2. "Who Goes There?"
Pipsqueak – both of them – leapt at the sound of the other’s voice, turned to look, and let out surprised shouts. The two earth pony colts backed several paces away from one another, eyes wide and mouths open in shock. It was incredible to Twist, the fact that their actions mirrored each other so precisely…
“Pipsqueak…?” Dinky asked, looking between the two colts. “Um…why are there two of you…?”
“Which one’s real?” Snails asked.
“I am!” Exclaimed one, the one on the left, first.
“No, me!” The other insisted. He looked to the three of them. “You gotta believe me!”
“But you’re the fake one!” The first Pipsqueak insisted.
Twist studied the Pipsqueak on the left as closely as she could, then the one on the right…but there was nothing. The two looked identical in every way, at least from what Twist could tell given that the only light was the lavender glow of Dinky's horn and the greenish-yellow of Snails’ own magic. “If thith ith a Nightmare Night prank,” she said, not caring about her lisp at the moment, “then it ithn’t funny! Not right now when we’re in the middle of Green Grape’th field in the dark!”
One Pipsqueak, the one on the right, looked at her. “It isn’t a prank!” He insisted. “I’m me!”
“No, I am!” The other Pipsqueak insisted vehemently, stomping his hoof. “He’s…I don’t know what he is!”
“I’m me!” That Pipsqueak exclaimed, snorting and lunging for the other one. The latter shrank back at the sight and let out a cry of fright.
The cry was echoed by Dinky, who’s horn flashed a little brighter as she grabbed the grounded Pipsqueak’s tail and pulled him backwards and away from his attacker. He let out a yelp of surprise, while Dinky dashed between the two Pipsqueaks, holding up her hooves. “Stop it!” she exclaimed, glancing between the two. “O…one of you is real…and I don’t want the real one to be hurt! And since…since I don’t know which is which…neither of you should fight!”
The Pipsqueak she’d pulled away stood up a little straighter, while the one who’d lunged took in a few deep breaths, calming himself.
“What if they’re both real?” Snails suggested.
“That’s not helpful!” Dinky shouted. “They can’t both be real!”
Snails, Twist, and both Pipsqueaks shrank back from Dinky at her exclamation. Dinky noticed, and stooped a little herself, ears flopping and tail straight down. “S-sorry…” she said, and shook her head. “I…I mean…it’s just that they can’t both be real. Right?” She looked between the two Pipsqueaks. “There can’t be two Pipsqueaks all of a sudden!”
“Twinth?” Twist suggested.
“I’ve been to Pipsqueak’s house, he’s an only foal.”
“Not if it’s an evil twin,” Snails pointed out. “My sister has this book where this stallion has an evil twin who everypony thought was dead, but he wasn’t, and he tries to seduce this mare by pretending to be his brother…Raindrops took the book away from me before I could learn what that meant, though.”
“Guys, I don’t have a twin,” both Pipsqueaks said at the same time. They glared at each other again, but with a little less anger than before – apparently neither of them liked Snails’ theory.
“Everfree monthter!” Twist said. Snails, Dinky, and both Pipsqueaks started at that, looking around for a manticore or siren or something. Twist let out a sigh at that. “I mean, that’th the only thing that maketh thenthe. One of the Pipthqueakth is real…and one of them ith a monthter from the Everfree that jutht lookth like Pipthqueak.”
“There’s a monster in the Everfree that looks like Pipsqueak?” Snails asked.
“Apparently. I don’t know why…no, wait, that doethn’t make thenthe. Unleth…what if it can change it’th thape? Look like anypony?”
Dinky looked between the two Pipsqueaks again. “My momma says that if I see a monster from the Everfree, I’m supposed to run straight home,” she said.
“Mine too,” Snails confirmed.
“That’th what we’ll do then,” Twist said. “We’ll go back to Ponyville and get an adult. Thomepony will know what to do and how to tell them apart.”
Three of the foals started to go back, but both Pipsqueaks held up their hooves and called “Wait!” The three paused in their trots, looking to the two Pipsqueaks, who were looking between each other, evidently surprised that neither wanted to go back to Ponyville. After a moment, one waved at the other, then sighed and crossed his own hooves in annoyance.
That Pipsqueak looked between the other three foals nervously. “We…we can’t go back to Ponyville,” he said, looking down and scuffing a hoof in the dirt. “Y…y’know how I said that I got permission from me mum and da’ to go trick-or-treating with you?”
There was a moment’s pause as the implication of the question sank in, before Dinky stepped forward, her horn’s glow taking on an angry hue. “You lied?” she demanded.
Both Pipsqueaks shrank back. “I’m sorry!” Pipsqueak – the one who hadn’t admitted to lying – apologized, though the other nodded frantically. “But if we go back I’ll get in a ton of trouble for sneaking off…”
“But your mom and dad are probably super worried about you right now!” Snails exclaimed, coming forward as he looked at the second Pipsqueak to speak. “And…and you’re gonna be in trouble anyway! Because you snuck off! They’re gonna be mad about that anyway, it doesn’t matter when we go back! Plus you got yourself copied by an Everfree monster!”
“Oi!” The first to confess exclaimed. “He’s the copy!”
Snails turned to look at that one. “Well, you’ll be in trouble, then!”
“Yeah,” Twist agreed. “And we’ll be in trouble! My mom and dad won’t believe that I didn’t know!”
“I don’t even care if my momma believes me!” Dinky exclaimed, zeroing in on the Pipsqueak that had spoken second – he was closer – and stomping up to that one. “You lied! You’re not supposed to tell lies, especially not to your momma and papa!” She was all but on top of that Pipsqueak now, using the few inches of height she had on him to full effect. He was hunkered down, front hooves over his head and eyes shut tight. “And especially not if it’s gonna get you in super trouble and then you snuck off and right now they’re probably galloping all around Ponyville looking for you but they can’t find you and now you’re gonna be grounded and then you also lied to me and Twist and Snails and we’re your friends and I am so mad at you right – ”
“HHHZZZKKKZZZSSSTOP!”
The change was sudden. One second, Dinky was standing over a Pipsqueak, shouting down at him as he seemed like he was trying to withstand a hurricane-force wind. The next, the colt let out an absolutely un-equine sound just barely discernible as a word, a loud and cutting hiss as his head snapped up at Dinky…his eyes now blue and compound, like an insect’s, while his mouth now sported a pair of fangs and a long, forked tongue.
Dinky let out a cry of fright and scampered backwards from the…the…whatever it was, as did the other Pipsqueak. There was a green flash, and the foals found themselves looking at something that looked like nothing so much as a combination of a pony and an insect…it was basically pony-shaped, and around the same size as Dinky or Twist, but it had a hide of black chitin, save for a dark blue pair of elytra on its back. A pair of gossamer blue wings extended from beneath the elytra. Atop its head was a single short, curved horn. Its eyes were the same blue compound eyes of before, and its mouth still had the large fangs – larger now, in fact, seeing as the form it had assumed was taller than Pipsqueak.
But most unnerving were the holes across its legs, within the odd diaphanous tail it possessed, and along a similar spine that ran down the back of its neck like a mane. The holes were actual gaps in its body – see through gaps, some of them big enough to stick an entire hoof through.
“W-wh-what is that?!” Pipsqueak – presumably, the real Pipsqueak – demanded.
“Yeah!” Twist asked, looking to Snails. “Your thpecial talent is bugth! What ith that thing?!”
“It’s not just bugs!” Snails objected. The other three foals all glared at him at the same time, and he shook his head. “Anyway, I don’t know!”
The bug-thing had stood up now, but it remained hunkered down, wings spread wide, and it hissed at them again and stomped one hoof. “HHHUNGRY! LOVE! FOALZZZ!”
“It wantth to eat uth!” Twist exclaimed. She was frozen, paralyzed completely with fear at…at…whatever this thing was.
Dinky’s horn glowed bright lavender as she grabbed Twist’s broom. “Go away!” the unicorn exclaimed, swinging with all her might. But the bug-thing only let out another hiss, and its horn glowed green, and an aura of the same color wrapped around the broom, overpowering Dinky’s own magic easily and taking it away from her. It tossed the broom away, over its shoulder with a swing of its head, though it seemed to stumble a little as it did.
But then its head snapped back around to look at them, mouth open wide and drooling some kind of thick, viscous liquid, tongue stretching out nearly two feet from its body towards them. It lunged, front hooves outstretched. The foals all whinnied in fright, turning to run, but the bug-thing had leapt clear over them, landing on the other side of them.
Whatever conscious, rational part of the foals existed completely left them, and they all bolted again – and split up without meaning to, only wanting to get away from the bug-thing that was the stuff of their nightmares and seemed to want nothing more than to eat them.
---
SCARED!
No! Meals! Ran!
HUNGRY!
My fault. Stupid. Showed self. Never do that. Lurk more.
Hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry…
Makes me stupid…makes me slow…
Pick one! Chase!
HUNGRY…
---
Twist ran as fast as her hooves could carry her, dodging between trellises and not really having a direction in mind other than away, but the filly was soon gasping for breath and forced to slow down. She spent her days helping her sister Bon Bon make candy, or eating candy, or reading Junior Ace of Clover mystery books. She wasn’t anything close to in shape. She didn’t know how long she ran for – certainly longer than she ever had before in one go – but by the time she stopped, gasping for breath and with a film of lather on her flanks under her witch’s costume and saddlebags, she was still in Green Grape’s vineyard. Only now, she realized, she was all alone, in the dark, without either of her unicorn friends to provide light…with the Moon and Stars now behind clouds, she could barely see five feet in front of her…
Twist huddled back against a vice trellis, looking around, ears standing tall and grateful for her costume, for the just a little bit of extra security it provided. But she couldn’t see anything…couldn’t hear anything either, except a light wind blowing through the trellises that occasionally ruffled the vines’ leaves. When the wind picked up it would make the trellises creak a little, like a door being opened.
She was gasping for air, couldn’t get enough of it after that run, yet at the same time she was trying to keep her breathing to a minimum, trying to keep as quiet as possible…
Then she heard hoof-steps – slow, cautious steps. Twist hunkered down more and held her breath, trying to make herself as small as possible, wishing she could turn invisible, wishing she was at home with her mommy and daddy and big sister…
But she wasn’t. She was alone and in the dark and those hoof-steps were getting closer. Her lungs burned from holding her breath, she couldn’t hold it forever…throwing caution to the wind, she leaped out at the source of the hoof-steps, swinging her hooves wildly and shouting, eyes closed.
She missed, and heard whatever she was swinging at fall to the ground and let out a shout of its own – a colt’s, one she recognized. Opening her eyes, she just barely saw the outline of Pipsqueak in the dim light. “It’s me!” He exclaimed, holding up his hooves in surrender.
Twist stopped her attack and almost apologized…but then checked herself. “How do I know that?” she asked, stepping back.
Pipsqueak stood up. “Because I’m me!” he insisted. “Anyway, how do I know that you’re you? You said yourself that maybe it can look like other ponies besides me!”
Twist almost objected to the idea that she wasn’t herself, but then checked her outburst. If this was Pipsqueak, then he had a point…he had no reason to trust that it was her, any more than she had a reason to trust that she was really looking at Pipsqueak. “If…if I really wath that bug-thing,” she said, “then I would have attacked you by now! And if you were it, then you’d have attacked me! It’th jutht you and me right now. There’th no reathon to hide.”
Pipsqueak almost seemed to accept that, but then shook his head. “Nuh-uh. We don’t know that. Maybe you’re the bug-thing and you like scaring me!”
Twist stomped her hoof in annoyance. She almost suggested just going their separate ways, but she really didn’t want to be alone right now…and besides, how could she be sure the bug-thing wouldn’t follow her, if Pipsqueak really was it? Her brow furrowed as she tried to think of some way to prove herself to Pipsqueak. What would Junior Ace do in the mystery books in this situation?
“How about…” Twist suggested, “I tell you thomething that only I could know. Thomething the bug-thing wouldn’t. Um…we firtht met thith patht thummer.” Twist took in a deep, steadying breath. “Summer,” she corrected herself. Focusing on trying to get rid of her lisp took her mind off of the bug-thing, at least a little. “We were playing pirate attack with all the other foals. You were a pirate. I wath – wasn’t. Pirates won.”
Pipsqueak was motionless in the darkness for a long moment, and Twist had a horrible image of him flashing green and attacking her…but instead he let out a long, relieved sigh. “O-okay,” he said. “That bug-thing couldn’t have been around that long ago. So you’re you.” He put a hoof to his chin. “Uh…you’re Twist. You mum is Honeydew, your da’ is Curry, and your big sister is Bon Bon. Your special talent is making candy, same as your sis, but your cutie mark is two crossed candy canes.”
It was all correct and specific enough; Twist really was looking at Pipsqueak. The next thing she knew after registering that thought, she had leapt forward and scooped the smaller colt into the tightest hug she had ever given anypony. “You’re really you!” she exclaimed, tears in her eyes.
Pipsqueak returned the hug wholeheartedly, so tight it almost hurt, both earth ponies putting their innate strength to full use – the same innate earth pony magic ensuring they were tough enough to keep them from getting anything worse than light bruises instead of broken bones, though Twist at least would have been happy to suffer that right now in exchange for knowing that she wasn’t alone in the night. It did result in the plastic fake jewelry that Pipsqueak was wearing for his efreeti costume cracking and breaking, but the colt didn’t mind.
The hug ended when Pipsqueak gasped, pushing away from Twist. “Wait,” he said. “We’re okay…but Dinky! And Snails! They’re still out there…and so is that bug-thing!”
Twist started, letting go of Pipsqueak, though the two remained close together. “We have to get an adult,” she insisted.
Pipsqueak, however, shook his head. “I mean, yeah, we do, but not until we get Dinky and Snails! It’ll take too long to find an adult and explain everything…we need to move now!”
Twist was absolutely certain that was the wrong thing to do…but at the same time, Pipsqueak had a point. The bug-thing was hungry, it had said so itself…and Snails and Dinky were out in Green Grape’s vineyard somewhere. They had to be found before it could eat them! And Twist herself had pointed out that the bug-thing hadn’t done anything when it was all four of them together. If they stayed together, they’d be safe.
“Okay,” she said. “Let’th - let's go…no, wait. If we get separated, we need a way to know when we meet back up, that we’re really us.”
Pipsqueak nodded. “Um…how about a code phrase? One of us asks, uh…‘who goes there’?”
Twist nodded. “And the other says back…um…” Twist wracked her mind for something that nopony would normally say in response to that, but all she kept coming back to was the bug-thing. She shook her head. “The other says ‘the thing’. Obviouth - obviously the bug-thing if it was in disguithe wouldn’t just say that…so it has to be a real pony.”
The earth pony colt didn’t seem like he liked the idea of saying that he was the bug-thing very much…but he couldn’t think of anything better. Steeling themselves, the two set out back into the vineyard, wondering how they were going to find their friends in there…but knowing that they had to.
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Very cool! So awesome to see you still writing. The Lunaverse was a huge influence on me. Having a short story for October based around Nightmare Night and changelings and the foals sounds like a really awesome idea.
Also, nice homage to The Thing with the name of the original short-story that inspired the John Carpenter remake.
Nice. Very nice.
Too bad that there aren't movies in the Lunaverse or they'd realize what sort of story they're in.
Give it a few years and I'm sure Dinky would be less upset by the idea of having multiple versions of Pip around.
Ah yes. Paranoia, suspicion, isolation. This story's title was well chosen indeed. Unfortunately, burning everypony's blood isn't an option for several reasons. Fortunately, the 'ling isn't actually going to assimilate anyone into its biomass.
Also, I just know that code phrase is going to backfire at some point. Still, we'll see what happens.
Hey, what if they're both fake? Maybe Pipsqueak was never real to begin with.
There's one way to expose the fake, extreme Dinky scolding.
You know, they're making a big assumption here that the shape-shifter can't also read minds to help with pretending.
Good plan on the chapter word count.
Yay for more updating! I've never seen the Thing. :p Anyway, great update. I loved Dinky going all nutsy on the changeling, there.
Chapter 2
9259410
The story was better than the 50s movie. Never saw either remake
The good news is that you now know "which is the real Pipsqueak?"
The bad new is that you no longer care
9269659
I like the 50s movie, though, it's great for 50s sci-fi schlock.
The 1982 version isn't really a remake of the 50s movie; John Carpenter does love The Thing from Another World but wanted to make his own thing, and the 1982 The Thing is much closer to the original short story in terms of events and plot points. I cannot recommend it enough.
The 2011 prequel is...less good. Not bad, just more predictable and typical than The Thing.
Lurk moar, young nymph.
9269666
The prequel also has continuity issues. Mainly that the original film showed that the explorers blew a hole in the ice to get to the UFO, but the prequel showed it being caused by the UFO's thrusters melting the ice. And studio interference covered up the practical shots w/ CGI...for no reason at all! The studios are so clueless! We want practical fx dangit! CGI is overdone!
So is Snails Raindrops' brother in the Lunaverse? Also, is Junior Ace of Clover a parody of something?
10159692
Yes on Snails and Raindrops being siblings; as for Junior Ace of Clover, I don’t think so. Ace of Clover is just the title of a few mystery books we’ve mentioned a few times here and there in the Lunaverse, meant to be akin to the Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew or the like. Only since Twist is a kid she reads the “junior” series.
That's all just basic intel as a changeling would naturally gather it. I'm not buying that that's actually Pipsqueak.