//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5 
// Story: The Night Can Change 
// by BlueyWaifu 
//------------------------------//


~~~~~ A few months ago, again ~~~~~


I couldn't believe what Restel just said. "Why don't you make him wear it?" Ugh. "It's just dress up." As much as I would like to get back at him, now wasn't the time. There's still an invasion at full swing out here. Only the initial drop had passed, and from what I could see, was it still at full swing? Changelings looked like they were getting bored. Several groups of them rested on steps to buildings, some were on top of roofs, and I could even see one lounging on a banner to a building. The other shops down the row were vandalized, marquees were ripped, some glass was shattered, and not a single outside piece of furniture stood upright. I guess everypony believes they fulfilled their part. So, what was Chrysalis doing? She had a role to fill too, or so I thought.

Hopefully I'll see if there's progress on whatever she's doing. For now, I'm worried about my own chitin as I'm away from the watch of any changeling. Technically, I'm not alone. This pink pegasus seems nice. She hasn't at all been aggressive, aside from her scary face, so maybe being told to put on some shiny necklace isn't as bad as fighting.

Not that I want to wear the things she bought. So many things I hope for right now, like this ending as quickly as possible. I'm even still disguised as this brightly pink pegasus.

She took initiative and started walking down the debris ridden road. All I could do was follow. At least, that's all I could think of doing. Again, I'm not alone. Yes, the rest of the Hive is here, but for the vast majority of them, I know this mare I'm walking with more than I know most of the changelings. Yet, I don't even know her name. 

"Are these other changethings going to care about me out here?" 

As much as I might not know the individual changelings, I know the habits of them. I am one. "They might, but I've got you covered."

"Good." My answer satisfied her. For now. My only hint of where we might be going would be back to her house. If I weren't a changeling, this would be a more formal occasion where I wouldn't be trying on her clothes... for her. I only know of pony formalities because of books I read, ones I'm not going to admit I read. 

We continued on. The distance grew from where me and Restel had landed. Canterlot actually didn't look so bad. Similar to the Hive, it had quite twisty architecture. Buildings often ended their height with a spiraling tip. Though, I'd still prefer Manehattan. 

"How long of a walk is it to your house?" It was the only attempt at small talk I could think of. It seemed very impolite to mention the weather when my Hive is raiding her city.

"Oh it's just a few minute walk. There's still time before my dinner date, so we'll manage."

"Right."

We fell silent again. It was surprisingly quiet for the sudden increase in population to the city. At least, ha, I was going to see more of the city than Restel. As far as I know, he's still stuck in that store. Our setting changed gradually as we continued down debris filled roads. She was surprisingly calm about all of this. No sense of urgency, panic, no rushing. I wonder if she knew something I didn't? Still, her out of place tranquility didn't help assuage my worries from being separated from Restel.

Buildings that were shaped more similarly to their adjacent structures started to line themselves up down the road. It looked familiar to the outskirts of Manehattan, where every homely building was near identical to one another. Though, these had more character to them.

"Just at the end of the row here." 

It wasn't too far from our landing zone. I could even remember the way back from here. 

Before we could make it to her destination, a duo of changelings buzzed down in front of us, landing heavily in our way. 

"Hey! Where do you two think you're going?" One of them called out unnecessarily loudly. Shouldn't they be able to tell one of us two is a changeling? I thought that was a sense every changeling had. That, and we were identical twins. 

Changelings, I know, have a faux sense of intimidation. With there being so many holes in our legs, we don't have much muscle. Intimidation of being a creepy figure works most of the time. 

I stepped ahead of the pink pegasus and dropped my identical disguise with a green flash of flame. "She's with me, stave off your zest to interpose with others affairs and cede your pseudo prominence between us and our destination."

If there were ever a quiet moment in a full scale invasion, this was it. We could almost hear the cogs in their head trying to churn. A near visible spark of a failed attempt sparked from their forehead. "... Whatever, weirdo." With that, their wings buzzed as they flew away, off to blend in with the many other changelings loose in Canterlot.

Changelings also do not have strong vocabularies and can potentially be warded off by big words.

Even the pink pegasus beside me had mentally recoiled. "Dude. What?" I looked at her, waiting for her to continue her question, but she didn't. "What? I read sometimes."

"Sometimes. It sounds like you read a dictionary for fun."

I am not informing anypony, not even foreigners, about what I read.

It was my turn to take initiative in walking to her house as I stepped in front of her, looking back with a little grin. "You're about to put a dress on me, be nice."

Although I couldn't see, I could hear her snicker as she returned walking parallel to me. "Whatever."

Upon reaching her house at the end of the row, she had me hold her bag of apparel while she unlocked the front door. When we entered and I saw what was inside, I couldn't help but feel out of place. While yes, the Hive had just invaded quite the elite civilization of ponies, and I have seen the inside of a refined store, it never occurred to me how nicely the ponies lived. It was like nothing I'd ever seen. However, it did roughly align with my preconception about Canterlotians. 

As much as my curiosity poked at me to see the whole house, she was already leading me down her orderly foyer into a side room. I could briefly see into her living room before being herded into another. Spacious, as if it could fit ten ponies along her multiple couches. 

Inside the room I was led into, it was almost as sizeable as what I assumed was her living room. A neatly made bed, a closet, window to outside; these Canterlot houses are vastly different than Manehattan flats. 

"Okay, so-" She had set the bag on the bed, already gingerly retrieving the sparkling necklace and similar shining earrings. "-go ahead and be me, we've got time to adjust anything to my outfit before he gets here."

Is it really a bad idea to jump out of windows? How hard can it be, really?

One wonderfully pink pegasus disguise later, I was standing once again as her living mirror.

Furthermore, one aquamarine blue summer dress later, I could see why she chose this color. I'd never been one to admire color combinations, but sky blue and pink? Worked well. 

Still, the blinds were shut, nopony could see me except her. Good.

"These colors work really well, actually." I said as I looked myself over. By myself, I mean her, pretty much. 

"Oh yeah? I was thinking the same thing." She responded. 

Well, I figure for as long as I have to keep doing this, why not get a little into it?

She reached into the shopping bag with both of her wings, producing a necklace with a shining stone in the middle and earrings. I still hoped these blinds were shut tight.


****


There I was; an indispensable pawn in a full scale invasion of a city, populated by thousands. My orders were to lock down any pony activity. Cool.

Now here I am, upholding the disguise of a pink pegasus, wearing a light blue summer dress, shining necklace, and earrings. When, what, how, why was the transition of me going from a soldier drone to a life size dress-up doll?

Most of that could be answered with one word: Restel.

I made a mental note that if the opportunity ever arises, I'll get him back to the same degree.

But? It wasn't all bad. This pegasus girl and I bounced ideas and pleasantries off each other while I was the fully interactive mirror. This beat fighting, for sure. One extra piece we'd decided on was a bow in my... her mane, tying it up nicely to keep any strands out of the face.

The original pink pegasus before me practically squealed when I raised my head after she'd plucked earrings into my ears. "You look amazing! It'll look so good for our date."

I smiled and turned my head both ways. I couldn't quite see the earrings, but if they matched the dress, they matched anything. "You will look amazing in this, on your date."

She was patting out some small spots on the dress. "I know I will. I've never had the opportunity to see something on me like this."

It was still the one time I'd do this. "Uh huh. Like I said, just this one time I'm doing this."

"You seem to enjoy it, you helped a ton." She said that as if I wanted to do this.

"I did not want to-"

A doorbell rang through the house. I could almost say she turned pale as she became startled. Without a glance towards me, she ran out of the room, returning only a moment later, catching her breath and looking a little shaken. "Him, he's, he's here and I-, and he's out there."

Ah...

Hell.

Now was my turn to be worried. "Okay just, get this on and go!"

She'd ran over to the window, peering out the blinds, almost ignoring me. Her speech sped up significantly. "What time is it, how long have I wasted time, how long were we-"

I stopped her in her tracks, holding her shoulders at a hoofs length. "Hey! Calm down!" I showed her an exaggerated inhale of air, which she mimicked. We both released our breath slowly. Though, she still was catching her breath somewhat. "I'm calmer. I can't be, wait-"

Any impact I just had was just reverted. "Our reservation, it's very strict. If we're even a second too late they'll cancel us!"

Uptight.

The doorbell rang again. With our room's door now open and being close to the front door, a muffled voice sounded from the other side. In her panic, she blurted out. "Y-you go, in my spot!" She looked at me pleadingly, which quickly turned more thoughtful. "We'll find a way to swap back, excuse yourself at some point, and we'll switch. I just need you to manage the first part!"

Restel.

I took a step back and raised a defensive hoof. "Hey look, I'm not-" Her gaze had shifted, it made me stop talking. I thought that if I continued, I would probably die. How does the emotion of killing somepony culminate specifically in her face?

"-Okay! Okay. I'll cover for you, but whatever chance I get, I'm bailing."

"Fine, just go!" She was practically shoving me out of the room and to the front door of her house, which was a short drag.

If I'm doing this, I'm more ready now than I'll ever be. Would it be anything like those romance books?

"Oh!-" The pink mare's voice was hushed beside me, her head peeking around a corner. "-his name is-"

I'd already swung open the door. Name, Klaven, name! My head swiveled over to where her voice came from, but she'd vanished around the corner to hide herself. Before me stood a taller, orange stallion pegasus. His mane and tail were a matching brown color.

Of course he's also a pegasus.

Also of course, he was dressed up in his own dapper attire, the usual black suit a male would wear, but with an orange bowtie. 

"H-" I coughed, realizing I was still talking as a changeling and not as her impression. "Hi." It was my best pink pegasus voice. Of course it was convincing. "How'd you make it over here? Y'know, changeling invasion."

"Oh it was easy. They don't really like when you fight back. That, and I might have just taken a very hidden backroad to your house."

Easy he says. I offered him a polite giggle for his very 'heroic' journey to get here.

"And you managed to keep the suit tidy. You flatter me." Good, maybe I can get some love food out of this too.

"Only the best. Now c'mon, I'll take you the same hidden way I took to get here."

I stepped outside, exuberating any confidence I could have. "Oh absolutely."

With my faux partner leading the way, the walk was admittedly quiet. There was passing small talk, and this route he was taking concealed us very well against the eyes of hundreds of droning changelings. However, it didn't put us out of earshot. The muffled ambience of changeling's wings buzzing and chatter loomed around us as we squeezed between buildings and scurried from cover to cover.

The trip was short. I still hadn't seen wherever the original pink pegasus had disappeared to. Hopefully she was close, and we would be switching places soon. 

The first thing I noticed upon arrival was that the building looked like any other house that was on the row the pink one lived on. "Heh, doesn't look like a fancy restaurant."

"Oh, I thought I told you? Restaurants don't operate under changeling invasions, so we're just coming here to my house to eat. We're cooking together."

...I almost needed that ran by me again.

He opened the door and stood aside, allowing me to enter first. I was busy weighing my options. Nowhere to run without looking awkward, the original pink one wasn't here, and do I really want to ruin my first opportunity to be a wingpony?

But... he said cooking? Never have I ever. Maybe I could learn today.

Once inside, and to his kitchen, I was growing increasingly worried about how we were going to perform a clean switch. I was in way too deep. There is a backdoor, but that was too visible.

"I figure we make your favorite thing together: A homemade hayburger." He said as he began preparing the stove.

Miscellaneous kitchen utensils were proactively placed along the countertops. Each one looked completely foreign to me. 

"Good grief..."


****


One ruined spatula, a burnt attempt at the hay patty, several mental curses at the dress I was wearing getting in the way, and a fire alarm later, a single hayburger had survived the onslaught of our cooking. It was basic, due to my inexperience. Cooking was hardly a thing in the Hive; our food isn't physical. Since burning my first attempt, my 'date' had relegated to focusing on helping me make my meal first before making his, so I sat at the table giving my hayburger a pensive stare. 

I've never actually had one. No real need for it, but wouldn't hurt to try.

What snapped me out of my food induced thoughts was a sudden clack at the window beside the table I sat at. My head snapped up, the other pegasus was still busy preparing his own dinner. Turning towards the window almost made me jump out of my seat as I saw the next clack happen. A thrown pebble, which if there was no window, would've hit me in the face. Just outside, hiding in a bush was a camouflaged pink pegasus.

After stealing another quick look at the cooking orange pegasus to confirm he was still immersed, I creaked the window up just a smidge. I fully expected a tirade from her. 

"How's it going?" She spoke in a hushed tone, which I mimicked.

"Never made a hayburger before, burnt my first couple tries too."

There was a curt pause before I continued.

"Hey, you didn't tell me you'd cancelled dining out, jerk."

She rolled her eyes fully over, slightly showing a sheepish grin. "I was panicking. Look, you better excuse yourself soon."

"What's a reasonable excuse?"

She thought on this for just a second. "I'll make one. You just play along when you see it."

My eyebrows furled slightly. Just play along, she says. "Sure, go for it."

With that, she ducked back into her bush. Her vivid pink coat did no justice to her attempted concealment. I could only watch as a pink, yellow, and purple shape shambled off. If I ever see her again, I'll definitely be making a joke about it.

Returning to my situation, the orange pegasus was just adding his final additions to his hayburger. He held it on a plate with his wing as he joined me at the table. "Not the fanciest thing to eat with our whole getup, but what do I know about making high class meals?"

I gave him my best soft smile. This guy was too cheesy. "Yeah well, I wouldn't want to eat anywhere else. Only somepony as debonair as you could make a hayburger a delicacy ." And now, I'm being too cheesy.

"Debo... what?"

"Oh nothing." Taking a page from his book, my pegasus wings held the hayburger before me as I took the first bite of my own creation.

As much as it wouldn’t sustain me, it was ironically tasteful. A little bit of give in the hay, I chose ketchup as my only dressing and cheese as the only extra. Perhaps I could add more in the future. Oh, possibly something wi-

Knock knock

The knock came all the way from the front door, it was barely audible.

“I’ll get it.” The orange pegasus excused himself to go answer the door. 

Must be her. I’ll help once I finish this bite of hayburger.

However impolite it was, I continued to eat as the orange pegasus made his way to the front door. Not like he'd notice when he came back, and hopefully, it wouldn't be me here when he comes back.

"Would you stop eating my food?"

I flinched and nearly fell out of the seat as the sudden hushed voice of the pink pegasus emitted from right beside me. "Agh- when did you get in here?!" She almost cut me off as she raised a hoof to her lips. "Shush. I bought us some time." 

I stood up, tilting my head down for her to remove the earrings in my ears and the bow in my mane.

"So what'd you do?" I asked. She was in the middle of plucking those shining earrings into place on her ears. "Oh, I found one of Flare's friends. Would you believe he's buddies with the guy who rang me up at the store?"

Flare, that's his name. And he knows the cashier that Restel is with? Canterlot looked big from above, but the residents sounded like a small town community. 

With the bow and earrings into place for her, now came the dress. I shape-shifted back to my original changeling form. Her dress sagged a little more on my natural self as if I was wearing a filly's Nightmare Night ghost sheets. I’m not that much shorter than her, am I? Looking down, a small green flame was tickling the edge of a shoulder strap that I quickly blew out, shooting her a toothy smile afterwards. "What, you brought him here?"

"Yup.-" She said as she slipped into the aquamarine dress. "-I found him around The Hay Burger, which is just a quick fly from here. Told him I needed help, he agreed. He knows a lot more about me than I thought, so Flare must talk about me to him."

"Isn't that adorable." I said in a near baby-voice to her. She rolled her eyes at me again, not trying to hide her red-faced smile. "Oh shut up."

She climbed into her seat, and was tentatively looking at the bites I had taken out of the hayburger that was on her plate, and looked back at me disapprovingly. 

"What? It was good. I made it myself." I said proudly.

"Yeah yeah, go continue your invasion now, you've played your part for me." She was dismissing me with the waving of her hoof.

I obediently took my leave outside to her side door to the backyard. Nothing had really changed out here. Changeling's still retained their visual boredom as we waited for whatever our Queen was doing. 

I could go back to Restel, or I could see how the rest of this date goes, and how my wingpony skills worked?

No, I'll see her again, plus I'm no eavesdropper. At least, not intentionally. Surely Restel would like a familiar face with him once again.