"So explain to me again, who is Spitfire?" I questioned a rather occupied Rainbow Dash who was doing a ridiculous amount of push ups. Ever since the run in a few days ago, she had been training non-stop to get stronger, faster and fiercer. I noticed in her sparring she was far more aggressive than any other time I'd seen her. Her sparring partners were starting to get harder and harder to find, as nopony wished to practice with her.

Dash counted upwards as she continued, she was in the two hundreds as she answered with a bit of strain. "I told you... She was the former captain of the Wonderbolts, and my mentor. She taught me to fight before I was a commander. She is also the only pony that has ever bested me in a spar. I've never beaten her."

A pony that scared Dash? I wondered if this pony really could be such a huge threat. I looked to the strained Dash with concern. "Why would she work for Trixie though? I mean what would drive her to be one of Trixie's allies?"

With a shrug, Dash finished her push ups as she reached three hundred. "Beats the hell out of me, nor do I care. All that's important is she is working for Trixie and for that reason alone she has to die. Problem now is finding a way to kill her..."

"You're Rainbow Leanne Dash, nopony can beat you." I pointed out.

"Cockiness is the first step towards overconfidence, which is the first step to defeat. Never think yourself invincible. That's something I had to learn the hard way, I don't need you repeating my mistakes, Flare." She began doing some sit ups now.

It was strange how she called me Flare instead of "kid", now. Perhaps she recognized my military status.

"Right... Sorry..." I apologized.

Pinkamena had decided to give us a visit at that moment, she gestured for me to come with her as she stood at the door. I looked to Rainbow who nodded in approval. Pinkamena gave Dash a gentle wave which Dash returned with a scowl. It was clear that she wasn't too thrilled about seeing her again and that their previous friendship was no more. I imagined it had something to do with her comments prior.

Once we had exited the room, the doctor smiled as she lead me out into the lobby of the hotel. She spoke when we were far from Dash's ear. "So Twilight has you hunting down elements?"

"How do you know about that? That information is classified." I rose a brow.

She giggled a bit before playfully swatting at my cheek. "Flare, there are few secrets that can be kept from me."

It still concerned me that she could acquire military secrets with little effort.

The doctor reached into her bag and retrieved a golden necklace with a balloon emblem. My eyes widened as I realized what it was. "H-how...?"

She rolled her eyes from behind her glasses. "I am the element of laughter after all. Though I want you to have this."

I squinted in confusion. "Why?"

"Laughter is more than just senseless giggling. It's hope. It's how we get over the bad things happening. And I already found my source of hope." She smiled as she placed the necklace in my bag.

"Really... What's that?" I kept my eyes on my bag as she placed it in.

"You. You're hope."

I gave her a puzzled expression. "How am I hope?"

Dr. Pie grinned and placed a hoof upon my cheek. "You left SkyVale for this place. You honestly believe that this world can be saved, something that many who live here don't believe. You're the embodiment of hope."

I shrugged. "I wasn't doing much else in SkyVale."

"Your reasons are irrelevant. Just keep that element close. It has great power, and it may save your life." She winked as she took her hoof off of my cheek and set it back on the ground.

The two of us had started heading outside at that point. We had only made up a few blocks before we saw a cloaked pony start to follow us. "I think we got company..." I whispered trying not to bring too much attention to him.

Pinkamena turned her head in a very unsubtle manner to view our follower.

"Who are you?" She asked.

I leaned in to whisper again. "I was being quiet to not bring attention to it..."

She dismissed me and repeated herself. "I said, who are you? Show your face."

The creature sniffed a few times before speaking. "Flour... You smell like flour..."

"What's he talking about?" I looked to her to find she had frozen in her tracks. Dr. Pie fell completely silent as she finally took a step forward and placed her hoof on the hood of the creature in front of us. With a gentle movement she slid the hood off of his face.

The hairless creature stared back at her with glowing blue eyes. His skin had not a patch of fur on it. I had only heard of these monsters before, but had never actually seen one. A changeling.

"Dr. Pie..." His face contorted to a grin as he saw her.

"Over seven years since I've seen you..." She reaches forward carefully and places a hoof on his cheek. The changeling held still and let her feel his face. Her hoof contoured his features carefully before he finally placed his own hole filled hoof atop of hers. "I thought..."

"No," he interrupted. "I'm still alive. I've been here... Waiting. I've lived with my head down and in disguise all this time. I knew that you would find a way to escape your fate..."

She nodded, "I got lucky. All the events that transpired happened at a convenient time. If Trixie had not fired that weapon at that exact moment, then the execution may have gone just as planned." She was obviously referring to the story Vinyl had told me on our way to Cloudsdale about her reasons for disliking Pinkamena.

"I don't understand..." I was trying to make sense of what was happening.

The bug-like pony smiled and offered a hoof to Pinkamena who took it in her own. "There's much you should know, stranger."

Dr. Pie had just finished attending to her patients for the day when she trotted into the primary office of the hospital. She took note of the rather inattentive clerk behind the counter in the waiting room. She was as plain and uninterested as ever.

Pinkamena brushed her mane out of her eye and approached the counter. The clerk looked up only half interested at the mare. "Yes, Doctor?"

"I am finished with my duties for the day. I'm going to be in my office unless you have any patients out here who are in a hurry and need examination. I'll take one or two of them to reduce your line a bit." The pink pony spoke as she adjusted her glasses.

The clerk chuckled a bit. "Why not take the bug?" She gestured to the corner of the room.

Pinkamena scanned that corner to see a changeling sitting in the chair. Around him were several abandoned seats. It appeared as though everypony else in that waiting room purposely sat away from him. There were some even trying to stare at the wall just so they wouldn't have to look in his general direction.

Her eyes stayed locked on him as she spoke to the clerk. "What's his story?"

The clerk shrugged. "Came in saying his front hoof was bothering him, has no insurance or money. I told him he can wait here to see of any of the doctor's are feeling charitable today."

"I take it none have?" The doctor questioned.

With a laugh the clerk shook her head. "He's been sitting there for around four hours. Says he won't leave until he gets some kind of help. Too bad he doesn't realize nopony is going to examine a bug."

Dr. Pie was only half listening when she responded. "Send him to my office. I'll examine him." She began stepping away and back towards her office after.

"You can't be serious..." The clerk called out to her.

She raised a hoof as she went through the door calling back. "I am, send him in."

With a sigh, the mare behind the counter gestured for the changeling to get up. He pointed to himself, unsure if she was being serious. She nodded and he approached the desk, avoiding stepping on the pained hoof he had come for.

"Follow this hallway and go to Dr. Pie's office. She's decided to be generous to you, though I'm not sure why. Seldom is Dr. Pinkamena Diane Pie known to express any kind of sympathy." The clerk informed.

The changeling merely nodded and slowly made his way through the double doors to the doctor's office. After a short walk, he poked his head into the room. Pinkamena took notice and ushered him inside. Obeying he sat himself on the examination bed.

The doctor sat in front of him and took his hoof in her own as she began to check it over. He quickly shot out an "I don't have any insurance" response. Pinkamena nodded as she examined.

"So you speak Equestrian then." She replied.

He nodded. "I learned a bit back in my home hive, and more when I came here."

Pinkamena kept her eyes on his hoof as she conversed. "What would possess a changeling to leave his hive and live here?"

The changeling smiled. "I was a nopony there. I was such a low caste, I had no chance of advancing. Here in Equestria though... I shape my own path."

"If the racism here is considered less to deal with than living there then it must have been pretty bad..." She comments.

He nods again and keeps his shining eyes on her. She rolled back and took some notes before grabbing a bottle out of her cabinet. "It looks like just a minor sore. Take these one a day for a week and you should be fine in a few days. Also try to stay off of it."

"That's easy to say, but if I want to eat then that's not possible." He laughed as he took the bottle.

"How so?" The doctor inquired.

"I do a lot of odd jobs to cover my expenses. Nopony will hire a changeling officially, so making ends meet it pretty hard. I spend a lot of nights sleeping in the park." He explained.

He's perfect... Pinkamena thought.

"I'm not supposed to do this..." She paused before closing the door to her office entirely. "But I'll allow you to stay with me if you help me with some research."

"You mean it!?" He seemed to agree almost instantly.

"Yes, but keep it between us. You have to promise you won't utter a word of what goes on to another soul." She got really close as she spoke of this promise.

He nodded eagerly. "Yes, of course!"

She sat back in her chair and relaxed. "So what's your name?"

"In the hive we all had changeling names. Your kind can not pronounce it..."

"No name then... You won't be able to fit it without one..." She sighed.

"We usually identify using scent anyways. For example you smell like flour." He grinned.

She sat in thought for a minute. "Scent then... That'll be your name. From now on you answer to Scent, alright?"

He nodded. "Very well, I'm Scent from now on."

Weeks had passed since the changeling came to stay with the doctor. She had fed him, taken him in and allowed him to use her apartment freely while she was at work. Despite all that though, she didn't seem particularly "caring". She always had an uninterested look in her eye whenever doing anything.

The changeling approached her with worry. "Dr. Pie... I have been here for a while, and not that I'm not grateful, but why exactly are you allowing me to stay here...?"

Pinkamena set down the dish she was washing and turned around. "So, you want to know?"

Scent nodded.

She gestured for him to come with her. "I was just getting a bath ready, come join me in the bathroom and I'll fill you in."

Hesitantly he walked with her. She led him to the bath where she submerged herself carefully and gestured for him to sit at the edge of the tub. Obeying, he plopped his rear on the ground and awaited instruction.

"Wash my mane for me?" She offered a shampoo bottle.

Taking it, Scent began to squirt it in her mane then work it into a lather.

"Scent, you may be the key to an experiment I am conducting. The elimination of genetic defect, disease, illness of any kind and even plastic surgery... You may be the piece of the puzzle I have been lacking." She explained.

"Doesn't sound like me." He shrugged.

"Its your DNA, your genetics. Your ability to transform... It may be key to solving these problems." She informed.

He frowned at that news. "But a change is in appearance only. It wouldn't write out anything like that."

"Yet," Pinkamena smirks.

It was the first time he had ever seen her smile. It was actually far better than he expected. He always knew that her gorgeous face would be made better with a smile.

He'd be lying if he said he didn't find her attractive. Hell, he found himself crushing on her for some time now.

"What do you say, Scent? Will you help me change medical science forever?" She turned around to bring her face inches from his.

He bit his lip, a bit unsure. However once he locked eyes with her, he knew his answer. With a nod, he spoke quietly. "Yes..."

I stood quietly as I waited for Pinkamena to finish her story. She looked back over to the changeling with a smile. "Medicine changed forever after that... You and I changed everything... And nopony even knows about it..."

Scent nodded. "I've kept it to myself all this time. However there is another reason I am here today, Dr. Pie."

Pinkamena tilted her head. "And what reason might that be?"

The stallion took a step forward and took her hoof in his own. Getting closer he glanced into her eyes. "Dr. Pinkamena Diane Pie... I've waited a long time for this... You were the only pony that saw me as more than a bug..." He smiled a bit. "I waited all this time to see you again. I love you and I don't care if it's mutual, I just wanted to be able to say that and to tell you that although I don't have much to offer you, I'd do anything I can to give you the best life I can..."

Pinkamena fell silent as he spoke. She waited for him to finish.

"That's the only reason I'm still here in Canterlot. I hoped you'd return. I've faced constant discrimination but it was all worth it for a chance to see you." His grin grew larger. "So what do you say?"

"I..." She began, but paused.

He lit up more as he leaned in. "I've waited a long time, Pinkamena. Just give it to me straight."

She nodded and sighed. "Scent..." His smile remained. "You should go find your own kind. There's no better life for you here..."

"And what of you?" He replied.

Pinkamena took her hoof back. "I'm sorry, but I just don't feel about it the way you do. We were lab partners and experiments, but that was a long time ago. I can't return your feelings, I'm sorry."

To my surprise the changeling merely nodded before responding. "I understand. One can not force another to love. You are a very mysterious creature, Pinkamena. However I have no regrets in telling you."

"What will you do now?" I joined in the conversation.

He sighed and looked in my direction. "I think I'll take the Doctor's advice. Go see if there are any other changelings out there. Perhaps I can find a home with them." He turned back to Pinkamena with a smile, "you're always welcome to come visit." He added.

She nodded with a blank expression. "Have a good life, Scent. For the both of us."

He nodded and turned his back to us. "So long, Flour scented mare. I'll never forget what you've done for me." He winked as he started to trot away.

After he had made enough distance to where I was certain he couldn't hear us, I turned to Pinkamena. "I don't get it... What was he to you?"

She kept her vision on him in the distance. "Maybe the only pony I ever loved..."

I blinked. "Go after him then!"

She shook her head. "He'll be happier this way. A life with me would only lead to misery. He's better off with his own kind, as he'd only face worse treatment for being with me. This way he can be truly happy." A smile grew on her face.

I sat on the ground and just watched with her as the changeling finally vanished from our sight. I suppose that I would never truly understand love.

"Good bye, Scent." She whispered.