My Little Changeling: Friendship is Survival

--Canterlot Intruder--

--Part V--

The buzz from an alarm clock felt like it had split my head open.

I frantically threw my hoof over it, smashing down on the top of the clock. It finally shut off after a few attempts.

The rush from being shaken awake wore off, leaving me feeling drained. My body ached; my head ached; I felt awful.

What is wrong with me?

It didn't feel like sickness, rather I felt very weak. I presumed that it was likely just a side effect of using magic for hours the night before. After I struggled to raise myself up I quickly collapsed from the painful strain. A familiar question crept into my mind.

What happens when a changeling stops receiving love?

My blood chilled at the thought. Starvation wasn't a good way to go... I assumed.

I forced myself to focus on the fact that I had used magic quite a bit the night before, hoping that this was just exhaustion.

Another effort resulted in me finally rolling out of bed, only to deliver a hard thump against the floor. I had to struggle just to stand up. I breathed deeply a few times before making one final push up onto my hooves. My legs wobbled under my weight.

I stumbled towards the door. My hoof smacked down on the table for support when I lost balance; my breathing became a bit more ragged.

A shadow was visible in the slit of light under the door. Somepony was standing in front of it.

“Hello?” I mumbled weakly.

I didn't receive a response.

A few shaky steps later and I reached the door. My weight fell against it as I opened the door, falling forward with it.

A hoof caught me before I touched the ground.

I looked up at an angel, a figure of benevolence.

Pitch black eyes stared down at me.

Everything was fine in that moment. All my fears, my doubts, everything that ate at me that had been forced into the back of my mind melted away. My strength returned, my confidence became fortified; I wanted to stay here.

With her. Foreve-

I snapped upright. My alarm was going off, but it wasn't as painful as before. My eyes fixated upon the ringing clock for half a minute before my hoof gingerly pressed down on it.

My limbs shook, and my breath was ragged. I didn't feel weak anymore though; in fact, I felt great. The strength flowing through me was familiar; I had it when I first went walking towards Canterlot. That dream was invigorating to experience.

That dream...

I struggled to think about what it had been, but too much time had passed. A few vague figments remained, bits of imagery, a little emotion. Those pitch black eyes remained in my mind though, and they didn't scare me. Thinking about them was strangely comforting.

Shuffling could be heard outside the door. The other students were leaving their rooms to get breakfast, I thought about whether I wanted to eat or not. My stomach felt empty, but it didn't really feel like hunger; just emptiness.

I sat on the bed's edge for about fifteen minutes debating what I wanted to do. Part of me would of preferred to lay down until class started; I didn't feel like going out there. Mingling with the other students would probably be a good idea though; staying holed up all day might come off as weird after a while.

I shook my head glumly before getting on my hooves. As I approached the door I snatched a bag lying under the table before several books were levitated into it. A smirk formed on my face upon realizing how automatically I had been able to do that.

My hoof stopped just short of opening the door, waiting until I couldn't hear anything outside of it. I didn't want to risk having to talk to anyone. My brows furrowed; I didn't know why I didn't want to see anyone.

The door creaked as it edged open; my head poked out from the ajar door, searching the hall for any other ponies. A few loitered around the hall, casually chatting with each other.

I took a deep breath and put on a brave face before moving on.

…

The food wasn't as cheap as I expected. It wasn't great, but it was–as far as cafeteria food goes–pretty passable. I sat alone in a table near the corner of the room.

A cursory glance of the room raised a red flag; there were not a whole lot of students. The crowd seemed like it should have been much larger than it was if the entire student body ate here. I levitated my bag in front of me and dug around for the school pamphlet. After locating it, I flipped through the pages, looking for anything describing the number of students that went to the school.

I didn't find anything more descriptive than “A large number of students” go here. My thoughts immediately went to Gale Force.

This might be bigger than I thought.

I tapped my hoof against the table. This entire situation was going into a downwards spiral. regardless, I wasn't going to give up; I would still try to find Gale Force after school.

Perhaps I was just jumping to conclusions though. There was still hope that the small number of students could be explained; some students probably lived off campus, some may not eat breakfast, or the class size may just be that small.

I laid my head down on the table and closed my eyes. Despite my energy, I always felt sleepy when I woke up early.

Strange imagery fluttered through my head. The cafeteria at my old school formed in my mind; I saw some of my old friends. I wondered what they're doing right now; I wondered how they reacted to the news that I was a changeling. Lyrical seemed pretty stunned.

“Excuse me.” A feminine voice spoke.

My eyes snapped open. I glanced to around until I spotted a young mare with green fur standing behind me. The red dress she wore prevented me from being able to see her cutie mark.

She looked at me expectantly.

“What?” I asked.

She flinched before speaking again. “Oh- sorry, sorry! Yes...”

I placed a hoof on my forehead, wishing she would hurry up.

“Are you new here?”

...Obviously?

I kept my remark to myself as I responded, “yep.”

“Good! Maybe you can help me.”

“...”

“Well... How do I put this?” She dug her hoof at the tiled floor a few times. “Students have been disappearing and no one is noticing anything!”

I stared at her for a solid minute before responding, “how many students exactly?”

“I'm not sure, over a hundred... Maybe.”

My jaw nearly hit the floor. I felt my confidence waver; this was way bigger than I thought. Keeping out of it completely suddenly seemed a lot smarter.

“I saw Ga- some parents, up here yesterday. They noticed that their kid was missing.”

“They must be like me. Some ponies just noticed the change.”

“I've gotta go.” I said, quickly getting up and leaving for my first class.

“I- wait!”

I broke into a full sprint as soon as I walked outside, leaving her behind.

I had three different classes with her, and in every single one she sat next to me and kept trying to talk; it was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore her. This came to a head in the last class of the day.

“Hey, uh. Brighter, right?” a red earth filly sitting next to me whispered.

I kept my gaze forward while peering to the side. “Yep.”

“Oh, good. I know Radiant. My name's Triumphant.”

I glanced towards my opposite side, where the green pony was sitting. “I kinda figured.”

A hoof tapped the back of my shoulder. “I'm Sky Wing.” I twisted around to see a light blue pegasus.

Oh dear Celestia... They have me boxed in.

I glared at Radiant. “You're not letting this go are you?”

She only gave me a broad smile in response. I bolted out of that classroom as soon as the bell rang.

I didn't get far.

Triumphant tackled me as soon as I stepped outside, flooring me.

“Okay! Okay! I'll help. Just get off me!” I shouted.

Radiant helped me back onto my hooves. “Sorry. We just really need all the help we can get trying to crack this case.”

“'case'?”

“Yes sir. We're investigators!”

I failed to hold back a chuckle. “So what you really want is for me to join your little club?”

Her expression darkened instantly. “Hey! We're a serious investigation team!”

“Yep, I definitely believe you.” I rolled my eyes before trying to walk away, only to be blocked by Sky.

We regarded one another for a few moments before I spoke up. “I saw Gale Force.”

“We know, I was there.” Sky responded.

“What?” I said.

Radiant put a hoof around Sky. “We've had him tail them from up in the sky whenever they came into town. We're trying to figure out where the missing kids go.” She pointed at me. “You, have earned his trust. You, can get him to take you to wherever they are gathering.”

I scratched at the dirt with one of my hooves. This could end badly for me; I could be found out; I could be killed by whatever is doing this. Despite my reservations, I thought back to Gale's mother. Imagery of her crying sent a shudder through me.

“Alright... I'll do this.”

Radiant let out a high pitched squeal in response. “Yes! We're finally going to solve a case!”

'Finally'? How many “cases” have they tried to solve?

Their questionable claim as 'investigators' aside, it looked like we might be able to do some good here. All I needed to do was find Gale Force again; I was certain that he could be convinced to show me where all the other kids went, and why no one has noticed their disappearance.

Thinking back to that dream I had sent a chill though me. It felt comforting to see those black eyes, but I wondered if it was somehow related to what happened to the students. Then again, maybe all the other ponies in this town gaining a blind spot in regards to my existence would be a good thing. It would certainly make blending in easier.

Triumphant's hoof patted my shoulder. “C'mon, we need to fill you in on what we've figured out so far.”

I followed them but didn't really expect much. Their entire group seemed more like a small club than kids seriously trying to help people. Their presence did give me an opportunity; If we managed to bring all those students back I could make sure they got credit for it instead of me, shielding me from too much exposure.

Regardless, I'm probably going to need their help here no matter what.