A Night On the Town
A NIGHT ON THE TOWN
"So, uh, I kinda quit my job today."
I look across the dinner table at Kicky, who's been pushing the food around on her plate for the last ten minutes. Guess that explains her lack of appetite. "You quit? Why? Was Shivers giving you a hard time?"
"No, no, she was great. She even tried to talk me out of it, but I wasn't about to let that stupid boycott put her under. Turns out ponies who are buying lingerie don't like being harassed by those Faust-damned protestors, and when they walk out carrying a little shopping bag they can't really claim they were browsing for a new fridge."
I bang a hoof down on the table in frustration, knocking my fork to the floor but I don't care. "What the hell are they thinking? The Guard still won't do anything about it?"
"They aren't doing anything illegal. As for what they're thinking, presumably they'd prefer it if I left town. Then I'd be somepony else's problem," she says. How is she not furious about this?
"You don't think if you stuck with it they might get bored? It hasn't even been a month yet."
"They can afford to be intolerant longer than Shivers can hold out. It's fine. I don't think retail was ever going to be my calling. Plus, I have an open invitation to spend an evening with a unicorn who looked very nice in a frilly pink harness and thigh-high boots. I'll have to introduce you to him."
"That doesn't make it fine, Kicky."
"Cloudy, please?" I look over at her and take in the way her hooves are trembling as she holds her knife. "It would really help me if you would just tell me that everything is fine."
I huff, and try to put aside my own simmering resentment for her sake. "...Yeah, everything's fine. It's actually better this way. You can get plastered at the Sun's Flank tonight and not have to worry about being hungover at work tomorrow."
"That's the spirit!" she says with a smile. "I've been looking forward to this show all week. What time are the girls picking us up?"
"Bon Bon should be closing up shop right around now, so probably in about an hour," I say after checking the nearby clock. "We should start getting ready."
We toss out the rest of the barely-touched salad which neither of us were really in the proper mood to enjoy, and I run a brush through Kicky's coat while she puts on some light mascara. While I don't usually go for makeup, she seems to like it. I've never asked, but I suspect that she finds the ability to alter her appearance comforting and familiar.
We chat about everything except the manticore in the room while we wait for the others. Blossomforth arrives first, with Azalea in tow.
"Hey, Az. Ready to discover the hottest night spot in Ponyville?" I ask.
"From what Blossom told me, it sounds like it's the only night spot in Ponyville," she replies.
"That's what's great about it! All the mares in town who are looking for a good time congregate in the same place. Maybe you'll get lucky and run into a particular librarian, wouldn't that be fun?"
She blushes. It's almost too easy, not that that makes it any less enjoyable to tease her. "I doubt it. She has some experiment she was-" Azalea covers her mouth with a hoof as she realizes she's just said too much.
"Interesting," says Kicky jumping in. The two of us together are an unstoppable embarrassment-causing machine. "So you were at the library today. What do you make of that little fact, Cloud?"
"A great deal," I reply, giving Azalea a cheshire grin as her eyes go wider. "Did you talk to her?"
"Um... almost?" she says. Kicky groans and rolls her eyes. "It wasn't that I chickened out this time! I was totally walking over to say something, and then Pinkie Pie somehow jumped out of a lamp, yelled 'Surprise!' and freaked her out. The moment wasn't right."
"The moment is always right, Azalea. What were you going to say?" I ask.
"I... hadn't quite figured that part out yet."
"Okay, okay, next time she's behind her desk, walk up to her with a book. Then when she asks if you want to check out the book you say, 'no thanks, right now I'm checking out the librarian,'" says Kicky.
Azalea's face turns into a mask of abject horror. "I can't introduce myself to Twilight freaking Sparkle that way! I'm never going to say that."
"Seriously, Kicky. That line should be poured over a plate of nachos, because it's pure cheese," says Blossom. "Ignore these two, Azalea. I'm sure if you just walked up to her and said hello, she would like you."
"Yeah, maybe," says Azalea. "What would I even talk to her about, though? She's this crazy super-genius who spends half her time out on globe-spanning adventures. I don't think she wants to hear about my flower garden."
"Look, do you want her or not?" I ask her. "If you really believe you don't have anything to offer her, well, first of all, you're wrong, but if you really believe it I can introduce you to somepony else tonight. No sense in pining your life away when there are ponies you could be banging."
"I guess I could use a distraction..."
"Then it's settled. Azalea, you're waking up in somepony else's bed tomorrow morning, even if you have to bang Blossom and Davenport to do it," I say.
"Wait, I didn't agree to this," says Blossom.
"Take one for the team, Blossom," urges Kicky.
Azalea giggles. "Thanks, girls. I never dreamed when I moved here I'd end up with the best friends I could ever imagine."
"I hope you're including us too when you say that," says Lyra from the open front door. She's put on a dark vest for the night, and Bon Bon is standing behind her in a bright evening gown.
"Of course I am! You two look fantastic, by the way," says Azalea.
"Thanks! You don't think it's too much, do you?" asks Bon Bon.
"Nope. Perfect. So are we ready? Vinyl's set is going to start soon, we should get going."
The six of us walk into town, laughing and practicing the flirty looks we'll be deploying at the bar tonight. We hear the music coming from our destination before we see it, the bass notes shaking the cobblestones beneath our hooves from two blocks away.
"Are we going to be able to hear ourselves think in there?" asks Azalea.
"The tables are enchanted with sound dampening spells. You'll only get the full force of the music out on the dance floor. Best of both worlds," says Bon Bon. It really is a clever little setup, plus the same spells provide a little bit of privacy if the conversation turns frisky.
I nod to the bouncers at the door, a massive white earth pony stallion I don't know, plus an off-duty Garrison earning a bit of extra money. That private school he sends his daughter to is a bit of a stretch on a guard's salary. He glares a little bit when he sees Kicky, but she's undeterred. "So those noises from your house that night were ponies who needed 'immediate stress relief,' huh?"
I wince. "I'm sorry I lied to you and Bulwark. I didn't want Kicky to go to jail, or worse."
"I get it. No hard feelings. Just watch your backs in there tonight, I don't want any idiots starting trouble. If they do, try not to break them too badly before we get to you and toss them out."
"Thanks, that's a load off my mind. We're just here to have a fun night, not to do anything that makes your job tougher," says Kicky.
He holds open the door for us. "Glad to hear it. Welcome to the Sun's Flank."
We step inside, and if we thought the music was loud outside it's nothing compared to the cacophony waiting for us inside. Each thump of the beat makes my teeth vibrate. The usually low-key bar has been completely transformed for the night. Fog machines cover the floor in mist, the better to catch the beams of light spinning around and intermittently shining on groups of ponies dancing the night away.
The six of us slide into the padded seats around a corner booth, and as we do the spells drop the volume to a manageable background noise. Azalea sticks close to Blossom as she looks around the room. "Wow, this is really something else."
"Isn't it great? I used to come here all the time," says Lyra. "Wait until you try the drinks."
"See anything at the bar that you like?" asks Kicky.
Azalea squints in the low light. "I can't read the bottles from here."
"She didn't mean the liquor, Azalea. She meant the ponies drinking it."
"At least give the filly a chance to loosen up before you start throwing mares at her, Cloud," says Blossom. "First round's on me, what's your poison?"
"Glass of chardoneigh for me, please," says Bon Bon.
"I'll have a cosmarepolitan," I say.
"Ditto," says Kicky.
"Ha! You drink like little fillies. I'll have a double of whiskey, neat," says Lyra.
"I think just cider for me. Somepony has to get the rest of you home," says Azalea.
"Don't deprive yourself on my account. I'm staying pretty sober tonight," says Blossom.
Azalea shrinks back in her seat. "I'm not really that big of a drinker, actually."
Lyra grins, sensing an opening. "Come on, live a little! I want to get you drunk and learn all your most embarrassing secrets."
Something across the room catches my eye. Something I don't like at all. "Hey, everypony?"
I'm ignored. "Come on, Lyra, if Azalea doesn't want to get drunk, she doesn't want to get drunk. Leave her alone," says Kicky.
"Seriously girls, this is really weird," I say.
"No, you come on, Kicky. Azalea is a grown up. She doesn't need you constantly hovering around mothering her. What about her makes you so super-protective all the time?"
"All of you shut up!" I shout at the top of my lungs. That does the trick at last and I finally have their undivided attention.
"What's the big deal, Cloud?" asks Bon Bon.
"The fact that I'm pretty sure that the mare who's been staring at us since we sat down is your changeling clone."
The other five whip their heads around to look where I'm pointing. The mare has the same creamy white coat and the same three candies for a cutie mark. The only difference is her mane is partially orange rather than partially pink. Her eyes haven't left our table since I noticed her, her face betraying nothing.
"We should invite her over and buy her a drink," says Lyra.
"That is exactly the opposite of what we should do. I don't care if she's the Kicky to my Cloudy, I don't want to meet her," says Bon Bon.
The song that's playing ends, and as it does the bar descends into total darkness, just a few slow flashes of a strobe light to the beat as the new track spins up. When the lights return and color fills the bar once more, the mare who was watching us has disappeared into the crowd.
"Okay, show of hooves, who else thinks this just got really creepy?" asks Blossom. Bon Bon and Azalea raise their hooves.
"I think we should just leave her alone," says Kicky. "She's probably more scared of us than we are of her. Come on, Blossom, I'll help you with the drinks."
As the two of them head towards the bar, Lyra mopes in her seat. The night isn't off to a very good start. "So, Azalea, what was the bar scene in Trottingham like?" I ask in an effort to find a lighter subject.
She perks up a bit. "Expensive. There were a ton of amazing places I couldn't afford to visit on a student budget while I was at university there, although there was one night after our baseball team made the playoffs junior year when we threw our budgets to the wind and managed to visit six of them in a row. Or at least that's as many as I remember."
"See?" says Lyra, a bit of her relentless cheer returning to her voice. "I knew there was a party mare in there somewhere."
"No, it was stupid. My little brother was visiting me that weekend, and our pitcher got him a fake ID so he could tag along. My parents were furious when they found out."
"I didn't know you had a little brother. What's he like?" asks Bon Bon.
"Coriander? Well, I say he's my little brother since he's two years younger than I am but he's about twice my size. Baseball was my game of choice, but he was a hoofball colt. It wasn't hard to persuade him to spend a night drinking with a pack of athletic mares. I think he's actually doing a long distance thing with our third basepony who he met that night."
"You think? Is he coy about the details?" I ask.
"It's not that, it's just been awhile since we've talked or written," she says.
"You should invite him to Ponyville! Bonnie can ply him with sugar until he spills the dirt," says Lyra.
"Yeah, maybe someday if it works with his class schedule. Hey, drinks!"
Blossom and Kicky return with two trays, and it looks like Kicky sprung for a second round right off the bat. Blossomforth picked out something orange and sugary-looking for herself. Now that Azalea’s broached the topic of families, the rest of us start to tell her about our own upbringings while we nurse the first round of drinks. Once we’ve gone around the table and emptied all dozen glasses, it’s time to move on to the main event.
“Okay, Azalea. I checked out the crowd and picked out a short list of candidates to introduce you to tonight,” says Kicky. I knew she had an ulterior motive in going over to the bar with Blossomforth. “First, one question to narrow it down: Earth pony, pegasus, or unicorn?”
Azalea squeals and covers her face with her hooves. “Earth pony,” she mutters.
“Ooh, going for the extra stamina, eh? Well aren’t you ambitious,” says Lyra.
“Who were you thinking?” I ask.
“I saw Fire Brand when I put in our order, and I’m pretty sure Cornrow is here tonight too.”
I nod. I could see Azalea with either of them, at least for one night. “Need any pointers?”
“I’ve done this before, Cloudy. I know how to talk to a mare in a bar,” she replies. She takes a deep, calming breath. “Can you tell me anything about them?”
“Fire Brand’s an apprentice to the town blacksmith and farrier, although she’s been working in the shop so long she’s basically the old stallion’s business partner at this point. She might not look it, but she’s stronger than most stallions from all that physical labor. Just be careful you don’t let her toss you around when things start to get wild. Unless you’re into that kind of thing.”
“What was she wearing?” asks Blossom.
“Did you want to get in on this too, Blossom?” I ask, which earns me a wing to the face.
“No, Cloudy, but I happen to know that there’s a ruby pendant she wears a lot of the time. It’s nothing special to look at, but it’s set into one of the first pieces she ever sculpted and it means a lot to her. I was thinking that Azalea might want to compliment it if she had it on,” she explains.
“I didn’t notice, but if you see her wearing something like that it does sound like a good idea,” says Kicky.
“Okay, tell me about Cornrow,” says Azalea.
“She grows corn.”
“...What, is that it?”
Kicky shrugs. “Sorry. She’s more of a screamer than a talker.”
“Actually, one other thing,” Bon Bon chimes in, “if you wanted to trade her sexual favors for a discount on corn purchases from her family, I would really owe you one.”
“BONNIE!” shout Lyra and Azalea together.
“What? I want to start offering chocolate-dipped popcorn balls at the shop, but the margins in this business are brutal! I need every edge I can get to beat out Spiral.”
“Putting aside Bon Bon’s attempt to become my pimp, I think I’d like to meet Fire Brand,” says Azalea.
“Then come on over with me and I’ll introduce you. I’d like to check out this crowd for myself. See you girls in a little bit,” I say with a wave. We walk over towards the bar and as we get further away from the table the music grows louder again. It diminishes a bit again as we squeeze past the ponies gathered around chatting and flirting with one another. I spot a shock of red mane over an orange coat. Fire Brand isn’t tough to pick out of a crowd. I wave at her and manage to catch her attention after a few seconds. She smiles at me and carries her drink over to us.
“Hi, Cloud Kicker, long time no see.” She has to shout to be heard over the music, but it’s understandable. I give her a quick hug. “Who’s your friend here?”
“Fire Brand, this is Azalea. She’s a new neighbor of mine I wanted you to meet,” I reply.
“Great to meet you, Fire Brand,” says Azalea, bumping her hoof gently enough not to jostle her drink. “That pendant you’re wearing is really pretty! Where did you find it?”
“This? Oh, I made it, actually,” replies Fire Brand with a hint of pride in her voice.
“You made it?” asks Azalea, seemingly amazed. She’s quite the actor. If I hadn’t been there when Blossom mentioned it I’d completely believe she was hearing about it for the first time. “That’s amazing! So are you a jeweler?”
“Just a blacksmith. Hey, do you want a drink?” And just like that Azalea’s taken the lead and I subtly back myself out of the conversation as Fire Brand places an order for her. She certainly didn’t need my help, good for her. Finding myself without any wingmare duties that need to be performed, I cast an eye out over the other ponies until I spot a lithe blue pegasus drinking alone. Let’s see if I can’t do something about that.
“Hi there. I’m Cloud Kicker,” I say as I slide into the seat next to her.
She glances over at me, lets her gaze run all the way down my body and back up to my smiling face, and gets a little twinkle in her eye. “Wind Chime. Nice to meet you.”
“Wait,” I say, trying to imitate Azalea’s surprised look, “you’re Wind Chime?”
“Why, should I know you?” she asks, confused.
“Do you remember the invasion last month, and all the news about how the Elements of Harmony stopped it using a time loop?”
“Of course I remember that, why?”
“Wind Chime, I’m going to level with you. The fate of the world might hang in the balance. The honest truth is this; I’m trapped in a time loop, and the only way for me to break out is for us to go back to my house and rut one another silly for the rest of the night.”
She bursts out laughing as I struggle to keep a straight face. “Wow. Okay. That’s an original approach, I’ll give you that. And how, exactly, does that end this time loop you’re supposedly in?”
“It’s very technical,” I reply. “But trust me when I say that only an evening of wild passion with a mare as beautiful as you can save Equestria.”
“Well, I do rather like Equestria, and I would hate to see it destroyed,” she says as her smirk turns into a sinful little grin and she places her foreleg over mine. For an instant I actually think I’m going to pull this off until I hear a new, but familiar, voice from behind me.
“Hello, Cloud Kicker,” says the voice. I turn around and standing right there behind me is the other Bon Bon from earlier. She turns her head slightly towards Wind Chime. “I need to speak to Cloud Kicker. You can leave now.”
“Wait, just who the buck do you think you-”
“I said leave,” says Bon Bon, cutting off Wind Chime’s protest.
“Fine. Just stay away from me, psycho. Cloud, it was nice to meet you. Shame about the sort of company you keep,” she says. Gathering up her purse, Wind Chime retreats to the exit, and out of the bar entirely. For all I know, she’s ratting Bon Bon out to the bouncers right now.
“What are you doing, Bon Bon? When did you get back to Ponyville?”
“It’s Sweetie Drops these days, actually. I wanted to make sure I thanked you for the way you stopped Lyra when... well, I’m sure you remember. You saved my life.”
“You’ve got a funny way of showing gratitude, scaring away the mare I was talking to like that.”
“So? You’ll find another one, and I don’t have a ton of time. So yeah, thanks.” She gets up and starts to walk away. Not in just any direction, though, back towards the table where the other four are seated. I catch Azalea’s eye and jerk my head towards Sweetie Drops, and she hastily excuses herself from the conversation she's having with Fire Brand to intercept us.
"Bon Bon?" she asks.
"Hello, Azalea. How's life? Just the same old, same old, or has anything changed since these ponies tried to kill me?" asks Sweetie Drops.
“A lot’s changed. You should talk to Kicky,” she says.
“Oh, I certainly intend to.”
We reach the table and the others look up at who’s joining them, to a wide variety of reactions. Blossom’s reaction is just flat surprise, while original-flavor Bon Bon is horrified and more than a little angry. Kicky’s expression is a bit tougher to read, something like guarded optimism. The clear outlier is Lyra. “Bonnie! You came home!” she cries.
“This town isn’t my home, Lyra. And don’t pretend to be my friend,” she says. Lyra sinks back like she’s been slapped across the face.
“I would have contacted you Bon-”
“Sweetie Drops.”
“...Sweetie Drops. If I’d known where you’d gone, I would have tried to get Cloud Kicker to protect you too,” says Kicky.
“Is that what you think’s going to happen? If you martyr yourself long enough the others will eventually be free to go skipping hoof-in-hoof with the ponies who despise them? Or is that just Cloud Kicker’s way of doing things that you’re borrowing?” she asks.
“Ponies are already starting to come around. We can make a life here for ourselves, if we want to.”
“You sure as buck don’t have a place in my life,” says Bon Bon, still hunched over the table. She looks to be about three seconds from jumping Sweetie Drops before Lyra puts a comforting hoof on her back.
Sweetie just laughs. “Good! Your life sucks! I was an expert in subterfuge and infiltration, and then the Elements tore me apart. When they put me back together I ended up a flabby, stressed-out, miserable little candymaker who falls asleep every night wishing that things would change but too scared of losing the few parts of her life she doesn’t hate to do anything about it.”
“That isn’t true at all,” says Lyra, “Bon Bon’s never been happier, right Bon Bon?”
The ensuing silence is deafening.
“You do know that she’s settling for you, don’t you Lyra? That if she didn’t have some inexplicable fetish for unicorn musicians she would have kicked you to the curb months ago?”
“No,” says Bon Bon. “I love her.”
“Oh, I’m well aware,” says Sweetie Drops. “It was the very first thing I felt as a pony when I regained consciousness and looked up at her. Followed immediately by the feeling of her trying to beat me to death with her bare hooves. But don’t pretend you’ve never considered walking away. Sure would be nice to be in a relationship with a pony who actually wants foals as badly as you do, wouldn’t it? Instead of having to convince yourself that maybe if you’re together long enough she’ll change her mind?”
“Bonnie, is that really how you feel?” asks Lyra.
“We’ll talk about it later, Lyra. Sweetie, I think you should leave,” says Bon Bon.
The music onstage stops as Vinyl announces something about an intermission, but our group barely hears it. “Leave? This little gathering of my very best friends in the whole world? Why would I do that? If anything, this whole experience has taught me how hurtful it can be when friends keep secrets from one another. Hey Cloud, remember that summer when Lyra’s family took her to Prance?”
“Don’t you dare. Don’t you dare,” says Bon Bon. “We promised-”
“No. You promised. Lyra’s made it abundantly clear that we aren’t the same pony, after all. Yeah, Lyra wasn’t in Prance. Her family stuck her in rehab because they were finally sick of putting up with the fact that she was a drug-addicted party girl. See? Doesn’t honesty feel great?”
“You need to go, Sweetie Drops. Good luck with your new life, but don’t ever come back here again,” says Kicky as Lyra starts to weep in Bon Bon’s forelegs.
“Oh no, don’t start presuming to give me orders, or I just might decide that my honesty policy applies to the other changelings. I didn’t have a choice about being outed, why should they? I think I’ll start with... hmm... how about the infiltrator who was watching the Apple family?”
Kicky goes pale. “You wouldn’t. At least the others can protect themselves, you know she can’t.”
“I don’t see why not. She has more infiltration experience than both of us put together. Which is actually really ironic, when you think about how she ended up.”
“Hey babe!” says the white unicorn who slides into Sweetie’s seat, lifting her into her lap as she does. It takes me a second to recognize her, but that electric-blue mane and the glasses perched on her horn are a dead giveaway.
“Wait, you’re Vinyl Scratch,” I say as I wish I could add something a bit more eloquent to the conversation.
“You know it!” says Vinyl. “How’s my main mare enjoying the show?” In response, Sweetie Drops grabs Vinyl and forces her into a deep kiss. She struggles for a moment at first, but then starts to get into it. Sweetie opens one eye and fixes her gaze on Lyra for a moment, making sure she’s watching all of this. Vinyl gasps for air as Sweetie lets her go. “Whoa! What do they put into the drinks in this place, and where can I buy a couple cases of it?”
“Vinyl, you are the sweetest, sexiest, most fantastic pony I’ve ever been with. I want everypony here to know it.”
“We were just talking about where each of us were the day changelings attacked Canterlot, actually,” says Blossomforth, glaring across the table. “Where did you say you were, Sweetie?”
“On the opposite side, fighting against the rest of you,” says Sweetie.
“Yeah, Sweetie Drops used to be a changeling,” says Vinyl. “She’s cool now though, the Princesses said so.”
“Didn’t I tell you? Honesty. Once I got to Canterlot, well, it turns out that not every town is quite as close-minded and bigoted as this one is. Maybe the rest of the changelings should consider that when they’re thinking about their futures. Hey, Vinyl? I’ll be waiting for you backstage. Don’t play too many encores.” She moves in for another kiss, but when Vinyl leans in to meet her she pulls away at the last second with a teasing wink, hopping off her lap and ever-so-slowly sashaying off.
“It was great to meet you all, but I have to get back for the next set. Stay cool,” says Vinyl as she starts to rise from her chair.
“Wait!” cries Lyra. Vinyl stops. “...Sweetie Drops gets quiet sometimes, when something’s really bothering her. If you just sit quietly with her for maybe an hour or so she’ll start to make this cute little noise out of her nose that means she’s ready to talk about it. She also loves to have her hooves rubbed. She’ll swear up and down that she can’t stand it, but once you actually start she gets that little smile that means she’s really content. More than anything else, though... her last fillyfriend hurt her really badly. Please be good to her.”
Vinyl turns back to the table, and lowers her glasses as she studies Lyra closely. “Do you know her?”
Lyra shakes her head. “I only met her once before tonight, but I know her type. Just keep that stuff in mind, and try to make her happy. She deserves it.”
Vinyl walks away for good, as Lyra watches her leave.
“I think I’m done for the night,” says Lyra, “Bonnie? We need to go home and talk about some stuff.”
“Yeah, sorry we’re ditching you, girls, but...”
“It’s fine,” I say although I know it’s anything but, “you two go ahead.” They leave, and take my prayers with them.
“So,” says Kicky, “Who feels like another round?”
Nopony does.
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Oh, boy.
Yeah, it looks like everypony's having a rough time, not just Twilight. Also looks like forgiveness isn't former Changeling policy, either.
Well that killed the mood faster than the speed of light.
Yay, new chapter!
You're updating this SO fast. Sadly, you seem to have forgotten of certain Queen (Sorry, I feel bad for mentioning it)
Wow, this was a hard chapter! I was getting un-used to them. I'm not really sure how to feel about...all that last situation.
Why do I feel sorry for everypony, and at the same time angry with Sweetie? 
Dammed be you, Eakin! Stop playing with my feelings.
(Nah, just kidding. Keep it up)
And there was a mistake, but I lost it!
3196248 I guess one does not simply forgives an assasination attemp
3196283
Yeah, Reign, Zombie Gerbils, and a number of other projects have been neglected while I ride this particular wave of inspiration.
3196306 And WHAT a wave of inspiration, I must say!
3196311
I can be prolific, when I hit a manic writing period. Also! Just updated Fate's page with your link.
Well, good for Sweetie Drops for getting a better life. And for Lyra and BonBon for going to work out their issues.
Favourite line?
Oh yeah :D
I have no idea what song to write for this, but it deserves one.
It so deserves one. But I can't think of something better than this.
I'm not going to lie, it's not my best work, but this chapter has broken my musical brain as I comprehend the level of ungrateful assholery evident here.
It deserves nothing but the best, damn it.
No I can't take one more step towards you
Cause Sweetie Drops is her own mare
Don't you know I'm not your clone anymore
I fed on love, she loved the most
I've learned to live a brand new life
And now you want me like 'old times'?
And who do you think I am
Cloudkicker why make a stand?
Whatever you've tried to start
Will tear whole lives apart
Go ahead and say I'm cold
It beats the lies that you've been sold
So don't come look for me.
Who do you think I am?
I hear you're telling all the town,
That any ex-changelings need not be found.
But you have gotten it all wrong
If you think we're ever safe from harm.
I've learned to live a brand new life
And now you want me like 'old times'?
And who do you think I am
Cloudkicker why make a stand?
Whatever you've tried to start
Will tear whole lives apart
Go ahead and say I'm cold
It beats the lies that you've been sold
So don't come look for me.
Who do you think I am?
And you're all so wrong that you think you're right
When what you're living now is placated lies
I wish I had missed Cloudy's gaze, but her gift-
Lyra broke bone, but you stepped in
And now you're thanked
You don't get to have my thanks
And who do you think I am
Cloudkicker why make a stand?
Whatever you've tried to start
Will tear whole lives apart
Go ahead and say I'm cold
It beats the lies that you've been sold
So don't come look for me.
Who do you think I am?
3196603
Dude, seriously,
I write a 5,000-ish word chapter of this story every other day, and I still can't comprehend how you come up with these tributes so quickly.
(BTW, Honorary Crazy Person? Trust me, I gave up on sanity LONG ago.)
Sweetie, you are one sour pony.
Oh my!
Oooooo, changeling Bon Bon, makes sense that she'd show up again, definitely a loose end.
Sweetie Drops! Hah!
Changing Lives, huh. Somehow it didn't occur to me how much this story would be about all of the various infiltrators, and not just Kicky & Azalea. I wonder who is who.
3196721
I've only figured out 4/6, myself.
3196734 They sent the best to keep an eye on the elements, not even the author knows who they all are.
Well, things worked out for Double Bon after all... yay? Yeah, yay, I'll go with that. Now here's hoping things work out for Original Bon. :)
funnymama.com/store/130517/178720_v0_600x.gif
Oh wow, both funny yet a very drama filled chapter.
Sweetie Drops ey?
Hmm, wonder who else is a changeling? Here's to hoping that its Surprise (the Character).
I can't believe I felt sorry for Bonling, now Sweetie Drops. What a bitch! It seems more like she still wants to be a changeling, I think they'd better keep an eye on her.
Jeez, poor Lyra. When she starts offering peace to Sweetie Drops after almost killing her, she gets all her effort thrown in her face. And you've got to consider where Lyra was during the whole Royal Wedding business. It must have been really hard for her to accept the new ChangelingPonies in society.
Everypony better keep an eye on Sweetie Drops. Just because she's had a difficult time recently doesn't excuse her to act like a total mule.
Alright. Sweetie Drops did not just do that. You do not, I repeat, you do not take out aggression on those who don't deserve it. Even if a person has hurt you, don't get back at them the way Sweetie Drops did. That's more than payback. That's more than revenge. That's ruining trust. If you do that to anyone, I'll make sure that this is you when I am done: http://imgur.com/gallery/vRTjDC4
comma
So many hilarious-in-hindsight lines
(On a more general note: Together with Reign, the Time Loop trilogy is now a Trilogy In Five Parts!
)
How in Tartarus did the proprietor of that inn not end up on the moon?
(How long did you spend trying to put a pun in there before giving up?
)
Apple Bloom, I wager.
So... we have:
Azalea: Twilight
Kicky: Rainbow Dash
Sweetie: Pinkie Pie
Wonder who will turn out to have shadowed Rarity and Fluttershy. Assuming it's possible, I think the first one should be Spike. :P
3199217
I think it might be Granny Smith, actually.
3199161
About twenty minutes. I'll have to redeem myself with more pony-alcohol puts down the road.
Spike would be an interesting candidate for duplication, although I find it hard to believe that Twilight wouldn't have commented on it during the main trilogy.
3196837>>3199534>>3199217>>3197506
Wait until I start tossing out the red herrings!
3198111 For some, getting even isn't enough. They want interest.
3196289 I wasn't talking about that, I meant Bon/Drops and Lyra. But then someone trying to kill you would be a little hard to forgive.
3196289 I...was talking about that as well, actually
3199792 I...was actually talking about that.
(It's been the 2º time I reply to myself
)
Sweetie Drops is kind of bitter, isn't she? I can't exactly blame her, but then I'm not sure how fair it is to prey on Lyra and BonBon, accept the amnesty following the conflict, and yet still resent your prey for fighting back when things turned against you in the invasion.
For some reason, I had thought that Azalea kept tabs on Applejack, what with making contact, befriending her and working the stand next to her all day. (I suppose it would be hard to get a changeling very close to Twilight, shy of replacing Spike... And who knows if changelings can change that much? Or breath fire that whisks things away to Celestia for that matter...). Now with that comment from Kicky, I'm curious what form the Apple infiltrator took.
I also wonder if the terms of the amnesty for former changelings included the immediate release of any ponies in cocoons. I'd hate to think that some are remaining in the closet by keeping the pony they replaced from ever being found.
3200625
I'm pretty sure her resentment is quite firmly centered around Lyra and a mutual dislike with Bon Bon, and I wouldn't really call Lyra's actions 'fighting back,' given that it was an entirely one-sided beatdown while she was trying to surrender. It stemmed from a misunderstanding, sure, but it would also be devastating.
Part of it was that I'm slightly limited by TLT canon that Azalea told Twilight she was keeping an eye on her, but in a way that she never really drew attention to herself. I broadened it more in my mind to 'they all spied on all of them' to handwave that.
As for how much a changeling can change, well, my original conception was that they were all ponies. I'm having trouble thinking of a good candidate for Fluttershy's changeling, though, so maybe I'll backtrack on that and say that one of them was posing as an animal at her cottage when they got 'stuck.'
I cannot comment on this, for fear of saying too much
3200671
I think it could fairly be considered fighting back if you consider that Equestria was effectively at war with the invading changelings. A second before the Harmony wave hit, Sweetie Drops was a changeling feeding off of Lyra (and likely using some mind control on her as Azalea was with CK), keeping BonBon captive and thinking her forces were successfully conquering Canterlot. Then the ponies' counter attack hits in the form of the Elements of Harmony and she's outed and getting near beaten to death by Lyra. You can't really be engaged in hostilities with someone and then resent that they counter attack in a sudden moment of weakness you have, even if in that moment you have a major change of heart.
But as I said... I can't blame her for being bitter... It's a natural enough reaction. Just not necessarily the most fair reaction she could have.
I really do like the idea of Sweetie Drops having some anger about being saddled with BonBon's dislike of herself, or at least her dissatisfaction. It's a nice stew of resentment she has going over how things turned out.
Hmmm... Fluttershy's spy is a tough one. The animal route could be fun, regardless of any rules you once had in mind. If you really want a pony though, I believe she had a gardener that regularly overwatered her flowers in that episode with Iron Will. She also spends time at the spa with Rarity, so Aloe or Lotus might be possible candidates to watch either of those bearers.
Still, I like the fallout potential of the animal idea, as Fluttershy always felt confident around her animal friends... Learning that they could be something else in disguise and spying on her would be rough. (I have no idea how this CK relates or feels about Fluttershy, but if it mirrors the Winningverse at all then that's double the guilt for Kicky.). Plus, the comic had changelings disguised as animals, so there's at least some precedent.
3199633
Yeah, that seems like the sort of thing that'd have come out in the main story.
In any case, Spike would have been far better placed to watch Twilight. So far the changelings preferred to go with background ponies (eg. Bon Bon rather than the Cakes for Pinkie Pie) - which also makes me reconsider AJ's case. Would they really replace such a close relative as Granny Smith or Apple Bloom?
I'm sure you'll manage to surprise us regardless how much we speculate. :P
I just noticed you missed a great pun. This fic should be called "Changeling lives"
You know I always thought cloud kicker would look more like lightning dust
3199161
Royal Pardon from Luna.
3209834
God yes.
Liked this one. Was hoping for a little more time at the table, just fooling around, before the heavy stuff set in, but yeah. This was good.
Ohhh lordy. If this is true, Apple Bloom's shoved into a Changeling caccoon somewhere in Apple Acres, and nobody's looking to get her out.
That is capital-E Evil
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3215030
I suppose I could have infodumped for longer about Azalea's extended family, but by the time they pop up on page this chapter won't be fresh in many minds.
Well then, that didn't work out so well. The drama is certainly rising with this chapter. You are hurt the most by the ones you love, and Sweet Drops knows all she needs to in order to really hurt everypony.
3199633
It just hit me, and I had to go back to this to comment.
Tullamare Dew.
3215030 I take it then that you haven't read "You Can Fight Fate"? The anticipation for Eakin's reveal is killing me.
I knew it!
I commented about it on an earlier chapter.
I KNEW CLOUD KICKER WAS BARNEY AND NOW I HAVE MY PROOF
eakin, the whole thing about bon bon being az's pimp? that would be a great birthday present in 19 days
...I just realized my birthday is less than 3 weeks away
*pins down Fire Brand* WHERE'S THE BLACKSMITH!?
Best combo store makes an appearance!
6392159
You can't pin down Firebrand. She makes most stallions look puny in comparison. She's probably only out done in the strength department by Snowflake, and could probably beat Big Mac in hoof wrestling 50% of the time.
Wow. Sweetie that was downright capricious.