As Leaf Pile trotted down the street, he smiled and waved at the ponies he passed. They smiled and waved back, none the wiser of his disguise. He’d been among them for years, long before the queen was overthrown and the changelings reformed.

Still, as he trotted, he felt the faux hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He couldn’t shake the feeling he was being watched, but every glance over his shoulder revealed nothing. With a huff, he picked up the pace.

His trot through downtown transformed ever slowly with every glance—from bright, sunny day with the streets bustling with ponies to an increasing foggy gloom settling all around him. The ponies became shadows, lost in the fog.

Pile frowned, as he slowed to a stop. The fog was so dense he couldn’t see the street ahead of him, nor behind him. But he was becoming very much aware that the shadows in the fog had stopped moving—and were starting to encircle him.

“Changeling!”

“He’s a changeling!”

“Monster!”

Pile blinked in confusion, until he looked down at his own foreleg. No longer was it the green of his disguise, but the black of a hungry changeling, ravenous for love.

“Wait! No! Please!” he exclaimed to the crowd, shrinking away at the growing candor of their accusatory voices. He covered his ears as he fell back on his haunches, shutting his compound eyes tightly as the shadows began to close all around him…

And then, all at once, silence.

Pile risked opening an eye and then the other, looking around. The crowd was gone, but the shadows were still there. They slid past him like rushing water, forming a dense blot of darkness in the gloom behind him.

Pile’s jaw hung agape and he backed away slowly as the growing mass towered over him. It soon took shape—slender, sleek, with a twisted horn and a faux crown-like protrusion atop its head. Green eyes with slit pupils opened, and a fanged grin slid across the shadow’s muzzle.

“Hello, Pile,” hissed a familiar, oily voice. Sweet as tainted honey, abuzz with power.

“No… no! It can’t be!” Pile exclaimed, backing away further.

The shadow loomed over him with a hissing snarl. “Traitor!” it bellowed, rattling Pile’s carapace with the volume.

“No! Stay away!” Pile screamed, his transparent wings buzzing to life as he fled the shadow. But as he checked over his shoulder, he found the shadow ever looming.

In an instant, it pounced.

“Pile! Wake up!”

Creek Shine shook the flailing changeling, gripping him tightly with her cloven hooves. The restless buzzing and twitching had woken her in the first place, but when he had started contorting and flailing, she was by him in an instant.

Slowly, the flailing and shouting died down and Pile blinked open his compound eyes. The first sight he saw was that of his relieved kirin mate, smiling at him. The second was his foreleg, held aloft so he could see it.

Still it’s natural gold with black streaks.

With a huff of relief, Pile flopped back onto his pillow, staring at the ceiling as his chest heaved.

“Was it a nightmare?” Creek asked, gently holding one of his hooves.

Pile swallowed and nodded. “Being outed as a changeling and… and… Chrysalis, she…”

Creek quietly shushed him, wrapping her forelegs around him and gently pulling him against her. “It’s alright, love. She’s gone. You’re safe. I’m here,” she murmured, one hoof gently stroking his head.

Pile’s sense of smell flooded with the comforting scent of fresh wood and cinnamon, and relief slowly washed over him. Within moments, he was drifting off back to sleep, warm thoughts of love and his friends slipping into his dreams.

Author's Note

Creek Shine: Female, Kirin

About: Creek Shine is the daughter of Queen Rain Shine, and thus considered the princess of the kirin. She hasn't let the title go to her head, however. She has an interest in digging up the history of the kirin, and her interest in Equestria outside of the Peaks of Peril has led her to meet Pile and a few friends.

Appearances: Daring Do and the Legend of the Kirinstone, "Meeting the Family"