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Part 1A: The Fluttershy Effect
Twilight Sparkle finally tore her eyes away from the changeling that used to be Fluttershy to watch Pinkie Pie drag a mare inside by the tail. She had a forest green coat and a blue and brown mix mane and tail. Her cutie mark was that of a cliff top.
“Wait, Pinkie? Shouldn’t you be-”
“It’s alright,” interrupted Carrot Cake, “I set it to start upon finishing. Everything’s done.” He grinned at the nervous mare. “And I think she caught an eavesdropper. That outburst a moment ago was you, wasn’t it?”
“…Maybe,” replied the defeated pony.
“Well, it’s only right that you hear everything else then, isn’t it?” The mare blinked, confused. “Be a bit silly to keep you out of the loop now right?”
“Yay! A new party member!” Pinkie declared. “Welcome to the herd, Cliffy!”
‘Cliffy’ picked herself up and sat on another chair amongst the other ponies, all distracted from Fluttershy’s big reveal by the new arrival. The green Earth Pony smiled awkwardly around her.
Rarity asked, “I’m sorry, but who are you?”
“My name’s Cliff Jumper, the local explorer. I commissioned some special hoof wear from you for my climbing some time ago.”
“Oh, of course. How could I forget such a unique order?”
“But, er… should we maybe listen to what Fluttershy has to say?” Cliff Jumper urged.
“That’s not Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, preparing to charge her former friend.
“Now hold on sugarcube,” Applejack cut in, standing between RD and ‘Fluttershy’. “Let’s hear her out first.”
Surprisingly, Rainbow took AJ’s advice straight away and sat back down. Everypony looked expectantly in the changeling’s direction.
“Oh, er, well, you see…”
It all started when I was a cute little changeling filly, the last of a dying species. The eternal night of Nightmare Moon, combined with Discord’s Chaos-
Cliff Jumper spoke up, “Hold on a mo’! Nightmare Moon? Discord? You already sound unbelievable.”
“I was going to get to that, but I should probably tell you that I am also from the future.”
“But there was only Nightmare Moon when Cup and I left,” Carrot pointed out.
“I…I think it was a different future. The Elements still failed, but you must still have succeeded in making this Robot Pinkie-”
“Glitchie.”
“I’m sorry, Cliff; What?”
“Glitchie. ‘Robot Pinkie’ is too long as are Carrot’s technical names.”
Everypony stared once again at the newcomer; all except for Pinkie, who beamed at the mare and said exuberantly, “I love it!”
“Okay then…”
Glitchie existed in this future. But, being several decades since Nightmare’s second rising, the Cakes were long gone, and so there was nopony to maintain her technical issues. It was theorised by my grandfather in the hive that Glitchie’s broken presence served as a strong source of Chaos for Discord.
The combination of the eternal Night and the tormenting Chaos kept life alive in a tortured state of near death. With only the light of the stars and moon, colour was greatly amiss. Thanks to the Chaos, things still lived… barely. It pleased Nightmare to have living subjects. Thankfully, the Ponies kept the full attention of both of Equestria’s oppressors.
Our kind had regressed over time, and our magic had become weaker, as well as our wings. As such, when I went out to find a fruit that had been discorded to supply the love we feed on, and encountered a large crevice behind a bush, I could not support my weight for very long nor protect myself. In the end, I needed neither as I was saved by a pony.
Their name or what they looked like, I cannot tell you, because, shortly after being caught mid fall, I blacked out. When I opened my eyes, instead of a bleak, perpetually dark, half dead land of despair, I saw sunlight; Pure, real beams of sunlight. I could see the colours of everything around me. Trees had all their leaves and grass had a shining sheet of dew. At the time though, I didn’t know many of these things. I can say it now because the memory has remained vivid in my mind as I learned of the true Equestria.
But, as I started to attune my eyes to the flood of light and colour, I saw a figure falling from a city made of clouds. I was weak, and sadly couldn’t get to where she was to fall before it was too late. I found the crumpled mess that remained shortly after I heard the collision with the ground. It was a horrible image that still haunts me to this day.
The next thing I did, I don’t know why I did it. It was just a subconscious thing I suppose. I knelt down next to the Pegasus filly’s body and placed my horn upon her forehead. All her memories flashed before my eyes, and I fainted. When I came to, I had taken on young Fluttershy’s image.
“You already know what happened after. I developed a caring for animals and somehow earned a cutie mark.”
“How come the other changelings never did that?” Applejack asked.
“Erm... well... at a guess, I would say it’s a long forgotten Changeling ability.... that, or, erm... it’s something only a future changeling like myself, further down the chain of evolution, can do?”
“Hmm,” Carrot thought aloud, “Seems possible...”
Rainbow Dash balked, “How can we trust anything she says!?”
“She has helped us on more than one occasion, including the fending off of her own race,” said Twilight, “Of course the switch could have happened during or after that very event.”
Cliff made a clicking sound with her hoof. “Why don’t we just ask her something only the real Fluttershy would know?... Something from not long after the Cutie Mark Rainboom. Or, hay, something from before the Rainboom.”
Everypony looked to Rainbow Dash, the only one present who had known Fluttershy since they were fillies, and, as Cliff has mentioned, before the Sonic Rainboom that brought upon all the Element Bearers’ cutie marks. No one questioned how Cliff knew about it. Word did travel around Ponyville fast, even if no word was initially spoken.
Rainbow Dash, however, did not look too pleased with what was suggested. In fact, she looked a tad bit scared. Almost as if-
“I think we need a PARTY!” Glitchie Pie screamed, confetti flying everywhere.
The uniform blinking could be heard by Cup in the kitchen.
“Wha- Bu-” Rainbow tried to talk, completely forgetting she didn’t want to talk.
All the while, Glitchie continued without pause, “While Flutterling- That’s my nickname for our changeling friend- was telling us her story, I got to thinking: ‘This is awesome! We have a new best friend, Cliffy, Fluttershy has secret shapeshifting powers AND I feel better now!’ Of course it wasn’t in that order, but WHO CARES!? If we don’t party now, I might just explode!”
A unanimous thought was shared amongst the other ponies in Sugar Cube Corner: ‘What if she really does explode?’
With that in mind, and an excuse to avoid questioning, Rainbow Dash flew out the store shouting, “I’ll get the booze!”
Twilight added, “I’ll get Spike to help prepare the Library,” and galloped away.
Close behind her was Rarity. “Let me help too.”
Applejack was already halfway to Sweet Apple Acres, presumably fetching her own booze and some apple based snacks. Flutterling returned to her ‘Shy’ form and quietly left for Twilight’s Library too. All that were left were Carrot Cake and Cliff Jumper, watching Glitchie bounce on the spot.
Cup popped her head out of the kitchen and rightfully asked, “If you’re going to have a party, shouldn’t you be in here, making your trademark cupcakes?”
Glitchie was in the kitchen, cooking away in an instant.
“And then there were two,” said Cliff, absentmindedly.
Carrot shook his head. “There’s still some cleaning up to be done downstairs.”
Seconds later, Cliff was all alone in Sugar Cube Corner. It was getting light out, almost twenty four hours having passed since the Glitchie shenanigans had started.
“I love that word,” Glitchie shouted from the kitchen. “SHENANIGANS!”
Cliff chuckled, not knowing what brought on that outburst. She got up from her seat and made her way for the door. As she reached for the handle, there was a hoof tap on her shoulder. Glitchie was behind her.
“Yes?”
“Feel free to bring Berry along!”
“Thanks.”
Cliff smiled and left.