//------------------------------// // The Imitation Game (Suggested by Vaguely Demented) // Story: Scenes From a Life (Post-Villainy) // by Jade Ring //------------------------------// “Chrysalis has mixed feelings about Cozy Glow’s choice in Nightmare Night attires.” Suggested by Vaguely Demented "NIGHTMARE NIGHT! WHAT A FRIGHT! GIVE ME SOMETHING SWEET TO BITE!" Tirek grinned down at the assembled ghouls and goblins as they offered bags already bulging with treats. "Here you are." He said as his own handfuls of sweets joined the growing hoards. "Thanks, mister!" A little vampony giggled as she ran away with her friends. "Awesome centaur costume!" Another yelled back. "Thank you! I worked hard on it." Tirek laughed as he closed the door and returned the candy bowl to the nearby table. "Ah, Nightmare Night. What a lovely holiday." "Humph." Tirek turned to find his wife peering out the window, glowering. "Something wrong, dear?" The sun had only just set, and the children of Saddleburg were filling the streets in their spooky and gaudy best. Parents looked on proudly as their little ones scampered from house to house intoning the age old rhyme and begging for sweets. The pegasi guaranteed a clear night for the full moon to shine down, and the evening was shaping up to be filled with fright and fun in equal measure. “I hate Nightmare Night.” Chrysalis muttered, the tattered wings on her back buzzing softly with irritation. Tirek gaped at her. “But… but why? It’s the one night a year that all the ponies dress up in disguises. This should be your Hearth’s Warming.” “Should it?” She cut blazing eyes at him. “We Changelings never had much, but we had our pride. We alone have the ability to wear the face of another. And yet here’s this holiday where everypony gets to pretend like we aren’t special, like it doesn’t take years of practice to perfect…” “This is about Cozy’s costume, isn’t it?” Tirek deadpanned. “OF COURSE IT’S ABOUT HER COSTUME!” Chrysalis exploded, emerald flames flaring at her hooves and singing the carpet. “I had no idea she’d actually go through with it. I thought she was joking.” “Our daughter is terrible with jokes. You know that.” Tirek chuckled as he looked down the hallway. “Dearest!” The door to Cozy Glow’s room opened the slightest inch. “Yes, papa?” “You need to hurry. Your friends will be here any minute.” “Yes, papa.” The door returned shut with a click. “Little brat won’t even let me see it.” Chrysalis growled as she turned from the window. “I helped her a little. She’s going to make a very cute…” A knock at the door interrupted him, and he reached out and pulled it open. “Ah, Onyx. Don’t you look dashing?” “Thanks, Mr. Tirek.” Onyx Bolt, son of Tirek’s employer and one of Cozy Glow’s new circle of friends, started to walk inside. “Is Cozy ready yet?” “Ah, not yet.” Tirek blocked the door and cut his eyes towards his wife. It was only after he saw the telltale flash of green fire that he allowed the cobalt colt entry into his home. “But it shouldn’t be long. You make a very convincing zombie.” “Thanks!” Onyx pointed at the prosthesis over his eye. “Momma had to help me with the hanging eyeball.” He waved at Tirek’s wife with the hoof wearing an exposed bone prop. “Hi, Mrs. Shutterbug. What are you dressed as this year?” “I’m a mare reconsidering her life choices.” The mare muttered, earning a chuckle from her husband. “Okay! I’m ready.” Cozy Glow’s door swung wide as she buzzed into the room and landed with a little flourish. “How do I look?” “Spectacular, sweetheart!” Tirek clapped. “Wow, that’s so cool!” Onyx gaped. And Chrysalis? Chrysalis just stared. A few weeks past, at the dinner table, the subject of Cozy Glow’s Nightmare Night costume had come up. Cozy had wanted to keep it a surprise, but her mother had pressed her until she’d finally spilled the beans; she wanted to be a Changeling for Nightmare Night. Chrysalis hadn’t been pleased at the idea of her race being used as a costume, but Cozy Glow promised that it would be tasteful, and Tirek had impressed upon her the need to trust their daughter. But Cozy Glow wasn’t dressed as just a Changeling. Cozy Glow was dressed as her. The little pegasus had hidden her coat in dark body paint, using shading and brush-strokes to replicate the appearance of holes in her hooves. She’d straightened her mane and styled it so that it hung limp across her face. Her wings were covered in cloth cut and dyed to look like her own insectile pair. A jagged cardboard horn sprouted from her forehead, accompanied with the crown like growth she’d worn since birth. A pair of green contacts completed the ensemble. Little Queen Chrysalis looked up at her mother, excitement and trepidation of equal measure in her eyes. She smiled, revealing a set of false fangs in her mouth. “Well? Do you like it?” Chrysalis’ lower lip trembled from the effort of holding in her emotions, trying her hardest to maintain her Shutterbug visage. She nodded quickly, wiping at the bothersome tears already gathering in the corners of her eyes. “Onyx, would you mind waiting outside?” Tirek asked as he opened the front door. “Sure, Mr. T.” Onyx replied cheerfully as he complied. As soon as the door clicked shut, Chrysalis’ white form practically exploded from Shutterbug and wrapped Cozy Glow in a crushing hug. “Careful! The paint’s just dried!” Cozy gasped even as she giggled. Chrysalis pulled away and gave her daughter another once over. “This is amazing! You look wonderful!” “You really like it?” “I do!” “Ahem.” Mother and daughter turned to find Tirek standing by with his wife’s camera. “Right. Just a moment.” A flash of fire, and there were now two Changeling queens standing beside one another. The larger reached out a foreleg and pulled the smaller close. They smiled into the camera as Tirek took the picture. “Alright, you’d better get going.” Chrysalis told her as she pulled away and again donned the mask of Shutterbug. “Be home by eleven. And don’t eat any candy until you get home so your mother and I can check it.” Cozy Glow rolled her eyes. “Come on, Papa. You know that’s just an old mare’s tale.” “Of course it is.” Tirek opened the door to the night that was already filling with giggles and screams. “But I’ll be taking any peanut butter cups you manage to get your hooves on. Dad tax.” “Be safe.” Chrysalis stroked her little doppelganger’s mane. “And keep the mischief to a minimum.” Cozy Glow gaped at her. “But it’s Nightmare Night!” “I said a minimum.” Chrysalis smiled devilishly. “Just because we’re reformed doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun. Especially tonight.” Cozy Glow matched her grin and then buzzed out the front door, stopping only to give her hulking father a quick kiss on the cheek. She landed beside Onyx who offered her a spare candy pail he’d brought along. “Thanks. Ready?” “Sure am! Nightmare Night’s the best!” He gave another look to her ensemble. “What are you supposed to be, anyway?” As the two young ponies started into the throng of merrymakers (Cozy Glow trying her best to explain her outfit without giving away the truth of its origins) Tirek and Chrysalis watched them go with proud smiles on their faces. Tirek took a deep breath of the crisp autumn air and sighed. “Beautiful night.” “Mm-hmm.” “Well, we have the whole house to ourselves.” Tirek grinned down at his wife. “What shall we do with it?” “As fun as that sounds, my love, it seems like such a waste to spend such a gorgeous night indoors.” “What do you have in mind?” Tirek asked, his eyebrow raised. Chrysalis’ horn was hidden by her magic, but it still lit and floated over a basket from where she’d hidden it hours earlier. She grinned as she gestured at the contents; three dozen eggs. Tirek tried to look outraged, but he couldn’t hold it. Especially not when his own magic carried over a bag brimming with rolls of toilet paper. He reached in and pulled out a simple black domino mask. “Did you have any houses in mind?” He asked as he affixed the mask to his face. Chrysalis chuckled as she mad a few small cosmetic adjustments to her Shutterbug visage. “The mare over on Elm street didn’t pay for her order last week.” Her gothic style make-up now in place, she reached for the basket of eggs. “And I believe the stallion who cat-called me the other day lives on Mockingbird lane.” “Perfect.” Tirek offered a hand. “Shall we spread some mischief, my dear?” “Of course.” She placed her hoof in his palm and smiled. “Would we really be us if we didn’t?” The porch light was turned off, the front door was locked, and two former villains practically skipped into the night, baskets and bags in hand, laughing like children all the way.