Grasshopper would have buzzed her wings happily--if she wasn’t already in disguise, that is.
“That was a lot of fun, wasn’t it?” she asked the others. All four of them murmured in agreement.
“I especially liked the pancakes,” Luke put in.
Mama scoffed. “We noticed,” she said. “How many plates did you have? Four?”
“Oh, don’t blame him too much,” Danni said. “I had a couple, too.”
“The pie was alright,” Poppy added. “I’m just glad we didn’t have to pay for it.”
The five of them walked, side by side, down the Manehattan sidewalk--disguised, of course. Grasshopper knew they were drawing more than a few dirty looks, but she didn’t care. To her, it felt like she was walking on clouds.
When Rarity had first asked for their help in opening her boutique--via Millie, who had been on shift at the moment--the Hive hadn’t been sure how to respond. Sure, they probably should help out… but this would be their first time travelling so far away! How were they going to handle things, without a convenient hive to retreat to? And what were the rest going to do for food while they were gone?
As it turns out, they needn’t have worried--not too much, anyways. Mama had picked the four most promising Pinkie impersonators--including, to his everlasting pride, little Luke himself--and they had made the trip together. Whenever anyone needed a break, they’d just duck into a convenient bathroom or something, and they’d make the switch there.
The experiment had been a resounding success--especially since, as it turned out, Rarity needed a lot more help with her store than she’d let on. When that same fact started to dawn on all the others, Pinkie--or, to be more precise, Luke--revealed that she just so happened to know a team of four interior decorators that could help out on short notice. And all five of them had discovered that relief, gratitude, and admiration were almost as tasty as love itself.
The interview with the journalist had been the cherry on top, though. One of them at a time had to sit still and answer his questions, while the other four--scattered, in different disguises, throughout the diner--spent their time making jokes at his expense and coming up with even more outlandish answers to his inevitable questions. And then, of course, every few minutes, Pinkie would excuse herself to the bathroom, letting someone else tag in. And, if the journalist noticed that Pinkie always seemed to have a freshly-ravenous appetite after she returned from the bathroom, he politely kept that observation to himself.
Meanwhile, Mama had given the rest of the hive an assignment. They needed to dig a new exit tunnel anyways, since they'd blocked off the old one--and, while they were already doing that, it wouldn’t be too much harder to dig another tunnel to the basement of one of the vacant houses on the outskirts of Ponyville. So Mama had asked everybuggy she left behind to start brainstorming for another new pony or two they could imitate. Maybe a cute little couple? Maybe they could make one of them a unicorn this time, just for variety's sake. And Mama was so fond of the colors mint green and cream… perhaps they could work those in to their designs, somehow?
“By the way,” Mama said, interrupting her thoughts. “Did anyone else notice that Rarity dropping hints about the mirror pool?”
“I did,” Luke chirped. “Good thing they sealed up the tunnel!”
“Even better thing no one noticed you when you forgot to change out of Pinkie that one time,” Poppy cut in. “What happened, did you just forget after you handed her off to me?”
“Yeah,” he admitted. “I got a little distracted by the vending machine in the girls' bathroom...”
“Luke,” Mama said, a warning tone in her voice, “do you even know what’s in those things?”
“No,” he said.
“Me neither,” Mama replied with a smile.
And all five of them broke into a laugh.
Grasshopper grinned to herself, then happily looked around at the others, all of them in disguise as different ponies. Everyone had chosen their own design, but it was clear they shared a lineage: Mama’s brown mane had Pinkie’s curl to it, while Danni had her bright-blue eyes, and Luke--dressed as a little colt--had taken her pink coat, though he’d added a spiky, gold mane to try and look a little less girly. It was all very brave and daring and exciting--exploring a brand-new city with her family, flaunting little bits of the disguise that had made them so successful...
Grasshopper’s smile widened, and she felt a song rising in her throat. Life was perfect. Life was grand. Life couldn’t be better. Not even if—
“Watch out!”
Grasshopper slammed into somepony. She squawked in alarm, he shouted something unintelligible, and both of them tumbled backwards as packages and bags rained down around them.
“Are you okay, mister?” Luke cried as he rushed forward.
“Here, let me help you…” Mama said, beginning to gather up their spilled things.
Danni and Poppy helped Grasshopper back to her hooves, as she shook her head to try and make the world stop spinning.
“Thou shouldst take greater care where thou walkest,” the stallion grumbled.
“Sorry,” Danni volunteered. “We’re visiting from Ponyville for the day, and we—”
“Thou especially, young mare,” he continued heedlessly. “Thou in the front.”
“I know,” Grasshopper said, “I’m sorry, just… got caught up in the—”
And then she fell silent. One by one, the others turned to see what had happened--and, as they did, they too went quiet. All of them stared silently, eyes wide, at the ponies before them.
The six ponies before them were clearly from out of town--way out of town. Each of them--father, mother, and four daughters--were dressed to the nines… or at least to the sevens or eights, in their own, country-bumpkin way. The father wore a wide-brimmed felt hat and a homespun suit with a pressed linen shirt underneath, while each of the mares wore subdued, cotton-print dresses with subtle accents of silk ribbon and lace. This was clearly a special occasion for them, coming out to the big city--and a large part of the reason for that was probably contained in the boxes and bags still spilled all over the sidewalk.
Grasshopper looked at each of the family members in turn. Each of their coats and manes were dull, earthy colors--grays and blues and browns that reminded Grasshopper of nothing so much as the rocks inside their cave back home. But, hiding at the back of the line, cowering behind one of her sisters, stood another pony entirely.
She was dressed like the others, but otherwise couldn’t be any more different from her family. She stared at Grasshopper with wide, frightened, sapphire-bright eyes. Her curly pink mane had been wrapped carefully in a bun at the base of her neck, save for a few loose flyaway strands. She wore a simple blue dress with tiny white flowers printed on it, almost entirely covering her powder-pink coat. And, even though her flanks were hidden by her skirt, Grasshopper would have bet her wings her cutie mark had something to do with balloons.
For several long seconds, both families stared at each other in silence as the traffic of Manehattan flowed around them. Then, one of the farmers stepped forward, her white mane cut short.
"What are you lookin' at, huh?" she demanded. "Come to stare at the out-of-towners?
Mama's eyes widened, and she ducked her head. “ ‘Scuse us,” she muttered, and slipped her way past their challenger.
One by one, the other changelings gave similar, half-hearted apologies, then slunk past the ponies, under the disapproving glare of the farmer himself.
Grasshopper stood rooted to the spot until Luke, already several yards down the sidewalk, turned and gestured urgently at her. Grasshopper snapped awake, then trotted past the family. However, she paused next to the pink pony, then grinned at her.
“You have a beautiful smile,” she said simply.
The pink pony stared at her for another second, then gave her a watery, halfhearted grin of her own. Grasshopper smiled wider, and was about to hurry off after the others--until she noticed something else.
One of the older sisters was watching her. The sister’s gray coat and purplish mane contrasted with her bright green eyes--which were currently in the process of drilling a hole straight through her. Then, her gaze flicked down the street, towards the rapidly-retreating hindquarters of the other changelings, cataloguing the color of Luke’s coat, and the curl of Mama’s mane, and the bright-blue of Danni’s eyes. And, though she didn’t say a word, Grasshopper could see the gears turning in her brain.
Grasshopper gulped then scurried off, back into the anonymous crowds of Manehattan--the best possible environment for a frightened changeling to be…
...or, at least, for a changeling who didn’t have a family as awesome as hers.
* * *
The letter came six weeks later.
Grasshopper was in the middle of counting out change for Cheerilee when the bell over the door rang.
“ ‘Scuse me,” said the gray mailpony--the one with all the muffins, what was her name…?--”but I got some mail for you.”
“Just toss it on the counter,” Hops said, distracted.
The mail stayed where the mailmare had put it for another hour or so, until after Grasshopper was able to get the lunch rush all squared away. Finally, after making sure all the customers were happy, and the counters were clean, and all the display cakes looked as pretty as could be, she turned to the mail. There were two envelopes for her: the one on top was square and white and sparkling, while the other was plain paper.
We got mail? asked Luke in the back of her brain.
"Uh-huh," Hops said, grabbing the sparkling envelope and tearing it open. She scanned the card inside absently.
Who from?
"I dunno," Hops said, tossing the card back on the counter. "Someone in Canterlot. Sounds like they're having a wedding, and want us to come."
That's... nice? Luke replied uncertainly.
"Plenty of love, I'm sure," Hops said, opening the other envelope. Inside was a simple sheet of lined paper, with a short message written in sharp, precise pencil strokes. "We'll just have to see if we can... uh..."
She fell silent, then read the note again. And again.
Something wrong? asked Luke.
Grasshopper swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry. “Go get Mama,” she whispered.
Why? What’s happening?
Grasshopper swallowed again.
“We’re going to have a visitor,” she said. “This weekend.”
What? Luke squawked. Who? Why?
"I dunno," Hops said, scanning the letter one more time. "She says she wants to see how we're getting on in Ponyville."
Who's it from? he repeated, a little note of desperation in his thoughts.
Grasshopper bent down and peered closely at the note, so Luke could read it along with her.
Sincerely, he read slowly, Your sister, Maud.
A pause.
Uh-oh, Luke said.
Hops nodded slowly. "Uh-oh is right," she said.
What are we gonna do? he asked.
"The same thing we always do, silly," Hops said, folding the note and stuffing it back in its envelope. "Bake a cake, write a song, and hope to mellifera no one notices anything strange." She smiled. "Always worked so far."
In her brain, Luke giggled, and, despite the growing worry in her stomach, Grasshopper felt her smile growing wider.
Suddenly, the bell over the door dingled, and Hops spun to face the new customer.
"Heya!" she cried. "Welcome to Sugarcube Corner! What can I getcha?"