It was another cold, starry night in Ponyville. The foals were asleep, the mares brushing their teeth. The stallions were making their final rounds around the home, just to make sure every door, gate, and window were closed. Despite the changeling peace that had recently been forged, the changelings who frequented Ponyville were nocturnal, rowdy, and had a tendency to pulverize porcelain garden gnomes.

Little did they know that this prejudice observation was caused not by the changelings as a whole, but rather one specially branded Disturber of the Peace.

"I LLLLUUUUUUVVVVVVV EQUESTRIA REFLECT," Morpheus slurred. The current commander of the changeling guard, Morpheus was anything but qualified. Rather, he was about as qualified as a koala who only knew how to break an almond in two. But on this current, celestial night, the changeling had decided a local visit to the tavern would be an appropriate response to his friend's current predicament.

"Morpheus, you're drunk," Reflect growled, "...and this time I'm not taking you home!" Reflect, the General of Intelligence (yes that's an actual title), was just a bit more qualified at his job then Morpheus. The difference being that there were times-between his paranoid rants on society and his conspiracy theories-he actually found valuable intel.

"Oh come on," Morpheus gave his friend an admonishing look of betrayal. "You're ssssuuuucccchhhh a kill-jjjjjooooooooooyyyy..."

The commander was leaning on the general's carapace, his eyes drifting off here and there as he pointed at rather trivial matters of discussion.

"You s-see that lammmmmp post Reflllect? Ssssometimes I sssstare at it and think of it as a rissssing ssssun in the wessssst." Reflect's patience was wearing thin, and considering that they had managed to walk a block away from the tavern, this was a good sign.

Morpheus then pointed at a few hats on display in a shop window. "I sssseeeee usssss as cowcoltsssss and what are youusss doing?"

Ahead of them were the ruby red doors of Ponyville Jail, a rather quiet area of town with a non-existent crime rate. Reflect barged in, using Morpheus' own body as a battering ram. Inside, the small lobby was deserted, save for the one old mare at the receptionist desk. Heaving his friend's body on one of the stools, he trotted up to the front, where a tiny silver bell laid forlorn on the stained oak finish.

DING!

"Emergency, sir?" The mare didn't even look up, her spectacles not even moving in the slightest. Reflect couldn't tell if she was dead or just a poorly-constructed automaton..

"Had one too many with Berry Punch," Reflect sighed irritably. "Leaving him to sober up." As he swiveled his head to regard the commander with one last look of disappointment, he noticed the light purple form of Berry Punch stretched over two stools. The mare was out cold, snoring like a manticore.

"Isn't that the Disturber of the Peace?" the receptionist didn't even seem to blink, her eyes fixated on the tiny magazine resting in her wrinkly old hooves.

"Just-just keep him here okay?" Reflect didn't even wait for a response as he trudged out the door once more, leaving the receptionist to continue leafing through her booklet.

Outside, he saw the last few lights of Ponyville go out, like fireflies giving up on life. Not that Reflect actually cared about fireflies, no...he hated them too. He could have gone back to the tavern, since the night was still young. Instead, he decided that being branded a drunkard on top of a suspected foal offender wouldn't sit well with his Queen anyhow. And on top of that, this night was supposed to cheer him up, not have him dragging his drunk-as-a-skunk buddy through all of Ponyville.

Why do I even put up with this? Queers, the whole lot of them. Bucking Swarm, hate them. Bucking ponies, hate them even more. Bucking Morpheus, oh boy how I'd like to shove his tiny little brain in a vat of highly concentrated sulfuric acid. Reflect was now walking aimlessly down the street, lost in his own petulant demeanor.

Yesterday was supposed to be his weekly meeting with Chrysalis. He had prepared his materials and evidence to showcase the latest plot he had discovered. It was code-named Operation: Animal Revolution. The beavers were clearly preparing to flood Ponyville's food supplies in a hostile take over of the town. He had figured his Queen would want to hear something about Ponyville, since that was all she seemed to be interested nowadays. Instead, his Queen cancelled the meeting for some important business "abroad", which was probably some poor excuse to visit Canterlot.

None the less, being the Crusader of Truth, Reflect did not put his idea to rest. He tracked the beaver plot to an individual code-named Gummy. The alligator was clearly up to no good, with his blank stare and toothless mouth. But he was also good at covering his webbed tracks, and there was no way Reflect could incriminate him in public.

So he waited in Sugarcube Corner, hiding in the pantry after closing hours. He had brought a camera, duct tape, and a flash light for self defense. When Gummy came out, he would get evidence of his connection to the beavers and duct tape the criminal before he could flee. His plan was foal-proof, and with a 120% chance of success, what could go wrong? Evidently that answer was incarnated in the form of Mr. Cake, who accused the changeling of trying to foalnap his twins. It had taken only the Princess' personal letter to convince him from pressing charges.

After being bailed out of jail, Queen Chrysalis had punished him with a time out from his secret underground office, his only real escape from the disease he called socialitis. Apparently, Morpheus was unaware of this illness since he figured the best way to cheer up his brother was a trip to the local tavern.

"OUCH!" Reflect grasped his hole covered hoof, gazing down to scrutinize the source of his injury. The culprit was none other then a tiny bubblegum wrapper...not even real gum.

"HOW DARE YOU LIFE!" Reflect shook his hoof, as if the moon actually cared about the wrapper. "THIS IS AN OUTRAGE! AN OUTRAGE I TELL YOU! I WILL MAKE LIFE RUE THE DAY IT THOUGHT IT COULD INSULT ME WITH THIS GARBAGE!"

Reflect hurled the revolting candy wrapper at a tiny sign with a Quill and Sofa painted on it. The flimsy piece of trash didn't meet its mark, getting caught by the wind and flying off in the opposite direction.

"Stupid breeze," Reflect muttered under his breath, revealing his saber-like fangs. Now he was thinking of all the various reasons a gust of wind would prevent him from venting out his frustrations. The only logical conclusion was that the wind was working on Celestia's behalf, since she must have known Reflect was on to her little scheme with the bananas...

"STOP RIGHT THERE CRIMINAL SCUM!" a gruff, authoritative voice shot out. Reflect nearly fainted, before he curved around to face his ambusher.

The offender in question was an earth pony by the lack of horn or wings. A chiseled grey mane and a dark brown coat, the stallions' piercing purple eyes were barely visible over the flashlight he held threateningly close to Reflect' retinas.

"Can you shine that bucking piece of scat somewhere else before I go blind?" Reflect snarled. The flashlight fell, revealing a starched white uniform with a jet-black tie and a shiny, silver badge.

Oh buck me it's the law! Reflect facehoofed himself, realizing his mistake too late. The cop was now scowling at the changeling, his other hoof holding up an all-too familiar wrapper of bubble gum.

"You see this?" the guard shook the wrapper like it was some sort of perp. "This is a wrapper from a JuicyHoof! And it just happened that while I was patrolling Mr. Davenport's store that this particular wrapper hit me square in the snout!"

Reflect was silently glaring at the cop, as if daring him to continue.

"Now I don't know about you," the cop continued, "but judging from the time this hit me to the current position you've maintained for the last thirty seconds, I'd like to say this was from you. And if it is, then this is littering and littering is against the law of Equestria!"

"I dare you to write me up pony," Reflect hissed, "and then I'll show you the meaning of "stop right there"...permanently!" His horn was now glowing a bright green, causing the officer to narrow his eyes.

"Threatening an officer huh? I'll write you for that too punk! Keep it coming...just wait until your Queen hears about this..."

As if a switch had been activated, Reflect's horn stopped glowing. His eyes still glaring at the security guard, he stated in as smooth a voice he could manage. "Listen here rent-a-cop. I know you don't want to spend the rest of your evening paralyzed from the neck down and I don't want to spend the rest of my week doing maintenance duty. So how about we reach a compromise of sorts?"

The officer seemed to ponder on this, apparently appalled at the idea. But he also saw the shaking hooves, the fear behind those compound blue eyes, and the forked tongue quivering behind the canine teeth. And it just so happened that he did need a favor.

"Okay," the guard held out his hoof for Reflect to shake. "I'll deal."

"Thank Celestia, there really is a divine pair of alicorns," Reflect was already squeezing the stallion's hoof, a look of gratitude on his face.

"On one condition..."the guard smiled.

"Really?" Reflect's momentary smirk was replaced with a threatening glare. "What do I look like to you? A magical genie? Want me to grant your three feather-bound wishes you bucking queer?"

"With a tongue like that," the officer sneered, "you could get in a whole lot of trouble there mister."

"I could give a flying feather on what you think," Reflect shook his head. "What do you want?"

"A partner," the cop grinned.

"WHAT?" Reflect took a good three steps back, his heart now beating through his outer shell. He may be willing to find the truth at all costs, but not like that.

Apparently, the security guard got the same idea, his grin turning into a frown. "NOT LIKE THAT! I mean a partner to get this free coupon for two cupcakes!" The stallion held out a tiny pink slip of paper which Reflect snatched with a tentative hoof.

CUPCAKE MADNESS!

TONIGHT AT SUGARCUBE CORNER!

All ponies are cordially invited to Pinkie's Choco-Watermelon extravaganza. These cupcakes will literally blow your mind! They're so good, you'd be crazy not to try one! Of course, if you're allergic, it's understandable. But still, bring a friend, and the first two cupcakes are on the house!

"You're kidding right?" Reflect stared at the stallion, his hooves still clutched around the piece of paper. "I've got a restraining order from that place that lasts until next month!"

"Then disguise yourself!" The stallion facehoofed himself. Honestly, he couldn't believe changelings were this stupid. The whole point to free food is that it starts with the word "free". If he was a changeling, he would have even disguised himself as the Element of Kindness to get in!

"And just who do you propose I copy bird-brain?" Reflect figured that almost everypony had been there, and that the owners had been keeping a list as well.

"Well..." the officer scratched his chin, "...what about that mare in the costume gig? You know...boasting about Great and Powerful?"

"Trixie..." Reflect repeated the name with such malice that the guard almost cringed. Trixie Lulamoon was a notorious performer, one that many changelings remembered as being obnoxious, self-centered, and generally dislikable. But the moment she went on Reflect's Double-Hate List was when she took away one of their own.

Albeit Leech was a klutz-which was more of an understatement-the unicorn still took him away from the Hive. And that could only mean one thing: Hypnosis. Somehow, the unicorn had discovered a powerful magical artifact that allowed her to perform advanced hypnosis spells to lure her victims away from their daily lives, becoming devoted disciples who would follow her to Tartarus and back. Leech, whose brain was no larger then a walnut, was easy prey and therefore the reason why Reflect had vowed he would never stop until he proved his theory.

Although now she was apparently off in Canterlot or somewhere...far away from his grasp. Not that he wouldn't find her eventually. If Reflect was good at one thing, it was being able to follow anypony, anywhere, at anytime. Or at least get in their business, which was a good strategy if you wanted to catch them off guard.

"I'm judging by that seething look you don't like her anymore then I do?" The officer was waving his hoof, trying to bring Reflect back from his momentary snap out of reality.

"That cold-hearted enchantress stole my brother! If I even saw her again there's no telling what I would do! I loathe that (word not found)," Reflect hissed, vanishing in a flash of green flame. Within moments, he was replaced by the infamous performer, her blue coated fur replacing the rough chitin. "and so I shall be her. After all, if there is any information to garner, best to hear it as the enemy herself!"

"You really are insane," the officer shook his head, "but I guess that makes two of us. Vigilance is the name...and you are?"

"Reflect," the unicorn replied in her flamboyant accent. "But please, call me the Great and Powerful Trixie!"

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"Trixie?" Pinkie Pie was staring at the odd couple before her. Sugarcube Corner was fairly deserted, occupied by a few mares and stallions from the weather team along with one very disgruntled delivery colt.

"I don't really know her," Vigilance said hastily, "but she's the only pony I could find and-"

"She's actually a changeling!" Pinkie laughed.

All of a sudden, Trixie's face turned a deep crimson and steam began to vent from her ears. Within seconds, she was engulfed in green flames, replaced by an insect-like equine whose face looked like it was ready to explode.

"AGAIN? YOU BUCKING CALLED ME OUT AGAIN? YOU SERIOUSLY JUST DID THAT! MAYBE YOU'RE A CHANGELING!" Reflect sank to his hooves, apparently sobbing although no pony could really tell. Most of the patrons were busy drinking coffee or eating their pastries, not at all concerned at seeing yet another changeling in their midst.

Pinkie, on the other hoof, tried to give a comforting grin. It didn't take a genius to recognize this changeling as the same exact changeling that she had pointed out randomly that one time she was being chased out of town with Mirror Match.

"Hey there," Pinkie comforted, "I thought your disguise was really super-awesome-never-could-have-guessed-it-was-you! I mean, I don't know why I always happen to call you out but maybe it's just my Pinkie Sense and then you usually lose your form right after that..."

"I swear this ain't no coincidence..."Reflect moaned, "I'm supposed to be master of deception and here you are! Calling me out. Every. Single. Time!"

"Well after two you can't lose right?" Pinkie beamed. "And besides, I'll vouch for you if Mr.Cake comes in! I know you were just curious about our new cupcakes when you stayed up after closing hours!"

"Well then," Vigilance hastily held out his pink slip of paper, "two Choco-Watermelon cupcakes please on the double!"

Pinkie, happy to be doing something other then suffer whatever accusations came next, waltzed off, leaving the security guard alone with the now undisguised Reflect.

"She's a changeling I swear," Reflect pointed at the frizzy maned Element of Laughter. "That's how she always figures me out! That also explains why she was hiding that changeling too! Bet you she was totally in on it!"

Vigilance just sighed, praying that this would be the last time he ever had to deal with this freak ever again. Once the duo had received their cupcakes, the officer dragged Reflect to a table in the far corner, where a familiar yellow pegasus with a turquoise mane was just woofing down the last morsel of her midnight snack.

"Raindrops?" Reflect called out, causing the pegasus to jolt back in her seat. But once she saw who had said her name, her look of surprise turned to one of absolute animosity. Raindrops had recently visited the changeling hive to do a documentary when she met Reflect. To make the long story short, things went out of hoof and the two had become mortal enemies.

"Reflect..." the jasmine coated mare snarled, her eyes narrowing to slits.

"You know this drone?" another feminine voice pepped up. Reflect turned to see that his arch-nemesis was sitting across from a lavender coated pegasus mare with a jasmine mane. Her orchid-colored eyes regarded the changeling with a confused stare, apparently unaware of the bitter rivalry these two shared.

"Sadly," Raindrops started to slurp down the remains of a chocolate milkshake, her eyes still sending daggers to Reflect's unfazed expression. "Remember that intelligence fella you saw in my movie?"

"That's HIM?" the pegasus' look of initial bewilderment turned to astonishment. Even Vigilance, now taking a moment to put two and two together, had released his hold on the changeling.

"Wow..."the pegasus just shook her head. "I...wow!"

"Great," Vigliance facehoofed himself, "I knew your name sounded familiar. No wonder you got a restraining order from this establishment!"

"You know what?" Reflect stood up, locking eyes with Raindrops, "I still think you're in on it Drop-Some! And I'm not going to let it slide!"

"You want a piece of this?" Raindrops held her right hoof out threateningly, "You little shape-shifting piece of hay! I'll feather you so hard you won't wake up till next month!"

"Come get some, queer!" Reflect growled, his sharp teeth glistening like silverware.

"OKAY STOP!" the mysterious pegasus held her hooves out. "We are in a restaurant ladies and gentlecolts! Now I don't know about you, but I wanna finish my milkshake and get on with my life. Raindrops has just gone through a hard day at work and you...errr Reflect...look like you had a pretty atrocious day as well. So can we all just sit and act like civilized ponies for once?"

The silence in the room that followed lasted for a whole minute, with Vigilance darting his eyes between the two opponents in case he needed to break anything up. Raindrops and Reflect, on the other hoof, were simply staring at each other, weighing out the options.

"You speak like a queer little pony," Reflect hissed. There was a soft gasp and Raindrops, whose hoof was still fastened on the milkshake, nearly shattered the glass. She was going to punch the snot out of this changeling and she was going to enjoy every single minute of it.

"But you are right in that I've bucking had it with today." Reflect plopped down on a stool, taking one of the cupcakes before regarding it with a disapproving eye. There were several sighs of relief as the parties resumed their respective positions in the bakery.

Vigilance gobbled down the delectable treat like it was mana from above, carefully wiping his snout with a napkin before leaning over to Raindrops. "I honestly don't know him. I just wanted free food."

"It isn't your fault Vigil," Raindrops shrugged, before turning to her friend with an apologetic look on her face. "I guess I owe you one Cloud Kicker."

The pegasus blushed, waving her hoof off. "Oh please. But you have to watch your temper Rainy. I mean, I know you can barely tolerate Rainbow Dash as a manager anymore then you could tolerate your last boss in A-Mane-Zon, but another incident and the company can write you up for it."

Raindrops just continued to play with the ice cubes in her shake. She knew her friend meant well when she said that, but Raindrops' temper knew no bounds. Today, Rainbow Dash had once again forgotten an important quota report and the entire weather team was being forced to work overtime. That, and the recent appearance of her old changeling nemesis didn't help her drown her sorrows in sugar.

"You gonna eat that?" Vigilance was now eyeing the morsel in the changeling's hooves.

"Something's wrong," Reflect brushed his chin. "This pastry...given out for free..."

Something was very familiar about this cupcake. The bright green frosting, most likely made with color dye. The little bits of red, the supposed chunks of a freshly cut watermelon. The chocolate bottom, made with flour, egg, butter, sugar, induced coco beans, and something...else. He observed every angle of the pastry, turning it around carefully in his hooves while studying every single detail.

At this point Vigilance was on the verge of losing his sanity. The changeling had been examining this cupcake like a weapon for two minutes and not once had he made any attempt to devour it. Counting his luck that he even made it before closing time, the stallion slowly rose to his hooves, trudging out of the store without even giving a goodbye.

"It's just a cupcake, Reflect!" Raindrops too had been observing the changeling, sipping down a second chocolate milkshake. She really wanted to take that pastry and shove it up his little changeling nostrils just to see what would happen.

"Yeah," Cloud Kicker added cheerfully, "they said this cupcake is one of the best. Newest in the batch, and it would blow your mind if you just-"

But her voice was drowned out as a firefly suddenly lit up over Reflect's head, the realization hitting him like a freight train. He connected the sprinkles and found the verdict. This cupcake, nestled in his very hooves, was-

"EVVVVAAAAALLLL!" Reflect flung the pastry at the adjacent wall, causing the contents to splatter in a colorful mix of green, red and brown. Raindrops and Cloud Kicker froze, their eyes riveted at the changeling like he had just pulled out a stick of dynamites.

"What...did I just see?" Cloud Kicker turned to Raindrops, who merely rolled her eyes. She wasn't surprised at the changeling's sudden outburst, but still felt a tinge of resentment towards him. Pinkie, who had just come back to the counter, was watching the pastry slowly slide down the wood finish, leaving a grisly brown stain of watermelon chunks and frosting.

"Cloud Kicker, meet Reflect Fury." Raindrops turned to the changeling, who merely watched the pastry slowly slide down to the floor. "Reflect Fury, meet Cloud Kicker."

But the changeling paid her no heed, which for some reason infuriated her more then when he bothered to make a comment about her. But in actuality, Reflect's mind was racing, a habit of his whenever he had come to the end of a very long paper trail.

These cupcakes were induced with a mind altering hallucinogen, I knew there was something fishy about it! And ponies don't even eat fish! There was doubt in his mind that this was indeed the cause of Pinkie's ability to spot changelings. It would also explain how his own siblings like Leech and Mirror were falling for these equines. Elements of Harmony my arse! It was drugs all along!

Before Pinkie could even confront the changeling for causing a mess, Reflect had dashed out the door and into the night, his paranoia kicking in as he tried to figure out exactly how many ponies-and changelings-had been affected by this cupcake. Needless to say, the cupcakes had been given out for free-a clear indication of their true purpose-which would incriminate just about the entire town and at least a good portion of his own hive.

But there was still a chance for hope. Today had been unexpectedly rainy, something about Rainbow Dash forgetting her quota, and as a result, some ponies were probably in sick. But Reflect knew that the allure of free food was strong and only those of strong willpower would be able to resist, leaving him to trust just about no pony in a twenty mile radius.

This calls for extreme measures, changeling style! Somehow the phrase felt wrong and Reflect chided himself on choosing it. That and the ridiculous theme music he had prepared for tomorrow. But all in good time. He would rest here for the night, taking cover in one of his many surveillance trees before going through with his plan.

Author's Notes:

What happens when you combine the hatred of Bonecrusher with the paranoia of Dwight Schrute and MonsterQuest? Well sir, you get Reflect Fury. A changeling who isn't afraid to speak his mind, or his theories (which he will always consider as facts) Reflect is the primal definition of a changeling who won't give up, has no shame in his own endeavors, and could care less as to how others will handle his behavior. Oh, and he hates everything too, especially Raindrops. But that rivalry will be explained in Changing Lives of the Changeling Hive.

What is Reflect's master plan? And what possible theme music could he have come up with?

What will happen to Morpheus?

Are cupcakes really evil?

Tune in next time to find out!

Props to anypony who spots all the references. I mean, really whoever spots all the references in this one chapter will get a cookie.

Vigilance is a rent-a-cop...and so...he might have other jobs then just Ponyville General. Switching shifts right?

Special shout outs to Bug in the City
and Trouble With Changing Times