Chapters You wake up feeling cold. Reaching for the blanket, you find that your brother, Anthony, has taken it. You get up and head outside. You are John Cabbek. You have lived in the Everfree forest all your life. Your shelter is also the same one you were born in. A cave near a large stream. You live with your brother and Mom. She is sick, very sick. Anthony knows a bit about medical things, and says that she has Pneumonia. Being eighty years old doesn't help her either. Your father had already died of a high fever about six months ago, and your other, and older brother, Conner, was killed by them .
Who is them ? The royal guard of course! The same royal guard who works for Princess Celestia! For years, they have been trying to rid all of Equestria of humans by killing them. One thing confuses you though. If the alicorn princesses are all about friendship and harmony , does killing off a sentient species that used to be your rivals about ten thousand years ago create friendship or harmony? It does? Then let's kill everything sentient and that used to be our rivals thousands of years ago and make the world a happy place! Seriously? You always wonder what's inside the sick mind of Princess Celestia's.
You are about to go and collect food since the food supply was running low until you hear a voice.
"Shit." You whisper to yourself. You run back inside and seal the entrance shut with vines and rocks quickly and quietly. All those years of doing this have given you quite a bit of muscle. You rush over to Anthony.
"Anthony. Anthony!" You whisper. "Anthony! They're here! Get up!"
He gets up quickly and looks at the entrance. You woke him up because he tends to snore when he sleeps. And snoring is the last thing you need at the moment.
You can see that the little light coming from the rocks and vines slowly disappear, along with a voice saying, "I think they're behind here. C'mon, help me move this stuff!"
You and Anthony collect the important things and place it in the leather bag that you carry. Anthony grabs your mother, Brenda, and carries her. You have a secret exit that is used whenever something like this happens. You quickly exit the cave and run out into the open forest. You can hear yelling and the sound of hooves hitting the ground behind you and quickly getting louder.
A blast of magic is fired and lands right between you and Anthony, who is still carrying Mom who has gotten too weak to run.. The impact is strong enough to knock you and your sibling and parent away from each other.
You fall down the side of a hill, and are falling fast. When you land, a large stick impales the left side of your abdomen. You get up and limp away as fast as you can, still carrying the bag. Tears are pouring from your eyes as you think of Mom and Anthony. How you never got to say goodbye. How you don't know how they are right now. How they might be dead.
Your sadness morphs into anger. You want to kill those ponies. You want to kill the princesses. You want them to have a slow, painful death. You want to rip their wings off. You want to do horrible things to them and they're family, see how they like it.
After a while of walking....err....limping, through the forest. You see light. You limp as fast as you can to the light in the distance. When you reach it, you are outside the forest. In front of you is a house of some sort. You decide head over to it, but before you can continue, you start feeling lightheaded, and fall to the ground.
The last thing you see is a soft yellow figure, and a soft voice saying, "Oh.....my...."
You wake up in a room. Your side feels allot better, and has been bandaged. You sit up and look out the window next to the bed. You see a large view of the forest. You start to recall what happened before you had passed out.
The door opens, and you see a soft yellow pegasus with pink mane walk in.
"Oh good. You're awake. My name is Fluttershy. And you are...?"
You look at her for a moment before replying. "John. John Cabbek. Hey...why aren't you afraid of me? Most ponies I see usually freak out and run for their lives. But you.....you helped me........thanks allot Fluttershy....."
She blushes and hides in her mane. "Well.....um......y-you're very welcome John. I- I just have never seen anything like you in a long time........and the last time I saw one of your kind was when I was just a filly........and, well....um......I thought that since I probably wouldn't see you again that.....well... I- I should help you......"
"What was that? I couldn't hear that last part." You say.
She takes a deep breath. "I- I- I thought that since I wouldn't see another one of your kind again that I should.....help you...."
You chuckle a bit. "Well.....thanks for the help Fluttershy. I owe you one."
"Nono....you don't have to do anything like that.......it's my pleasure....really...... Y- you don't owe me anything."
"Well of course I owe you one! You saved my life when all that the princesses think of doing is killing me and all like me! Surely there's something I can do to repay you for your kindness."
"Well....I-"
There's a knocking noise, and a tomboyish voice yelling, "Fluttershy! Ya here?"
She looked outside the room and yelled, "Coming!" She turns to you. "Don't worry. It won't be long. Just sit here and wait for me to come back, okay?"
You nod your head. She silently closes the door, and you can hear the faint noise of clopping, as well as a door opening.
"Hi Fluttershy!" The tomboyish voice says. "Watchya doin'?"
"Oh...nothing at the moment.....why?"
"Well......when I saw you buying things at the market, I tried to talk to you but you ran off! What gives?"
"Oh..well, um....th- they were for a....a....they were for.....a............a.....a- a- a bird! She was injured badly.....and um.... I had to get to her quickly so that I c- could um heal him!"
"I thought you said it was a 'she'?"
"Oh! Right! Th- that's what I, uh, meant! Y- yeah I meant she.....yeah....that's what I meant! I definitely meant to say her, not...um...him. Hehehe..."
"Okay? Fluttershy? Are you hiding something?"
"What? Me? Hide something from you? I couldn't even think of such a thing!"
"Alright now I know you're definitely hiding something. C'mon. Tell me what it is that you're hiding from me."
"B- b- b- but I'm not hiding anything!"
"If you wont tell me, then I'll just have to look for it myself!"
"But Rainbowdash I-"
The door swung open, and a cyan colored pegasus with a rainbow mane was standing there, mouth agape.
You sit there, not knowing what to do. You think of making a run for it, but that probably won't work very well because of your injury.
Fluttershy came inside and pushed the pegasus outside of the room and shut the door behind her.
"Rainbowdash. Please please please please don't tell anypony about him! He'll get killed and-"
"WHY IS THERE A MONSTER IN YOUR BED?!?!?!?!"
You shout back. "I CAN HEAR YOU YOU KNOW!!! THE DOOR MAY BE SOLID, BUT NOT SOUNDPROOF!!!"
"*Gasp* it can talk?! Fluttershy! We need to get rid of that thing before it hurts somepony!"
"He is not a monster, or a thing!"
"Fluttershy! Listen to yourself! Thinking that a monster like that one is nice? He'll kill you!"
You sigh. Clearly this other one has trust issues.
"Rainbowdash! He is not a monster! He is injured badly, and he needs to be taken care of until he is well enough to go back home!"
"I don't have a home." You say. The two go quiet, and the door slowly opens.
"What?" Fluttershy asks you.
"I don't have a home. I used to have a home before I was driven out by those guards. I lost everything when they came. I lost my home....and my brother.....and my mom.....everything.....and this other one is calling me the monster!!!" Tears started to trail down your eyes. "Your princesses that are all about peace and harmony have been hunting my kind down for centuries and killing us on sight when we were just minding our own business! Ever since that war that happened over ten thousand years ago, we humans have been killed because your princesses calling us a threat! Even now we are still being hunted and killed! I lost my family because of them, and you think that I'm the monster?!?!?!"
The cyan pegasus stammered a bit. "I...uh....."
"And while you ponies live happy lives not caring about a thing in the world, your rulers are killing us for some stupid thing that happened centuries ago, and we are struggling to survive! I am very grateful that she helped me when any other pony would just scream and run away, and then if the princesses found out, I would have been dead!" You were once again filled with anger and hatred, and the tears never once stopped flowing.
Once you regain yourself, you look back at the two. "I'm sorry. It's just that......I haven't had the best life growing up......I just couldn't hold it anymore...and I just.....lost it..."
The cyan one doesn't respond. All she does is quickly turn around and zoom out the door.
"Welp! I'm dead!" You say, looking straight ahead. Fluttershy runs after her, but you can easily tell that she wasn't fast enough.
After a while, you hear a faint tapping on the window. You look over to it and see......nothing. You sit up and open the window. Looking around, you can see the large forest, as well as Fluttershy still chasing after that other pegasus. You close the window and head back over to the bed, but are interrupted yet again by tapping on the window. You open it once again, but find something different. There's still Fluttershy in the distance, and the forest, but a pink blur rushes into the forest, as well as a note on the window reading, 'Come with me if you want to live......Pbhhtd... '.
You're not sure what that means, but before you can close the window again, and large beachball sized pink ball jumps through the window and lands on the floor. It looks.....fluffy...........very...very...fluffy... Before you can move closer to it, two blue eyes pear out of the big ball of fluff and look at you, before a muzzle and four hooves slowly come out from the fluff. It is sticking it's tongue out while staring at you blankly.
"Pbhhtd!" It runs up to you, pushing you out of the window. You start to fall down, screaming, but instead of hitting the hard ground, you land in a soft pile of leaves.
The pink fluffball tugs on your arm and drags you into the forest. After a while of running into the Everfree forest with this thing, you collapse on the ground, facefirst, and yell into the dirt, "I am not in the condition for running!!!"
You look up and see the pink furball, as well as another figure. This one is tall, black, and has allot of holes in it's legs and horn.
You get up and brush off the dirt. "Why, hello there Chryssie!"
You sit down on a log next to a camp fire with the pink ball of fluff sitting in your lap, and Queen Chrysalis across from you. Your injury has been fully healed, but you kept the bandages on anyways
"So, Chryssie. Who's this? I don't remember seeing him/her last time I saw you?"
"Oh...that's Fluffle Puff. Only thing she does is love. Has an unconditional love for all things living.......and tacos..."
You stifle a giggle. "Perfect for your horde."
"Yeah...well.........about that...."
"What happened? You're still the changeling queen, right?"
"Well..."
"Right?!"
"I still am...technically...but... They're......they're gone....... And it's all thanks to Twilight Sparkle and her wretched friends!"
You facepalm. "Oh no... Finally, I get the opportunity for vengeance, and all because of some stupid bookworm, the princesses are still alive and ruling!"
Chryssie moves over and sits next to you, wrapping you in an embrace with her wing. "I know. I know. I was hoping for similar results...only for my cover to be blown by that stupid Twilight Sparkle and the elements of harmony!"
An idea pops into your head. "Hey...remember how we wanted the elements locked in the dungeons for they're entire lives?"
She nods.
"Well.......I'm sort of......friends with one of 'em."
Queen Chrysalis gasps, but before she can reply, you stop her.
"I mean, she saved my life. Fluttershy. If it weren't for her, I would be dead right now. So, I was thinking...send the rest into the dungeon for life...while Fluttershy can be our servant."
"Hmm.....good thinking..... Hey! Remember about the one I told you about who was the element of generosity?"
You nod.
"Well.....I find it funny, really. She acts like a stuck up brat whenever I'm in disguise and sneaking around Ponyville, and whoever heard of a generous brat? A brat, the element of generosity? See any similarity there?"
You laugh. "Nope. A generous brat! Whoever heard of such a thing even being alive?"
The two of you laugh for a good while before you look up at the sky. "Gettin' pretty late, don't ya think? Think it's about time to go to sleep?"
"Wait...I thought you had a home already...a cave by a stream."
"Not anymore...............some dumb guards invaded.......and I.....I don't want to talk about it..."
You set Fluffle Puff on the ground next to the log, and somehow, she sinks into her own fur, becoming only a ball of fluff. You lay on your back next to the fire, Chrysalis lying down next to you.
"Don'tcha think that a fire would give away out position?" You ask.
She nods. "Yeah...probably....but I wouldn't think to much of it. We can go back to my place if you want. It's a bit more concealed there if ya know what I mean."
You sit up. "Okay things just got awkward I think I'm going for a quick walk. BY MYSELF." You say as you grab a stick, light the end of it on fire, and use your DIY torch to go out in the woods for a quick walk. And by, 'a quick walk', you walked out ten feet, shook your DIY torch, depleting the flames, and walked around the campfire in a circle a couple times before coming back and lying back down next to Chrysalis.
"Did you have a nice walk?" She asks.
"Well it would have been nice if you didn't make things awkward. But other than that...pretty good."
"So walking in a circle is 'pretty good'?"
You stare at her, shocked. "How did you..."
"Changelings have night vision. Why do you think we usually meet up around dark?"
You shrug. "Because you like dark stuff? I dunno."
You close your eyes after saying 'Goodnight' to your best friend. she responds with a 'Goodnight' as well, and pretty soon, both of you are sleeping.
THE NEXT MORNING
You wake up, unable to move. all you see is black. You struggle for a while before you realize what has happened. Quickly prying yourself free from Chryssie's snuggle, you look around for that pink furball. You find her, and her fluff is tangled in a couple of branches above Chryssie's head.........and she's upside down..... You laugh as Fluffle Puff simply stares at you sticking her tongue out.
"Pbhhhhtd!"
"What?" You ask her.
"Pbhhhhhhhhtd!!!"
"How am I supposed to know what that means?"
"Pbhhhhhhhhtd!!!!"
"I don't understand!!!!!! I. DON'T. SPEAK. YOUR. LANGYOOOWAAAAAAGE."
"PBHHHHHHHHHHHHTD!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Do you want me to get you down or something?!" You practically shout. She gasps, smiles, and quickly nods her head.
You clench your fists and take a few deep breaths, trying to calm down. You head over to Fluffle Puff and break several small branches caught in her fur. However, when you try to pull them out, the branches instead are sucked into Fluffle Puff's fluff. You decide not to question it and start pulling her off the large branch entangled in her fluff. When you get the branch out of her fluff, she lands right on top of Chryssie, who starts snuggling and cuddling her tight. You don't question that, either, and just sit down on a log, staring at the thin trail of smoke coming from where the fire once roared, waiting for Chrysalis to wake up.
After a while of waiting, you hear a rustle come from some bushes. You lean over to Chrysalis and whisper in her ear.
"Chryssie! Chryssie! Somethings here! C'mon get up!" Nothing.
You look back over to the bushes. Then, just then, an injured changelings limps from behind them. You practically shout in Chryssie's ear this time.
"CHRYSSIE!!! THERE IS A CHANGELING RIGHT HERE!!! THEY'RE NOT DEAD!!! GET UP AND LOOK FOR YOURSELVES COME ON AND LOOK ALREADY!!!!"
She thrusts herself up and throws Fluffle Puff away from her. "What?!" She stares dumbfounded at the injured changeling. Chrysalis then had an idea.
"John! I have a plan! You go and try to see Fluttershy again and try to get the tohers to accept you in Ponyville while I'll make an army!"
"How are you going to do tha- okay I'm leaving now goodbye!" You walk away for a few seconds before coming back. "Where, exactly, is her home?"