Dear Diary,

Who will be the next that believes as Rainbow Dash does?

Out on the station platform I could see the others waiting for us. It had taken a couple of minutes to get Rainbow to snap out of her wish to stay in bed, and another minute to get her awake enough to figure out how to put on a pair of pants. Vegas odds was that this heat thing was keeping her up at night. She seemed to have instinctively taken a step away from me, to give a futile indication that nothing had happened.

In truth, there would be no point in hiding that we had had sex. While Rainbow’s hair was almost always ruffled to a greater or lesser extent, and her clothes wore no apparent signs, my clothes showed it quite nicely. There were some darker stains on my pants, around the groin area. And given the perception these people would have of me, even ignoring the whole Changeling ordeal, wouldn’t make them jump to the conclusion that I had pissed myself when I exited the train carriage with someone else. Even if I had pissed myself, they would probably jump to the conclusion that I had had sex.

Rarity and Fluttershy were engaged in a conversation from the station to we group split up somewhere in the middle of Ponyville. Rainbow said an early goodbye, shooting for the skies and disappearing. Applejack and Pinkie followed us to Sugarcube Corner before they too went their separate ways. By the time we got to the tree Twilight lived in, there was only me, Spike and Twilight herself.

I could feel the suspicious stares from Spike at the back of my head as I was the first one to pass through the door. As far as I knew, he hadn’t been informed about me not being the Changeling. And if no one did do that, staying in the house with him would be tiresome. Hopefully Twilight realized this and would take care of it. Twilight, however, quickly disappeared in a light of purple, leaving me alone with scaly-boy.

“So, what should we do?” he asked, taking a stride over to a bookshelf. He sounded really bored. Instead of giving him an answer right away, I took a few steps up the stairs and sat down with my back to the wall. Hopefully Twilight wouldn’t come running down the stairs and trip over me.

“I dunno,” I replied, after a while. I was so used to having a computer at hand that nothing really came to mind right away. Maybe find a good book? What I did know was that I had no plans of leaving this tree for the rest of the day. I felt tired.

“So…” Spike came to the foot of the stairs and leaned towards the wall. We were about at the same eye-height, so I could look into his eyes without having to look up or down. “You and Rainbow Dash…”

“And a few others…” I mumbled to myself, hoping he wouldn’t hear it. But he did.

“And a few others…” he repeated what I said. He hesitated after almost every word he spoke. “How is it that… you know… how is it?”

Nonononono! We were not having this conversation. I repeat, we were not having this conversation! Speaking about this with someone I barely knew would be weird enough as it was, but when that person was also a scaly lizard-thingy that I had every reason to suspect suspected me of being a horrible creature? Not gonna happen. Period.

“I don’t want to talk about it, Spike. I really don’t. Sorry, but… I hardly know you,” I tried to put him down nicely. No need to be an asshole about it, right?

“Well, I guess that’s okay… I was just hoping that you’d have some advice regarding… a certain someone…”

And it went from bad to worse. Sex was a weird enough topic with strangers, but love? Whatever happened, I had to pray to the Nine Divines to ask that it wasn’t what I feared it would be. Wait, was this about Rainbow Dash? He was the one who brought her up.

“Well, I like this woman… and…” when I didn’t give him any answer save for what must have been a very uncomfortable looking face, he continued as if I had asked him to go on. “And I think she knows, but she doesn’t seem to… you know… show any sign to…”

“Sounds like you’re in the friend-zone. Just deal with it,” I cut him off, hoping to make this as short as I could make it. “And unless you want to stop being you, you’re just going to have to move on and see if you can’t find someone else.”

“Oh… I see… well, thanks anyway.”

He walked away, more than a little downtrodden. I felt a flash of guilt surge from my stomach, which wouldn’t leave me for a little while. While he did what I assumed to be his chores, I tried to move my mind to something else.

Now that this personal affairs stuff for Spike was finally over, though it hadn’t lasted than long, I was free to return my mind to the more important task at hand: Sorting through the information to see if I couldn’t get any clue about who was the Changeling.

Almost immediately I had to strike Rarity of my list, because of her reaction with the 3rd person confrontation. I noted to myself that I couldn’t know that this was enough to get her off the list, but it was a start, something to go by if nothing else. If she was indeed under a similar influence as I was, she couldn’t be the influence.

Pinkie Pie went fast too, because of her, quite frankly, radical behavior. Of course, this was based on the assumption that the Changelings didn’t absorb a part of the personality of the one they replaced. Wait, did I even know that they needed to replace someone? I had to ask Twilight more about these things.

The most difficult one of the three I thought I could say anything about was Rainbow Dash. I had been convinced that she wasn’t the Changeling, but the more I thought about it, the more I had to wonder if it was a ploy to make me trust her. Applejack and Fluttershy I couldn’t even start to make a guess for. Hmm, I started to call Fluttershy Fluttershy in my head. Had to wonder what brought that change.

I got to my feet and went up the stairs, assuming that Twilight was up there somewhere. She had an observatory of some kind up there, and books too, so it was a fair assessment, I thought.

Opening the door to the room I had been using, I had to duck as an inkwell almost hit me in the head. Several books, parchment rolls and quills were floating around, following a Twilight who ran around like a madman. Flashes of light occurred frequently, and all I could really do was to watch this fascinating spectacle and lightshow with an almost trance-like devotion. When she finally noticed that I was there, she stopped in her tracks and just stared at me.

“Making any progress?” I asked, as friendly as I could. “Anything I can do to help?”

“Well, maybe. Everything I’ve found about the Changelings here and in the Canterlot library is in agreement that the Changelings use advanced illusions to make themselves seem like something they are not. However, no one seems to have discovered the specifics about this type of spell. Not even Starswirl the Bearded have surviving notes on them.”

Twilight continued to ramble on, seemingly unaware that she wasn’t giving some sort of lecture. “He have extensive notes on every known creature with inherent magical properties, and makes passing references to the Changelings in many of his texts on ancient magic. However, to this date, no one has found an extensive copy of his notes specifically on the Changelings. From the passing references he makes, it is almost as if he knew about, or was a witness to, a Changeling invasion sometime in the past. Whether or not that was something that occurred in Equestria, or in any of the other kingdoms out there, is ultimately impossible to tell.”

“Umm, Twilight?” I carefully interrupted her. “This illusion magic thing, does that mean that the Changelings have to make themselves act like the one they are impersonating?”

“Yes. Why?”

“Oh nothing important. It is just that we have stories of shapeshifters in our own world, some of which sort of copy the personality of the one they pretend to be. That would require them to capture the victims first, but that wouldn’t be a problem now, since I’ve yet to see two Rainbow Dashes or something running around.”

“The Changelings are not like that, they have to act to pull it off. I was able to figure out that something was wrong when a Changeling tried to impersonate someone I had known since I was young. However, her magic allowed her to make it so my brother couldn’t see it.”

“So, it is possible that none of your friends are Changelings?”

“Yes, but I must be sure. If none of them are, then we can use the Elements of Harmony. If not, we must keep the Elements hidden ‘til a time when we can use them.”

“Yes, the Elements,” I had heard references to these many times, but I was pretty sure that no one had explained to me what they actually were. I assumed it was a collection of powerful artifacts. Or maybe it was something special about the friends she had. They seemed to be at the heart of this thing. Or maybe both. “So, what are the Elements?”

“Magical items of power that has been used time and time again to save Equestria. They are only activated by wielders that correspond to their innate nature,” with a certain pride she continued. “I am the Element of Magic. Pinkie Pie is the Element of Laught. Rarity is Generosity, Rainbow Dash is Loyalty, Applejack is Honesty and Fluttershy is Kindness. Together, and only together, we can use the Elements’ power.”

“How powerful are these things, exactly?” They sounded a lot like some standard fantasy-story fare in many aspects. And if they were, they would be incredibly powerful, only limited by the power and unity of the wielders.

“I don’t think anyone except for Celestia herself can imagine how powerful the Elements might be. However, with the Elements, my friends and I were able to defeat Discord, the spirit of chaos that could change the reality to suit his will.”

So, Twilight and her friends had defeated what sounded like it could have been Jafar? That was reassuring. Then again, that had been done with the Elements. If it only took one person missing to make them powerless, one of her friends being a Changeling put a stopper to that. Which sent a chill up my spine.

“You have known Pinkie Pie for a while, right?”

“Ever since I came to Ponyville, in fact. You should have seen my face when she threw me a surprise party,” she smiled as she continued to tell the story. Good memories, I assumed. “I wasn’t interested in making friends at the time, just to get to the bottom of the Nightmare Moon prophecy. I was actually quite mad at her, but she really came through the night Nightmare Moon did return. Why?”

“Well, she acts rather…” how would I say this? “Well, she is Pinkie Pie. Do you think a Changeling could pretend she was Pinkie Pie?”

“Honestly, I don’t Celestia ever suspected Pinkie Pie of being a Changeling. Me neither, actually.”

“Go on,” I wanted a little more than that. Pinkie seemed so far from everything else I had seen in this world, but more information was a must.

“Well, and there was the time when Trixie had gotten her hands on the Alicorn Amulet and terrorized Ponyville with her magic. To get her to take the thing off, I had to trick her to think I had a more powerful amulet. One of the things we did to convince her was to have Pinkie perform her one-girl-band trick. That thing is above what any magic can force anyone to do.”

“You sound like you’ve had adventures,” the comment just spilled out, in a less-than-flattering tone. “Sorry, I didn’t mean for it to come out like that. It is just that… you guys have been through so much that I’m feeling like a fifth wheel on the wagon. I don’t even have any magic or wings. Or an Element. Only thing I seem to have is a Changeling stuck in my head.”

“I think I understand. Spike have been through similar times before.” There was something motherly about her tone, and she gave me a smile that said that it was okay. “Speaking of the Changeling in your head, we’re going to have to find a way to deal with that soon too. It doesn’t sound like what happened to my brother, because he was simply unable to see the Changeling for what she was. I’m wondering if I should make a collection of notes and theories on them if I can when all of this is over.”

“Twilight?”

“What? Not a good time for that?”

“A little ‘not good’, yeah,” I had to speak fast to prevent her from taking charge of the conversation again. “If it helps, teeth, or fangs, seem to be a recurring image in the hallucinations. Poison, perhaps?”

“Poison? I’ve never heard of the Changelings using poison, but that would be fascinating. A poison that creates a longterm influence on the affected… sounds like something Zecora would know a thing or two about.”

I felt that my heart gave a flutter. Or, more likely, it was just my brain thinking that it did, as it reacted to hormones and stuff, but when I was in this magical place, I couldn’t actually be sure that the normal laws of nature applied even to me. She was such a nerd, and I couldn’t help but love that. I really should have spent more time with her while I was here, the back of my mind told me.

“Is there a way to perform magic without a horn in this world?”

“Not that I know of,” Twilight seemed to get distant minded. The books and stuff had started to float around in several directions again. Some new books were taken down from the shelves, a few came in from the door behind me, all of which started to open and stop before Twilight. It seemed to have been triggered by the mentioning of poison.

“Okay, I’ll just be around the house if you need me.”

**

When I came down the stairs again, I couldn’t see Spike anywhere. Instead I saw a familiar person waiting about halfway down it; Molly.

“Having fun?” she smirked at me, touching her chest with her hands. Couldn’t she just leave? I wanted her to, now that I knew what she was.  I tried to ignore her and find something to read. However, that was easier said than done.

“Hello!? Hello!? Are anyone home?” she followed me and did whatever she could to speak into my crotch as if my penis was a microphone. “Come in, come in! We’re going down! I repeat: We’re going down! Ponyville Station? This is the Canterlot Express. We’ll arrive soon; we’re about to enter the tunnel.”

“Please shut the fuck up, Molly. I’m tired.”

She gave me a pouty lip and suddenly found herself on my back with her arms casually wrapped over my shoulders, looking down at whatever it was I was searching for over my shoulder.

“Actually,” I corrected myself. “Can I ask you something?”

“Yes and no.”

“Close enough. Why are you doing this?”

“Why?” she seemed to be as dumbfounded by this as the time I had decided to call her Molly. “There is no why. Why do you eat? Why do you breathe? Why do you seek a partner in life? It is how it is and that is how it will remain.”

So, nothing more than a philosophical summation, not unlike one I would come up with myself. I had to wonder if there was an actual connection between me and the Changeling through this poison, assuming it was poison. Could it be that everything I had said to Molly came down to talking to myself?

The Changeling, even now, seemed to be unable or unwilling to make me do something that was more than horrible. If I were the Changeling and I could make me, the one people suspected of being the Changeling, do something to make that suspicion more grounded in evidence, I would have. How hard would it be to make me act like I was trying to feed on Twilight or something, then watch the rest of her friends rip me to shreds in a zealous need to defend their loved ones?

I couldn’t help but think that I was probably not that lucky, so I had to come up with another theory. Maybe it was more subtle? Made me more prone to their influences when they were within reach of me? And that “Molly” was just a side-effect of the poison, not unlike a forced schizophrenia of some sort, brought on by the poison and trauma when getting it? I couldn’t imagine it being a pleasant experience.

“Hi Mister!”

I could have sworn I nearly shat my pants when I heard the voices yell. Molly smiled as I got a blush when no one other than Sweetie Belle, Applebloom and Scootaloo came up to me. Them again. Not a good timing. Really not a good timing.

“Hi, girls,” I replied, hoping to sound either disinterested or busy. “What’s up?”

I felt that I wanted to hit myself, hard, because of the almost automatic generic greeting I gave them. Now they were sure to talk my ear off with something I probably couldn’t give a fuck about.

“Nothin’ really,” Applebloom started. “We tried to get our Cutie Marks as Trackers, but we weren’t that good at it.”

“But we did find some weird tracks by some of the old Diamond Dog tunnels,” Scootaloo continued. “Then they changed into pony tracks, so we thought we should come and look up what that might be. Twilight has all sorts of books on animals.”

I had no idea what a Diamond Dog was, or where these tunnels were, but this sounded far too suspicious to not investigate. Just home from Canterlot and now these girls have found possible Changeling tracks? I should probably tell Twilight. And make sure that the Cutie Mark Crusaders didn’t go investigate.

“Oh, that sounds fascinating,” I tried my best to seem interested in their version of this, and not the one in my head. “And I think Twilight will want to know about it too.”

“She would?” Sweetie Belle sounded ecstatic. Twilight was a princess, after all, so it made sense. “Come on, Cutie Mark Crusaders, we should show Princess Twilight the tracks we found! Cutie Mark Crusaders Researchers!”

I had no idea why they felt a need to shout, or where ‘researchers’ came from, but that was just as well. What worried me was that they wanted to show the tracks to Twilight personally. Where was Spike when I needed him? He should be out gathering Twilights friends… or not.

If one of them were a Changeling, and if those were Changeling tracks, we needed to investigate without danger of that interfering.

Spike, I’m going to need your help.