//------------------------------//
// Chapter 20 - Served Cold 
// Story: Reflections in Black and Pink 
// by Krixwell 
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Chrysalis was pacing furiously in her throne room.

Less than half an hour after her hopes had been stoked and she had thought she finally had an angle to attack the Festival of Love without Shining Armor and the Princesses being able to stop her, Labrum had slunk back into the throne room with infuriating news.

Shining Armor had upped his game. An artifact was creating an advanced forcefield specialized to not only keep changelings out of the city, but mess up their magic if they were already inside. And to make matters worse, Thorax had been involved in creating the thing. Filthy traitor!

She mentally kicked herself. She should have known something was up when Rhabdom had shown her that voicemail. Instead she had dismissed the issue, even forgetting about it until she had ordered Rhabdom to contact the Canterlot spies about Labrum's imminent arrival.

And to top it all off, even if Labrum had been able to get into Canterlot, her only glimmer of a plan would still have failed. Pinkie Pie somehow appeared to be in two places at once – even though, between Chrysalis' changeling revelation spell and the artifact's magic, neither of them could be a changeling.

Maybe Labrum could still have managed to knock out the mare and take her place. Or better yet, take Twilight Sparkle's place. If she moved carefully, maybe she could even replace all of them, one by one, and from there overwhelm the other Princesses? That had potential.

It didn't help her now, however. The shield over Canterlot doomed every idea she could come up with so long as the artifact projecting it could continue to do so. And if no changeling could enter the area without being revealed, it would be extremely difficult to find and disable it.

Chrysalis stopped pacing and huffed. If she couldn't figure out how to attack the Festival of Love, at least she could turn her attention to the other riddle.

"Gena!" she called on the newly promoted throne room servant, the only one among them who had been restlessly watching Chrysalis pace. She might not be a good fit for the position, but Chrysalis had felt the sickening urge to reward her. "Bring 'Pinkie Pie' back out," she ordered. "I want to speak with her."

The servant hurried off to do as she was told, and returned shortly after, carrying the cocoon that held the mare Mandible had called Proboscis. She looked so much like Pinkie Pie, even though the coloration of the cocoon made her fur appear a muted teal instead of its true pale pink. Open fear shone in her eyes.

Gena set "Proboscis" down and removed the cocoon material around her head so she could speak, then dutifully returned to her post without a word. Good.

Chrysalis didn't let the pony get the first word, however. "I will give you the chance to answer for yourself. Who are you?"

"P-Party Popper," she stammered. "I-I'm Party Popper, um, n-nice to meet you, Your Highness…"

Well, that told Chrysalis nothing. Maybe a little trick could help her. She stared directly into Party Popper's eyes and cast a subtle changeling spell. "We'll see about that."

Changeling magic was relatively limited, even for Chrysalis, who could do more of it than most thanks to her status as Queen. Oftentimes, she had wished for the ability to read ponies' minds or memories, but a hive was not built on wishes. She had to make do with what she had.

In this case, what she had was a spell that showed who somepony felt strongly about, for better or worse.

To Chrysalis' eyes, a series of small, floating faces began appearing one by one above Party Popper's head, spinning in a gradually expanding circle but always facing Chrysalis. Her own face was there among them, its features marked by fear. Though the emotion was displayed on Chrysalis' own face, it actually represented how Party Popper felt about her.

As odd as it always felt to see fear on her own face, it was reassuring as well. The mare's stammering wasn't an act.

Her face was joined by two other changelings. Chrysalis wasn't sure which was more disturbing – the fear on Cuticle's face, or the broad smile on Clypeus'. She couldn't recall ever seeing Clypeus smile.

Next up were a pair of earth ponies or pegasi Chrysalis didn't recognize. They were both smiling warmly.

Then, at last, they appeared. One by one, the Bearers' faces appeared above the mare's head. Fluttershy. Applejack. Rarity. Rainbow Dash. Twilight Sparkle.

What Chrysalis hadn't expected was the mixture of fear, anger and pure disgust twisting each of their features until they were nearly unrecognizable. Twilight Sparkle in particular looked like she was facing her greatest fear and her bitterest enemy all at once. What the buzz…?

Then Pinkie Pie appeared. So they're definitely different ponies. Chrysalis wasn't even really sure why she had still been in doubt about that, but this sealed it.

The expression was almost completely unreadable – there were far too many emotions in it. On top of the ones associated with the rest of the Bearers, Chrysalis thought she could pick out betrayal and… was that admiration?

Chrysalis thought that had to be the last face, but then… Pinkie Pie again? Except this time, the face was sobbing, tears streaming down both cheeks.

And another one, just like it. And another one. By the time there were eight sobbing Pinkie Pies floating around Party Popper's head, Chrysalis had had enough and cut off the magic. Something had to be wrong with the spell, but she had learned what she needed to.

Chrysalis suddenly realized the pony had been babbling all the while.

"...so then I said 'Maybe they know where he is?' and Mandible said 'So help me the Queen, if'—"

"Listen," Chrysalis said sharply, shutting the mare up, then very deliberately softened her tone. She even smiled. "I think we may have started off on the wrong hoof, miss 'Party Popper'."

"You do?" she said, sounding genuinely surprised.

"Oh, I may have ordered you cocooned under the mistaken belief that you were that treacherous mare Pinkie Pie." Soft like a fly stepping in butter. Chrysalis still had what it took. "But really now, what's a little cocooning between friends?" She gagged at the word, but Party Popper didn't seem to notice.

The mare looked down at the remainder of her cocoon, fear having given way to confusion. "Um, I guess it wasn't that traumatic?"

"Of course not. I would never want to do anything to traumatize my guest!" In the corner of her eye, Chrysalis spotted Gena squinting at the display. She shot the servant a glare to put her in her place, but so long as Gena held her tongue, Chrysalis could let it slide. Just this once.

"I'm a guest now?"

"Naturally! I can already tell that we have so much in common."

"We… do?"

Chrysalis struggled to think of things they actually had in common besides what she was building up to. "We're both here in the hive, we can both look like Pinkie Pie…" She transformed into Pinkie Pie to make her point.

Party Popper recoiled slightly, but the cocoon kept her from moving anywhere. Then something else touched her face. Anger? "To be honest," she said, "I'd rather not look like her if I could help it."

"Oh, I completely understand," Chrysalis said, reverting to her base form. "Who would want to be associated with that mare and her friends? But tell me, why do you look so much like her, Party Popper?"

Party Popper hesitated. "She's… family. She was."

Surely that couldn't be the full explanation for the incredible resemblance. Even among twins, ponies just didn't do "identical". But the mare didn't appear to be lying, and Chrysalis had heard many strange tales about Pinkie Pie from Rhabdom's spies. Who knew what might be possible in her family?

"Was?" Chrysalis prompted.

"It's, um, a long story."

"We have time."

Party Popper hesitated. "...I'd rather not talk about it."

Chrysalis clenched her jaw behind her fake smile. If this were an ordinary interrogation, she could simply have made the subject talk by force. But this was a more delicate affair.

"Whatever she… and her friends?" Chrysalis hazarded a guess, "...did, it must have been really upsetting."

Party Popper said nothing, looking down at the floor with a frown. Excellent.

"It must have made you so angry."

"No, I…" the pony said, but left it hanging as she seemed to reconsider her words. "It should have, shouldn't it?"

Chrysalis allowed hardness back into her voice. "Of course it should! When your family betrays you, there is no room for withdrawal. Let go of your fear and let it fuel your anger! Allow the rage to consume you, and stop running!"

Party Popper looked up at Chrysalis in awe, and then… her eyes hardened. Ever so slightly, but they hardened.

"Stop running, Party Popper, and face your enemies. Show Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle who they have been messing with, strike back against those who have wronged you, and let them feel what you have felt!"

Party Popper's face grew harder by the word. "How?" the pony asked, and Chrysalis knew she had won.

"We have the same enemies. I can help you, if you help me. What do you say, Party Popper? Are you up for some revenge?"

"I think…" Party Popper said, "I think it's about time Twilight learned her lesson."