//------------------------------// // [FIXED] Episode 65: Encounter Here, Encounter There, Encounters Everywhere! (Season Finale Part 2) // Story: The Life of a Wanted Changeling (Comment Driven Story) // by Down with Chrysalis //------------------------------// If anypony asks why you have completely blue eyes and/or why half your face is covered, just cough and claim you have a "condition" Remember your objective: Keep looking for Cadance As you and Nightshade are walking towards the cake stand, you both don't notice a white unicorn with a blond mane standing in front of you, nor did either of you notice Rarity standing next to him giving him the googly eyes because you're too focused on thinking about your Cadance situation, and Nightshade doesn't notice because she's staring at the cake with table with a hungry look. Gah! I checked all over the Gala for her, yet I can't find her anywhere! Maybe... maybe she's not at the Gala! Yeah that's it! She must be somewhere else in the castle! All I have to do is sneak in (again) while the guards, the mares,the princesses, and her husband aren't looking, and then I can start looking... Piece of cake! Speaking of which, there's a cake that needs devouring... You start to drool at the thought of eating that whole cake, it's gonna be so delis-*crash* Your cake thoughts are interrupted when you accidentally crash into the blond maned stallion and you both fall down. "Daddy!" "Prince Blueblood!" You get back as fast as lighting as soon as your heard Rarity (who you now notice is there) say prince. Thinking that you probably just made another royal hate you (face it, you and royalty don't mix), you put your hoof out to him and say in your fancy voice, "Oh, I am terribly sorry your highness, I wasn't looking where I was going." Instead of garbing your hoof and getting up like a gentlecolt, he swats your hoof away and gets up before saying to you in a tone that screams 'I'm better then you', "You better be sorry you simpleton, you just ruined my new suit!" You look at his suit to see if you actually ruined it, only to see that its just a little wrinkled. You growl in anger before you say, "Hey! Watch it hot shot, I was just trying to be nice!" Blueblood looks shocked that you said that, before he says, "How dare you address me like that you lousy peasant! If you bow to me and say your sorry, then I might consider forgetting that this ever happened." He gives you a sly smile, but you just smirk and say, "It would be most advisory to scrutinize thyself before thou devastates thyself as I'm not bowing down to you. I would only bow down to those who I respect, not some rich, entitled, and most likely small-horned snob!" There are alot of gasp as you said that. And you realize that you have actually attracted a crowd. Geez, start throwing insults at royalty and suddenly everyling gets interested. You think to yourself in a deadpanned tone. Blueblood looks around nervously, trying to come up with a comeback and stops looking when he looks you right in the eyes. He gets a cruel smile before saying, "Well... I'm a handsome, rich, incredibly well-endowed specimen of a prince who also happens to have pupils and a whole face bluey." You look at him in shock as the crowd around the two of you start to mumble about what Blueblood said could possibly mean, while Rarity starts to look at you suspiciously. You begin to freak out that they might discover that you are a changeling (somehow... look you were freaking out and lady luck was out to get you. for all you knew this could mean your death). *ding* When you suddenly get an idea that will save your buggy flank. You look over and say to Blueblood, "I'll have you know *cough* that it's a medical condition that causes my eyes to not have pupils and requires the bottom half of my face to be covered. Now if you'll excuse me, I require to resume my circumnavigation of the perimeters of this occasion for my acquaintance. That and there's a supreme, ultra, quadruple chocolate, cookie-dough, mint, ice cream cake over there that needs to be eaten before Celestia gets here, now ta-ta." As you are walking away, you hear Blueblood mutter under his breath, "Hmph, whatever, at least I don't have a ugly brat following me around." *snap* Your eyes begin to glow orange as you realize he's talking about Nightshade. So, when you walk past him, you 'accidentally' bump into him, sending him flying into a wall! You look over to were he is now embedded into the wall and say, "I say, I am most apologetic for that incident, your highness." With that you walk away, leaving a stunned crowd and Rarity behind as your eyes revert back to normal. Nightshade looks at you with stars in her eyes while whispering, "Suzushī (cool)" (you took her to a anime marathon yesterday as well, and now she tends to speak in Neighponese whenever she gets really excited or worked up). As you and Nightshade reach the cake and you are about to grab the delicious slice (or ten) when... Your quest for cake is thwarted by three servers, two of whom grab the giant cake and sprint out of the hall with it, and the third holds a serving tray in front of him like a shield while never looking away from Nightshade. "Hey, what gives?" "Sir, I am going to have to insist that you leave ample food for our other guests to enjoy." Nightshade snorts. "'Enjoy' is a strong word." The server glares at her before sticking his nose in the air and walking away. "Then perhaps you should patronize that ruffian outside. The one with those cheap carnival-style excuses for food." You look at Nightshade while he leaves. "Did he say... cheap?" Her eyes twinkle. "And... and carnival?" "Cheap... carnival... food..." "BUCK YEAH!" Nightshade jumps on your back. 'Hi ho Daddy! AWAY!" You charge outside, throwing your head side to side until you spot a simple stand. It is covered in pies and cupcakes and turnovers and... and... it is glorious! You sprint forward, and a mare crosses in front of you. You shout, "Step aside wench! Vacate my path!" She quickly steps aside. You throw on the brakes, skidding to a halt in front of the stall. Nightshade jumps onto the counter and bounces up and down, pointing at all the treats. "Oh! Oh! That one! And that one! And that one! One of everything!" The pony behind the counter chuckles. "Easy there, missy." You recognize that voice... No. Not here. Not now. But it is... You just ran right to Applejack. "So what will it be, sir?" "NO! Please, just leave me alone! I... what?" "W-What will it be, sir?" Her eyes are wide, and she's looking at you like you lost your bucking mind. You wait a heartbeat to make sure you aren't dreaming. Then another to make sure this isn't a trick. Then three more deciding whether or not the other mares are waiting to jump out and grab you. "Um, what can I get for three bits?" Nightshade gasps. "Oh, that's right. I'm sorry, miss. We don't have enough for everything..." She jumps off the counter, and Applejack gives her a small smile. "Tell ya what I'll do, missy. Three whole apple pies for three bits. Sound like a deal?" "YES!" The two of you shout at the same time. They're your last bits, but you are starving. You and Applejack make the trade, and then you're off with Nightshade to enjoy your dinner. Your hoof is slapped away from the delicious pastry. You look at the culprit in shock when you see that it's three of the servers of the Gala. Before you can say anything two of the servers grab the giant cake and sprint out of the hall with it as if they were being chased by the royal guard (and you would know), and the third server holds a serving tray in front of him like a shield while never looking away from Nightshade with fear. After a second or two of realizing what just happened, you give the server a glare and say, "Hey, what gives!?" The server looks at you nervously for a split second before looking back at Nightshade and saying, "Sir, I am going to have to insist that you leave ample food for our other guests to enjoy." Nightshade snorts in annoyance before saying. "Enjoy' is a strong word bub." The server glares at her before sticking his nose in the air like he owns the place, but before he walks away, you slap his back. He looks at you strangely but you just look away and whistle innocently. The server just sighs before he turns and walks away. You can't help but chuckle at the 'Kick me sign' that you put on his back (you and Nightshade went to a prank shop that went out of business yesterday, so you both bought as much as you could and brought all the pranks to the gala) As you and Nightshade giggle silently, you and Nightshade hear a someling mumble, "I can't believe that peasant outside! How dare she try and sell those cheap carnival-style excuses for food to moi." You look at Nightshade and say, "Did he say... cheap?" Her eyes twinkle and she says, "And... and carnival?" You and Nightshade then say at the same time, "Cheap... carnival... food..." Nightshade then jumps in the air while screaming in Neighponese, "Bakku ē (BUCK YEAH)!" Nightshade then falls onto your back and says, still in Neighponese, "Hihō papa! Au~ei! (Hi ho Daddy! AWAY!") You nod your head and then proceed to charge outside not noticing the server from before get kicked in the flank by Pinkie (you also accidentally ram through "moi" causing him to land in the punch bowl). Once you and Nightshade are outside, you proceed to throw your head side to side until you spot a simple stand covered in pies and dumplings and turnovers. It. Is. Glorious! Cheap tasty glory! You think before you sprint forward, when a mare crosses in front of you. You rear up on your hind legs and shout, "Step aside wench! Vacate my path!" She quickly steps aside as you continue sprinting forward before throwing on the brakes, skidding to a halt in front of the stall. Nightshade (calm enough to speak Equestrian) uses your momentum to jump onto the counter and bounces up and down, pointing at all the treats. "Oh! Oh! I want that one! And that one! And that one! One of everything!" The pony behind the counter chuckles and says, "Easy there, little sugarcube." You recognize that voice... No... Not here... Not now... But it is... You just ran right to Applejack! "So what will it be, si-" She's interrupted as your eyes widen in panic and you jump back while waving your staff at Applejack and scream, "AHHHHH!!! Back you savage hick! You ain't lynching noling tod- wait what?" You put down your staff as you see that ponies are all staring at you. You chuckle nervously, but stop when you hear Applejack say in a nervous tone while looking at you with wide eyes and an expression that says you lost your bucking mind, "W-What will it be, sir?" You wait a heartbeat to make sure you aren't dreaming. Then another to make sure this isn't a trick. Then three more deciding whether or not the other mares are waiting to jump out and grab you. "Um... what can I get for three bits?" Nightshade gasps, "Oh, that's right. I'm sorry, miss. We don't have enough for everything..." She sadly jumps off the counter, but Applejack gives her a small smile. "Tell ya what I'll do, sugarcube. Three whole apple pies for three bits. Sound like a deal?" "YES!" The two of you shout at the same time. They're your last bits, but you are starving. You and Applejack make the trade, and then you're off with Nightshade to enjoy your dinner. As you and Nightshade are walking, you see Blueblood and Rarity heading towards Applejack's stand. Deciding to mess with the jerky prince some more you stick your staff out (unnoticed by anyling else) as you walk past them. This causes Blueblood to trip over your staff, and land face first into a pie Applejack had nearby. Everyling nearby starts to laugh at the princes misfortune, and you and Nightshade walk away chuckling... SEVEN MINUTES LATER After you and Nightshade ate two of the pies (it took alot of convincing, but you manged to get Nightshade to not eat the third one, instead you put it into the Inventory for later), you decided to try and sneak into the the other part of the castle where you think Cadance is. Nightshade decides to hang around some new buffet tables, so you're by yourself now. you find yourself in another part of of the castle standing right in front of...THE WONDERBOLTS! You were like there number one fan while undercover. Bit before you can fanbug over them one of them points above your head were a glass cup is making its way straight towards your hat when suddenly someone catches it from behind you you turn around to thank whoever caught it when you are met with a pair of maroon eyes staring straight at you. "AHHHH, THE RAINBOW FILLYFOOLER!," you run straight past her at speeds that make the Wonderbolts whistle and you here the blue stallion wonderbolt whisper, "she's a fillyfooler, darn" You start to walk around the gala one more time to find Cadance. Sadly you still can't find her so you decide to try and find the Wonderbolts. (You've been one of their biggest fans since you saw one of their shows with Flash's little brother, First Base while you were foalsitting him). After looking around for awhile, you finally found them. Just as you're about to go over and fanbug, you hear someling scream, "Look out dude!" You look to your the scream came from to see a glass of water heading right towards you! You're too shocked to move so you just close your eyes and wait for the glass to hit... and wait... and wait... I'm not wet, soooo... You open eyes to see a blue hoof holding the water glass just in front of your face. You sigh in relief, and are about to say thank you to the pony who caught it, when you realize who it is... "You were lucking the great, fast, and totally cool Rainbow Dash was here to-" "AHHHH!!! RAINBOW FILLYFOOLER!" And with that show of stallionness, you run for your life. Rainbow Dash stands there in confused silence as Soarin mutters, "Drat! She's a fillyfooler!" ONE PANICKED RUN LATER After you thought you lost Rainbow Dash (even though she wasn't chasing you in the first place)... Somehow get yourself stuck in the line to greet Celestia and barely manage to bluff your way through it (perhaps you see Philomena again). you get caught up in a extremely long line. Two hours later. You finally get to the front where you see the extremely powerful sun goddess that you recently insulted standing right next to the purple unicorn that specifically reserves two hours per day speculating on how to kill you. You get pushed into this super long line that looks like it could stretch all the way to Manehatten. The pony who pushed you (a grey unicorn mare with purple hair that has white strips in it and a purple stars cutie mark), looks at you with pleading eyes and asks, "Excuse me good sir, but could you hold my spot. I really need to use the mares room." Before you could respond she's already gone with a distant "Thank you" as you stand there with your hoof out and with a shocked expression on your face. You put your hoof down and sigh, "I might as well hold her spot. She can't be gone forever..." FOREVER (2 HOURS) LATER Two hours later and you are still IN THIS BLASTED LINE! You sigh in annoyance and think, How long does it take a mare to use the restroom? I've been waiting in this line for two hours, and I don't even know what this line is for! You look up from your musings to see that their are only two ponies left before you reach the front of the line. When you look in front of them you see... CELESTIA AND TWILIGHT!!! You start to panic when you realize your about to come face to face (again) with the extremely powerful sun goddess that you recently insulted and standing right next to her is the purple unicorn that probably specifically reserves two hours per day speculating on how to kill you. You then get a idea that will probably kill you, but it's too funny to pass up. Seeing as how the ponies in front of you shake her hoof, you figured you would need to do that as well so you pull out a hoofshake buzzer while noling is looking and you place it on your hoof. The pony in front of you leaves, and you walk up to Celestia and bow. She smiles warmly at you (oh if only she knew who she was smiling at) and says "It is nice to meet you my little pony." You stop bowing and hold out your hoof and smile and say, "Nice to meet you, solar-fla-I mean, your Highness." Celestia and Twilight look at you strangely because of your mess up, but they just shrug. Celestia reaches out to shake your hoof... *ZAP* And now she has her mane frazzled with a shocked (no pun intended) expression on her face. You start to giggle at your prank and the look on Celestia's face, when you see Twilight glaring angrily at you. You give a small "eep" before you make a run for it while whooping like the Stooge Trio. Celestia comments, "Well... that was something that doesn't happen every ga-" "Ohmygosh! Don't worry Princess Celestia! I'll hunt down that miscreant and-" Celestia chuckles at Twilight's rant, and Twilight looks at her confused and asks, "Princess?" Celestia stops chuckling and says, "Do not worry my faithful student, it was just a harmless prank, no harm done. In fact, I quite enjoyed that. You don't see classics like the hoofshake buzzer now a days." Twilight looks like she's about to object, but just sighs and says, "Yes Princess." However, inside Celestia's mind, more mischievous thoughts are going on, A good prank indeed, but that little prankster better watch his back, for he just pranked the prank goddess... You feel a shiver of dread and a feeling to watch yor back at all times. After running for awhile, you get into what looks like a dance hall, where some musicians are playing some classical music. Just as your about to relax and see if Twilights chasing you, you see... Your instincts/gut tells you that Pinkie is about to start a musical number. The last time she did that she started a STINKING WAR so find some way to occupy the stage first (perhaps a impromptu rock concert with a certain orange pegasus on guitar Pinkie sadly singing to herself at a table while occasionally looking at the stage. Your instincts/gut kicks in and tells you that Pinkie is about to launch into a musical number soon. Seeing as how the last time she sang she started A STINKING WAR, you know that would not be a good thing. Buck! I need to keep her off the stage before she gets everyling killed, but how... *ding*I know! I'll stage a rock concert! It would certainly be cooler than this "classical on endless loop" soundtrack this place seems to be stuck on and I always wanted to be a rock star! Your mental rambling is interrupted when you realize something, Wait, it's very likely that none of these classically-trained musicians know how to play the guitar (and I can't play ANY instrument without accidentally injuring someling... usually me), and I can't have a rock concert without one. As you begin to mope, you notice that the orange pegasus guard over there looks familar... Flash?! YES! He's awesome on the guitar! He'll be perfect! Smiling, you rush over to Flash... A COUPLE MINUTES LATER No dice. Thanks to the guard behavior program, he's as still as a statue (the guy always did take his Royal Guard training seriously) and completely ignores your attempts to get him to play on stage. You tried everything, from asking, to begging, to bribery of the pie kind, to reminding him that you're the one who watched his little brother (this one did get widened eyes followed by a brief slight smile before he went back to guard mode). Stupid Royal Guard training! What will it take for these mindless drones to do anythin- *ding* Remembering a certain Second Lieutenant, you run into a conveniently placed blue phone booth, take off your suit and hat, put it into the Inventory, and transform into Strong Head before running back out into the gala floor (You were so focused on your actions that you don't even notice a certain Time Lord giving a confused "What?", but you did give a reflexive offhand "Hi" to his grey pegasus companion saying "Hi again Bugze!") You run over to Flash and command, "Sergeant! Report to the stage with your guitar this instant you mindless maggot!" Flash doesn't even turn, but says, "Aren't you supposed to be on latrine duty in the Badlands Outpost Private Strong Head? And it's Lieutenant Sentry." You would later find out that Strong Head was demoted and reassigned for his incompetence while Flash was promoted for his brave actions, but in the present you start to panic, "Uh... Yes sir, Lieutenant. I mean- I was told, to tell you... that which I'm telling you... by... the Princess! Yeah, Princess Solar-fl, I mean, Celestia told me to tell you to get on stage with a guitar." Flash finally turns and gives you a confused look, before shrugging and trotting off. You then went to the stage and ordered the pianist to play the keyboard, and one of the drummers to play the drums (they conveniently they had the instruments on hoof and Flash had his personal guitar in his locker). After that you ran into the restroom (you accidentally ran into the mare's room at first and "Strong Head" has the black eyes to prove it), un-transformed, took out your awesome coat, painted it it Tiger-patterned with some nearby orange paint (they were repainting the restrooms, but are now on break), put it on, and transformed into a unicorn stallion with a black coat and green mane before you run out of the restroom and back onto the stage as band was finishing setting up. As you start to whisper what tune you want, Pinkie jumps on stage in front of the microphone and says, "Come on everypony! I know what'll make yo-*shove*Whoa!" You shove Pinkie off the stage and grab the mike before saying, "Yo, Pinkie, I'ma let you finish (not), but..." With that, you give the band the signal to start playing a song that sums up your attitude towards your life recently, If you're sick If you're sick If you're sick If you're sick of it... If you're sick If you're sick If you're sick of it! Flash kicks in with the guitar as everling looks at the stage in surprise. A couple of monocles fall out and one noblemare even drops her wineglass. When everything you do Don't seem to matter. You try but it's no use Your world is getting blacker. Meanwhile, a small purple and green dragon in a nearby donut shop starts bobbing his head in empathy with the lyrics as he dunks his 41st jelly donut of the evening (and that's not counting the other non-jelly donuts). When every time you fail Has no answer. Every empty promise made Is a reminder. Some of the teenage ponies start bobbing their heads, but quickly stop when their noblepony parents give them a disapproving look. No one can make this better Take control, it's now or never! Are you sick of it? Raise your hooves, Get rid of it! While there's a fighting chance. Are you over it? Bored to death? Have you had enough regret? Take a stand, raise your hooves... You see Nightshade rocking out with an ice cream cone in her raised little hooves (where did she get that?). You smile at her and continue. If you're sick of it! If you're sick If you're sick If you're sick of it! If you're sick of it! If you're sick If you're sick If you're sick of it! To your surprise, you not only see Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie rocking out, but even the Wonderbolts are joining in! You would have squeed over how awesome it is that some of your idols actually like your song, but you got said song to sing... Every single day I chase my own tail Like a bug inside a maze Gotta get, gotta get, get away! *snap* Your venting during the song causes your eyes to glow orange again, but you quickly throw your hood up just in time (your disguise fails a few seconds later). I'm running out of time For me to break this. I'm tired of feeling like I'm never gonna make it. Meanwhile, Twilight and Celestia subtly bob their heads to the song as they continue greeting ponies (Twilght accidentally over-shakes a stallion's hoof to the rhythm) No one can make this better Take control, it's now or never! "Get off the stage you anarchist hooliga-" You interrupt the unicorn noblepony by jumping off the stage and onto his table, knocking the contents of his glass onto him and repeat this on other stuffy-looking nobles over the next verses, Are you sick of it? Raise your hooves, Get rid of it! While there's a fighting chance. Are you over it? Bored to death? Have you had enough regret? Take a stand, raise your hooves... You kick over a swan ice sculpture on rock star instinct as you sing the next line, but Rainbow Dash catches it on her back and bounces it back into place, continuing to rock out. If you're sick of it! If you're sick If you're sick If you're sick of it! If you're sick of it! If you're sick If you're sick If you're sick of it! Flash distorts the guitar's rhythm as you jump back onto the stage and head-bang before you continue singing, I'm tired of it I'm over it I'm bored of it Gotta fix this I'm. Sick. Of. Iiiiiiiiiiit! Your cathartic screaming of that line causes the Nightmare Cloak to reappear. You use your tail to gradually raise yourself as you whisper the next verses. Raise your hooves If you're sick If you're sick of it. Raise your hooves If you're sick If you're sick of it. You drop and land onto the stage as you continue. Sick of it! Raise your hooves, Get rid of it! While there's a fighting chance. Are you over it? Bored to death? Have you had enough regret? Take a stand, raise your hooves... You see Rarity who's (surprisingly) gently headbanging to the song while Blueblood is (unsurprisingly) just staring agape. Are you sick of it? If you're sick If you're sick If you're sick of it! Get rid of it! If you're sick If you're sick If you're sick of it! Are you over it? Bored to death? Have you had enough regret? Take a stand, raise your hooves... Are you sick of it? If you're sick If you're sick If you're sick of it By this point, all the teenage ponies are wildly rocking out. You even spot a fancy-looking unicorn in a tuxedo and his unicorn mistress (who you remember as the supermodel that one stupid changeling tried to disguise himself as, but thought she was an alicorn. Idiot...) gently bobbing their heads to the song as well as the gentlestallion says, "I, for one, find this song charmingly forceful." Are you sick of it? If you're sick If you're sick If you're sick of it Are you sick of it? If you're sick If you're sick If you're sick of it If you're sick of it If you're sick If you're sick If you're sick of it! When the song is finished, you get caught up in the rock star moment and grab Flash's guitar out of his hooves before smashing it onto the stage (the body breaks off, bounces, and nails Prince Blueblood in the head which knocks him into the ice swan sculpture from before, but this time Rainbow Dash isn't there to catch it and it lands on him). You breath heavily as you hear some applause and cheers and you feel as if you just released a lot of pent up anger without destroying anything (okay. maybe destroying a few things...) as the Nightmare cloak disappears and your eyes go back to normal when you hear, "Young sir, this is not that kind of party!" "Ugh, it's nothing but superficial anger wrapped in escapist effects that would only appeal to the most immature delinquents." Your eye twitches before you yell back in anger, "Why don't you come on stage and say that to my hooded face! I'll show you how 'superficial' this 'delinquent' is ya snobbish son of a-" "You smashed my guitar..." You turn and see Flash glaring at you with pure rage and fury as he continues, "I JUST PAID IT OFF TODAY!!!" You're about to apologize*Splash* when a blast of water send you flying out a window, raking off the paint on your suit. Pinkie then screams, "While I'll admit that was an awesome song with great effects- THAT WAS FOR STEALING MY SINGING TIME WITHOUT ASKING!!!" You can only look at the window you flew out of with a blank expression and thinking in a deadpanned tone, That mare REALLY needs some hel- *thud* You finally hit the ground before you get up and shake off all the water like a dog would (your awesome hooded coat is now its default black again). You appear to be in a nature habitat of some sort. As you take a step to where you need to go... but you get caught in a net that hat a small tag that says 'acme inc.' Wander into the garden and get caught in Fluttershy's net. *snap* The next thing you know, you're hanging upside down in a net with the words "Acme Inc." written on a piece of paper on the rope. You soon hear evil chuckling and turn to the left to see... something terrifying. You see Fluttershy with a sick and twisted grin and a look of insanity in her eyes. She's eyeing you like a predator would eye their next meal. You gulp in fear and say "Uh... nice pony?" ... You're dead. What do you do?