The Final One

Four years ago. That was when it happened. Before that, everything was absolutely grand.

It was on that specific day four years ago that everything took a turn for the worst. After being banished from Canterlot, Chrysalis had died because when she had landed, she cracked her rib cage, and found it impossible to breathe.

At the time, Renzor was a new hatchling, and was unaware of the fall of his leader. When he grew older, he noticed other changelings starting to do things that they wouldn't normally do. As time carried on, he noticed there were less and less changelings around. He eventually figured out why.

He remembered the first time he saw a changeling being murdered.

"I say you're full of baloney. I deserve to be the leader."

Renzor was observing an argument taking place, and he didn't like it.

"Oh yeah, why?"

"Because of this!" One changeling unsheathed his knife, and sliced the other in the neck. He fell over, gasping for air that would never come.

Eventually, he had gone into hiding, posing as a blue earth pony with a pink mane. While he did sometimes require love for his sustenance, he was able to eat food like other ponies. Thus, he found himself at Manehattan's best restaurant, Fire Grill's Diner, waiting to order his lunch.

As he was eating, he began eavesdropping on another conversation in order to entertain himself.

"Gosh, can you believe it? The Canterlot Wedding had to be one of the most spectacular events in Equestrian history."

This perked his interest. He had wondered how the changeling invasion went.

"Yeah, up until those awful changelings attacked. Thankfully, the elements of happiness or whatever saved the day again."

He immediately broke his attention. He had heard a lot about those six mares, and he decided he didn't want to get involved with them. He switched his attention to a couple on a date. He smiled as they gave each other googly eyes. As he prepared to siphon some love from them, however, a waitress walked by, and the stallion glanced at her. The mare took notice, and that was that. He grumbled, knowing another opportunity had gone out the window.

"Hello, and welcome to Fire Grill's Diner. Can I take your order?"

He facehoofed, realizing he had forgotten to look at the menu.

"I'll just start with some water."

The waitress left, and Renzor looked at his menu.

Wow, so many choices. Let's see...

He decided to choose a random meal once the waitress returned. Just as he made the decision, lo and behold, the waitress returned with a glass of water.

"Here you are, sir. Have you made your decision yet?"

He nodded, and looked at the menu before playing menu roulette.

"I'll have the eggplant parmesan, with a green salad."

"Very well. May I please have your menu?"

He grabbed his menu and gave it to the waitress, who walked off towards the kitchen. As he waited for his meal, he looked around the diner, and noticed a yellow pegasus in the back, seeming as though she was trying not to start a conversation with anypony.

That's odd. Why would she do that?

His food arrived very shortly, which was a little surprising, given the amount of customers. He decided to take his meal over to the other table, where the shy pegasus was.

As soon as he arrived, the pink-maned mare tried to find a hiding place, but to no avail.

"Please don't hurt me." she managed to squeak out, much to the changeling's amusement.

"Relax, I come in peace."

She looked at him, and blushed. She felt so embarrassed.

"I'm sorry. Did you wanna sit here? I could move."

"No, you don't have to move at all. Could I sit here with you? If it's alright with you, that is."

She meekly nodded, and he placed his food next to hers, a fettuccine alfredo plate, garnished with a sprig of tarragon.

"So what are you doing here, alone? Don't you have any friends?"

She nodded, explaining they were all in Ponyville. He asked other questions, and listened intently. Later, her waiter came to her table with the bill. She went to pay for it, but Renzor stopped her, offering to pay for it. She blushed as he laid out the exact amount of bits written on the receipt. He then noticed his own waitress at his table. He called out to her, and she promptly walked over.

"Shouldn't you be over there, sir?"

"Sorry, miss. I apologize greatly. I assume you're looking for payment?"

She nodded, and laid down another receipt for him. He inspected it, and regretted buying the salad. Fortunately, he was carrying a lot if bits that day, and managed to pay for his own meal as well.

"Thank you, and have a nice day." The waitress walked off, and Renzor was left to the company of this unknown pegasus.

"So, um, what's your name, if you don't mind me asking?" Renzor asked.

"Oh, uh, I'm Fluttershy. And you are?"

"My name is Ren...Frozen Strawberry." He felt relieved at his quick thinking. He knew that if he said his real name, he would be identified as a changeling.

"That's a nice name. Do you live here?" He shook his head.

"I don't actually have a home, I just travel a lot." This was true. He never liked staying in one place for long.

"Oh. That sounds interesting."

"After doing it for almost all my life, it really isn't." He was about to add on to his complaint, but he then got interrupted by a voice next to him.

"There he is. Get him!" He saw some high-authority ponies looking right at him and headed his way. And judging by the looks on their faces, they probably knew he was a changeling.

Once they got to him, they tapped his horn, and his facade disappeared, exposing him.

Fluttershy gasped, and the entire restaurant gasped with her.

"You-you're...one of them?"

He wanted to run, he wanted to try to escape, he wanted to rid himself of the embarrassment, but for some reason, he lay sitting in the booth he was in, and surrendered to the ponies.

"I submit. Do as you wish." The high-authority ponies wasted no time in taking him out of the restaurant, and right to the train station, boarding a train headed straight to Ponyville.

As soon as they arrived, they took him to the castle, and the Princess was befuddled.

"A changeling? I thought those went extinct years ago."

"Ya thought wrong, Princess. There's more of 'em." Renzor protested.

"No, there aren't. All the other changelings are dead. We had a civil war, and I'm the only one that did not participate. I am the last of my kind." He would've continued from there, but suddenly the door flew open, and in rushed Fluttershy.

"Don't hurt him."

Princess Twilight chuckled. "Relax, Fluttershy. We weren't going to do anything dangerous. We were just going to see if maybe he could lead us to his nest."

"I TOLD you. There ARE no more changelings. Every single one has perished."

"Uh-huh, and I'm the leader of the Yak-Yakistanian Republic."

He growled, ready to attack, when a soft hoof, lightly touched him.

"Are you sure? Maybe they all just went into hiding." Fluttershy asked.

"*sigh* I was there when it happened. When Queen Chrysalis was hit by the protection spell, she landed badly, and broke a lot of her bones. After that, many ponies tried to seize control, leading to them going crazy, which, in turn, led to their demise. I took the form of the pony you saw at the restaurant, and since then, I have been trying to survive on my own, and trust me, I'm lucky to still be alive. Numerous times I've been spotted, and each time I escaped, I had to lay low so other ponies would forget about me. But now, this is the end of the line. Do what you wish to me, because I am done running, I am done hiding, I am done suffering."

Although she couldn't usually tell, Fluttershy knew that this changeling was speaking with full integrity. However, she was curious about one thing.

"Is your name really Frozen Strawberry?" He shook his head.

"My real name is Renzor. I am Renzor, the last of the changelings."

Twilight, watching their conversation, decided to speak again.

"Well, in spite of all this, I'll just arrange for you to stay in my castle until-"

"Wait. What if he stayed with me?" Fluttershy piped in, much to the alicorn's confusion.

"Fluttershy, are you sure? I'm pretty sure that-"

"Twilight, I insist that he stay with me. I can make sure that nopony causes him any trouble whatsoever. Um, if it's okay with you, I mean."

Twilight was trying to decide between her options.

On the one hoof, Fluttershy would be very kind to him, and I'm sure the animals would like him okay. On the other hoof, I would have a better chance at convincing Ponyville that he's no threat, and my castle has more room.

"So what's it gonna be, Twilight?" After a few seconds, Twilight spoke again.

"Very well, Fluttershy. I shall release him into your custody." Renzor smiled, until the door burst open again.

"Twilight, darling, I need—AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!"

He had been spotted by another pony. She was off-white with an indigo mane.