A Changeling That Changed

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.

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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.