[Takes place after my story "Running Late". If you haven't taken a look at it, you will not know why the story starts out the way it does.] Finding a gift for someone is hard. Finding a gift for your girlfriend is a nightmare. This is what Spike is left to solve. He is determined to get the perfect gift for Octavia. A stranger offers Spike such a chance at a gift. However, this stranger has a few tricks up his sleeve.
“Spike, I got something for you!” Pinkie was nearly knocking the library door off its hinges.
“Pinkie, you almost kicked the door down.” Spike gestured to the nearly ripped of hinges once he opened the door.
“That’s not important right now. I got an invitation for you and Twilight!” Pinkie handed over two frilly invitations to Spike.
“What’s the occasion?” Spike eyed the invitations with curiosity.
“The occasion is a birthday party!” Pinkie replied like it was the most obvious thing.
“Whose birthday is it?” Spike asked.
“You’re kidding, right?” Pinkie immediately gave Spike an unusual serious stare.
“Nope, I’m not.” Spike shrugged.
“Never asked Octavia when was her birthday, did you?” Pinkie asked slyly.
“Not really.” Spike stirred anxiously on the spot. “So the party is for her?”
“No, it’s for Celestia. Of course it’s for her!” Pinkie teased.
“When is it? I don’t want a rerun of Note Theater.” Spike frowned at the thought of being late for his own girlfriend’s birthday.
“Don’t worry, I thought of that. You got three days to get set for the party.” Pinkie informed.
“Three days? It should work fine.” Spike mumbled.
“So, you got any ideas for a present?” Pinkie began bouncing around Spike like a spring again.
“You think I don’t know what I should get for my girlfriend?” Spike asked a little defensively.
“No idea then?” Pinkie asked, giggling a little at Spike’s defensive reply.
“Ugh, pretty much.” Spike confessed.
“Well, you got three days to figure something out!” Pinkie bounced away, leaving a trail of giggles at her wake.
Spike grumbled a bit before closing the door to the library. No sooner had Spike turned around did Twilight take notice of the invitations.
“What did Pinkie give you?” Twilight took one of the invitations Spike offered her.
“Pinkie gave us invitations to Octavia’s birthday party, which takes place in three days.” Spike explained.
“The invitation says it’s at Sugercube Corner.” Twilight took note of a passage in the invitation.
“Twilight, got any ideas what I should get Octavia for her birthday?” Spike asked anxiously.
“Why not give her a book about classical music?” Twilight suggested.
“That sounds like something you would give her.” Spike replied dully.
“I guess you’re right.” Twilight shrugged and returned to reading some books.
“Well, I guess I should get looking then.” Spike walked by to the library front door.
“Looking for what?” Twilight called out from behind her book.
“I’ll be looking for the perfect present for Octavia of course!” Spike called out, before closing the door behind him.
“Good luck with that.” Twilight muttered. _______
Spike wandered around town aimlessly for some time. For a while Spike considered getting Octavia a necklace that he saw through a window at a jewelry store. Once he walked into the store though, he saw that Rarity was looking at the same exact necklace.
“Oh hello Spike!” Rarity waved at Spike.
“Hey Rarity, what brings you here?” Spike asked, looking at the necklace that Rarity started to inspect.
“Well, Pinkie gave me an invitation to Octavia’s birthday party.” There was a noticeable tone of distaste in her voice. “I wanted to say no, but I couldn’t resist attending a party. So, I am here to fetch Octavia a necklace, as a present. Heavens know, she needs it.”
Spike couldn’t believe his luck. Rarity beat him to the punch on this gift. Was it possible that Rarity would be willing to negotiate for the necklace? Nah, Spike wasn’t in the mood to become Rarity’s lackey.
“I’ll see you at the party, Rarity.” Spike tried his best to hide the tone of defeat in his voice as he left the store.
Jewelry was out of the question as a gift. Spike figured Fluttershy might have an interesting idea for a gift for Octavia. After all, she came to his aid with the bouquet of flowers for their first date together. It was a fairly long walk to Fluttershy’s cottage, but Spike felt the visit will yield success. Sweet Apple Acres appeared once Spike walked over a hill. Maybe Applejack would have an idea for a gift to Octavia? Having nothing to lose, Spike made a detour to Sweet Apple Acres.
Applejack could be seen bucking away at apple trees and Spike wondered if this was a good time to ask questions. It seemed that Applejack caught sight of him and quickly gestured Spike to come over. As Spike walked closer to Applejack, he noticed how many splinters were scattered around the lavish grass. Sheesh, imagine getting hit full in the face by one of her bucks. The very thought made Spike’s snout feel sore.
“Applejack, got some time to spare? I got a question to ask?” Spike asked while Applejack continued bucking away at an apple tree.
“Can’t say that I got the time, but if you help out maybe I’ll chit chat.” Applejack replied in-between bucks. Apples began to hit the ground by just her second buck. “You grab a basket and fill em up with apples, save me the time between running back on forth with two baskets of apples on my back.”
Spike grabbed a basket and set to work picking up the apples that Applejack would knock lose. This was no easy task since Applejack worked at a quick rate. She was able to buck two trees to his once basket, which was able to hold a tree’s worth of apples.
“Applejack, did Pinkie give you an invitation to Octavia’s birthday party?” Spike managed to ask, while trying to pick up an armful of apples.
“Pinkie sure did! I got Octavia’s present all picked out already.” Applejack replied, taking time to help Spike gather up any apples he left lying around.
“Great, mind giving me an idea on what to give Octavia?” Spike asked anxiously.
“Well I got Octavia a hat, so that’s probably not a good suggestion.” Applejack mused more to herself. “You play the piano, right?”
“Sure do.” Spike replied with a note a pride.
“Play her a song then Romeo!” Applejack suggested, as if it was the most obvious thing.
“That’s a good idea actually. Thanks Applejack!” Spike finally picked the last of the apple from the ground.
“No problem and thank you too Spike! With your help, my chores are done for the day.” Applejack took note of the pile of apple filled baskets.
“I should really get going to Fluttershy’s cottage. She can help me out with lyrics with the song.” Spike made his way back to the dirt road, Applejack tagged along though.
“Fluttershy usually ask me or Mac to bring her some apples for her animals to eat.” Applejack explained while harnessing a basket of apples on her back.
Spike didn’t mind Applejack’s company one bit. In fact, she was a great travelling buddy. Applejack would tell Spike about some cool facts about the founding of Ponyville and a little bit about her relatives. When she wasn’t indulging him in some facts, Applejack would try to make Spike race with he to Fluttershy’s cottage.
“Come on Spike, it’s going to take forever if we keep walking like this!” Applejack was looking at a snail, which was passing by them. “Oh that’s it.”
Applejack went full speed and galloped to Fluttershy’s cottage with surprising speed. Spike wondered how fast she could be without all the baskets on her back. Not wanting to be left behind, Spike ran after Applejack. By the time he caught up with her, Applejack was promptly knocking at the front door of Fluttershy’s cottage.
“Go figure, you made it.” Applejack teased, staring at the panting dragon in amusement.
“If you can’t tell, I don’t run often. I am made for keeping track of a library, not this.” Spike wheezed. Applejack just giggled at Spike’s discomfort and continued to knock away at the cottage door.
Applejack and Spike were debating whether or not to kick down Fluttershy’s door if she wouldn’t answer soon. Eventually, Fluttershy finally opened the door ever so slightly. Her face could barely be seen due to the little amount that she opened the door, it didn’t help that her mane covered a decent amount of her face already.
“Fluttershy, you have some time to talk?” Spike asked, trying to look into Fluttershy’s cottage.
“I, um, might be a little busy.” Fluttershy replied meekly.
Angel promptly walked outside to glare dangerously at Spike. Figures Angel would be a handful. Not often you get to see a pet with that kind of attitude and influence over the owner, but Spike would bet a cave full of gems that Angel wasn’t just your average bunny either.
“You’re in luck Angel, brought some apples with me today.” Applejack handed over an apple to Angel, who feasted on the apple as soon as he touched it.
“Show some manners Angel.” Fluttershy said, trying her best to be assertive.
Angel replied by sticking out his tongue at her and jumped into one of the apple baskets Applejack settled to the ground. Apple cores were flying from the basket as Angel ate to his heart’s content.
“I thought bunnies ate carrots.” Spike asked. Angel threw an apple at Spike, hitting him right in the nose.
“My apples are top of the line. Not even Angel can resist them!” Applejack replied, taking obvious pride in her apples.
“Well, I guess now that Angel is eating I have some time to spare.” Fluttershy gestured Spike and Applejack to enter to her cottage.
“Fluttershy you’re a really good singer, so would you mind if you can help me write a song?” Spike asked meekly in a way that could have rivaled Fluttershy’s.
“Oh, I am not that great.” Fluttershy became a bit flustered by the compliment; she nearly dropped the tray of tea that she was bringing to Applejack and Spike.
“She’s being too modest. Anyway, are you going to help out Spike?” Applejack started to nudge teasingly at Fluttershy’s shoulder.
“Sure, mind helping out Applejack? I could use all the help I can get.”
It was Applejack’s turn to think of a witty excuse. But none came. “Fine, I don’t have any chores left to do at the farm anyway.”
It seemed Angel was over hearing the conversation because he immediately stopped eating. He nearly cleaned out an entire basket of apples on his own. That didn’t seem to be a problem though Angel hopped over to a small tree that a group of birds were hanging out on. He took out a composer stick and tapped on the bark a few times to get the attention of the birds. At first they ignored him, which was going to be a big mistake. Angel wacked a bird right on the head and stared threateningly at the rest of the group. The message was clear “Sing or else.”
“That’s one tough bunny.” Applejack muttered after watching Angel bully the birds.
“He really is a sweetie once you get to know him.” Fluttershy tried to defend Angel, who was trying to get the birds to sing in unison. Failure to comply meant a nice whack was coming your way.
“Let’s get started.” Spike took out a quill and paper from thin air and prepped himself to write.
There was one big snag in this whole idea. Spike played the piano like a pro, but the song sounded corny. Applejack tried not to poke fun at him, seeing as he was doing this for a present. Fluttershy tried her best to bring Spike’s lyrics up to par, but it just wasn’t enough.
“Come back tomorrow Spike, we will continue from there.” Fluttershy called out as Spike was walking back to the library.
“Yeah, okay.” Spike mumbled back.
Applejack was giggling nonstop on the walk to Sweet Apple Acres. Once she bid Spike a good night, she seemed to have calmed down. Spike had a feeling she was laughing at his terrible song from earlier. Twilight was waiting expectantly at the front door of the library.
“How did it go?” Twilight asked once Spike got close enough.
“Terrible.” Spike muttered as he walked right past her and into the library.
“It couldn’t be that bad, right?” Twilight was trying to keep up with Spike’s pace as he made a beeline to his basket.
“Applejack will be more than happy to tell you. That is, if she can stop laughing.” Spike replied dryly before going to sleep. ______
2 Days until the party….
Spike performed his usual morning ritual, making breakfast for him and Twilight. As usual, Spike was the first up and Twilight would be coming down shortly once the smell of food reached her nostrils. Tea and some sandwiches were for breakfast. Oddly enough, Peewee was helping Spike made the tea. All Peewee had to do was take the fire form state of himself near the pot of tea and it would heat up quickly. This method was much quicker than sitting around and letting a fire warm it up. As predicted, Twilight clumsily made her way down to the kitchen. Spike was sitting patiently at the dinner table for Twilight.
“Same to you Spike.” Twilight replied with a forced smile.
“You look tired.” Spike said, pointing out the obvious.
“No need to tell me.” Twilight muttered back a little sarcastically.
Twilight was barely able to have a firm grip on her cup of tea. Spike waited to see how long it would take before she couldn’t hold on to it. Apparently, not that long. The cup of tea slipped and shattered against the floor.
“So tired you can barely hold a cup of tea.” Spike muttered as he tried to clean the mess on the floor.
“I’m sorry Spike. Here, let me fix it.” Twilight’s horn started to glow and the pieces of broken tea cup started to form together. The spell looked like it worked, the cup of tea became whole again, but the cup broke apart again.
“Okay, you can’t hold a cup and can’t perform a simple spell properly.” Spike acknowledged.
“I have been reading all night for the last few days now.” Twilight confessed.
“No wonder. That’s it, you’re going to bed.” Spike commanded, pointing the Twilight’s bed.
“I’m the one usually making you got to bed.” Twilight teased.
“Yeah, but seriously, you need sleep.” Spike replied.
Twilight slowly made her way back to her bed. Spike was about to follow her to make sure that she did go to sleep, but the broken pieces of the cup were still on the floor. With a loud groan, Spike set to work on cleaning the kitchen. While scrubbing at a nonexistent stain, Spike’s mind wandered back to yesterday’s failed experiment. Applejack was ready to die of laughter while Fluttershy tried her best to improve his song. Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea after all. Spike checked his basket and removed the lyrics sheet from within it.
When I first met you I knew right away that you were an angel sent from above. I’ll do anything just to see you smile because that of yours smile just brightens up my world. When you’re gone I feel a little empty inside. Now that you’re back in my arms I feel that everything is right with the world. Now that we are together I hope we will never grow apart.
Well it was a little corny but it came from the heart. That’s what he wanted from this anyway. This didn’t make Spike feel any more confident about this. If Applejack was laughing, what might Octavia do? Would she like it or laugh along with Applejack? Spike slid his song sheet back in his blanket. Twilight had left a few books lying around, probably from her midnight reading sessions.
As Spike picked up one of the books, a letter slipped from within the book. Lawrence was written on the letter. Spike tried to open the letter, but Twilight seemed to have sealed it by magic. There was no way of opening it and the anticipation was killing him. But, keeping the letter around without being able to open it was pointless. Slipping the letter back into the book, another question sprang up in Spike’s mind. Who is Lawrence?
Spike wandered outside and decided a walk might help him clear out his mind. The market was busy as ever and Spike could see Applejack and Big Mac selling there apples to a large crowd. The only thing stopping Spike from going over there to say hello is that Applejack might start laughing again or might ask him why he isn’t at Fluttershy’s.
“I see you’re rather distressed.” A creepy voice snapped out of Spike’s thoughts.
Turning around, Spike noticed a hooded stallion was right behind him. His eyes were the only thing that could be seen from within the depths of the hood concealing his face.
“Yeah, I got some problems.” Spike replied cautiously.
“Present problems I take it?” The stranger asked.
“How did you know?” Spike demanded angrily
“That pink mare in Sugercube Corner was explaining to me why she was making a cake. Apparently, it’s for a cello player named Octavia.” The stranger explained the source of his knowledge.
“Still doesn’t explain why you know me name.” Spike wasn’t going to trust this guy, not yet anyway.
“I’ve been staying here at Ponyville for a few weeks now. Saw you and the cello player named Octavia eating outside Sugercube Corner.” The stranger replied.
“Right, so, how do you think you can help me?” Spike asked a little sarcastically.
“If you must know, I used to play in an orchestra myself back in the day. I was a Cello player in fact. However, now I’m happily retired and still have the gift my friends gave me before I parted ways with them.” The stranger replied, keeping his calm composure.
“Which was?” Spike asked a little eagerly.
“A golden plated cello.” The stranger replied with a hint of pride.
“Wow.” Spike could barely keep the awe out of his voice.
“Wow indeed. Sadly, I have barely any need for it and I figure you might be able to make better use of it then I am.” The stranger replied.
“What’s the catch?” Spike asked suddenly.
“Catch? Well, considering you’re a dragon, mind giving me some jewels in exchange for the cello?” The stranger offered.
“Fair enough, where do we make the trade?” Spike could barely hide his joy. He finally found the perfect gift!
“The Everfree Forest will be the place. Carrying around a golden cello in this place is just begging for trouble.” The stranger gestured to the crowd around them.
“Guess so. What time?” Spike wanted to make sure to have time to gather good jewels for the exchange
“Does the afternoon sound good?” The stranger offered.
Spike was digging through his private stash of gems in the library basement. Not a soul knew about the stash, not even Twilight. At the start of every month, Spike would head out to the mountains and dig around for priceless gems that would last him a good month. Twilight would never notice him dragging a large bag filled with the supply of gems since her head would be buried in a book to notice. One of the greatest things about reading, it makes you almost oblivious to everything around you.
There it was, probably the finest gem Spike had at his disposal. The rainbow colored diamond had been sitting at the bottom of the chest for some time now. How long? Probably since Spike first started going out on his monthly gem resupply trips. It was left behind in a freakishly large cave, probably inhabited by a dragon some time ago. There were a few other gems lingering about, but the rainbow colored diamond stuck out in the crowd. Spike wondered vaguely how the diamond would taste once he picked it up and stuffed it in his saddlebag.
Sadly, eating the gem probably will never happen. He was too determined to get that golden cello and if this diamond was a fair trade for it, by all means, it was worth it. Just the reaction on Octavia’s face once he presented the cello to her would be enough. The very thought made Spike fell slightly warm and happy inside. When Spike walked back up to the first floor of the library, he was surprised to see Twilight had fallen asleep on a familiar looking book. It was that same leather bound book Spike found that letter in.
With as much stealth as he could muster, Spike tip toed his way to Twilight. Her snoring covered the faint sounds of his footsteps, but Spike wasn’t going to take any chances. There it was, a letter was sticking out between Twilight’s folded hooves. Prying the letter from Twilight’s grasp was more intense and careful than open heart surgery. Beads of sweat drenched Spike’s face as he nearly managed to pull the letter free from her grasp. That is until Twilight tucked her hooves closer to her face, thus making the letter nearly grazing her face.
Forget it; pulling the letter out might cause it to slide against her face or something. The risk was too big and Spike had a feeling Twilight might have sealed it with magic again, making the reward close to nothing. Spike gave Twilight one last disappointed before leaving the Library.
“You can’t hide it from me forever.” Spike muttered as he closed the door shut.
The trip to Everfree Forest was quick, or maybe it was partially due to Spike day dreaming about Octavia’s reaction to the cello. The gloomy and dark entrance to Everfree Forest came into view, and so did the silhouette of the stranger. Spike ran up to the figure, but soon realized it was just a shadow.
“I wonder if I was-.”
Crack
Spike collapsed face first to the ground like a sack of potatoes. His ears were ringing like an alarm and his head throbbed painfully. Ever so slowly, Spike managed to roll over to try to see the face of his attacker. It was the stranger! There was no sign of a cello and Spike could see a sinister smile forming around the darkness in the hood.
“You’re so gullible! There was no golden cello!” The stranger was laughing so hard, holding onto his aching ribs.
“You, lied?” Spike croaked.
“Of course I did! I must say though, this is a rather nice diamond.” The stranger inspected the rainbow diamond that Spike had brought with him. “A thing of beauty it is. I think our beloved queen will love it.”
“Show yourself coward!” demanded the dragon.
“Sure.” The figure pulled back his hood and Spike nearly gasped in horror. “You like?”
Spike was staring at…well, himself. Everything started to grow blurred and Spike tried to reach out to grab the robes of the stranger.
“You’re a changeling. They will figure out for what you really are!” Spike tried to give the copy of him the meanest glare he could muster, but flinched in pain.
“Perhaps somepony will figure out who I am. Still, the party is in less than two days. Two days to discover who I am and to find you. Very slim chances I fear.” The changeling replied in Spike’s sarcastic tone.
“Twilight will…” but not another word slipped from Spike’s lips. He finally knocked out.
“Yes, Twilight Sparkle will be a problem. After all, she figured out who our queen was before anypony else. But she shouldn’t be a problem, I never seen a mare exchange letters the way she does.” The changeling acknowledged grimly.
The changeling wondered if just throwing Spike in a ditch or down a waterfall would suffice. However, the chances of him yelling to others or just bumping into somepony were too great. Nah, keeping him trapped the old fashioned way would work. A green gooey substance started to form on the tip of the changelings claws. The changeling covered Spike’s body in the goo and made sure that he was completely coated in it, like a cocoon.
For as little as Spike was, the changeling found it hard to drag him around through the forest. A tall tree that had a few holes in it came in the clearing.
“Hey, I got the job done.” The changeling gestured to the cocoon.
Several changelings crawled from the holes within the tree. “That was fast. The queen will be pleased of our efforts.” One of the changelings replied.
“Our work you say? Please, I have been pulling the strings on this plan since the start.” The changeling dragging Spike’s cocoon hissed back.
“Doesn’t matter, the queen will be pleased nonetheless.” The changeling from the tree gestured his comrades to drag the cocoon within the tree.
“Right, if you don’t mind, I’ll be delivering one of the fruits from this scheme to her.” The changeling removed the rainbow diamond from within his cloak.
“I’ll deliver it to the queen.” One of the changelings held out his hoof expectantly.
“I worked for this. If anything, I should go.” The changeling scoffed at his comrade.
“Fine, you go ahead.”
The changeling that had attacked Spike walked into a small gap in the tree. He crawled through the make shift hole and quickly tried to reach the exit. It took some time, but a light finally appeared. The changeling fell through the exit and landed promptly in front of the Queen of the Changelings, Chrysalis.
“Why do you disturb my rest minion?” Chrysalis demanded, wincing slightly as she stood at her full extent. It seemed her defeat at the wedding was still some hindrance to her.
“I bring a trophy from a scheme that I have been executing for you my Queen.” The channeling bowed slightly and held out the rainbow diamond.
“A thing of beauty it is. Perhaps, it can rival my own.” The queen chuckled softly as she inspected the diamond in her hoofs.
“This would be nice to make a crown with. You’ve done well minion.”
“I live to serve you my Queen.” The changeling bowed again.
“Now, explain to me about your disguise. I know Twilight’s assistant has a deep seated crush.” Chrysalis started at the changeling with interest.
“Crush? My queen, the dragon is passionately in love with a mare that plays the cello. The very feelings of desire and love are overwhelming in this form. I can only imagine how much powerful it will grow once the mare arrives to town in two days.” The changeling explained.
“Very good work my subject. I dare say I can feel the sense of love just pouring out around the dragon. It’s nearly as powerful as Cadance and Shining Armors love.” Chrysalis noted with approval.
“I take it this will call to utilize the invasion after the party?” The changeling asked.
“Yes, after the party is over you come back here and transfer you power to me. Then, I will be more then able to lead us to victory. This time, no pony will stop us!” Chrysalis laughed delightfully at the thought.
The changeling made his back outside and wandered back to Ponyville looking like Spike.
“My Queen, somepony will be leading our invasion. But it won’t be you. No, it will be me!” Spike laughed evilly, his eyes glowing green.
“This should be easy, two days to wait out until the party.” The changeling told himself out loud with confidence.
“The party is going to be great Spike!” Pinkie exclaimed, popping over the head of the changeling.
“Hey Pinkie, how’s it going?” The changeling tried to keep things friendly. He knew he couldn’t only look like Spike; he had to act like him to succeed.
“Just getting the last things to touch up the party is all. Speaking of the party, got the present for Octavia?” Pinkie had her face right in front of Spike’s. The changeling was mildly surprised to see Pinkie not losing her balance as she was upside down.
“I got it covered.” The changeling replied, thinking back on Spike’s musical session with the mares.
“Okie dokie lokie, see you then Spike!” Pinkie bounced to the floor and sprang to somewhere else.
The changeling sighed in relief; Pinkie was really troublesome with all her questions. Perhaps it would be best to go back to the library in which Spike lived in. At least there, not so many ponies would interrogate him. As the changeling entered the library, he nearly screamed at the sight of Twilight Sparkle. Wait, she was asleep. Luck was really on his side today. That or it was getting close to nighttime already.
Interesting, a letter was near her hooves. Without much fuss, the changeling removed the letter from her grasp and noticed there was the name Lawrence on it.
“Shame you don’t know who Lawrence really is.” The changeling scoffed as he placed the letter back in Twilight’s hooves.
Lawrence, or should we say a fellow changeling, had been toying with Twilight’s emotions for some time now. The original plan was to use the love in that relationship to bring back Chrysalis to full strength, but there relationship was nothing compared to Spike’s or Shining Armors. Chrysalis wasn’t willing to wait several months to let the plan bare the fruits of its labor, instead she demanded that more dramatic actions take place. Luckily there was a silver lining in the failed plan with Twilight; she constantly kept them in touch with what’s going on around her. True, some of the information she gave was right down useless such as her reading a rather old book. There were times when she mentioned her mentor, her brother or her friends.
As of late, Twilight had been informing Lawrence that Spike and Octavia had something going on. This got the attention of Chrysalis and she demanded her subjects think of a plan to capitalize on the recent events. Naturally, it didn’t take long for a few changelings to gather round and hatch a grand scheme. The leader was the changeling who had assumed the form of Spike and pretty much had made this plan happen. The others were minor accomplices that scouted the area and kept in touch with “Lawrence”, who had become a valued spy of sorts. The group referred to the leader as “Tony”. It really wasn’t his name, but they had no idea what his real name was so they made up their own. Didn’t matter though, by the time this scheme was complete “Tony” would be the new king of the changelings.
Spike wandered over to his basket and eyed Twilight. Would it be safer to incase her in a cocoon? Twilight was the first to notice who Chrysalis really was and “Tony” knew that he had nearly two days to keep his true identity hidden. Eh, she was really into exchanging letters with Lawrence. It was more productive to keep her giving information on her life rather than have her trapped up. If that was to happen, “Tony” knew he had more than enough power stored to trap Twilight and still make his way back to the tree to regain his disguise.
“Everything’s going according to plan.” “Tony” mused to himself as he fell asleep.
“Are you done yet?” Chrysalis yelled impatiently.
“Yes your majesty. It is complete.” A weary old changeling held out a crown incrusted with jewels and the rainbow diamond had been placed at the front of the crown.
“Marvelous.” Chrysalis placed the crown delicately on her head and gave an approving nod to the elderly changeling. “A true queen needs a crown to show her value amongst her subject. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“Yes, indeed.” The changeling replied with slight impatience, giving a slight bow as he spoke.
“I don’t like the tone of your voice.” Chrysalis hissed dangerously, leaning in closer to the feeble changeling.
“I didn’t mean to insult-.” The changeling stammered before Chrysalis cut him short.
"Show your respect to royalty!” Chrysalis zapped her subject with a magic spell. The old changeling sank to the ground and did nothing more. “Take him away!” Chrysalis demanded of the changelings who kept guard of the room.
The guards slowly dragged their brethren away from the queen’s room. Once they lugged him away, the old frail body would either be fed to the children or be buried. Course, the food supplies were low and the young were the only guarantee of a future for their race. As barbaric as it was, survival was key more than ever.
“How pitiful that is.” A changeling muttered as he watched the old frail body being dragged to the feeding grounds.
“Happy that isn’t me. Anyway, he was getting high up there in the years.” Another changeling muttered back.
“How can you say that? He was one of us!” The changeling replied in disbelief.
“You said it, was one of us. Now, he is nothing more than grub to be eaten alive. Maybe, if he is lucky, he has already passed away.” The sounds of chewing could be heard bellow them. The very sounds of crunching and gnawing brought shiver down their spines.
“Hope Tony hurries up. I can’t stomach anything if I have to keep hearing that.” The changeling winced as a loud tearing sound ripped through the air.
“Don’t worry Wick, you heard him. Two more days of this madness and after that, we are in the clear.” The fellow changeling replied before venturing off deeper into the tree.
“I guess so.” Wick muttered back before following suit. _________
One Day until the Party...
Spike awoke later in the day than usual that is if this was the real Spike anyway. Twilight appeared long gone and Spike was grateful for that, less talking would mean less possibilities of this plan falling apart. A piece of paper was scrapping against his elbow while he wiggled around in the basket. Once Spike unfolded the paper he was surprised to see lyrics, very touching ones to say the least. A pulse of guilt and panic pierced the changeling’s heart. This had to be the original birthday present to Octavia before he offered Spike the golden cello. How sad, this thing was more touching then an instrument. It dawned on the changeling that he might have to end up singing this song if he planned to sit through the party entirely. Ugh, a change of plans were in order. Spike clambered out of his basket and made his way to Everfree Forest to alert his gang that there needed to be some modifications to the plan they had.
“Back so soon?” A changeling asked as Spike walked closer to the tree.
“There is a slight problem that has arisen.” Spike replied simply.
“What kind of problem?” The changeling asked in concern.
“The invasion might have to happen sooner.” Spike answered.
“Don’t be stupid.” The changeling hissed dangerously.
“I’m not. It’s either blow my cover too soon or have a diversion to get here.” Spike approached the changeling ever closer now. “Why should I be explaining myself to you? You’re nothing more than a scout.”
“You sure getting hot headed these days! Maybe somepony should put you in your place!” The changeling threatened.
“Quit acting like you have the potential to stop me.” Spike scoffed, rubbing off some dirt that was on his arm.
The changeling lunged at Spike in a fit of rage. All Spike had to do was simply side stepped to avoid the collision.
“As fun as that was, I have things to do.” Spike stomped on the changeling’s chest before entering the holes in the tree.
Spike found his way down to Chrysalis dwelling much quicker than last time. It didn’t take long for him to notice that she was wearing a crown that had the rainbow diamond as the center piece. Chrysalis didn’t take notice of Spike at first, until he faked a cough to grab her attention.
“What’s the problem?” Chrysalis demanded impatiently.
“The invasion might have to start sooner than expected, my Queen.” Spike muttered, giving a slight bow for a sign of respect.
“Why so?” Chrysalis continued to demand.
“Simply put, my cover might be blown at the middle of the party.” Spike replied.
“You fear of getting caught?” Chrysalis asked.
“No, being caught is not an issue to me. The problem is that, the Elements of Harmony might stop me before I make it here. As you know, if I fail to make it there goes the power you could use to lead an attack.” Spike answered calmly.
“That might be a problem.” Chrysalis muttered more to herself than to Spike. “Fine, I’ll send a small attack unit to interrupt the party. They should make a nice enough diversion to allow you to come here without much problem.”
“That is an excellent idea, my Queen.” Spike gave another quick bow before leaving her room.
“Before you go my subject,” Chrysalis called out to Spike, who had his claw’s on the door knob. “I have been hearing unpleasant rumors of a rebellion as of late. Some of the rebels have been caught and been dealt with.” A loud tearing sound cut through the air. “I fear though, there might be more of them lurking about in the Hive. Do you know of any changelings trying to overthrow me?” Chrysalis eyes glowed green dangerously.
“I have no idea of such actions, my Queen. I have been putting my efforts into this plan to pay much attention to my brethren.” Spike replied dismissively.
“Off with you then. I shall await here tomorrow for your arrival.” Chrysalis shooed away Spike.
After taking another bow, Spike turned to leave Chrysalis room. Just as he closed the door behind him, two familiar changelings stood before him.
“Back so soon, Tony?” Wick teased, but wearing a friendly smile all the same.
“It’s nice to see you two again. Have any of you seen “Lawrence” lately?” Tony looked at his accomplices expectantly.
“Lawrence? Oh yeah, he’s been invited to that party you’re going to.” Wick explained.
“You don’t say? Excellent, he can help with the diversion.” Tony replied in mild surprise.
“Want us to go crash the party as well?” The changeling next to Wick asked with a sneaky smile creeping on his face.
“That would help. I need as much time to get from there to here.” Spike replied with an approving nod. “Don’t do anything to extreme though.” Spike added quickly.
“Nah, don’t worry about it.” Wick replied happily.
“I’m not worried about you. Its Kemp here that might get out of hand.” Spike looked directly at the changeling next to Wick.
“You don’t have faith in me?” Kemp pouted.
“It’s not that, I just think you might get…carried away.” Spike replied, putting a delicate touch to his last words. “Anyway, I’ll see you guys then.” Spike departed from Kemp and Wick.
“I can’t believe the Queen is starting to crack down on rebels already. It’s like she knows this place is going into anarchy.” Kemp sighed greatly after Spike was long gone from their presence.
“It’s because she put all our resources into the wedding invasion. The situation was winner take all and we obviously were the losers.” Wick replied sadly.
“Let’s hope we don’t fail here either.” Kemp trotted away from Wick, leaving him alone with just his thoughts to consult with. ______ It was near the afternoon when Spike made his way out of Everfree Forest. Spike tried to walk slowly when going through the forest, to waste more time. Sadly, Spike had grown accustomed to the route to the tree back to town by now. Still, it was a decent time waster.
“Spikey Wikey, I been looking for you everywhere today!” A voice rang out.
Spike looked around and noticed a white unicorn mare galloping toward his direction. If memory served correctly, her name was Rarity. He had to admit, the mare looked rather beautiful when she wasn’t nagging.
“Wait, what?” Spike could only manage to say before Rarity dragged him.
“I have to tailor proper dress ware for you! At least you will look presentable next to that mare.” Rarity replied, scoffing slightly at the mention of the mare.
Spike could only wince in pain as a response while his faced rubbed against the dirt road that Rarity dragged him through.
“Mind slowing down, Rarity?” Spike muttered after getting a face full of rocks.
“Beauty doesn’t wait for anyone!”
“Of course it doesn’t” Spike muttered darkly. ______
Spike could only stand impatiently while Rarity made him try on a large assortment of silly clothes. True, it wasted time, but this wasn’t enjoyable in the slightest. Especially if she kept telling him stories of her making fabulous dresses, repeating the one about Princess Candace who knows how many times.
“No, feels too professional.” Rarity took off Spike’s suit and looked around in her shop for something else.
“Can’t I just go the way I’m right now? It’s not I’m attending a wedding.” Spike winced as Rarity nearly choked him while she attached a cape around his neck.
“Mind if we take a break though? I can barely breathe with this on!” Spike tried to pry off the cape with no success.
“Oh! I am sorry!” Rarity magically loosened the cape for Spike.
“That’s much better.” Spike took a deep breath of relief.
“Perhaps a bowtie is what you need! Spike, are you here?” Rarity searched around the boutique for any signs of a purple dragon. There was none.
“Fine, go to the party looking like a slob.” Rarity mused angrily.
There was one thing the bothered Rarity though. Spike's eyes flashed green when she was retelling a story to him about how lovely Candace's dress was at the wedding when they first came in. At that moment she dismissed it, thinking that the light was playing tricks on her eyes. She then remembered a surge of spite and hatred hit her as she looked at his glowing eyes. It was....unsettling. ____
“Thank Chrysalis that’s over with.” Spike gasped, rubbing his sore neck for relief.
Spike had taken refuge in the library again. Twilight Sparkle was nowhere to be seen, so this gave Spike a moment to take a breather. The party is tomorrow and boy did Spike look forward to it. Not only would it mark of a new era for him, it also meant he wouldn’t have to fake being a dragon for much longer. A mirror grabbed Spike’s attention his reflection was exactly what it should have been, a dragon. Still, Spike knew better. Behind that mask of the dragon was one of a changeling, his very own.
“The time for hiding will be long gone.” Spike muttered at his reflection.
There was a knock at the door and Spike quickly hid in his basket. Twilight came walking in and took notice to Spike in his basket.
“You sure are sleeping a lot these days.” Twilight looked down at her assistant rather sadly. She leaned down and gave him a soft kiss on the forehead before indulging herself in a book.
As she walked away, Spike opened his eyes. A green glow was slowly emitting out of his eyes before he closed them to go back to bed.
Spike awoke at the middle of the night. A slight clinking sound was heard as a pebble kept hitting against a window near the kitchen. It was irritating to no end and Spike wanted to tell off whoever was keeping him up. As Spike opened the kitchen window, a stallions head poked inside and looked Spike right in the eyes.
“Sorry to bother you this late Tony.” The stallion said, giving Spike a sheepish smile.
“Bother? None at all, everypony just loves being awakened at the middle of the night!” Spike snapped back sarcastically.
“Oh good, for a minute I really started to think I bothered you.” The stallion let out a sigh of relief while Spike twitched, trying his best not to yell at the stallion.
“Anyway, the party doesn’t start until around the afternoon today. Unless being this early is your kind of thing.” Spike joked.
“No, I’m here because Twilight is expecting Lawrence to be in town today.” The stallion replied.
“You don’t say. You must be him then.” Spike eyed the stallion with interest now rather with annoyance.
“That I am.” The stallion nodded his head.
“So, how is this diversion going to work? I need a head start before you guys start anything.” Spike asked.
“Fortunately, Kemp and Wick found roles in bringing some apple from Sweet Apple Acres. They have gathered a fair amount of changelings, which got disguises from some random stallions in other villages, to help them bring apples to the party and among other things.” Lawrence explained, nearly reduced to a whisper hoping not to awaken anypony.
“Excellent, but that still doesn’t give me some signal to be aware of.” Spike let out an impatient sigh.
“Fairly simple, just say “Riot” and we will do the rest.” The stallion explained. “Can we make this quick? My neck is starting to hurt.”
“What? Yeah, sure, go run along.” Spike slammed the window right on the stallions face.
Spike saw that the stallion was rolling on the ground outside, holding onto his nose. Maybe slamming the windows on his face was uncalled for, but being awoken in the middle of the night was no pleasant experience itself. The sunrise was starting to creep into the kitchen room and Spike knew rest was no longer an option for him. Spike waddled back to the window and opened it, finding that the stallion was still curled up and holding onto his nose.
“It’s morning, get a move on.” Spike alerted the stallion.
“Right, I’ll just knock on the front door.” The stallion replied in a muffled voice. He slowly got up and made his way to the front door of the library.
All too soon, Twilight came bustling down the stairs to the kitchen. She looked around the kitchen expectantly and it took Spike a few moments to catch on. The lack of breakfast was evident.
“I thought we could go out today!” Spike quickly muttered, hoping to avoid suspicion.
“That sounds great! Um, did anyone come by today?” Twilight asked sheepishly, her gaze resting at the front door. Spike’s mind lingered back to the events of slamming the window on Lawrence’s face, but thought better to keep his trap shut. “Can’t say if someone dropped by.” Spike faked the curious look on his face.
“Oh, well maybe he is-.” Twilight was cut off by a loud knock on the door. “He made it!” Twilight yelled with delight.
Twilight was skipping as she made her way to the front door; Spike couldn’t help but gag at the sight of this. With a flourish, Twilight opened the door and revealed Lawrence standing behind it. Now that Spike looked at him properly, without the darkness hiding half his face, the stallion looked reasonably handsome. He had a jet black mane, a silver coat and was just as tall as that red farm pony that sold apples. True, the red stallion in town was more built for work then Lawrence, but the height difference wasn’t much.
“Lawrence, you made it!” Twilight gushed. Her face went from pure happiness to dismay. “I looked terrible! Give me a minute!” Twilight disappeared in a flash of light.
“That went well.” Lawrence muttered after Twilight vanished.
“Just don’t mess up! We still got a whole afternoon to wait out.” Spike warned.
“Tony, don’t worry you’re little head! We just take her out to breakfast and that should take up a nice amount of time.” Lawrence dismissed the warning without a care. This only made Spike froth at the mouth with green flames.
“I might not be a dragon, but I will gladly set you on fire through other methods.” Spike hissed, the green flames licking against the corners of his mouth.
“Spike, be nice!” Twilight yelled shrilly, nearly knocking over Spike from behind.
The green flames quickly died out and Spike slowly got up after being nearly planted to the ground. “Can we just go get breakfast?” Spike asked.
“Shall we?” Lawrence offered his hoof for Twilight to grab, who grabbed it all too eagerly.
Twilight had stepped on Spike like a floor mat when she walked off into the distance with Lawrence. At first Spike wanted to shoot a spell right at the both of them, but he barely kept his temper in check.
“You’ll pay for that later, Twilight Sparkle.” Spike hissed, his eye’s flashing green.
Spike walked back to the kitchen and made himself a cup of tea. Heading out to breakfast with those two was just begging for a gag fest. All the possible little corny moments could have cropped and Spike had a pulse of dread that “Lawrence” was getting attached to Twilight as much as she was getting attached to him. This was bad and the time might come when their relationship might have to be cut short. After all, their relationship was only for the sake of the Hive. Still, that plan did fall apart and “Lawrence” was still keeping in touch with Twilight.
Another problem was starting to nag at his mind now. Is it possible for Octavia to figure out who exactly he is? She was in love with Spike after all. Maybe she might be one of the few ponies who might see through his disguise. Spike threw his cup of tea at the ground in frustration. Too many things could go wrong and the party was not that far off. He had come way too far to fall flat on this now.
Spike stormed out of the library and wandered around the town to burn some time away. He had just rounded the corner, where Sugercube Corner stood, when Pinkie trotted over to him. The urgent look on her face unseated Spike a bit, it was rare to see her so serious.
“Come on Spike! We have to get to the train station!” Pinkie yelled, running past Spike.
“What do you mean?” Spike asked, scratching his head in mild confusion.
“Octavia’s train is coming any minute!” Pinkie’s voice sounded distant, but the note of urgency was evident.
“This is just getting too complicated for my liking.” Spike muttered darkly, running after Pinkie as best as he could.
Pinkie had been bouncing on the end of her tail, like a spring, to relieve some nerves as she waited for Spike to catch up. The closer he got, the faster she would bounce. By the time Spike made it by her side, Pinkie had become a pink blur.
“Great you made it!” Pinkie stopped her bouncing immediately, her eyes still bouncing around though. “Just on time too!” A large train had slowly crept its way to the station.
As they train came to a stop, it ejected a large amount of steam. There was no seeing past the thick haze that taken charge of the scene. Spike even had a hard time seeing Pinkie, who was standing right next to him.
“Think she’ll see us?” Spike asked anxiously, trying his best to find a sign of Octavia.
Something touched Spike’s shoulder with the gentlest care. Spike turned around and noticed a gray mare standing there, a happy smile was plastered to her face. Now the changeling realized why Spike and Octavia’s love was just so strong. Just the look on her face from seeing the form of her beloved made her give off a feeling of pure happiness. It almost felt…wrong to assume the form of Spike now. Still, this was for the betterment of the Hive. This had to be done.
“I can see you from a mile away, my sweet heart.” Octavia whispered into Spike’s ear before pecking him on the cheek. Even if the kiss wasn’t exactly meant for him, the changeling felt a pulse of warmth surge though him. This was something that the changeling felt like he can get used to. The haze started to die off and Pinkie noticed Octavia’s presence.
“Spike, get Octavia’s bags and bring them by your place. Octavia and I will be off to Sweet Apple Acres for a bit.” Pinkie laid out the plans before gesturing Octavia to follow.
“See you soon.” Octavia whispered to Spike before following Pinkie.
Spike just waved as Octavia looked over her shoulder to steal a glance at him. A random stallion walked to Spike’s side, without Spike’s notice.
“Don’t get comfortable with her Tony. We still got a plan going on.” The stallion whispered seriously.
“I know Wick.” Spike sighed heavily. “I just got caught up in the moment. Where’s Kemp? You and Kemp are inseparable.” Spike looked around for another stallion to introduce himself. But none came.
“Kemp isn’t capable of coming today.” Wick replied with a strained look overcoming his face.
“Why? Kemp is always up for something. Something this big is bound to grab his attention.” Spike grabbed Wick by the shoulders. “What happen to Kemp?”
“Chrysalis sent her guards after him and me, someone snitched on us. They tried coming for me first, but Kemp stopped them. Once the guards roughed him up, they dragged him to the feeding grounds.” Wick whimpered, barely holding his tears back now.
“Kemp sacrificed himself to let you walk away from that. Sacrifices have to be made for something like this to work Wick. I’m really sorry this happened to him, but we can’t sit around and cry about it. You know how mad he would get to see us like this.” Spike offered a comforting one armed hug to his comrade. Wick took the embrace and fought back his tears.
“For Kemp.” Wick muttered at last.
“For Kemp.” Spike nodded in approval.
A stallion had been looking at them awkwardly. How long he had been standing there, Spike couldn’t say for sure.
“Do you mind? My friend here is having a rough time.” Spike hissed angrily at the intruder.
“I’ll be just fine. You have some things to worry about though.” Wick teased, a grin escaping his lips.
“True, I would have much less things to worry about if you do your part.” Spike replied, returning a grin of his own.
“Speaking of that, I should get going. I have to carry a whole lot of luggage with some other helpers.” The stallion eyed the train bitterly.
“What are you talking about?” Spike asked.
“Pinkie Pie asked a bunch of Octavia’s band mates to come here and play music at her party. Unfortunately, my group got stuck with the chore of carrying all the instruments to Sugarcube Corner.” Wick explained, looking at a fellow stallion trying to carry several violin cases.
“Sounds like a rough job. Still doesn’t explain how you’re going to sneak into the party for the diversion.” Spike pointed out the flaw in his friends plan.
“The musicians will be coming out of the train promptly. It’s a matter of picking off one by one.” Wick let out a devious chuckle before starting his labor.
Spike could only stare at Wick with a bemused smile. Tony couldn’t help but think that Wick probably could have made a scheme like this, given enough time that is. He was a pretty quick thinker, when he wanted to be. Kemp was always around to baby him and with the lack of his big brother around, Wick had to step up.
Staying in the train station was pointless now. Spike examined a clock near the exit of the station and noticed the party was only a few hours away. The library was not an option; least Lawrence and Twilight are there. The Hive was out of bounds at this point, the Queen was slowly going to realize he was the one leading the rebel along with Wick and Kemp. Perhaps it was best to make it to the party early. Besides, it’s better to be early in this case. Being fashionably late pretty much translated to the plan falling apart.
After deciding his destination, Spike started to walk to Sugarcube Corner. Good thing Pinkie dragged him along when he was around the store, finding the path back there wasn’t all that hard. There was a steady stream of ponies entering and leaving the store. It was hard to tell who was a fellow changeling or just the average citizen.
“Shake a leg Tony, we got get this fountain outside.” A mare tapped at the shoulder of Spike.
Spike turned around and noticed the fountain show cased a musical note. The fountain was missing something though.
“I know what you’re thinking, if this is a fountain where in the world is the water?” The mare gestured a few stallions to attach a pipe on the base of the fountain. “Anyway, here it is!”
Spike stuck his claw in the purple liquid, fully expecting harm to come his way. As Spike withdrew his claw, he noticed it was still intact. With a shrug, Spike licked the remaining mystery liquid that was left on his claw. It tasted very fruity.
“Punch?” Spike asked, staring at the fountain with amazement.
“It was Pinkie’s idea. I must admit, this is pretty clever.” The mare complimented.
“Just wondering, who are you disguised as?” Spike asked, eyeing the disguise with a look of interest.
“This? I really can’t say for sure. The mare I got this from came wandering into the Everfree Forest and I took advantage of the opportunity.” The mare shrugged and continued to tinker with the fountain.
“Any others are coming?” Spike asked nervously.
“Lawrence convinced a few members from the Hive to tag along. After Kemp was taken though, a lot of changelings got involved on this.” The mare whispered urgently.
“How many are we talking about?” Spike asked, his eyes growing wide in surprise.
“I’d say about half of the Hive is walking around here as we speak. The only ones left at the Hives are the young, guards and of course the Queen herself.” The mare continued to explain, trying her best not to be overheard.
“What’s with all the whispering anyway?” Spike asked abruptly.
“I swear these ponies in this town are just too friendly. No conversation can be private while they keep walking by to say hello.” The mare replied, casting a disapproving glare at chatting group of mares.
“Don’t sweat about it, this won’t be long.” Spike tried to amend.
“I think this has gotten to the point where it’s too big to fail now. Either you capitalize on it, or somepony else will.” The mare muttered back.
“What are you trying to say? We have a traitor in the midst?” Spike demanded, angry lacing every word he spoke.
“It’s possible. Kemp and Wick didn’t get caught because they were careless. Somepony snitched on them. Maybe for payment or something, I can’t say for sure. Just keep an eye open for that.” The mare stopped speaking and attended back to the fountain, which had stopped producing punch.
Spike couldn't shake off the feeling of dread and paranoia settling in. Wick even said it; a traitor was in the Hive. Was it possible that the changeling was here? Did it just want to destroy the rebel from inside out or they got paid to do this? So many lose ends in the plan started to pop up. Abandoning it now didn’t mean a thing. Other changelings will take advantage of this opportunity that he worked hard to produce.
Spike settled in the store after the exchange with his fellow changeling. The guest to the part slowly started to flood in and it was only a matter of time before the birthday girl came. A stack of present started to accumulate on a large table, which was settled around one of the corners of the store. Just the very sight of the gifts made Spike twitch slightly. If he had to sing this song, everything will fall apart.
“Spike, you look like you seen a ghost or something.” Applejack concerned voice cut through Spike’s train of thought.
“What? Oh, just nervous is all.” Spike muttered in reply. Sticking to the truth, well half of it was probably best.
“I can see that. See you round Spike!” Applejack trotted off the chit chat with a rather meek Pegasus.
Spike felt like brain might explode with all the anxiety and panic that had built up in him. So little room for error, this was ridiculous! Wick and a crowd of stallion were hanging out by the present table. The sight of them put Spike a little more at ease. This plan seemed more plausible now.
The front door to the shop opened and Octavia had just barely stepped in when the crowd within the store yelled “Surprise!” in unison. Spike felt his ears pop slightly as the crowd greeted the birthday girl. Octavia made a beeline to Spike and kissed him passionately. The familiar loving warmth spread through his body again. When Octavia parted away, she giggled once she saw that Spike had a silly grin on his face. Amazingly, not a soul noticed that Octavia’s eye’s turned green slightly as she kissed Spike. Pinkie popped by Spike’s side as Octavia made her way around to greet the guest.
“Wow, sure are a lot of ponies here!” Pinkie exclaimed, looking at the packed room with delight.
“Yeah, we could start a riot with all of them here.” Spike replied, nearly biting his tongue in half has he uttered his words.
Wick’s ears twitched and he gave a little shove to the stallions standing next to him. With a flash of light, half of them assumed there changeling form while the other half set of to alert the others. Shouts and screams could be heard as the changelings pounced and lunged at unsuspecting ponies. Pinkie’s mouth nearly dropped to the floor in surprise. Spike took advantage of the sudden chaos and slipped his way out of the store. Before Spike manages to reach to the door though, he noticed that Twilight had nearly kissed Lawrence, who turned into a changeling when their lips nearly touched. A chuckle escaped Spike as he watched Twilight’s face contort in pure anger, and then proceeded to blast the changeling with a powerful spell.
Spike couldn’t help but cackle madly as he walked towards the Everfree Forest. The plan was going absolutely perfect! All that needed to be done now was to overthrow an incompetent Queen.
“Tony, the King of the Changelings….I like the sounds of that!” Spike muttered to himself happily.
Spike walked to the temporary Hive at Everfree Forest rather quickly. The wait was killing him, he wanted what he felt like he deserved. After sneaking around the grounds of the Hive, Queen Chrysalis room came into view. There was an evident lack of guards keeping post, which could have been a good or bad sign. Spike knocked of the hinges of the door that lead to Chrysalis chamber with a powerful spell. Chrysalis looked feeble and tired, but it didn’t stop her from smiling at the sight of the dragon.
“I thought you wouldn’t make it.” Chrysalis said, taking a sigh of relief. “Now, it’s time I assume my rightful power.” Chrysalis shot a beam of green energy from her horn directly at Spike.
“I think not.” Spike replied through clenched teeth.
He shot a beam of green energy as well, from the tips of his claws. Chrysalis stared wide out at her subject with a mixture of horror and anger. Spike couldn't help but have a grin grace his lips. For so long, he had wanted to blow his Queen's ego to nothingness.
“You are the one who started the rebel!” Chrysalis screeched viciously.
“I’m afraid so. Don’t take this the wrong way, my Queen. This is for the sake of the Hive.” Spike’s beam was pushing against Chrysalis with little resistance. All too soon, the point where the beams collided nearly reached Chrysalis horn.
“You won’t get away with this! I may fall now, but the same fate will follow you!” Chrysalis yelled before Spike’s beam finally connected with a horn.
The contact gave birth to a loud explosion in the chamber. Spike was knocked flat on his back by the force that hit him while Chrysalis collapsed to the ground. After Spike regained his composure he analyzed Chrysalis, who hadn’t budged an inch. It seemed the absorption spell was reversed and Spike sapped what little energy Chrysalis had left in her. Spike removed the former Queen's crown from her head and placed it on his own. A sudden burst of power and energy coursed through his veins. It wasn’t painful, in fact, it was…wonderful.
“Not even the Royal Sisters can stop me!” Spike cackled at the sense of victory took him over.
“They might not, but I can.” A voice replied simply.
Spike turned to face the intruder and gasped at the sight of him and the mare he brought with him.
“Wick, what are you doing?” Spike eyed another copy of himself standing near Octavia.
“What am I doing here? I’m here to take the Queen’s power.” Wick simply replied.
“You’re too late for that, I beat you to it.” Spike puffed out his chest proudly.
“No, the Queen’s shell is gone. But the power she possessed lives on, in you to be exact.” Wick muttered, walking circles around Spike now.
“Quit playing games Wick.” Spike snapped angrily.
“This is no game Tony. I’m here to take the reins from you.” Wick replied, whispering evilly into Spike’s ear.
It took a moment for things to click together for Tony. “You were the one?” Spike’s mouth nearly fell to the ground in shock.
“Yes! I’m the traitor that every single changeling grew paranoid about!” Wick revealed, laughing at the silly face of Tony’s.
“You betrayed the Hive…You betrayed your own flesh and blood Wick!” Spike yelled, glaring daggers at Wick.
Wick cringed slightly at the mention of his brother. “He figured it out I wanted the power for myself. If I didn’t stop him, he would have told you and just about everypony. So I took him out of the equation.” Wick muttered, great sorrow eating away at his tone.
“You told the guards off, didn’t you?” Spike accused Wick.
“I did. I figured the guards could do the thing I would never do to my own brother.” Wick replied, regaining some confidence now.
“Have him be eaten alive.” Spike didn’t want to sugar coat the fact. Kemp hated doing that.
“That was the first time I relished the sound of the tearing.” Wick’s mind wandered back to hearing the scream of his brother as the young did away with him.
“You’re a monster! I’ll make you pay!” Spike shot a beam of green energy at Wick.
Surprisingly, Wick shot back a beam of his own to counter Spike’s. The beams collided together and showed no signs of moving. They were evenly matched.
“How in the world did you get the power?” Spike asked, doing a poor job of hiding the fear in his voice.
“You left Octavia back at the party. It was pretty easy to leach some energy off her for myself. Seems not even you can plan for everything.” Wick answered.
Of course, leave the thing supplying you with power unattended. That was just begging for problems.
“So you’re telling me that the both of us are taking advantage of the power of love in her?” Spike asked, wanting to make sure the problem that he as facing.
“That’s pretty much the case. I sapped out a Twilight Sparkle as well, for an extra precaution. Lawrence was just too easy to take advantage of.” Wick chuckled, his face assuming the form of Lawrence.
“You really thought ahead, didn’t you? Sad to say, their relationship is pretty much useless!” Spike yelled in triumph, the beam finally pushing its way toward Wick.
“What do you mean? Twilight and Lawrence were just falling for each other!” Wick snapped impatiently, trying to stomp out any doubt.
“They were, until Lawrence showed who he really was.” Spike replied, his grin growing even larger by the look of terror on Wick’s face.
“You’re kidding! Lawrence tried to protect her before I brainwashed her!” Wick yelled shrilly.
“He might have had a thing for her, but she wasn’t feeling the same for sure. Perhaps you should have brainwashed Lawrence?” Spike suggested happily.
“I can still beat you!” Wick replied, trying to put all his focus into pushing the beam back at Spike.
“No you can’t.”
Wick’s eyes flashed green and so did Octavia’s. Spike could feel himself getting drained. It seemed like Wick had taken further control of Octavia’s feelings of love for himself. The beam start to creep closer to Spike’s claw now. Just when he had gotten so close, Wick was right there to run him over.
With a powerful surge, Wick pushed the beam right back into Spike. The beam wrapped around him and consumed him completely. With a blinding green light, Spike was flat on his back and covered in soot. Octavia had collapsed to the ground and Wick had she made her float a bit, to make the impact less painful for her. Seems having your feelings for love being abused wasn’t healthy, Octavia looked slightly pale.
“You lose again, Noble.” Wick whispered into Spike’s ear.
A pair of heavily armored changelings entered the room, looking around the mess in the room with mild confusion. Wick had to admit, the scene was just odd. Scorch marks were all over the place and there was a passed out mare on the ground. If anything, who wouldn’t be taken aback by the scene?
“Where is the Queen?” One of the guards demanded, stepping closer to Wick.
“The Queen has been overthrown. You’re looking at your new King.” Wick answered calmly.
The guard’s eye’s opened up in surprise, but still bowed to Wick anyway. “What is needed, King..um.” One of the guards started unsurely up at Wick.
“Wick is my real name. The community will address me as Tony though.” Spike explained. “As for a command, one of you keeps an eye on the mare. Last thing I need is for her to break from the influence I have on her. Secondly, alert the others to gather up lovers and bring them to the dungeons. One last thing, take him to the dungeons.”
The guards have a last bow before disbanding to their duties. One of the guards stood close by Octavia and hoisted her on his back.
“Where do you want her?” The guard asked.
“I plan on returning to the surface. Just prop her in the dungeons for now. She could keep Noble here some company.” Spike ordered.
The guard nodded and left the room, with Octavia still draped over his back and dragging Spike by the end of his tail. Wick waited until the guard left the room to shed himself of his tedious disguise. With a burst of flames, Wick shed Spike’s skin off himself and let it fall to the ground. The rainbow diamond crown was left abandoned on the floor, probably blown off Noble’s head when the explosion went off. Wick placed the crown on his face and summoned a mirror to examine his reflection. With a simple approving nod, Wick took place on Chrysalis former throne.
“It’s good to be the King.” Wick chuckled happily.
The guard had been dragging Noble’s body and carrying Octavia on his back for a while. He ended up leaving Noble in the middle of the tunnels since Octavia was starting to become a challenge to carry. Octavia would be dropped off first and the guard decided he would return for Noble later. As the guard walked away, Noble started to stir a little. Not enough to make the guard turn around, but enough to get his face off the ground.
Once the guard was out of sight, Noble got up slowly and staggered his way out of the Hive. No doubt would Wick even consider letting him live if he got caught. Noble managed to crawl his way outside, away from the Hive now. He wasn’t sure where to go now. Octavia was under his full control now; Noble barely had enough energy to walk, let alone trying to keep his hold on her power of love. The Hive was a death sentence just waiting to happen. Noble held his head up and saw the raging swarm lingering above Ponyville.
Perhaps Ponyville would be the best place to camp out. At least there, there was a better chance of living. Noble slowly crawled his way to Ponyville, but was stopped by a yellow Pegasus. She looked familiar and a look of concern was on her face. Great, she was going to step on him like the bug he was.
Surprisingly, the mare didn’t make a movement to step on him. She spoke, but Noble could barely make out what she said. Seemed like that explosion earlier cut off his hearing for a bit. Might explain why he didn’t hear her approaching him. The last thing Noble saw before he blacked out was the concerned face of the mare turning into the one of panic.
Death isn’t that bad. Heck, Noble considered the total darkness around him rather calming. He could hear faint voices and sounds, but not enough to identify a proper source. The lack of pain in his limbs also was a pleasant experience. However, the atmosphere of peace was interrupted by a strong surge of pain running down his hoofs. Noble jerked his eyes open and saw the familiar yellow Pegasus standing over him. She looked startled, probably from Noble suddenly waking up.
“I hope I didn’t hurt you.” The Pegasus said in a barely audible whisper.
“No, I’m fine. A little sore, but that can’t be helped.” Noble replied, trying his best to smile at the kind mare.
“I’ll need to grab more bandages. Try not to move while I go get some.” The mare warned before trotting off to another section of the cottage.
“I can barely move my legs at this point. Moving is not an option for me.” Noble muttered, gesturing to his heavily bandaged legs.
Noble looked around his surroundings for a bit. This was a rather relaxing place, it’s like the room just emitted a positive vibe. Perhaps it was the mare who gave this place such a comfy feel. The mare had left him on a couch, which was rather plush. There was one thing that was nagging him though, the mare looked awfully familiar. A series of hoof steps could be heard getting closer and Noble wasn’t sure if she was going to interrogate him.
“What’s your name?” The mare asked, wrapping the last of his hoof.
Not a soul ever cared for his name before. If anything, a pony would threaten him for being what he was. “Noble is my name. What’s yours?”
“Fluttershy is my name.” The mare answered, hiding behind her mane as she spoke.
“Thank you for treating me Fluttershy.” Noble noticed how Fluttershy’s face looked a little panicky. “You’re scared of what I am, aren’t you?” Noble demanded a little viciously.
“What, no, I think you’re different from the rest of them.” Fluttershy spoke in a determined voice.
Noble was reminded of what Kemp always thought of him. Being different for not wanting to use the power of love for his own fancy, it was all for the Hive in his mind. His name went perfectly along with his ideals, doing things not for his own agenda but for the betterment of others.
“I’ve been told.” Noble replied, a faint grin forming on his lips.
The front door of the cottage opened suddenly and there stood a mare with a rainbow colored mane. Noble wasn’t sure if the mare was shocked to see him there or angry about his presence. Sure enough she lunged at him, knocking the couch over along with them. Noble’s back had to endure the fall for the both of them. The feeling of pain that overcame him was so ferocious that his vision became blurred and Noble wanted nothing more than to scream in agony, if the mare hadn’t shoved her hoof over his face anyway.
“What are you doing here you little creep?” The mare demanded.
“Rainbow, you’re hurting him!” Fluttershy wailed.
“Then I’ll hurt him some more if he doesn’t explain himself!” The mare raised her hoof from Noble’s face, readying to stomp on his face again.
“I was brought here because of Fluttershy.” Noble managed to say.
“You’re lying!” Rainbow nearly stomped on Noble again, but was pushed off by Fluttershy.
“It’s true what he’s saying!” Fluttershy yelled. Her usual meek tone replaced with a one of anger.
“You’re kidding, right? Look at what the changelings are doing outside Fluttershy!” Rainbow regained her composure and stared disbelievingly at Fluttershy.
“He’s…different.” Fluttershy replied, returning to her soft composure.
“Rainbow, what are you doing?” Applejack asked, trotting in and leading her group of friends in the cottage.
It didn’t take long for Applejack to gather up what Rainbow was standing on. In a wink of an eye, Applejack hogtied Noble. Twilight had encased him in an enchanted bubble to further reduce chances of him escaping.
“What are you doing here?” Twilight demanded, giving Noble her sternest glare.
“What part of Fluttershy bringing me in here don’t you understand?” Noble replied calmly, obviously not fazed by Twilight.
Twilight’s horn sparked violently and Noble could feel the bubble he was in get tighter. She was trying to scare him into telling the truth, which he had already done.
“Go ahead, I failed enough today.” Noble muttered, eyeing the bubble lazily.
“What do you mean by that?” Twilight asked, allowing the bubble to offer more comfort for Noble.
“I overthrew Chrysalis but my new found power was short lived.” Noble replied, trying his best not to remember how Wick bested him.
“So there’s a new King for the changelings?” Pinkie asked, bouncing over to Noble’s bubble.
“Indeed there is. He is determined to make himself more powerful so that not even the princesses themselves can stop him.” Noble explained.
“Come on girls, we have to get the Elements of-.” Twilight started to run out of the house but was interrupted by Noble’s cackling. “What’s so funny?” Twilight snapped impatiently.
“My dear, may I ask you something? Which is more powerful, love or friendship?” Noble asked.
“Well…” Twilight muttered thoughtfully.
“See? You have no clue. Personally thinking, the Elements would only work well if he only had a hold on one couple’s love. There’s no doubt in my mind though he is out for more.” Noble said, tapping the bubble to see if he can get through it.
“How do we stop him then?” Twilight asked, fear evident in her voice.
“I like how upset you get when not even the Elements or the princesses can stop this madness.” Noble muttered, barely stifling a chuckle.
“Just tell us already! We don’t have much time!” Applejack yelled impatiently.
“Fine, you’re only hope is to cut off his connections with the supply of love that he is feeding off of. Same like when Shining Armor snapped out of Chrysalis spell.” Noble instructed.
“Where do we even start looking for Spike and Octavia? I haven’t seen them since the party.” Pinkie interjected, eyeing Noble with a rather serious face.
“Everfree Forest is the place you want to head out to. Be warned though, the changelings have made a temporary Hive there. Expect us to be running around in Everfree Forest more than anywhere else.” Noble explained.
“Any other tips you can give us?” Rainbow asked.
Noble wanted nothing more than to tell Rainbow off for attacking him. Still, they had a much better chance of getting rid of Wick then he did.
“The Hive is underneath a very large black tree in the forest. You really can’t miss it because it’s in a clearing and stands tall over the rest of the trees in there. As for a location, I recall Wick saying to throw Octavia in the dungeons for the meantime. There’s a good chance Spike might be there…that is if the guards hadn’t decided to do away with him.” Noble muttered, trying not to think that Spike has already been used as grub.
“What might the guards do to him? Twilight demanded, slamming her hooves on Noble’s bubble. She looked utterly terrified and Noble felt pity for her.
“Give him to the young…to eat.” Noble finally responded after a long silence.
Twilight broke into a fit of tears, Noble’s bubble evaporated and Noble crashed to the ground. Even trying to stand was not possible, due to his legs being hogtied together. Chrysalis was right he would have the same fate as her, weak and pretty much powerless to do anything.
“Why did you overtake Chrysalis anyway?” Applejack asked, undoing the ties on Noble.
“Well, I felt she started to care more about herself then the sake of the Hive. Things were getting bad and I wanted to do something about it.” Noble replied, smiling in relief once Applejack got him loose.
“That’s why you guys started to-.”
“Yes.” Noble cut Applejack quickly. He didn’t want to think about the sounds that haunted him at night.
Once Noble managed to stand upright, Rainbow gave him a dirty look. He could care less what she thought of him though, many ponies acted like she did anyway.
“Are you sure you can move well?” Fluttershy asked, looking at Noble with deep concern.
“I should be fine. I really can’t thank you enough Fluttershy.” Noble replied, bowing slightly to Fluttershy as he spoke.
Fluttershy could only blush a little and hide behind her mane again. Noble couldn’t really say it, maybe not even to himself, but he felt a deep gush of gratitude and affection to Fluttershy. Once Rarity calmed down Twilight, they started to file out of the cottage. Fluttershy was at the end of the pack and lingered back with Noble a bit.
“Are you coming?” Fluttershy asked in her usual whisper.
“I guess. I can walk again and there isn’t much else I can do.” Noble muttered thoughtfully.
Fluttershy left Noble alone and followed her friends. An empty feeling started to overcome Noble’s heart. The warm feeling the cottage was still in the air, but something was missing. Suddenly, Noble felt a violent thumping on his hoof. Noble was surprised to see that a bunny was the one thumping his leg. When Noble gave the bunnies his attention though, it gestured him to the door.
“You want me to leave?” Noble muttered trying to understand the message the bunny was trying to convey to him.
The bunny replied with another gesture to the door but also pointed at the silhouette of Fluttershy near the hills now.
“Oh.”
Without much hesitation, Noble trotted after Fluttershy to the best of his ability. His leg was screaming in agony, but he pushed on. The bunny watched Noble’s valiant struggle with a look of approval.