Chapter 1 - The New Face In Town

All was dark in the forest.  The sound of crickets could be heard throughout.  A single candle light pierced the darkness like an arrow.  The candle hung from a saddle bag belonging to an earth pony, a young stallion who should not have wandered out alone in the forest by himself unless he was seeking an untimely demise.  The Everfree Forest was well known for the dangers that lurk there, hidden among the shadows.

The stallion's eyes darted left and right, keeping as sharp a lookout as possible.  His job as a groundskeeper in Ponyville didn't typically require him to be alert.  He recently started heading into the forest from time to time to keep his senses sharp.  Unfortunately having a light with him not only allows him to see, but also to be seen.  It had been a lucky night so far with no harsh encounters, but he wasn't going to get complacent.

This was the only place in Equestria where the ponies didn't control the weather.  The animals took care of themselves as well, not needing the ponies to make nests for them or wake them up from hibernation.  Aside from the flora and fauna he also wanted to see the ancient castle of the royal pony sisters.  Maybe in doing so he could learn why the forest was so irregular.

All sorts of danger and adventure were to be had for anyone brave or foolish enough to enter the forest.  Tumbler was leaning toward the latter.  He was hoping for a chance to meet Zecora, a zebra that lived in the Everfree Forest.  Of course she came into Ponyville from time to time but he never worked up the courage to introduce himself.

“Tumbler, how hard can it be?” he would ask himself.  “'Hi Zecora, my name's Tumbler.  I was wonderin' if you'd be interested in having a grass sandwich or an apple with me some time',” he said in a mocking tone of his own shyness.  “Aww, who am I kidding?  I'll never squeak out anything past the first 'Hi'”.

He grumbled and resigned himself to his fate when out of the corner of his eye, he notices a small black equine-looking creature lying on the ground.  He couldn't see it too well, but it was definitely not moving, save for the irregular rise and fall of labored breathing.

He tapped it lightly with his hoof to see if it would react.  Upon touching it, Tumbler discovered it didn't have a coat of fur.  Instead, it had a very shiny black skin that felt like a beetle's exoskeleton.  One detail that stood out about this creature, was that it possessed both a horn and wings, like the princesses.  The wings did seem a bit small though.  The creature's wings and legs also had several holes in them, which immediately alarmed Tumbler.

“Poor guy, he looks badly hurt,” Tumbler thought to himself.  He decided to ignore the possible danger of bringing a creature from Everfree into Ponyville.  He used his hooves and head to pick up the creature and lift it onto his back.  With it secured, Tumbler headed back to Ponyville and directly to the hospital.

The trip back to Ponyville was uneventful, thankfully.  A nice, cool breeze was blowing.  It was a typically nice sunny day in Ponyville, a stark contrast to the constant nightfall over Everfree.  The shops were already open, and there were a few looks and odd glances from different shopkeepers, but Tumbler was focused on getting to the hospital and wasn't going to stop until he got there.

Once Tumbler arrived at the hospital, he burst into the main reception room, and called out for help.  A purple earth pony looked up from her desk and gasped.  The creature looked nothing like anything in Ponyville.

“What is that thing?” the receptionist asked.

Tumbler told the receptionist he had found this creature in the Everfree Forest, a prone victim to whatever might have come by.  The receptionist called for the nurse who then appeared from a back room.  She was a bright minty green unicorn with a white mane wearing a nurse outfit.  “How can I help you?” she asked.

Tumbler gestured toward the black insect/equine hybrid creature on his back.  “I found this creature in the Everfree Forest,” Tumbler said.  “He looked hurt so I brought him here.”

The nurse eyed the creature carefully, trying to discern what exactly was wrong with him.  The holes in his legs looked natural, as opposed to injury.  The creature's “skin” was shiny and smooth, but hard like a beetle's exoskeleton.

“Poor little guy,” said the nurse.  “I've never seen anything like this creature before, but we'll definitely do our best to get him back on his hooves again,” the receptionist assured him.  She called for a few orderlies to bring a gurney.  The two orderlies, one an earth pony and the other a unicorn, arrived and lifted the creature onto the gurney then wheeled him to the ICU.

Tumbler sighed and looked down at the floor.  The nurse walked up to him and put a hoof on his shoulder to reassure him.  “We'll do everything we can for him, but I can't promise you anything,” the nurse took her hoof off Tumbler's shoulder.  “We don't even know what he is.”

Tumbler looked up at the nurse, then sighed again as he looked back at the floor.  “I know, I just wish there was more I could do.”

“We'll keep you posted, and there's always visitation hours,” the nurse reminded him.  “For now, just being there can help in his recovery.”  She walked around behind the desk and took her seat to fill out some paperwork for the newly admitted patient.  Tumbler looked around nervously, unable to sit or stand still.  Finally, the nurse had to send him away for being too distracting.

Tumbler left the hospital feeling pretty low, unsure if his efforts were in vain or not.  For a few days, his work was sub-par.  He couldn't help himself, he was too distracted.  The grass around Fluttershy's cottage was getting unevenly cut, a problem that became more apparent as the week dragged on.

After Tumbler did his chores each day, he would go to the hospital for any news on his creature friend, only to find disappointment.  The doctor did discover that there were a few cracks in the exoskeleton that may prevent him from doing anything strenuous for fear of causing even worse damage.

Tumbler asked if he could volunteer to help out around the hospital, allowing the nurses and doctors to spend more time with the patients and less time worrying about cleaning, food, and basic patient needs.  They agreed, but let him know that they couldn't pay him.  Tumbler didn't mind.  It was volunteer work after all.  Plus, it would help put his mind at ease doing something that might help the patient.  The hospital staff finally agreed to allow it, seeing the earnest concern in Tumbler's eyes and heart.

It went on like this for at least a week.  Tumbler would wake up early in the morning around five o'clock, mow the grass, water the flowers and bushes, and just generally taking care of the flora in Ponyville.  He'd usually finish around seven o'clock, right in time for breakfast.  Tumbler always spent breakfast in the creature's room at the hospital.  After he finished eating, he would clean up the room and wash the dishes, then he would return to the hospital room and sit in the corner to wait, keeping watch.

The ritual continued at lunch time, and again for dinner.  He would get a meal for himself and the patient, despite the patient being unconscious.  Tumbler would then eat, clean up afterwards, then watch.  Not just to see if and when the creature would wake up, but also to protect him as well it seemed.  It was almost creepy.  Nevertheless, the hospital staff was glad to have someone volunteering to help out in any way that he could to make their jobs a little easier.

The creature eventually woke up after another week in the hospital.  Opening his eyes slowly, he notices he's in a bed in a room with little else but a curtain, an end table with a lamp on it, and a book cart.  He notices the same brown stallion from the forest napping in a chair in the corner.

Tumbler drowsily stirred, then noticed a minute later that the creature had woken up as well.  He was suddenly alert, excited at the turn of events.  “Oh, thank Celestia!” he exclaimed.  “Nurse!  NURSE!” he called out.  The minty green unicorn entered the room in a hurry, hearing the alarm in Tumbler's voice.

The creature started to speak, “Where am I?” but was immediately silenced by the nurse.  “Shh shh... just relax for now,”  She gestured with her head toward Tumbler, “This pony stayed with you the entire time you were unconscious.  You're very lucky to have a friend like him looking out for you.”  The nurse went about taking vital signs and checking things before she turned to leave the room.  “Just remember, if you need anything, feel free to ask for me,” she said just before she left the room.  “I'm Nurse Wintergreen.”

Tumbler and the creature were left alone together.  Tumbler smiled at the creature.  The creature however wasn't quite sure what to make of his circumstances.  He didn't know how long he was out for, but he obviously hadn't eaten anything in that time either.  The nurse had already left before he could collect his thoughts enough to ask for food.  Looking around the room, he saw there was a clock, an end table with a lamp on it, a small book cart with several books on it, a curtain, and an empty bed complete with its own end table, lamp, and curtain.

He sighed to himself, dreading his embarrassing circumstances.  Locked up away from the swarm, injured from impact and subsequent fall, and completely at the mercy of his enemies.  What do they want?  What're they scheming?  Are they going to interrogate him?  He'll have none of that!  I've got to get out of here, he thought to himself, looking around for a possible escape.

“So tell me, how did you end up in the Everfree Forest?” Tumbler inquired.  He had a kind aura about him that was disarming.  The creature was expecting more of an aggressive interrogator than this namby-pamby pony stuff.

Just as the creature was about to answer though, Tumbler cut him off with a second question, “Also, I've never seen anything quite like you, what are you, and... where do you come from?”

Tumbler seemed friendly enough to the creature.  According to Nurse Wintergreen, he looked after him while he was unconscious.  If the tales of this land were true, these ponies probably wouldn't do anything truly malicious to him.

“I can answer both questions at the same time,” he said, “I'm a Changeling, from beyond Equestria's borders.”

“A what?” Tumbler asked, not quite sure he heard right.

“A Changeling,” he repeated.  “Call me Asouva”.  He tried to adjust his position in bed, but pain engulfed him again, causing him to grunt.  That repulsion field sure hit like a train.  It'll be a while before he can be up and walking on his own again, much less flying.

“Don't push yourself,” Tumbler said.  “We want you to rest so you can get all better.”

The Changeling winced.  These ponies didn't seem hostile at all, thankfully.  The ones he'd been speaking to didn't, at least.  This one actually seemed genuinely interested in his well-being, even if he was a little annoying with his incessant questions.

Tumbler returned to his initial question finally.  “So how'd you end up in the Everfree Forest?”

“It's a long story...” the Changeling replied.

“I've already finished my work for the day,” Tumbler sat down.  “Nothing but time at the moment.”

Asouva sighed with annoyance.  This pony was nice, but getting to be very annoying.  He hoped this wasn't how all of them were.  He changed the subject, “Thank you for saving me.”

Tumbler smiled raised a hoof to shush the Changeling.  “You're quite welcome,” he replied.  “I couldn't just leave you there, especially in as bad a shape as you are.”

“Nonetheless,” the Changeling insisted, pleased that his distraction worked.  “I didn't expect one of your kind to risk himself to save one of my kind.”

“Why is that?” Tumbler asked.

“Well, it started.. well... I don't know how long ago,” the Changeling began.  “How long was I out for?”

“It's been two weeks since I found you in Everfree,” Tumbler replied.

“Oh... I see...” Asouva said in response.  His expression looked sad for a moment, as if he harbored great regret.  “It was about a month ago...” the Changeling finally said.  He told Tumbler about the attack on Canterlot just before the royal wedding between Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Shining Armor.  He described how the Queen and her hive nearly won everything too, but the betrothed couple had spoiled her plans, knocking them all out of Canterlot with some kind of repulsion bubble shield spell that sent them all flying in different directions.  A large portion of the Changelings ended up in the Badlands, while he ended up in the Everfree Forest.  The impact from the shield plus the damage from landing were responsible for his current state of health.  During the course of the story, Asouva also described briefly about how they feed, which tied into the whole reason for the invasion in the first place.

“Wow...” was all Tumbler could say in response.  “That's... quite some story... and I find your food source fascinating.”

“Now you know why I'm surprised you helped me,” Asouva said.

Tumbler pondered the words of this would-be adversary, and chuckled.  “Nonsense.  We're a friendly, loving bunch of ponies.  By no means are we heartless.”

“But-” Asouva began, but Tumbler interrupted him.

“Doesn't matter, I would've helped you anyways,” Tumbler shrugged.  “I couldn't just leave you to die.”

After an awkward silence, Tumbler suddenly stood up.  “Well, it's getting late,” he announced.  True enough, it had started to get dark outside.  “I'll be back in the morning to check up on you,” he promised.  “In the meantime, you get some sleep.”

Asouva was getting tired too, now that Tumbler mentioned it.  Yawning, he let out a good night before dozing off.  Tumbler headed home, content knowing that he made a new friend.