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             Winter the Snow-White Changeling              
                    -by TheNightShade-                     
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                        First Love                         
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First Love
First Love
A filly sat alone on a park bench in Canterlot one snowy winter eve. Ponies would pass by her but would pay no mind. She was different. Not the “okay” different, the “stay away from her” different. It's because of one fact about her: she was a Changeling. But not the normal one that feed off of love when ever it can. She was an exceedingly rare albino Changeling that only care for love when ever a pony would compliment her, which was like her: exceedingly rare. Tears streamed down her face as she stared at her hooves. No pony liked her, all except her mother, that is. “Why are you crying?” a pony asked suddenly. The filly snapped her head up but let the tears continue.
“W-What do you want?” she questioned rather hostile.
“I want you to answer my question.” the pony answered. “Why are you crying?” The filly's watery eyes cleared and she saw who the pony was: it was a colt, pegasus and a little older than her. His coat was a sky blue and complimented his sunflower-yellow mane and tail. His emerald eye stared at her disguised ocean blue ones.
“No pony likes me...” she explained.
“Why would no pony like somepony as cute as you?” he questioned. The disguised Changeling hiccuped slightly from the sudden affection. He couldn't see past her disguise, which was a pink colored unicorn with a long lavender hair.
“It's because I'm......different.” she pouted as she looked away.
“Different? How?” he questioned again. Now she couldn't duck out of it, his curiosity was too much for her to deny an answer. With a huff, her horn glowed an ice-blue instead of the normal “Changeling green” and the disguise wavered. With a pass of her magic down her body, her true form was revealed to the colt. Her horn morphed into its regular, well, irregular, shape, her mane and tail turned into a transparent emerald, and her coat switched to a brilliant snow-white. She opened her eyes that now were slitted, but kept the ocean-blue coloration, and looked at the surprisingly not scared colt.
His cheeks were pushed back as his mouth curved upwards into a smile. The filly, now very confused, tilted her head. “You're not scared?” she wondered.
“Nope!” he replied. “I actually think Changelings are pretty cute!” The filly hiccuped again. Now her spirits were brightening as he continued to compliment. “But why are you white? I thought Changelings were black.” he noted.
“I'm an albino.” she answered.
“Oh. That's cool!” he complimented, earning another hiccup. Then, the colt got an idea. “Hey, how about you come to my place for the night?” he proposed.
“R-Really?” she asked with a beaming smile.
“Yeah!” The filly smiled and leaped onto the colt in a big hug. The colt stumbled back and fell onto his back. The filly giggled uncontrollably as she hugged the colt. As she pulled away from the hug, their muzzles touched. Her face warmed up and turned a bright crimson. She got up quickly and helped the pegasus up. “I-I'm sorry....” she apologized as she brushed off the last of the snow off of her coat.
“It's okay.” he accepted. “I just hope momma will let you stay.”
“Who's your mom?” she wondered.
“Princess Celestia herself!” he answered with a smile.
“Princess Celestia!? That means you're.....” the filly blushed again with more intensity. “C-C-Crowne R-R-Royale!”
“Yes I am!” he smiled.
Now she knew that this colt was the sole child of Princess Celestia and Kite Shield. Also the cutest colt at his mom's school. She giggled nervously and looked away. Crowne chuckled lightly. “You're cuter when you blush.” he noted. This was the third time the filly hiccuped. No pony except her mother has given her this much affection. She looked at him as he approached her. Crowne stood beside her and draped one of his small wings across her back. She didn't realized how cold she was when they were talking until his body pressed on hers. She could feel his heart radiate love with each thump. Crowne bit down on his scarf and unraveled it. The filly was about to protest why he did that but her answer came when he wrapped his scarf around her neck.
The sunset orange scarf was warm, probably from him wearing it. She nuzzled into it to soak up the warmth as Crowne smiled at her. “Better?” he wondered, earning a small nod. They started walking along when something in Crowne's mind caused him to realize something. “I forgot to ask what your name was.” he pointed out.
“My name's Winter.” she smiled.
They walked along until they reached the gates to the castle where the guards let them through. With each turn of her head, Winter's joy grew since this was the first time she has been past the gates. Crowne looked at her and smiled. He opened the door to let Winter in and she strolled in. A gust of warm air blew in and a smile and relieving sigh came from Winter. "C'mon, momma's probably in her room." Crowne told as Winter politely handed his scarf back folded. As they walked through the massive halls, Winter saw paintings and pictures of Celestia and her sister, Luna, either by themselves or together. Then she began seeing pictures of Luna and another batpony and Celestia with one of her guards. She stopped in front of one where is was Luna and Celestia with the batpony and guard. "Who are those?" she wondered.
"The guard is my dad, Kite Shield. He's the greatest guard and the best poppa." he explained. "The batpony is my uncle, Night Shade. He, too, was a guard but more of the stealth than the brute force like my dad."
"Oh." she responded. They continued to walk down the hall and Winter started to see portraits of Crowne and family photos with him. Crowne stopped as they approached two large lavender doors. When Winter rejoined him, he nudged the doors open. Winter's jaw dropped when she saw the Throne Room with her very own eyes. Even though she has seen pictures of it, she found out it's a lot better in person. Crowne walked at the same leisurely pace as Winter as she examined each and every window. But one of them caught her eye. It was of a slate grey unicorn with a lavender alicorn, which she identified as Princess Twilight Sparkle. "Who's that with the princess?" she wonder as she stood in front of it.
"That would be me, my dear." a pony answered. She and Crowne turned to see the stallion in question. He was wearing a red and jet black suit of armor and his red eyes were heavy with tiredness. After a long look at him, Winter found out that it was the reformed King, who changed his title to Prince upon his marriage, Sombra, and he looked anything but happy. "Your mother is worried sick, Winter. Come this way." he commanded.
Sombra led Crowne and Winter, who had her head hung low, down the direction they were initially going. After a flight of stairs, they reached the door to Celestia's chambers, which had her cutie mark on it and two guards posted. Sombra didn't bother a knock and opened the door. Inside, Celestia was reclined on her bed as Kite tried to keep a worried Chrysalis calm. Chrysalis approached and hugged Winter in one quick movement. "Where were you?" she questioned. "You had me worried sick!"
"I was at the park..." she answered.
"Why were you there?" Chrysalis continued.
"Ponies were being mean...I hate them..." she explained with a sniffle.
"And where were you mister?" Kite questioned Crowne as Crowne jumped onto the bed.
"I saw Winter going in a direction away from her house and I was going to get her." Crowne explained.
"That was very kind of you, Crowne." Celestia congratulated. "But you should have sent a letter to a guard telling us why you're late.
"Yes, momma." he nodded.
"Did you just say that you were being bullied?" Chrysalis asked. Winter couldn't hold it back any more. She threw herself onto Chrysalis in a fit of tears and wails. She cried how they picked on her for being a Changeling and how her color was too bright and how she would never fit in. All Chrysalis could do during this transaction was to rub her broken child's back and rock her back and forth.
After a few minutes, Winter calmed down but would occasionally sniffle or wipe a tear. Chrysalis pulled her daughter off and smiled warmly. "You don't have listen to those mean ponies, my daughter." she noted. "Just let them say what they want. Do you know why?"
"Why's that?" she wondered.
"Because I know that you will achieve great things when you're older, Winter." Chrysalis answered with a big smiled and a small nuzzle of her daughter's chin. "Don't you EVER listen to them again."
"I will, mommy." Winter nodded.
"Hey, mom?" Crowne began.
"Yes?"
"Would it be okay if Winter spent the night here?" he wondered. Celestia looked over at Chrysalis who looked like she didn't mind. Celestia returned her gaze to Crowne and nodded. The stallion smiled and jumped into the air. "C'mon, Winter! My room's this way!" Crowne explained. The filly and colt's giggles resonated through the halls as they ran along. Chrysalis smiled as she watch them run along. "She reminds me of me when I was younger." Chrysalis commented.
"How so?" Celestia wondered.
"She's carefree and has much potential in her life." she explained. "I hope she doesn't go down the path I went."

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                         Sleepover                         
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Sleepover
----Sleepover----
Crowne and Winter continued to giggle as they chased each other through the halls. Eventually, Winter tackled Crowne and pawed at him playfully. "No!" he chortled. "The dragon has got me! Nooooo......" Then Crowne let out a breath like he was defeated in a battle. Winter giggled then cheered.
"The dragon keeps her treasure! Any more heroes want to try and defeat the mighty Winter?" she giggled.
"I do." Chrysalis answered from behind them.
"So, does this hero really want to battle the strongest and awesomest dragon in all of Draconia?" Winter boasted.
"Yes I do." Chrysalis smiled as she let her daughter chase her into Crowne's room. Chrysalis laughed along with her daughter as she allowed her to chase. But eventually, Chrysalis turn onto the offence and chased Winter. After a few minutes, Chrysalis finally grabbed her daughter and tossed her onto the bed. Before she could move away, Chrysalis pinned her and proceeded to tickle her. "The dragon needs assistance!" she giggled as Chrysalis continued her torrent of tickles.
"I'll save you!" Crowne vowed as he dove onto Chrysalis and started his own torrent of tickles. Soon, the whole room was filled with chortles and giggles as one would tickle the other, and so on. After a few giggle-filled minutes, the trio calmed down and Chrysalis helped to tuck them into the bed.
Chrysalis gave Winter a kiss and ruffled Crowne's mane before turning the light off and shutting the door. As she tried to sleep, Winter began to mumble in her sleep. She went on about a variety of things that feared her. Her ramblings were cut off by a hiccup as Crowne placed his wing on her body and pulled her close to his body. "Is that better?" he asked. Winter nodded and buried her body deeper into his. His warmth alone was soothing to her soul. But what really calmed her was the love that radiated from his heart, mind, and soul. The feeling brought a smile to the filly's face.
Soon, she drifted off into the realm of dreams.
In her dream....
Winter giggled as she shared tea with Crowne and a talking stuffed Princess Twilight. "Will that be enough tea, Mrs. Sparkle?" she wondered.
"Yes it is." the plush nodded. They began to sip tea and talk about their day. But everything turned for the worst when the bright and sunny sky sprouted thunderclouds of the darkest black, enveloping the entire world around her in a dark cover. The trees died and grew the scariest of faces. The grass, usually lush and green, wilted and died under her hooves. Panic and fear over came her as she began to run through her dream world. She continued to run as tears of fear rushed down her cheeks and left a few in her wake.
She came to a forest where the roots came from the ground and attempted to grab her hooves. She hurriedly leaped and ducked past vines and roots as they tried to grab the scared filly. But a vine reached from the ground and wrapped itself around one of her legs and brought the filly to a screeching halt. Winter's panic grew as the vine pulled her into a hole that opened up around it. Her hoof was about to submerge into the hole which filled quickly of a black substance when the world, save for the ground and the blackened sky, vanished. Winter looked around, fear still her strongest emotion.
Suddenly, the moon pierced the sky and the clouds disappeared. Her heart was still beating in a rapid motion as the stars around the moon were absorbed. The fear that once dominated her body was destroyed when her savior came: Princess Luna. Luna descended towards the shaking filly and laid next to her. "I was so scared..." Winter sniffled.
"I take it that this was your first nightmare?" Luna wondered as she rubbed the filly's back.
"No." Winter answered with a shake of the head. "I have had nightmares before but they were quick and not so scary." Tears began to fall to the filly's hooves.
Luna lifted Winter's head and gave her the sweetest smile she could make. Winter threw herself onto the princess in a fit of sobs. Luna rubbed a hoof along the filly's stark white back and just let her get it all out. She was young. She had a reason to fear what she fears. Luna was in the same position thousands of year prior to this event. An idea popped into the dark blue alicorn's mind. "I know what will cheer you up." Luna announced as she rose.
"W-What?" Winter sniffled as she closely followed the princess.
"This." Luna answered simply. Her horn glowed its usual blue hue and a door appeared from the ground. She gestured Winter to the door and the filly used her magic to open the door. A flash of white broke through the growing crack of the door, causing Winter to shield her eyes with a leg. When her eyes adjusted to the room she stepped in, her jaw dropped. A hallway stretched endlessly in both directions and was littered with doors both horizontally and vertically. "Are these the dreams of the other ponies?" she wondered.
"They indeed are." Luna nodded. "Here, let me show you something." Luna made a simple wooden door to no where and illuminated a gem above it. "These stones are called Dream Gems." Luna explained. "Each color has a different but distinct purpose. For example: if it is green-" The gem changed into a turquoise green. "-the pony is dreaming normally. If it is red-" The gem changed to a ruby. "-the pony is having a bad dream or they are having trouble dreaming. If it is black-" The gem switched to the same black as earlier. "-it is a nightmare and they need help with overcoming their fear."
"What about purple?" Winter wondered as she pointed to a door that had a cloak and dagger: Night Shade's door.
"That, my dear," she chuckled, "Means they are focusing on one pony in their dream."
"So they are having a romantic dream?" Winter inquired.
"Or they had one. Observe." Then the gem started to change from a lavender to a topaz slowly.
"What's happening?" she wondered.
"If it blinks orange, it means the pony is awake." Luna explained. "Now come, I want you to see something." Luna began a journey down the hall followed by the curious Winter who examined each of the doors. She automatically recognized Twilight's and Sombra's doors, each with a lavender Dream Gem. Luna and Winter halted at a specific door that was sky blue. "Whose is that?" she wondered.
"I'll leave you to find that out on your own." Luna chuckled. Before she opened the door, Winter saw that the Gem was lavender. Whoever this was, they were thinking of somepony. Winter opened the door and shielded her eyes but found that there was no bright flash of white. Instead, it opened to a dock with two ponies hoof-in-hoof staring at a beautiful sunset.
Her hooves clacked on the wood as she stepped through the door. The ponies  ahead of her hadn't known her existence but when she drew closer, the pony on the right vanished. "Hello?" she called out as she taped the shoulder of the only pony remaining. The pony jumped and whipped around. It was Crowne. This was Crowne's dream. "W-Winter?" he stuttered as he climbed to his hooves. "But you're- I was-"
"Winter here had trouble sleeping." Luna explained as she stood beside Winter. "I just thought this was the best place for her to go. Since you're always going here when you dream."
"All the time?" Winter wondered.
"Uh-huh." Crowne nodded. "Momma told me a story about two ponies who live happily on the beach. I can't stop thinking about it."
"Beautiful." Winter commented as she looked at the sunset.
"Now I will take my leave." Luna announced. "Have fun you two!" With that, the Princess of the Night walked through a door and closed it, leaving the filly and colt to each other's company.
Winter sat at the edge of the dock and watched as the sun merely sat on the horizon, not moving up nor down. Crowne sat beside her and sighed. "Nothing could beat this." Crowne commented with a smile.
"Who was that other pony sitting next to you?" Winter wondered.
"About that...." Crowne chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head and found the wooden walkway amusing. "That was.....um.....you." Winter blushed at his answer. The pony he was dreaming about was her? Winter's thoughts caused a small hiccup to surface. She then found the water below the oddly amusing. They sat in an uncomfortable silence, only the sound of the waves rolling against the beach and the dock supports broke it. Winter jumped as she felt a hoof grab hers, earning a noticeable, but quiet, burp.
The amount of love coming from this motion was amazing. Not like before, it was sweeter, and more heart-felt. No instinct was fueling Crowne's actions. Winter noted that this was coming from the heart itself, and she liked this feeling. Was this what "true love" felt like? If so, she wanted to taste more of it. "Winter." Crowne spoke up, eluding her from her thoughts. "There's something I've wanted to tell you for a while."
"What is it?" she wondered. Winter could feel his heart radiate affection and love. What was he about to say, she wondered.
"I.....I like you." Crowne admitted. "As more than a friend." His grip tightened slightly, his heart now shooting out rays of love, and Winter was in a state of shock and hiccups.
"R-Really?" Winter wondered with tears in her eyes. "But I thought you liked Trinity."
"Not as much as you." he confessed. Winter let out a rather "uncouth," as the unicorn Rarity would put it, burp. A tear streamed down her cheek and went along with the curve of her smile. Her heart skyrocketed when Crowne wiped it in the most romantic way possible: a small, quick peck on the cheek.
She couldn't take anymore. Winter threw herself onto Crowne in a big, love-filled hug.