Change of Heart

When you would first look at the colt, you would think Sterling Slick was just like any other pony. He had a plain, flat silver coat with a jet black mane and tail that he would start to add moose to make his hair match his name. His green eyes were nothing to jump head over hooves for, even if it always caught the attention of every mare. He walked normal, talked normal, and showed no visually known specialties of any kind.

The thing is, Slick was far from normal. For you see, although his mother was a normal, but slightly spirited, pearl white earth-pony from Canterlot, his father…was a changling. This came about the time when Slick’s grandfather’s bank became one of the best money making banks in Canterlot. A changeling horde decided to try to make a quick bit by kidnapping his mother Pearl and hold her for a hefty ransom.

*****

“If you ever want to see your daughter again in one piece, you will pay us one million bits by noon tomorrow or instead of a daughter you’ll have a jigsaw puzzle,” said the leader of the gang.

“That’s a very short amount of time,” said green back “I don’t know if I can get the amount of money approved for removal by then.”

“You’re the owner of the back; your wishes are the only approval you need. Noon tomorrow…or else!” the changeling slammed the phone back upon its cradle. The changeling turned and sneered at Pearl, “It seems your father has more endearment for his money than for you my dear.”

Pearl glared at him and spat at his hooves. “I hope you don’t see a single cent! It might get me killed, but to see the shear disappointment on your face would make my life all the worthwhile.”

The changeling slowly trotted over to Pearl till he was only inches in front of her face. He peered directly into her eyes as if trying to burn them from the inside with the anger radiating out from his. She returned the favor by looking just as deep not wanting to show the fear she was suppressing. After about a good ten seconds of the staring contest, the changeling scoffed and smacked Pearl with great force across the right side of her muzzle. The force was so great it knocked her to the ground. Blood was now seeping out of her nose. “It looks like somepony doesn’t know how to be a proper and nice little hostage,” the changeling said with a snarl. He looked at the battered mare and began to smile, “I guess while we wait for the ransom I’ll just have to teach you.”

“What do you plan on doing to me?” said Pearl, a little bit of fear beginning to show. She had knew what was about to come, but she thought the question might cause the changeling to explain in detail while giving her time to plan an escape. Unfortunately, the changeling not only didn’t monologue, but was also blocking the only path out of the room. She now wished the hit was hard enough to knock her out so she would not witness what was to come next.

The changeling’s horn began to glow an ominous green, which soon the same color engulfed her. She was pinned lying across the table, unable to resist. Her face, which once held a sense of pride, now contorted in a pitiful remorse and began to cry. “Please,” pleaded Pearl, “Please do not do this to me. I will be a good hostage from now on. I’ll do as you say, just please don’t do this to me.”

“It’s too late deary,” said the changeling. “Because of your retched mouth, I’m going to have to teach you the manners that you father should have taught you long ago.”

This was it; there was no getting out of it. She uttered one last statement before the act in hopes maybe guilt might sway the inevitable. “Fine, do as you will, but you will not teach me a single thing nor will you get the love you need to survive, which I feel is your real intentions.”

She heard the changeling stop his advancement. Did it work? Was the threat of starvation enough to make him rethink this situation? The chuckle Pearl could hear behind her told her that it was not the case.

“Oh my alabaster minx, I do not need your love, for I have already had my sustainable fill,” the changeling said with a bit of sinister glee in his voice. “You are just an after dinner mint.” With that being said, the changeling mounted the mare and had his way with her.

The pain was excruciating as the foul beast took Pearl’s innocence forcefully away from her. With nothing being done to ease into it, the feeling was very rough, only to be slightly ease by the state of shock numbing the pain a bit. She wanted to cry and wail out in protest, but she knew the horrible thing would just become more violent if she were to resist. Instead she just laid there biting her lip waiting for it to end. Luckily the changeling was not known for his stamina and was finished as soon as it was started, but the damage had already been done. He released his magical hold on Pearl, and she fell to the ground unable to do nothing but continue to cry.

“Maybe from now on you will show me a bit more respect,” the changeling jeered.

Pearl laid there unmoving till the following day just as the deadline was approaching. She wondered if this is how it was all going to end for her, as a mess on the floor, a victim of somepony’s lust and greed. The way she was feeling, she was hoping that it was. She closed her eyes waiting for the changeling to come through the door to finish her off, when she heard the noise of a crashing door in the other room. Because of the thickness of the door, she was unable to make out the voices, but she could hear that a scuffle was taking place followed by screams of pain. What in Celestia is going on out there she wondered. All of a sudden the noises stopped. It was replaced by hoof steps approaching the door that led to her. Her heart began to race as fast as the wings of a wonderbolt. She may have accepted death, but that didn’t mean she was willing to go just yet. The door burst open and the room was flooded with light, both from the outside and the shining reflection from the armor.

“Get the Captain; tell him we’ve found the hostage!”

She couldn't believe it. There was no way that a member of the royal guard was standing in front of her. She had to be dead. That was it, she died and this was a scene of serenity to help her have closure before moving on.

“Is this heaven?” Pearl asked weakly.

“No,” said the guard. “You are alive and well and will soon be reunited with your father.”

Pearl stared at the guard for a second and immediately jumped onto him, embracing him in the tightest hug her weak body could manage. She also began to cry, but for the first time in this ordeal not in pain or terror; she began to cry in joy. “Thank Celestia, and thank you kind sir.” She sat there hugging him until the medics arrived if only for the fact she thought if she let go she would wake up and realize this was only a dream.

She was brought to the hospital for the standard check-up and was scheduled to be released the next day until she started to become violently ill. After hours of tests she was finally given news that gave her a feeling a sheer horror, but what almost felt like joy, even if only slightly. She was being told that she was pregnant.

“How is this possible?!” Greenback bellowed. Apparently neither the cops nor the doctors have informed him of everything.

“Dad,” Pearl said meekly, “While I was being held by the changelings, one of them…one of…them…” It was hard for her to say it. To speak of it almost felt like her accepting such a thing had in fact happened to her. She took a deep breath and finished the thought, “raped me.” Pearl hung her head and started to cry in her hooves. “I’m so sorry father. I know you taught me to be stronger and to take care of myself, but I was un-.“ Pearl was interrupted by Greenback embracing her in what felt less like a hug and more like a warm sense of security.

“Do not blame yourself for this,” He said. He tried to hide it, but Pearl could tell he was starting to cry too. “None of this is your fault and I don’t want to hear anything different from you or anyone else. Now let me hear you say it, I want to know you know it’s not your fault.”

Pearl swallowed a lump in her thought and whispered, “It’s not my fault.”

“Louder,” said Greenback.

“It’s not my fault,” she said slightly louder.

“Louder, I want the whole hospital to hear.”

“It’s not my fault.”

“LOUDER!!!”

“IT’S NOT MY FAULT!!!”

“That’s my girl.”

A couple months rolled by, and although how the foul came to be was a disgraceful act, it was still her foul, so she went along with the birth. It was a cute little colt with a silver coat and jet black hair that looked like oil while it was still wet. “Sterling Slick, that’s what I’ll call you,” Pearl said with a smile on her face.

*****

After that, a few years went by with nothing too big. Sterling was just your typical wild rambunctious colt living life like a big fun game. It wasn’t until about the age of five did oddities start to arise. She could never understand why while Sterling was at home he would always say he was full even after not eating anything. He would still eat because the smell of the food was too good to pass up, but he would always feel stuffed after a few bites. Another thing was that he was the only one in his class without his cutie mark. Sure, he could just be a late bloomer, but it was still odd he was still without a cutie mark. Many times he has come back crying because the kids would taunt him, calling him a “blank flank”. But the biggest oddity didn’t happen till his sixth birthday.

“Mommy mommy, guess what I can do?” Sterling said while jumping up and down with glee.

“What is it hun?” Pearl asked while putting the last few touches on Sterling’s birthday cake.

“I think I found something that might finally get my cutie mark. I can do impressions.”

“Really, what impressions can you do?”

“I can do anybody. I can do Sunny from down the street, I can do Princess Celestia, I can even do you.”

“Me, huh? Now that I would like to see.”

There was a green flash and the sound of crinkling fire behind her, but she just thought she was seeing and hearing things because she was so tired.

“Sterling Slick! You get back to your room and think about what you’ve done!”

Pearl stopped putting the icing on the cake and tried to register what she just heard. If she didn’t know any better, she’d think it was her. Wow, she thought, He is quite the talented colt. She turned to look at Sterling but saw the knees of a white grown pony. She slowly looked up and came face to face with…herself. She didn’t think she could get any paler, but if she could she might have started to glow. “St..Ster…Sterling?”

“Yep, ain’t it cool mommy?” Sterling said still in the voice of his mother. “I can tell from your silence that I’ve left you speechless but that’s not the coolest thing. I can even change into things that are only seen in books, though voices I have to come up with my own.”

Another green flash of light appeared showing that it was actually green flames engulfing the doppelganger of Pearl. She had only seen this once before and it brought back feelings of terror she only recently began to forget. The figure Sterling turned into next did not help matters as well. When the flames dissipated, Pearl was no longer looking at herself, but a full…grown…changeling.

“Now isn’t that the coolest thing mommy? This is the true bee’s knees. Do bee’s even have knees? I’ve always wondered that, I just always hear grandpa say…mommy, are you alright?”

Pearl’s mind was spinning. How did he do that? Is he becoming one of them? He sounds just like them. But how could he know what that thing sounded like?

“Stop it mommy, you’re scaring me,” Sterling said as he changed back into his normal self. “I’m going to call Grandpa.” And as he said that, Pearl fainted.

*****

Pearl awoke on the couch covered in a warm blanket. She looked to the side and could see her father reading a story book to Sterling. The stirring caught both of their attention and both got up to come to her; well, Green back got up while Sterling seem to have flown across the room and into her arms.

“I’m so sorry mommy, I didn’t mean to do that to you. I’ll never ever do that again. Please don’t be mad at me.” Sterling was firing off his sentence so fast that Pearl was having a hard time following what he said.

“Now why should I ever be mad at yo-.” She stopped mid-sentence when she remembered what put her in this state. She focused more on Sterling and she could feel her eyes start to become wider and her breathing almost keep pace with her rising heartbeat.

“Grandpa, mommy is starting to look like she did before I called you again.” Sterling had a nervous tremor in his voice and was starting to tear up.

“Why don’t you go to your room and play some video games while I talk to your mother,” Greenback told Sterling. Sterling looked at his grandfather, then back at his mother. “Please Slick.” Sterling looked back at his grandfather and reluctantly obeyed and trotted off to his room. Greenback looked back at Pearl with a stern, but comforting look and tone, “Now, mind explaining to me why you felt it necessary to scare your son?”

“ME SCARE HIM?!” She yelled. There was a crash that came from Sterling’s room and Greenback gesture to her to lower her voice. “Me scare him? It’s the other way around. He is one of them.”

Greenback looked at her in confusion with furrowed eyebrows. “One of whom?”

“One of them; one of those changelings.”

Greenback signed, “I know, he showed me while you were passed out. I know how you must feel but-“

“He even sounded like them. He turned into that beast and sounded just like them.”

“But he is still your son.

Those words hit her like a dagger through her heart; he was right. The genes of that monster may make up part of Sterling, but so does a part of her, and that’s all that should matter to her. “You’re right. No matter what he is still my son.” Pearl looked down at the floor, dismayed, “I must be the world’s worse mother for having such ill will towards my own dear son.”

“No, I don’t feel you are the world’s worse mother,” said Greenback. “In fact, from how I’ve seen you raise Sterling, I see you nothing less than the best.” Greenback reached under Pearl’s chin and lifter her head, “But, I do believe there is a particular little colt that is waiting on hind and hooves to his mother is alright and to feel her love once again.”

Pearl gave a small smile, nodded her head, and wiped a tear from her eye. “Honey, it’s alright. You can come out now,” Pearl said facing the direction of Sterling’s room. From around the corner a small colt poked his head out, ears folded down and trading eye contact with his mother and the floor. He may not have been in the room, but he could hear every word of the conversation.

“I’m sorry mommy,” Sterling said with a small tremor in his voice. It showed that he had been crying and was now trying to hold back more. “I promise I will never ever do that again. I don’t want to make you sad or mad ever again.”

Pearl rose out her front legs and beckoned him to come over. Sterling ran to her unable to hold back the tears anymore. They embraced each other in a tight hug. “It is alright honey, I’m neither sad nor mad at you. You don’t have to worry about that. I also don’t want you to stop being who you are. This is your talent and you must embrace it; but I will say you will have to be careful on who you use your talent in front of. Some people might misunderstand and might not like it. Can you promise me that?”

“I will mommy, I’ll be careful. I love you mommy.”

“I love you to, son.”