//------------------------------//
// The Magic of Music Part 2 
// Story: A Changeling's Endeavors into the Subtle Art of Wooing Mares 
// by airbournesquid 
//------------------------------//

The following week passed far too quickly.

Like everything else, Equestrians made dancing needlessly complicated. A changeling's perspective on dancing was that virtually everything was acceptable, as long as it was done to a beat. It was meant to be the ultimate form of expression, a freedom of both one's spirit and body and a celebration of diversity. Needless to say, Equestrian dancing was more than a little bit different. Everything was confined by rules, from the way you held your partner to the way you moved across the dance floor. And like most other things that required discipline and grace, Caramel was absolutely terrible at it. Practicing with Rarity had only made that all the more clear.

In the space of seven days, Caramel had succeded in breaking the majority of the botique's furniture, hospitalising Opal, Rarity's cat, knocking over everything that wasn't nailed to the floor and stomping on Rarity's hooves so often that it was a wonder that she wasn't in crutches (Although Caramel swore that she was popping the odd painkiller or two into her mouth when he wasn't looking). 

All in all, it went better than expected, and as an added bonus, Rarity even offered to make him a fitted dinner jacket-

"Will you just hold still!" chided Rarity as she fiddled profusely with Caramel's bowtie.

"It's not my fault, these clothes are just really itchy!" he replied pitifully.

"Itchy!? What do you mean 'itchy'? I'll have you know that that's some of the finest wool in Ponyville!" 

"It's not so much the wool as it is the stitching..." Caramel caught his tongue a little too late. 

"Are you questioning my work's quality?"

"N-no!"

"Aha! I caught that look! You don't like it do you? You think my wares aren't good enough for the likes of you! Well I can tell you now that my product has been admired by the upmost elite of Canterlot's nobility! I've won awards so fancy that you couldn't even pronounce the name, thank you very much!"

-You know what? Perhaps just a simple bowtie would look better. Yeah, bowties were cool. 




Caramel was busily fiddling with said bowtie when a faint rapping thrummed from his door. He spared a final look into the mirror before he went to answer it. He'd spent hours on end working on improving his disguise. He'd made his cheekbones slightly more pronounced, brightened his eyes, whitened his teeth and added a slight sheen to his coat (he'd also considered giving himself a squarer chin, but he didn't want to go too overboard).

He pulled the door to, and gasped. Rarity dressed up good. 

A fiery red dress draped itself seductively around her form, stripes of yellow twining through the cloth and glistening like a split lemon. She wore a gold necklace with a brilliant orange jewel shimmering at her throat and a thin line of scarlet adorned her lips. Her perfume was much like her attire; a scent of alluring complexity fanged with a spicy heat. 

"Miss Rarity!" he exclaimed. "You look incredible!"

"Why thank you, the dress is of my own design and I've been simply dying for a chance to try it on," she fluttered her powdered eyelids and stroked a hoof through the fabric of her dress. Her eyes wandered to his bowtie. "Is that really all you're wearing?" she said sceptically.

Suddenly Caramel felt slightly underdressed. Maybe he should have thought twice about rejecting Rarity's offer, or at least put on a second bowtie of something, although Caramel was pretty sure that would have looked rather weird. From what he'd gathered over his time in Equestria, ponies didn't wear more than one of the same article of clothing. Maybe a wristwatch?  

"Well, I wanted to, y'know, keep it simple..." he replied.

"Ah. Well it's very... *ahem*, nice, I suppose." she said with a painfully forced smile. Caramel winced inwardly at the blatantly obvious lie. He was afraid that it would have to do. Rarity was virtually the only vendor of quality clothing in Ponyville, and there was no way in Tartarus that he was going through that ordeal all over again. 

"Thanks, I guess," he said half-heartedly. "So you're ready to go?"

"You bet, now come on, our carriage awaits!"

A carriage? Caramel smiled gleefully. He could still remember dragging Applejack and her friends all the way to Canterlot for the Royal Gala whilst hooked to the end of one of those dastardly things. It might actually be kind of nice to be carried for a change.

"Great!" said Caramel excitedly. "Who's pulling it?"

Rarity smiled awkwardly. "Right, about that. You see dear, we couldn't find anypony willing to pull the carriage this time apart from Thunderlane, and he's only one pony. So..." Rarity gave a quick patter of her eyelids. "I was wondering if I could ask you for a favour."




"This is so totally bull-" the sharp snap of a whip above his head cut Caramel off. "Damn it Spike, we've been through this before!" he growled. "Don't you remember the Gala?"

Spike shied away from Caramel's glare, blushing shamefully. "Right, sorry."

"Snap that whip again and I swear to Celestia that you will be!" Caramel spat before returning to pulling the carriage. The muscles in his legs had began to burn, and a light dappling of sweat dotted his forehead. When Rarity had told him that he was going to a party, this was not what he had in mind. The 'favour' that Rarity had asked of him was to help Thunderlane pull the carriage that she and the other girls were using from Ponyville to Canterlot. Him and Lucky Clover had been stuck with a similar job during the Grand Galloping Gala (by the same pony, no less). Needless to say, Caramel wasn't happy. Heck, the only reason he'd pulled the damned thing the first time round was because Rarity had asked so nicely. This time she'd just dumped the job in his lap without so much as a 'please' or 'thank you'!

Thunderlane addressed Caramel with a concerned stare. "Geez, cage the beast, man."

Caramel sighed. He'd known Thunderlane ever since his first month in Ponyville. They'd met at the local laundry shop after Thunderlane accidentally dropped his scarf into Caramel's basket. Caramel learned two things that day, one: that it only took one misplaced scarf to turn the majority of his wardrobe pink, and two: how to play ultimate Frisbee. Thunderlane taught him the game very thoroughly that afternoon to make up for ruining Caramel's clothes. One thing led to another and before Caramel knew it, they were back at his place with drinks in their hooves and playing cards on the table.
That had been a good day. 

"Sorry," said Caramel shamefully. "I'm just a little pent up, is all. Tonight's kind of a big night, and I don't wanna go making a fool of myself."

Thunderlane shrugged indifferently. "S'cool, it's not everyday you go to a party as upper class as this. It's totally natural," He snorted. "Besides, you make yourself look like an idiot on a daily basis, the only difference here is that you'll be doing it in front of Canterlot nobility!"

Spike giggled at that, inciting a proud, victorious grin from Thunderlane. It was a little known secret that the Pegasus got on spectacularly with foals and youths. He'd worked as a babysitter before joining the weather team, and he and his five year old brother Rumble were about as close as brothers could be. Funny how the guy with a Mohawk and a reputation as a womaniser turned out to be a child at heart. But alas, that was Thunderlane for you; hardened steel on the outside, play-dough on the inside. 

"Oh come on, it's not like you're much better," chortled Caramel. "In fact, why do you want to go to this thing anyways? The last time I checked you were more interested in house parties and beer pong!"

"Two words, man. Classy. Babes."

Did Caramel mention that Thunderlane was a womaniser?

Well he was. Big time. Rumour had it that he'd had one night stands with: Raindrop, Derpy Hooves, Rosebud, Miss Cheriliee, Sassaflash, Flitter, Cloudchaser, Nurse Redheart, Three of Applejack's relatives (Apple Fritter, Apple Leaves and Apple Cobbler to be exact), Aloe, Berry Frost, Cherry Berry, Blossomforth, that weird mare obsessed with hands, Mayor-freakin'-Mare and to top it all off, one of the Royal Sisters themselves. Which one it was varied depending on who you asked. 
As aforementioned, Thunderlane was a womaniser.

Caramel couldn't help but laugh. "'Classy babes'? You're not looking for a quick roll in the hay with Sapphire Shores, are you?"

Again, Spike let out a mischievous giggle. "Pfft, yeah right, everpony know that Thunderlane's totally head over hooves for Pink-"

"Spike, another word and I'll end you." threatened Thunderlane, albeit jokingly. 

The rest of the journey passed in relative silence, save for the odd quip or three between Thunderlane and Spike. Truth be told, Caramel was too nervous for conversation. He and Rarity had been over the plan a dozen times before; she'd sneak the most romantic song she had into the DJ's Vinyl collection, he'd ask Applejack to dance and hey-presto, he got his marefriend back. It was all so simple, yet so risky. What if Applejack refused? What if Rarity didn't manage to slip her vinyl into the line-up? What if Applejack thought that it was time for some well-deserved revenge and simply told everypony there that he was a changeling? No. Sure Applejack hated his guts right now, but she wouldn't go that far to get the point across...

Would she?

Caramel banished the thought from his mind as they reached the moat leading into Canterlot. The city looked just as impressive as last time. Porcelain-white towers thrust into the air, rimmed with gold along with a smattering of violet. The streets bristled with activity and expensive shops and diners were dotted between even more expensive homes. 
And to his dismay, hordes of guards lined the streets.

Of course he'd predicted this. After the failed invasion of Canterlot it would have only been logical to increase the security, but this? This seemed a little overkill. As soon as they passed across the moat and into the city they were pounced by an inspection team who nagged them for proof of identity. Luckily for Caramel, he'd spent weeks on end during his training practicing the fine arts of forgery, so his papers were more than adequate for the ID inspector. 

The further they delved into the city, the higher the concentration of guards became. Where did they all come from? As far as his knowledge of Equestrian military went... Well, they had none. They classified pies and foam swords as genuine weaponry and the deadliest and most costly war they'd ever been involved in was the great food-fight of 37 AC! Perhaps Princess Celestia simply thought that they needed a few more guards after the changeling attack, although that still didn't explain the sheer number of recruits she must have had at hoof. 

He tried his hardest to act natural; the last thing he wanted to do in a situation like this was panic. So there were a few hundred or so more guards than he'd expected, no biggie. All he had to do was keep his disguise on and play it cool (which was a lot harder than it sounded, especially with a legion of trained fighters ready to pounce on you at a moments notice).

The guards attracted so much of his attention that he hadn't noticed that they'd arrived at the party until Thunderlane gave him a light tap on the shoulder.

"Yoohoo, anyone home?" he asked mockingly. "Come on, stop spacing out Caramel, we're here!"

Caramel looked upon the castle with awe. Its walls were as white as pearl, and the gold that banded the turrets brighter than the sun itself. Silken banners of red and violet streamed down its sides, reaching down to the bristling gardens, packed with lovingly crafted statues and brimming with flowers of every colour. Equestrian architecture had always focused on being flashy, but Canterlot Castle took things to a whole other level. Fireworks crackled overhead, filling the sky with their magnificent colours.

Behind him the doors to the carriage swung open and the six mares within poured out, chattering among themselves excitedly.

"Aww yeah," piped Rainbow Dash, rubbing her hooves together excitedly. "This is gonna be totally awesome!"

"I have to admit, the princesses spared no expense." added Twilight. "In fact, I don't think I've ever seen the castle this well decorated before!"

"Look!" shrieked Pinkie Pie ecstatically. "They even have a piñata!" she pointed to a nearby tree in the gardens. Sure enough, there dangled a paper mache changeling from one of the branches. A crowd of foals were gathered beneath its holed hooves, swinging wildly at it with bats. 

"Daww, isn't that precious?" cooed Rarity.

A quick blow from one of the children tore the changeling down from its vantage point. The foals pounced on it, ripping off its limbs and caving in the poor thing's torso with whack after savage whack. Suddenly there was a tearing sound; the mob of kids had ripped open its belly and were clawing out its chocolate insides. A unicorn foal stood victoriously atop of the dog pile, the battered head of the piñata impaled upon her horn.

"Yeah," said Caramel, swallowing he lump in his throat as he watched the little barbarians shred what was left of the paper mache changeling's carcass. "Absolutely adorable." 

Rainbow Dash jammed an elbow into his side- she was grinning evilly. "What's wrong Caramel, you look scared."

Caramel glared at Rainbow Dash. Yes he was scared. Terrified, actually. He was at a party dedicated to loathing him and surrounded by burly armoured dudes with spears who would love nothing more than to give him a few extra holes. 
Caramel shook his head adamantly. "Not in the slightest." he answered confidently.

Rainbow Dash was about to make a snide remark before Rarity cut in. "Enough of that, Rainbow Dash, our Caramel has a big night ahead of him." 

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes nonchalantly. "Whatever," she said dismissively, waltzing off towards the castle's entrance. 

"Geez, what's her problem?" asked Thunderlane, watching the Pegasus fade into the crowd.  

"Oh you know her, always trying to find some way to mess with my head." replied Caramel. "Celestia knows that that mare can hold a grudge!"

Thunderlane gave a small, thoughtful frown. "Are you sure? I mean, I've made my fair share of screw ups on the Weather Team, but she doesn't seem to mind."

Caramel shrugged. "I think it's a superiority thing more than anything," he said, scratching his chin ponderously. "Y'know, the 'Great and Powerful Rainbow Dash', kicked out of a tree and brought down to earth by a mere earth pony..."

His friend shook his head slowly, his features still creased in thought. "No, Rainbow Dash has never been like that. Don't get me wrong, she's cocky- And I mean Celestia-damned cocky- but as far as I can tell she's never been one to discriminate against races," a light smile touched at his lips. "Heck, if you think getting kicked out of a tree is bad, you should have seen what happened to her last week. There was this kid with a slingshot and-"

"Terribly sorry to interrupt dear, but I do believe that you're supposed to be escorting me to a party?" interrupted Rarity. She was tapping a hoof against the floor and fiddling with the jewel at her throat impatiently. 

"Wait, what about Applejack?" he glanced at the ponies behind him and was dejected to find that she was not among them.

"I'm afraid she slunk off whilst you were busy gossiping with your friend." she answered, none too kindly. She glanced towards the castle's large, open ornate doors and shuffled eagerly on the spot.

'Well, somepony's impatient,' thought Caramel as he hooked his foreleg around Rarity's and led her inside. "See you soon, Thunderlane!" he called to his friend. Thunderlane gave a dismissive nod in their direction, the majority of his attention focused on Pinkie Pie as she bounced on by. 

"So," Caramel muttered to Rarity as soon as they were out of earshot. "Run this plan of yours by me one more time, would you?"

"With me I have one the most romantic songs in the world," she said, producing a vinyl case in a bright flash of magic. It hovered in Rarity's blue aura before Caramel plucked it out and read the cover. 

"My Hooves Will Go On?" 

Rarity nodded. "A modern classic if I say so myself, simply the epitome of romance itself!" 

Caramel remained sceptical. "So you're saying that if I dance with Applejack to this, she might warm up to me a little?"

"Exactly!"

"You know, I still fail to see the logic in that."

Rarity gave a prim little tut. "Honestly, haven't you ever read Ponies and Prejudice? A Midsummer Night's Canter? Any romance whatsoever?" she shook her head disappointedly. "Everypony knows that a good dance is the very embodiment of romance!"

Caramel sighed to himself dejectedly. He had no idea whether or not this would work. Sure, it happened all the time in those romance books, but then again that was a book, and this was real life. Suddenly his chances with Applejack began to look a lot more slim. 
"Alright, so you sneak the vinyl into the DJ's playlist, and then what?"

She shrugged nonchalantly. "You dance, you fall in love, end of story."

"Seriously? That's it?"

"The best plans are often the most simple, darling."

As they passed through the massive doors Caramel caught his breathe for a second time. The interior was even more luxuriously decorated than the outside. Tapestries lined the walls along with hordes of paintings, and dangling from the ceilings were dozens of golden chandeliers. A large, seven-foot tall ornate fountain, fashioned from marble into the image of a royal guard standing victorious over a changeling with a spear at its throat sat in the middle of the hall. At the far end of the room a band was playing, the sweet sound of their chellos and pianos filling the room. The DJ stood to the side, setting up her equipment. No doubt she'd be taking over after the band finished playing. 

"It's marvellous!" exclaimed Rarity, tightening her grip on Caramel's foreleg. "Look, even the Royal Sisters are here!" she pointed towards the pair of thrones which stood high over the proceedings of the ball. Sure enough, there sat both Celestia and Luna, conversing heatedly with a gathering of nobles. Luna's eyes flicked to them, and she waved to them both excitedly. Celestia, along with the entirety of the nobles, followed her gaze.

Caramel grimaced mentally as dozens of curious eyes bored into him, whereas Rarity embraced it wholeheartedly, prancing towards the nobles and dragging Caramel along with her. A waiter passed by carrying a tray filled with glasses of what looked like champagne. Caramel plucked up a glass, something told him that he was going to need it. 

"Why Miss Rarity," exclaimed a moustachioed stallion as they drew closer. "You look simply ravishing!" next to him, a tall, strikingly slender mare with a fleur-de-lis for a cutie mark nodded in agreement. Her eyes lingered on Caramel curiously.

"Madam Rarity, I don't recall you having a coltfriend," she said, her voice flecked with the remnants of a Prench accent. The corner of her mouth perched itself upwards in a small, delicate smile. "So handsome, you will tell me where you found him, yes?"

Rarity giggled politely. "Oh no, he isn't my coltfriend, only a dear friend of mine." she said somewhat bashfully. At that, Caramel felt a small emotional blip from the slender, Prench accented mare as her smile deepened.

"So, he is 'up for grabs', as you say?" 

Caramel blushed heavily. "A-actually I've already got my eye on somepony else, sorry," he stuttered. "I'm Caramel, by the way." he offered the mare a hoof, which she quaintly shook.

"A shame. Fleur De Lis, a pleasure to meet you monsieur... Caramel." she struggled with the pronunciation of his name. "An' zis is my dear cousin, Fancy Pants." she waved a hoof towards the moustachioed stallion.

"Charmed," cut in Fancy Pants, thrusting his hoof to Caramel. "It's wonderful to see another pony from Ponyville, your ilk are so colourful!" he exclaimed joyfully. "Say, how would you feel about continuing this conversation over a serving of drinks? The bar here has a menagerie of liquors, most of which I'm certain you'll find quite exquisite."

"Oh I-I'd love to but-"

"But of course!" exclaimed Rarity, bowling over Caramel's objections.

"Wonderful! we'll meet you over at the bar-"

"DEAREST RARITY AND CARAMEL, WE ARE MOST PLEASED TO SEE THEE HERE!"

"-After you're done speaking with Her Royal Highness, of course."

Luna skipped down from her throne with all the grace of a five-year-old filly and skittered to a halt before them as Fleur and Fancy Pants swaggered away towards the bar. Caramel pretended not to notice the slow, sultry wink that Fleur gave him over her shoulder before she disappeared into the crowd. Great. One of Canterlot's nobility had the hots for him, he'd attracted the attention of scores of ponies, and now he was going to have a conversation with the official monarchy of the freakin' moon itself. How long had he been here again? Five minutes? Less, even?

He threw back the champagne he'd picked up earlier and winced at the taste. Somepony had ruined it with a generous sprinkling of sugar. Disgusting. Why did Equestrians insist on putting sugar in everything, again? By the gods did he miss changeling alcohol- tak'vat in particular. Sure, it was basically firewater with some crushed almonds and lizard's blood thrown in, but a least it could be savoured! 

'Well, you're about to talk Princess Luna, the 'monarchy of the freakin' moon' as you put it. If you're looking for somepony to file a complaint to, here's the mare.'

"Most wonderful friends, tis a pleasure to have your acquaintance here, on the most gayest of nights!" exclaimed Luna, effectively taking the last sliver of hope he had that he'd remain somewhat inconspicuous throughout the night and crushing it under her hoof. Part of him had to admire the Princess' boldness, whereas another, much larger part of him cursed her for her absolute disregard for subtlety. Chances were that now ponies left, right and centre would be badgering him throughout the entire night about how he knew the Princess of the Night. 

'I hope Thunderlane isn't watching, gods know how I'm going to explain this to him.'

Caramel had to give Luna credit where it was due, she was certainly a lot more friendly than he'd expected her to be. He found it hard to imagine Queen Chrysalis skipping down from her throne and hugging him as if he were some oversized teddy bear- which Luna did. Right there. In front of everypony.

The word 'awkward' didn't even begin to describe it. 

"I have been pondering thy noble quest and have conceived a great many ideas on how to capture the heart of the one you so desire!" she blurted, releasing Caramel from her bone-granulating hug. 

"Y-your Majesty please! Ponies are watching!" stuttered Caramel.

"Then let them watch! For our aiding of you in the fields of romance shall be something to be admired by all!" she paused, as if struck by a sudden revelation. "*Gasp* I'd almost forgotten! Please excuse us, for we have something that we must attend to, stay right here, for I shall return!" and then, in a sudden and unexpected flash of magic, she was gone. 

...

What?

"You must forgive my sister's inadequacies," said Celestia, gracefully slipping from her throne and walking towards them. "She hasn't stopped talking about you since you first met her. In fact, she's shown a great deal of interest in your... predicament." 

"Really?" asked Caramel, somewhat flattered. As much of a shock as it was, it was comforting to know that he had the support of the Princess of the Night herself. Nothing boosts morale like having an all-powerful deity on your side, after all. 

"I must say, I've rarely seen Luna so invigorated before, although she has always had something of an obsession with romance," Celestia giggled to herself. "And obsession truly is the word. I doubt anypony in Equestria has as a collection of romance novels extensive enough to challenge the size of my sister's!"

Rarity 'hmphed' quietly, and Caramel felt a twinge of jealousy ripple from her. Looks like somepony was willing to accept that challenge. 

"Anyways, if I were you I'd make myself scarce as quickly as possible, lest you wish to spend the rest of the night with Luna nudging your side and whispering tips into your ear." suggested Celestia.

Caramel had barely uttered a 'goodbye' before Rarity practically carried him off to the bar. She threw a hasty 'farewell' in Celestia's direction as to not seem rude. Celestia spared them both a bemused smile before returning to the gathering of nobles.

"Rarity, what are you doing?" he hissed. "Shouldn't we be sticking to your plan?"

"My plan is very flexible, and besides, two of the most respected ponies in Canterlot just asked us to share a drink with them! I- we might not get a chance like this ever again!" she finished with something that Caramel could only describe as a 'fanmare squeal' before dragging him the rest of the way.

Fancy Pants and Fleur sat at a table surrounded with high-backed chairs decorated with red velvet. Fancy Pants cupped a mug of ale in one hoof whereas Fleur had a tall glass of red wine and was nursing it with small sips, looking somewhat bored. She perked up, however, when her wandering eyes fell upon Rarity and Caramel- Or more specifically, just Caramel. Her violet eyes lidded themselves, and Caramel smelt the delectable scent of love flowing through the air. 

'Well, if I'm gonna have a member of the Canterlot elite chasing after my tail, it may as well be somepony I can brag to Thunderlane about.' he smirked, imagining Thunderlane's jealous expression when he found out that Caramel was being sought after by somepony who could've passed for a supermodel.

"Lady Rarity, Mr Caramel, Please sit! We've ordered your drinks for you, I hope you don't mind." said Fancy Pants.  

A smile found its way to Caramel's lips. He'd been a notoriously heavy drinker back home in the High Mountains. When you lived in a place as secluded as that, your choices in leisurely activities were limited to either praying or drinking, and Caramel was never the most religious changeling. He'd quit when he went to work at the hive, and had rarely touched alcohol ever since. When Queen Chrysalis sought to make him a spy, his drinking- along with the majority of his other vices- came to an abrupt stop.

A mug of what looked like ale awaited him on the table along with a glass of red wine for Rarity. Caramel contemplated the mug for a moment. The vile taste of the sugared champagne he'd had earlier still clung to his teeth, and he was desperate for something to wash it away. Equestrians didn't sweeten their ale too, did they? 

'Remember, we're here for a reason, and you aren't going to dance all too good with a belly full of ale now, are you?' 

Then again, he was kind of thirsty...

'Y'know, maybe we could just go for a drink another time? like, oh I don't know, when we're not surrounded by big, armoured guys with spears?'

A single bead of condensation trickled down the side of the frosted mug, paving a thin pathway through the thin layer of ice. Its colour was a thick gold, the white of its head tinted with a light brown. Gods forbid, it was getting warm! He couldn't let such a fine beverage go to waste now, could he?

'Hello? Are you even listening to me or am I just being dragged along for the ride?'

He'd already had a glass of that terrible champagne, anyways, just one little mug of ale wasn't going to hurt, was it? No, and besides, it would be rude of him to protest...

'Just... Fine. Just remember when you're fumbling around like a drunkard that your common sense told you that this was a bad idea!'

Caramel slumped into the chair set out for him and eagerly cupped his mug in his  brought it to his lips. It was gloriously bitter, and cold enough to send a shiver running up his spine. Thankfully, Caramel couldn't taste even the slightest hint of sugar, something he was inconceivably thankful for. At least Equestrians had the common sense to brew their ale properly.

The scraping of wood against tiles emanated from beside him. He glanced to the side to find Fleur resting her head against a hoof, her half-lidded eyes considering him voluptuously. She'd dragged her chair around the table, and was sitting uncomfortably close to him. The slight trickle of affection he was receiving from her deepened, its scent clogging his senses-
Or maybe that was the thick sheen of perfume she'd layered herself with, both were rather poignant.

"Monsieur Caramel enjoys a good drink, yes?" she asked, purposefully adding a sprinkling of allure to her voice. Caramel sighed mentally, as much as having a high class Prench model hitting on him stroked his pride, it certainly wasn't ideal. Applejack had once casually mentioned what would happen if she ever found him 'fooling around' with another mare. 

It involved egg beaters... 

Of course he had no intention of 'fooling around' with Fleur. Sure she was beautiful, but she was no Applejack. She wouldn't work alongside him on a windy day, let him pick her little sister up from school, embrace his little oddities, argue with him over hoofball results or chastise him when he got himself hurt. He bet she didn't even squirt milk out of her nose when she laughed. What a joke.

"I'll admit, I can be a bit of an alcoholic at times," he said with feigned merriness. His eyes quickly surveyed the hall. Still no Applejack. Where was she? 

"Can't we all?" replied Fancy Pants, raising his glass to his lips with a smirk. Caramel couldn't quite point out why, but he liked this Fancy Pants guy. He was polite, well-witted, and he paid for his ale. A fine figure of a gentlecolt if there ever was one. 

'Perhaps not all of us,' thought Caramel as he glanced over to Rarity. She dipped her tongue into her wine and winced at the taste. Rarity hated alcohol, along with any other kind of intoxicant- a little gem of information he'd picked up on her through his observations. She had always been the easiest to spy on. Her exuberant attitude and endless gossiping made it difficult not to know every little thing there was about her- well, except for her love of Iron Mare, that is. Needless to say, she kept that secret pretty well guarded. 


"I hope you don't think of it as rude of me to ask, but how do you know the Princess?" asked Fancy Pants curiously. Caramel had suspected he'd ask something of the sort, having a Princess know you on a first name basis was kind of a big deal, after all. 

"Like Miss Rarity said, I'm a dear friend of hers," he answered as casually as possible. "And she's been generous enough to give me a tour of Canterlot Castle before. Anyways, being a friend of an Element of Harmony, the Princessess were all too happy to meet me. I shared a few kind words with Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna all but demanded that I have a game of chess with her sometime."
His ego gobbled up their satisfied smiles. Sure he didn't like tricking ponies, but that didn't mean that he couldn't take pride in it from time to time, right?

"Oh yes, that's a day I remember ever so fondly," said Rarity, cementing his lie as the truth. She gave him a cheeky smirk. "I believe that Her Highness still owes you that chess game." That earned a laugh from everypony at the table, Caramel included. 

"And to think I've never met you before!" exclaimed Fancy Pants. "Miss Rarity, you really mustn't hide such amiable friends from me, it's simply criminal!"

"Well, I suppose you could say that I wanted to keep him all to myself," quipped Rarity.

Fleur made a bubbly giggle. "Understandable..." she purred, shifting her chair ever closer to Caramel's. Subtlety was obviously not this mare's forte. The trickle of affection that he'd been receiving from her had long since turned into a river of lust and yearning, fuelled on petty desire. However, buried beneath all of the primal want and craving, he could discern scraps of genuine care. Somewhere, among all of that trivial lust for cheap romance, was a small hint of... pity?
Sympathy? Some sort of personal understanding? Somewhere deep in her heart, Fleur felt sorry for him. But that begged the question- why?

He pushed it to the back of his mind. It wasn't important, what really mattered was finding Applejack. His eyes scanned over the dance floor and dining area. Nothing. This was getting old real fast. He'd dragged a carriage full of ponies from Ponyville to Canterlot, surrounded himself with guards who're probably thirsty for his blood and spent the entirety of last week stomping on Rarity's hooves in a vain attempt at dancing. Couldn't fate simply throw him a bone and just give him his marefriend back already? 

Caramel swallowed the last of his ale, savouring the bitter taste. "So, what does everypony think of the party?" he asked, his eyes still stealing quick glances around the place in a vain attempt to find Applejack. "I don't think I've ever been to something so upper-class before!"

That seemed to pique Fancy Pants' interest. "Is that so?" he asked curiously. "By the look of you I'd  thought you a stallion with finer tastes than most."

"Oh no, just a lowly farm's hoof. The only thing fancy about me is this here bowtie!" answered Caramel. 

Next to him, Fleur shrugged. "I thought it was obvious," She stated plainly before reaching out to run a hoof down the length of his foreleg. "Your 'physique' gives you away." Her tongue stumbled on 'physique', not that Caramel noticed, he was too busy mentally screaming at her to stop.

'I need an adult! Sweet Chrysalis, doesn't she have any boundaries?'

"M-miss Fleur De Lis, please," Caramel choked, "some personal space!"

"Oh come now, Monsieur Caramel," she said, her hoof moving idly across his chest. "Where is the fun in being single if you can't 'ave a little fun 'ere and there, hmm?" she lidded her eyes once again and inched her muzzle towards his. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Rarity, watching with eyes wide and jaw dropped. Obviously he wasn't the only one who though this was slightly unusual.

In fact, now that he thought about it, a heck of a lot seemed pretty unusual.

Why did fancy pants get him an ale? Most ponies hated the stuff, and would curdle at the mere taste of it, surely it would have made more sense to get him something a little sweeter? And what of his relations with Luna? Surely if anypony else saw him getting glomped by the Moon Princess herself they'd be prying him with questions throughout the night! Fancy Pants and Fleur merely brushed upon the subject and then disregarded it entirely. Also, what was up with Fleur? Sure Equestrian mares could get rather... physical when they were excited, but this was taking it to a whole other level! Heck, the only females he knew who were this forward with their attractions were all...

He looked back to Fleur- what he thought was Fleur, and stared deep into her sweet, champagne-pink eyes, and there he saw it. It was there for only a tenth of a second, and so small that if he hadn't been looking for it he probably wouldn't have seen it. The tiniest, most miniscule tell that proved all of his suspicions to be true-

A flicker of green in the corner of her iris. 

"I'm terribly sorry to cut this short, but me and Caramel have business to attend to." said Rarity. Caramel didn't notice her until she led a hoof on his shoulder. "Come along, Caramel, I'm sure you wouldn't want to keep Applejack waiting."

"S-sure," he stammered, gently swatting away Fleur's- or at least her imitation's- hoof and removing himself fro the table. "I'll, uh, see you around, I guess."

"Oh, I wouldn't be too sure about that," said Fancy Pants, idly reaching into his dinner jacket and producing a small pocket watch. "I'm afraid that we have some business to attend to of our own. Come along, Fleur, I loathe being late." he gave a hastened goodbye to Caramel and Rarity before departing with Fleur, who glanced at Caramel victoriously before leaving. The cheap love she'd been pouring into him dissolved in an instant, leaving nought but the small pip of sorrow he'd felt from her earlier. 
'A ruse, that love was nothing but a ruse...'

His curiosity urged him to follow her, but alas, Rarity's persistence won him over. He was here for Applejack, not so he could go chasing some disguised changeling around the block. Maybe he should sic a guard on her, just to be sure, there were certainly enough around here to spare. 
'And draw unnecessary attention to yourself, not to mention betray one of your own kind?'

He quickly disposed of the idea. Caramel was many things, but a traitor wasn't one of them. True, he owed a lot to Celestia and Luna, but he wasn't about to rat out another changeling. He had gotten off lucky, but who's to say that the same would happen to whoever hid beneath that Fleur-disguise? 
Still, if they'd taken the risk of coming here in the first place, Caramel doubted that it was to do something as innocent as love-gathering. Perhaps they were a spy like him? Could they have infiltrated the palace under the guise of a party-goer to gain access to the secrets that lie deeper within these very walls? The more he thought about it the more it seemed like something he would do. They could be stealing secrets right out of the Royal Archives and then shaking Celestia's hoof only minutes later. Nopony ever questioned nobles, never stopped them or asked them where they were going. When pulled off right, it was the perfect disguise. Who knows what that changeling could have stolen! Advanced spells from the restricted levels of the archives? A precious treasure, perhaps? 

Ratting out that changeling suddenly became a whole lot more appealing. Sure, it would leave him laden with guilt, but what if that one changeling had something malicious in mind?

'Betray Equestria, or betray the Empire. Decisions, decisions...'

A decision that was gratefully made for him by Rarity. "Come on, come on, you don't want to miss your chance!" she said as she dragged him across towards the exit. The band had finished playing, and the DJ had begun playing her line-up. 

"Rarity, where are we going?" asked Caramel whilst Rarity led him through the large, ornate double doors of the palace and out into the garden. "The party's back that way!"

"That may be so, but if I know Applejack we shan't find her there." she said sternly. "She's always preferred the outside, so I'm guessing that you'll find her somewhere out... here!" she pointed a hoof towards a nearby bench overlooking a gathering of flowers. To Caramel's relief, Applejack sat there, listlessly staring into the menagerie of flowers before her.

'Showtime.'




Simplicity. Applejack longed for it.

She wished, more than anything, for life to just go back to normal. Things were better then. She'd wake up, do her job, spend time with her friends, and go to sleep. She'd spend Saturdays with Caramel, watching as he tried (and failed) to make her breakfast, going over his week went, maybe sparing the odd peck on the cheek or two if she was feeling particularly romantic. Things were better back then, they'd been easy, they'd been simple. There were no changelings, no torn emotions or broken hearts, just her, her family, her friends and her coltfriend. 
It was a life that she was content with living.

Of course, fate just couldn't have that, now, could it? Caramel just had to turn into an oversized bug and ruin everything. She could kiss goodbye to romance and wave farewell to simplicity. Her life had been one built upon trust, and how the heck was she supposed to trust anypony after this? She'd seen betrayal before, but this was simply too much. Not only was he another species, but a spy as well? He'd taken the very trust she'd centred her existence around and essentially flipped it upside down. If somepony so close to her could betray her so drastically, who's to say that others couldn't? How many lies had Big Macintosh told her? How truthful were her friends? How honest was the world, truly?

Applejack sighed, and gazed longingly into the brilliantly pale flowers arranged throughout the Royal Garden, reclining her back against the bench as she did so. Why couldn't she have been born a flower? Flowers didn't lie or deceive, they simply drank, got on with their lives and died. Simplicity at its finest. 

She was longing to be a flower. Caramel would have laughed his flank off at that. 

She thrust Caramel, the flowers and her waning belief honesty to the back of her mind. Screw it all, she was at a party. If there was a better place to drown out your sorrows in momentary happiness, she didn't want to know about it. There was a bar at this party, and by Celestia, she was going to make use of it! That Berry Punch mare she saw every now and then managed to drink all her problems away, so why couldn't she? It had been a while since she'd drank anything stronger than cider, after all.

"Hi!"

She leapt into the air with a terrified yelp, bucking out in the direction of the pony who'd so rudely snuck up on her. Her hooves met the pony's chest and sent them tumbling to the ground. She went to apologise, but stopped herself when she noticed who it was.   

Caramel cleared his throat and brushed the dirt off of his coat. "Sorry about that, I've never been all that good at making an entrance..." he trailed off when he saw Applejack, poised to attack at a moments notice. 

"Y'all better have a mighty good reason for comin' over here," she growled. "Cuz' I'm about ready to buck yer head clean off'a yer shoulders."

"Of course I have a good reason," said Caramel defensively. "I was... Going to ask you if you wanted to-"

"Dance?"

"How did you..."

Applejack shrugged. "Rares gave me a talkin' to before we left," she said, rolling her eyes and glowering at the unicorn watching intently in the distance. "She can be... mighty persuasive."




"Please?" said Rarity, throwing herself before Applejack and grovelling at her hooves.

"No."

"Please?"

"Ah said no!"

"Pleeeaaase? I'll be your friend!"

"You're already my friend!"

"I'll be your best friend?" Rarity poked her bottom lip out, making sure to give it a small quiver, just for good measure.

Applejack glared venomously at the unicorn before finally caving in under her relentless bombardment of cuteness. She surrendered with a sigh. "If ah do this, will ya stop buggin' me?"

"Maybe..."

"Fine, one dance, ah'll give him one dance!"




"So, does that mean you're gonna gimmie a dance?" he asked. Applejack's frown deepened and her eyes formed a pair of emerald slits.

"Don't y'all go thinkin' ah like this, ahm doin' this fer the sake of Rarity, not you!" she snapped

"So... Yes?"

Applejack glared at him for a moment longer before casting her head to the side, mumbling "fine." under her breath. There were four things that she hated above anything else in this world: Trickery, lying, bribery and waiting in line at the post office. This changeling had managed to do three of them so far, and if his next crazy attempt to trick her into loving him again involved a date to the post office, well, somepony would end up scraping changeling off of the walls.

On the other hoof, Rarity wasn't going to leave her alone until she did this, and as strong willed as Applejack was, she was not willing to put up with a whining Rarity. The last time she'd had to experience such a displeasure was when she refused to help Rarity with some modelling... She still had nightmares about that. 

Caramel made a small 'yay' before excitedly offering her his hoof. She glared at it distastefully before mentally noting to never listen to Rarity again. Reluctantly, she took hold of the hoof, just as the music began to play...

Iron Mare?




She didn't.

She didn't.

The guitars began to speed up their rhythm, and the singer bellowed out a courageous 'Oh yeah!'

She did! 

Rarity brought her hooves to her mouth to muffle her screams of anguish. What had she done? She'd promised Caramel love, and gave him heavy rock! Sweetie Belle must have gone raiding through her vinyl collection again, she never put her records back in the right cases! This was a disaster- no, a catastrophe! This... This...

'This is my favourite track.'

No! This was neither the time nor the place. She had to-
'Up the Irons...'
Put an end to this travesty! She was nought if not a mare of her word, and she'd promised Caramel, a friend in need, that she would give him-
'One of the sickest guitar solos ever...'
The most romantic, heart wrenching song in her arsenal, and she'd gave him Iron Mare! This simply wouldn't do. She went to rush back into the palace hall, hooves refused to run, thinking it a better idea to tap themselves to the beat. Sweet Celestia, not now!

'Air guitar, right here, right now.'

She... She couldn't. Not here, not now... 
She spared a glance through the door of the palace to find that the dance floor was virtually empty, alluring her, calling her. It looked so appealing, and it would be awfully cold-hearted of her to leave such an incredible song un-rocked to, after all.

'Up the Irons... 

No no no, she simply couldn't! Besides, she couldn't leave Caramel like... This?

To her shock and awe, Applejack and Caramel were, in fact, dancing. Well, she supposed it qualified as dancing, anyways. Applejack was swaying to the music, giving a slight nod of her head here and there, whilst Caramel was in the middle of air-guitaring.

'Bah, he calls that an air guitar? He mustn't even know the meaning of the phrase! Everypony knows that- wait, no, bad brain!'

'Stop messing around and-'

'Come now Rarity, you're above such things, purge such uncouth thoughts from your mind!'

'Up-'

'Think about dresses, baubles, afternoon tea with a friend, combing Opal's fur, for the love of the Princess ANYTHING BUT THAT!'

'The-'

'No, not here! Not with so many ponies watching!'

'IRONS!'

...

With a cross between a scream and a 'woohoo', Rarity rushed back in to the party, throwing her forearms wildly into the air and diving onto the dance floor. Time for some air guitar.




Sure it wasn't what Caramel expected, but hey, music was music, right? Sure, it wasn't as subtle as what Rarity had in mind, but they were dancing, weren't they?
Caramel coughed.

He was swaying back and forth on his hooves. He supposed that it kind of counted as dancing, although he guessed Rarity would say otherwise. Luckily for him though, Rarity had ran off a couple of minutes ago, screaming something or the other about a 'sick solo'. 

He cleared his throat and offered a friendly smile to Applejack. "So, about this whole 'me being a changeling thing-'"

"Ah don't wanna talk about it." she said, remaining completely stoic even whilst bobbing her head to the music. If he were in any other position, Caramel was pretty sure that he would've laughed his flanks off. She may not have noticed it, but she looked nothing short of hilarious right now.

"Oh come on!" he begged before coughing into a hoof. "The Applejack I know was always willing to listen!" okay, that was a lie. A white lie, but a lie nonetheless. Applejack was undoubtedly one of the most hard-headed ponies he knew. 

"Nope." 

Caramel sighed. "Okay, how about this: I'm going to talk, and if you hear anything you don't like, I'll let you buck my face in, deal?"

Applejack ceased her half-hearted dancing for a second to stare distrustfully into Caramel's pleading eyes. Caramel was about to give up when Applejack finally growled "Start talkin.'"

"Okay," panted Caramel. Why was he so tired? The last time he checked, they'd only been dancing for a minute or two. Heck, he was even starting to build up a sweat! 
'Whatever, just start talking before Applejack loses interest, something tells me you aren't going to get another chance at this.'

"Look, I know that you're not happy about me being a spy and all, and in your position I would be too."
He coughed.
"But please, please hear me out here. What I did, I did for my country, the changelings aren't exactly the most well fed species out there."
He coughed again.
Caramel paused for a moment, and a smidge of sorrow tarnished his face. "I did it for my mom, my dad, my friends and family, my village... If you were in my position, I know that you'd do the same."

Applejack gave a ghost of a frown, but nothing else. Caramel swore that he could hear the gears turning in her head. 

With a smile and a splutter, he continued. "Now when I first came to Equestria, I won't denies that I- well- I kinda hated your guts. You were bossy, had annoying friends, and your accent really sent me over the edge-" Applejack really did frown at that, and flexed her hind legs for what Caramel guessed would be the mother of all bucks. He mentally prayed that if it came to that, she would leave his mouth alone. He preferred having his teeth inside his skull.
"-But!" he said quickly, before Applejack could kick his head off his shoulders. "You changed that. I mean, sure you were still kind of bossy, but I really didn't mind that anymore, and your friends actually turned out to be pretty cool"- 'Except for Rainbow Dash, she just straight up sucks' -"and your accent, well, it's kind of cute once you get used to it."

To Caramel's delight, a small blush tinted Applejack's cheeks. She looked away the instant she noticed it was there. 'Score one for the changeling.' he thought smugly.

"You see, there had been a beauty there that I'd been too close-minded to notice before, not just in you, but in everypony," his throat was growing parched, and a heat had begun to emanate behind his eyes. With a shake of his head, it was gone. "I made friends, came to parties, actually talked to ponies for once and..." the heat in his head returned with vengeance, now burning the insides of his skull with hot pulses of pain.

"Uhh, you okay?" asked Applejack. Her words rattled around the inside of his head and hammered against the inside of his ears. Was this a migraine?  
His head screamed with agony, and the inside of his throat began to swell. No, this was no migraine. What in name of the gods was happening to him?

Colours had begun to merge together and brighten, the party, Canterlot and Applejack soon becoming an indescribable blob of orange, whites, and blues. Something flared green with the crackle of what sounded like fire. Off in the distance, somepony screamed. 

The realisation hit him like a freight train. The changeling, the ale left waiting for him on the table, the subtle smirk of victory that Fleur had thrown at him before she'd left...
Poison. 

He'd studied the different ways on how to kill somechangeling in secrecy, and poisons had been one of his favourite subjects. Blurred vision, a heat behind the eyes, a difficulty to breath. These were the effects of skeltgrass. It was a favourite among assassins, mainly because of the variety of ways it could be used. When consumed directly the victim could be dead within a couple of minutes, and when it was ground up and put into a drink, it would probably claim the target's life in fifteen to twenty minutes. The only downfall was that death could quite easily be avoided with... With...

The searing heat in his head burned away any coherent thought. 'Come on, think! You didn't spend ages learning about this crap just so you could curl up and die!' 

"Caramel, what in hay do ya think you're doin', put your disguise back on!" echoed a voice. 

'Was it water? A pinch of salt? butter? It was something simple like that, a fruit? Yes, that's it, a fruit! But which one?'

"Fer the love of- listen Caramel, if this is yer way of tryin' ta impress me then good job, ya succeeded, now stop messin' around an' put yer disguise back on!"

"There, It's a changeling! Somepony get the guard!" 

"Aw heck, run! I said run, ya darn fool!"

'It hurts... They never told me how much it hurts...' the pain began to ravage him mercilessly. His throat burned like sand under the hot sun, and his carapace felt as if it was going to melt off of his body. Numbly he noticed the warm trickle of blood running from his ears.  

'"But mom, he called me a bug..."'

'"That's no excuse hit your brother, now get back there this instant and apologise, young changeling."'

The voice of his mother was so clear in his head that she could've been standing right next to him. His brain sweltered in his skull. The skeltgrass had ravaged his senses, and now it had set itself upon razing his mind. He retched, bile and mucus gushing out of his mouth and spattering against the floor. 

'"You're drunk again, aren't you?"' his father's voice cut through the indiscernible chatter of the gathering crowd. It was laden with sorrow and disappointment. '"Gods dammit... Come in through the back door, I don't want your mother seeing you like this."' 

The world was a reeling blur of colour and sound. Here and there, the voices of the surrounding ponies pierced the fray. 

"What's it doing?"

"It's getting closer! Guards, kill it, kill it quick!"

"Halt beast, by order of the Princess of the Sun, I hereby place you under arr-"

She was standing right there.

There, among the random blotches of colour stood Chrysalis. Her eyes glistened the colour of split lime, and her carapace was a thick, oiled black. She towered above him, regarding him with a look stuck somewhere between sorrowful and disappointed. When she spoke, the voice of his mother, his brother, his father and his Queen tumbled out in a horrific scream. 

"TRAITOR!"

Caramel fainted.