My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

A Changeling’s Lament

Chapter 17

True Colors

Begin Song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xtlalymx848

Full of Unrest - Tales of Vesperia OST

A blast of green fire struck across Oscurita’s chest, causing him to yell out in pain.

“HOW DARE YOU DISOBEY ME!?!” Chrysalis yelled at the top of her lungs. She fired another blast and hit him in the head. “YOU TRY ANYTHING LIKE THIS AGAIN AND I’LL DO MORE THEN JUST THIS!!!”

she blasted him again and again and again. Her Changeling horde watched in horror as she laid the smack-down on the fight-less dragon. The ponies also watched in horror.

A hissing Oscurita fell to his knees and coughed up purple. “YOU PULL SOMETHING LIKE THIS ONE MORE FUCKING TIME AND THE DEAL IS OFF!!!” Chrysalis stormed off, not before blasting him one last time.

“oh my Faust.” Cadence gasped.

“I may be kinda sadistic but even I know that’s borderline devilish.” Jax said.

Dinky worriedly looked at the dragon. Oscurita snarled as he held his chest, the last spot she blasted.

“Don’t you think that was going overboard, Chrysalis?” Leon asked as he, Friction, and Edge followed after her. “I mean, he just disappeared for a day.”

Chrysalis snarled and pinned Leon to the wall, pressing down on his neck, cutting off his air. “ ‘just disappeared?’ there’s a lot of things he can do in a day. He could’ve told that Celestia our battle plans; our secrets; a way to break though the barrier.” Leon struggled to breath as Friction stood there in shock. “Is that what you want? our endless food supply to go away? Our species to go extinct? Is that what YOU WANT!?!”

Leon had trouble breathing but was able to nod yes. Chrysalis let him go and allowed him to fall to the floor. She walked off in a huff. Leon got up just as Edge pinned him to the wall. “you would be wise not to cross our wise queen. Or me.” he said in a threatening tone before walking off.

Leon rubbed his throat as Friction walked up next to him. “absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Leon said. They looked at each other. “you unfortunately thinking what I’m thinking?”

“yeah. And I’m regretting thinking it.” Friction said in a monotone.

End Song.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

The steady beep-beep of a heart monitor filled the hospital room. The machine was connected to a unconscious Derpy. Req and Luna were sound asleep on nearby chairs, keeping an eye on her. Well, Req was asleep. Luna was contemplating. That could’ve been her in that bed, out cold with a 50/50 chance of coming out of it. She owes Derpy her life for saving hers; if she ever comes out of that coma.

The door to the room softly opened as Trixie slipped in. “Hey.” she whispered to Luna.

“hey.” Luna replied.

Trixie softly walked over and sat down on Luna’s lap, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. “how’s she doing?”

“Still out cold.” she looked at Derpy and sighed. “that could’ve been me.”

“huh?”

“I don’t know if the others told you but when they saved us from that monster, there was a cave-in. it was going to hit me when Derpy pushed me out of the way and took the full force. If she didn’t do what she did, I would be laying there.”

“you can’t control what some ponies are going to do.” Trixie snickered as she thought back. “if I didn’t try to turn myself into a stallion for Twi, I wouldn’t have turned every pony human, we wouldn’t have come here, Nightmare Moon wouldn’t have been revived, Twi wouldn’t have gotten pregnant, and I wouldn’t have met you.”

“yeah, but…”

“but what?” Luna softly snorted and got up. She grabbed a nearby pencil and plunged it deep into her hoof.

“Luna!” Trixie softly exclaimed, surprised her wife would do that. Luna stopped her from doing anything and showed the little hole she put in her body. The wound bled but the bleeding slowed and eventually halted as the wound closed itself up. “What did…”

“We Alicorns can heal faster then any other pony, Just like how Req can heal broken bones in just 2 days because she’s a demi-goddess.” she looked to Derpy and sighed. “so that should’ve been me lying there. I would’ve been healed by now.”

“but why you? You have me, Twilight, Celestia, Cadence, and everyone else who care about you. So why do you think you should be injured right now?”

Luna looked back to the mare, knowing the answer long before Trixie asked. “because she’s a mother. And I don’t want her daughter to lose her mother during a war. I know what that’s like.” Luna somberly said, thinking back to when she and Celestia lost their mother. Trixie held Luna, knowing she needed someone right now.

Twi grabbed a bag and put it on her back. Halo and Armor were in another section of the shop, acting like a couple of idiots.

“that will be 10 bits.” the Changeling shopkeep said.

“okay.” she reached back and pulled out the said bits. “hard to believe that Changelings can be as nice as you.”

He gave her a snarl look. “And what does that mean? are all us Changelings all evil beings hell bent on world conquest?”

Twi bit her hoof and gulped. She caused a big mess now. “no no no. I mean that with all that’s happened, you didn’t really get a stunning reputation.”

The Changeling sighed. He knew she didn’t mean harm. “I know. But not all us Changeling’s are as evil and sadistic as Chrysalis. Most of us prefer peace. Some of us even lived in Equestria when the invasion, the current one, hit. I can only imagine what happened to them. Some were my best friends.”

Twi could only imagine as well. If someone found out they had a Changeling living in their midst, it would turn into chaos for their city. And the Changeling themselves- Faust only knows what would happen to them.

“Twilight. You okay?” Halo asked.

“oh. No. just thinking.” Twi made sure her bag was secured and headed to the door. “Well, I better get going.”

“Okay. And congratulations on the baby.” Twi waved back with a smile but, inside, she felt like crap. It probably had to do where he built his shop. This building, the place where she was… taken advantage of, was turned into a maternity store. In some weird way, that makes appropriate.

She walked out and headed down the street with her brother and boyfriend, both of them talking about boy things, something she’s not interested in. they passed though a marketplace on the way home, dodging people of all species left and right.

“… I tell you, it sucks that it closed down. I mean, where am I going to get my fix now?”

Twilight went wide-eyed when she heard that voice. She froze in place and shivered with each breath. Halo looked back and noticed her like that. He tapped Armor, making him stop. “Twi? You okay?”

“he’s here.” she gasped.

“who?” Armor asked.

“they guy who…” she held her stomach with both fore-hooves, still in shock. That’s all the information those two needed. They looked around, trying to find the Pegasus she described when she was… well, you know. She also looked around and found him when he spoke again.

“…I’m telling you, you do it a few times and you’ll be right as rain.” a mint-green Pegasus said to a couple of Dragons.

Spike sat by himself on a couch in the beach house, reading a book. Rarity sat down next to him and snuggled up next to him. “What’cha reading?”

“Something of Sora’s but I don’t quite get it.”

Rarity looked underneath for the title. “50 Shades of Grey? Odd title.”

“Odder book.” Spike muttered and threw it away. “I couldn’t even follow it.”

Rarity chuckled softly. “so… did you think about what we should do about IT?”

Spike sat back and got comfy. “well… we know we won’t be able to show up Luna and Trixie. There’s no way anyone can top that.”

“so true.” Rarity rested her head on Spike’s lap. “so… a small one? With just family and very close friends?”

“sounds like our best option. Might get everyone’s mind off the war.”

“I know I want my mind off it.” she rolled onto her back and looked up at him. “Seems like just yesterday we were going out.”

“Seems like yesterday I was still a kid.” Spike added.

Rarity chuckled and kissed him on the cheek. “now look at us; we’re having a child and getting married.”

“I’m glad it’s with you. I can’t picture my life without you.”

“you’re such a charmer.” Rarity cooed as she leaned up and kissed him.

The door to the beach house opened up and Sweetie Belle walked in. “oh. Sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“It’s okay, sis.” Rarity giggled. “do you want something?”

“no, it’s Fluttershy. She’s been crying really hard.”

Fluttershy? Crying? Normally, this would sound like every day thing for her but she hasn’t cried much since she became friends with Edge. Now, these seems like something out of the ordinary and something worth investigating.

Edge walked though the castle corridors and out into a garden. Something about this place felt familiar to him. He walked down the path to a pagoda and looked out at the view.

“Wow. If there’s one nice thing I can say about ponies, they know how to build cities with views.” He turned to walk off when light reflected off something in the snow into his eyes. He covered his eyes as he moved out of it’s range. “What is that?” he muttered as he walked towards it.

Sweetie Belle lead Spike and Rarity to the same sand dune she left her friends.

“well, good news is that she’s stopped crying.” Applebloom said.

“Still, we should probably talk to her.” Rarity said as she walked over. Spike and the rest of the CMC followed. As they got closer, they heard what sounded like singing.

Edge reached down into the snow and picked up what was shining in his face. He brushed the snow off of it and took a good look at it.

It was a golden chain necklace with a butterfly pendent.

Something about it felt familiar. Very very familiar.

As if carried over the wind, a song entered his mind. A song that felt heartwarming and friendly.

As Spike, Rarity, and the CMC got closer to Fluttershy, they definitely heard a song.

Begin Song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bphjo4BWfTc

Serah’s Theme (Japanese version) - Final Fantasy XIII

♪Make my wish come true, let darkness slip aside
Hiding all our hope, mocking what we treasure
Battles we can win, if we believe our souls
Hang in for the light, till dawn
Fate will not leave you, hate will not heal you
Pray and one day, peace shall flow everywhere♪

End song.

Fluttershy opened her eyes and looked up to the sky. That song always helped her feel better.

“Fluttershy?” Rarity said in confusion.

‘Shy looked over to her and saw them all. “Rarity? Spike, Scootaloo? What are you guys doing here?”

“we heard you crying. Same way you did back in Ponyville.” Applebloom said. “are you okay?”

Fluttershy sadly looked away and sighed. “no. I’m not. I’ve been thinking about Edge and… that song just came out.”

“Why?” Spike asked.

Fluttershy looked up to the sky and closed her eyes, taking in the salt air. “I think I figured out why Edge betrayed us.”

Edge tried to pin where he heard that song from but he swears that he never heard it before. Suddenly, his head began to hurt. He grabbed it in pain and fell to his knees.

“does he need a reason to betray us? He’s a Changeling. They will betray you whenever they get a chance.” Rarity said.

“that is so not true, Sis.” Sweetie Belle said with genuine force. “did you forget the 5 months he spent with all us? He was kind and caring and loveable. There’s no way he would betray us; at least without some good excuse.”

“And besides, the Changelings that live here are nice and sweet just like him.” Scootaloo added. “They hate this war as much as we do.”

Spike and Rarity looked at each other. Leave it to kids to point out the obvious, but overlooked, views the grown-ups always seem to miss. “well, even if that’s true, that still doesn’t give him a reason to betray us.” Spike said.

Fluttershy winced in pain. “Actually. I know why. Back at the rehearsal dinner, during the dance, Edge told me that he… that he loved me.”

“Loved you?!” they all exclaimed.

“Can a Changeling even fall in love?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“I guess so. They feed on it; who’s to say they can’t feel it.”

“Edge told me that there’s no physical way for Changelings to feel love but… I think I did something to him.” a seagull landed on the sand and poked it’s beak into seashells. “All those weeks caring for him when he was injured; willingly giving him love… he probably devolved it himself.”

“so… he betrayed us because you rejected him?” Rarity asked, trying to make sure.

“Well… yes. But that was only because he was a Changeling. There was no way it would work out between us. But… now that I think about it, I think I made a mistake. When I see couples like you and Spike, or Daring and Bolt, or any of the other couples here in the capital, the more I think I made… a very big mistake.”

“Mistake?” everyone calmly asked.

Fluttershy deeply sighed as she held her heart. “I had the best time of my life with him; my favorite laughs, my favorite cries, my favorite hugs. He even helped me get back together with my mothers. And… every time I was around him in the last month, I got nervous and excited to be near him.”

Rarity pieced what she was saying together and figured it out. “Wait… are you saying…”

Fluttershy removed her hoof from her heart and softly cried a single tear.

“I love him… from the bottom of my heart.”

Edge held his head in pain as a major headache worked it’s way though, bombarding him with images upon images of someone’s life he swears were not his. He saw… a crimson Pegasus hanging out with the same people he was in charge of pursuing, hanging out with that purple dragon called Spike… spending time with that yellow Pegasus.

“Fluttershy…” he groaned in pain.

Something snapped in his mind, something that made complete sense, like a barrier had been destroyed. He fell to the snow and took in a deep breath, coughing along the way. Beads of sweat fell from his brow and landed in the snow with each jagged breath.

“what… is happening to me?” he cringed as he held his heart.

Eventually the pain passed, allowing him to get up. He grabbed the necklace and looked at it. The butterfly… it was the same one that was on Fluttershy’s flank. She says they were friends, even a dragon confirmed it. And this necklace was solidifying that fact. So if it was true, one question remained.

Why can’t he remember any of it?

A shadow passed over him and flew away. He looked up and saw Vascillia fly away. He put the necklace inside his armor and took off after it. He had a different destination for that ship.

“I love him… from the bottom of my heart.”

“you what!?!” everyone exclaimed in surprise.

“what? You find pony/changeling relationships disgusting?” Someone said from behind. They looked to see a couple of figures standing behind them, both Changeling. Spike snarled as he got claws ready. “well, I think pony/dragon relationships are disgusting.” Leon said.

“What are you two doing here?” Fluttershy asked, ignoring the danger.

Friction walked in front of Leon. “we know what happened to Edge and how our queen got that monster. And we’re willing to tell you…”