//------------------------------// // Love's Change // Story: How Change Love // by Skylight77 //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had been out of the room for quite a while. Miley, now bare in her changeling form, could not make up her mind between switching her vision to the door and the outside window. The longer the seconds passed by, the more she thought it would be all the better to just leave right now. But with what Rainbow Dash told her, she couldn’t help but listen. Listening seemed to be proving Miley worse for wear with what her magic was feeling right now. There seemed to be love coming from the bedroom Rainbow and Fluttershy were at. But the love was tainted. She remembered that taste. It was the taste she experienced a long time ago, before even knowing her family. No… not her family. Before knowing Rainbow Dash or Fluttershy. She wanted love, not this. But no… She didn’t want love right now. She wanted to leave. No. She wanted to listen to Rainbow Dash. Not that either. She wanted to… She didn’t know what she wanted. Miley looked away from both the window and the door, breathing heavily all of a sudden. She wanted a distraction right now. That’s what she was sure of. But the only thing that came to view and mind was the broken shards of the mirror. She walked over to them, hoping to see her reflection in one of them. No pieces were big enough. Using her hooves, she tried to arrange them so that they would show her reflection together. She moved one piece here, one piece there. It didn’t matter where they were positioned, as long as it was enough gathered together. A lot of time had passed, but Miley was successful. The pieces she had arranged were enough to show her reflection. But all she could see, was the broken reflection upon herself. That’s what she was right now… Broken… A door opening suddenly snapped Miley out of her thoughts. Looking behind her, she saw the door to her room open, revealing Rainbow Dash entering and closing the door behind. It was just like she said she would do, but she was alone. Miley attempted to look behind her, wondering why Rainbow was alone. “Don’t worry, Miley,” Rainbow said while putting a hoof up. “Your… um… Fluttershy… is just taking a nap right now. I told her it would be okay.” But would it really be okay? That was the question Miley wanted to ask right now. But instead, a different question came to her mind. “What were you two doing?” she asked. Rainbow Dash shook her head lightly and started walking to her. “I know I said I would explain when I got back… but I kinda don’t want to right now.” When she reached Miley, she sat down and put a hoof to Miley’s head. “Besides, if you don’t know now, you probably shouldn’t know until you’re older.” Miley thought about asking what that meant, but she had a feeling it would give the same answer. She just looked up at Rainbow Dash, nodding as a sign of understanding. She could feel a breath of nerve release coming from Rainbow Dash. She wasn’t sure what to say right now. “So… you’re a changeling, huh?” Rainbow asked, to which the answer was obvious, but the tone was oddly calm. “You mean, you’re not scared, or mad?” Miley asked. “Kid… from the very moment you entered our family, I knew that you weren’t really our daughter.” Rainbow stood up and started pacing. “But when I saw the faces on you two… Fluttershy’s, and yours, I couldn’t bear to say anything. Like, if I did say anything, it would take away the happiness we were given that day.” She stopped pacing for the moment to look at Miley. “The one that you gave us, actually. Speaking of which, do you remember that day?” “Y-Yes…” Miley responded. “Then…” Rainbow waved a hoof. “Feel free to not answer this, but who was it that really sent you to us?” Miley had to turn her vision back to the mirror shards before responding. “No one… I came to you mys-... or rather, you came to me…” “Huh?” Rainbow responded with a tilt to her head. “When you two came to the hive… well… after what happened there actually… my magic, my changeling magic felt something with you two. And it allowed me to follow you when you left.” Miley turned to Rainbow Dash and placed a hoof on her own horn. “I think it was, untapped love. A love that was there, but was missing something before it could happen.” Rainbow Dash released a breath in awe at what she was hearing. She couldn’t believe that her trip to the changeling hive actually meant something. Miley continued. “When I came to your house, and saw the sadness that you two shared, I could feel that love hinging. If something wasn’t done, the love that you two had might’ve broken, and never came back. So I did what I could to make sure that love happened. I changed myself into your foal. I hid what I really was from you for a long time. And now... “ Miley paused. “N-Now…” Miley stopped. She looked down and sighed. Rainbow Dash’s eyes focused on Miley in disbelief. She started walking towards her. “You did that for us just so that we could be happy?” she asked. “But what about you? What about the rest of the family in your hive?” Rainbow paused to turn away. “N-Not that I really think they’re great and all, no offense, but…” She turned back and continued. “What made you want to abandon them like that?” Miley shook her head. “The hive wasn’t very lovely at all. I could never keep up with them. No matter how hard I tried, I could never find love. And whenever I did find love… it was tainted… disgusting…” Miley stuck her tongue out with a scrunched face of disgust. “Tainted? What do you mean?” Rainbow asked. “What could a family be doing to cause that?” Miley turned her head to the door. “Well… I tasted something like it earlier today… when you told me to stay here so you two could… talk?” Rainbow’s eyes went wide as her face started flushing red. The memory of Chrysalis’s reaction to the love from her and Fluttershy flashed in her mind. She had a feeling she knew exactly what Miley was talking about. “And I was always punished whenever I told them about the taint. None of them really believed me. The other changelings… my Queen…” Suddenly, the door to Miley’s room opened. Rainbow and Miley turned their attention to it. Rainbow’s body heated up even more upon sight. Fluttershy was there. Her body was showing resistance in her shivering. Her hooves were unstable standing on the cloud. Her right undamaged wing was pressing unusually hard against her side. And her eyes were small, yet trying to focus purely on Miley. It was as if Fluttershy was putting all of her energy to keep herself standing still. “I-I’m fine…” Fluttershy said. “Really I am.” Rainbow Dash wanted to tell her to go back to their room and rest some more. She thought the experience of the lesson she taught earlier would leave Fluttershy mentally exhausted for much longer than this. But seeing as Fluttershy was already up and going, she had to ask. “How much did you hear?” Fluttershy started walking forward and answered. “Enough to hear how Miley came to our family.” Rainbow Dash watched as Fluttershy’s hooves shivered with each step. Clearly she hadn’t recovered from her experience yet, but she looked determined to be here right now, like she felt she was needed. “Miley, Rainbow,” Fluttershy turned her head to them as she mentioned their names. “You both held a secret from me ever since our family formed. Even though I was confused, I was so happy when we all came together.” Fluttershy paused as her ears dropped and her head lowered. “I wish I could say you didn’t have to go through so much for me… But how I reacted today, maybe it was for the best that I didn’t know.” Her ears and head raised with new confidence. “But now I do know. And I want to make it up to both of you. Rainbow.” Fluttershy turned to her. “I don’t care that our family was never official. To me, you did keep your Pinkie Promise in the end. And I’m very grateful that you hid that from me, just to make me happy.” Rainbow Dash tried to hide a blush as she responded. “Aww, Fluttershy. I would do anything for you.” Fluttershy smiled then turned her head to her daughter. “Miley.” Miley looked at her curiously as she spoke. “Even though you weren’t our daughter officially, as long as you still want to be, you still are our daughter, you know? You came to us when you were just a baby. And we raised you just like a loving family would. We even gave you a name that you loved. To me, you’re still our daughter. We’re still a family.” Fluttershy closed her eyes. “Because we all love each other, just like a true family would.” It warmed Rainbow Dash’s heart to see just how well Fluttershy was taking this. It wasn’t just the fact she had to handle the reveal of their daughter, but also the reveal of where foals really came from. Rainbow felt at peace now. The fear that she held in her mind for the past year could finally be put to rest. “No…” Both Rainbow and Fluttershy’s thoughts were interrupted when that voice spoke. It was low toned, and they weren’t sure where it came from. But when they looked toward Miley, a chill ran through their body. “You’re wrong…” Miley slowly lifted her head, revealing her serious look through her lifeless blue eyes. “I… don’t care about you guys…” Her words sounded full of hate, but her tone seemed filled with fear. She slowly let herself stand up straight, watching the other two’s eyes fill with concern. “Miley, what are you saying?” Fluttershy asked, not believing what just came out of Miley’s mouth. “You said that I care about you the same way you care about me… But I don’t…” Rainbow Dash stepped forward. “How can you be saying that?” Miley looked to Rainbow Dash, then to Fluttershy. After a moment, she turned away and looked to the pieces of the shattered mirror behind her. “I was always told that I could never talk about myself. When anypony asked, I always talked about you.” She closed her eyes and thought back to her first day at school. “I told them… my family was everything, that I was nothing without them… couldn’t live without them. I always talked about you, because I could never talk about myself. But… Talking about myself...” She paused and turned to Rainbow and Fluttershy. “That wasn’t true…” For some reason, Rainbow’s heart bat a beat at almost the same pressure she felt before Miley revealed her secret. She and Fluttershy looked at each other, both wondering where Miley was going with this. But Rainbow felt far more scared to find out for some reason, like her instincts were screaming at her of this bad omen. And it all came from the way Miley toned her words, ‘that wasn’t true’. “What do you mean?” Fluttershy asked. Miley’s eyes turned down. “You remember the time… I remember the time… The time I was attacked by a bear.” The sound of a small gasp came from Rainbow. “I was scared… I was in pain… If you two didn’t show up when you did… I don’t know what might’ve happened. You calmed the bear down, took me in, and treated my pain. But you weren’t treating them the way you thought you were… You were treating them… with your love.” Fluttershy just looked at Miley with a confused look. She understood what Miley was saying, but she had no idea where she was getting at. “Hold on,” Rainbow stepped in. “Is that how your wing was able to heal so fast?” “What do you mean?” Miley asked, blinking twice. “When we were treating your injuries, one of your wings was… we saw a huge hole on it. Even after we treated it, we were worried that you would never be able to-” Rainbow suddenly stopped when she took notice of Miley’s wings. Seeing the holes in those wings gave her the answer to her question. And Miley noticed. “I was never in pain at all. I was only scared.” Miley turned her attention away from them. “The injuries that you saw… the pain that you saw… I understand them now. They were just parts of my body losing my pegasus form, showing you the hideous body that you see now. I was so scared that you would see what I really was. When you treated me with your love, you weren’t treating my injuries.” Miley turned back to them. “I was lying to you… so that I could feed off of your love.” Rainbow Dash’s body was trembling over the words she was hearing. She didn’t want to believe what Miley was saying. They couldn’t be true. “Miley-” Fluttershy tried to say something, but was interrupted. “Don’t you see? I never cared about you. I never cared about being in your family. I told them, I told myself, that I couldn’t live without your love.” Miley’s tone was grasping at the words she was spouting. “I couldn’t bare to think about what would happen to me if I was ever seen like this. I’ve been lying to you so that I could steal your love. Every time that I talked about you, I was only talking about the love that I was feeding on.” The volume in her voice continued to increase. “I could never find some way to talk about myself, because I always was talking about myself. Never about you!” Fluttershy reached a hoof out. “Miley, please-” But the words didn’t reach. “If it wasn’t for me living off your love, I would’ve never came to your family. If I wasn’t stealing your love, I wouldn’t be around here. Every time something didn’t involve love, I always avoided it. Nopony liked my affections so they avoided me, which made me avoid them! But you loved my affection and that gave me more love to feed from.” “Miley! Stop it!” Rainbow shouted. “You’re not thinking straight!” “How else could you explain what I am? When was there a time I ever enjoyed doing anything that didn’t involve love?!” Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy tried to respond, but the realizations of what was said were kicking in their minds, making them hesitant to answer. They saw Miley’s breath shuddering with a burning venom. The more her words came out, the deeper their meanings meant to her. “What about all those times you enjoyed playing with our animals,” Fluttershy asked. “You looked like you were always having so much fun playing with them.” Miley turned her head to Fluttershy, still with that same serious expression. “You loved watching me play with them. The more I played, the more I fed.” Fluttershy’s eyes grew wide at such a cruel toned answer. She didn’t want to believe at all what was said. “What about when you went to get your Cutie Mark?” Rainbow asked next. “You weren’t with us then.” Miley turned to Rainbow the same way she turned to Fluttershy. “That was the worst day of my life since living with you.” Rainbow felt as if a sword had cut through her heart and twisted it out of her body. Her breath had stopped working upon hearing those words. “You were angry that I left class that day, and I deserved your punishment.” Miley’s body was starting to shake. “B-But there was no love that I could feed off of... There was no lovely reward for what I had done. A-All I was given… w-w-was…” A low rumble could be heard resonating along the house. Rainbow and Fluttershy looked around as their hooves began to tremble. The rumble soon stopped, and they could see that Miley was no longer shaking. But she was looking around, just as they were. She then turned back to them with a very deep concerned face. “Miley…” Fluttershy squeaked, not sure what to say. “When you told me I was gonna visit Princess Celestia, I hurt you…” Miley’s voice was grasping even more than ever, like it was speaking without thinking. “That was no accident… I was afraid that when she saw me, my lie would be revealed and I would be taken away from you.” There was a sudden pause. Miley’s body started to glow green. “I didn’t want to take that chance. From the power of the love I stole from you, my magic activated these clouds. My magic hurt you so that I could fly away.” Miley’s body was glowing brighter by the second. More lights came from the ceiling to shine down upon her, spreading a wave of magical particles. Rainbow Dash had to slightly look away as she covered her eyes from some of that light with a single hoof. Fluttershy had to sit down to use both hooves to cover her eyes. “Miley! What are you doing?!” Rainbow shouted as the magical waves grew brighter and louder. “I used your love against you so that I could hide. So that I could keep lying and continue to steal your love!” “Miley! Please stop!” Fluttershy pleaded. “Think about what you're saying!” But due to the magical waves, the words couldn’t reach Miley. Miley’s voice continued to grasp. “When you found my bag, you found me! But I continued to hide. I continued to steal your love so that I could hide!” Two green lightning bolts struck around Miley. Their strike left behind a green flame that circled around her hooves. The light became so bright that some of the animals outside the house caught attention to it. Even Angel stepped out of his little shed when he noticed it. “Miley! Listen to us!” Rainbow could feel the power emanating from these magical waves. She had to brace all her hooves down to keep herself from sliding away. “I didn’t care about your worries! I only cared about myself! I always only cared about myself.” Miley’s voice started to slow down. “Stealing your love was all that I cared about. Stealing your love was the only thing I enjoyed. I only stayed in this family because of your love… But no more.” Miley closed her eyes as the green flames suddenly engulfed her, leaving behind a green shield surrounding her. The mirror shards behind her were scattered and blown away from the waves. “Miley!” Rainbow shouted as she started pushing herself forwards. “Miley!” Fluttershy tried pushing herself forwards too, but was unable to move where she was. Despite this, Rainbow continued on. Miley was in danger again. In danger of herself. “I’ve been stealing your love for too long. That’s why I showed you who I was. I wanted to stop lying. I wanted to stop stealing love. But if I continue to live with you… I’ll continue to…” Rainbow reached the shield. “Miley! Ahh!” Upon touching the shield, Rainbow burned her hoof and stumbled back. The shield flashed upon contact, and Miley flinched. “I won’t steal your love, ever again. But I’ll use your love, one last time, to put an end to all this.” The floor below Miley’s hooves glowed a bright white. More flames appeared within them, surrounding each of her hooves. Rainbow Dash forced herself back to the shield, pressing her hooves against it and keeping them there. “MILEY!” The shield flashed and a wave of magical energy blowed on her. Fluttershy yelped as the waves blew her back, the only thing stopping her being the walls. But Rainbow kept her ground, keeping her hooves against the shield despite the fiery heat emanating from it. “You gotta stop this now, Miley! You’re not thinking straight! You’re confused!” Rainbow’s words were drowned out from fierce magical flames burning from such powerful magic that came from their love. Miley closed her eyes, saying one last word. “Goodbye…” Miley’s hooves started to slowly sink within the ground. Rainbow Dash grunted her breath through all the nerves in her body. The flames were burning, but if she didn’t do something… “Miley!” Rainbow could hear Fluttershy’s cry despite the sheer volume of the waves. Those sobs echoed in her mind, motivating her to press herself harder. She lifted one of her hooves back while keeping the other pressed on the shield. “MILEY!” Rainbow shouted with all her strength and thrusted her hoof forward, slamming it against the shield with a mighty force. A loud clang sounded from the impact, causing Miley to flinch. The shield flashed and another large wave of magic blew against them. Rainbow kept her ground, but Fluttershy was thrusted back. Rainbow pulled her hoof back, and thrusted it again with more strength. The clang sounded again. The wave blew again. Miley flinched again. And Miley’s sinking was slowing down. “You’ve gotta stop this, Miley!” Another clang as Rainbow shouted. “Listen to us! Listen to me! Miley!” Another clang. Rainbow’s hooves burned hotter and hotter against the shield, but she ignored the pain as she continued to pound against the shield. Miley flinched with every pound. The magic wave blew with every pound. And now, Fluttershy was fighting against the waves, pressing herself against every impact that Rainbow caused. Each pound echoed in Rainbow’s mind. The echoes and flashes resonated outside of the cloud house, alerting more and more animals, both asleep, and awake. A pound resonated and one set of animals switched their attention to the cloud. Another pound resonated and a different set of animals woke up. Some of them even started to slowly move or fly toward the cloud. Miley’s flinches turned into winces as Rainbow’s hoof struck harder and harder against the shield. Fluttershy had managed to reach Rainbow Dash, and brace herself behind her, allowing Rainbow to put even more strength in her strikes. Rainbow yelled and struck once again. The clang echoed deeper into their minds. Miley winced fiercely from the clang, her whole body flashing from bottom to top as the magical wave blew again. Another yell and strike from Rainbow, another wince, flash, and magical wave. This time, a crack sounded. It came from the shield. Rainbow’s hooves were burning, but she couldn’t stop now. With Fluttershy’s support, she yelled and struck again. Miley’s wince and flash grew more intense than the last, making the shield crack even more. Rainbow pulled her hoof back, and yelled as loud as she could striking one more time. The scream was deathening to Fluttershy’s ears. But it didn’t compare to echo from this strike. The clang echoed, echoed, echoed… Miley’s body dropped as the shield’s cracks surrounded the entire bubble, her body flashing from bottom to top more fiercely than ever. Something split right then and there, when the flash reached above her head. Very hesitantly, she opened her eyes, trying all her might to lift her head to look at Rainbow. Rainbow’s hoof was pulling back one last time. Teeth gritting, hooves burning, sweat dripping from her face, and the thought of Fluttershy holding her in place, it all supported her. Fluttershy was counting on her, and she wasn’t going to let Fluttershy down. With all her might, she thrusted her hoof forwards. But then… Rainbow’s hoof froze. Her eyes grew stiff in utter shock as she met Miley’s eyes. Miley’s lifeless eyes… They were pulsating with a fresh batch of tears flowing outside of them. Her body was shaking heavily against the ground. Her teeth and fangs gritted and grinded against each other while her breath struggled to feed her lungs. But what stunned Rainbow the most, was the sight of Miley’s horn. That last strike had chipped off the tip of that horn, and it now lay rest next to Miley’s shaking head. It now dawned on Rainbow what her actions were doing. Every strike with her hoof that she laid on that shield… Rainbow Dash was hurting Miley… very fatally… Miley’s body continued sinking within the green circle. Now, nothing was stopping her from sinking. Her hooves had disappeared beneath them. “Miley! No!” Fluttershy shouted, but the words didn’t reach. Miley kept her eyes on the stilled Rainbow Dash as her body continued sinking. Most of her body disappeared, along with her wings. “Please stop! Miley!” The last thing Fluttershy saw, was Miley’s eyes turning to her before they sank. “No…” A silent breath from Fluttershy. The shield and flames fizzled out shortly after Miley completely vanished. The magical waves no longer blew on them. Rainbow’s body slowly landed forwards on all four hooves, her eyes and mouth frozen with shock. “Miley!” Fluttershy rushed passed Rainbow and to the spot Miley used to stand. “Miley! Please come back!” Fluttershy’s breath hiccuped in a sob as her tears dripped on the cloud. “Miley…” Rainbow’s ears twitched at the repeated sobbing breaths coming from Fluttershy. She suddenly regained her feelings and gasped. “No… What have I done?! Miley!” She flapped her wings and zipped out of the room. “Miley?!” She flew to other parts of the cloud house. She checked the downstairs living room, the kitchen, their room. Miley was nowhere in sight. She flew out a window. With all her lungs, she shouted. “MILEY!” Many animals started spreading from the garden through Rainbow’s shouts. A flock of bats flew around the scenery. Birds sang. Owls hooted. Squirrels and otters called. “Miley! Where are you?! Miley!” Rainbow searched the entire scenery with her eyes, looking for any signs of Miley. The animals understood her despair and were searching and calling with her. But to Rainbow, it was too dark in this night sky to see anything. The flapping, the chirping, and the cries. They all echoed in her mind as everything swirled around her. Her breathing faltered. Her hope shattered. Hovering where she was, still searching the garden and the skies with her eyes, she began to tear up. “No… Miley…” Rainbow’s hooves and body jolted with each sob. She began to descend. She descend back down to the cloud house, where she went back to Miley’s room. Fluttershy had rushed in as well, holding the same despair as Rainbow did. “Rainbow Dash… I-I checked everywhere,” Fluttershy sobbed. “She’s not here… She’s…” Fluttershy squeezed her eyes shut as she rushed towards Rainbow Dash, tears pouring behind her. Rainbow Dash rushed to her as well with the same tears pouring behind her. They didn’t stop until they reached each other. “She’s gone…” Rainbow sobbed for Fluttershy. “Miley’s gone…” Fluttershy returned the sobs. “And this time…” Rainbow then threw her hooves around Fluttershy with Fluttershy following suit at the same time. “She’s never coming back!” They both shouted their weep and cried into each others embrace, sharing their sadness together. Many animals cried along with their despair outside. Some of them flew, and some of them climbed up the house to join them. They gathered around Rainbow and Fluttershy, singing along with their cries to match their despair. Most notably, Angel had ridden on Tank’s shell and leapt onto Fluttershy’s mane, where he sobbed and patted her head. Tank did a similar jester with Rainbow’s mane, using his head to nuzzle it. And yet, they continued to cry. They continued to comfort. Their despair could not be contained. Their cries, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Angel, Tank, the birds, bats, owls, squirrels, otters, mice, and many more, their cries echoed in the night sky, together.