• Published 17th May 2016
  • 964 Views, 18 Comments

Pinkie's Surprise Quest - Shaded Changeling



Surprise wants to find his home, Pinkie decides to help him with that the only way she can think of, they go on a journey across all of Equestria. What could possibly go wrong?

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Canterlot Conundrums

As the train neared the city, Surprise began to get more and more nervous about entering the city. He knew from what Darkblaze said that the ponies in Canterlot were not too friendly about Changelings, whether they would react based on that was something Surprise was worried about.

On the train, Pinkie was excited to be able to help Surprise, she was willing to go across Equestria if need be. Surprise meanwhile, was madly fidgeting with the crystal ball, while trying to debate running back down the tracks at the first chance he got.

“Pinkie… Are you sure that this is a good idea…”

Pinkie looked up from the magazine she was reading, some kind of party catalogue thing, Surprise didn’t bother to read the title. “Well, I would just go straight to the Hive, but we don’t know where they are, so our best bet is coming here and seeing if the Queens know anything.”

“Yeah…” Surprise said, looking down at the ground. “But uh… Are you sure that I’ll be okay?”

“Why wouldn’t you be?” Pinkie asked, the catalogue now gone. “Are you worried about the ponies in Canterlot still being harsh towards you?”

Surprise looked down at the crystal and nodded.

Pinkie put her hoof around Surprise. “Don’t worry about them.” Pinkie replied. “You aren’t in any danger, I’m sure that they completely forgave you guys for that whole attacking their homes thing.”

Surprise swallowed. “Y-Yeah…” He chuckled lightly. “You’ll uh… Stay close though right?”

Pinkie nodded. “Just try not to lose me in the crowd.”

Surprise nodded, and went back to fidgeting with the crystal, his wings unconsciously buzzing. As he looked out of the window, he saw the white and gold city, the one place he hadn’t been around in his travels, Ardent always said it was the easiest place to get caught.

It was his first time looking at the city from this angle, the way it reflected the light of the midday sun and seemed to radiate. Surprise let out a light “Wow…” at the sight. Pinkie grinned at him as he watched the city approach.

When they were close, Pinkie poked the Changeling. “You should get ready. We’re nearing the station.”

Surprise took a deep breath and grabbed his saddlebags, slinging them onto his back before changing into his disguise. Pinkie put on her own saddlebags and smiled at Surprise as the train began to slow. Surprise looked out the window to see a few Unicorn Guards standing at the walls, looking down at the train as it entered the city. Surprise looked over at Pinkie, who gave him a reassuring smile.

As the train stopped at the crowded station, Surprise and Pinkie stepped off the train, looking around the area around the station, Surprise saw the Pegasi flying around, some clearing clouds, others were Guards, watching from on top of buildings or clouds. Surprise followed behind Pinkie, walking to the exit, Surprise sighed as he realized he how much he was freaking out again.

“You’re doing great, Surprise. I told you there was nothing to worry about.”

“Yeah… I guess you were right.” Surprise replied. As the two of them moved to the exit, one of the guards, an Earth Pony, walked up to Surprise.

“Step out of line, please.” The Guard said, looking at Surprise.

Surprise looked at the Guard, then looked behind him to make absolutely sure he meant himself. “M-me?” Surprise pointed at himself.

“Yes.”

“W-why?” Surprise replied. “I-I didn’t do anything! I swear!”

The Guard shook his head. “Don’t worry, you aren’t in trouble.” Surprise sighed. “Just a random check. After we caught somepony trying to bring a Dragon egg, mother not too far behind, into the city, we’ve been just doing random sweeps. As long as you have nothing incriminating, you should be fine. It’s just a quick check.”

Surprise looked over at Pinkie. “It’s alright, Surprise. I’ll just wait for you by the exit, alright?”

Surprise nodded, and after taking a deep breath, followed the guard out of the line. He was led to a small building away from the others, a Unicorn and a red-eyed Changeling inside the room, both playing a game of cards.

Surprise was worried when they entered their own building, did they know? Were they going to get revenge? He sighed in relaxation when he saw the other Changeling.

“Alright, so what’s your name?” The Earth Pony Guard asked.

“Surprise… Uh… I’m not sure if I’m technically a Pie or not…”

The Earth Pony looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “You don’t know your last name?”

Surprise smiled nervously and shook his head. The Earth Pony shook his head, “That’s not a point in your favor.”

“Cut him some slack, Gilded. He’s a Changeling.” The Changeling Guard said. “Probably doesn’t have a pony last name.”

Gilded looked at Surprise. “So, what is your Changeling name then?”

“Surprise.” Surprise replied.

Gilded sighed. “Of course it is… So mare.”

“Stallion actually.” Surprise replied, and even the Changeling Guard looked at him in confusion this time.

“Is this normal?” The Unicorn asked the Changeling.

“Do I look like the type of guy who pays attention to trends, Glint?”

“I figured you would know better than us, Trench.”

Trench sighed and put down his cards. “Just take off the disguise, I’ll search your things and make sure you aren’t carrying anything dangerous.”

Surprise nodded and got rid of his disguise, causing the Guards to look at him in confusion. “What?”

“Haven’t seen one of you guys in around half a century.” Trench replied. “Guess you are the Exile that Acari told the Queen about.”

Surprise nodded.

“Well, then let’s get this over with” His horn lit up as he removed the bags, and opened them, beginning to search through them, pulling out the various items Surprise bought earlier. “Everything’s clear.” Trench placed the items back in the bag. “Mind if I ask what you’re doing in Canterlot?”

“I’m here with my friend, Pinkie. She is helping me find my Hive.”

“Well, I wish you luck there.” Trench said. “You’ll need it…” He said under his breath before handing over Surprise’s bags. “You’re free to go, sorry for the inconvenience.”

Surprise replaced his disguise and walked out, hearing the guards talking a little as he left, something about telling the Commander.

As Surprise walked out of the building, he headed towards the exit of the train station, and when he was out, he froze.

He couldn’t see Pinkie anywhere nearby; all he could see was a sea of unfamiliar faces and Canterlot Ponies. His legs began shaking as he looked out at them, his eyes widened as his ears pointed down. “Pinkie?” He said weakly, looking around frantically for any sign of the pink pony. “Pinkie?” He said again.

He took a tentative step forward, crouching down to the ground and talking long stalking steps to try and avoid the attention of any of the nobles. He kept stalking around, his panic slowly growing bigger and bigger as he looked around to see the sea of unfamiliar ponies all around him, without a single sign of Pinkie nearby. “PINKIE?” He said in his panic, turning to look to the side before colliding with another pony.

Surprise fell backwards onto his flank and rubbed his head a little before looking up at the object he collided with to see a tall white stallion, a blue mane and a monocle, he looked down at Surprise, who was already looking up at the Stallion in pure fear.

“I am terribly sorry for the collision, I wasn’t looking where I was going. Are you all right?” The Stallion asked.

Surprise however, didn’t hear his actual words; his legs began trembling as he looked up at the Stallion, his mouth quivering as the Stallion glared down at him, a look of pure hatred that pierced his mind. Surprise let out a low whine and tried to back away, but collided with another pony. Turning, he saw a mare this time, her eyes glaring down at Surprise. “We don’t want your kind here.” She said.

Surprise whined again and backed away slowly, turning to see the ponies around the area all glaring at him, red eyes all around as he began to shake more and more. His wings feeling limp and non-existent, his ears making everything around him blur out. He whirled around, but saw no clear place to run. He covered his eyes with his hooves, falling to the ground and continuing to shake, whimpering slightly as he did.

But despite the blurred silence around him, a single sound pierced through it. “Surprise?”

Surprise’s shaking slowed, and he sniffed before lowering his hooves slightly to see the familiar Cotton Candy pony kneeling down in front of him, looking at him in concern. He sniffed before looking directly up at Pinkie’s blue eyes, he reached out to her, pulling in the familiar emotion. He felt his legs stop shaking all together as he slowly began to push himself up. When he was standing he looked around to see the ponies all looking at him either curiously or with concern.

Surprise took a deep breath to slow his heart and looked at Pinkie. “Are you alright?” She asked.

Surprise paused for a moment before nodding. He looked over at the Stallion. “Sorry…”

“No, I must apologize, I was not watching where I was going. Please, accept my apologies.”

Surprise nodded, then looked back at the Mare he bumped into.

“Are you alright?” She asked. “You looked terribly frightened.”

Surprise nodded. “Sorry… I-I’m not too good with large crowds… I-I lost my friend and I… well…”

“It is quite alright.” The Stallion said. “Is this your first time in our fair city?”

Surprise nodded.

“Well, I advise you to stay close to your friend then. One can get lost quite easily around here.”

Surprise nodded. “I’ll stick close to her… Don’t worry.” Surprise began to walk away, pulling Pinkie with him. He waved back at the other two before picking up the pace and getting out of the crowd as fast as he possibly could, pulling Pinkie the full way.

When the two of them were away from the crowd, Surprise slowed down and sighed. “I’m sorry about that Pinkie, but I couldn’t see you and when I went to look for you, I couldn’t see you…”

Pinkie reached over and hugged Surprise. “No, I’m sorry, I couldn’t hold it anymore and I had to go! I didn’t know it would cause that much trouble.”

Surprise blinked. “Oh… The bottomless soda.”

Pinkie nodded. “I didn’t know how long you were going to be gone for, and I thought that I could quickly run out and use the bathroom, but when I came back I saw a bunch of ponies standing around you and knew I goofed up and I’m sorry.”

Surprise grinned. “You can make it up to me by not getting sad.”

Pinkie smiled. “Done!” Pinkie pulled Surprise into a hug, letting the Changeling feed on her joy, a much needed snack at the time. When Pinkie let go, Surprise looked back at her. “So… Where to now?”

Pinkie turned to look over at the castle. “Well, I thought that we might be able to talk to one of the Changeling Queens that live around here and…” Pinkie’s eyes widened as she let out a loud gasp. “NO WAY!” She dashed over towards a nearby building. “It’s OUT!”

Surprise blinked before turning to see Pinkie standing outside a store, her face pressed up against the glass as she looked into the store. “Pinkie?”

“Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh! The Mark SIX!” Pinkie said, her face still pressed up against the glass, but Surprise could feel the excitement for the pink pony. “I didn’t think it was supposed to be ready for wide range development for at least another month!”

Surprise walked up next to Pinkie. “What are you talking…” Pinkie pulled Surprise and planted his face into the glass next to her.

“Loooooook!” Pinkie pointed his gaze at a Party Cannon on a pedestal, a card in front of it saying ‘Mark VI Party Cannon! Now in Stock!’ “It’s the newest variant of the Party Cannon! I’ve been waiting months for this. I have every variant of the Party Cannon, ever since I was a filly and I had my first one gifted to me after a really good party.”

Surprise looked at the cannon. “But… It looks almost exactly the same as the one you have now.”

Pinkie gasped. “The same!” Pinkie pulled Surprise off of the glass, pulling the Party Cannon out of nowhere. “They are nothing alike.” Pinkie replied. “I know that they look similar, but the inner mechanisms are what make them different. For instance, the Mark Five was improved from the Mark Four’s initial design, it was changed to be more lightweight and sleek. Easily loaded for quicker firing and better dispersal of confetti. It was the last upgrade of design for the product line. Transforming from the longer barrels and standard ignition fuse. It was replaced with the now standard button activated ignition that became the basis for all of PBI’s merchandise.”

Surprise blinked in confusion. “Uh… Sure?”

“And the Mark Six! Don’t even get me started on the Mark Six! It’s supposed to have faster firing, bigger spread, and it was supposed to be able to fire four Confetti bags at ONCE! That’s huge!” Pinkie put her face against the glass. “It’s so Beautiful….” Pinkie said.

Surprise looked over at the door, seeing the ‘OPEN’ sign on it, he walked over and pushed open the door. “Hi, I wanted to ask about that cannon?”

The Stallion behind the counter looked over at Surprise. “The Mark Six party Cannon? That little beauty sold pretty quickly.”

“WHAT!” Pinkie appeared next to Surprise. “But… You must have more!”

“We do. But they were all ordered in advance. The release for those who didn’t order it before deployment is in another month.”

“But… It’s always been released at the same time!”

“Well, these things are taking more time to build, and those loyal customers are the ones that get it first.”

“But… Why?”

The Stallion shrugged. “I just work here, I don’t bother with the higher ups. Now do you want to buy something?”

Pinkie scowled at the Stallion. “I’ve got my eye on you.” Pinkie said, walking backwards out of the store, followed by Surprise, as they walked out of the store, Pinkie appeared back in front of the store owner, taking her hoof and pointing at her eyes and back at the store owner.

Pinkie released a sigh. “I really wanted to get that cannon too…”

Surprise patted Pinkie on the back. “You’ll get it, just need to wait a month.”

“I’ll never survive that LONG!” Pinkie’s eyes widened as she took a deep breath. “But, that’s for later. Right now, we need to focus on your Hive.”

Surprise nodded. “So… Your plan?”

“Right.” Pinkie said. “Well, first up, we need to go to the Castle. I bet we can get some answers from Chrysalis or maybe even Celestia. RACE YOU THERE!”

“Wait what?” Surprise said as Pinkie began to dash off towards the castle. Surprise opened his wings and took to the sky, trying to keep Pinkie within his sightlines. “Pinkie! Wait up!”


Crimson Lance was bored.

No, she was beyond bored; she was doing paperwork.

Crimson hated paperwork, the dull repetition: Sign here, initial here, Hoofprint here, make an X here, then do it all over again, repeat by two thousand. How Celestia managed to do this every day without going insane from boredom was something Crimson never understood.

As Crimson added her signature to another form for repair of damaged armor for the Lancers, she placed it on the finished pile. Then looked to her left to see the large paper stack that she still had to go through, and sighed. “Chrysalis… You owe me so much for doing this.” Crimson mumbled pulling off another large portion of the papers and levitating them in front of her, shaking her hoof so that the aching would go away.

Article 247-B, Possible profits within the Crystal Caverns.

Crimson sighed. “What does this have to do with the Lancers?” She flipped through a few of the pages, seeing most of it in political techno-babble, all of which was lost to her.

She had been there for what seemed like all day, most of the time she simply ignored the paperwork, content to let it sit and rot, but when she is the only Changeling Queen in Canterlot, she has to deal with this kind of stuff. If paperwork were a pony, that specific pony would have been kidnapped, beaten, cut into a bunch of tiny pieces, blended, and then thrown in a fire.

Crimson looked down at the paper, planning to never sign this one in particular. Chrysalis would probably try to tear her apart if she signed it, emphasis on try.

As she lifted another paper in her magic, the door opened. Crimson looked over the piles to see a member of the Lancers walk in. “My Queen, sorry to interrupt.”

Crimson propped her hooves upon the table. “No harm done, Saber. Just taking care of a couple of Chrysalis’ papers.” She sighed. “Wish one of these was a declaration of war…” She mumbled.

“My Queen, I came to tell you that a couple of ponies are requesting you.”

“For?” Crimson asked.

“I… am unsure, My Queen, but one of them is from the Joyous Hive, he was saying he desperately needed your help.” Crimson suddenly tensed up.

“Pink Earth Pony?”

The Pegasus nodded.

Crimson looked at her work, then smiled. “Well, tell them I’ll gladly meet them at the Castle’s main doors.” She said, tossing the papers over her shoulder.

The Lancer bowed before walking out of the room. Crimson swung her legs around; a smile on her face as she grabbed her helmet and walked out of the room, she unceremoniously kicked the door closed with her hind legs and smirked as she walked away.

A couple minutes passed, and she was now standing in the main entrance hall, the door opened as a Pink Earth Pony and a white and yellow Pegasus walked in, the Pegasus looking around in amazement, the two were being escorted by a couple Royal Guards.

“Well, I think I have to thank you two.” Crimson said as she walked up to the two. “You both got me out of a bunch f dreadful paperwork. Now… I heard that you wanted to speak to me?”

“Uh-huh.” Pinkie replied. “Surprise here wanted to ask you something.”

Crimson raised here eyebrow and looked at the Pegasus. “So, you’re Surprise. I’ll be honest, when I heard Acari had found a member of the Joyous Hive, I was ready to Yee-haw in joy. And I don’t do that. Anyway, what did you want to ask?”

Surprise took a deep breath. “Do you have any idea where my Hive is?”

Crimson blinked. “Uh… Well, not really… We have a fairly good idea of where they aren’t.”

“I’ll take anything.” Surprise said, walking up to the Unicorn.

Crimson sighed. “Alright, just… Follow me.” She looked over at the two guards. “You two, back to positions.” The Royal Guards saluted before leaving the hall. Crimson beckoned the two to follow her.

“You have no idea what kind of trouble your Hive has caused us with their sudden disappearance.” Crimson said. “Mass panic, theories spread, the Hive just vanished. Now I’ve been ignoring them all and focusing on a wide sweep. But of course, no dice. Swept all over Equestria, and not a single clue. I knew from my early birthday parties that she was a pretty sneaky Queen, but vanishing off the earth, she could rival the Shadow Hive.”

“Shadow Hive?” Surprise asked.

Crimson waved her hoof dismissively. “Not important. It’s an old story my mom used to tell me. Anyway, after a while, we got a message from her. All it said was this: ‘Stop following me. I’ll come back when I’m ready.’ She is crazy.” Crimson sighed. “We pulled the main forces back, but all of us kept a small force together, each looking for her. However all we did was manage to find all of the places she isn’t.” Crimson stopped in front of the meeting room door, emblazoned with a sun and moon. As they stepped inside, Crimson closed the door and lit up her horn, pulling over a large map of Equestria, a number of pegs across it.

“This is the War map. Though recently we’ve used it to try and hunt down members of Chrysalis’ Hive and Eupha. See these black pegs? They represent the locations we know Eupha isn’t. The yellow are the possible locations we still need to check, and the green are Chrysalis’ Soldiers that got separated after the Invasion. She’s trying to find them. Anyway, we managed to narrow it down to three larger cities: Los Pegasus, Manehatten, and Griffonstone. Ovi is, hopefully, checking Los Pegasus and not getting plowed all day. I’m supposed to send a group to Griffonstone, and Acari wanted to check Manehatten when her schedule was cleared.”

Pinkie walked up to the map. “What about this?” She pointed at a large white plain up at the top.

“That’s the Frozen North, Eupha wouldn’t be caught dead up there. It’s too cold, isolated, not enough going on there. She is… Kind of an extrovert, at least I’ve never seen her act calm. She even sent two different letters when we had a meeting here, one serious, one joke.”

Surprise tilted his head. “I thought you said you couldn’t contact her?”

“We can’t, I didn’t say anything about her contacting us. She even sent some weird cannon things.”

“Can we see?” Surprise asked.

Crimson shrugged. “Sure, just let me tell one of my boys to bring it here… Done, they’ll be here in a couple minutes. Make yourselves comfortable.” Crimson hopped into a chair, putting her hind legs up on the table.

“Can I ask you something…” Surprise said to Crimson.

“Shoot.” Crimson replied.

“Where was my Hive before?”

“Well, you guys were in a really weird place actually. Your Hive used to be placed near the Bayou, though I’m sure she changed it recently. It kept flooding and she would always say it messed with the cakes.” Crimson replied. “In fact, I think we still need to check the Badlands within Equestria…” Crimson picked up a yellow pin and stuck it to the map, over a large rocky area to the southeast part of Equestria. “I’ll send a few Squads there later.”

There was a knock on the door. “My Queen, I have brought the items.”

Crimson’s horn lit up as she opened the door. A Red-eyed Changeling wearing Royal Guard armor walked in, a box in his magic. “Just put them on the table somewhere. Thanks.”

The Guard placed the box on the table carefully, before saluting and walking out of the room. Crimson lifted the box in her magic and pulled it over to her, opening it slowly before pulling out one of the small cannons. It was shaped much like a party hat, a small pull string in the larger side, Pinkie’s eyes widened.

“She sent these with a cake. Said they were called-”

“Party Hat Poppers!” Pinkie exclaimed, she ran up and grabbed one. “How did you get these? They aren’t supposed to come out for a couple months.”

Crimson blinked. “Wait. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. How do you know what these things are?”

Pinkie reached into her saddlebags and pulled out the magazine she was reading before. “It’s one of the hottest new items from Party Ballistics Incorporated.” Pinkie flipped through the magazine, stopping at a page that showed the Party Hat Poppers. Letting Crimson read it.

The Party Hat Poppers™

The latest in quick party planning. With a single pull of the string, the hat bursts out and painlessly lands on the head. Some aiming is required and more than a few mistakes, but after a while you get used to it and you’ll be ready to start parties in no time. Each Popper costs only five bits, plus shipping and handling.

Crimson blinked again. “Wait what?”

“You’ve Never heard of PBI?” Pinkie gasped. “They are only the biggest manufacturer in projectile party supplies! Established forty years ago under Giggle Trousers, the company is now run by her daughter Straight Face. They developed the first Party Cannon only twenty years ago and have been building up from its legacy ever since.”

Crimson’s eye twitched. “Did you say Party Cannon?”

Pinkie nodded, pulling the aforementioned cannon out from under the table. “I’ve only got the Mark Five here, but come one month’s time, I’ll have the Mark Six and…”

Crimson grabbed Pinkie. “Do they do Cake related stuff?”

“Pfft, Yeah.” Pinkie replied. “They are working on a special cannon that would…”

Crimson was covered in a red burst of flame before being replaced with a Changeling Queen, her red eyes still twitching while her short orange mane lay against her carapace. “Celestia damn it…” She planted her face in her hooves. “Right in front of us. How do you know about them?”

“Well, I found out when I got my first Party Cannon, and then I found out about their catalog from a friend of a friend of a friend, who was also the uncle of another friend…”

“Skip a bit…”

Pinkie began skipping in place and continued. “And then I found out about all of their various gadgets through the magazine and then…”

Pupa sighed. “Please…. Tell me that it took you a long time to find those catalogues.”

“Oh yeah, they are SUPER hard to find. But since I subscribed, I get them delivered right to me!”

Pupa walked over to the board and pulled out all the yellow pegs. “Where are they set up?”

“Their main office is located in Manehatten and their testing facility is…”

“Don’t care.” Pupa said, placing all of the yellow pegs on Manehatten. “I need to get a group ready to…”

“W-Wait!” Surprise said to the Queen. “C-Could you… Maybe let me see if it really is them first. Maybe I can talk them into coming out?”

Pupa rubbed her chin. “I suppose you would be the ideal member to see if you can talk to them… Fine, but I expect to be told immediately if it is them.”

Surprise nodded. “And uh… Wh-what should I look for?”

Pupa sighed. “I don’t know, see if the CEO is hyper, or even relatively emotional. Bring a Whoopee Cushion; she can never keep a straight face with those around. You shouldn’t be able to sense her emotions either, though she is a good actor.”

Pinkie’s grin widened. “Well, Surprise. Looks like we have one more stop.” She reached over and pulled Surprise into a hug. “Are you ready to meet your Hive?”

Surprise swallowed. “As ready as I’m going to be.”

Pupa looked at the two and coughed. “Well, listen, the train to Manehatten leaves in a half an hour, if you two want to make it there soon, I recommend you get out of here. Because I am going to go there personally and check myself if you don’t come back with good news.”

Pinkie looked over at Surprise. “Let’s go.” She said happily, hopping out of the room.

Surprise sat there stunned. Am I really going to finally see them?

“Not if you sit on your butt all day, get a move on!”

Surprise smiled and nodded before opening his wings and flying out of the doors. Back in the room, Pupa transformed back into Crimson Lance and looked at the map. “How in Tartarus did you manage to hide from us for that long?”

A Guard walked into the room. “Commander Crimson Lance.” Crimson looked back at the Guard. “Celestia needs your help with the paperwork.”

Crimson groaned. “I’m coming…” She sighed before following the Guard out of the room.

Author's Note:

A location is... Located... Now our two travelers must go there, and see if this company is truly owned by the Joyous Hive, or is just another piece of the Puzzle.