Penn Hoofen, an author of some renown, personal scribe and Royal Transcriber for her Highness Princess Twilight Sparkle, sat at his desk, quill in mouth, staring at the blank sheet of paper on his desk. He stared intently with his blue eyes, scratching his messy black mane, wondering if the quill and scroll cutie mark on his green flank was some satirical joke rather than a proclamation of his talent of writing.
Try as he might, he just couldn't finish a good piece of literature. Every story he'd written in the past seven months had been dull, unassuming and badly received. There was even talk in the Short Story Society of Studious Scholars, a very prestigious group of peers to have, that he was losing his touch. Penn set his quill down in the ink jar, he wondered if that they were right.
A light knock on the door stirred him from his depressed pondering. “Come in.”
Twilight poked here head through the door, a bright smile on her face. As much as Penn wanted to return the smile, he found he couldn't. He didn't remember exactly when it started, but shortly after starting his job, he found himself courting Twilight. In many ways it made sense. They were both students of the written word and had a thirst for knowledge, whether it be history, science, or other things that turned the cognitive gears in their minds. Twilight was a complete, and adorable, bookworm, and Penn was quite good painting elaborate pictures with his words, often trapping her in her imagination as he showed her worlds that only existed in his mind. But, she was royalty, and he was not. The constant visits of Prince Blue Blood, with his opulent suits, superb etiquette and snide remarks when the Princess was out of ear shot, reminded Penn that he was not. If anything, he didn't deserve her, and that only brought his spirits down lower.
“Heeey Peeeeenn.”
“Hi Twi.” Penn sat back and sighed.
Twilight knew that sigh. “What's wrong Penny?” She asked, trotting in, starting to notice all the crumpled up papers that littered the floor. It wasn't hard to put two and two together. “Still nothing?”
“Nope.” Penn set his head on his desk. He wanted to cry. Twilight meant the world to him, and even though his stories never made him a single bit, he felt it made her proud that he had a talent that she did not posses. The last story she wrote had him cringing from all the cliche stereotypes and obvious plot twists, not to mention the messy romance pairings. She was good natured about him kindly telling her never to write a shipfic again, but he knew she secretly kept writing the horrible things, if to irk him for no other reason.
It's not like he needed to write, but that's what his cutie mark told him he should do. He had to write, but he had nothing to write. Maybe he really was losing his touch.
“This one looks promising.” Twilight mused, reading the contents of a crumpled up stack of pages.
“To predictable.” Penn sighed from his resting spot. “Any pony with half a mind can see it was the best friend who will betray him in the end.”
“Oh.” Was all the Princess replied with. She looked at all the others on the floor. Each would be promising, but in Penn's eyes they were too flawed to work with. “You need a distraction.” She smiled brightly. “Come down for dinner?”
That was something else. Penn had moved in with Twilight to her Crystal Castle. It wasn't exactly a choice he wanted to make, but she persisted, pointing out that due to his job, and after work activities, he spent all his time there anyways. Why not cut down on the commute and save his bits. He got a room of his own, across the hall from the Royal Chambers, and his own study, attached to his room. In light of everything, he really had it all, and yet he felt so empty.
“Not hungry.” He mumbled.
Silence fell upon the room, growing thicker by the second as Twilight stood uncomfortably, unsure what to say or do to cheer her love. He'd made her the happiest, luckiest mare in the world. He was sweet, always thinking of her, surprising her with little wild flowers he'd find on his daily walk, or little sweets he'd pick up for her whenever he went to the market. True, they've kissed a time or two, but he was always respectful of her personal space, even when she wish he wasn't. Oh how she wanted him to press his luck, and make a move to take her, but he was too much of a gentle colt for that, unlike that slimy Prince Blue Blood.
But something happened seven months ago. Something that seemed to cause Penn to become distracted and distant. They might never have shared a bed, but Twilight soon found the dining room table, and the common study, places of work and play that were once warm, had become cold and lonely.
“Penn?” She asked hesitantly. He didn't turn to her. “Penn?” He slowly sat up and looked at her with his troubled, blue eyes. “What's the matter? You haven't been yourself.”
Penn didn't answer at first, looking away. He finally managed to look at her. “Twilight. I'm no good for you.”
Twilight was shocked. If any pony were good for her, it'd be the stallion who was looking deeply inter her eyes right now. How could Penn not be good for her?
“W-why do you say that?” She asked breathlessly. She'd read too many romance novels, some of them by Penn himself, to not know that this was what the stallion said before he broke off the engagement, usually in the late chapters.
The green stallion shook his head, braking eye contact only to stare at the blank page before him. Evidence of his failures, he thought.
“You're royalty.” He replied. “I'm not. In what world does that work?” Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but Penn continued on before she could say anything. “Think about it. I'm just a scholar. I writer, and with what the last seven months have been like, not a very good one. I translate dusty old books all day long. What would the other ponies thing if you actually married me?”
Tears stood in Twilight's eyes. “I don't care what they think.” She almost shouted, feeling like something was being ripped out of her chest.
Penn stood up. He walked to her, putting a hoof on her cheek. She melted at the touch, nuzzling the crook of his foreleg. “I care.” He told her, feeling his own emotions start to choke him up. “I care, because I care about you. I care more about you than I do about this world. I want you to be truly happy and live up to your full potential, even if I can't be the pony who does that.”
Letting his leg drop, he headed to the door, months worth of ridicule, and obnoxious laughter ringing in his ears. He was finally setting things right, and letting the mare of his dreams fly free from his dead weight that was pulling her down.
As he walked out the door, and started to make his way through the large, expansive hall, he heard her cry. Oh how it ripped at his very soul to her Twilight cry, but she'd soon forget about him. Forget about his stories, and how they used to lay for hours reading aloud their favorite books. She'd forget how he'd surprise her with a few wild flowers he'd found on his trip through town or the silly love poems he left on her bed side table. No, she'd soon forget those in place for some pony who could treat her the way she deserved to be treated. Like a Princess.
It wasn't until her heard a voice that he did not recognize that he he started paying attention to where he was walking, finding himself far away from Ponyville, close to the Everfree Forest.
“Come again?” He asked, blinking as if coming out of a stupor. Before him stood a tall pony like creature, with a crooked horn, insect like wings and holes about her legs.
“I said,” She buzzed in her strange vibrating voice. “What is wrong with you?”
It was clear that she was a changeling, but Penn was so down from his troubles and heartache, that he didn't mind if she was. Not like he had any love to give as a snack anyway.
“I...I just did something horrible.” He admitted, sitting down under the shade of the dark foreboding trees.
“We all have one time or another.” The Changeling sympathized, sitting next to him.
Here, where no other pony was looking, Penn felt he could shed a few tears. “I hope you don't mind me asking.” He laid his head against the soft grass. “But aren't changelings suppose to feed off of ponies?”
“We do,” Came the answer, though she added. “But we feed off of love and other strong emotions. By the feel of it, all you have to offer is sadness and heartache, both of which give me indigestion.” She patted his back. “Why don't you tell me about this horrible thing you did? It might make you feel better.”
Penn looked up at her caring face for a moment. “Why are you being so nice?”
It was a fair question. “A few years ago, as Queen, I made the mistake of trying to take over Equestria.” She answered honestly. “I won't say I'm reformed, not by a long shot, but I have learned many valuable lessons, chief being, if you need love to feed off of, it's best to promote good feelings in others. In return, you'll get a little back.” She smiled, fangs showing. “Reap what you sow, and others won't complain.”
Penn thought about that for a moment. “I guess that makes more sense than sucking every pony dry.”
“Glad you see it my way.” The changeling chuckled. “But now, let's hear it.”
“I...” Penn laid his head back on the ground. “I broke up with my marefriend.”
“What? That's all? You ponies are to tender and softhearted, you know that?”
“I still loved her.” The moping pony added, silencing the Queen.
For a moment all that could be heard was the soft wind blowing. “And why would you do that?”
“Because, I held her back.” Penn looked up into the sky, seeing a few stray clouds skirting across it, being chased by some jr weather pegasus. “She's a Princess. I'm a writer. There's no way she could ever be truly happy with me.”
Again, silence reigned over their sitting spot for a long moment.
“How do you know that?”
“Well,” Penn grimaced. “Prince Blue Blood has been telling me in various ways for the last seven months that I was no good for her. At first I ignored him, trying to brush it off, but the more he said it, the more I started to see how she was bigger than me. Stallions are suppose to be the larger of the pair, and she has wings and magic. What do I have other than an overactive mind? She's funny, and cute, and has the most adorable pouting face when I ask for another five minutes to write after the second time in a row when when she calls for dinner...”
The more he talked, the more Penn wanted to cry. Twilight, he thought, might forget him, but he could never forget her. She seemed to be perfect in practically every way to him.
The Changeling Queen listened patiently to the sobbing stallion. She gently laid an insect wing across his back, watching him account the time where Twilight and him tired drinking a Pinkie Pie Fizz under ten seconds and how it cause them to burp most the rest of the night. All the things they did to explore new things, and how happy they'd been.
When the stallion had run dry of funny stories to tell, she spoke. “Sounds like you love her.”
“Very much.” Penn nodded.
“But, it sounds like she loves you too.”
He could only nod, feeling more shame that he had hurt the one mare he was trying to help by leaving.
“Once I met a turnip farmer named Turnip.” The Queen buzzed in her weird voice. Penn gave her an inquisitive look. “No, really, that was his name. Well, I was parading around as a model. Peach coat, long red mane and a dress for a cutie mark. I was sampling love from all sorts of suitors, but when I met Turnip, the gangly earth pony with over sized buck teeth swept me off my hooves. You know why?”
Penn was a loss for words. He shook his head.
“Because that young pony was the most genuine pony I had ever met. His simple ways, and silly antics made me laugh and love him more and more.” She smiled at a fond memory. “If it wasn't for me being a Changeling Queen...But my point is that there is no title on love. Whether you're a Prince or a popper, if you love and are loved in return, that's all that matters.”
Penn's ears drooped. “That may be true, but she's still royalty.”
“And in love with you. Not Prince Blue Blood, and trust me when I say never take anything he says seriously. That stallion is more in love with his own reflection than he is about any pony else.”
“But, what if ponies talk? What if-”
The Changeling Queen laughed. “So what if they do? What are they going to say? They see the Princess every day. They know her. They love her. If she's happy, why do they care who she's with?”
Penn mold that over for a moment in his mind. “You do have a point.”
“So, what are you going to do?”
The question hung in the air. For a hard, long minute, Penn thought about what mattered the most to him, and what he'd do to show it.
Rising to his hooves, he held his head high. “I'm going back to the castle and tell Twilight just how much I love her!”
“Good to hear.” The Queen smiled. “And, uh, this conversation is strictly between you and me. I wouldn't want the Princess of Friendship to thing that I Chrysalis, started becoming soft.” The Changeling blushed. “I'm not concerned about her happiness. Just keeping the food supply up. You understand.”
Penn nodded. He might not know everything that was involved, but something told him that the methods of a changeling were not what he thought they were, and so they posed no more threat, or not as much as they were before.
Using all his strength, Penn galloped as hard as he could, stopping only a moment to pick a few wild buttercups, until he burst through the castle door and sprinted up the stair case.
Twilight Sparkle was still sobbing where she had fallen in his study. Penn's heart ached seeing her cry like that. On soft hooves, he made his way too her, laying the flowers in front of her, and settling in beside her. She immediately turned in towards him, nuzzling under his foreleg until she was wrapped about by it.
“I'm sorry.” He murmured into her ear.
“P-p-please, never leave a-a-again.” She sobbed.
He held her close, nuzzling the back of her neck.
“Never.”
