The Rule of King Cocoon of the Changelings

by Hooves Like Jagger

4th: Oedipus Or Odysseus?

Even if I had the ability to sleep, I probably wouldn't be right now. As soon as I returned to the Mayor's mansion I shut the window and assumed the alias of Duncan Doughnuts again. I hadn't come here looking for trouble, but I went ahead and found just that. There was indeed trouble brewing in Manehattan. It's safe to assume that a Sphinx in your sewer is not something you call a plumber for. No, this job required someone skilled in fighting monsters.

Is that me?

...

Eh, might as well be. Of course, returning to the sewers right now to confront the beast would just be suicide. I could pray the cave in smooshed him, but based on the number and severity of the other cave ins I think it is safe to assume he will be okay. If I was going to defeat him, or even just stand a chance against him, there were some things I needed to know:

1. What in Nonspecific Deity's mystery is a Sphinx doing in the sewers?

2. Are the ponies around here aware of its existence?

3. How am I going to defeat it?

The second question is the easiest to get an answer to. I'll just ask the Mayor or Lou, both of whom seem to know what goes on around here. I don't even know how to go about answering the first question. I imagine that if I waltz up to the Sphinx and ask him myself, he'll try to eat me. If ponies around here know about the Sphinx, I could milk them for information. The third question was the one I really wanted an answer to. The Sphinx tried to eat me, so I'd kind of like to settle the score with him. My trick-tionary, as some might put it, had run dry in our last encounter. I can't shoot him, I can't fly away in a sewer, and I can't even outrun him. I need to pay another visit to the changelings. If anypony knows what else I can try, it'll be them.

The name of the game was first things first. I can't scamper off to see the changelings until I take care of things with Lou and the other investigators. I exit my room and move to the dining room for breakfast. The only pony around was Mayor Marine. This was my chance to get some answers.

"Why good morning my good pony! How are you this morning? Did you sleep well?" Mayor Marine greeted me with breakfast. It was a scant meal of unfounded adoration, but after last night I'd eat anything. Well, I don't think I'd eat asparagus.

"I slept okay," I lied, "How are things around the city today?"

"Oh, Mr. Doughnuts, I'm afraid we're in a bit of a rough patch right now," he admitted.

"Really? Explain," I urged him on, hoping to hear tales of a Sphinx.

"For a while now there have been going-ons in the sewers," yes, yes, yes, "There have been multiple cave ins, but we don't know why."

Well shoot.

"You don't know what's been causing the cave ins?"

"Me or anypony else for that matter. When they first started happening, we sent in construction crews to fix them, but ponies on the teams would start mysteriously disappearing." That sounds like the work of a Sphinx to me. A pony gets left alone or wanders off, the Sphinx riddles him this or that, and then you have a slightly less hungry Sphinx.

If I were actually Duncan Doughnuts and not Cocoon, I could just reveal to the mayor that his sewer problems stem from the beast. Since I am Cocoon, I can't reveal my knowledge of the Sphinx without revealing my true identity. As much as I'd like help from the city, I ain't about to get any. If anything, they'll assume we're in cahoots. Rather than muddling over how to get their cooperation, I should focus my efforts on taking care of it myself.

"Until we figure out why this is happening," the Mayor continued, "we can't fix the damages."

Okay, that puts me in a bit of a bind. I guess I have to let the Mayor and the city know about the Sphinx before I take it out. I have an idea about how to do that, but I'll think about that later.

"What do you think is causing the cave ins?" I went ahead and asked, hoping the answer wasn't changelings.

"Not changelings... that's for sure," as relieving as the answer was, I sensed it had a double meaning. Dare I prod further? No, I'll just keep my questions knee deep for now.

"Are the cave ins isolated to a certain region of the city?"

"No, they occur all over the city. Whatever is causing the cave ins appears to be able to access parts of the sewers that it shouldn't have access to," the Mayor brought up a perplexing point. If the Sphinx has free reign of the sewers despite the cave ins, what's keeping him from exiting the sewers? Nothing that doesn't fall down from the ceiling would be in his way if he wanted to exit upwards. I know a Sphinx doesn't have any fish parts, but it was starting to smell like it did.

I wished to investigate further, but Aqua burst into the dining room.

"There you are!" before I could get my head together, she grabbed me and started dragging me out of the dining room.

"Good chat, Mr. Doughnuts! I will see you tonight then!" the Mayor waved me off.

"Bye Daddy!" Aqua waved to her father before we exited, "It's time to go investigate, Duncan! Get ready for some hardcore detective work!"

If what I just had to endure could be considered "hardcore detective work", I never wanna be a private investigator. All we did all day was follow Lou around and listen to her interrogate different ponies. None of them knew anything about changelings in the city and there wasn't a single pony who knew anything about a King of Changelings. We searched a few buildings too, supposedly for swarms, but only run-down buildings and sketchy looking ones. We walked right past the real changeling hideout, but Lou didn't even give it a second glance. I was so psyched about it, I smiled and winked to somepony who walked out as we walked by. He must have not been a changeling because he responded with a funny look. What is a normal pony is doing at the changeling hideout? I can only assume he is having his love drained, willingly.

The trip wasn't completely useless for me. Talking to ponies about changelings let me glean some information about a recent event involving changelings: the wedding of Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. It happened a little while back and from what I hear it probably happened exactly like the show had depicted it. That placed Queen Chrysalis's defeat at a different moment than the one I arrived.

How does that leave me? Clueless, that's how.

Something else happened to Chrysalis after the wedding. Obviously what had exactly happened was a complete mystery to me, but maybe the changelings could shed some light on the matter.

That would have to wait until after the investigation. The sun is getting low now, but Lou is refusing to give up. Originally, we were only accessories she had taken along for the ride, but now she had turned to us for any ideas.

"What about the sewers?" I pitched my idea out there. Lou, Aqua, and Wrenchell all exchanged glances at the proposition. At first, I thought they were concerned, what with the cave ins and such. The looks on their faces betrayed their actual thoughts though. They know something I don't know... and they're confirming with each other that things should stay like that.

"The sewers are too dangerous to investigate right now," Aqua shot down my suggestion. I agree, the sewers are dangerous. I only wanted to go down there because I selfishly wanted to see if I could expose the existence of the Sphinx. The only problem I had with her reasoning was this: danger didn't appear to be an issue for this crowd. They knew full well their enemy was stronger than them and came in greater numbers, but they nonchalantly wandered into place after place looking for them. They don't want to avoid the sewers because they're dangerous, but because they have reason to believe the changelings aren't down there.

I need to know why. I'm going to have to push for information, but I need to be careful. I need to confirm my suspicions without acting suspicious.

"Too dangerous?" I feigned ignorance.

"Lots of cave ins recently and ponies going missing," Wrenchell explained.

"And it isn't due to changelings?" everypony nodded their heads, "Then what is it?"

"Nopony knows," Lou explained. I expected her to expound upon the subject, but we all just stood around in silence.

"Uh... what do you think it is?"

"Beats me," she shrugged the mystery off. For a pony who's special talent and passion is investigating, she didn't seem to be concerned about looking into it. Why? My guess was she already knows what's going on down there.

"So, it's a problem for the Mayor then?" I decided to exit this topic. The looks I was getting from these three ponies were becoming more and more unsettling. Upon me dismissing the issue, their expressions brightened back up.

"Yep, my father will take care of it. We've got a real mystery to solve," Aqua laughed, snuggling up a little closer to Wrenchell. I've got a mystery of my own to look into. I need to find out what they're hiding before find out what I'm hiding.

"I guess we'd better call it a day," Lou dismissed everyone, "I'm going to head back to my place, what about you guys?" Lou looked at her two friends to ask the question, but never glanced at me.

"We're going to go grab a bite, right?" Aqua nuzzled Wrenchell as he nodded in confirmation. I don't want to know what they're going to be biting. "What about you, Duncan?"

"I'm just gonna head back to the Mayor's. I'm probably just gonna crash when I get back." That was a lie. After we said our good-byes, I waited until they were out of sight to head to the changeling hideout. One trip down a slimy tunnel later, I was in an entirely different world.

"Welcome back, your majesty." Even if it was dark as a dungeon, I could hear the place buzzing with activity. Once I entered, every horn in the place lit up. I found a chunk of the ceiling that wasn't too slimy and sat down.

"I have many, many questions," I groaned.

"I will do my best to assist you. What is it you need?" I reached up and stroked my beard thoughtfully.

"Does this beard make me look old?"

"Very old, your majesty. It is very dignified, displays your maturity splendidly."

"I don't want to look old, I want to look my age."

"Yes, your majesty. You should be rid of it and reveal your childish nature."

"I don't want to get rid of it."

"Of course, your majesty. A beard is a symbol of strength and power. Altering it would be a sin."

"I think I'm going to trim it."

"A wise choice, your majesty. Good grooming is the sign of a wise leader." I looked up at the group of changelings that had gathered around me, each one staring at my beard and hanging on my next word in order to give their respective opinions.

"You two, get a mirror for me." I pointed at two arbitrary changelings. They buzzed their wings and flew off, mumbling to each other.

"A sin to change his beard? What's wrong with you?"

"Hey! You're the one that called him old!"

When the two returned, the armored changeling had dispersed the crowd. I began grooming myself, using the index finger of my right hand as a trimmer. If I would someday have to reveal myself to the world as King Cocoon, I should try and look more presentable. Big beards haven't been in vogue for a long time, not since Abraham Lincoln at least.

"So, tell me about this Sphinx that's roaming the sewers." I turned my chin up and began working on the hair near my neck.

"The monster has been wandering the sewers for a month now. It entered this place only once, but it fled once it realized it was outnumbered," the changeling explained.

"Any idea what it wants, what it's doing?"

"It wants to eat ponies and it is destroying the sewers."

"Wonderful." I guess I should have figure that out myself. "If it wants to eat ponies and destroy stuff, why does it stay in the sewers?"

"The barrier."

"The what?"

"The barrier."

...

"What barrier?!"

"The one around the sewer, your majesty." Well this was news to me. Nopony had mentioned a barrier before. I certainly hadn't seen anything that looked like a barrier.

"I hadn't noticed that there was a barrier around the sewer," I informed by servant.

"I apologize, your majesty. The barrier is designed to be undetectable after it's cast, unless one was to use magic to specifically detect and examine it. Only the beast it is meant to contain if effected by it," he explained. From the little I knew about magic, barriers were definitely possible. An undetectable barrier that is designed to contain one thing in particular? I buy it.

"Who cast the barrier?" The who was important because the why was obvious. You don't cast a barrier designed to keep a Sphinx in a sewer for any reason other than to keep a Sphinx in a sewer. Why somepony would want that, I don't know. If I knew who did it though, I might be able to riddle it out or ask directly.

"The magic is distinctly unicorn, but the caster is unknown. Should I have a scout investigate its origin, your majesty?"

"You can do that?" The changeling nodded. "Then yes, please do it! That would be a huge help."

"Then it will be done," the armored changeling answered then turned to one of the changelings holding the mirror, "Stagger Fang, I'll leave it to you."

"What?" the two changelings began whispering to each other, probably thinking I couldn't hear, "But it's my turn to gather as Honey Pot tomorrow!"

"You should have considered that before you called his majesty 'old'," the superior changeling snarled. The changeling named Stagger Fang just grumbled, leaving his position on the mirror and causing his friend to struggle under the weight alone.

"I'll take that from you," I reached out and took the mirror off the changeling's back. The armored changeling dismissed his subordinate as I examined my handiwork.

"So... you guys actually have names?" I'd never heard a changeling call another changeling by name before.

"Yes, your majesty," the armored changeling confirmed.

"Mind telling me yours? And on top of that, do you have a rank or something?"

"I am Captain Gorehoof, your majesty."

"Gorehoof? Yeesh," with names like Gorehoof and Stagger Fang, you'd think they were named by a bunch of twelve year old MMO players. I stood up and held the mirror so I could examine myself a little better.

I'd successfully quarantined my beard to to my chin, keeping the hair under my chin away from my neck. I shortened up the sideburns and whacked down their length, just to make sure I didn't look like an English gentleman. I didn't mess around with the mustache much. I kept the thickness, but shortened it up so I didn't look like a wild man. I look pretty darn good if I do say so myself.

"If only I could do something about this hair." I took a strand of it and examined it.

"Good luck finding a barber, monkey boy."

"Whoa, Gorehoof," I scolded my subordinate, "Just because I know your name doesn't mean you get to call me names."

"I didn't say anything, your majesty," it struck me that he was telling the truth. I had recognized the voice, so I had assumed it was someone I knew. I looked around the room, thinking I'd see a familiar face.

"Look in your monkey paws, sasquatch."

I remembered the voice all at once. I looked down at the mirror in my hands, but it wasn't my own face in the glass.

"Discord!?" The grey draconequus looked right back at me. Normally, I'd picture him happy and smiling, but the Discord I was looking down at looked downright peeved.

"That's absolutely right! Tell him what he's won John! ... Nothing!"

"What do you want?" If Discord is contacting me, that can only mean he knows why the heck I'm in Equestria.

"What the heck are you doing in Equestria?" Or he could be as clueless as me. "Out with it you knuckle dragging gorilla!"

"I have no idea how I got here! Are you telling me you had nothing to do with this?"

"Are you kidding me?! I wouldn't bring someone like you to Equestria," Discord snarled at me, "Before I drag one of you monkeys into this world, I carefully screen you to make sure you'll cause chaos and plop you down just in the right place."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! You mean you have brought other humans into Equestria?"

"Your dimension and our dimension are very closely tied together. Transferring your kind to our world is one of the only ways I can spread chaos even while I'm imprisoned. Before I got sealed away the second time, I made darn well sure I kept one foot in the door between our two worlds."

"You can't just drag unsuspecting people out of their own homes and lives!"

"Why not?" Discord crossed his arms and glared at me. "Most of the guys and gals I bring over here thank me for the opportunity! They meet their idols, they fall in love, and they decide to stay forever. Do you know how much chaos is put out by your kind? The irrationality of their actions is tremendous, so I make sure the chimpanzees I bring over want to be here!" Discord was absolutely steamed. Even Fluttershy hadn't made him this peeved during the show. For some reason, his lack of cool made me feel more in control of the situation.

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, Discord, but I'm taking the first bus out of Equestria. If you don't like me being here, I would gladly submit to being sent back," I offered earnestly.

"I couldn't do that even if I wanted too!" Discord shot my hopes down. "If you want to go back, you should try asking the rotten, no-good, monkey-loving pony who brought you here!"

"And who would that be?"

"I have no clue," Discord pouted, "But I've got a way to get rid of you that'll work just as well."

"What've you got in mind?"

"I'm just going to kill you." That wasn't the answer I was hoping for. I shook the mirror back and forth and watched Discord rattled around. When I stopped shaking, I watched him try to sit back down in the chair he apparently had with him wherever he was as his eyes spun in circles. I took the mirror and turned it upside down. Discord's body fell onto the floor like a heavy rope, quickly followed by his plastic, fold out chair.

"I see you're taking this well," Discord groaned. He stood back up and glared daggers at me, even more furiously than he had been before.

"There is no need to be upset," I smiled as serenely as I could manage.

"Considered my jimmies rustled, man bug! I don't like you. I already screened you prior to you coming here, and I did not like what I saw!" Discord huffed.

"Whaddya mean?" I didn't like the idea of Discord examining me to see if I was fit to wreak chaos in Equestria.

"I've never seen someone so ill-suited to wreak chaos. You've got no desire to abandon your home, you suppress your anger, and you're very close minded about getting it on with anything other than a human."

"If those are the criterion, I'm glad you passed me over."

"You've got no sense of adventure!"

"I don't know about that," I poked the glass right between Discord's eyes, "but only a coward runs away from their home and self-discipline is a virtue of those with true strength. Don't act like you know anything about me!"

"That's what I don't like," Discord began pouting again, "I really don't know anything about you. I can get inside the heads of the people I've sent here, but not you. I don't know what you're thinking, what you want, I don't even know what or who you had for breakfast today. I just sensed that you showed up. I'm happy I was able to contact you so soon because now I know you're better dead to me."

"Gee, and to think you were my favorite villain. I'm throwing my lot in with Chrysalis now."

"You're just biased! You know what? I shouldn't have wasted my precious energy reserves finding and contacting you. Hasta la vista, buggy!" Discord's face flickered away and was replaced by white noise, which was odd because it was on a mirror. I turned it over and smashed it against the rock I had been sitting on.

"Gorehoof!" I called to the changeling who had been standing by idly while I talked to the avatar of chaos.

"Yes your majesty?" he stood erect at attention. I turned to a section of the wall and began etching a message into it, one only I could read.

"I don't care how you do it, but I want you to take down what I've carving onto this rock and bring it to the hive. I want this same inscription on rocks near towns, in fields, in caves, rocks anywhere you see fit. Do not place them in plain sight, but be sure they can be found and examined. Then tell the hive this, 'if they encounter any creature, pony or not, that claims that it is human, bring them to King Cocoon'. Those are my orders, see to it that they are carried out."

"Yes, your majesty!" Gorehoof saluted, and I took my leave of the underground hideout. I changed back into my disguise and began trotting down the now dark streets. There was much, much more I wanted to attend to, but I needed to return to the mansion and resume my guise as Duncan Doughnuts. Upon arriving back at the mansion, I ran into a bit of trouble.

"Where have you been?" Aqua greeted me at the door.

"Out," I answered, "I got lost on my way back, so I settled on seeing the sights."

"We were worried sick about you!" Aqua let a trickle of genuine concern flow into my body. I'm glad to see I managed to make an impression on her, even if it is pretty weak.

"I'm a grown maaa-stallion! You don't need to worry about me," I assured her.

"If you say so." She neither looked or sounded like she was going to stop worrying about me. I announced I was tired and going to bed, then proceeded to my room. I kept wondering what could make her so worried though. I don't think staying out a bit too late merited such a mood swing. Did something happen while I was in the hideout?

I'm probably just over thinking things. Without sleep or video games, I didn't have any way to turn off my brain. Silly me, I need to stop thinking. I tried to switch off my brain while I waited for the right time to sneak off, but that wasn't happening. The least I could do was push the more pressing matters to the back of my mind. Instead of thinking about how there are more humans out there than me and how Discord now wants to see me dead, I thought about what cool changeling powers I hadn't tried out yet.

The only problem was I couldn't think of any other powers I should have. I'd tried shooting lasers, eating love, and changing into ponies. What else can a changeling do? I thought back to the episode the changelings had appeared in. I remembered the changelings using magic to turn themselves into living projectiles, but I'd kind of already done that when I fought Lou for the first time. There was also the slime thing, but after seeing how that was done, I wasn't in a hurry to try it.

There had to be something. I knew there was something I was forgetting about that episode. Something important had happened in that episode, and I mean something aside from Lyra talking.

...

Hold up... Lyra talking... bridesmaids... the caves... green eyes?

...

Oh Nonspecific Deity I have the ability to control minds.

The bridesmaids were totally Chrysalis's mind slaves! They weren't changelings because they got distracted by the bouquet. Speaking of that bouquet, I'd always wondered where Cadence pulled that out from. Hammerspace?

I had more pressing matters to attend to though. If I can mold a pony's mind to my will, I had to try that out. I shifted back into my normal body and jumped out the window, wondering if I was capable of hypnotism or full on mind control. I jumped from rooftop to rooftop, searching for somepony with a brain I could control. Then I saw him, a gift from Celestia herself, stumble drunkenly into an alleyway. An off white, blue maned, unicorn stallion with a very squishy and moldable looking brain. For my first mind controlling session, I imagine a squishy and moldable brain was desirable, and one saturated in alcohol is more apt for being controlled than a normal mind.

Making sure my target and nopony else was watching, I glided down from the rooftop and assumed my Duncan Doughnuts disguise. Before approaching my target, I had a thought: what if it didn't work? Duncan Doughnuts might get branded as some weird nighttime marauder. I ducked behind a garbage pail and shifted forms. I'd started out a tan, unicorn stallion, but emerged a mint green, unicorn mare. Seeing as Lyra had inspired this little escapade, she was a fitting pony to use in this situation. On top of that, if things go south Duncan's name will still be good and I could just call my target a lecher. Win-win!

Feels weird being a mare... I feel... strangely similar. I want to feel different, but I don't. Maybe it's me, maybe it's this body, but there really aren't any outstanding differences to note. Even the one you think would be bugging me isn't.

No time for distractions though, I've got to try controlling this pony's mind. The pony in question was on his back in an alley, waving his hooves in the air in an attempt to right himself. I decided to be a model citizen and help him back up, but he didn't thank me. Instead, he gave me the greasiest smile I've ever seen. The meaning behind it eluded me, until food started entering my system.

"Hey there sugar, do you know karate cuz... cuz I wanna make you brukfast," the stallion slurred. Now I don't feel so bad about what I'm about to do.

Using my horn, I began to weave my spell. This wasn't like anything I'd attempted before. Changing my body structure, healing myself, and devouring put the focus on my own body. This spell wasn't even like firing a projectile. My energy reached out into the mind of another being, a place swimming with foreign energies. The mind of another person is a frightening place. My job is to make this mind subservient to me.

How is it done? What makes the mind obey an order given to it? What makes a mind obey anything? The mind adheres to what it thinks is true. The mind will do or think anything if the right truth is impressed upon it. I need to find the truth that will make this pony do as I want.

...

No, there is no need to find it. There is a truth every mind simply wishes was true, and it's linked to a place in the mind of a pony that my changeling mind and magic is automatically drawn to: the part that decides what to do with love. With my spell, I bind that part with a lie, the lie the mind wants to hear.

With one last push, I watch the stallion's expression visibly shifted into a blank stare, but only momentarily. His pupils shrunk as his irises turned luminescent green. He looked even dumber and happier than he was before, but he didn't speak. He didn't move a muscle. The ball was in my court.

"What is your name?" I asked him.

"Unsewn Bolt," despite Unsewn's enamored expression, he spoke in a dull monotone. The dapper looking stallion, despite being outwardly enamored with my current mask, was not feeding me. I had been thinking that feeding through mind control would be like cheating, but I guess something in the control spell prevents a pony from loving. Food isn't the point of this exercise, control is. The question was what to do with this stallion?

"How can you be of use to me?" That was all I really wanted to know. If this guy wasn't useful, I could just set him loose and be done with him.

"I can make clothes," Unsewn droned his obligatory response. I stole a glance at his flank, noting the spool of thread and needle on it. I half expected Lou to jump out, but I guess she wouldn't care if Lyra Heartstrings was looking at somepony else's flank. She might even go so far as to call it progressive.

"Take me to your place of clothes making," I commanded him because for some reason having a hypnotized slave made me unable to talk like a normal person. I gave orders to the changelings normally, right? We weren't far from Unsewn's establishment, aptly named "Unsewn Designs". He unlocked the door and we went inside. Despite his previous state of mind, he was much more sober and coordinated since I worked my magic on him.

"Alright, let's get down to business." Upon entering the safety of his store, I changed into my true form. Thankfully, Unsewn didn't appear to be bothered that the mare he was gazing upon suddenly shifted into a huge monster. In fact, his utter lack of any reaction whatsoever was underwhelming.

"Look here Mr. Bolt," I started, "I might be making a public appearance in the future and I need to look my best. These rags aren't befitting of my office, so I want you to whip up something for me. As well as looking good, I need it to be light and not very restrictive. It still needs to show ponies that I am a king, but I am a busy king who has to slay a Sphinx and find his way home. Can you do that?"

"It will be done-"

"Excellent!"

"-my love."

...

I guess he actually believes I'm still Lyra. I'm not exactly sure what I did to his brain, but it certainly is potent.

Whilst Unsewn took measurements and did his clothes making thing, I pretended to read one of the magazines he had. I still have no idea how I'm going to learn to read. I wonder if the other changelings will teach me. On second thought, maybe I shouldn't tell them that I can't read. I don't know how they'd feel about an illiterate king. Literacy and intelligence is probably something they value, seeing as the scouts here have to convincingly act the part of a nurse every day.

It didn't take too long before I was standing before a mirror, decked out in my new duds. I wasn't the expert on kingly garb, but I did very much like what I was seeing. The top was a simple, tan vest with a trail of brown ovals along the waist. The pants were the same color of the vest and had the same pattern around the ankles. A blue sash adorned with triangles held the pants in place.

"This is good work, Mr. Bolt."

"Thank you," was his only reply. I admired myself a little more in the mirror. Kings came in many different sizes, shapes and types. Even if I didn't look like any king I knew, I now thought I looked like the king I was. I wasn't regal, royal, or even authoritative. Now I had the clothes to back it up. I was a king in name. I hadn't done anything to earn the title. Heck, I hadn't even been born into the title. I woke up a king, but I couldn't help but smile as I examined myself.

The spell I was using was scary. This wasn't what I'd asked for, but it was what I wanted. Our minds weren't connected, but our desires were. Unsewn Bolt wants to please Lyra and I wanted to look how I felt. Chrysalis had wanted her plan to go uninterrupted and the bridesmaids had wanted to make sure the wedding went perfectly. Those ponies went for that bouquet because their brains were switched into best wedding mode. If the real Lyra Heartstrings walked into the store right now, Unsewn Bolt wouldn't listen to a word I say.

I was thinking too much again. I told Unsewn that in ten minutes he will awaken from his trance and remember nothing that had happened in his store. I don't know if it'll work, but it's worth a shot. I morphed back into Duncan Doughnuts and hit the streets. Unsewn had done his duty for the day. It would be unfair to ask any more of him tonight. What more could I ask of him? The answer is simple:

I'm feeling hungry.