The Little Package

In the dimly lit room of the library's basement, a lone, single changeling body could be found laying on an improvised bed composed of old hay. Rhythm slowly woke up, and tried to raise her head, much to her own bodies disagreement. Her body was healing quickly, there was no doubt about it, but the lack of food she's had these past few weeks have left her body weaker than normal. She fell back down onto the makeshift bed, feeling some kind of blanket cover her up. A crescent moon covered blanket covered her body, providing a little warmth in the chilly air of the basement. The smell of food entered her nostrils, a soup created out of noodles and a mix of vegetables sat in a bowl just in front of her. Slowly and painfully she brought the bowl to her lips, testing it to make sure there were no drugs and how warm it was. She winced as the hot liquid touched her tongue, in the background she heard a familiar voice as it giggled, more than likely at her burning her tongue. An alicorn stepped out of the shadows and lay down next to the injured changeling. She couldn't place her hoof on it, but there was something about the alicorn that seemed familiar.

“P-princess Luna?” The alicorn let out a little chuckle. It took Rhythm a few seconds before she realised that the alicorn laying next to her was actually a colt. His orange coat reminded the changeling of burning embers in a fire. He moved his sunset mane out of his magenta eyes and smiled at her.

“Be careful, it's still hot. Freshly made in fact.” Dusk smiled at the changeling, showing her an unexpected kindness that she knew she'd never deserve. All because she's a changeling. She had heard of the failed attack on Canterlot, but she was already an outcast before that happened. A hoof on her shoulder brought her out of thought, the alicorn seemed to be... petting her? Not that she didn't mind, in fact, she liked the feeling of being loved. Even if its for a different reason. She felt a purr build up inside her, but a sudden light shining from atop a stair way ceased the hoof's motion.

“Dusk Shine, we need to have a talk.” So that's his name. A purple unicorn stepped down into the basement, turning the lights on in the process. The look on her face reminded the changeling of an upset mother when their foal did something wrong.

Dusk lowered his head as Twilight came down the stairs. He could tell from the tone of her voice he was in trouble, that he understood, but he also thought he heard a bit of conflict in her voice as well. He felt the changeling under his hoof start shaking as his mother got closer to him. Giving her a reassuring pat he turned towards the librarian, ready to face what she was going to say. A long disappointed sigh came out of her mouth, not helping Dusk feel anymore comfortable.

“First you're getting stalked, now you bring home a wounded changeling.” She let out another sigh, her lavender eyes showing a bit of sadness inside them, “You're lucky your moth-” she quickly cut her self off, shaking her head furiously. “T-that is... Why did you bring a changeling home in the first place?”

Dusk took a minute to ponder on what Twilight had said. Wasn't she his mother? With a quick shake of his head he turned to Twilight to give her his explanation. “Well, I-I was just trying to follow Aunt Fluttershy's example.” It wasn't the best reason he came up with, but it seemed to lighten Twilight's mood.

“Sweety, I know you try to follow my friends examples as the Spirits of the Elements, but didn't I tell you about changelings? They tried to take over Equestria, and they feed on the love of others and destroy lives.” Dusk felt the changeling quiver and wince as Twilight went on with her lecture. “I know you were trying to show a great example of kindness and compassion, but we have to turn her in to-” A sniff and the quiet sounds of the changeling sobbing into her makeshift bed, tears rolled from hear crystal blue eyes and started to make a small puddle on the floor.

“Why is everypony mean to Rhythm? Rhythm has done nothing wrong. Rhythm just wants to be friends, but either gets beat up or chased. First hive throws Rhythm out because she's worthless, then she is always alone.” She rolled onto her side facing away from Dusk and Twilight, shrugging off Dusk's hoof in the process. Twilight raised an eyebrow at the sobbing changeling.

“Excuse me, but what do you mean by your hive throwing you out?” Dusk recognized the change in her voice, she sounded like she was actually willing to hear the changeling named Rhythm's story. Rhythm kept facing away from the two ponies, her sobbing calming down a little, and took in a deep breath.

“I have always been worthless to the hive. Being the only one out of thousands of changelings that didn't require love to survive placed me very low on the social structure. In fact, most of my life I was held in a jail cell, all alone and half starved. Then, one day, I was told that I was to go with a group of guards to scout out an area of the forest for a secondary hold.” She shook her head at her last statement.

“I was a fool. I was to excited to finally be able to do something for my hive; to prove to myself and the other changelings that I was not worthless, to see it was obvious that I had just been sentenced to banishment.” She rolled back over and faced Twilight and Dusk, “They beat me and left me for dead in the middle of the forest. Ever since, I've been alone. Since I can't feed on love, I can't change forms.” She sighed as she continued on, feeling Dusk's hoof running up and down her back. “I had to resort to petty theft at night, to keep from being seen, just to stay alive. More than plenty of times I would hear about these six ponies who lived in Ponyville that were known as the Elements of Harmony Users.

“I knew that they were my only ticket to a normal life, even if I was a changeling. I had to give it a shot. Unfortunately, I was attacked by a timberwolf before I got there. Then, well the rest you know.” She looked up at her audience, taking note that the purple unicorn was looking at her with a different attitude.

It was Dusk, however, who spoke after Rhythm, “You see, Mom? Remember how the pendant is supposed to raise a shield when it senses danger? It must have sensed the remnants of the timberwolves scent. The shield lowered as soon as I saw her laying on the ground, also, do you see the pendant acting like she's a threat now?”

Twilight's head lowered as she realised what the colt was aiming at, she was judging a book by its cover... again. She raised her head after a few moments of thinking, “Okay, I guess there is no harm in having her stay awhile. But...”

Her eyes narrowed at the changeling, who was nuzzling Dusk's side, causing the colt to giggle. Feeling the gaze, Rhythm stopped her assault on the colt's ticklish sides and looked into Twilight's burning violet eyes. “If I catch or sense you doing anything suspicious.” She let her words sink into Rhythm's mind, which caused the changeling to also sink into the bed.

Twilight turned her head to Dusk, her eyes switching to looking almost saddened, “Come with me, Dusk. We still need to have a talk.”

Dusk followed Twilight into her room, unsure of what he was about to receive. He knew something was bothering her, the look on her face and in her eyes told him so. She climbed up on the bed and motioned for Dusk to follow. Once he was on and laying down next to her, Twilight used her magic to levitate a book that she used to hold pictures from the past and present. She opened it to a marked page that read Sunny Day. On the page stood a unicorn with a golden coat, his red eyes looking at what Dusk assumed to be the camera. His silver mane was done up in a ponytail that reached the middle of his neck. He was wearing a Royal Guard dress uniform, which was a white dress shirt underneath a large black service jacket, gold streaks went down the middle of the sleeves. A dark blue bar with golden stripes going down its length gave Dusk the feeling he was a high ranking official. He was giving the camera a confident grin as he sat on his haunches.

“Who's this, Mom?” Dusk looked up at Twilight, who gave him a comforting smile before answering.

“This is Sunny Day. Your father.” The colt's eyes widened as he looked down at the picture of his father, but he quickly turned back to Twilight.

“Then why is he not here? If he is my dad and is in the Royal Guard, then he should still be able to visit us.” Twilight nuzzled Dusk behind his ear. She had to give Dusk credit, he was definitely smart than most kids his age. More than anything due to his alicorn genes. Not to mention he is Luna's son for ponies sake!

“Dusk, the reason why you don't see him is because... well...” Twilight bit her bottom lip as she struggled to find the right way to tell him. “He... He died when the changelings invaded Canterlot.”

She felt the colt shake a little bit next to her, wrapping a hoof around him for comfort. Before Dusk could ask any more questions about his father she turned the pages and stopped at a page with a dark blue alicorn, her mane resembling a dark and starry night. Her crescent moon cutie mark caused Dusk to look down at his pendant. One of his hooves lifted the pendant while the other traced around the amethyst crescent moon engraved in the opal stone. He had an idea what Twilight was wanting to talk about, and it was making him sick to his stomach. He glanced down at the azure eyes looking straight back at him, filling him with the same warm feeling he feels when Twilight looks at him. As he studied the picture, he noticed that Princess Luna was showing signs of carrying a foal.

Dusk Shine's mind was racing as his brain started clicking and putting together the pieces of the puzzle. It was starting to make sense; the pendant, his infatuation for the night and the moon, how the Elements of Harmony Users act around him... the strange feelings that he's being watched. His stomach was taking it just as bad as he was, because all he could feel was a giant knot inside. He looked up at the purple unicorn mare he had called mother, who was avoiding eye contact now, then back at the pendant he was holding in a trembling hoof.

In a surge of hot anger he tore the pendant of and threw it across the room. He had been lied to. His entire life he had been lied to. He stood there, shaking, tears flowing down his cheeks. He was angry and yet he was sad at the same time, more than anything, he was confused. Why did Luna leave him? If she was his real mother, then why can't he remember her? He felt a hoof from Twilight rubbing his mane, little did he know that she was doing that the whole time. He tore away from her, looking angrily into her own velvet eyes. As she said his name, Dusk ran out of the room, knocking Spike over as he carried a tray with three cups full of tea. Dusk didn't care, he kept running. He ran out of the door and started running to the only place, to the only pony that he could trust. Followed by a dark red figure in his wake.

Twilight sat on her bed looking at the open doorway that Dusk had just ran out. Spike, covered in tea,  came walking in with a not to thrilled look on his face.

“You had to tell him when I had tea, didn't you.” He winked at her and went back to clean the mess on him and the floor.

Twilight knew he was just trying to help calm her down, but it wasn't helping. She was heartbroken, knowing that she might have just lost the trust of the alicorn colt she had learned to love as if he was her own. Oh, what's the use. I completely ruined what we had together. She felt tears run down her cheeks and then the feeling of a hoof wiping them away.

Lifting her head and wiping her eyes, she caught a glimpse of a changeling hoof slowly going around her neck. Rhythm leaned into Twilight as the purple unicorn tackled her into a hug. Rhythm didn't need to know what had happened, she heard and saw the whole thing happen from the doorway. After a few minutes, Twilight's sobbing and self apologies, Rhythm went and grabbed the pendant that Dusk had hurled across the room. Luckily it wasn't damaged seriously. She handed it to Twilight, who, after a few moments looked back at Rhythm, determination in her eyes and voice.

“We have to find him.”