The walk back to Ponyville was long and quiet. Mirror trotted along deep in thought while Pinkie hopped around him, humming a nonsensical tune.

He had lost. He unmorphed and stared at his hole filled hooves.

His race had lost. He didn't even know if any of his swarm had survived.

He looked up at the setting sun.

He was lost

"Mirror?"

Mirror looked down to see Pinkie facing him. She had stopped her imaginary musical and was looking at him inquisitively. The sun had finally set and Luna's moon and stars had come out.

"I don't know what to do. My plan has failed and, and..." He froze up, full realization hitting him.

"...I'm all alone."

"No you're not, silly."

He shook his head. "Not like that, Pinkie."

They both stood there in the moonlight, the wind blowing around them. Finally Pinkie spoke up.

"Start over."

Mirror stared at her. Almost not believing his ears.

"I mean, you could work at Sugercube corner and maybe do stuff around town and, and stuff." She stopped, looking at Mirror. He was happy that she couldn't see his face.

"Mirror?"

"Go home, Pinkie." He said calmly.

"Are you leaving?"

He didn't say anything more, turning his back to her. A moment later he could hear her walking away back to town.

Once again he was alone, shrouded in the pale moons glow. He stared at the town in the distance; full of happy Ponies living their own lives and having their own problems.

Start over? He thought.

Is it that easy? Can I just throw it all away and begin anew?

"Are you actually considering it?"

He turned around and couldn't believe what he saw.

***

Pinkie trudged back through Ponyville, her head down and the jaunty tune she was singing earlier replaced by a somber humming. This would have kept up if a pony hadn't run into her, knocking the both of them into the ground.

"Hey! Watch where yo-" She nearly finished before she saw who she had run into. "Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy looked like she had just ran a marathon, her mane was unkept, tears streamed from her eyes and her pupils were little dots.

Pinkies keen analitical mind told her something was wrong.

"PINKIE!" Fluttershy screamed louder than Pinkie thought possible. "You have to help me!"

***

It was a Changeling.

Well, he could sense it was a Changeling. it was in disguise.

"Another Changeling? Here?" He was overjoyed. He wasn't the only one left after all.

She smirked. "You surprised? My name's Copycat."

The Changeling was a female; her disguise was a simple unicorn mare. Her eyes were a brilliant blue, the fur was a light red and her mane was green. Her cutie mark was a detail less pony surrounded by similar ponies.

Mirror chuckled at the irony. Copy noticed him looking at her disguise. "I got it from a publisher in Manehatten. Yours?"

"A glass crafter in Appleloosa."

Silence fell over both of them for a moment. The stars overhead twinkled and sparkled.

"You were considering it, weren't you?" She asked.

He had considered it. Even if it was for a single second, he had considered it.

"It doesn't matter now." He simply said. She smirked and turned around. "Of course it doesn't. Now that we are here."

Mirrors ears perked up. "We"? Others? Are there other Changelings here?"

Copycat turned her head, letting Mirror see a razor sharp grin. "Come see for yourself." And with that she took off in the direction of the Everfree forest. Mirror stood there, looking at the spot that the Changeling had just been in and he looked at Ponyville; home of a pastry chef who had shown him true friendship.

He took off after her.

***

The six friends had assembled in Twilights library. Pinkie had calmed Fluttershy down enough to get here to explain.

"It-it was hor-horrible!" She weakly cried, even with all of her friends comforting her she was still in shock. Applejack Yawned. "Ah know sugercube but you have to tell us what happened."

Fluttershy took a deep breath and started. "Well I was just tending to my animals and-and I heard something in the bushes and I looked in and-and." She couldn't talk anymore and just dissolved into sobbing and hiccups. Rainbow Dash, a cyan Pegasus with multicolored hair and a rainbow-lightningbolt cutie mark stood up. She couldn't take this anymore.

"We need to get over there! Whatever attacked Fluttershy could still be over there!"

Twilight stood up too. "I agree. It's probably a Changeling who had tried to eat Fluttershys emotions."

"Changelings! Oh! Those horrible things?" Rarity remarked. "We need to catch this terrible thing immediently."

Pinkie Pie stayed unusually quiet during the discussion, not that anypony noticed.

"Come on girls!" Applejack hollered. "We got a monster to catch."

The five of them left Fluttershy in the library and took off in the direction of her cottage, Pinkie Pie trailing behind.

Please don't be him. Please don't be him...

***

Mirror entered a clearing. He had been running through the forest for Chrysalis knows long trying to follow Copycat and she had finally led him here.

He couldn't believe his eyes.

Standing before him, surrounded by at least ten other Changelings was Queen Crysalis herself. She was talking to her subjects, not noticing that somepony new had appeared.

"My Queen!" Copycat suddenly burst out from behind and sprinted to the Queen. They had a brief conversation, Copycat pointing at Mirror a few times before she motioned for him to come over. He went over and quickly saluted.

"Your highness."

She nodded. "Yes, it's good to see another of us whom was not captured. Copycat has told me that you tried to conquer the town all by yourself."

He groaned inwardly. "Yes your highness. I failed."

"Why did you fail?"

He quickly looked around, Copycat had left and all of the other Changelings were off doing other things. He turned back to the Queen.

"My Queen," He stated. "This town is home to the Elements of Harmony."

He braced himself for the anger but instead a smile creped onto his Queens face.

"This is wonderful!" She laughed. "Not only will we conquer this town but we will conquer the Elements of Harmony themselves!"

Mirror was less than excited. "My lady, forgive me if I do not sound hopeful but how are we going to defeat Celestia and her forces without the power you gained at the wedding?"

The Queen chuckled darkly. "That won't be a problem." She looked up at the stars. "I have found something even more powerful."

***

"Alright girls were here."

Twilight and her friends had finally reached Fluttershys cottage. The house was completely wrecked, cages destroyed and animals gone. Twilight inspected the destroyed cages.

"Strange, these cages were broken from the inside out. The animals were trying to get away from something."

Pinkie just stared at the destroyed cottage with an empty expression.

"Enough talking!" Rainbow Dash yelled. "We have to get in there!"

"Dash is right." Applejack said, brandishing her lasso rope. "That critter is still in there, look!"

Applejack was right, two bright eyes shined from inside the dark house and noises could be heard from within.

"You're both right. Come on girls! Let's take this thing down!"

No sooner had Twilight said that had the door to the cottage burst open and the creature had run out.

It was Fluttershy.