The streets of Ponyville were dark, as they always were these days. Not in terms of literal light – for the sun was high in the sky and lit the streets unimpeded by clouds. No, everypony could see just fine. It was the colors. The buildings were muted, giving off a darker, oppressive vibe.
No one could exactly say when the change had taken place. They could remember a time when the town was bright and colorful like the ponies that lived in it. Those days were long behind them. Ponies stayed inside more, parties were less frequent, and it was no longer taken for granted that a Ponyville pony would go about their day smiling.
Unless you were talking about Pinkie Pie.
She never changed.
“Hey! Hey Bon Bon!” Pinkie shouted, appearing next to the cream-coated earth pony. “What’s gotten you out of the house!?”
Bon Bon glanced at Pinkie with a raised eyebrow. “Wouldn’t you know?”
“Probably, but you know as well as I do that telling ponies things they thought were secret makes them nervous! So c’mon, pretend I don’t have any idea!”
“You know the birthdays of everyone in Ponyville, the dates of every celebration, and usually when your parties will actually turn out okay. Considering where I’m going it should be obvious.”
Pinkie rolled her eyes. “Fiiiiine. I’ll stop messing with my competition.”
Bon Bon sputtered. “Competition!? I thought I was the only one running!”
Pinkie smirked. “That’s why I’m running! I couldn’t just let you have a competition without any competition!” She giggled.
“This isn’t a competition, Pinkie! This is a selection for Celestia’s private Council. What platform or idea would you even run off of?”
“Oh, well, I don’t want to spoil it…” Pinkie rubbed her chin. “Yeah, I totally won’t. I’m just going to say that I have a plan and I’m the most popular mare in town.”
“You’re not practical for leadership.”
“Trying to scare me away? Ooo, spoopy!” Pinkie clapped her hooves together. “This is already so much fun!”
Bon Bon grimaced inwardly – but forced a smile. “Well… In that case, may the best pony win.”
“We’ll see pretty soon won’t we?” Pinkie gestured toward Town Hall. The brown and brick red building stood tall among most the others. It was covered in simple, dull banners that said ‘Council Selection Day’. Despite the monumentous nature of a rural pony being selected for Celestia’s private Council, only about twenty ponies had actually shown up.
The mayor stood at the podium in front of Town Hall, her expression a strange mixture of boredom and dread. “Looks like our candidates are here. Bon Bon, Pinkie, we’ll start in five minutes. I hope you came prepared.” She yawned and shivered.
Bon Bon walked to the side of the Podium – trying not to focus too closely on the political posters behind her. “Stop the Changeling Menace!” “Even Your Spouse Could be With the Enemy!” “Don’t Trust Mysterious Advances!” “Report Today!” All accompanied with a smiling Celestial seal of approval, usually near a cartoonish image of a beat-up changeling.
Bon Bon never liked looking at them, though she supposed in some ironic twist they were the reason she was running at all.
If you could even call it running. Before Pinkie had shown up it had just been a formality that, frankly, nopony cared about. Just another way ponies were ponies…
The mayor looked down at a piece of paper she had on the podium. “You know what? Pinkie, you go first, talk for a while, and then Bon Bon can go. The crowd will vote anonymously. …I’ll go get the slips of paper while you’re talking.” She took her front hooves off the podium and trotted into the Town Hall.
Pinkie jumped onto the podium, standing on her hind hooves. “Ponies! I, Pinkie Pie, am asking for your support! Celestia’s private Council has an open seat, and Twilight has chosen us to give her the best of the best! And why do I qualify, you ask? Well, I’m glad you did!”
She slammed her hoof down. “Changelings are why! They’re everywhere! I guarantee you there’s a changeling in this crowd right now, watching this little election. Ever since the reformation, changelings have gotten smarter, craftier, and have learned to live among us flawlessly! Replacing loved ones forever. They lie in wait, ready to lay ruin to our precious Equestria. They’ve already done so much damage – do all of you remember the once beautiful colors of Ponyville? Now everything’s dull, and we’re scared. The changelings are keeping us from living our lives!
“Well no more! I will go to the Council and demand we increase the restrictions on all possible changelings! Spend whatever money we need to get changeling revealers everywhere! Drive them out of our beautiful home!” She pulled a party cannon out of nowhere and unleashed a burst of confetti along with a stuffed changeling dummy. “I will see to it personally that the changelings become the primary point of discussion in Celestia’s Council! Then… Then we can have parties again!” She stopped, breathing heavily with a wild look in her eyes.
In an instant, she looked like her cute and innocent self again. “Vote Pinkie Pie ’34.” She jumped off the podium.
Bon Bon wiped her brow – that had certainly made her uncomfortable. She wasn’t going to be able to say all those dramatic things, it wasn’t in her nature. She would have to play off being more reasonable than the fanatic that was Pinkie Pie.
“My opponent had a single-issue platform,” Bon Bon began, looking carefully at the crowd to judge their reactions. “But I am here to tell you there are many more issues in life than the changelings. We may be at war, and they may be among us, but that doesn’t mean the regular concerns of our day-to-day lives don’t matter. We – that is, Ponyville – were selected to fill this seat on the Council because we represent the rural lands.
“I will not bring to Celestia’s attention the acts of the changelings – which I am sure she hears about every day already – but the concerns of the farmer and the working pony. How can we grow food effectively in this time of strife? How can we ensure our wages remain enough to feed our families? How do we keep our livelihood? These are the questions I will bring to Celestia’s Council. Something new, not more of the same.
“Furthermore I am very qualified for this role, seeing as I worked for the government in the past, as you all know. I will ensure that we are not overlooked. …Vote Bon Bon.” She forced a smile.
The Mayor came out of the Town Hall. “Found them. Looks like I have excellent timing.” She handed the papers over to a unicorn assistant who started distributing them among the crowd. Every pony checked one of the boxes and put the paper into a hat. The unicorn assistant shuffled the paper and took them out one at a time – using a spell to keep count of which was which.
“Bon Bon wins,” the unicorn declared, wadding up all the papers into a ball.
There was scant applause and a few smiles shot Bon Bon’s way, but overall the entire thing seemed very… anticlimactic. Telling of the general apathy of ponies.
…Except Pinkie, of course.
“Oh noooooo I loooost!” Pinkie wailed, falling onto her back.
Bon Bon extended a hoof. “Sorry about that. I think Twilight would have liked you there, by her side.”
“Yeah… She would have. But the ponies chose you. I’ll just go back to being a pastry chef! Do a good job, Bon Bon! Make us proud!”
“I will,” Bon Bon lied.
Pinkie bounced away. Bon Bon turned to the Mayor. “I’ll board the train for Canterlot immediately.”
“Train’s down,” the mayor said. “You’ll have to walk.”
Bon Bon sighed. “Can I have some sort o-“
The mayor shoved an official document into Bon Bon’s hooves. “Here you go. Congratulations. Now don’t go getting assassinated, I don’t want to have to do this again.”
“Right,” Bon Bon said, struggling not to give the mayor a dirty look. She rolled the document up and put it in her saddlebags. She trotted out to the road to Canterlot.
After a few minutes, she glanced behind her – nopony was looking. She was alone. But to be extra safe, she jumped into a bush. With a flash of green magic, her form twisted into something… new.
She jumped out of the bush as a bright blue pegasus, complete with wings. She grinned - she was going to fly to Canterlot and take her place as a member of the Council. And then she was going to tear down Celestia’s government from the inside.
Those stupid apathetic ponies had given her the keys to the kingdom.
~~~
Bon Bon the changeling arrived at Canterlot as a pegasus. The first thing she did was find a public restroom, close a door, and transform back into her default cream-coated earth pony form. She still had to be Bon Bon for this job. Not that she minded – it was her favorite form. It’s why she wore it all the time instead of continually shifting into more advantageous positions.
It turned out that keeping one body all the time made her a lot more credible and trustworthy.
She left the restroom with a smile on her face. She went directly to the Palace, finding it harder to keep her positive expression the closer she got to the gargantuan structure. Even if she was supposed to be here, the ancient architecture of the Palace was beyond intimidating, it was threatening. Not to mention it had not been subject to the dulling the rest of Equestria had – still as bright as the day before the Split.
Bon Bon found it unnerving. She had never liked the bright colors and had been happy to see them go. She felt like she couldn’t hide here.
Nopony could tell this from outside. Her smile was pure and her body language energetic. Nopony even stopped to think that she might be a changeling – just another pony out and about. Nothing unusual in a city the size of Canterlot.
She trotted up to the Palace doors, which were wide open for anyone to use. She trotted up to a receptionist – a bored red unicorn – and held up her identifications. “I’m Bon Bon, reporting for the Council.”
“Oh, geez, this paper’s not on the form list…” the receptionist said with an agonized groan. “Gaaaaaaaaah I’m going to have to do some digging. One moment please. …Or thirty, I have no idea how long this is going to take.”
Bon Bon lost her smile and narrowed her eyes. You think they’d be able to hire better help. She kept her mouth shut and waited regardless.
A few minutes later, a blue-purple pegasus stuck her head out of a nearby doorway. “Would you be Bon Bon, by chance?”
Bon Bon nodded, smiling. “Yes, that would be me.”
“Great!” The pegasus bounded over, tearing the document from the receptionist’s hooves. “Let’s see… Yep, it’s you all right, everything’s in order. I can take you directly to the Council. We’ll be starting soon.”
“You’re on it?”
The pegasus grinned. “Yep! Name’s Flitter, representative of the ‘big city’ types, specifically Cloudsdale. I’m the other side of the ‘general population’ coin. You and me, we’re the normal people in a room full of stuffy loonies. And Twilight.”
“Stuffy loonies?” Bon Bon asked, raising an eyebrow. “I read up on all the members of the Council, they didn’t strike me a-“
“Oh you have no idea. Here, walk with me, I’ll tell you about them on the way there.” Flutter led Bon Bon through a door into a large crystal hall. “So, thus begins Flitter’s guide to the other members of the Council.”
“Should I be taking notes?”
“If you can’t take notes in your head you’re not long for this job.”
“Good to know,” Bon Bon said, legitimately thankful for the information.
“Anyway, you know Twilight, she lived in Ponyville for a while. She hasn’t changed all that much, except she’s a little disheartened about the conflict with the changelings. She’s usually reasonable so you don’t have to worry about her. Everyone else though…”
“Everyone? Even Celestia?”
Flitter nodded. “Oh yeah, Celestia has this habit of not saying much, and then when she does say something we all get horribly derailed and… I swear she’s just messing with us half of the time. She’s very hard to read and her opinions on any given discussion might as well be nonexistent.”
There are many jokes I could make at Celestia’s expense here… “I take it all the others are worse?”
“In their own ways. Nier is a hopelessly inept scientist who can never get projects done on time, Grunge is one of those dragons who fancies herself an artist, and Ocellus is far too obsessed with little organized details.”
Bon Bon must have twitched at the mention of Ocellus’ name, because Flitter’s face became one of concern. “Yeah, I know, she’s a changeling, but she’s one of those who defected during the Split. Educated under Twilight herself.”
“…Still a changeling,” Bon Bon muttered.
“Get to know her a bit. You’ll grow to like her.”
I seriously doubt that. The worst kind of traitor.
“Aaaand here we are!” Flitter sung, knocking a door open. Inside there were three ponies, a shiny blue reformed changing, and a dark pink dragon twice the size of a carriage. Bon Bon quickly scanned the group, identifying everyone with ease. She’d seen Twilight and Celestia personally before, so she didn’t dwell on them. Rather, she took in the features of the other three.
Grunge was a feminine dragon who laid with her head on the table rather than trying to use a chair far too small for her. Her face was twisted in a permanent scowl, almost as if she wanted to eat everyone present but was obligated not to. Nier was a black-coated stallion with a nervous expression Bon Bon expected was permanently plastered on his features. He wore a bright white labcoat with far too many colored pens in the pockets.
Bon Bon tried to look at Ocellus without scowling, but she found the open changeling was just too much. She’d need to get used to the traitor’s presence before trying anything.
Flitter gestured toward Bon Bon’s seat. She sat down without a fuss and put on a smile. She bowed respectfully. “Princesses.”
“Oh, Bon Bon, you should know we don’t need any of those formalities,” Twilight said.
Bon Bon looked at Twilight with a warm smile. “Thanks.”
“Everyone, this is Bon Bon,” Twilight began. “She’s here to replace Briar. She has a history as a top agent of the crown, but currently she’s a simple confectionary. How has the business been going?”
“Slow enough that I could close it down and nopony noticed.” Not like you ponies notice anything these days.
“Top agent?” Grunge spoke, smoke trailing out of her nostrils as she did. “I thought we needed a pony to represent the people, not the government.”
“It has been twelve years since she served as an agent in any official capacity,” Ocellus pointed out. “She’s fully integrated into civilian life.”
“It’s good she has experience,” Flitter added. “Means we won’t have to explain too much to her.”
“Y-yeah, that’s good,” Nier said, scratching the back of his head.
“I’m still objecting,” Grunge added.
“Your objection is noted,” Celestia spoke, her voice drawing the rapt attention of all six present. “However, she’s here, and you can’t suggest voting her out for a week.”
“I’m well aware, princess.”
Twilight sighed. “Sorry, Bon Bon. Grunge is… well…”
“It’s hard to find a dragon living in Equestria willing to talk like this, so we go with what we can,” Flitter finished.
Twilight facehooved. “Flitter…”
“What? We all know my job – be slightly politically incorrect to get the point across. Yours is to be the voice of reason, and Grunge’s is to be the voice of large predatory things.”
Bon Bon expected Grunge to go on an angry rant – but clearly she’d heard this whole spiel before and just rolled her eyes. “Let’s just get on with it. Ocellus?”
Ocellus took out a small booklet. “Date: 8-1-34, Monday. …There’s a lot to do today.”
Bon Bon held up a hoof. “Don’t we all need a chance to suggest things?”
“The rest of us already have…”
Twilight shook her head. “Ocellus, don’t let policy get in the way of fairness. Bon Bon, chances are what you want to talk about is on the list, but let’s hear it anyway to see if we need to add it.”
Bon Bon brightened. “The economic troubles of the rural Equestrian farmer in these troubled times.”
“Yep, on the list, item seven,” Ocellus said. “We usually get to item seven, don’t worry.”
“On days we’re not stuck on item one,” Grunge muttered.
“Ah yes, item one…” Ocellus sighed, clearly annoyed by the monotony of it all. “The Changeling Infestation. As always I have to ask: Nier, is the bio spell ready?”
“Ah… no,” Nier said, sweating profusely. “Y-you see, it still needs some work to apply to just changelings, you know?”
“A bio spell?” Bon Bon asked.
“Nier’s a scientist,” Flitter explained. “He knows how to concoct spells that target specific biological thingamajigs. In theory.”
“It worked on squirrels!” Nier blurted.
“Yeah. Squirrels. Big whoop.” Flitter rolled her eyes.
“We need better ways to kill changelings,” Grunge muttered. “Something that won’t be in development for eons.”
Twilight shot Grunge a look.
“Yes, I said kill them. That’s what we need to do.”
“I know the vote’s been taken already, but surely we can still consider other solutions.”
“Got any bright ideas?”
“…We just need a replicable way to reveal them. If we can focus our efforts on making the Revelation artifacts into a unicorn spell, we’d be able to reveal any changeling at any time.”
I really hope they don’t have a Revelation artifact here. If they do, and they decide to use it up with me around, well…
“And they could just fight back,” Grunge pointed out.
“Why bother wasting so many resources to find them anyway?” Bon Bon asked.
Ocellus blinked. “Excuse me, waste?”
“The farms are suffering because of all the money you’re putting into finding them. You’ve yet to come up with anything effective and your ponies are hurting for it. This ‘bio’ thing is clearly taking forever, and trying to scan every pony in Equestria would take forever.”
“Are you insane? Letting the changelings run free?!” Grunge blurted. “They’re a menace! They’ve infiltrated our highest levels of government and are working to overthrow us!”
“Just last week we found out that Commander Magnus was a changeling,” Ocellus added.
“We need to come down hard on them! Destroy them!”
“If you want to stop them, focus on the war,” Bon Bon said. “If you win, infiltrating changelings won’t have anyone to betray you too.” We would definitely still destabilize you out of revenge, but you don’t have to know that now do you?
“These are some curious ideas, Bon Bon,” Celestia said. Bon Bon could feel the alicorn’s eyes boring into her soul.
Bon Bon gulped. “I’m here to represent the ponies. I’m keeping my campaign promises.”
“Yes… You are,” Celestia said. “And I shall reward you for that, in time. But you must understand that the changelings run so deep that every premonition I have involves them in one way or another. I would not be surprised if one of you were a changeling.”
Nobody wanted to respond to that.
“Trust me, Bon Bon, when I say we must take care of them as swiftly as possible. If that means killing them, so be it, as the Council decrees. Anything to stop the tragedy I dream of.”
Bon Bon nodded slowly. She had been too greedy with her plans. She pulled herself out of the conversation after that point, letting the other six talk amongst themselves. They eventually decided to push a proposal to one of the local universities for Revelation research while Nier was told to hurry up his bio spell. They moved to other things afterward – ponies in Canterlot, the upcoming Nightmare Night celebrations, politics involving the foreign nations – most of it didn’t interest Bon Bon and she spoke little.
She went along with the discussion about economics and farming just to fulfill her obligations. Eventually, the meeting wrapped up, and everyone was told to go home – they’d reconvene the next day.
“Hey,” Flitter said, catching up with Bon Bon on the way out. “We should meet up later.”
“When later?” Bon Bon asked. I need to be sociable if I’m going to get anywhere here.
“Breakfast tomorrow later. The Red Pie Diner. I’m a regular – I could give you a proper Canterlot welcome with a suite and a breakfast feast.”
Bon Bon blinked. Chrysalis, that sounds good. “I’ll be there.”
“Come with an empty belly~!” Flutter trilled, flying through an open window.
Bon Bon looked after her with a curious expression. She’d already made a ‘friend’.
A frown came to her face – she remembered when ponies made friends as easy as that all the time. Love was so easy to come by then. A cruel irony, she supposed.
~~~
The Red Pie Diner specialized in red pie. And red everything else.
Bon Bon was currently amazed by the deep crimson fruity waffles Flitter had ordered for her. The stack was simply divine, almost as good as pure selfless love.
Flitter hadn’t been joking about the suite either. They were in a private hall generally used for banquets, except it was only the two of them sitting on opposite sides of a long table. They had chosen to sit in the middle of the longer edges so they could actually hear each other when they spoke.
“How’d you manage to reserve this!?” Bon Bon asked, mouth full of scarlet deliciousness.
“It’s not a reservation. It’s just that nobody uses it this early in the morning.” Flitter grinned. “Feasts aren’t really a thing for their breakfast menu – unless the customer is me.” She downed a glass of blood orange juice. “Look around. A feast, and not another pony in sight!”
“The solitude is nice,” Bon Bon admitted.
“Yep. You know, they say, in space no one can hear you scream. It’s the same here.”
“…Okay…”
Flitter laughed, leaning back in her chair. “Just relax! It’s a fun fact.”
“A fun fact that does the exact opposite of make me relax.”
“Oh, well, in that case we should forego the formalities of an enjoyable breakfast and talk about the stunt you pulled at the meeting yesterday.”
Bon Bon swore inwardly. “Stunt?”
“Oh, you know, first day here, already trying to lessen the effort to expose changelings. You seemed very gung-ho about that. Almost like it was all you wanted.”
Bon Bon glared. “It was reasonable.”
“Oh, yeah, too reasonable, and definitely not something a pony would say.”
Bon Bon readied a laser spell. She’s have to shift out of her pony form to use it though… “What are you accusing me of?”
“As of right now? Nothing. I just want you to realize where you are. Who I am. And that if you try anything, or I don’t see something I want in the next few seconds, you won’t be walking out of here.”
Bon Bon tensed – she needed a way out of here. She’d clearly have to kill Flitter if she had any hope of retaining her position in the Council – perhaps even take her place... Think about that later, survival now. She could shift her hoof into a sharp weapon and take Flitter out somewhat easily, but she didn’t know what Flitter’s threat actually was… A magic weapon somewhere nearby?
She’d have to wait and see what it was, preparing for everything.
What Flitter actually did was the furthest thing from Bon Bon’s expectations.
The pegasus’ eyes flashed green. The universal sign of a changeling.
Bon Bon blinked – and flashed her eyes green in recognition of her fellow agent.
“Holy pupating queens I’m glad I was right,” Flitter said, every tense muscle in her body loosening at once. She flopped back into her chair as if she were in a semi-fluidic state.
“…What would you have done if I hadn’t been…?”
“Would have changed into a wolf or something and tore you to shreds,” Flitter said. “Don’t like doing it, but you have to do what you have to do.”
“I was planning a spell and a stab-hoof,” Bon Bon admitted.
Flitter laughed. “That’d be easier to explain I suppose. Less mess. …Good galloping sardines I’m so glad I’m not alone anymore. Do you have any idea how stressful it is!?”
“Well, I was just sitting on the other side of the table from a pony accusing me. So I think I have a pretty good idea.”
Flitter raised an eyebrow. Bon Bon grinned.
“Not only is she one of us, she’s got spunk… This will work out nicely…” Flitter tapped her hooves together.
“We’re safe to talk here?”
“I was serious when I said nobody can hear you scream in here. This place is essentially a fallout shelter.”
“…Fall… out?”
“Oh, geez, you haven’t had Nier brief you on some of the magitech being used in the war? That’s gonna be an eye opener.”
“Is it important to taking Equestria down from the inside?”
Flitter shook her head. “Nope. We’re cut off from the Changeling army and command. Celestia just knows whenever we try to set up a proper information network in Canterlot. We have to work on the individual scale because of that.”
“Difficult…” Bon Bon scratched her chin. “Well, we have to do something. We’re here, we have to take advantage of it. But if trying to talk them down doesn’t work…”
“It does, sometimes, but rarely does it go very far,” Flitter said. “There’s a lot of things I’d like to do, but I was never trained in any of the advanced changeling stuff. I got dropped here by pure luck. Nopony wanted to campaign except that darn Surprise, and she was an idiot.”
“Similar thing happened to me – but I do have the skills of an agent of the crown. Chrysalis’ not Celestia’s.”
“You found the perfect fit, huh?”
Bon Bon nodded. “I can get in anywhere and do just about anything. It seems impossible, but magic solves everything.” She tapped the area of her forehead where her changeling horn should be.
“Good… Right, so, our biggest concern right now is Nier. He’s a fumbling moron, but he does deserve the scientific chair he’s got. He will finish that bio spell and there’s not going to be a thing we can do to stop that disease-ridden weapon. All changelings will fall dead in a matter of days as soon as it is released.”
Bon Bon stood up. “I can take him out.”
“Wow, you really are gung-ho.” Flitter grinned. “I like it. Can I trust you not to get caught and to ruin the research?”
Bon Bon nodded curtly. “I am a very successful assassin. Just tell me where he lives and the best time I can get to him.”
“He lives in the castle laboratory basement and the best time would be… Well, right before lunch actually. He’ll be alone, working his butt off.”
“I’ll remove it from him permanently,” Bon Bon said. “Have you thought of a cover story?”
“Make it look like a changeling got him.”
Bon Bon chuckled. “That is a good idea.”
“I’ve always been the idea-bug. Now sit back down and enjoy your breakfast, you don’t have to go now.”
Bon Bon rolled her eyes. “Fine. Why don’t you tell me about your time in the Hive?”
“I was actually an outer-cluster born changeling, so I never saw the Hive personally…”
~~~
Bon Bon was in the laboratory basement long before Nier even showed up. She had scouted the place out easily. She quickly found his private laboratory and determined that nopony but him entered. She was careful not to touch anything – sure, she wasn’t supposed to leave any warning signs for Nier when he did show up, but she also suspected the glowing green concoctions in the beakers were probably beyond lethal.
She couldn’t believe there had only been two guards to get past to get here. Both were easily fooled by the invisibility spell. Any unicorn worth their salt would have been able to detect such a spell but they hadn’t even batted an eye.
Currently, Bon Bon was sitting in the black rafters of the private laboratory. Right below her was a large cauldron bubbling with the noxious green concoction.
How stupid is he to have these things cooking unsupervised? This has to be a health hazard…
Beyond the cauldron and beakers, there were also numerous scientific devices littered around the room in an orderly fashion – including a computer tower with a screen. That must have cost a fortune. A lot of symbols were flashing across the screen, but she didn’t understand any of them.
She didn’t need to – she just needed to wait for Nier.
He eventually walked in, muttering to himself in a near-panic. “What am I going to tell them this time?”
Nothing at all, Bon Bon said, you won’t be here for today’s meeting. She readied her hoof – preparing to turn it into a sharpened blade.
Nier looked at the cauldron. “Gah, no no no! You can’t be ready! Can’t be! Where’s the data, gotta scrub it…”
Bon Bon blinked, lowering her hoof.
Nier typed on the computer, pressing the delete key with his magic a lot. He pulled out several colored pens scribbling multicolored notes on a notebook, ripping pages out of several binders and replacing them with the things he had written on the fly. “Not good enough… They’ll see it…”He bit his lip, glancing at the cauldron again. “Blue. Blue will stop it. Yes. Yes!” Excited, he rushed to a shelf, took out a bottle filled with a clear liquid and dumped all the contents into the cauldron. The green bubbling concoction became blue and serene in an instant.
“Yes! Ineffectual once more.” Then a look of panic crossed his face again. “…What do I tell them!?” He rammed his head into the desk and groaned.
Bon Bon dropped to the desk and pressed a hoof into the back of his neck. “Look up. Slowly.”
Trembling like a skeleton, Nier slowly looked up, tears in his eyes. “Y-y-you saw all that!?”
Bon Bon nodded slowly.
“Please! Don’t kill me! I’ll give you the secret, just d-“
Bon Bon flashed her eyes.
Nier blinked, flashing back. “…Please don’t kill me for offering to give up th-“
Bon Bon slapped him. “You’re a horrible agent. How you’ve survived this long is beyond me.”
“W-wh-“
“It baffles me how your nervous countenance and tendency to talk to yourself hasn’t gotten you busted already. How Flitter didn’t know is… also hard to believe.” She put a hoof to her head and shook it.
“…W-what does Flitter have to do with this?”
“She’s one of us,” Bon Bon said, flashing her eyes again just to make sure he understood.
“WHAT!?”
Bon Bon sighed. “Change of topic. In your mutterings you mentioned that this worked. You’ve already got a bio spell?”
Nier gulped, nodding slowly. “If it’s unleashed, every changeling…”
“I know, I get the picture,” Bon Bon muttered. “I thought ponies were better than this. They’re pathetic, but they at least pride themselves on being friendly.” She spat on the floor. “I’m almost as angry at that as I am angry at you.”
“Me? W-why?”
“Why would you even work on something like this!?”
“Work had already begun when I came in! I was just assigned it! I couldn’t exactly say no!”
“Just say you object to taking lives needlessly. Problem solved.” She looked at Nier’s terrified form. “Scratch that, you’re far too terrified of everything to pull that off.” She shook her head. “You know I was here to assassinate you, right?”
“WHAT!?”
“I am getting really sick of this…” Bon Bon muttered. “Right, backtracking again, there are three of us on the Council now. We almost have a majority. Which means we can definitely do something. If we all vote against the use of the bio spell, we can turn Twilight to our side and end its research.”
“I can’t go aga-“
Bon Bon grabbed Nier. “You’re coming with me. We need to meet up and figure out our game plan before today’s meeting.”
“But I’m supposed to be in here! I can’t leave early!”
Bon Bon let out a sigh. “Leave or I make you leave. The latter will be a lot harder to keep secret.”
“Golly gee leaving sounds amazing!”
“That’s what I thought.”
~~~
The next meeting came. All seven of them sat down. Ocellus read out the date, and pulled out the first item again – asking Nier about the bio spell.
“Well, uh, you se-“
Bon Bon tapped her hoof on the table, interrupting him. “He’s not any further along. He’s stopped work.”
Grunge blinked. “WHAT!?”
Celestia looked at Bon Bon with an impassive expression. “Why did he stop and why are you speaking for him?”
“Last question first – he’s a nervous wreck and won’t be able to speak very well due to recent events which will become apparent soon. He stopped because, after asking him for details about the bio spell, I told him to.”
“And why did you do that?”
“Because it’s dangerous,” Bon Bon said, leaning in. “If you could make a spell to kill all changelings, who’s to say it wouldn’t mutate or go haywire and start killing ponies?”
“That’s not a risk,” Ocellus said.
“Nier?” Bon Bon said, gesturing at him.
“Uh… I… I… Uh…”
“Oh for the…” Flitter facehooved. “Yes, we talked to him, it is a possibility. It’s also a possibility that it won’t kill all changelings and the one who’s somehow immune to it could easily create an anti-pony one.”
“Not to mention how devious the bio spell is in the first place,” Bon Bon said, pressing her hooves together. “After quick discussion, I was able to show both Flitter and Nier that it wasn’t worth it. We’re ponies. We’re not going to kill them all.”
“Seconded,” Flitter said.
“Thirded,” Twilight said, placing her hoof on the table. “About time you all came around.”
“Denied!” Grunge shouted. “This is war! We can’t let them have an edge over us because we’re soft!”
“Agreed,” Ocellus said. “The risks are acceptable.”
Bon Bon turned to glare at Nier. He whimpered. “F-fourthed.”
Celestia nodded. “I’ll count that as a vote. Nier, you may stop work on the bio spell.”
Nier let out a sigh of relief.
Grunge slammed her claws into the table. “What’s wrong with you? What are we gonna do now? Ask them to be friends?”
“Revelation research,” Twilight said. “Like we should have been doing from the start.”
“What am I going to tell my soldiers?” Grunge asked. “They’ve been expecting a new weapon…”
“They can make due with the bombs.” Twilight grimaced at the word.
“Celestia, see reason!”
“This is a Council,” Celestia said. “If I exercised veto power on every little thing, it would be pointless.”
“You didn’t even vote!” Flitter pointed out.
“It would not have mattered – you already had a four majority.”
Flitter fell silent, deciding it was wise not to push Celestia on the issue.
“Grunge, Ocellus, do you have anything else to say on the matter?”
Grunge grunted. “If you do this, you better do something elsewhere to make up for it. The army, for instance.”
“It is next on the list,” Ocellus admitted. “I suppose we can move on, actually. …If no one has any objections?”
Grunge looked like she wanted to object, but clearly decided it wasn’t a good idea.
“In that case, Grunge, your soldiers have been asking for new weapons…”
~~~
At the end of the meeting, Twilight walked up to Bon Bon. “Come with me.”
Bon Bon glanced at Flitter. She shrugged as if to say good luck.
I have a feeling I’ll need it.
Bon Bon followed Twilight through the castle – eventually arriving at a large purple door with her starburst cutie mark on it. Bon Bon had never been here before, but she knew what room this was. Twilight’s personal chambers.
This better not get awkward…
Twilight wordlessly led Bon Bon into the room. It was a lavish space with a bed, a desk, numerous magical artifacts, and walls adorned with paintings of Twilight doing great things. Defeating Discord, Tirek, and others…
“This is my destiny,” Twilight said, walking up to a pink crystal sitting on her nightstand – the Element of Magic. “Ever since I was a little unicorn, fate held my hoof, leading me to incredible moment after incredible moment. I passed the entrance exam to Celestia’s school by a fluke. Many of the villains we vanquished over the years came down to luck. Me becoming a princess… Celestia, even this war and the changeling infestation was a fluke. Starlight did good, causing the Split, but no one was ready for the consequences…” She shook her head. “They had to move here. And it was a fluke that a war ended up happening. Fluke, fluke, fluke. I can still feel the tug of destiny on my hoof, leading me on until this ends, one way or another.”
Bon Bon remained quiet – she really had no idea why Twilight was telling her any of this.
“You were able to get Flitter and Nier to go against their original opinions in one day,” Twilight said, changing topics like a boomerang. “You have power, Bon Bon, power with words. This time, you did something good. You stopped a genocide. But I can’t help but feel…” she didn’t complete the sentence.
She’s suspicious. Darnit.
“Bon Bon, you are here for a reason.” Twilight looked down at her with a sad, pleading expression. Pleading for what? “What is your destiny?”
“…My destiny? What do you mean?”
Twilight spread her wings and closed her eyes. “What is your purpose? Along what line of life have you found yourself? Where has fate taken your passions? Tell me this. I want to know you.”
You want to know if I have one I can tell you… “Ponies.”
“Hmm?”
“I’m here for ponies,” Bon Bon said. “I’m here for that which we have lost – the connection, the love, the peace. I was an agent, Twilight, and I fought to protect Equestria from ancient evils. Bugbears, demons, villains akin to those you fought, it didn’t matter. If they threatened ponykind, I saved them. I allowed ponies like those in Ponyville to live happy lives despite them living right next to the Everfree Forest. As a civilian, I continued to do that – I make candies for a living. Candies. What’s the point of candy if not to make ponies happy?”
Twilight smiled warmly. “Nothing much, I suppose.”
Bon Bon continued – she really needed to sell it. “But it wasn’t enough, Twilight! This war has sapped things from us! Colors have muted, ponies have lost their spark, everything is falling apart! We care too much about changelings, so much that we’ve forgotten who we are! That is why I’m here. To get that back. “ She stamped her hoof on the ground and smiled proudly.
“…Bon Bon, I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For doubting you.” She put a wing around Bon Bon. “You’re exactly where you need to be.”
“Thanks, Princess.”
“We should do lunch sometime, get caught up on what’s happened since I was last in Ponyville. How’s next week sound?”
“Sounds good!”
“See you then! …Well, and tomorrow’s meeting, but you get the picture.”
Bon Bon let herself laugh.
~~~
“I’m surprised you’re still alive,” Flitter admitted the next morning. They were in the Red Pie Diner again, only now Nier was joining them. Even here, in this place of safety and allies, he was still a trembling mess.
“And you’re not surprised Nier is still alive?” Bon Bon asked with a raised eyebrow. She took a bite of her waffle.
“Well, on one hoof I am, but on the other you have to admit, his disguise is perfect. If you act suspicious and nervous all the time ponies will get used to it and not suspect you. In a way, it’s genius. Too bad he’s doing it completely by accident.”
Nier didn’t know how to respond to that, so he didn’t.
Flitter continued talking. “Anyway, we’ve bought ourselves some time, but Twilight is heading the Revelation research, so it won’t be all that long before she figures it out. She’s a smart cookie.”
“Y-yeah…” Nier confirmed. “Months at best.”
“We need a way to bring about Equestria’s fall before then,” Bon Bon asserted, tapping her hoof on the table as she thought. “There’s three of us on this Council. That should be more than enough to bring down the nation. We have power over the government as a major deciding body.”
Flitter chuckled. “While that is proof of how stupid this system is, it is not a way to actually bring the government down. We’d be rooted out the moment someone found out we were changelings.”
“Take someone out and replace them with another changeling perhaps?”
“Possibly. ...Actually, that would have only worked for Nier. Celestia and Twilight are too powerful to be reliably assassinated and replaced, Ocellus would be very hard for a changeling to convincingly pull off, and Grunge… Well, Grunge is a dragon. Good luck mimicking that form for an extended period of time.”
“Grunge is easy to manipulate though if you play off her emotions,” Bon Bon said. “Maybe we can use her in some way.”
“S-she controls the army,” Nier said. “If we g-give her information…”
“We don’t have information, nimrod,” Flitter muttered.
“…It doesn’t have to be real,” Bon Bon said, grin widening. “We can provide Grunge with bogus military info, get her to redistribute the troops and allow Chrysalis to come charging in!”
“Dangerous…” Flitter said, taping her wingtips together. “That’s not something the Council can vote on, it’s a purely military manner. We’d have to win Grunge over…”
“So it was a stupid idea…” Nier said, looking at the ground.
“Actually it wasn’t,” Bon Bon said, rubbing her hooves together. “I know just what to get her to bite the hook…”
~~~
The third meeting was starting to drag. Ocellus rubbed her eyes. “And… lastly, we apparently need to talk to Grunge about troop placement.”
Grunge snorted. “My troops are exactly where they need to be and none of you have the proper tactical education to suggest anything better aside from Celestia. I’m taking a wild guess that it wasn’t Celestia who suggested this topic.”
“You’re right,” Bon Bon said. “It was me.”
“Why!?” Flitter asked – though of course she knew exactly why.
“Because I have contacts – as an ex-agent of the crown, ponies with stories to tell find their way to me. Ponies who know things.” She pressed her hooves together and glared at Grunge. “Chrysalis has a secret breeding hive near the western border, where our forces are thin. If you do not send anything there, Equestria will fall.”
Grunge narrowed her eyes. “And who gave you this information?”
“The same pony that told me there was a changeling in this very council.”
There were gasps from all around the room – except for Celestia, who’s face remained as impassive as always.
Bon Bon continued. “Naturally, because there is a changeling in here – among us – I cannot reveal the source. He would be hunted for what he did.”
“We must protect our witnesses,” Twilight admitted. “But that makes it… difficult to trust the information.”
“This pony – who I will not name – was one of those foals raised by changelings,” Bon Bon explained. “He was taken in, brought up in their ways, and let loose on us to be a true pony who was loyal to queen Chrysalis. Naturally, he turned himself in the first chance he got and began working for us through the shadow network. I met up with him last night in the middle of one of his missions – I know not what it was. But I do know he felt the need to reveal himself to me just to let me know those two things. The breeding hive, and the changeling in this council.” She sat down, folding her hooves.
“W-woah…” Nier said, playing his part in the background.
“…Grunge, you need to send those soldiers,” Flitter said, staring right at the dragon.
Grunge tapped her claws together nervously. “…Fine.”
Yes, Bon Bon thought, grinning. Got her.
“Are you sure he wasn’t talking about me?” Ocellus asked.
Bon Bon raised an eyebrow. “Of course not. He isn’t stupid.”
“Then we have a problem,” Ocellus said. “One of us is a changeling. We need to find out who.”
“We have two Revelation artifacts,” Twilight said. “I can take one away from the university.”
“And use it on one pony,” Flitter pointed out. “They don’t work more than once, remember?”
“A-and there’s five of us with body-types that can be mimicked long-term,” Nier said, shaking. “M-me, Flitter, Ocellus, T-twilight, and Bon Bon.”
“Changeling pretending to be a changeling…” Flitter narrowed her eyes. “Dastardly.”
“We need to talk about this rationally…” Ocellus said. “There has to be some questionnaire we can use…”
Celestia cleared her throat. “Bon Bon, are you certain there’s a changeling in this room?”
“Yes,” Bon Bon responded, very truthfully.
“Then that is what tomorrow’s meeting will be entirely about.”
Grunge blinked. “Shouldn’t we do it now?”
“We’ve made many decisions already,” Celestia pointed out. “And, if the changeling decides to run, it’ll save us the headache of an interrogation.”
“I… I guess the meeting’s over, then.” Ocellus said, blinking. “Be back tomorrow. I don’t think I need to tell you what’ll happen if you don’t show up.”
There was a somber silence over the room.
Celestia stood up. “You’re all dismissed. Go home.”
Everyone got up, awkwardly shooting each other with untrusting glances. Bon Bon, Flitter, and Nier had already planned to leave separately, to give the illusion they didn’t trust each other.
But they’d done it. Equestria’s fronts were going to be wide open, and the council was about to tear itself apart over an infiltrator. There were already plans to frame Ocellus…
Grunge stopped her. The two glared at each other for a solid minute.
“I know there’s no attack from the west.”
Bon Bon narrowed her eyes. “You already agreed!”
“I agreed knowing it was wrong. Because, you see, I grew up on the western border. All the hives there are dead.”
Bon Bon blinked. “How would y-“
Grunge’s eyes flashed green.
“…Seriously?” Bon Bon flashed her eyes in return. She let out an exasperated grunt.
“What’s wrong with you? Surely you wanted all-“
“Flitter and Nier are with us as well,” Bon Bon said, glancing around to make sure nopony was nearby. “I’m honestly not surprised at this point. Everyone except the closest knit people on this Council are changelings and they didn’t even know it.”
Grunge twitched. “We’ve been working against ourselves…”
“Yes. We have. It’s annoying as all Tartarus. But hey, we have a majority now, we can do anything.” Bon Bon paused. “Hey, wait, changelings can’t hold large dragon forms indefinitely…”
“I’m a… “ she glanced sharply left and right. “Queen.”
Bon Bon blinked. “Chrysalis didn’t…”
“She did, when it helped her,” Grunge said. “I’ve got magic power. Lots of it. And a natural talent for leadership that helps with manipulating troops and other ponies. You finally gave me the opportunity to pull a really stupid maneuver without being suspected. Though you had to raise the red flag to do it. Stupid.”
“We can frame Ocellus. Already working on a plan.”
“The fact that you said ‘working’ is very concerning.”
“…Meet us at the Red Pie Diner tomorrow for breakfast. We can plot for tomorrow’s meeting.”
“Your fourth meeting and you’ve already threatened the stability of Equestria. We should have gotten you a long, long time ago.”
“Aw, thanks!”
“Makes me want to eat you.”
Bon Bon blinked. “…Apparently everyone acts their natural part here… Probably why none of you ever got caught. And why none of you recognized each other for what you were.” Bon Bon shook her head. “See you at the Diner. Wear something less obvious.”
~~~
“There’s four of us!” Grunge shouted – she had taken the form of a tall pink unicorn for the breakfast feast, so her voice was distinctly less terrifying than usual. “We have the majority! We can overrule the Equestrians on anything now!”
“Not quite anything,” Nier said. “C-Celestia and Twilight have unique responsibilities.”
“Ocellus is right in our hooves, though,” Bon Bon said. “She’s taking the fall. We could say Chrysalis used magic to change a changeling’s default form to look exactly like her, so she could never be detected.”
“We’d need evidence,” Flitter mused. “Something that’d totally knock-the-socks-off of anypony looking so they would, without a doubt, throw her into the shark pit.”
“W-we have a shark pit?” Nier said, aghast.
“Well, no, it’s just Tartarus, but I get tired of saying Tartarus all the time.”
“How about an exoskeleton that looks like Ocellus?” Grunge suggested. “I’m sure between the four of us we could get something like that.”
“Perfect…” Flitter said, cackling. “If she’s dead, how can the replacement not be a changeling? Genius!”
“It’s doable. But not before the meeting today,” Bon Bon observed. “We’d have to come up with a lead that could lead to finding the exoskeleton by Friday. How ab-“
Ocellus appeared on top of the table in a flash of magic.
“You’re all idiots!” she shouted.
Bon Bon blinked. “Oh for the – Ocellus, you’re one of us too!?”
“One of you? I’m the reason you’re all here!” Ocellus put a hoof to her chest and calmed herself. “I’ve been setting things up just perfectly so every seat on the Council I had control over would be filled with a changeling!”
“Why didn’t you tell us!?” Flitter shouted.
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe because I figured if you knew before the time was right you’d start meeting together like this? This is silly! All it takes is one person looking in here at the wrong time – like myself – and all the covers are blown!”
“Wait…” Bon Bon shook her head. “If you’re the reason we got in here, how did you get in?”
“Twilight asked me.” Ocellus shook her head sadly. “Yes, I really am Ocellus, the ‘traitor’. I am a reformed changeling.”
Grunge took up a fighting stance.
“And so’s Nier, by the way,” Ocellus said, pointing at the scientist. “He’s just too terrified to tell anyone that.”
Nier shrunk in his seat, hoping that would keep him from being seen.
Flitter shook his head. “So, wait, let me get this straight. You’re the real Ocellus, working against your teacher and Celestia by using real enemy changelings? What?”
Ocellus turned to Bon Bon. “You’ve seen it, I know you have. The change. The loss of harmony. The apathy. Ponies are changing, and not for the better. You feel pain as the ponies drift away from what they are.”
Bon Bon nodded slowly.
“Celestia’s doing nothing about it. Her actions actively make it worse. She makes foolish decisions on the matter and never brings them up during the Council meetings. She doesn’t think cultural matters like that are of any importance to us. I tried talking to Twilight at first – but she’s too stuck in hero-worship. So I turned to you. And just when you’re in a position to undermine her authority, you start acting like foals.”
“We’ve done some pretty impressive stuff!” Flitter said. “This place is gonna fall like a bunch of dominos.”
“And how were you going to deal with the changeling-in-the-Council thing?”
“Frame you with a fake dead body,” Grunge answered. “Good idea, huh?”
Ocellus twitched. “Yesss… if I wasn’t on your side.”
“Hey, I didn’t know that at the time, you can’t blame me.”
Ocellus had to force herself to breathe. “Okay… Okay… We can still salvage this. There’s no way to frame Twilight or Celestia as the changeling, and we need to have some idea who to point the Revelation device at today or everything could come falling apart…”
Bon Bon pressed her hooves together. “We just have to do something else. We’ve got an entire day before the meeting and five changelings. We have power – surely we can do something to Twilight or Celestia…”
Ocellus blinked. “The Revelation device… we could use it!”
“Reveal a changeling?” Flitter raised an eyebrow.
“No, no, Revelation is more all-encompassing than that. It shows your true form, yes, but it also renders you incapable of lying or hiding anything. Twilight knows Princess Celestia better than anypony. If we can get something out of her…”
“…We could take care of Princess Celestia,” Bon Bon realized.
“I could replace her,” Grunge offered. “I am a Queen.”
Ocellus nodded. “Perhaps, if Twilight was willing to cooperate…”
“Uh-uh, no, you don’t get to do that,” Flitter said. “This conquest is for Chrysalis, not one pony for another. You want us to help get you ponies back by ending the war? Fine. But we’ll conquer this place to do it.”
Ocellus glared. “Twilight would be willing to have peace talks. Provide love to you as part of a trade.”
“A good idea to consider later,” Bon Bon said, waving her hoof. “We need to move if we’re going to go for Celestia. We have to corner Twilight now.”
“Oh no…” Nier said, shaking his head.
“Oh yes!” Grunge laughed. “Can I finally punch that self-righteous purple pony in the face? She’s had it coming for a long time…”
~~~
Princess Twilight Sparkle heard a knock at her chamber door. Tearing her gaze away from the Element of Magic, she trotted over to the door and opened it.
“Ah, Bon Bon! What brings you back here?”
“Couple questions – curious about a few things.” Bon Bon let herself in and found a chair to sit in. “You don’t mind?”
“Not at all – surprised you didn’t come earlier. …Though I suppose you don’t trust me.”
Bon Bon raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think you’re the changeling. You’re too… forthright and honest, unlike everyone else at that table. Myself included.”
“…Then why are you here?”
Bon Bon furrowed her brow. “I’m here to ask about Celestia.”
Twilight blinked. “You can’t be serious. How would they replace her…?”
“I’m not certain she’s the changeling, and honestly it doesn’t matter if she is or not. She’s acting… weird. I figured since you were the one who knew her best, you’d be able to tell me why she acts the way she does. Quiet. Impassive. Like she knows more but refuses to say anything.”
“Ah…” Twilight looked back at the Element of Magic. “…Ever since the war started, she’s been withdrawing. Losing her spark, her charm. You are right, ponies are drifting from what they once were. She’s in that number.”
“…Is she doing okay?”
“No idea. She’s withdrawn even from Princess Luna, not that Luna’s much better. Always off fighting in the war, hardly ever returning.”
“Cadence?”
“I don’t even remember the last time I saw Cadence…” Twilight shook her head. “You’re right, there’s something wrong at a deeper level than a simple war. I don’t know what it is.”
Bon Bon took in a breath. Here we go… “…Is it possible Celestia is part of it?”
Twilight blinked. “What?”
“Not part of the war, but part of the decaying problem. She’s done little to help our culture, has created a council that isn’t that effective, and… Well, you tell me she cares about the way her ponies are going.”
“She cares about her ponies,” Twilight said, narrowing her eyes. “And what you’re suggesting is treason.”
“So? If it’s the right thing to do, shouldn’t we do it?”
Twilight shook her head. “You should always talk first. Tell you what, I’ll go talk to her myself and demand some answers. I won’t tell her the questions come from you. Is that good?”
Bon Bon twitched. If we weren’t on a timetable, that would be good, but… “Not good enough. Pin her down.”
“Wh-“
Grunge jumped through the open chamber doors and pinned Twilight to the ground. The alicorn readied a laser spell, but Nier cast a quick magic inhibition enchantment, forcing her horn to go dark. “W-what is the meaning of this?”
While Ocellus took out the Revelation artifact – a white crystal with a red rune on the side – Flitter walked up to Twilight with a huge grin. “Hey. Hey Princess. Guess what. We’re all freakin’ changelings. Every last one of us.”
“Technically she already knew I was,” Ocellus observed.
“You and your technicalities…” Flitter shook her head. “Point is, your Council was so ineffective it allowed five traitors into your midst. Imagine that! Five out of seven! Had we known we weren’t alone sooner, Equestria would have fallen like a house of cards.”
“Ocellus!” Twilight wailed. “This can’t be true!”
“It is. I’ve been arranging it for a while now.” Ocellus shook her head. “Celestia’s ruining everything and she always dodges the questions. I had to do something else. This wasn’t a good option, but it was the one I had.” She pointed the Revelation artifact at Twilight. “You’re going to tell us about Celestia’s weaknesses now.”
“N-no…” Twilight said. “No! I won’t betray her! I’ll never betray her! I-“
The Revelation artifact lit up and engulfed Twilight in a holy white light. The artifact shattered after use – no longer of any use to anyone. Twilight screamed as the truth was revealed.
She changed. Her coat transformed into a deep black carapace. Her wings became majestic purple blades and her eyes became a solid, ominous purple. However, there were no holes in her legs, nor were there the shiny beetle-like coverings reformed changelings had. She was something in the middle.
She looked at her hooves in disbelief.
Flitter blinked. “What the f-“
Twilight started screaming. Grunge slapped her. “EXPLAIN!”
“I… I don’t know!” Twilight shouted. “I… I’m not a changeling. I’m not a changeling! I’ve never been a changeling! I have pony parents, I got a cutie mark in magic, I… I… I…”
“This is ridiculous…” Bon Bon said, facehooving. “Nier, any idea how this could be possible? Brainwashed sleeper agent, something?”
“U-uh, I think s-she’s always been a changeling…” Nier said, scanning the magic in the area with his own. “I… there’s a complex spell here that was hidden before. I…” He pointed at the Element of Magic. “It’s tied to that. The form she had before.”
“So the Element of Magic made her keep a pony-form forever?” Flitter asked.
“It could do it, but a master spellcaster would have to make it…” Ocellus said, scratching her chin. “I doubt even Twilight could do something like this, and it’d have to have been around since she was a filly…”
“…So, what, Celestia?” Bon Bon asked.
There was silence in the room.
Twilight’s eyes twitched. “That’s the only thing that makes sense. She’d have to have been the one to do this! To keep me hidden! She’s the only one who could have! …Ever since I was a filly… Or a grub or AAAAGH.” She grabbed her head.
“…This is stupid,” Bon Bon said, gesturing at all of them. “This. Is. Stupid! At this rate Celestia herself will turn out to be freakin’ Chrysalis and all of us can go spend the rest of our days in an asylum from the sheer absurdity!”
“I need answers,” Twilight said, standing up tall. “I need answers now. I’m not waiting for the meeting.” She focused – and transformed back into her alicorn self. “I even have the instinct, apparently…”
“That was probably the Revelation device awakening it in you,” Ocellus offered.
“Ocellus, thanks, but I’m still upset at you for betraying me.”
“And it turns out Celestia probably deserves it.”
“…I’ll worry about the ramifications later. We’re going to her throne room. Now.”
“…Do we have a plan?” Bon Bon asked.
“If she doesn’t give me answers… I have more friends than she does at this point,” Twilight said. “We’ll get them one way or another.”
“That’s not a plan!”
“It’s enough of one. And just so we’re clear, if things go south we’ll be taking her down, not out. Got it?”
“S-sure…” Nier said.
“I’m all for demanding answers.” Grunge said with a smirk. “Time to show that Princess how badly she’s screwed up.”
“Six changelings confronting a Princess…” Bon Bon muttered, shaking her head. “How could this get any more ridiculous?”
~~~
The six of them charged into the throne room. Twilight was ready to launch into a grandiose speech demanding answers and discussing the nature of being a leader – but Celestia’s expression made the words die in her throat.
The Princess of the Sun had the biggest grin imaginable on her features. “So, you all finally figured it out. Took you long enough.” She turned to the guards. “Leave us. Tell the guards at the door to leave as well.”
The guards filed out in less than a minute.
Soon, the six changelings were alone in a room with Princess Celestia.
They suddenly felt outnumbered.
Bon Bon shook her head, pushing the thoughts away. “What in the name of the Stars is wrong with you!?”
Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Wrong with me? What exactly do you think is wrong?”
“What kind of sick joke is this? You clearly have a way to know who’s a changeling and who isn’t – you specifically let this happen! You’re putting your ponies at risk for… for… what I can only guess is some game to you. At this point I wouldn’t be surprised if you were a changeling.”
“And what if I am?” Celestia said, opening her eyes wider – but they didn’t flash green.
“I don’t know. All I know is that you’ve crafted some sort of absurd farce. Three agents of Chrysalis, two changed, and one mare who thought she was a pony all her life because of you. It’s sickening.”
Twilight looked at her teacher with a haunted expression. “Please, Celestia, explain. What’s the point of all this?”
“You still want to trust me,” Celestia observed – her features as unreadable as always. “Strange, considering what you’ve found out. I’ve lied to you your entire life, Twilight. Ever since the Element of Magic recognized you as a grub, I made you into a pony, getting all the love you needed from that distant magic artifact. Even once you were my trusted student, I never told you. Even when you became my equal on this stage.” She smirked. “Or, perhaps not equal, persay…”
“…Ocellus?” Twilight said.
“Hmm?”
“I think you were right.” She turned to Celestia and flared her wings. “Princess Celestia, with the power vested in me as the Princess of Friendship I am placing you under arrest.”
“For what reasons?” Celestia asked.
“Do I really need to list them!?”
Flitter coughed. “Conspiracy, mental insanity, treachery, endangerment of life…”
“Yes, right, those things.”
Celestia smirked. “And what are you going to do about the other changelings? They want Equestria to fall.”
Flitter glanced at Twilight. “I can’t speak for Chrysalis, but hey, I’d be willing to talk to Twilight here. Hammer out some sort of agreement.”
Bon Bon nodded. “The fall of Equestria does not have to be accomplished with war, Celestia. That’s why we’re here in the first place.”
Twilight generated a set of magic-sealing hoofcuffs. “Celestia, come quietly and I can promise your safety.”
“Hmm…” Celestia put a hoof to her chin. “Nah.”
“…What do you mean, n-“
Celestia lit her horn, blasting them all with a white spell – forcing all six of their changeling disguises to fall. She let out a childish giggle. “Oh guards! Come back here and seize them, would you?” Then she did a backflip out a nearby stained glass window, shattering it.
The guards ran through the front doors, seeing six changelings standing there. They readied their weapons, looking around for the princess.
“…Screw it,” Grunge declared. “I’m taking her down.” She jumped out the broken window, pursuing Celestia.
Everyone else hung back – thinking Grunge was crazy. Going out into the open? Like this? It would b-
“I’m with you!” Bon Bon shouted in a much deeper, scratchier voice than everyone else was used to. She flew after Grunge, hooves ready to attack.
“Oh for the…” Twilight shot a beam of purple magic at the guards, making all of them trip. Then she teleported to be with the others. “Come on everyone! Let’s do this together!”
Flitter laughed. “Go out with a bang? Sure, why not, all of ponykind will crush us like it’s nothing, but who cares?” She flew after them. “It’ll be freakin’ awesome.”
“Thorax’s antlers…” Ocellus muttered, taking her leave as well.
Nier was the only one to remain. He didn’t want to chase Celestia.
He also didn’t want to be alone when the guards got up.
With a whimper and a whine he flew out the window, keeping his only friends in sight. His only hope now was if they somehow managed to get Celestia…
“Gotcha!” Grunge shouted, her Queen’s body slamming into Celestia at high speed.
Celesta grabbed onto a nearby castle tower and adhered to it as if her hoof were made of glue. The sharp adjustment threw Grunge off into a nearby courtroom. She didn’t stay down long – charging back into the air, horn aglow. Her and Bon Bon attacked in tandem with a series of beam spells, toggled at an angle so they wouldn’t accidentally hit each other.
Celestia didn’t raise a shield. She teleported away, allowing the beams to hit the wall behind her. The rubble shot out in all directions, two large chunks conveniently flying into Grunge’s and Bon Bon’s faces.
Celestia flew down to the streets below, not at all surprised to find Twilight waiting for her in all her changeling glory. “You even knew the Revelation spell!” She shouted, firing an immense beam of pure magic power at Celestia.
The Princess of the Sun sidestepped the beam, applauding Twilight as the attack destroyed the interior of a nearby shop. “Good job on the collateral damage there!”
“What’s wrong with you?” Twilight shouted, creating a complex matrix of spells designed to pin Celestia’s wings in space.
Celestia cast a reflect spell, pinning Twilight’s wings. “Wrong? I’m Celestia, Twilight. Everything I do has a purpose.”
“Oh, so you wanted to torment us? Have a laugh!? Was that the purpose?”
“Just a bonus.” Flitter tried to kick Celestia in the jaw, but she was easily punched to the side like nothing.
“Twilight!” Ocellus shouted. “Weakness! You know what hers is, tell us!”
“Changeling Queen feedback magic directly to the horn,” Twilight answered without hesitation. “Grunge!”
“One feedback beam coming riiiight up! Eat this!” She shot the beam at Celestia’s horn. Rather than meeting it with her own magic, Celestia did an overly stylish backflip over the beam, grinning like a madmare the whole time.
“You cocky piece of s-“
Celestia clocked Grunge across the face with her back hoof and took flight – sailing down to the market regions.
Bon Bon bounded after her, Flitter flying along at her side.
“Something’s wrong,” Flitter observed.
“Celestia,” Bon Bon growled.
“Well, yes, but more than that. Where are the guards?”
“Uh… in the throne room?” Nier suggested.
“THIS IS CANTERLOT! THERE ARE GUARDS EVERYWHERE!” Flitter shouted, making Nier wince so hard he tripped and fell on his face. Twilight used her magic to keep him with the group. “Hey, look, there’s even a guard over there!”
The guard saw Flitter gesture at him. He ducked behind a crate, as if he was ashamed he’d been seen.
“…Has she ordered them to not interfere?” Ocellus wondered.
“I am going to rip her prideful jaw out of her skull…” Grunge growled.
They flew through the marketplace, making ponies scream in surprise. Now that Bon Bon was watching them for responses – and guards – she was aghast to see that none of them seemed to care. They were worried about themselves, certainly, but the apathy was just… Was just… She couldn’t even mentally cope with how angry it made her.
She did see one changeling in the crowd drop their disguise and join up with the six of them, aiding the pursuit of Celestia. That was something, at least.
“FULL STOP!” Twilight shouted, pulling them all back with a telekinetic field. She held them still inches away from a train track. Celestia waved at them from the other side – and a train charged through.
Twilight focused, teleporting them to the other side – but Celestia wasn’t there. “…Ponyfeathers! Where is she!?”
“Right here!” Celestia said, drawing their attention to the top of the train. She was trotting along the top of it like it was a treadmill. “Oh, sorry, is this a little too impossible for you? Maybe you should try it just to see if it is possible to ease your minds. Bon Bon? I know you need some easing.”
Bon Bon twitched. She took to the sky and charged after Celestia. Celestia decided to sit down – suddenly moving exactly as fast as the train itself. Faster than Bon Bon could fly.
“We’re going to lose her!”
“Prepare for teleport spamming!” Twilight shouted, enveloping all eight changelings – another one had joined in the last minute – and teleporting closer to Celestia.
“Yo, look behind us,” Flitter said, tapping Bon Bon.
Bon Bon did – behind the eight of them, there was a swarm of mostly black changelings coming out of Canterlot, following them.
Grunge grinned. “There’s no way she can escape now.”
Bon Bon didn’t feel elated – but uneasy. “How many ponies in Canterlot were changelings!? That’s a full swarm! A full swarm! What the Tartarus!? This doesn’t make any sense at all!”
“It’s all part of her game…” Nier said, expression haunted. “We are but pawns on the Sun’s chessboard.”
“…I think toys in a toybox is a better metaphor,” Ocellus suggested.
“Ants on a farm!” Celestia called to them with the Royal Canterlot Voice.
“…Are you sure you can’t teleport us faster?” Grunge asked Twilight.
“I’m… Trying…” Twilight muttered. “She’s just always ahead of us!”
“She’s using a complex magic matrix to keep us at a distance,” Nier said, scanning the area with his magic. “I don’t know how to remove it, and it’d probably take too long anyway.”
“She can’t do anything against this many changelings,” Ocellus said. She didn’t sound as certain as she wanted to be.
“She knew how many changelings were in Canterlot… She always knew… everything…” Twilight narrowed her eyes, executing another set of teleports – no closer to Celestia and running out of magic.
They somehow arrived in Ponyville much sooner than should have been possible.
“What is she doing!?” Bon Bon shouted. “What’s the point?!”
“There might not be a point,” Flitter said, disembarking from the top of the train the same time as Celestia. “I think she’s just doing this for giggles.”
Bon Bon twitched. No. No I can’t accept that! Their group charged through Ponyville after Celestia.
“Oh no, I got off the train and they pursued me! Please, my ponies, come to my aid!” She put a hoof over her forehead.
Every pony within eyesight transformed into a changeling and hissed at her. This included the Mayor, Rarity… everyone.
Something clicked in Bon Bon’s mind. “You didn’t…”
“Did I?” Celestia responded, giggling. She leaped into the air, dodging the attack of dozens of changelings at once. She did a loop and flew into the Everfree Forest.
“Every changeling! She wants you to chase her! Stop!” Bon Bon shouted. Nier and Twilight stopped – but all the others kept chasing.
“It’s too late!” Celestia called back. “The swarm is here!”
Bon Bon glanced behind. Sure enough, the dark cloud of the changeling swarm was far, far closer than it should have been. The sun set, the sun rose, and the moon did a dance in the sky.
“…What can we hope to do against a mare with the power to do that!?” Nier blurted.
“I have no idea…” Twilight admitted.
“Call her out on it,” Bon Bon grunted. “Twilight, get us to the front of the mob. We need to be there when she makes her move.”
“I’ll try…” She executed another teleport – and they were at the front, a few meters behind Celestia, but a few meters ahead of the rest of the group.
“You let us closer!” Bon Bon shouted. “Why?”
“Why not?” Celestia asked, teleporting a fair ways ahead of them. Nier tripped on a root in the underbrush, leaving only Bon Bon and Twilight at the front.
“Get back here and explain yourself!” Bon Bon demanded.
“How about I get ahead of here and explain myself? I prefer that option.”
“What in th-“
Pinkie Pie suddenly appeared between Twilight and Bon Bon. “Hey, Twilight, long time no see! Bon Bon, how’s your new job treating you?”
Twilight and Bon Bon kept running – but they looked at Pinkie in disbelief.
“What’s with the weird looks? Oh, is it because we’re chasing Celestia? Am I interrupting? Sorry! Just wanted to say hi!”
“Pinkie…” Twilight looked to her. “Did you know?”
“Know what? I can’t know what you’re asking about if you don’t tell me what it is!”
“PINKIE!”
Pinkie giggled. “Sorry, guess now’s not the time. By the way, Bon Bon, I can’t seem to find where you keep your sweet-”
“Get out of here!” Bon Bon ordered.
Pinkie wasn’t there anymore. It was as if she had never been there.
Bon Bon and Twilight focused on Celestia once again – they’d worry about Pinkie later.
Celestia had stopped running. She now stood at the base of the Tree of Harmony, fixing them all with a calm expression.
Twilight and Bon Bon skidded to a stop. The rest of the swarm got the same idea – falling in line behind the two of them at the edge of the Tree of Harmony’s clearing.
“Welcome,” Celestia said, touching the Tree of Harmony with her hoof.
Then they saw.
The Everfree Forest was gone. All that remained from what they’d seen before was the changeling swarm, Celestia, and the Tree of Harmony. All of them stood on top of a cosmic disc of stars. In the distance they could see numerous galaxies and nebulae intermingling with immense strands of magic. Every changeling was tiny here.
Celestia wasn’t tiny. Her presence was that of a sun – eyes glowing with fire, mane twinkling with millions of tiny flames. Her body was ethereal, distant, but also heavenly.
Bon Bon took in a sharp breath. “That’s it! Celestia, explain yourself! None of what’s happening makes any sense!”
Celestia smiled warmly. “As an old friend of mine once said, ‘what fun is there in making sense’?”
“So it really was just all for fun?” Bon Bon shook her head in disbelief. “You replaced everypony with changelings for a laugh?”
“Little Aescora, there’s never just one reason for doing anything.”
Bon Bon backed up – she knew her changeling name?
“Dear, I know much, much more than that. I know exactly where Chrysalis is right now and what the best way to stop her would be. I know exactly where to strike to destroy any of the neighboring nations. I know exactly what words to say to tear your mind apart from self-doubt.” She narrowed her eyes. “Look around. You cannot fathom the true expanse of the cosmos.”
Bon Bon narrowed her eyes. “So? Who cares if we can’t fathom this? You were messing with ponies and changelings on a personal, calculated level! We can understand that! Why do you set up your own people to fall to the changelings!”
“Did I really do that?”
“Yes! Equestria is gone! We’ve taken it from you! The time of ponies is at an end, and th-“
“Those ponies you hated so much…” Celestia held out a hoof at the swarm. “They were you.”
Bon Bon blinked. “Wh…”
Twilight looked at Celestia. “How many? How long? How!?”
Celestia smirked coyly. “Twilight, my student… You should be able to see the picture better than all the others here. You’ve become part of the cosmic background.”
“You can still tell us!”
“She really doesn’t need to…” Bon Bon said. “Almost every pony in Equestria is a changeling. …I wouldn’t be surprised if every pony was a changeling. We still don’t know if Celestia herself is a changeling or not! Were there ever even ponies on this planet!?”
“…Were they not what we lost in the war?” Twilight asked. “The loss of ponies… The turn to dull apathy…”
“How can we be sure anymore?” Bon Bon asked. “For all we know, everything in existence is a changeling! I… We…” She fumbled with her words, failing to draw up a suitable conclusion.
“You are yourselves. You are who you want to be.” Celestia smiled. “You are changelings. Everything else doesn’t matter. You are what you are.”
“That’s a stupid cop out answer!” Bon Bon declared.
“It’s not even an answer,” Celestia confirmed, smirking. “It’s just a statement. A reminder, if you will. Or perhaps it’s just me ‘messing with you’.”
Silence met her.
Celestia looked to the sky. “It’s time for me to go.”
“…Go?” Twilight asked, face conflicted.
Celestia’s ethereal form began to fade. “I’ve made it to this point. It’s time to let the world move on. You are what comes next.”
“You’re leaving!?” Bon Bon asked, jaw dropped. “Wh…” She stopped herself from asking a full question.
Celestia nodded. “For me, it is time for an end, and a new beginning. I have to enter the next…” She stopped herself from continuing the sentence. “For me, it is an end. But for the rest of you… You’re still in the middle of your lives, this is just one event of many on the train of fate for you. It’s just another Thursday.”
“You can’t just leave us like this!” Twilight wailed. “We’re so confused! We’re lost! We don’t know what’s happening!”
As Celestia faded away, she fixed Twilight with a sad smile. That’s exactly what you need to be.
She was gone. The cosmic plane vanished, leaving the changeling swarm in front of the Tree of Harmony.
There was silence for several minutes. None of them could even begin to comprehend what had just happened. Had it even meant anything?
They couldn’t trust anything anymore. Not the world around them, not their leaders… not themselves.
“…I need a drink,” Flitter muttered. “See you all in Ponyville. Those of you who are still capable of coherent thought.” She trotted away.
Bon Bon and Twilight stared at the Tree of Harmony, expressions blank.
“…I think I’m going to return the Element of Magic,” Twilight said.
“Huh,” Bon Bon responded, barely listening.
“…I have no idea what comes next.”
~~~
The swarm returned to an empty Ponyville. Everypony had left to become part of the swarm…
Well, all except one.
Pinkie Pie sat on the porch of sugarcube corner, watching the changelings come back with a welcoming smile on her face. The moment she saw Bon Bon she trotted right up. “Hey, Bon Bon, how did your trip go?”
Bon Bon looked at Pinkie with a dumbfounded expression. “Uh…”
“I bet Canterlot was nice. Such amazing architecture, right”
“It was… intimidating. But it was also amazing, yes.”
“Try anything interesting over there?”
“…There’s this place called Red Pie Diner that serves red themed and flavored dishes. Had breakfast there every day. If you get there early you can even rent out the banquet hall.”
‘That sounds amazing! I’ll be sure to try it out if I go!”
“Yeah…” Bon Bon shook her head.
“I bet you’re glad to be home though.”
Bon Bon was about to respond with a dismissive comment – but something inside her made her pause.
Home.
She took a moment to look around Ponyville at the drab colors, the old streets, and the lack of life. She saw the old Ponyville in her mind…
She transformed back into her favorite cream-coated form and smiled. “Yeah… Yeah, it’s good to be home. …Needs more colors though.”
“That’s what I was saying, but the mayor was all ‘no colors, it’s what ponies want’, pfft, am I right?”
Bon Bon chuckled. “Yeah… you are, Pinkie. You are. See you around.” She turned away from Pinkie and trotted deeper into Ponyville.
“…Where are you going?” Twilight asked, landing next to her.
“To my home. Going to make little candies for everypony. Get the color back into this place.”
Twilight opened her mouth to say something – but she saw the pleading look in Bon Bon’s eyes. “…I wish I could just go home.”
“Why couldn’t you?” Bon Bon asked. “Just take Ocellus back to Canterlot and take over where Celestia left off. I bet you could hammer out a peace agreement with Chrysalis easy given recent events.”
“I’m… I’m not ready.”
“None of us were.” Bon Bon looked up at the sun. “…That’s the point, I think.”
“Did you figure out what the point was?”
“Nope,” Bon Bon said, trotting away. “And I’m not going to. I know finding out the point isn’t the point. I’m going home.”
Twilight smiled. “I hope you find what you’re looking for. Goodbye, Bon Bon.”
Bon Bon waved at Twilight with a legitimate smile. She trotted to her house. It was still hers, she hadn’t sold it when she left. She hadn’t felt the need to.
In the doorway was a small changeling, looking down sadly.
Bon Bon put a hoof on the changeling’s carapace. “It’s okay, Lyra. It doesn’t matter.”
The changeling looked up at her – and smiled, transforming into a mint-green unicorn. The two hugged tightly.
It really doesn’t matter… Home hasn’t changed at all…
They went inside, going on with their day.
Bon Bon found herself already anticipating Friday.
