//------------------------------// // Chapter 21 - Nighttime Visits // Story: Reflections in Black and Pink // by Krixwell //------------------------------// Canterlot at night was remarkably peaceful. Party Popper couldn't remember Pinkie Pie's visits to the city, but she knew that it was a bustling, active community in the daytime. Unlike Manehattan, however, Canterlot was quiet at night. There were few ponies out in the darkness, and the few she could see minded their own business. There were no cliques of half-drunken party-goers out in the streets tonight, no families leaving late night theaters, and not a single carriage. The good thing was that it made her stick out less, walking the city streets alone, and nopony would get close enough to see the way her knees shook. Pinkie Pie was here. Twilight Sparkle was here. What was she doing, coming here? Everything about the plan the Queen had dragged her into was risky, had the potential to alert Twilight to her existence. To end it. She stopped, pulled a small pouch out of her coat pocket and looked at it. It was filled with a dark crystalline powder, seeming to shine dimly under the moonlight. If Twilight found out, at least the Queen had given Popper a chance of survival, as long as she had this on hoof. Still, it was only a small comfort, and what she faced terrified her. But the Queen had been right. Twilight and her friends had to pay for what they'd done, and if Popper could make that happen by helping the Queen, she had to try. For her family, she was done running away. So Popper put the pouch, tightly sealed, back in her pocket, then grit her teeth and tried to walk as normally as she could. She made her way through the city, eventually finding the address that Tarsus, the hive messenger, had found and returned with at the Queen's command. The address belonged to a small two-floor apartment, crammed between two larger buildings. There was barely space on the front for a door, a window and a potted plant decoration, below a narrow balcony on the upper floor. She knocked on the door in a FUN rhythmic pattern, and heard something clattering inside. Nopony came to open the door, but she could hear two frantic voices whispering. She knocked again. "Hello? Anypony home? …or is it 'anychangeling'? No, wait, I think I've heard Frons say 'anypony'." The voices inside went quiet. Then the door opened ever so slightly inwards, just enough for a green compound eye to peek out, and slammed shut again. The voices became frantic enough that she could pick up a few familiar words through the wall. "— Pinkie Pie! How — we're buzzed —" "What?! — Frons' name?" "Buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz —" "Wait — Labrum said — about —" They grew quiet again. "I'm here to help," Popper said. "The Queen sent me." Silence ruled for another long moment. Then the door opened. The changeling on the other side must have stayed behind the door when opening it, because nopony was immediately visible in the doorway. Just the entrance into a single room. Party Popper entered, and the green-eyed changeling slammed the door shut behind her, eyeing her suspiciously. The other changeling, a shorter blue-eyed one, looked down on her with an expression that spoke less of suspicion and more of awe. "Wow," the shorter changeling said as he landed on the wooden floor, "Labrum wasn't kidding. You look exactly like her, apart from the outfit and the expression. Every detail is spot on." Party Popper shifted her hooves uncomfortably, wishing he hadn't been so horribly right. "N-Nice to meet you," she managed, shaking the thought, "I'm Party Popper. Or Proboscis. I don't even know anymore." The shorter changeling snickered at "Proboscis". "You're really not Pinkie Pie?" the suspicious changeling asked. "You can't be a changeling, unless the Queen found a way to stop the Heartshield from affecting you." He seemed to think for a second. "Maybe throne dust…?" "Pinkie Pie, who's— I mean no, I'm not. I just look like her." "A lot," the shorter one added. "...a lot," Popper agreed with a frown. "And here I thought Labrum was crazy. I'm Elytron, of the Compound Eye." "Ommatophore," the taller one followed suit, then squinted. "No, really, you're sure you're not Pinkie Pie?" Popper didn't answer. Not always. "Stop it, Omma," Elytron said. "She knew we were here, she knew Frons' name, and it all matches what Labrum told me two hours and seventeen minutes ago. I'm sure she's telling the truth." "And if she isn't?" "Then the Council knows we're here and we're buzzed no matter what. Let's just trust her for now, alright?" Ommatophore sighed. "You're right. Fine." "Thank you," Party Popper said, earning her another squint from Ommatophore. "Your Queen sent me here to help with that thingy that's messing with your magic and a couple other things, and that would be a lot harder if you didn't trust me! Especially since she told me to come here and get you to tell me what it even is." "Briefing? Can do," Elytron said. "From what we've been able to overhear while staying hidden, the Council members call it the Heartshield. It's a literal shield, too." "It's an enchanted artifact," Ommatophore said. "Best we can figure out, it was enchanted just today—" "Yesterday," Elytron interrupted. "It's eleven minutes past midnight." "...yesterday, by the Royal Artificer Focus Flare, with the help of Twilight Sparkle, Shining Armor and Thorax." "Thorax?" Party Popper asked, sitting down on a small couch. "That sounds like a changeling name." "Thorax is a traitor," Elytron explained, "so if you run into a changeling other than us in the city, especially one trotting around in plain sight rather than hiding, you should treat him like he's one of them." "The Heartshield projects an enormous invisible forcefield around the city," Ommatophore continued. "Ponies don't even know it's there, but changelings can't move through the edge of the field, and it messes up our magic inside of it." "Disguises fail, communication magic turns into awful screeches, we can barely feed on ambient love… I'm so hungry," Elytron complained, "and my muzzle still hurts from when we tried to retreat and I collided with the barrier." "Ow," Party Popper said, rubbing her own muzzle in sympathy. "So what does the shield thing look like? Do you know where it is?" "They made it using a fancy old shield Shining Armor brought from the Crystal Empire. Omma only saw it once, before we knew how important it would be." "I didn't get a good look at it," Ommatophore added. "Last we heard, it was placed in the throne room. It'll probably be hung up so it looks like a decoration instead of a powerful artifact." "That makes sense," Popper said. "So I just need to get into the throne room and find a way to disable that shield?" "Pretty much," Ommatophore said. "We'd do it ourselves, but it's obviously difficult to get into the throne room looking like we do right now. We can barely leave the house." "But if I pretend to be Pinkie…" Popper said. "They'll let you in without question." "Easy as pie," Elytron said. Ommatophore glared at him. "Y-yeah," Popper said. "Easy as pie." Of all the easy peasy things Party Popper had ever done, entering Canterlot Castle was definitely one of the hardest. The spies had been right. The night guard on gate duty had taken one look at her and opened the gate with a smile and a cheerful "welcome back, miss Pinkie Pie". Hopefully the darkness of night had hidden her wince at the name. Either way, she had gotten in. Now it was just a matter of surviving. Well, that and the fact she was horribly lost. Her hooves clattered more than they should on the stone-tiled floor as she walked down yet another hallway. Knowing her luck, she'd walk past whatever room Twilight Sparkle was in and the sound would wake her. I have to do this. I have to do this. I have to do this. She almost jumped through the stone ceiling and up to the next floor when a pony rounded the next corner ahead. It was a bright-cream-colored earth pony stallion, marked by his armor as a royal guard. The stallion looked oddly familiar, but not in the way ponies Pinkie Pie had known usually did. This felt different, as though Party Popper should know him in her own right. "Miss Pinkie Pie?" the guard said, surprised. "What are you doing up there?" "Pi— I mean hi!" Belatedly, Popper realized that she had, in her panic, clung onto a wall fixture holding purple flowers. They smelled nice. She let go of the — she let. go. — of the fixture and dropped to the floor, bouncing a little as she landed. Falling hurt almost as much now as it had in the hive. "Miss Pinkie Pie, are you alright?" the guard asked. Party Popper got back on her hooves. "I'm Pinkie! I mean fine!" "That's good." A silence lingered. Then something clicked. "Wait," Popper said, perking up. "I do know you! You're Bear Hug and Sweet Tooth's son – Coconut Cream! I've seen your foal pictures!" Coconut Cream blushed. "Really? You know my parents?" "Of course! I wor—" Popper cut herself off, remembering too late where she was. "I-I mean, I go to Glazed Miracles whenever I visit Manehattan. Best croissants in the city. I wish I was back there right now… but I guess they'd be closed, so maybe they'd chase me out…?" Coconut Cream put a hoof to his face and groaned. "I can't believe they're showing my foal pictures to a hero of Equestria. That's so embarrassing." Hero. She's not that heroic. "Hey, don't worry about it! I'd show you mine if I had ever been a foal." "What?" "W-well, I should get going," Popper said. If she kept engaging with the memories of home – when had Manehattan become "home" to her? – she wouldn't get what she came for done. She might even be found out. Some part of her didn't want to go on. Some part of her wanted to stay right in this castle hallway, talking to Coconut Cream about the Glazed Miracles Bakery and life in Manehattan. But she had no choice. This wasn't for her. It was for them. "Of course," Coconut Cream said with a polite nod, ready to part ways. "Actually," Popper blurted out, "I'm kind of lost. Do you know—" Where the throne room is? No. She wasn't the best in Equestria at being sneaky, or at being a smartypants, but even she knew that wanting to go alone into the throne room at night would be suspicious. Besides, while disabling the Heartshield was the most important, she had more objectives to accomplish. She'd need to ensure her cover. "Know what, Miss Pinkie Pie?" Popper had to keep from biting her tongue as the words left her mouth. "How to get back to my room?" "Here we are. Third door on the right," said Coconut Cream, pointing. "Thank you!" Popper said. "That is definitely my room! Good night!" "Good night, Miss…" The stallion's expression looked concerned. "Look, I'm sorry if I'm prying more than I should, but… are you sure you're okay? You sound kind of nervous." "Nope! Definitely not nervous! Everything's fine!" Popper lied smoothly, staring at the door as she patted the coat pocket containing the pouch. She could feel it suppressing her energy, but it would keep her alive. "Alright, then. Good night, Miss Pinkie Pie." The guard turned and left, leaving Party Popper to face the Door of No Return. If she opened this door, there would really be no turning back. Behind it was, presumably, Pinkie Pie. Once Pinkie Pie knew she still existed, it was only a matter of time before Twilight found out. And then she'd die. Why was she doing it all, then? Why go along with the Queen's vaguely defined plans to make Twilight and her friends pay? What value was there in that, if it was likely to lead to her death? She hesitated, hoof on the doorknob. Why…? She took her hoof off the doorknob. And then the door opened anyway. Behind it, an all too familiar face peeked out. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, the same shade of blue that Party Popper hated seeing in mirrors, Pinkie Pie mumbled, "I thought I heard myself talking out here… Wait, myself?" Party Popper just stared, emotions bubbling up from her stomach like gas in a pit of lava. Emotions she had barely known were in there because they were too unpleasant to truly let herself feel. "...it's been years since I last saw myself! This is so fun! How am I doing?" Sure, the fear and panic was expected. The rage, she had known she should feel. But the sheer amount of disgust, of betrayal, of poisoned familial love that bubbled up surprised and overwhelmed her. The Queen's words rang in her mind. When your family betrays you, there is no room for withdrawal. "I," Party Popper said with a growl from the deepest pits of her heart, "am not you!" Pinkie Pie let out a surprised yelp as Party Popper tackled her through the doorway, crashing into the front of a large wardrobe. "I'm not you!" Popper repeated, wrestling the mare to the floor. She was no fighter, but neither was Pinkie Pie, and at such a close range, they would both be affected by the pouch. Half-awake, surprised and suddenly weakened without a clear cause, Pinkie would be at a disadvantage. Pinkie, giggling for some deranged reason, tried to roll the two of them over, but it was too late. Party Popper got a good hit in on the side of her head, knocking her out. She continued to wail on the mare. The rage burning within her told her to hit her, hit her where it hurt, hit her where it wounded, maybe even hit her where it would kill. Party Popper was not a pony of restraint. It was far too tempting to follow through with what that rage demanded. But she was also not a killer. Slowly, gradually, she stopped. She breathed out heavily. Then she got to work. Rising, she sprinkled the unconscious Pinkie Pie with some of the dust from the pouch. The throne dust, Chrysalis had explained, would neutralize all non-changeling magic within a certain radius. The radius grew bigger the more of the material was gathered in one place, but a hoofful of dust would be enough to neutralize the magic of a single pony. A pouchful would also stop any magic spells targeting her, she hoped. Not having her earth pony magic was worth that protection with Twilight Sparkle around. Setting the pouch on Pinkie Pie's nightstand and moving to the other side of the room so she could access her mane, Popper pulled out the other two basic tools the changelings had provided her with: A bunch of ropes and pieces of cloth. She used some of the ropes to tie Pinkie's hooves up, and gagged her with one of the pieces of cloth. As she lifted the heavy pony, a small groan muffled by the gag told her that Pinkie Pie was coming to. Sure enough, Pinkie's eyes opened just as Party Popper placed her inside the wardrobe. 'Why?' those eyes seemed to plead. Popper felt another sting of rage at that. "I'm not you," Popper said, more calmly than before, but still letting her voice fill with disgust. "But I'm going to have to pretend to be." Party Popper turned around and slammed the wardrobe door shut in the face of her past. Elsewhere: It was a risky strategy, but come the morning, she had no choice but to try.