An Unsettling Detail

  The sun slowly made it's way over the horizon, signaling that morning was arriving. The silence of the night began to evaporate as the village of Ponyville awoke. It was a peaceful morning, nothing too chaotic-

   "AHHH!!" Screams of excitement came from Empousa's living room. Make that not too chaotic for some.

   Empousa, curled up on a couch sleeping, startled awake. "Wha-what?!" Her eyes drifted over to the group of three huddled in the middle of the room, who all seemed hyped about something.

   "Oh, sorry, Empousa." Sportsy Sketch turned around to me with a giggle. "Did we wake you?"

   "No, no. It's fine." Empousa replied, getting off the couch. "Were you girls up all night?" She realized that they all looked kind of tired.

   Mage Plateau looked up at the clock and the sun rising outside. "Oops, I think we did." she smiled. "But guess what! The mail pony came around and-"

   "Dropped off our tickets for Melody Spring's concert tonight!" Blue Note finished, ignoring the angry glare Mage gave her.

   "You got tickets?!" she said, almost as enthusiasticly as her friends.

   "Sorry for keeping it from you. It was meant to be a surprise." Sportsy admitted.

   "Well, I am surprised. I can't wait!" Empousa said happily.

   "Oh, and thanks for the fun sleepover!" Blue commented. Empousa smiled as everyone filtered out.

   Night time came before anypony knew it. They had rushed over to Melody's regular concert room to find it beautifully decorated. Food was set on tables with lilac tablecloths, a disco ball hung at the ceiling, and even a dance floor.

   The stage curtains, which were velvet, opened to reveal Melody Spring, her microphone standing in front of her.

Sportsy took in the scenery, awestruck. But when her eyes fell on Melody, she became a little suspicious. Come on, Sportsy, she thought. Everything's fine. She dismissed the thought.

   "Wow, it's so pretty!" Blue exclaimed dreamily. Just then, Melody flicked her tail, and began to sing.

   "Come on, guys!" Mage pulled them onto the dance floor. "Let's dance!"

   Sportsy was having fun, but she was distracted. Did she just see a radio behind the curtain? That would explain the gesture Melody began with. But why?

   She noticed other details nopony would think of, too.

   "Uh, girls?" she whispered to the group uneasily. "I don't think that's Melody Spring."

   "What do you mean?" Mage asked, not the slightest bit worried. "Who else would she be?"

   "I don't know, but don't you see that radio? Behind the curtain?" Sportsy Sketch pointed to it. "She recorded Melody's voice. She's not actually singing!"

   "So what? Maybe she lost her voice?"

   "But I also realized that her hair isn't in its usual style, plus she isn't wearing her lucky barrett. I don't remember the necklace, either..."

   "Calm down, Sport. Just enjoy the fun!"

   The purple alicorn relaxed, but made sure she was ready for anything. Maybe she could talk to Melody backstage.

   The song ended, and the room erupted with cheers. Maybe Sportsy was worrying over nothing. Everything's fine, and the concert was over. Mage had been right. But just to be sure, she weaved through the crowd to get backstage.

   Melody didn't notice anyone come in. Using this as an advantage, Sportsy hid behind the curtain. She gasped when Melody used her magic to shape shift into a blue alicorn with blue hair and dark blue highlights, done up in a ponytail. But her wings didn't look normal.

   Whoever it was, it definitely wasn't Melody Spring.