curiously at the image. She didn't remember this picture, but it didn't look like it was faked either. Double took notice and smiled reassuringly. “It’s a real picture, I promise you. Look, I’ll show you another one.”

Flipping a few pages forward with her magic, Double pointed to another picture, this one of Twilight and Double in front of a huge, ruined cake. The two fillies were smiling, both of them covered in icing and sprinkles. “This one was on our birthday!”

“Our birthday?” Twilight asked skeptically.

“Yeah! It’s funny really; the day you found me was the day after your birthday, so we decided to have our birthdays on the same date.” Double explained, “And that night, you told me that your birthday wish was for a friend.”

Twilight’s heart skipped a beat, her mind almost failing to register what Double had said. “I… what? I wanted a friend?”

“Yeah, you told me you were lonely, so you wished for a friend that year.” Double said, “It’s why I named myself Twilight Wish, because you said I was your birthday wish come true. Well, technically I said that, but you went along with it, so yeah...”

Double looked back at the picture, pointing to herself. “It’s cute, isn't it? I couldn't wait to dig into that cake, and when you got all “responsible older sister” on me and tried to stop me, I threw some cake at your face. You can see where it went from there.”

Twilight was speechless as she looked at the smiles of the two fillies in the picture. Until she moved to Ponyville, she had always been certain that friendship was unimportant and didn't matter in the long run. She never imagined that she could have had a best friend so early in her foalhood. “…This is all so strange. I don’t remember any of this…”

Double leaned in and nuzzled Twilight, the other unicorn shying away slightly. “I know you don’t, but just you wait. We’ll get those memories back, and I’ll be here for you. I’ll always be here for you.”

“…Thanks.” Twilight said, smiling timidly. She flipped the next page of the scrapbook herself, coming to a picture of her and Double intently studying a thick book.

Twilight’s eyes widened. “Wait, I know this picture! One of the pictures in mom and dad’s house is this exact picture, except…”

“Except I’m not in it. Queen Chrysalis was…very thorough. She removed all traces of my existence from everything, even the pictures.” Double finished for her, her smile turning sad. “Let me guess, that’s a textbook on basic unicorn spells you read while you were still in magic kindergarten because you wanted to get into Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, right?”

Twilight stared at her in astonishment, mouth agape. “Y-Yeah, it was! How did you…?”

“I told you, I was there.” Double said, “Queen Chrysalis altered your memories only so that I wasn’t in them, every other piece of your memory is still there. But since I was the only friend you had at the time…”

“…I see.” Twilight said. She flipped another page of the scrapbook, coming to one of her and Double huddled up in towels, both of them soaking wet, yet laughing anyway. “What happened in this one?”

“I dragged you out to play in the rain, and we both caught colds from it. You were so mad about it, but every time I sneezed, I’d change forms randomly! It was hilarious!” Double laughed.

Twilight chucked at the thought, then stopped when something came to her. “Wait, how could Queen Chrysalis have removed every piece of your existence? You lived with us for two years, right? There should have been records, or at least somepony who saw you with me.”

Double shrugged. “I didn’t enroll in school. Mom and Dad were too scared of somepony seeing my true form to let me. They decided I was better off just staying at home and having you tutor me instead, at least until they were certain I had my shapeshifting under control and wouldn’t revert to changeling form in the middle of class. As for everypony else, well…either Queen Chrysalis took their memories too, or most of them were changelings she had keep an eye on me. I don’t know. I'm not even sure I was legally adopted.”

Twilight thought about her explanation, accepting it after a few moments, though she felt a little weird hearing Double refer to her parents as “Mom” and “Dad.” By this point, she was convinced that the changeling had to be telling the truth; this was simply too much trouble to go through for some pointless deception. “I still can’t believe I don’t remember any of this.”

“I told you, you will.” Double said, “I’ll make sure of it. You mean the world to me, and even though we were only friends for two years, they were the best two years of my life. I wouldn’t trade them for anything.”

Twilight found herself blushing at Double’s words, which carried almost palpable affection. She pointed at another picture of the two of them, which seemed to be on Nightmare Night, with Twilight in a witch costume and Double in what seemed to be a half-changeling variation of her Wish form. “So what’s the story behind this one?”

When Spike came down the stairs carrying Miss Smartypants, he found the two unicorns enthralled in the book, Double enthusiastically narrating all her photos and memories while Twilight listened and laughed. Feeling a smile crossing his face at the heartwarming sight, he slowly and quietly retreated back up the stairs so as not to disrupt the two foalhood friends.

Rarity lifted up the completed dress, inspecting it for any loose stitching or uneven seams. Finding it to her satisfaction, she turned to the changeling that stood posing on her podium, his slumped posture clearly showing he didn’t want to be there. Rarity took no notice of his annoyance as she trotted over to him.

“Okay now, Print, was it?” Rarity asked. The changeling just nodded his head, not saying anything. “You know Fluttershy, right? Turn into her, please?”

Print rolled his eyes and sighed in exasperation. Nonetheless, he complied, changing into the yellow pegasus. Rarity slid the green dress onto him, studying how it fit the mare closely. She circled around him, frowning in displeasure.

“No, no, this won’t do! It’s too high on the flank, she’ll never wear this!” Rarity groaned, “I’ll have to fix that. Now hold still!”

Using her magic, Rarity began pulling at the dress, with Print trying not to move so it would come off more easily. A ringing bell at the door brought this to an abrupt halt, and both looked to see a familiar unicorn standing in the doorway, a slight look of embarrassment on her face.

“Oh, I, um, hope I’m not interrupting anything…” Sparkler said, chuckling softly. The embarrassment faded quickly, however, being replaced with a look of annoyance. “Print, what do you think you’re doing?”

“Queen Chrysalis!” Print said, instinctively bowing. Rarity took this moment to rip the dress off of him, a tearing sound eliciting a cry of anger from the unicorn and a hiss of pain from the changeling. Chrysalis walked over, shooting Print a sharp glare.

“No, don’t leave. You agreed to do this job, didn’t you?” She asked. Print nodded timidly. “Then carry it out.”

“Oh, uh, Chrysalis! Hello! What can I do for you?” Rarity asked nervously.

Chrysalis put on one of the friendliest smiles she could manage. “Nothing, really. I just came to see how you were doing.”
“You came to see me? Why?” Rarity asked, anxiety giving way to confusion.

“Well, why not? You’re the first pony I’ve befriended ever since the flutterponies’ transformation.” Chrysalis said, “Everything’s been settled as far as peace talks go, and the hive is in working order, so I found myself with some free time.”

“And you came here.” Rarity finished, pleasantly surprised that Chrysalis considered her a friend.

“Exactly.” Chrysalis said, picking up the discarded dress and looking at the new tear in it. “This will need to be fixed, I suppose. Do you need help?”

“Oh no, it’s no trouble. I can handle this on my own.” Rarity said, taking the dress from Chrysalis.

“Well, too bad!” The changeling queen said, smiling mischievously as she snatched the dress back and threw it over the table under Rarity’s sewing machine. “If I’m going to be here, I’m going to be doing something.”

“But you’re royalty! There’s no need for you to-” Rarity began.

“So? I took care of my swarm single-hoofedly for a millennium. I think I can handle one dress.” Chrysalis interrupted, “Besides, this is much more interesting than speaking with Discord’s statue or trying to get the nobles not to scream in fright when I walk past, even if it is funny.”

Rarity fell silent, and Chrysalis turned to glare at Print once more. “Leave. I shall call for you when we are ready.”

“Of course, my Queen.” Print nodded, shifting back to his changeling form and hastily heading out the door. Rarity gave Chrysalis a puzzled look.

“But didn't you just tell him to-” She tried.

“I’m allowed to change my mind.” Chrysalis interrupted once more. She looked back to the sewing machine and began working at fixing the tear in it. Rarity walked over to watch her work.

“So, how are the changelings doing?” Rarity asked.

“Well. The restlessness caused by my absence has ceased, and the authority of myself and the High-General have both been reestablished.” Chrysalis explained, “General Carbon is being prepared for trial as we speak. Considering his actions, though, the outcome of the trial is all but assured. He will most likely be executed for his crimes.”

“Execution?!” Rarity gasped, shock clear on her face. “ Isn't that rather harsh?”

“Changeling laws are different than pony laws.” Chrysalis said, unfazed by her outburst. “Treason and murder are both punishable by death, and General Carbon has performed the first and attempted the second. He will not get off lightly for this.”
“That may be, but still, death?” Rarity asked, “Surely what he’s done isn't worth that? You invaded Canterlot, for Celestia’s sake, and you were forgiven! Can’t you do the same to him?”

“The circumstances are not the same,” Chrysalis said, looking away from her work. “He is my subject; he is expected to obey my laws at all times. My changelings and I were not subjects of Equestria, and as such, had no such obligations. And I repeat, changeling laws and pony laws are different. Surely you understand the cultural differences involved here?”

Rarity frowned, though she said nothing. Chrysalis let out a loud sigh and gave her a tired smile. “Although, perhaps I’ll take your thoughts into consideration. Maybe I’ll simply have him demoted to the ranks of the maintenance drones; for a changeling of his pride, that’s punishment enough.”

Rarity stared at Chrysalis, a stunned look on her face that shifted into a touched smile. “Thank you, Queen Chrysalis.”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes, smirking mischievously. “I’m surprised you even care. You don’t even know him, and you do realize he hurt Applejack, don’t you? What reason do you have to defend him?”

“It doesn't matter whether I know him or not or what he’s done; it’s simply that death is an extreme punishment no matter the circumstances.” Rarity said, “Besides, I forgave you for turning Applejack into a changeling in the first place, didn't I?”

“Fair enough.” Chrysalis conceded, chuckling softly. “Although, you realize that it is ultimately not my decision whether he lives or not. I can propose the idea, but it is ultimately the swarm that decides his fate.”

“I see. Well, I can accept that.” Rarity said. With that, the two set to work on fixing the faulty dress that Rarity had made. After several minutes of focused silence, Rarity brought up another topic.

“So, about that flutterpony tale of your's…”

Life for the changelings was always the same. Every day the changeling drones would leave the hive nest and travel to the distant pony towns, where they would assume the form of one of their residents. There, they would spend the day with their friends and family while said pony was gone, feeding off their love for them. At day’s end, they would return to their nest and offer their food to their beloved queen, who would love and feed them in turn. Every day was the same, but the changelings were fully content with it.

But as Mirror flew through the skies that day, she knew everything was not the same. She flew above the land of Equestria, having left the hive over an hour ago to return to Ponyville. Despite her distance away, she could feel the comforting hum of her brothers and sisters in the back of her head, their thoughts transmitted to her through her new horn. A mere two days in the healing chrysalis had left her feeling re-energized, her horn and wing both as good as new.

As she flew, Mirror considered using her newly-repaired horn to teleport to Ponyville instead of flying the entire way, but this way, it gave her time for reflection on all the changes that had occurred over the past few days.

Strange, it doesn’t feel like anything’s changed, but I know it has. I wonder how much, though. Mirror mused. A few of her siblings responded to her through the swarm’s link, telling her to trust in their queen’s decision. Mirror sent a simple thought of acknowledgement back to them. When she first emerged from the healing chrysalis, she had found suddenly being connected to her siblings again after spending more than a week separate to be a little jarring, though she quickly grew used to it. She knew her thoughts would never be her own again, but Mirror couldn't bring herself to truly miss the privacy; she was a changeling, she had been born a changeling, and she would always choose the loving connection with the swarm over that peaceful, lonely silence.

Another thought entered Mirror’s head. A week…I can’t believe all this happened over the course of a week. So much had transpired after she awoke in Fluttershy’s backyard; the reality that it had taken place over such a short time was a shocking realization.

A few moments later, though, she saw the outskirts of a familiar pony town come into view. Excitement filling her, Mirror focused and engulfed herself in a burst of green light, teleporting the rest of the distance. She reappeared again, hovering above Fluttershy’s cottage. Seeing no pony around at the moment, she flew into the backyard and landed in front of the little pond, giving little waves to the animals nearby. She peered into the water, studying her reflection intently.

“Alright, let’s give this a try. Let’s see…” Mirror mused. A cocoon of fire engulfed her and faded to reveal her Daring Do form. Having a base form, she focused this time on her colors, the flames burning away to reveal a pure white coat and a bright yellow mane and tail, the same colors as Surprise.

She turned to observe her reflection from the side. Her mane was still styled in the way Rarity had made it, and she kept her compass rose cutie mark. She flapped her wings and smiled into the pool, though it slowly shifted into a frown after a few seconds.

Something still isn't right… Mirror thought. With a jolt of inspiration, an idea came to her. In a burst of flame, a large bow the same color as her magenta eyes appeared on her tail. Staring at her reflection, she noted with satisfaction that aside from her pegasus wings, she looked just like her flutterpony form from her dream. Conversing with the swarm had revealed that the dream was a nightmare that Queen Chrysalis herself had experienced. The nightmare had managed to slip through the queen’s closed link with the swarm into the minds of the changelings within Ponyville as they slept. Now, Mirror realized that the dream was, at least in part, a memory of the flutterponies’ transformation into changelings.

Satisfied with her new appearance, the changeling trotted around to the cottage’s front door and knocked politely on the door. She heard a soft cry of surprise inside, and after a few minutes, the door opened to reveal Fluttershy. The pegasus stared at the disguised changeling before her, confusion clear in her gaze.

Mirror chuckled at the pegasus’s puzzled look. “Come on, I know I look different, but who else would you expect me to be? I kept the manestyle and everything!”

It was another moment of silence before a spark of recognition shown in Fluttershy’s eyes. “Mirror!”

To Mirror’s surprise, Fluttershy flew in to hug the changeling, knocking them both to the ground. The two laid there, laughing like old friends.

“I missed you, too, Fluttershy!” Mirror spoke, worming her way out of Fluttershy’s grasp and getting back to her hooves. “Speaking of which, have you seen-”

“Matchie!” A high-pitched voice cried out, and Mirror was tackled from behind by the enthusiastic earth pony who had spoken. Much to Mirror’s relief, though, Pinkie didn't try grabbing her into another bone-crushing hug, and instead just hopped off and allowed Mirror to get back up. “Oh, Matchie, I knew you’d come!”

“You did? How” Mirror asked, dusting dirt off her white coat.

“My Pinkie Sense, duh!” Pinkie said, “Itchy back, twitchy tail, shaking knees, and eye flutter means that a friend is coming to visit today!”

“Oh, I see.” Mirror said, not understanding in the slightest what Pinkie Pie was talking about. One voice in her mind muttered a less than flattering comment about the pink pony, and Mirror sent a harsh jolt of anger through the link in response. She quickly put her smile back up and looked back at Pinkie.

“I like your new look, Matchie!” Pinkie Pie praised, “You look like you combined Daring Do and Surprise together!”

“Well, in a way, I did.” Mirror said, “They were my favorite forms, but neither was really mine, so I made a new form from them for myself.”

“Oh, we understand,” Fluttershy said, “You want to be your own pony -er, changeling-, not a copy.”

“Exactly!” Mirror nodded, “Though to be truthful, this is actually based off that flutterpony form I had in my dream. That dream was a nightmare that Queen Chrysalis had, about the flutterponies’ transformation into changelings.”

“Eek, sounds scary!” Pinkie Pie said, shuddering then smiling. “But if that’s supposed to be you as a flutterpony, how come you aren't one?”

Mirror smiled. “Actually…”

In another burst of green fire, Mirror’s white pegasus wings were replaced with a pair of purple butterfly wings. She flapped them gently, then more forcefully as she rose into the air.

“It’s funny, before you guys used the Elements of Harmony on us, we changelings couldn't take this form. These wings were the one thing completely inaccessible to any of us, even Queen Chrysalis.” Mirror said.

“Wow, they’re beautiful, Matchie!” Pinkie Pie said in awe. Fluttershy remained silent, staring at the colorful wings with similar wonder. Mirror floated back down and landed before them.

“Thanks, Pinkie! The way I see it, this means that the flutterponies aren't truly gone after all.” Mirror said, looking at her wings. “They live on through the changelings.”

“Yeah…hey, Matchie!” Pinkie said, suddenly jumping to another topic. “So if your new form is Mirror Match with Surprise’s colors, are you going to change your name to something more fitting? What could you even change it to? Mirror Surprise? Surprise Match? Ooh, Surprise Match!”

Pinkie turned around and zipped up to Fluttershy, pressing her nose to the startled pegasus’s own. “That gives me a great idea for a new treat at Sugarcube Corner!” She backed off and turned back to Mirror, smiling widely. “Think about it: Surprise Match Sample Extravaganza! We make dozens of cupcakes and cookies and pastries, each made from two random flavors, and we set them all out for everypony to sample! The ones that everypony likes the most will be made into official treats to be sold at Sugarcube Corner as Surprise Match sweets!”

“So…you mean like chocolate and…watermelon?” Mirror suggested, inwardly thinking that it sounded rather revolting. A few mental gags of disgust told her that her siblings agreed with her.

“Exactly!” Pinkie said, “And if it’s terrible, we just try again with a different combination! It’s like a test to find the best flavors!”

Pinkie whirled back around to face Fluttershy. “Hey Fluttershy, you know how to bake! You’ll help me out, right? We can get Applejack, too, and…”

Mirror looked away from her friends, letting Pinkie Pie chatter on to Fluttershy while she looked toward the buildings of Ponyville in the distance. She realized with a hint of disappointment that as a changeling, she’d still be mistrusted by the ponies there if she didn't keep up a disguise. She had heard enough stories from the changelings who had become victims of hateful, paranoid ponies over the past few days.

Still, she fully believed that, given time, the ponies would grow to accept the changelings, and they wouldn't have to live in fear any longer. Her queen had already taken the first step toward peace, and it was up to the swarm to follow through with it.

A cool breeze blew through the air, the first sign of the approaching autumn. Mirror closed her eyes, listening to the comforting voices of her family in her head. A smile gracing her face, she turned and, with a beat of her wings, took to the air. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy stopped talking to watch her as she rose up, and Mirror looked down at her friends briefly before looking back toward the sky.

And, as she always did to express her feelings, Mirror began to sing.

“This day is going to be perfect,
The kind of day of which I've dreamed since I was small,
Now our trouble’s past,
And a new peace has come at last,
The future’s shining brightly for us all!”

And so ends the tale of Mirror the changeling’s adventure in Ponyville. But that doesn't mean it’s the end of her tale entirely; life always goes on, and this isn't the last of the trouble she’ll get into. But what of the other stories that went on during this time? What of Carbon, who’s ambition for power drove him to risk and lose everything? What of Double, who dedicated her life to reuniting with her foalhood friend? And what of Chrysalis, who struggled to hold together a broken kingdom in the aftermath of disaster? They all have their own stories to tell, and so they shall be told…

Chapter 1: Surprise Awakening

Life for the changelings was always the same. Every day the changeling drones would leave the hive nest and travel to the distant pony towns, where they would assume the form of one of their residents. There, they would spend the day with their friends and family while said pony was gone, feeding off their love for them. At day’s end, they would return to their nest and offer their food to their beloved queen, who would love and feed them in turn. Every day was the same, but the changelings were fully content with it.

But when the changeling opened her eyes that day, everything was not the same. She wasn’t at the hive, awaiting her orders for that day, and she wasn’t at Canterlot, preparing for the invasion that would change the swarm’s lives for the better. She was out in the open, just outside of a large, dark forest, with the bright sun beating down on her. The sun’s light fractured in her compound eyes, causing the changeling to hiss with annoyance and slight pain as she shut her eyes and turned away from it.

Where am I, was the first coherent thought to enter the changeling’s mind. Her body felt sore and tired, as though she hadn’t rested for days, and she wanted nothing more than to just fall back asleep where she lay. What’s going on?

A frantic chittering sound, right above her head, caught the changeling’s attention, and she reluctantly reopened her eyes and glanced upward. A squirrel suddenly appeared in her sight, upside down as it looked her in the eyes and continued making that strange sound. The changeling screeched in surprise, shooting upward and attempting to scramble away as the creature leaped off her head, only to loudly shriek and collapse to the ground again as an agonizing pain shot up her front left leg. As the pain slowly went away, she cast a glance at her leg, noticing now how it was bent at an unnatural, clearly broken angle.

My, my leg… what..? The changeling was wracked with panic as she stood up again, slowly this time, and began to limp away backwards from the hole that she just now noticed she had been lying in. She nervously looked around, seeing now that there were far more animals than just that squirrel around her. Rabbits, ducks, goats, butterflies, toucans, even a vulture and seal; all these and more were there, watching her with a mix of curiosity and fear.

A splash behind her snapped the changeling out of her daze, and she turned around to see one of her hooves submerged in a shallow pond. She turned around fully and gazed into it, seeing her reflection, by all means completely normal, but something seemed off about it. The changeling’s eyes soon widened in horror as she saw what was wrong.

Her horn! Her horn was broken off more than halfway down, leaving just a small stump where it used to be. Spreading her wings, she quickly fluttered back to the small crater she woke up in, nearly collapsing again as she landed. The changeling was surprised at just how weak she felt, but she pushed it aside as she quickly scanned the hole, dismay filling her when she saw the remains of her horn were nowhere to be found.

The changeling let herself fall to the ground, ignoring the slightly concerned animals chattering around her. How could this have happened? Just a little while ago she, her queen, and the rest of the swarm had been invading Canterlot, the capital of Equestria. Her queen was going to bring about a prosperous new age for the changelings, one in which they would never have to go hungry again. She didn’t know what went wrong. She remembered those six ponies that she and her siblings had attempted to capture, especially the strange pink earth pony that had begged her to assume her form, then dismissed her and shot her with a blast of unicorn magic when she deemed her imitation inadequate. How dare she! My disguise was perfect!

The changeling quickly shook her head to clear out the indignation of the memory. Focus. Think about the pink pony later.

Anyway, those ponies were captured eventually, but she and many of her brothers and sisters were still hurt in the process. Then came that burst of powerful magic that knocked all of them, even her queen, far away from the capital, and just like that their invasion was foiled. The changeling couldn’t understand how they had lost. Her queen’s plan had been perfect! Where did it go wrong?

The changeling struggled to her feet again, ignoring her body’s protests. How long have I been out? She wondered, trying to think of an estimate. She could only go a few days at most without any love to consume, and since she was at full strength just before the invasion, she thought that she must have been unconscious for at least two days. With how weak she was, she knew she was running on very low reserves. She needed love, fast, and then she needed to find the swarm and-

“The swarm!” The changeling shrieked out loud, startling all the animals nearby with her sudden outburst. She couldn’t hear the swarm! Ever since she was young, she always felt the swarm at the back of her mind, giving her confidence that she had all of her siblings to support her. But now she heard nothing. The only thoughts in her head were her own, and she felt completely alone and vulnerable without them. She desperately tried to think of an explanation for this.

Her thoughts suddenly went back to her horn, and the realization hit her. Of course! A changeling’s horn was its connection to the swarm; it let them recognize another changeling even when in pony form, and of course, like any horn, it let them use magic. This second realization was a lot less sweet for the changeling, however. Without her horn, she had only her natural shape shifting abilities, leaving her lacking in terms of methods to defend herself.

The changeling turned and looked at her back, giving her insect-like wings an experimental flutter. At least her wings weren’t broken; they still worked perfectly fine.

Giving a dismayed sigh, the changeling reflected on her situation. It was looking pretty bad; the swarm was scattered over Equestria -many of them dead, most likely-, her queen was also missing, and she was stuck, injured and starving, in an unfamiliar place. The changeling assessed her options.

“Okay, okay, think, just think. Things are looking pretty bad now, but you can get through this. There are a lot of weird animals here, so maybe there are some ponies around, too. You just have to find a pony and-” The changeling’s pep talk went unfinished as the chattering of the animals behind her was breaking her concentration and starting to grate on her nerves. She turned around to hiss at them to be quiet, only to stop as she finally noticed the quaint little cottage lying just in front of her that she must have missed in her initial panic.

She was silent for several moments at this. “…How did I not see that?”

Despite her egregious lapse in observation, the changeling couldn’t help brightening up at the sight. This was great! A cottage meant a home, and a home meant that somepony was living there! Now all she had to do was stay alive and not die of starvation before the pony came back home, and she might just survive!

The changeling was so caught up in her luck that she almost failed to notice the close sound of two voices approaching. She pricked her ears and listened closely, trying to catch what they were saying.

“Look, Fluttershy, we’re here! We’re here! Oh, I bet all your animals just can’t wait to see you again!” Said the first voice, a high-pitched one just filled with excitement.

“Yes, well, thank you for your help, Pinkie Pie, but you didn’t have to come with me. Not that I’m not grateful of course, I am, but I can handle this by myself just fine.” A second, voice, one much softer by comparison, spoke up next.

“Oh don’t worry, silly, I won’t get in the way! Besides, you remember what Twilight said, don’t you? We need to stay in pairs for the next few weeks. Remember the buddy system! We wouldn’t want any mean old changelings to snatch us up now, would we?”

“N-No, you’re right. I hope we don’t see another one of those creatures again; they were pretty scary.”

The changeling’s eyes widened in fear as she listened. These two ponies knew about her kind, which meant they may try to capture her if they saw her, and she was in no condition to fight back against them. She turned to fly away, forgetting again about her injured leg until she took the first step with it. As the sharp pain shot up her leg, she fell to the ground and let out a shrill screech of agony.

“Eep! W-What was that?” Fluttershy’s fear-filled voice came again, sounding even closer this time.

“Maybe it’s one of your animal friends? Do you think its hurt? Ooh, I always wanted to try being a doctor! Let’s go, let’s go!” A series of bouncing noises followed soon after as the unseen pony began making her way around the cottage to the back, ignoring her friend’s quiet pleas to stop and wait.

Through the pain, the changeling felt her rising panic threaten to burst. She couldn’t let them see her like this! She needed a new form, any form! Desperately racking her mind for anything, she quickly found an image of a pony, albeit one she didn’t fully recognize.

Who is this? Oh, it doesn’t matter right now! Come on, change, CHANGE! The changeling’s mind screeched, a small cocoon of green magic starting to form around her in response to her thoughts.

The spell finished and the green shell burst just as a pink earth pony bounced around the corner. She gasped at the sight of the injured pony in Fluttershy’s backyard, but the transformed changeling took no notice of this; her emergency transformation had drained what little energy she had left right out of her body. Struggling to keep her eyes open despite the creeping darkness at the edge of her vision, the changeling was about to give into the exhaustion when two pink hooves placed themselves on top of her own.

“H-Hey! Are you okay? Well, you don’t look okay, so I guess that was a silly question, but still! Oh, please answer me! Fluttershy, I need help here!” Pinkie Pie called out, her voice shrill with near-hysteria. The pink pony’s concern shot through the changeling, filling her with the energy she needed to remain conscious. It wasn’t quite as powerful an emotion to feed on as love, but it kept her alive at the very least.

“Oh, r-right. Um, miss? Do you need help? I do have some medical expertise, but I mostly only use it for animals. I’ve never used it on a pony before.” Fluttershy said as she cautiously approached, staying close to Pinkie as she looked over the injured pony. “We could take you to the hospital, if that’s what you need. It’s not too far from here. Well, actually it sort of is, but we can still get you there quickly.”

Despite her nervousness, Fluttershy’s concern was just as strong as Pinkie’s, and their combined emotions gave the changeling the energy she needed to slowly pick herself back up. The two backed away to give her some room, but Fluttershy’s attention was soon drawn to the broken foreleg that the disguised pony awkwardly kept lifted off the ground.

“Oh, your hoof, um, I can bandage it, if you need me to-” She began.

“I’m fine. I’m fine, I can handle it.” The changeling interrupted, trying to stand tall and look undisturbed. She couldn’t look weak in front of them; she had to act natural and pony-like. Speaking of which…

The changeling limped over to the pond and stared at her reflection. A tan-colored Pegasus pony with magenta eyes and a messy, grayscale mane and tail stared back at her. Turning her head, she saw a compass rose cutie mark on each side of her flanks. The identity of the pony escaped her still.

I still don’t know who this is. Oh well, maybe these ponies can help- The changeling turned to face her rescuers, only to freeze up in shock as she got her first good look at them that wasn’t marred by exhaustion or dizziness.

A pink earth pony with frizzy, darker pink hair and a trio of balloons for a cutie mark, and a yellow Pegasus pony with long, light pink hair and a cutie mark of three butterflies. Two of the six ponies she and several other drones had been soundly defeated by. She couldn’t believe she was seeing them again, especially that earth pony; that ungrateful earth pony that wouldn’t know good shape shifting if it bucked her in the-

Okay, okay, calm down. Calm down. Oh Chrysalis, what are they doing here? They should still be in Canterlot, shouldn’t they? The changeling panicked inwardly. If these ponies had returned from all the way from Canterlot, then she had to have been unconscious for quite some time. How long was I out?

Pinkie Pie smiled and bounced over to the nervous Pegasus. “Hey now, what’s with that look? There’s no need to be scared. I’m Pinkie Pie, and this is my friend, Fluttershy! What’s your name?”

This snapped the changeling out of her panicked trance. My name? Oh, that’s right, my name! Let’s see, Mirror, that’s right. My name’s Mirror. Is that a pony name? Maybe I should add something onto the end to be sure?

Pinkie Pie frowned and cocked her head in a quizzical manner. “Cat hasn’t got your tongue, has it? It shouldn’t have, since you talked just a little while ago, and I didn’t see any cats take your tongue just now. Come on, you can tell Pinkie Pie! Your name, please?” The pony batted her eyes in a pleading manner as she spoke.

“…Mirror… Match. My name is Mirror Match.” The changeling finally found her voice and spoke, though she instantly regretted it. Idiot! What kind of name is Mirror Match? You’re a Pegasus, not a unicorn, and it sounds completely changeling! They’ll discover you for sure!

To Mirror’s surprise, however, Pinkie’s smile grew wider at the revelation, though she also noticed that Fluttershy was giving her a wondering look from behind the pink pony.

“Um, excuse me, Miss Match? If you don’t mind me asking, how did you get… here?” Fluttershy asked, pointing at the crater in her backyard as she finished speaking.

“Uh, I was flying and I… crashed. It was an accident.” Mirror finished lamely. Technically it wasn’t a lie; she had been sent flying by that weird blast and she had crashed into the yellow Pegasus pony’s backyard, so it was a flying accident of sorts. The changeling started to calm down as she saw her name’s oddness had gone unnoticed, only to freeze up again as Pinkie Pie wrapped her hoof around her.

“Oh, you poor thing! Don’t worry, Fluttershy and I will help you!” Pinkie Pie said. “Don’t you worry your pretty little head, Matchie, can I call you Matchie? Oh Matchie, you have nothing to fear! We’re going to fix you up and then we’ll introduce you to our other friends –you’ll love them, I’m sure- and then I’ll throw you a huge party to welcome you to Ponyville since I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen you here before and-”

“W-What?!” Mirror yelped, pushing Pinkie Pie away from her. Her other friends?! Those have to be those other four ponies back at Canterlot. I’ll get discovered for sure! This is bad, bad, bad!

Pinkie Pie remained blissfully unaware of the changeling’s growing anxiety. Instead, she gasped loudly as a light bulb somehow appeared above her head. Grabbing the light bulb and throwing it away, Pinkie turned to Mirror with an impossibly wide smile on her face.

“I almost forgot! You’re new to Ponyville, so I have to treat you my special welcome wagon and song!” She exclaimed.

“Song?” Mirror repeated.

“Yup!” Pinkie said, pulling a large wagon out from behind her, surprising both pegasi with her blatant violation of the laws of reality. Then, to Mirror’s utmost surprise and Fluttershy’s mild exasperation, she pressed a button on the wagon and began to sing.

“Welcome, welcome, welcome, a fine welcome to you!
Welcome, welcome, welcome, I say how do you do!
Welcome, welcome, welcome, I say hip hip hurray!
Welcome, welcome, welcome, to Ponyville todaaaaaaaayyyy!!!!!”

As the song ended, Pinkie stood posed in front of Mirror, still grinning widely. “Wait for it…”

With a ding the wagon’s oven burst open and a cloud of confetti sprayed out while a load of cake batter squirted out from the confetti cannon, covering all three ponies in a thick layer of batter. Pinkie Pie burst out laughing at the sense of déjà vu.

As soon as the confetti cannon had gone off, though, Mirror decided that, despite the abundance of love she could sense within both ponies, no amount of food was worth staying here with them. With a sudden surge of energy she turned, flapped her new Pegasus wings, and flew away…

…and almost immediately slammed face-first into a nearby tree.

Now, Mirror was not Queen Chrysalis. As a simple changeling, she wasn’t anywhere near as powerful as her beloved queen, and she didn’t have the same resiliency either. She simply wasn’t capable of holding a disguise together without actively concentrating on it.

As Mirror Match fell unconscious, her Pegasus guise fell away as well.

Chapter 10: Battle for Ponyville

Mirror spun around, the green fire grazing past the tips of her wing feathers, and shot down towards Carbon. The general burst into flames and leaped away as Mirror landed in the spot where he used to be. Morphing into Applejack’s form, Carbon lashed out with his back hooves, forcing Mirror to duck and shoot out from under him as he brought his hooves crashing down again.

Mirror jumped into the air and turned to face Carbon, his form bringing up strange emotions. “…Was it you all this time?”

Carbon raised an eyebrow at the changeling. “What are you talking about?”

“Applejack. Were you always her? That time at the market, was that you too?” Mirror asked him.

The general smirked, understanding her question. “It was. Ever since the day she returned from Canterlot. I must admit, meeting you was quite the surprise. I’ve seen changelings that have broken their horns before, but your’s was particularly severe. Your aura was all but unrecognizable; if it wasn’t for the fact that you used your name as part of your disguise, I never would have known it was you.”

Mirror’s eye twitched. “Enough about my name, already!” She shouted.

Carbon chuckled softly. “But yes, it was me. The real Applejack is locked up within that old apple cellar in the orchard. It was a perfect location, really; far away, isolated. The same traits that made it unsuitable as a storage room made it perfect for a prison.”

Mirror couldn’t quite identify the emotions she was feeling. It felt strange, finding out that her first formal meeting with a pony was really a meeting with her shapeshifter imposter. I wonder if this is how normal ponies feel if they learn that a changeling was replacing their loved ones? Strange, I never thought something like this would happen to me.

Galloping towards her, the general leapt into the air and tried to strike her while she was lost in thought. Snapping out of her trance just in time, Mirror closed her wings and fell to the ground, landing on her hooves while Carbon sailed over and landed behind her. The general turned and pawed the ground in challenge.

Mirror glared at him and met his challenge. Flapping her wings, Mirror jumped into the air and flew around the general. Flying faster and faster, she soon whipped up a tornado of wind that Carbon had to struggle to stay grounded in. Squinting her eyes to keep out the dust, Mirror continued her spiral, moving too quickly for Carbon to strike.

“So it was you all along, then? The free apples, the hammer to fix the cellar, the accusations of eavesdropping at the party, all of it?” Mirror yelled over the wind.

Despite the fierce gusts swirling around him, Carbon kept his footing. “All of it. I gave you those apples because I knew you were a changeling, and because that’s what the real Applejack would have done. I asked for that hammer because somepony had wrecked the lock on the cellar, and I needed to fix it to keep the chrysalis inside hidden. And I accused you of eavesdropping because you were! Don’t you know it’s rude to listen in on a conversation when you don’t have permission to do so?”

“What?!” Mirror shouted. Breaking her formation, Mirror shot out of the twister from the side and smashed into General Carbon. The speed and momentum she had built up sent them both crashing straight through the wall of a nearby building.

Both changelings laid there, dazed by the crash. Carbon had the tougher body, but he had taken most of the impact, giving Mirror the chance to recover and run back out the hole they had made before the general could hit her at close range. Seconds later, the earth pony-changeling jumped out of the hole and stomped towards her, standing strong despite the damage he had taken.

“You have no right to reprimand me about what I do!” Mirror yelled at him. “Not after what you did to Ditto! You sold her out; you betrayed her!”

“She betrayed us first!” Carbon growled, “I heard what she said about wanting to tell the Element of Magic about the invasion and how she didn’t want to be a part of it through the swarm’s link! She’s not a true changeling; she’s a traitor, and I owe neither her nor you any loyalty!”

Mirror cried out in anger and flew towards him once more. She circled around him to make another tornado, but the general had no intention of falling for it a second time. Before she could gain too much speed, Carbon quickly struck out with his hind legs and hit the pegasus, knocking her out of the miniature cyclone and breaking it apart instantly. Mirror struggled to pick herself up and ignore the aching pain below her wing where the general had struck her; he would have broken it if he had aimed just the slightest bit higher.

As Carbon approached her, Mirror spread her wings and took to the sky, which was strangely devoid of changelings in this area. She flew up high above the buildings and looked down towards the general, certain that he couldn’t reach her with his current earth pony body. Sighing, she allowed herself to relax slightly and recover from the blow as she kept an eye trained on Carbon for any change in his appearance. He can’t get to me in that body. He’ll have to change into a different one, and I may be able to hit him in the time it takes to-

Her train of thought broke off as two small flames flickered along Carbon’s back, fading away to reveal two orange pegasus wings. Flapping his new additions to his form, the general took off and flew towards Mirror. The pegasus-changeling was in too much of a shock to move.

“Aw, come on-!” That was all she got out before General Carbon slammed into her and drove her down into the ground, cracking it with the force applied. Silence settled as the general stood over Mirror and the changeling drone desperately sucked air into her lungs. She flapped her wings softly, relieved to see that they weren’t broken.

“N-No…fair! You can’t put wings on an earth pony body! That’s…cheating!” She whined shakily. Carbon shook his head at her childish statement.

“You must have been hanging around with the Element of Laughter too long if you can treat this like a game. It’s simple strategy; you should try it. Why don’t you morph a horn onto that pegasus body of yours?” Carbon asked, smirking cruelly. “Oh that’s right; you can’t!”

Mirror glared up at the general wordlessly. A small burst of fire sprung up on her forehead, leaving a white stump of a horn behind. She suddenly lifted her head upward, smashing it straight into Carbon’s. The general cried out in pain and stumbled back, lifting a hoof to his forehead where her horn remnant had struck it and shouting an array of angry changeling curses. Morphing away the horn, Mirror lifted up her hind legs and kicked them into his stomach, knocking Carbon off and allowing her to flip over onto her hooves.

Mirror took the opportunity to fly down one of the alleyways between the buildings. She heard a roar of anger behind her, and a quick glance confirmed that Carbon was closely pursuing her. Mirror put on more speed as she twisted and turned down different paths, trying to lose the general once more in the maze-like alleyways.

She tried her best to push away the pain that still lingered from the injuries General Carbon had inflicted on her as she flew. I hope the others are doing better than I am right now!

A cyan blur flew above the streets of Ponyville, its high speeds leaving a rainbow trail in its wake. Rainbow Dash rushed through the sky, taking out changelings left, right, and center with kicks, punches, and headbutts. Bucking another changeling in the face and out of the air, she stopped and scanned the ground for any sign of her friends.

“Where are they?” She growled to herself. She was already in a really bad mood from having her cloud nap interrupted by a surprise shot from a particularly stupid changeling, and seeing Ponyville swarming with the creatures and none of her friends was not helping. Briefly, she wondered if they could have already been defeated, but she quickly shook the thought from her head. There was no way any of her friends would lose to a bunch of changelings just like that! Deciding that they must still be fighting, Rainbow Dash resumed her search.

Seeing two ponies cornered by a group of changelings, Rainbow Dash flew down and slammed into one, knocking it away. She swung her back hoof around and nailed another in the face, and then caught yet another with a solid right hook. The changelings she had hit got back up, terror clear on their faces, and retreated into the sky. Rainbow Dash smirked triumphantly as she watched them fly off.

“Yeah, that’s right! You’d better run! Nopony messes with Ponyville and gets away with it!” She boasted. Engrossed in her success, she failed to notice the two ponies she had saved engulf themselves in fire, revealing changelings underneath. The two changelings crept up on her, intent on taking her down while her back was turned.

Before they could attack the pegasus, however, a shadow fell over one of them. An orange earth pony fell from the sky, landing on one of the changelings and smashing it into the ground. The noise startled Rainbow Dash, and acting instinctively, she turned and lashed a hoof at the other changeling, catching it in the side and knocking it into a wall, where it fell down, unconscious. She turned to see Applejack step off the other changeling, which had also been knocked out by the attack.

“Applejack! Finally, I found one of you girls! I’ve been looking all over for you!” Rainbow Dash said, flying up to the earth pony. “What’s going on here? And where’s your hat?”

“Ponyville’s bein’ invaded by changelings, that’s what’s happenin’!” Applejack said. “And is now really the time ta ask about mah hat?”

“I guess not…” Rainbow said, looking up as another group of changelings descended towards them. “But where’d all these changelings come from, anyway?”

“They’re shapeshifters, Rainbow. They’ve been replacin’ ponies ever since their first invasion failed. Now enough talkin’! We’ve got another invasion ta stop, here!” Applejack explained. She ran forward and lashed out with her back hooves against a changeling. Rainbow followed her lead, hitting another with a left uppercut.

“Rainbow Dash! Applejack!” A voice cried out. Rainbow turned to see Twilight running towards them, a relieved expression on the unicorn’s face. “Oh, thank Chr-Celestia you’re both okay!”

“Please, as if we’d let ourselves be taken down so easily! Now don’t just stand there; get over here and help!” Rainbow Dash said, turning back to hit another changeling in the snout.

Twilight nodded and began charging up a spell. A sinister smile spread across her face as she pointed her attack towards the distracted Rainbow Dash. Applejack turned, horror crossing her face as she saw the green flames lacing the unicorn. As she finished the spell and fired a burst of green magic towards Rainbow Dash, Applejack ran forward and knocked the pegasus out of the way.

The sudden hit threw Rainbow off-balance and sent her crashing to the ground. Looking back, she saw the bolt strike Applejack head-on and blast her across the street. Rainbow Dash picked herself up and glared at the unicorn that had fired the shot, suddenly realizing what had happened.

“You’re going to regret that, changeling!” Rainbow growled. She shot towards the fake Twilight and threw a vertical strike into its chin, knocking it into the air. Flying after it, she gave the changeling a hard headbutt and threw it to the ground, where it lost consciousness and reverted back to its original form.

Satisfied that the changeling had been dealt with, Rainbow Dash turned back to help Applejack. She suddenly froze, horror filling her as she saw a strange, hole-filled pony with wings, a horn, and fangs stand up in the earth pony’s place. The creature opened her solid green eyes and looked toward Rainbow, only for them to widen as the pegasus slammed into her and sent them both tumbling across the ground. Rainbow Dash pinned the changeling-pony to the ground, glaring into her stunned face.

“Alright, changeling, what’s your game? Why did you take that attack? Where’s Applejack? Are you a spy?” Rainbow Dash asked, looking straight into Applejack’s eyes.

Applejack’s expression quickly shifted from shock to anger. She did not want to deal with this by now. “Rainbow. It’s me, Applejack, and Ah’m goin’ ta give ya three seconds ta get off of me before Ah buck ya off mahself, ya got that?”

Rainbow Dash looked surprised at the abrasive but completely Applejack-like response that all but convinced her that this was her friend. “…Applejack? Is that really you?”

“One…” Applejack growled, narrowing her eyes and preparing her hind legs. Rainbow Dash quickly scrambled off, floating above the ground as Applejack got back up.

“What happened to you?” Rainbow Dash asked, still looking quite dumbfounded.

“Well, long story short, a changeling knocked me out and put me in one of those chrysalis things ta turn me inta a changeling! Probably the Changeling Queen herself, since Ah saw her when Ah woke up once.” Applejack explained, “Ah managed ta escape, but not soon enough ta avoid this.” She fluttered her new insect wings for emphasis.

“Hmm, that would explain why you’ve been so irritable lately, if a changeling had taken your place all this time.” Rainbow Dash said. A realization suddenly hit her. “Ugh, now I feel like a terrible friend for not figuring it out sooner!”

“We all make mistakes. Ah won’t hold this against ya.” Applejack reassured her. She turned away from Rainbow Dash, back towards the changelings, and stumbled back in shock when she saw a horde of various ponies surrounding them, including a few copies of Rainbow Dash and Applejack themselves.

“…Maybe we should’ve been paying more attention to the battle.” Rainbow Dash said after a moment of silence.

“Eeyup.” Applejack agreed. She shook her head to snap out of her stunned stupor, and stood back-to-back with Rainbow Dash. “Well, this is a problem. We’re goin’ ta need ta separate.”

“What?! Split up; are you crazy?!” Rainbow Dash asked her, the surprise clear in her voice.

“Just trust me! Ah know which of these ponies here are really ponies and which ones are changelings. Ah can fight them easily, but Ah don’t want ya getting’ mixed up and tricked in this.” Applejack explained, “So Ah’ll stay here while ya fly off somewhere else, and we’ll stay separate. If Ah come up ta ya, assume Ah’m an imposter and attack, got it?”

Rainbow Dash thought about the plan for a moment, then smirked mischievously. “Sure, I got it. Besides, I’ll be able to fight a lot better without having to worry about protecting your half-changeling hide the whole time!”

“Yer really askin’ for it, ya know that?” Applejack growled, giving the pegasus a dangerous glare.

Rainbow Dash chuckled in response. “Good to see you’re just as serious as ever, AJ!”

Flaring her wings, Rainbow Dash shot off into the crowd, knocking away several ponies as she flew. Applejack watched her go, and as soon as the pegasus disappeared from sight, she turned back towards the ponies covered in green flames that only she could see.

Applejack pawed the ground in challenge, her wings fluttering with agitation. “All right, then. Come at me, ya no-good overgrown parasprites…”

Mirror turned down another alley, emerging back into the open streets of Ponyville. A few seconds later, General Carbon followed after her, the two shooting past the ranks of changelings still in the sky. Mirror noted with satisfaction that she was easily outspeeding the general thanks to her lighter, more streamlined pegasus body compared to Carbon’s winged earth pony body. This is good. In a battle of speed, pegasus always beats earth pony!

A flash of green in the corner of her eye caught Mirror’s attention, and she turned her head back just in time to be tackled by a pink and blue blur. Mirror smashed into the ground, the speed and impact finally shaking her out of her transformed state. Looking up, she saw General Carbon standing above her, now in the form of a pink pegasus mare with a messy blue mane and tail and a cutie mark of two blue lightning bolts.

Mirror’s eyes widened as she recognized this pony. “That pony…isn’t that the famed Wonderbolt, Firefly?”

“That’s right.” General Carbon said, slamming a hoof down onto Mirror’s chest, eliciting a grunt of pain. “And unfortunately for you, a Wonderbolt is far faster than any common pegasus!”

“Surprise is not a common pegasus…” Mirror hissed at the changeling general.

“I don’t care what she is.” Carbon said. A cruel smirk adorned his face “Let’s see you try to outspeed me now!”

“I don’t have to!” Mirror growled. A green cocoon enveloped her, leaving a yellow mare with a long pink mane in her place. The pony smirked and kicked up her hind legs with surprising force, launching Carbon’s light pegasus body a good distance away.

Mirror stood up and looked over her body. She noted that it looked almost exactly like Fluttershy, except for two clear differences: a trio of tulips instead of butterflies for a cutie mark, and no wings. I saw this pony in one of Fluttershy’s scrapbooks. Posey, I think it said her name was? I’ll have to ask Fluttershy who this is later on.

Mirror kept her smug grin as she watched the general get back up. “In a battle of strength, earth pony always beats pegasus! You should know that one, sir!”

Carbon snorted angrily. “You cocky little soldier! I’ll teach you your place!”

The changeling general took to the air and shot towards her. Mirror froze, suddenly realizing that she couldn’t match his speed with her current body as he smashed into her. The two tumbled down the street, finally stopping when the general pushed her head-first into the wall of a building and Mirror reflexively lashed out with her hind legs into his head. The sudden hits disorientated both changelings, reverting them back to their original forms.

Despite the blow, General Carbon maintained his hold on her, his horn beginning to glow with deadly power as his dizziness wore off. “You’re a skilled shapeshifter, but you can never hope to match a general in experience and power.”

Trying to focus through her own dizziness, Mirror closed her eyes and concentrated. A crackling ball of green energy slowly began to form in front of her horn, causing the general to stop charging his own spell in surprise.

“What are you-!” The ball of magic suddenly expanded outward and exploded, knocking Carbon into a building across the street and almost driving Mirror through the wall she had been held against. Several new holes and craters now laid smoking in the buildings and ground around them. Mirror let out a low groan of pain as she rested in her own miniature crater.

A strange tingling sensation separate from pain suddenly went through Mirror’s exoskeleton. She looked at General Carbon, who seemed to be experiencing a similar feeling, judging by his surprised expression. Green flames suddenly surrounded the lower half of Mirror’s body, leaving behind a dark blue fish tail in its place. Unbalanced, Mirror fell forward onto her face, her tail flopping over above her head.

A burst of light from Carbon’s direction caught her eye, and Mirror looked to see a small changeling hatchling trying to lift off a helmet that was far too big for him. Crawling out from under it, the hatchling glared at Mirror, fury burning in his large blue eyes.

Mirror couldn’t help bursting out laughing at the sight. The de-aged general continued to glare at her. “Zzstop laughing! Thizz izzn’t funny! It’zz your fault, anyway!”

The childish buzz in his voice only made her laugh harder. “I forgot you talked like that as a hatchling!” Green light unexpectedly engulfed her once again, returning her to pony form. Looking at herself, she seemed to be in her Surprise form, though the blue fish tail remained. Another burst of light, and two large brown griffin wings had replaced her white pegasus ones. “Okay, what’s going on?”

“You jumpzzstarted the Poizzion Joke’s effectzz, you idiot!” Carbon yelled, his voice high-pitched and angry.

“What?” Mirror asked, her left hoof suddenly transforming into a lion paw.

“Your magic! Your out-of-control magic wazz a mix of multiple typezz! It made the Poizzon Joke zzstart early!” Carbon told her.

“Oh.” A single antler sprouted from the right side of Mirror’s head. “…Oops.”

General Carbon just cried out in rage. His horn glowed as he tried to launch an attack, but his younger body didn’t have the power to fire off more than a small ball of energy, which missed Mirror entirely as it struck the wall above her. She looked up at the little hole it left behind, noting that her own wild magic had resulted in more destruction than that.

“You…can’t change back, can you?” Mirror asked after a moment, though she already knew the answer. The young general’s annoyed expression confirmed it. “Hah! The great General Carbon, reduced to a child! Oh, this is priceless!”

A green light engulfed the lower half of her body once more, leaving her with back hooves once again, but also a large, plated tail with a spiked ball at the end. Unprepared for the sudden increase in weight, Mirror’s tail smashed into the ground, leaving cracks where it hit. Struggling to move, she found that the new appendage was too heavy for her current body. “…And, now it’s not! Stupid Poison Joke, messing with my shapeshifting!”

Carbon smirked at her distress and started shooting multiple orbs of fiery magic at her. Mirror’s expression changed to one of fear, and she tried willing her body to change into something more maneuverable. More fire covered Mirror’s form, clearing to reveal a long row of yellow spikes trailing down her body and down a white dragon tail, claws on her hooves -the lion paw had disappeared- and one draconic eye. Flying through the hole in the building she had made herself, she landed in a spa that looked to be the one that Fluttershy had told her about. Jumping in front of a mirror, she ducked as the orbs sailed overhead. She got back up and looked at her reflection.

“Hey, I’m a kirin!” Mirror said, looking at her draconic features as well as her single antler. The only things out of place were the griffin wings. She turned to General Carbon who was hovering in the wall’s opening with his tiny wings, panting from the magic exertion. “I look cool! My curse is better than your’s!”

Her taunting only served to anger Carbon further. “Pleazze! At least my curzze is controllable, unlike your’zz!”

Fueled by his anger, the general started firing orb after orb of magic at Mirror, who ducked, jumped, and dodged to avoid them. As weak as the attacks were, they were quickly leaving the room in ruin, and Mirror’s constant movement seemed to be triggering her random transformations more often. Finally, she turned and tackled the hatchling, wrapping him up in the tentacle her right forehoof had turned into.

“Wait a sec, where did this come from? I don’t remember having turned into anything with tentacles before!” Mirror said. Shrugging, she smirked at Carbon, who struggled uselessly in her grip. “Not so easy to fight when you’re the size of a foal, is it?”

A cocoon of green fire exchanged Mirror’s back legs for a tail once more, and she fell onto her face again. Her grip on Carbon slackened, and the young changeling scrambled out and flew across the room. Smirking, he charged up one large spell and fired it at the downed Mirror, who was blasted into the side of the spa’s hot tub. Several bottles fell down from the impact, one of which landed in Mirror’s hooves –well, one hoof and one talon, thanks to another involuntary morph- with its label facing her. To Mirror’s delight, it read “Super Natural Remedy for Poison Joke.” That’s convenient!

Mirror stood up and showed the bottle to General Carbon, who was hovering on the other side of the room. “Look, this here is the cure for Poison Joke! Neither of us can really operate like this, so I’m going to pour this in that tub over there, and you’re not going to attack me until we’ve both bathed in it and gotten back to normal, okay? So what do you say, truce?”

Carbon looked over Mirror. Her mismatched body was currently composed of a changeling main body and forehoof, a griffin talon and wings, a scorpion tail, a dragon lower body and hind leg, a seal flipper, an antler, and a single timberwolf fang. He then looked over his own body, a young changeling hatchling with an annoying voice buzz and little fighting ability that couldn’t even fit into his own armor.

After several moments, the general conceded. “…Truzze.”

Twilight fired off another beam of purple magic, swinging it around to knock back a wave of changelings. She quickly summoned up a barrier as three blasts of green magic came crashing into it, then expanded the shield outwards to hit the changelings surrounding her and send them flying away. Now having a moment of freedom to spare, Twilight looked over towards Rarity and Sparkler.

The older unicorn was crouched before her younger cousin, their horns touching and a sort of healing spell passing between them. Slowly, Rarity’s agonized expression relaxed until she opened her eyes and looked up with confusion at Sparkler. The mare said a few words and smiled before turning and running off down the street, leaving Rarity to stare after her, the puzzled look never leaving her face.

A hiss from behind caught Twilight’s attention, but before she could turn, a changeling tackled her and pinned her to the ground. Twilight struggled beneath it as more approached. Just before she started charging for a teleportation spell, however, a burst of green fire shot out and knocked the changeling pinning Twilight off her back. The other changelings leapt at the unicorn, but she teleported away before they could reach her, appearing outside the crowd and firing a particularly large blast to take them all out.

Turning around, Twilight searched for the source of the blast that had helped her. She smiled when she found it in the form of a changeling with purple eyes and no wings.

“Ditto!” Twilight cried out happily, running over and embracing the changeling. The rush of joy soon wore off as she remembered the last few words they had shared before the invasion. She pulled away to scold the changeling. “What are you doing here? I told you to run! You’re in a lot of danger if you stay here, Ditto!”

Ditto winced at the unicorn’s harsh tone, but gathered her nerves and looked Twilight steadily in the face. “I know, but you and everypony else here are in danger too, and I couldn’t just run and hide while you fought back. You’re one of my closest friends, Twilight; I had to come back and help!”

Twilight’s stern look shifted to one of surprise, then slowly softened into a warm smile. Despite the chaos going on around them, she pulled Ditto into another hug. A thunderous burst of magic suddenly flashed over them, and several changelings fell out of the sky, encased in bluish-green crystal. Startled, both broke away to see Rarity watching them with a smug grin on her face.

“Honestly, as much as I love watching this heartwarming display of yours, you two really should be paying more attention to what’s going on around you.” Rarity said, giggling softly at their shocked expressions.

Twilight stared at the unicorn, her mouth agape. Ditto gave a concerned look over her friend. “Um, Twilight?”

“H-How did you do that?!” Twilight stuttered, looking around at the frozen changelings. “I’ve never seen you do that before!”

“Well, I’m not complete sure, but I assume it has to do with Sparkler lending me some of her power before she…left.” Rarity said, her expression thoughtful. “She knew a similar spell, so I tried replicating it. It seems to have worked, though, so I for one am not complaining!”

Twilight thought about the answer for a bit. “That makes some amount of sense. I’ll look into it some more later, though.”

Ditto looked up at the sky, where more changelings were coming in. “Twilight, Rarity? Maybe we should focus on the battle first?”

Startled, Twilight nodded, looking somewhat embarrassed at having forgotten. She quickly shifted back into a battle stance. “Right. Ditto, you can handle yourself, can’t you?”

Ditto smiled and nodded. “Don’t worry about me, Twilight. My magic is stronger now; I can fight.”

“Good, then I’ll leave you to it, then!” Twilight said, breaking away from Ditto and running to join Rarity. The two unicorns stood back-to-back against the surrounding changelings.

“Rarity, if you don’t mind me asking, what happened to you back there?” Twilight asked, firing off a magic blast that took out three changelings. “You looked like you were in pain. Were you hurt?”

“I don’t know; when all those changelings revealed themselves, it felt like something inside my mind started attacking me.” Rarity explained, uncertainty clear on her face. “Sparkler performed a healing spell on me before leaving, though, so it shouldn’t be a problem anymore.”

“Where did she go, anyway?” Twilight asked suspiciously, still thinking about what Rarity had said.

“She said she had something to take care of, but I guess she gave me some of her power so I could fight in her stead.” Rarity said, hitting a changeling that got too close with a right hook before freezing it in crystal. “So, who’s that changeling you seem so fond of?”

Twilight raised an eyebrow at the sudden change in topic, but didn’t press the issue. She looked at Ditto, who seemed to be fighting less and concentrating more on the other changelings. Twilight briefly wondered if she was trying to communicate with them instead. “Her name is Ditto. I found her injured in the library the morning we returned from Canterlot. I was skeptical at first, but she seemed harmless enough, so I’ve been taking care of her all this time.”

“And you didn’t tell us?” Rarity asked.

“…No, I didn’t.” Twilight admitted, looking ashamed. “I panicked. I was scared of what would happen if anypony found out I was harboring a changeling, so I kept Ditto a secret from everypony, including my friends. I’m sorry.”

“Well, judging by the way everypony reacted to Ditto and Mirror, your fears may not be completely unfounded.” Rarity said. She saw one changeling charging up its magic, so she leapt forward and delivered a spinning kick to the side of its head while Twilight covered them with a barrier to defend from the invaders’ aerial assaults.

Given a moment of respite, Rarity turned toward Twilight. “Speaking of which, did you know? About Mirror being a changeling, that is?”

Twilight looked away from Rarity once more, a solemn and guilty expression on her face. “Yes, I did.”

Several blasts of green magic suddenly struck the barrier at once. Unprepared for such an assault, the shield shattered and Twilight stumbled back, momentarily stunned. Opening her eyes, Twilight saw a large shadow glide over her. Thinking it was another changeling, she readied her magic for attack, but when the figure landed and turned around, her shock stopped her cold.

A mare clad in a full-body purple and blue suit with a cape, wide-brim hat, and an emblem with a “M” on it stood before her. The mare turned her head toward Twilight, her expression unreadable behind her mask.

“Mare-Do-Well!” Twilight gasped, the shock of seeing the mysterious hero she and her friends had once played for the sake of an important lesson keeping her from saying more.

Remaining silent, Mare-Do-Well ran over to Twilight and motioned for the unicorn to follow her. Though shocked and confused, Twilight complied, running after her towards the alleyways between buildings. As she ran past Rarity, who was busy knocking several changelings senseless with kung fu, she called out, “Rarity, cover for us!”

Rarity turned toward Twilight, her confused look only becoming more so at the sight of Mare-Do-Well. A sudden tackle by a changeling interrupted her thoughts, and she knocked the creature off before standing back up, dusting off any dirt that might have stuck to her coat, and slipping back into a fighting pose. Looking at the large number of changelings filling the area, Rarity closed her eyes and concentrated on summoning up the two stores of magic within her; one her own and one her cousin’s. “Alright Sparkler, let’s see what else you have in store…”

An idea came to her, and she focused on it with her magic. When Rarity opened her eyes again, a number of bluish-green gems floated around her, smaller than the ones she used to trap the changelings but large enough to be used as projectiles. A mischievous smile crossed Rarity’s face, the crystals levitated threateningly. “Oh Sparkler, you certainly are something else…”

Twilight, meanwhile, had just realized she was following a masked stranger into a secluded alley. Suddenly stopping, she lit up her horn and filled the alley with a purple light. Mare-Do-Well stopped and ran back to Twilight, shaking her head frantically and pointing up toward the sky, where several changelings were approaching the source of the bright light. As Twilight looked up, Mare-Do-Well flicked the unicorn’s horn with her hoof, extinguishing the magic glow.

Flinching from the sudden disruption of her magic, Twilight soon recovered, only to find that Mare-Do-Well had disappeared. Looking around frantically for the caped pony, the sounds of conflict echoed above Twilight, and when she looked up, she found the sky above the alley suddenly devoid of changelings. A tap on the cautious unicorn’s shoulder sent her shooting five feet into the air in surprise to land in a heap in front of Mare-Do-Well. The masked mare held a hoof to her snout, suppressing a silent giggle.

With Twilight still lying on the ground, Mare-Do-Well pulled down her mask to reveal the smiling face of Pinkie Pie. “Surprise! Hi Twilight, what’s up? Besides the sky and the changeling invasion of Ponyville, of course!”

“Pinkie? What are you doing here?” Twilight asked, getting back to her feet to face the earth pony.

“What does it look like?” Pinkie asked, flipping up the cape of her costume. “We’re here to help! I was just hopping along the rooftops, taking out all the bad changelings when I saw you girls and decided to jump in and help!”

“And you’re dressed up as Mare-Do-Well because…?” Twilight asked.

“I thought it would be cool.” Pinkie said simply. “And fun. Can’t forget fun.”

“Right, of course.” Twilight said, rolling her eyes for thinking there could possibly be a more sensible reason. Her attention was suddenly drawn to another thing that Pinkie had said. “Wait a second, did you say ‘we’?”

“Yup! Me, Fluttershy, and Matchie; we all came back to help save Ponyville!” Pinkie Pie explained.

“Ugh, first Ditto, now you three. Does nopony listen to me when I tell them to get out of Ponyville for their own good?” Twilight asked.

Pinkie shook her head. “Nope!”

Twilight groaned in frustration and facehoofed, prompting Pinkie to giggle at the action. “Ah, cheer up Twilight! We can take care of ourselves!”

“Where are Fluttershy and Mirror, anyway?” Twilight asked.

“Matchie’s off teaching that mean old General Carbon a lesson, and Fluttershy’s keeping an eye on them!” Pinkie replied.

Concern for the two filled Twilight as she remembered her own encounter with the changeling general. “Are you sure they’ll be okay?”

Pinkie Pie waved a hoof dismissively. “Of course I’m sure! They’ll both be fine!”

“Alright, stop that right now!” Mirror shouted, “The Poison Joke may have turned you back into a hatchling, but you still have the mind of an adult and I know you’re doing this on purpose! Now stop acting like a spoiled foal and stop blowing holes in the wall!”

The miniscule general, who had been waving his hoof in a ‘blah blah blah’ motion, stuck out his tongue and smirked at Mirror’s screech of frustration. For good measure, he shot a small burst of magic at the ceiling above Mirror, destroying it and sending rubble raining down on her head.

“Thizz would not be happening if you hadn’t zzstarted the effectzz early.” Carbon said, ignoring her angry hiss. “Zzso it’zz your fault!”

Mirror gave him one last venomous glare before going back to adding the healing herbs into the hot tub, the bottle wrapped firmly in the tentacle that currently replaced her right forehoof. “At least I’m not the one with the annoying buzz in their voice!” She muttered loudly. It was a childish and somewhat petty statement, but it had the desired effect of wiping the smug grin off Carbon’s face.

The tentacle holding the bottle suddenly turned back into a hoof, forcing Mirror to engage in impromptu juggling and eventually to grab it in her mouth to avoid dropping it. She sighed inwardly in relief, only to freeze as her teeth transformed into the razor-sharp points of a crocodile, shattering the bottle in her jaws. Just perfect…

Letting the remains of the bottle fall into the tub, she coughed and sputtered at the bitter taste of herbs in her mouth. After recovering, Mirror smacked a now draconic claw into her face, convinced that some higher power enjoyed messing with her just for the sake of it. Deciding that the cure was ready, Mirror prepared to go grab General Carbon and bring him into the tub with her. You’re lucky I’m one of the good guys or I’d just leave you like this!

Of course, as soon as Mirror took off into the air, one of her wings disappeared in a flash of green fire and sent her crashing face-first into the floor. “Oh, for Chrysalis’s sake!”

Pinkie Pie blinked once, a puzzled look on her face. “Hmm. Maybe I should go back and help them…”

“No time for that! You have to help us right now!” Twilight said, telekinetically pulling on Pinkie’s cape as she tried to leave and dragging her back to the open streets.

Emerging back into open space, the first thing Twilight noticed was Rarity standing in the midst of a whirling storm of gems, laughing somewhat maniacally as she fired crystal projectiles at every changeling in sight. Twilight just stared at the sight, mouth agape and eye twitching.

“Huh, but, what? Where did she get that sort of power? Is that all from Sparkler?!” Twilight asked. She groaned in frustration. “I’m really going to need to research magic energy transfer to see how such a large boost is even possible. What do you think, Pinkie?”

No answer came, and when Twilight turned around, a jolt of shock struck her as she saw that Pinkie Pie was nowhere to be found. She looked around for the earth pony. “Pinkie?”

Looking up, Twilight saw Pinkie Pie, her mask hiding her face once more, jumping across the building rooftops, taking out any changelings that got too close to her. The caped pony turned and waved at her before going back to her work.

“Right, of course, fighting, got it.” Twilight sighed. Scanning the area, she noted that there seemed to be even more changelings attacking than she originally thought. Deciding that she needed a way to repel the invaders for a while, Twilight looked around for anyone who could help her. Much to her delight, she soon found what she needed: Grimoire of the Canterlot Guard, who was standing protectively over the unconscious body of Spell Tome as he faced down an oncoming group of changelings.

“Grimoire!” Twilight called out, running over to the stallion and helping him to blast away his attackers.

“Miss Sparkle!” Grimoire said, his expression shocked, then apologetic. “I must apologize for our behavior earlier. I let my anger blind me when I should have listened to you and not have assumed the worst. I’m sorry.”

I forgive you, but that isn’t important right now!” Twilight said, though she was pleased that her had the humility to say sorry. “I’m going to perform Shining Armor’s barrier spell, but I need time to charge it. “Can you shield me until it’s ready?”

“You have my word.” Grimoire nodded. The guard’s horn glowed and projected a light blue shield over the three unicorns.

Underneath the magic shield, Twilight closed her eyes and began to focus her magic. As she gathered her power, Grimoire concentrated on maintaining his spell, which proved to be a difficult task as the changeling invaders covered themselves in green fire and began to ram the barrier. Grimoire found himself unable to withstand the assault, and with each hit, the shield shuddered and cracked before finally shattering. As the barrier broke, five changelings overran Grimoire, and several others flew towards Twilight as well.

The struggle had brought Twilight the time she needed to finish charging her spell, however. Opening her eyes, which glowed white with power, a bright light burst forth from Twilight’s horn and formed a purple bubble that expanded out around the unicorn. The barrier grew outward over the area, shattering the gems Rarity had conjured on contact while leaving the unicorn herself unharmed, while Pinkie Pie jumped down in front of Ditto and wrapped her cape around the changeling, shielding her from the spell’s effect. All hostile changelings hit by the bubble, however, were sent flying far out of Ponyville by the impact.

Soon, though, the barrier disappeared and Twilight’s magic settled back down to normal. A peaceful silence fell over the area as the fighting momentarily ceased. The unicorn lamented being unable to make her barrier strong enough to completely purge Ponyville of the changeling threat, but having at least a few minutes of tranquility was more than welcome.

“You certainly live up to your status as the Element of Magic, don’t you?” Rarity praised, walking up to Twilight and smiling. “That was very impressive, Twilight!”

Twilight blushed in modesty. “Oh, it wasn’t that big of a deal. I’m not the only unicorn to do it, after all. Your magic was much more impressive!”

Rarity giggled at the compliment. “Oh Twilight, I’m flattered you think that, but the truth is that I wouldn’t have been able to do half that much magic without Sparkler’s help!”

The white unicorn looked away, bemusement clear on her face. “I really do wonder where that unicorn went off to…”

Pinkie Pie came up to the two, Ditto following close behind her. She pulled down the mask and grinned cheerfully. “Wow, we’re doing great! I haven’t had this much fun since yesterday! Yup, prank extravaganza, good times…”

“Pinkie? What are you doing dressed up as Mare-Do-Well?” Rarity asked, though she couldn’t help feeling some pride at seeing the pony wearing her handiwork.

“I thought it would be fun!” Pinkie said as though that were a completely viable answer.

Ditto looked much more concerned about the situation than the other two, however. “There will be more coming, you know. They replaced a lot of ponies, and I wouldn't be surprised if there were more hiding out in the Everfree Forest. It won’t be long before more changelings arrive.”

“And we’ll be ready for them when they come!” Twilight said, determination shining in her eyes. She turned to Grimoire, who was slowly approaching them while supporting a barely-conscious Spell Tome. “How are you feeling?”

“The enemy got the best of us, but we’ll live.” Grimoire wheezed, wincing in pain. “Not sure how much longer we can hold out without rest or healing, though.”

Twilight nodded, taking in the two guards’ injuries. She turned and began to analyze the states of her friends. Rarity was limping slightly on her right forehoof, and a few patches of fur were singed from where some bursts of fire had grazed them, much to the unicorn’s displeasure. Ditto’s broken leg had been agitated by constant dodging and movement, and several scrapes and cuts were visible on her carapace. Pinkie Pie had the fewest injuries, but even she hadn’t escaped unscathed, if the tears in her costume from where the changelings had managed to hit her were any indication.

“Alright everypony, get close to me. I know a few healing spells that should be able to help.” Twilight said, her horn glowing in preparation for casting. “We’re all going to need to be in top condition, because this battle isn’t over yet!”

A now fully-changeling Mirror leaped out of the nearest hole in the spa’s wall and pressed herself against the ground right as a large bolt of green magic sailed over her. Quickly changeling back into her Surprise form, she shot off into the air a second before a fully-aged General Carbon followed her out into the open, his eyes blazing in anger as he fitted his armor back onto his body.

“I help you return to normal out of the kindness of my heart, and you repay me by trying to kill me right after? You’re an ungrateful jerk, you know that?!” Mirror shouted down at the general, fuming from the cheap shot.

“How many times do I have to tell you that everything that’s happened to you is ultimately something you’ve brought upon yourself?” Carbon growled, flapping his wings in agitation. “If you hadn’t chosen to fight against us, I wouldn’t have a reason to fight you.”

“I’m only fighting you because this entire invasion plan is insane!” Mirror yelled, shooting toward the general as her flew up to meet her attack. The two changelings began to exchange blows in the air, though it wasn’t long before Carbon’s aggressive assault forced Mirror on the defensive instead.

“Can’t you see how doomed this plan is?” Mirror asked between blows, scoring a good hit on Carbon’s chest and forcing him back a short distance. “You’ll bring the wrath of Celestia upon our heads, and then where will we be? Dead! And that’s not even taking into account Luna!”

“Oh, I’ve taken them both into account.” Carbon said, rushing in and kicking her away. “As powerful as the princesses are, even they will have to conform to our demands when the lives of their subjects are at stake!”

“And what are these demands?” Mirror asked, “The princesses are more clever than you give them credit for. You’re putting the entire swarm in danger with this!”

The general opened his mouth to retort, but a sudden wave of magic washing over the two changelings cut him off abruptly. As the wave passed, Mirror could see a large purple bubble growing on the other side of the town. Fear filled her at the thought of being hit and blown out of yet another city, but the barrier faded long before it reached her. She could still see dozens of changelings flying out of Ponyville as a result of it, though.

“What was that…?” Mirror asked herself, hovering and staring at the place where it vanished.

Her brief contemplation ended when a green bolt of magic struck her right wing. The wing crumpled, and the stunned pegasus-changeling plummeted to the ground. She let out a cry of agony as she landed on her injured wing, instantly reverting back to changeling form and falling silent.

Mirror laid there unmoving, taking in quick, shallow breaths. Panic overtook her rational mind as the constant burning pain and reality of the situation hit her. It’s broken, it’s broken, oh Chrysalis, it’s broken! It’s broken and I won’t be able to fly and oh Chrysalis, it’s broken it’s broken it’s broken-

A hoof slamming down on her shell broke her out of her hysteria. The panic faded, and Mirror’s breathing slowed back to normal as she turned her head up to see General Carbon standing above her, his smile cruel and his horn glowing threateningly. “Well, this has been fun. You’ve certainly put up more of a fight than I expected from a mere soldier, but I have an invasion to command and it’s time you were taken care of! Any last words?”

Mirror narrowed her eyes and directed her most hate-filled glare at the general. Burning anger filled her; he had broken her wing, hurt her friends, endangered the swarm, and basically did everything that would earn her scorn and fury. The changeling promised herself that if she truly was meant to die here, she would go down fighting.

“Go choke on my hate!” She hissed, venom lacing her every word. She waited for his next move while she gathered her magic, preparing to cause another explosive magic backlash if it became necessary.

Carbon recoiled slightly, startled by the harsh changeling curse. He glared down at her, his horn glowing and ready to strike. “You contemptuous little-!“

He never finished, because at that moment a clothed hoof struck the side of his head with near-blinding speed, knocking him off the younger changeling. The sudden hit succeeded in dislodging his helmet and sending it skidding across the ground, away from the downed general. Surprised by this turn of events, Mirror let her magic recede and gazed up to see Mare-Do-Well standing before her. The wings flared out from underneath the cape, however, told her exactly who was beneath the mask.

“Fluttershy!” Mirror cried out happily, scrambling to her hooves. As soon as she did, though, she let out a strangled cry of pain and examined her hurt wing. The damage was fully visible in her true form; the wing was bent and crumpled like paper and burnt horribly along the edges. The sight nearly made her break down and cry again.

Fluttershy pulled down her mask and gazed sympathetically at the changeling, unsure of what to say. “Mirror…”

“My wing…Fluttershy, my wing…” Mirror sobbed, distress clear in her eyes. “I…I just lost my horn…I can’t lose my wings, too…”

Fluttershy pulled the upset changeling into a comforting hug, whispering soothing words to her. “There there, it’ll be alright. When the invasion’s over, we’ll go see Twilight. She knows a lot of spells; I’m sure she’ll find one that can fix your wing.”

“…You really think she can do that?” Mirror asked, a trace of hope shining through her despair.

“Of course! Twilight’s a very talented unicorn; she’ll have something that can help.” Fluttershy smiled warmly, carefully concealing any hint of doubt she felt. Nevertheless, her words had their intended effect: Mirror had renewed hope that her wing could be salvaged and was managing to rein in her emotions to calm down. The changeling turned and steeled herself for battle just as General Carbon got back up, not bothering to retrieve his lost helmet.

Ignoring her sore body, Mirror readied herself to attack. The sound of buzzing grew louder in her ears, but she paid it no mind until she heard Fluttershy whisper her name in an urgent tone. Turning, Mirror saw the pegasus nervously looking toward the sky and followed her gaze to see dozens of changelings flying towards Ponyville. A well of frustration rose up inside her. Great, more reinforcements.

But looking back at General Carbon, she didn’t see any delight in the changeling’s face at the sight. Rather, she could see a trace of apprehension, and she soon found out why when the new changelings charged at the general’s forces and engaged the invaders in combat. As the sounds of changeling battling changeling rose up around them, Mirror and Fluttershy exchanged stunned looks, unable to believe their stroke of luck.

A single changeling touched down on the ground in front of the two. Recognizing her, Mirror instinctively shrunk away from the changeling’s glare, though she noted that it was much less harsh than the last time she had seen it. “G-Golden Harvest?”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened in shock as she heard the name and put the pieces together. “Carrot Top?”

Golden Harvest hissed softly and turned away from the two. “Unfortunately…”

Mirror flinched at the anger in the former-pony’s voice and racked her brain for something to say. “I…I’m glad you’re okay. I was worried about you.”

“You? Worried about me?” Golden Harvest repeated incredulously.

“Well, yes. Seeing you so angry that time made me feel terrible about not helping you.” Mirror admitted, “You were right; no one should have to be changed into something else against their will.”

Golden Harvest continued to look anywhere but at the changeling, though a hint of guilt now adorned her face. “Yes, well, I may have been a bit out of line myself. I’ve had time to think about everything, and, well, you didn’t put me in that chrysalis, so I can’t really blame you for it, can I?”

“…So, you forgive me?” Mirror asked uncertainly.

Golden Harvest still looked really uncomfortable. “Uh, well, how about this? You’re sorry for not helping me when I needed it, and I’m sorry for losing it and trying to kill you. We’re both sorry, let’s leave it at that!”

Mirror just smiled and nodded, relieved that the synthetic changeling didn’t hate her anymore, even if she still hadn’t forgiven her completely. “Okay, that’s fine. I’m just…happy to see you’re all right. What happened to you that night, anyway?”

Golden Harvest hissed angrily and began to walk past the two. “What happened? Your family brought me back to their hive and tried to rehabilitate me into being one of their loyal drones, that’s what happened!”

Mirror was struck silent as she tried to remember where she had heard the term ‘rehabilitate’ before, leaving Fluttershy to speak up instead. “W-What? Are you okay?!”

Golden Harvest snorted and gave them a level stare. “Of course I’m okay. I’ve said this before: I’m a pony through and through; I’m just a little different now. I’d never let them break me. Now if you excuse me, I have to go save my home!”

With that, the synthetic changeling took to the air, lunging at the nearest changeling with a vicious battle cry. Fluttershy extended a hoof futilely toward her, a cry of “wait” caught in her throat, while Mirror suddenly remembered with a jolt of newfound horror and a hint of shame just what rehabilitation was.

“But, I don’t get it.” Mirror mused, catching Fluttershy’s attention. “If Golden Harvest was supposed to be rehabilitated, then who let her leave before it was completed?”

“An excellent question, and the answer is…me.” An eerily familiar voice reached Mirror’s ears, and she turned to see a unicorn slowly approaching her and Fluttershy. The mare wore a cheerful smile and cocked her head childishly as she looked them over.

At first glance, Mirror thought that the unicorn must be closely related to Twilight, the only differences being her colors and cutie mark. The mare was a pale pink color, with purple eyes and a white mane and tail with a purple stripe running through them. Seven purple stars made up her cutie mark. The strangest part, though, was her voice, which sounded identical to Twilight’s in every way and was what really helped Mirror make the connection between the two.

The unicorn giggled at their astonishment. “Oh, don’t mind me, I was just having a friendly chat with the general when I heard your question and decided to jump right in! Isn’t that right, General?”

General Carbon refused to say anything, opting only to hiss softly and glare at the unicorn with both scorn and caution. Mirror looked between the mare and Carbon, wondering what she could have said to evoke that sort of reaction from him. No, not a mare; she’s definitely a changeling. But who?

“Who…who are you?” Mirror asked, finding her voice again as she addressed the transformed changeling.

The unicorn seemed taken aback by the question for a moment, but recovered a moment later. “Well that depends, really. In this form, I’m known as Twilight Wish, but in my true form…” A cocoon of fire engulfed her, dying away to reveal a minute changeling wearing a chestplate and a large, frilled helmet. Mirror gasped aloud in recognition.

“High-General Double, at your service!” The changeling proclaimed, bowing for good measure. “Except not really, in fact you should be at my service because I’m pretty sure I outrank you, but you know what I mean!”

Mirror cocked her head in confusion. She had always found the High-General to be very strange at best, but she seemed extra puzzling today. “High-General, what are you-!”

Double flew over and slapped a hoof over Mirror’s snout before she could finish. “Hush now! We’re just here to help stop this senseless invasion before it gets us all killed. Evoking the wrath of the sun and moon princesses is a big no-no! Now, you and your friend are going to run along and help clean things up while I finish dealing with mean old General Carbon, capiche?”

“But-” Mirror tried as the hoof was pulled away.

“What’s this? You don’t want to listen to your High-General?” Double interrupted, putting on a pouting face.

“No, of course that’s not it!” Mirror panicked, backpedalling slightly.

“Then go! I can take care of things here, no problem!” Double said, smiling once more. “This is my battle now, not yours, so go!”

“…Okay, if those are your orders.” Mirror said at last. With one last glance at General Carbon, who had been eerily silent for a while, she turned to leave. A few unsteady steps and stumbles soon showed that the battle had taken more of a toll on her than she thought, so Fluttershy stepped up to support her, being sure to stay on the changeling’s left side to avoid hurting her crippled wing.

As the two left in search of their friends, Mirror tried to strike up a conversation with the pegasus. “You know, that was one amazing hit back there; you knocked his helmet off and everything! I didn’t know you had it in you!”

Fluttershy looked away from the changeling’s smiling face, her own heating up in embarrassment. “Oh, that. I’m…not fond of violence; I try to avoid it when I can. But if it’s for the sake of my friends…”

“Well, that’s fine; you don’t always have to rely on violence to solve your problems. Shame my problems seem to require it, though.” Mirror muttered, “By the way, this is a bit random, but there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you. Who’s Posey?”

Watching them go, Double giggled as Fluttershy stiffened at the question before walking faster, much to the protests of her injured friend. She turned back to General Carbon, flashing him a sinister smile. “So courteous of you to wait for us to finish our conversation, General.”

Carbon ignored the statement, his glare intensifying. “Where’s that old doll you’re always carrying around?”

The High-General frowned, but after a brief moment the ragged plush popped into existence beside her. “Right here. I wanted to keep him out of danger, but since you’re so eager to see him…besides, he’s feeling restless; we both want to see our friends again so much! Isn’t that right, Mr. Smartypants?”

Carbon hissed in disgust at her affectionate attitude toward the doll. “You’re absolutely insane!”

Double grinned mischievously, pulling her doll away. “Ah ah ah! Is that any way to talk to not only your superior, but a prodigy amongst changelings? Or do I need to prove my power to you again…”

General Carbon’s breath caught in his throat, his body freezing up in genuine fear. “You wouldn’t! Not with so many changelings nearby!”

“Oh, but I would!” Double laughed, shifting back into her unicorn form. “Besides, you brought it on yourself! If you hadn’t started this invasion, I wouldn’t have a reason to do this!”

A maniacal smile adorning her face, Double’s horn glowed with a dangerous light. She began quietly whispering to herself. “I wish, I wish, for this I wish…”

As Double finished her chant, Carbon sent out a desperate message to every changeling nearby, both under his command and not. “General Carbon to all changelings within the immediate area: get out of range, now!”

“Dodge this, General! Feel the power of my Starlight Rain!” Double shouted, laughing madly as she fired a single green spark into the sky. Every changeling in sight made a mad dash to escape as the spark reached a high point and exploded, a green ring expanding from it as ten fireballs rained down like shooting stars. Buzzing his wings, Carbon spun and swerved to get out of the way as four came down around him, one after another, leaving large, smoking craters where they hit. Five others completely missed him, hitting some thankfully empty houses instead, instantly blowing them to pieces and raining ashes down from the sky.

One of them, however, hurtled straight toward a changeling too injured to move out of the way. Seeing this, General Carbon acted quickly, teleporting right next to the changeling and knocking him away. He summoned a magic shield right as the fireball came crashing down on top of him.

The smoke cleared, revealing General Carbon shakily standing, his barrier destroyed but having provided just enough defense to keep the blast from killing him outright. High-General Double stared at him, surprise clearly showing in her normally hard-to-read eyes. “You saved that soldier, nearly at the cost of your own life. You actually care about them, General?”

Carbon glared at her, offended by her astonished tone. “Of course. No matter what, I’m still a general, and it’s my duty to protect my soldiers when I can. A weaker changeling wouldn’t have survived that attack.”

“…You’re a good general, Carbon.” Double admitted. As she continued to speak, though, her eyes grew wide and wild, and her voice increased in volume. “It’s just such a shame you had to go and pull this. Now you’re destined to lose everything!”

The High-General dissolved into loud, excited laughter while Carbon steeled himself for another attack, now far more cautious than before.

“I’ll show you who the stronger of us is, General!” Double shouted, reverting back to her true form. “Let me show you exactly why I’m the High-General of the Changelings!”

Rainbow Dash blew through the streets of Ponyville, barreling into every changeling she saw and stirring up high-speed winds in her wake. No matter how much she fought, though, there seemed to be no end to the invaders, and their numbers seemed to have only increased with time, to the pegasus’s endless frustration.

A wave of magic suddenly washed over her, and she turned to see a purple barrier forming a fair distance away. Rainbow Dash smirked as she realized that only a pony like Twilight was capable of creating something like that, so she was all right after all. Deciding that the unicorn likely didn’t need her help at the moment, she continued on her current path through Ponyville.

Farther down the street, she finally saw something that caught her interest: a wooden stage-wagon with a blue unicorn in front of it. The unicorn wore a purple starry hat and cape, and was defending herself against her changeling attackers by zapping them with lightning from stormclouds she conjured herself. Rainbow Dash stopped and narrowed her eyes at the pony, who she recognized as Trixie, the showmare who had humiliated her and tried to take credit for getting rid of the Ursa Minor from Twilight.

“Ugh, her!” Rainbow Dash growled. Without looking, she kicked a changeling sneaking up on her in the face and flew up onto the roof of a building, where she watched Trixie fight unnoticed.

As she watched Trixie from her perch, Rainbow Dash debated over whether or not she should help the insufferable showmare. Looking away from the unicorn, she stopped as she saw three changelings hovering above Trixie, their horns glowing for attack. As they swooped to dive-bomb the unaware unicorn, Rainbow Dash threw aside her own personal issues to take flight and save her. Flying in, the pegasus bucked away the first two changelings, then dived at the third, grabbing it and crashing down right in front of Trixie.

Trixie jumped in fright as Rainbow Dash landed before her, then calmed down when she recognized the pegasus. “What are you doing here?”

Rainbow Dash was taken aback by the unicorn’s haughty, ungrateful tone. She jumped into the air and glared down at her. “Well, if it isn’t the “Weak and Dishonest Trixie!” Tricked any other ponies with your lies lately?”

Trixie gasped dramatically, clearly offended. “How dare you-”

“Oh, cut the theatrics, Trixie!” Rainbow growled, getting in the showmare’s face. “You know you were too weak to actually do anything about the Ursa Minor, so you had to be dishonest and lie about it, saying you did!”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie did no such thing!” Trixie said, speaking in the third person.

“Oh yeah? What about two days ago, when you claimed that Twilight was a fraud and struck a deal with you to make her look like a hero?” Rainbow Dash retorted, “That was a lie and you know it, so fess up!”

Trixie fell silent and raised an eyebrow suspiciously. “Why are you here? Don’t you have your own friends to help?”

Rainbow Dash knew she was just trying to change the subject, but nevertheless, the question left her speechless. “Um, well, I don’t know where most of them are right now, and when I saw you fighting, I just decided to…help…”

Trixie seemed somewhat surprised by the answer, but she quickly returned to her usual arrogant self. “Well, you shouldn’t have bothered. The Great and Powerful Trixie does not need your help!”

The unicorn’s arrogance sparked Rainbow’s temper once more. “Oh really? What about just a little while ago? There were three changelings ready to pound you into the ground, and you didn’t even know it! If it weren’t for me, you’d be a unicorn pancake!”

Now the surprise stayed on Trixie’s face. She looked at the unconscious changeling Rainbow Dash had taken out, then back at the pegasus herself. “You…saved me?”

“Well, yeah.” Rainbow said, stunned by both Trixie’s question and the fact that she hadn’t referred to herself in the third person. “I may not like you, but I couldn’t call myself a hero if I just let you get-!”

A lightning strike went off behind Rainbow Dash, nearly shocking the Pegasus out of her fur. She whirled around to see two changelings lying on the ground, twitching from the electric shock, along with a dispersing thundercloud. Speechless, she turned to see Trixie, a smug smirk on her face and the light from her horn fading away.

“Trixie has repaid her debt to you.” The unicorn said, “She owes you nothing now.”

Rainbow Dash’s surprised expression quickly shifted to one of mischief as an idea came to her. “…Hey Trixie, how about a bet?”

Trixie raised an eyebrow at that. “A bet? Of what sort?”

“Oh, nothing complicated. Whichever one of us takes out the most changelings by the end of the invasion wins.” Rainbow Dash explained, “If I win, you have to tell all of Ponyville the truth about the Ursa Minor incident.”

Trixie frowned, but considered the idea. “Hmm, and if Trixie wins, you have to be her assistant in her next show!”

“Deal!” Rainbow Dash agreed. She didn’t like the idea of being Trixie’s assistant, but she felt confident that she would win. She spit in her hoof and held it out to Trixie, but the disgusted unicorn recoiled from her hoofbump. Rainbow Dash frowned at this.

“Fine, be that way!” Rainbow Dash huffed, taking to the air.

The two mares began competitively defeating every changeling they could reach, Rainbow Dash knocking them out with her speed and fighting skills while Trixie used her magic to defeat them. As she fought, Rainbow Dash let her thoughts drift to Applejack, one of her best friends transformed against her will, and let her resulting anger fuel her attacks. As time wore on, the pegasus was confident that she was beating Trixie by a long shot.

An explosion suddenly went off, and Rainbow Dash looked up to see a green ring and several fireballs falling from it. Looking at it, she hit upon an idea on how to both win the bet and protect Ponyville. She turned to Trixie, who was currently generating a large thundercloud. As soon as she decided it was big enough, Rainbow swooped in and grabbed the cloud, shooting off high into the air and out of the unicorn’s grip.

“Hey! What do you think you’re…” Trixie shouted indignantly, but stopped as she saw Rainbow let go of the cloud and continue upward a little longer before turning and shooting straight down.

A thunderous boom split the air, and a huge rainbow ring expanded outward above Ponyville. A solid rainbow trailed behind her as Rainbow Dash shot through the thundercloud, atomizing it but cloaking herself in multicolored lightning. Moving faster than sound, the pegasus flew through Ponyville, ramming into and electrocuting every changeling she came across.

At one point, she barreled back Mirror and Fluttershy, barely missing the changeling as Fluttershy pulled her out of the way, then past Twilight and Rarity on the other side of Ponyville a few seconds later. She hardly took notice, though, everything blurring around the pegasus as she continued on her colorful rampage.

Soon, Rainbow Dash flew past Applejack and, recognizing the pony, curved around to again to hit the changelings surrounding her. Applejack jumped back to avoid the lightning-covered blur, but the rainbow trail easily told her exactly what, or who, it was.

“Rainbow…?” The half-changeling muttered, watching as the pegasus shot high up into the air, spinning around to hit the changelings flying up there. A lightning-laced rainbow ring suddenly lit up the sky as all the energy she had gathered was released all at once, and then silence descended over the area. Rainbow Dash hovered in the air for a few seconds, smoke rising from her singed fur, hair, and feathers, before she plummeted toward the ground far below. Applejack stared in horror as several changelings flew towards the unconscious pegasus.

“Oh no ya don’t! Ah’m comin’, Rainbow!” Applejack growled, buzzing her wings and taking flight. Unused to having wings for obvious reasons, she spent a few precious seconds figuring out how to fly straight, then shot unsteadily but quickly toward the falling Pegasus. Some of the changelings went for her instead, but she quickly took care of them with a few solid bucks before firing several wild bolts of magic at the ones aiming for Rainbow Dash. Successfully getting rid of her attackers, Applejack flew up and caught Rainbow Dash in her hooves. She hovered in the air and listened for signs of life from the pegasus.

A soft chuckle rose from the pony, and Applejack looked down at her in confusion. Rainbow Dash opened her eyes slightly, but her gaze was unfocused and it was clear she was only halfway conscious.

“I…totally…beat her!” Rainbow Dash laughed deliriously, “Take that, Trixie! I…so…won!”

With that, Rainbow Dash’s eyes closed and her head slumped backward, the mare slipping into unconsciousness once more. Applejack listened to her steady breathing and chuckled quietly to herself.

“Honestly, yer the craziest mare Ah’ve ever met, Rainbow, and Ah know Pinkie Pie.” Applejack said, shaking her head. “Ah’ll scold ya fer this stupid stunt later. Ya just rest now; Ah can fight fer the both of us.”

A buzzing in her ears told Applejack that more changelings were on their way. The half-changeling let out a loud sigh. “And it looks like Ah’ll have ta…”

An earsplitting boom and flash of light disrupted the two high-ranking changelings before either could strike. Double looked up at the sky to see a rainbow ring bursting outward and broke into a wide smile at the sight.

“A Sonic Rainboom!” Double laughed, buzzing her wings in excitement. “I’ve always wanted to see one of these in person, but they wouldn’t let me leave the hive to see the last three! Ha ha, finally! This is so-!”

A large bolt of magic blasted the High-General and sent her smashing through the closed window of a house. Another beam went through the building, cutting its support and collapsing it on top of the changeling. The light from Carbon’s horn died down as he watched for movement beneath the rubble.

The soft green glow from beneath the wreckage was his only warning before the pile exploded outward. High-General Double hovered above it, her shell battered and her armor dented. Green light enveloped her Mr. Smartypants doll as she held it up and inspected it for damages. Finding none, she gently placed it down, cast a minor healing spell to remove the worst of her own injuries, and turned to face General Carbon.

“Now are you ready to actually battle?” Carbon asked rhetorically.

“Battle?” Double asked, touching the ground and letting out a brief giggle. “This is no battle, General! The word ‘battle’ implies you stand a chance of defeating me, however small.” Her voice quickly turned vicious. “You have no chance!”

The High-General suddenly fired a large beam of magic from her horn, with Carbon returning the attack a moment later. The two identical beams collided in a burst of light and fought for dominance as their owners poured all of their power into them, though neither was gaining any advantage over the other. After a few minutes spent at a stalemate, Double began laughing to herself.

“May I ask what’s so funny?” Carbon growled, being careful not to let his concentration waver.

“You may.” Double responded, “It’s just, I remember all the times you called me a traitor for wanting to be with her again, but given that your actions here are a direct violation of the law of Queen Chrysalis, that actually makes you the traitor! Isn’t that funny?”

No answer came, though Double paid no mind to the lack of a response. She put on a malicious smile. “And since you’re a traitor to the swarm, I’m now fully authorized to do this!”

The High-General raised a hoof, laughing at the terror that crossed General Carbon’s face. She sent out a command to her swarm. “Get him.”

A soul-piercing shriek suddenly went off in Carbon’s head. The general buckled, his concentration breaking completely as thousands of angry mental voices assaulted him at once. His beam faltered, and Double’s own magic broke through and struck him with full force. The wail was cut off as Carbon’s body came sliding to a halt and didn’t move.

Double flew over and landed before him, listening for his soft, weak breathing. Carbon’s eyes slowly opened, and the little changeling gently ran a hoof along his head. Both of them knew he was too weak to resist.

“I really must thank you for this, General.” Double told him, “You invasion provided me with the perfect way to get rid of you without losing the Queen’s favor. If I had tried to get rid of you any other way, I would have been the one labeled a traitor instead, and I would have lost my position, if I wasn’t executed outright.”

Carbon didn’t reply, allowing Double to continue speaking. “That was clever of you, though, putting up that spell to keep the thoughts of your invasion force separated from the rest of the swarm. If I hadn’t already known about your plans from the start, we wouldn’t have found out until after it was over.”

She laughed when she felt a jolt of disbelief from the injured general. “That’s right, General, your plan was doomed from the very start! I knew all along, and everything has gone according to plan! Now all that’s left is to finish things up…”

Double levitated Carbon’s discarded helmet and placed it on his head, smiling at his confused expression. “Trust me, you’re going to need that.”

Green fire engulfed her as she returned to her Twilight Wish form. “You know, up until this morning, I was willing to forgive your transgressions and simply have you demoted to soldier rank. But then you attacked Twilight. Blasted her into a cherry stand, hurt her. She’s my friend, even if she doesn’t remember me, and I won’t forgive that! So now, you have to die.”

The High-General backed away and began her quiet chant. “I wish, I wish, for this I wish…”

As she spoke, her horn glowed and fired a magic spark into the air that burst into twenty smaller fireballs. Double’s Starlight Rain fell down on the town, smoke and fire filling the air as they crashed down on the houses and shops nearby.

As one fiery blast fell toward Carbon, the general gave one last look at Double’s smiling face. He calmly closed his eyes as the star crashed down on him.

“Fire!” Mirror shouted, setting off the party cannon and downing another changeling with a tablecloth and streamers. Disguised as Surprise once more, her broken wing was tightly bandaged to her side in order to keep her from attempting to fly only to have a nervous breakdown when she remembered she couldn’t. Pinkie Pie, who had broken away from Twilight’s group to join Mirror and Fluttershy, had given her the party cannon to fight with for that reason.

Personally, Mirror loved using the party cannon. Its range let her hit changelings both in the air and on the ground, and with a bit of imagination, she could pretend it was like using magic. Given that she was currently playing Pinkie’s imaginary friend, she had no trouble in that department.

Pinkie Pie herself was switching between playing Mare-Do-Well and herself constantly in order to fight. As Mare-Do-Well, she disappeared and reappeared without a trace and silently took out changelings with old-fashioned bucks and hoofcuffs. As Pinkie Pie, she shot down her opponents with a full-sized cannon that fired pastries of all sorts, from wedding cakes to raspberry danishes. Needless, to say, the earth pony was almost untouchable no matter who she was.

“See, Matchie? This is why I never leave home without my pastry cannon!” Pinkie said, standing on top of the weapon and firing an apple pie out of it.

Mirror stared up at the pink, white, and sprinkle-decorated behemoth with equal parts awe and incomprehension. “Right…anyway, we’ve been fighting for a while now. Is Fluttershy doing okay?”

Pinkie Pie looked over at the pegasus, who was currently terrifying several changelings into submission with an intense, captivating stare.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” Fluttershy reprimanded, “Destroying homes, terrorizing innocents; I know you need love to survive, but this is not the way to get it! What would your queen say if she saw you disobeying orders like this?!”

None of the changelings had anything to say as they tried and failed to look away from the pegasus’s gaze. “Now, you’re all going to leave here right now, and you’re going to find a new way to obtain love that doesn’t hurt other ponies! Understand?”

The changelings nodded hurriedly. At last, Fluttershy’s stare relented, and she returned to her normal, soft-spoken self. “Oh, good! Maybe you should follow Mirror’s example and build up relationships with other ponies instead of stealing them from their loved ones! How does that sound?”

Pinkie Pie smiled and turned back to Mirror. “She’s doing fine!”

Fluttershy cheerfully flew over to the two of them, though Mirror noticed that the remaining changelings were keeping a fair distance away from the pegasus now. “Pinkie, Mirror! Are you two doing okay?”

“We’re doing fine! No need to worry about us!” Mirror answered. She looked up at Pinkie Pie. “Thanks for the disguise, by the way.”

“No problem, Matchie! I just really wanted to see Surprise in real life, that’s all!” Pinkie said, “I mean, she was my foalhood friend who taught me how to laugh and smile, after all!”

“I thought Granny Pie taught you how to laugh.” Fluttershy recalled.

“I thought the Sonic Rainboom taught you how to smile.” Mirror added.

Pinkie Pie blinked and looked down at her hooves, a puzzled expression on her face. “Hold on, I need to get my stories straight.”

A green flash went off behind them, and the three turned to see a disguised Double telekinetically holding both her Mr. Smartypants doll and a motionless General Carbon. Unceremoniously dropping the general on the ground, she smiled brightly at the three ponies.

“Hi, everypony! I told you I could take care of him, easy-peasy!” Double said.

Mirror looked down at Carbon’s motionless body. “So, is he…?”

Double laughed cheerfully, still smiling. “Not yet! He’s still alive! He can’t die here! He deserves a proper death by execution, as befitting a general…”

Mirror shivered, conflicted over whether she should be happy that the treacherous general was getting what he deserved or sad that she would have to watch a fellow changeling be killed. Fluttershy also looked upset over the news, while Pinkie Pie didn’t seem to be bothered as she bounced up to Double.

“Are you High-General Double? I bet you are!” Pinkie said, “Welcome to Ponyville! I’m Pinkie Pie!”

“Hi, Pinkie Pie! And Fluttershy, too!” Double replied happily, looking at the pegasus. “I’ve been waiting to meet you two for so long! But that’ll have to wait; I have other things to attend to right now.”

The High-General turned and poked Mirror in the forehead. “You, change back into that other form you’ve been spending the past week in! I want to see it!”

“Um…okay…” Mirror said uncertainly, enveloping herself in a cocoon of magic and donning her Daring Do disguise. “Like this?”

Double clapped her hooves together and smiled. “Perfect! You are so adorable! I just love that manestyle of yours!

“Thanks…” Mirror smiled sheepishly. She absentmindedly leaned on the party cannon and accidentally lost her balance, falling backwards and setting it off. A surprised cry rang out, and she looked to see a changeling stumbling around beneath a tablecloth. For a moment, Mirror thought she could see armor on the changeling, but beneath the cake batter and icing, it was hard to tell.

“Sorry!” Mirror called, picking herself back up. She turned back to Double. “Forgive me for asking, but was there any reason for this?”

Double shook her head. “None whatsoever! I just wanted to see how adorable you look in that form!”

The High-General took no notice of Mirror’s deadpan stare as she continued on. “Anyway, good news! Now that General Carbon is down and out, the rest of his forces will be as easy to take down as chocolate cake!”

“Chocolate cake? How about vanilla ice cream? That’s much easier to take down!” Pinkie said, going off on an unrelated tangent.

Double shivered. “Ice cream makes my fangs freeze. No, it has to be chocolate cake. Chocolate cake is superior to everything!”

“Well, how about chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream inside?” Pinkie suggested.

Double thought about that for a moment. “…Perfect! Who wants some?” She held out a hoof, and Pinkie Pie happily hoofbumped her in response.

Mirror and Fluttershy stared at them both. “…What.” Mirror muttered, voicing both of their thoughts.

“Sounds good to me!” The pink pony cheered, “Let’s go-!”

“ENOUGH!” A booming voice reverberated through the square, and Mirror and Double both cringed as they felt the commanding voice inside their minds as well. Silence descended as the changelings nearby stopped fighting, and Mirror had a feeling that the fighting had ceased everywhere else in Ponyville as well.

All eyes looked to the unicorn standing in the middle of the town square. The light from Sparkler’s horn died down as she surveyed the area with a cold, disapproving gaze. Mirror found herself instinctively shrinking away from it.

The unicorn closed her eyes and put on a serene, but fake smile. “Well, if this is how you’re all going to behave while I’m gone, then it’s no wonder the swarm requires a queen to keep it in line.” She sighed softly. “I must say I’m disappointed.”

Sparkler’s eyes flared open to reveal glowing green irises. A ring of green fire spread around her before shooting upward in a blazing inferno. From within the flames, the unicorn’s form elongated and distorted into something else entirely. Soon, the flames vanished, revealing a tall changeling with a blue, hole-filled mane and tail, a long, jagged horn, and a black crown, standing in the mare’s place. Her green eyes narrowed into slits as she glared at her children and subjects.

“Very disappointed, indeed.” She hissed, hole-filled wings flittering with restrained anger.

Mirror gulped, feeling herself shake at the sight of her queen. “Queen Chrysalis…”