Alibi's head pounded. The previous night was one of the best ones he'd had in a while, for what he could remember of it. The blinds were shut, casting dimly lit shadows across the room. He didn't mind the dark, and in his present condition, it came in handy.
He slowly made his way through the house, grabbing a pair of sunglasses from the dresser before noticing a large crack in one of the blue-green lenses. Alibi swore under his breath. He wasn't very sentimental, but he'd really liked the pair of aviators.
Somepony at the door knocked twice, then began talking to somepony else.
Alibi winced at the sudden pounding in both his ears and head, "Shut up for a minute, I'll be right there." He put on the sunglasses. They might have been broken, but they were better than nothing. He made his way to the door as the pounding door grew louder, "I'm a bit hungover in here, and that pounding is not helping. Could you please stop knocking on the door!"
He swung the door open and shielded his eyes from the sudden bright light. He noticed a pair of large white stallions, but details slipped past him, "Could you come inside, this light is killing my eyes."
The figures looked at each other before accepting Alibi's invitation, "Are you the pony known as Alibi?"
Alibi nodded, "Yeah. If I broke something of your's last night, I'm sorry. I had a bit of a rough night, and I'll fix it as soon as this headache goes away."
The taller of the two glanced at his partner, then back at the dark grey pony, "Do you remember anything about what happened last night?"
"I got wasted, blacked out, and my friends brought me home. If it's anything else, no."
Alibi's eyes adjusted back to the darkness, and he was able to get a better look at the two stallions They were both snow-white and wore nearly identical golden armor. Alibi's head spun, That armor makes them sort-of look like royal guards. Wait. Oh, horseapples, what did I do?
The two stallions exchanged glances again, before the shorter of the two spoke up, "Listen, you're a suspected changeling. This should just take a moment."
Alibi's heart dropped into the basement. He'd been living peacefully in Ponyville for years, and no-one took a second look at him. Now, all of a sudden, there were guards literally knocking on his front door. What in Tartarus did I do?
The shorter of the two stallions, a unicorn Alibi now realized, shot a wave of light blue light over him, uncovering his black carapace.
The changeling was dumbfounded, WhatdidIdoWhatdidIdoWhatdidIdoWhatdidIdo?
The two guards stared open-eyed at the sight of the open-mouthed changeling, "Correction: You are under arrest for changeling activity."
Then, against all odds, Alibi's eyes began leaking a clear, bluish fluid. One that looked suspiciously like- "Are you crying, changeling?"
Alibi shut his mouth and didn't respond. His head was still spinning, though now he didn't know if that was the hangover or the fact that he was going to spend the rest of his life in some jail cell.
The pair of guards seemed taken aback by the changeling's response. They had expected it to fight, or try to escape, or anything other than sit on the floor crying. "Uh, we're going to have to restrain you." The changeling sniffed and nodded. The guards hesitantly put braces around his wings, and horn.
As guards led the changeling to the door, Alibi paused, picking up his cracked sunglasses. The changeling chuckled, Great, now I'm as broken as you are. Damn, that even sounded corny in my head.
The changeling put on the sunglasses and followed the guards away from his old life.
Berry Punch was no stranger to alcohol. More often than not, she would drag a friend along, as she was a common believer of the 'drinking is more fun with two ponies' gag. Most of her friends appreciated the gesture. A night drinking with friends was a good way to relax. Of course, most of her friends also knew when to stop drinking, a skill Berry hadn't quite mastered yet. Though her frequent trips to the bar led to a high resistance to alcohol, she would still frequently overdo it.
One of her friends, however, a grey stallion named Alibi, while he infrequently came with Berry for the night, he never drank. She didn't know if he was just stuck-up or if he had simply never enjoyed alcohol before. Knowing Alibi, it was probably a bit of both. He was not the kind of pony to do anything even slightly against the law, and he was still a bit underage. Those rules were really just guidelines in her book.
She always hoped that he would join her for a drink. It wasn't like there were any serious long-term effects of drinking once.
Berry knocked on the red door leading to Alibi's home. She faintly heard his voice emanating from the other side of the door, "Just a minute!" The door swung open, revealing the dark grey pegasus wearing a pair of pristine blue-green sunglasses. "Hey, Berry, what's going on?"
"I'm going out in a bit. If you want to come, you don't have to drink if you don't want to."
Alibi sighed, "Sure, I'll come with." He held a hoof in front of him, pointing at Berry Punch, "But, as always, I'm not drinking booze."
Berry smiled, "Alright. Day Tripper found this great place off Oak Street, and I hear they have the best cider!" Berry happily trotted away from the door as she heard it shut behind her.
Alibi quickly made up the distance between them and struck up a quick conversation, "Who's Day Tripper bringing this week? Last week it was that bloke from the bank, right?"
Berry Punch laughed, "No, I think that was last weekend. She started bringing that waiter last Tuesday." This time, it was Alibi's turn to laugh.
They continued to mock Day Tripper until it lost its humor, essentially until Day Tripper herself showed up, and a five minute walk later, the three were sitting at the bar.
An auburn mare stood behind the bar, "What can I get you three?"
Berry Punch sat between the other two and ordered first, "I'll have a glass of your hard cider."
Day Tripper sat silently for a minute before asking, "What do you recommend?"
The bartender shrugged, "I usually just order a changeling." The other two hadn't noticed, but Alibi choked slightly on the water he was given.
Day nodded, "Ok, then I'll have a Gin and Tonic."
The bartender turned to Alibi, who had started grinning slightly, "You know what? I think I'll try the changeling whatever." The bartender turned and began assembling glasses in front of the three.
Alibi chuckled when he saw his drink, which was lime green in color, and noticed Berry staring at him, "You never order alcohol. Maybe you're the changeling, and you've replaced the real Alibi." Berry laughed as Alibi took a sip from his brightly-colored beverage.
Berry turned back to her own drink, chugging the glass of cider and calling the bartender to bring out more.
Alibi seemed to enjoy his drink as well, as he quickly finished his. Berry quickly noticed Alibi's empty glass and ordered him another.
Choke Hold was a fairly average guard. He had experience apprehending criminals, but not much countering hostile invasion. The Canterlot Guard had been on high alert in the days preceding the wedding, yet due to the fact the guard weren't really soldiers, they nearly lost the city to the soulless bug-ponies.
Nevertheless, he was still transferred to the Ponyville guard after the incident. A small town like Ponyville would normally be considered a demotion, but due to its proximity to the Everfree Forest, the job could be quite interesting.
Upon his transfer, he was assigned to a taller earth pony named Second Chance, and he found out the job wasn't nearly as exciting as he thought it would be. Most of the battles were handled by a small group of mares, which meant it was back to patrols and arrests.
All in all, the most interesting events were the paranoid ponies who think their spouse/friend/complete stranger is secretly a changeling. They normally revolved around unfounded accusations of the other pony, 'acting suspicious'.
"Ma-am, he is not a changeling," Choke tried explaining to another panicked mare, "I've performed the spell designed to uncloak changelings twice, with no response."
The mare continued despite the test, "Well, then, he must just be immune to it!"
The stallion was becoming impatient, "Come on, he's done it twice. Can I please go now? The store's closing in an hour, and I'm not sure I'll make it at this rate."
Choke tried again as Chance choked back a laugh behind him, "Ma-am, This is not a changeling. Do you see a black shell?"
"N- No."
"Glowing blue eyes?"
"No.."
"If he were a changeling, the spell would have reverted him back to his original form, so I'll say this one more time. He. Is. Not. A. Changeling. You can go now, sir."
The stallion shot an angry glare at the mare before addressing the guards, "Thank you."
Choke turned to his partner, "I wish ponies would just get over the changelings. Only a couple of ponies had even heard of them before the invasion, and now everypony seems to think everypony else is being impersonated.
Second Chance sighed, "It was a pretty major event. That bug queen even beat Celestia, herself. They have every right to be scared."
The pair returned to their patrol as an obviously drunk mare stumbled toward them. Oh, brother, this is going to be an interesting one.
The mare slurred her words "Hello, offi-hic-cer. M- friend get drunk and now he's- changeling..."
Choke put a hoof to his head, speaking with as little annoyance as he could, "What's his name?"
The mare weaved to one side, "His na-hic-me's Alibi. He lives on the street with the tree..."
Choke planted his hoof back on the ground, "We will investigate first thing tomorrow morning. Good night, Ma-am."
The mare saluted, then stumbled when her hoof left the ground, weaving back down the street.
"You know, Chance, if we weren't required to investigate every single paranoid delusion these ponies had, I wouldn't even bother."
"She didn't seem all that paranoid."
"She's drunk. Plus, it's almost midnight. We'll find that guy's house in the morning. In the meantime, I'm going home."
The Ponyville jail was cold and dark. The town was only a few decades old, and it had a jail that felt like the Chateau d'If, only without the torture. The hall was nearly silent, save muffled footsteps from one of the Royal Guard, and the quiet sobbing of a changeling in the far edge of the hall, who had been lying on his bed and staring at the wall since he had entered the cell.
Second Chance and Choke Hold were stationed to guard the cell, but neither had the nerve to approach the crying changeling. Both stood at the entrance to the hallway, trying to ignore Alibi.
Chance finally broke the extended silence, "I know half our job now is finding changelings, but I never really knew what to do if we did."
"After the invasion, I'd thought changelings were just these soulless beasts. Now, I'm not so sure."
The pair stood silent for another minute before the sobbing slowly dissipated. The pair looked back at the changeling's room to find Alibi looking out the barred window at the sun overhead. The guard had confiscated his glasses, but there didn't seem to be any reason for doing so. Alibi sniffed a couple times before speaking, "I have prepared my last words, and I know what to request for my last meal."
A chill shot through the guards, Oh, Celestia, he thinks he's going to get executed.
Choke addressed him, as his partner was still dumbstruck, "We're in the process of assembling a jury for your case. You aren't being executed unless they find you guilty of an attempt to harm the populace. If not, you will be declared innocent, and you'll be set free."
Alibi rolled his eyes as he spat out his next words, "You two are monumentally thick!" The two guards turned to the cell, surprised by the changeling's sudden burst of anger, "You think I'm going to have a fair trial? You think just because there's a judge and jury the verdict will be just? Thanks to that war-mongering bitch that calls herself a queen, every single pony in Equestria has a monumental grudge against changelings. You think I'm going to have a fair trial? If they find me guilty of littering, I'll be put to death simply because that genocidal puppet master created this feral image of us. Now, goodbye, and screw you all."
The guards were wide-eyed at the changeling's outburst. They tried to come up with some way to retaliate, but the changeling was right. It would be impossible to find enough ponies for a jury with a neutral opinion on changelings if they scoured all of Equestria. Plus, the only two things the guards knew about changelings were from the invasion and Alibi, one of which wasn't as well-known.
The guard were silent for the next few minutes before the changeling began angrily slamming his head against the wall, spitting out insults with each swing. "Stupid bitch," The guards winced as they heard the impact, "That stupid-," Thud! "Psycho," Thud! "BITCH!" Crack!
The guards turned back to the cell, and saw a stream of blue fluid dripping from a large crack in the changeling's head.
Alibi stumbled down an alley with Berry Punch. The two of them had started the night only ordering a drink or two, which rapidly descended into a drinking contest between them. Berry Punch was able to walk normally after the incident, only stumbling a little every few feet. Alibi, on the other hand, had never had a drop of alcohol before in his life, and was weaving through the street, gleefully slurring a tune no-one but himself understood.
Alibi leaned toward Berry and his body stumbled the same way, "Hey, B-hic-erry. Heey, Berry. Berry, Berry, Berry Pu-hic-nch."
The mare, whose blood was currently less than 40% alcohol, was stuck babysitting the first-time drinker, "Whaddya want?"
Alibi stopped walking, heaved, and vomited a lime green splatter, "I threw up."
Berry Punch backed away from the stallion, "We need to get'cha home."
The dark grey pegasus stumbled trying to avoid his vomit, and crashed headlong into a wall, cracking his glasses, and causing him to crumple to the ground. He groaned for a moment, indicating that he was still conscious, and was slowly lifted by Berry Punch.
"hic- Thanks." Alibi got back to his feet, supported by Berry.
"Ya really need to get home."
Alibi's head drooped, "Yeah, I do."
The pair continued to walk down the thin road until they reached the circular street surrounding a large tree. Berry approached Alibi's red front door, and tugged it open. Alibi stepped inside and stumbled around the house before crashing onto the bed. With Alibi safely passed out, Berry pulled a flask out of her mane and chugged it.
She figured it would be safer to sleep there tonight, in case something happened to him again. She stuffed the flask back into her mane and got comfortable in Alibi's couch. As she was beginning to doze off, she hears a loud noise, like an electrical short, and a flash of green light from the bedroom.
She got off the couch, opened the bedroom door, and saw a shining clack carapace in the same position Alibi had passed out in.
Alibi awoke to the smell of rubbing alcohol. He looked around the pristine white room, I'm in the hospital. So, was that just a dream, or- His question was answered when he noticed two guards at the door to his room. They seemed upset, meaning his outburst in the cell wasn't a dream either. It also, obviously, meant they were the same guards.
Alibi stretched, extending sections of his black shell before calling out to the guards. The taller guard said something to the other, who entered the room, "Well, you didn't leave me to die, so thanks for that. When's the trial?"
The guard smiled back at Alibi, "Last Tuesday, you'll be happy to hear that your outburst proved useful in my testimony." The changeling relaxed in his bed, rubbing his head, "No-one really knows that much about changelings, so we kind-of had to just bandage you up and hope for the best."
Alibi chuckled, still rubbing his forehead, "How long have I been out?"
"Almost two weeks," The guard bit his lip, "And they've been very eventful."
Alibi's eyes widened slightly.
The guard pulled up a chair, "Right, so, when you nearly killed yourself in there, people in town started splitting. Some ponies believed you were afraid of us and we should help you, but others thought we should've let you die. This started a bit of a feud between the citizens, and you were the eye of the storm. Eventually, one of the groups that didn't like you tried to break into your room, which is why we requested to be here."
"It didn't take long for the princesses to catch word of this, and within a week, Celestia arrived. She gave a speech that went somewhere along the lines of, 'I'm ashamed in you for thinking Alibi is any less of a pony than you are', and Second Chance, the other guard outside, basically told the guards not to hold Berry Punch back any more."
Alibi interjected, "Wait, what happened with Berry?"
The guard laughed, "Oh, I love this story. Alright, when the anti-you groups first started forming, four ponies stupidly decided to discuss how much they hated you right outside town hall. This was before we started guarding your room, by the way, and I was on guard near there at the time. Anyway, I'm not allowed to start fights with civilians unless they're resisting arrest, so I just had to stand still and pray to Celestia someone else came along. Berry Punch happened to overhear the conversation, and started a one-on-four fistfight with the other ponies."
"I guess they call her Berry Punch for a reason." She stallion laughed at his own joke before realizing Alibi was rolling his eyes, "Not funny? Okay."
"Anyway, I was just standing there watching her beat these other ponies to a pulp, and eventually three or four guards came to try and restrain her, and she ended up hospitalizing all four of the ponies plus one guard she managed to elbow in the face. I was almost discharged for not intervening, and I told the captain what I told you. He laughed at the 'Berry Punch' joke, though."
Alibi sat silently during the guard's gleeful recap of the last couple weeks, "Uh, I don't think I ever got your name."
The guard laughed, "I guess I forgot about introductions. Right, My name is Choke Hold. My partner outside is named Second Chance, and we're sorry about arresting you, even if it did turn out alright." Choke held out a foreleg, which Alibi quickly bro-hoofed., "Oh, and I got these fixed for you, I know it's not much, but I figured with all that happened, I should still try to be nice."
He removed Alibi's newly-repaired pair of sunglasses from his mane, and set them down on the side table before rejoining his partner outside the room.