Altered Visage

I dreamed again, blissfully unaware of what had become of me in the waking world. I was a pony again, the Chance Victory disguise that I had donned before being knocked unconscious. Had I the mental faculties of a waking person I may have been upset at not being human, but I didn’t, so I just went with the flow.

My dreams were like most dreams: ephemeral, inconsequential and forgotten mere moments after they occurred. Nothing like the previous one I had with Discord. Considering how that one turned out for me, this kind of dreaming suited me just fine. At least it did until I had another uninvited guest.

“Excuse me, I do not mean to intrude, but you were having a terrible nightmare last night and I wished to ensure that you were alright.”

I blinked and looked up from my seated position to see a tall, deep blue alicorn with a flowing, starry mane and tail. I looked back to what I had been doing. I had no idea what that was, but it involved a garden hoe in one hoof, a microfiber cloth for cleaning glasses in the other, and a jar of peanut butter in a mysterious half human half pony arm that was for some reason protruding from my somewhat rounded belly. The objects and extra arm all disappeared as I put my face into my forehooves and groaned.

“I’m dreaming again, aren’t I?” I mumbled through my hooves as memories of what had happened during my consciousness earlier flooded into my brain. “Are you here to torment me too?”

The sound of a pinball machine coming to life as I finished the question caused both Princess Luna and I to look in the distance where Discord could be seen laughing maniacally, playing a game of pinball while a little changeling me screamed inside the ball getting knocked about. Not that you could tell I was a changeling with how fast the ball spun about.

“Nay, I have come here to-" Luna turned her head back to me as she began to answer my question, only to stop and stare mid sentence. I lifted up an arm and noticed it was black and full of holes again. I let out another groan of displeasure. Stupid dreams and their stupid impressionable natures.

“You are...a changeling?” Luna stepped toward me, to which I gave out an inelegant ‘eep’ while stumbling back

“Please, stay back!” My changeling voice reverberated through the dreamscape.

"Do not fear, I-"

Sploosh! I gasped into the waking world as ice cold water hit my face. A coughing fit wracked my frame from unintentionally inhaling some of that water that had so rudely awoken me. I shivered from the sudden drop in temperature and looked about bewilderedly at several ponies that surrounded me.

“Rainbow Dash! I told you we were to wait until Princess Celestia arrived in the morning!” The purple alicorn, Twilight Sparkle, glared up at the named cyan Pegasus who was hovering in the air above me with a bucket in her hooves.

“Yeah, not happening, Twi, I need answers now.”

Rainbow dived right into me, sending me sprawled flat on my back from the sitting position I had just gotten into. A sharp pain in my neck informed me that I was collared and tied to a nearby wall, which I had just been knocked a little too far away from. I trembled as I stared into the magenta eyes that were now taking up most of my vision.

“Who are you? Why are you here? Were you sent here to spy on us?” Before I could even attempt to respond, Rainbow shook me violently, causing my head to beat against the floor repeatedly and a splitting headache to flare up. “Answer me!”

“Hey, stop that!” Twilight demanded as I groaned in pain.

Rainbow was promptly levitated into the air, surrounded by a pink cloud of magical energy. She snarled as she struggled against the magic binding her, still trying to reach me. I closed my eyes, trying to shut away the view of the furious Pegasus and the pounding in my head, though the clatter of approaching hooves made the latter rather difficult. I flinched as a hoof touched my face, but it was gentle and I soon relaxed.

“Oh dear... umm...I don’t know much about changelings, but...um...he might have a concussion.” I opened my eyes to see a yellow Pegasus with a pink mane looking tenderly down at me.

Ah, Fluttershy, I guess you would be kind to an injured changeling after all.

“So?” Rainbow snorted.

“So? We don’t want to kill it.” It was Twilight again.

“And why the fuck not?” Rainbow crossed her forehooves as she was held helplessly in place by Twilight’s magic.

“You...you would k..k..kill him?” Fluttershy clung onto me at what her friend had just implied. Personally, I was more shocked that she said ‘fuck’. I hadn’t expected human swears to be shared by ponies.

“It is our prisoner. We do not kill helpless prisoners.” Twilight rubbed a hoof on her temple as she explained this to the irate Rainbow Dash.

“I agree with Twilight. We simply do not kill when it is not necessary. Besides, we need the changeling alive if we are to question it.” Rarity added.

“Fine, whatever, just put me down!” Twilight acquiesced to her demands and set Dash on the floor, where she promptly trotted off and up some stairs, slamming a door behind her.

“Well...that coulda gone better.” The southern drawl of Applejack greeted my ears.

I searched the room for the last pony of the sextet and saw Pinkie Pie sitting in a corner, looking absolutely crushed with a great big frown and hair that had lost all its bounce and curl. I swallowed a lump in my throat, realizing that I was probably to blame for her current state.

Taking an opportunity in this awkward silence to get a bearing on my surroundings, I saw that I was still in the library as far as I could tell. It was a spacious room with no windows where all the walls were still carved directly out of a tree. There wasn’t much furniture, just a couple of reading tables, a few books and several dusty boxes littered the space. Given that the only exit was up the stairs that Dash had just ascended, I assumed that I was in the basement.

“So...what do we do ‘bout it til the Princess shows up?”

“We need to make sure it doesn’t try anything. I think at least two of us should stay here as guards at all times.” At Twilight’s words, Fluttershy nervously disentangled her limbs from me and stood up.

“Oh...um...it’s getting late, and my animals....” Her words faded off into an incoherent mumble.

“You want to go home and take care of them?”

“If that’s okay with you.” She nodded meekly.

“I reckon that’s fine, Shy. Ah volunteer.”

“Good, then I think I’ll-“

“I’ll do it.” Pinkie Pie cut off Twilight as she appeared right next to her, causing the latter mare to take an involuntary step back.

“Are ya sure, Sugarcube? Ya don’t look so good. Maybe ya should go home and rest.”

“I’ll do it!” Pinkie reiterated more firmly, Applejack recoiled a little at the intensity of the glare that was levelled her way, but quickly recovered.

“Alright then, if ya say so.”

“I dooooo.” Pinkie stared directly at me with a creepy expression, sending a shiver down my spine.

_________________

Several hours passed in relative quiet, long enough that I suspected morning was swift approaching. Those other than my two guards had gone ages ago, Twilight having left the door open so that she could hear if her friends called for help. Applejack had attempted some conversation with Pinkie, but was clearly unnerved by the other’s current state of mind, so awkward silence had reigned before long.

I had crawled my way into a corner and curled up as best I could, resting my chin upon my forehooves. A creeping cold sensation had spread throughout my body as the night progressed, wholly permeating me. Well, it felt like I was getting cold, but it wasn’t quite the same. I could separately feel that the basement was a cozy, warm temperature. It was incredibly odd to feel both warm and cold at the same time. Whatever the feeling actually was, it was accompanied by a sensation of weariness and a desire to sleep.

However, I did not want to sleep. The last two times I had let my consciousness wane my dreams had been invaded and I was turned into a changeling. Whenever I felt my eyelids grow heavy I would jerk myself awake. In an effort to stave off slumber, I had taken to trying to figure out how to use my magic by levitating a nearby book, though I was making little progress. My personal best had been getting the book to wiggle a little bit, at which point Applejack had told me to cut it out. I started doing calculations in my head instead until she fell asleep, at which point I returned to my feeble efforts to levitate the book.

Rhythmic snoring came from the now slumbering Applejack, who occasionally tossed and turned while muttering about changelings attacking her farm. Given her position on the hard floor, I didn’t doubt that she would be sore when she awoke. Unlike her companion, Pinkie Pie had not fallen asleep, nor did she look even the least bit tired. I could feel her stare boring into me as I tried desperately to ignore her. She had not moved from her spot all night. She just sat there, watching me.

All this time laying there had given me plenty of time to think. It was only shortly after the pounding headache, caused by repeated blows to my head, had subsided that I realized I had completely missed my chance to explain myself to Twilight and ask for her help. I had asked Applejack if I could talk to Twilight. She had firmly denied my request, saying that she was probably asleep and shouldn’t be disturbed. I then asked if she would listen to my explanations. Her face had scrunched up as she thought about it.

“Well....Ah suppose-“

“No! Don’t listen! He’ll just lie again.”

I shook the memory out of my head and glanced over to Pinkie Pie, still watching me like a hawk. I’d just have to wait for Princess Celestia to get here to tell my story. No matter how scared I was, I still needed these ponies to get me home. I let out a deep sigh and closed my eyes. Absently, I ran a hoof along the collar around my neck. The keyhole was found easily enough hours ago, not that I could do anything with it. The collar had proven to be plenty strong enough to avoid breaking when I had tugged on it, not that I had expected any different. The chain attaching me to the wall had proven equally resilient. I wondered why Twilight would even have a collar and chain like this in her basement, but suspected it may be better not to know the answer.

Realizing that I was starting to fall asleep again I forced my eyes open, only to be greeted by the sight of two big blue eyes mere centimeters away. My heart rate spiked and I jumped back, crashing into the wall behind me with a small yelp. A loud snore came from Applejack as she rolled over, but remained sleeping.

“Why did you do it?” My brow furrowed in confusion at Pinkie’s whispered question.

“Huh?”

“You said you trusted me. Why didn’t you tell me you were a changeling? Why did you lie?”

My confusion persisted. Why would she bother asking? Hadn’t she just said earlier that I would only lie again? I momentarily contemplated not answering out of spite, but soon remembered how hard Pinkie had taken my deception. My ears flattened against my skull and I stared at the floor in shame. Pinkie Pie deserved better than my spite.

“I was scared.” I waited to see if she would say anything, but I was only met with silence, so I began again. “I was scared of how you would react. I thought that if you knew, that you and your friends would hurt me.”

“What? But we would never-“ I cut her off with a single, bitter laugh.

“I’ve been tackled, knocked out, imprisoned, doused with ice water, had my life threatened and condemned to an official interrogation since you found out. I think my concerns were justified.”

“But if you told me I could have talked to them and made them see you weren’t dangerous!” A moment of silence followed as I contemplated her words.

“Maybe you’re right. Maybe I should have told you. Lord knows I didn’t plan this out too well.”

“Speaking of plans, what were your intentions with invading Ponyville?”

The sound of several hooves coming down the wooden stairs followed the stern, matronly voice that had just interrupted our conversation. I looked up from the floor to see a tall white alicorn with a multihued, ethereal mane of blues, pink and green that seemed in constant motion, as if caught in an eternal breeze. My jaw dropped. I was in the same room as Princess Celestia, and she was far more beautiful and elegant than the show had ever made her seem to be. Pinkie stepped back from me, allowing her monarch to approach me unimpeded. With her now towering in front of me, the power of Celestia’s accusatory glare made me wish I could just disappear.

“What does your Queen want? Why did she send you here?”

I barely noticed as the remaining members of the mane six filed into the basement, Fluttershy awakening Applejack who stretched groggily. Finishing the ensemble, the dream walking Princess Luna who had just invaded my dreams hours ago stood beside her sister, staring at me with a wrinkled brow.

This was it. It was finally time for me to explain my situation.

“It was Discord.” I stated evenly. Celestia raised an eyebrow, but said nothing as she waited for me to continue, “Chrysalis didn’t send me, it was Discord. He brought me here.”

“But why would Discord bring a changeling to Ponyville?” Twilight stepped forth.

“I’m not a changeling!” Incredulous stares followed my outburst.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I must have imagined that you’re a black, shape shifting parasite that disguised itself as a pony to infiltrate our town.” Twilight countered sardonically.

“No, I mean I’m not supposed to be a changeling. Discord did this to me. I went to bed a couple nights ago, he invaded my dreams, turned me into a changeling, used me as the ball in a game of pinball and then pulled me through my dream to drop me off at Applejack’s farm.”

Upon finishing that sentence, I realized just how ludicrous that all sounded. There was no way that Celestia would believe such a story, and her narrowed eyes supported my conclusion.

“I see. If you are not going to cooperate, then I’m afraid I must take you to the Canterlot dungeons until you are in a more helpful mood.”

“Hold, sister. He may be telling us the truth.” Luna interjected.

“You don’t actually believe that little bug, do you?! It’s-“ Celestia silenced Rainbow Dash’s outburst with a lone raised hoof.

“Go on, Luna.”

“Yesterday I sensed a nightmare near Ponyville and I went to soothe its owner. When I arrived, the dreamer was nowhere to be seen while Discord was present alongside an unusual machine. Then, just last night I sensed the dreamer again. Upon entering the dream, I saw a pony I had never seen before. When I approached him, the same machine I had seen in the previous nightmare appeared with an image of Discord using it. Shortly thereafter, the pony transformed into a changeling. I believe this to be that changeling.”

“Discord can enter ponies’ dreams?” Celestia frowned.

“I was as shocked as you are, sister. When I confronted him about it, he merely dismissed my concerns and disappeared.”

“Twilight?”

“Yes, Princess?”

“Go upstairs and inform my guards that they need to find Discord.”

“Yes, Princess.”

“Umm...excuse me,” Fluttershy interrupted, causing all those present to look her way which in turn caused Fluttershy to shrink back from all the attention, “Discord was visiting me yesterday and...um....stayed the night.” A slight blush spread on Fluttershy’s cheeks. “He said that he expected something to happen and wanted to be around to watch.”

“And you believe him to still be in Ponyville?” Celestia asked, to which Fluttershy meekly nodded. “That will certainly ease the search. You know what to do, Twilight.” Twilight nodded as she started going up the stairs.

“That won’t be necessary, Tia, I’ve been here all along.”

I froze in fear at that voice. It was Discord. With an audible poof, a miniature Discord appeared upon my muzzle, his eagle claw pressed up against the skin between my eyes as he leaned against my face. I tried to recoil in horror at the monstrosity, but found I couldn’t move. Twilight grumbled quietly as she descended from the stairs after being interrupted from following her mentor’s orders.

“Discord!”

“Oh please, Tia, don’t act so surprised. You knew I’d be here, thanks to Fluttershy. Speaking of,” Discord snapped his fingers and was suddenly gone from my snout, releasing me from my temporary paralysis and reappeared full sized, floating in front of Fluttershy, “it’s awfully rude to tattle on your friends like that.”

“What have you done to one of my little ponies, Discord?”

“Hmph! I haven’t done anything to one of your precious ponies, Tia. You should be thanking me, not scolding me,” Discord pouted, “all I did was bring their attention to a changeling I found in the Everfree.”

“But I caught you invading somepony’s dreams. This is that pony.” Luna accused.

“No, this is that changeling. I was just having some fun with an enemy of Equestria, you can’t blame a guy for that, can you?”

“You did this to me! You turned me into a changeling!” I jumped to my feet, wings buzzing with rage.

“I did nothing of the sort. I merely detected a monster, then entered its dreams so that I could get a lock on its location. I brought this creature from the Everfree Forest to Sweet Apple Acres so that the threat could be eliminated. As I said,” Discord’s mismatched eyes stared directly into mine as he grinned, “You should be thanking me. I’m a hero.”

“Liar!”

I charged at Discord, intent on goring him with my horn. I felt myself yanked back by the collar around my neck as I reached the end of my rope, letting out a strangled yelp of pain and fell to the floor coughing. Laughter filled the crowded room as Discord rolled about in mid air, gripping his sides. Fluttershy stepped forward to assist me, but froze as a pink blur burst past her to my side.

“Chance! Are you okay?”

I looked up to see Pinkie Pie hovering over me, her face contorted with worry. I gave her a weak smile to let her know I was fine and noticed that sometime since we had last spoken her mane had regained a small measure of its usual bounce. Not much, but enough to raise my spirits somewhat.

“Aww, how disgustingly cute. I didn’t think you of all ponies would be so quick to trust her,” Discord slithered up beside Pinkie, leaning close to her ear, “after all, she certainly didn’t seem to trust you.”

I doubted that the others could hear what he had whispered. I could barely hear it myself. If the sudden and complete deflation of her mane was a good indicator, Pinkie had heard it loud and clear. Discord continued whispering, quieter than before so that I could not hear it. I half expected her to turn grey from his ministrations.

“Pinkie?” Her eyes lost their unfocused appearance and locked back onto me, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I didn’t want to hurt anyone.”

Pinkie stared at me, chewing her lip uncertainly, while Discord gave me an amused grin. Then an idea hit me. I sat up on my haunches and took a deep breath.

“I promise I don’t mean any of you harm,” I spoke up loud enough to ensure all present would hear me clearly and brought a hoof up to my chest to make a crossing motion, “cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”

Taking my hoof out of my eye as I finished the promise, I tried to gauge my audience’s reaction to the gesture. It was mostly a mixture of confusion and surprise. One little pink pony, however, was trembling profusely as a wide smile began to spread upon her face. The image of some container building up an unhealthy amount of pressure came to mind. After mere moments of frenetic vibration, Pinkie exploded into a ball of bountiful, bouncing, pink curls and leaped onto me with a crushing hug.

“I’msogladyou’renotabadchangelingandthatwecanbefriendsohandIstillneedtoplanyourparty-”

“Pinkie....I can’t breathe!” I interrupted her rant

“Oops! Sorry, Chancey!” She released me from her vice grip and sat in front of me, beaming with joy.

“Oh please, you aren’t going to fall for that, are you?” Discord hissed.

“Yupperooni! I believe him absolutely one hundred percent, bucko!” Pinkie joyfully replied, her renewed affection radiating off of her, warming me from that dreaded cold that had enveloped me earlier.

“We cannot dismiss that this changeling’s story and my sister’s account of events match up. What did you do to him?” Celestia demanded with a stern glare.

“I already told you, I did nothing to any of your subjects. This abomination was a changeling when I found her,” Discord snarled as he conjured up a small map with a big, red X on it, “right here, in the Everfree Forest!” Twilight snatched up the map and studied it momentarily before rolling it up and setting it to the side for later use.

“But he seems so different from the other changelings,” Fluttershy stepped forward, looking up into Discord’s eyes, “are you certain you didn’t change him from a normal pony?” He slumped over at the accusations from his only friend.

“Et tu, Fluttershy?” A slight unsteadiness entered Discord’s usual mocking tone, “I expected the others to not trust me, but you?”

“Um...I...” she fidgeted nervously, eyes flicking about from side to side at his sudden change in demeanor.

“I see.” Discord sighed turning to face the others, “If you don’t believe me, check for yourselves. I have little doubt that Twilight here has discovered a spell to detect my chaos magic.” He snapped the talons of his eagle arm languidly and disappeared with a small pop.

“Ugh! How could I forget?!” Twilight face hoofed.

“Wait, so ya mean to tell us you had a way to tell if Discord changed somepony into a changeling all this time and ya just forgot about it?” Applejack groaned.

“Well, not exactly. After Discord attacked the first time, I researched some spells on detecting chaos magic in case he returned. Chaos magic leaves a very distinct residue that can be detected with the right spell. A spell powerful enough to permanently transform somepony into an entirely different creature would leave a vast quantity of residue.” My ears perked up at her explanation.

“You mean you can prove that I’m not a changeling?”

“Well, yes,” Twilight bit her lip, “that is, if you’re telling the truth. With a little bit of work, I may even be able to reverse the spell and turn you back to normal.” My eyes widened at this wonderful piece of news and a sharp, toothy grin threatened to permanently plaster itself to my face.

“Now that’s just creepy.” AJ shuddered, but I ignored her.

“If I weren’t chained to this wall, I could just kiss you!”

“I...would prefer it if you didn’t.” Twilight blushed slightly, approaching me.

I sat patiently, my little changeling tail swishing back and forth in anticipation as she took out a key and removed my collar with a metallic click and a clatter as it fell to the floor. I had to put active effort into not embracing her. She may not have said I couldn’t hug her, but I felt it would be best not to take advantage of that technicality. Instead I put my newfound energy to use imitating Pinkie, who was now excitedly bouncing in place. An unintentional quick flash of green flame and I was bouncing in unison with Pinkie as her doppelganger, eliciting a giggle from the real Pinkie.

“Ummm...oops?” I gave a sheepish grin as I stopped hopping, to which Twilight simply rolled her eyes.

“Excuse me, Twilight,” the addressed alicorn looked back at Celestia, who had a guard pegasus standing beside her, “I have just been informed of something that requires my immediate attention. I leave you to your own task as I am certain you can handle it from here.” She eyed me as she said this.

“Of course, Princess, you can count on me.” Celestia gave a small nod and a warm smile at her former student’s confidence.

“Contact me by letter if something else comes up that you feel needs my attention.”

_____________________

I was back in my changeling form, sitting on the main floor of the library as Twilight pored through a book that she was levitating in front of her face. She hadn’t quite remembered how the spell had worked and brought me along with her to the library’s main room. She had Spike search for the book while she gave me an uncomfortably thorough physical examination, jotting down rather detailed notes as she did so. I blushed at the memory and tried to concentrate on the books lining the shelves around me.

The excitement I had felt an hour earlier had dissipated somewhat, thanks in great part to a sleepless night catching up to me. The embarrassment from the overly personal examination hadn’t helped my enthusiasm much either.

Catching a glimpse of a prismatic mane at the side of my vision I turned my head to look at Rainbow Dash. Most of the other ponies had left to attend to their own business, but she had stayed behind proclaiming that she still didn’t trust me. She looked between Twilight and I a few times, face scrunched up.

“So, I’ve been meaning to ask Twi, is ‘Chancey’ a guy or a girl? I mean, Fluttershy and Pinkie called it a ‘he’, but Discord a ‘she’, and its voice isn’t helping me figure it out at all. What is it?” I rolled my eyes at this question.

“I’m a guy/She’s female.” Rainbow’s brow furrowed in confusion as the two voices came forth in a contradictory cacophony. Twilight set down her book and we blinked at each other a few times.

“So, uhh....which is it?” Rainbow tilted her head and rubbed a hoof against it.

“Uh, I’m a guy.” I restated. Twilight raised an eyebrow at this.

“No, you’re definitely female. I checked. I was very thorough.” I stared blankly at her. She was joking, right? She had to be, I was male.

“Hehe...Very funny,” I chuckled nervously, “you almost had me for a minute.”

“I’m not joking. You’re a girl. Now be quiet, I’m trying to read.” She replied in an irritated tone as she buried her nose back into the spell book.

The blood drained from my face. She had to be wrong. Me a girl? No, I couldn’t be. I would have noticed, right? Right?

You never did check, did you?

I wanted to dismiss the voice in my head, but I couldn’t. Terrified of what I might find, I slowly looked down to examine what I had between my hind legs. I whimpered pathetically at the noticeable lack of something that should have been there, as well as the presence of something much more foreign. Rainbow Dash burst out laughing at my reaction.

“You mean to tell me Discord turned some poor stallion into a mare?” Dash managed to squeeze out through fits of laughter, her mirth nearly overpowering my senses. “That’s hilarious!”

“This isn’t funny!” I shouted at the laughing mare while I subconsciously tried to cover myself. The sound of a tome landing with a heavy thump distracted me from my predicament.

“You can laugh about her gender identity crisis later, I think I’m ready to cast the spell.”

“It’s about time! Now we can finally prove that ‘she’ is lying to us.”

“Oh? And here I thought you believed me what with finding my situation so funny.”

“Nope, you may be a good actor, but you don’t fool me, ‘sister’.”

“Call me a girl one more time, you rainbow haired floozy.” I growled, baring my teeth.

“Floozy?!” Rainbow laughed derisively. “Oh that’s rich, coming from a changeling whore!”

“Girls!” I winced at being included in that word, swallowing the retort I was about to throw at Dash.

“Sorry, Twilight.” Rainbow apologized.

“Be quiet for a bit, I need to concentrate or I’ll mess this up.” Twilight scolded.

“Do I need to do anything?” I asked, eager to get this ordeal over with.

“No, just sit there.” I nodded at her order. Sitting. I could do that.

I watched as Twilight began to concentrate, her horn glowing with the buildup of magical energy required for the spell. Before it grew to anything too spectacular, I could see and feel a magical field of energy envelope me. It caused a tingling sensation, akin to what you feel when your foot falls asleep, though less intense. In a matter of moments it was over and two pairs of eyes laid upon Twilight, eagerly waiting for the results.

“Well,” Twilight swallowed, frowning slightly, “it worked.”

“And?” Rainbow asked impatiently. Twilight squared her eyes directly on me.

“I can definitively state that you are, without any doubt, a changeling.”