"Tavi! I knew you'd be here!"
Bon Bon and Vinyl arrived at the restaurant where Lyra and Octavia had been dining for the night. Vinyl had practically stormed inside to the alarm of Bon Bon, the disc jockey almost tearing down the doors in her excitement. This reckless action had Bon Bon deeply worried about disturbing the peace. But thankfully the guards turned a blind eye and there were no more ponies around besides the bartender and Octavia. The latter was still sitting at her table quietly drinking her second glass. Octavia did not even turn her head until Vinyl came closer to her and sat down in Lyra's seat.
"Hello, Vinyl." Octavia greeted her calmly. "Would you like a glass?"
"Nah, I'm good." Vinyl quickly stood up, reached over the table, and tightly hugged Octavia affectionately. "Thanks a million for getting it back! How can I make it up to you!?"
"Put me down and let me finish my drink..." she said rolling her eyes.
Vinyl complied with Octavia's request and gently set her down. "So uh... Where'd you put it?"
"In the alleyway across the street. Would you like me to retrieve it?"
"Naaaw. As long as I know where it is, I can get it anytime."
"So is that it or is there something else you came here for?"
"Aw c'mon, Octavia! Open up for once!"
Feeling this conversation would take a while, Bon Bon pulled up a cushion and joined the table. Vinyl was mainly attempting to convince Octavia to join her for a late night party, but Octavia continuously declined using tomorrow's wedding as her excuse. This did not stop Vinyl though as she eventually resorted to physical force by using her teeth to drag Octavia's cushion to the front door. Octavia did not bother to move and sighed at Vinyl's futile effort. The bartender took notice not long afterward and used the blunt side of his mop to strike Vinyl in the back of the head. Vinyl did not respond well to this and dropped to the floor while clutching her head in pain.
"Oooowww! Duuude! Not cool!"
The bartender rolled his eyes and ignored Vinyl's agonizing groans. Instead he assisted Octavia by returning her cushion to its proper place and allowing her to sit down.
"Gee, Sis." he said with a spontaneous smile. "You still need your Big Bro to protect you from crazy strangers?"
"Believe me," Octavia replied, "she would've tired by the time she got me out that door."
He chuckled. "Whatever you say..."
"Uh... Is she going to be okay?" Bon Bon asked.
She wanted to helped poor Vinyl, but she also feared the bartender doing the same to her. He seemed unpredictable based on how he suddenly changed his attitude.
"Vinyl is just over exaggerating." Octavia replied. "She's taken much more abuse than that before. And Beat doesn't hit ponies that hard anyway."
"Liar!" Vinyl exclaimed as she continued rolling on the floor.
"Oh, and you should go inside the mares' room. You're friend, Lyra, might still be puking in there."
Bon Bon's eyes widened as she quickly stood up. "What!?"
Concerned about her best friend, Bon Bon immediately dashed to the restrooms located in the back of the restaurant. She could distinctly hear Lyra's moans as she got closer to the door. Once inside, Bon Bon found Lyra lying on the tiled floor and clutching her stomach in pain. It was clear she had been puking in the nearby stall, but she was at least able to wipe herself clean with some fresh hand towels.
"What happened?" Bon Bon asked as she helped Lyra properly stand up.
"Urgh... Wine... Tasted horrible!"
Bon Bon facehoofed. "Ugh! Don't you remember your parents saying what alcohol does to you!?"
"Oh..." Lyra began giggling from her stupidity. "I forgot... Hehehe..."
"Honestly..."
Once Lyra felt well enough to leave, Bon Bon escorted her back to the table where Vinyl had taken Lyra's seat again. It seemed the disc jockey had finally recovered from Beat's blow, but she was still glaring at the stallion who ignored her rude gestures and continued cleaning the stains from Lyra's spit-take. Bon Bon allowed Lyra to take her cushion since the sick mare obviously needed it much more than her. Beat offered Bon Bon another cushion in hospitality, but she declined preferring to stand. She felt the table would have become a little crowded with her anyway.
"What did I miss?" Lyra grumbled after she slumped over the table.
"Not much," Octavia replied, "besides the party animal over here."
"Geez, you look terrible." Vinyl remarked while observing Lyra. "What the hay happened to you?"
"Tell you later..." the sick mare muttered. "Urgh...! Wake me up when we're leav-...-ing... Zzzzz..."
Lyra had fallen asleep instantly. In response, Beat retrieved a tablecloth from a nearby cabinet and spread it over Lyra's shoulders as a blanket. Bon Bon thanked the stallion as he went back to cleaning the floor.
"So how did you two meet?" Vinyl asked Octavia.
"Long story short, she crashed into me just after I got back your w-"
Vinyl quickly silenced the mare by holding a hoof to her mouth. "Shh! I don't want anypony to know what it is before I reveal it!"
"She crashed into you?" Bon Bon repeated.
She glared at the sleeping Lyra feeling the urge to smack her awake. Lyra had always been the type of mare who tended to not watch where she was going. It was a habit that had gotten her into many awkward or bad situations. The incident in Ponyville where Lyra accidentally crashed into a passing by noble was still etched into her mind.
"Yes," Octavia answered, "but once you get to know Vinyl like I do...that sort of thing doesn't bother you anymore..."
"Aw, shucks!" Vinyl bragged, taking Octavia's statement as a compliment.
"Well..." Bon Bon said, "as long as she didn't cause you too much trouble..."
"On the contrary, I believe she should worry about her own trouble more than mine."
"What...do you mean?"
Octavia stretched her arm and fully opened a window panel so Bon Bon and Vinyl could have a clear view of the table Twilight's friends had been using. They were gone now having returned to their suites in Canterlot Castle. The only evidence proving they had been here were their overturned drinks that Beat had neglected to clean.
"I'm assuming you know Twilight Sparkle? Well about ten minutes ago, she confronted her friends with claims about Cadance being 'the worst bride-to-be'. She was describing qualities such as her 'bad attitude'."
Vinyl crossed her arms and looked away with an annoyed expression. Her first impression of Cadance was something she would never forget.
"Pfft... You're telling me..."
"Anyway... Twilight continuously tried to gain support from her friends, but they all insisted that Cadance was, in that white mare's words, 'an absolute gem'..."
"Are you kidding?" Bon Bon asked. She was starting to progressively raise her voice. "If my first meeting with her today was anything to go by, Cadance was the exact opposite!"
Using her eyes, Octavia motioned Bon Bon towards Lyra. "She felt the same. I actually had to stop her before she caused a scene..."
"Wait," Vinyl interrupted, "why didn't you just let her? Twilight would've had a witness!"
"Judging by how highly her friends spoke of the princess, I doubt Lyra and I could have convinced them."
"So what?" Vinyl was starting to raise her voice too but with a more angry tone. "We just let them keep thinking how much of a 'perfect lady' Cadance is!?"
Surprising Bon Bon and Vinyl, Octavia stood up and leaned over the table. It was quite unnerving to see given Octavia's calm, somewhat emotionless, behavior until now. She was practically inches in front of Vinyl's face, and smiling too.
"Who said anything about that?" She then turned towards her brother who had returned to the bar counter. "Beat, do you still remember how to perform Father's memory spells?"
"You know it!" the stallion proudly exclaimed.
Just like Lyra beforehand, Vinyl grew extremely nervous as she witnessed Octavia grin once again. Despite having known the mare for a long time, the rare occurrence of Octavia becoming mischievous was something she did not like to see.
"The plan should be simple." Octavia began. "We will follow the princess, keeping out of sight of course, and observe her behavior. Once we see her perform a number of actions that reveal her true 'villainous' character, my brother will be able to show our memories to anypony we know."
"But how are we going to find the princess?" Vinyl asked. "I mean, sure, we can get back inside the castle, but I doubt the guards will let us get close to Cadance's room."
"Not exactly. Before Twilight's friends left, the dragon mentioned the princess is staying at her groom's apartment tonight. It's not too far from here actually."
"But there are still guards all over the city! They definitely find us sneaking around eventually!"
"Not if we hurry." Octavia then turned her head towards Bon Bon. "Would you like to join us?"
Bon Bon wanted to accept knowing it would help support Lyra's cause. She too also wanted to learn the reason behind Cadance's sudden change from how she remembered the princess from years ago. But the mare could not just abandon her best friend in a restaurant only to come back later. Considering Beat was Octavia's brother, he could have been willing to care of Lyra, but Bon Bon felt obligated to take her home as part of her responsibility. Lyra's mother would probably get worried also if they did not return soon.
"Sorry, but I've got to take Lyra back to her house. Just know that we'll be counting on you."
"Don't worry 'bout it!" Vinyl assured her. "We'll stop by once we've got proof!"
Octavia turned to her brother again. "Beat, help Bon Bon take Lyra back her house."
Beat quickly stopped what he was doing and rejoined the mares. He was expecting to take one of Lyra's arms while Bon Bon would take the other, but Octavia quickly stood up and mounted Lyra's sleeping body onto his own. The weight was straining on his back, but it was manageable enough for him to walk at a steady pace.
"Wow. You're turning into Mom everyday." he jokingly remarked. As he felt Lyra's breathing, he looked at Bon Bon and pointed to Lyra's limp arm. "She's not going to wake up, is she?"
Bon Bon shook her head. "No. When Lyra's like this, nothing will wake her up."
"Alright, lead the way then. And Sis, make sure you lock up before you leave."
Bon Bon opened the door for Beat and began escorting the stallion back to Lyra's house in the upper district. Back inside the restaurant, Octavia watched them take the westbound road until they were too far away to track. Meanwhile Vinyl was cleaning up the table using her light blue magic. She followed Octavia outside once she placed her wine glass at the counter hoping Beat will pick it up later. Using a key that was hidden in the hanging flower pot just above the right side of the door, Octavia locked the building and tossed the key back into its hiding place.
"So where exactly is Shining Armor's apartment?" Vinyl asked.
Octavia pointed behind Vinyl to the east. "The eastern residential district. Just down this road."
"How do you know that exactly?"
Vinyl grew a little suspicious. It was true Octavia had a good knowledge of Canterlot, but even the captains of the Royal Guard were regular ponies just like anyone else. To know their residence, she would have to be friends with one or actually live near them, and Vinyl was positive this was not true for her.
"Well, I..." Octavia blushed. This also a reaction that was rare for somepony to see from her. It even caused Vinyl to raise her shades. "I happen to know this...pony...who happens to know Shining Armor..."
It took a few seconds, but Vinyl managed to figure out what she meant. "Oooh! I get it~! What his name?"
Octavia's face grew even redder. She quickly turned her head away from Vinyl and began walking down the street. "That is...nothing to be concerned about! Let's just go before we miss our chance!"
"Suuure... Whatever you say~"
-----
"Well... Here were are!"
The Doctor and Derpy stood before the entrance to the tower Philomena had described to them. It was a small tower compared to the rest of the castle. It was two stories in height, three if one counted the inaccessible spire. The balcony on the second floor provided a clear overhead view of the short river that flowed past the castle and into the lake far below the mountain. The outdoor entrance was unfortunately unusable due to the number of guards patrolling the grounds nearby. After a number of detours, the pair managed to find an alternate route through a hallway in the east wing.
Proceeding inside, they found themselves in almost complete darkness. Finding no mounts for a torch, the Doctor use his sonic screwdriver to illuminate the room with a blue glow. It was a storeroom filled mostly with unopened wooden crates and barrels filled with large blank scrolls. It seemed to have been unused for quite a long time as dust and cobwebs covered every object in the room. The only major light source came from a large window, but its ray only shined at the large wooden support in the center of the room.
Derpy wondered why Philomena had requested her and the Doctor's presence here. To the pegasus, it seemed nothing of importance could be found here. Her best guess was that something was hidden inside one of these old containers. She took flight to see if there was anything of interest on the second floor, but only found piles of sandbags scattered across the floor.
Meanwhile the Doctor ascended the spiral ramp that hugged the outer wall and rejoined Derpy. He then approached the nearby door and peeked outside its small window. The window was in perfect alignment with the castle's highest tower, the observatory. On its balcony, the Doctor could see Princess Luna herself using a telescope to keep watch over the entire city. Ever since the city went on high alert, both of the Princesses had been dedicating their time to this position. It had been a hindrance to the Doctor and Derpy as it prevented them from crossing most of the castle's courtyards and gardens. They were lucky a tower obscured Luna's view of the armory when they had exited from there.
As the Doctor turned around, he spotted Philomena flying towards the larger window. He alerted Derpy who immediately flew up to undo the lock and allow the mystical firebird inside. Philomena circled the room a few times before descending to the lower floor where she perched herself on the edge of a crate.
"Thank you for listening." she told the Doctor. "It is quite rare to find someone who can understand a phoenix. Are you sure you are pony?"
The Doctor giggled. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"I see... As for why I told you to come here, I require assistance."
"Let me guess. Princess Cadance?"
Philomena sighed as she closed her eyes and tilted her head down. "Yes... I am afraid even Princess Celestia would not believe me, attributing my feelings as 'jealousy'...which is quite absurd, I assure you."
"What are you're feelings then?"
"The princess' aura...a perfect match, but...there are occasional moments, very short in length, where it suddenly changes before returning to normal. Cadenza's sudden personality change around certain ponies was what made grow more suspicious."
The Doctor put a hoof to his chin trying to make sense of this information. "That's similar story to a friend of mine who happened to know Cadance..."
"It feels reassuring to know someone else shares my feelings... Is it why you felt it necessary to sneak inside the castle?"
"Well..." The Doctor was not sure how to word this sentence. "We could have come here with that friend of ours, but we did not want to inadvertently get her involved with what we were planning..."
"I understand." Philomena then perked up suddenly and bowed in a respectful manner. "Oh dear. Where are my manners? I completely forgot to ask for your names when we first met."
"Oh. I'm the Doctor." He then turned around and motioned Derpy to come forward. "Derpy! Come here and introduce yourself to this beautiful lady!"
The mare nervously approached Philomena who stared at her cross-eyed expression curiously. Derpy was unsure of what to say. Speaking to other animals was not exactly something where she had experience.
"Uh... Hello? Name's Derpy."
Philomena turned to the Doctor and made a series of chirping sounds. The stallion simply nodded to what Derpy assumed to be a sentence.
"Philomena says it's a pleasure to meet you." he translated.
"So... Uh... Why'd you make us come here?"
Philomena took flight once and landed on the Doctor's mane. She raised her wing upwards and pointed at the support beam where the window's light was focused.
"The light is shining on a hidden switch you need to press. A special magic that only allows pegasi to utilize it prevents me from doing it myself."
The Doctor translated for Derpy again. Understanding the situation, the mare flew up and began searching. Her shadow made it difficult to see so she resorted to rubbing her hoof across the surface. Close to the ray's rim, Derpy felt a slight notch. She traced it around to discover it formed a rectangle that perfectly fit her hoof.
"Found it!"
Derpy pushed in the panel and rejoined the others as they waited for the result. In a few seconds, the ground started to vibrate. Philomena urged the ponies to step back as the stone floor beneath them began to retract. Once the shaking had stopped and the small dust clouds finally dispersed, the group found a large staircase before them. It spiraled down the support beam an into the castle's underground. Derpy carefully approached the opening and gave a quick shout only to receive an echo in response.
"That's deep..."
"What exactly does this staircase lead to?" the Doctor asked Philomena. "I would have assumed the basement, but that echo proved it to be much deeper."
"The abandoned mines beneath Canterlot. Before this area became a grand city, a band of unicorns discovered a vast deposit of valuable gems deep within the mountain. After all the gems were used up, they simply abandoned the operation until the city rediscovered it. Ever since then it's been connected to the castle through secret passageways in the event the Princesses were being threatened and in need of an escape route."
"Fascinating... And why is it so important that we must venture down there?"
"I have been spying on Cadenza. I have witnessed her teleporting someplace multiple times when she assumes she has privacy. I could not track the precise location, but it could figure out it was somewhere beneath the city, and thus these caves. I specifically chose this entrance because most of the Royal Guard had forgotten it even exists."
"Very well then. Let us go discover what our Amore Cadenza is up to, shall we?"
-----
"Great! There are two guards right by the front door! Now what?"
Vinyl and Octavia had arrived at the eastern residential district. They were a few buildings away from what Octavia claimed to be Shining Armor's apartment. It was a two-story building with a small set of stairs that lead to the front doors. Vinyl originally had her doubts with this being Shining Armor's residence until she noticed the coat of arms painted above the entrance, two crossed swords with a shield depicting a unicorn's head. As Vinyl said previously, two unicorn guards were standing by each side of the staircase with their spears ready.
"Don't worry." Octavia told her. "Just follow me and don't say anything."
The pair proceeded down the street and towards Shining Armor's home. Not recognizing any of the mares, the guards quickly blocked their path.
"Halt! What business you have with the Captain?"
"I'm here with a message from Blues." Octavia calmly replied. "He says it's a matter of grave important that needs Shining Armor's opinion."
The guards looked at each other wondering to do. One was in favor of granting passage, but the other was still suspicious. To them Octavia seemed like an honest, sophisticated mare, but the fact a common mare like Vinyl was accompanying her was a little strange.
"Why can't Blues do it himself?" a the skeptical guard asked.
"He is much too busy preparing for his role as Shining Armor's usher. He wanted to save time by sending me as a messenger."
"He did not give any sort of proof?"
"My word is not enough? Shall I take up this matter with him?"
The guard was starting to become nervous as Octavia continued to stare into his eyes. "Th-... That won't be necessary! Proceed!" He and his fellow comrade withdrew their spears and moved out of the way. "Don't mind the open door, the Captain's sister went inside about a minute ago."
Octavia nodded and motioned Vinyl to follow her. Inside, they found a small parlor. To the immediate left was a statue of an earth pony soldier. It was donning a older version of a guard's uniform that was gray in color. It was also holding a black banner pole in his arm though age had made the writing illegible. The rest of the room was decorated in a typical Canterlot style. There was a small sitting area to the right. It consisted of a large couch, a wheel converted into a coffee table, and a small cabinet with a lamp on it. Next to the couch was a large cupboard displaying various china, and just above the collection was shield with crossed swords mounted on the wall.
Directly ahead, Vinyl and Octavia spotted Twilight slowly walking towards a door across the room. It seemed the purple mare had not noticed them enter the room yet as she was too preoccupied with sneaking up on whoever was behind that door. Not wanting to be seen, Octavia shushed Vinyl and quietly tiphoofed closer while hugging the left wall and going around the small fireplace. Meanwhile Twilight pushed the door just enough to peek inside with one eye. This act allowed Vinyl and Octavia to dash for the nearby staircase and pass by unseen. Once out of sight, Octavia slightly stuck her head out and leaned closer so she could hear the ponies Twilight was spying on.
"This was my favorite uncle's." a male voice said. Octavia assumed this was Shining Armor.
"And?" Cadance's voice responded.
"And I think I should wear it."
"Are you disagreeing with me?" She sounded extremely annoyed now.
"I guess I am-! Eh-Agh!" It seemed Shining Armor was in some sort of pain.
"Oh, dear..." Cadance said in a somewhat concerned tone. "Are you getting another one of your headaches?"
Shining Armor did not respond and continued groaning in pain. What followed was the sound of a spell being activated. It seemed powerful enough to give the room a brilliant green glow. This obviously shocked Twilight causing her to cringe back.
"She isn't just unpleasant and rude..." she said. "She's downright evil!
Upon this realization, Twilight quickly turned around and dashed for the front door just as Cadance and Shining Armor exited from the next room.
"So that's Shining Armor..." Octavia quietly muttered to herself. "Quite a dashing fellow..."
Shining Armor was an alabaster white unicorn. His cutie mark also unique, even sharing some characteristics with Twilight's, particularly the pink six-pointed star. This shared image was the emblem of a purple shield with three light blue stars over it. He had a sapphire-colored mane with streaks of various shades of blue. Currently, Shining Armor was wearing a crimson, formal military uniform with a gold collar. It had a mabel blue sash with a spade-shaped emblem that also had the pink star printed on it. Octavia guessed this mark was common in the family.
"Uh-Twilight!" Shining Armor exclaimed.
It seemed Twilight did not hear her brother and continued running down the street. He then turned to Cadance with a worried look.
"Let her go." she told him while snuggling against his arm.
"Huh... It seemed like she had something else she wanted to tell me..."
Seeing enough, Octavia pulled herself back and ordered Vinyl to head to the next floor. She wanted her to find a safe hiding place, leaving the door open to signal her location. The DJ nodded and headed off making minimal noise. Octavia stayed behind to see if she could learn anything else from the to-be-wed couple.
"I think I should go after her..." Shining Armor muttered.
"Twilight just needs to time to herself, that's all~"
He nudge the princess away. "But I'm her brother. I should be there for her and-"
Cadance embraced Shining Armor in a hug before he could finish. "Trust me, dear. This is a girl problem. It's best to just leave her alone for a little bit~"
"Well...you do know Twilight just as much as I do..."
"That's right~ Now why don't you go put away that outfit?"
Shining Armor complied and headed back to the previous room. Now alone with Cadance nearby, Octavia quickly headed upstairs to find Vinyl. There were only three doors up here. One of them seemed to be a closet, but it appeared Vinyl had not chosen it as a hiding spot. The other doors lead to the bedrooms, and the only one left open was towards the back of the building. Octavia quickly ran inside as she heard Cadance coming up the steps.
"Heeey, Octavia." Vinyl nervously greeted her. It was dark, but Octavia could see Vinyl sitting in the middle of the floor. "We... Have a problem..."
Octavia sighed. "You couldn't find a hiding place?"
"Not exactly..."
The lights sudden switched on to reveal two figures standing behind Vinyl on twin queen-sized beds. What surprised Octavia beyond belief was their appearance. They took the form of Vinyl herself. It was like staring at her identical twin. The only difference was that their eyes were strangely crimson rather then violet.
"We have company..."
The fake Vinyls leaped towards Octavia attempting to restrain her. Octavia managed to punch the first one out of the way, but the other was too fast for her. It held her down as its friend recovered and retrieved some cloth as an improvised rope. Octavia was wondering why Vinyl had not assisted her until she noticed the DJ had already been restrained before she entered the room.
"Let go! Urgh!"
Octavia struggled to break freak, but it was useless. Her arms were unusable now and her hind legs would not be able to reach her captor. She was forced to submit an let the fake Vinyl tie her hooves with a tight knot. Once Octavia was fully restrained, the fakes tossed her next to Vinyl.
"Hey! Are you okay?" Vinyl asked worriedly.
"I'm fine..." she angrily mumbled
Octavia lifted her head to see the Vinyls laughing at her. She tried her signature glare once again, but the imposters were unaffected. They began grinning as they pondered about what to do with the mares next.
"Alright, who are you!?" Vinyl exclaimed.
"Hehe! Like you need to know." one of her doubles replied.
"Urgh! Let me go!"
Vinyl began violently squirming, knocking into everything object she could reach. She hoped the noise would alert Shining Armor and hopefully make him come to the rescue. The imposters did not react and continued giggling at Vinyl's pain. Finally fed up, Vinyl was about to let out her loudest scream, but she quickly stopped when she heard the doorknob turning. In a few seconds, Cadance entered the room.
"Why, hello there!" she greeted the captive mares with a sadistic smile. "What are you girls doing here? Don't you know my loving groom is waiting for me? You shouldn't keep a lady waiting~"
"What the hay are you talking about!?" Vinyl exclaimed. "Why do you have clones of me!?"
"Clones? Hahaha! I guess you can say that~"
"Does Shining Armor know about this!? And why isn't he hearing this racket!?"
"No and that's because I just sound-proofed the room. My groom doesn't suspect a thing!"
"How long had you been keeping up this facade?" Octavia finally asked.
"What? My love for my darling groom? Why, the moment we were engaged!"
"No... Your facade as Princess Cadance..."
Cadance eyes widened, completely surprised by the mare's statement. Octavia had been observing the fake Vinyls and eventually Cadance when she entered the room. She recalled a few stories her brother told her as a filly. Beat simply loved telling his sister scary bedtime stories when he foalsat her. Octavia was never truly frightened, but she feigned being scared at times to preserve Beat's pride.
One story Octavia remembered was about a beautiful young mare...
She lived happily in a quiet, peaceful town working in her parents' bakery. When she was not busy, the mare would always visit a friend who lived across town. He was a handsome stallion, and she had a very deep crush on him. Eventually the two ponies began dating each other. However, one day the stallion went missing, and the mare was heartbroken. He was quite well known among everypony which stirred a massive uproar in the town. Search teams were formed, but they never found him.
The next day, the stallion returned to the town. His clothes were torn, but he was completely unharmed. He claimed to have been chased by a pack of carnivorous Timberwolves and was unable to make it back by sunset which forced him to camp out in the lone wilderness. Upon learning of his return, the young mare was overjoyed and immediately abandoned her post running to his house for a welcome back kiss. When she arrived, she noticed a change in his behavior but dismissed it thinking it to be part of the trauma of a near-death experience.
It was not until a few days later when something strange began happening. Just like her boyfriend, various ponies' behaviors started to change. Even the kind old lady who lived in the windmill became hostile to other ponies. The young mare started to get fearful. Was it some kind of disease spreading throughout the town? The mare originally turned to her parents, but even they started acting strange now. Her own mother actually forgot her name on one occasion. The only comfort she had was her boyfriend who reassured her that everything would be okay.
Curiosity soon got the better of her. In order to investigate this mystery, the mare decided to follow one of the only remaining ponies who's attitude never changed yet, her next-door neighbor. He was a recluse who lived by himself, but the mare knew him more than anypony. She followed him to the town market where, at a distance, she witness two ponies drag him into an abandoned warehouse. Keeping out of sight, she climbed a stack of crates and peeked through the windows. Her neighbor was struggling to escape, but his captors held him down. It was then another creature appeared from behind a haystack.
It was unlike anything the mare had seen before. It looked like a black blue-eyed alicorn but mutated to resemble a pony-insect hybrid with fangs. Instead of feathered wings, it had beetle-like set that buzzed whenever they flapped. Their legs also had large holes in them, making them look like phantoms that had not fully materialized. What came next baffled the mare. After examining her captive neighbor, the creature transformed into a double of him, perfectly copying every detail right down to the cutie mark. The mare could not believe her eyes and, in her shock, fell off the crates and hit her head on the ground.
When the mare finally awoke, it was already night time. The first thought to register in her mind was to immediately run towards her boyfriend's house to tell him of what she had seen. The mare ignored everypony she saw and focused all her effort in reaching the house. Once reaching her destination, the mare went inside without even knocking and locked the door to the confusion of the stallion. She tossed herself onto him and began recounting her story while crying on his chest. When she was finished, the mare continued sobbing as she waited for the stallion's response.
There was a laugh, a manic laugh. The mare looked up to see her boyfriend's eyes had suddenly turned into the same pupil-less eyes as the strange creature. As the mare slowly backed away with a horrified expression, the "stallion" stood up and allowed his disguise to disperse in a green fire to show his true form. He then revealed everything. The mare's lover had never returned on that fateful day. One by one, the creature's colony began replacing everypony in town with themselves in disguise. Now the mare was the only real pony left, and she had "outlived her usefulness".
The mare screamed and jumped out the window having no time to undo the lock on the door. She ran; that was the only thing she could think of doing. But everywhere she turned, another one of these hideous creatures awaited her. By sheer luck, the mare was miraculously able to escape the town. However, nopony knows what happened to her after that. There are multiple guesses of her fate. Some claim the creatures managed to recapture her or that she continues to forever wander the wilderness, distrusting anypony she meets. Others claim she made it to a safe city where she managed to gather an army through the use of her memories and a unicorn's magic only to later find her home a desolate ghost town.
Whatever these strange new creatures were, it was clear that ponies were their enemies. They were called many things: shapeshifters, doppelgangers, and evil twins. Eventually, they came to be known by one common name...
"You're a Changeling..."