Beauty and the Changeling

Despite her mother's warning, Crystal Belle had entered the Everdawn Forest. She felt very ashamed for her disobedience, but she just had to explore the world beyond the walls of the castle. The forest was beautiful at first, but it soon began to change scenery. The bright green foliage from the many varieties of plant life began to dwindle and die, and the ground became cold and dirt laden. It also seemed to be getting darker, and before she knew it, Crystal Belle had become lost. The princess tried to remain calm and keep her head, but the ominous aura that surrounded the area gradually made her lose her senses. Paranoia took hold, and she envisioned a thorny tendril rising to life and latching onto her leg from behind. She wanted to run, but what good would that do? Fraught with fear and completely helpless, all Crystal Belle could do was remain where she stood, and try to collect her thoughts. She was really starting to regret her decision.

There was an eerie silence that remained for quite some time whilst she waited. A cold chill ran up her spine and she turned her head to behold the frightening image of a timber-wolf. It was snarling savagely and stalking very slowly into her perimeters, she knew that it meant to harm her. Predictably so, more of them showed up, and now it was seven hungry timber-wolves that lusted after her flesh instead of one. Desperately, she reared up as tall as she could manage, and belled out a warning for them to back off. At first they backed away hesitantly, but all of them could sense her fear and it kept them from running away. A few of them boldly leaped for her, fangs glistening. But all they received for their efforts in return was a few swift kicks to their faces. This made them quite angry, and Crystal Belle was becoming exhausted. It seemed very clear that they would be making the killing move any minute now, and she was completely helpless against it.

A shadowed figure suddenly dashed into the pack of timber-wolves with such a force, that it sent them all flying in different directions. Crystal Belle quickly scrambled back behind a thorny bush to get out of harms way. She watched as the figure stood boldly before the reforming timber-wolves without any shred of fear. The timber-wolves gathered around the stranger in a circular formation, all of them snarling and growling with pure malice in their hearts. As the moment drew nigh, they released a howling crescendo of death in perfect unison, hoping to strike fear into the heart of their opponent. Unfazed, the figure waited until the timber-wolves made the first move, which didn't take too long. All seven threw themselves at him in a flurry of gleaming fangs and bristling pine needle tails. Their attacks were so intense that Crystal Belle couldn't even see the stranger anymore, just a furious cloud of flashing bodies and glistening teeth. The dust eventually settled, and seven dead timber-wolves lay bloodied, and askew all over the gnarled cold ground. The terror had finally subsided, yet Crystal Belle refused to budge from her hiding place.

The stranger knew exactly where she was and limped towards her silently, his massive silhouette engulfing the entirety of her body. She was beginning to feel very frightened again, that is until he spoke very softly to her, "It's alright, you can come out now, it's safe."

His voice had a distorted tinge to it, but one could definitely hear a sincere gentleness within it. He offered his hoof to her for encouragement. She flinched for a moment at its jagged and frightening appearance at first, then rather hesitantly, she took it. Rising to her legs and coming out from behind the bush, she met his eyes. It turned out that her savior was a changeling of all things, and he was quite terrifying to look at. He towered over her like a foreboding black mountain, and his eyes were as bright as a blue flame set alight in shadow. So bright in fact, that they seemed to be piercing right into her soul. His right eye also had an old scar, that looked as though someone had attempted to blind it long ago, and failed. However, as she took a second glance at them, she began to notice a warmth and gentleness in them that contained nary a single trace of any evil intention. She knew that he meant her no harm, but something about the rest of him still bothered her somewhat. He looked like a monster, no matter how kind he seemed, and Crystal Belle feared that she would never get over that fact.

Focusing on his eyes made confronting him much easier, and even allowed her the courage to try and strike up a conversation with him. "Thank you for saving my life," she began. "My name is Crystal Belle."

"I'm Dusk," the changeling replied. "And you don't have to thank me, it was the least I could do." Crystal Belle noticed a deep laceration to his shoulder, still slightly seeping with thick green blood. Only a timber-wolf's bone crushingly powerful bite could do something like that.

"You're hurt! Here, let me heal you." The unicorn lowered her head, and allowed her horn to gently touch the wound. She closed her eyes and focused, as her horn began to surround itself with a comforting icy blue aura. Dusk watched in amazement as his cracked carapace instantly mended itself back to normal, leaving behind nothing more but a few dried streaks of blood. He also couldn't help but look over at her as all of this was happening. She was so beautiful, that it made his knees feel wobbly and his insides weak. Her slender, lavender-blue body reminded him of a clear night sky, and her long white mane and tail brought forth images of a beautiful snowfall to mind. As for her eyes; a beautiful pale moon yellow that shined with mystery and life. Everything about her was just so kind and warming.

"Thank you," Dusk managed to say, despite all of the odd and fuzzy feelings that he was currently experiencing. Crystal Belle smiled at him, causing Dusk to feel even stranger. If changelings could blush, he would have turned bright red at that moment.

"You're welcome," she replied.

"Where did you learn that spell?" Dusk asked curiously, he wanted to distract himself from this sudden barrage of inexplicable emotions.

"From an old book that I found in the royal library when I was a filly. When you've lived in a castle for all of your life, you tend to get really bored from time to time."

"Wait, you're from the castle? You must be the princess then, right?" Crystal Belle looked at him in such a way as though she didn't mean to accidentally reveal the truth to him.

"Yes," she admitted solemnly. "It's true. But I hope that doesn't mean we still can't be friends." Dusk eyed her in stunned silence for a fleeting moment.

She would consider a grotesque creature such as myself, a friend?

"Even if we did decide to become friends, there is still no chance that I would ever be able to see you again anyway," Dusk said suddenly, finally breaking his momentary silence. Crystal Belle looked crestfallen, the realization coming into fruition.

"Oh, that's right, I forgot about my mother's silly law," she said, confirming his statement. "Couldn't you just transform into a stallion to sneak in?" she asked, hope glinting in her lonely eyes. Dusk shook his great head.

"It would be impossible, I don't have a horn so therefore I can't transform." Dusk gestured a gnarled hoof to the empty space atop his forehead. There was nothing either of them could do. It saddened him to think that he would never be able to see Crystal Belle, the only person in his entire life that had ever showed him any kindness, ever again. As for Crystal Belle, all she ever wanted was adventure and someone that she could talk to, someone she could call a true friend. As Dusk prepared to say his reluctant goodbyes, Crystal Belle surprised him by what she said next.

"That settles it then, I'll just have to come and visit you here in the forest."

"What?"

"You heard me, Dusk," she said, with exuberance to her tone.

"But what if you get into trouble?" This was one mischievous princess.

"No one will even notice that I'm gone, trust me."

Despite thinking that something was bound to go wrong, Dusk strangely agreed to Crystal Belle's plan, probably because he was just so desperate for other company, besides Tink that is.

"Where can I find you tomorrow?" she asked.

"There's a large oak tree that I sit under every day in the heart of the forest, that's where I'll be," he answered. Crystal Belle nodded. She then glanced around the darkened forest for a moment, clearly looking confused. Dusk spoke again as if he could read her mind. "Don't worry, I'll escort you home," he said. Crystal Belle smiled.

"I'm truly grateful to you for showing me the way out, though I do feel a little embarrassed," Crystal Belle admitted, as Dusk was leading her out of the forest.

"What's to be embarrassed about? Like you said, you've never been outside of the castle before, right?" The princess said nothing, just merely nodded.

They were currently crossing a small rushing stream. The stream contained a vast number of jagged stones, and not long after beginning their crossing, Crystal Belle stumbled. The fall would have been nasty had it not been for Dusk, who caught her instantly into his fore-leg. The two remained still for a moment, as Crystal Belle looked up into the changeling's eyes. It was such a noble act, however small, and the princess suddenly began to feel a pleasant feeling beginning to stir up from within the confines of her heart. She didn't view him as hideous monster any longer, she saw before her a most noble stallion. Dusk, noticing the slight rose color beginning to deepen in her cheeks, quickly released their accidental embrace. He turned his great head away from hers, as did she from his. Both were equally feeling most awkward at that moment, yet also quite warm and fuzzy too. Eventually, Crystal Belle voiced her gratitude in order to break through the tedium of silence.

"Thank you, for saving me yet again," she said rather shyly.

"I couldn't just let you get hurt," he replied. Her beautiful and innocent smile graced his presence once more.

The two eventually made it to the entrance by sundown, and Dusk was reluctant to depart from her. Crystal Belle didn't exactly want to say goodbye either, but knew for certain that she would be seeing him again the very next day. She was determined to fulfill that promise.

"Thank you again, Dusk," she said. "I promise that I will return tomorrow."

"Just be careful, I don't want you to get into any serious trouble because of me." His worry didn't seem to faze her in the slightest, as her spirits were not so easy to extinguish.

"Goodbye Dusk, I'll see you tomorrow," Crystal Belle said, her voice holding vast amounts of optimism.

"Goodbye, Princess," Dusk replied softly, as he watched her leave until he couldn't even see the setting sunlight bouncing off of her long white mane. With the princess gone, Dusk slowly turned around and headed back to the hive with a rather somber step to his gait. All of a sudden he was feeling completely alone, and for the first time in his life, it truly bothered him. Before he had met Crystal Belle, he was relieved to be alone, and away from those who had shunned him. But her presence had been so comforting, and so kind, that he felt like he could just be himself around her and fear no harsh judgement in return. Dusk stopped dead in his tracks for a second, his expression stunned as the realization finally sunk in. That beautiful princess had just somehow filled a void within his broken soul that desperately longed to be complete. He suddenly felt like smiling...