Duellum Telum

Chapters

Prologue
Confrontations
Chasing Love ▲ ß¥≈▲∩ÐΣ┌
The First Lesson
Breaking the Ice
Telling History Part 1
Telling History Part 2
The Moon's Fight With Itself
Where the Heart Is ▲∩ ï∩╥µÐΣ┌
An Old Friend; A New Face
Back to Basics
Refusing the Heart pt1

Prologue

Author's Forward Note

I know, I know, I said there would be a second part. But the editor I found said to combine them, and well, this is what I got. Yes, You've read some of this before. No, I won't be doing this again.

Also, editor, if you're reading this please comment so I can give you credit.

Duellum was walking down a street deep in thought. How did that happen, he thought, how did she turn into a changeling?

***

He was sitting on a branch making sure he was hidden from the blue mare named Rainbow Dash when a green beam tore a hole straight through the clubhouse roof.

Rainbow Dash dove into the clubhouse.

“Everypony okay?” Rainbow dash said.

“COOOL!” Sweetie Belle and Applebloom admired the sudden display of power that had enveloped their friend.

Coughing and spluttering, a black filly dusted off some wood chippings from her chest, noting a dull sound when she tapped it.

“What the… I have a chest plate?”

... What, Duellum thought to himself. He looked at his hooves. This has something to do with genes? It’s not a curse?

Silently climbing down, he let his disguise fall.

This has to be some sort of trick...

Sitting on the ground beneath the clubhouse, he looked again at his hooves.

But... what if it isn’t?

***

How... how can this be something I was born with? He turned a corner. Wasn’t this some kind of curse? Does it mean that Caligantis knows I’m here? No, if she did, she wouldn’t sit around and try to coax me out from hiding. Then this must be real, that filly has to be just like me... But should I try to talk to her? Maybe tell her of the things I found out, so she won’t be surprised... If I do, I must be careful with how I approach and where we meet.

“Talos, give Flare back her book,” a familiar voice said.

Duellum turned another corner and saw a gryphon with black feathers where a normal gryphon would have white, and had blood red irises with gold flecks in them. Beside him stood a rust red unicorn with an orange mane and tail with burnt orange highlights. Leaning up against a street lamp nearby was a grey-ish dark blue pegasus, who had emerald green eyes and a two tone blue mane and tail.

“Fine.”

The griffon tossed a book at the red unicorn who fumbled with it before using her magic, accidentally catching it on fire.

“Aw... See what you made me do?” The unicorn pouted.

Duellum trotted up to his friends.

“Hey guys, thought we were going to meet in the usual spot.”

They turned to Duellum.

“Hey D. You look different today,” Flare commented.

Talos glanced at Moonfire. “Different? He looks like he’s a bug-pony.”

The blue pegasus hit him over the head with her wing.

“What was that for, Frostfall?!” Talos asked.

“You are being insensitive. Again,” Frostfall deadpanned.

“Doesn’t mean you get to Gibbs me...”

“He is half right, Frost,” Flare said. “But... you do look better like this.”

“Thanks,” Duellum said, “Maybe we shoul-”

“What’s that?” Talos asked while pointing at a blob of black goo.

The lump of goo suddenly froze and lunged for them.

Silence. The absence of sound was all she could hear. Around her a party was raging, more specifically a Pinkie Pie Party was being thrown in her house; what the occasion was... was all too evident.

Why...? Was all she thought as she stared at the banner strung above the main staircase which read, in big bold letters “Diamond Tiara’s funeral.”

The mare felt someone with a hoof pinker than hers slap something onto her head while saying, “Isn’t this just the best party you’ve ever been to?”

Diamond Tiara looked over at the pink mare standing next to her with a noise maker in her mouth.

“I got aaaaall the ponies you’ve been mean to together and we decided that the party should be at your house and- ooh look! They’re about to set the fireworks off, gotta go make sure they land on flammable stuff!” With that Pinkie took off, grabbing stuffed animals that were torn and soiled from being under-hoof.

A worn manticore plushie fell from the pink mare’s grasp and landed in front of Diamond, one of its wings holding on by a thread.

“N-Nala?” She said as her hoof slowly moved towards the toy. It had been the first toy she remembered being given, and the first toy that had been lost. Her memories pulled at her, beckoning her to stroll with them down their lane.

“SCATTER!” Frostfall and Talos shouted as they took to the skies.

Duellum and Flare barely jumped out of the blob’s way and galloped towards a stack of boxes. Flare reached the boxes first and bounded up them, followed swiftly by Moonfire. She ran up the side of the building and barely managed to grab onto the edge of the roof. Pulling herself up, she felt Moonfire grab hold of her tail and swing up the wall to land next to her and pull her up.

“Thanks,” Flare said with a faint blush.

“Come on, we can’t wait,” Duellum said as he ran towards a wire leading to another building.

Flare shook her head and followed Duellum, easily catching up with him.

“You two better get a move on, that thing’s following you,” Talos said as he swooped lower to the roofs.

Duellum and Flare jumped off of the wire and, glancing back, saw the blob land on the roof they had just vacated and rush towards the wire. They turned and ran to the other end of the roof and ran across another wire strung across a wide street. The blob, not far behind, jumped towards the wire and rushed after them.

Talos flew by the wire and cut it just as Flare reached the other roof.

Duellum, seeing Talos fly towards the wire, jumped towards the roof and turned to try to roll and landed on his right wing. Moonfire cried out and rolled to his hooves. He winced as he rubbed the sore appendage, something that had once been a straight line was now a distinct curve in his bones. He bit his teeth as he tried to shove away the blinding agony.

“Moonfire!” Flare exclaimed as she turned back. That made Duellum turn rigid: nopony ever called him by that name unless things got serious.

“No! keep going. I’ll be alright,” Duellum said.

Flare turned and ran towards the edge of the roof. With a shout of, “Frostfall, Talos: Plan Phi-Lambda-Upsilon!” she jumped and was caught by Talos and Frostfall, who carried her across a street and set her down on a roof.

“Oh hey, I guess I dropped this one,” the pink mare said as she stopped to pick up the toy.

“N-no,” Diamond said as she snatched up the toy, denying the flashback from happening.

Pinkie tilted her head and said, “You do know that that flashback will happen and when it does I’ll be burning that toy.”

“No, you won’t!” The tiara wearing mare said as she backed away.

A sadistic grin made its way across the party pony’s face as she said. “Oh, so the High and Mighty Diamond ‘princess’ Tiara still sleeps with a toy?” She snatched the stuffed animal from Diamond’s grasp and shouted, “Hey look everypony, Diamond Tiara has a raggedy toy she still sleeps with!”

“Give her back!” The tiara-wearing mare shouted as every eye turned towards the two pink mares.

“Why should she?” a voice said. The crowd parted to reveal a yellow mare with a red bow. “Why should she listen ta your pleas when you didn’ listen ta ours?”

“W-well--”

“Is it because you think you’re high and mighty?” an orange pegasus with a purple mane asked. “Or is it because you’re dead and want your little toy to accompany you?”

“I-I--”

“whichever it is,” a white unicorn with a two-tone purple, curly mane started. “It doesn’t matter as you’re already six feet under.”

Diamond yelped as the lid of her coffin slammed shut.

Duellum reached the edge of the roof and tried to catch their attention, but couldn’t speak. His mouth and tongue moved, but his breath refused to follow. The sound just got stuck while he called out.

As he stood there trying to shout the blob of darkness stopped a few feet away and started to change shape. Moonfire slowly turned around as the darkness settled into a new form. Panic struck him in full as he realized what was happening.

Standing there on the roof with him, there was a black earth pony mare with deceptively light pink irises in eyes that spoke of unbridled malevolence, yellow mane and tail with orange highlights, and a shadowy figure for a cutie mark.

Duellum’s eyes widened, his lips parted for a fearful whisper.

“Caligantis Sicarius.”

With a malicious smirk, Caligantis said, “How many times have we gone through this? I’ve told you too many times to count: this is just business. Nothing personal but... you’re not a pony, remember? You’re a monster. I’m just doing Equestria a favor and making it safer.”

Without warning, she charged forward and knocked the changeling off the roof. He barely had time give an “Ooph!” before he found himself hurtling towards the ground. He tried in vain to make his way back to safety, wings hurting and hooves flailing helplessly.

Duellum heard some sort of music as he fell and found his vision darkening. Right before he hit the street, he blacked out completely, eyes closing with the final breath the pavement knocked out of him.

***

The filly bolted upright, the night’s air cool on her soaked, pink coat; fear making her eyes dart around her room finally resting on the picture of her dad. The panic slowly left her as where she was registered.

She sighed in relief. It was just a dream...

The filly picked up the picture, a tear making its way down her cheek. Why are you always gone?

Confrontations

Moonfire awoke to the bell clanging overhead. why must this dream haunt me?

He sat up and rubbed his eyes, what was it that I was going to do today? Moonfire thought for a little and remembered, oh yeah... I still don’t think this is a good idea... but I’d rather help her then let Caligantis catch her with her disguise down.

Moonfire stood up and walked over to the window, I just hope this isn’t what I fear it is.

He climbed up onto the edge, winced, turned left and walked over to the corner of the tower onto a ledge sticking out from the corner. He walked over to the edge of the ledge and jumped.

He landed in a pond and, after the bubbles cleared from around his head, he opened his eyes and saw two catfish with what looked like the fish equivalent of an annoyed look on their faces. Their annoyance grew as the unicorn’s horn glowed, sending forth tendrils of heat to create a pleasant bath bubble in the pond. And as was the privilege of catfish, they just decided to walk out and went to look for someplace less crowded. The colt gave them an odd look, but he figured that if Nature could see fit to give him some odd abilities, he couldn’t begrudge some fish the luxury of walking (or waddling, as they did) on land.

The crickets and frogs slowly went silent. The pond was completely still, except for some bubbles coming to the surface near the middle when suddenly it flashed green and the bubbles moved towards the edge. A unicorn filly with a carnation coat walked out and up onto the road. She stopped and flipped her mane out of her eyes and lit up her horn, instantly drying herself off.

Glad I found that spell in Baltimare, Moonfire thought as he started towards the school.

Maybe if I- He stopped as little balls of golden light danced in his vision and he felt a tug pulling him towards a nearby park. Without pause he followed the pull at a gallop and soon found an off white pegasus colt, stuck with the strap of his camera around a branch and his neck. Wait, what’s this colt’s name again? Feather... something... close enough for now.

Without a word Moonfire used his magic and undid the strap’s clasp, making the colt fall and bounce off of several branches and hit his head when he reached the ground. That’s his name!

“Hey Featherweight, are you okay?” Moonfire asked.

Featherweight looked up as he rubbed his head and, in a raspy voice said, “Yeah, my throat’s a little sore - and so’s the rest of me- but I think I’m okay.”

Moonfire looked up and saw the camera still hanging from the branch, “Huh, I thought your camera would’ve followed you. Here, let-”

“Don’t worry, I can get it down.” Featherweight interrupted. He stood up and tried to compose himself. He gave two cursory flaps with his wings, but a little wobble in his legs stopped him from taking off.

“You sure you’re not feeling dizzy? I don’t think you should try to fly right now; you might have a concussion.”

“A what?”

Moonfire restrained himself from face-hoofing, “It’s a very bad head injury that can make you feel light-headed or dizzy, most can mess with how you can fly or cast magic, and some can make you like the mailmare: barely any depth perception.”

“Oh. Well, I guess I don’t want to risk anything permanent. I don’t think I have a concussion, though. Wouldn’t I need a hospital if I had one of those?” The colt shook his head a few times to check, and didn’t seem to lose balance.

“Well, for minor ones you don’t really need to go to the hospital, you just need to lie down for a little.” the fake Berry Pinch said as she tried to examine Featherweight with her magic.

The colt backed away a little nervously as the girl leaned in close to his face, that cute little horn glowing pink. He blushed at the filly’s close scrutiny, breath suddenly coming in a little quicker. “Umm...I guess I do have a little while before class starts, right?”

Moonfire suddenly remembered who he was disguised as and blushed. “Oh, y-yeah... I wouldn’t recommend flying until lunch just to be safe,” he said as he backed away and untangled the strap from the branch. As Moonfire was about to turn away he noticed that Featherweight had gotten closer. He froze, not believing what was happening. Featherweight hesitated.

And then he backed away, blushing furiously. “Th-thanks for, um... ” he muttered, adding something under his breath about stupid movies he shouldn’t have watched.

Moonfire shook himself, “N-no problem. J-just try to fly a little higher n-next time,” he said as he set the camera down in the other colt’s hooves.

Still blushing, Featherweight thanked Moonfire again and ran off towards the school house. As he ran off, his mother’s voice sounded in his head, with all the good advice she’d given her little boy on how to handle girls. It included being polite, gallant, even. It even included not mourning over a hurt pride when a girl saved him. “That sort of thing just happens,” she’d said, and it didn’t meant anything about him being weak or anything else.

One thing his mother hadn’t warned him of yet was the possibility of girls who were really boys. She also hadn’t discussed the idea of girls who were really girls but weren’t girls all the time.

None of this mattered, though, since as far as he was concerned, Featherweight had had a run-in with a girl. And while he’d tried to be gallant and polite, he couldn’t help but wonder that those faerie tales of princes saving damsels didn’t really work the other way around.

As this train of thought ran through the hapless colt’s head, the girl who spent most of her days as a boy found her own train of thought reaching its terminus.

... What the buck just happened?

==========================

Moonfire was waiting in a bush that was near the school, trying to puzzle out what had happened that morning. Maybe if I try to get the real Berry Pinch and Featherweight together... Then I’d have to get a camera and pretend to be Featherweight a few times, and even then they might think that I’m here. And where would I get a camera anyways? Heh, at least my mom wouldn’t be happy about a colt liking me... But it isn’t me he likes, it’s Berry... Wait... Why am I thinking about this? I like D- His thoughts were interrupted by the school’s bell signalling lunch.

As he sat there, he saw his target go onto the roof with her friends. He tried to follow but was stopped when he saw Berry Pinch walking by the bush. ... Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea... No. This decision is already made. I’m going to talk to her, I HAVE to talk to her.

Moonfire waited until almost all the foals were playing near the front before leaving the bush and climbing up to the roof.

As he approached the barrel he heard Scootaloo, the one he was after, say, “Does that kid even have a voice?”

“He does,” Moonfire said as he walked up to the trio on the roof, clambering up on a barrel of rain water, “he just had a little run-in with a tree on the way here.”

“What do you mean by that?” Scoots asked.

“She means that my camera strap got caught on a branch,” Featherweight said in a raspy voice, rubbing his sore throat and blushing a little. Is he- NOT GOING TO THINK ABOUT IT!

“Really?” Sweetie Belle asked, croaking a little herself just from thinking about it.

“Yeah, he gets that once every couple of days,” Moonfire said with a blush as he watched the colt turn back to his lunch, “but that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“And why-”

“I know your secret, Scootaloo.”

Moonfire saw Scootaloo’s form shimmer a little, but a glance at the other fillies revealed that they hadn’t seen it. What was that?

“What secret?”

“Yeah, what secret?” Apple Bloom asked.

Come on, do you HAVE to drag this out right here? Taking a moment to make sure the reporter colt wasn’t looking, Moonfire held up one hoof and conjured the barest hint of a green flame, revealing the blackened surface beneath. Moonfire locked eyes with the girls.

“I know what you are,” she stated flatly before completing her disguise again.

The Crusaders’ eyes widened in realization. Apple Bloom was the first to recover from the shock. The three furtively looked around, but their classmates were all preoccupied with their meals.

“You wouldn’t show something like that for no good reason, nopony would. What do you want? Protection?” Apple Bloom started.

“I can protect myself, thanks. I’m not interested in you, just Scootaloo. Come to the clock tower tomorrow at five. There are a few things I’d like to discuss with you, and you alone. Come alone, no tricks. If you don’t, I’m taking your secret straight to Equestria Daily.”

“We could just turn you in now, you know,” Sweetie Belle started, “you’re in plain sight, at a schoolyard. All we have to do is scream.”

Thank you captain obvious!

“You could try that. You’re right: all you have to do is scream and ponies will come rushing in. But unless you three decide to jump me, all I have to do is run, and then I can be anywhere, or anyone, before any grownup even gets the chance to ask what happened. And when they do, even if you manage to catch me and hold me, what then?”

The three fillies looked to one another as they realised the full extent of what she was saying. And now they get why I didn’t want to reveal myself here.

“You’d still have to explain why any changeling would be interested in you to begin with. I’m pretty sure your friend there doesn’t want that kind of attention any more than I do. So, Scootaloo: what do you say?”

Scootaloo glared at the colt in disguise, “Five o’ clock at the belltower, huh? ... Okay, I’ll come alone. On one condition.”

“Name it,” not-Berry offered with a victorious grin.

“You don’t follow me or my friends around. You wanna talk to any of us, you ask. I don’t know if you noticed, but there’s this weird kind of smell that only we can pick up on. I’ll listen to what you have to say, but you do not get to sneak up on me or my friends.”

Come on, I don’t do that now. And I don’t stink! I take baths every day. Well, more of a rinse, but still!

“I don’t think you realise who you’re dealing with,” Moonfire threatened, slightly offended.

“Neither do you,” Scootaloo replied in kind, “I don’t know what kind of Hive you might have backing you up, but there are ponies, friends, who know about me already. And if I don’t want you bugging me, they’re not going to let you. So: I don’t try anything funny, you don’t try anything funny. Sound fair?”

Hmph, At least you have friends.

Moonfire turned and sighed, “Fine by me.”

And with that, Moonfire jumped down into his bush. A faint green light came from the bush and Moonfire stepped out disguised as himself. He looked up and said, “Remember: Clocktower, five o’clock.”

With that he turned and left.

Author's Note

Credit for the editing of this chapter goes to...
TheCacophonousMuse
Joel
Stray Dog Kane
Also: This does not mean that I am done with the fic, only that I have gotten impatient with my own writing pace. I have gone months -- MONTHS -- at a time not even looking at this. I know: "It's not good to rush yourself" and all that jazz, but I've been procrastinating with this, barely writing anything for the past year. And I know that it's a bit early for New Year's Resolutions, but I think it's time to set at least one. I WILL finish this fic before this time next year.

Chasing Love ▲ ß¥≈▲∩ÐΣ┌

Author's Note

This chapter was a bit fun to write. You'll find out as you read.

Nope, nothing wrong with the title of the chapter. You're reading it right.

Chasing Love ▲ ß¥≈▲∩ÐΣ┌

Chasing Love

Moonfire laid down in the shade of the chimney, his attention almost completely monopolized by his thoughts. Maybe I could just use Rumble for my morning disguise... No, I almost always bump into him. Scootaloo is out for obvious reasons, as well as her friends, Moonfire scanned the street in front of him. How about- no no, definitely not Snips or Snails. I wouldn’t be able to act clueless enough for that.

The grey colt sighed and noticed two fillies backing a white colt with brown splotches into a corner. Hmmm... maybe I should go help him.

“... Eeh... Why not?” Moonfire stood up and walked towards a wire running across the street, not taking his eyes off of the pink filly. Wait... That’s Diamond Tiara! He looked at the other filly, and... Silver Spoon. But who’s that colt?

As he trotted across the wire, all the names of the foals he knew ran through his head. Then he realised there were a few who had their names practically printed on their flanks, something he was quite thankful for.

Spots? No, he doesn’t have a cutie mark. He stepped down onto the roof on the other side. Let’s see...blank flanks...Featherweight I saw this morning, Rumble’s off somewhere, those fillies are blowing something up somewhere, which one’s this?

He gritted his teeth in concentration as he closed the gap.

Argh! Stuff it, if I can’t remember this pipsqueak’s name-

He nearly slapped himself in the face as the bit dropped.

Pipsqueak. Not printed on his flank, but close enough.

The girls were so busy calling some inanity or other to the small colt that they didn’t even notice Moonfire walking up to them. What was it sensei always said about breaking up a fight?

***

“Always go for a quick shock and hope you have the element of surprise,” Garuda Sensei said as he let go of Moonfire’s tail.

Moonfire yelped and landed on his head in the middle of the ring.

“Now, let’s begin again. And this time, don’t underestimate your opponents.”

***

Why? Why is he happy when he has only a mother? Diamond Tiara thought as she and Silver backed their latest prey into a corner. How come he’s happier than me when he has only one parent?

“You’re just a lousy bl- hey!” Diamond said as she felt her tiara slip from her head into the teeth of a grey unicorn colt.

“Give me my tiara back!” She shouted as the colt landed on the box behind Pipsqueak.

“No, I don’t think I will,” The grey foal said with a Trottingham accent as he sat down.

“Give me my tiara!”

He flipped the tiara onto his head, “Yes, yes- do you think I’m an idiot?”

“Well, that tiara doesn't match your eyes, for one thing.” Silver Spoon said as she rolled her eyes.

“Well, it's getting pretty girls to look at me, so I'd say it's a good match.”

“Okay, who are you, and why won’t you give me my tiara back?” the tiara-less filly asked.

The colt smirked. “I am the Grey Ensis! I’ve studied under Master Garuda, sailed the two seas with Captain Squall, stood in the crow's nest of the Aerith. I accomplished all this and more, and I did it all before me fifteenth birthday.”

“Y-you actually met Captain Squall?!” Pipsqueak stammered.

“Met him? I dined with him every night while I was there.”

“Sure, and I’ll bet the old Captain would love to see you prettying yourself up like that. Now, give it back! What do you want with it, anyway?” the pink filly said. Oh, what do I do, if he keeps my tiara, Sliver’s bound to notice them! Maybe I can pin him before he tries to get away?

“Actually, he would. But he wouldn’t like that I stole it from a lovely filly such as yourself,” Grey Ensis said with a roguish smile, “So tell you what: I'll give it back, if you can catch me."

“What?” Silver Spoon started, “We’re not gonna chase you. We’re telling Miss Cheerilee on you, right, Diamond Tiara?”

He’s making a game out of this? Wait, I chase him it gets me away from Silver, which means it’s less likely that she’s going to notice them... Diamond gritted her teeth and locked her eyes on that tiara on top of the taunting colt’s head.

“Give...it...back!” she shouted as she leaped up at him.

The colt leaped to the left and looked back. “Oh, so you like what you see?” He shook his tail and said, “Cap’n always said me tail would get me into trouble.”

Diamond growled towards the offending posterior. He jumped right over me, again!

“Come on, princess. Don’t tell me you’ve never tried a good chase before? It’s fun, watch,” Grey taunted as he galloped off.

The filly let loose a frustrated scream before bolting after him.

"Mum was right. Ponyville is a pretty interesting place to live," Pipsqueak said as he stared in the direction they went.

“Tell me about it,” Silver Spoon said before trotting down the street.

Diamond no-Tiara kept pace with the grey colt. Okay, now all I have to do is catch him. A few paces in front of her, the monochromatic colt took a corner without slowing down. The filly rounded the corner only to find a box clearly marked ‘soap’ right in her path. Shit! She tried to jump over the box but clipped it and flipped, luckily landing on her hooves.

“Dumb soap!” she shouted, then picked up a bit more speed.

Ahead of her, the thief chuckled and said, “You’re supposed to avoid the obstacles, lass, not go through them!”

Oh, and you cleared that box?

She watched as he slid under a momentarily unoccupied market stand, keeping one hoof on his prize so it didn’t fall off. He probably means to jump the next one, so- ah, there we go. Right next to the stand she saw an upside down bucket and used it to jump on top of the stand, putting her in the perfect position to tackle him as he jumped up and over a wagon going by. By the time she saw him glance back, she could see the surprise in his eyes, her forelegs around his waist, sending them tumbling.

Damn that hurt, Diamond thought when they stopped. By chance, she had him pinned - as well as she could pin him that is. The filly saw him begin to smirk, but it died when he looked into her eyes.

She sniffled. “Now give me my tiara back, you jerk!”

Wordlessly, Grey picked up her tiara from where it had fallen with his magic and dusted it off. As he set it down on her head, she saw his eyes go to her hair.

He tried to look in the girl’s eyes but she turned away and lept off of him. He saw them!

“Look, I’m sorry. I saw you ganging up on Pipsqueak there and I thought I’d have a little fun. I didn’t mean to make you cry.” He said as he stood up.

The filly snorted. And I’m the queen of Saddle Arabia. Who is he anyways? I've never seen him around before now.

“Come on, I wasn’t trying to make you get upset,” he tried, reaching out a hoof to try to comfort her.

She spun around and slapped at it.

“What are you trying to do? Who are you, really? I’ve never seen you anywhere near Ponyville before.”

He shrugged at that. “Like I said, I’m the Grey Ensis. And I guess you wouldn’t see me around, unless you really looked.”

The filly turned again and started walking away, “Yeah, like I’m going to do that.”

She heard him trot after her and say, “Lass.”

Diamond Tiara stopped and half turned towards him before he kissed her cheek, lost his accent, and said, “I really am sorry.”

He just- but- I- Huh?

He smiled sympathetically at the girl, and her angry expression turned to a mere pout.

“Yeah, well... just don’t do that again, Grey,” she started, blushing a little. I don’t even know him, yet he kissed me.... Why am I okay with that?

“...Moonfire,” The colt said.

“What?”

“Grey Ensis is my title. My name is Moonfire.”

Diamond Tiara narrowed her eyes. “Your voice changed. And why tell me your name?”

“Eh... I like to change the way I speak every now and then,” Moonfire turned around, “And... I hate making young mares cry. It’s a principle thing.”

The colt walked away down the street.

“Hey!”

He looked back at Diamond trotting up to him. Did he see anything, or was it my imagination?

“Um... you didn’t see anything on my head, did you?”

There was a small pause before the colt said, “Yes?”

“You know, it’s rude to look at the things a lady’s trying to hide.”

“I only caught a glimpse, and I thought it was my imagination. Look, I’m sorry, okay? Could I do something to make it up to you?”

I have to make sure he won’t tell anyone about them. What- there. That’ll keep him quiet. Done with her brainstorming, she said, “You could meet me outside Sugar Cube Corner, Friday after school.”

There was a long pause as the colt visibly processed what she said. Finally, he said, “Okay, but, I have a... job that has weird hours and I might have to run and do... something.”

She huffed. He has a job? Just what is this captain Squall making him do?

The colt grew apprehensive,“Well... I could let you come along if I have to go. Might not be... um... right for you... but it’s very important and can’t be ignored.”

Diamond gave the colt a smirk, "Can't be that important if you're doing it. Bet I can do it, too, then."

“Don’t worry, you won’t have to do anything and it isn’t anything that could get us in trouble.” Moonfire suddenly looked off into the distance and said, “have to go, see you friday.”

Diamond watched as he galloped to the next corner and took it, almost crashing into Applebloom.

“Whoa!” the filly called as the grey colt dodged her, “hey, wait a second, aren’t you-”

“Can’t talk, planet needs me, bye!” the boy half-shouted as he ran.

Great, now I have to deal with that apple filly....

==========================

“Thanks for saving me, Featherweight,” Berry Pinch said.

“You’re welcome... I’m still sorry about having to throw you, though,” Moonfire said. I guess Fate decided to let me have a good week.

“It isn’t your fault, I mean, who leaves a pile of scrap in an alley?”

“And what’s with that bird stealing anything shiny?” He looked up at the bird’s nest resting near the edge of the building.

“It’s a magpie.”

Moonfire glanced back at the filly. For a moment, he had forgotten why he’d ever taken her shape to begin with.

Oh yeah, she’s smarter than everypony thinks and she doesn’t realize she’s in somepony’s space until it’s too late.

“Miss Cheerilee told us they take shiny things to make their nest, remember? Were you sleeping in class that day?” Berry tried.

Yep, definitely smarter than ponies give her credit for.

“N-no, I wasn’t asleep.” He blushed and looked towards the clocktower. “Uh-oh, I have to go. See you tomorrow, Berry.”

“See you tomorrow,” she replied, “and try not to fly off a corner like you did last time?”

The remark was lost on the impersonator, but not before making a mental note that at least this form had an excuse for being a bit clumsy at high speeds.

Moonfire clambered into the belfry four minutes after the clock struck seven. Stupid hour chimes. Stupid sticking hour hand.

He walked over to his corner and shed his disguise. At least tomorrow I’ll have something other than saving foals to do. He glanced at his right wing and winced as a dull background ache turned to a sudden stabbing pain. Why did I do that idiotic dare back in Manehattan? I don’t even like pears. And why hasn't this thing healed up yet? Stupid bone, or membrane... what is this made of anyways? He laid down. I’ll need to be alert tomorrow. No telling what might happen.

==========================

Three months - THREE - to recover this time. I must be getting old. At least this time I searched for him while I was recovering. His father’s becoming more and more impatient as his expedition marches closer with time. Started sending more assassins after him, even sent some after me. Cal shook his head. That second one almost actually snuck up on me, she would’ve made a good nominee for the next Caligantis Sicarius.

The black stallion sat at a table in front of a café, an espresso sitting before him as he watched the colt run past his table, unaware that he was watching him. It’s a good thing he doesn’t know my after work disguise. He frowned, and it’s a good thing I don’t want to kill him, personally.

He sighed and thought back to all the times he escaped, a small smile forming. He’s a good colt, he’ll make a fine husband to whomever he marries - if he would just let somepony in.

The black earth pony finished off his drink and stood. Well, almost time to put my plan into motion. I’m certain that this town, no matter its quirks, will be perfect for him.

The First Lesson

Moonfire awoke in his bed. What a strange dream. He slid out of bed and trotted to his bathroom. What were those strange ponies anyways? They weren’t unicorns or pegasi. Definitely not earth ponies. The colt glanced at the mirror. Yeah, that’s what they looked like.

In the mirror he saw a creature that looked male at first sight. Young male, vaguely pony-ish, with a sharp curved horn. An ebony coat of what looked like chitin covered its entire body, save for the transparent insect wings that rested on its back and the back plate with an orange-ish hue to it. The thing’s skin, or chitin, gave off a dull shine, but looking closely Moonfire could see little movements in its surface, hinting at something quite more alive than mere armour.

The wings, then, throbbed in their own little rhythm, barely visible at the surface but definitely there. Little holes in the membranes didn’t seem to do anything about their structural integrity; if anything, one might swear those holes were just rings put in for reinforcement.

He gave out a girlish scream as he realized that he was looking at himself and ran to the dining room.

There at the table sat a grey coated, heavily built pegasus with a yellowish grey mane and tail. He carried the image of a blacksmith’s hammer on his flank and the glint in his orange eyes dared any to defy him.

Across from him sat a light blue unicorn mare with a mane that looked, and flowed, like light pink cotton candy. Her eyes spoke only of love and firm kindness and on her flank was a bouquet of seven roses.

Panting from the gallop, Moonfire said, “Mom! Dad! Bathroom- mirror- reflection- I don’t know what happened! Is this some kind of trick?”

The mare recoiled when she heard his voice. He nearly did a double take when he heard it himself. An odd buzzing sound, that girly tone mixed with a second voice talking at the same time... it couldn’t be real.

“Mom? I don’t feel so good,” he said as tears started welling up.

The blue unicorn didn’t reply. She just shook her head and never bothered to pick up her jaw at the sight of him.

Moonfire froze. His heart started pounding as the facts sunk in.

She didn’t recognise him. His own mother didn’t recognise him. Whatever he was now, it was bad, really bad.

“What did you do to my son?” the stallion started, getting up from the table with a menacing growl.

“Dad, it’s me,” the colt pleaded, “I-I don’t-”

“You? You aren’t my son. What have you done to him?”

“I didn’t do anything, I swear! I just woke up, looked in the mirror, and it was... this. Maybe I ate something bad? Somepony pulled a prank on my mirror? I-I think I need a doctor, this isn’t normal. I have wings, I’m not supposed to have wings. Why do I have wings?” the boy shouted, panic taking over. Said wings were starting to buzz nervously now, the noise clearly upsetting his mom.

His father growled and lunged for him, “You’ll need more than a doctor when I’m through with you!”

The colt didn’t even know he had reacted until he saw his dad run into a solid marble pillar, sending cracks spider-webbing all the way to the top. The sound of an iceberg breaking apart was heard as the pillar collapsed and his father stood there, completely unharmed and lowered his head.

Moonfire saw his father’s mouth move, but heard nothing. He glanced at his mother for help, but she was turned around, almost frozen. She looked to be moving, galloping, even, but she was still in the same place.

It didn’t matter how fast she was going. She was fleeing from him. She glanced back at him and he saw her eyes. There was no love in those eyes. No comfort. Only fear. He was cut off. He needed help and he was cut off, just like that. He could almost feel the love that had once kept him going ebbing away, replaced by an emptiness that made his heart groan like his stomach.

He felt weak all over, and he couldn’t move for what seemed like the longest time.

Is this all it takes? Is this really there is to it? Mom? Dad? Are you gonna stay mad like this?

It’s not my fault, honest. I didn’t mean to.

Take it back. Somepony, please, take it back.

His father charged at him again, but was moving incredibly slow.

The colt tried to think, to move, to do anything aside from get utterly destroyed by his own father.

Please, don’t let it end like this. Not with me looking like monster, not by my dad.

I’ve got to move. Celestia, please, why can’t I move?

Why is everything so slow, why can’t I...

MOVE.

With his father inches from him, he teleported to the doorway leading to the kitchens and ran. With tears in his eyes he couldn’t tell where he was going. All he knew was his parents truly hated him now.

As he ran he heard his father yell, “You will never escape! You shall be hunted to the ends of the earth. Never will you be able to sleep peacefully! I WILL MOUNT YOUR HEAD ON MY WALL!!”

***

Moonfire awoke from his nightmare crying and in a cold sweat. Why... why did they have to- his expression hardened. No, He never did anything for me. All He did was move me around whenever I expressed interest in something. Maybe this is a curse and it’s all His fault.

He stood and walked over to a window.

It’s not fair. Why does Scootaloo get to keep her friends and family and not me?

He gave off a deep sigh.

I can’t be thinking like this. She can’t help it any more than I can. If I start thinking like that...what does that make me?

The colt looked up at the night sky as his tears dried.

Maybe I could wish on a shooting star, make it go away... no, it wouldn’t make any difference. I’d still be miserable and unwanted, all that did was make it official. At least I’m free now. I can go where I want, be who I want.

He didn’t want to finish that train of thought, but he did.

I’m free, and I’m alone. That’s just how things are.

==========================

Moonfire was waiting up in the rafters above the bells, watching for Scootaloo to enter. Hiding, for the sake of being a little enigmatic. Soon enough, the orange filly walked in, looking around.

“It’s four past,” Moon Fire called. He scowled as he saw she’d brought her friends along.

He jumped down and shed his disguise, careful to put another on his right wing. “... I thought we had an agreement.”

“We did. We agreed that I’d come alone, and you wouldn’t go around following my friends. You ran into Apple Bloom the other day, so I’m bringing my friends. Unless, that wasn’t you playing with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon? Pipsqueak didn’t seem to know you.”

“Our meeting was merely a coincidence, not planned. Besides, I stopped them from picking on him. In any case, there’s no reason why-” he sucked in a breath, his wing twitching in a painful reflex. “Why your friends can’t be here.”

“I knew you’d see things my way,” Scoots replied with a victorious smile.

Moonfire gave her a look and said, “They already know what I am, there’s no reason for me to not let them come with you.”

“Exactly. So what did you want to talk to me about?”

“Well, first of all,” he sat down, “what do you know about changelings?”

“You mean changeling changelings or changelings like her?” Apple Bloom asked.

“I mean changelings in general.”

“Well: they can change shape. It doesn’t take effort to stay in a shape, but it takes effort to change. They’ve got magic, but they can’t take in ambient magic energy on their own. They need love to survive and to power their spells. They used to be ponies, but that was a long time ago. I still need to see the doctor about that, though,” Scootaloo remarked with a wince.

“It seems there is much I can teach you then. From now on we shall meet here every Wednesday at this time until I think you are knowledged enough to be on your own.”

The girls exchanged a glance, then burst out laughing.

“Seriously? That’s what this is all about? You wanna play teacher with me?” Scoots asked, incredulous, “Look, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m not on my own. I don’t need any les-”

Moonfire cut her off, “Do you know how often a changeling sheds its horn? Do you know what to avoid at all costs? Do you know how to study a pony and copy them exactly? If you do, congratulations, you’ve been a changeling for at least a year and have had to fend for yourself!”

“Jeez, calm down,” Sweetie Belle tried, “What is your problem? Did your Hive kick you out?”

Scootaloo locked eyes with the changeling as the situation sank in.

“You never had a Hive, did you? You’re a pony.”

Moonfire twitched as his wing stung again, “... I was a pony. Now I am a changeling.” He paused as he realized something. “I believe I have forgotten my manners. I’m Moonfire, The Grey Ensis.”

“Where are your parents, Moonfire?” Scoots asked with a hint of fear.

The bereaved changeling looked down and didn’t speak.

The girls looked to each other, before Apple Bloom blurted out her question.

“Are your parents gone, or did they make you go?”

“... I have lived without them for two years. Let’s leave it at that.”

The orange filly fumed a little at that.

“What’s that supposed to mean? You’re still a pony, you know. You have rights, you can get help. Celestia knows about me, and she told me it’s fine. Why should you be any different?”

“Why?” he gave a short laugh, “My father has had assassins after me that’s why.”

“You know he can’t do that, right?” Apple Bloom tried, “It’s against the law. You could just, I don’t know, tell somepony in charge.”

“And what? Let his spies tell him that I’m trying to expose him? Let his assassins know exactly where I am? I know the law, I studied it, I know that he’s exploiting loopholes and cutting corners but he has not broken the law, as far as chasing me goes.”

“But you can get word to Celestia, can’t you? We’d do it, we know her mail dragon!” Sweetie Belle protested.

“I tried to get into the palace to tell her, there’s too many guards that are in his network. And no, I didn’t try to sneak in.”

“But if I write a letter about you, give it to Spike and let him send it straight to the Princess, you’d be clear. We can talk about teaching when your head’s safe,” Scootaloo argued.

“There’s a problem with that. I don’t know if he’s part of my father’s network. For all I know anything that is sent to the Princess is sent straight to him first.”

The girls planted their hooves to their face and groaned.

“Okay, if you wanna be that paranoid, fine,” Scootaloo started, “What about teaching me? What can you tell me that I can’t get from my doctor or from Twilight Sparkle?”

“First off, the paranoid are only called paranoid until they are proven right. Second, they’ll only be able to tell you, theoretically, how a changeling works. And thirdly, I can teach you how to defend yourself.”

“Could you excuse us for a minute?” the pegasus changeling asked before pulling her friends into a huddle.

Moonfire trotted over to the window and tried not to overhear what they were saying.

“What do you think?” she asked.

“He’s got a point, Scootaloo. There’s no one else you can ask about anything,” Apple Bloom offered, “And you wouldn’t want to run into surprises.”

“Yeah, suppose you blow something up?”

“Oh please, it’s not like we don’t cause any damage on our own,” Scoots argued.

“Well, yeah, but now you’ve got a lot more firepower to worry about, dontcha?” Apple Bloom insisted, “and besides: look at him. He’s all alone. Maybe if you agree, you can get him to come out in the open sometime.”

“You haven’t spent a lot of time in your changeling form, have you?” Moonfire said as he scratched his left ear. “Changelings have cat-like hearing and can hear the wing beats of butterflies.”

“Good,” Scootaloo tried, taking refuge in audacity, “then we won’t have to repeat it.”

Yeah, that’s a good thing, but I didn’t want you to think I couldn’t hear you. He turned back to the fillies. “I told you that so you would know for future reference and we wouldn’t go through this again.”

The filly pondered that for a bit, before muttering something about a silencer.

“Anyway,” she started, “I’ll try to make it on Wednesdays. But other than that, are you going to be okay here in Ponyville? I mean, how do you get food? Or what if you have an accident?”

“I can take care of myself. Nopony, aside from you three, Pipsqueak, Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon knows I am here. As for food, I have my ways, and... accidents? Have you ever seen me racing across the rooftops before? I am too sure-hoofed to hurt myself.” He turned away and muttered, “But this infernal clocktower has it in for me, I know it.”

“But where are you going to be in the meantime?” Scootaloo asked, “What do you want? Are you going to be following us or not?”

He looked at the fillies and, as he walked over, said, “We will run into each other from time to time but all it will be is a coincidence. Besides, making sure that all of you don’t accidentally kill yourselves takes up most of my time. What I want is simple: to stay hidden. At least until my father dies.”

He sat down when he was next to them. “But at the rate things are going, I’ll have to swear this entire town to secrecy by next year. And that’s if I stay here and if your training takes long.”

“Well, okay. We won’t tell anyone, and if you need help you can ask us, okay?” Apple Bloom offered as the other two nodded, “It’s not right for a pony to be alone like that, even if you think you aren’t really a pony.”

Moonfire grunted at the sappy sentiment, even if it did ring true somewhere in his chest. He wasn’t sure if he was having heartache -- or how many hearts he had, for that matter -- but he’d said what he’d planned to say, and that was it. “I’ll try and keep that in mind. Anyway, now that we have all that unpleasantness out of the way, shall we get started?”

“So, what’s first on the list?” Scootaloo asked.

"I take it you don't know how your webbings work yet?"

“My what?”

He face-hoofed. “The green goop that you can spit whenever you want to.”

“I do not spit green goop,” she protested, quickly swallowing the green ribbon at her mouth’s corner that made it its job to prove her wrong.

Moonfire turned his head towards the bell and spat a green strand at the clapper. “That is what I was referring to. You don’t want to know what it consists of.”

“Gross!” Sweetie Belle called.

“Cool!” called the other two.

“Okay, so how do I switch that on and off?” Scootaloo asked casually.

“As far as I know, there is no on or off switch. But, you do need to use it at least once every day to keep it under control. I recommend using it when you’re either eating breakfast or getting ready.”

“Okay, so like Spidermare: just use it when it’s convenient or it’ll spill out. I think I can keep track of that.”

“Yes, that would be an apt allegory. Another would be that you basically have Spidey-sense for feelings. But, you have to concentrate to use it.”

“Yeah, about that...I don’t think I like invading other ponies’ privacy. How do you deal with that sort of thing?”

“It’s not exactly invading their privacy, you’re just noticing what they feel. And it’s easy to deal with; all you have to do is ignore it. But I wouldn’t recommend it, it’s saved my life more than a few times and allowed me to sense when I’m being followed or about to walk into an ambush.”

The filly nodded. Sweetie Belle nudged her friend.

“Hey, don’t change the subject. You still don’t know how to stop drooling when you don’t want to.”

Moonfire sighed, “It’s easy to figure out and easier still to get rid of it. As long as you don’t let it harden.”

“And if it does, wash it out with lemon juice, I had that lecture before.”

“Lemon juice?” Again, he face-hoofed. “Of course, it’s just like a-” he glanced at the fillies, “never mind. The best way I’ve found of using it is to just imitate hawking a loogie.”

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom ducked as they heard the cue for their pegasus-ling friend. Sucking in a big breath of air and apparently summoning some green mass to her mouth, she spat a long, thick thread right at the ceiling, where it stuck and hung stably.

She still had the end in her mouth, though.

“Fo thaff how you do that,” she offered in her best Twist impression, thread dangling from her tongue.

Moonfire held back his laugh and composed himself a second before Scootaloo turned back to him. “Well, I guess we should move on then.” He walked over to his corner and reached under his make-shift bed. He pulled out a purple-ish pink flower that was roughly heart-shaped. “This is-”

“Heart’s Desire!” Apple Bloom interrupted, “That was in Zecora’s potion, the one that gave me Cutie Pox. It’s supposed to help make your desires come true.”

“Really?” Moonfire looked at the flower on his hoof. “Huh... I’ve only known this as a poison and the only way I know that is I accidentally ate a petal.” He shuddered. “Worst month I ever had.”

Scootaloo was grimacing so hard her face got stuck.

“Wait, one petal poisoned you for one month?” the white unicorn asked, “What happened? Did it give you a fever or an upset stomach?”

“Well, during that month I had hallucinations, yes I had a fever but no upset stomach.”

Scootaloo’s expression lightened at that.

“Oh, well that doesn’t sound too bad.”

“That’s not all: I couldn’t control my powers, my magic was on the fritz, I could barely move without causing myself more pain, my face swelled up so I couldn’t talk, and... uh...” he blushed. “Well, uh... I couldn’t, um... you know...”

“WE GET IT,” the girls said, sternly.

“Moving on then.” He threw the flower out the window, “Eating, or smelling, chocolate can give you a small boost of magical energy. But, be warned, you can’t survive off of that alone. Also, you might feel a little light-headed after you eat some. You already know what happens if you eat too much.”

The girls muttered something, and while Moonfire couldn't hear all of it he did catch the words ‘Pinkie’ and ‘Pie’.

“Yeah, we know,” Scoots said with a roll of her eyes.

“There’s one last thing that you should watch out for.” He reached under his bed again and pulled out a dark green thistle-like plant that appeared to have been struck by some sort of blight, judging by the holes in its leaves. “This is called Cirsium melifolium, or, honey thistle. You won’t have to worry about this around here, but still, avoid it. You’ll go numb for hours and you’ll barely be able to stand, let alone walk. It’ll also make you very light headed, you’ll lose control of your powers, and you might start speaking whatever comes into your mind.”

He looked down at the plant. “And I just realised that I shouldn’t even be holding this.”

With that, his wing flashed green and revealed itself.

Sweetie Belle winced, Apple Bloom stared, Scootaloo had to catch her breath.

“Uh... that wing looks painful.”

Moonfire tossed the thistle out the window and watched it as it fell. Great, just great. Nice going, numbskull, you’ve proven that you are still stupid. “It’s the result of a stupid dare.”

“Doesn’t that hurt? I mean, how long have you had it like that?” Apple Bloom asked, the farmer filly no doubt sympathising with an injured limb.

“The pain comes and goes, but at least I still have my wing.” He took a deep breath. “It’s been like this for three and a half months. I did try to put it in a cast; I had everything you need to make one. But apparently I wasn’t fast enough and it healed like this.”

The three girls looked to one another.

“Look, you can’t stay like this. Not with a wing like that,” Scootaloo started, “What if it gets worse? You’re just a kid like us, that thing’s still gonna grow. And it’s going to grow painfully.”

“I know that. I also know that there is nopony I can fully trust.”

“Well, there’s one pony you could trust with it,” Sweetie Belle asked, which got a quizzical look from the other two.

“We don’t know any pony doctors, Sweetie Belle, and I’m not sure if doctor Home would keep a secret or not,” Scoots replied.

“No, but Fluttershy would,” came the reply.

Moonfire turned back to the fillies. “She would crack under the slightest pressure. Besides, she has her animals to care for.”

“Not necessarily,” Scoots started, rubbing her chin with her hoof, “She does know medicine, and she can keep a secret. She’s keeping mine, and she did stare down a cockatrice once. But if you’d rather be dragging a broken wing around the rest of your life, that’s okay. I’m sure it won’t be a handicap next time somepony comes after you, right?”

He looked out the window again, thinking. She’s right, I don’t want this thing dragging me down. And I know it’ll take longer than a day to heal... But what of the foals? What would happen to them if I accepted this? Besides, I have to meet Diamond this Friday. He looked towards the forest. It’s quite a bit more to gallop to town if there’s an emergency. Hmm... Maybe...

“What are you so worried about?” the other changeling asked, eyes squinted in concentration, “It’s not just keeping a secret, is it?”

“... No, it isn’t. When I first came here I saw you three up on a stage, somehow you were able to avoid being impaled and eviscerated during that whole event. You don’t know how, but I do.” He looked back at the fillies. “I made sure you wouldn’t die. I helped you escape with no injuries. After that I decided to make sure you weren’t killed by your own stupidity. After the first week I found that all the foals in this town needed help surviving.”

“Uh huh,” Scootaloo tried, “You know, that’s kinda funny, ‘coz I don’t remember any kids dying in this town from accidents. And that’s even after we got a dragon in town. But hey: if you’re that worried about it, that sore wing won’t stop you, right?”

“... you’re making fun of me, aren’t you?”

“What she’s TRYING to say is,” Sweetie Belle interrupted, “We appreciate you helping us and all, but you can’t take that much stress all the time. If you keep going, you’ll snap.”

Moonfire looked at the fillies, If I do this alone I will. But maybe... “Maybe you three could help me, then.”

Apple Bloom frowned, but looked at her friends. They seemed to agree, mostly.

“What do you have in mind?”

He paused. “Well... Look I just thought this up, but we could work something out.”

“So are you going to Fluttershy’s with us or not?” Scootaloo asked.

“I will. But, not today. Saturday I will meet you on the bridge in front of her house.”

“Okay, good. Umm... we’ll see you then, I guess,” Scootaloo started awkwardly, “So we’ll see you around.”

“Wait, I have one last thing to-”

The clock struck six, drowning out what Moonfire said.

The fillies grimaced at the sound, a little startled.

“What was that?” Apple Bloom asked loudly, ears ringing, no doubt.

“I was going to tell you that changelings lose their horn twice a year. And that’s the end of today’s lesson. Hopefully we’ll be able to reconvene here next Wednesday.”

“Sounds okay for me,” Scootaloo offered as she turned around, “Umm...see you on Saturday?”

“Actually, it’s more than likely that we’ll run into each other before then.”

“Well, if we do, we promise we won’t draw any attention to ya,” Apple Bloom started, getting a nod from her friends, “We can keep a secret.”

The fillies turned and headed out, waving goodbye before walking out casually, not a witness in sight.

Author's Note

Aaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnd que JarJar Binks memes.

Editing for this chapter goes to Stray Dog Kane,

Breaking the Ice

Friday already... Time’s never passed this quickly for me before. Moonfire sat in a booth inside Sugar Cube Corner, watching the room with his feeling-sense-thingy and eating a plain vanilla cupcake. Why must my morals conflict with my need for secrecy? I could have let them just pick on him, but no, I just had to help him. And now I’m sitting in the one place that I never wanted to be. Oh well, at least the cupcake’s good.

“Thank you, I made it myself,” a voice said from his left.

“Gah!” Moonfire jumped and landed on his hooves four pony lengths away from his seat, facing the booth and the pony sitting in it.

“Hi there! I haven’t seen you around here before,” a pink mare with cotton candy for her mane and an expression bright enough to light a cave greeted.

... That’s it, my life is over. “Um... hi?”

“Are you new in town, little guy, or are you just on a visit?” Pinkie asked with a tilt of her head. She hadn’t gone and jumped him just yet, thankfully. More than likely she was a little more careful with young children than she was with adults.

Maybe this can still be salvaged. “Um... You could say I’m new in town...”

At that, she squeaked and disappeared in a pink cloud, before returning with a gigantic contraption consisting of what looked like ovens.

“Then let me just get out the welcome wagon for you! What’s your name?”

“... Please don’t eat me,” He said with a horrified expression.

“Don’t be silly! I don’t eat little colts. This is just a little welcome wagon, it’s got pies in it and confetti and -- where are your parents if you’re new in town? There’s not a new couple that I didn’t know about, is there?” She gasped in an apparent panic, “Oh no, I missed your parents! And now-”

Panicking, Moonfire said the first thing that came to mind. “I’m an orphan! I’m living with Captain Squall’s half sister!”

The pink conglomerate of illogic blinked.

“Wait. You’re an orphan? I’m sorry, I didn’t know. Well, who are you living with, then? I know everypony in town and no one’s half the sister of any captain. Which half is it?”

Annoyed, Moonfire forgot his fear and face-hoofed. “I don’t mean half as in half a pony, I mean half as in his mom married another pony and had a foal with that pony.”

She leaned in closer.

“And that foal would be....”

“Um...” Quick, think! “I think he said her name was Fluttershy. But I wasn’t supposed to get here until tomorrow and I’m kinda waiting for somepony right now.”

“Wow, you just got here and you already have a marefriend? You must be a really nice guy. But what’s your name?”She persisted, kicking her welcome wagon away for a more appropriate time. Oddly, the thing just disappeared into the next room without crashing.

“... Moonfire, The Grey Ensis.”

“Ooh,” she fawned, “is that some sort of weird title?”

A weird title? Pinkie, this isn’t the weirdest title somepony can get. “It’s not ‘some weird title’, it’s a title that was given to me by Sensei Garuda.”

“Sensei Gawhoda?”

He gave Pinky a look. “You pronounce his name: Ga-hru-da.”

“Who is this Garuda anyways?” came a voice from behind Moonfire.

He sighed. “He’s an Arch Magus. He’ll teach anypony he deems worthy. If you can find him, you’ve already passed the first of his tests. But he has many more.”

“Wait.” He looked over his shoulder. “Oh, hey Diamond Tiara.”

He looked back at Pinkie, only to find her missing. “... Okay, I’ll just assume that she’s like Sensei.”

“You’ve seen way too many martial arts flicks,” the girl started as she sat down at the table.

“No, he was always disappearing whenever he felt like it.” Moonfire walked back over to the table and sat down across from the filly. “So if anypony’s seen too many martial arts movies, it’s Garuda. Want a cupcake?”

Reluctantly, the girl bit into one of the cupcakes, munching it as she thought long and hard. She looked almost like she was scheming, or sizing him up.

Silence fell as she stared at him.

“So... you’re living with Fluttershy, huh?”

“Yeah, I was supposed to arrive tomorrow.” Moonfire took a bite from his cupcake.

“Where’d you live before that?” she asked, just a hint of mistrust in her voice mixed with compassion.

“I’ve lived everywhere, Baltimare, Applewood, Manehattan; you name the place, I’ve lived there.”

She nodded.

“Okay. So: how do you plan to make up for taking my tiara?”

Okay, what’s with my brain jumping into the gutter all of a sudden? “Uh... I thought this would be enough?”

“So you annoy little girls to get them to go on a date with you? That’s pretty sad,” she tried with a smirk.

“Hey, you were the one to ask me out, remember? You’re the sad one.”

The girl flinched at that. She averted his gaze for a bit, pouting as she tried to think of a retort, no doubt.

“Look, I’m sorry, but you shouldn’t talk to ponies like that. You don’t look like a mean girl, so why do you act like one?”

The pink filly huffed.

“You wouldn’t understand.”

What does th- oh... “It’s something to do with your parents, isn’t it?”

“What would you know? You don’t even have parents. Why did I even ask you to do this? You’re a stupid colt who can’t mind his own business.”

“I do have parents, I just... had to get away from them, and it’s not like I can just go back.”

The girl’s face went grave at that.

“You had to get away from them? Why?”

Now it was Moonfire’s turn to look away. “It’s too personal to talk about.”

“I guess it would be,” she conceded, pouting a little. The filly seemed to finally open up, a little hint of genuine sadness in her tone.

“Anyways, what about you? Why are you being so rude to the other foals?”

She glared a little at that remark.

“I’m not rude all the time. I just think blank flanks are stupid,” she lied.

He looked back at the pink filly. “You know, for some reason everypony in this town is a bad liar.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing. You want ponies to lie to you?”

“No, I don’t, I just expect lies to be more subtle than yours.”

“Why do you care how I act? It’s none of your business.”

“I care because I don’t like to see suffering. I don’t care for bullies.” He suddenly found his cupcake to be very interesting and said, “I find that things are more beautiful when there’s only happiness to be found.”

Diamond Tiara raised an eyebrow.

“Wow. You talk weird.”

“Well, spend too much time around an old sensei and you kinda pick up their way of talking.” He looked up. “What I meant is, there’s not a lot of happiness in your life. So there’s not much to make you smile.”

“Yeah. Sometimes,” she admitted, “but how do you smile, then? If you think I’m so bad, how are you any better?”

“I’m not. I’m just optimistic... most of the time.”

“How?”

“Well, I look at my life when I was living with my parents, see how miserable I was, then look at my life now. I have to fend for myself, yes, but I’m not being forced to move on to something I don’t like, or being sent to my room for breaking something on accident. I’m my own pony and I need only myself to survive.”

She snorted as she finished another cupcake.

“Sure. You think you’re worse off with your parents. Bet that’s easy, huh?”

Moonfire snarled, “You don’t know what you’re talking about! You don’t have parents who don’t care what you think. My ‘father’ made me leave the monastery and my Sensei, he wouldn’t let me finish my law studies, and he chased me out!”

His eyes widened. Did I just-

Diamond Tiara smirked unpleasantly.

“So you’re not an orphan, but a runaway, huh? And you’re not staying with Fluttershy at all,” she whispered.

Moonfire looked at his cupcake. In a soft voice he said, “I didn’t run away, he drove me away.”

She huffed. As much as she tried, the filly couldn’t help but sympathise.

“Well... for what it’s worth, things aren’t all good with my daddie either.”

“You know, I’m seeing a pattern here....”

“What do you mean?”

“Almost all the rich stallions that I know are -- how do I put this nicely -- a pain in the flank.”

“Hey, just because your dad threw you out, doesn’t mean my dad’s a jerk, too. He does -- you know -- get me stuff. I’ve got everything I want.”

“Except you still feel like something is missing?”

“Like you’re not missing anything.”

“I know what I am missing, and most of it is too dangerous to have right now.”

“You really need to stop watching so many movies. What could possibly be so dangerous that you can’t get it? It’s not like your dad is out to kill you, is he?”

Great, my life is sounding like a movie now. “He is.”

This got the girl nearly choking.

“What? So call the Royal Guard, have him arrested or something!”

“He has most of them under his hoof. I tried to get in the palace to tell the princess but... it didn’t work out.”

The filly snorted.

“Wow. You really know to kill the mood, huh?”

He sighed. “I’m just stating the facts. Why don’t we get off this depressing topic?”

“Sure. I don’t even know what I’m doing here to begin with,” she offered with an annoyed groan, staring the boy in the eye.

“Well, it has something to do with the you-know-whats and me seeing them.”

“The what?”

Moonfire glanced at her and whispered, “... Your warts.”

“Oh yeah.” Suddenly she was in his face, glaring right into his soul. “Don’t tell anyone or you will be sorry.”

“... I don’t know if I should be frightened or ashamed that my mind has read too deeply into that.”

The filly’s gaze bored into his soul at that. A little twitch in her left eye spoke of restrained anger, as well as the reflex of going for the throat. Then again, with her family tree there was always the possibility that she had a bit of vulture in her.

Right, I can’t expect her to know an innuendo when one presents itself to her. “Okay, I won’t. On one condition.”

She grumbled. “Name it.”

“Please, don’t tell anypony what I have told you.”

“Not like anyone would believe me. But I won’t tell. If you don’t mind walking me home.”

Diamond Tiara jumped onto the floor and started walking away.

Why the buck not? “Okay.”

He gulped down the rest of his cupcake and, glancing around, dropped the disguise on his left forehoof and let some bits fall out of the holes before hiding it again.

=======================

Moonfire was pacing near the town side of the bridge to Fluttershy’s.

Why didn’t I set a time for us meeting here? They could’ve already left because I didn’t show. Pain lanced its way through his wing and, hissing, he sat down on the side of the road. Where are they? I said to meet... ON the bridge.

He face-hoofed and went up to the middle of the bridge. He climbed up onto the railing and sat down. Thanks to my stupidity they might not’ve seen me and left. Why ca-

“Good morning!” Scootaloo yelled. Right behind her, the two other fillies were smirking.

He tensed and glanced behind him. “And here I was worried I was late.”

The disguised changeling jumped down off of the railing and started for Fluttershy’s cottage. “You coming?”

Scootaloo and Apple Bloom flanked him while Sweetie Belle covered the rear.

“Okay, just let me do the talking first. Fluttershy might be a little scared, but she’ll understand if I explain it.”

Moonfire nodded and picked up his pace to a trot. I just want to get there and get this over with as soon as possible.

“Just relax, will ya?” the Earth pony started. “Everything’s gonna be fine.”

Before he could even take a breath to answer, they’d closed the distance and Scootaloo was knocking on the door.

“Hey, girls. Who’s this?” said a soft voice from their right.

The girls turned to see the yellow pegasus mare with a pink mane.

“This is Moonfire,” Sweetie Belle replied. “He’s a... a friend. But we kind of need your help.”

“Are you busy with anypony’s animals right now?” Scootaloo inquired.

“Oh, no I just fed the chickens. Nice to meet you, Moonfire,” Fluttershy said as she walked inside, beckoning them to follow.

“What’s wrong?”

Once the four were in, Scootaloo took a deep breath to steady herself.

“Um, do you know how to fix a broken wing? I mean, one that’s healed bad.”

“Well, yes, I do.” The mare looked worried. “Did something happen to your wing, Scootaloo?”

“No, my wings are fine, thanks. It’s Moonfire’s wing that’s kind of messed up.”

The mare looked at the unicorn colt intently, then to Scootaloo.

“Um, Scootaloo? Your friend doesn’t have wings.”

“Yes, he does. They’re just not showing. The same way I’ve got a horn that’s not showing.”

The mare’s eyes widened, a tiny gulp escaped her throat.

“He’s like me,” Scootaloo explained. “Go on, show her.”

Moonfire dropped his disguise and felt fear rolling off of the pink-maned mare. “Please, don’t be afraid.”

He watched as her eyes locked onto his wing and felt the fear lessen a bit.

“W-what happened?”

“I took a dare back in Manehattan. A stupid dare for pears of all things!” He rolled his eyes.

“Wow. Are pears bad for us, too, maybe?”

“No, I just don’t like pears. Never have liked them.”

“Oh. Guess it was one of those dares, then.”

“If you mean it was to see if I could survive a twenty foot drop, then yes, it was one of those dares. But why don’t we get back on track?” Moonfire looked back at Fluttershy, her fear almost non-existent now.

“Right, anyway,” Sweetie Belle started, “could you please help him? He can’t really go to a normal doctor.” She leaned in to whisper. “He’s really scared of other ponies.”

“Yeah, he’s kinda paranoid,” Apple Bloom observed with a smirk.

“First, like I said Wednesday, the paranoid are only called that until they are proven right. Second, I’m not afraid of ponies, I’m just being careful about who I interact with,” the male changeling said with an indignant expression.

“I-I’ll just go get my first aid kit,” Fluttershy said as she got up.

Once the mare was out of the room, Moonfire hissed, “Are you trying to make me angry?!”

“Are you trying to look angry?” Scootaloo replied calmly. “Relax, Fluttershy knows you’re safe now. Lighten up: you’re with good ponies now, remember?”

Moonfire sighed, “I know, I’m just always on edge. It’s been a long time since I’ve been messed with like that.”

“Well, if you’re that sensitive, we could stop,” Sweetie Belle tried.

“Won’t matter soon if she has what I think she does. Wouldn’t make much sense if she didn’t have it.”

Scootaloo tilted her head.

“Twilight said it’s called ‘ling-nip’. It’s a tranquiliser that won’t poison you. It’s the only medicine we’re sure won’t be bad for you. Or me.”

‘Ling nip? Nice to know we’re considered cat-like. “Sounds kinda like honey thistle.”

“It’s made from honey thistle.” Fluttershy said as she stepped into the room.

“Well, then we know it’s powerful stuff right?” Scootaloo tried. “I mean: it’s not like there’s a lot of options.”

Moonfire sighed, “Yeah...”

He looked at his wing. It was partly bent at the tip, with a needle-like outgrowth where it had broken. A little callus marked the point of the injury, swollen around to try and patch it up. Like reed that got bent in a storm, only made of hardened flesh with its own pulse and breath. He winced as the dull pain sharpened a bit.

“Let’s just get this over with,” he looked around. “Where do you want me to lay?”

“Um... H-how about on the couch?” Fluttershy asked.

Moonfire jumped up onto the couch and laid down with his right wing facing away from the couch.

Telling History Part 1

Telling History

Moonfire felt his head become heavy and saw his vision blurring a bit. Trying to move turned out to be a bad idea, as his body was slowly starting to get a new appreciation for gravity. His muscles refused to budge, his breath started coming in slower, his whole body turned heavy and limp. Blinking to try and clear his head, he rubbed his hooves over the couch’s fabric. He didn’t feel anything. His extremities had gone completely numb.

He looked back at his wing when he felt it being touched.

“Okay, I-I’m about to-” Fluttershy started.

“Just break it a’ready,” Moonfire interrupted, with a slight slur. “If this ‘nip’ is as powerful as you say it is, I won’ feel a thing.”

“O-okay... But this still might hurt a lot.” She shifted her hooves so that one was on each side of the main breaking point.

He pshawed and said, “With thish nip it’ll feel more like a sting than a wing breaking.”

“Maybe you should try to distract yourself from this?” Sweetie belle asked, uncertainty glinting in her eyes.

“Okay then, ” the ‘nip’d up changeling started. “Hmm... Did I tell you that I’ve been a stunt double for about twenty movies?”

“Really?” She leaned in with a raised eyebrow, clearly suspicious of the boast. “Which ones?”

“Well, there’s Robocolt, by Verhooven, of course. And the Daring Doo movies, all four of them, an’ Pirates of the Caribouan: Dead Mare’s Chest, Horseshoe Island, Night Mare on Elk Street, a few episodes of The Trot Files, Spy Foals 2: The Island of Lost Dreams, Small Guards, The Secret of-”

Behind him, a loud yelp sounded. All at once, he pursed his lips and widened his eyes, nearly biting on something as his world turned white for an instant. Pain shot through his body as a sickening crunch echoed through the room. Moonfire could feel his face flushing and a tear starting to form as he carefully exhaled. His head throbbed when the big shock subsided, and his heart began pounding.

Slowly, gingerly, he turned around to see a shaking mare.

“Ow,” he whimpered.

“It’s okay, that’s the most it’ll hurt. I just need to wrap it up now,” the mare explained as she wound some bandages around the wing. Turning to the ground, Moonfire noticed a sliver of transparent tissue drifting to the ground. He was still shaking, and the little stabs of pain wracked his body, but he forced himself to stay still.

He wasn’t even sure if he needed to force himself that much: even with the adrenalin surging through his system the ‘nip kept his limbs weak. It finally dawned on him: he was completely helpless. Years of dodging assassins and now all it would take was an ill-placed pillow. The thought made him shudder.

“H-how long does the ‘nip last again?” he asked, trying to hide his fear.

“It’ll last for a few more hours, to help with the pain,” Fluttershy answered.

“Um, I’m just gonna put this a little closer, okay?” Sweetie Belle offered, sliding the dish and candle closer to let the fumes hit his nostrils more. “You look like you need it.”

“N-no I don’t, I just need to distract myself,” he pushed the dish back to where it was.

“Why are you so scared of something that takes away your pain?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Do you wanna feel how much you’re hurt? Just because somepony else doesn’t care about you, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.”

“Um, Sweetie Belle,” Fluttershy asked, “what do you mean? Your friend’s just a colt passing by, right?”

“... I’m not.” He looked away, not wanting to see the mare’s reaction.

“Then... what are you, Moonfire?” the yellow pegasus asked with an air of dread, lying down next to him so their eyes would be at the same height.

Apprehension stilled his tongue, creating a heavy silence.

“Sweetie Belle,” Fluttershy started, staring at the boy’s eyes. “Could you please go check on Scootaloo?”

The filly stood up, wordlessly, then scurried off outside to the garden shack where her friend was recovering from her own brush with the ‘ling-nip.

“You can talk now, Moonfire. I promise you’re safe.”

His sight grew watery and he turned away from the mare, trying to stem the coming tide.

“Moonfire, if something bad happened to you, you need to tell me. Please?” the mare insisted.

“... My father disowned me.... He knew who I was and disowned me and sent an assassin after me.” He shuddered, not entirely involuntarily.

He heard, and felt, her gasp. “H-he sent somepony to kuh-kill you? Haven’t you told anyone about it?””

Moonfire sniffled, “Can’t, I tried to, but...” he took a deep breath. “I should start at the beginning.”

=======================

“You... you are no longer my son,” Fleetrain, Moonfire’s father, said. “Get out of my house.”

The newly-minted changeling stood in front of his dad, quivering in fear and disbelieving what his ears had heard.

“I said: Get out of my house!” Fleetrain stomped his hooves in warning.

With tears in his eyes, Moonfire turned and ran through the house. Blindly bursting out into Vanhoover’s streets, he turned. Following a path that his body, despite being changed now, knew. He stopped and saw that he was in his friend’s favorite place to gather; the clubhouse they all built together.

He sank to the floor of the clubhouse, tears staining the mis-matching wood. He tried to bury his face in his hooves, only to find the surface of his skin harder than before, less welcoming. He forced his eyes shut and let go. His dad would have murdered him for crying before, but now he would have murdered him, period.

His mind reeled at how this had happened. He hadn’t done anything, he hadn’t eaten anything bad. As a matter of fact, the colt had had to run out on an empty stomach.

There was nothing he could do now. He had turned, somehow, and it had turned his parents against him.

“Please... take it back. I didn’t do anything.”

A weak smile appeared on his lips, one little speck of hope still remained.

He still had his friends. He still looked a little like his old self, they’d know it was him. They could help, they could explain everything to his dad when he was done raging.

It could still be set right.

He felt something poking his ribs, a fine way to wake somepony up.

“Flare, I don’t think you should be doing that,” a familiar voice said.

“Relax, if this thing tries anything it’ll regret sleeping here.” Another familiar voice.

He looked up and, with a smile of relief, said, “Guys, You don’t know how glad I am to-”

A wooden sword found its way under his chin, held by a black claw.

“T-talos, it’s me, Duellum.”

The griffin leaned back, trying to put on a brave face.

“Y-you aren’t him,” Talos said, clenching his jaw to hide his fear and disgust.

“But-,” Moonfire glanced towards Flare.

Incomprehension and curiousness clouded her gaze when their eyes met. There was no hope, his friends didn’t believe him.

The red unicorn with that bright red and orange mane shook her head. She slowly started backing away from the pair, and her chest seemed to heave as emotions welled up.

“Not you too," the changeling pleaded. “You guys, it’s really me. I need help. Please?”

The blue pegasus peered around the door at him, fearfully ducking back behind it when he cast his gaze her way.

“But-” The faint pressure at his neck slowly increased until he was forced to take a step back.

“You don’t fool us. Tell us where Duellum is or I swear... I’m gonna hurt you.”

“It is me, Talos. Please, my dad already kicked me out, I’ve got nowhere to go. I don’t know what’s happened to me and everypony’s turning on me.”

The pressure on his neck intensified, silencing the boy’s pleas.

“Careful, Talos, don’t hurt him,” Flare warned.

“Alright, fine. I’ll tell you what: we’re gonna let you off the hook, and we’ll forgive whatever you’ve done to our friend, if you bring him back.”

“But I am --”

“Don’t lie. You’re not Duellum. You’re just some imposter who only got half his act down.”

“Why won’t you believe me? I thought we were friends.”

“We are friends. With the unicorn you took. Now go get him before I change my mind. Trust me, what I might do to you is nothing compared to what Duellum’s father will do to you if he catches wind of this. So no lies, no tricks, you just get Duellum back here and we’ll pretend this never happened,” the griffon offered, backing down.

“How can I convince you? Look, what about the -”

“Don’t,” Flare interrupted. “Don’t even think about trying to fool us with whatever you got out of our friend’s head. It’s not going to work. You tried taking his place and you failed. Now just give us our friend back and we won’t hurt you. We won’t turn you in.”

The changeling let his head hang. His breath came in ragged as something ached in his chest, and a warm wetness made its way across his face to the ground. Slowly, he took one step forward, then another, and another. He looked at Flare, the red unicorn with a mane that reminded him of sweets. She hardened her look and shook her head. He risked another glance at Talos, who gripped his wooden sword tighter at the gesture.

What tears he could still hold back flowed freely now. He walked out of the clubhouse, into the street. His back was turned towards his friends, friends who’d just turned their back on him. Duellum’s wings started twitching, and his body tensed up. Adrenalin soared through his body as panic overtook him again. Through clenched teeth, he barely managed to voice his farewell.

“I’m sorry.”

Telling History Part 2

Telling History: Part II

“W-what happened t-then?” Fluttershy asked in a soft, trembling voice.

“I did the smart thing and skipped town.” Moonfire glanced at the confusion on the mare’s face.

“I hopped on the train and left,” he explained.

“While I was on the train I found that, if I concentrated, I could change anything about myself. My gender, my appearance, my voice... it was a little disconcerting at first. But, I found that I could use it to regain my previous form, my old life. But that would take time. I would have to hide, and learn how to control my powers.

“It took four days for me to reach Dodge City and it was Saturday when I left Vanhoover. I was starving when I got off the train so the first thing I did was... ‘acquire’ some food from the local cherry farm. After that, I found a few strong boxes and a relatively sturdy blanket in an alley and called it home,” Moonfire sniffled. “I didn’t even last a week. By the time another Saturday rolled around, I was a sitting duck. A hungry, weak, sitting duck. Not literally, but you get the idea.”

=======================

The colt lay shivering under the covers, stomach growling in protest. He couldn’t feel his toes, and he was too hungry to realise that he should be more worried about the hooves that were where he thought his toes were. The phantom sensations of his wings vaguely reminded him of his predicament, but for some reason none of the pain made him change to his normal form. He just lay there, alone and in pain.

He licked his lips and tasted blood, like they were chapped. It wasn’t winter, he was getting plenty of vitamins from the fruit he’d eaten, but still he could feel the emptiness in his stomach demanding sustenance. He tried rubbing his hooves together to test, but the things were softening up somehow. His skin felt dry and tight all over, and some vague memory of a condition called ‘scurvy’ came to mind. It didn’t make any sense, though: he was eating healthily, all things considered.

What’s wrong with me? I shouldn’t be this hungry. I just ate six hours ago...

With a sigh and a groan from his belly, he let his eyes drift shut.

“B-Brave Gambit? I-is that you?”

He looked up and saw an Earth pony mare with a moss brown coat and a grass green mane with brown highlights. She had a bottle with red liquid and white fumes coming out of it for a cutie mark.

The last thing he noticed was her eyes. They were a light shade of magenta and full of concern and compassion, much like his own mother’s.

“M-mom?” He managed to say before his vision was overcome by the black of unconsciousness.

Moonfire blinked as he noticed the light filtering through his heavy eyelids. His stomach wasn’t growling so unpleasantly any more, but he was feeling a bit hungry. He was lying on something softer than he remembered, though, and in a warmer place. He licked his lips, and found the chapping had subsided.

“Welcome back, honey,” a friendly voice said.

Moonfire looked to his left and saw the same mare from before.

Who is this mare and why am I not hungry any more? He thought.

The mare’s expression grew more concerned at Moonfire’s confused countenance. "You don’t recognise me, do you?”

Slowly, reluctantly, the boy shook his head.

“I’m Deciduous Thyme, and you’re Brave Gambit. Unless you somehow look an awful lot like him. That is you, isn’t it, Gambit?”

Moonfire’s throat suddenly bunched up. Some vague instinct caught hold of his first response and warped it to a lie.

“I-I’m not sure. I don’t think I remember everything all that well. Something happened, but... you’re my mom, right?”

He was screaming inside to stop himself, but to no avail. He wanted to lie, he needed to. Every fiber of his body demanded he keep up this charade to gorge on the feast that so readily presented itself. It was only then that he realised he could feel the mare’s caring. That was what filled the emptiness in his stomach.

He needed to be loved.

This mare needed her son.

This was the first lucky break he’d had in two weeks.

Her face immediately lit up at his words, “I knew it was you. You had me worried sick, you know. Do you remember anything about what happened at all?”

Moonfire glanced around the room and saw several pictures hanging on the walls. The subject of each was almost his twin in appearance.

Is that Brave Gambit? Moonfire thought. Only his mane style is different from mine... but... what happened to him..? Maybe I could use this to my advantage. Pretend to be him. It would be better than just sleeping in a box with only a blanket. But what about Brave himself? What if he comes back? I could just slip away if he does. Leave no one the wiser. Besides, it’s not like I would’ve lasted if she hadn’t found me.

He sat up in the bed and said, “No. I-I don’t remember....”

“That’s probably best. You ran away after we err... had some words. We both said things we regret. But you’re back, and you’re safe, thank Celestia. We can worry about the rest later.”

Ran away? Huh, seems like I won’t see him any time soon, Moon- he should probably get in the habit of calling himself Brave Gambit- thought. I wonder what was said.

“I'm sorry for what I said. W-whatever it was.”

The mare shook her head and smiled, suppressing a tear.

“It’s okay, Gambit. I’ve already called the doctor, he’ll be over in a few hours to check your injuries. I guess that leg must be feeling pretty sore now, huh?”

A bead of cold sweat ran down the imposter’s neck.

“Just a little,” he lied, before realising something was shifting in his right hind leg. A tiny shift of bone and sinew formed some sort of internal scar that gave off a dull ache.

Am I... adapting to this mare? That’s convenient and somewhat disconcerting.

The mare put a steaming bowl of tomato soup in front of him. She leaned in to pat him on the head. It was only then Moonfire -- Gambit, Brave Gambit -- realised he couldn’t quite make out how long he’d been out cold.

“Um... H-how long was I asleep?” Gambit asked, levitating the spoon to his mouth.

“Long enough to get hungry again, I’ll bet,” Thyme replied with a wink.

The spoon stopped right outside his mouth as the sound of a closing door and a half-shout of “honey, I’m home” reached him.

He glanced at the mare and saw that she hadn’t heard. I think it would be best if I told her about that.

He let the spoon drop a little and said, “I think I heard somepony come in.”

“Hmm?” Thyme turned her head as the stallion walked in.

“Lofty! Look who came back!”

“Gambit? W-where have you been? Have you told the police he’s been found yet?”

Suddenly another bead of sweat rolled over Moonfire’s back.

“Not yet, but the doctor will be here soon. We can worry about the legal stuff when he’s done,” the mare replied before walking over to him. “He um... he doesn’t remember.”

Lofty glared at the boy.

“Are you sure it’s him, then?”

Well, this is it then. I’m caught.

“I’m sure. He called me ‘mom’ when I found him, and he was all alone. It can’t be anypony else, can it? I know his mane looks a little different, but... surely you recognise your own son?” Thyme insisted.

The stallion walked closer to Gambit, looking him over as the boy returned the gesture. Lofty was a salmon pink unicorn stallion with a blue mane and tail that looked like leaves clumped together. His cutie mark was a closed book on a pedestal. The changeling winced at the look, his heart skipping a beat.

“H-hi.”

“Do you know who I am?”

“Um, dad?”

“I’m Lofty Libram,” he replied. “As for me being your dad, well...” he calmly said as he stroked the boy’s messy mane back a little, “you definitely feel like my son. You’ve got his smell. But I guess we’ll just have to make do with who you think you are until your memory returns, huh?”

The doctor’s visit went as well as a colt with a limp could hope. He was told to stay off of his hoof until it healed and that he shouldn’t be doing any extended running or exercising.

The next few days saw his ‘friends’ visit and they gave him what was taught in class and stayed for a few hours playing games of all kinds.

***

Gambit had just returned from getting chocolate milkshakes with his ‘friends’ a month after he had arrived and saw that the door was ajar. As he approached the door he noticed that it wasn’t just open, it was almost torn off its hinges.

The sound of shattering glass reached his ears and his eyes widened before he darted inside.

Another sound, this time a muffled scream, directed him to the kitchen.

What’s going on? he thought as he stepped around a piece of paper.

He peered into the kitchen.

Blood. Blood was on the cabinets, smeared onto the floor.

What..?

His eyes widened as he saw his dad dead in front of the stove and he coughed as he smelled an acrid, malodorous stench.

He heard a *schlick* and turned to see a black pony standing over his dying mother.

The stream of tears flowing down his muzzle dampened his coat, he gave a sob and breathed in more of the pungent odor, almost being able to taste it.

The dying mare locked eyes with Gambit and, with her final breath, said, "B-brave, r-run... run..."

His eyes drifted up to the other mare who was in the middle of sheathing a knife.

They stood there, not moving, staring at each other while the wind flowed through the room, and the broken door creaked with every push of the wind.

Gambit took a step back and shook his head in disbelief.

“And who are you, little one?” the mare asked around her blade.

The disguised changeling took another step back as he felt fear start to cloud his mind. He knew that voice, there was no mistaking it. The cold, always disapproving tone, belonged to... “A-aunt Cal?”

There was a soft *click* as the knife was fully sheathed.

Cal smirked.

“You know, I heard a funny story the other day, stop me if you’ve heard it before. Once upon a time, there was a little boy who wanted nothing more than to join the Royal Guard. He got signed up for junior training camp, looked forward to it with all his heart. But one day, he almost gets run over by a runaway cart and this caring individual shoved him out of the way just in time,” she explained, nudging the bleeding body of his adoptive mother.

“The boy was devastated, for you see: his mother had given just a tad too hard a push, and he landed in a market stall where he was immediately buried under clocks. Insurance paid for most of the damage, of course, but one thing couldn’t be fixed: his leg. A grandfather clock had toppled in the confusion and smashed the boy’s flank like china. No training camp for him. So, of course he was upset, claimed his mother had intended to push him into the clocks. They had a right row and he ran away.”

Gambit’s eye twitched.

“But lo and behold, just a few weeks later his parents find a foal on the street who looks just like him, acts just like him yet doesn’t remember anything. Even has the bone callus on the exact same spot their son did. But here’s where the story takes a turn for the mysterious: a boy matching the same description turned up to two parents who’d recently lost their son to a changeling. And turns out the bone callus isn’t even that hard to treat: he’d found a proper doctor for it in two days if he’d run the other way.”

The boy gulped.

“Brave Gambit turned up at your old haunt. You’re not him. And if I had to wager a guess, you’re the one that got to my employer’s son just a few days earlier. His friends were pretty upset, you know. It’s a good thing Gambit looks so much like him, or we’d have a hard time explaining that away.”

“Y-you don’t understand. I am their son,” Duellum stammered.

“Even better. Then you know your dad won’t go back on his word. It’s a shame, really: you always struck me a nice kid. Honest, hard-working, eager to please. Nothing like your father,” she noted with a chuckle.

The disguised changeling was trembling.

“So you’re an assassin?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re here to assassinate me?”

“What? No, no, no, boy. You’ve got that all wrong. Assassinations are for important ponies, and everyone knows it’s a hired hit when they see it. You’re just going to be murdered, and no one will know I did it, let alone got paid for it. Makes customer service a lot easier, come to think of it.”

~o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o~

“W-what happened then?” Fluttershy asked with a quiver in her voice.

“I caught her off guard, unbalanced her. I did what I could to keep her there, then I ran. I think I hit the stove on the way out, ‘coz next thing I know the place is burning down. With Caligantis and my- with Gambit’s parents inside.”

“So you’ve been running ever since? Can’t you talk to the guards?”

“It hasn’t been just running,” he sighed. “But yes.”

“A-and the guards?”

Moonfire closed his eyes and shook his head. “No, my father has most of the higher-ups on payroll.”

“He’s not paying Princess Celestia, is he?”

The colt chuckled, “No, he isn’t, as far as I know anyways. But I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case.”

“You know we can get word sent to her to get you protection, right?”

“Yes, but... I have trust issues.”

Fluttershy stroked his back with a wing.

“I guess you would. But at least you know it can be done. We can help you if you feel you’re ready to be helped. And if things do get out of control, we will help you anyway.”

He sighed, “But there’s no way of getting something to the princess without... Dad finding out about it and learning where I am. Moreover, he had at least twenty palace guards last time I tried to get in. Who knows how many are under his influence now?”

“Alright, then. We can think about that later. At least you’re safe now. You’ll stay here until your wing has healed up, and you can stay past that if you want. We can work something out.”

“No, I’ll leave once the ‘nip wears off,” he looked at Fluttershy. “I have a safe place that is rarely visited by other ponies.”

“Um, I don’t think so. You really cannot be alone while that wing is healing. You can stay here, I’ll get you some nice, warm blankets. Oh, and Angel Bunny can keep watch and fetch you some chamomile tea if you get anxious in the night.”

“You don’t need to get me a blanket, it’s plenty warm in here.”

“Oh, I meant for the night, of course. You’re going to need to keep that wing nice and toasty if you want to get a good night’s sleep.”

Moonfire shook his head, “I don’t think you understood me; I don’t need a blanket because I prefer the cold.” He chuckled and shook his head. “Captain Squall always called me a windigo since I always went into the rigging without a single stitch of clothing.”

”Sweetie, Squall calls ponies a lot of things. He used to call me a gorgon,” she noted with a shiver.

“I bet you never knew that he knew about me, all of me. Knew that I had a disguise on as soon as he saw me.” Of course I showed him as soon as I came on his ship... But she doesn't need to know that.

“Yes, he does that sometimes. He made Nightmare Night a lot less scary for me,” she fondly recalled.

“Seriously? Are we talking about the same stallion? Because the one I remember could make even the fiercest storm look like a calm spring shower.”

“Oh, yes. He was really nice to have around when the weather ponies needed to water everything. I was never scared of storms... until he moved out of the house,” the mare recalled, grimacing a little.

“Anyways, I don’t need a blanket, only a pillow.”

“If you say so. As long as you stay indoors, whatever you want to do is fine,” Fluttershy said as she headed to the door.

Moonfire shook his head and stood up, “No, not fine. If I’m going to stay here, I’m going to help you.”

Fluttershy backed up a little and got a grave look in her eye.

“Sweetie, please stay down? You need to rest.”

“No can do, I’m not going to just sit around on my flank while you take care of me.”

The changeling hopped down from the couch and walked up to the mare, “You might be kind and the captain’s half sister, but I will not laze about and do nothing.”

“Oh, that’s alright. You can go out and help if you really want to. When your wing is better.”

“No, I won’t wait. There is nothing that will stop me from helping you.”

“Pretty please?” she begged, leaning in close to the changeling’s face.

“No,” Moonfire deadpanned.

Fluttershy took a deep breath, then locked eyes with the boy. Her stare intensified, starting to push down on her target.

Why’s she just staring at me? And why can’t I look away? ... Huh, look at that, there are some green flecks in her eyes... Well, this is getting very awkward. Okay, this is uncomfortable... She’s just standing there, staring... Mayb- No! Oh sweet Celestia no! Not that, anything but that!

“Fine, I’ll stay inside,” the colt said, keeping his expression neutral.

“There’s a good boy. Now, you just sit tight while I go check on Scootaloo. She went a little faint when I lit that nip.”

With that the mare turned and walked out the door.

Moonfire shuddered after he heard the door close.

“That was worse than the captain’s glare...”

The Moon's Fight With Itself

Author's Note

Sorry about this being almost a week late. I wasn't able to get on the computer long enough to get around to posting this. :twilightblush:

The Moon's Fight With Itself

The Moon’s Fight With Itself

Soft... was the first thing that Moonfire thought.

Confusion settled in before it was kicked out by Memory and stepped on by Realization.

That’s right... Fluttershy.

“Maybe I should just set this over here and let him sleep,” He heard from his right.

The changeling turned towards the voice and said, “Set what over where?”

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you. I made you some lemon jam sandwiches and a cup of tea. You slept like a baby.”

Moonfire suppressed a grimace. Bleh, lemon. “It’s okay, I’m usually up before everypony else.”

“Well, you just rest up as much as you like and you can eat when you feel like it. I won’t make any more noise, you’ll hardly notice I’m here.”

He chuckled, “I guess you don’t know how sensitive a changeling’s hearing is. I won’t be able to get to sleep until tonight, anyways.”

“Oh. Good morning, then. Hope you had a good night’s sleep.”

“Best night’s sleep I’ve had in... Well, five years.” He took a bite from the sandwich. “When I went to a doctor to see why I wasn’t getting a lot of sleep, he said that I had insomnia.”

“Oh my,” she started, sitting down in front of the chewing changeling, “aren’t you a little young to have that?”

“Nah, it can happen to anyone. If they have enough stress or they’re sick.” He took a sip of tea, “There’s many things that can cause it.”

Fluttershy went still, looking at the boy.

He sighed, “That’s one more difference between Gambit and I.”

Fluttershy didn’t respond. She just looked at him with sympathy in her eyes.

Well, better than her fearing me. Moonfire tossed the last bite into his mouth and drank the last of his tea, “Thank you for breakfast.” He slid out of bed and walked to the door, “I believe there are others who want some.”

==========================

“Here you go, little mouse. Hope you get better,” Moonfire said as a mouse in a wheelchair went into it’s hole with a piece of cheese half its size.

That’s the last of them. He looked at the clock. Noon... Maybe I could-

“Moonfire!” Fluttershy called out as she flew back in. “Oh, there you are. It’s time for lunch.”

He chuckled, “I was just about to make something; seem less like a burden.”

Fluttershy rolled her eyes while the boy’s back was turned.

“You’re not a burden, Moonfire. Taking care of small animals is my job, after all.”

He looked back, “Want me to help you, or do you want to help me?”

The mare gave a warm smile.

“You say that you can’t have one without the other. If you really want to help out, it’s okay. If it makes you feel better.”

“No, seriously, I don’t know where anything is.”

Fluttershy chuckled and flew to a back room, her kitchen door mostly occluded by a large wooden beam. She came back with a tray of sandwiches and jars of jams and pastes.

“Oh, do you like cheese and honey?”

“I like peanut butter and honey, but I’ve never heard of cheese and honey.”

“Peanut butter for today, then,” Fluttershy decided, starting to smear a sandwich for him already. “You should try some fried goat’s cheese with honey, though: it’s yummy.”

“Fried goat cheese... mom liked to have some on toast for breakfast.” He sighed, “Probably still does. But Gambit, he hates it for some reason.”

Fluttershy looked up at the boy.

“Umm, Gambit is the boy living with your parents now, right? Don’t you think you could get him to help you? After all, he would want to know where his real family is eventually.”

Moonfire let out a bitter laugh, “Gambit? Help someone besides himself? No way that will happen. Besides, he already knows what happened; he’s the one who I fought with when I went to try to re-join my parents.”

Fluttershy tilted her head at him.

“You went back after your father tried to kill you, and then you fought the only boy who could prove what happened?”

“Yeah, I was trying to get my mom away from Him...”

==========================

Moonfire slid down from the curtain he was holding onto as the guard walked away down the hall. He was in his parents’ house, nearing his old room. And his mother’s.

“You must be Moonfire,” a voice said from behind.

Moonfire whirled to face the source. He struck a defensive pose, ready to pounce, before he recognized the colt that had startled him. Relief washed over him when the face registered. “Brave Gambit.” He took a step towards his look-alike. “Great, could you please help me-”

“Take your mother? Or should I say... my mother? In either case, you’re out of luck,” Gambit said as he stepped to his left.

“What do you mean? I’m trying to get my mom away from Him, out of danger that she doesn’t even know exists,” The disguised changeling mirrored the colt’s step.

“Wow, Fleetrain wasn’t kidding. You really are a little drama queen. You think there’s danger here? Do you have any idea how good you had it here? You leaving is the best thing that ever happened to me, and I’m not gonna let you mess this up.”

“You haven’t lived here for all of your life, you don’t know what I had, what I’ve given up.” His voice dropped in volume, “You don’t know what you’ve lost.”

“I don’t think you really understand me, pal. Get out. I’m fine here, I like it. I don’t know what you think you’ve given up, but I know what I’m getting. And you don’t get to take my mom.”

“My mother you mean, your parents -- your real parents -- are dead because of the monster I called father.”

“Oh, I know all about that; about how they didn’t want me to continue my dreams. But now? Now all I have to do is what ‘the monster’ tells me to and I’ll be able to continue what he does.”

Moonfire continued to slowly circle his opponent. “So you’re to be a raving lunatic as well?”

Gambit gave a snort of derision, “So you do know what it’s all about. Well, that doesn’t change the fact that you aren’t welcome here. They’ve completely replaced me for you. You’re nothing more than an insignificant piece in this game that spans millennia. Oh, and don’t worry, I’ll take special care of Flare. You can’t imagine how much she’s been fawning over me, nearly losing the one she loves.”

Moonfire’s hoof wavered in the air before continuing on its path. “Don’t you da-”

“Hurt them? Unless they stumble onto something they weren’t supposed to know, they’ll be left alone. The only thing putting them at risk right now is you. If anyone ever finds out you took the real Moonfire....” The colt let that trail off. “Well, Fleetrain doesn’t do half work, I’m sure you noticed.”

“Yeah, hard to not notice the hitmare after me. But that’s the problem: I’m his son, his real son, not some random colt that happens to look like him.”

“Maybe not. Maybe you’re a random changeling who happens to have taken his son’s form. You know, like the one that got the original. Kind of an amateur, though: tried to play the sympathy angle by pretending he’d mutated or something. I know what happened to the real Moonfire. You’re not him,” Brave Gambit taunted. “He’s probably stuck in a cocoon somewhere, being brainwashed to dream of his parents and drained of his love energy and magic. That’s what Fleetrain told me. You? You can’t be him. You’d have be near dead to come back after that.”

“Changelings? And besides, I almost did die.”

“Oh, you wanna play dumb? Alright, then: changelings are emotional vampires, they pretend to be someone who’s loved and feed off the energies that love gives. They’ve got these nasty holes in their legs and wings, ugly carapaces and hideous fangs. They don’t even have hair, just this web hanging from their heads and behinds. They’re parasites, they snatch up ponies and replace them. Sometimes the ponies get out... sometimes they don’t. Moonfire didn’t,” Gambit stated matter-of-factly.

“You know that for a fact? I’ve escaped from so many tight spots that I’ve nearly lost some of my mane on that last one, and the time before that,” Moonfire said, his temper flaring.

Gambit pressed his hoof to his face.

“Ugh. You know, if you’re gonna pretend to be a total drama queen, the courteous thing would be to tone it down a little. I mean, getting the act down is one thing, but you’re just painful to listen to, you know that? Nothing you say is gonna work. You are a fake, and there’s no way you can convince me otherwise. The real Moonfire had training from Garuda. The real Moonfire would have kicked me from one side of the house to the other by now. So if you really want me to believe you, you’re gonna have to do better than this,” Gambit goaded.

Moonfire snorted, “First rule of combat: never strike first; I’ll not start a fight, but I will end it.”

“Heavens above, I hope that wasn’t a lifted memory from the real one. That must be the dumbest thing I ever heard. Alright, then: I challenge you to a fight. We’ll settle this like in the old days. The real Moonfire deserves to be Fleetrain’s son. The real Moonfire wouldn’t need more than a few seconds to beat me into a pulp.”

A quick whiffing sound came from behind the pair, followed by a vague whistle. Before he had a chance to turn, Moonfire felt something stinging in his flank. His stomach started churning and his head swam.

“And the real Moonfire wouldn’t have any trouble being shot with changeling poison,” Gambit noted, sending power into his horn to shoot his would-be replacement against a wall. He looked down the hall at the pony who’d stepped in, before grinning at the damage his first shot had done. “That’ll be all, sir, thank you. I can handle it from here.”

Moonfire felt his disguise slip and shook his head, trying to clear his vision. The pounding in his head and the presence of hard wall behind him didn’t bode well. “Wh-what....”

Striding over confidently, Gambit grinned.

“Heart’s Desire. Very powerful medicinal plant: it helps a pony find their heart’s desire, makes them feel what they love. But for a creature that can’t feel love on its own, it’s poison. Still think you’re the real Moonfire? You sure don’t look like him.”

This is just like that petal I ate five weeks ago. “I am the real Moonfire.”

Crap, I won’t be able to last long with this. He stood up on shaky hooves, “I don’t need magic or complete control to defeat you. You’ll regret starting this.”

“Dude, seriously, you overfed on the real thing. You need to get all that dramatic flair out of your system, fast. Don’t worry: I’m sure if I keep hitting your head enough it’ll start puddling out eventually.” Gambit readied a volley to pepper the changeling with.

Moonfire took the full brunt of the onslaught, his forearms held up high as a makeshift barrier. He tried to put up a shield, but the ball of needles currently working its way through his intestinal system made it a little hard to concentrate. When the dust settled, the changeling looked at the marks in the wall.

“Heh... you think you can fight me? I’m standing still and half your shots didn’t even hit me.”

“Yeah, well, you try aiming for something that has holes in it.”

Moonfire knew he couldn’t last backed up against a wall, and Gambit had the advantage on range. Biting through the pain, Moonfire lunged for the unicorn. Bearing down his full weight on the boy, he got his hoof to connect with Gambit’s jaw, before pinning him down with a hoof on the neck.

“I’ve got you now.”

Gambit grinned.

“You know the lousy part of getting in close range?”

Another shot of pain wracked through the changeling’s body. Gambit didn’t need any more encouragement than that.

The shot came hard and fast, but Moonfire barely managed to roll to the side.

Stupid, stupid, stupid....

“Actually, I’m sure Fleetrain wouldn’t mind if you lived here, actually,” Gambit chuckled as he got up, readying his horn once more. “Whatever problems you have, I’m sure there’s a way to fix it. I wouldn’t mind having someone around who can turn into another Flare. You know, just to have a spare and all.”

What in Celestia’s name is wrong with this kid? He’s downright twisted. He’s... he’s more Fleetrain’s son than I was.

“What, that’s it? You’re hardly putting up a fight. I’d expect something a little more dramatic from such a perfect copy. Go on, say something, do something. I want to hear what you have to say before I break you and take you to get fixed.”

“You don’t even know how broken you are....” Moonfire muttered under his breath.

“What was that?” Gambit stepped closer, “I couldn’t quite hear you.”

Moonfire motioned the other colt closer, closer... and bucked him across the hall.

“You’ve just fallen for the worst, and oldest, trick in the book,” Moonfire said before running and smashing through a window, landing on his back hooves and rolling when he hit the ground.

Moonfire looked back at the window and saw Gambit staring down at him.

“You won’t get far, Moonfire, I’ll make sure that you meet your end!” The colt in the window said.

You want my life so badly? It's all yours. Good luck, Gambit.

Where the Heart Is ▲∩ ï∩╥µÐΣ┌

“So how was your day, princess?” Filthy Rich asked, turning a page in his newspaper.

“Fine,” Diamond answered as she closed the door.

The filly’s father paused, putting the newspaper down. “Sounds like something has you down. Come on, what’s got you in a funk?”

A servant brought in a cart laden with tea and crumpets, pausing only long enough to ask how much sugar they wanted in their cups before leaving the room, the cart left behind in case the pair wanted more.

The pink filly frowned, “Well, there’s this new colt in town, and I was hoping he would be in school today.”

The stallion chuckled, “So, my little filly is into colts now?”

“What? no, I mean...” she growled in frustration, then sighed. “I had a nice time with him Friday, and he said he was living with Fluttershy, so I thought he would be in class today.”

“This colt, what’s his relation to Fluttershy that he’s living with her?” Filthy mused, lifting a cup of tea to his mouth.

Diamond thought for a moment, taking a sip of her tea, and said, “I overheard him say that her half-brother sent him here... but I don’t know why.”

Tea sprayed onto the cart, unexpectedly ejected from Filthy Rich’s mouth. “A-a-and what is her half-brother’s name?”

Diamond looked at her father, she had never seen him shaken so. “He said somepony named Captain Squall was-”

Her father interrupted with a squeaky voice, “He’s still alive?!” Filthy walked over to his desk and pulled out some paper and a pencil, not bothering to use his favorite in his haste, “I-I-I’m sorry dearest, but I must get a letter to him immediately, did this colt say where Squall was docking?”

“No, he didn’t.”

“Bah, no matter, I know how to get it to him anyways.” The stallion sat down, the sound of scribbling filling the air.

~o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o~

“So what did you do then?”

“I had to cover myself up, so I made my wings and fangs disappear and filled up the holes in my limbs. I couldn’t hold my normal shape, but I could look like a weird unicorn, at least.”

“And then you ran out of town?”

“No, then I ran for the nearest public restroom. Heart’s Desire sucks. Uh... pardon my Prench,” Moonfire said with a sheepish grin.

“Oh, right. I guess it would,” the mare admitted, averting her gaze with a blush. “So that Gambit boy drove you out?”

Moonfire’s response was cut short by a carrot sticking out of his forearm. Looking down, he noticed the white rabbit inspecting his perforated anatomy with the vegetable like a chimney sweep giving a fireplace a cursory brushing.

“Oh, where are my manners?” Fluttershy started. “Moonfire, this is A-”

Moonfire jumped onto the back of the couch. “Be gone, rabbit, you and yours shall not have my chitin,” He said with a snarl.

“U-um, Moonfire, this is Angel Bunny. Angel Bunny, this is --” Fluttershy yelped when a vicious hissing sound interrupted her. “Moonfire, Angel Bunny is a friend. There’s no need to hiss at him.”

“I didn’t hiss,” he insisted.

The changeling and the pegasus gave the prone rabbit a little glare at that.

“Umm, try to be nice, please? You’re going to be under the same roof for while,” Fluttershy explained.

“As long as they stay away from me, I have no problem.”

Fluttershy gave a slight grimace at that, looking around at the plethora of bird’s nests and mouse holes in her house.

“I’m sure all the animals will keep their distance from you,” she lied.

“You misunderstand me; back in Baltimare I was chased by close to a hundred rabbits onto The Aerith. As far as I could tell they were out to eat me; my chitin had already had chunks taken out of it. Because of that, I... keep my distance from rabbits, no matter their temperament.”

“Sweetie, bunnies don’t eat meat. They don’t even eat bugs,” Fluttershy blurted out, quickly holding up her hooves to her mouth. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I mean bunnies shouldn’t want to eat changelings in the first place. You probably just smelled tasty, maybe. And... you landed on my brother’s ship? I didn’t think he liked stowaways.”

“They were eating my chitin; unless I’m a carrot, I can’t think of any other reason why they would try that. And your brother invited me onto the ship because I needed to get away from them.”

Fluttershy walked over and nodded to Angel Bunny to let him know it was alright. She stood over the boy and inspected his hard, hard skin.

“I guess your skin must have something in it, then. Maybe a vitamin. Or something to do with your magic: guinea pigs have been known to go a little crazy when they smell Zap Apples. Have you seen a doctor about it?” she inquired gently.

“I tried to go to the ship’s doctor, but Squall said to bother him only when I had a mortal wound.”

“And I take it the rest of the crew never saw those gaping holes in your body, huh?” she added with a wink.

If I didn’t know any better, I would say that she just made an innuendo. “They were told to not concern themselves with me; that I could take care of myself,” Moonfire said with a wary look.

“But you did make sure no one else knew about you, didn’t you?” Fluttershy asked with an air of dread. Moonfire could almost read the worried letter she was planning to send her half-brother.

“Yes, I made sure they saw only a small pegasus with a limp.”

Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief.

“Alright, then. I need to go to Ponyville and pick up a few things. I’ll lock the door, you just need to stay quiet and out of sight,” Fluttershy explained, her voice lowering to even more of her usual whisper. “Are you going to be alright?”

“I will. Just need to hole up in a room with no rabbits in it.”

“The guest room should be fine, then. Angel, promise you won’t try to break in?” the mare asked her long-eared pet.

Said pet grumbled and shook his head.

“I’ll bring home some cherries for you if you’re good,” Fluttershy added with a sugary tone.

The rabbit’s eyes went wide and his head started making violent up and down motions. He didn’t seem to realise Fluttershy would have no way of knowing whether or not he obeyed while she was out.

“That’s settled, then.”

Moonfire looked at the mare as she went out, then at the rabbit who was apparently good on his word. It was only then he realised the oddity of his situation: he was being tended to by a vet who not only was able to negotiate with her pet rabbit, but had to negotiate with her pet rabbit.

The changeling sighed.

How did I get into this?

==========================

The changeling sighed.

How did I get into this?

It was something he’d wondered for a while now, and while he couldn’t account for all of it he could at least describe how he’d ended up in this exact place at this exact time.

Fluttershy had told him she’d give him a wash, and she’d given him a glare he couldn’t fight when he insisted he could wash himself.

“Seriously though, I can wash myself,” Moonfire said for the tenth time.

Ignoring the protests, Fluttershy stroked his back with a soaped-up washcloth, gently working around his muscles and avoiding the still mending wing. She took special care to get in between the edges of his carapace, and hummed to herself all the way, not even answering.

Moonfire sighed and picked up a brush, trying to at least help.

“Moonfire,” Fluttershy said warningly.

“Oh come on, using magic won’t hurt my wing.”

She started going over his head at that, rubbing his temples in a circular motion before washing out his web-like mane. Fluttershy massaged his head and scalp, keeping her voice steady and even.

“Do you really feel that bad about just letting someone do something for you? Is it that hard to let go?” She paused. “How long has it been since somepony just showed you some kindness because they wanted to?”

Moonfire remained silent, slowly lowering the brush. Finally he whispered, “Why would anyone do something like that for somepony like me? I’m the son of a gangster, a godfather, why would anypony do something out of kindness for me?”

Fluttershy kept on washing the boy off, raising his left arm to get his armpit.

“You can’t help how you were born, Moonfire. But you don’t seem like a bad boy to me. Isn’t that what matters?”

It should, but on the streets, there’s only your heritage and your connections, he thought.

Fluttershy let the silence hang for a bit, then washed his right armpit.

“Or is it maybe because the rules are different where you’re used to living?”

The changeling said nothing, giving the mare the brush.

The mare didn’t pry any further. She just reached a little deeper and washed over the boy’s belly, before taking the brush and scrubbing the ends of his hooves, as well as around his horn.

“It’s different here, you know. Kindness isn’t as rare as you might think.”

==========================

“Moonfire, you have a visitor,” Fluttershy said from the other side of his door. “Are you decent?”

Oh crap, my wing isn’t fully healed, he thought before calling, “I’ll be out in a second.”

“What do you mean, ‘decent’?” a familiar voice piped up. “We don’t normally wear clothes.”

Shit! It’ll have to be good enough.

He pulled on his disguise and stuffed the bandages under his pillow before walking over to the door.

So far, no pain. Hope it stays that way, he thought as he opened the door. “Hi, Diamond. What brings you here?”

“You weren’t in class today,” the filly said.

“Well... I’m... uh... settling in here before I... try to...” WHY IS THIS SO HARD?! “Do anything else,” he stammered.

“Oh, no need to be shy, Moonfire,” the pot started, addressing the kettle. “He’s been staying in because of a little bug problem.”

Moonfire glared at the yellow mare. She grinned sheepishly at what she must have thought was a great inside joke.

“Err, yeah... stomach bug. Three-day flu, you know.”

“Oh, right,” Diamond offered with an uncharacteristically sympathetic smile. “But you don’t look sick now. Are you going to be in Cheerilee’s class tomorrow, then?”

Moonfire mentally gulped, “Well, you can never be too sure when it comes to stomach bugs.”

“That’s right, he’ll stay here tomorrow to make sure it’s gone,” Fluttershy said with a warning glance.

“Great. See you Wednesday, then,” Diamond concluded with a grin.

“Yeah, see you Wednesday,” he said with a smile. GREAT! now I have even more to worry about!

The filly turned and, as she was walking, said, “Hope you feel better.”

When she got to the door she stopped and said, “Um.... W-would you like to hang out with me after school Friday?”

Moonfire’s face lit up, “Okay.”

With that, she glanced back and smiled, and left without another word.

Fluttershy waited for the sound of her front door to close.

“You know, Diamond Tiara must really like you,” she started. “If she came all this way just to check how you were doing. You’re quite the gentlecolt.”

Another date! Oh yeah! Looks like that time in Manehattan wasn’t all bad. Wait, did Fluttershy say something?

Moonfire shook his head and said, “Did you say something?”

Fluttershy suddenly realised what she was talking about and to whom.

“Yes. I said you need to be nice to Diamond Tiara when you see her, and don’t take advantage of the fact that she likes you so much.”

“What!? You- Why- I wouldn’t- couldn’t- won’t-” he stammered. The changeling cleared his throat and said, “There is no way I would let my changeling nature do anything of the sort, see-”

“It’s okay, Moonfire. You’re a boy, and boys think and feel a certain way, when they get to around your age. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s important you realise what is right and what is wrong.”

Right at that moment, a screeching sound came from the bedroom window. A brown rooster had somehow launched itself up high and was now careening right towards Moonfire. Fluttershy extended her hoof and caught the stray poultry, blocking it before flicking it back out the window with a simple wrist motion.

Moonfire cringed. “You don’t have to tell me this, I learned it already.”

Fluttershy nodded.

“Good. Then you’ll do well on the refresher test.”

“I’ve had enough ‘refresher tests’ to last a lifetime,” Moonfire said, rolling his eyes.

“Of course you have, a handsome colt like you,” Fluttershy encouraged, “but just keep in mind Diamond Tiara isn’t like most girls. She can be a little mean sometimes, even if she likes you.”

He frowned and, under his breath, said, “You have got to be kidding me.”

Looking back to the mare, he said, “I think I’ve stayed here long enough for my wing to heal correctly. Thank you for taking care of me.”

“So you’re going to go school all alone now? And not come back here?” Fluttershy inquired. “Ponies might start asking questions, you know. What should I say if Diamond Tiara or one of her friends comes over and asks about you? Suppose someone wants to surprise her and they’re expecting you to be here? What should I say?”

The colt sighed, “I’ll be able to stop them before they get here, so you don’t have to worry there.”

With that he walked out the door.

==========================

Great, I had to say I would go to school, didn’t I? Moonfire thought as he walked into the belfry. Couldn’t I have said somethi- he stopped and looked at the coil of rope sitting next to his bed. “SHIT! she’s here!”

He ran and jumped out the window overlooking the pond, Now there’s no choice, I have to stay at Fluttershy’s.

Back at the cottage, he went up to Fluttershy and said, “Looks like you’ll be stuck with me for a bit more.”

“Oh? Is there a problem?” Fluttershy asked, concern in her voice.

“Yes, the mare that’s after me is here. She found where I had been staying, and now I need a new place to stay. Since you are worried about me, why not stay here?” Moonfire concluded, walking towards the couch.

“Well, I don’t mind having you around,” Fluttershy offered. “And it’s better for you to fit in like a normal colt, isn’t it? No one needs to know about you, we can pretend you’re my cousin or whatever you think is best.”

Moonfire looked intently at the mare.

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why would you let me stay here so easily?”

“I don’t know,” Fluttershy admitted. “Maybe it’s because I think everyone deserves a little kindness, and it wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t let you have it. Even if Scootaloo hadn’t brought you here, I’d probably have run into you sometime. And I’m glad I did before something really bad happened.”

Silence fell.

“You should have a home, Moonfire. I might not be the right pony to give one to you, but I can at least show you what you’ve been missing.”

The disguised changeling looked down, I don’t sense anything malicious coming off of her.... She doesn’t sound like she wants something from me... maybe this is what it is. “Then I guess you’ll have plenty to show me tomorrow.”

~o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o~

Ugh, does he keep tabs on me now? Cal thought as he snuck closer to his target. That’s the only way thi- and he can teleport... fucking awesome.

Slipping into the spot that was previously occupied, he looked in the window. Oh, that’s nice. It’s probably a good thing I have plans now.

Slowly, he opened the window and crept up behind the would-be assassin, his dagger seeming to soak up the moonlight. just a bit closer...

Suddenly a lamp turned on, revealing a changeling - no longer asleep - sitting on the bed. Shit.

“Tch, you’re dead either way!” The assassin said.

“No, you are,” Cal said around his dagger, driving it into the back of his prey’s neck. Now, because of his incompetence I have to come up with an excuse.

“Great, just when things were going good,” Moonfire said.

Cal merely pulled his blade loose and wiped it on his dead foe’s coat. Locking eyes with the colt, he said, “I am the only one who gets to kill you. I’ll be cleaning up the rest of the trash before I come for you.” Pleasedon’tquestionitPleasedon’tquestionitPleasedon’tquestionitPleasedon’tquestionitPleasedon’tquestionit-

“You aren’t going to try fighting me?”

DAMNIT!

Putting away his dagger, he smiled and said, “Now where would the fun be in that?”

Cal stepped over to the window and looked back at the colt. “I’ll come for you soon enough. You can count on it.”

With that he vaulted out the window and vanished into the woods.

An Old Friend; A New Face

Author's Note

Sorry about not posting this yesterday, I was a little distracted by RL :twilightblush:

An Old Friend; A New Face

“An’ ‘ere I thought you had run off, ne’er ta be seen again,” a familiar voice said from behind Moonfire.

“And I thought you went down with your ship,” he said with a wry grin as he turned around.

There in the doorway between the living room and kitchen stood a navy blue pegasus with an off-gold mane and tail. Upon his flank was a ship’s wheel with a storm cloud behind it.

“Tried to ‘least,” The pegasus replied, a twinkle in his amber-colored eyes. “Too good a ship ta give up easily.”

The bandaged changeling nodded solemnly, “I’m sorry she sank.”

“Don’ beat yerself up over it... was goin’ ta retire after that voyage anyways.”

Moonfire looked around the sailor, not seeing who he was looking for he said, “Where’s Fluttershy?”

“She’s out feeding the chickens right now. Said to jus’ come in an’ say ‘ello,” the stallion waved, “‘Ello.”

The colt chuckled, turning back to his lunch, “You’re doing what your sister tells you to? I thought you didn’t follow anyone’s orders.”

“‘Ave you even seen ‘er use ‘er Stare?” the salty stallion shuddered.

Moonfire glanced over at his previous captain and did a double take. Even Squall is afraid of her Stare? He gulped.

The sailor caught sight of the changeling’s face and belted out a hearty laugh, “Seems you know what I mean. You get on tha wrong side of it?”

“To tell the truth, yes, I did. She was telling me to stay lying down and that I could help after my wing was healed.”

“But you were havin’ none of that, jus’ like when ya barely got on me ship,” The stallion shook his head, tearing the amusing image out of his head. “Not even one minute were ya there ’fore ya demanded somethin’ ta do.”

Grunting his assent, he swallowed the last of his sandwich. Once his mouth was clear, the shape-shifter said, “By the way, last I heard you were building another ship.”

Scoffing, Squall sat in a chair next to the colt, “Tha’ thing? That was for me bossun. Promoted ‘im ta captain an’ listened for word of where ya ran off ta, an’ who but an old friend of mine tell me of a colt who jus’ ‘appened ta be livin’ wit me sis?”

“Well, I had to think up something to get a certain pink mare off of me. Besides, at least I remembered everything you said about her.” The colt levitated his plate to the sink, leaving it to wash later.

“Well, looks like you’ll ‘ave another set of hooves ‘round ‘ere fer a fortnight or two.”

“So you’re just visiting?”

“Oh, now don’ go put’n words in me mouth! Said I was retirin’. I’m movin’ ta this lit’le town, I am. Yes sir, ya ain’ gonna be shut a’ me til’ I die.”

Moonfire looked at the stallion, his thoughts traveling back to Applebloom and her words last wednesday. Maybe... nah, there’s no way he could’ve been here then. It’s just a coincidence, nothing more.

~o0o0o0o0o0o0o~

“‘Ello, gov’na, got yor letter ‘few days ago.”

“Good, I was hoping that you would respond to that. Now, about the boy-”

“Don’ worry ‘bout ‘im, he’s a good lad, one you’d be hard pressed to replace if’n he became family.”

“Come on, Diamond, I can’t hear a thing! What are they saying?” Silver Spoon whispered in her ear.

“They’re just talking about some boy,” Diamond Tiara replied. “Now be quiet, I can’t hear them when you’re talking.”

Turning her ear back to the door, she listened as the two stallions caught up the years since they last saw each other. Tales of the high seas and of hostile takeovers came to her, expecting nothing more than an attentive ear. Finally, after two hours, they got back to the colt.

“And were does this colt come in?” Rich said.

“I was wond’rin’ when you’d ask,” the captain sighed, “He came ‘board - what, maybe six months ago? - being chased by - an’ you’ll not believe this - rabbits, hundreds of ‘em! Anyways, me crew kicked ‘em off while I took ‘im to me quarters. ‘E ‘ad lots of bite and teeth marks all over ‘im from the rabbits that I ‘ad to kick off ‘im. When I got a good look at ‘im I was surprised to say th’ least.”

“Something surprised you?” Diamond’s father interrupted.

The stallion sighed, “Yeah, for th’ first time, I didn’ know what to make o’ it, but ‘e assured me ‘e wouldn’ impersonate any o’ th’ crew.”

“Imperso- no... you can’t mean-” Filthy started.

“No, I don’t. ‘E would never go an’ do something like what tha’ no-’count queen did, an’ if’n I didn’ know you better, I’d prob’ly ‘ave knocked loose some o’ those pearly white teeth you love so much.”

“How can there be good changelings? I thought their minds were all connected in-”

“- Some sort o’ ‘ive mind?” the sailor finished. “Seems you’ve read one too many o’ them new books tha’ popped up after th’ wedding.”

“Wait, I thought they were talking about a colt?” Silver spoon said, having moved to listen as well five minutes into the stallions’ first story. “Now they’re talking about a changeling?”

Diamond shushed her friend as her father sighed again, “I’m talking about the research that’s being conducted, the scientists working on it are trying to figure out how they communicated and coordinated their efforts in the invasion.”

“Well, tha’ can be put down as ‘em knowin’ each other an’ workin’ very well as a team. You’d see tha’ in any tried an’ true crew on a ship. Anyways, ‘e surprises me with takin’ off ‘is disguise an’ showin’ ‘is ‘true self’ as ‘e says. Well, while ‘e was there ‘e told me all tha’s ‘appened to ‘im,” The stallion paused, “What ‘e went through, nopony should, I’ll leave it a’ tha’.”

“That shouldn’t come as a surprise. But what worries me is that this colt has caught my Diamond’s eye and has taken her on a date.”

“Oho, ‘e’s finally tryin’ ta find th’ one for ‘im? You can bet yor arse ‘e won’t try an’thin’ unbecomin’ o’ somepony ‘is age, o’ that you can be sure.”

Hearing the two stallions walking towards their door, (it being the only door out of the room, aside from the servant’s passage) the fillies ran - as quietly as possible of course - back to Diamond’s room.

“What did that stallion mean by that?” Silver Spoon asked when the door closed behind them. “And who were they talking about?”

That’s what I’m asking myself... Diamond Tiara thought. And the more I think about it, the more I don’t like where this is pointing: Moonfire is a changeling.

Back to Basics

Moonfire was pacing, waiting for Ms. Cheerilee to call him in. Come on, you’ve done worse things than this. You shouldn’t be a bit worried. But then again, I haven’t been around a lot of foals that are close to my age in a while. Come on! they’re just ponies, they can’t sense that you’re a changeling. There’s no way you’ll be caught. Just remember what you’ve told Pipsqueak about yourself and stick with the story about me being Fluttershy’s brother’s adopted son.... Yeah no way that's not going to be picked apart.

The door opened and the teacher stuck her head out. “Come on, Moonfire, there’s nothing to be afraid of,” she said.

The colt shook his head. “Sorry, got lost in thought.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it. Everypony gets nervous on their first day of school,” Cheerilee offered, ushering the boy in with a hoof.

Must you use the word every-pony? He thought as he stood at the front of the room.

“This is Moonfire, he’s recently moved here from Baltimare,” Cheerilee announced to the class of foals, gesturing his way as if standing right in front of them didn’t grab their attention enough.

“Great! another unicorn,” Sweetie Belle said with a smile.

“Did you really meet Cap’n Squall?” came a Trottingham accent from the back.

Moonfire cocked an eyebrow. “Meet? He’s the one that adopted me.”

“Are you staying with Fluttershy now?” Scootaloo blurted out.

“For now, at least. She is the captain’s half sister,” Moonfire said.

“So why aren’t you with the captain, then?” Silver Spoon asked with a hint of derision.

“He thinks I need some ‘proper’ education. Something about me being like him without it,” the changeling dismissed.

“Ugh, great, another drama queen,” Scootaloo said, covering her face with one of her hooves.

“And a fine lesson that is, too,” Cheerilee agreed, “so, if no one else has any questions, we can get started with today’s class.”

“Okay, Moonfire, what are you doing here?” Scootaloo started. “I thought you were trying to lay low, or at least wait until your wing got better.”

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom looked around furtively from atop the roof of the school. No one could hear them from this distance, thankfully, and they remained the only foals who insisted on climbing the rain water barrel to eat on the roof. Still, they both looked a little worried about the chances that this would end in a changeling duel, if such a thing existed.

“Unfortunately, for the both of us, the fates seem to be intent on twining our lives together,” Moonfire countered.

“You need to learn to talk normally,” Sweetie Belle noted. “You’re going to stick out like a nail in the railroad if you keep that up.”

“And you know what happens to nails that stick out,” Apple Bloom started.

“I meant: she’s here, the mare that’s after me.”

“You’ve seen her?” Scootaloo asked.

“No. But there’s irrefutable evidence that says she’s here.”

“The evidence being....” Apple Bloom inquired.

“In the clock tower, there was no rope next to my bed. Monday I went back there and saw a pile of rope sitting next to it.”

The Cutie Mark Crusaders stared at him blankly.

“The maintenance pony that works on the clock tower comes by only once a month, he’s already been there this month. And none of you moved any rope when we were in there for your lesson. So, the only logical explanation is that she found out; she’s here, waiting for me to slip up.”

“If that is true, you are going to be safer in a crowd,” Apple Bloom noted.

“That’s what I thought, as well.” And I kinda promised Diamond I would be here. “Anyways, I’m gonna go join Diamond Tiara for lunch,” Moonfire said before jumping down from the roof.

The girls gasped softly, then went as blank in the eye as they were in the flank.

“What?” Moonfire started.

“You’re having lunch, friendly lunch, with Diamond Tiara?” Scootaloo asked.

“Yes.”

“Diana Almond Tiara?” Sweetie Belle persisted.

“Her middle name is ‘Almond’?” Moonfire asked.

“Bad taste at best, poison at worst,” Apple Bloom explained.

“I know that she’s not all buddy-buddy with you-”

“Then why eat with her?” Scootaloo interrupted.

The colt’s expression turned unamused, “Why not? There’s no reason to not be kind; to not sit with her.”

The girls all turned to each other and shared a knowing (if judging) look. They didn’t voice their thoughts, though.

“Oh, also: we’ll have to change where we meet to Fluttershy’s house.”

“No problem. It’ll be easier to go to and not get noticed,” Scootaloo agreed.

“Now, if you have no more objections, I will get out of your manes,” Moonfire said as he walked off to join Diamond.

“Why were you talking to them?” Diamond Tiara asked as the colt came over to her.

“Just wondering what they were doing up there,” he replied.

“Look, since you’re new in town, you probably don’t know this, but Apple Bloom and her friends are bad news,” Diamond Tiara started. “They’re just stupid blank flanks who can’t do anything special and are always getting into trouble. I’m not even sure if they’re really who they say they are.”

“Umm... how could they not be?”

“Well, yesterday Miss Cheerilee took us on a field trip through White Tail Woods, and Scootaloo refused to get close to a honey thistle,” Silver Spoon explained.

“Plus, I swear I’ve seen her eyes glow green. Those thistles are poisonous for changelings, Miss Cheerilee said so. And Rumble’s been acting really weird around her. She’s a changeling feeding off Rumble, I’m sure of it.”

Well, she has it half right. “Actually, honey thistle isn’t poisonous to changelings, what is poisonous to them is heart’s desire. Honey thistle is basically an anesthetic to changelings,” Moonfire said absentmindedly before realizing what he said. “It’s what I’ve read at least.” Shitshitshitshitshitshit fucking shit! why did I say that?! Idiot! Why don’t I just tell her to spray herself with the stuff and be done with it?

“Yeah, I heard that, too. But they’re both magical plants, so you can’t make perfume out of them. And I couldn’t make any potions, either.”

“Just let it go, Diamond,” Silver Spoon offered. “Scootaloo can’t be a changeling: where would the real one be? Changelings don’t kill, remember?”

“Yeah, otherwise Cadence wouldn’t have been found.” Whew, dodged that storm. Moonfire sat down beside Diamond.

“Anyways, Fluttershy packed one too many cupcakes, want one?”

Diamond Tiara finished her sandwich and nodded eagerly, grabbing the treat without a word. She split it in half and gave a piece to Silver Spoon.

“Thank you,” Silver Spoon said, ignoring her friend’s lack of manners again.

“Sooo...” Moonfire started, suddenly realising the awkwardness of sitting with two rich girls while he started on his own lunch, “what do you do for fun around here?” Smooth, Moonfire, real smooth. “Besides picking on other foals, I mean.”

“We do not pick on other foals for fun. Not all the time, I mean,” Diamond Tiara replied. “We play, sometimes.”

“Yeah, we even help out other ponies: we helped clean up the park last week.”

“Really? Just like that?” Moonfire inquired.

“No, with the ‘Tater Trotters. We do that sort of thing every week,” Diamond admitted with a groan.

“Ah, I heard about that group. Apparently they’re secretly looking for the Garden, trying to find it before my dad does,” he said offhoofedly. “Something about making sure it’s ‘properly used’ if you go by what He says.”

... Fuck.

“What’s this garden?”

“I don’t exactly know, my father could tell you more. When he’s done killing you for mentioning it,” Moonfire said right before the bell for them to go back in rang.

“Oh, hello Moonfire, how was school,” Fluttershy greeted.

The changeling in question sat down on the couch and replied, “Not much fun; I’m way ahead of the rest of the class.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?” the mare tried, hoping to find an upside to it. “At least that means you can help your classmates if they have trouble, right?”

“Yeah, I could. If I forget about the assassin that’s looking for me,” he sighed, “A new foal that’s far too smart for where he says he came from would be a dead giveaway.”

“I’d guess so,” Fluttershy offered, sitting down next to the boy. “But it’s not all bad, is it? There must be something new you learned today.”

The colt thought for a second. “Yeah, there is one thing.”

Fluttershy leaned in with an eager smile.

“I need to not mention my real father anymore.”

“Oh,” the mare replied, her cheer deflating a bit. “Then maybe you should come up with a good story instead. Say your real father gave you up because he did something bad, but is still alive. Ponies would believe that, easily. And ponies would believe me if I said that.”

I don't like this idea, but if it means not getting caught... “How about this: My parents left me in your brother’s care and never came back for me? ... Well, no, that won’t work...”

Fluttershy lowered her ears. “What exactly have you been saying, then?”

“Well, I told Diamond that my father chased me out, but not more than that. She’s the only one, besides you, who knows that. I can’t change what I’ve said... but I don’t want to get caught.”

Moonfire sighed and looked down, “I’ll just have to move carefully around the subject, tell enough so that nopony asks any questions.”

“And, umm, just out of curiosity, did you tell her about the killer pony, too?” the mare tried, putting up a forced smile.

The colt’s face registered a brief shock of revelation before reverting to its previous expression, “I may have alluded to the fact. Besides, right now she’s in no danger; my spells would tell me if she - or anyone else - was.”

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow at that.

“You have spells that tell you when someone’s in danger? You mean like a Pinkie sense?”

“Well...” The changeling drawled, “not exactly. They’re just spells used to keep adventurous foals from being hurt.”

“Oh, so you go around helping foals who get into a little bit of trouble? That’s nice.”

“I do it only to survive. There’s quite a bit of appreciation to be had in that line of work.”

A hummingbird picked up a stray hair in Fluttershy’s mane, eliciting a smile. “I know.”

Moonfire glanced at the clock, “Scootaloo should be here soon for our lesson.”

He jumped off the couch and headed for the door. “I’m teaching her a few things that I have learned over the years and a bit about self defense.”

“That’s good, I suppose. You’re not going to do anything dangerous, are you?”

The colt decided to ignore the question and opened the door, finding his student - and her friends - coming up the path.

“You’re early,” he said as the fillies stopped in front of him, “You’ll be learning self defense this lesson.”

“Okay. Oh, and I didn’t get around to telling you: I’ve got something you might be interested in, too. You know how to detect honey thistles you can’t see?” Scootaloo asked.

“Learned how to do that back in Baltimare, there’s huge fields of it on the outskirts near the coast,” the changeling turned and started walking behind the house, “I was going to teach you how to do that before the actual lesson but, since you already know it, we’ll jump right into defense.”

Scootaloo grinned.

“This should be good. I haven’t tried that many spells yet, though.”

“We won’t be going into spells just yet, besides, I don’t know that many defensive spells,” Moonfire said as he turned behind the cottage.

Fluttershy flew out and made a chittering sound, sending her animal friends scattering.

“You can use the animal garden, if you like. No one will see, will they, Mister Grizzle?”

A great grizzly who had somehow remained unnoticed -- as if to prove the point -- growled in agreement.

“Now then,” The disguised colt said as he turned to face the three fillies, “Would you like to try to fight as one, or would you prefer to go against me alone?”

Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow, “I thought that it was only Scootaloo that you were teaching?”

“If you don’t want to end up being easy bait for Caligantis, you’ll need to know how to fight as well.”

“What do you mean ‘easy bait’?” Applebloom asked.

“Bait that’s easy to get. If she finds out that Scootaloo is just like me, she won’t know which of us is actually me... I don’t need to spell it out from there, do I?” Moonfire explained.

The three fillies looked at each other before sharing a collective shrug. “Guess that makes sense,” Scoots said.

“So, are you going to fight together against me, or are you going to come after me one at a time?”

The filly changeling smirked, “We’ll be taking the second choice, just to make sure you don’t get hurt... too much.”

Oh great, she sounds like me before my first training session... Why is it that everypony thinks that they’re better at fighting than they really are? “Very well then, who is going first?” the colt said.

“See you tomorrow, Moony” Sweetie Belle called over her shoulder as the three fillies sped away.

“I told you: DON’T CALL ME MOONY!” The disguised changeling shouted after them.

Behind him, he heard a soft giggle. Knowing who it was didn’t soften the blow; if anything, it made it harder since he couldn’t do anything about it without yelling at the mare who took him in.

Moonfire took a deep breath and huffed.

“What’s the matter... Moony?” Fluttershy asked and then giggled again.

Another deep breath, another huff.

“My name is Moonfire. I have a title: Grey Ensis. I do not like being called Moony.” He hissed under his breath. “Or being laughed at.”

“Oh? So you’d rather ponies act scared around you or look up to you?” the mare coyly inquired. “Maybe you’d rather be treated like a Canterlot pony, or like a movie star? You said you were a stunt double a few times.”

Moonfire went back in and shook his head.

“No, of course not. I don’t mind not being called by my name, but... never mind.” He sighed and draped himself over the couch.

He stared at the ceiling for a moment, before Fluttershy came up from behind him and stared right down.

“If it really bothers you, you should say so. But if it does, is it because it’s not your real name or because it’s something to make you laugh?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, umm, you seem to be pretty attached to everything that’s happened to you, even if you’ve learned to live with it. Would you rather keep crying about it or try laughing at it?”

Moonfire grumbled and stared at the ceiling some more.

“At least call me something a little more dignified than ‘Moony’?” he pleaded. “I’m not a baby.”

“No, but you’re still a foal, and you can do with a little laughter every now and then. How about Buggy, then?”

He snorted, “That’s just as bad as ‘Moony’. Maybe Greyfire.”

Fluttershy rolled her eyes.

“Sweetie, I don’t think you understand what a nickname is. How about Bright Eyes?”

The colt thought for a minute, “Nah, sounds too much like a common name for a type of bug. Canus?”

Fluttershy made a face she normally reserved for soup that had been over-seasoned... and burnt... and had a skin on its surface.

“I don’t think Latin names are going to work. You could try ‘Bug-Eyes’, if that makes you feel any better.”

Moonfire raised an eyebrow, “Are we even trying to hide the fact that I’m a changeling? How about this: Rous.”

Fluttershy blinked.

“Umm... does that mean anything?”

“You’ve never seen the Prince’s Bride?” he sighed and shook his head. “Thought everypony had seen it.”

“I don’t get out much,” Fluttershy plainly stated. “But if you like being called ‘Rous’, I don’t mind calling you ‘Rous’.”

Moonfire tried to hear that name being used to address him, but found himself making the same face of disapproval his caretaker had made just now.

“This is a lot harder than it sounds. I just want something that doesn’t make me sound like a weirdo or a baby. I don’t know why they can’t just call me by my regular nickname.”

“Your regular -- oh, so ‘Moonfire’ isn’t your real name, I understand,” Fluttershy concluded.

“My real name doesn’t suit me that much anymore. Too violent, and too Latin, you wouldn’t like it,” Moonfire explained.

“Okay, so nothing Latin. Something that’s not too cute, and not too violent,” Fluttershy offered, thinking aloud as she circled him. “How about just ‘big guy’, would you mind being called that?”

“Nah... you know, the more we go on like this, the more I think that ‘Moony’ isn’t such a bad idea.”

Fluttershy smiled knowingly.

“I knew you’d warm up to it.”

Moonfire shifted a bit uncomfortably. “It’s just because of all the others that don’t fit me...”

Fluttershy nudged him to sit up instead hanging lazily on the couch.

“I guess sometimes you just need to realise things could be worse before you realise how good you have it, huh?”

He sighed, “Yeah, I guess so.”

The colt looked up her. He could feel what she was thinking, and the weak smile only confirmed it. He didn’t want to feel this way, not again. But he had to admit, it felt good.

“I err... I don’t think I’ve said a proper ‘thank you’ yet,” he started. “Not the kind you deserve, at least. So... thank you for taking me in. And thank you for showing me how... you know...”

Fluttershy didn’t reply. She just leaned forward and opened her arms. Moonfire wasn’t even sure he’d moved, but the next thing he knew he was leaning into the hug. It felt warm, comforting, and alien. A total stranger was showing him more love than he’d had back home.

Seemed to be a recurring thing for him, he realised.

“How long has it been since you had a hug like this?” she asked.

“Too long,” he admitted, returning the affection.

“Well, you can stay for as long as you like,” she offered. “I can take care of you if you’ll let me.”

“Why? I’m nothing but trouble.”

“Well, maybe I like taking care of little creatures who’d get into trouble without me,” Fluttershy replied.

Right on cue, Moonfire felt a bunny tapping its hind legs on his head.

Huh... makes sense.

Refusing the Heart pt1

Why am I doing this? Diamond Tiara thought, the sounds of the marketplace being muted as she turned down an alley, following her prey. I know I’ve had stupid plans in the past that didn’t work out - but this... this takes the cake.

Up ahead the one she was following turned a corner, not wanting to lose him, she took the bend herself. Do I have a death wish? I shouldn’t be following a changeling through dark alleys and byways. Wait... Noticing that she was alone in the alley, she took in the sparse trash that littered the ground, the small pile of metal the lay at the bottom of a wall, and a dirty bed almost directly across from it leaning against some trash cans.

A prickling sensation went down Diamond’s spine as a morbid sensation filled her. She was not alone.

“You know, if it makes you this unsettled, why follow me through alleys?”

Diamond whipped her head, trying to find the source, the recently brought to light information making it all the more unsettling.

“Uh, up here.” amusement could be heard dripping from his voice.

The filly, embarrassed and made a fool, finally saw her prey again, perched on a pole sticking out of the wall. “W-well, I overheard my daddy say that there might be a changeling in the area, and I thought that you might like to know.”

A grin made its way across Moonfire’s face, the filly’s heart racing as it spread. Wow, he looks- wow...

Diamond watched as the colt came down from his perch, all the while thinking. Wait... why do I feel this way about him? He’s a changeling. But.... (My heart’s beating this way because he smiled at me. He gave me a true, genuine smile.) No, he’s a changeling, this is exactly what he wants. (But why would a changeling go through so much trouble just to stay here of all towns? Why bring up his past to anypony? Why let anypony know exactly what he is?)... Why is he waving his hoof in front of my face? Ugh, he still has that smug grin as well.

Blushing a little, Diamond said, “Uh, w-what did you say?”

“I said, I thought you didn’t care this much for me, considering what happened when we met,” the colt said.

“Well, it was that and I was wondering if you would like to go with me to Sugar Cube Corner...” Diamond trailed off, the color on her cheeks becoming a deeper red.

“Okay.”

... It was that easy? it’s never that easy. “R-really?”

“Yeah, I don’t have anything to do at the moment. Besides, I like hanging out with you,” Moonfire said over his shoulder, walking towards the sweets shop.

Following behind, Diamond slowly caught up and trotted beside the colt. Like her body, her mind slowly caught up to the present. I just- me- I just asked him to go on a date with me.... What’s happening to me? Is this some sort of changeling magic? (Nope, you do like Moonfire!~) Are my feelings true? (They are.) A-am I answering myself?... I-is this just me noticing him trying to control me? (Honey, if he were trying to control you you wouldn’t think that at all. I am you. The parts you’ve denied a voice ever since you threw them away.) W-what? (I have been locked deep within your mind. But now... now you won’t get rid of me as easily.)

“Uh, Diamond?”

Pulled from her thoughts, she said, “Yeah?”

The colt she had been following smirked again, “What would you like?”

Glancing around confirmed that they were in Sugar Cube Corner in front of the counter. Great, because of you I didn’t notice that we had gotten here. (Guilty as charged!) “I’ll have a strawberry-banana milkshake.”

Great, now there’s rumors about a changeling here. Well, at least it isn’t two ‘lings that they’re talking about. Moonfire took another sip of his milkshake, taking stock of the emotions around him. Love flowed through the air, twisting around the booth they were sitting in, twining and mixing with a swirl of other emotions. Hurt and suspicion mingling with everything, a veritable medley of emotions swarming around a single filly. Diving past Diamond’s inner turmoil, he found the set of emotions he attributed to the little dragon, Spike, bouncing by on top of his wonder-filled caretaker, Twilight Sparkle on the other side of the wall beside him. Focusing, he turned his senses clockwise, noting all of the different islands of emotions and slowly putting names and faces to all of them.

“Um...” Shaken from his surveillance, Moonfire focused on Diamond again. A blush was growing on her cheeks. “I-I was wondering- my dad’s going to Canterlot next week and.... W-well, Silver Spoon is grounded for some reason....”

Moonfire tilted his head a little as she glanced up at him, her blush growing before she looked back into her drink. Canterlot...?

“W-well you are m-my only other friend... a-and my dad said I could bring somepony....” Moonfire’s eyes widened, a plan for the visit already forming in his mind. I could take her to that one cafe, maybe the theatre.... A smile made its way across his features as he took another sip of his milkshake.

Diamond glanced up at him again, annoyance evident in her frown, “What’s so amusing?”

“Nothing, I’m just thinking about what sights I can show you,” Moonfire said.

Diamond blushed a bit more, "Just be at the train station at eight o'clock Saturday!"

With that she turned and trotted out the door, Moonfire once again lost in his thoughts about the coming week.

Author's Note

Well, this chapter certainly took a long time to come out! I had a huge block of obsidian writer's block when it came to this chapter and it still isn't how I would like it.... Oh well, part of why I'm writing in the first place is to get better. If you see any inconsistensies or grammatical mistakes, please point them out.

I don't have any ideas for the next chapter, though I'll do my best to get it out before another month passes.