A Changeling That Changed

Chapters

Chapter 1: Hidden Amongst The Rest
Chapter 2: An Unplanned Meeting
Chapter 3: The Purple One
Chapter 4: I Choose...
Chapter 5: The Rainbow One
Chapter 6: The Marshmallow One
Chapter 7: The End of a Day
Chapter 8: It's a Brand New Day!
Chapter 9: Three Little Fillies
Chapter 10: She's Yellow, Cute, and Quiet!
Chapter 11: Apples
Chapter 12: A Home in Ponyville
Chapter 13: A Little Announcement
Chapter 14: Canterlot Bound
Chapter 15: Canterlot
Chapter 16: Overload
Chapter 17: Excuses, Excuses.
Chapter 18: Theory Crafting

Chapter 1: Hidden Amongst The Rest

Pinkie Pie was taking her daily stroll through Ponyville in the middle of a Summer afternoon. She recalled all of the day's events as she hopped about past the houses without a care in the world. Her six closest friends had all left to Canterlot to visit Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, leaving Pinkie alone for the day.

"I'm super duper sorry Twilight," she had said "I would love to go, really I would, but Mister And Missus Cake said they really need my help with a super big cake order for a party happening in Cloudsdale!"

"That's quite alright Pinkie Pie," Twilight had said "Besides, this is just an informal visit, nopony is required to be there. Help the Cakes, everypony knows how much they need it ever since Pound and Pumpkin came around!"

Pinkie had quickly thanked Twilight, and said goodbye to the rest of her friends. She then ran off to Sugar Cube Corner as fast as she could. She ended up finishing the order much quicker than expected, and seeing as it was only four o'clock she had decided to take a stroll around Ponyville, and see if there was anyone else who needed her help.

As she hopped along she eventually stopped herself in an alleyway, jerking her head back towards the window of the house she had just passed. She was bewildered at what she saw coming through the window. Every few seconds there was a brilliant flash of light, and as soon as it had come, it was gone. She moved in to take a closer look. A mystery was something Pinkie Pie could get behind! She couldn't believe her eyes as she stared in, and was unsure of what she had seen. This mystery was a bit more than she had bargained for.

"Woah," she said "Either I had too much sugar, or that's a Changeling in there!" She immediately thought of writing to her friends of what she thought she saw, but realized that maybe her eyes were deceiving her. There was no point in raising a false alarm, and ruining her friend's peaceful visit to the princesses didn't seem like a good idea. She realized that she had to investigate this further by herself, and then contact them if she had too.

She looked back through the window, and after staring for a few seconds, and realized that maybe she was seeing things. Inside was just another pegasus, who looked out the window and waved.

"Huh," She said "I guess I am seeing things. I didn't think anypony could eat too much sugar! Especially not me!"

She continued on her stroll, until she saw the flash come from behind her again. She turned back towards the window, and this time slowly walked up so she wouldn't be seen. This flashing business made her very suspicious.

As she made her way slowly to the window she finally confirmed what she thought she saw. It was unmistakably a Changeling, standing there changing into different ponies. One second it was somepony Pinkie knew, in a flash it would change into another. She looked on in awe, completely silent, the shock of what she saw keeping her completely still, mouth agape.

"I knew it!" Pinkie Pie suddenly exclaimed as she jumped back from the window, the initial shock wearing off. "Nopony can have too much sugar! That's a Changeling, one-hundred percent! I need to write a letter to the princessesses!" She stuttered over the last word, and stopped herself. (She never was quite good with words that ended with an -es)

Pinkie Pie slowly grew worried over what could happen to Ponyville if Changelings attacked. She saw the destruction in Canterlot, and that city was at least twice the size of Ponyville. She started to turn around to head to the post office, while simultaneously taking her quill and paper out. She smacked her head against the low hanging roof, and before she could try to hide the Changeling had turned around.

Her eyes widened as she realized she had been seen. She stared at it for a few seconds, studying what it looked like. It had dark purple eyes, and it's wings were transparent, like those of a fly except they had an orange tint to them.

"Oh no," She thought to herself "What am I going to do now?"

She prepared herself for a fight, but what she saw next was something she never expected. She saw the expression on the Changelings face turn to fear. It started to run about the house collecting things, putting them into a saddlebag that it was wearing. Pinkie Pie looked on in confusion, the creature seemed very worried about being seen, something she was not expecting at all. She thought it would attack her, not fear her.

"Huh," She thought "I wonder why it's so afraid, the poor little guy. I didn't think Changelings were afraid of anything! Let alone me!"

Pinkie never thought she'd feel sorry for a Changeling, but sure enough she felt kind of sorry at the sight. She soon saw it run to the front door of the house, and in a brilliant flash it transformed into a pegasus. It opened the door and took off into the sky. Pinkie Pie started to run after it, confused about its reaction, and still afraid that Ponyville was in danger of a Changeling invasion.

Chapter 2: An Unplanned Meeting

Pinkie Pie hurried through Ponyville as fast as she could, zipping her way past buildings and around other ponies. She was trying to keep her eye on the "pegasus" while also attempting to not bump into anyone. Eventually she found herself on the outskirts of one of the many surrounding forests. She spotted the Changeling landing on a cliff that overlooked Ponyville not too far away from where she stood. She started to make her way up to it, thinking about how she should confront this Changeling.

* * *

Merrick landed on the first cliff he saw, one that he had always loved to visit to clear his head. He sat down near a large rock, and turned back into his natural changeling form. He let out a large sigh, and slowly laid down looking at Ponyville for what he thought would be the last time. The view was wonderful. He could stare at the town all day and just watch ponies go about their daily lives. He realized he would most likely have to leave Ponyville for good, or risk being caught again. This meant he could no longer sit here and do this, or watch the sunset over Ponyville from this cliff any longer.

"Maybe if I'm less careless" He thought to himself. "If I had just covered up that window maybe I could stay here. I knew I should not have let my guard down. I got too comfortable around these ponies... They'll never understand me, that's the worst part. They'll only see me for what I am on the surface... An evil love stealing. Changeling." He slowly trailed off, deep in thought.

Merrick reached back to his pack to make sure he hadn't left behind anything important. He ran away from that pink pony so fast he was unsure if he had forgotten anything. He rummaged through to see what he had. He had packed a bag of bits, which would hopefully be enough to purchase him a home in Manehattan or maybe Cloudsdale. He hadn't decided where he would head, but he did love being a pegasus above all other kinds of pony. He also looked at a few souvenirs he had collected whilst living in Ponyville. One was a gift from the pink pony herself from his first day he came to town.

Merrick froze, and listened for a second. A sudden rustling had come from the bushes behind him, he thought of disguising, but realized there was no point in that. He had already been discovered, and he didn't have to worry about the repercussions, he already had to leave Ponyville. Besides what pony would be crazy enough to fight a Changeling? He stood up and watched the bushes, ready to scare off whatever random pony came out of them, until suddenly Pinkie Pie appeared. Merrick once again grew crestfallen.

"Of all the ponies who could have found me," he thought "It had to be the one not afraid of me."

Pinkie Pie stared at the Changeling, leaving her guard up. It had its head down however, and looked very crestfallen. She slowly moved forward, and decided that being calm and quiet like Fluttershy taught her might be better than being aggressive.

"Uh, hello?" Pinkie said "I'm not here to hurt you, I just want to ask you some questions!"

"Ask them then" Merrick replied. He knew there was no point in not complying. This pony had defeated many other Changelings, and could probably beat one without even really trying.

Pinkie Pie was shocked by the way the Changeling was so willing to talk.

"Okay," she said "First of all who are you? What's a Changeling doing in Ponyville?"

"My name is Merrick, and I've been living in Ponyville since the defeat of Queen Chrysalis in Canterlot." He replied.

"Well Mr. Merrick I'm Pinkie Pie." Pinkie Pie gave an uneasy smile. She thought that maybe she could make this Changeling more willing to leave peacefully.

Pinkie stopped, and tilted her head, a confused expression on her face.

"Why have you been living in Ponyville?"

Merrick hesitated to answer before replying, but decided he might as well answer her questions I full.

"Well, Pink one that is a good question." He said "It's a long story but it looks like you could spare the time. You see when you and your friends defeated my queen during our attempted invasion of Equestria many of my people returned to the Badlands, most forcefully from the blast, but many of those who avoided the flash of light left by choice. As for why I stayed, I had taken a liking to the way your kind lived, and wanted to stay here. I had spent some time in this town as a scout for the queen, and knew this town's ways."

Merrick stopped talking, and withdrew the gift he had received from Pinkie Pie on the first day he had arrived as a scout. It was a small snow globe of Ponyville. The gift had made him feel welcome, and he kept it ever since.

"You gave this to me when I arrived. The surge of warmth from the love you shared with me fed me well."

Merrick feebly smiled at Pinkie. She gave him a smile back.

"I have been here ever since, disguising as different ponies every day in order to try and fit in. Trying to find what type of your kind suited me best. It varied, but I tried my best to not cause any harm or havoc."

"But don't Changelings feed off of love? How did I feed you when you first arrived? Doesn't that mean you would have had to have taken it from somepony every day? That's why I'm here, I'm just afraid Ponyville might be in danger, or that you've been hurting my friends."

"Yes Pink one you would be correct. My kind does feed off love, however I found a way to do this without harming anypony. When you first gave me the ornament, I was able to feed off the love given to me. This town was so thriving and full of love that I was able to feed simply by contributing to the town, and engaging in day to day interactions with the residence here. By helping ponies or talking to them their love was transferred to me. It has kept me fed."

Pinkie Pie had gotten most of the answers she had been looking for, Ponyville was indeed safe as this Changeling appeared to pose in threat, but she was still confused. A friendly Changeling was something she had never expected to see.

"Well Mr. Merrick," she said. "If you're so harmless why did you get all crazy and run away from me when I saw you?"

"I know of who you are, and what you and your friends are capable of. Your magical elements have defeated many, and I know that the purple one is quite capable of using strong magic. I feared I was going to be forced to leave, potentially in a painful way like by magic blast- or that angry rainbow colored pegasus throwing me out. I figured it would be better to hurry away instead of stay and cause problems. My only fear now is that I must leave Ponyville forever."

"Well you don't need to worry about me, I won't hurt you." Pinkie Pie responded "We don't even have the Elements of Harmony anymore, we returned them to the Tree of Harmony."

"Well... Pink one-"

"Pinkie Pie is my name!" She said again, this time with more enthusiasm and a great big smile.

"Well... Pinkie Pie I thank you for talking to me. But really I should leave. I would hate to cause problems here, and I doubt that you will let me stay in Ponyville. Or would you? Would you be willing to give me a chance? To see my kind isn't all evil and love stealing? If you would rather me leave, I promise I won't cause problems."

Pinkie thought on it for a moment. Letting a Changeling live in Ponyville? What repercussions could this have? She realized that ponies might not be happy about it, but Merrick didn't seem dangerous.

"Well maybe if I can convince my friends that you aren't so bad... maybe you could stay?" She said.

Merrick quickly stood up, a look of happiness on his face. He was extremely happy he might be able to continue living here.

"Which of these friends do we need to convince!" He asked with renewed enthusiasm. "Are they the rulers of this town?"

"My friends don't rule over Ponyville silly!" Pinkie responded. "If anything Princess Celestia rules it! I meant my friends, the five ponies you were talking about. They defeated your queen in Canterlot!"

Merrick thought on it for a second. He realized that these friends probably don't like Changelings after the attack.

"How do we convince these friends pink on- Pinkie Pie?" Merrick asked. "I fear they may not welcome a Changeling after the attempted attack."

"Well to be honest I'm not very welcoming to Changelings either. But I think everypony- or Changeling- deserves a chance!"

Pinkie Pie started thinking of what to do, and eventually a plan formulated in her head. She explained to Merrick that he would have to stay with her in Sugar Cube Corner for the night, just to prove to everypony that he could be trusted. Pinkie also wanted to keep an eye on him just in case.

"You're going to have to stay with me tonight. If you do, and you don't attack me I think that will help prove you're not bad. Also, no offense but I'd like to keep an eye on you. Make sure you don't do anything bad."

"It's alright Pink one-"

"Pinkie Pie!" She screamed this time, getting kind of annoyed.

Merrick shrunk back "I'm sorry Pinkie Pie." he whispered. "As I was saying I can understand your distrust. My kind have never done anything good for your people."

Pinkie Pie continued her plan. Twilight and the rest of her friends would return the next morning, and she would bring him to Twilight first.

"Twilight would probably be the most understanding!" She said.

"Why do you believe that Pink on- Pinkie Pie?" Merrick asked

"Well Fluttershy would freak out, and probably cry. Rarity would call you something rude with a big word like repulsive, Rainbow Dash would attack you, and I'm really not sure what Applejack would do. Probably something violent, while screaming southern colloquialisms."

"Twilight seems like the most likely to at least talk to you." Pinkie Pie said "And honestly, as much as I'm still not sure about you I still think it would be pretty mean to force somepony out of their own home! Twilight would never be able to do that! Well maybe she could, and you're not a pony, but still!"

"I need you to disguise yourself now Merrick." She said. "I wouldn't want anypony in Ponyville attacking you."

Merrick did as asked, and would stay that way, at least just to keep anyone from spotting him as they returned to Sugar Cube Corner. Merrick looked out over the cliff at the sun setting over Ponyville, it was still his favorite sight to see. And he was now hopeful that this might not be the last time he saw it.

"I appreciate the trust you've put in me Pinkie Pie. Even if it's only a little bit." Merrick said. "I know my people have done nothing to earn it."

"It's nothing really!" Pinkie said. "Everyone deserves a second chance.

Chapter 3: The Purple One

Pinkie Pie woke up the next morning to see Merrick still asleep on the little makeshift bed she made for him. She was surprised that he didn't attack her, and even more surprised at the fact that Gummy was in his lap while he slept, with a smile on his face.

Pinkie was confused at the sight. Emotions and Gummy weren't usually two things that she saw together.

"Woah!" She screamed, which caused Merrick too jump up awake at the sudden noise.

"What is it?" He screamed. "Did I do something wrong? Was I not supposed to touch the alligator? Please don't make me leave!"

"No you're fine Merrick!" Pinkie said with a giggle. "It's just-" She stopped again giggling. "I've never seen Gummy smile so much!"

"Is he not normally this happy?" Merrick asked. "He was like that all night."

"Nope. He normally stands still, with a blank expression on his face, and his eyes looking in different directions! Like this!" Pinkie made a weird face to try and show what she meant.

Merrick stared at her for a moment. He was so confused by her, and didn't understand any of her antics. He shook his head around, and stopped thinking about it.

"So Pinkie Pie are we going to go meet this friend now?" He asked. "Which one is she? Do you really think she'll agree to let me stay?"

"The train bringing them back from Canterlot came in last night at midnight!" Pinkie said. "Which means she's home. It's nine right now, so she's probably awake! I'll tell you about her while we walk their!"

Pinkie had Merrick disguise again and they headed out into Ponyville. Pinkie told him all about her as they made their way to Twilights large castle.

"We don't have a name for it yet!" She said "I still think we should call it The Friendship Fortress!"

"Then let's hurry to this Friendship Fortress!" Merrick said enthusiastically.

This Twilight Sparkle sounded like his kind of pony. Nice, smart, and wouldn't hurt him unless she had too. Merrick had a large fear of being hurt ever since the blast at Canterlot. He never wanted to feel something so painful again.

They stood outside the door as Pinkie knocked happily. Merrick felt a knot in his stomach. He knew it was just the fact he was nervous, but it grew as the door opened and Twilight looked at him.

"Oh, hi Pinkie Pie!" She said "I see you brought a friend with you. I don't think we've met before!"

"Hi Twilight can we please come in? We really need to talk to you about something!"

"Sure thing Pinkie Pie. We can talk in a private room. You can tell me about your new friend while we walk!" She said.

Merrick looked around the building as they walked. He knew that if Twilight would accept a Changeling then they would be close friends. He loved to read and learn, and according to Pinkie Pie and all the books in the room so did she. The knot in his stomach had loosened a little when he thought about this, but tightened again when he remembered the amazing magical powers alicorns had, and how she could destroy him if she didn't want a Changeling here.

"This is my new friend!" Pinkie said "His names uh-" She stopped herself mid sentence. She couldn't say Merrick as that might give away the secret. No pony has a name like Merrick. She wanted to make Twilight promise she wouldn't be mad about him before she told her.

"His names uh- Windy Wings!" She said. She soon after realized how fake it sounded, and blushed.

"Windy Wings?" Twilight said, kind of taken aback "I've never heard a name like that before, but who am I to judge? Pleasure to meet you!"

"Pleasure too meet you too..." "Windy Wings" barely squeaked the words out. The knot in his stomach was so tight, and he was so nervous.

They arrived in the private room Twilight had talked about. It was a large round room stacked with books. Some alchemy equipment was in the back and a few other miscellaneous items were laid all around the room. There were four chairs here, and Twilight sat in one that faced the other three.

"This is where I do Twilight Time ever since the library got destroyed." She said to Pinkie "Please both of you take a seat."

They both sat down in the chairs that faced Twilight. The knot in Merricks stomach grew, as he knew his reveal was coming. He was afraid of being so close to her when it happened.

"So Pinkie Pie," Twilight said "What do you guys need to talk about? Is something wrong?"

"Twilight before I tell you I need you to promise you won't be upset." Pinkie Pie said worriedly.

"I promise."

"I need you to Pinkie Promise! Please you have too!"

Twilight knew that if she wanted a Pinkie Promise it must be serious. She agreed.

"Okay Pinkie." She said "Cross my heart, and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" She said while doing the gesture.

"Okay..." Pinkie said "Um... Oh boy... Twilight... My friend here has a secret."

"Okay." Twilight said. She wanted details. "What kind of secret?"

Pinkie Pie sighed. "Show her." She said. "Twilight please don't get mad. I promise you he's friendly!"

Twilight turned to him and stared. He sat their nervously, unsure of whether or not he should do it. He was so afraid of what she might do.

"Go on, I Pinkie Promised there's nothing to be afraid of." She said.

He gulped, and slowly started to change himself. He was quivering the whole time, and then in a brilliant flash he went from looking like just another pegasus to his true form. A Changeling with purple eyes and orange tinted wings.

Twilight stared for a second, and stood up. She had immediately started to cast a spell, Pinkie knew because her horn had lit up.

Merrick shrunk back, and put his hands over his head, slowly sliding backwards towards the nearest corner. He thought this would happen, and he wanted to be prepared for the blast, or the end. Whichever happened quicker when she casted her magic.

"Please, please don't hurt him Twilight!" Pinkie Pie screamed. "I promise you he's friendly! He stayed in my house all last night, and he didn't hurt me, and he makes Gummy smile, and he's-"

She jumped to Twilights hooves, and held on to them screaming.

"Hurt him?" Twilight asked, slowly picking him up with a levitation spell. "Why would I hurt him?"

She pulled Pinkie off of her hooves. She then walked over to the nearest table, cleared some things off, and grabbed several magnifying glasses, a pen, and some paper.

"Because he's a Changeling!" Pinkie Pie said.

"Pinkie I promised I wouldn't hurt him. Do you think I'd break a Pinkie Promise? If I remember that's the quickest way to lose a friend forever." She said the last bit jokingly, and giggled after.

"Well... I didn't think you'd hurt him I just..." Pinkie trailed off. She realized that her fears had been pointless.

"Besides," Twilight said "Look at him! He's practically crying with fear! He's clearly harmless."

Merrick felt relieved as she sat him down nearby the table. He looked up at her, and saw a smiling face.

"So Changeling what's your real name? I don't think a Changeling would be called Windy Wings. I don't think anypony would!" Twilight said with a giggle.

"I'm Merrick." He said. "You're not going to hurt me? I promise I'm friendly Princess Twilight! I promise! I won't do anything bad!"

"Well Merrick it's nice to meet you!" She said. She seemed giddy with excitement. "I won't hurt you! I'm so sorry if I frightened you with my magic."

She levitated a tissue box over, and wiped the tear from his cheek.

"I didn't know Changelings cried!" She said with excitement. She immediately started writing something down.

"It's okay. I know you didn't mean to scare me. I've just been afraid of Alicorn magic ever since... The invasion of Canterlot." He replied

"Well Merrick you seem very nice. I'm sure you didn't want to hurt anypony at the invasion!" She said.

"Yes Princess I'm very friendly. And I promise I tried to tell the Queen not to invade I knew we would fail, I knew it!"

"Don't worry about it. Canterlot is in the past." She said calmly. "Merrick a friendly Changeling is a rare thing, but I'm assuming you know this?"

Merrick nodded his head.

"Well a friendly Changeling could help me out a lot. If you would let me I'd like to study you! I could even send a report to Princess Celestia on my findings of your species!"

"Sure I'll let you study me." He said happily.

Twilight jumped around with excitement. It was as if this was the best thing she could have had happen to her all day. Her excitement made Merrick feel relieved, and the knot in his stomach went away.

"Great!" Twilight said. "Pinkie Pie while I do this, would you please tell me why you have a Changeling with you? And more importantly why you didn't tell me sooner?" Twilight said.

Pinkie Pie was completely zoned out. She noticed Twilight staring at her, shook her head and answered the question.

"Well you see," Pinkie said "I met him yesterday while you guys were all gone. I saw him in his house, and thought Ponyville was in danger! I chased him to the woods nearby where I found him on a cliff."

"His house? He has a house here?" She looked at Merrick.

"You live here?"

"Yes. I have since the defeat of Queen Chrysalis at Canterlot."

Twilight nodded at him in understanding.

"With each answer comes a new question." She said.

"Go on." Twilight said to Pinkie Pie, the whole time she was poking and prodding at Merrick, who sat there with a smile. He certainly seemed to enjoy the attention.

"I met him on the hill and talked to him." She said "He seemed harmless, and he told me his story. He moved here when the Changelings were defeated, and found a new way to feed without sucking the love out of everypony!"

Twilight looked back at Merrick.

"Why would you move here? And how do you feed without stealing love?"

"I moved here because I couldn't force myself back to the Badlands. I stumbled into the town still hurt from the blast, and bought a house here. I was able to feed by engaging with the townsponies. They were all so loving that I was able to feed just by being friendly and helping them. It felt much better than stealing the love."

"Alright, things are starting to make sense." She said. "But one last question: Why did you guys need to see me?"

"Well Princess I want to continue living here." Merrick said. "Pinkie Pie came up with a plan to convince you and your other four friends to let me stay. She said to come to you first."

"I thought that you would be the most understanding, and help me convince the others to let him stay here!" Pinkie Pie said.

"I don't see why not." Twilight responded. "He's definitely harmless, he's complied with all my tests, and he found a way too feed that doesn't hurt anypony. If we convince the others too let him stay the town will agree. I certainly like him so far, and if we keep him I can learn even more about Changelings!" She said the last part with added enthusiasm.

"You're a lot more accepting of this than I thought you would be." Pinkie said.

"If my lessons have taught me anything it's that anypony, or anything can become a friend."

"Thank you so much Princess." Merrick said.

"Please, call me Twilight."

Merrick stopped himself and smiled. He realized in full how kind these ponies were.

"Thank you so much Twilight." He said "How will you convince these friends that they should let me stay?"

"Pinkie Pie, could you go get the others?" Twilight asked. "Bring them back here, and meet me in the council room. I'd like to let them meet Merrick."

They all stood up and started to walk to the entrance to the castle.

"Sure thing Twilight!" Pinkie said as she hopped towards the front door. "But wait a second." Pinkie Pie stopped herself. "What's your plan?"

"You'll find out at the meeting! It's probably the best course of action, trust me. And make sure to tell them to not attack him on sight." Twilight said.

"Okie dokie loki!" Pinkie said with glee as she left the building.

"Spike put an extra chair in the council room for our guest please." Twilight said.

"Sure thing Twilight." Spike said as he walked down the stairs. He looked at Merrick for a second and stopped. He stared confused.

"Don't worry Spike he's nice. Maybe you can have a Changeling friend when this is all over."

Spike simply nodded as he stared, and slowly walked off to get a chair. Twilight and Merrick stood there in silence.

Merrick tried to find something to break the awkward situation.

"If you would not object, maybe you can show me some of your favorite books you had collected here?" Merrick asked. "I do love to read, but never came to your library out of fear of being discovered."

Twilights ears perked up at the sound of this.

"You like to read?" She said happily. "Come on I'll show you all my favorites!"

They made their way to the collection of books, and she started too show Merrick her favorites. He smiled at her.

"Princess Twilight." He said "Thank you for giving me a chance. And thank you especially for not hurting me. I believe I said before that I have a great fear of Alicorn magic since the blast."

"Everyone deserves a chance Merrick!" She said. "Ooh look this is one of my favorites! Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone! It's the first one in the series!"

As Twilight went on about the books Merricks smile grew bigger. Deep down inside he knew everything was going to be okay for him.

Chapter 4: I Choose...

Merrick sat in a small wooden chair next to Twilight. She was extremely happy with his enthusiasm for books, and had started to get the rest of the Daring Do series for him. He sat there reading the back of the first story contently while Twilight found the other books, and told him her personal opinion on each one.

He listened to her speak, as he carefully examined the characters outfit and look. He loved the idea of this "Daring Do" character, and apparently the rainbow colored pegasus did too. He thought that he could use this common interest to earn some favor with her.

They were interrupted by a knock at the door. As Spike opened it Twilight smiled as Pinkie Pie and the rest of her friends walked in. Merrick however shrunk back a little. He had been in the large fight against these six, and meeting them one at a time had seemed easy. Now he was meeting four of them at once, and that fight was probably not forgotten.

Twilight looked over at him and saw that he was afraid.

"It's alright Merrick" She whispered "These are my friends. They won't hurt you as long as I'm right here."

Merrick looked up at her and smiled a little. Something about the way she acted was reassuring.

All of the ponies who came in but Pinkie Pie gave him a strange glance. He shifted awkwardly in his chair while they took their seats. The orange one walked right next to him, tipped her hat and sat to his left. The chairs were set up in a circle, and his was right there next to Twilight, positioned in a way in which all eyes could face him.

Once everypony was seated they all sat there in silence for a moment. Everypony looked at Merrick, then Twilight, then Pinkie Pie, and back to Merick.

"Well girls I'm assuming Pinkie Pie has told you that we have a Changeling here." Twilight said. Everypony else nodded in response. "Good. And I'm also assuming she told you that he is a friendly Changeling?"

"She did say that, but I'm not buying it! Saying you know a friendly Changeling is like saying you don't like the Wonderbolts!" Rainbow Dash said.

"It does seem quite improbable dear." Rarity said. "What if he's just lying to you so he can attack Ponyville? Changelings are shifty creatures, full of trickery! I thought we all would have learned that after the wedding!"

"Now now girls don't be like that!" Pinkie Pie said. "He spent the whole night at my house last night and he didn't try anything! Besides he's been living in Ponyville for almost a year!"

"You let a Changeling stay in your house?!?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"Livin' in Ponyville? For almost a year? How'd I miss something like that!?!" AJ asked.

"Girls if you'll just listen for a moment we can explain everything." Twilight said. "Besides don't be so quick to judge. Remember what happened last time we were quick to judge someone? Zecora is one of our closest friends now, and I'm pretty sure we should all know that we need give everyone we meet a chance."

Twilight, Merrick, and Pinkie Pie explained all of the events since Pinkie found Merrick, from the chase to the hills, to the night in Sugarcube Corner, all the way down to Twilight sharing books with him.

"And so you see why I've called you here." Twilight said "I feel like we should let him stay. When Pinkie brought him over he was crying in fear! He's definitely harmless, he hasn't hurt anypony, and he doesn't even suck love out of ponies anymore!"

"We want you guys to decide what you think about him, and then tell us if you want him to stay or not! If you guys agree we can convince the rest of Ponyville!" Pinkie said.

"And I have a plan to make sure that you decide fairly on the matter, and that you don't just say no because he's a Changeling." Twilight said. "I think we should have him spend some time with each of you. After you get to know him, than you can properly make a decision."

"I promise you guys I'll help as much as you need!" Merrick said "I don't want to be forced away from this place. I've grown to love it here."

"Oh no I couldn't just force somepony out of their home!" Fluttershy said. "I don't think any of us could."

"I agree Fluttershy," AppleJack said "I didn't like it when the Flim Flam Brothers almost ran me outta Ponyville, and I doubt it this fella here would like it either."

They all sat silently for a moment, which caused Merrick to shift in his seat. The silence made him uncomfortable.

Suddenly Rainbow Dash broke the silence.

"Well Twilight I don't like it, but if you want us to do this plan I'll go along with it." Rainbow Dash said. Everypony else nodded in agreement.

"So who's he gonna go with first?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Why don't we let him decide?" AJ said. "He chooses who to spend time with, and once they're done doin' whatever they do he comes to the next person he chooses."

"That's a good idea Applejack!" Rarity said "I give you far less credit for your intelligence than is due."

"I beg yo-" AJ was cut off by Twilight.

"So it's settled then. We let him decide, and then we'll all vote on if he stays or not when it's all over. So Merrick, who do you choose to go with first?"

All eyes turned to Merrick once more. He looked around the room at all the different faces.

"Can I just read the books again?" He said awkwardly.

"No ya silly filly!" Pinkie said. "You've already spent enough time with me and Twilight!"

Merrick let out a sigh and looked around the room again. He knew he would have to choose one of these other ponies, and decided he might as well get the one who seemed the most violent and difficult on his side first.

"I choose..." He said "The rainbow one."

The look on Rainbow Dashes face told him that he maybe should have chosen somepony else.

Chapter 5: The Rainbow One

The second the words left Merricks mouth, Rainbow frowned and jumped out of her seat.

"Woah woah woah there buddy!" She said loudly. "I said I was all for going with this plan! Not that I wanted to spend my day hanging out with a Changeling!"

Merrick looked at the ground and kicked his hoof around in little circles. Her immediate anger had made him extremely sad and self conscious.

"Well Rainbow you did agree to it." Twilight said. "Maybe you two will have more common interests than you think! Now get out there, and keep him disguised until you make it somewhere he can be himself and talk with you."

"What do we even talk about!?!" She asked as they walked towards the door.

Merrick smirked at her. Her reluctance had stopped upsetting him, and started to entertain him.

In a flash he turned into a pegasus as they left the building, and entered the streets of Ponyville. Merrick casually walked along the road, using his typical "Windy Wings" disguise, as Rainbow hovered next to him with her shoulders slumped over and a frown on her face.

"Look uh Merrick is it?" Rainbow asked him as they reached the field near Sweet Apple Acres far enough away so that nopony would see them.

He nodded in reply, as he changed back into his regular self.

"Alright then. In case you still think I'm just "the rainbow one" I'll let you know that my name is Rainbow Dash. So you better remember it."

"Okay Rainbow Dash," He replied "There's no need to be so antagonistic. I'm sure we can be friends!" He smiled at her while he said it.

He extended his hoof for a hoof shake like Pinkie had told him to do when he was meeting new ponies.

"Yeah I'm sure..." Rainbow said as she walked off and ignored the hoof shake. "We probably have so many things in common." She rolled her eyes while she said it.

"Well what do you like to do? Maybe we do have a common interest!"

"Like what?" She said with a snort.

"Princess Twilight told me you like Daring Do!"

At those last words her ears perked up. Merrick smiled as he knew he had caught her attention.

"Yeah I like Daring Do! She's like the most awesome pony ever! You've read the books?"

She stopped herself for a moment, and tilted her head to the side.

"Changelings can read?" She said with a tone in her voice that sounded like genuine surprise.

Merrick giggled at her question.

"Yes I can read!" He said still laughing. Her foal-like interest amused him. "We aren't savages you know!"

"I'm so sorry I didn't mean to offend you I j-" Rainbow Dash scrambled to apologize. She didn't want to offend him. If she was being mean than that would make her the bad guy.

Rainbow Dash was cut off by Merrick's laughter, as he fell to the floor giggling. He tried to collect himself, and choke out a few words.

"Offend me? You couldn't offend me. Hundreds of ponies have done that throughout my life. The savages thing was merely a joke! When everypony hates you you learn how to make them about yourself." He got the words out between each little giggle.

"Oh. Yeah. A joke... I just thought you were offended. I guess maybe being a Changeling you get used to offensive things huh?" Rainbow Dash was confused by him. He definetely seemed different from the Changelings at Canterlot. Maybe that was just because all they did was hiss and attack. This one felt so much more like a living creature with feelings. He had emotions, he told jokes, and apparently he even read.

"It's okay. What you said was far from offensive. Especially with the things I've heard."

"So... um... how far are you through the stories?" Rainbow asked quickly trying to change the topic.

"Well I just started. The princess- I mean, Twilight gave them to me. I've enjoyed the little bits I've read!"

"You're in for a great story full of adventure and excitement! I'm even a star in her most recent book!"

"In the book? How does that happen?" Merrick asked.

"I got to meet her, and we helped her out on an epic adventure!"

Rainbow Dash said the words with pride. She flew up into the air, did a loop and flew back down. Merrick got the idea she loved talking about herself. He didn't mind though, if she didn't hate him he would love her. Well love as much as a Changeling can.

"Meet her? How did that happen, she's just a story character." Merrick asked with amusement.

"It's a long story. But let me just tell you that she's real! And she's even more awesome in real life!"

"This is a story you'll have to tell me another time than!" He said happily. "I fear it may take too long for me to be able to spend time with any of the others today!"

There was a silence for a second.

"You see Rainbow Dash we're making ground. Maybe you'll like me more than you expected!" He paused for a moment. "Well at least I hope you will!"

"Okay Merrick, maybe you're right. We need to try other things if we're actually going to be friends! Or if I want to weigh in on you staying. What else do you like doing? I feel like spending everyday trying not to be discovered would be quite the hassle. You probably haven't had any fun in weeks!"

"Well I'm willing to do pretty much anything. I mean I'm quite adaptable to any situation given that I can transform into anypony at any time."

"Wait. You can be anypony?!? I thought Changelings could only be ponies of the same size or gender or whatever! I thought that's why only Chrysalis could be Cadence!"

"No I can be anypony. Some Changelings have restrictions on what they could become. But if you couldn't tell by how I look so different, I have some extra powers. Like the Queen I can become... Anypony. Anything. I could even be you." He said the last bit with a smile.

"Wait a second other Changelings have restrictions? Like what?"

"Well most Changelings can only become ponies their size. Amongst, other restrictions. If I recall Queen Chrysalis could only be ponies her size. Hence why she became Princess Cadenza at the wedding."

"So wait... Then why are you so special?"

Merrick laughed for a second, and then thought on it. Why was he special? He frowned at the thought, rezlizing it was probably genetics. His parents' abilities combined. And he realized that his father was most likely dead.

"I guess... It was my parents. My father was a very high ranking officer in our army. I never met my mother, but apparently she was a very special Changeling. Very different abilities than most. I was born with her abilities and my fathers, allowing me to be.... Anything I want. Well, with a little practice. I could probably become a griffon." He paused for a moment and smiled again. "I could definitely become you."

"No way!" She exclaimed.

Merrick smiled again. Her amusement with him made him forget his sorrows.

"It's true!" He said with a smirk. Her enthusiasm greatly excited him.

"That's so awesome! Do it!"

Merrick chuckled a bit.

"Do what?" He said. "Transform into you?"

Rainbow Dash nodded her head excitedly.

"Why do you want that?"

"Because double the Dash means double the awesome! Duh!"

Merrick chuckled a bit, and his horn sparked up. In a flash he became Rainbow Dash, and even completed it by copying her exact pose.

"That's so awesome!" She screamed as she flew up into the air and threw her hooves out.

"Do it again! Become somepony else! Could you become Spitfire from the Wonderbolts? How about Soarin?" Rainbow Dash was talking a thousand miles a minute, as she listed off several ponies.

Merrick smiled at her as he transformed into each pony she listed. Each time he changed she freaked out a little more. She asked him to turn into more ponies, and each time she thought it was entertaining.

"I don't get why this is so amusing to you!" He said with a laugh "I'm positive you saw this happening in Canterlot."

"Well yeah but in Canterlot it was evil! This is just.... so awesome!"

Merrick continued laughing, her amusement made him happier than ever. This was the happiest he had felt in a long time, the joy had filled him with a warmth. And that warmth let him know that he had fed.

"Okay... Okay!" Merrick said with a smile. "Is there anything else we should do? I feel like we've been doing this for a while."

Rainbow Dash thought about it for a second. And then she realized what she wanted to do.

"So you said you'll do anything right?" Dash said with a smile.

"Within reason yes."

"So does that mean you're up for a little race?"

Merrick turned into Spitfire looked her in the eyes and said

"Are you sure you can beat a Wonderbolt?" He said with a smile, all the while trying to contain his laughter.

"Buck yeah I can! I'm the fastest pony in Equestria!" Rainbow Dash said, with her pride at stake.

"Well in that case," He said as he changed again, this time into Rainbow Dash "Might as well even the odds. Up for a race against yourself?"

"Oh you're on! Or wait am I on.... This is confusing! But lets do it! I want to know if you replicate everything when you change into somepony! Even speed!"

"I'm sure Twilight would love to know that too!" "Rainbow Dash" said. "She's been studying me a lot."

"Then you're on!" Dash said as she took off into the sky. Merrick soon followed behind with a smile on his face.

* * *

"I don't like him!" Applejack yelled at Twilight.

They had been arguing over it since Merrick had left with Rainbow Dash. Rarity and Pinkie Pie had left shortly after, and that's when the argument started. They had been going on like this for a while now, and Fluttershy sat there caught in the middle.

"AJ you can't make a decision until you've met him!" Twilight yelled back. "He really wasn't that bad! Besides I want to study him!"

"Well you study him and then he goes! He steals love from other ponies! I don't want my family around a thing like that! Think of Applebloom! He could suck all the love from her, leave her some.... Emotionless.... THING!"

She stomped her hoof on the table they were sitting at. Her eyes had started to water up from the thought.

"AJ I understand what you're saying... But please give him a chance! We have to be willing to do at least that."

They sat there silently for a moment, both of their arms crossed. Fluttershy had practically disappeared into her wings. She hated seeing her friends fight, and right now that was happening to the extreme.

"If not for him.... Do it for Pinkie Pie." Twilight said.

"What do you mean "Do it for Pinkie Pie"?" AJ asked.

"Well... I think she may have taken a.... rather deep... liking to him."

"You think she loves him?!?" AJ and Fluttershy screamed in unison.

"What!?! No! I think that she does indeed love him, but only as a friend. She seemed to really like him." She paused for a moment. "Maybe she does love him. I don't know. But I think she wants to be at least as close with him as she is with us."

They sat there silent again for a moment.

"So please AJ. Give him a chance." Twilight said sincerely.

"Twilight... I understand that you like him too. But... I can't risk it. My family is too important to me. Maybe I'll spend time with him. But don't expect me to be friendly."

"Well I'll try my best to be friendly!" Fluttershy said with a smile.

They all giggled. Flutterhy's gentle nature was enough to calm anypony down.

"I knew you would Fluttershy!" Twilight said with a smile. "Now if you all could do me a favor, Merrick is expecting you to be at your own homes."

They both took the hint and stood up to leave. As they walked out Twilight stopped Applejack.

"Please try AJ. For me."

AJ looked at her and frowned.

"I can't make any promises."

She shifted her hat on her head and walked away.

Chapter 6: The Marshmallow One

Merrick and Rainbow Dash landed in the field near Sweet Apple Acres that they had started in. The whole flight Dash had managed to stay just ahead of him. Merrick landed and, in a brilliant flash, he turned back into himself.

"Well Merrick it looks like you may actually take my speed!" Dash said with a smile "But it looks like you lack the skill to use it!"

She laughed for a second, and Merrick laughed with her. He did indeed have fun racing. Being friends with this pony was something he could get used to.

"Maybe I let you win!" He said.

"Hah as if!" Rainbow Dash said with a laugh.

They sat there for a moment as Rainbow Dash dusted herself off. Several pebbles and bits off dirt had hit her coat.

"Well I'm starving!" Rainbow Dash suddenly exclaimed as she finished cleaning off. "You want to go get a hay burger or something? There's this awesome little burger joint near the outskirts of town and-"

"As much as I would love too," Merrick cut her off. "I'm afraid that eating your food wouldn't really do much in the way of feeding me."

Rainbow Dash immediately realized her mistake and felt embarrassed. Her cheeks started to turn a light shade of red as she figured out what he meant.

"Oh right." She said, her face was getting more red by the second. "Well I guess you could come with anyway! Or maybe you could go hangout with somepony else! I can tell you where they live if you need it!" She said the last words with a smile.

"I guess I could go visit the pony with the white coat and purple mane. You know the marshmallow one."

"Marshmallow one?" Rainbow Dashes ears flopped down as she tilted her head. "You mean... Rarity?" Rainbow Dash giggled at Merrick's description. "She lives in a big boutique. You can't miss it! Should be pretty easy to find, it will probably have a sign out front or something that says Carousel Boutique."

Merrick nodded in understanding.

"Thank you very much Rainbow Dash." He paused for a moment, unsure of whether or not he should thank her. "I'm glad you were willing to spend time with me."

"Well I'm glad I did spend time with you! You're a lot... Cooler than I expected!" She said smiling at him.

"Well that's a very good thing to hear!" Merrick said happily.

"Well Merrick I'll see you around. I guess if it wasn't obvious I'll say that you've got my vote!" She said it with a smile and took off towards Ponyville, muttering to herself about how she was going to have to use the marshmallow thing as an insult.

Merrick started to head towards Sweet Apple Acres. He crossed through the farm without a disguise, as he knew that "The Apple Pony" was probably here. She seemed pretty nice when they met, she had even given him the courtesy of tipping her hat, most ponies wouldn't even think about doing such a thing to a Changeling, let alone even look at one without hitting it first.

The six ponies he was meeting did seem different than most. For one thing they all seemed willing to talk to him, and he hadn't been beaten up or attacked yet, which seemed pretty nice.

Merrick walked through the gate, and began changing into a pegasus. In that moment he bumped into somepony. They both fell to the ground, and in the second they hit each other he fully changed into his pegasus disguise immediately.

"Merrick!" Applejack yelled, still on the ground. "What in the hay are you doin' in Sweet Apple Acres!"

She had seen him walking through the farm and come to talk to him.

"I'm so sorry Apple Pony, I didn't mean to hurt you!" He said as he quickly stood up.

He rushed over to her, and extended his hoof to help her stand back up. She looked at him for a moment, and then pushed his hoof to the side.

"I don't need your help thank you very much." She said angrily as she stood back up.

"I'm so sorry Apple Pony, are you injured? Did I hurt you in any way?" Merrick sensed she was angry, and he grew more and more worried by the second.

"I'm fine!" She yelled, getting fed up with his questions. "But I wanna know what you're doin' on my farm without me bein' here!"

"Oh that?" He said relieved. "Me and Rainbow Dash went out to an empty field near here in order for me to be able to stay in my natural form. I was just cutting through the farm in order to return to Ponyville."

Applejack stared at him for a moment, before putting her hoof to his chest.

"Y'all listen here," She started, the tone in her voice let Merrick know she wasn't happy. "I don't like you. At all. I don't trust you or any other Changeling for that matter. Y'all are creepy, evil, schemin' creatures, and I know for a fact that you could ruin my family in an instant."

She slowly moved forward, her hoof still pressed against his chest, causing him to back up until he hit the tree that was behind him.

"I don't want you here, but I have to give you a chance or else Twilight ain't gonna be happy with me. But I know how much Pinkie Pie likes you, and I know you'll probably take advantage of that."

Applejack paused for a moment as she released pressure of his chest, and put her hoof back on the ground.

"So I'm gonna let you have your fun, and let you meet all the others. But if Pinkie Pie, or any other pony gets hurt, and I have even the most remote suspicion it was you... You better run boy."

Merrick nodded at her, he was more fearful than he had ever been. Alicorn magic was powerful, and painful, but getting beaten up by an Earth Pony didn't sound very appealing either.

He must have been silent for too long as Applejack started to raise a hoof as if to hit him.

"I swear I'm not planning on hurting anyone, I promise!" He said, frantically, practically begging her not to hit him. "D-don't hurt me!" He stuttered over the words.

It was here that Applejack felt a little sorry for him. She realized that maybe he was as harmless as Twilight had said. She forgot the thought as she remembered that her family was potentially in danger.

"Good." She said. "As long as you don't hurt nopony we won't have any problems." She put her hoof back to the ground. "Now run along! You have ponies to meet."

She tipped her hat, and walked through the gate. Merrick sighed out of relief, and started to head towards Ponyville.

* * *

Merrick stopped in front of the boutique. He started to look around for any sign that this was the one that belonged to Rarity, when he saw the small purple dragon walk out.

"Hello young purple dragon! Is this the shop where the marshmallow pony resides?"

Spike stopped walking and looked at him.

"Uh who are you?" Spike asked.

"You've met me before in my natural form." Merrick whispered. "I'm the Changeling."

"Oh yeah! Twilight said we should be nice to you! This is Rarity's boutique. Make sure you remember her name. Rarity. She'll probably get mad if you call her a marshmallow." Spike said the words casually as he walked away, munching on gems as he went.

"Thank you young dragon!" Merrick called out with a smile and a wave.

He proceeded to walk up to the entrance and through the doors.

"Hello?" He called out. "Is this Rarity's boutique?"

He closed the door behind him, and walked into the middle of the room. There were several dresses and dress stands lined up.

Rarity quickly ran out from a back room and looked at him.

"Why hello there!" She called out. "I don't believe we met. Welcome to Carousel Boutique, I am Rarity as you already appear to know." She touched her mane as she said her name. "Who might you be?"

"Well actually you have met me. At that big castle." Merrick said the words before changing back into his regular form.

"Oh yes! I have indeed met you." Rarity said the words with a shocked tone. "You're that Changeling fellow that Pinkie Pie found. I apologize, but I don't quite recall your name."

"I'm Merrick." Rarity quickly closed the curtains on the windows as he said it. "Why are you closing the windows?"

"Well darling I'd rather people not discover a Changeling before we've made our decision. It would cause just about as much chaos as... Well Discord."

"Well Mrs. Rarity it's a pleasure to meet you!" Merrick said the words with a smile as he extended his hoof to her.

Rarity looked at it disdainfully.

"I'd hate to be rude dear but... I'd rather not. From what I've heard Changelings feel quite... Slimy." She shivered a little at the thought.

She gave him a sincere smile after she said the words to show she meant no offense. Merrick put down his hoof. She seemed like she meant no disrespect and more like she was genuinely afraid of him.

"Well I can inform you that we are not slimy." He said with a smile. "And I take no offense, I can understand if you don't trust me or want to touch me. But I'd like to let you know that I am here to help you with anything, and I'll give it my one hundred percent effort!"

"Well darling that's fantastic! I hope you know how to sew." Rarity said as she gathered materials.

Merrick looked at her in confusion, and then realized that she meant make clothes.

"I'm afraid not Mrs. Rarity. Changelings don't wear clothes." He said.

"Well that's alright dear, it was more of a joke really. I have one dress left to make, and it's the hardest one. I'd hate to say it but getting to know you may be harder than I had planned. I'm quite busy with this dress you see."

"Why is this one dress so hard? You appear to have made... Countless others." He said it as he gesture around the room at all of the dresses.

"Well you see the pony for whom I am making this dress has a very... Specific body type. One not many other ponies match. Figuring out the correct size is going to take me ages!"

Merrick stared at Rarity, as she started to right down correct measurements and angles for the dress.

"Well what does this pony look like?" Merrick asked. "I may be able to help."

"Help? How would you be able to help with that? If you can't make a dress you probably won't be able to figure out the dimensions of one!"

"That's true," Merrick began, a smug look on his face. "But I can model for you."

"Why whatever do yo-" Rarity stopped herself before finishing the sentence. "You're a Changeling!" She screamed.

She ran around in excitement as she grabbed a few more items, measuring tape, her glasses, and a few other assorted measuring items. She stopped and stood next to a pedestal.

"Merrick I need you to come over here." Merrick quickly walked over, eager to help. "Please stand on this pedestal." She said.

"Now you see Merrick this dress is for a very important client. Here's her picture. If I can make this dress to her exact size first try she'll definitely spread the word!"

Merrick looked at the mare in the photo. One click glance and he was already sparking up his horn. Within a matter of seconds he was an exact copy of the pony, mane, body size, and all.

Rarity made a noise of delight as he changed.

"Good good! Now I need you to stand there, in this pose." She said the words as she showed him a pose that would allow her to easily measure him without many problems.

Merrick copied the pose, and she was immediately measuring him. He stood there for a few minutes, not caring about how long it would take. It was of no matter as he was happy to help.

"And... Done!" Rarity said as she moved away from him. "Thank you very much Merrick."

"It was no problem." He said as he turned back into his regular form. "If you ever need a model for a dress or any other type of clothing I can help. I'm very good at fitting other ponies' body types."

"Well I'm afraid I'll have to get to work making this now." Rarity said as she moved over to her sewing machine. "I appreciate the help, but perhaps you should go visit with some other pony while I'm busy?"

Merrick stood there for a moment. He took the hint he had to leave, but he had one last question.

"May I ask where the yellow pegasus' house is? I would like to spend some time with her next."

"Why of course darling! She lives just on the outskirts of town in a little cottage. Here I'll right down the directions for you."

As Rarity wrote it down Merrick looked at her expectantly, he still had one last question.

He extended his hoof and opened his mouth, but immediately backed down. Rarity must have noticed he had a question, as she immediately stopped writing.

"What is it darling?" She asked.

"Well... I just..." He trailed off, unsure of whether or not to ask.

"Go on. You have nothing to fear."

Merrick sighed. He was afraid that asking would ruin his chances of her voting on letting him stay.

"It's just... What do you think of me? Are you willing to let me stay here?"

Rarity laughed at the question.

"Yes darling, I thought it would be obvious. Based on the way that you can become anypony you'll prove quite helpful in clothes making. Honestly it seems like everypony wants you here!"

"Not Applejack..." He said as she continued writing.

"Well of course not Applejack." Rarity said as she handed him the note. "She has a family that she fears for. She's also quite the ruffian. Don't worry about her she'll come around eventually. Now run along! I have work to do."

Merrick took the note and began to head to the door before he stopped himself.

"One more thing Mrs. Rarity." He said.

"Yes what is it?" She said looking up.

"I have this old helmet, from my father. He was very high ranking in the Changeling army. It got quite damaged at Canterlot. I was wondering if perhaps you would be willing to fix the leather interior? It just needs some sowing."

Rarity laughed.

"Of course darling. Just bring it here sometime. You scratch my back I'll scratch yours!"

"What?" Merrick didn't understand the expression.

"It means that if you help me I'll help you! Now run along. Fluttershy is probably waiting for you."

Merrick walked out the door and started to head towards the forest, unsure of how he would approach this "Fluttershy" and worried about how he would get Applejack to like him.

Chapter 7: The End of a Day

As Merrick walked through the town he looked up to see the beauty of a setting sun. It was much later in the day than he had realized, and he figured he may have to get to know the last two ponies at a different time. He had already learned Applejack's opinion on him, and was more than happy to put off meeting with her.

As he walked through the streets he decided to make his way back to Sugar Cube Corner, hoping that Pinkie Pie would let him sleep there again. After all he did have to abandon his house, where else would he stay?

"Merrick- I mean Windy Wings!" Twilight called out from across the street. She smiled and waved at him. "Come here!"

Merrick quickly trotted over to her and smiled when he saw Pinkie Pie behind her.

"How did you guys find me?" Merrick asked.

"We figured you'd be going back to Sugar Cube Corner for the night, and Dashie told us you were at Rarity's!" Pinkie Pie said.

She quickly ran forward and hugged him. She was beginning to like him more and more.

"Rainbow Dash said you were totally awesome, and that she really likes you! That means that all my friends are becoming friends, and soon we can have a Changeling living here! How cool is that!?" Pinkie Pie screamed the words at a thousand miles a minute, her voice slowly raising in pitch as she got more excited saying it.

Merrick was shocked, not only from the hug, but also because of what she said. That he was her friend.

"Quiet down Pinkie Pie!" Twilight whispered. "We don't want anypony knowing his secret yet but us!"

She turned towards Merrick, who stood there in Pinkies hooves, still shocked from the hug. His confused look quickly turned to a smile. He never knew what it felt liked to be truly loved by someone, but he figured this had to be it, as a surge of warmth went through him. He could feel it resonating off of the two ponies in front of him. Love the thing he needed to feed, the thing he needed to survive, surging through them and transferring to him. Except he wasn't taking it from them, they were willingly giving it.

Merrick smiled as a tear entered his eye. He felt loved, something very uncommon for a Changeling. This was the happiest he had ever been, something these ponies had done to him at least twice today.

"S-so," He said, still rather choked up. He wiped a tear from his eye. "Why were you guys looking for me?"

He and Pinkie let go of the hug, and they all stood there.

"Well we were about to go get dinner, and we thought maybe you'd like to tag along?" Twilight said with a smile.

"Well unfortunately I wouldn't be able to really... Use your food. No real point in me going, I feel like I'd just be kind of a bother."

"Oh don't be silly Merrick." Twilight said waving her hoof at him. "You can come with us and talk, even if you can't eat anything!"

"Yeah! We love bringing our friends along!" Pinkie Pie said as she jumped forward.

There was that word again. Friends. Merrick smiled again, as a tear came to his eye. He was so happy. Apparently he had friends. A Changeling had pony friends.

"F-friends?" He said with a tear in his eye.

"Well yeah! Of course we're friends you even had a sleepover with me! And I think Twilight agrees that we are all friends!"

Merrick looked at the purple alicorn, and saw her smile as she nodded at him.

"I- I've never had friends before.... In the hive... I knew some Changelings... B-" He stopped, choked up on the words. "But no one was ever my friend."

He wiped the tears from his eyes.

"Well you have friends now!" Twilight said with a smile. "I think Rarity and Rainbow Dash also think of you as a friend!"

Merrick looked up and smiled again, and the two ponies moved forward. They both hugged him at the same time. Merrick didn't know what to feel.

"So Merrick what do you say?" Twilight asked while they hugged. "Want to go eat with your friends?"

Merrick smiled and nodded, unable to get the words out. The three of them stopped hugging, and started to make their way to the restaurant. Merrick felt overloaded with emotions. He felt so happy. He felt loved. He felt like, maybe just maybe, a Changeling could learn to love too.

Chapter 8: It's a Brand New Day!

Merrick's eyes slowly fluttered open, revealing the brilliant purple color beneath. He was laying down in the makeshift bed Pinkie had made for him, and he began to look around. He saw Pinkie Pie sleeping peacefully in her bed, and he looked out the window. It appeared to be noon.

Merrick slowly got out of bed, he had slept well. He had gone with Twilight and Pinkie to dinner, and then came back to Sugar Cube Corner to sleep. Well he would have slept, but he and Pinkie Pie stayed up until one in the morning playing different board games together. He finally felt what it was like to have friends, and playing board games was now one of his favorite things to do with them. He could hardly believe the whole thing was real.

He fluttered as silently as he could above the floor in an attempt to not wake up Pinkie Pie. His attempt was in vain however, as Pinkie Pie quickly woke up when he tried to fly past her.

"Merrick!" She screamed while jumping out of bed. "Where are you going? Gonna go visit with AJ now?"

Merrick dropped to the floor from flying, and stood in front if her. He looked at her and then shifted his gaze away.

"Well Pinkie I was planning on visiting that yellow pony first. I-" he stopped before he could finish the sentence. He didn't want to make Pinkie Pie upset.

"You what?"

"It's just... Applejack doesn't... She... She doesn't seem to like me."

He said the words softly, and then averted his gaze to the floor. He couldn't look her in the eyes after saying that, he was afraid she would be too hurt hearing the words.

"What do you mean she doesn't like you!?!" She screamed.

"It's-" He paused for a moment, searching for the right words. "I'm sure it's nothing to worry about Pinkie.... I'm sure everything will be okay." He smiled at her grabbed his father's tattered helmet and hugged her.

"Goodbye Pinkie. I'll see you later today correct? I need to go to Rarity and ask if she will fix this!"

He let go of the hug, which left him with a warm tingly feeling and he walked out the door. She waved at him as he turned into his pegasus disguise before walking down the stairs. She smiled as he walked away.

* * *

Merrick walked into the boutique and saw Rarity packing up the dress she had just finished.

"Misses Rarity!" He called out, causing her to jump in surprise. "I brought that old helmet I was talking about, and it was wondering if you'd fix the leather?"

Rarity walked over to him and pulled it away with her levitation magic. She looked at the leather interior and saw it was slightly ripped and tattered.

"I can fix this in a snap darling. You may as well stay here while I do." She grabbed several things, and started working on sewing it back together.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did it end up in such a torn state?" Rarity said after several moments of silence.

"It was my fathers. He... It was all that I could find of him after the magical blast from Princess Cadence and Ser Shining Armour."

"Oh..." Rarity said shocked. "I'm so sorry darling."

"It's fine." Merrick said, he didn't appear to be sad. "He... he wasn't a very good person."

They sat there uncomfortably for several moments.

"Miss Rarity?" Merrick said. "I- I was wondering if I could tell you something. It's... I really need some help."

"Sure darling, maybe it will make us closer as friends!" She said in response, still focusing on fixing the helmet.

"Well... I've been having this weird... feeling inside of me." Merrick said softly. "I don't know what it is... this emotion I've never felt before. It happens when I'm around you, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash and Princess Twilight. This... warm... tingly feeling."

Rarity stopped her sewing and put down the helmet. She looked at him quizzically. She thought about it, and then her look turned into a smile.

"Why... Merrick!" She said happily. "It sounds to me like you are beginning to feel... love. Maybe not a romantic manner of it, but in a friendly way."

Merrick stood there for a moment, completely baffled. Love? How could he feel love?

"I-is that possible?" He whispered. "C-can a Changeling actually learn... to love?"

"Well I don't know dear. We don't know much about Changelings. But perhaps you will help us learn more!"

Rarity picked the helmet back up and returned to sewing.

"Miss Rarity." Merrick said once again.

"Yes Merrick?" She said, putting the helmet down once more.

"I feel... the feeling around all of you... except... for one of you it feels... different."

Rarity looked at him, the expression on her face telling him to go in.

"You all make me feel... warm inside... but whenever I'm with Pinkie Pie... it feels much... stronger. Like a more burning version of it."

Rarity looked at him shocked. She sat there stunned for several moments before regaining her wits.

"M-Merrick..." She whispered in surprise. "I- I think you may be... in love."

"But I feel it around all of you." He said, rather defensively. "It's just stronger around Pinkie Pie. It doesn't feel like I want to... be with her romantically or anything.... it's just... she feels so.... close to me."

"Well." Rarity said, sounding rather disappointed. "Perhaps you don't love her romantically. Maybe she's just... extremely close to you in a friendly way."

"I guess so." Merrick said. He wasn't an expert on the subject of feeling love, it wasn't really something Changelings knew.

They sat there silently for a few more moments while Rarity worked on the helmet.

"And we're done!" Rarity said with a smile. She handed the helmet to Merrick.

"Thank you Miss Rarity." He said. He inspected the interior. It looked good as new. He put the fixed helmet in his pack. "I guess I'll be leaving now. Sorry for inconveniencing you."

He started to walk towards the door, and Rarity smiled and waved at him.

"Goodbye Merrick!" She called. "It was no problem at all working on it!"

She sat there for a moment as he walked out the door. She was slightly upset at the way the love conversation turned.

"I really wanted to see a Changeling to Earth Pony romance story play out..." She muttered after he shut the door.

Chapter 9: Three Little Fillies

Merrick walked through Ponyville, still using his typical disguise. He had a pack slung over his back that he had put his helmet inside, along with cupcakes he and Pinkie Pie had baked together. He himself couldn't eat them of course, but he could give them to somepony.

He was making his way towards Twilight's castle, eager to talk to her. He had not told her any interesting facts about Changelings, and he figured he should fix that. He was also trying to put off meeting with Applejack for as long as he could. He knew they would have to meet today, especially since it was only one in the afternoon, but he was hoping he could put it off until nighttime.

He continued walking, until he heard somepony yelling at him. A voice that sounded like it belonged to a filly.

"Get out of the way!" It screamed.

Merrick looked towards where it had come from too late, and three little fillies on a wagon and scooter crashed into him. They all sat there in the wreck, dazed for a moment.

Merrick quickly stood up and rushed over to them.

"I'm so sorry!" He said as he helped one of them, a young yellow earth pony, to her feet. "I didn't see you all coming!"

He helped up a young white unicorn next. The last one of the three was already up on her feet.

"It's alright." A young orange pegasus said. "I should really pay more attention to where I'm going." She took off her helmet and set it down next to the crashed wagon and scooter.

"Where were you three going in such a hurry?" Merrick asked.

"Well it's a long story, but to shorten it we were trying to get our cutie marks in bull chase stunt jumping." The orange pegasus said.

Merrick looked at the three of them quizzically. He was completely dumbfounded by this.

"What in the hay is bull chase stunt jumping? And, if I may ask, why would you want a cutie mark in such a thing?"

"You must not be from around here huh?" The yellow earth pony said. "We're the Cutie Mark Crusader! Or CMC for short. We've been tryin' to get our cutie marks for a mighty long time."

"And to be honest at this point I don't care what my cutie mark is, I just want one." The white unicorn said.

"Yeah." The other two fillies said in unison.

"So who are you anyway? And how long have you been here?" The yellow pony said.

"My name is M-" He stopped himself, and paused for a few second. The three fillies looked at him skeptically; the stop had seemed quite suspicious. "My name is..." He sighed a great length. "My name is Windy Wings."

The three crusaders started giggling.

"Yeah yeah laugh all you want." He muttered, thinking about how he and Pinkie Pie really should have thought of a better name.

"Wait a minute!" The yellow earth pony said, as if she had a groundbreaking revelation. "Mah sis told me your name! She said you'd probably be stoppin' by to visit her soon!"

"Your sister?" Merrick said. "Who might tha-" He stopped himself. He knew immediately.

"You must be Applejack's little sister!" He shouted. "And you!" He pointed to the white unicorn. "You HAVE to be related to Rarity! You guys are almost identical!"

He looked at the orange pegasus.

"I'm not really sure who you are..." He said.

"Well me and Rainbow Dash are like... sisters, but not actually related. It's sorta unofficial."

"Wow..." Merrick said in shock. "What are the odds that I run into the sisters of my new friends?!? What are your names?"

"Ahm Applebloom!" The earth pony said with a twang in her voice.

"Sweetie Belle!" The unicorn said with a squeak in her voice as it crack.

"And I'm Scootaloo!" The pegasus said proudly.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet the three of you." Merrick said happily. He opened up his pack, and withdrew a small box. He and Pinkie Pie had baked cupcakes while playing the board games. "Would you all like a cupcake? The sisters of my new friends should definitely have some!"

The three crusaders all walked forward to take one, except to unicorn who levitated it. She seemed to struggle slightly at doing so, as if she was still new to using magic.

"Thank you!" The three said with glee as they bit into the cupcakes.

"Woah these are good!" Scootaloo said. "Did you make these? They taste almost like Pinkie Pie made them!"

"Well you're close!" Merrick laughed. "I made them with Pinkie Pie! I'm becoming quite close friends with those six ponies. You know the six elements. I was actually just on my way to meet with Princess Twilight to help with her research. I've still never really talked to the yellow pegasus, and then I'm stopping by your farm little filly!" He said the last part to Applebloom.

"Maybe you could put in a good word with her for me?" He said jokingly. "I'm afraid your sister doesn't like me very much."

"Sure thing Mr Windy Wings!" Applebloom said while attempting to wipe the frosting off her lips.

"Why thank you very much!" He said. "Now I must be on my way! I need to go see Princess Twilight! Maybe you should try earning your cutie marks in drivers' education so you can get better at controlling that thing!" He said the last part jokingly as he walked away.

"Goodbye Mr Windy Wings! Thanks for the cupcake!" They called.

"Wait a minute!" Applebloom said. "Drivers' education is a brilliant idea! Come on Scootaloo you're gonna teach me and Sweetie how to drive this thing!" She said as she ran over to the wrecked scooter.

* * *

Merrick walked into the large crystal castle, and was greeted by the sight of Spike sitting on the floor eating gems. He looked at the young dragon and turned back into his natural form.

"Hello... Spike I believe?" He said. "Where is Twilight?"

Spike looked up at him, still eating his gems, enjoying every second of it, and casually pointed back towards the Twilight time room he had sat in when he first met her. Merrick nodded his head and walked to the door. He saw Twilight sitting in the back of the room, reading a book.

"Princess Twilight!" He called out, causing her to jump out of her seat.

"Merrick!" She said. "You scared me! What are you doing here, shouldn't you be with Fluttershy?"

"Well I thought I would tell you some of the things I've learned! I wrote down several pages of notes of interesting facts on Changelings, and other things that I figure out by spending time with your friends!"

"Why don't you it give me the notes for now?" Twilight said with a smile. "You can tell me all the interesting facts at a later time. For now I'd like to examine notes! I hope that's alright!" She said the last part sincerely.

"It's quite all right Princess Twilight!" Merrick said cheerfully. He walked over to her and withdrew the notes, along with the box of cupcakes. He handed her the notes, and then stood there for a moment as he fumbled around with the box.

"Would you like a cupcake?" He said cheerily while holding out the box. "Me and Pinkie Pie baked them, and I thought sharing them with my new friend would be the best thing to do!" He paused for a moment. "That is what friends do right?"

Twilight giggled at him. A Changeling who didn't know about friendship? It was pretty much her duty as Princess of Friendship to teach him about it. How could she possibly send him away?

"Yes Merrick!" She said. She giggled again. "That is what friends do!"

She slowly levitated one out of the pouch and to her mouth. She took a bite out of it, and then stared in amazement.

"Wow these are delicious!" She exclaimed, food still in her mouth. "You and Pinkie Pie make a great baking team!"

She took another bite while he stood there shifting uncomfortably. She looked at him, and saw him move from side to side. She sensed there was something on his mind.

"Is something wrong?" She asked with concern.

"Well..." He began to say it, but quickly stopped. "It's nothing."

"Merrick you can tell me anything." she said sincerely. "That's what friends are for!"

"Well..." He began again while she took another bite of cupcake. "It's just that... whenever I'm around you ponies... the four of you who are now my friends... I just feel so... warm and tingly inside. Something I've never felt before. I talked to Miss Rarity about it, and she said that it was love. But I thought love was a sign of romance?"

"That sounds like love to me!" Twilight said casually. "But more of a friendship kind of love! I mean love is an intricate thing. You can love somepony in a friendly manner, or in a romantic way. It sounds to me like you're learning to-"

She stopped talking, as she made a realization, and her mouth slowly gaped open. The cupcake fell to the floor as she sat there in a shocked silence.

"Was it that bad?" Merrick said after several moments, gesturing to the half of a cupcake on the floor.

Twilight sat in shock for a few more moments before shaking her head around, trying to get her wits about her.

"The cupcake was fine Merrick." She said softly. She sat there calmly for a few moments, before she jumped out of the chair and hugged him. "But... You! A Changeling! You're learning to love!"

She pulled out a quill and a pad of notes from a nearby drawer. She quickly sat back down in her chair, and levitated another quickly over that she slid underneath him.

"This is a major breakthrough! Changelings can learn to love!?!? This is amazing! You must tell me more!"

"Well..." He said as she looked at him expectantly. "I feel like I- I guess it's love- you four. The four if you who I've met. You're all so... amazing! When I'm around you I get this feeling... like I really care about you. It's a sorta... warm feeling."

"That sounds like love to me. Maybe not in a romantic way, but it sounds like you're learning to love us... as your friends."

"But not only do I feel this slight warm feeling..." He continued.

"Go on." Twilight said gently. "What other feeling is it?"

"I feel this love for my new friends. You girls. But... whenever I'm around one of you... it feels... so much stronger. Does that mean something?"

"How much stronger? Around who?" She asked. "Describe the feeling!"

"Well... whenever I'm around Pinkie Pie... I feel... warm and tingly. Like a burning passion inside of me. I think... I think that maybe I love her."

Twilight sat silently for a moment, allowing the thoughts to process through her brain.

"Merrick..." She said. "I- I think you do indeed love Pinkie Pie... in a romantic way."

Merrick stood there uncomfortably. This was the second time somepony had told him such a thing. Could he?

"Rarity said the same thing." He said meekly. "B-but I think it's just a stronger... friendly love. I don't think Changelings are capable of romance. I don't think I'm in love with her romantically!"

"Are you sure?" Twilight asked. "Perhaps you're not only learning to love ponies as friends, but also to romantically love ponies. Maybe you do romantically love Pinkie Pie?"

"I- I don't know..." Merrick said. "Maybe I do. She's an amazing pony. But I think it's just... friendly. I don't feel like I want to be with her or anything... Just that I want to be as close as possible with her. As friendly as I can."

He looked down at the ground uncomfortably.

"You know what it sounds like to me Merrick?" Twilight said softly.

Merrick looked back up at her expectantly.

"It sounds like you love her. As an extremely close friend. She was the first one of us you met, and you probably care about her more than you know. It seems like you love her like a sister. Like she's so close to you that it feels like if you share the special bind of being related."

Merrick thought about it for a moment. He did love her. A lot. But in a very caring and compassionate way, not romantically. Perhaps she did feel like a sister to him. Like....

"Like... best friends?" He said with a happy tone in his voice.

"Exactly!" Twilight said with a smile. "That's how I feel about all my best friends!"

"Y-yes!" He said happily. "I started to feel the same about a Rarity after she helped me today, and well... I slightly feel that way about you!" He realized what the feeling was.

"Then maybe you think of us as your best friends!" She said with a giggle. His excitement made her happy.

"And I feel the same about Rainbow Dash! It- It feels like you're all my best friends!" He said.

"That's a good thing Merrick! But you know... you do have two more best friends to make." She said with a smile.

Merrick looked at her confused, and then his eyes widened as he realized what she meant.

"Yes!" He exclaimed as he jumped up. He began wrapping up the box of cupcakes and putting them back into his bag. "Yes I have two best friends to make! I'll make sure they can be my best friends, and then you ponies and that dragon could have an eighth best friend!" He paused for a moment. "I hope you can accept me as such."

"Of course we can!" Twilight said happily. "I think me and Pinkie Pie already think of you as such!"

"Thank you Twilight! Thank you for your help!" He ran over and hugged her.

"Goodbye Twilight! I'll tell you some things about Changelings in the future okay? I have two new best friends to make!"

He smiled at her and quickly walked away, eager to meet Fluttershy and make amends with Applejack

"Goodbye Merrick!" She yelled back while waving.

He disguised himself before walking out the door, and then started to make his way towards Fluttershy's cottage.

"Wow..." Twilight thought to herself. "I definitely want someone as happy as him as my new best friend."

She looked at the notes for a moment, before looking at the cupcake. She started to think about it again.

"It looks like a Changeling really can learn to love."

Chapter 10: She's Yellow, Cute, and Quiet!

Merrick stood at then trance to the cottage shifting uncomfortably. He was unsure of if he wanted to knock on the door, or just leave. He knew he had to do this, had to meet this pony, but what if she hated him? All the excitement from earlier was gone, and back was the fear of being kicked out of Ponyville.

He had Rainbow Dash and Rarity on his side, which meant that he needed the Yellow Pony or Applejack to also like him. Unless Twilight and Pinkie Pie counted in the votes, in which case he was in the clear. But he was almost certain they wouldn't count, or at least one of them wouldn't to make it so there was no chance of a tie.

All he knew was that getting this yellow pony on his side was probably very important in deciding his future, and even if it wasn't he still wanted to be her friend.

He walked forward, and raised his hoof. He was so afraid she wouldn't like him, or that she would be mean. She had hardly talked at the meeting, and when she did she seemed very nice. But this was just a hunch he couldn't shake. A fear he couldn't get rid of.

His hoof started to hit the door over and over as he was shaking uncontrollably. He eventually hit it loud enough to be heard and put his hoof down.

The next thing he knew the door opened up slowly. A yellow pegasus with a pink mane stood there, flittering just off the ground.

"Umm... hello." She muttered shyly, averting her eyes.

Maybe she was gentler then he had expected. He figured if he had to describe her it would be as yellow, adorable, and very very quiet. Which seemed like his kind of pony.

"Can- can I help you?" She said, this time slightly louder.

"Hello yellow pony." Merrick said, extending his hoof. "I believe we have met before."

Fluttershy looked at him quizzically.

"We have?" She said softly. "Oh my I'm so sorry, but I don't seem to remember you."

Merrick smiled at her and giggled a little.

"You probably wouldn't recognize me as a pegasus. If I came inside I can show you who I truly am."

Fluttershy's eyes widened as she realized who he was.

"Are you-" She started to say loudly, before lowering her voice back to a whisper. She leaned in close to him and said:

"Are you Merrick?"

Merrick looked at her and nodded.

"Oh my goodness!" She said shocked. She began to shake us hoof furiously. "I've been expecting you! Please come in! I've set up my living room just for a visit with you!" She said with glee.

"You seem rather excited about my visit Misses- I'm sorry I don't quite know your name." Merrick said as he walked into the living room. He put away us pegasus disguise, and took on his natural form.

"I'm Fluttershy!" She said excitedly. "And I'm so excited to get to know you!"

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you!" Merrick said loudly. "If I may ask, why does this excite you? I had a hunch you'd be afraid of a Changelings."

"Well I am afraid of Changelings!" She said, still quite happily. "Just not you! Pinkie Pie has told me so much about how amazing you are, Rainbow Dash hasn't stopped telling me about your "awesomeness", Rarity says you're the best model she could have ever wished for, and I promised Twilight I would give you a chance!"

As Merrick listened to the description of himself from each of his new friends his heart warmed. They really truly loved him, cared about him.

"Well Fluttershy that's all very nice, but it doesn't explain why you are excited!" Merrick said with a smile as he sat down on the couch.

Fluttershy sat down across from him, the only thing in between them being a table with pastries and tea lined up on it.

"Well Merrick I've never met a friendly Changeling, and well... I'm just very excited." She said as she picked up one of the pastries. "It's kind of like when I met Spike-" She stopped herself.

"You do know who Spike is correct? He's a cute wittle baby dwagon!" She said the last part in a very cutesy voice.

Merrick nodded at her.

"Well that's good!" She said with glee. She popped the pastry in her mouth, chewed and swallowed. "I didn't want to confuse you. Pastry?"

She held out the platter to Merrick, who shook his head no.

"Meeting you is kind of like when I met Spike!" She continued. "I'm absolutely terrified of dragons, but Spike is a baby dragon, and I know he's friendly."

She paused for a moment as she poured a cup of tea.

"Would you like some?" She said looking up at him.

"Yes please." He said smiling. Finally somepony offered him something that he could actually use, a drink. "But please do go on!"

"Well you're kind of like Spike. I know for a fact you aren't like other Changelings in the sense that you're very friendly!"

She handed Merrick the cup of tea and he smiled at her as he took it.

"Thank you very much!" He said happily. "For the tea and for giving me a chance."

"It's no problem, really." She said blushing at his thanks. "So why don't you tell me about yourself? I would love to hear about the life of a Changeling!"

"Are you sure? I mean I'd have to start all the way back when I was born, and I'm around you and all of your friends' ages!"

"Well I have plenty of time." Fluttershy said smiling. "Besides I'm supposed to get to know you!"

Merrick smiled at her kindness, put down the tea and began his story.

He told her all about his life, from when he was very young living with his father, to the Canterlot wedding and a Changelings view on it, all the way to meeting Pinkie Pie and the events that led up to this very conversation. He told her about himself, and she told him about herself. They had many common interests, like animals and baking.

And they just sat there with tea, and just... talked. They talked about life, they talked about animals, and they talked about their friends. They simply talked and talked for a couple of hours, before Merrick realized what time it was, and that he was supposed to meet Applejack.

"Oh my goodness!" Merrick exclaimed. "It's already five in the afternoon! I'm supposed to meet Applejack today!"

He put down his tea cup, which he had just finished off and looked at Fluttershy.

"I'm so sorry Fluttershy, all we did was talk. You probably won't even want me here now."

"Oh no!" Fluttershy said sincerely. "Listening to your life and telling you about mine made me very happy! I'd love to do this again, and well... there's only one way that would happen! I mean... I've barely met anypony like you, who I feel so comfortable talking with."

"R-really?" Merrick said shocked,

"Yes really!" Fluttershy said with a smile. She stood out of the chair, and gestured for him to stand too. "Now come along. You really should be going to see Applejack."

Merrick stood up, and walked to the door with her. When they got there he hugged her suddenly.

"Thank you so much for your kindness yello- Fluttershy." He said happily. "Thank you."

He quickly turned into his pegasus disguise, waved at her and flew off towards Sweet Apple Acres. He was happier then ever. Nopony had ever shown him that level of kindness on a first meeting.

She waved at him as he left, and Angel quickly hopped out the door and stood next to her.

"He was such a nice Changeling." She said to him softly.

Chapter 11: Apples

Merrick stood outside the gate to the farm. This was it, the big one. He was about to meet with Applajack, the pony that would be the hardest to get on his side.

He knew that he was already in. He wouldn't be kicked out of Ponyville, and he didn't have to worry about losing his new friends that he cared for so much, that he loved. But he did have one thing to worry about, one thing more important than being forced to leave.

He had to worry about the rest of his life.

If Applejack hated him it was basically over. If he couldn't get the orange coated pony on his side then there was no possible way he would live a happy life in Ponyville. She would make sure he was shunned, make sure nopony liked him, make sure that his entire life was miserable, all in order to protect her family.

In a way he understood it. Family, friendship, and love seemed to be major things with these ponies, and when one of them is threatened you're practically threatening their way of life. In Merrick's case he was a threat to two of them: family and love.

And so he needed Applejack to like him. He really had no idea how that was going to happen though.

With each of the ponies he was able to do something that they either enjoyed or found helpful.

Pinkie Pie simply seemed to like him immediately, Twilight Sparkle wanted to study him and share her books, Rainbow Dash found his ability amusing and loved racing him, Rarity love having him help as a model, and Fluttershy was just so nice and wanted to talk.

All things that he either loved or could do when helping them.

But with Applejack?

He didn't know a thing about farming, or apples for that matter. The two things she seemed to do, and he couldn't talk about or help with. He was literally going in blind, with high hopes that she would like him.

Perhaps the young filly he met had put in a good word for him?

He slowly walked onto the farm, and approached the orange pony still in his pegasus disguise. She was bucking a tree, collecting all the apples in the bucket.

The moment she saw him she knew who it was. She recognized his pegasus disguise

She stopped her apple bucking and walked towards him.

"Hello there Merrick. I take it it's my turn to spend some time with yah?"

"Y-yes Applejack." He said, still nervous around her.

"Follow me then, I think it'd be best if we talked in the barn." She stopped talking, but seeing he didn't understand why continued. "It's private there. Ya'll can go into your uh... natural form."

They walked into the barn, and before she had even closed the door behind him he had changed back to his regular self.

They stood there uncomfortably for several moments, before Applejack finally broke the silence.

"Merrick let me tell you somethin'." She said as the two stood in the large barn.

"S-sure Applejack." He said, still rather nervous.

"Well... I'm gonna be honest with you here." She said hesitantly. "I don't really like you. But you already knew that right?"

She stopped talking and looked up at him expecting an answer. He simply nodded in return.

"Well yah see, I know it's wrong but I do. I don't exactly trust ya." She continued on. "The thing is, is that you feed on love, which is a big part of my life. It just worries me ya hear?"

He nodded. He completely understood, trusting a Changeling after what she had seen at the wedding would probably prove difficult, and that simply made sense to him.

"And well... love is the glue that holds mah family together." She continued her speech, as if she was getting to the point. "So I'm afraid for them. My sister met yah, and said you were real nice, but she doesn't know ya'll are a Changeling."

"Y-yes. Your sister Applebloom." Merrick smiled. "I gave her a cupcake. Her and her friends crashed into me."

"And I thank ya for not gettin' very mad at 'em." She said with a smile.

"Mad? How could I be mad? They're just fillies, they don't know any better. And even if they did it wasn't their fault they hit me!" He paused for a moment; it seemed as if his words had caught Applejack's attention. "Besides I was more worried about their safety than scolding them. What if they had been hurt?"

Applejack was happy to hear those words. It was as if one of her biggest fears about him had been ended.

"That's mighty decent of yah Merrick." She said.

"What kind of cruel monster could hurt a filly and not feel bad?" He said with a crack in his voice.

There was silence for a moment.

"So let me tell yah one last thing." Applejack said breaking the silence.

Merrick looked up at her expectantly.

"I may not like you, and you already know this. I'm afraid of yah. Afraid for my family." She paused. "But from what I understand you already have a home here. All the others love yah."

Merrick looked up at her and blushed.

"So I realize that even though I don't like yah... there ain't no use fightin' it." She said, causing Merrick's ears to perk up. "I know they all want yah here. Pinkie Pie simply loves yah, Twilight wants to study yah and read with yah, Rainbow Dash keeps talkin' about how awesome you are, Rarity's told me all about your fantastic modelin', and I'm assuming you saw Fluttershy before you came here?"

Merrick nodded in excitement, he wanted to hear where this was going.

"Well it's safe to assume she's too nice to not let you stay here."

Merrick nodded, letting her know that she was right. Fluttershy did want him to stay.

"Well... if mah friends are gonna keep yah here..." Applejack lowered her hat a little. "I may as well let yah stay too."

Merrick looked at her, a light in his eyes and a smile on his face.

"Re-really?" He said happily. "Y-you'll let me stay here?"

"I figured if ya'll are gonna have the votes of everypony else I may as well vote to let you stay here too. I may not like yah... but I'm gonna give you a chance okay?"

Merrick didn't know what to say. She was going to let him stay. She was giving him a chance to love here.

He moved forward and hugged her.

"Thank you thank you thank you!" He shouted squeezing her even tighter the more he yelled.

Her hat fell off and she giggled at him.

"Lookie here I may as well give you the chance... and from what I've heard you're gainin' your own love. So I reckon I won't have to worry about that no more."

"I- I promise I won't betray your trust! I- I swear!" He moved away from the hug and smiled at her. "Th-thank you!"

"I believe you'll live up to my trust." She said slapping him on the back, nearly knocking him over. "I know ya'll are tellin' the truth. Honesty recognizes honesty."

She said the last bit with a smirk, and kept smirking at him.

"So... how do you feel about apples?" She said while putting her hat back on.

He smiled at her as he transformed, a bright flash turning him into an exact replica of her.

"I know that I can help yah buck 'em with the same strength you have!" He said cheerily in her voice.

"Well then... looks like I found a new apple buckin' partner." She giggled slightly. "And it's me!"

Chapter 12: A Home in Ponyville

Merrick wiped the sweat from his brow as a bundle of apples fell into the bucket he had lined up under a tree. He took a large breath and switched back from the apple loving pony to his classic pegasus disguise. He had quite grown to love it, as in essence it was a ponyfied version of himself, an original creation of sorts that he had grown to love.

He switched back to the look of an average pegasus, and looked over at Applejack, who was just as sweaty and tired as he was. The sun had just begun to set over Ponyville, and he knew he had to leave. Applejack gave him a friendly smile as if to tell him it was okay to simply go.

But he needed to talk one last time before he left.

"I-" He stopped for a moment, unable to find the words. He blushed at his stuttering, and tried to figure out what to say.

"I just wanted to say, thank you for giving me a chance. I- I swear I won't fail you. I promise that nopony will ever be hurt because of me."

Applejack simply nodded at him, grabbed hold of his hoof, shook and began to walk away.

She stopped herself, and looked him directly in the eyes.

"Thanks for the help on the farm." She said sincerely. She realized that maybe she had been a little too harsh on the Changeling. "I had plenty to do, and you really did help me out. Maybe y'all are more useful to me than ya let on!" She said the last part with a smile.

"And don't ya worry sugar cube." She said sincerely. "If y'all truly are as friendly as yah say you won't hurt nopony. But if you do."

She stopped talking and simply glared at him.

"You know what will happen if you do." Her look turned friendly again. "But fer now welcome to Ponyville. After tomorrow you'll be our official resident Changeling! Pretty nice title if ya ask me."

He smile at her and began to walk away, lost in his own thoughts about what it would be like to be able to be himself all around Ponyville.

His heart sunk as he realized he had no place to live. His home in Ponyville was quickly sold after he had left the place trying to run away from Pinkie Pie. After she had caught him he had left a note saying he was leaving and never coming back.

The place was sold within a day.

He was homeless now.

This was Pinkie Pie's fault. He wasn't angry at the earth pony though; he actually figured he would have to thank her. Even if he was homeless the fact that she had found him that day had improved his life. He finally found ponies he could be himself around.

And Pinkie Pie would let him stay in Sugarcube Corner with her. He already thought of the makeshift bed as his own.

So he had no house, this is true, but what he did have was friends. For the first time in his life he had friends, ponies who cared about him, even though he was a Changeling. He had friends, and he had opportunity.

He knew he would have a job eventually. A Changeling can do more than an average pony as a job. They had the magic of unicorns, the flight of a pegasus, and the strength of an earth pony. Add on top of that shape shifting, and you have one amazing being. When they aren't sucking love form you of course, or generally being evil.

And Merrick wasn't evil. He was different, changed from all the others. He was a nice Changeling, practically a pony. And his life was looking up.

He would show all the ponies here that he wasn't bad. He would gain their favor, and get them to love him as one of their own. Make them think of him as a local.

Some of them already did.

He knew that he may not have had a physical house in the small town, a private place to call his own, but he did have one thing.

He had a home in Ponyville. And that was all he needed.

* * *

Merrick sat nervously in the large crystal castle that belonged to Twilight. He was anxious of his fate, as the voting was soon going to begin.

He was afraid more than anything that he actually wouldn't be allowed to love in Ponyville, that some of the six members of the group had lied to him, and secretly hated him. He knew these fears were probably false, yet there they were in the forefront of his mind, shadowing over any happy thoughts he had.

Twilight sat in her chair and looked at her friends, asking them to quiet down without even saying a word. Immediately they all listened to what she had to say.

"Well everypony the time has come to vote on whether or not Merrick the Changeling should be allowed to stay in Ponyville. I understand that there are six of us, so in order to keep the vote from being a tie I shall abstain from voting, and simply count."

Everypony nodded.

"Okay everypony Spike will get you all quills and paper to cast your v-"

"Do we have to make this so official Twi?" Rainbow Dash called out cutting off Twilight. "I swear you're doing it like this is some big life changing event. How about we all just raise our hooves and you count?"

Twilight sighed at her.

"Fine." She said with a huff.

"Show of hooves please. Who votes that Merrick stay?" She said happily to all her friends.

The words hadn't even left her mouth when all five hooves shot up. She even saw Spike in the corner of the room raising his claw.

Merrick's face lit up with glee as he saw all of the hooves raise, and slight shock when he saw that even the dragon whom he had barely met wanted him there.

Twilight looked stunned. She knew he was probably going to stay, but to get everypony to like him? In only two days?

How had he managed such a thing?

"Well it's clear we have our answer." She said cheerily, shaking off the confusion. "I'll be honest I expected him to be allowed to stay but..." She trailed off for a moment.

"You got everypony to vote for you? Even Applejack?!?"

Merrick nodded happily.

Pinkie Pie jumped out of her chair and immediately hugged the Changeling, nearly knocking him to the floor.

"We get to continue be best friends forever!" She shouted in his face happily.

He giggled at her and returned the hug, feeling the warmth radiating off her.

As a matter of fact it was radiating off everypony in the room, even Applejack.

"Looks like you get to continue your studies on Changelings Twilight!" He said happily. "It also looks like I need a new house!" He said with a giggle.

"Oh that's okay! For now you can stay with me!" Pinkie Pie said cheerily.

He knew she would say that, but it still made his smile grow even wider.

Everypony else in the room gave him words of encouragement and smiled at him. They all liked him, and where happy for him.

"Well I'll admit I'm quite happy you get to stay." Twilight said. "But now we have a lot of work to do everypony. We have to introduce Merrick to Ponyville, which in itself will be difficult to do without incite mass panicking."

Everypony else nodded in agreement, even Merrick who was still receiving hugs from Pinkie Pie.

"Then I have to right my book on studies of Changlings, how they live, and how they can adapt to pony society." She turned to Merrick. "Ready to help me with my research?"

He nodded at her happily.

"Good. Because those were the easy parts." Her smile faded away as she said the next words. "And then we have the part that I personally am most afraid of: introducing Merrick to the princesses, and asking them if they will let him stay in Ponyville."

"Well obviously they will!" Dash called out excitedly. "Celestia could totally use a Changeling in her army or for super special missions! What if she makes him some super cool soldier?!?!" She flew up into the air as she said the words, her excitement obvious.

Rarity cast a spell pulling the pegasus back to the ground, and then spoke.

"While the super soldier thing is rather... extreme." She said. "I do believe Dash is correct in a way. Celestia tends to trust your judgment on most matters, and as a princess yourself I'm sure she'll trust your judgment and allow him to stay,"

Everypony nodded their heads in agreement, even Dash who was still on the floor.

"I guess you're right," Twilight began. "and maybe I shouldn't worry about that right now. For now... congratulations Merrick." She said.

"You now officially have a home in. Ponyville."

Immediately after saying the words Pinkie Pie jumped up.

"Welcome to Ponyville for realsies this time party!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.

Merrick simply smiled. This time he knew for a fact that everything was going to be okay.

Chapter 13: A Little Announcement

Immediately after Twilight saw the obvious answer to whether or not Merrick was allowed to stay she had started to make preparations to announce him to Ponyville. She knew it would be a big event as many of the ponies would probably be afraid of any, but she hoped they would trust her better judgment like usual. Within a matter of hours Pinkie Pie had gathered the entire town in front of the town hall, and Twilight had prepared herself speech to read to them. She had planned out the whole event in her head, and now all she hoped she would be able to calm the crowd down when they inevitably panicked.

Merrick stood behind the curtains on the stage, slightly peeking his head out between them. He looked nervously out at the crowd of ponies in front of him, a massive swarm of Ponyville residents. Many of them already knew him, not as Merrick the Changeling, but as just some random pegasus who liked to help out around town.

He was still disguised as that very pegasus, and he knew they'd probably accept him for who he was. These ponies were the kindest and most accepting creatures he'd ever met. But even with the knowledge that they were so friendly he was still scared. He was mostly afraid of how the town would react once he dropped the disguise and stood in front of them in his natural form.

What if they attacked him, or forced him out of the town?

He knew that probably wouldn't happen, these ponies were too nice, and Twilight had even assured him they would trust her and the rest of her friends judgment. But for some odd reason he couldn't shake the feeling that something would go wrong.

He shook the thought and looked back through the curtain.

He turned his head and took in the rest of the stage, Twilight stood behind of the podium straightening out flash cards, Pinkie Pie was bouncing up and down with glee, and the rest of the six all stood to the side looking out on the crowd.

The town hall wasn't decorated in a fancy way; it wasn't even decorated at all. But that was exactly what Merrick wanted. He didn't want his announcement to be big. He wanted just a little announcement, to let them know, and to get everyone agreed on letting him stay there, and that's what him and Twilight had agreed on.

Twilight stood up tall and addressed the crowd.

"May I have your attention please everypony!" She called out to the crowd, a large smile on her face.

The crowd immediately hushed for the local princess. They always listened to what her and her friends had to say, and adored the friendship the six had always offered them. The town was at there beck and call simply for all the good they had done for them.

"Thank you." She said, levitating her flash cards up to begin her speech. "I know many of you are probably wondering why we called you here. I'd like to let you know before I start this speech that none of you are in any form of danger or trouble, and we are only here to ask for your well wishes with a recent development."

She paused for a moment to look out amongst the crowd. All eyes were staring intently at her, urging her to continue. A few ponies shifted uncomfortably here and there, and the occasional whisper shot through the crowd.

"As many of you may remember not too long ago Canterlot was invaded by an army of Changelings. You may also recall that is happened during my older brother's wedding." She paused again and looked out to the crowd waiting for an answer.

Everypony was still looking at her intently, and heads nodded in answer, urging her to continue.

"Now many ponies have a strong dislike for Changelings, and well the dislike is kind of justified and understandable. We don't know much about the race, but one thing we do know is they feed off of love, and are a potential threat, one that hides in lain sight. Well I am here to announce that we will be learning much more about them soon. I have started research on Changelings that will answer to you how they truly are, everything from anatomy, to powers, to seeing if they're able to love." She stopped again and took a breath, rearranging the flash cards. "I have discovered that the last part is true, I am here make a little announcement of introducing you to my research assistant, Merrick."

Merrick knew this was his cue and stepped out from behind the curtains, pegasus disguise still up. He bowed to crowd as the clopped their hooves together for him.

"The thing about Merrick however... is that many of you know him already," Twilight continued. "he has helped around the town for a long time, and many know him as a nameless pegasus. Well I'm here to tell you his secret, and I hope you will give us the benefit of the doubt and trust in our judgement."

The crowd looked at Merrick and then Twilight, everypony in it with varying expressions, mostly of confusion and worry.

"The thing about Merrick is..." She paused for a moment and took a deep breath in. "He is a Changeling." She stopped talking as Merrick stood next to her and began to change back to his natural form.

What really took seconds to do felt like an eternity to him as he slowly changed to his natural form in front of the entire town. He was extremely nervous, and he knew this one moment would make or break the rest of his life. The brilliant purple flash took over his body, changing him back into his natural form.

After what felt like a lifetime he finished turning back and looked out over the crowd.

There was mixed bag of reactions coming from the crowd. Someponies were afraid, someponies were angered, and other didn't even seem to care about it. From the looks of things it didn't seem like anypony was truly upset over those. There was no rioting and nopony had gone completely crazy yet, so obviously they weren't too affected.

They mostly seemed afraid.

Murmurs shot through the crowd as everyone expressed their discontent or lack thereof.

Twilight waited and let the news sink into them before she continued.

"Please quiet down everypony." She said gently, and surprisingly they listened. The crowd fell silent and stared at her once more. "The thing about Merrick is that he's... well... special. He appears to be a friendly Changeling, and well... he's learning how to love. Because of this we've decided he should live here." She said.

"I assure you he's different than most Changelings, and we're here to explain any questions you may have about him, this situation and let you know why we've come to the conclusion of letting him stay. All seven of us on the stage will now take any questions you may have."

As soon as she finished speaking hooves shot up all though out the crowd. The rest of the seven on the stage moved forward and prepared to answer all the questions. While Twilight knew this would take some time she was also very pleased that the crowd was willing to accept him.

They slowly began to explain the whole situation around him, and the process that led to the decision they had made. As they explained more the crowd seemed more and more accepting of the news, which came as a relief to all six ponies on the stage, and Merrick.

Slowly but surely everything was being sorted out, until the last few questions came up.

A mint colored hoof shot up from one side of the audience.

"Yes Lyra?" Twilight asked to the mare who had a worried expression on her face.

"So you're saying he won't try to kill us? He isn't evil?"

"I've answered this several times now Lyra." Twilight said, but she still answered with a smile. "He will not hurt you. He is helpful. He's even been living here for quite some time, longer than even some of you in the crowd. I know you may be afraid, but I need you to trust me when I see he is a friend to all of us."

Lyra sat back down, obviously satisfied with the answer. Another hoof shot up from somewhere across the crowd, this one a more green color.

"Question Rose?" Pinkie Pie said cheerfully.

"So I get why he should stay here, and I'm willing to accept him as one of our own friends," The cream colored mare began. "but I want to know one thing: what do the other princesses think of him? How are they going to react to us having a Changeling here? What if they think we're trying to commit some form of treason, and imprison us all?" The mare grew more and more afraid as she asked the question.

"I can assure you that won't-" Twilight began to answer but was cut off.

"W-what if the princesses kill us all for treasons?!?!?" The mare shouted with an obviously fearful expression on her face.

"Rose!" Twilight screamed, causing the mare to jump in shock. "I promise you that the princesses trust my judgement, and I have already sent a letter to Princess Celestia. I am waiting for her response, and if she doesn't approve of him I will let him meet her and get her on our side. She will certainly see where we're coming from, and will most certainly not blame any of you."

Roseluck slowly sat down, obviously satisfied with the answer.

"So." Twilight said. "Do I have the approval of the rest of you?" She asked.

The crowd was silent for several moments, before a stallion in the back began to shout his approval. Slowly but surely the rest of the crowd began to show how they agreed with the decision to let him stay, and someponies even started cheering for him. They were shouting and hugging each other, and all seemed happy for the little but they had never even met before.

The mane six all sighed out of relief, while Merrick stood there staring out at the excited crowd, a confused look on his face.

Pinkie Pie slowly bounced over to him.

"What's wrong buddy? I thought you'd be happy about this!" The pink pony said cheerfully.

He stared at her confused.

"I am happy Pinkie Pie." He began. "I just don't get it. Why are they so happy?" He asked, tears of joy welling up in his eyes. The reaction of the crowd was the best possible thing he could have hoped for in his life.

"Isn't it obvious silly?" Pinkie said with a giggle, poking his nose a little. "They're happy for you!"

"For me? Why would they be happy for me, I've done nothing to earn their love and acceptance."

Pinkie Pie giggled again.

"Merrick when you got the approval of us six, that was practically enough to make the town love you. You're story however of being afraid of losing all of this." She waved a hoof around at the town. "Let them know how much you truly wanted to stay. I mean it's quite the convincing story. To them you're one of us now!"

She paused for a moment and hugged him. He was taken aback by the sudden gesture of affection.

"And we always feel happy for the accomplishments of one of our own."

Merrick didn't know what to say to that. He hadn't felt accepted his entire life, and now all of a sudden creatures he had never met before were cheering for him and happy he was one of their own.

He stood there stunned, a smile on his face. He reached out and returned the pink ponies hug, and began to cry on her shoulder. Tears of joy.

He was happier than he had ever been in his entire life. He stood there hugging her as the rest of the six ponies, his six friends, who had helped him achieve this, all congratulated him in their own special ways.

The whole thing was too much for him. He was overjoyed and filled with good emotions.

And the rush of warmth from the crowd let him know love was one of them.

Chapter 14: Canterlot Bound

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

Thank you for informing me of your new Changeling friend, and asking for my judgement.

However I do need to reinforce a fact to you.

You are a Princess now, and you do not need to ask my judgement in everything you do. You are free to make your own choices. I trust you and your friends one hundred percent, and will allow this Changeling to stay in Equestria.

I would however like to meet him, as my sister may have use for him in a sort of secret project she has going on.

While I know you must be busy getting him settled into Ponyville I would like you and your friends to travel to Canterlot immediately.

Your Changeling friend will not need a disguise as I have sent out notices across Equestria of who he is based on the description of physical appearance you gave me, and that he will be traveling with you.

If anything the ponies of Canterlot will assume he's another captive Changeling from the Badlands.

I expect your arrival soon.

Sincerely,

Princess Celestia

Merrick looked away from the letter and lay down on his seat in the train. They had left for Canterlot immediately after receiving it, and he had been lost in thought thinking about it ever since.

It wouldn't have been a big deal to him, where it not for the fact that it said another Changeling captive.

Why did they have Changeling captives?

And why did Princess Luna want his help?

His mind quickly drifted to horrible thoughts as he imagined what all of it could possibly mean, and he rested his head on the pillow. He was quite nervous about the whole situation, and afraid of what all of this could mean for him.

He started thinking of negative possibilities, before attempting to ignore them and think of something nicer.

His thoughts quickly wandered off to the thought of Pinkie Pie.

His thoughts had turned to the pink mare multiple times during the trip, and every time his heart fluttered and he felt warm and fuzzy inside.

He didn't know what it was, but he felt it whenever she was around or whenever he thought of her. It was a strange feeling, but he liked it.

He thought he knew what it meant, and his only theory worried him. The more he thought about it the more he realized that he loved Pinkie Pie. At least he thought it was love.

She was very special too him, he knew that, but did he love her?

The more he thought about it the more he realized the truth. He probably really did love her.

He kept thinking about her, and this then turned to the things he loved the most about her.

"Her cute mane and adorable voice," He thought to himself, his heart fluttering at the thought. "The pure glee and happiness she has for everything."

He stopped and thought about that for a while. He loved the way she was so happy all the time, and it made him happy. She was almost as if somepony had taken happiness and made it into a pony.

It was then that he remember that she was the Element of Laughter, and therefore literally was the living embodiment of happiness.

His thoughts slowly turned back to debating whether or not he truly loved her.

"It's just..." He thought to himself, his train of thought trailing off. "I just want to hug her, but in a special way, not like we have before. And I want to snuggle her, and kiss her..."

He kept thinking about it, and had more and more fantasies.

He kept imagining the things they could do together. He wanted to hold her in the winter when it was cold, to hug her when she needed more than just a friend, he wanted to be hers and to love her. (He also thought of a few, more explicit, things he wanted to do with her)

And he realized he definitely loved her.

"You love her don't ya?" Applejack said to him, almost as if she had read his mind.

He was in the cart with her and Rainbow Dash, the other three ponies sitting in the cart ahead.

"Wh-what? Like who?" He responded in shock.

"Don't play dumb!" Rainbow Dash called out. "You totally dig Pinkie Pie!"

"N-no I don't!" He responded nervously. "Ch-Changelings can't love remember?!"

Applejack and Dash shot each other smug glances.

"But y'all are a special Changeling remember?" AJ said smugly.

"And!" Rainbow Dash cut in. "If I recall you're learning how to love!" She said in a teasing voice.

Merrick blushed from nervousness and embarrassment.

"I-I don't love her." He muttered.

"Ay Dash look he's blushin'!" AJ said nudging the pegasus.

"I didn't know Changelings could blush!" Dash said giggling. "Did you AJ?"

"Not at all." AJ replied cooly. "But why would he be blushin' if he don't love her?"

His face became even more red as he slunk back in embarrassment.

"O-okay..." He muttered meekly.

"What was that AJ?" Dash said mockingly.

"I ain't heard nothin' Dashie!" AJ replied with glee.

"Okay!" He said louder, returning his voice to a whisper. "M-maybe I love her..."

The two mares smirked at each other and then looked back at him. They saw the sadness in his eyes and immediately regretted their little roast.

"I-I'm sorry sugarcube." Applejack said sincerely. "I'm sure she loves ya back!"

Merrick smiled at her.

"Thank you Applejack."

"Well I know she does!" Dash said loudly. "She told me to not tell anypony!"

She paused for a moment, before realizing her mistake.

"Oops." She said softly, covering her mouth.

The three ponies began to giggle, before the train suddenly screeched to a halt as they reached the destination, Merrick now filled with hope and joy.

Chapter 15: Canterlot

Merrick walked behind the rest of the group of six, taking in the sights of Canterlot. While the six ponies talked in front of him while they headed towards the castle, he hung back and admired every intricate detail of the design, and observed the ponies going about their lives.

Things here seemed different from Ponyville, but in a way the same. He liked the way Equestria in general worked. He smiled remembering that he was allowed to stay.

As he looked around the city he slowly found his eyes wandering over to Twilight. He stared at her for a while, and thought about how beautiful she was. His heart was pounding, and he felt the same way he did with Pinkie Pie.

Soon he found himself admiring all six of the ponies for their different features. His heart raced as he found that he was in love. With all of them. He started to think up different nights with them, imagining romantic fantasies.

He shook his head and snapped out of his trance.

"What the...?" He muttered to himself, quickly moving his eyes away form them.

He was more confused than anything. He felt as though he'd lost control of his emotions, and his love was running rampant. Now he felt normal, like he just wanted to be friends with the six ponies. Even Pinkie Pie, whom he'd talked about how much he wanted to be romantically involved with only a few minutes before.

He felt strange inside. An uncomfortable feeling was building up inside of him, and he had no idea how to fix it.

Was love supposed to feel this weird?

Or was his Changeling body not reacting very well to discovering something he used to have to steal?

He was unsure of what it was, but he knew he would simply ask Twilight for help later. She was a nice pony, and she would never let him suffer.

"And here we are!" Twilight called out, snapping Merrick out of his deep thoughts. "The Canterlot Castle! It feels like it's been so long since I've spent a night here!" She let out a small squee.

The mare seemed ecstatic about staying here, and was practically jumping up and down from excitement while the guards opened the gates.

As soon as they were open the six ponies walked through, Twilight bouncing up and down saying "yay!" over and over again. The guards bowed to her, but they couldn't help but giggle at the sight.

"You know we were here only a few days ago right Twi?" Rainbow Dash said giggling at her friend.

Twi stopped abruptly.

"O-oh." She said blushing, feeling extremely embarrassed as the guards snickered at her. "R-right."

The six ponies continued through the gates, and Merrick followed behind them. As soon as he walked forward one of the guards blocked his way with his spear.

He was a rather large pegasus with a gray coat, black hair, and a large scar across his eye. His cutie mark was that of a literal brick wall. He looked tough, and he looked like he could destroy Merrick by barely flexing a wing.

"So. A Changeling eh?" He paused for a moment. "You must be that Changeling the Princesses are saying is all friendly eh?" He said menacingly.

Merrick shrunk back, cowering in fear, and nodded slowly, covering his head with his hooves.

The pegasus leaned in close to him, pressing the spear up to his chest.

"I don't buy it." He said glaring at Merrick.

The second guard smacked the first over the head.

"What the hay are you doing StoneWall?" He said looking at the pegasus angrily.

"I-I was just trying to intimidate the little guy." He said, shrinking back a little at the second guard.

"Really? Intimidate him? Look how small he is I don't think he could hurt a fly."

The pegasus looked ashamed, and Merrick didn't understand why such a huge pegasus was afraid of such a small unicorn.

He realized the answer was probably magic.

"I just wanted to let 'im know I was gonna be keepin' an eye on 'im" The large pegasus said ashamed.

"Yeah well you don't have to be a jerk about it. Besides if the Princesses trust him, so do I." The guard said. He stared at the pegasus who lowered his head in shame.

"I'm sorry." The large brute of a pony muttered.

He then turned his attention to Merrick.

"Sorry about that." He said softly, leaning down to hug the still cowering Changeling. "Don't be afraid little guy, you won't be hurt by anyone here."

Merrick looked up at the guard and smiled. He returned the embrace, and whimpered a bit. His last time he was here he had been beaten, bruised, probably stabbed at least once by one of those very spears, and nearly killed by a painful magic blast. Being threatened by a royal guard was enough to bring back painful memories.

Merrick slowly stood up, and the guard did the same, pulling away from the embrace. He proceeded to examine the guard, a white coated unicorn with a long flowing mane that was a brilliant shade of dark blue. He had sapphire colored eyes, and he looked genuinely friendly. His cutie mark was a blue electric bolt surrounding a gem.

"I'm Shocking Sapphire." He said, extending his hoof to shake. "What'd you say your name was?"

"I-I'm Merrick." Merrick replied, taking the stallions hoof. Shocking proceeded to shake vigorously.

"Well Merrick I'm sure the three of us can be friends. Ain't that right StoneWall?" The pegasus nodded his head slowly, stil looking ashamed. "Good. Now why don't ya go catch up with your pals? I'm sure they're waiting for ya." The stallions said softly nudging him along.

As he left the stallion called out one last time.

"And don't your worry. StoneWall here tries anything and I'll zap him good!" He said the last part and pointed to his horn.

"So it was magic" Merrick thought to himself.

* * *

Merrick hurried along, and caught up with the six ponies. After he caught up with them he decided he shouldn't hang back too much anymore. He walked next to Twilight at the front if the group, and decided to take in the architecture some more. I

It was all so... beautiful. He never had time to admire it his first time here, and he didn't have the most enjoyable experience.

He felt a deep sinking feeling inside of him as he made a revelation.

He stopped walking abruptly, and let out a long sigh.

"What is it Merrick?" Twilight asked immediately. All six mares turned their attention to him.

"Is something wrong?" Rainbow Dash said noticing his sullen Look.

"Are you alright darling?" Rarity asked shortly after.

"What's going on sugarcube?" Applejack said softly.

"Oooh I wanna sugarcube!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

Merrick looked up at the six ponies, tears welling in his eyes.

"I-I almost died here..." He whispered softly. The memories of the battle had become too painful. He felt wrong, like he didn't belong here. "In this very castle. I almost died several times. The guards, the spells, everything. I almost died here, and it was my own fault for staying with the Queen."

The six ponies looked at him softly.

"But that's not the worst part." He said, continuing on. "I realize that... I helped almost kill all six of you. You could all be dead, or loveless husks, and it would have been my fault. At least in part."

He stopped for a moment, a tear dripping down his cheek. I splattered on the ground.

"I-I love you all so much now... You've all helped me in more ways than you could imagine... A-And I'm so sorry..." He gently trailed off.

He was now fully crying.

"I didn't have to help Chrysalis either..." He said through his tears. "I could have left the rest of the Changelings. We all could have. But like every other Changeling I didn't see any other way..."

"I'm so sorry." He said again, collapsing to the floor in tears.

The six ponies surrounded him and hugged him while he cried.

"It's okay Merrick." Twilight said softly into his ear. "We all forgive you."

They hugged tighter, and he smiled softly at them.

"Well!" A majestic voice said from across the room, causing Twilights ears to perk up. "It looks like any fears I had if you still being evil have been assuaged!"

The six ponies moved away from Merrick as the voice approached, and he sat there looking down at the ground still crying.

"Now now my little Changeling, no need to cry." She said softly too him.

Merrick slowly looked up at the pony, and his mouth gaped open.

It was Princess Celestia. The Princess Celestia!

She continued to walk forward, examined him, and gave him a hug.

"I'm normally not much if a hugger but this feels like an occasion were I should." She said before laughing a small bit.

"Merrick your little confession may be all the proof I need to let you stay." She said softly into his ear.

He couldn't believe what was happening. This was Princess Celestia and she was giving him a hug.

She stood up and hugged Twilight next.

Merrick wiped the tears from his eyes and stood up, walking over to the rest of the group.

"Now come with me everypony." The Princess said. "I have quite the dinner prepared."

Chapter 16: Overload

Merrick sat at the long table with his six new friends all around him, and with Princess Celestia directly across from him. The table was covered in food, not enough to be called a feast, but just enough for six hungry ponies, most of whom had ravenous appetites. Pinkie Pie seemed to run on pure sugar, sunshine, and happiness. Rainbow Dash had the appetite you'd expect of a jock, which honestly made sense, given that she was, indeed, a jock. And of course Applejack ate as much as you'd expect a country farm pony would. The food seemed to be enough however, and everypony was able to eat as they pleased as the Princess had ensured her favorite ponies would enjoy their time in Canterlot.

Merrick looked around the table at his six companions, all eating, talking, and generally having a good time.

He himself however did not feel very jocular.

Normally Merrick would have loved to join in the merriment, joining conversation and telling jokes, playing fun little table games, and particular being fond of storytelling as being a Changeling he had plenty of interesting stories to share.

This night however he sat in his seat uncomfortably, trying to figure out what he had been feeling. The waves and sudden pangs of weird mixes of emotions, as if they were running wild. He sat at the edge of the table, trying his best to ignore it, but such a feat no matter how simple seemed too hard for the poor little Changeling, and he soon found himself squirming in his chair from what can only be described as an emotional overload.

It was as if his newfound emotion of love was setting all of his other normal emotions out of whack, like it was taking up space inside of his mind and causing the other emotions to slosh around. He thought of it as putting ice cubes into a full glass of water, and watching it flow over the top.

The whole thing was extremely confusing for him, and he sat at the table squirming around ever so slightly as he looked around at his companions. Every time his gaze would fall upon one of them, he would start to get hot and flushed, excited, his heart beating in a little pitter-patter, and he felt... he felt like he was in love with them.

He knew this wasn't right, knew something was wrong. He had no emotions for any of the ponies either way, save for perhaps one, and even than he didn't seem to be attracted to her to the point of love. He hastily looked around the room, sweating profusely and suddenly seeming to be quite tired and sick. Everything seemed to slow down as he looked around, and he kept feeling worse until eventually deciding he needed to leave. He couldn't sit at the table any longer, couldn't handle the emotions running rampant, it was almost like torture to him.

"I-I need to go!" He called out quickly, causing the talking to stop.

There was silence as all eyes fell on him, worried looks from his friends, as they all turned to him.

All of their eyes on him, and he couldn't even handle returning the contact without feeling even more sick, without feeling the emotional overload intensify. He started to shake ever so slightly, and his face was beginning to turn red.

"Is something wrong Merrick?" Twilight asked obviously concern in her voice.

"Oh my, he's shaking." Fluttershy said softly. "You don't look very well. Is everything okay?"

"N-no no things are fine!" He said, louder and more awkwardly than he would have liked. "J-just tired is all! I-I'd like to head to my room if that's okay with the Princess."

Celestia looked at him with compassion.

"It is fine if you are uncomfortable or nervous to be around me." She said in a calming voice. "It is also okay if you are feeling sick in general and would like to leave. I will not hold you here against your will, and I have things that need to be discussed with your six friends in private if that is alright. I will have someone escort you to where you will be staying.

Merrick tried to think of what to say in response. He had to remain dignified in front of the Princess, and he wanted to respect you.

"T-thank you!" He yelled as he stood up and speedily dashed out of the room in an awkward and uncomfortable manner.

"Suave as always Merrick." He thought to himself as he hurried towards the guard who would be escorting him.

Merrick was please to see that it was the guard pony from before, the one who had stopped the others bullying, Shocking Sapphire.

"Hey little guy!" He said with a smile, in a manner similar to an older brother lovingly referring to his younger one. "Ready to head to your room?"

* * * * * * * *

"I'm glad you six are here." Celestia said to the table that held the mane six. "I need to discuss your friend Merrick, and I need to inform you the basic details of why I need his assistance. I may not be for several months until I will need him, but I would like you to know that my sister and I will need him soon."

"First of all, I am quite aware I can trust him. At least mostly." She began.

"How do you know that Princess?" Twilight asked. "I feel as though my word isn't enough for you to trust him with something that sounds rather important."

"Because he has already passed a test of mine." The Princess stated. "When I hugged him do you think it was merely to show comfort to him, or do you think it was to perhaps see if he would attempt to steal the love resonating from my show of affection? Do you think that perhaps it was to test him as well as comfort?"

There was silence for a moment as the cleverness of the Princess dawned upon the six ponies. She had subtly been able to test his "loyalty" so to say, to see if he was truly not some form of Changeling spy. A test to see if he did indeed like Equestria and its ruler."

"The stunned silence shows that I have gotten my point across." She said after giggling slightly. "Yes, he does seem to be loyal to Equestria. I have Princess Cadence coming for a visit as an extra test as well. The Princess who represents love meeting with a Changeling will surely show if he can be trusted for a mission of sorts."

"Now for the mission itself..." She began, and the other six ponies gathered around in excitement to listen to what form of quest their buggy companion would be embarking on in the future.

Chapter 17: Excuses, Excuses.

Knock knock knock!

Merrick was instantly awoken by the sudden knocking on the door.

He had gone back to the room Celestia intended for him to sleep in, and instantly went to bed even though there were many hours left in the day. They had eaten at around four in the afternoon, and he had only stayed at the early dinner for about thirty minutes.

He slowly got out of the bed, lazily looking towards the window. He noticed the sun was just now going down, and when he glanced over at the clock that was in the room noticed it had just turned six o'clock in the evening.

He had slept for around an hour and a half.

He began to slowly walk towards the door when a voice called through.

"Merrick!" Twilight's voice called. "Are you asleep in there or something?"

His ears perked up at the sound of his friends and he walked towards the door quicker.

"S-sorry I just woke back up!" He called out as he reached for the door.

His hoof stopped as it reached the door, and his face turned red with blush as he noticed the thoughts that had started racing through his head. Thoughts of love, romance, and other intimate relations with the mare who had called out to him had entered his head almost immediately.

He pulled his hoof away from the handle and started to panic internally.

He didn't want to feel this way, and he definitely didn't want to feel intense feelings of love for his friends every time he came across them.

"J-just a second!" He called out nervously, trying to think of a way to avoid opening the door and seeing her face, feeling the emotions intensified.

It was one of the worst feelings he had felt, and he hated the idea of having intense desires for each of his friends. It wasn't even the desires that were the worst problem, it was how it felt. He didn't feel in control of his emotions.

It felt like his mind was overflowing with emotions, and he couldn't even control them anymore.

"Well, while you take your time doing... whatever it is your doing, we wanted to tell you we're going out to visit some of our favorite places around Canterlot!" Twilight called out. "We were just wondering if you'd like to come with us, seeing as the only time you've been to Canterlot before was... well... not a pleasurable experience for you!"

Merrick thought about the prospect, sitting against the door on the other side.

He wanted to go, to travel with them and enjoy a night on the town, but he was hurting. His emotions were causing him extreme discomfort, and he was nervous about having the feelings of love appear for his friend while they were out, and how he might react to it.

He tried to think of something to say; afraid to deny them outright for fear they might think something was wrong.

They most certainly seemed to care for him, and he didn't want to make them worry about him while they were out.

"I-I'd love to go!" He responded, trying to find some way out of it that wouldn't hurt their feelings.

"B-but I couldn't! Ponies probably wouldn't react right to a Changeling wandering around Canterlot!" He said, coming up with the excuse on the spot.

"Well duh!" He heard Rainbow Dash say through the door. "That's why you're a Changeling isn't it? Ya know, so you could change your appearance and blend in? Just pick a disguise and hurry up!"

"Rainbow Dash, don't be so rude to the little guy, give him some time. I swear you have no manners." Rarity whispered into her ear.

"W-well guys, as much as I'd love to go I-I'm not feeling so well." He called back, deciding that it would be futile to come up with another lie.

"Is something wrong Merrick?" Pinkie Pie called out, concern clear in her voice.

"J-just some emotional problems!" He responded. "I-I'm just not feeling well!"

"Do you want me to stay here with you and help you feel better?" Pinkie Pie called out. "Or maybe Fluttershy? She's a pretty good nurse, she's helped a bunch of animals and ponies!"

Merrick grew increasingly nervous at the idea of a night alone with any of them while his emotions were like they were. What if he ended up trying to make some kind of move on one of them?

"I-I'll be fine, thank you! I-I think I just need some time to myself, maybe to sleep!" He responded nervously hoping that he could convince him to let him be.

"Well, maybe I can stay here anyway?" Pinkie Pie called out. "I don't want my friend to have to be alone when he's not feeling well!"

"Now, now Pinkie Pie." Fluttershy said softly. "I've learned that if a sick animal or pony wants to be left alone you should leave them be. I think that probably applies to Changelings too."

"I guess you're right Fluttershy..." Pinkie said in a rather defeated sounding voice.

"Well, enjoy your night out!" Merrick called through the door. "And don't worry about me! I'll be fine."

The six ponies all said goodbye to their friend, and left to go out into Canterlot.

* * *

The mane six sat in an ice cream parlor quite similar to the one in Ponyville, each enjoying their own dessert. They were all happily munching away on their sweets, and chatting with one another, enjoying their final stop for the night before heading back.

They had left the castle several hours before, and it was now rather late in the evening. They had planned on a return to the castle and to call it a night, but of course Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie insisted upon getting desserts before heading home.

They were all enjoying themselves, and they were telling stories and other tales to Pinkie Pie's friend, the owner of the store.

While it was all quite fun, Twilight sat alone at a different table, eating her ice cream while scribbling things down on a note pad.

The purple princess couldn't stop nervously thinking about Merrick, and was trying to deduce what could possibly be wrong with him.

He had tried to pass it off as just feeling ill, but Twilight thought it was something more. He was acting rather suspicious, staying locked behind a closed door while they talked, and even refusing the company of Pinkie Pie, the pony he sometimes seemed almost too close to.

The mare had enjoyed the night out of course, however her worrying had refused to stop, like a small nagging in the back of her head, and she was happy she was able to sit alone and think about it, as if she was scratching an itchy that desperately needed attention.

Within a few minutes the intelligent mare had established several different theories about what could possibly be wrong with their Changeling friend, analyzing his behavior and how it seemed different, trying to imagine what could be going on inside of his head.

He had seemed to be acting rather panicky about what was wrong with him, sharing as few details as possible. The others may not have noticed it, but to Twilight the shift in personality seemed like something more than just sickness.

He sounded genuinely afraid, like something wasn't right.

Twilight reviewed her notes, and suddenly a thought struck her that had never occurred.

She quickly stood up from the table and rushed to the door.

"I need to head back to the castle everypony! Sorry for the leaving so suddenly!" She called out as she sprinted through the doorway, needing to see Princess Celestia immediately.

Chapter 18: Theory Crafting

"Princess Celestia!" Twilight Sparkle shouted as she burst through the door to the Princesses' bedroom. "I need your help!"

She stood there for a moment before starting to breathe heavily, as she realized just how tired and winded she was. The young alicorn had just raced across half of Canterlot as fast as she possibly could, and was understandably exhausted.

The recently awoken Princess was immediately attentive to her old student, and even though she sluggishly rubbed the sleep from her eyes she was wide awake the second the mare had come through the door.

"Twilight." Celestia said in a worried and stern voice as she arose from her bed. "What seems to be the matter?"

The Princess paused for a moment.

"And why are you sweating so heavily?"

The purple alicorn continued to breathe heavily for a few seconds before responding to the question.

"P-Princess..." Twilight stuttered out, still tired from her sprint

"R-ran here..." She slowly got the words out between each breath, swaying side to side as she was exhausted. "M-Merrick... N-need.. Need Princess Luna!"

She continued to breathe heavily before flopping to the floor, and Celestia walked over to her with a concerned look.

"Twilight, I can't help you if you don't calm down and explain." Celestia said in a calm and comforting voice. "Please, take deep breaths and then tell me what you need to say."

She paused for a moment before thinking about what Twilight had managed to say.

"I'll send a message to my sister asking her to come immediately."

"Th-Thank you." Twilight said, slowly feeling her heart rate slowing down to a normal pace."

"Tell me Twilight, why in Equestria are you so exhausted? And what is going in that you would be here in such a panic this late at night?"

"It's Merrick Princess." Twilight said, finally seeming to have caught her breath. "I think there might be a problem with Merrick."

She paused for a moment.

"And I'm winded because I sprinted all the way across Canterlot so I could inform you immediately."

"Why did you run when you could simply have flown?" The Princess smirked. "You do have wings my faithful student."

* * *

Princesses Twilight, Luna, and Celestia sat together around a small table decorated with tea and small snack foods within the Canterlot castle, preparing to discuss that which had Twilight concerned.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice sister." Princess Celestia said to Luna.

"It is nothing." Luna replied. "Watching over the night can get rather boring at times, and it seems nothing is happening I need or be involved in."

She paused for a moment and took a sip of the tea cup sat in front of her.

"Now, I would like to know why I was called."

"I am unsure why Twilight needed you and I here, but it seems to be something urgent."

The sisters look at Twilight, who had been sitting there dropping sugar cubes into her tea and seeing how long it took them to dissolve.

"Oh? Me?" Twilight said startled. "Sorry, I got distracted."

She quickly pulled out the notepad she had been scribbling on and reviewed what she had written.

"As you know Princess, Merrick has seemed to be... ill recently, for reasons we are unable to determine." She flipped the page. "While everypony else was content on wishing him well and heading out for a night in Canterlot, I spent some time writing theories of what could be wrong with him, and the change in his pattern of behavior."

She showed the note pad to the two princesses sitting across from her.

"As you can see illustrated there, I've come to the conclusion that he's been acting more sad, nervous and generally shifty. It seems as if there's something going on he doesn't want to tell us about, either due to fear of backlash, or because it's... something more."

Twilight sighed loudly before flipping the note pad once more, revealing the two theories she had crafted.

"I decided that there were two main possibilities as to what the problem with him is." She sighed once more. "This is where my extreme worry comes in."

"Merrick is my friend now. A good one too, which is something I would never expect to be able to say about a Changeling. However I've grown concerned for his mental health, and I fear he is experiencing some kind of emotional problems with his discovery of love."

"Changelings aren't supposed to be able to do that, and the fact that he can makes him very... special, something different. The fact that he's learning to love could be the cause of his nervousness, fear, sadness, and suspicious way of acting." She took a sip of her tea, trying to slow herself down to make sure the Princesses would hear everything. "I believes he is having a type of emotional overload, one which is causing him to act differently, with love being the centerpiece of the problem."

She flipped the note pad again, took a bite of one of the small snack foods on the table and then continued with her speech.

"That is only one option however." Twilight said. "The other one is more grim and worrying, which is why I hurried here as soon as possible."

"I believe that it is possible that Merrick is working with the Changeling Hive again, as an inside soldier." She stopped talking, and breathed a heavy, shaking breath.

There was silence than, one that accompanied a tension so strong you could almost reach out and feel it, a silence so deep that it was like the dark, and neither Princess responded for several moments.

"Let me just say that this theory has a very, very, very small possibility of being true." She said. "Merrick speaks so low of the Hive and there ways, and with great remorse of the attack on Canterlot, and I don't believe he was simply trying to trick us. The chances of that being true are so slim it may not even be worth acting on whatsoever."

"But the chance is still there." Princess Celestia said. "Both of your theories are very possible. I would send guards to his room immediately, yet it seems as if you trust him. I would like to leave this situation up to you for the most part as he is your friend, and thereby your responsibility."

"Thank you Princess" Twilight said with a bow. "I already have a plan in place on how we can discover what is going, and possibly help him if he is indeed experiencing emotional problems."

"Princess Luna, I would like you to monitor his dreams, and see if you can deduce how he is emotionally by viewing them, as well as try and help him thought them. I am aware you are busy, but I feel as though this is important."

"Fear not purple one, for I shall assist you with this Changeling dilemma." Princess Luna said with enthusiasm. "Dream monitoring is my specialty, and I will discover if he is having any emotional issues, or possibly see if he has any connection to the Hive."

"Thank you Princess Luna." Twilight said gratefully before returning her attention to Celestia. "I have one more step before the plan can start. This is a test if sorts for Merrick, a test of his loyalty, and a chance to assist him."

"Princess Celestia, do you think you can call Cadence here?" Twilight said. "I feel as though she may be able to help him learn how to deal with the overload that learning to love is causing. And if he is still with the Hive... he would attempt to drain her of her love, which would reveal his true nature."

Princess Celestia thought for a moment.

"I believe it can be done Twilight."

* * *

The next morning came quickly for Twilight who had fallen asleep very shortly after the theory crafting meeting.

So far nothing eventful had happened in the investigation, but the largest thing that happened was Merrick actually leaving his room in the morning.

The six friends were sitting around at breakfast, without Merrick however as he had refused to come out of his room once again, claiming he still felt ill, yet he might feel healthy enough to come out of the room shortly.

Not thirty minutes later while they sat around the breakfast table he greeted them with a smile, acting more floaty and happy than ever, seeming as giddy as a filly who had just received her cutie mark.

He sat with them at breakfast, joining in the merriment as he usually did, and of course playing around with Pinkie Pie for most of the time.

After they had all finished eating however Merrick's attitude had shifted from the happy-go-lucky and giddy attitude he had when he came out to breakfast, into a rather nervous and panicked state.

He seemed to be scared of something and was extremely on edge, even getting upset with Pinkie Pie for pulling a lesser practically joke on him that had scared him even more than it would have a pony like Fluttershy.

Merrick quickly left and ran back to his room with little explanation of the sudden attitude change besides muttering something about not feeling well.

Twilight found the situation peculiar, and wrote down his emotional problems in her notepad. The mornings even had bolstered her theory that he was simply experiencing problems with his emotions.

* * *

After breakfast five of the six ponies had left to go and explore Canterlot once more, and partake in several things they had wanted to try out since their arrival in the city.

All of them but Twilight Sparkle went, as she had "Royal Business" to attend too, in her next meeting with Princesses Celestia and Luna, with whom she discussed any new revelations regarding Merrick.

"I explored the sleeping mind of the young Changeling." Princess Luna said in a stern tone to the other two Alicorns in the room. "I have nothing to report about his dreams that would reflect upon and or effect the actions he takes in his waking state. I will try again tonight when I have the time, and hope that my investigation comes up with more than merely disappointment."

The Princess of the Night solemnly bowed her head.

"I apologize deeply that I am unable to assist you in your investigation as of yet."

"Do not be upset with yourself little sister." Celestia said, lifting Luna's head back up. "This investigation mainly belongs to Twilight, and if you or I cannot do much to help it there is no point in either of us being upset at ourselves."

She smiled at her younger sister in a warm and loving manner.

"Try again tonight, and perhaps you will see the truth of the matter." She paused for a moment to think of her next words. "If you are unable to see it, than perhaps the rest of Twilights plan will uncover what we need to now."

The white alicorn Princess than turned to her former student.

"And on that topic I have news to report." The Princess withdrew a piece of parchment from a nearby drawer, and levitated it to Twilight Sparkle. "Princess Cadence has responded to our request she come to Canterlot. She says if everything goes as expected she should be here by tomorrow."

Twilight lit up at this new development.

"Good! With Princess Cadence here we're one step closer to clearing Merrick's name and getting to the bottom of this situation!" She pulled out her notepad, rapidly flipping through pages. "Speaking of, I have a development based on Merrick's behavior this morning."

"Oh?" Celestia said, slightly cocking her head to the side in curiosity. "What might that be?"

Twilight found the page on her notes and then quickly launched into detail of Merrick's apparent mood swings, and how they could be evidence that he was indeed experiencing emotional problems.

"After watching him carefully at breakfast this morning it appeared he was indeed going through emotional changes, the speed of which are unknown." She said before flipping the notepad towards the Princesses, and showing them some of the things she had written down, specifically pointing to a graph. "After he left I drew this up as fast as I could, as it detailed his mood changes throughout the meal."

"As you can see, his mood slowly shifted throughout, going from extremely happy like he normally is to a slow descent into a nervous and panicked state, as if something was bothering him." She pointed at the last part of the graph. "As you can see here, by the time he left to go back to his room he seemed almost scared, and also seemed to sound very depressed and upset."

She paused for a moment.

"There is no clear pattern to these emotions, as if something inside of him is out of place."

The three Alicorns than discussed intensely what could be going on within the Changelings mind, and Luna vowed to find out more that night.

* * *

Merrick tossed and turned within his sleep, struggling intensely with his emotions even within the sacred realm of the dream world, which normally seemed to protect ponies and Changelings alike from whatever it was that ailed them.

For Merrick however, the dreams only seemed to intensify the struggles he felt within, at least that night.

The past nights since he had started to feel so emotionally confused his dreams had been a place of refuge, which is why he had remained so solitary within the room he had been given to sleep in.

On this night however the dreams seemed to reflect what he was feeling, feelings of intense love that he couldn't seem to control.

It was almost as if he was falling in love with everypony around him, and he couldn't control it, and then as soon as this romantic feeling had come it would dissipate in an instance, as though it had never even existed.

In this particular dream Merrick found himself in the halls of Canterlot, coming out of the room he had resided in.

Of course the Changeling was unaware he was in a dream, allowing his mind to play tricks on him based on his emotions of love, and it had seemed that in this particular dream his brain decided to latch onto Rainbow Dash in the form of love.

He had never felt romantic emotions for the pony before, so when he saw her standing there in from of him he didn't understand why he was so excited, but he didn't question it as he didn't know any better in his dreaming state.

There she stood in front of his room. The brave and adventurous pegasus had seemed to be waiting for him.

"Took ya long enough!" She said happily before trotting over to him.

Merrick was confused.

He was unaware he had some reason to be in a hurry, nor did he remember making any arrangements with Rainbow Dash.

Of course this was merely a trick of his mind, creating a situation around him that would only cause him further strife regarding his emotional situation.

"When you ask a mare out on a date you're not supposed to keep her waiting silly!" Rainbow Dash said, before giving him a peck on the cheek.

Merrick couldn't help but think her behavior struck him as odd, but he couldn't quite place his hoof on anything entirely wrong however, besides the fact the mare was acting more cutesy than she normally would, so he ignored this fact and followed her lead.

"C'mon, I wanna go to my room for our date!" She said excitedly. "I ordered food and everything, we can even snuggle!"

Merrick grew even more confused at the pony's attitude.

She was acting entirely different from how she normally did, even seeming excited at the prospect of snuggling.

As they entered the door to her room he started to feel his sudden feelings for Rainbow Dash fade, and the world seemed or wash over him in a sudden flash of white light.

When Merrick opened his eyes once more he was in a whole other mildly romantic situation, the other one seemingly disappearing without a trace.

This time the mare that stood in front of him was the quite, cute, and shy mare named Fluttershy, who gently flipped her hair and looked Merrick in the eyes with a blush.

"Are you ready for our date?" She said softly, kissing him directly on the lips after the words left her mouth.

Merrick was confused by her sudden action, as the mare had normally seemed to be quiet, shy, and too afraid to perform many actions out of her worry she would upset somepony.

He realized that the situation did not make sense, and his feelings for her seemed to drop away as quickly as they had with a Rainbow Dash, and the second she removed her lips from his he opened his eyes to yet another romantic situation, this time with Pinkie Pie.

This continued several more times in a row, each time his feelings for each pony seeming to diminish as quickly as they came.

Luna watched on in curiosity, slowly starting to understand.

Eventually however the Princess grew tired of watching, and decided to intervene on the Changelings dreams, bringing a stop to his endless cycle of false romances.

Merrick was in the middle of receiving a hug from Twilight Sparkle when everything around him seemed to stop, and the world his dreams had built around him crumbled into what was merely a realm that he could not describe as "dreamlike".

Princess Luna than revealed herself to the frightened Changeling.

"P-Princess Luna?" Merrick said in shock before bowing.

"Oh no, I'm not going to have a romantic dream about somepony I've never even met am I?" Merrick said in an exasperated tone, clearly tired of the endless cycle.

The Princess of the Night couldn't help but smile slightly at the way he said, but quickly reassured him.

"Do not fear young Changeling, I am merely here to intervene on the cycle you seem to fear." The Princess said while approaching the Changeling. "If allowed I would also like to assist you with what you seem to be feeling."

Merrick lit up at the last words, and quickly started begging the Princess to tell him what was happening.

"Please do tell Princess!" Merrick said in a begging tone. "I'm desperate to know what's wrong with me! I don't understand why I seem to feel such strong emotions towards my friends!"

"I cannot say for certain what ails you," the Princess began solemnly.

Merrick frowned at this.

"But I can say this: You seem to be experiencing some form of problem relating to love. Perhaps it stems from you newly acquiring the emotion."

"You seem to be experiencing problems with it, as the emotion seems to be overpowering the others within you, almost as if you're overflowing emotionally."

Merrick smiled at her.

Finally it seemed like somepony understood.

"Y-yes Princess!" He managed to stutter out. "Th-that seems to describe exactly how I feel!"

The Princess moved towards him.

"But, even thought the emotions are false towards many of the friends you have made it seems like they are true for one of them." She said in a more hushed and knowing tone.

Merrick blushed, and seemed to become flustered.

"Wh-what do you mean by that?" He said, quite clearly embarrassed.

The Princess of the Night giggled to herself.

"As I monitored your dreams I kept track of how you acted in each one." She said. "There was one pony however where the feelings seemed more intensified than with the rest."

She looked down at the Changeling and stared him in the eyes.

"Do you believe this to be true?" She asked.

Merrick looked back into her eyes for several seconds, thinking of a response.

He thought back to what Applejack and Rainbow Dash had said to him on the train.

"I-I'm not sure yet..." He said softly, in a hurt tone. "It could be real... or merely just part of my mind."

He paused for a moment and his eyes began to tear up.

"I just don't know." He said. "And even if I did, it wouldn't matter."

Princess Luna's ears perked up.

"Oh?" She said. "And why is that?"

"Because I'm a Changeling, and she's a pony." He said sadly, tears beginning to slowly trickle from his eyes.

Luna smiled.

"Love can bloom between the most different of people young Changeling." She said.

"I believe there is someone who can help you soon enough." The Princess said with a smile.

"When you awake tomorrow, expect your struggles to be over with soon." She said in a reassuring tone.

Her horn lit up with magic, and she gently touched the Changeling with it, the magic streaming from her to him.

"Now sleep peacefully young one." She said. "You will be better in due time."

* * *

The next morning Twilight Sparkle awoke with a large smile on her face, her excitement obvious.

Not only had Princess Luna visited her in her sleep and informed her that it appeared Merrick was indeed experiencing emotional problems and not the more sinister alternative, but that he also might genuinely be in love.

These things excited her greatly, as she loved occasionally watching other ponies find romance, and he apparently had a quite possible crush on one of her best friends.

Of course she was slightly annoyed that it might not be the truth, and could just be a part of his emotional struggle.

Even though these things excited the young alicorn, the more important thing that was putting so much pep into her step was the fact Princess Cadance would be arriving in Canterlot soon.

Twilight quickly went through her morning routine, but rushed from the castle without stopping for breakfast, trying to hurry to the train station as quickly as she could.

"I get to see Cadance, I get to see Cadance!" She sang to herself softly as she glided along the streets.

She soon arrived at the train station, and not a moment too early as the train from the Crystal empire arrived almost as soon as she did.

A red carpet rolled out and two guards exited the train, standing at attention as the Princess exited, seemingly ready to stop any threat that may come after the Princess.

"Princess Cadance!" Twilight exclaimed with a smile as the candy colored Alicorn exited the train.

They both rushed over to each other, and bowed to one another.

They were only able to do so for a moment before giggling a little to one another.

"I don't think I'll ever be used to the bowing." Twilight said.

"I don't think I will either." Princess Cadance said with a smile. "And I've been a Princess for a decent bit longer than you."

They both laughed a little, even if the conversation wasn't a comedic one.

When they were together, the two Princesses couldn't help but be happy. Together the mood always seemed light, and memories of the past always caused a smile.

"Maybe instead of bowing we could do the dance?" Twilight said in excitement.

Princess Cadance was quiet for a moment before giving Twilight a reprimanding look.

"Twilight!" Cadance exclaimed with a gasp, putting on the most fake pretentious voice she could. "We can't do such silly things in public! You're a Princess now!"

Twilight began to apologize, seemingly not getting the joke.

She stopped when Princess Cadance smiled at her and began to giggle, as she realized that the older Princess was just playing a prank on her, and began to laugh along with her.

They began to walk towards the castle together, before Cadance leaned in and whispered into Twilights ear:

"We can act as silly as we want when we get to the Castle."