//------------------------------// // Chapter 14 // Story: Twilight Sparkle Becomes a Changeling Queen, Book 1 // by bahatumay //------------------------------// Mr. Cake knew that being married means that sometimes you ran into your significant other at the strangest of times. Sometimes, such as the time he walked in on her trying valiantly to fit into a far-too-small pair of her old panties, it was a good thing (or, at the very least, a sight that he would forever treasure). Sometimes, like the time he walked into the bathroom and thought she had drowned in the bathtub when in fact she was just napping peacefully, it was an awkward thing. But when he opened the door to the baby Cakes' room for their diaper change and found Cup there performing that change, it was a horrifying thing. His mouth worked wordlessly. “Sweetie bun? What are you doing here?” Cup smirked slightly as she tied the diaper in place. “Exactly what it looks like I'm doing, Carrot. Why?” “I thought you were downstairs with Pinkie.” Cup's smirk slowly faded, quickly replaced by a look of confusion and then concern. “I thought you were downstairs with Pinkie,” she said. They looked at each other in mild horror as the sounds of multiple competent bakers in the kitchen came wafting up the stairs. As one, each grabbed one of their babies and headed downstairs. Mrs. Cake stopped short, and Mr. Cake bumped into her. Both were struck dumb at the sight. There in the kitchen worked three Pinkie Pies. “Oh, sweet, merciful Celestia,” Mrs. Cake whimpered, her pupils now the size of pinpricks. “She's cloned herself.” Mr. Cake handed Pound Cake to his wife, and then promptly fainted. * * * “Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash!” Rainbow Dash raised her chin off her cloud, not even bothering to open her eyes. “If it’s about the changelings, I already know,” she seethed through gritted teeth. “They’re supposed to be there.” Thunderlane hesitated. “Oh,” he said quietly. “Was that it?” Rainbow demanded. “Y- yeah.” Thunderlane scratched at the back of his neck. “Yeah. That was it.” Rainbow Dash scowled as he hesitated and then flew off. He'd been the third this hour alone. It seemed like the only one she had ended up pranking around here was herself. She irritably pushed up a little wall of clouds to reform her pillow, then slammed her face into it. Little bursts of cloud floated up, and she compressed them around her head to try and dampen any noise. She did her very best to emit as many nonverbal ‘leave me alone’ cues as she could; but she knew that as soon as she got comfortable… “Rainbow Dash!” “Whaaat?” Rainbow demanded, yanking herself out of the cloud and flying up to get in their face. She was taken aback to be face to face with herself once more. “Oh,” she realized, retreating slightly (though her irritation was not decreased). “It’s you guys again.” “Yep. We’re done,” the changeling said proudly. She spread her forelegs wide. “Clouds completely busted!” “Cool,” Rainbow said, dropping back down to the cloud. She formed her pillow again and lay back down. There was a long pause. “What do you usually do right about now?” one changeling asked. “Usually, I’ve finished my work already, so I take a nap,” Rainbow said irritably, letting them know in no uncertain terms that that was her desired outcome. There was another pause. “Well, we’re supposed to stay with you all day, so I guess we’ll just sit and watch you sleep.” And the changeling sat down on the cloud to do just that. Her companion leaned down and kicked her none-too-gently in the shoulder. Rainbow scowled and grumbled into her pillow. “Welp, I'm not going to be able to sleep after that. Creepy. I don't even know your names.” “Ponneka.” “Teirt.” Rainbow snorted. What kind of names were those? Had their mothers just slammed a hoof down on a keyboard to name them or something? “That doesn't really help.” She stood up and stretched her wings. “I guess I’ll be going with plan B, then.” “What’s plan B?” “Training,” Rainbow answered, starting to stretch one foreleg across her chest. “For what?” Teirt asked sarcastically. “The Royal Guard?” “Ha! Better.” A hint of pride crept into Rainbow’s voice. “I’m going to join the Wonderbolts one day.” “Ooh!” Ponneka clapped her hooves together excitedly (prompting an eyeroll from the other changeling). “And I’m sure you’ve got all the moves you need?” “Naturally,” Rainbow said, brushing some imaginary dust off her chest. “Show us!” the eager changeling urged. Rainbow straightened up and stretched. “Well,” she started, her tone playful, “I’m not so sure you’re ready for the sheer level of awesomeness I’m about to give you.” “Probably not,” Ponneka breathed, pawing excitedly at the ground like a cat eagerly watching a bobbing toy, “but I’m willing to try.” Rainbow paused. She looked at the other changeling. “Is she always like this?” she asked in a stage whisper. “No,” Teirt answered flatly. “Today is a good day.” Rainbow took a sidling step back away from Ponneka. “Oh… kay, then,” she said. “You know much about flying?” Teirt shrugged. “I’ve hid as a pegasus a few times, and I've been to a Wonderbolts show.” Rainbow grinned. “Do you remember anything?” “You're going to…” Teirt rolled her eyes, but humored her. “Ok, I remember the Buccaneer Blaze.” “Say no more!” Rainbow flew up high. She floated in midair for a split second before folding her wings and dropping. The two changelings watched as she picked up speed. And then Rainbow flew. The two changelings watched in awe as Rainbow Dash flew, twisting expertly as her inherent pegasus magic built up and then trailed off her wings. Sparks seemed to fly off her feathers as she spun in the air… And she landed, gently, perfectly, on the cloud. Ponneka stomped, cheering loudly. Teirt nodded slowly, impressed against her will. “A’ight. Not bad,” she admitted. Rainbow Dash grinned, now back in her element. “Oh, you think that was good? I’m just getting warmed up! Check this out!” * * * Twilight looked into the mirror and exhaled. She slowly dragged a hoof against her chin. It wasn’t sore, no; but if she didn’t know any better, she’d say her jawline was lengthening somewhat, and perhaps angling slightly. She exhaled. If only she’d taken some baseline measurements… She jumped at the knock on her door. She quickly put her sunglasses back on over her eyes and trotted over to the door. She opened it, unsure what she would see. She was not expecting Rainbow Dash carrying an unconscious changeling. “Hey, Twilight,” she said flatly. “Rainbow…?” Twilight began hesitantly. “Changelings are weird,” she announced, unceremoniously dumping Ponneka on the ground at Twilight’s hooves. “This one decided she'd celebrate my super awesome flight routine by trying to get all mushy with me and she kinda touched my hooves so I kinda sorta kicked her in the face; and then that one-” she jabbed a hoof towards the other, “-gave me a hug and said I was her hero.” Twilight glanced over, but Teirt staunchly refused to look at her. She sighed. So much for that idea. “Thanks for giving it a shot, Rainbow.” Rainbow shrugged. “Yeah, whatever. I’m heading up to Cloudsdale for a nap-” here she got into Twilight’s face, “and don’t let them follow me.” Twilight nodded, and Rainbow darted away, disappearing quickly into the distance. Even her contrail seemed to be eager to disappear Twilight watched her leave and then sighed. “Oh, Ponneka, what am I going to do with you?” she wondered aloud. Teirt shrugged. “Chrysalis kinda just kept her around for permanent pit cleaning duty. And for throwing stuff at her when she was bored.” Twilight pursed her lips. That would explain why she’d flinched upon drawing her attention. Still, there was still hope. Maybe the other changelings were having more success. * * * Three fillies stood across from two changelings. Applejack, perhaps wary of their presence in the orchard, had assigned them to ‘crusade’ with these little ones today, whatever that had meant. The little smirk on her face as she did so had not been comforting in the slightest. The little yellow one with the bow made the first move. “Apple Bloom,” she introduced herself. “Scootaloo.” “Sweetie Belle.” The two changelings responded in kind. “Wrie.” “Foro.” Scootaloo crinkled her nose. “Those are weird names,” she said. Sweetie Belle elbowed her in the ribs. “Be nice,” she hissed. Apple Bloom paced in front of the two changelings. “So, you're with us for the day?” The two changelings nodded. Scootaloo nodded. “I'm surprised Applejack trusts us this much,” she said quietly. “We're pretty good at making messes.” Wrie and Foro shared a nervous look. They were just fillies. But if they had that reputation already… “Yeah,” Sweetie Belle agreed sadly, but then she perked up. “But today we're just rebuilding the clubhouse; so we're making the opposite of a mess!” Wrie cocked his head. “Cutie Mark Crusaders Chemists didn't quite go according to plan,” Apple Bloom said by way of cryptic explanation. Foro ducked his head and burst into flame, disguising himself as a younger colt, probably only a year older than they. “Ahh. I can understand that,” he said knowingly. “Once I was hiding as a college student and ended up in a chemistry lab class.” He whimpered at the memory. “That was not Equish they were speaking.” “How did that go?” Sweetie Belle asked. “They had to evacuate the lab,” Foro admitted. “And… and the school. But in my defense, everypony made a full recovery.” His wide smile only faltered slightly as he amended, “Eventually.” This look was oddly familiar to the three fillies. Now with the feeling that they were in the presence of allies, the three nodded triumphantly at each other and then retrieved hammers from some unknown space. “Then let's go!” “Where are we going?” Foro asked. “The CMC clubhouse,” Scootaloo answered. “Today, we’re…” And then all three jumped up in the air and shouted at the top of their lungs, “Cutie Mark Crusaders Clubhouse repairers! Yay!” For some reason, Foro reflected as he scrubbed painfully at his ear, he did not find this comforting. * * * Sweetie Belle watched, fascinated, as Wrie easily scrubbed the soot off the paint. It was going much easier for him than Scootaloo in the opposite corner, who was grunting angrily and though she seemed to be putting in a lot more effort, she was not getting nearly as far at all. “You're good,” Sweetie Belle said. “Do you have a cutie mark in cleaning?” Wrie paused long enough to take a pony form—a light brown pegasus colt—before responding. “No, but I have a lot of experience,” Wrie said. “When you’re in a bind, you can always hide as a janitor. Nopony ever pays attention to them. I've just picked up a few things over the years.” She nodded. “So what kind of cutie mark do you have?” Wrie shrugged. “Changelings don't get cutie marks.” “What?!” Sweetie gasped. “I said, changelings don't-” Wrie repeated a bit louder. “No, I heard that,” Sweetie Belle said, rolling her eyes. “I mean, how do you know what you want to do for the rest of your life if you don't get a cutie mark?” Wrie looked at her, giving her a critical once-over, then set down the steel wool. Then, he burst into flame again. When it cleared, Sweetie Belle looked right at Sweetie Belle. “This is what I want to do,” the fake Sweetie Belle said. “Disguise myself as other ponies and harvest love for the hive.” “Whoa,” Sweetie Belle said, eyes as wide as dinner plates. “You look just like me!” “I should hope so,” Wriete Belle said cheerfully, bouncing on the tips of his hooves. He even managed to produce a squeak on the word 'hope'; not as cute as the real Sweetie's, but pretty darn close. “If I didn't, I'd be very disappointed!” Scootaloo poked her head into this conversation. “So can you make your own cutie mark?” she asked, fascinated. Wrie nodded and closed his eyes. He burst into flame once more, and when it cleared, three stylized horseshoes shone brightly on his flank. “Whoa…” Sweetie said reverently, bringing a hoof up to touch her double's flank. Wrie flinched, but did let her touch him. Apple Bloom had stopped pretending to clean a long time ago, and she quickly came over for a better look. “Do something else!” she urged. Wrie glanced around the ruined clubhouse, and his eyes landed on a paintbrush. He closed his eyes again and his flank burst into flames once more, this time revealing the paintbrush on a small painter's palette. The brief but heavy flow of admiration surprised him, but he certainly wasn't complaining. The jealousy he could have lived without, though. Still, they were excited, and Twilight had said that he was to try and make friends here. At their eager requests, Wrie cycled through as many cutie marks as he could think of based on his location (there were a great many apple-based ones) before Foro came to his rescue by bumping a can of paint. The lid clattered noisily to the ground. Suddenly recalled to their duty (and perhaps eager to attempt to earn a cutie mark of their own), they quickly went back to work with a will. Eventually, enough of the soot had been scraped off that the walls could be refinished. Scootaloo pried the top off a can of paint thinner, and they soon started mixing. Foro was impressed and disturbed at just how much paint she managed to get everywhere. They were all working together when Wrie and Foro froze. Something was wrong, but they weren’t quite sure what. Foro turned around and saw two new ponies approaching through the window. He had spent some time as a schoolfilly, and he recognized their demeanor instantly. He nudged Wrie and he too, looked; and he too understood. Apple Bloom noticed their movements, and she looked. She scowled. “Them again?” she grumbled. This influx of negative energy was mildly unpleasant for the changelings. They needed to get them gone, and fast. This had been their first real meal in a while! “Why don’t we go talk to them?” Wrie offered. “Maybe we can get them to leave you alone.” “Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon aren’t going to listen to you,” Scootaloo said derisively, also scowling at the window. The two fillies in question caught her eye and waved. It was an odd feeling. Anticipation. They clearly wanted to start something. Wrie nodded to Foro, and then the two burst into flame, returning to their changeling forms. They buzzed their wings and jumped out of the window, making Scootaloo dive out of the way. To their credit, the two fillies didn’t flinch at the appearance of the changelings. Instead, they turned and looked at them, as if deciding if they were appropriate targets also or not. “Liener fadrit,” Wrie said pleasantly. In unison, the two fillies cocked their heads in confusion. It might have been adorable, had they not been evil. Wrie closed his eyes and burst into flame, changing into a nondescript yellow earth pony stallion. “Good afternoon,” he repeated. “So you’re the changelings here now,” the one wearing a tiara started. “That’s us!” Wrie said brightly. “So what brings you to this dinky little place?” “We’re hanging out with the Crusaders,” Wrie answered. “Oh, that’s interesting,” Silver Spoon said. “We were just about to go 'hang out' with them, too.” “You're going to go bother them,” Wrie said flatly. “Yeah. Duh,” Diamond said with a toss of her mane. “They're good targets.” “Easy targets,” Silver Spoon agreed. “But why?” Wrie asked, cocking his head. “They are our friends. Their friendship tastes good and they are happy.” Foro burst into flame and took on the form of a pink stallion. “Were happy,” he corrected. “Then you two showed up.” The two fillies smirked. Perfect. “Please leave,” Wrie said. “We like them.” “What if we don't want to?” Diamond asked. “Then you will regret that decision,” Foro said simply. Silver Spoon drew herself up to her full height. “Are you threatening us?” Wrie looked at Foro, and they shared a knowing glance. “Well, not exactly,” Wrie said. “But some very… interesting pictures might show up if you don't leave them alone,” Foro finished. “Like what?” Diamond challenged. Wrie and Foro looked at each other… and then a smile that could only be called 'devious' spread over their faces. They looked back at Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, and then both burst into green flames. When they faded, it was as though the fillies were looking into a mirror. The fake Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon—or should it be Cubic Zirconia and Stainless Steel?—smirked right back, and then started running in place. It looked like they were trying to run a stationary 100-yard dash, they were running so fast. Sweat quickly started dripping from their manes and running down their faces. Then they turned to each other. “Oh, Diamond,” the fake Silver breathed, running her tongue along the front of her teeth. “Oh, Spoony,” the fake Diamond returned. The real fillies could only watch in horror as their two doppelgängers began to passionately kiss one another, running their hooves over each other's body. Cubic wrapped Steel's hairbraid around her hoof and jerked sharply, pulling her head back and making her whimper into the kiss. Steel pulled away, and began laying a trail of kisses down Cubic's body. Cubic whimpered as she lay on her side, her hind legs twitching, and then Steel placed her hooves on Cubic's side and began tracing her cutie mark with her little tongue. That was it. Screaming, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon took off, fleeing as fast as they could. The crusaders, who had not seen this previous scene, watched them go, their expressions a mixture of confusion and mirth. They quickly headed downstairs to see their two changeling friends, standing nonchalantly against the tree. “I'm not sure what exactly you two did, but you're ok in my book,” Apple Bloom said with a wide smile. “Yeah,” Scootaloo laughed. “You guys are awesome!” “I bet Rarity got stuck with two boring changelings,” Sweetie said pityingly. The two changelings reverted back to their previous foalish forms. “We are pretty cool, huh,” Wrie grinned. “Let's get back to work, shall we?” Scootaloo grinned. “I've got the varnish!” * * * There was a knock on the boutique door, and at Rarity's friendly “Come in!”, Applejack and Sweetie Belle entered the boutique. While Applejack was standing upright, Sweetie Belle looked somewhat woozy and was leaning on the larger mare for balance. “Oh my, what happened?” Rarity asked, darting over to check on her sister. Applejack lifted her head to explain. “Varnish problems at the clubhouse means a massive headache. Turns out changelings are immune to that sort of thing, even if ponies aren-” Her voice trailed off as she realized that there were two regular Rarities working around one pink Rarity wearing a frilly dress and an enormous hat. Applejack gently set Sweetie Belle down and backed away slowly. “You know what? I’m not even going to ask.” Sweetie Belle grinned goofily. “Woo!” she cheered, raising a hoof in the air. “Three sisters are better than one!” But lifting her hoof had offset her balance, and she slowly tipped over and landed on her face. Rarity sighed and lit her horn, lifting up her sister. “I'll get her upstairs,” she said. “Vashi, keep working on that, and Hrit… keep being you.” Vashi saluted and Hrit grinned widely. This he could do.