Discovery

by Josh Crapo

Rating: teen
Tags: Spike, Queen Chrysalis, Adventure, Human, Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Sad, Other, Changelings
Length: 7630

One day, when fooling around on a thread site, Jon finds a link about a forty-four minute animation with an explosion of comments, revealing a dark truth about Carina's kind. How will Aita react?

It's almost the three year anniversary of when Jon found Carina. Just over a week before the new month arrives, Jon finds a thread, talking about a two part 44 minute animation, that has a significant amount of comments. What they read reveals something dark about the name of Carina's kind. Carina finding out is one thing, but how will 34 month old Aita take it?

Chapters will be posted weekly. When necessary, I'll adjust the tags.

UPDATE: I'm getting chapters done way too quickly for weekly chapters, so chapters will be published whenever they're thoroughly proofread.

Published 2017-01-23 03:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2017-01-31 02:15:22 UTC

Chapter 1

It’s been close to three years since I first woke up in Jon’s car. I’ve had a really loose schedule over the past couple of months. I’ve learned a lot about humans since Aita came into everyone’s lives. Since then, he’s grown quite a bit. He looks the size of a very small dog now.

The first thing I learned about humans after I had Aita is that they have more than just Father’s Day and Flag Day. They have Independence Day (July 4th), Halloween (Last day of October), Thanksgiving (Late November), Christmas (December 25th), Valentine’s Day (February 14th), and Mother’s Day (Middle of May), which I was excited for. I mean, a day dedicated to female people like me who look after their children? How could I not be excited?

But the best part? Aita got to first experience these days with me.

I didn’t care for Valentine’s Day much. Over the couple of years here, all that happened was me getting something that was on my mind at the time as Jon had given me money. Independence Day and Halloween never really got exciting until after dark. Yeah, I like the idea of fireworks and costumes, but why not during the day? Alright, I do understand that I can only see fireworks at night. But still. I really never cared for Thanksgiving. Yeah, I ate solid foods, but it would just dissolve into my skin. Aita was into those days though, so I’m glad he’s enjoying them.

Christmas was really the only one I dug other than Mother’s Day. Other than staying the whole day with Sophie, Tim, Aita, Roman and Jon, we all got to open our presents. And to add on to that, each time a present was opened, Aita and I noticed the rapidly increasing love surrounding us.

Over time, I’ve been to what Sophie calls a concert. Basically, it’s using loud but pleasant sounds as a way to fill up an area with positive emotion. Too bad for humans that they have to have food stands if they’re hungry. I get my food straight from the cheering. Although now, I don’t remember what the group was called. I just remember being near the ceiling and the back so that my ears didn’t get blown out. After that, all I could hear for the next couple of hours were small sine waves, but I recovered.

Now, every year, on May 6th, I visit Headrest Centre, as a reminder of how Jon found me. Pretty soon, in nearly two weeks, I’m going to visit it again. Last year, a group of teenage boys joined me in the visit. From what I remember they were looking for a place to talk to each other. Fortunately, they were pretty warm about me.

Finally, there’s Aita’s birthday. We celebrate it on June 15th, since that was when he hatched his egg. Less than a week ago, he turned 34 months old. Right now, he can use basic vocabulary, walk, climb up walls and ceilings, and hover. Earlier this month, he managed to cheer what sounded like a mispronunciation of “okay” as I came home one day. However, Jon said that Aita actually said “welcome back” in Japanese. Sometime, I’ll have to find where Aita got that. Jon says he knows, but I don’t.

For me, I go back and forth between visiting Jon at night, and Aita during the day. Lately, Sophie’s been listening to the same singer from the concert I was in. I did find positive emotion when I heard the music coming from the metal box, but it came from Sophie instead of the music itself. I initially found it weird, but I took the positive emotion anyway. After the first time it happened, I went to Jon about it. He said that perhaps if I listened to music enough and pick up some fitting lyrics, I could possibly sing them to Aita as a lullaby. So, I’ll find a good part of one of Sophie’s favorite songs and sing that to Aita tonight.

Well, that actually got started last night as Jon found something called AZLyrics. After Jon searched for songs with certain lyrics I remember from one of Sophie’s songs, he found lyrics under the title of “You Can” by “Instant”. I haven’t memorized the lyrics yet, but I will sooner or later.

So, what am I doing now? I plan on staying at Sophie’s until Aita’s bedtime, then before I leave, I could sing a simple lullaby to him while I memorize the lyrics.

Right now, Tim hadn’t even gotten home from school an hour ago. He’s in High School, whatever that means, now. He’s busy right now playing with Aita upstairs. I’m just with Sophie. Over the years, I’ve found some drink that kind of burns my throat a bit. It feels good in hindsight though. Sophie calls it soda, so I’ll take her word for it.

“Hey, Carina.”

"Yeah?"

“Ever heard of My Little Pony?”

“My what?”

“My Little Pony? Haven’t you heard of that show?”

“No. Not really. What’s it about? I know I’ve heard of Malcolm in the Middle, Rocko and Dexter, but not My Little Pony.”

“There’s a new version of it that has two seasons.”

“Eh. I guess I could watch it with you. Still wanna know what it’s about though.”

“You’ll see what’s going on when we watch it.”

So, Sophie gets a small case that says “My Little Pony Friendship is Magic Season 1”, takes out a disc, and puts it into a disc player under the TV. Finally, the TV turns on and the disc begins playing. Looking at what’s happening, there’s a menu of some sort. Sophie presses a button on the disc player and a yellow cursor turns blue on play all.

”Once upon a time in the magical land of Equestria...”

Wait. Equestria? Where’ve I heard that before? OH YEAH! Queen Chrysalis mentioned that when she first came over here.

So, from what I could gather, there were two ponies that look kind of like my kind who ruled Equestria. One of them got sent to the moon for stopping the night from progressing. Once the first song I hear starts, I am left little confused.

“So, let me get this straight. Humans have gathered a summary of knowledge in Equestria’s history, yet they don’t even know the name of my kind?”

“Well, that does sound a little confusing when you put it like that.”

So, Sophie just takes out the disc and puts it back into its case as she turns off the TV.

“Hm. How did you memorize the name of the setting of My Little Pony so quickly?”

“I’ve heard of Equestria, but only through Queen Chrysalis.”

“Oh, so is Queen Chrysalis your leader?”

“Leader? Heck no. I never came across her until ten days after Jon took me in.”

“Oh. I got you. What’s her home like?”

“Nothing special. Just holes in the walls and ceilings that close and open themselves.”

So, throughout the rest of the day, I reread the lyrics to “You Can” so that I can sing the repeating stanza to Aita.

Chapter 2

It’s a Sunday today as Aita will be visiting me for the morning before Sophie picks him back up at lunch. It’s a blast having Aita over. He doesn’t really need much other than love of course, so it’s very easy watching over him. And of course, with him over here is also Carina.

While Aita is sleeping, after I check the mail to find nothing, I get on my computer and go onto a thread site. One titled “I watched something new yesterday” is kind of confusing, so I guess I’ll pass that one up.

“Jon, wait.”

“What?”

“Was this today?”

“What was?”

“The ‘I watched something new yesterday’ thing.”

“Hm? Oh. Yeah.”

“That’s a lot of responses in such a short time.”

“Hm. Let’s see it then. 521 comments on it? Wow!”

I watched the new episode today.

A new episode? Of what?

FIM

Oh, okay. What’s the new episode of FIM?

A Canterlot Wedding. I loved it!

Holy crap! I love that episode! Remember that revelation?!? It reminded me a bit of I am a Teenage Robot!

You too?

The next comment shows a video, its thumbnail as flaming green column in front of some ponies (I think).

“Hm. That color looks familiar to me.”

When I click on the video, it plays as it depicts some sort of alicorn letting the green flaming column engulf her. After that, the other ponies gasp at what’s going on. Before the video is over, what the alicorn actually is is none other than Queen Chrysalis.

“I have a question, Carina. Can you actually transform into another species?”

“Only if they’re the same size. That is without the body aching. I tried it myself before, and learned the hard way.”

Carina changes into a large german shepherd...

“Oh. I see.”

and changes back.

“You’re going to have to be careful with that, Carina. Some places don’t allow animals inside.”

“I will be.”

I look up “Chrysalis transformation” on Google and find a video that wasn’t even uploaded an hour ago. The thumbnail is of Queen Chrysalis from the previous video. When I click on the video, it reveals more of the clip from the previous one.

”She’s a changeling! She takes the form of somepony you love and gains power by feeding off your love for them!”

“Hmhmhmhahahahaha! Right you are, princess!”

Oh no. This can’t be. Queen Chrysalis wasn’t lying about Carina being a changeling. I look at Carina, who is wearing an expression of so much shock, she’s speechless.

After watching that clip, I am taken aback. That purple pony was the one I saw before hearing that song when I was over with Sophie. I saw Queen Chrysalis back years ago. How could she be in this “My Little Pony” show? I recognized the name Equestria, but I never thought Queen Chrysalis would be there.

“Howwww!”

“Are you okay there, Carina?”

“Howwww! How could this happen?!? What’ll happen to Aita and I?!?”

“I... I don’t know.”

I run into the kitchen and start crying. As I continue, Jon comes into the room.

“Carina. I know this is hard for you. It’s just as hard for me to take in.”

“But aren’t changelings earthbound?”

“The ones you’re thinking of, yes. But it seems your kind, if that one pony was right, acts more like a succubus. Not exactly, but close enough. But what confused me was that if you were able to transform all this time, how didn’t I know about this until now?”

“Other than quoting Thorax, I never saw a need to change into anyone. It really didn’t feel like a good idea to be honest. But that pony calling my kind what Queen Chrysalis calls it, that confirms that I’m a changeling!”

“No matter the name of your kind, we’re all here for you and Aita. This fact was staring us in the face when Queen Chrysalis first came here. Here. I’ll get you a kleenex.”

Jon goes into the living room and comes back with tissue for me to dry my tears with. I float the tissue and clean my cheeks and eyes.

“Thanks, Jon.”

“You’re welcome. I may want to let Aita know about this. Obviously that myth about changelings was completely outdated.”

“I don’t know how Aita will react, Jon. He’s never heard of a changeling before.”

“I’ll make note of that.”

Jon heads upstairs while I wait at the table in the kitchen. Just ten minutes later, Aita starts crying loud enough that I can hear him. Suddenly, Aita somehow gets out of the house on his own and his crying leaves my hearing range. I zip to the front door and open it.

“Aita! No.”

When Jon comes downstairs, I look back with sadness.

“I need some time alone.”

“Carina, I’m so sorry about Aita.”

“What did you think Aita would do?!? I wouldn’t know!”

“I didn’t either. I can make it up to you though.”

“You can’t! You considered me more important than a camera! How did you feel when I had Aita instead of our weekend? That weekend’s gone now! You and Aita were the only things I needed, and now, I lost both. Goodbye, Jon.”

“Caina...”

I walk off the front steps to the house and head for Headrest Centre.

Chapter 3

Not long after Carina leaves, Sophie and her white sedan pulls up into my driveway. I open the front door.

“Yo, Jonny! I’m here!”

“I can see that.”

“Where’s Aita and Carina?”

I hang my head.

“Gone.”

“GONE?!?”

I nod.

“What happened?”

“‘A Canterlot Wedding’ happened.”

“Are you talking about a new episode of My Little Pony?!?”

“Yeah. Never saw it yet?”

“No. So, was it so bad that Carina and Aita went to some far away state in hopes to never see it again?”

“No. I only saw a clip of it with Carina. Had to tell Aita about it, and he ran away. Carina just walked out on me in depression because of that.”

“Oh. I hope the two are safe.”

“Carina, maybe. I have no idea about Aita though.”

“So, what do we do?”

“We have to report Aita as missing. Carina, I may know where she is.”

“Alright then. I’ll let Tim know what happened.”

“Okay.”

After half an hour at Headrest Centre, I finally go around town to look for Aita, all the while thinking that it’ll be hopeless finding him. He doesn’t know the town at all, so he will definitely get lost.

At the central part of town, I suddenly see a bright flash in the overcast sky. It looks like lightning, only much longer and less flickery. So, my best bet is that it’s not thundering and lightning out. However, when the flash is over, it reminds me of whenever I’d teleport from one place to another.

Then, I see a dog pound to my left on my walk. I really hope Aita was never sent there when he flew away.

“Mommy! Mommy! Look, a horsey!”

“Leave it alone, hun. It’s probably looking for its home.”

I turn to the miniature conversation with a little girl and her mother.

“Actually, that’s not what’s going on.”

“What?”

The little girl turns to me.

“I’m just looking for my little son.”

“What happened?”

I sniffle.

“He flew away.”

Then, the mother takes her daughter and comes to me.

“Hey, we could go to the police department and they could help look for him.”

“Really? You’d do that?!?”

“You seem like you need it.”

“Wow. Thanks.”

Sophie and I head to Headrest Centre to search for Carina.

“So, why’d we come over here?”

“Carina would’ve come over here for comfort if she ever lost something important to her. It makes sense. Today, Aita flew away. Aita was very important to Carina, and she lost him.”

“But why would we be looking here if she’s not present?”

“She’s definitely here; I can feel it.”

“Well, I can tell that she was here.”

“Tomato to-matto. If we don’t find her, we’ll just go to the police department and report Aita as missing. Heck, we might even find Carina there for all we know.”

“Fine. How about we go now then?”

“Okay. Just one more place to look.”

Unfortunately, we fail to find Carina in any of the store fronts or the food court, so Sophie and I drive over to the police department. When we get there, we see a little girl and presumably her mother at the front door.

“Excuse us.”

“Oh! Jon Vibe! I’ve heard about you! Great job on your videos.”

“Ehm, thanks? My friend and I were going to report Aita as missing.”

The little girl turns to me.

“Aita? Who’s Aita?”

“That would be Carina’s son. Apparently, he flew away.”

Now the mother turns to me.

“Funny you should say that. This little one said the exact same thing to us.”

Sophie gasps.

“Do you mean Carina? She’s in here? Where?”

“Just at the counter.”

The mother and the little girl move inside to let me and Sophie though. Upon going to the counter, the two officers instantly recognize us.

“Hey, Jon!”

“What’s up, my man?”

“Ringo and Louis, right?”

“That’s us. You must recognize me and Louis because of that announcement the other day.”

“I guess.”

“So, I hear this not quite three year old son of your friend’s has gone missing?”

“Yeah. That would be Aita.”

“Alrighty. Let’s just confirm that, and eight of our officers will be set to search for little Aita. We’ll mail you on our progress for the next week. If there’s none to be had for the next week, we have a couple of options.”

Louis grabs a walkie talkie out of his belt.

“We have all the info we need, over. I’ll need you and seven others to look at every single location. Security is sure to let you in at any and all establishments.”

”Over and out.”

“So, what should Carina, Sophie and I do in the process?”

“Try to find any clues to where Aita may have flown off to. And if you do find some, let us know right away. Alright?”

“You got it, Ringo.”

“Hey Handy, is that your car out there?”

“Huh? Oh. Yeah.”

“You’re gonna waste battery doing that.”

“I know. Roman keeps telling me that too. Just a force of habit.”

“Alrighty then, you three stay safe, okay?”

“Okay, bye.”

Sophie and I wave goodbye to Ringo and Louis as we make for the exit.

Chapter 4

On my way home with Carina and Sophie, Carina keeps her eyes closed, until she lets out something in her mind.

“Hey, Jon. Was it going to storm earlier?”

“Not to my knowledge. Why, Carina?”

“I saw some flash on my way to the police station.”

“A flash? Like lightning? Hmm. I do remember seeing some lightning, but I don’t remember hearing any thunder.”

“It certainly couldn’t be lightning, really. The flash was way too long not to flicker in and out.”

Sophie briefly scratches her chin in thought.

“Hmm. What color was it?”

“Close to white.”

“What was the tint?”

“Not too sure, but it has to be between sky blue and yellow.”

Now, I think for a second.

“Isn’t green smack between those two colors? Like the green from that one video we watched?”

“Do you mean from today?”

“Yeah.”

“I guess you’re right. I mean, my horn glows in green.”

“Okay. That’s it. Wherever you came from before landing here, Aita must’ve gone to. We’re going to that field I found you in.”

“Wait, Jon! What does a flash have to do with Aita flying away?!? I mean, it could be absolutely anything! A flashlight in a balloon ride, a helicopter, even a plane! Aita doesn’t even fly that well.”

“Carina, why would a flashlight be green? I mean, it could be, but that wouldn’t really make much sense. Same with helicopters and planes. Plus, it’s overcast out. Any rides like that would be delayed. You yourself said Aita flew away instead of just running away.”

“I may’ve said he flew away, but by now, he would’ve been on the ground.”

“Look, let’s just get to the field where I found you and see if he flew to where you were before you got here.”

“Okay.”

So, after driving off to the same road from nearly three years ago, I park the car on the side of the road, right about where I parked all the way back then. I lead Carina and Sophie to the little indent from where Carina landed when I first found her.

“That’s strange.”

“What is, Carina?”

“I sense strong negative emotions, yet the land is untouched!”

“Hmm. Before first finding you, I remember seeing what looked like a meteor under lettuce colored glasses.”

“Are you making a relation to the flash?”

“Yeah. You said it had a slight tint of somewhere between yellow and sky blue. If it has to’ve been green, and if Queen Chrysalis said it was a week and a half after you went missing from invading Equestria before coming here, then Aita must be in Equestria.”

“So, you’re saying that Aita flew up possibly miles into the air before going to Equestria? But Aita could only fly near the top of a two level house! I don’t e- wait a minute! Oh! Considering the energy emitting such strongly negative emotion and how much energy it takes to do that, Aita must’ve had some sort of energy rush, one big enough that he was able to fly much higher than usual AND make such a bright flash!”

Sophie joins me and Carina’s conversation.

“And only that much energy can be ready to use through a stimulus?”

“Yeah.”

Carina pauses and looks up to the sky.

“Horn... don’t fail me now.”

“So, how’re we going to Equestria?”

“I’m the only one that is able to go to Equestria without teleporting, precisely how I could get one of you into Equestria. And Jon, since you’re the one who found me, I’ll take you to where I’ll teleport.”

“You got it, Carina. Sophie, if Roman comes over, tell him I’m out of town.”

“Alright. I’ll tell him.”

Chapter 6

I stop by Fluttershy’s and pay her a visit, knocking on her front door.

“Ah! Twilight! Spike! What’re you doing here?”

“I’m glad to make it. I was just in Canterlot, having a talk with Princess Celestia.”

“Oh, how was it?”

“I voiced to her my concerns about how she handled a changeling that landed in Canterlot, which brought me to your place.”

“But why? What did the princess do wrong?”

“She knew that the changeling was young, but she had her guards interrogate it anyway. Of course it didn’t go well.”

“How young was it?”

I light my horn without any spells in mind.

“If the changeling had managed to fly off just like that, it must be extremely young.”

“So, why exactly did you come over here?”

“We wanted to ask if you have seen it at all?”

“Um. No, I don’t remember seeing anything when I was outside.”

“Okay. I’ll check the Everfree Forest. Celestia said that the guards estimated the changeling’s landing to be the southern outskirts of Ponyville.”

“Okay, um. Good luck with- wait WHAT?!? The E-e-e-everfree Forest?!? Hey, you two look like you could use some company.”

“Twilight and I are fine. We been in there pl-”

“Actually, Fluttershy, we would like your company.”

“Okay.”

Throughout our search for the changeling, neither Fluttershy, Spike nor I could find it.

“Hmm. Something smells like it just came here.”

“What is it, Spike?”

“Sweat? Molasses? I don’t know, Twilight.”

“Where is it strongest?”

“Well, I don’t smell it much now.”

“Um. Does anypony else hear moaning?”

“What? Where’s it coming from, Fluttershy?”

“I don’t know exactly, Spike. But it might be behind me.”

The three of us turn around and find a lone bush within all the trees. Spike and Fluttershy watch as I inch towards it. Looking closer, I can see a dim blue light coming through the bush, one I can recognize.

Now I hear the moaning that Fluttershy was talking about. Looking to my left and right, I can confirm that the sound’s coming from the bush. When I poke my right forehoof onto the bush, the moaning stops. Instead, now the bush rustles very quietly. Suddenly, the blue light from inside the bush emits to my chest and right forehoof, as the rustling stops momentarily.

Then, I get blinded as the light leaves the bush and onto the entire front half of my body. Finally, the light dims, giving me a chance to see where the light is coming from.

“Twilight, look!”

What is behind the light is an extremely young changeling that doesn’t even look half my size.

“Oh my.”

I sigh in relief, realizing that this is the changeling that fled the interrogation.

“Well, at the very least, she told the truth.”

“Huh?”

“Hey. You seem lost. Why don’t we get somewhere safe, okay? The Everfree Forest is no place for little ones like you.”

Shortly after comforting the changeling, it starts to purr.

“Perfect. We can trust him.”

“Him?”

I roll my eyes at Fluttershy.

“Yes. I could tell from the way he purrs when content. Now come on, we can’t be here longer than we need to be.”

“Right behind you, Twilight.”

And with that, Fluttershy, Spike and I all walk back out of the Everfree Forest.

Chapter 7

Just as I get home, the changeling seems to be experiencing some culture shock as he wanders around the main room of the library.

“Okay, I have to go upstairs for a second, so why don’t you get comfortable down here?”

The changeling nods, so I take Spike upstairs and close the door leading to the first floor.

“Spike, what happened? Princess Celestia said that this changeling had flown off from interrogation, and well, it’s true about the flying off part. But how could she act so irrationally?!?”

“Don’t you remember? The wedding?”

“The wedding is no excuse to interrogate a baby changeling! Of course I remember the wedding! Of course Queen Chrysalis’ plan was awful! But a changeling this young needs to be raised right and given a proper home! Now, we have a chance to do just that! We can’t let it go to waste.”

Spike sighs.

“Okay, Twi. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt since it is s-”

“He.”

“...since he is so young.”

“Good. Let’s get back downstairs.”

I open the door as Spike and I get back downstairs, seeing that the changeling has calmed down.

“Okay. If you want to stay here, my assistant and I will be glad to let you. I am very sorry about Princess Celestia giving you a bad impression on how ponies are. Why don’t we change that now? Welcome to Ponyville. I’m Twilight Sparkle, and this is my assistant, Spike. Who’re you?”

“A-aita?”

“Oh, right. I forgot about what happened for a second there. Well, at least we know your name. Wait. Aita? Aita?!? That’s a kind of peculiar name. But for some reason, I like it.”

“Hmm. I wonder who gave him that name.”

“I’ll have to find out what his name means. It sounds really interesting.”

Suddenly, Spike burps out a letter once again.

“Ugh. I hope that’ll be the last one for today.”

“Oh, great. What does Celestia want now? Come on, let’s get upstairs.”

I float the letter in front of me to read it.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

My apologies for writing to you again today, but another changeling has come, this one looking much older. We had successfully finished the process of interrogation with it, and the results, to my relief, bear no direct association with Queen Chrysalis. It says that it had only come across Queen Chrysalis years ago, and that it was looking for its son. If you have already found the changeling that had flown off to southern Ponyville, please bring “him” to Canterlot, as “he” may just be the one that the parent is looking for. Send me a letter right away if you have any questions or concerns.

Yours truly,
Princess Celestia

“Okay, time to write one then.”

“Right ahead of you, Twi!”

Dear Princess Celestia,

I have recently received your letter regarding a second changeling unassociated with Queen Chrysalis. While it would be at my highest pleasure to unite the two changelings, I would only be able to do so in Ponyville. Because of the failed interrogation of Aita, I’m afraid travelling back to Canterlot will spook him, especially if we take the train. I hope there’s anything you can do to unite Aita with his parent here in Ponyville.

Your student,
Twilight Sparkle

So, Spike sends the letter, using his firebreath. That means that we can finally go back downstairs.

“Whew. Glad we got that out of the way.”

“Huh?”

“Um, Aita? Celestia just sent me a letter, and I told her how I found you. If she plans on uniting you with another of your kind, likely one of your parents that is looking for you, the subject of your kind will have to come here. I know it’s been hard for you, so I’m trying my best to make it easy for you.”

After listening to my announcement, Aita begins purring again and headbutts my chest.

“Oh. You’re welcome, Aita.”

Chapter 8

I perk up when this “Celestia” pony sees a scroll forming in front of her.

“Huh? A letter? Already?”

“What is it?”

“Oh, it’s from Twilight.”

“Ah. That pony you mentioned from earlier?”

“Yes. I sent a letter regarding your presence and that the younger changeling that was headed to southern Ponyville may be who you were looking for.”

So, I skim through the letter a few times as Celestia lets me.

“Wait a minute. How does Twilight know about Aita?!?”

“Hmm. Twilight did say that Aita most likely couldn’t say much when she was here.”

My third time around, I catch a word I thought I would never see.

“Huh? What’s this? Wait, what?!? YOU PRESSED MY NEAR THREE YEAR OLD SON?!? WERE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!? He can’t even talk in complete sentences yet!!! That’s it! Time to head to ‘Ponyville’!”

I zip outside and look to the south, catching a town seemingly filled with cottages out in the distance. Wherever this “Ponyville” is, that must be it. It’ll have to do.

So, after an hour, I manage to get inside the town. However, every single pony starts gawking at me like I’d done something wrong. Did it have to do with that clip I saw before all of this happened? After about five seconds of noticing, I decide to pay no mind to the gawks and head straight south. What lies ahead is a cottage to my left with a forest up ahead.

I stop for a second. If Twilight already knows about Aita, I should find that pony’s place instead of looking in the forest. Aita is already with her, so I’ll try to find Twilight’s house.

Coming up north, I face west to spot an unusual house that’s in the shape of a tree with a bee hive hanging on the north side. I decide to knock on the door, presuming that someone already lives inside.

Upstairs, I hear a knock on the door. I rush to the main entrance of the house, opening it to surprise as an adult changeling had knocked on the door.

“Um, hi?”

“Hmm. You look familiar. I assume you’re the one I saw when I watched a couple of recordings from this nation.”

“Recordings? That kind of technology is particularly limited here. But because of what you said, I know that I can trust that you’re the second one of your kind to come here unassociated with the invasion of Canterlot.”

“Canterlot?!?”

“Where you just were?”

“OH, is that where you were from?”

“Wait. How did you know?”

“Where I was looked similar to the setting of one of the clips I saw. I figured that you lived in Canterlot. Wait a minute, you said that I was the second changeling unassociated with Queen Chrysalis. Do you know Aita?!? Are you THE Twilight?!?”

“The one and only.”

I gasp, rushing into the room that has the main entrance.

“Where’s Aita?”

Finally, I see Aita, sitting calm in front of the wall underneath of the stairs.

“Okaeri.”

“What did he say?!?”

“I think I know what he said. A friend of mine says that it means ‘welcome’. Oh, Aita. Are you okay?”

“Uh-huh.”

“So, how did Aita get here in the first place if he isn’t associated with the rest of his kind? For that matter, how did you?”

“Well, you might not believe it, but there’s a place called Wisconsin.”

“Wisconsin? Don’t you mean Whinniesconsin? And I was asking how you and Aita GOT here?”

“To my understanding, Aita got here the same way I apparently did, coming across my friend from earlier, by using his horn. I remember, when looking for him in Wisconsin, seeing a flash like lightning, just with a green tint. I think that’s how he ended up in Canterlot.”

“Oh. But what about you?”

“I teleported and flew north for about three hours before getting to Canterlot. The rest you might know.”

“Wait, where did you teleport to?”

“As close to Equestria as I can, which so happened to be where Queen Chrysalis teleported me when I was at an abandoned building filled with love.”

Chapter 9

”Whoa! Where are we?”

“This is where I was when I went missing back in 2009.”

Suddenly, Jon and I hear a gasp.

“Carina? What’re you doing in here?”

I think for a bit. I recognize the voice, but I can’t put my hoof on it. Then it comes to me. This is either...

“Cervix or Brand?”

“Cervix. So, what’s going on? Who’s this creature?”

“Oh. Him? That would be Jon, my best human friend.”

“Hmm. What are you going to do?”

“I’ve been searching for Aita, but now, I have a clue of where he might be. I remember seeing a bright flash of white with a tint of green.”

“Well, Carina, you’re right. Why don’t I help you with that, though. Recently, we failed invading Equestria again, and the location we were in was Canterlot.”

“Canterlot? Like as in A Canterlot Wedding?”

“Well, that’s one way to remember it. Anyway, you may want to look in Canterlot first for... Aita?!?”

“Don’t worry about that name.”

Cervix turns to Jon upon hearing the reassurance.

“Okay then. So, what’s your plan?”

“Well, originally, I was going to take Jon with me over to Equestria. But now, I realize that I can just go it alone.”

“Of course you can, Carina. We’ll keep your friend company.”

“Okay. One final thing. If you come across Brand, then tell him that I’m sorry about dismissing the idea of our kind being changelings.”

“Okay. I’ll let him know.”

“Bye, Jon. See you when I get back.”

“Bye, Carina.”

And with that, I make my way to exit the hive.

“So, wait. You were in Queen Chrysalis’ hive?!?”

“Yeah, but she never came.”

“So, your conversation with Cervix was practically secret? And what kind of name is Jon? I can understand Vibe as a family name, but Jon?!?”

“You’re not alone. To this day, I can’t wrap my head around the meaning of human names either.”

“Wait. What’s a human?!?”

“Eh. Kind of think of your friend over there without a tail and with clothes and hair instead.”

“Oh. Well, how is, um, Jon? Are the chan-”

“Twilight, please. Don’t mention the name of my kind in front of Aita.”

“Sorry. Um, are the members of your kind keeping your friend company.”

“I sure hope so. Cervix seemed confident to do it.”

“I’m glad you came here yourself from Canterlot. I asked Princess Celestia to find a way to get you over to Ponyville.”

“I didn’t come here myself because of you. It was more in shock of what the letter said about Aita.”

“Yes. I was disappointed at how she treated Aita, and I called her out on it.”

“So did I. Hey Aita?”

“Huh?”

“Ready to get back home?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Okay. We’ll stop by the hive first though. But I know how to travel there quickly.”

So, I take Aita under my front hooves and teleport to the hive, taking him with me.

“Huh?”

“Jon!”

Throughout the hive, I look for Jon until I find an exceptionally big cocoon. For a while, it looks like just that. The biggest cocoon in one cocoon riddled room. Looking closer, I see a shirt within the cocoon. Then, I notice two arms.

That’s Jon. That’s definitely Jon.

Chapter 10

I gasp at the sight suddenly as Aita hides behind my neck.

“Jon... JON!!!”

“What is going ON here? And-”

The voice behind me gasps.

“Carina?”

I turn around to see that the changeling behind me is Queen Chrysalis. Aita moves to the front of my neck to see her.

“Queen Chrysalis?!?”

“Why, Carina, thanks for recognizing me. What is the problem?”

“What’s going on with Jon?”

“My drones have only cocooned him so that he is cared for. You have nothing to fear.”

“Wait. How does that work?”

“I know you don’t remember this. But our cocoon is practically like a time capsule. Nearly nothing will break down under any of the contents inside, so everything within the cocoon that Jon possesses will stay intact.”

“So, Jon’s going to be fine?”

“Yes. I could free him now if you want.”

“YES... please!”

And with that, Queen Chrysalis digs into the cocoon to break Jon free, she, stopping when he lands.

“Queen Chrysalis? Carina? What happened?”

I come over to hug Jon.

“Oh, Jon. I’m so glad you weren’t hurt.”

“So, did you find Aita?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Aita... why does that name sound familiar? Wait. Didn’t I hear it when I was dreaming?”

“I think you did. You visited me in a dream that I had after Carina’s egg hatched.”

“Ah, okay. So, this is goodbye for the last time I presume? I’m asking because Aita is a pleasure to see.”

“Only for now. If someone says that you’ve been thinking about me, I could just teleport into your hive. You’re the one who teleported me here in the first place, so in a way, I thank you. I’d like to see you again, but I won’t go unrequested.”

“Well, it’s a good thing we’re in good terms then. Farewell, Carina. Farewell, Jon. You’ve earned the extra hours added to your life from your explorations.”

“Erm, thanks, Queen Chrysalis.”

Carina gets me, Aita, and herself back home at last.

Finally having a chance to sit on the couch, I start thinking.

“Hey Carina. What was the whole extra few hours thing about?”

“I think it had something to do with the cocoon that the hive put you in. Chrysalis had said that next to nothing will break down in the material contained in the cocoon.”

“Wait, not even paper? Doesn’t paper always break down in water.”
“I doubt it. You look no different from before I left.”

Suddenly, Carina hears Roman’s knock, so she levitates the door open.

“Hello?”

“Hey Rroman.”

“Hey Jon. Heard you were outta town today. What were you doing?”

“Carina and I went looking for Aita, and Carina found him.”

“Um, Jon, why does it faintly smell like a stink bug in here?”

“I don’t know. No one ever noticed since our trip home started.”

Roman plugs his nose as Carina sniffs the air.

“Hmm. Now that you bring it up, Roman, I can pick it up, but just barely so. It shouldn’t really be a problem though.”

“Well, either way, Sophie and Tim are here to pick up Aita.”

“Actually, I know where Aita may want to go for the night. Jon, do you mind if Aita and I spend the night at Headrest Centre?”

“I’ll actually want to recommend that for about a couple of days. I think Aita will want a break from humans for a while.”

“But what about during the day?”

“Roman, all a parent and a child of our kind need is each other. I’ll keep Aita company, sharing my love with him.”

After hearing Carina, Aita’s reaction is to purr.

“Well, I guess Aita and I will be going. It’s almost sunset. Bye Roman. Bye Jon.”

I wave goodbye along with Roman as Carina and Aita walk out of the house over to Headrest Centre.

Morning at last. It’s just after sunrise when Aita wakes me up. As I wake up, laying on my right side, has his forehooves on my left one. I wrap him under said hoof, causing him to loudly purr. After ten minutes of me and Aita bonding, the back door opens to a guard. Suddenly, he notices us.

“Oh, hey Carina.”

“Um, who’re you?”

“Dennis. I guess he was really telling the truth.”

“He?”

“Jonathan?”

“Wait. Are you a friend of Jon’s?”

“Yeah. But I’m just on duty right now. So, I see you found Aita.”

“Yeah. I guess I never took your job into account upon staying here.”

“Eh. You’ll get it on your next try. Want me to tell police that Aita is with you now?”

“Go for it.”

“Thanks.”

So, after five to ten minutes of looking around, no one else is spotted during Dennis’ search, so he just makes for the back exit, leaving Aita and I to our bonding.

Chapter 5

“Have a wonderful day, High Tide. Hey Twilight! Hi Spike!”

“Hey Pinkie. Happy to make it. What was it you wanted?”

“This place called Pastry Princess sent an exclusive 150 bit gift card to all students of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. Managed to find it in my mail. And that’s why I called you here, to get the csrd.”

“Oh! Pastry Princess?!? Mmmm.”

Spike smacks his lips.

“Fair enough. I was free for the day anyway. Perhaps I could go to Canterlot.”

Suddenly, the smacking lips stop has Spike begins burping up a letter. I float the letter for a good look.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

I am aware it seems that you have no relevance in what I’m about to say, but a small changeling has landed here in Canterlot. This is particularly peculiar as it has come from above and the north instead of the south. While this seems to point against Chrysalis’ return, the Canterlot guards will be on the lookout for Chrysalis, should she return yet again. I advise you to stay in Ponyville until the curfew lifts. As of right now, we have no knowledge about this changeling. I will let you know either when we have better knowledge of the changeling, we have any complications with the changeling, or we lift the curfew.

Yours truly,
Princess Celestia

“A changeling?!? In Canterlot?!? Pack your things, Spike. We’re going to Canter-”

“Twilight, didn’t you read what it said? It said to stay put until something happens in Canterlot.”

“Yeah. I don’t know, Twilight. The letter said it was a small changeling as well. Maybe it’s just lost. It would be extremely unlikely for that queen meanie to send one of her babies to Canterlot.”

“Okay. I’ll take your word for it for now.”

“So, what now? We can’t go to Pastry Princess, so what do we do?”

“Well, if you want, Spike, I could just give you a pastry, on the house.”

“Really? Ah, thanks Pinkie!”

“No problem.”

Suddenly, Spike burps out another letter, so I float that in front of me to read it.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

Not long after sending the previous letter, the changeling had fled from interrogation, and is headed to southern Ponyville. Will you check on Fluttershy and make sure she does fine? I would greatly appreciate it if you do. In the meantime, Canterlot will still be on the lookout for Queen Chrysalis. The curfew will only be lifted if nothing happens in the next hour and a half. Report anything about the changeling to me if you come across it.

Yours truly,
Princess Celestia

“Spike, we’ll need to get to Canterlot, now.”

Spike sighs.

“But Princess Celestia said-”

“I don’t care what’s going on. I need answers, now.”

I run to the train station for Canterlot, Spike following suit.

“But what about the curfew?”

“Princess Celestia only referred to the lookout as a curfew to keep my business out of Canterlot. Something fishy is going on. Why would a changeling be headed to the Everfree Forest for any reason?”

“Possibly for comfort.”

“That doesn’t matter now. Canterlot will be our first stop.”

“Hello, my sister. How are you?”

“Getting my bearings back together.”

“What is going on? What is the matter?”

Suddenly, a foreign voice catches me and Luna’s attention.

“I might know what’s going on.”

“Twilight?!?”

“Twilight?!? Don’t you remember what I told you?”

“Yes, and I can hypothesize what your first letter really said. If that changeling you were talking about in the letter was small, and likely a child, WHY WOULD YOU INTERROGATE IT IN THE FIRST PLACE?!? Since when has interrogation been remotely a good idea on a child?!?”

“Interrogation?!? Sister, what is this all about?!?”

“When this changeling had landed here in Canterlot, where it came from was very strange. It was north instead of south. I requested two of the guards to ask of any associations with Queen Chrysalis. Shortly after, the guards came back without the changeling, saying that it’d flown away, the guards predicting that it would land in southern Ponyville.”

“See, this is what I’m talking about! The changeling had to fly away because of two things. One, you said it yourself; the changeling is small, so it couldn’t say much. Two, it must be lost if it was as small as you said!”

“Twilight... I am truly sorry for how short sighted I was for requesting the guards for any association with the hive. I will lift security measures so long as no reports of Queen Chrysalis are to be had.”

“Thank you. Now, I have to go to the Everfree Forest. I have to find that changeling and its home.”

“Do be careful, Twilight.”