Even in the romantic late spring of Canterlot, when all the kingdom’s elite couples gather for the Gala, the sun must set. The lowering light cast shadows over the city, and on a cleared out road, a man slithered through the darkness. He sat alone in dim light, his wooden carriage shaking from its old wheels. He wore a brown coat and a brown hat that shaded his face, making it imperceptible.
In his lap, he held a black mask. He examined the front, looking over its green eyes and white fangs protruding from its mouth. With a gloved hand, he wiped off a stray bit of dust.
It was time to abandon himself for the night. He placed the mask on his face and his form changed immediately. Gone were his dull clothes, replaced by a black tuxedo, and his hat transformed into a top hat, revealing a mane of white hair and a long beard. No longer in the shadows, his face was bright yet aged and wrinkled.
Minutes later, a knock came from the carriage door. “Lord Gray Bean, we are approaching the Gala,” announced the driver.
The man grunted in approval, then sneered to himself. Little did the driver, nor any of Gray Bean’s staff, realize that the lord had been absent for quite some time now, held in stasis in a warehouse outside the city. No, the man they had been serving for the past weeks was a changeling.
Changelings had been part of Celestia’s kingdom for years, but there were still holdouts. Still those who served the true queen.
Including her top assassin.
Detecting changelings in disguise would be a simple matter for any security at the Gala, but with his mask, he had transformation magic beyond that of any changeling. He was truly undetectable.
He mentally went over the profiles he had memorized, shifting into each person in turn. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Mudbriar, Fluttershy, Rarity. Then finally, his target.
Princess Twilight Sparkle.
He pulled out his mirror and examined his face. A perfect match, as to be expected from such a highly public figure. Her dress and makeup would have to be ascertained on site, but he always had an eye for detail.
Returning to his Gray Bean form, he flicked his wrist and a knife popped into his hand. The mechanism was hidden perfectly under his transformed skin.
His assignment from the queen was as follows: kill Princess Twilight Sparkle in the form of one of her student council members and drive Equestria into chaos. As he interpreted the request, he needed to meet the following additional criteria: (1) perform this murder in public view, (2) have the imitated student council member be close enough that they could be apprehended, (3) ideally, be scanned for changeling magic with a negativie result, and (4) escape undetected.
It would be impossible for anyone else, but for him, it would be simple.
The carriage slowed to a halt and the door opened. He stepped into the warm spring air and was greeted by colorful flowers and detailed woven banners depicting acts of friendship. In-character, he smiled warmly, and his true self smiled too. While the student council members all had their quirks, they were the face of the prestigious Canterlot Royal Academy and the envy of all students. They were kind, virtuous, and friendly, thus making them weak and easy to imitate. Obtaining intel from inside their council room would have been ideal, but he doubted there was much of interest that he couldn’t already glean from public information.
Their appearances and personalities were ingrained in his mind, and his dossiers were up to date as of the previous day.
As Lord Gray Bean’s arrival was announced, he tipped his hat and immediately shook the hand of one of his identity’s acquaintances.
After all, what could change in a day?
Energetic music bounced off the walls in an outdoors dance area. Twilight swayed and clapped as she watched Cadance and Shining dance with various guests, her purple dress swishing around. She cheered when Pinkie Pie jumped into the fray and danced with Cadance. Then her eyes widened when Cadance proceeded to swing her around wildly and fling her into the air. Thankfully, a quick save from Shining’s magic resulted in her landing safely and everyone clapped as though this was intentional.
Twilight tilted her head. Maybe it was? Pinkie was saying odd things a second ago, so maybe she set this up with Cadance earlier.
A woman in a white dress stepped up to Twilight’s side. “Quite a boisterous party. It’s certainly much more interesting than the normal Gala. I’m very impressed.”
Twilight looked up with a smile at her mentor. “Princess Celestia! Thank you, but if you’re going to compliment the energy, then that’s all Pinkie Pie. She’s the party master, after all. Plus Rarity’s vision, and everyone else’s contributions.”
Celestia smiled warmly. “You don’t give yourself enough credit. It’s thanks to your leadership that all those visions could come together in one. You’ve certainly made your mark.”
Celestia winked, and Twilight blushed. The young princess then asked, “By the way, I haven’t seen Princess Luna. Is she enjoying herself?”
Celestia waved her hand. “Oh, Luna was never one for parties, especially not the Gala. I thought she’d like this one since it wouldn’t be as stuffy, but once the music started, she covered her ears and flew away.”
Twilight frowned. “Oh, that’s a shame. Well, there are designated low-volume areas, so hopefully Luna’s in one of them and didn’t leave the party entirely.”
“I’ve never fully understood what goes through my sister’s head, but I’m sure she didn’t.”
From the dancing area, Cadance twirled then stopped in front of the other princesses. “Oh my, Twilight, what are you doing just standing there?” She reached out her hand and narrowed her eyes with a smirk. “Let’s dance.”
Twilight giggled and held her hand. “Are you sure? You know how I dance.”
“Trust me, the dance floor is more than wild enough for you.”
Cadance pulled Twilight in and the students cheered. Approximating the music’s rhythm, Twilight first tapped her feet, then stomped her feet, then lifted her knees and swung her limbs around wildly. Cadance joined in, twisting her hips and performing what Twilight could almost swear were dangerous martial arts punches and kicks. Witnessing this, the cheering from most of the others fell into a chorus of confused grunts, but Pinkie Pie’s cheering alone surpassed everyone else’s before and this proved infectious.
They got close and the two princesses swung each other around. “So Twilight, isn’t there someone else you’d like to dance with right now?” Cadance said conspiratorially.
Twilight blinked. Did she mean Shining? However, her mind was on someone else. She looked around and quickly spotted the woman in question. Rarity stood at the edge of the dance floor, holding a drink in one hand and chatting with a tall woman she recognized as Sassy Saddles. As expected from the student council vice-president, she wore an elegant and eye-catching red dress. Twilight blushed a bit, remembering a certain set of modeling photos that got a strong reaction from her, but this was a different and much more modestly-cut dress.
Twilight looked around, charting a path that would take her to Rarity with minimal conversations. First of all, to not make Cadance suspicious, she’d switch over to Shining. She’d have to spend some time with him, but then she’d dance with Fiddlesticks from the music department, then Bon Bon from security, then Sandbar from the high school, and finally her goal. As she calculated it, there’d be zero reason for suspicion, since as far as anyone watching could tell, her movements would be pure happenstance.
Cadance separated from Twilight, giving her a wink before switching to a student she grabbed at random from the crowd, who took a second to parse who he was with and nearly fell over in shock. Twilight giggled, then put her plan into motion and drifted over to Shining. Twilight made some small talk with him, but soon (from his expression, too soon for Shining, but he’d manage) she moved on to the next person she calculated, Silverstream, then the next. Her eyes glinted. Rarity was in sight.
Just as she twirled away from Sandbar, someone stepped in her path.
“Gya!” the princess cried out as she stumbled to a stop in front of a blank-faced Mudbriar. She collected herself and stood up straight. “Mudbriar, what is it?”
“Pardon, but there’s an issue with the flow of people throughout the campus.”
Twilight peeked over his shoulder at a laughing and smiling Rarity. “What do you mean?”
“You see, I was conversing with my girlfriend, Maud, on the subject of fossil evidence of ancient flora when someone bumped into me and he said, ‘Sorry, I didn’t see you there,’ and I replied, ‘Technically, you likely saw me but your mind didn’t process that information in time,’ and—”
Twilight noticed at this point that Rarity was walking away. “Mudbriar, is this important? Some congestion is only going to be natural, so we don’t need to be too concerned about it.”
Mudbriar blinked. “From my projections, there will be a catastrophic collapse at the garden.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “The garden? Is there really that much activity there?”
“M’yes,” he replied simply.
Twilight looked again and found that Rarity was nowhere in sight. She sighed. “Alright, fine, show me.”
Mudbriar turned and walked sharply toward the garden. “We can see it best from the gazebo.”
Twilight did her best not to slouch but did regardless. She walked after the student council accountant. Ultimately, she still had a job to do here, and besides, dancing with Rarity was quite risky, wasn’t it? It was for the best that she didn’t make that move.
Walking toward the gardens, they passed by smaller groups of people sitting on benches and at tables placed at strategic locations. Twilight was glad they were seeing use, at least. No location was too far from a dining area, and many people had snacks with them, including some desserts. Twilight figured it might be good to grab a snack herself once whatever this problem was got resolved.
But then something caught her eye. Or rather, someone. She had never met this girl, but something about her made her mental processor run in overdrive. She sat with two other girls her age—too young for either the college or the high school, so they must be plus ones. She had puffy hair with two purple tones and wore a dress with a simple elegance that felt very familiar. Suddenly, it clicked into place: this was Sweetie Belle, Rarity’s sister.
A vision popped in her head.
“Rarity!” yelled Sweetie Belle as she tugged Twilight’s dress. “Princess Twilight is so amazing! If you married her, she’d be my sister in law, so can you do it?”
Rarity flushed red. “Oh, well, Sweetie, this is all quite sudden.”
Sweetie’s eyes sparkled. “Please~?”
Rarity giggled. “Well, if you’re insisting so strongly, there’s no way I could say no.”
This was it! This was her chance!
She veered away from Mudbriar, who looked at her with a blank expression. “That isn’t the direction of the problem.”
Twilight turned back to the council member with a determined look on her face, her hair swishing in the wind. “Mudbriar, over the months I’ve led the student council, I’ve been nothing short of amazed by what everyone can do, and that includes you. Celestia always told me not to take on too much myself, but I’ve been hesitant to delegate major problems to you and the others. That changes now.” She put a hand to her chest. “I have every confidence you’ll know what to do. In fact, knowing you, you already know what to do and were just looking for permission, weren’t you?”
Mudbriar raised a finger, “Technically—”
Twilight telekinetically pushed him down the hallway and waved. “Don’t worry, you can handle it! You have my full confidence!”
The princess turned back to Sweetie and the others while Mudbriar stared silently, a cold breeze blowing his short hair. He walked around the corner and disappeared.
Sitting at a table near the dance floor, Rarity cheerfully conversed with some of her underclassmen.
“It’s just nice following along with a long-running fanfic that goes on for years,” said a girl with braided purple hair. “It has a cozy feeling, you know.”
Though Rarity had to admit she wasn’t quite following what the conversation was about. Her mind drifted back to minutes ago, when it seemed like Twilight was approaching her, only for Mudbriar to intercept about some issue with the garden—rather than focusing on her conversation with Sassy, she strained to hear Twilight’s, of course. Even if it was simply a courtesy dance, she was quite peeved she was denied it.
The other girl sitting with them, with long blue hair covered in crystal decorations, fluttered her lips. “But you know what’s really weird about long fanfics? When the later chapters randomly include characters introduced waaaaay after the fic started, and it completely takes you out of it!”
The purple-haired girl laughed. “You know Izzy, I hadn’t thought of that, but yeah, it is weird! Especially when they’re from a sequel.”
Rarity grinned uneasily, trying to find a way to comment.
Suddenly, Rainbow Dash skidded to a stop at the table. “Rarity, quick, I need your help!”
“Oh thank Celestia,” Rarity said. Then she stood up and quickly added, “What I mean is, it was a pleasure talking to you girls, but I must attend to… whatever this is.”
The two girls paid them no heed and continued chatting. Though she wanted out, she also didn’t appreciate their lack of interest in her, so she humphed as she left.
“Now Rainbow, what is it you need?”
Rainbow Dash grabbed her hands. “Quick, I have to know! Should I be dancing with Applejack?”
Rarity shook her hands loose. “Well of course, darling! She is your wife, after all.”
Rainbow scratched the back of her head. “Yeah, but we walked together to the dance floor earlier, and then I just went off on my own, and now I realize she probably wanted to dance with me. But if I dance with her now, it’ll look like someone had to tell me to dance with her.”
Rarity put a hand on her shoulder and laughed. “My, someone is overthinking things.”
Rainbow blinked. “I’m overthinking things?!”
“Hey, who’s overthinking things?!” cried out a voice.
Rainbow and Rarity looked toward it only for the source to pop up behind them. Months ago, they would have screamed, but now that they were used to her, their hearts simply skipped a beat.
“Silly Dashy!” Pinkie said with an impervious smile. “Don’t overthink things, just dance!” She shook her hip and waved her arms. “Think of this like your reception and tear up the floor!”
Rainbow puffed out her chest. “You’re right! I’ve been hanging out with Rarity too much. Time to dance with my wife!”
With that, she dashed off, but Pinkie continued grooving. “You too, Rarity! I haven’t seen you dance at all!”
Rarity waved her hand. “Yes, well, I prefer talking during parties. I save my dancing only for the cream of the crop.”
“You mean like royalty?”
Rarity flushed red. “What? Royalty? What are you saying? I’m not interested in royalty! Don’t be ridiculous, you’re being too silly now, Pinkie! Far far too silly!”
“Oh, I just meant that there’s like Princess Celestia, Princess Cadance, Prince Shining Armor, all kinds of cream you could dance with just around here.”
Rarity blinked. “Oh, yes, that royalty. I suppose I may as well cut the rug with one of them, as the kids say. I wonder, is it worth getting close with Shining Armor, or would that be too obvious?”
Pinkie tilted her head while still dancing. “Worth it? Obvious?”
Rarity waved her hand. “Nothing, nothing!”
Pinkie bumped her with her hip. “I think today’s shown that I’m not the only silly one around here. Anyway, looks like that prince over there is available.”
Rarity turned around, and she immediately wished she hadn’t. Standing by himself, wind blowing through blonde hair that hid a noxious heart, was a certain Prince Blueblood. Rarity turned back to Pinkie, gritting her teeth. “Pinkie, that’s the absolute worst prince to dance with.”
“Oh, you know him?”
“You know my reputation for wooing noblemen? Well one time I tried my luck with Blueblood, and he turned out to be an absolute peasant of a prince!”
Pinkie scratched her head. “But aren’t you a peas—”
Rarity spread her arms. “He would make me pay for food, he belittled my friends, and he even made me open the door for him!”
“That does sound bad,” Pinkie said with wide eyes. “But he’s also coming this way, so you’ll probably have to dance with him anyway.”
“He’s what?”
“Miss Rarity!” the prince called out. Rarity shivered, then spun around with her attempt at a sincere smile. To her mild relief, Blueblood was smiling himself and didn’t seem like he wanted to make a scene. “Quite a surprise running into you here.”
Rarity laughed and waved her hand. “Well, I am one of the organizers. The bigger surprise is seeing you here.”
“Yes, well the nobility goes where the princesses do. There’s little point in going to the actual Grand Galloping Gala if all of them are here. One would be surprised that they let the paupers stick around after that, however, hence what I said.”
Rarity wasn’t sure if he was trying to specifically insult her or if that was just how he viewed the world.
Pinkie jumped in, smiling but with narrow suspicious eyes. “I’m Pinkie Pie, by the way.”
Blueblood’s face lit up. “Ah yes, the Pies are a fairly well off family. And all of the Pie daughters are available, with the exception of the second-eldest.”
Dropping her smile, Rarity asked, “What are you thinking, you brute?”
Blueblood blinked. “Oh yes, I apologize for thinking out loud. Normally I would ask for a dance from Lady Pie, but I have loftier goals in mind tonight, so with you two being student council members, I have another question for you. Where might I find Princess Twilight Sparkle?”
Rarity instantly realized what he was up to and laughed. “Oh my, don’t tell me you intend to woo Twilight?”
The prince puffed his chest out. “And why not? She’s new royalty, and this is her first major gala as such. It wouldn’t take much to sweep her off her feet, and whoever does so is sure to gain a lot of prestige. I’m certainly a better match than all those other ruffians.”
Rarity keeled over. “You’re serious, aren’t you! You really think that Twilight would give you the time of day and—” she froze “—wait, others?”
As though on cue, the music stopped, the lights on the dance floor dimmed, and a spotlight passed over the people gathered there.
Pinkie scratched her chin. “Huh, I didn’t put a spotlight here.”
After a few seconds of searching, it finally settled on a man standing on the roof of a building. He knelt down, raised one hand to the sky and covered his face with the other, emphasizing his luxurious brown hair. Comments like “Wait, is that…?” and “OMC it is!” peppered the crowd and grew in intensity until he finally uncovered his face. Smirking, he simply said, “Hey.”
The crowd grew wild and three women made a big show of fainting.
Rarity twisted her lips. “Those girls were totally planted.”
Pinkie shook her. “Rarity, look! It’s world-famous pop sensation Feather Bangs! I didn’t know he was performing here! Why didn’t you tell me?”
Rarity’s eyes grew wide. “That’s Feather Bangs? Oh my, what a remarkable guest, then! I wonder why he’d decide to…”
It hit Rarity.
“Oh no, don’t tell me…”
Pulling a microphone out of nowhere, Feather Bangs swished his hair and said, “It’s lovely to see all you folks out here tonight, but there’s one lady in particular I’d like to dedicate this song to. You could say she’s the sparkle of this twilight gathering.” He winked.
Rarity put a hand to her forehead as Pinkie said, “Huh, I wonder who that could be.”
All of a sudden, backup dancers appeared behind Feather Bangs as the music resumed. They moved in beat as Feather Bangs sang, “Oh, oh / Oh, ah-oh.
“When you appeared before me
My heart stopped beating
Stars crossed the sky
To come see what I was seeing
You were the one
That made me believe I could fly
Whoa, whoa, whoa.”
Rarity stared aghast as the crowd went wild. Even Pinkie was grooving in place. However, before she could finish processing it, a guitar riff interrupted the song.
On the opposite building from Feather Bangs stood a man with an electric guitar. Feather’s music halted as the new arrival continued wailing on the guitar, finishing with a long riff. He waved back his spikey blue hair and yelled into a mic, “Good evening, Canterlot!”
“OMC it’s Flash Sentry!” screamed someone in the crowd and people started cheering.
Flash Sentry was the lead performer of Flash Drive, and unlike Feather Bangs, was a student at the school. His bandmates appeared behind him and he continued, “Now, if I’m understanding my pop friend correctly, he’s trying to win over the heart of a certain Princess Twilight Sparkle.”
Pinkie oohed. “He’s good. I didn’t get that at all.”
“But you know what?” asked Flash as his bandmates played a sting with their instruments. “Maybe it makes more sense for someone who actually met Twilight to win her heart!” He wailed on his guitar once again.
“He met Twilight?” Rarity asked Pinkie.
Pinkie nodded. “Twilight crashed into him in the hallway once. Pretty sure that’s the only time they met, though.”
Feather Bangs laughed. “Hey now, we may not have met, but our hearts are connected and share the same beat. It goes a little something like this.”
The music resumed on Feather’s side and Flash cried out, “Oh no you don’t!”. Spinning his arms to wind up, he loudly strummed his guitar.
“Everyone hold it!” cried out a voice.
A blast of purple smoke exploded on top of a third building, making everyone stop playing. It dissipated and revealed a woman wearing a purple cape and a large purple hat covered in stars. She dramatically swished it and declared, “The Great and Powerful Trixie is up to the challenge! Whether it be seducing a princess or winning some battle of the bands, or both, Trixie will be the victor! Though Trixie isn’t quite sure which we’re doing first.”
Princess Blueblood scoffed. “Like I said, ruffians. Especially that last one.”
“Hey, what are you—” Trixie said to an unseen person behind her. Two people in security uniforms climbed onto the roof and reached out for her. Trixie jumped over an arm and declared, “You fools! Trixie requires no tickets! Trixie is desired for everything!”
“You may as well tell me where Princess Twilight is,” Blueblood continued, examining his nails. “Surely I’m a better option than any of them.”
A guard grabbed Trixie’s leg and she shrieked. “Unhand me! You can’t treat Trixie this way!”
Rarity heard a playful voice behind her. “Oh my, this is getting quite out of hand, isn’t this?” She turned to find Princess Cadance standing with an amused smile on her face.
Rarity crossed her arms. “Indeed, this is all becoming quite a nuisance.”
“It almost seems like someone should be setting the record straight.”
“Yes, and—” Rarity blinked and Cadance wiggled her eyebrows. “Oh, yes, of course. I am one of the organizers, after all.” She reached out a hand. “Pinkie, dear, please mic me.” As expected, Pinkie pulled a microphone out of her dress and handed it to Rarity.
Rarity looked around. There was a fourth building she could stand on top of, but that would certainly give the wrong impression. Instead, she opted to stay in place and simply ahemed into the mic. The spotlight immediately moved to her, as to be expected.
“OMC she’s a suitor too!” cried someone from the crowd and it soon went wild. Rarity desperately wanted to yell out that that’s not what’s going on, but she knew how counterproductive that would be. She let this continue for a moment longer, then held up a hand. The crowd hushed.
“Pardon me, lady and gentlemen. I would like to point out that you’re disrupting our fine event. Out of courtesy to your fans, we’ll allow you to stay, but I insist that you cease this madness.”
“It’s not madness, girl,” Feather Bangs said as he swayed his hips. “It’s love.”
Rarity scoffed. “I find that hard to believe, when for all your crowing, the object of your affections isn’t even here.”
Feather Bangs and Flash Sentry both blinked, then looked over the crowd. With wide eyes, they looked toward Rarity.
“Uh, could you tell us where she is?” asked Flash.
“Just so you can bother her? I refuse.”
“Pretty please?” asked Feather Bangs. “I know a sugarplum like you is sweet enough to share.”
Rarity fluttered her eyelashes. “Oh my, hitting on me too? Seems like you aren’t satisfied with just a princess.”
Feather turned red. “Oh, uh, that isn’t what I—”
Before Rarity could continue, Rainbow Dash suddenly flew up and grabbed the mic out of her hands. “Rainbow! What are you—”
Rainbow hovered above the crowd. “Hey everyone!” she called out. “Twilight’s somewhere on campus, and whoever finds her first gets to seduce her! Ready? One two three go!”
She swiped her hand down and immediately the suitors left their roofs. Feather Bangs and his entourage boarded a golden rickshaw that one of his bandmates pulled. Flash Sentry jumped down and crowdsurfed off the dance floor. Even Trixie managed to escape the guards with a well timed smoke bomb. Adding to this, several people in the crowd became emboldened by Rainbow’s contest and ran.
Rarity stood gaping as Rainbow handed her the mic. “There, problem solved. Now let’s get back to dancing!”
Rarity glanced around the now sparse dance floor. “Rainbow, darling, is Applejack even here?”
Rainbow paused, then smacked her head. “Oh consarnit!” She zoomed away like the others.
All except Blueblood, who remained standing in place, swirling a glass. “Well, that was something. Oh, and greetings to you, Cousin Cadance.” He bowed.
With narrow eyes, Cadance nodded. “Cousin Blueblood.”
“Anyway, I’m quite sure that you know Princess Twilight’s location while those others don’t. I think it’s clearly in your best interest to lead me to her. Even if one doesn’t think it’s a good idea, one would also think it best to find Princess Twilight to alert her to the situation, and one would think to follow one who thinks this.”
As Pinkie scratched her head at this, Rarity rolled her eyes. “Yes, yes, fine. I really don’t think you’ll get what you want if I lead you to her.”
Blueblood clasped his hands together. “Brava! Now, let me just finish my drink and—”
Rarity sprinted away with Pinkie shortly behind her. Cadance gave Blueblood an amused shrug.