A Surprising Changeling

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5

Chapter 1

A small changeling rubbed her forehead and moaned. There was pain all over her body, coming in waves. It felt like she was being continually smacked with a frying pan. It seemed like the pain mostly came from her back and her right eye. There was also something jabbing her side; it felt cold, like metal.

She slowly opened one eye and rolled over, hoping movement would stop the pain. Later, she would wonder how that made sense at all. I guess nopony really thinks things through when all they can feel is pain and confusion. she would think.

And that was all she could feel. She was confused; where was she? What had happened? Where was the all pain coming from?

She soon found the source of one of the many pains. Her helmet had fallen off and was pressed in between her and a wall of some sort. Groaning with the pain of movement, she grabbed the helmet in her hooves and pushed it away. She vaguely wondered where the rest of her armor had gone, but right now all she cared about was figuring out where she was and how to get out.

Think, Crystal, think! She thought, What is the last thing you remember? She gave herself a moment to think back, and remembered the invasion. The Canterlot Invasion! Did it fail? Please, tell me it didn't fail! Not after all the planning!

Calm down. She reminded herself. Just try to remember. Well, I remember watching over the invasion, flying above and enjoying the chaos... Who am I kidding? I never enjoyed chaos. I never enjoyed any of mom's plans.

“Hello?” somepony called.

Oh no! the changeling thought. It sounds like a pony! She tried to shape-shift, she really did, but it didn't come. She picked herself up, standing on wobbly hooves, and tried to walk to the nearest hiding spot. The pain was so intense she nearly fell over, but she kept going. Looking through only one eye, she spotted a pretty bush nearby. It had little white flowers growing on it and appeared to be part of a garden, but she didn't care. Shelter was shelter.

Trying her best to make her way over to the bush, she tried to remember what had happened. Okay, I was watching the invasion... then Commander said mom wanted me to be beside her... She wanted me to be safe. She always wanted me to safe. I was flying back to Canterlot Castle when I saw a bubble of some sort. I tried to fly into it and make sure mom and the others were okay... that's all I can remember.

The changeling pulled a branch in front of her face, almost completely obscuring her from anypony's line of vision. Peeking out, she saw a purple unicorn mare standing in front of what appeared to be the crater the changeling had landed in. Or, more likely, created when she had landed.

The purple pony had a box-cut purple mane with pink streaks in it, a six-pointed star for a cutie mark, and purple eyes. She gazed into the crater, curiosity in her eyes. Then she spotted something. It was pale blue armor, about the size for a filly to wear. “What is this?” the unicorn wondered out loud for a moment, then her eyes got wide and she picked up the changeling's helmet with her magic.

Staring at the floating armor in front of her, the unicorn gasped and immediately ran off , not forgetting to pick up the rest of the changeling's armor before leaving.

That's just great. The changeling thought. Now I have no armor, shape-shifting, and I am in no fit for a fight. What do I do now?

She gazed through the branches of her bush, barely noticing how uncomfortable it was, and watched the clouds travel across the blue sky. The sun was high up in the sky, meaning it was about noon. Maybe she should just wait until night to do anything?

What can I do? she asked herself, I'm hurt and I'm lost. All I could possibly do is wander around until somepony catches me. If the invasion did fail... I wouldn't be too welcome in any pony town.

Suddenly, she heard humming. Looking up, she saw a pink earth pony mare trot over to the flowerbed. She had a water can in her mouth and was humming cheerfully as she watered the plants. She had a lily in her hair, a blonde mane, and light yellow-ish eyes.

The changeling almost groaned as the mare slowly moved closer to the bush she was hiding in. The pony slowly made it down the line of differently colored lilies before watering the bush the changeling was in. Somehow oblivious, the pony didn't even see the changeling.

Soaked, the changeling sighed and laid her head on her front hooves. The great princess of the changelings had just been watered like a plant. Not that her rank had ever given her happiness.

Suddenly, she felt a little power. It was love, but coming from where? Lifting her head to peek through the branches, she saw the pink earth pony gazing at her garden happily. Love was radiating from her. It wasn't as strong as another pony's love for a pony, but it was enough.

This is odd. The changeling observed. Normally, changelings get love by pretending to be ponies. Not bushes. Still, she wasn't about to toss away power when she was so weak. She absorbed the love and instantly felt stronger.

She waited, building up magic as the pink pony left. When she was sure the coast was clear, the changeling hopped out of the bush and quickly shape-shifted. Imagining a new form, she quickly changed into a pegasus mare.

Opening her eyes, she instantly felt sharp stab of pain and closed them again. This time she opened only her left one, and felt better. She tried to walk. She had to be able to walk, if only to walk to a safer place. But she almost fell over again. I can't walk. she thought, starting to panic. Can I fly?

However, she never really had much hope for flying. After all, judging by the pain in her back and sides, her wings were broken.

What am I going to do? she thought, starting to shake with fear. The gravity of the situation was starting to crumble down upon her. I can't move without falling over and I'm surrounded by ponies!

Then her shaking made her fall over and she lay on the ground, breathing hard. She started to lose consciousness, and the last thing she saw before slowly fading into blackness was a yellow pegasus mare down the road.

The changeling slowly blinked open her left eye. Something was restricting her right eye from opening, however. She observed her surroundings, trying to keep her head. She appeared to be in a white room. To her left was a big white curtain and to her right was a window that overlooked beautiful hills. All around she could hear rhythmic beeping and chatter from ponies not too far away.

Her right eye started to itch, and she lifted a hoof to try and scratch it. However, she felt a soft, cotton-like material on her face, obscuring her eye. It was bandages. Running a hoof down her back, she felt bandages on her wings as well.

Sighing and trying not to think about what trouble she could be in, the changeling tried to think about the swarm.

They were always nice to her and looked out for her, just like they would for any other changeling. But especially her, because she was the daughter of Queen Chrysalis herself and next-in-line for ruling the changelings. She was Princess Crystal, daughter of Queen Chrysalis and future ruler of Equestria. Or so they had all thought.

The invasion had failed, hadn't it? The changelings didn't have a food supply and would probably be reduced to weak bugs after a month or so without love. If they were all hurt as much as she was, they could die. Changelings used love as the center for all their magic. Without love, they had no magic. Without magic, they had no shape-shifting or healing.

They had assured her the invasion would go as planned. In fact, she had planned most of it with her mother. But maybe the other changelings were just trying to assure her, making lies to avoid her 'tantrums'.

They weren't exactly tantrums, they were more... panic attacks. She was very prone to panic, something the drones had never understood. They just followed orders, and had never had to worry about keeping secrets or doing anything by themselves. But the stress of helping her mother keep the swarm well-fed and strong weighed down on Crystal a lot, causing her to overreact and panic often.

And speaking of panic, she was doing all she could to stay calm now. She had no idea where she was or where her mother was. For all she knew, the ponies had caught her and were going to dissect her. Or maybe just kill her... or kill her and shoot her remains into space!

Calm down, Crystal! she told herself. Just keep your head and you'll be fine.

Suddenly, the clapping of hooves on a flooring brought Crystal out of her thoughts. A white earth pony mare with a pink mane worn in a bun walked in. She had a nurse's cap and a red cross for a cutie mark. She was followed into the room by a doctor who only stared at a screen. It had a picture of two pegasus wings on it with the bones of both snapped. It was probably Crystal's x-ray...

“Hello, miss.” the nurse greeted the changeling kindly. “Good to see you're awake.”

“Where am I?” Crystal asked. “What happened?”

“You're in the hospital.” the nurse explained. “We don't know what happened exactly, but a kind little pony told us you were hurt and we brought you right back here to be healed.”

“It look like both your wings are broken.” the doctor spoke up. “But those will heal in a few days. What I'm worried about is your eye. It's swollen and got a few cuts on it. If you could ever see through that eye again, it'll be blurry.”

Crystal sighed. She held her hooves in front of her, gazing at the pure white color of them. Sight was definitely a good thing, and with only half of it, it would only make her life much, much worse.

“You might want to thank Fluttershy.” the nurse said.

“Who?”

“She was the pony that helped you. If it wasn't for her, you'd be in trouble.” then the nurse and doctor trotted out the door. “See you later, miss. Just rest for now.”

Now Crystal was completely alone. Knowing that if she thought at all she would panic, she just rolled over and pulled the up over her head and tried to sleep. But sleep didn't come. Her situation was much too dire for sleep.

She lay there for what seemed like an hour, trying to do anything but think about where she was, until she heard a knock on the door. “Hello?” called a soft voice. “Can I come in?”

Who would be coming to see me? Crystal wondered. Nopony knows me, and I completely made up this form. “Sure, come in.” she called.

The door slowly opened and a yellow mare walked in. She partially hide her face behind her long, pink mane, but still spoke to Crystal. “Hello, miss. I-I just wanted to know if you're okay... if you don't mind, that is.”

Crystal smiled kindly at the pony. “You're Fluttershy, aren't you?”

The mare nodded.

“The nurse told me you were the one who helped me. Thank you so much. And yes, I am fine.”

“Oh, okay then.” Fluttershy whispered. “Your welcome.” she turned and trotted out the door, as if fleeing. Crystal didn't stop her; she was too lost in thought.

“Haven't I seen that pony before?” she wondered out loud.

“I don't know, have you?” a voice asked. It made Crystal jump; as far as she knew, no pony else was in the room.

The owner of the voice appeared as if from nowhere. It was a pink earth pony. She had a fluffy mane and tail, light blue eyes, and three balloons for a cutie mark.

“Who are you?” Crystal asked, “More importantly; how did you get in?”

The pink pony pointed accusingly at Crystal with a hoof. “I know who you are!” she stated.

Crystal gulped. “R-really?” she asked.

“Yes!” the pink pony reached behind her back and pulled out what looked like a weapon. Crystal covered her face with her hooves.

To be continued...

Chapter 2

Suddenly, Crystal was showered with confetti. Surprised, she turned to look at the pink stranger, who had a big smile on her face and was holding a cannon in her hooves. The room was now littered with confetti, balloons, streamers, and a pink tablecloth that had fallen on the floor.

“SURPRISE!” the earth pony shouted. “Do you like how I re-made my party cannon? Now it's completely silent when it fires off! But I was thinking of changing it so it plays music when I fire it, or maybe it should shoot out a radio that automatically plays music!”

“What are you talking about?” Crystal shouted over the pony's babbling. “Who are you?”

The pink mare stopped talking for a moment, observing Crystal. “I'm Pinkie Pie, and you're Surprise, one of my bestest friends in the world.” She explained seriously, “But why don't you recognize me? And why can other ponies see you?”

“What do you mean, 'other ponies see me'? And I'm not your bestest friend- I just met you a few seconds ago.”

“Of course you're one of my bestest friends.” Pinkie explained, “We met when we were just little fillies on the rock farm! Remember? I saw the rainbow and threw my party, and I saw you out the window so I went to talk with you! I introduced you to my parents but they said they couldn't see you and said that I had an imaginary friend. But you're not imaginary! You're Surprise!”

“Listen, I don't know what you'r-” suddenly, Crystal stopped. Was she about to toss away an opportunity like this? An identity was practically being hoofed to her! “You know what, I think I do remember you.”

Pinkie's smile got even wider. “Really?”

“Really.” Crystal gave a big, fake smile. “But I don't remember much after I got hurt. Can you remind me?”

Pinkie nodded and sat down. She raised a hoof and opened her mouth to speak when the door flung open. “Pinkie!” the nurse from earlier ran in. “What is all this racket?”

“I'm sorry, Nurse Redheart, but I wanted to visit my friend.” Pinkie explained.

The nurse face-hoofed. “Pinkie, you're always causing trouble in this hospital! We've gotten noise complaints every time you visit!”

“I know, I'm sorry.”

“One more recovering patient woken up, and you could very well be kicked out of the hospital.”

Pinkie Pie nodded. “I'll be quiet, I promise.”

“Good.” The Nurse turned and started to trot out the door.

Pinkie sighed and leaned against the party cannon. She accidentally hit the fuse, which seemed to act more like a button, and there was a loud bang. Crystal couldn't see Nurse Redheart under all the confetti, balloons, and the tablecloth, but could tell she was angry.

“Hehe,” Pinkie laughed nervously. “thought I'd fixed the noise.”

Nurse Redheart threw off the tablecloth, revealing her white face; now red with anger. Pinkie choose that moment to flee. “See ya, Surprise!” she called as she ran down the hallway, pursed by the angry nurse.

Crystal face-hoofed. She let the hoof slowly slide down her face before staring at the party cannon. She reached out a hoof and poked the fuse. It silently shot out a cloud of confetti and balloons, making the mess in the room even bigger. “I'm pretending to be the imaginary friend of an insane pony obsessed with parties?” she asked herself out loud. “And she invents cannons that shoot out party supplies?”

She thought about this statement for awhile. “I'm not sure if this will be fun or disastrous.”

Pinkie sat at Sugarcube Corner's counter, waiting for customers. She heard the sounds of hooves outside, and perked her ears. She hadn't gotten a customer all day; most came in the morning and she had been off pranking since 6:00 am till 3:00 pm. Except when she had trotted past the hospital window and seen Surprise sitting there. Then she had gone in, talked with her, and been banned from the hospital. But only for a week.

The hoofsteps got closer until finally a yellow hoof opened the door and Fluttershy walked into the bakery. “Hello, Pinkie Pie.” the shy pegasus greeted her friend in her usual quiet voice.

“Hiya, Fluttershy.” Pinkie said, “What can I get ya?”

“Do you have any cherry cupcakes? I promised Angel that I would get him his favorite cupcakes.”

“Cherry cupcakes, comin' right up!” Pinkie trotted off into the kitchen in search of the treats. She opened the cabinet, but found none. She opened a box on the counter, but found none. She opened the fridge, but found none. She went into the storage area, but found none. “I guess I'll just have to make them!”

Fluttershy sat in the main room of Sugarcube Corner, waiting for Pinkie to retrieve the treats. The sight of her pink friend had caused something to occur to her; she looked a lot like the pony she had saved earlier. The colors were off, but she had the same three balloons cutie mark (but all of her's was purple in contrast to Pinkie's yellow and blue) , the same puffy hair and tail, and the same eyes. But the stranger had been white with yellow hair, and had been a pegasus.

Suddenly, Fluttershy heard a clattering from the kitchen and left to investigate. She found Pinkie, covered in red cupcake batter, stuffing a tray into the oven. “Pinkie, you don't have to make a new batch just for me.” the pegasus said, “I could come back later when you have more...”

“No, it's not a problem!” Pinkie insisted, kicking the oven closed. “You're the only customer I've had all day! I was getting bored and I needed something to do, anyways!”

Fluttershy glanced out the door, in the direction of the hospital. “Well, if you're bored, there's a pony at the hospital who looks kinda like you. If she's awake and wouldn't be bothered, you could go visit her...”

“I've already seen her, silly.” Pinkie said. “Her name is Surprise. She's an old friend of mine.”

“You know her already? That's nice.”

Suddenly, a bell rang to signal somepony walking through the door s of Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie trotted out of the kitchen to see who it was.

“Maybe we should ask Twilight Sparkle about it, Muffin.” a gray pegasus said, speaking to a similarly gray unicorn filly. “She might know a spell.”

“That's be great, mom!” the filly bounced excitedly. “Hi, Pinkie Pie!”

“Hi, Dinky!” Pinkie greeted the filly. “Hiya, Derpy!” she greeted the pegasus.

Derpy's yellowish eyes were crossed, but even so she held a normal expression on her face. “Muffins.” she said simply.

“Gotcha.” Pinkie ducked into the kitchen, grabbing a ready-made box full of a dozen muffins. She set it down on the counter in front of Derpy, who took them and dropped them in her saddlebags.

“Hey Pinkie, you're still going to give me baking lessons tomorrow, right?” Dinky asked.

“Of course!” Pinkie ruffled the filly's mane. “You'll make a great baker!”

“She's also going to magic school.” Derpy said proudly, “And I was going to ask Twilight Sparkle to give her a few private lessons, since she's better at magic than any other pony in her class.”

“That's great!” Pinkie clapped her hooves. Then she heard a beeping coming from the kitchen. The oven was done, and this time she wouldn't accidentally start a fire! She hated it when she started a fire because it made the Cakes angry. She didn't like to disappoint the Cakes. “Gotta get that.” she raced into the kitchen, where Fluttershy was still sitting.

Pinkie pulled the tray of cupcakes out of the oven, laying them carefully on the counter. She closed the oven, then grabbed the white frosting. She took the cherry-red cupcakes and started spreading the soft, tasty frosting on them. When she was done making sure they were all perfect, she put away the frosting and grabbed the jar of cherries from the fridge. She then carefully set on in the exact middle of each one.

The earth pony took all the cupcakes out of the tray and put them in a decorative box, tying it securely. “I know how much Angel likes them when they're perfect!” Pinkie explained to Fluttershy, mostly to keep her from telling the party pony not to work so hard for her.

“Thank you.” Fluttershy took the string wrapped around the box in her mouth and walked out the building, towards her cottage.

The next day, Nurse Redheart woke Crystal. “Miss Surprise, we'd like you to get ready to leave.”

“Leave?” Crystal mumbled, sleepily. “Leave for where?”

“You explained that you were a friend of Pinkie Pie.” the nurse explained, “Since Pinkie Pie is the only one who knows you, we think that you would be safest with her.”

“Wait, why am I leaving the hospital?” Crystal asked, waking up a bit more.

Redheart sighed. “Without family, a bank, or any money of any kind on you, you can't afford the hospital. Since your injuries are no longer life-threatening, we can't keep you here any longer. We've informed Mr. and Mrs. Cake on how to take care of you. It's all rest and medicine, so you should be fine. Just stay off those wings for at least a week.”

“When do I leave?”

“As soon as the Cakes and Pinkie Pie come to pick you up.” Then the nurse turned to leave the room, mumbling, “And I hope Pinkie will keep quiet, I hope she doesn't forget she's supposed to be banned from the hospital...”

“It's okay, Crystal.” the changeling said aloud to herself. She sat up in her bed, waiting. The nurse said that these ponies named the 'Cakes' would be coming any minute. She had no idea who they were, but she knew Pinkie. A little bit. “I'm sure you can keep your cover. I'm sure these... 'Cakes' are nice ponies who won't find out you're not really Pinkie's friend since foalhood.”

Trying to avoid panic, Crystal hopped off her bed and began to pace the room. It was still filled with three tablecloths, at least fifteen balloons, and a ton of confetti. After she tripped the third time, Crystal realized that walking without the sight of her right eye was difficult; no depth perception.

She stepped forward, putting her weight on the hoof on the ground, making sure not to accidentally shift he weight before her hoof was in the correct place. She did the same with the next hoof. And the next hoof. Then she started the cycle over again, trying to get used to walking without all her eyesight.

Suddenly, she heard a voice and nearly fell over. She instinctively tried to fly, but the sharp pain in her wings reminded her that they were broken.

“Are you okay, dear?” asked the voice. Crystal turned around to see two ponies in the doorway. One was a short, blue earth pony mare with a pink, swirly mane and tail. The other was a taller, yellow earth pony stallion with a short, orange mane and tail

“Yes, I'm fine.” Crystal said. It was a lie; her wings were burning like heck.

“I'm Cup Cake and this is my husband, Carrot Cake.” the female introduced herself and the stallion. “We heard you were a friend of Pinkie Pie and that the hospital couldn't care for you anymore, so we came by to pick you up.”

“You're gonna stay with us until you're all better!” a familiar voice shouted. A pink form hopped over Cup and Carrot into the room. It was Pinkie Pie. “It'll be so much fun!”

“Yeah.” Crystal fake-smiled. “Sounds like fun to me.”

“Please tell me you know how to make muffins!” Pinkie said, “I'm teaching a friend of mine's daughter how to bake muffins, and I might need your help!”

Crystal and Pinkie followed the Cakes out of the hospital while they talked. “I really don't know how to bake that well.” Crystal sighed.

Pinkie waved a dismissive hoof. “Oh well, I'll teach ya!”

When Crystal finally made her way back to where Pinkie and the Cakes lived; a place called 'Sugarcube Corner', she was surprised. There were pictures of various types of sweets all over the walls and the whole place smelled like cupcakes and sugar.

“This is the main room.” Pinkie said, giving Crystal a tour. “This is where customer come in to order something- or pick up daily orders!” She trotted around the counter of the main room and into another room behind it. Crystal carefully followed, stilling tripping every few steps.

“This is the kitchen where we bake all the yummy treats that everypony buys!” Pinkie said the moment Crystal made it to the door. “Surprise, we used to make so many cupcakes back at the rock farm! I hope you can remember that!”

Crystal smiled awkwardly and nodded. “O-of course I do.” she said, a little too quickly.

Pinkie didn't seem to notice. Instead, she walked out of the kitchen and towards a staircase. Crystal didn't notice, but this time Pinkie slowed to match the changeling's pace. While they walked up the stairs, the Crystal took the time to observe Pinkie. She mane always bounced, even when she was walking normally. Her eyes were very light blue, reminding the her of what newborn changelings' eyes looked like. Of course, her eyes had always been green-ish, like her mother's. In fact, she looked exactly like a smaller version of her mother in her changeling form.

“Hey, Surprise!” Pinkie waved a hoof in front of Crystal's face, bringing her out of her thoughts. “You went real quiet there for a bit!”

“Oh, yeah, I was just thinking.” Crystal faked a smile and trotted forward into the room in front of her. Pinkie followed her. The room seemed to raise the changeling's spirits just by being in it. The walls were a bright pink with balloon and candy stickers all over. Many different party decorations were hung about, despite the fact that no party was going on. A pink mattress with yellow and blue balloon decorations on it was in a corner. Another mattress, this one normal and white, was in the other corner.

“Do you like it?” Pinkie asked, bouncing with excitement. “I just repainted a few days ago! And that's where you're going to sleep.” she pointed at the white mattress. “Don't worry; I put the comfiest blankets on it!”

“It does look comfy.” Crystal said, observing the fluffy blankets as if she was really interested. She didn't care how comfy they were; she just wanted to lay down. Her legs were killing her. She climbed into the bed and lay down, and instantly felt as if she could never sit up again. “Wow! This is comfortable! I don't think I'll ever get up again.” she added jokingly.

“Aww, but you can't just sit in a bed forever.” Pinkie said. “I want to introduce you to all my friends!”

“Maybe later, Pinkie.” Crystal sighed, “For now, I just want to rest.”

Pinkie's smile faded. “Oh... okey doki.” she said. She trotted downstairs, leaving Crystal to lay down.

She seems different than I remember. Pinkie thought. The Surprise I remember would fly upside-down and jump around; she would never be sad or angry, she was always happy. But something seems off about Surprise now. Then she shook her head to dismiss the thoughts. No, of course she's still the same. She's just tired because she got hurt. Maybe I should cheer her up... PARTY!

To be continued...

Chapter 3

Dinky Hooves sat in her room, concentrating. Her horn was glowing with yellow magic; strong yellow magic. She remembered what Twilight Sparkle had told her earlier: ”Just remember to read all about the spell and be careful who or what you cast it on.” Dinky had read all about the spell, for Ms. Sparkle had given her a book about it. She had read all about it, then decided it was time to try it out.

It was a spell that un-did illusions. If somepony had used magic to change the appearance of something (or themselves), then this spell would undo that.

“Muffin!” Dinky heard her mother call. “Some of your friends are at the door!”

“Alright!” Dinky called back. The magic faded and she stood, trotting out of her room and into the living room. The front was swung open with the filly's magic, and she was met with three pairs of eyes.

“Hiya, Dinky!” all three of the Cutie Mark Crusaders greeted her at the same time.

“Hey guys!” Dinky greeted them back. “What are you doing here?”

“We were thinking,” Scootaloo explained, “that Sweetie Belle's talent might be magic, since she's a unicorn and all. Twilight said she was busy, so we thought, 'why don't we go to the most talents unicorn in our class?'.”

“I'm flattered, really.” Dinky said, “But I've got to get to Sugarcube Corner soon; Pinkie Pie's giving me a lesson on how to bake muffins!”

The three fillies sighed in disappointment.

“I'm really sorry, I'll help some other time; promise.” Dinky said.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders nodded, then ran off down the street, regaining their excitement soon after and once again talking of their cutie marks.

The visit had reminded Dinky that she did indeed need to go over to Sugarcube Corner soon. She trotted back inside to grab her book, deciding that she could practice the spell on her way there or while the muffins were baking.

She levitated her book over to her with her yellow magic then turned to leave for the bakery. She was stopped when she felt something being dropped onto her back. Dropping her book now that her concentration was broken, Dinky turned around to see her mother standing behind her, having just dropped her saddlebags on her the filly's back.

“You'll want saddlebags.” Derpy said. She picked up Dinky's book and slipped it inside the bag. “I know you'll get tired from levitating that book all the way to Sugarcube Corner.”

Dinky smiled widely. “Thanks, mom.”

Derpy reached down to hug her daughter. “I'm proud of you, my little muffin.” she said. “And I'm proud you're working so hard to learn that spell. Soon you'll be able to protect Ponyville from the changelings.”

“That's my plan.” Dinky hugged her mother back for a few seconds then pulled away, racing out the door excitedly. Derpy smiled, her eyes crossed as usual.

Crystal blinked her eyes open, noticing that she had slept all night and it was now mid morning. Last night Pinkie had seemed very occupied, writing things down and shuffling through different drawers. Crystal had let her go about it; at least she was leaving her alone for some good rest. Her wings were feeling better, but she still got a stab of pain whenever she accidentally moved them. She still had to wear a bandage on her right eye, and she dreaded the thought of returning to the hive with only the sight of her left eye. How could she rule as Princess Crystal if her sight was damaged?

She rolled over and spotted a mirror next to a window. She didn't remember it being there before she had fallen asleep, but it was there now. Maybe Pinkie's room, like the owner, was completely random. She gazed at her disguise, wondering how, out of all the different designs of ponies she could make up in her head she somehow came up with Pinkie's imaginary friend.

Actually this disguise looked like an exact copy of Pinkie, just with different colors and wings. Their manes and tails were both messy and bouncy, Crystal's yellow and Pinkie's pink. Their cutie marks were both sets of three balloons, Crystal's purple and Pinkie's blue and yellow. And their eyes were both the same shape, Crystal's purple and Pinkie's blue. But Crystal's one visible eye didn't have Pinkie's usual laughter dancing in it; only stress.

Suddenly, there was a loud knocking downstairs. Crystal stood abruptly, startled. She tried to fly as a reflex, but only groaned in pain as she tried to move her injured wings. She trotted over to the window and looked out to see a young gray unicorn filly knocking on the door with a hoof.

The door flung open, and even though from the angle of which she was watching Crystal couldn't see who had answered it, she knew it was Pinkie when she heard, “Welcome to Sugarcube Corner, where everything is tasty- Oh, hiya Dinky!”.

The changeling watched the filly, Dinky, trot inside. “Hiya, Pinkie! You said you were going to teach me how to bake muffins, right?”

“Yup.” Pinkie said. “My friend's gonna help too. I'll go get her.” Crystal heard Pinkie's hoofsteps coming up the stairs. She decided she had better go meet the party pony and opened the door to the room a split second before Pinkie did.

“Oh, great, you're awake!” Pinkie smiled. “Remember when I said a friend of mine's daughter wanted me to teach her how to bake muffins?”

“Yes, Pinkie.” Crystal said, trying to pull off a cheerful smile.

“Well, do you wanna help?” Pinkie asked. “We're gonna start now!”

“Sure.” What else do I have to do? Sit and stare at myself in the mirror until my mother thinks to look for me? the changeling followed the happy pink mare down the stairs and into the main room of the bakery. She saw the gray unicorn filly reading a book, levitating it in the air in front of her with yellow magic.

“Ooooooh!” Pinkie said in amazement, looking at the floating book. “You're gooood. Last time I saw you try that levitating-thingy you kept dropping it.”

“I've gotten better.” Dinky replied, setting down the book careful and puffing out her chest in pride. “Mom says she's proud of how good at magic I've gotten.”

“Great!” Pinkie stepped back and bounced into the kitchen. “Now for muffins!”

“Muffins!” Dinky cheered. She sat back on her hind legs and clapped her forehooves, then raced into the kitchen after Pinkie. Crystal sighed and walked after them at her own pace. Everypony was so cheerful, but all she could think about was how terrible her situation was.

But then a little voice in the back of her head said, You're pretending to be the imaginary friend of the silliest pony in all of Equestria! Why are you moping? Have fun while you can, before you have to go back to the hive and rule as princess again. Why don't you be the happy, cheerful, party pony Surprise while you can? You have the rest of your life to be Princess Crystal.

The voice had a point. Crystal smiled and sped up, entering the kitchen. Maybe she should enjoy her situation while she could. Why couldn't she be Surprise, even if it was only until her wings healed?

Pinkie, who was covered in muffin batter, sat back and sighed with relief. Dinky and Crystal were also covered in muffin batter. There was a small muffin related explosion that caused the kitchen and the ponies within to get covered in batter. They had all just laughed happily and started baking another batch, which was now in the oven.

“Twenty minutes until muffin-y goodness.” Pinkie stated. “What should we do while we wait? Any ideas, Dinky?”

“I could show you two my newest spell.” the filly suggested. “Ms. Sparkle taught it to me and gave me this book about it. I haven't tried it out yet, though.”

“Well, why don't you try it out now?” Crystal suggested. She wasn't that interested in magic apart from the simple spell that allowed changelings to shape-shift, but ponies knew so much about magic, it was fascinating.

“Okay.” the filly used her magic to pick her her saddlebag. She wiped some muffin batter off it and pulled her book out. “It's a spell that un-does illusions. Any spells that changes the appearance of something will be un-done for a few minutes. I wanted to learn it because of the whole changeling thing. If Ms. Sparkle and I master it, we can check everypony in Ponyville and eliminate the threat of changelings.”

Crystal gulped, suddenly nervous. “You... r-really have a spell like that?”

“Yup, but it might no be very effective.” Dinky quickly skimmed through her book once more, just to make sure she wasn't missing anything. “I want to test it. I'll need something that's appearance has been changed by magic.”

“Do I have anything like that?” Pinkie wondered out loud. She tapped her hoof on her chin thoughtfully. Then she said, “I know! Rarity made me some pink earmuffs! I remember because she thought I looked cold and gave me some blue ones. Then she was all like 'No, that color simply doesn't fit you.' and used her magic to make them pink!”

“That should do.” Dinky said.

Pinkie stood and darted out of the room, off to go find her earmuffs.

“Is there something wrong, miss Surprise?” Dinky asked Crystal, who was quietly panicking.

“I'm fine, Dinky.” Crystal lied. She'll cast the spell and I'll be revealed! Maybe I should make up and excuse and run while I can? If I'm here, they'll capture me because I can't escape! I still have trouble walking without depth perception and I can't fly yet... What am I going to do?! She took a deep breath, ignoring a skeptical glance from Dinky. Calm down, Crystal, calm down. I'm sure if the spell works you can run fast enough. If you get out of here before they see your true form, Dinky said it only lasted for a few minutes. I'm sure it will be fine. However, she didn't trust her own thoughts.

Crystal snapped out of her thoughts as Pinkie hopped into the kitchen with a pair of pink earmuffs in her mouth. She dropped them in front of Dinky and asked, “Will these do?

“Yep!” Dinky motioned for Pinkie and Crystal to step back and give her space. The changleing shivered with fear as the yellow magic form the filly's horn grew brighter. Dinky strained, trying to put as much magic in the spell as she could. The glow grew brighter and brighter, Crystal's panic inching closer and closer to the line that separated common sense and out of control. She forced herself to keep her hooves planted in place.

Finally, Dinky released the spell, aiming it at the earmuffs. There was a bright light that blinded all three, causing all of them to close their eyes and shield them with their hooves. This was it; her cover was blown so soon...

The flash was gone, and all three opened their eyes. Crystal was surprised to find that she was still Surprise. She immediately looked at the earmuffs, which were in fact, still pink. The spell hadn't worked!

Instead of crying out in joy, Crystal stepped forward and patted Dinky on the shoulder. “Awww, too bad. But you said that was the first time you tried to cast it, right? You just need practice.”

“You're right.” the filly said. “I'll try to cast it again, but in a few minutes. It takes a lot of power, and I mean a lot.”

“I'd supposed it would.” Crystal agreed. I'm just grateful it didn't work. Maybe I could fake needing to use the little filly's room next time she tries to cast it.

Suddenly, there was a crash in the pantry. There was a thud and a puff of flour sprayed out from the crack under the door. It was followed by a buzzing noise and joyful squeals. Pinkie gasped. “The twins!” She raced over to the pantry door and flung it open, followed by Crystal and Dinky.

Inside laid one unicorn filly, giggling joyfully. She was covered from head to tail in flour, all except for her eyes. “Oh, Pumpkin.” Pinkie groaned. “I hope you didn't lose all of the flour.” The pink pony reach down and picked up the unicorn in her mouth, setting her on the counter. Then she walked back into the pantry and looked about through the mess of flour.

“What are you looking for?” Crystal asked.

“I know Pound's in here somewhere; I can hear his wings.” Pinkie said. The buzzing was suddenly silenced. “Smart guy, huh?” the pink pony asked the air. There was a set of giggles behind a case of raisins. Being closer, Crystal moved the case was saw another flour covered foal. Upon seeing that his hiding place had been discovered, the foal giggled louder and took off, wings propelling him out of the pantry and into the kitchen.

“Oh no you don't!” Pinkie called after him. She raced through the kitchen and into the next room in pursuit of the pegasus foal.

“We should go help her.” Dinky said, dropping her book and racing after the party pony. Crystal nodded and turned around to face the first foal. She would have to keep track of her while they were trying to catch the other one.

The moment she had the thought, she realized the counter was empty. She groaned as she saw a flour covered tail disappearing around the edge of the doorway into the main room. She ran after it, careful not to run into anything, since she couldn't see out of her right eye.

Crystal stopped when she found herself almost face-to-face with Cup Cake. “Have you seen the twins?” she asked, looking worried. “They're not in their crib!”

“Well, one just ran through here.” Crystal explained, while scanning the room for the filly. “And Pinkie and Dinky are trying to catch the other.”

“Oh, how do they get themselves into these situations?” Cup asked, exasperated. She started looking around the room with Crystal, who realized how much of a disadvantage she was at in this game of hide-and-seek when she could only see out of one eye.

“Gotcha!” they heard Pinkie's shout from upstairs a few minutes later. She raced down the stairs with the male foal's tail in her mouth as he tried to fly away. “I caught him, Surprise. Now where's Pumpkin?” Her voice was muffled as she spoke through the tail in her mouth.

“She got away, too.” Crystal sighed. She looked over at Cup, who also sighed.

“Now's not the time for hide-and-seek, Pumpkin!” Pinkie called, accidentally letting go of the pegasus's tail. “Please come- no, Pound, come back!” the foal flew for the stairs, still giggling happily.

Crystal raced after him, taking the stairs three steps at a time. She pounced once she got to the landing, grabbing Pound in her forehooves. She curled into a ball as she rolled towards the wall. When she unrolled, she was upside-down, but she had the foal's wings pinned so he couldn't fly away again.

“You're more troublesome than the newborns at the hive.” Crystal grumbled, almost to herself.

“You got him!” Pinkie said, bouncing up the stairs after the changeling. Crystal stood and held the foal a she walked back downstairs. She hoofed Pound over to his mother, who sighed with relief.

“Did you find Pumpkin?” Crystal asked.

“No.” Cup said. She called out to the room, “Pumpkin dear, won't you please come out?”

There was nothing but giggling.

“That's it!” Pinkie said, clapping her two forehooves together. She raced back into the kitchen and came back with some flour. “Pumpkin, if you come out I'll pour this flour on myself!”

Suddenly, there was a glow of magic and the flour-covered filly flew out, levitating herself with magic. Dinky gasped. “That's powerful magic!” she whispered. But Crystal wasn't paying attention. With a wink from Pinkie, the changeling crept around behind the floating filly, opposite of Pinkie.

The pink pony turned over to bag of flour on herself, turning herself white with flour. Pumpkin giggled delightfully, then turned around to fly back into a hiding spot before anypony could catch her. But her path was blocked by Crystal, who jumped up into the air and snatched her.

“Ah ha! Gotcha!” The changeling said in triumph. She hoofed the second foal to Cup, who held both tightly. “Why were they running and hiding, anyway?”

“It's time for their check up at the doctor's.” Cup responded. “They... really don't want to go. Thanks for helping me round them up, dears.”

“No problem.” Dinky, Pinkie, and Crystal all said at the same time.

Suddenly, there was a loud beeping. “Muffins are done!” Dinky shouted, racing into the kitchen. Pinkie bounced after and Crystal followed.

Much later that night, Pinkie was tucking the twins into their crib. In the corner of the room, Crystal and Dinky were talking about magic and spells.

“It makes sense that your spell would take a lot of power.” Crystal stated, “I mean, it un-does any illusion spells you want it to. That would be complicated.”

Pinkie reached down and kissed the twins of the foreheads. “You two were very naughty today.” she scolded them quietly.

They gave the mare two sets of big, puppy dog eyes.

“Aww, I can't stay mad at you.”

“Hive.” Pound said, “The pony said 'hive'.”

“What was that?” Pinkie asked.

Pound pointed at Crystal, who wasn't listening. “Pony said 'hive'.”

“Surprise isn't a bee, silly.” Pinkie pulled up the side of the crib. “Good night, you two.”

To Be Continued...

Chapter 4

Fluttershy was flying up near the roof of her cottage, feeding seeds to her birds. “There you go, Mr. Robin.” she said to them as she poured seeds into their little food bowls. “Eat them up, Mrs. Hummingbird. Enjoy, Baby Mourning Dove.”

Suddenly, there was a caw from outside. “Calm down, Mr. Raven. I'll come out and feed you outside birds in a moment.” Fluttershy called out calmly. Mr. Raven lived outside with all the predator birds because he didn't like to live inside like the other insect-eating and seed-eating birds. It bothered the pegasus a bit to have meat-eating animals, but she had to love all the animals, even the ones that ate others. Still, she forbade them to hunt and only fed them animals that had died of old age already. She couldn't kill one animal for the well-being of another, and after all, she could get those picky-pants predators to eat salads if there was nothing else.

Suddenly, there was a knocking on the door. This startled Fluttershy, and she accidentally dropped the bag of food on the floor. The animals all swarmed for it, but she swooped down and grabbed it before they could. “No no, friends. You eat when it's your turn.” That assertiveness training did help! she thought. “Now please wait while I go answer the door.”

She landed next to the door and opened it to see a familiar pink pony there. “Oh, hello Pinkie Pie.” Fluttershy greeted her friend.

“Hiya, 'shy.” Pinkie greeted back. She looked over the pegasus's shoulder and into the room of animals. “I need a pet for a friend.”

“Oh, really?” Fluttershy's eyes grew wide in excitement. “What do you need? A cute little bunny? A fluffy kitty? Oh, there are so many choices!”

“I need something that can fly.” Pinkie responded.

“Okay, how about a bat? A wasp? Oh, I know! How Squirrely?”

“It needs to be something cheery and brightly colored.”

“How a toucan or a flamingo?”

“Those are good, I should single out a few and have her pick.” Pinkie trotted right into the cottage, followed by Fluttershy.

“Well, here's a budgie.” Fluttershy suggested as her friend Ms. Parakeet flew over. Ms. Parakeet was a pretty yellow bird with a little pink nose over her curved beak. “She's colorful and a great flyer.”

“Great!” Pinkie bounced about, scaring away a lot of the animals. “So toucan, flamingo, and budgie?”

“Well, who needs the pet?”

“It's a surprise present for Surprise!” Pinkie whispered excitedly. “I'm throwing her a party, and I thought it would be totally-awesomely cool if she could get a pet! I want it to be perfect, since she's such a great friend of mine!”

“Does that mean you'll want the pet by this afternoon?” Fluttershy knew that Pinkie only started planning a party for the day she was going to throw it; it was half impatience and half that she would forget if it wasn't that big.

“Nope; it's in three days.” the party pony explained. “Because then she'll be able to fly again. The doctors said her wings should be a healed up by then, and what better time to give her a flying pet?”

“None better.” Fluttershy agreed. “So, here's a good one to give her; a Cardinal! Look, the male ones are a pretty red color, but the females are also a nice shade of brown.”

Suddenly, a green parrot flew down and landed on Fluttershy's head. “Pet!” he cawed.

“Oh, yes, Mr. Parrot here would also be a good choice.” the pegasus said. “Oh, there's so many good choices. Just wait; you'll see!”

Dinky stared at the purple pillow on her bed. It used to be blonde to match her hair, but now it was purple. She concentrated on it, horn glowing with magic. There was another flash of light, and when she opened her eyes, the pillow was blonde once more. She quickly casted another spell, turning it purple again.

“I'm not getting any practice with this.” she sighed to herself. It was too simple; she could use her anti-illusion spell to undo spells she's done because she knew exactly how she did them. However, it was much harder when other unicorns cast the spell, which is why she couldn't change the earmuffs yesterday.

She cast her spell again, turning the pillow back to its blonde color and laid her head upon it. She stared at her clock. It read , '6:00 am'. She knew her mother would be home in about half and hour. Derpy was the mailmare, which meant she had to get up really early to make sure everypony had their mail when they woke up.

Dinky loved her mother, and wanted to make her proud by learning as much magic as she could. She would be a great unicorn and make her mother proud. But how could she be a great unicorn when she couldn't even master one spell?

I need to learn this spell. Dinky thought. then I can make my mother proud by not only knowing a powerful spell, but also for exposing any changeling spies in Ponyville.

But Dinky had other responsibilities too. She had promised to help Sweetie Belle learn magic, and yesterday while they were chasing Pound Cake, Pinkie had asked her if she could help her plan a party for Surprise. She had to help her friends, and that should be at the top of her priority list.

Thinking that the party one would be the easiest and most fun, and that she was already too awake to fall back asleep, Dinky used her yellow magic to float her notebook and quill over to her. She sat on her bed and wrote in the notebook, thinking about what she could do for the party. After a moment of thought, she wrote down a few things:

'Purple balloons to match her cutie mark'

'Make pin the tail on the pony'

'Make cherry-filled chocolate treats'

Dinky licked her lips at the thought of cherry-filled chocolates. Surprise had said they were her favorites yesterday while they were playing around and making muffins. Suddenly she stopped; something had occurred to her. Earlier, Pinkie had told her that Surprise's favorite candy was candy corn, she even told her a story where Surprise and her were eating candy as fillies and and the pegasus had begged for candy corn instead of chocolate. Dinky just shrugged. Favorites can change. she thought, then wrote down, 'and candy corn' just in case.

After writing down as many things as she could think of for the party, Dinky levitated as many books on magic over to her as she could and started flipping through them. Once she found a few that seemed good, she flipped to a clean page in her notebook and wrote, 'Spells to teach Sweetie'. Then she listed many simple spells like 'Teleportation of inanimate objects'.

Once she was finished, she heard the door open and a loud sigh of relief. She dropped her notebook and trotted out of her room and into the living room, where her mother had tossed down her saddlebags and laid on the couch.

“Welcome home, mom!” Dinky greeted Derpy.

“Glad to be home, muffin.” Derpy said. She looked exhausted. She did have to fly all over Ponyville to deliver mail at 6:00am, so it was expected. Dinky trotted over and hugged her mother, who hugged her back. “I'm going to sleep, my little muffin.”

“Good night, mom.” Dinky said. Derpy stumbled sleepily into her room, leaving the filly sitting alone in the living room.

“I'm going to make her proud.” she said aloud once her mother had left the room. “I'm going to make her happy; I just want to lift the weight off her shoulders.”

Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom all sat at a picnic table next to the local restaurant. In front of them were daisy sandwiches and salads. The chatted happily, discussing Sweetie Belle's possible special talent.

“You could be a great magician!” Scootaloo said excitedly, “Then you could battle those evil changelings if they ever want to invade again!”

“That would be great!” Sweetie said cheerfully.

“We could be the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Changeling Hunters!” Scootaloo waved a hoof in the air for effect. “I could run 'em over with my scooter and Apple Bloom could... um... kick them?”

She looked over at Apple Bloom, who shrugged. At that moment, they spotted Dinky Hooves trotting up the street with saddlebags full of books.

“Uh oh.” Sweetie groaned, “I hope it won't be all reading books like school! I had enough of book reading when we were trying to become librarians.”

Having heard them from even that far away, Dinky raced over. “Not necessarily.” the unicorn filly said. She used her yellow magic to levitate some books out of her bags. “I'll just be trying to teach you; the books are mostly for reference in case I forget something.”

“Um... alright then.” Sweetie finished the last bit of her sandwich. “Well, what's first? Is it going to be so really awesome spell that can help fight off the changelings?”

“Not really.” Dinky flipped through what she had written down in her notebook. “We have to start with the simple stuff. Magic is hard, why do you think Ms. Sparkle always has her nose in a book? There's no way to get good at magic without studying.”

Scootaloo and Apple Bloom stood up. “This doesn't sound like stuff for us.” they both said, before they both trotted away.

“Today's the day, Surprise!” Pinkie said, grabbing the changeling and pointing at the sky. They were sitting outside Sugarcube Corner, ready to go walk around Ponyville.

“What am I supposed to look at?” Crystal asked, looking up at the sky where Pinkie was pointing.

“Not at the sky, but at my friends!” Pinkie let go of her the disguisied pony and pointed towards the center of town. “To Twilight's library! Today I'm going to introduce you to my bestest best friends!”

“Sounds great.” Crystal smiled, hoping she could enjoy this. She kept telling herself that it would be okay and that her mother would find her, and maybe going around to meet new ponies would help her feel better. After all, her only friends at the moment were Dinky and Pinkie Pie.

The two ponies traveled down the street, Pinkie bouncing and Crystal trotting after her. After realizing that Pinkie traveled a lot faster than her, the changeling had a thought. I'm pretending to be Pinkie's friend, who from the sounds of it, is just as silly and energetic as her. Would it be completely crazy if I bounced, too? She looked over at Pinkie, bouncing joyfully and humming. I might as well enjoy myself.

Mimicking the way Pinkie bent her legs than bounced forward, Crystal soon caught up to her. Pinkie opened her eyes and saw Crystal bouncing along with her. She smiled widely and the two bounced down the street, drawing odd looks from the other ponies.

Suddenly, Pinkie stopped. Crystal stopped too and opened her eyes. They were stnading in front of a big treehouse. No, not the treehouse that's built into the branches of a tree; a house itself was a tree. “This is where my friend Twilight Sparkle lives.” Pinkie explained, knocking on the door. “This is a library. She loves reading and magic and stuff, and she's the smartiest pony ever!”

The door started to glow with sparkling purple magic and was flung open to reveal a purple unicorn standing on the other side. If Crystal wasn't already completely white, the color would have drained from her face. She recognized this pony. This was the pony who had taken her armor.

“Oh, hello Pinkie Pie.” the unicorn said. “Who's your friend?”

“Twilight, meet Surprise. Surprise, meet Twilight.” Pinkie picked up their hooves and stuck them together, making them shake hooves. Crystal forced herself to keep the smile on her face and cheerfully shook Twilight's hoof. “Twilight, Surprise is an old foalhood friend of mine.”

“Great to meet you, Surprise.” Twilight said, smiling. “Are you new in town?”

“Yep.” Crystal replied cheerfully, trying to mimic Pinkie. “Just got here a few days ago.”

“A few days ago, you say?” Twilight asked, almost to herself as she tapped her chin with her hoof and looked lost in thought.

“Yup.” Crystal hoped Twilight wasn't going to pry; other than being Pinkie's foalhood friend, she had no backstory for her Surprise character.

But, before Twilight could say anything else, a rainbow streak passed above them in the sky. Pinkie gasped with excitement. “What's she doin' this time?” the pink mare asked, “I wonder if she's doing her Super Duper Rainbow Flash, or her Triple Rainbow Spin?”

“What are you talking about?” Crystal asked.

“Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie pointed at the rainbow streak in the sky. Following where she was pointing, Crystal squinted at the end of the streak. She could barely see a cyan blur at the very end, drawing the rainbow out in the sky. “That's Rainbow Dash. She's the fastest flier in all of Ponyville!'

“A pony is making that?” Crystal gasped. “How quick is she moving?!”

“Very.” Twilight answered, watching the cyan pegasus blur flip around in a loop three times to make a rainbow ribbon in the sky. “She's flown so fast she broke the sound barrier before. She's done it three times; once as a filly, once at a competition, and once at the wedding in Canterlot a few days ago.”

Flinching at the mention of the wedding, Crystal decided to instead stare at the rainbow with her mouth agape. “She not only flew so fast she broke the sound barrier... but she did it as a filly?!”

“Exactly.” Twilight nodded.

Pinkie was dancing back and forth on her back hooves while clapping with her forehooves. “Woo! The Triple Rainbow Spin! Go Rainbow Dash! Woohoo!”

Crystal shrugged, then stood on her hind hooves as well, clapping and cheering along with Pinkie Pie. They weren't the only ones. Many ponies around them had stopped to stare at the beautiful flying trick, and were now stomping with applause.

The cyan and rainbow blur flipped around three more times, performing the trick again. The cheers grew louder. Finally, the blur slowed and flew towards the library. As she got closer and slowed down a bit, Crystal could see rainbow Dash fully. She was a blue-cyan color (if you didn't already get that...) with a rainbow mane and tail, magenta eyes, and a cutie mark that was a cloud with a rainbow lightning bolt coming out of it.

Rainbow landed gracefully directly in front of Pinkie.”'sup, Pinkie?” Rainbow asked smugly, “Just watching Ponyville's greatest flier, are we?”

“That was amazing!” Crystal cut in before Pinkie could speak, which was very quickly if you knew Pinkie Pie. “I've never seen anything like it!”

“Heh, thanks.” Rainbow said. “Who are you?”

“Dashie, this is Surprise, she's a foalhood friend of mine and she's in Ponyville now!” Pinkie Pie explained.

“Oh, are you the hurt pegasus Fluttershy took to the hospital?” Rainbow asked. Crystal nodded. “Yeah, Fluttershy was telling me about you. How did you get so busted up, anyway?”

“I... uh.. crashed.” Crystal lied lamely.

“Musta crashed real bad to get messed up that much.” Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “The worst crash I've ever had landed me in the hospital with one broken wing. You look like you broke both. And what's up with your eye?”

“I hurt that too.” Crystal reached up and felt the bandages over her right eye. She then lowered her hoof than looked back at Rainbow Dash. “But anyway; that flying was amazing! I don't think I could do that even if my wings were working.”

“Well, how about I give ya a lesson when your wings heal?” Rainbow offered. “You'd probably be great. I mean, not as great as me, of course, but still great!”

“That sounds awesome.” Crystal nodded. Then she felt a tap on her shoulder and saw Pinkie standing behind her.

“Come on, Surprise, we need to go to Rarity's next! Off this way!” Pinkie started bouncing off in one direction. Surprise followed her, bouncing along. Pinkie looked over at Crystal, and when she saw that her eyes were closed, she quietly snuck away and back over to Rainbow and Twilight.

“Guys!” Pinkie whispered to them, just before both left. They stopped to look at her. “I'm planning a surprise party for Surprise in three days when her wings heal! You're invited!” Then she dashed away to meet back up with Crystal, who hadn't noticed her absence.

Chapter 5

Sweetie Belle's horn glowed with light green magic, but it faded quickly. She gathered all her magic and tried again, the book in front of her glowing. However, the glow faded again before the book moved.

“I don't think I'm cut out for this, Dinky.” Sweetie sighed. “Maybe I should just go crusading with Scootaloo and Apple Bloom...”

“Magic takes work and time, Sweetie Belle.” Dinky explained kindly. “I'm sure you'll get it if you try your hardest.”

“But if it was my special talent, wouldn't I already have my cutie mark?” Sweetie asked.

“For it to be your special talent, you would have to be good at it.” Dinky said, “and to be good at it, you need to take the time to learn.”

“You're starting to sound like Ms. Sparkle.” Sweetie Belle muttered.

Dinky rolled her eyes. “Just keep practicing.” The gray filly's horn glowed with yellow magic as she tried to cast the spell she had been working on for the past few days. Sweetie Belle watched, amazed. The glow grew brighter and brighter, Dinky closing her eyes in concentration. Finally, she released the magic and there was a huge flash. Sweetie Belle shielded her eyes with her hoof.

The magic faded and both fillies looked at the aim of the spell; a purple bow. “Still purple.” Dinky sighed. “That spell was supposed to turn it back to orange.”

“What spell was that?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“It was an anti-illusion spell.” Dinky explained. “It's supposed to change anything back to its original form. It means that if you changed your appearance with magic, this spell could undo it. But it's complicated and powerful; I can't get it to work.” she sighed again and levitated the bow into her hair with her magic.

“Where'd you get the bow?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“I made it myself.” Dinky looked back at her book and flipped to a certain page. “I was working on a teleportation spell and somehow ended up with a random orange ribbon. I made a bow out of it when I couldn't find the owner.”

Several minutes passed, Dinky reading her book and Sweetie Belle practicing magic. Eventually, both fillies raised their heads when they heard hoofsteps behind them. Dinky almost jumped out of her seat in shock when she saw a tall unicorn guard in armor trotting over to them.

“Excuse me, little fillies.” he addressed the two. “But have you noticed any suspicious ponies around who only started to act odd at some point in the last few days?”

“Umm... no.” Dinky replied, nervous that a guard was talking to her. This was a guard, and most likely a royal guard from the armor he was wearing.

“Please inform somepony of the royal guard that are now stationed around Ponyville if you see any suspicious ponies. We have heard that there may be changeling spies in this town.”

“Really?” Dinky's eyes grew wide. Not in fear, but excitement. If she could master this spell now, she could reveal evil creatures to the royal guard. How proud would her mother be then?

“Yes.” The guard nodded and trotted away, leaving Sweetie Belle and Dinky to stare after him in silence. Finally, Dinky packed up her books quickly than ran off. Sweetie Belle ran off in the other direction.

I have to tell the others about this interesting development. the white unicorn thought.

Crystal and Pinkie bounced alongside each other down the road. Crystal cracked open one eye as she bounced, and spotted Sugarcube Corner coming up. “Uh... Pinkie?” she asked, “Why are we back at Sugarcube Corner?”

“We have to pass it to get to Carousel Boutique, silly.” Pinkie explained, opening her eyes so she could look at Crystal while she spoke. “Then we have to pass it again o go see Applejack at Sweet Apple Acres, then we have to pass it again to go see Fluttershy at her cottage.”

“But why don't we just visit everypony on one side of the town, then visit everypony on the other, instead of zig-zagging all over?” Crystal asked.

Pinkie Pie stopped and tapped her chin with her hoof, considering it. Crystal stopped as well, waiting for the silly pink pony to come to a conclusion.

However, Pinkie's decision wouldn't matter much because at that moment Mrs. Cake poked her head out the door of the bakery. “There you are, Pinkie!” she called, sounding relieved. “We need you to foalsit, emergency order of muffins has to go out today about three towns over!”

Pinkie looked disappointed for about... maybe two and a half seconds. “Alright, Mrs. Cake. Come on, Surprisie, we'll visit the rest of my friends later.”

A young pegasus colt weaved through the thick forest. “What direction should the castle be in?” he asked his microphone. Two different voices came through the speaker.

“It should be straight ahead.” the first one said. This was the colt's sister.

“Be careful out there.” a second voice warned. This was the colt's friend.

“Affirmative. And don't worry, nothing can harm me.” the colt continued walking through the thick forest. “Danger is my middle name.”

Suddenly, he heard a growling. He flipped around, seeing a huge tiger behind him. She flapped his wings, propelling himself out of the way of its claws. It growled louder and reached out with its paws to slice at the the colt again, but he swooped under it and punched it under the chin. It gave out a howl of pain and fell to the ground.

The colt nearly gasped when he saw pink hooves holding the tiger. They picked up the creature and pulled it into the sky above, out of sight of the colt. “The evil party twins.” he growled.

“The evil party twins?” the colt's sister asked through the speaker. “Have they struck?”

“Yes, but now's not the time.” the colt crouched behind a bush as he saw giant pink hooves walk by through the forest. The monstrous voice of the hooves' owner echoed through the forest.

“Where be the young colt who wishes to steal our treasure?”

Another voice echoed in response to it as huge white hooves appeared. “Maybe he passed us. Perhaps we should wait for him to appear at our castle.”

“Great idea!”

The two giant ponies raced through the forest. The colt decided to fly after them, just out of sight. Eventually, he saw a giant palace in the distance. He gasped; on top there was his prize; a beautiful crystal.

But the Evil party twins heard him.

“There he is!” the white one shouted. “Attack!”

Both leaped at the colt, who was too surprised to avoid the attack.

Crystal wrapped her hooves around Pound Cake, accidentally knocking over a few 'trees' (books and sticks standing straight up) in the process. “I've got him, Pinkie!”

“Lock him in the dungeon!” Pinkie declared, giggling afterwards.

“Got me! Got me!” Pound Cake shouted.

“We have to send in reinforcements, General Pumpkin!” Dinky declared. The two unicorn fillies raced over to the 'forest' and pounced on Crystal. The changeling fell to the ground, faking a scream of agony.

“Pinkie, help your fellow party twin!” she called.

Pinkie raced over and picked Pumpkin up in her mouth, dragging her away. Dinky raced after her. She fake-growled at Pinkie and lit up her horn with harmless magic to make it look like she was attacking her. Pinkie pretended to fall over in pain.

“No!” she squealed. “Your powerful magics have killed me!”

“We defeated the evil party twins!” Dinky declared.

“Not until you defeat me and take our crystal, Sergeant Dinky Hooves!” Crystal reminded her. While they had battled Pinkie, Crystal had taken Pound Cake and pretended to chain him up next to the palace.

Dinky used her magic to levitate Pumpkin on her back and ran towards Crystal like a war horse. Pinkie was lying on the floor behind them, giggling loudly.

“Did I ever tell you you're terrible at playing dead?” Crystal laughed at Pinkie.

Then Dinky collided with her. “No! You have struck me!” the changeling shouted out in fake pain. Pumpkin jumped onto the castle (the toy box) and grabbed the crystal (a stuffed toy) in her mouth and carried it over to Pound.

“Let's get out of here, Agent Pound and General Pumpkin!” Dinky surrounded the twin foals with her magic and carried them over to their crib.

“I have a question.” Crystal raised her hoof in the air like she was a school filly asking her teacher a question. Pinkie continued the visual metaphor.

“Yes, Miss Surprise?” she asked, sitting up.

“How did this game start again?”

All five ponies laughed uncontrollably. “I-I don't r-remember.” Pinkie responded, laughing so hard she stuttered.

And as she watched dinky and Pinkie Pie laughing hard, Crystal noticed something. She was enjoying herself. She hadn't worried about her problems in days. I guess if there were any ponies who could help me feel better, they would be Pinkie and Dinky.

“To bad you didn't get to meet the rest of my friends.” Pinkie said after they finished laughing.

“I'll visit your other friends later.” Crystal said. She stood and trotted over to the twins, who were tossing their prize back and forth in victory. She reached in and ruffled Pound's hair. He giggled then scurried away. “I never thought foals could be so much fun.” Crystal smiled.

“Yeah, they're a hoot!” Pinkie bounced over.

Crystal suddenly noticed Dinky gazing out the window, looking troubled. “What's wrong, Dinky?” she asked.

“Did you notice all the guards outside?” the filly asked, gesturing out the window. Crystal trotted outside to look. There were two guards trotting past and one way on the other side of the street.

“Yeah... why are they here?”

“They've received information about a changeling spy.”

Crystal quickly jumped back, glaring out the window at the guards. When she saw the confused looks on her friends' faces, she forced herself to calm and said, “So... they have, have they?”

“Yes...” Dinky tilted her head at Crystal in confusion, then continued speaking. “I just want to learn that spell soon so I can expose the changeling spy. It would be so nice. My mother would be so proud if I helped banish evil.”

“What do you mean evil?” Crystal asked. She immediately stuck her hoof in her mouth after saying it, internally face-hoofing for letting that slip. Still, it upset her when somepony called her race evil. She was their princess, after all.

“You don't think they're evil?” Dinky asked. “But they tried to invade Canterlot and take over Equestria! I even heard a rumor that their queen tried to kill Celestia!”

“You did?” Pinkie asked, tapping her hoof on her face. “I don't remember her trying to kill the princess. She got hurt pretty bad, though.”

“Well, maybe not everything is as you think.” Crystal said quickly. “I mean, they could have had some reason other than selfishness to invade Canterlot.”

“I don't know why you can think they're innocent after they tried to take over our home.” Dinky glared over at Crystal.

“No one is entirely innocent, Dinky.” Crystal pointed out. “But there's a good reason behind everything.” Dinky continued glaring suspiciously at Crystal, but Pinkie nodded.

“That makes sense!” Pinkie whispered to them. “Like how I stole those cupcakes from the Cakes, but it was because the twins wanted them so bad. I did something bad, but there was a reason for it!”

Crystal, eager to change the subject, pointed out the window at a yellow pegasus walking down the street. “Isn't that Fluttershy?” she asked.

Pinkie glanced out the window. “Yes! I was expecting her!”

The three of them ran down the stairs to greet Fluttershy. Pinkie was there first, flinging open the door and shoving a hoof in the pegasus's mouth before she could speak. The pink pony gestured behind her as Crystal appeared, and Fluttershy nodded. Pinkie took her hoof out of the pegasus' mouth and said, “Hiya Fluttershy!”

“Hello Pinkie.” Fluttershy responded in her usual quiet tone. “I came over with one of my animal friends to talk about... yesterday. When you... visited.”

Crystal gave Pinkie a confused glance before waving to Fluttershy. “Hello.” she greeted lamely, not really sure what else to say to this mare she barely knew.

“Hi.” Fluttershy responded.

“Well, how about we go discuss that thing and yesterday and stuff in the kitchen, Fluttershy?” Pinkie suggested. Fluttershy nodded and trotted into the kitchen. Crystal only now noticed the box tied to the yellow mare's back, breathing holes poked into it. Before she could ask anything, however, Pinkie trotted over.

“Can you go back upstairs and keep an eye on the twins for me, Surprisey?” Pinkie asked.

Crystal nodded, trotting back up the stairs, unsure of what was going on. Was it something important? Crystal didn't know, but she enjoyed herself as she played with the foals.

Downstairs in the kitchen, Dinky, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy sat. “Okay, Pinkie.” Fluttershy didn't even have a hint of her usual shyness in her voice. She was all business. Animals were involved. “I think this pet will be perfect for Surprise.”

She bit the strings that held the box to her back, safely dropping it onto the floor. She opened the top, and everypony present gazed inside. A wider smile spread across Pinkie's face.

“I know you said you want the pet to fly, but I think this one is just so cute. She'll love her.” Fluttershy reached a hoof in and petted the small animal within. It let out a quiet call, but Fluttershy just petted it kindly and it quieted down.

“It's great!” Pinkie clapped her hooves together. “Surprise will love her!”

“Isn't it dangerous to keep those as pets?” Dinky asked, concerned.

“Oh, not at all.” Fluttershy assured her. “I've raised this one and her parents and siblings as kind little animals. They wouldn't hurt anypony.”

“It's decided, then.” Pinkie stated. “The pet present portion of Surprisey's party is finished. Dinky gave me her list of ideas for the party, and I'm hoofing out invitations tomorrow. The party is only two days away.”

Four figures sat next to each other in almost total darkness. “Why's the light off?” one of them asked.

“I dunno.” another said.

“If you don't shut your trap and listen to me I'm marching you both to Canterlot and hoofing you over to Princess Celestia!” a third one snapped.

“Yes, Meta.” the first one sighed. No need to be a jerk about it...

“Don't call me Meta.” the third one growled. Then he cleared his throat and continued. “I've heard of something that could very well endanger our mission in Ponyville.”

“Which is?” the fourth asked.

“I was out with a pony friend when I overheard something.” the speaking figure narrowed his solid blue eyes. “Long story short, our search for the princess could run us into some complications.”

“Queen Chrysalis will have our heads if we don't find Princess Crystal!” the second figure pointed out worriedly.

“Don't you think I know that?” the third one snapped. “We just keep looking for our princess. If worst comes to worst, we just have to hope she's somewhere else. Chrysalis sent groups all over Equestria to search for her. Someone has to find her, even if we don't.”