Pinkie's *Bug* Surprise

by MattTOB

Set In Emotion

Igneous Rock Pie, Cloudy Quartz, Marble Pie, and Limestone Pie were eating dinner when a knock on the door drew their attention. Igneous got up to answer it, leaving the others waiting at the table.

Cloudy Quartz listened as her husband talked to the unexpected guest, unable to make out the words. But unexpectedly, he was cut off mid-sentence by something silent. "Iggy?" She asked, a note of worry entering her voice.

Her husband's voice returned after a moment, not quite sounding the same. "I'm fine, dear; just lost my train of thought."

Cloudy frowned. She knew her husband well, and he wasn't one to forget something once he'd focused on it. Heck, he was the exact opposite: becoming so engrossed in the tasks at hoof that other things tended to fade into the background. Something was off...

Her eyes widened as it clicked into place:

Changeling.

Her heartbeat increased, but she tried to keep on a calm exterior. "Alright, dear, if you say do," she lied. "We'll just be heading upstairs now; it's time for baths."

Limestone blinked, not having caught on to the situation yet. "But the washtub is outs—"

Cloudy quickly covered her daughter's mouth with a hoof, but it was already too late; their cover had been blown the moment they'd detected her fear.

---

Pinkie Pie, meanwhile, was giving Gummy his weekly bath. She was scrubbing his scales when a knock sounded at her bedroom door.

The pink Changeling blinked. She hadn't invited anypony to visit, and there wasn't a party she was supposed to attend right now— ooh, unless she'd forgotten her birthday again!

She was about to pronk happily to the door, whe Mr. Cake's voice spoke from the other side. "Pinkie Pie, you need to get down here."

At that moment, her body gave a huge shudder. Her eyes widened, recognizing the sign that a Doozy was about to happen, but she continued to the door nonetheless.

When she opened it, she found Mr. Carrot Cake holding Pound Cake, who was nursing on a bottle. The foal's mood seemed content, but Carrot's seemed... Shocked and anxious?

"What is it, Mr. Cake? Has Twilight come about a Friendship Mission? Did Rarity chip a hoof?! *Gasp* Did the author cancel the story!?"

He blinked, now more confused than anything. "W-what story?"

She shook her head. "Nevermind that, this sounds important!"

Mr. Cake nodded, and they both rushed back downstairs (him making a quick detour to put Pound back into his crib).

When they got out into the main room, she was floored by what she saw:

Two Changelings were standing in the middle of the room, completely undisguised and... Trying to get Mrs. Cake to calm down?

"Please, we just need to talk to Pinkie Pie," the first one, a guy, pleaded with an anxious voice.

Mrs. Cup Cake was still understandably freaking out. "A-and how do I know you're not gonna do something while our backs are turned?!"

The second Changeling, an older female with slightly purple eyes, pointed out, "We wouldn't be undisguised right now if we wanted to cause trouble. Thorax, back me up on this," she added, turning to her companion.

Pinkie blinked at this second Changeling. She didn't know why — maybe it was the aura of concern around her — but something seemed vaguely familiar about this particular drone...

Pinkie took a step forward, causing a floorboard to creak. The two Changelings whipped their heads around, then froze at what they saw. Thorax seemed to freeze out of mere confusion at the sight, while the second seemed oddly... was awestruck the right word? Maybe wistful?

Pinkie spoke first "Uh... Welcome to Sugarcube Corner. Can I help you?"

The second Changeling's mouth shifted into a hopeful smile. "I-is that really you?"

Pinkie raised an eyebrow, not fully sure of what she was asking. "I am Pinkie Pie, yes..."

The Changeling's smile fell at Pinkie's tone. "You don't know who I am, right?"

That struck a chord with Pinkie. She supposedly knew this Changeling, yet she couldn't remember her? But she was supposed to know everypony she met! She'd built an entire Party-planning cave to store her files on everypony she ever met, for pony's sake!

She deflated a little, the lack of knowledge putting a damper on her mood. "I'm sorry, but I—"

"Don't be," the Changeling held up a hoof, surprising both her companion and Pinkie. "It was my fault; I should have been more careful. I knew better than to leave the hive with a clutch on the way, and I should've noticed I'd dropped one before I lost track of it."

Pinkie's jaw dropped as the other shoe fell. But that would imply... No, it couldn't be! ...could it?!

"M-mom...?"

Now Thorax was gaping at the purple-eyed drone. That Changeling nodded, tears brimming on the edges of her eyes. "It's wonderful to finally meet you."

In the next moment, Pinkie had already crossed the gap and wrapped her long-lost mother in the biggest, buggiest hug she could muster.

The pink bug-pony whimpered, "Did you at least look for me?"

Her mother nodded, "Every day for three years straight."

Pinkie sniffled. "Thank you, Mom."

A forlorn look crossed her face. "Please, just call me June."

The party planner blinked, breaking up the hug. "Why? You are my Mom, after all."

Her eyes cast downward, "I don't feel like I've earned it. Besides, you already have pony parents."

Pinkie paused at that.

Then began to giggle.

June blinked as her long-lost daughter began rolling on the ground, practically laughing her elytra off. "What's so funny?"

Pinkie managed to slow her laughter, wiping away a tear. "Silly filly; there's always room in my family for more!"

The drone paused, a blush slowly spreading across her face. Then she broke into laughter, too.

They lay there for a moment, letting their giggles ride themselves out.

When they finally picked themselves back up, Thorax looked like he was about to explode with anxiety. "Not to break up this touchcing moment, June, but didn't we come here for a reason?"

June blinked, frozen as though staring at an oncoming train.

Then she began to panic. "Oh, Hive, that's right! Pinkie, you're in danger!"

The party planner gasped. "How so?"

"Queen Chrysalis and her forces are preparing to mount some form of attack against you! They're worried that you'll jeopardize their lives by providing ponies with enough information to weed them out of Equestria, cutting off their only food source."

Pinkie gasped even harder. "I'd never let that happen! Most of them may be bad, but they don't deserve to die!"

June shook her head, "But she and the others are desparate; we've been on a shortage ever since the Wedding, and with you out here, free for the ponies to study at their leisure..."

Pinkie reeled. One of the first things she did after coming out was let Twilight run experiments on her! "What do we do?!" she quivered.

Thorax stated, "The only thing we can do right now is be prepared for anything. Chrysalis dispatched orders as she saw fit, meaning every Changeling only knows what she wanted us to know."

"And since we left the Hive before she could dispatch those orders..." June trailed off, realizing in hindsight that she may have been a little bit hasty in her plan.

Pinkie was becoming anxious, her bubbly persona being pushed aside by the severity of the situation. The entirety of the Changeling Hive, save for these two, were coming to attack her, and she had no idea how they'd do so? Just the thought instilled enough fear to chill her to the core, her mind going through several horrifying scenarios.

What if Changelings posed as normal ponies, then ambushed her while attending her next party?

What if they replaced somepony she knew, like Mr. Cake, or Octavia, or one of the girls, and used that to get her off her guard?!

What if they secretly forced ponies to break their Pinkie Promises, making her get mad at innocent ponies before they attacked once she was worn out!?

What if—

Suddenly, she felt her wings vibrate on their own. This was followed by wobbly knees, floppy ears, and a twitchy tail.

Thorax and June blinked. "What was that about?"

She gasped, this one the loudest of all. It was even worse than she'd imagined.

"They've got my family!"

Comments

[Scyphi]

Hey, I already did a "dun dun dun" bit last chapter, don't make me do it again!

[Pete100]

Her husband's voice returned after a moment, not quite sounding the same. "I'm fine, dear; just lost my train of thought."

That’s cap.

Her heartbeat increased, but she tried to keep on a calm exterior. "Alright, dear, if you say do," she lied. "We'll just be heading upstairs now; it's time for baths."

Better grab y’all a rock and carve a weapon.

Cloudy quickly covered her daughter's mouth with a hoof, but it was already too late; their cover had been blown the moment they'd detected her fear.

Just send maud in. She’ll handle them.

"Don't be," the Changeling held up a hoof, surprising both her companion and Pinkie. "It was my fault; I should have been more careful. I knew better than to leave the hive with a clutch on the way, and I should've noticed I'd dropped one before I lost track of it."

Wait what?

Pinkie reeled. One of the first things she did after coming out was let Twilight run experiments on her! "What do we do?!" she quivered.

Who knows that pinkie is a changeling?

"And since we left the Hive before she could dispatch those orders..." June trailed off, realizing in hindsight that she may have been a little bit hasty in her plan.

I wouldn’t say she had much of a plan.

Suddenly, she felt her wings vibrate on their own. This was followed by wobbly knees, floppy ears, and a twitchy tail.

Wait, when did she transform?

Thorax and June blinked. "What was that about?"

She gasped, this one the loudest of all. It was even worse than she'd imagined.

"They've got my family!"

How does she know that?

[MattTOB]

10647185

How does she know that?

That particular Combo means "a relative is in danger". Given the situation, her mind made the logical connection.

Wait, when did she transform?

She was in her Changeling form that whole time; earlier, it says "she was practically laughing her elytra off".

Who knows that pinkie is a changeling?

Pinkie revealed herself to all of Equestria in Chapter 3, "Public Relations".

[Starlight Glimmer1]

"What is it, Mr. Cake? Has Twilight come about a Friendship Mission? Did Rarity chip a hoof?! *Gasp* Did the author cancel the story!?"

Dammit, Pinkie!

10647185
Have you even been reading the story? Because it doesn’t sound like it.

[Yoshifan30]

"What is it, Mr. Cake? Has Twilight come about a Friendship Mission? Did Rarity chip a hoof?! *Gasp* Did the author cancel the story!?"

I see what you did there good one and dang it Pinkie Pie you broke the fourth wall again lol

[Yoshifan30]

Oh wow ok so a changeling named June and thorax made it to Ponyville and it looks like Pinkie Pie got the chance to meet her real mother and she didn't look too upset but yeah she was really happy to see her and this was a very cute reunions but unfortunately it has to cut short because two of them told Pinkie Pie about Queen Chrysalis plan to attack her because of her reveal to the world about her existence and what makes things worse they kidnapped her family I wonder what Pinkie Pie and the others are going to do I guess we'll find out next time

[Pete100]

10647215
Oh yea. Didn’t know the pinkie sense had combos.

[tsaukpaetra]

Hrm, if she dispatched multiple teams, wonder what the unseen ones are doing? Sounds like we need creative use of the Mirror Pool...

[Pete100]

10647230
I have. It’s just been awhile. On top of tracking 100+ stories.

[Teraunce]

Nice chapter.

[Prysmkitsune]

neat idea...been done before, but neat idea...though i admit the timeframe is diffrent

most 'mane six is a changeling' stories have the reveal happen during the weding

ill be interested in reading about how pinkie managed to evade detection when the love wave smacked her.

[Ali della Morte]

Good chapter. Look forward to the next.

[Someguy458]

Cloudy quickly covered her daughter's mouth with a hoof, but it was already too late; their cover had been blown the moment they'd detected her fear.

It feels like there's a paragraph missing after this.

[MattTOB]

10660710
I wanted to keep it ambiguous as to what actually happened. Did they escape? Were they able to fight back? Did they all get replaced? Find out next time on Drag— wait, wrong show.

[Whisper Spirit]

Hope to see more.