//------------------------------// // Chapter the Twentieth - More pink than you can shake a stick at // Story: The Betrayed // by Thadius0 //------------------------------// The town meeting had gone well enough, save for the dreaded question that Abel answered as forcefully as he could. "No. I will NOT reveal them, I will NOT make them reveal themselves. Even the newest addition to my Hive had been living here amongst ponies for at least a year, and none of you are drained or replaced. If THEY decide to reveal themselves to you, that is THEIR business, NOT MINE. Even Celestia understands this. The bonds of loyalty we share with each other are nearly as strong as my vow to serve Equestria. Do not ask me this again." It was a few more days before Abel got most welcome news. -The tunnel between Canterlot and Ponyville is nearly done!- Abel decided to supervise while humming a tune. A decision he quickly regretted. All around him, the changelings started to hum as well. -M'lord, what is this tune?- "It's from a game I played once. I thought it would be appro...pri...ate...." Abel's voice trailed off as he realized that the changelings around him were still humming. And then they started to sing as well. -What...is this? I...cannot stop!- Abel whirled around, stunned. "The magic of Harmony throughout the land sometimes causes ponies to burst into song...I...Oh goodness, I started a song, and now..." -It's infecting the Hive Mind!- -Save us!- -Someling stop the music!- Abel wracked his brain. "Vinyl! I'll go see Vinyl! She's bound to know about this! Failing that, she'll be able to sell us all earplugs!" ----- Balanced Books stood inside Vinyl's home, staring at her while he tried to wrap his mind around the answer she had just given him. "There is no way to stop it?" Vinyl shook her head. "Nope. And from what you've told me, most of them haven't experienced a moment like that before. It's gonna get worse before it gets better." Books groaned and fell to the floor. "It's already worse. I can't stop hearing them. And the song is wildly addictive. It's what I term an earworm song: once it gets in your head, it does not let go. And I used to like it so much!" Vinyl merely chuckled. "Big bad changeling king, brought low by music. Guess we know a weakness of yours now." Books looked up and glared at her. "You coulda just asked Twi. She's compiling a list. Cold, Chaos Magic, Dark Magic, my own crippling paranoia..." Vinyl laughed a little louder then. "True enough. Well, I can teach you a spell that should dampen out other noises. If enough of them stop singing, the Harmony moment should end." Books bolted back to his hooves and nodded fervently at the DJ. "Please, please, please!" Vinyl's horn glowed, then the glow faded, and she smirked at the pony across from her. "One condition." Books groaned. "Y'gotta teach me that song later." Books groaned louder. ----- Books was walking past the diner when he saw Twilight focusing intently on an apple, Spike nearby. Realizing scaring Twilight would be a bad idea, Books sidled up to Spike. "Practice session?" Spike jumped a little, but recovered and nodded. "Yeah. Transfiguration. Apple to orange. She's already done a bird and a frog. Pinkie keeps interrupting." Just then, Pinkie bounded by, chirping out the word 'Fun!' "Y'mean like that?" And then another Pinkie bounded by, saying the same word. "Or...that?" Spike looked up at Books and frowned. "Your changelings aren't very competent, are they? There's only one Pinkie. Thank Celestia." Books frowned and shook his head. "They're currently all singing their brains out, because I made the mistake of singing a popular song. I was on my way to teach them an earplug spell." Spike's eyes widened in shock. "If it's not you, then..." Books looked around at the third Pinkie of the moment. "I think...we have a problem..." ----- Books had managed to barricade himself in his house. It wasn't easy. One Pinkie could somehow get in if he left the tiniest gap in his wards. The amount that was outside? They demanded constant vigilance. One stray thought could end up allowing the Pinkie horde access. He'd rather not imagine what could happen if a Pinkie got into his vault. Then there was a thundering of hooves outside, and the constant screams of 'Fun' faded away. Books carefully peeked out the front door of his home to find that the horde of pink had been herded away. The changeling sighed and went down to the mines, eager to teach the earplug spell to his Hive and get the constant singing in his head over with. ----- "So. This is a test?" Spike nodded. "To see which one is real?" "Pinkie used the Mirror Pool and ended up creating clones of herself. We're trying to figure out which one is which by giving them a test only Pinkie could pass." Books looked from the wall to the Pinkies. "Well. I guess that explains it." "Explains what?" Books waved at the mass gathered before him. "There's only one beacon of actual emotion in there. The rest is just a flux of...well, let me leave it at unusual magic." Spike looked back up at Books. "Dude! You could solve this right now! Which one is Pinkie?" Books shook his head. "Can't focus. That magic is really weird. Throws off even my senses. I'm gonna hafta study this Mirror Pool. When we find the real Pinkie, that is." Spike sighed. "Yeah, I guess." And then Books got an unwelcome call. -M'lord, Cadence requests your presence here.- Books' eyes widened before he tapped Spike on the shoulder. "Hey, bro, I'm out. Something just came up." ----- -You KNOW I promised to NEVER do that to ANY of you for ANY REASON!- -She wants you here, m'lord. She knows you can.- -This is exactly what She was RAISING ME FOR! I REFUSE!- -...M'lord, she says if you do not, then she will escort us into the tundra.- -That manipulative, cold-hearted, two-timing, scheming...- "BITCH!" Cadence looked with shock at the changeling in front of her. Its eyes had changed from teal to the familiar red, slitted ones of Abel. It was also glaring at her. Shining moved to position himself between Cadence and the changeling, and Cadence moved to say something, but the changeling cut her off. "Cadence, you glorified Cupid. I had made a vow to my Hive that I would not do this. This...this is what Chrysalis was raising me for. So that if she died, I would be taken over by her mind, so that she could live on. Or rather, that was her plan. I kinda ruined it. Nonetheless, all that trust you and I had? All that wonderful belief I had in you, that you could forgive? GONE. You made me do this. And I loathe you for it." "Now you listen here, you stuck-up bug. I don't know what Celestia sees in y-" Cadence cut her husband off with two words. "I'm sorry." Silence reigned in the throne room of the Crystal Empire, and then Cadence continued. "I'm sorry I made you break your promise. I'm sorry I made you do the thing she was planning to do to you. I'm sorry that I did this. But I needed to know that you could, and I needed to know why you didn't. I am sorry, Abel. But the safety of my subjects comes first, and I needed to reassure them that you do have morals, that there are lines you won't cross, and that most importantly, that there is no chance you could fall back into darkness." The changeling snorted once. "No. You're not sorry. You really aren't. You haven't had to make a promise that means more to you than anything, and then have to break it. You're not sorry for doing this at all, because you don't know how this feels to me. And as for the whole my mental state bit? Celestia's working on that. She and I have agreed that I need therapy, and that she can provide. So again. Don't tell me you're sorry, because you're not. You're just sorry you got caught. Don't call for me again, at least not for a week. I'm mad at you, Cadence, and you can't change that right now." And with that, the changeling blinked, and the eyes faded back to teal. Before either of the two rulers in front of them could speak up, it did. "You know, I agree with him. You really are a bitch sometimes." And with that, the changeling put on a crystal pony disguise and walked out, leaving two stunned ponies in the throne room. ----- Books and Twilight stared at the hole that Pinkie had led them to. "This is where the Mirror Pool is?" "Yeah-huh!" Twilight moved to levitate a boulder over the entrance, but Books put a hoof up to stop her. "Let me help. I stocked up a bit before coming here." Books took the boulder from Twi's control and plugged the hole, then screwed up his eyes in concentration. "This will be interesting...Aetherius...Auxilium!" The boulder flashed red a few times, and Books sighed. Twilight looked over at him. "What was that meant to do?" Books grinned. "It's sorta similar to my wards on my home, only waaaay toned down. If you're not on the list, then this boulder will just be a boulder to you. Whereas if you are..." Books walked up to the boulder and swiped a hoof through it, demonstrating the effect of his spell. Twi clapped her front hooves together. "Amazing! But...why?" Books grinned. "Magical mirror water that can produce clones with the right rhyme? Why wouldn't you want to study that?" Twi's eyes grew and looked at the boulder. "Am I on the list?" Books nodded. "Two eggheads are better than one."