Whirlwind was ecstatic when she recieved the letter from her coltfriend, Toasted Marshmallow, or Toasty. He had accidentally forgotten to pick her up from her classes on a rainy day last week, and he wanted to make up for it. She had forgiven him already, but he wanted to make absolutely sure. He invited her to a picnic at sunset, at a hill overlooking Ponyville. The hill had no special name, as some would think, as it was just an ordinary hill with a nice view.
Whirlwind raged around her house, looking for the right stuff to bring. He told her not to bring anything, but she didn't trust him with cooking. She went and made a few Dandilion Sandwiches, a staple in Ponyville, and a couple hay burgers. Smiling and humming to herself, she wrapped the food in plastic wrap, much more carefully and slowly than she made it. She put it all in a picnic basket, took it in her mouth, and trotted to the hill.
Toasty was already there, a red and blue picnic blanket spread under his grey frame. He was a stocky pegasus, a bit more built than the average. Whirlwind was tiny compared to him, and the fact that he had a straighter posture didn't help. Whirlwind put her own picnic basket down over on the blanket, and pushed her own cotton candy body against Toasty's husky shoulder. "Hey, Toasty..." she murmured softly into his ear. She nibbled on it playfully.
Toasty smiled. "Hey, Whirly." He leaned against her white mane, breathing in the scent of rainwater she always carried with her everywhere. "How's your day been?" His voice was quiet, a bit more somber than his usual, happy-go-lucky self.
Whirlwind gave him a look. "What's up? You sound... I dunno, less like yourself."
Toasty looked down, obviously expecting the question to be asked, and dreading it. He pushed her away for a moment, opened his mouth as if to say something, then pulled her back in close. "It's nothing, Whirly. I'll tell you later." He smiled again. "Let's just enjoy our picnic tonight, okay?"
Whirlwind frowned, but nodded slowly. "Oh... okay, I guess. I do want enjoy this while it lasts. The Weather Crew was talking about rain this afternoon." She opened the picnic basket, an immediately the smell of the burgers and sandwiches filled the air.
"Oh, sweet Luna..." Toasty said. "That smells insanely amazing. You made these today?"
Whirlwind smiled at her Coltfriend's enthusiasm. "Yes," she said, very matter-of-fact. "I certainly did. You wanna eat...?"
Toasty nodded vigorously.
Whirlwind laughed and grabbed the food. She layed it out elegantly, making it look professional and romantic. She took a long inhale of the air, smelling the temperature drop as the sun began to set. It bathed the landscape in red and orange, it painted a picture of the perfect afternoon. An orange maned, smoky coated pegasus stallion and his Marefriend, a white maned, cotton candy coated pegasus mare were silhouetted against the dying light of day. Whirlwind and Toasted Marshmallow were happy.
The sun had set, and the moon had risen, revealing the beautiful stars in Luna's beautiful Night. Whirlwind was laughing, as Toasty had just dropped his sandwich in the grass. The ants had come and hauled it away, but were unable to get it in their underground nest. They broke it apart, piece by piece, and took it down the hole. All Toasty was able to do was watch. "That was my sandwich..." he whined. "I was about to take a bite..."
Whirlwind laughed hysterically. "Your sandiwich... was taken... by ANTS!!!" She kept laughing.
Toasty sniffed. "I know... it's depressing..."
Whirlwind just kept laughing.
"It's not funny, Whirly! That was my sandwich! I was about to eat it!!"
Whirlwind laughed harder.
Toasty finally gave in to the small grin he had been holding back. He sighed and chuckled. "It is a bit funny, I guess."
Whirlwind finally calmed down enough to breathe again, and leaned against Toasty. "I'll get you another one, if you want..." She grabbed a sandwich from the basket and held it up. "I'll even feed it to you, if you want...?"
"Mmm, that would be nice... but no."
Whirlwind rolled her eyes, but stuck her tongue out playfully. "Why not?" She pressed the sandwich up to his face and pushed it up against his mouth. "Open up, Toasty. You can't be salty about some ants and a sandwich!"
Toasted Marshmallow sighed, and he pushed her away gently. "Not right now." He looked up at the stars, seeming to contemplate something. He eventually sighed again after a few seconds. "Whirlwind, I have to tell you something. Something very important."
Whirlwind's eyes widened. "Wh-what is it?"
Toasted Marshmallow stood up slowly. He closed his eyes, and his body began to glow in a pale, green light. A flash of light traveled up from his hooves to his mane very slowly, his once smoky coat becoming charcoal grey, and his mane becoming webbed and short.
"Whirlwind," the changeling said. "I'm not Toasted Marshmallow. My name is Drone, and I am a changeling."
Whirlwind stared in horror, paralyzed by the transformation of her Coltfriend. Her eyes began to water, and she looked away.
"Was there ever... a real Toasty?"
Drone's head fell. "No. It was just a fake persona that I created to get close to you. At first it was a ploy to harvest your love, but then I realized that love is two sided. I loved you back. I still love you, Whirlwind, but I understand if you don't love me anymore. I understand completely. Just tell me... please."
Whirlwind wept into her hooves, both relieved and saddened that there was no real Toasted Marshmallow. She stayed where she was, sobbing into her hooves uncontrollably, until Drone had began to leave.
"I understand," he said. "I wouldn't want to love me either if I had done this." He turned around to leave, and return to his life with the hive mind and love harvesting.
Whirlwind, although, still had something to say. "Wait!" she yelled to the changeling. She wiped off her tears, stood up, and walked over to the changeling. "As long as there was really no real Toasty..."
Drone turned back around, and nodded. "There never was a Toasted Marshmallow. I created the persona to get close to you, before I fell in love." He looked down. "I never should have lied."
Whirlwind smiled at the changeling, lifting his chin to look into his eyes. "I still love you," she said, "and I always will. No matter what you are, no matter what you really look like, I still love you. I do." She pulled the changeling into a kiss. It was like any other kiss she had with Toasty, but the real Toasty was a changeling.
Drone blinked, then closed his eyes and kissed Whirlwind back. He began to cry also, his tears of joy running past their interlocked mouths and falling onto the ground. The green light began to rise up his body again, and he turned back into Toasted Marshmallow the pegasus. He pulled away from Whirlwind, and they stared into each other's eyes.
"I love you, Whirly..."
"I love you too, Toasty."