Pony Persona

by Everace

15 - Confrontation

Twilight looked on with concern as Zecora did her best to comfort Veil. The pegasus had not moved since the false Piv had made his exit: head down, ears back, slumped on her flank as if all the strength had left her body. Her striped friend simply sat with her, one hoof holding her gently, providing a comforting presence.

Twilight shut the library door with a magical push. A changeling had appeared here, in her town, in her very home! She worried belatedly that it had been a bad idea to just let it go, though honestly she didn't have the means to keep something like that entrapped for any length of time. Perhaps it was enough that her friends were all ok.

Pinkie moved to the door and placed her hoof upon it, "Does anyone else think that changeling looked really sad?"

Rarity nodded thoughtfully, "Yes. Quite peculiar for a changeling, don't you think?"

Twilight frowned, not wanting to hear this sort of talk about the same type of monster that had very nearly taken her brother away from her. As she looked around the room, she wondered if any of the rest of them had been replaced. Would she have noticed? She had been the one to uncover Queen Chrysalis, but that didn't mean another might not fool her. There was one way to find out! "Zecora!" Twilight approached the healer and her wounded friend. "Will that salve of yours reveal any changeling?"

The Zebra nodded, "Changelings, it will show them true." Zecora touched Twilight's cheek and smiled faintly, "It also shows that you are you." Twilight blinked and ran a hoof over the spot Zecora had touched to find she had been dotted with the green stuff. Her striped friend then took the jug from around her neck and handed it over, "A little dab and we can be sure, that our party here is quite secure."

Zecora quickly dipped her hoof as Twilight took the jug, then turned back to Veil sombrely. "Forgive me friend, for what I have done. I never wanted to steal your sun." She offered her salved hoof to the grieving pegasus. Veil turned her head toward the sound of her voice, but it was several moments before her eyes focused on the zebra.

Moving laboriously, Veil raised one hoof of her own and touched it to Zecora's, marking herself with the green goo. "So I'm not a changeling." Her tone was dull and lifeless. "Too bad. I'd love to be somepony else right now." The wounded pharmacist let her hoof fall back to the floor. "That thing said... Piv is..." she broke off as tears began to run slowly down her face.

Applejack came to her other side and touched her shoulder, "Who says it was tellin' the truth? Those villains wouldn't know honesty from a buffalo's behind!" There was no response to this attempt at comfort, the tears continued to fall steadily. Twilight turned away from them both, heaving a disconsolate sigh. With a potential infestation looming, she couldn't afford to spare time for Veil right now no matter how much the poor pony might need it.

"Ok!" She said, taking a dab of salve. "First we make sure everypony here is themselves, then we start with the rest of the town!" Though she tried to project confidence for the sake of her friends, a knot had formed in Twilight's gut. What would she do if one of them had already been taken? First Spike and then each pony in turn stepped forward to receive their marks, and with each good result the knot unwound a bit. Pinkie was the last to be touched; she took the stuff on her hoof and smeared it across both cheeks like war paint. When the marks failed to glow, Twilight let out her breath in a silent prayer of thanks.

Dash paced restlessly, "So this stuff is our secret weapon, right? Then let's get out there and start marking changelings!"

Rarity pursed her lips, "We don't want to cause a panic, darling." The fashionista used magic to remove her dress and fold it neatly. She glanced first over at the table, but frowned at the tray with dip. Instead she sent the outfit upstairs where it came to rest on Twilight's bed. "Why don't we take this to the mayor? She'll know how to keep things under control as we ferret out the scoundrels!"

"Yes!" Twilight nodded decisively. "The mayor needs to know about this danger right away!" That was what needed to happen logically, but... she threw a glance over her shoulder at Veil, feeling guilty that she couldn't stay to help. "Spike." She motioned him over, and when he came near she whispered to him, "I need you to help Zecora take care of Veil. She's hurting right now, and she needs her friends."

The dragon saluted eagerly, "Leave it to me! You just worry about those changelings." With that, Twilight led her party out into the downpour. Spike called to them from the library, "Go get 'em!" He pumped a fist into the air for emphasis before closing the door.

The looming rainclouds imposed an inky blackness, forcing the two unicorns to make magical lights so the group could see where they were going. Purple and light blue radiance melded to give their surroundings a frosty glow that emphasized the chill of the rain. Some few ponies were still braving the streets to go about their business with lanterns or magic lights of their own, being that it was technically late evening rather than night, and they waved as the group passed by.

A short walk later they arrived at Town Hall, but nobody came to the door when they knocked. The door was unlocked, so the ponies entered in the hopes that they would find the mayor working late this evening. A few lights burned lazily overhead, and they heard the faint murmur of voices further into the building. They followed the sound to an open door.

"She won't be able to..." Mayor Mare broke off mid-sentence as Twilight and the gang entered the room. Pale amber with a dignified grey mane, the mayor was seated behind a sturdy oaken office desk. The desk was quite the mess, strewn with papers, an empty cup near her hoof, and a black pebble perhaps being used as a paperweight. To the older mare's left was Cheerilee, the cherry colored school teacher, and to her right a violet pegasus named Cloud Chaser. Bon Bon was standing across the desk from them, looking over her shoulder at the group with a small frown. The mayor greeted them, "Hello Twilight, hello girls. I hope you don't mind coming back tomorrow, this meeting has already run past my normal office hours!"

"I'm afraid it can't wait." Twilight entered and set the jug of salve down upon the mess on the mayor's office desk, her friends following behind her. It was an odd assortment of ponies here in Town Hall. Why should they be meeting this time of day? Suspicious, Twilight decided not to explain herself. Instead she took a dollop of the stuff and touched it to the nearest pony, Bon Bon.

The reaction was instantaneous. The green mark started to glow, and Bon Bon let out a gasp as it suddenly flared. When it subsided, there stood a very startled changeling! Twilight was the first to act, using her magic to freeze the creature in place as the others gathered around her defensively. "This is what we're up against!" She said, pointing an accusing hoof at the struggling changeling. "These things have infiltrated the town, and they want to use us all as a food source! We brought a balm made by Zecora that can uncover them."

"Good heavens!" Twilight heard the mayor say, though her attention was on the changeling. "Then everyone here must be tested! Dip your hooves, please." Keeping her focus on the spell to ensure the monster did not escape, Twilight glanced back in time to see the mayor, Cheerilee, and Cloud Chaser withdrawing their hooves from the jug, a spot of green clearly visible on all three. No glowing, no more flashy revelations. She sighed with relief, pleased they wouldn't have to do this without mayoral support.

Fluttershy stepped up to the desk, careful to keep Twilight between herself and the frozen changeling as she addressed her elected official, "Oh thank goodness. We've come to you because we need your help. We need all of Ponyville to join together!"

Rainbow Dash smirked, "And a little bit because we were gonna take you down if you were already a changeling!"

Nodding thoughtfully, the mayor stood and rounded her desk to get a better look at the insectoid. "If half of what I've heard about these things is true, the whole town is in danger!" She spun to face them, "We need to get the word out to everyone, immediately! Cheerilee," she nodded to the teacher, "you know where I keep my podiums. Bring one out and we'll set it up in the square! Twilight, you bring our prisoner along so we can better demonstrate our point."

Dash frowned as the ponies began filing out of the office, "A public announcement? Won't the changelings get away if they know we know?" Cheerilee split off as she was talking, moving into a small side room. Fluttershy took the salve with her since she was closest to it.

Applejack nodded firmly, "Sure will! And good riddance! This'll chase 'em out without us having to do any chasing!"

They made their way out into the persistent rain. Rarity spoke up, "Agreed! Let them run! We only need the one we've already captured to tell us where any stolen townsponies are being kept."

Cheerilee caught up to the group and planted a sturdy wooden podium prominently in the town square outside town hall. Twilight, changeling in tow, stayed by the mayor's side as the older mare approached the podium and began calling for all ponies to assemble. Keeping her holding spell steady, the studious unicorn also cast a sound amplification spell to let the mayor's voice ring across the whole of their little town. Dash and Applejack ran down streets knocking on doors, making sure everypony who could possibly attend would hear their important announcement.

In a short while nearly all of Ponyville was assembled, and Mayor Mare cleared her throat to signify that she was ready to begin. "My friends! I come before you today with dire news! Before us is a danger that threatens to end everything we have made here!" Gasps of alarm sounded from the crowd as the mayor gestured at Twilight and the changeling she held. She waited for the crowd to quiet before continuing. "Do not be afraid! Together we are strong, and we will overcome this challenge!" This elicited murmurs, and some cries of agreement.

"I have here with me..." She beckoned to Fluttershy, who stepped forward with the salve. "...a means to reveal any changeling hiding here! As such we will strike now, before they have a chance to react!" Many ponies cheered loudly at this, and many pressed forward towards the jug. Fluttershy backed away from the surging crowd meekly, "Now, now, one at a time, please..."

The mayor turned and smiled at Twilight. She then produced the small black pebble that Twilight had noticed on her desk earlier. The unicorn opened her mouth to ask about it, but never had the chance. The mayor spit at her! A large wad of something much stickier than ordinary spit caught up the pebble and splattered against Twilight's horn, sticking it to her.

"What!?" A bewildered Twilight realized she'd lost her spells, loosing the supposedly captured changeling. As she turned to shout a warning to the others, Cheerilee and Cloud Chaser pounced on her, spraying her with more sticky spit and pinning her to the ground. The mayor stepped over and lowered her head to look the captured unicorn in the eyes, "Oh, Twilight... you didn't think I was talking to you ponies, did you?"

Her friends had no time to react as the portion of the crowd that had surged forward fell upon them and ensnared them as well. Ponies cried out in alarm as those they had thought to be friends suddenly turned on them, and the town square erupted into chaos. Twilight glared into the smug face of the false mayor, "How?! The salve should have worked!"

The smile widened into a grin as the pretender presented her hoof, still marked green. There was a blurring, and the mark vanished. Another, and it reappeared. "I'm sure it would have worked wonderfully if we'd actually touched the stuff. We didn't, you see." Twilight growled and gathered her magic to free herself... but nothing happened. It seemed to drain away as quickly as she could summon it. The mayor chuckled and placed a hoof on Twilight's fiercely glowing horn. "Don't strain yourself, dear. That stone is a piece of our mighty Queen's throne! Not even Celestia herself could cast with that pressed against her horn."

"No...!" Twilight struggled against her bonds, but to no effect. She had no choice but to watch helplessly as the changelings threw her beloved home into turmoil.

Comments

[harts fire]

bout time Twilight needs a good ass whopping to teach her some manners.
love this chapter.

[Everace]

8192278 Oh, actually I like Twilight as much as any pony. She may have come off a bit brusque in this most recent chapter due to her strong feelings about changelings at this point in the timeline, since the Canterlot Wedding just happened. Doing bad things to a pony's brother and childhood babysitter is a great way to get on their bad side!

[harts fire]

8192597
yep I kind of guessed this is ware you ware going with this.

[tsaukpaetra]

Yeah. They haven't fully developed protocols, but that's the main reason you don't let them self-apply the dispell salve.
Why is it storming anyways? Who scheduled that?!