As I stood outside of Ponyville on that fateful day, I quickly began to realize how much of a predicament I had put myself in. The last time changelings had shown up in pony society undisguised was several years ago during the Canterlot invasion. We were only there for under an hour, but the hatred toward our kind still lingered after that brief encounter.
I could just make out the city through the dense trees of the Everfree. The edge of the forest stopped abruptly, giving way to rolling pastureland, a gentle river, and then to the town itself. The image of that place shocked me, in a way. I had always thought the great Ponyville, home to the Princess of Friendship, would be much more grand, but it was rather small.
Despite its size, I hesitated a while longer. I tried to tell myself that things were different after that time, but deep down, I knew that was a lie. My eyes filled with tears of fright. I couldn’t do it. It was too difficult. I turned back to the forest, that place that had given me shelter through the final stretch of my journey. It was safe, secure, and I knew that despite how wild it was, it accepted me as another animal in its midst.
For reasons I cannot comprehend, I looked back to the town once more. I knew that Cranky’s wedding was today. He had helped me so many years ago in that frozen pass and I was too afraid to partake in the happiest moment in his life. My gaze drifted to the forest, but it had changed. Instead of being welcoming, it was the symbol of my defeat.
You’ve come this far, I thought to myself as I turned to the city. He approached a changeling; you can attend his wedding.
I felt a power in my steps as I quickly walked into the cheery daylight of the pastureland. It was a welcome change from the eternally cloudy home that I had come from. I cantered toward the town, but my mind slowly began to regret my decision to attend the wedding. At first it was simple: there wasn’t a pony in sight, which meant that I could be myself with nothing to judge me for who I was. However, that feeling vanished as I rounded the top of one of the hills.
A shrill young scream arose from a filly pegasus who was picking flowers along the path. I nearly screamed as well, but I kept myself from adding fuel to the fire. She tried to take to the sky to flee from me, but apparently her wings were not developed enough to fly. I felt sorry for her as she tumbled to the ground in a heap. I started toward her with the intention of helping her back to her hooves, but she let loose another scream. I immediately froze, but my mind could not come up with a gesture that would keep her from panicking.
After nearly a minute of her terrified silence, I simply turned to the road and continued on my way. As I descended into the valley, I heard a hail of hoofsteps as another pony rushed to that filly.
The only thing I could make out from her frantic shouting was “Changeling” and “tell mayor mare.”
Great. Not five minutes in and I’ve already traumatized a young filly by simply walking. As I continued on, my mind busied itself with ways in which I could have changed the outcome of the situation. The phrase “If I had only” repeated itself dozens of times, but each outcome was the same, except the one where I returned to the Everfree. I knew I could have disguised myself and saved the city from my true nature, but cranky personally requested me to attend his wedding. I wanted to let him know that I supported him, and that meant no disguises.
“He came to you in your time of need, go to him in his time of joy,” was my anthem as I trotted toward the city. I was as determined as I was terrified.
The next time I encountered a pony was at the edge of the bridge that crossed the river.
“What are you doing here?” the stallion asked as he stepped into my path.
I took a moment to make a halfway decent response, but my mind couldn’t come up with anything more than “I’m here for cranky’s wedding.” Immediately, I regretted my words, as the stallion’s demeanor quickly switched from disapproval to hatred.
“Not on my watch,” he said as he put his nose up to mine and narrowed his eyes. “We don’t need any bugs stealing the love from their wedding.”
I retreated a few steps and reached into my saddlebag for the invitation I had received. “Cranky gave me an invitation.”
“And how do I know you didn’t steal it?” he asked as he swiped the page from my grasp.
“It’s addressed to me…” I whimpered. I tried to keep my voice as quiet as possible.
The stallion looked at the letter and back to me with scrutiny wrinkling his face. “My apologies,” he said in a rather unapologetic tone as he gave the invitation back to me.
I smiled and grabbed hold, but the stallion kept his grasp and pulled me close. “Don’t try anything funny.”
I swallowed my fear and nodded as I gently placed the wrinkled note into my bag. The decision to proceed into town was slowly starting to feel like a bad one.
As I walked into town, I was confronted by the reality that I wasn’t as vilified as I thought. The stallion at the bridge was far more confrontational than any other pony inside the town. Later I would discover that he was one of the town watches tasked with the job of keeping the riffraff out.
I tried to disappear, but hiding a black, pitted body amongst pastel ponies was no easy task. It quickly became apparent that I had an imaginary radius about me, one that kept ponies a comfortable distance from me. The stares, muttering, and fear were all as I had imagined, but luckily there wasn’t much confrontation.
It really does do something to your self esteem when you catch dozens of phrases in passing that float along the air.
‘Why is he here?’ was common along with ‘Mommy, what’s that?’ I tried my best to block out the comments, but some stung badly.
“Those bugs should be exterminated” was echoed in various forms, some with expletives thrown in for good measure. Our reputation as a species was so powerfully overbearing that it superseded anything I tried to do. I kept my mouth shut, for I knew even my voice was bound to anger somepony.
The wedding was being held at the town hall, and a large crowd had gathered at the entrance, but what caught me off guard was the other crowd that was careening through the air. At first, I assumed they were pegasi, but I quickly realized that they had been launched through the air on what seemed to be a DJ stand. I knew Ponyville had a reputation for being chaotic, but I had never expected to see such a spectacle. It was almost humorous, and I felt my mouth crack a small smile. The rest of the ponies began to file into the building, but I stuck to the shadows. If there was one thing I knew, it was that I needed to go in after the rest of the citizens were already seated inside. I didn’t want to scare off other attendees.
I waited for a minute to see if any other stragglers were coming. Just as I was about to leave my post and quietly slip into the back row, a brown stallion wearing a scarf raced to the door, had a quick discourse with a grey pony, and entered the building.
I took a deep breath, steeled myself, and quietly trotted to the deck of the town hall. This was it, the reason I came to this town. I quietly pushed the door open and ducked into the last row. I tried my best to keep my head forward and pay attention to the ceremony, but I could feel the stares of some of the ponies closest to me.
Just ignore them, I thought as mayor mare began her speech.
“But I also see so many ponies from all trots of life brought together by love. Cranky searched all across this great land of ours to find Matilda. And no matter what obstacles kept them apart, love’s what finally brings them together just as it has brought all of us together now. It’s remarkable to me how Cranky’s search for Matilda could fill this room with such a unique collection of ponies. It makes you realize that everypony is the star of their own story, and it’s not just the main characters in our stories that make life so rich. It’s everypony: those who play big parts and those who play small. If it weren't for everypony in this room, and many more who couldn’t be here today, Cranky and Matilda’s lives wouldn’t be as full and vibrant as they are.”
She continued with the ceremony, but something about that speech was comforting to me. Everypony here knew Cranky, even the giant weeping sea monster who could only attend by putting his head through a window. It was a great reminder that we were all parts to his story, and I had been one of them.
The two kissed, and the reception began, but I knew I couldn’t attend that. It was too much for ponies and changelings to mix to that degree, but I was okay with forgoing the buffet. Maybe one day we would live together, but today was not that day. As the group followed Cranky into the reception, I stayed in my seat. It had been a long time since I had felt so welcome somewhere, and I guess I was just trying to milk that feeling for as long as I could.
I must have remained there for several minutes, because as I shook my head out of its daydream, I realized that the entire room was desolate. It was time for me to go, probably without Cranky even knowing I was here, but I had done what I could. I slid off of my chair and walked toward the door.
“You?” a familiar voice rang as I place my hoof on the door.
“Cranky?” I asked as I turned toward the stage once more. There, standing at the other end of the chairs, was Cranky.
“You came,” he said with a smile as he approached me.
“You helped me, so I wanted to be here to support you.”
“Well, that’s awful kind of you. Say, do you want to join the reception?”
I sighed and shook my head. “I would, but it’s rare for ponies to see past my exterior. This town doesn’t appreciate my kind, and I’d rather not cause a scene at your wedding.”
“I-I understand.” I could tell he was slightly crestfallen. “But I’m glad you came.”
I smiled. “I am too. Now go, you have a bride to dance with.”
“Thanks,” he said as he turned to me.
“Likewise.”
I stepped out into the evening air and quickly cantered out of the city. It was much easier to leave than it was to enter. I had come with a purpose and I had fulfilled it; that was enough to put a smile on my face. As I walked back over the bridge, I realized how much happier I was. The city had been intimidating, but I had seen the donkey who had saved my life at his happiest.
The sun was just setting before I stepped back into the Everfree. I turned to the city once more and smiled. “Thanks for the invitation: I really enjoyed it.”
Author's Note
Dramatic Reading by CaptainBron3y
