Guard: As you can see ma’am, they won’t be causing you any more trouble. Granny Smith?: Chained and muzzled? Now that’s what I like to see! Serves you harlots right! Attackin’ a poor old lady. Guard: If you could just step this way, ma’am. Granny Smith?: What? Guard: We need to have you checked out by a physician and document any injuries for prosecution while they’re still fresh. Granny Smith?: Well alright, but only so they can throw the book at you five harpies! I hope they make this quick. I need to get back to Sweet Apple Acres. Was just mindin’ my own business, shopping in the market, and the moment I round a corner- WAM! Clocked me like a tee-ball, they did. Is this going to take long? Well? Why did everypony stop?
Guard: Well you see, ma’am, when you walked through that magic disabling device it seems to have turned you into a changeling.
Hissy McFit: Oh… Could… Could I just go quietly and… non-violently? Thisss hasn’t been a great day for me… Guard: I don’t see why not. Hissy McFit: I really did get hit in the head. And then stuffed in a trunk. And that was just today. The other changelingsss in Ponyville were pretty mean too. Guard: Why don’t you get your thoughts together and tell us all about it in a few minutes? [Pause] Send a detachment to Ponyville and arrest the Elements of Harmony. Lyra, you and your friends are cleared for the throne room. All of you, spread word around the castle and secure the parameter around the throne room. Balcony included. The rest of you, on us. We’re going to bring two royal changeling imposters into custody.
Lyra: Thanks for trusting us enough to prove our innocence. Guard: Foalnapping was never your M.O.. Now, you understand we can’t imprison the Princesses without explicit evidence of their involvement. At best we can occupy the throne room and follow them against their will. Lyra: Yeah. This is the hard part.
Lyra: Funny, from where I sit upon the chest you’re locked in I’m feeling like this was a triumph. Don’t see your friends coming to look for you either.
Lyra: That kinda sounds like the problem, don’t it?
Hissy McFit: We don’t need friends! We control your country! We took every princess! And even if you somehow rescue them- hiss-! we’ll destroy Equestria!
Octavia: We hear your bluff, we’re just not sold on the tone alone. I mean, destroy Equestria? Really now.
Hissy McFit: If Queen Chrysalis sends the signal to the changelings posing as the princesses, they’ll declare war on every nation on the planet! Only- hiss-! they’ll make it look like Equestria is the one being attacked! The Equestrian Military will be split up and deployed immediately! By the time anyone in authority returns, it will be too late! Equestria will be doomed! Ha ha hiss-ha!
Bon-Bon: That’s quite a contingency… Octavia: Stopping the changelings posing as the Elements of Harmony is no longer the priority. Raindrops: So, we’re going to Canterlot to stop the imposer princesses? Octavia: If we can even reach them. No doubt they’ve heightened security to limit their exposure to the public. Lyra: I think I can take care of that.
Spike?: Forget w-? Lyra: I mean, that would be so out-of-character and suspicious if you didn’t remember. You look forward to it every week.
Spike?: Uh… No. I’ve just been really busy. Twilight’s been running me all around town. Lyra: Oh mare. What a slave driver. Spike?: I know, right? I’m kind of in a hurry so- Lyra: Fortunately this never takes very long. You’ll be in and out without her ever knowing. Got some good ones for you this week.
Spike?: G-Good ones?
Lyra: Hmm? Oh yeah! Some great memes! Bon-Bon even made us some cupcakes!
Octavia: Vinyl-… Vinyl if you-… If you could just slow down a tad-! I can’t see a thing when you zoom the vision around like that! … Oh haha. Very funny.
Lyra: It all just looks like a lot of dreamscape nonsense. How does Princess Luna actually go in there?
Octavia: Different spell, different properties, I imagine.
Bon-Bon: Even when she holds it still I can’t make out anything. Lyra: It’s like watching one of those time-lapse videos, through a telescope, from a foot away. What are we even looking for? Octavia: Bare in mind I’ve only read about how this works when changelings are involved. Not much opportunity to practice it.
Raindrops: Woah. Bon-Bon: Everything went dark. Lyra: Did it break? Octavia: Changeling dreams. Inky, amorphous blobs that draw in anything healthy and absorb it. They can fool us in the real world, but they can’t hide the darkness in their hearts.
Lyra: So it is changelings. That’s a relief. [Pause] I mean, at least we can fight back without hurting the ones we’re trying to save. Right? Octavia: I’m not so sure. We’re three against seven. And that’s being generous. Raindrops: Don’t you mean five against seven? Octavia: I’m not counting ponies that can’t defend themselves. Raindrops: That’s… That’s fair.
Bon-Bon: So what do we do? Round up as many ponies as we can and rush them? Octavia: Ponyville ponies? If this were Cloudsdale or Manehattan perhaps. But Ponyville has about the meekest residents in Equestria. Lyra: What about Zecora? Bon-Bon: This is the last time we need somepony to get lost in the Everfree Forest. Raindrops: So what do we do?
Octavia: I’m afraid I don’t have the answer… The only way S.M.I.L.E. could have been compromised is if the Seeker Network was taken down. And if the changelings got that far… They must have the princesses as well. Which means they have control over the entirety of the EUP. Even CUE… Whatever course of action we take had better work… Because we may be Equestria’s last line of defense…
Octavia: Bonnie. Bon-Bon: Octavia. She checks out then?
Lyra: Her and Vinyl both.
Bon-Bon: Whatashame. Octavia: Likewise. Is this all you’ve managed to gather?
Bon-Bon: Of course not. It’d be too suspicious to have everypony together, so we- Octavia: Sent everypony away, to be prayed upon individually. You no longer have any indication they are or aren’t reliable. Possibly compromised any passcode distributed as well. Raindrops: Oh no… Octavia: Still haven’t taken any lessons from the past, Bonnie? Bon-Bon: Hey! We saw something you didn’t! Octavia: You acted first. I try to take a more informed approach. We no longer have that option.
Lyra: Stop it! Both of you! Whatever we’re up against; they took Spike! A baby! So unless you can clap your hooves and make it better- Octavia: No qualms with targeting children… Given their selective approach it sounds like changeling tactics to me.
Bon-Bon: I thought so too, but Lyra brought up mind control as a possibility.
Octavia: I can’t think of anything capable of that on so specific a scale. Targeting some but not others. At least, nothing with a motive. But it is something we can test for. Even changelings have to sleep.
Bon-Bon: Nyx Eye… But that’s a fairly advanced spell. We don’t have time to- Octavia: I think our DJ friend here can handle it, if she remembers how.
Bon-Bon: … I wish… Somepony answered, but it wasn’t who it should have been.
Lyra: Do they know that we-? Bon-Bon: No. I mean, they might be suspicious but I gave no indication. What about you? Lyra: B won’t answer no matter what I do. Usually I barely breathe and he’s there. Bon-Bon: Okay. Not panicking. The Elements of Harmony, and possibly the entirety of Equestria’s security forces, have been compromised. We are the only two we know of that aren’t Changelings- Lyra: Or worse…
Bon-Bon: What could possibly be worse? Lyra: They could still be themselves but mind controlled?
Bon-Bon: … Yeah, I guess they could be… Darn. That is a lot worse. Any ideas? Lyra: Cry?
Bon-Bon: Maybe something you aren’t already doing? Lyra: Cry harder? Bon-Bon: Lyra- Lyra: Bon-Bon I’m really scared! Bon-Bon: So am I! But if they replaced everypony in Equestria they wouldn’t have left us. This has got to be some kind of stealth insurgency plot; turn Equestria into a puppet state. That means most ponies should still be themselves. We have numbers. We’ve just got to find a way to rally them without being discovered…
asklyra said: (How does one get a character who doesn’t want to talk actually talk about upsetting moments, anyways?) A question for the ages.
I know, right?!
It’s like I was telling Raindrops the other day. I got this great OC, Albert, but I never get to talk about him. And even if I did, it’s like, where do you even start?
If you start at the beginning then you have all this context but when you finally get to the thing, its impact is muddled. If you just go straight into the thing, then the impact has no context and might not even mean anything to your audience!
Raindrops: Oh! And I saw Rainbow Dash come back with Princess Twilight! Just as Twister and I were finishing up. I think they were, like, guest instructing some applicants with Captain Spitfire.
Blossomforth: I still can’t believe you’re in the Wonderbolts Academy.
Raindrops: Eh heh heh… Sorry…
Blossomforth: For what?
Raindrops: … Uh-? Lyra: How did you do? Raindrops: Oh! I did…! I mean, I think it was… I, uh, probably did alright- Lyra: That’s great! Congratulations! Blossomforth: Yeah! Great job!
lmao, yeah i know, i figured. I was just [reacted] with you. I started on a joke answer actually,, then i was like “what if i just humiliate her instead?? just fill out her boring request with no loopholes. thatd be funny”
