//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 - Reflections of Home // Story: Reflections in Black and Pink // by Krixwell //------------------------------// There were many legends scattered around Equestria. Legendary beasts, legendary artifacts, legendary castles. Legendary ponies, legendary flowers, even legendary flight maneuvers. Equestria had enough legends for anypony, and most of them were true. Many of the legends of Equestria were grandiose, having great repercussions whenever somepony decided to seek them out, or simply stumbled upon them by happenstance. Some were unassuming, hidden away, lying dormant, only to once in a while be used for trivial purposes, though they were legendary no less. Only a fool, however, believed that something small and unassuming could not also have great repercussions. A butterfly flapped its wings in the Everfree Forest. It was a very windy morning in Manehattan. Stuffy ponies in elaborate outfits had to hold on to their fancy hats as they pushed against the gusts to get to their respective destinations. Taxi ponies had trouble keeping their carts stable, and the passengers wore sour expressions as they were tossed around. They were sheltered from the wind themselves, but that didn't stop them from complaining. Amongst all the grumpy Manehattanites, a pink earth pony bounced along happily. She was wearing a long coat that would hide her cutie mark when it wasn't being tossed about by bouncing and wind alike, and a Panamare hat in matching dark purple. Showing no concern for the wind, she wasn't even holding on to her hat, yet it stayed on her head as though glued to it. Figuring out how to get the glue out of her mane was a problem for later. She rounded the last corner and opened the door to the Glazed Miracles Bakery, and the wind followed her in. It was, she thought, the coziest bakery in Manehattan, and she loved working there. It was the closest she still had to a place she truly felt at home in. Between the bakery itself and the kind married couple who owned the place, it seemed as though the only thing missing was a foal or two to play with during her breaks. Unfortunately, the bakers' only son was all grown up and had traveled to Canterlot to become a royal guard. She greeted them with a smile, as always. "Hi, Sweet Tooth! Hi, Bear Hug!" "The door!" Sweet Tooth answered loudly, the red pegasus frantically flitting around to save the tablecloths. She was failing. She looked back. Sure enough, she had left the door open, letting the wild winds into the bakery. "Oh, right." She closed the door, and the tablecloths fell into their places. Or would have if their places were all over the floor. "Sorry." Sweet Tooth let out a relieved sound. "That's alright, Party Popper. How are you today?" Party Popper, of course, hadn't always been her name. Everypony knew her real name, but it wasn't exactly hers anymore, and she didn't want anypony to know it had ever been hers, so nowadays she went by Party Popper instead. She didn't really like the name, but that was another layer of safety. Nopony would expect Pinkie Pie to go by a name so close to "Party Pooper", least of all Pinkie Pie. "Oh, I'm great, thank you!" she answered. "The breeze outside is so refreshing!" "Well, as long as it stays outside, I suppose," Sweet Tooth mused. Now that she had calmed down, Party Popper thought she looked tired. It was quickly confirmed when Sweet Tooth turned to Bear Hug and asked, "Honey, do we have any more coffee?" The Glazed Miracles Bakery had never sold coffee, so it had to be for her. It seemed to take her big, orange-coated earth pony husband a moment to realize Sweet Tooth was talking to him. Come to think of it, the jovial, talkative stallion had been wordlessly looking at Party Popper for some time now, and his smile looked… fake? "...yes, dear," he said finally, "I think we have some in the back. Pi– 'Party Popper', could you come and take a look with me?" "Uh, sure." Party Popper followed Bear Hug into the storage room in the back of the bakery. She was surprised when he quietly indicated the trapdoor that led down to the basement. "The basement?" she asked, "Why would we have coffee in the b–" "Shh, let's just go!" He opened the trapdoor and waved for her to follow. Party Popper was perplexed. A lot of ponies wanted her to shut up, but she had never been shushed by Bear Hug before! Still, she followed. As she entered the dark, dusty basement, Party Popper realized she could no longer hear Sweet Tooth's steps above. Had he brought her here to get out of earshot? The only possible explanation rose up in Party Popper's mind. "I don't know what we're celebrating," she began, "but if you want to throw a surprise party for Sweet Tooth, I can–" Abruptly, Bear Hug pushed her against a wall with a hoof over her mouth. Her eyes went wide in surprise. It was time to shut up again, apparently. "Look, 'Party Popper'," he said in a much harder tone than she had ever heard from him, "or whatever your name is. What are you doing disguising yourself as Pinkie Pie? Everypony knows she's supposed to be in Canterlot right now, preparing for that new Festival of Love with the Princesses and all the other Element bearers. It's all over the newspapers! You'll get us all caught!" The moment he lifted his hoof, Party Popper said, "Pinkie Pie? Who's that?" It was her go-to answer whenever somepony pointed out the resemblance between Party Popper and Pinkie despite her masterful disguise. "Don't pretend to be an idiot, you know who she is. Now let's leave this horrible bakery so you can shapeshift into somepony else before somepony recognizes Pinkie Pie and starts asking questions!" "But I can't shapeshift, silly! Not much, anyway." "What? You mean you're stuck like that?" Bear Hug groaned. "Buzzing hay, you're going to have to go to the Queen and ask her for help, after we get you out of the city." "The Queen? Equestria doesn't have a Queen." "Oh. You really are an idiot. That explains it." He sighed. "Come on, let's go!" As Bear Hug pulled her hoof back towards the stairs, Party Popper finally noticed something shrouded in the darkness of the basement, just barely visible if you squinted - the silhouette of a large, unconscious stallion. "I'm Mandible," Bear Hug hissed as he dragged her along back up through the trapdoor, "and since you seem to be too thick-headed to get it on your own: I'm a changeling too."