When a changeling gets a bright idea

by Rarity Belle

Chapter 08

The next day came and most of the fires between friends had calmed down just a little bit. Yet Chara was making her way in her stallion’s disguise to Sugercube Corner. It was still just a plain old stupid idea to have used her real name, but it did make for more believable reactions, since she would always react. Another little fact that surprised her was that nopony had seen through her disguise yet. Maybe it was better that way, as it meant that it was a good disguise.

She wanted to meet Pinkie Pie and hear something about two ponies in particular. There were two whom she had met at the part that seemed like easy targets, that were the shy and timid Fluttershy and the fashionable lady Rarity. Those two had no idea what was heading for them. Neither of them knew what kind of storm had been send their way by the changeling.

Chara wandered through the streets without much trouble on her mind. The thoughts were all morphed and she still tried to taste the red flow in the air. It had all but evaporated. Vinyl and Octavia were away from town to live with relatives, both Applejack and Rainbow weren’t seeing the other and lived on the edge of town. All of the concluded in the fact that it was just a calm, almost normal day for Ponyville, for as much ‘normal’ was considered a good thing in town.

The stallion made his way through the streets with light steps to his hooves. The eyes glanced at every pony for just a short period of time. Those same eyes were scanning even though it seemed like they weren’t looking at all in the direction they stared. It gave ponies a false sense of security. They never really spoke with Chara though. In their eyes he must have been busy and wasn’t wanting to be disturbed. Of course did they all knew who he was and even why he was there. It was best for the town to just continue on its daily base if they wanted him to stay.

If that was the trick of winning somepony over, it may have been working. Ponyville was both vivid and lively, always bristling about with life in unexpected corners. Chara didn’t have an eye on that though, he wasn’t even looking for a house to live in of course. No, he was scanning each and every last one of the ponies around there to see what their emotions were. Too bad that they all had the same feeling around them. All of them were just too kind and too helpful for his taste, it was making the stallion’s stomach turn inside out.

Taking a turn followed by another a couple streets later, Sugarcube Corner was rising on the horizon and the shop appeared to be open. Chara got a genuine smile across his lips. Finally was there something going his way that day. Whether the changeling had liked to admit it nor not, but the day had been going off just plain terrible. The cavern in which she had made her hole almost flooded for reasons and a bear had tried to make his home in hers during the night. Two things she wasn’t a big fan of.

The sweetshop came further in his view and the door stood wide open. The chance of just entering the place increased and his trotting speed increased a bit. With a gentle and quiet whistle had he entered the shop soon afterward. His eyes had a gander over the place, seeing all of the sweets that laid around. His licks were licked like a true pony and he wanted to try some of it. It was genuine though. The sweets that were on display, together with the pies, cakes and other sweet delicious baked goods were just breathtaking and the scent that they gave off was just amazing.

If nopony would have kept an eye on him, he could consume the entire store in a matter of minutes. “Pinkie? Are you here, Pinkie?” Chara asked since nopony stood at the counter.

A few seconds later was it indeed the pink mare who came hopping to the counter from the back. She giggled at the sight of him and couldn’t be happier. “Was wondering when I would see you here for the first time. You interested in anything that we have to offer?”

“Oh Pinkie, I would love to buy something, but it’s still a bit too early in the morning for that. I’m afraid that I’ll get an explosion of sugar if I take it now,” the stallion replied in honesty. Of course was it yet another lie, but he didn’t have a single bit in his pocket. The less money he would have spent, the better it was.

The pink mare grumbled to herself, a bit sad. But then she shook her head. “Doesn’t matter! What can I do for you anyway?” The transition from her happy self to a much more depressed version, before coming back to her happy one was curious and breathtaking. Not many ponies could switch their emotions like that and for a fraction of a second had the entire store been filled with red flow. That pink mare was an enigma not even the changeling dared to challenge, yet.

Chara wondered to herself in secret just how damaged that mare actually was, to have such an effect on her. Maybe one day it could be used for her own good. Just one day, maybe. The pegasus shook his head for the moment to return to the conversation. “Well, there’s something that I would like to know, actually. I’ve met Rainbow and Applejack and, let’s be honest, it wasn’t the best encounter that we had between the three of us. So that makes me wonder, if I can meet any of your other friends you introduced me too. They all seemed quite interested in me at the party. Especially the other pegasus and the unicorn, what were their names again?”

“You mean Rarity and Fluttershy!” Pinkie almost squealed to him.

Surprise took the stallion over, raising an eyebrow to matter. He shook his head. But it was the truth though, it were the ponies that he had meant. “Those, are indeed the two that I mean. Could, you tell me a bit more what the relation is between them?”

The question was one that made Pinkie think on the counter. With a hoof rubbing her temple, she thought about the possible relationship between the two mares without making it sound too awkward to listen to. It took her a couple of seconds, but then she was content with her answer. “Well, they met a young age, that’s for certain. They both complement each other perfectly. The one is laid back while the other is stressed, so to speak. When they are together, all the extremes of their personalities are evened out. It almost seems like they, blend in with the rest of the crowd...”

“A thing that nopony around here does, from the looks of it?” Chara asked, curious to hear what Pinkie had to say about that.

“Duh. Of course not, silly! Everypony in Ponyville is special in some way or the other. I don’t like seeing them becoming the gray masses of Canterlot for example. But who am I to judge if they want to have their own little bit of peace and quiet?”

With all the effort and might in his body, the pegasus tried not to huff to it. “Not everypony is a hunk of energy like you,” Chara mumbled without Pinkie hearing it. His attention shifted back to the pink pony with a question spoken aloud though. “But in order to get to those ‘levels’, they must do something together, right? Something that helps them to become both tranquil and peaceful, right? Something, that they both enjoy doing.”

“You betcha! They often go to the spa together to calm down and chat a bit. Not much for the spa myself, but both Aloe and Lotus are great friends of mine. Maybe you should consider a visit to the spa as well, it might do some of your muscles good!” Pinkie giggled at the remark. She would have taken a look through the glass shelves, looking straight at the delicious sweet underneath it. Her lips were made wet and she wanted to have some.

Her attention eventually shifted over to Chara, wondering what the stallion might have planned ahead. “Anything else I can help you with?”

The stallion’s train of thought broke apart and he shook his head. “W-What, sorry? I’m not fo- Oh! No, there’s nothing else that I require. Maybe tomorrow I’ll buy something.”

“You promise?”

“If I don’t forget it.”

“Works for me!” Pinkie cheered and she then darted back to the kitchen, hearing that the next batch of cupcake bases were done. “Gotta dash, see you around Chara!”

Chara made a salute to the mare who then disappeared again. The stallion wanted to leave the store for what it was and exited the same way he entered. A chuckle came to him when he stood outside again. Pinkie was such a strange mare, but she had told him more than he needed to go after the timid pegasus and the lady unicorn. Though again was there a plan that had to be forged.

He peeked back inside the place and saw a fresh batch of cupcakes that stood there in a box, on the counter, with the name of Fluttershy on it. “You gotta be kidding me here, right?”

It was no joke. Fate smiled again on Chara and the plan was kicked in motion. He rushed back inside and saw Pinkie handling the box with ease. “That needs to be delivered right, to Fluttershy?”

“Sharp eyes you got there!”

“Would it be too much of a hassle for you, to let me deliver them to her? As a token of goodwill? Saves you on cost in delivery,” said Chara with a well meant smile. Again was it a lie, for the most part.

Pinkie stroked her chin after hearing the proposition. It was of course a near perfect moment for her and she was liking the idea of him delivering the sweets to Fluttershy. There was something about his eagerness though, something about it just wasn’t really sitting that right in the party mare. Not that it mattered too much though, because she gave the go signal to him. “I don’t really see why you shouldn’t be able to do it. She lives in the cottage near the Everfree Forest, take this road, second left, head on straight to the bridge and then it should come up on your right hoof.”

The directions were surprisingly easy and they were leading the stallion to the direction of Everfree. It was about to get better and better for him. Everything was working out the exact way the changeling had hoped that it would.

Especially since near the border of Everfree grew a string of berries that could make just about anypony sleepy. Berries with that much power could be used as a topping or an extra for the cupcake. The plan was forged, the ideas were set, now all Chara had to do was getting the cupcakes to Fluttershy.

~~~~

A knock came on her front door and the timid pegasus was scared of it at first. It was moments later that she heard the voice of a charming stallion echo through her cottage. A voice that spoke the simple name of Chara. Of course had Fluttershy remembered who it was. She rushed over to the door, hoping to see what she wanted to see.

She opened it with haste but let her face fall between her mane. The mare smiled to him while he presented the cupcakes he had brought for her. What she didn’t knew was that the berry atop of them was in fact one of Everfree’s infamous sleeping berries. Chara had made a slight detour and she welcomed him in her home. “P-Please, come in, Chara. A-Are those the cupcakes I, ordered from Pinkie?” Fluttershy asked out of curiosity.

The stallion nodded and waited for her to go aside. When he finally stood in the living room and the box was set atop the table, he finally dared to take a seat in her house. It was surprisingly refreshing to see something along those lines, with all the walkways and places for critters to hide. Fluttershy was more one with nature than with anything else in Ponyville, a thing that the changeling could appreciate in any being.

“Will you be staying for tea?” the mare asked him.

“If it is no bother to you, I would love to stay.”

A gentle squee came from the kitchen before Fluttershy started making the drinks for them. “It’s absolutely no problem at all, Chara.” Her voice had become more full, much more charming to his ears even, now that they weren’t standing face to face with one another. “I’m supposed to meet Rarity at the spa in a few hours. Not much else planned. How’s the house-hunting going?”

Chara’s eyes became wide. Out of everything that she could have asked, it was that cursed question that she had to ask him. A curse spoken in his mouth left for the world, inaudible to the ears of Fluttershy. A reply had to be made, quick. “I’m, still searching around a bit. Places left and right have captured my attention but none of them are of any particular interest. I do have to admit though, your cottage is lovely. Did somepony build it for you, or did you found it in this condition.”

Now it was Fluttershy’s turn to be quiet. She didn’t remember who had built her house all those years ago. She genuinely didn’t remember anything about it anymore. Anything could have happened before she moved in though. But as with Chara, a reply had to be formed. “I, uhm, found the cottage without the holes and walkways and added them as time went on. Many creatures and critters call this place their home after dark as well. It keeps us both happy and safe from danger.”

“That’s, actually quite amazing, if you don’t mind me saying.”

“Not at all,” returned Fluttershy while she left the kitchen with a tray of cups and a teapot. She was ready to spend some time with the stallion and see why he was there. Though when she poured the cups, he offered her a cupcake and she couldn’t refuse. Though when the berry on top of it was spotted, an eyebrow was raised. “I didn’t knew I ordered them with berries...”

Chara shrugged slight. The act had to be held together and she couldn’t nor shouldn’t have figured him out. “It’s probably something special that Pinkie has thrown in for you.”

“Hmm, maybe you’re right. She does that sometimes,” the timid pegasus said with a gentle smile. She took a bite out of the cupcake, including the berry and Chara could have only waited. The juice of the berry would be taken in her blood. It’s effects causing her to be drowsy shortly afterward.

Though just like before, the changeling would monitor everything from the pegasus. Every little muscle detail would be remembered before actually becoming the mare and start the infiltration with the spa.

“Oh, I don’t, I don’t feel so, good,” said Fluttershy a few minutes after the cupcake had been eaten. Her eyelids became heavy, her body felt like sleeping. She became tired and only Chara was close by to help her. “M-Maybe I should, lay down for a moment?”

“You do look rather pale, Fluttershy,” the stallion replied. He stood up from his seat and went over her. He prepared a couple of pillows for her to lay on while the mare had some difficulty even keeping her head straight. She was dead tired, exactly as planned.

The head of the mare fell down on the pillows and the snores followed soon afterward. Fluttershy had fallen victim to the cousin of the Poison Joke. All while Chara was ready to take her spot for the time being.

A massive grin managed to work its way over the muzzle of the stallion. His eyes began to glow and in one eruption of reddish fire, another Fluttershy stood in the cottage. She gave the real Fluttershy a small peck on the forehead. “Sleep well, because you will have some explaining to do after today,” the duplicate chuckled. With a few steps had she then left the cottage and headed for the spa. The memory of the muscles and facial features made it look like she actually walked there.

~~~~

“So that’s why you are so late, Fluttershy,” said Rarity after she removed one of the cucumber slices from her eyes. The timid mare had explained her delay in time and apologized time and time again to the lady of fashion, who forgave her quite quickly. It was just good to be around her friend once more and that they both could relax a little bit.

A few minutes later were the two guided to the bubble bath where they would spend the next couple of minutes. It was there where the disguised changeling would have taken her time to strike on Rarity. She waited to just before they would be done with the bath and thus end their weekly trip to the spa.

“Hey Rarity, I’ve been thinking, the chances that you are a unicorn are slim, given, you know, how your family works and such.” It were words literally taken out of the blue for Fluttershy. Maybe the steam had already gotten to her?

“I’m sorry, but what are you saying here, darling?” Rarity was confused about the entire matter. Why would somepony like Fluttershy have spoken about her family matters like that? Yes, she had spilled tons of secrets about them to her friend, but so was it the other way around as well. It didn’t make sense that Fluttershy would have spilled them. “Please dear, do explain yourself.”

“Well, I know that your father isn’t one,” the disguised changeling mumbled. How Chara had ever come to know such powerful knowledge about the lady of fashion would remain a mystery shrouded by thick fog. Powerful knowledge gained through impossible odds, a changeling’s delight.

“I do hope that you take your words back quickly, Fluttershy, because you are threading on very thin ice here,” warned Rarity her with a snarling tone. She wasn’t in the mood to be called out by anything or anypony.

“Hmhmhmh, my dear Rarity, you shouldn’t have spilled so many secrets out on to me, because now they might be able to bite you back. Imagine what it would do to your status if it came out that you are not from a full-blood unicorn family. How did that old story of yours go again?”

“Don’t you even dare to mention that written tale of madness!”

Fluttershy got out of the tub with a fluent motions. She flicked her wet tale in the direction of the fashionista and was than gone. The timid pegasus had learned to bite back, for whatever reason. Rarity found herself all alone in the world, all of the sudden. She sunk a bit deeper in the tub.

Her mouth moved underneath the water, but the words were never audible. One thing was clear as day, she had been defeated by the one mare whom she had deemed to be her friend. What she didn’t knew, was that it was only the first step in Chara’s game of madness.