"Miss, I need you to come with me for a second."
Before Fluttershy could say a word, she was grabbed by the tail and pulled into a nearby alleyway. She certainly had not been expecting this kind of treatment in the Crystal Empire. She and Twilight had been called in due to a minor emergency regarding the crystal sheep, and after fixing the problem (Fluttershy still couldn't believe that there was such a thing as crystal fleas, let alone that King Sombra would have cursed them like he had) and were headed back to the train station, after a job well done. But the two had been briefly separated, Twilight Sparkle having spotted a new book store in the city. Fluttershy had been minding her own business, waiting for her friend to finish, when a stallion walked by, did a double take, then with only a brief sentence of explanation, started dragging her off.
The stallion, an average sized pegasus with a black mane and tail, and a brown coat, wasn't rough, but pulled hard enough to make it clear that this was not a request. As she tried to get her bearings, the stallion that had dragged her off spun her around, and said, with a furious expression, "What do you think you're doing? Are you trying to get caught?"
Shocked, and more than a little nervous, Fluttershy could barely even stammer before the stallion continued, "You're not supposed to go out in public unless you've triple-checked your disguise. That's standard procedure. Even hatchlings know that! That doesn't just mean you twirl in front of a mirror three times to make sure you have all the pieces in the right place. That means you do a thorough check to make sure you didn't miss even a minor detail!"
Fluttershy was now utterly confused. What in the world was the stallion talking about? And... hatchlings? The stallion noticed her confusion, then sighed in exasperation, and said, slowly, with each word given significant emphasis, as though speaking to a small filly, "Your. Fangs. Are. Showing."
She didn't have fangs... did she? Oh no, not again! She ran her tongue along her teeth, and was startled to find that yes, she did indeed have a pair of fangs! Of all the... What was it going to take to make them go away for good? It was enough to make her want to cry! In spite of Twilight Sparkle's best efforts, the fangs that Fluttershy had grown during what was now being described as "The Vampire Fruitbat Incident" kept coming back. None of the other symptoms did: Her personality remained the same, her cutie mark kept to three pink butterflies, her wings were their normal shape, her eyes kept their usual color, but the fangs kept reasserting themselves, often at the worst possible times! This was the twelfth time in five days alone. It was horribly embarrassing, and she was absolutely terrified that somepony might see them and think she was some kind of monster. It was reaching the point where she was afraid to smile in public anymore...
But... why was the stallion chewing her out about it? Oh no...
The stallion seemed to take her shocked expression as a sign that she understood what was going on, but for all the wrong reasons. He nodded and said, "You understand now? Good." His expression softened, then said, "We all make mistakes, I guess. And they do look kinda cute." Fluttershy blushed as the stallion, no, changeling (!) continued. "But you've got to fix it, or the next time you open your mouth, there's going to be a mob with torches and pitchforks running you out of town. And if they see one changeling, they'll immediately start looking for more. Think about others, next time, before you start waltzing around without a proper disguise." His expression looked a little bit melancholic as he said, almost to himself, "First time since the invasion I see another changeling, and I'm chewing her out. Please, forgive my manners. It's been a stressful time for all of us." He turned back towards the alley entrance, checking to make certain that nopony was looking, then turned back to her and said, "Alright, I'll keep watch while you fix yourself up. I'll give a whistle if I see anypony coming. But hurry, and for pity's sake, choose somepony other than Fluttershy. She's way too well known for a rookie like you to be expected to pull off..." He turned back to the alley entrance and stood guard.
Fluttershy was terrified. He was a changeling? Here? In the Crystal Empire? How could that be? And... how could Fluttershy get out of this? As soon as he realized that he was speaking with the real Fluttershy, not another changeling... well, it was unlikely that he was going to let her go. In fact, he might...
Before she could complete that thought, she heard the changeling muttering to himself. "Keep it together, Cricket," he said, "She's a changeling, just like you. Just because she 'looks' like a former fashion model, and one of the most beautiful ponies in Equestria, doesn't mean that she's anywhere near that cute underneath. For all you know, she might not even be a 'she'. Keep your head in the game." Fluttershy blushed incandescent at the praise, unintentional as it may have been. She had known she'd gotten a bit famous because of all of the fashion shows and photo shoots a little while ago, but she was surprised to hear that kind of thing from any stallion, let alone a changeling...
The changeling turned back down the alley towards her and asked, "Have you gotten yourself fixed up yet?" His facial expression changed to a worried one when he saw that, yes, she was still Fluttershy. His expression turned thoughtful for a moment, then he sighed, and asked, "Are you the real Fluttershy?" She could only nod mutely. "Right. Ummm, why do you have fangs?"
Fluttershy, stuttering nervously, replied, "W-well, there was an a-accident with a spell th-th-that a f-f-f-friend cast. There were these v-v-vampire fruit bats..."
"Vampire fruit bats," Cricket interrupted, his expression incredulous. "Right. Just my luck." He looked back towards the street outside of the alley, then said, "Right. Well, I'm gonna run. Could you do me a favor and give me ten seconds before you start screaming? If I'm going to have to outrun a mob, I could use a head start." Fluttershy nodded mutely again. "Great. Thanks, bye!" And the stallion shot off down the street like a rocket.
Fluttershy counted to ten in her head, then took a deep breath to scream. After a moment, she let it out as a relieved sigh instead. She would have to tell somepony about this encounter, but given how the changeling, no... Cricket, was acting, odds were he'd be much more concerned with getting out of town in a hurry than he would with causing problems. So, she'd cut him a little slack and wait a few minutes before informing a guard.
Besides... he was kinda cute... even if he was a changeling.
A moment later, Twilight Sparkle passed by the alley, and stopped. "Oh," she said, "There you are, Fluttershy. Are you ready to go? The train will be leaving soon, and royal passenger or not, I don't think they'll wait for us." Fluttershy nodded, smiled, and, comforted by the presence of a friend, walked out of the alleyway with a smile.
As they walked towards the train station, Twilight asked, "Oh, are those fangs back? Once we get on the train, I can take care of them right away."
Fluttershy, her smile practically beaming, said, "Oh, there's no rush, Twilight. I met somepony today who told me that they look kinda cute."