A Pierced Heart

Chapter 14: Find Him

Rarity was lying in a hospital bed in Ponyville. Her wounds were covered in gauze and various machines ensured she was hydrated and breathing. The metronomic beeping of a heart rate monitor made Applejack’s ears twitch with every sound. The farmer pony was tapping her hoof on the ground anxiously.

“Why isn’t Twilight here yet? Ah know it’s real important to report this to the Princess, but it’s been over three hours!” Applejack complained. The orange mare moved a lock of Rarity’s mane from the fashionista’s face. “Goddess, what did that thing do to yah?”

Fluttershy’s face was buried in her pink mane looking out at her grievously injured friend. Her eyes watered with barely contained sorrow as she extended a wing over Rarity.

“I don’t know!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. The cyan mare stood by the door and gently kicked the wall, causing a loud thump to emanate through the private room. “Twilight was obsessing over that changeling we found. I guess she’s waiting for the Royal Guard to come and take it away.

A voice sounded out in the hallway. “What do the tests say? What happened to my sister? Is she going to be alright?” The door opened revealing Nurse Redheart and Sweetie Belle. “Tell me!” the pastel-maned filly demanded.

“I’ll tell you everything once Ms. Rarity wakes up. She was taken off the anaesthetic an hour ago and she should be waking up shortly. Rest assured she is in stable condition.” The nurse fished out a chart from her saddlebag and lay it on a table. The white earth pony looked over at Applejack and nodded. “Thank you for staying here Ms. Applejack, all of you.”

The orange, yellow, and azure mares nodded in turn. When they looked back at Rarity she was wincing. Her ears twitched and her breathing rate accelerated. “Pokey,” she muttered as her legs started to move frantically. the white mare’s eyes snapped open and she sat up. “WHERE IS HE!?” she screamed.

Applejack reached over with a hoof and touched Rarity on the shoulder. “Calm down Rarity, yer safe.”

“Not important! Have to find him! The changeling! Did he tell you anything else?” Rarity looked about frantically from wall to wall before locking her eyes on the door. She tried standing up but was pushed back down by Nurse Redheart.

“Ms. Rarity, calm down, you’ve been a victim of changeling force-feeding.”

“It doesn’t matter what it did to me! I have to-- OW!” Rarity clutched her side in pain. Nurse Redheart placed a hoof on Rarity’s shoulder and sternly stared into her eyes.

“Mam’ I’m going to have to ask you to calm down. Rest assured I’m certain that your other friends are doing all they can to find your coltfriend.” Rarity lay back into her bed and nodded. The nurse cleared her throat and began. “Okay, you have suffered multiple injuries as a result of a changeling forcefully extracting love energy from you. They usually only do that if they’re desperate or intent on killing a victim in order to replace them. You have multiple lacerations and a broken rib.” Nurse Redheart reached into her satchel and pulled out a pill bottle. “Take one of these with every meal, they’re painkillers.”

Rarity looked over to her friends and sister and asked, “Where are Twilight and Pinkie?”

*****

“Not now Pinkie! I need to look up some facts about changelings for the Princess!” Twilight announced. The pink party mare was standing by the entrance shifting nervously. “Spike,” the purple mare called, “did you find the Equestria Bestiary?”

“Right here,” the dragon answered gliding down from near the top of a shelf where he was hovering. He handed Twilight the book and she immediately began flipping to the part on changelings.

“Changelings,” Twilight began, “are one of several predatory sapient beings that roam Equestria. However, they have the unique dependency of having to feed on the emotional states of other intelligent creatures. Their adaptation to morph into several different species, including diamond dogs, ponies, and to a lesser extend gryphons and dragons, allow them to take the place of a loved one and naturally absorb love.” Twilight skimmed a bit and continued reading out loud. “If a changeling is unable to find a host to feed on, it may forcefully extract love energy, however, the process is highly inefficient, and often results in death of the host/prey. This action is only committed when a changeling is enormously undernourished, or wants to specifically kill a pony to replace them.” Twilight set the book down and walked towards the basement.

“Twilight?” the pink mare asked, worry in her eyes. “Are you sure it’s safe to keep that thing in there?”

“As safe as anywhere else,” Twilight answered. “I have it strapped down, locked up, and I even fitted a magic suppressor on what’s left of its horn.”

When the two mares and the dragon reached the bottom of the stairs, Twilight walked over to a handleless door. A purple glow surrounded it and it opened inwards. Inside there was a wounded changeling strapped to a metal table. Its hooves were locked in place by four steel rings and its translucent wings were bound to its sides with a thick leather strap. A second strap kept its head pinned to the table. A small, gem encrusted ring was around the base of its severed horn.

“Alright, Pinkie, Spike?” The dragon and party mare saluted at Twilight to confirm their attention. “I’m going to be casting a mind reading spell, see if I can figure out what this changeling did with Pokey. If something seems to be going wrong, pull me away, got it?”

When her friends nodded the lavender mare walked to the bound changeling and pressed her horn to its stump. She closed her eyes and concentrated. She winced as her horn glowed brighter.

“What’s wrong? Can you figure out where Pokey is?” Spike asked.

“No, this changeling has a complete set of false memories set up where he is Pokey.” The lavender unicorn gritted her teeth. A few moments later she pulled her head back and her eyes snapped back open. “That doesn’t make sense!” Before the others could ask her to elaborate she pressed her horn to Pokey. “Why would he include that memory in a construct? By Celestia... It goes back years!” Twilight staggered backwards and gasped. Her breathing was hard as she glanced over at Pinkie Pie and Spike. Both were looking at her with worry clearly showing on their faces.

Twilight marched out the door and shut the door once Spike and Pinkie exited the room. They went up the stairs and Twilight levitated over a quill, ink pot, and scroll.

“Twilight, do you want me to write down the message?” Spike asked. One of his juvenile wings extended to reveal a set of grasping claws at the end.

“No Spike, I’m not entirely sure what to write.” The Element of Magic turned to the letter and she lifted up the quill.

Dear Princess Celestia,
I am writing to you with grave news, my friend Rarity has been attacked by a changeling, and her coltfriend, Pokey Pierce is...

Twilight scrunched up the paper and lifted up another one.

Dear Princess Celestia
I am writing to inform you that my friend Rarity was attacked by a changeling. She is in stable condition and--

Twilight glanced up through her window and gulped. Through it she could see the outline of Canterlot. The purple mare shifted her eyes about nervously and lowered her head. “I’m sorry,” she mouthed silently before resuming her letter.

is expected to make a full recovery. The changeling fled into the Everfree Forest. Pokey Pierce is on a business trip and I shall be sending news of what has happened to him shortly. I will be researching to determine where the changeling came from.

Your--

Twilight winced. I don’t have the right to call myself faithful if I’m wrong. I need time to investigate, she thought. The quill touched the paper again.

student, Twilight Sparkle

She sealed the letter and handed it to Spike. With a jet of flame the message was off.

Twilight looked at her assistant and the party pony. “Spike, Pinkie, I have to ask you something, and you have to trust me on this.”

“Of course Twi!” Spike announced with his wings flaring briefly.

“Whatever happens for now, don’t tell the others that the changeling is still in the basement.”

“What!?” Spike yelled, “It hurt Rarity! It should be taken to Canterlot, it’s dangerous. We have to tell the guard to come here and--”

Twilight moved a hoof towards Spike and pressed it to his lips. “I don’t think that changeling is the one that hurt Rarity. Pinkie? You heard what it said to Rarity when I woke it up in the quarry, right?”

The pink mare nodded, her mane refusing to bounce. “It said that it was Pokey.”

“That was just a changeling trying to manipulate you all!” Spike yelled.

“And then there is the fact that it didn’t have armor like Rarity said, its eyes are yellow, not green, it's not malnourished, and lastly.” Twilight took a breath. “Its memories are filled with references to being Pokey well before Rarity met him.”

“But that means!” Spike exclaimed.

“Yes,” Twilight confirmed.

“Then we need to tell the others right now!” Spike moved to the door but Twilight sidestepped and blocked him.

“No Spike, Rarity is traumatized. When she saw Pokey without his disguise, she went into hysterics; she threatened me.” Twilight looked at Pinkie, she was staring at the purple pair with a deflated mane. “And even then, if I’m wrong, telling Rarity would just cause her even more stress. So until I can be absolutely certain about this, both of you have to promise not to tell the others about this.”

Spike glanced around and groaned. “Fine, cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” As the purple and green dragon went through the motions, Pinke Pie mimicked him.

“Thank you,” said Twilight. “Now if the others ask, for now we’ll say that a contingent of guards arrived and took the changeling away

“That just leaves us with what we’ll actually do with Pokey,” Spike turned to the basement and shook his head. “No offense but he is messed up.”

At that Twilight bit her lip before speaking. “Pinkie, you’re an earth pony, so your healing magic would help Pokey. I understand if you don’t want to spend any time around him, but--”

Twilight was cut short when the pink mare simultaneously stuck a hoof in Twilight’s mouth and saluted with the other. “Of course Twilight! I’ll help Pokey get better as soon as he can!”

Twilight pulled her mouth from Pinkie’s hoof just in time for a knock to sound at the door. A moment later Rainbow Dash burst through the door.

“Where have you been Twilight?” the cyan mare asked angrily. “You said you would be to the hospital in time for Rarity to wake up! Its been four hours! You better have found some way of figuring out where Pokey is!” Rainbow started hovering over Twilight and glaring at her. “Well, what do you have to say for yourself? Fluttershy, Applejack, Sweetie Belle and I all carried Rarity to the hospital while you stayed fussing over that changeling!”

“Rainbow I’m sorry but I was--”

“Do you know the first thing she did after the nurse told her about her injuries?” Rainbow pressed. “She asked where you were. I had to tell her you were still searching for Pokey at the canyon! I go over there and what do I find? Nothing! Where is that changeling? When I get my hooves on him...”

“Rainbow, I wrote to Celestia what happened. She sent over a contingent of guards to bring the changeling to Canterlot. They left about two hours ago. After that I wanted to do some research on changelings, again. I’m sorry that I wasn’t there for Rarity.” Twillight bowed her head.

“Well you should be!” Rainbow exclaimed, landing on the wood floor loudly. “Come on, she’s still at the hospital, about to be discharged.”