Truthseeker

by RB_

Rude Awakenings

“Do you desire the Truth, young one?”

A moment’s consideration. “…Yes.”

“Then take it.”

A mint-green hoof reaches out into the light.

---

Lyra Heartstrings’ day started off, as many mornings did in Ponyville, with a crash. Unusually, this particular morning’s rude awakening was not the result of an attacking beast, invading force, or rampaging pink party mare. The source of the crash was, in fact, rather mundane: Lyra’s skull impacting the floor.

Wincing, she extracted herself from the tangle of bedsheets wrapped around her back half, and pulled herself to her hooves.

A voice called out from the floor below. “Lyra? Is everything alright?”

“I’m fine, Bon Bon! Just fell out of bed!”

After fixing the bed and running a brush through her disheveled mane, Lyra trotted down the stairs to the first floor of her home. The rich smells of chocolate and sugar filled the lower floor, Ponyville’s premier confectioner hard at work producing her wares for the day.

Lyra followed her nose into the kitchen. “Good morning!”

“Morning! You’re up early. Did you sleep okay?” Bon Bon replied with a smile. Indeed, Lyra’s morning routine usually began embarrassingly close to noon, and often required Bon Bon’s intervention in order to get started at all. The candy mare herself, on the other hoof, rose shortly after the sun (a habit that was only partially related to the demands of her occupation).

“I feel great, actually. Why?” It was true: much to Lyra’s surprise, she felt more energized than she normally would have, even after having had her morning coffee.

“Really? You were thrashing around all night. I had to go sleep on the sofa.”

“Oh horseapples, I’m sorry!”

“Don’t worry, the sofa folds out, remember? It was fine.” Bon Bon’s face took on a sly look. “Although, if you want to make it up to me, we’re almost out of milk.”

Lyra giggled. “Consider it done!”

The unicorn trotted out the door to the storefront. After a moment, she poked her head back in. “By the way, your emergency briefcase is poking out of your tail.”

---------

Lyra exited the front entrance of Bon Bon’s Bonbons and into Ponyville proper. Despite the early hour (for her, at least), most of the town’s residents were already up and going about their business. Pegasi worked above, pulling clouds out of storage and carefully placing them to accent the clear, blue sky. On the ground, earth ponies and unicorns tended their gardens or pulled carts filled with produce towards the town market. A grey mailmare made her rounds, greeting each pony as she passed with a smile. A group of giggling schoolfillies ran towards the schoolhouse.

You didn't get scenes like this back in Canterlot, Lyra thought to herself.

A flash of stripes on blue coat from the middle of the group of fillies caught her attention. Funny, I didn’t know we had any zonies in Ponyville. She must be new in town.

The mint mare began her walk to the market, following the cart-laden ponies at a leisurely trot. As the mailmare passed, Lyra called out a greeting.

“Good morning, Ditzy!”

Glancing over at the mare, Ditzy Doo’s smile turned into a look of surprise, and then a small frown. The grey pegasus took a step forward, tripped, and fell— directly into the unicorn, knocking her sideways. “Ooph!”

“Oh no, I’m so sorry Lyra! Are you okay?”

She got up with a chuckle. “Don’t worry about it, I’m fine. It was just an accident, right?” Lyra had been on the receiving end of the pegasus’ famed clumsiness before; she knew not to take it personally.

"Yeah..."

As she said this, however, an odd feeling came over Lyra, like somepony had just walked over her grave; it sent a shiver down her spine. At the same time, she noted that Ditzy’s eyes had shifted downwards and to the right slightly. It was probably nothing, perhaps just a result of the walleyed mare’s condition, but even so…

Lyra brushed these thoughts aside.

“Even so, I feel bad. Here, have a muffin.” Reaching into her saddlebags, Ditzy pulled out a recently baked blueberry muffin. Which, coincidentally, was Lyra’s favorite. And she had learned never to pass up free food.

Thanking Ditzy for the muffin, Lyra returned to the task at hoof, setting off once again for the market.

---------

The Ponyville market was bustling, as it normally was. Most of the stalls were set up at this point, with most of the stragglers just finishing putting out their goods. As it was such a nice day, Lyra elected to walk through the market, rather than just make a beeline for Sweet Apple Acres’ stall. She stopped to examine a particularly well-stocked fruit stall.

“Oh, hey Lyra!” said a familiar voice from behind the unicorn. Lyra turned around to greet her friend.

“Hey Sea Swirl,” Lyra began. But after a moment, the unicorn’s image flashed, and then began to distort. Her rose-colored eyes faded, revealing a pair of pupil-less blue orbs. Her mulberry coat disappeared, a smooth black carapace taking its place. Thin, translucent wings appeared, holes bored their way through black legs, and long fangs jutted out of a smiling mouth.

Lyra’s heart began thudding in her chest, eyes growing wide, pupils shrinking. The mare was aware of none of this, however. She was back in Canterlot castle, being summoned to a private room by a pink alicorn. Being asked if she wanted to be one of the Princess’ bridesmaids. Feeling her mind being twisted and bent by magic so that she could only say yes. Smiling happily as the last of her self-control was taken away. Guarding the entrance to the crystal caverns as the queen, her queen, had ordered her to.

The creature before her, in a buzzing and decidedly insect-like voice, asked her if she was alright. Lyra responded in the usual fashion: high pitched screaming, tears, and running away, leaving behind several startled passersby and one very confused, and slightly panicked, changeling-in-disguise.

Lyra galloped through the market, mares and stallions leaping to get out of the screaming mare’s path. After a short while, the unicorn’s rational mind started to reclaim order over her jumbled and chaotic thoughts. The castle. I have to warn Princess Twilight! She’ll know what to do!

She could see the gleaming crystal palace off in the distance, its usually distracting size and shine now a beacon of hope. All she had to do was reach its doors before the changeling in the market alerted its comrades and the invasion began. Or a strike force captured her and took her away to be replaced. Or worse.

Not thinking about that now.

Lyra kept her eyes fixed to the castle, almost as if she were afraid it would disappear if she looked away. As such, she failed to see the mare standing in the middle of the road, forelegs outstretched ready to intercept her, until it was too late.

Cold fear gripped Lyra’s heart. She was too slow. They had gotten her. She struggled, but fuzzy grey legs held her in a tight bear hug.

“Lyra. Lyra. Calm down,” her captor said in a recognizable Trottingham accent. “Breathe.”

She continued her panicked screaming. This resulted in a grey foreleg being placed to cover her mouth.

“Lyra, I know you’re frightened, but you have to stop panicking and calm down.” Her captor began dragging her backwards towards a nearby building. Further struggles continuing to be futile, Lyra gave up, and resigned herself to her fate.

Lyra recognized the building’s interior; she came here fairly regularly, and the resident party pony was one of Bon Bon’s best customers. Several of the bakery/cafe's patrons looked at her with confusion and concern. And speaking of party ponies…

“Pssst! Octy! Over here!” a high-pitched voice stage-whispered.

Seeing that Pinkie Pie was behind the strange sight before them, the patrons shrugged and went back to their food, wisely deciding not to get involved. Lyra’s crushed hope at a rescue was swiftly knocked aside by the realization that the changelings had clearly gotten to Pinkie Pie. If they were able to get one of the elements, she reasoned, then what’s to say they haven’t all been replaced? They could have even gotten to the Princess! Chrysalis was able to replace Cadence after all, and Twilight doesn’t even have guards in her castle! It was hopeless even from the beginning!

Lyra was jolted back to reality as she fell onto the floor of a back room of Sugarcube Corner. The unicorn looked at her captor.

Octavia winced. “Sorry about that.”

Octavia’s stronger than she looks, Lyra noted. Her brain used this as further evidence that this wasn’t actually the famed cellist. “Is this the part where you cocoon me?”

The grey mare politely stifled a laugh, while a second set of giggles erupted behind her. “Of course not, silly! What do you think we are, changelings?”

“…Yes?” Lyra started to turn her head to look at Pinkie, but was distracted by a soft click as Octavia locked the door. Her reply brought more laughter. “W-well, how do I know you aren’t!? Why else would you have snatched me off the street and locked me in a room like this, if it wasn’t to stop me from telling everypony about the invasion?!”

Octavia sighed. “Lyra, we are most assuredly not changelings, and there is no invasion.”

“Don’t lie to me! You have agents right here in Ponyville! I know ‘Sea Swirl’ is a changeling!”

“Yes, she is. A fact that I’m quite sure she and her husband would very much prefer you kept to yourself.”

“AHA! You admit it! Where’s the real-“

“She is the ‘real’ Sea Swirl. She’s always been a changeling.”

This shook Lyra out of her triumph. “...What?”

“Sea Swirl has always been a changeling. She ran away from her hive and moved here eight years ago.”

“Y-you could be lying! How do I know you two aren’t changelings too, trying to trick me?”

Pinkie, who had been uncharacteristically silent up until this point, spoke up. “Six years ago, you snuck in to Diamond Tiara’s cute-ceañera so you could eat at the buffet.”

“Wait, really?” Octavia asked incredulously.

“Never pass up an opportunity for free food. You next.”

“We met shortly after I moved to Ponyville. Our shared talents in music got us talking. You admitted to not being able to read music, and I offered to tutor you. An offer which still stands, by the way.”

Lyra nodded, satisfied. “I believe you.”

“Alrighty then! Now that that little mix-up has been thoroughly mixed-down, I think it’s time we got into the real reason we brought you here.”

“And that would be?” Lyra said, turning towards Pinkie.

“Figuring out how you were able to see through Sea Swirl’s disguise in the first place, silly!” the horrible abomination of a thousand nightmares replied in a jovial tone.

Comments

[AlicornPriest]

Hmm... pretty interesting so far. I'm curious to see what's coming.

[B_Munro]

Okay, any fanfic whose cover pic indicates Pinkie Pie is a Lovecraftian Abomination has my attention...

[Camolot the Creator]

I will hold the opinion that I've always held.
Namely, that Pinkie is a benevolent eldritch being from Between Places that has compressed itself into the form of a pony and exists and assists because that amuses it. Staring into her mind would be like staring into the time vortex, except it is made of infinite parties.

In other notes, I am actually quite interested so far. This is quite intriguing, and I think I will enjoy the fic to come.

[ferret]

Truth seeing... never look directly at Pinkie Pie. Got it.

[Naturefang]

8490497
With what's possible for her I'd imagine she'd have to be an Eldritch being of some sort.

[EnderHooves]

The unicorn trotted out the door to the storefront. After a moment, she poked her head back in. “By the way, your emergency briefcase is poking out of your tail.”

Uuummmm. Now, I know that she's got her second identity and all, and keeping an emergency briefcase does make some sense, but, I can't help but think she's referring to something else.

[Silver Blade]

By the way, your emergency briefcase is poking out of your tail.”
Best sentence ever.

[wing regent]

Can I translate this story into Russian?

[RB_]

8855085
If you wish.