Chapter 8: It's Skurrin Time!
Chapter 8: It’s Skurrin’ Time!
I don’t know why, but I found it oddly satisfying to hear the characters of TF2 screaming in pain as they burned away to nothing but charbroiled skin and bone. Maybe turning into ol Sunbutt has put something of a pyromaniac in me, I don’t know. All I know is that it was never this fun to just…. burn things. Now this may worry you, but don’t worry. I’ve only turned to video games to sate the need since it started popping up after that last encounter with Blueblood. If it gets worse, I’ll ask Tia for help.
“Hey, Celly. Luna’s getting her costume ready..” a guard notified me, pulling my attention away from the game.
“Alright, just give me a minute. I gotta finish burning this damn heavy to a crisp. Persistent little bastard…” I muttered absently as I continued my goal of dominating everyone on the map. As soon as the heavy let lose his scream of death, I smiled. “And thus concludes my first ever Domination Killstreak. Alright, can you show me to my costume artist please?”
He was staring at me in horror and worry. “What, is there something on my face?” I asked obliviously. he shook his head.
“Uh… nothing. Let’s just go.” He said. I closed out of my game and then went with him. Soon enough, my hired artist was in sight.
“Ah, there you are. Glad you could make it, Spectral Brush.” I greeted as professionally as the Princesses. I figured now was as good a time as any for a Doublestia prank.
“It’s a pleasure to be here, Princess. After all, it’s not every day somepony requires use of hyperrealistic art. It’s even better when said art is applied to a costume for Nightmare Night.” The specialized unicorn artist greeted in return. I nodded.
“That’s true. However, I’ve recently come into contact with an entirely new world that may appreciate your talents. Once we’re all done here, remind me to show you.” I told him.
“You’ve certainly piqued my interests. Alright, let’s get started. Where is my client?” He asked. I grinned and giggled.
“That’d be me.” I told him with my tone of voice. Almost as if on cue, the real Celestia came in.
“Oh, Spectral Brush. I see you’ve arrived a bit early. I’d hoped to be here to greet you, but… It looks like I already was.” She joked. Spectre looked between us with a look that suggested he’d lost the ability to even. Honestly, I think I broke him.
“Oh, you are good. Where’d you get a duplication spell, Princess? Or is this a result of that legendary Mirror Pool?” Spectre asked in realization.
“...What?” I voiced my thoughts.
“I assure you, this is no trick. There’s really two of me. She just doesn’t share my personality or experience.” Celestia corrected him.
“The Mirror pool is real though.” I said absently. “It’s just highly advised that you don’t use it. The clones that come out aren’t… all there in the head.”
“Uh… Okay then where’d she come from?” Spectre asked, pointing at me.
“Discord.” Both Tia and I answered simultaneously. It was very creepy. “Ooh we need to do that more often.”
“Please don’t.” Spectre shivered. “Can we just make the costume already?” I nodded and brought up my laptop.
“Sure, just let me get the picture for you.” I answered sincerely. I brought it up quickly and then set it down for him. “Swipe the black touch pad if the screen goes black.”
“Holy… this picture thingy is awesome! How does it-” He started poking at the computer.
“Stop, you don’t know how it works. It’s the only connection I have back to my world. I’d rather it doesn’t get broken.” I warned him.
“Oh, okay. I understand. Nice picture though.” He replied. Knowing it’d take a while, I hooked up my charger and instructed Spectre on how to charge it. Then, I let him get to work.
A few hours later, I was staring at my imposing image in a full body mirror. I took a few poses, enjoying my new look as I got into the role. “Now this… is what I call powerful.” I tried to sound evil.
“Yeah, that voice won’t do.” Clean Sweep commented. Yeah, I’d ended up getting a crowd from those I’d met that saw me. Sweep was in her base form. Had been since she heard my opinion on her race, apparently. “It’s still got that “calming aura” thing you told me about. What you need is a voice over.”
“Oh yeah?” I asked with a raised eyebrow. “Show me what’cha got.” She grinned as she lit up her magic and formed a new kind of spell matrix. It looked both chaotic and methodical at the same time. “Okay, that’s impressive.”
“Too bad you can’t use it yourself, though. It’s changeling magic. Unless you’re secretly a changeling too, I’ll need to apply it myself.” Sweep told me. I held up a hoof.
“Challenge accepted.” I replied. Then, I tried replicating the matrix. Unfortunately, I didn’t see the red and black parts cross until it was too late to stop it. Thankfully, I was quick enough to shield myself from the blast. “Sorry.” I meekly apologized.
“Well, I told you.” Sweep pointed out. Then she put her voice matrix on my throat. I felt my voice box tingle a bit as it was altered. When the feeling faded, I tested it out.
“Okay, let’s see if I- Ooh!” I cut off my test when I recognise the voice.
“That voice… It sounds familiar but…” Tia started.
“I sound like Queen Chrysalis!” I cheered. Sweep giggled at my joy. Tia gasped in realization. I looked at her to find her face ridden with grief. “What’s wrong?”
“I knew her. A thousand years ago, back before the Crystal Empire was cursed. She was a good pony then…” She trailed off. I could guess the rest.
“I’m guessing she’s the one who called for your help with Sombra back then?” I asked, just to be sure. She nodded.
“She knew something was happening to King Sombra. But my sister and I were too busy with the aftermath of Discord to pay her plead for help any warning. As such, by the time we got there to help, it was already far too late. She blames us for the loss of her kingdom. Rightly so, too. If only we’d seen the growing danger sooner…”
“You can’t change the past. That’s about as solid as the mountain this castle sits on. But what you can do is use what you learn to build a better future. I already know a future, but it’s far from ideal. I say we take action to change it.” I said comfortingly. Tia chuckled.
“You know, hearing that voice say it really fills me with hope. Maybe she can forgive us.” She said optimistically. I grinned and gave her a hug.
“That’s the spirit! Now, I better be heading off to Crazytown with Luna. Talk to you when I get back.” I said as I left. My guard came with me to take me to see Luna.
“Hey, you’ve been helping me get around the place a lot lately. I’m thinking I ought to at least know my escort’s name. After all, it wouldn’t do to just refer to you as “the guard dude” all the time.” I asked. He grinned a bit.
“Aw, but that doesn’t sound that bad. You’ve got authority though, so yeah. I’m Solid Blade.” He answered. I smirked. I already liked him.
“Your name sounds pretty close to one of the most badass special ops heroes in the video games of my world.” I commented.
“Oh, that’s cool. Who was he?” Solid asked.
“Solid Snake. The dude’s practically a one-man-army. He single handedly stopped a bunch of wars, without leaving any bodies either. He’s like the opposite of Jack the Ripper, but he’s still a badass, if not more so considering he was suffering from accelerated ageing and the problems that came with it, and wasn't cybernetically enhanced. Oh, and he destroyed a bipedal nuclear weapons platform, then piloted said platform several years later, to destroy something specifically designed for destroying what he was piloting!”
“Whoa. That does sound badass.” Solid agreed. “Hope I can live up to the reputation.”
“Yeah, I’d bet anyone would want to.” I said with a smile as we arrived at the “airport.” Luna was just finishing up herself. She apparently added some cybernetic parts to her wings, chest, and legs. She looked like she was trying to cosplay as half Raiden, half Nightmare Moon. I guess that’s what she really was doing.
“Hey, Celly. Like the new parts? I was inspired by that tale of Jack the Ripper. I thought maybe I’d be more fearsome if I’d been “revived” with cybernetic enhancements.” She explained. “I couldn’t quite get the sword right though. We just don’t have the smithys skilled enough to forge it.”
“That’s cool. I like the personal take on Raiden though. How about mine?” I returned.
“It’s strikingly similar to Tia’s Supernova form. But… you didn’t modify it in any way?” She asked curiously.
“Never thought to. I guess that’s just another consequence when relying on Google Images for ideas.” I answered. “How about we get going? Wouldn’t want to keep your soon-to-be fans waiting.” I stepped onto my own demonic Red Sun chariot as Luna got into her nightmarish Black Night chariot. Yes, they have names. It’s only because they were redesigned to fit our Nightmare Night themes. Mine was made up of “magma” and Luna’s looked like a high tech Demon Wagon, Batmobile wannabe. I gave our pilots the order, and we took off for Ponyville.
~Twilight Sparkle~
Wow, Zecora was very good at telling the story. The illusions she made with that dust, and her dark, scary attitude was enough to strike fear in even me.
“Um… Excuse me… Miss Zecora?” A young colt by the name of Pipsqueak spoke up nervously. Honestly, I couldn’t blame him for being nervous. “If we have our costumes to hide from Nightmare Moon, so she doesn’t gobble us up… how come we still need to give her some of our candy?” Zecora’s dark chuckle sent shivers down my spine.
“A perfect question, my little friend,
for Nightmare Moon, you must not offend.” She grabbed a hoofful of her dust and blew it into the air, causing the foals to recoil in fear.
“Fill up her belly, with a treat or two…” She began the next verse of her rhyme. An image of Nightmare Moon appeared, stalking towards the collective group.
“Or she will return to eat YOU!” She finished as the illusion pounced at them. The illusion burst apart after that, and I hear Pinkie screaming amongst the foals, starting up another panic.
“Everypony dump your candy and get out of here!” She shouted as she dumped her entire haul in front of the statue. Then, a gale started up. I looked into the sky with worry, knowing these winds weren’t normal. A magical light flashed from the moon, and suddenly a chariot raced from the clouds. It was no ordinary chariot though. It was pulled by bat like ponies I think are known as thestrals, was carried with chains, and had about a dozen blades of different kinds adorning its sinister carriage. Within the chariot rode a hooded pony. They flew in, creating a strong gust in their wake as they came in for a landing. Dark, familiar, sinister laughter drowned out any other noise as the figure stepped off the Chariot.
“Oh no! It’s Nightmare Moon!” Pinkie shouted in fear. However, before she could properly start another raving panic, a second light burst from the moon, and the winds seemed to get stronger and hotter. We all looked up to find a second, Sun themed chariot flying in, but it didn’t look any less intimidating than the other. It was pulled by skeletal pegasi, carried by somehow tangible chain links of fire, and made up of what could be magma. This chariot carried another pony with a cloak.
“Who’s that?” I asked automatically. I didn’t need to wait long for my answer. The molten chariot touched down on opposite sides of us all, closing us in.
“Ponies… of Equestria.” Nightmare Moon addressed us, throwing off her cloak. “It pleases me to no end, to discover that you still sacrifice your treats to me. However, tonight, I am not alone.” Her appearance was shocking, to say the least. She now had on more metal and armor than when my friends and I had faced down with her before! It was like somepony had given her the cybernetic enhancements mad scientists could only dream about!
What made this worse was the one she’d gestured to. The other pony completely burned off her cloak, leaving nothing behind, and nothing to the imagination. What came out shocked me to my core. It was Princess Celestia. But she was so far beyond different, it was truly terrifying. She was made of fire and magma. Her eyes were slitted, and seemed to radiate more fire for every second I stared into them. Her dark smirk was what broke me.
“Thanks for the introduction, dear sister.” She spoke with a doubled voice that made me feel empty inside. “But let’s be honest here. We didn’t come here for the publicity.”
“That’s true, Solar Flare. Let us get down to business. We came here for a treat.” Nightmare Moon conceded. They sent their searching gaze through the crowd of cowering foals, until their eyes landed on the pile of candy near the altar.
“Oh! The offering. Don’t mind if I… wait. This bounty looks pitifully small. And where’s the cake? Or cupcakes?” Solar Flare protested. “And why is all of it in the dirt? Don’t ponies know that’s not good for sweets?” Solar Flare rounded on us, fury in her eyes and fiery mane and tail doubling in rage. “Which one of you imbeciles did this?” She demanded.
The foals all backed away, leaving Pinkie Pie in the front, but Pipsqueak stayed in front, holding his toy sword aggressively, albeit in crippling fear. Nightmare Moon advanced with her sister to stare down the pair.
“Well then. It looks like somepony wants a haunted night.” Nightmare Moon threatened dangerously. “Let’s see just how much my new cybernetics can do... Her sister spoke right after.
“Now hold on. Remember, you’ve only been known as a legend for a thousand years. I say we let them make up for it.” she hissed. She turned to the group. “Bring us a bounty double the current size. And don’t let any of it become contaminated. If you fail, then by the flames of the sun, I’ll make a crisp jerky out of you.” She threatened.
“That seems fair, but it seems they need further motivation.” Nightmare Moon refuted. “In return for your services… we shall reward whoever brings the greatest bounty will receive the honor of riding a chariot with one of us. And if that’s not enough, you will also receive a small share of the bounty you acquire.” She announced. That immediately set Pinkie off.
“GASP! It’s MINE! Bawk!” She took off at full speed for town, quickly followed by everypony else. I sank to my haunches as I witnessed all this. Had the Princesses really both fallen to evil? It wasn’t fair… I felt a hoof on my shoulder. I looked up at its owner to find Solar Flare looking at me in worry.
“Did I really scare you that bad? I’m so sorry. I wanted to play the role and have fun, not traumatize you.” She told me. I gaped as I realized what this all was.Celest-no, Celly, seemed to notice what I was thinking. “Yeah… Surprise!” She said weakly. “I should have sent a letter ahead to warn you about this. God, why do I always have to be so stupid to miss a crucial detail like this!”
In response, I lean forward and hug her. Not just because I needed it, but also because Celly needed reassurance. I felt flames kick up for a mere second before they died back down. I guess she was just a little shocked. “For the record, that’s the best costume ever.” I told her. We sat there like that, just cuddling like long lost friends. Luna excused herself to go and make sure none of the foals cheated, but neither of us minded. Eventually, Celly broke our hug.
“Hey, I know some pretty interesting people who’d love to meet you.” She said. She levitated over an object from her chariot. It opened, and soon enough, I was staring at a moving picture. Even after that, I was more surprised by the video thingy, whatever it was.
“... Why are you guys dressed up as the dudes from TF2?” Celly asked the screen in confusion. Oh boy. I get the feeling tonight was starting to be fun.
~Scootaloo~
As soon as the competition began, I knew it was time to break out the Scooter. It was the only way I’d get around fast enough to get more candy than the others. Without cheating. I’m not sure how I was going to beat Pinkie though. She’s impossible, to put it bluntly. I ran for home as quickly as I could to grab my scooter. I also had to stop in and let mom know what was going on before anything dramatic happened.
“Hey mom! Just stopping by to pick up my scooter. There’s a competition the Princesses announced just earlier. I’ll be back to let you know how it goes!” I called into the house.
“Isn’t it cheatng?” She asked.
“Mom, Pinkie Pie is joining in too.” I countered.
“Oh. Okay, just try not to push yourself too hard. I don’t want to have to keep you locked up in this house again while your chitin heals… and wash out that tree sap.” She warned.
“Don’t worry, I learned my lesson after last time. Besides, I doubt racing from house to house and asking for candy will result in getting sticky.” I assured her. Still, the memory of that time made me wonder what things would have been like had my dad and I been ponies. Maybe he’d still be around. Of course, he’d still be in a military force, and he’d still be away most of the time, but maybe less than he is now. After all, the ponies are at peace, and don’t have to worry about other hives trying to take your territory.
I shook those thoughts from my thoughts and focused on winning that competition. All I had to do was act cute, as much as I hated doing that, get the candy, and win. I’ve been told I’m cute at times when I act tough, so I think I’ll use that to my advantage.
With a plan set, I took off, ready to get everything I could. I shared a quick Hive-linked chat with other members of my hive when I came across them, like Bonbon, and I got a bit of bonus from them when I did. Having caring family and close friends like that has been a real big help a lot of the time. They teach me how to be me, I help bail them out of trouble with a well timed Crusader antic, and we all get along fine.
Another massive bonus I got in candy came from helping chase off some of the changelings from a rival hive. I think their Queen was named Chrysalis, but I can’t be sure. But, once they get sent off, I got to loot their place for candy. Sure, that makes me basically a scout, but I’m not old enough or trained enough to handle other hives.
The last major thing that got me candy was pulling some “special effects” for Granny Smith. All I did was change my costume from werewolf to bunny, and back. I had to make sure I did it while she was alone though, or somepony else would have seen me and caught on that I wasn’t normal.
Once I’d managed to loot myself nearly two full bags of candy, I started heading back to the statue of Nightmare Moon. As luck would have it, I was the last one there. I guess that last trip to Time Turner’s house to save his flank made me a bit late. Still, the bonus from his thank you was worth it. That, and the gratification of stopping a Replacer. Those kinds of bugs are the scum of Equis. They can’t just make up a whole new identity, and instead just replace somepony? It’s just wrong. At least with a personal identity, you can live with showing your real flaws and talents.
“Ah, the latecomer. How have you fared in your hunt?” Princess Celestia asked. At least, I assumed it was Celestia. I’ve been hearing rumors from the Castle that there’s another one up there that acts more like a troll than a princess. I slipped into the act of fear, enjoying how much her intimidation factor got my adrenaline pumping, and presented my two nearly overstuffed bags. Nightmare Moon trotted up and appraised my offering.
“My, what a productive little wolf! Two bags, all filled up with no room to squeeze.” She praised with a pleased voice. I turned to find Diamond Tiara stairing with a dropped jaw and stuck out my tongue in a friendly taunt. Seeing her fume in her stage magician’s costume made my night. It definitely made up for when she made Apple Bloom trip and fall into the Apple tub Applejack was watching over. Celestia’s dark chuckle caught my attention.
“Well now, petty revenge aside, however justified it may be, now comes the fun part.” She announced, looking to her sister. Luna nodded, before leaning in close and whispering. I sensed a lot of interest and surprise as they spoke.
“Well, I can’t fault the little pup for keeping the town safe. I say she earned it.” I heard Celestia whisper. My eyes widened, and I nearly recoiled when I heard that. How the heck did she… Wait, Luna must have been keeping tabs on the ponies competing to make sure she knew who was cheating. I knew I wasn’t being paranoid when I stopped that replacer! Once again, Celestia’s dark laughter brought me back to reality.
“It’s time to pick out the strong from the Cheap.” Celestia announced. “Those who’ve cheated will now face proper punishment. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon! Step forth!” Her voice boomed with the strength of a mountain. I scurried back to the group, now genuinely afraid. I didn’t want to be called out as a fake! I’ve already worked so hard to make a life here!
“You two were caught simply taking treats from other foals you deemed weaker than yourself. You preyed on your competition, rather than actually compete with them. For this, your bounty is forfeit to all those you’ve preyed upon.” Nightmare Moon accused and sentenced them. It was definitely poetic justice. “Do not think we shall be so kind to you the next time you are found to be guilty of inflicting suffering upon others. That’s my job, and I’ll gladly show you how skilled I am at doing so.”
“The rest of you played our game well. But some of you didn’t play well enough. Pinkie Pie, your insatiable appetite and lack of control were your downfall.” I blinked. Pinkie actually lost? And here I thought she’d be in first place, no questions asked.
“Sparkler, Dinky, While your attempts to avoid cheating at all costs were commendable, you lacked the ambition to pull ahead, and thus lost a great many opportunities.” Luna chastised.
“Sweetie Belle, you stuck close to only areas you felt comfortable in, thus constricting your options. You were doomed before you could begin with a strategy like that.” Celestia practically shut down my friend.
“And Apple Bloom, your candy hunting strategy was too forceful. It’s like you thought it would waste too much time to wait for them to give you the treats, and just took them yourself. You ended up losing more than you tried to take, when you were forced to give it back.” Luna cut into my other friend’s strategy.
“Button Mash, you came very close to reaching the top three, but your aggressive strategy was far too aggressive, thus chasing off opportunities. Think of it as a Milkshake Race.” Celestia said, causing Button to wince. I remember Sweetie Belle telling me about that one. She said he was screaming in agony until he found a bit on the floor.
“Now, unfortunately a great number of our little troupe have gone missing, last seen returning to their lodging. This means we’re down to our final three.” Luna announced. I listened with rapt attention as the finalists were listed. I still hadn’t been addressed yet, and I was beginning to get curious, forgetting my earlier fear.
“Featherweight. Your investigative skills brought you to the places with the greatest bounty. Despite having a follower, you still managed to achieve the third greatest amount of treats.” Celestia switched from demotional to praising. I can’t believe I just heard that. Featherweight? I guess I really underestimated him.
“Pipsqueak, you proved to be better ninja than a pirate tonight. Due to your small size and lack of experience, you were easily underestimated, thus giving you the advantage when following Featherweight. Your adept use of your costume also gained you a larger sum than the one you shadowed.” Luna praised. Wow. She can say that again.
“And finally, we have our winner.” Celestia said, looking straight at me. “Scootaloo, you earned the grand majority of your haul through reward, rather than through trick, or treat. The fact that you also saved a life in the process is more than commendable. You’ve been an unsung hero until this point, and now it’s time for your actions to be recognized.”
“Wait, what?” Twilight echoed my thoughts. “Scootaloo saved a pony’s life? That’s amazing! What happened?”
“It’s not our place to tell. Now come along, young pup. Pick a princess.” She beckoned me forth. For a moment, my earlier fear of being found out returned, and I was tempted to just decline and take home my haul, but then I figured if they knew and wanted to sell me out, they’d have already done so. I picked Celestia, since she made me feel awesome with her speech. That, and she was radiating a hell of a lot more trust and even a bit of concern than Luna was. I trotted over to her apparently heated chariot. I carefully touched it to see how hot it was, but it turned out more like super decorative wood than magma. Excited, and it wonder, I climbed up. From this closer view, I could see that the skeletons were all actually carefully designed Animatronics crossed with Golems. Man, these things must have been expensive.
Celestia was quick to join me on her chariot. “Alright, let’s take Red Sun out for a spin.” She said to me as she took control of the skeletal pegasi animatronics. They quickly took off and I enjoyed the rush of the wind against my face, already imagining myself flying. “Bet you’re feeling pretty top-of-the-world right now.” Celestia asked with a friendly chuckle. “I bet there’s a few things you’d like to ask me. Go ahead and ask. I’m an open book up here.”
I stared at Celestia for a minute. She was really giving me her complete trust, wasn’t she? Well, I better confirm a few things while I can. “Is… is it true that there’s a second Celestia at the castle?” I asked upfront.
“Thats me. Number one troll of the castle here.” She grinned. My eyes popped open wide. You mean I’m talking to the fake?! Wow. To think I’ve been dealing with a double this whole time. “The name’s James Solaris, but you can call me Celly.”
“Okay. Hehe. this is kinda crazy. I’ve been looking at a copy this whole time.” I remarked on my thoughts.
Not as crazy as Prince Blueblood accidentally hitting on a changeling posing as a maid, failing, and then me succeeding just to prove a point to him.” Celly countered.
“...wat.” Did she literally just tell me she wooed a changeling, knowing fully what it was? I… I just… I don’t even. I CAN’T even.
“Well, you’re handling it better then blueblood did. He thought I was going to turn around and rape him.” She said, getting a laugh out of me. “Honestly, he’s not my type.”
“So who changed your voice? I know you aren’t a changeling, so you have to have had somebuggy assist you.” I asked to change the subject.
“It was Clean Sweep. She’s head of the cleaning staff. You wouldn’t know her, she’s been entirely alone since she abandoned her tyrant of a Queen.” She was right, I didn’t know her.Still, somebuggy to tell the Queen about next time I argue the futility of anonymity… I swear, listening to Sweetie Belle is turning me into an egg head. Or maybe it’s because of that time an earth pony named Book Smarts accidentally connected to the hive.
“Okay… you wouldn’t happen to know our rival hive, would you? I think their Queen’s name is Chrysalis…” I asked. Hey, I figured it was worth a shot.
“Oh, her. Yeah, I’ve got a plan to deal with her. She’ll be attacking Canterlot in a couple months on the day of Captain Shining Armor’s wedding. I’m thinking of just letting her in, so I can convince her to be nice.” I looked at her like she’d just grown another head. She wants to do what? I’m sorry, that just sounds too stupid.
“And what do you plan on offering? Infinite love? Because that’s the only thing that’ll please those Replacer scum.” I joked. She just sat there and pokerfaced me. “You’re kidding me. You’re kidding, right?” I started getting nervous as her silent pokerface wore on. “Where the heck could you even get infinite love?!”
“Does the name Crystal Empire mean anything to you?” she finally answered. My eyes widened.
“You mean it’s real?” I asked in shock. I quickly sent the news through the Hive Mind.
“Honey, unless the princess directly tells you it’s fake, assume every story you’ve heard about the past it true.” She warned me. “Because most of them are.”
“Wow, okay… That’s a scary thought. I wouldn’t want to face down with something like Tirek.” I remarked. I shudder to even think about what would happen if I ever ran into that monster. Unlike the Headless Horse, he actually poses a threat to everything I’ve done to make a great life. I noticed her wince. “Oh, well ain’t that just perfect.”
“Hey, as long as we get him before he starts getting big, we should be okay. Plus, I could still take him even if he eats my magic. I used to be a being without magic, so I won’t be weak.” She reassured me. I sighed.
“That still doesn’t make me feel any better.” I said. She held a hoof to her chin in thought.
“Well… how about I show you some powerful forms you could copy? You could use them when the situation gets desperate, and be both a badass and a hero.” She proposed. Oh? Now this, I gotta see.
“What kind of forms? Do they have laser beams? Or super powers? Wait, changelings can’t copy powers…” I started asking. I heard my friend Bonbon chuckle over the Hive Mind, distracting me from my questions for a second.
“You’ll see. Come stop by Canterlot when you’ve got the time. I’ll make a badass out of you yet.” She answered. I noticed the chariot slowing down and looked to find that we were landing back in the grove. I turned back to her as she put on her act again.
“Go now, young one, and remember what I’ve told you. Anything is possible. All you have to do is just do it!” She said in farewell. I gave her a salute.
“I will not disappoint, Solar Flare!” I replied as she and Luna took off. Wait, is a copy of Celestia still sisters with Luna? Crap. It’s too late to ask now… without blowing Celly’s cover anyway. I can still ask her later when I visit though. For now, I had a bed calling my name. It’s been a long night.
~Celly~
“Okay, how are we splitting this?” I asked my sort-of-sister back at the castle. We’d taken our haul to Luna’s room, where we were now deciding over how to share it.
“I have a spell for that.” Luna answered. Her horn lit up, and the pile split itself into half. Although when I looked closer, my side was slightly bigger and more full of chocolates. “Hey, why’s yours bigger?”
“Probably because I intend to share it with a certain friend of mine.” I answered, not giving away who I was talking about.
“Oh, well that’s fair.” She responded. “Is it for a date?”
“Probably. I did a little flirting to show Bluey how it’s done, but the subject in question is still undecided. I’m letting her take her time.” I answered, earning a laugh from Luna.
“So that’s why he came screaming about you trying to rape him. But what was he talking about when he said he nearly tried to seduce a bug?” She asked in confusion.
“He was talking about the changeling disguised as one of our maids. Evidently, not all changelings are with Queen Chrysalis. Clean Sweep was a loner.” I said.
“The head of our cleaning staff? Wow, I had no idea changelings had wormed their way so deeply into our society.” She remarked.
“Yeah, I honestly don’t care. It’s better we all try to get along anyways. As long as none of them spearhead an invasion, intent on taking over and turning everypony into their own personal feeding ground, they can do anything a pony does, maybe more.” I presented my opinion. “Besides, Scootaloo down in Ponyville is a bit of evidence that there’s more Queens out there than Chrysalis.”
“Wow, not even here a full week, and you’re picking out secrets like a farmer harvests crop. I think I’m getting a bit jealous.” Luna said playfully.
“Ah, don’t worry. It’s only because of the massive amount of free time I have. The drawback though, is that I can’t seem to hide my own secrets very well. If I were my own pony instead of a Celestia clone, my talent would essentially be the Truth.” I claimed. “Though to be fair, the only ones who’ve been able to pick off my secrets have been changelings like Scootaloo.”
“Are you sure you aren’t a changeling then?” Luna joked.
“Pft. I wish. Shapeshifting is freakin awesome!” I countered. “Anyway, I better get going. I’ve got a date to prep for, and a ship to avoid sinking.” I said as I got up and grabbed my loot. “It’s been fun.”
“Yes, it has been. You were right, by the way. Young Pipsqueak told me I was the best princess. Thank you for all you’ve done.” She said sincerely. I nodded with a smile.
“Anytime.” And with that, I took my leave. I set course for Princess Celestia. I really needed to talk to her about my pyromania.