The Fall

The Fall

By Andysonic1

Chapter One – Revolution Roulette

An elbow jostled Pinkie Pie. “Watch it bub!” she said in her sternest voice. The colt who pushed her turned with a raised eyebrow. She giggled and smiled. Both his eyebrows raised and he turned and took a step back. She had that effect on ponies.

The extra room provided by the colt was little solace in the dense crowd assembled before the Town Hall. The Mayor had called a “town meeting” so everypony was there. Though Pinkie Pie didn’t know the reason, she was still excited. Her mane and tail housed balloons and banners and even a cupcake or two. If the “meeting” turned into a “party”, she would be ready.

“Pinkie Pie?”

The pink pony stopped thinking about the amazing party just moments away and looked up onto the stage. Twilight Sparkle stood a few hooves above her, looking down. “Hi, Twilight!” Pinkie said, ecstatic, “Ready for the party?”

“Uh, sure… Pinkie Pie, you know the Mayor wanted us on stage, right?” Twilight said.

“Oh!” Pinkie did a little jump. “Right! I was so excited I forgot!” She turned and zipped through the crowd towards the stairs up to the stage. Ponies and colts cried out in surprise as she navigated the sea of them, the soft brush of her tail across their faces the only thing to remember her by. She was at the stairs in moments. “Alright, party time!”

Smiling, Rarity told her, “Pinkie Pie, we need to wait for the Mayor to speak before, eh, we can have a party.”

Pinkie frowned and fell back onto her rump. “Aaaaalright.”

Her friends exchanged glances and sat in a row to either side of her. Pinkie knew the Mayor wouldn’t be there for another few minutes. She was, what was it called… ”fashionably late” to her own events. The pink earth pony didn’t understand how that made the event better.

“When’s she gonna geeeeet here?” Pinkie whined and stomped her front hooves. Most of her friends just smiled her way and kept on with their own conversations, but Fluttershy sat beside her and smiled. Pinkie stopped her stomping and smiled back. Sometimes happiness was just that simple.

The crowd suddenly got louder, making Pinkie Pie look away from Fluttershy to see what was going on. She saw that the Mayor had arrived but wasn’t alone.

“Hey, it’s Celestia!” Pinkie Pie cried out. From the corner of her eye she saw Twilight flinch and remembered that her friend didn’t like it when she forgot to put “princess” before Celestia’s name. A little late now, but Pinkie would try to remember for next time.

Princess Celestia walked with the Mayor onto the stage, leading by a hoof. The alicorn stopped beside the podium and motioned for the Mayor to speak first. The Mayor looked a little flustered but smiled through it as she took the podium and cleared her throat.

“Fillies and gentlecolts,” she began, her normally cheery tone lessened, “I have called this town meeting in response to the recent attempt to take over the kingdom of Equestria by the changelings and their queen, Chrysalis.” She paused a moment to let the burst of conversation die down. Pinkie could hear confused voices, frightened voices, but mostly angry voices from the crowd. The Mayor continued, “By order of Princess Celestia, we are going to take preemptive steps to prevent such an event from occurring again. These steps involve more royal guard interaction between Ponyville and Canterlot, a temporary curfew, and… ” the Mayor glanced at Celestia, who nodded slowly, “… and the installation of cameras throughout the town.”

The silence that fell over the crowd was deafening. Pinkie Pie wasn’t sure what cameras around the town would accomplish, but the town seemed to have been shocked by the notion of it.

It was Rarity who broke the silence moments before Pinkie was going to with an air horn, “Cameras? Isn’t that a little extreme?”

The Mayor was fidgeting like she had to go to the bathroom, “After how easily the changelings were able to infiltrate and enact their plan, it was the Princess’s decision that-”

“Oh cut the bull!” Applejack yelled, “Cameras aren’t going to do nothing against ‘em, but they’re sure gonna make us watch what we say and do!” The crowd before the stage all yelled their agreement. A few of the ponies looked very upset.

Before the Mayor could speak again, Celestia stepped forward. The Mayor shrank away from the podium like a wounded animal. As she moved next to Pinkie Pie, the pink pony reached into her own mane and offered the other pony a cupcake and a smile. The Mayor smiled nervously but accepted the gift. Pinkie realized that the Mayor had rarely given news that had had such an effect on the town. It must have made her very upset.

As Celestia positioned herself at the podium the crowd went silent again. A princess, Pinkie thought, was a princess no matter the news she had to give. Celestia spoke in her authoritative voice, “Queen Chrysalis was able to enter Canterlot right under our noses and nearly took over Equestria single hoofedly. If she could do that alone, what could two changelings do? Or three? Or a town full?” The ponies in the crowd began eyeing one another. Pinkie frowned at them, but Celestia’s slight smile suggested this was her plan. “We cannot allow paranoia to fall over us! We cannot allow ourselves to wonder if we can trust one another! That is the purpose of the cameras: to weed out the changelings among us so that you don’t have to!” She suddenly lifted a hoof and pointed at Pinkie and her friends before saying, “And they will be monitored by the Elements of Harmony, the most trustworthy ponies in Equestria!”

The crowd as a whole seemed relieved and uplifted by their princess’s words. Some even cheered! Fluttershy leaned in towards Pinkie Pie and said, “Oh, I don’t know how to use a camera… I never needed anything electronic before… ”

Twilight Sparkle walked over to Celestia and spoke softly, but Pinkie’s ears picked up her words, “Princess, may we have a word?” The princess nodded and beckoned them to follow her.

Pinkie followed her friends off the stage. She heard the Mayor take the podium behind her and start to praise Celestia and their princess’s plan. It was all moving very fast, even for Pinkie.

They followed the Princess into a nearby house. Lyra and Bon Bon’s house, Pinkie Pie realized. “Hey! This isn’t your house! Your house is a castle!”

Twilight cringed again but Celestia just smiled at Pinkie and said, “I asked to borrow this house while I was visiting Ponyville.” The inside of the home looked the same to Pinkie, who had visited the two mares living there often. She couldn’t see a reason the Princess would need the place and was about to say so, but Celestia said quickly, “I knew we would all have to talk privately and wanted somewhere close to the stage.”

Pinkie frowned, “Sugar Cube Corner is close by, and we have snacks… ” Fluttershy nudged the earth pony’s shoulder and Pinkie quieted. It wasn’t proper to assail the Princess with questions, she remembered begrudgingly.

Celestia sat down on a plush pillow that looked so fancy it could only have come from her castle. The rest of the ponies took seats near her. Two guards finished a sweep of the house and exited. They would probably stand outside and guard the door, Pinkie thought. They should wear sashes like in the foreign movies where the guards-

Celestia was speaking to Twilight, “… sudden, but this must go into effect as soon as possible to counter any further attacks by the changelings against Equestria.”

“Pardon my saying so,” Applejack said, “but you don’t have to speak to us like the town outside.” Twilight looked nervous because Applejack was speaking so rudely to the Princess, but she didn’t stop her. “We know about the changeling threat firsthoof.”

Sighing, Celestia nodded softly, “Forgive me, I’ve been making more speeches than usual as of late. Believe me when I say that this wasn’t our first idea. However, Luna and I both agree that it is the only way to keep an eye on every town in Equestria.”

Rarity gasped. “You’re going to put cameras in every town?”

“We will if Ponyville produces results,” the Princess responded, “if we catch even one changeling, then we know the plan works. If not… then Ponyville will simply be safer for a few months.”

“Um…excuse me… ” Fluttershy said quietly, “but will they only be in the town?” Pinkie realized Fluttershy was really asking if the cameras would extend to her house, which was just outside Ponyville on the edge of the Everfree Forest.

Celestia seemed to realize it too and said, “We’ll set them up to monitor the households within Ponyville as well as any within a two mile radius of Ponyville. Everypony will be protected.”

That answer didn’t seem to make Fluttershy any happier. Pinkie Pie thought she looked slightly upset. It wasn’t like the kind pony had anything to worry about being under a camera, right?

Celestia was speaking again, “… this is a difficult decision, but I would appreciate your help in this.”

“Like we have a choice,” Rainbow Dash scoffed, “you already told the town we would be the ones to monitor them. If we backed out now than the town would hate us.” Twilight seemed to dislike Rainbow’s attitude but stayed silent, leading Pinkie Pie to think she agreed with her pegasus friend.

Celestia scanned the room but found little actual support amongst those assembled. “I’m sorry I put you all in this position. Equestria’s safety is my prime concern, and, as the Elements of Harmony, must be yours as well. That means we must all sometimes make decisions we don’t always like.”

Twilight finally spoke, “Where will we monitor the cameras?” The words came out quickly, as if she was waiting to say them since they got there.

“Unfortunately, as a trial run, we won’t have the means to build a special facility for them,” the Princess said, “The monitors will have to be set up inside one of your homes.”

“Count me out,” Applejack raised a hoof, “Ah got no room on the farm for a bunch of doodads to spy on the ponyfolk.”

“A boutique is hardly the place for such things,” Rarity chimed in. Her and Applejack rarely agreed, which made their dislike of the plan louder without saying anything.

Rainbow Dash just sat with her front legs crossed. She was probably letting everyone imagine a tower of wires running up from Ponyville to her home in Cloudsdale. Pinkie giggled at the thought.

“Um,” Fluttershy said suddenly, “I have enough room, I think… ”

“Your house is too far from Ponyville,” Twilight said before Celestia could say anything, “It should be inside the town. The basement of the library has the room, I think.”

But Celestia shook her head at her student, “I was actually thinking of somewhere closer to the center of town. Somewhere like… ” she turned her head and looked at Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie blinked, “Noooooow you want to go to Sugar Cube Corner?” Rainbow Dash started to laugh. “What?”

“Pinkie Pie,” Princess Celestia said, locking eyes with Pinkie, “Sugar Cube Corner is in the perfect location to monitor all of Ponyville. I’m certain Mr. and Mrs. Cake will allow the monitors to be set up there, but will you take the responsibility of watching them?”

Rainbow Dash kept on laughing, making Pinkie Pie frown. Twilight spoke up before she could, “Princess, I’m not sure that’s a good idea. The library might not be in the center of town, but I can-”

“We’ve already run the numbers,” Celestia interrupted, “and with the budget we have the only spot we can monitor is from Sugar Cube Corner.” Again, she looked to Pinkie Pie, “If you don’t wish to do it then Twilight can, she’ll just have to travel a short distance daily.”

“I can handle it!” Pinkie said, holding her chin up and glancing at Rainbow Dash. The pegasus stopped laughing but kept grinning. Pinkie couldn’t keep the frown from her face. Rainbow doesn’t think I can handle it, she thought. Well, I can.

Celestia leaned back slightly, relaxing. It must have been the answer she wanted all along. Pinkie wondered absently just how far the Princess’s plan went.

Celestia stood up, “We’ll set up immediately while we still have the town’s attention here. The basement of Sugar Cube Corner should-”

“The basement?” Pinkie Pie said, “Oh no, no, no! I want them in my room!”

Applejack made a face, “Ya want all that nonsense in your room? Why?”

“Because!” Pinkie continued, standing as well, “I want to make sure all of Ponyville is safe from when I wake up to when I go to sleep!”

Celestia’s smile looked half joking, “I’m glad to see you’re so excited about it, Pinkie Pie, but you won’t need to monitor them at all times. I’ll explain on the way… ”

The Princess’s explanation turned out to be as boring as Pinkie imagined it would be. Though she had imagined one version with a jet ski. That one had been pretty boring too, somehow.

The seven of them took a roundabout way to Sugar Cube Corner to avoid the town still in the square. The Mayor was to one side as a citizen spoke. Pinkie could make out bits and pieces and enough to name the speaker: Donut Joe. She resisted the urge to rush over and see if he was giving out free samples again. She had to prove she was responsible to Rainbow, to Celestia, and to the town.

With her key she kept tucked away in her hair, Pinkie Pie opened the front door of the sweet shop. Her room was up the stairs to the left of the entrance. Everypony followed her closely through the empty shop, even Celestia. Pinkie remembered that Celestia had been there many times before for various events but had never been upstairs. “My room’s this way!” Pinkie said and bounded up the stairs. She heard the others come up at a slower pace behind her.

At the top step she turned and looked back at them. Her eyes locked with Fluttershy’s. The pegasus seemed nervous, though the two of them had played in Pinkie Pie’s room many times before. “Just a little further!” she encouraged her friends.

The second floor was made up of four rooms: Pinkie’s, Mr. and Mrs. Cakes, the baby’s room, and the bathroom. Pinkie Pie’s room had two entrances: one behind the counter downstairs and one through the bathroom. The bathroom connected to the single hallway, which itself connected to the remaining two rooms.

Pinkie’s room was the second largest room in the building if you counted the entire downstairs as one room. It had previously been used as a storage room before the basement was added to the store. Now, Pinkie rented it out by working part time at the shop for the Cakes.

She explained as much as her friends walked into her room through the bathroom. It occurred to her after they were already inside that they should have taken the other entrance, but what was done was done, as her father said. An odd expression, of course what was done was done.

Princess Celestia looked all around the room. The vaulted ceiling stretched up through the third floor. The third floor was really just a walkway around the inside of the room and another, private bathroom for Pinkie Pie. “This could work… ” the alicorn said softly.

“B-but princess,” Fluttershy said. She was cut off by a raised hoof by Celestia, a rude gesture if Pinkie had ever seen one.

Celestia turned her head to Pinkie, “Pinkie Pie, if you agree-”

“I do!” Pinkie said without hesitation.

Celestia gave a half smile that made Pinkie frown for some reason, “The monitors have plenty of room to be set up, but you’ll have to move your furniture-”

“That’s fine; I’ll do whatever it takes!” Pinkie responded.

“Alright. I’ll speak with the guards and we can set up before the sun sets,” said Celestia before heading for the stairs down. Pinkie wanted to ask Celestia how she knew those stairs would lead right down, but didn’t. Too many questions for a princess.

As soon as Pinkie heard the door of Sugar Cube Corner close behind Celestia, she started to beam at Rainbow Dash. The pegasus raised an eyebrow at her, “What, just because your house was right where the Princess needed it to be you think you’re the best one of us to watch the cameras?”

Smiling, Pinkie Pie strutted over to the long table taking up a large portion of floor space and started to move it. “Well, I was the most obvious choice. Princess Celestia must have heard how well I take care of Pumpkin and Pound cake,” she said as she pushed the table. It was too large for her to push alone but she would not ask her friends for help.

Rainbow Dash scoffed, “Taking care of a couple of babies isn’t the same as taking care of the town.”

“Rainbow Dash is right, Pinkie,” Twilight chimed in. She lowered her head slightly and used her magic to levitate the table an inch off the ground. Pinkie gave her a look and pushed the now weightless table the rest of the distance to the wall. Twilight continued, “We should all pitch in and take turns monitoring the cameras. We can even have slumber parties or-”

“No!” Pinkie yelled, making everypony jump. She took a deep breath and said calmly, “I want to do this on my own.”

“We’re your friends, Pinkie,” Rarity said softly, “We just want to help.”

Pinkie Pie suddenly felt bad about how she’d been behaving. But that doesn’t change it, she thought. “I know you are. It’s just… ”

“I think we should trust Pinkie Pie.”

All eyes turned to Fluttershy. The pegasus was sitting on Pinkie’s bed, far from the conversation, but her words reached them all loud and clear. “We’ve trusted one another before,” the pink maned pony spoke, “If she needs our help I’m sure she’ll ask, right, Pinkie?”

“Of course!” Pinkie Pie said with a hop.

Smiling, Fluttershy said, “Then there’s nothing to worry about.”

“I wish I could be as carefree as you two,” Twilight said, “But you’re right, Fluttershy.” She turned to Pinkie Pie, “I trust you, Pinkie. If you ever need any help, just let me know.”

The rest of her friends said the same, though Rainbow Dash needed a nudge by Twilight. Pinkie smiled, and together with her friends began to clear floor space.

After making what they assumed would be the necessary room, the six ponies spent the next few hours on the first floor of Sugar Cube Corner eating lunch. Everypony’s mood seemed to improve with the food.

They all wanted to be there for the installation of the monitors. One by one, however, previous engagements saw each of Pinkie’s closest friends heading to their homes. That was alright with Pinkie Pie, though. A party had to end or you couldn’t start another one.

The Cakes came home from the town meeting shortly after the last pony there, Fluttershy, left. Pinkie Pie bounced over to them as soon as they entered the building and started talking about Celestia’s visit, “You are never going to believe what Princess Celestia put me in charge of!”

Mr. Cake, pushing one stroller while his wife pushed the other, sighed and answered, “Watching the cameras that she is going to set up upstairs?”

“Wrong! She… wait, that’s right,” Pinkie scratched her head, “How did you know?”

“The Princess came to us after speaking with you, dear,” Mrs. Cake said. Pound was getting antsy in the stroller so she picked him up by the diaper and placed him on the changing table.

Pinkie Pie suddenly saw how tired both her housemates looked. “Was there a party after the town meeting? Did Donut Joe hand out free samples? Did I miss samples?!”

“Ah, no, Pinkie Pie,” Mr. Cake turned from the changing table to Pinkie after he had put Pumpkin there beside her brother, “We just spoke to the Princess and came right home.”

Celestia’s words ran through Pinkie’s head, I’m certain Mr. and Mrs. Cake will allow the monitors to be set up there. How could she be certain? “Did Celestia bully you into accepting?” she asked.

“Of course not!” Mrs. Cake responded instantly. “We would do anything for Princess Celestia. Besides, you’ll be taking care of the responsibility of watching the cameras, won’t you?”

“Of course!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed with a smile, “You can count on me!”

Smiling back, Mrs. Cake said, “That’s good to hear, Pinkie.” She turned to her husband and asked him to heat up the bottles. They both started fussing over Pumpkin and Pound Cake, who were playing a very crude game of patty cake.

Pinkie was about to add a cupcake to the mix of cake when she heard a knock at the door. She rushed over before Mr. or Mrs. Cake could respond and opened it wide, “Heeeeeello?”

Two unicorn royal guards stood at the door. They were in the process of unstrapping themselves from a large wagon.

Gasping, “Is that it?!” Pinkie rushed between the guards and did laps around the wagon, examining it from every angle. A white tarp covered the wagon, but from the way it sagged she could tell it carried heavy cargo.

“This is the monitoring equipment,” one guard said, “We were told you would show us where to set up.”

“This way, this way, this way!” and in three hops Pinkie was up the stairs into her room. It took the two guards significantly longer to bring up the TV screens, wires, and antennas and set them down. The whole time, Pinkie Pie bounced on her bed in excitement.

Glancing at Pinkie from time to time, the guards began to set up the equipment. Pinkie Pie did a somersault off the bed and landed between them with a, “Ta da!” They stopped working and clapped nervously. Smiling, Pinkie looked over the setup.

Her smile quickly turned to a frown. “Just six screens?” she asked. “That won’t cover the entire town! That’ll only cover… ” she started counting her hooves.

One of the guards cut in, “We can only afford six cameras set up in the major traffic areas of Ponyville. They will connect to these monitors wirelessly, each to its own individual screen.” The same guard used magic to levitate an antenna to the top of each TV screen.

“But!” Pinkie said, suddenly popping up in front of him, “If I catch changelings, then Celestia will set up more, right?”

“Uh, that’s really something you should discuss with her,” said the guard, taking a few steps back. He bumped into something and turned. It was Pinkie Pie. Her eyes were large and pleading. “I, uh, I guess that makes sense, though… ”

Beaming, Pinkie Pie hopped in place, “Yay! I’ll make sure to catch every last changeling in Ponyville!”

“Alleged changelings… ” the other guard started to say but stopped. Pinkie Pie was hopping around the room and paying them little mind anyways. Both guards just shrugged and finished setting up the equipment.

They finished quickly and waved to get Pinkie’s attention again. Once she was looking over at them, they turned on the screens one at a time. Each showed a color image of a different intersection in Ponyville. Pinkie Pie rushed over and pressed her face against one of them, ooo-ing. Static from the screen made her hair rise.

One guard was already heading out. The other placed a large notebook by the screens and said, “Log any suspicious activities you see here. A guard will come make a copy for our records every week.” Pinkie continued to ogle a screen, so the guard started to repeat himself.

She waved a hoof at him, “Reword any suspensions, got it!”

Sighing, “Perfect,” the guard turned and let himself out.

“… Ms. Cheerilee is having a blueberry muffin, but her favorite muffin is wheat! Suspicious…

“Oh! Pony Joe walking with Lyra? But where’s Bon Bon? Hmmm…

“And what’s this? Flitter stretching? There’s nothing important going on today!”

“Um… Pinkie Pie?”

Pinkie Pie spun her head away from the TV screens. The sudden transition from the bright screen to the darker room made her blind a moment. “Who’s there? Come to take my suspensions!? Well, you’re not getting them, changeling!” Pinkie spat her pencil at the voice like a dart.

The invading pony squeaked as the pencil hit her. “It’s me, Pinkie! Fluttershy!”

After rubbing her eyes and blinking a few times, Pinkie looked up and saw Fluttershy standing beside the stairs down. She was lying flat on the floor with a pencil was half sticking out of her mane. Pinkie Pie had to blink a few more times to get everything in focus. It was a lot darker than she thought it should be. “What time is it?” she asked Fluttershy.

Her pegasus friend stood and brushed the pencil out of her mane, saying, “Seven. I called up but you didn’t answer. It sounded like you were talking to somepony… ”

Pinkie bent and picked the pencil up with her mouth. She mumbled around it, “I was takin’ notes!” Spitting the pencil out to land neatly on her open notebook, she sat back down before the screens, “Want to watch with me?”

“Well… I’d love to, Pinkie, but what about our dinner plans… ” Fluttershy asked quietly.

The question made Pinkie Pie gasp in shock, “Ohmygosh, Fluttershy! I completely forgot!” She started running between the mirror to fix her hair and the dresser to look through clothes. As she tossed clothes around while trying to brush her hair she kept on apologizing, “I got so caught up with the cameras and you know how Ponyville can be with everypony walking around and talking to each other with different stories they want to tell and it’s my job to make sure I write down every little thing so that no changelings can get in because-”

Fluttershy caught Pinkie around the neck in a hug as she was rushing by and laughed. “It’s alright, Pinkie Pie,” she said, “We can reschedule if you want.”

“Nonononono!” Pinkie cried out and broke out of the hug, “We always have dinner every Sunday!” She looked into the mirror and shook her head. Her hair became its normal, poofy self. Smiling, she turned back to Fluttershy and said, “Alright, let’s go!”

Fluttershy led Pinkie Pie into downtown Ponyville, wondering when her often-hyper friend would notice. Pinkie, however, seemed distracted. Her eyes kept jerking up and to the side. Finally, while still a block from the restaurant, Fluttershy asked, “What are you looking for, Pinkie?”

“Huh?” Pinkie said like Fluttershy just appeared out of nowhere. “Oh… I was looking for the cameras.” At her friend’s questioning gaze she continued, “I want to make sure they’re not out in the open. I haven’t seen anything suspicious yet, but it the cameras are out where anypony can see them then the changelings might see them and know where to hide from!”

Fluttershy nodded but said, “I’m sure the royal guards put them out of sight, though. I didn’t see them anywhere when I was walking through town earlier.”

“Maybe… ” but Pinkie didn’t sound convinced.

It was only when they were inside the restaurant that Pinkie Pie noticed where they were. “Mareicals?” she said, gawking at the fanciest restaurant in town. White roses and vine leaves decorated the lobby the two ponies stood in. Through open double doors on the far end of the room they could see into the dining hall, equally decorated with white linen and roses. Pinkie started to shake her head, “Fluttershy, I’m not supposed to be in here, not after the last party-”

“It’s alright,” Fluttershy said quickly and raised a hoof to her friend’s shoulder, “I talked to the manager and as long as it’s not a party we can eat here!” She didn’t mention the small sum of bits she ‘donated’ to the restaurant, a suggestion from Angel that worked like a charm to smooth things over.

Pinkie Pie still looked worried but said, “Ooookay,” and followed Fluttershy further in. “Where is everypony?” she asked as they walked into the dining hall. The normally crowded restaurant had a large corner of empty tables. Fluttershy shrugged but couldn’t help smiling.

A maître d' walked up to them, “Ladies, right this way.” He led them through the empty corner of tables to the one in the very corner. Fluttershy kept stealing peeks at Pinkie Pie. The earth pony seemed to be distracted again, stealing her own peeks at the windows.

Good, Fluttershy thought, she doesn’t suspect a thing…

They sat down at the table, the colt levitated over some menus, and they were left in complete solitude. Pinkie Pie opened her menu and looked it over.

Silence was not what Fluttershy had in mind when she planned this. She cleared her throat to get Pinkie’s attention, “Is everything alright, Pinkie?”

Pinkie fidgeted, “Well… it’s nothing; I can handle it.”

“Pinkie Pie,” Fluttershy leaned across the table and put her hoof on Pinkie’s. They locked eyes. “You can talk to me about anything.”

Pinkie smiled and said, “I’m worried, Fluttershy. I know everypony in Ponyville. I know what they like, what they don’t like, what they eat or say or do. So when I watch them on the monitors I thought I’d be able to tell if they’re acting suspicious or not.” She paused and looked down, “But so far everypony is just acting… normal.” Pinkie looked up at Fluttershy again, “Do I not know everypony well enough? Have I been a bad friend?”

“No, Pinkie, no,” Fluttershy said soothingly, “You’re a friend to every pony in Ponyville, that’s why you’re the best pony to watch over us all. And it’s just the first day. I’m sure with more time; you’ll catch a changeling or two.” But I hope not, thought Fluttershy. The idea of changelings walking Ponyville with her made her shudder.

Pinkie Pie didn’t notice, though. She was staring down at Fluttershy’s hoof on hers, lost in thought. “You’re right… ”

Smiling, Fluttershy started to lean back. Pinkie caught her hoof between hers and Fluttershy squeaked in surprise. “You’re right, Fluttershy! If I just keep watching, I’m sure to catch a changeling slipping up!” Pinkie Pie said quickly, eyes staring into Fluttershy’s intently.

“Well, uh, yeah?” Fluttershy said, breaking the now awkward eye contact. She tried to bring her hoof back again but Pinkie held on. What would have otherwise made Fluttershy happy was somehow giving her pause.

A waitress came over levitating a pen and paper, “Are you ready to order?”

Pinkie Pie released Fluttershy, reached into her mane, and put a small sack of bits on the table, saying, “Dinners on me! Thanks for the advice, Fluttershy!” She then hopped over the stunned waitress and rushed out of the building.

Fluttershy sat there in shock. A tap on the window beside her made her jump. Angel peered in with a number of other animals behind him, all holding musical instruments. Angel himself was holding a small box. He tapped his foot and stared questioningly at her.

She didn’t know what to say.

Six Days Later…

Her hooves slammed down into the dirt, knees buckling slightly to absorb the impact. “And the crowd loves it!” Rainbow Dash yelled and made crowd cheering sounds. Of course there was no crowd as she gazed around the edge of Everfree Forest where her friend Fluttershy lived. “Well, they will love it when they see it,” she said to no one.

She had originally gone to see Pinkie Pie, maybe to play a few jokes on Ponyville or something. But the pink pony had said through her door that she was too busy to play. It was the same answer she had apparently given all her friends for the past few days. Rainbow Dash figured it had something to do with the cameras Pinkie was supposed to be watching. I can’t think of one good reason to watch those things over pranking ponies, she thought.

So, with Pinkie busy, Rainbow had moved on to Fluttershy’s place. The animal loving pegasus had also been out of touch with her friends for the past few days. Rainbow Dash figured she would give it a shot anyways. She wasn’t one to give up without trying first.

She trotted over the bridge and up the short path to Fluttershy’s door. Her hoof came up and knocked on the wood door, “Fluttershy? You there?”

There was a sound like someone sitting in an old rocking chair. Rainbow couldn’t think of the right word for it. Squawking? Yeah, that sounds right.

She knocked louder, “Fluttershy, it’s Rainbow Dash! Open up!”

Again, a “squawking” sound came from inside. Sighing, Rainbow said, “Angel? You mind?”

There was a click as the door unlocked. Rainbow pushed it slowly open and looked down. Angel was stepping back and staring up at her. There were bags under his bloodshot eyes.

“Geez, what’s with you?” Rainbow asked.

Angel pointed deeper inside. Rainbow Dash started to trot in but stopped in the doorway. A sea of used tissues covered the floor of the living room. They continued up the stairs like a frozen waterfall. Another rolled down from the second floor to add itself to the sea. Rainbow remembered a time when Fluttershy was talking about how turtles would follow the moon to the ocean.

She looked down at Angel and asked, “Uh, is this some kind of animal thing?”

Angel kept staring up at her numbly. Rainbow grimaced. “I’ll just, uh, go ask Fluttershy,” she unfurled her wings and used them to hop over the tissues to the sofa. There was a click as the door closed behind her followed by a thud as Angel fell over. Rainbow took another hop to the bannister and walked up it as far as she could before taking another hop to the second floor.

There was nowhere safe there. Rainbow Dash heard a squish as her hooves came down. She grit her teeth and sighed. “Fluttershy,” she said through her teeth, “What the hay is going on in here?”

What could only be Fluttershy was curled up on the bed under a blanket, pink tail sticking out and falling off the side. A mountain of tissue boxes rose to one side of the bed while the used tissues extended out from the other side. Surprisingly, except for Fluttershy, the bed was clean.

At the sound of her friend’s voice, Fluttershy squirmed under the blankets but that was all. Rainbow Dash’s frown deepened. “Aaaaaalright, Fluttershy,” she said and took a hop. She landed sitting on the bed, hooves extended out. She peeled off the tissues while asking, “What’s got you down today? Is Angel picking on you again? Little guy looked like he needed some sleep.”

“…no… ” came the quiet response from under the blanket.

“Then what’s with the, bleh,” Rainbow made a face as she scraped off the last tissue with her hoof, “What’s with the tissues?” Hooves clean, she sat closer to Fluttershy, “Did one of your animals have to… go away?” Rainbow Dash recalled a time when Fluttershy fell into depression after an animal she was caring for died.

“…no, they’re all fine… ” came another quiet response.

Rainbow Dash leaned over Fluttershy and shook her, “Then what’s got you so down you got your snot on my hooves?” As the bed shook, a small box slipped out from under the blankets and fell to the floor. “What’s this?” the rainbow pegasus said and reached for it.

“Don’t open that!” Fluttershy cried out and lunged off the bed and onto the tissue covered floor. She wrapped herself around the box protectively, saying, “Only Pinkie Pie can open it!”

Rainbow Dash didn’t know whether to laugh at Fluttershy covered in her own used tissues or to worry about what was going on. She sighed and said, “Alright, alright, I won’t open it. Is that the reason you’ve been in here blowing your nose all week?”

Fluttershy uncurled from around the box and sat up. She looked thinner, like she hadn’t been eating well, which Rainbow thought odd as Pinkie usually kept her full of sweets. Her eyes were bloodshot like Angel’s, but the streaks running down her face indicated her redness came from crying.

“Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash asked as softly as she could, “What’s wrong?”

Sniffling, Fluttershy looked down at the box in her lap. “I had everything perfect… I was going to finally ask her, and… ” A fresh tear ran down her cheek.

Having spent many hours laying on clouds and watching the world pass by, Rainbow Dash found she could put two and two together. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were close, they had always been. Rainbow had seen close ponies before, had seen one pony give a small box to another pony, and had seen them both be happy and become closer. She’d never seen something like this, though. “What happened? Did Pinkie Pie not take it…?”

“Well… ” the rest of the pegasus’s sentence was a squeaky mess.

Rainbow Dash sighed and said gently, “You have to speak up, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy gulped and said louder, “She didn’t see it… she left before I asked… ”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Rainbow Dash said, “You mean she doesn’t know? Then what are you moping up here for?”

Fluttershy’s response was a squeaky jumble. Rainbow made out the words “animals”, “restaurant”, “bits”, and “music”. She sighed again, and said with authority, “Fluttershy, just because things didn’t work the first time doesn’t mean it’s over. Pinkie Pie doesn’t need anything fancy; the girl spent last summer bouncing a ball from one side of Ponyville to the other every day.” Faking a big smile and trying not to notice the squishing under her hooves, Rainbow Dash walked to Fluttershy and embraced her. “Just tell her how you feel. Everything will be fine.”

Fluttershy wrapped her front legs around Rainbow and cried into her friend’s mane. Rainbow sat there and let her friend let it all out. She couldn’t imagine how Angel had done this all week.

Sniffling, Fluttershy nodded, “You’re right, Rainbow Dash. I need to go tell her how I feel!”

Fluttershy released Rainbow and got to her hooves. Tissues clung to her. “Um… maybe I’ll go tomorrow, after I clean up… ”

Sighing but smiling, Rainbow Dash said, “With my help, this place will be clean in no time!”

The Next Day…

12:15pm – This is the third time Big Macintosh has looked over at Ms. Cheerilee. Making note to keep watch on them for continued suspicious behavior.

DING, DING!

“Dinner time!” Pinkie Pie brought her head up so fast the pencil she held in her mouth flew into the air. “Wait a minute, it’s not dinner time,” she said, the pencil falling harmlessly to the floor near her. She looked over to the stairs where the tiny bell Mrs. Cake used to tell her it was time to eat was. The Cakes had put the bell there because, quote, “Yelling to get her attention every time was tiring.”

Instead of one of the cakes, however, two royal guards stood at the top of the stairs. One stepped forward and said, “We’ve come for this week’s report, Ms. Pie.”

Pinkie Pie stared at them blankly. “Oh!” she said suddenly, “You want the info on all the suspicious ponies!” Her eyes scanned the room around her. Watching the monitors day and night had left little time for cleaning, and piles of dirty dishes, most licked clean, lay scattered around her. She started to dig through the mess.

“Um, isn’t it that right there?” the second guard asked, pointing with his hoof to the open notebook sitting next to her.

Pinkie Pie laughed, “Oh, no, no, no, no! That’s my newest one!” She pushed aside a pile of dishes, and cried out, “Aha! Found it!” Leaning down, she bit the spine of the notebook and lifted it. Little sticky notes stuck out the other sides. She turned and navigated the uncleaned dishes to her guests. “Her yeah goo!” she said with the book still in her mouth.

The second guard lifted the book away from Pinkie Pie with magic and placed it in the saddle bag he was wearing. “Uh, thanks,” he said.

The first guard cleared his throat, drawing Pinkie’s eyes. He looked into hers, “Was there any activity you witnessed that leads you to believe one of the citizens, through their own or others’ action, has been replaced by one of the changeling?”

Pinkie Pie blinked, “Huh?”

The first guard wrinkled his nose and took a few steps away from her, saying simply, “Do you think anypony in Ponyville is a changeling?”

Frowning, Pinkie Pie brought a hoof to her mouth and breathed on it, smelling her breath. It was bad enough to make her grimace. The guards looked on expectantly and she nodded, “Yes, yes I do!” A big smile crossed her lips. Everypony is safe thanks to me, she thought.

“Well,” said the first guard, “Who?”

With a giant smile, Pinkie Pie said, “Everypony!”

The little box clacked around in her saddle bag. Fluttershy tried to walk slower but couldn’t for long. I knew I should have put something else in there, she thought and sighed at her own short mindedness. The little box was the only thing she needed that day. That and confidence.

Confidence got her through the overcast day to the door of Sugar Cube Corner. It wouldn’t open the door for her. She started to shake. “It’s ok, Fluttershy,” she said to herself, “Rainbow Dash was right. Pinkie Pie doesn’t want all the huff and puff. I just need to-”

Sounds of yelling and stomping hooves from inside the building cut her off. The door before her slammed open and, with a squeak, she dived into the bush beside it.

“I’m telling you: everypony isn’t acting themselves!” Fluttershy heard Pinkie Pie’s voice from where she hid. “I would know! I know what everypony likes and doesn’t like and how they act and what they do and-”

“Ms. Pie, that is quite enough!” shouted a different voice. It made Fluttershy sink deeper into the bush. “To say every single pony in Ponyville is a changeling is madness! You couldn’t possibly have figured that out from those six cameras!”

“Well, I did!” Pinkie Pie shouted back. “I watched them day and night and day! Every pony in Ponyville was doing new things and talking to new ponies! They weren’t always themselves!”

The other voice made a “gaah!” sound and said, “Did you ever stop to think that maybe they were just living their lives? Trying new things? Meeting new ponies?”

“I… well, no… ” Pinkie Pie’s voice sounded defeated suddenly.

The other voice sighed and said, “We will review your notes, Ms. Pie. But in the future, please only note changes in behavior that can be used to prove a pony was replaced with a changeling.”

There was a clatter of hooves, and then silence.

Fluttershy inches forward so she could see out of the bush. Pinkie Pie was sitting outside the open door to Sugar Cube Corner. She was watching two white unicorns trot off into the distance. There was a look of shock on her face. Fluttershy had never seen her so quiet.

The pegasus untangled herself from the bush and walked over to her friend. “Pinkie Pie, are you alright?” she asked softly.

Pinkie Pie continued watching the two ponies leaving. “No pony was acting suspicious at all...?” she said quietly, “They were just… living?”

Fluttershy felt a pang of sadness inside her as she realized what had just happened: all the work Pinkie Pie had done had been pointless. She just wanted to help everypony she loved…

“Come on, Pinkie Pie,” Fluttershy said, nuzzling Pinkie Pie towards the door, “Let’s go inside.”

Pinkie Pie allowed herself to be taken inside and upstairs. Fluttershy was stunned at the room that awaited her. Never had she seen Pinkie’s room such a mess. She looked at Pinkie Pie closer and noticed the bags under her friend’s eyes. Navigating the plates as best she could, the pegasus led her friend to the bed on the far side of the room. She pushed Pinkie Pie onto the mattress and draped the blankets over her.

As Fluttershy stepped back, Pinkie Pie came out of her stupor, asking, “How can I find changelings with only those cameras?” Her hoof came out from under the blankets to point at the monitors. “How can I know if a pony isn’t just living?”

Though Fluttershy thought Pinkie Pie wasn’t really asking her, she still answered, “I don’t know, Pinkie… it’s not as if you can watch everypony all the time… ”

“… all the time… ” Pinkie Pie said softly, her eyes closing. Her body relaxed and sleep took her.

Fluttershy hadn’t imagined it would turn out like this. She turned around and eyed the dishes everywhere. Even if she wanted to, she wouldn’t be able to leave without cleaning up. She turned back to Pinkie Pie.

“Rainbow Dash would say you owe me this,” she said to herself quietly, leaning forward and kissing Pinkie Pie softly on the cheek. Fluttershy reddened and turned away quickly. “Well, those dishes aren’t going to clean themselves!” she said in case anypony had seen her.

But no pony was there.

Pinkie Pie floated on a cloud. But it wasn’t a real cloud because real clouds were white and this one was cotton candy and that had only happened when Discord had tried to take over so-

“I’m dreaming!” she cried out and took a bite from the cloud. Other clouds floated in space around her. Under her ran rivers of chocolate through fields of lollipops. “Boy, I haven’t dreamed in days! I forgot how great it was!” she said while she devoured her cloud. “I haven’t been because… ”

A shadow blocked out the sun. She looked up and saw a giant television screen over her. “Oh glob!” she yelled, “If I’m asleep then I can’t keep Ponyville safe!”

But the TV over her was off, unlike the ones in real life that were 24/7. Pinkie Pie tried to pinch her cheeks to wake up but it didn’t work. She kicked at the cloud in agitation.

Sighing, she laid on her back and stared up at the empty screen. “It doesn’t matter anyways, cloud,” she explained to the cloud under her, “Everypony either acts normal or is just living. I can’t find out if they’re changelings like that… ”

“… all the time… ”

Pinkie Pie turned her head and saw Fluttershy sitting on a cloud flying by hers. She waved, “Hi, Fluttershy! Are you dreaming too?”

Fluttershy just smiled back and repeated, “All the time.”

“You’re dreaming all the time? Wouldn’t you get fat off all the candy?” Pinkie scratched her head.

“All the time,” repeated Fluttershy, slowly flying away from Pinkie Pie.

“You’re eating candy all the time?!” Pinkie Pie yelled after her, “You should share!”

Rainbow Dash landed on Pinkie’s cloud and said moodily, “She’s not talking about candy, Pinkie Pie! She’s talking about the cameras!”

“Hi Rainbow Dash!” greeted Pinkie Pie as she scooped up a hooffull of cloud. “Want some cotton candy?”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and continued, “Fluttershy was saying how you can’t always watch everypony! Which mean I’m the better protector of Ponyville!”

“What!?” Pinkie Pie spat cotton candy all over the pegasus. “I can protect Ponyville just as good as you!”

But instead of getting mad at being covered in cotton candy, Rainbow Dash laughed. “How? I can go from house to house in a flash checking on everypony night and day. You only have a few cameras set up!” She kept on laughing as she took to the skies and flied away.

The television floating over Pinkie Pie cracked and started leaking rain. Pinkie Pie yelled through the rain at Rainbow Dash, “I CAN protect Ponyville! If I had more cameras, I-”

Thunder drowned out her words. Her world shook.

Pinkie Pie jerked awake. Thunder boomed outside again. The sound of rain hitting the window was the only sound she could hear. It was night outside and her room was dark. Somepony had turned off the monitors.

But Pinkie Pie didn’t care about those cameras, because they weren’t important to her anymore. Not those cameras.

Thunder boomed again.

The door to Ponyville’s only electronics store opened without a sound. It had been unlocked. This, Pinkie Pie thought, this is why I need to do this.

Rain fell through the open doorway into the building. Pinkie trotted in and closed the door behind her. The shop had closed only an hour earlier. Bad weather made for bad business, as Pinkie Pie knew from working at Sugar Cube Corner.

She lifted a hoof and flipped the light switch by the door. The store lit up, revealing rows of small gadgets and appliances. Pinkie Pie passed those without a second glance.

The back wall was her destination: the home security section. Ponyville had never truly had a need for any of the flat screen monitors and cameras the store sold, yet they still had them for sale anyway. Pinkie Pie walked right up to section and looked up and down the wall. More cameras and screens than anypony could ever need were before her.

But she wasn’t anypony. She was the one chosen to protect Ponyville.

Pinkie Pie reached into her mane and pulled out a large piggy bank which she set on the floor. “I’ll take everything,” she told the empty store.

Pinkie Pie’s knowledge of key hiding places along with the fact that barely anypony locked their doors meant she could gain access to every building in Ponyville rather easily. She gathered as many cameras as she could from the store and made runs to different streets, slipping inside homes silently and hiding the cameras wherever she could. One in the kitchen, one in the living room, and one in each bedroom. She ignored outside completely.

Pinkie hesitated only a moment before slipping into her friend’s homes. Have to protect everypony, no matter who they are.

While Ponyville slept, Pinkie Pie crept. Hours before sunrise there wasn’t a home in town that she hadn’t bugged.

Moving the monitors silently and installing them took the remaining hours of the night. Pinkie Pie couldn’t see the sun rising, however. Every inch of wall in her room was covered with a monitor. The only open spots were the heavily curtained windows.

It took her an hour to hook up every monitor to the already-in-place power extension the original six monitors used. Princess Celestia had said something about allowing more power to Sugar Cube Corner to run the screens, so Pinkie Pie didn’t worry about blowing a fuse.

It occurred to her that somepony had cleaned her room, but it didn’t stop her progress. Monitors went up to the ceiling, and then a few went on the ceiling as well.

Pinkie Pie did a 360 turn and admired her work. She was used to making cakes and pies that other ponies called works of art. But never had she made something like this.

As Ponyville began to wake, Pinkie Pie dropped the remote from her mouth down in front of her. With a slightly shaking hoof, she pressed down on the power button. The monitors came to life around and above her. Ponies of every size and shape were on display, yawning and chatting in the morning sun. The microphones built into the tiny devices picked up every word.

Pinkie Pie cringed and quickly turned down the master volume, lowering the mass of sound down to a reasonable amount. If she focused her attention on one monitor at a time, she found she could make out what was being said and by whom.

She smiled and waved to the screens, saying in her morning voice, “Good morning, Ponyville. Today is going to be a wonderful day.”