Wander was not a clever pony, and he was aware of this. This is because he was a bucking genius. No other pony he knew could live off grid as long as he has. No other pony could run as far as him. And no other pony could keep ponies guessing like him. As he wandered around Manehatten he thought of all this. He had already made quiet the load of bits of some street games that he ran, and was happily trotting to the next district of town. He knew the game, and staying set up in one place was a death sentence, or at least jail. He looked over at the fading light of day, enjoying the beautiful sights of the city. The way the light beamed through windows, lighting the streets like an artists brush. He smiled and looked at a group of ponies. They were loudly chatting about a pub nearby that had great food. Wander listened in for a moment until they all agreed to go. As they turned left he followed. He figured good food was an idea he could get behind.
He stopped outside the pub. It was called The Curtain Call, and was decorated fittingly. The main door looked like a red curtain, and the outdoor lights were lanterns that flickered in such a way to makes the doors look like flickering fabric. Wander walked through the doors and looked inside. A large stage was straight ahead, with a red curtain covering the whole section. The bar was off to the right, with a few ponies sitting around it. Tables were scattered about with groups of ponies chatting and eating, seemingly enjoying the ambiance. Wander trotted over to the bar and took a seat on the nearest bar stool, waiting for the barpony to take an order.
It didn't take long, as a brown earth pony made his way to him with a nod. Wander looked at the menu and shrugged. "Gimme a cider, and surprise me on the meal. Just keep it under twenty." The bar pony nodded and wrote down the order, presumably with Wander's new mystery meal. Wander leaned back and smiled. The pub let him enjoy the quiet. Nopony bugging him, nopony trying to get their money back, just the simple quiet of a evening alone. He glanced around, watching the other ponies socialize. There were a few other loners in the crowd. One of them offered a wave, which Wander returned. Hearing a thunk behind him he turned to see his cider sitting on the table, the barpony already walking off. Wander hesitantly took a sip. He let out a soft hum as it hit his tongue. It was almost as good as the stuff in Ponyville. This time without the small brawl he had to take part in.
As he drank he heard the soft clink of a plate in front of him. He looked up and saw the barpony pass him a receipt. "Fifteen bits for the cider and a sunflower sandwich. If you want to round it up to twenty I'll pass you a ticket for the play in an hour. It's always worth the price."
Wander looked at the sandwich, then at the barpony. He nodded. "I haven't seen a play in a while throw it on." The barpony nodded and held out a hoof. Wander grabbed a bit bag with a wing before dropping twenty bits towards the barpony. The barpony looked at the bits and nodded. "Eyup, this'll do. Name's Ronin. I'll be in the play. Refills are one bit if you need more."
With that the barpony walked off. Wander looked after him. He decided he was a nice enough, but he definitely had a weird name, and a weird way of speaking. However he wasn''t the weirdest pony Wander had met. Wander took another sip of his cider and chuckled under his breath. "Ain't nopony gonna match Eye Twitch." With that he munched down on his sunflower sandwich, which was just as good as the cider. He decided to just hang out here until the play, pulling out the journal he kept on him and began writing his days log, in his own private code of course.
After a while the curtain parted, revealing a white unicorn wearing an elaborate dress. "Hello everypony, welcome to the Curtain Call. I am Sleeved Ace, your enchanting master of ceremonies this evening." Wander had to agree, this mare was gorgeous. He especially enjoyed her little bow after her line. She got back up and flashed a winning smile. Tonight's play will be a simple tale of a colt and his teddy. We offer you the wonderful story, of Whinny the Pooh. But first, we'll need a volunteer. So raise your hooves everypony, lets get some fresh blood." Wander raised his hoof on reflex, before cursing. But it was to late, Ace pointed to him. "Alright you brave little stallion, you're up. Head backstage, and we'll get you set up."
Wander refused to back down, and walked backstage. As soon as he did he was caught in a whirlwind of movement. He heard voices screaming as he was pulled around an unfamiliar area. "MAKE-UP, Changeling form two." Another voice answered. "You see those wings, form three at least." A third voice showed up. "We have a fake horn, I think prince form one would be best." And so it continued, until Wander found himself seated in a makeup chair. As his hair was combed a unicorn walked up. She looked him over once.
After Wander stared back a moment her horn glowed, and he was cloaked in an illusion. The unicorn smiled. "Perfect. Now sign your full name on this form and we'll pass you your lines." Wander saw the form and looked around before a pencil was shoved in his mouth. He signed it Wanderlust and nodded. He was then fully released as he looked in a mirror. He looked like a changeling, with a false horn and fangs. He opened his mouth and clamped down. he did indeed look terrifying. The unicorn floated a small page in front of him. "Your cue is in one hour at the final act. You're supposed to be slightly campy, though if you fully pull off scary that's good. Just try to get the basics down. We'll cover any ad-lib your forced to do. Just stay calm and you'll do fine."
With that the unicorn trotted off, humming to herself. Wander looked over the script. It was basic, say he had indeed captured Crystal Robin, claim he needed his love, and look defeated when Whinny mad a friendship speech. The lines weren't cheesy or anything, but they were stereotypical. Wander bobbed his head as he looked it over. He saw the unicorn mare from earlier walking up in her elegant dress. He waved. "Hello Ms. Ace, and please don't break my heart and say it's missus."
Ace looked at him with a demure smile. Her white coat seemed to only be highlighted by her vibrant red mane. "Well hello there mister colt." She proffered a hoof, which he bumped. "And no, it is just miss, but hold off on flirting until I see if you're worth my time." With that she walked off, while Wander enjoyed the view. He smiled and looked over the script again. He'd pretended to be another pony before, this should be easy.
***
Wander stood behind the curtain, waiting for his cue. He knew how he would go about this, he just hoped his adjustments would be OK. Ms.Unicorn who made him sign had already cleared them, but he didn't want to ruin the whole play. As soon as his cue hit he began speaking. "So little bear, you have finally made it here." The enchantment on his voice making it carry through the curtain before he even walked through. He began to give a predatory smile as he walked through the curtain. He looked at the filly in an adorable teddy outfit. He reared up and slammed down. "Well you are much to late. Crystal Robin is mine, and his love shall allow me to finally return to my home, where I will rule as king of all changelings!!"
Wander let off a wicked laugh, which echoed across the pub in a terrifying way. Making his laugh seem louder, and more god like. Whinny stood strong though, despite shaking knees. "Well, I know Crystal Robin, and he's my friend. It doesn't matter if you're bigger than me. I'm going to see him again. Not because I'll beat you, but because we're friends, and friends never leave each other, just stop seeing each other for a bit."
Wander resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Than remembered he was a villain, and did it anyways. "Foolish bear. You're love is no match for me. Leave now, and I will allow you your life." With that Wander turned around, and counted under his breath. Being careful not to actually say anything, so as to not allow the enchantment to send his voice across the pub. At three he twirled around, and saw a large pink heart flying towards him. "What? NOOOOOOOOO!" As the heart hit him, he felt a telekinetic pull force him back, as he was sucked backstage. He stopped cleanly above the makeup chair, and was dropped in it. He spent a moment trying to recover from the telekinetic field as the makeup unicorn returned.
She dropped the enchantment on him and smiled. "Excellent work. You may have scared poor little Candy, but you sold it excellently, for an amateur anyways." She proffered him a small bag of bits, which he gladly took. She nodded a few times. "Curtain call in five. Just line up with everypony else."
Wander stood up, rolling his shoulders as he looked over himself. He smiled. 'Yeah, I'm damn good.' He thought as he walked over to the line of ponies preparing for curtain call. He saw Ronin standing near the edge, and stood beside him. "Sorry mate, missed your part." He said, moving to stand in the same rigid stance as the others.
Ronin snorted softly. "You had good reason. Not bad." Wander waited for anything else, but Ronin appeared done speaking. Wander stood and waited until he heard Ace.
"Well, ain't that just a pretty little show?" A smattering of applause followed as she spoke. "Well that's our show tonight, and you've got one last look at our cast. So stomp it out for our wonderful performers!!" The curtain folded out, as the cast fell into a quick bow. Wander stuttered a bit as he went, but quickly recovered and rose with the other ponies. There was still a sizable crowd in front of the stage. Wander began to get nervous. He disliked crowds, especially when they were looking at him. Ace talked again. "And let's give it up for or guest actor. The changeling king!"
A spotlight flew onto Wander, and he flinched under it. The stomps were a bit quieter, but still loud. Wander began looking hard at the room. He tried to see if anypony recognized him, but couldn't make anything out due to the light. He tired to play it up, as if looking for somepony specific, before shrugging and flashing a winning smile to the crowd. He heard a few laughs, and the curtain closed.
The cast seemed to dissipate as Wander stood there. He wasn't sure what to do now. Ace walked up with a smile on her face. It was a smile that a mugger used. One that said we both know there's a knife in your back, but we'll ignore it if you pass along some valuables. Ace walked up and proffered a hoof while speaking. "Well, for a newbie that was excellent, consider me sufficiently impressed. You can begin flirting whenever you want."
Wander laughed and tapped her hoof. "Well when a beautiful tells me to flirt, who am I to say no?" Wander smiled and nodded at the stage. "So can I assume I did okay?"
Ace nodded and walked over to one of the many desks backstage before pulling out a stack of cards with her magic. "Fair, you have a knack for acting." She waved the cards. "Can I interest you in a game?"
I looked her over once, and a smile exploded on my face. "only if you don't mind losing."
