CHAPTER IX:
TRUTH AND FEAR
Blazing Flew Chocolate and Rainbow Dash into the Everfree Forest. After entering the trees he let Chocolate go so she could fly on her own, but held on to Dash as she fought to break free. Blazing came up to Zecora's hut and dropped Dash at the front door, Chocolate landed close behind. Dash got to her hooves and charged Chocolate only to be cut off by Blazing.
"Outta the way, Stripes!" She barked. "She's not who you think she is." She tried to get around him to Chocolate, but Blazing stopped her again and again. Hearing all the commotion, Zecora and Forest came out of her hut.
"My meditation interrupted by a sound. Who is fighting all around?" The two pegasi ignored the rhyme as Dash continued trying to get to Chocolate only to be cut off again by Blazing again.
"Stripes, she's not Chocolate, she's a changeling!" Dash said charging again at Chocolate.
"I know she is, Dash!" Blazing said as he got a hoof around dash when she charged again. She fought to break free, but Blazing's workouts made him just barely strong enough to hold her back. "Dash, I know she's a changeling!"
"Then let me go, so I can show her a thing or two!" She ordered.
"No Dash! I can't let you hurt her!" Dash looked back at him.
"Blazing, she's got you under some kinda spell or something! We gotta stop her!" She cried, concern rising in her voice.
"No we don't! She's not going to do anything to us Dash!" Dash looked at him with high concern.
"Snap out of it, Stripes," she said, placing her hooves on his cheeks, "she's a changeling."
"Look at me Dash. Do I look like I'm not in my right mind?" Dash looked into his eyes, a look of shock in hers.
"You mean..." Dash started. She shook her head, then looked back at Chocolate. "What lies have you poisoned him with?!"
"Dash, I found her here in the forest!" She looked back at him. "She was hurt, badly. I brought her to Zecora to heal her then I took her home. The week after is when you first met her."
"You mean you were hiding a changeling in your house this entire time?" Blazing nodded, tears starting to form in his eyes. "And you knew about this?" She asked, looking at Zecora and Forest.
"Chocolate was well known to us. Blazing swore us to secrecy with little fuss." The zebra rhymed, Forest nodded in agreement. Dash looked back at Blazing.
"Who else knows?" She asked.
"Only Spark Storm." Dash's eyes widened with shock, she pulled out of his hooves.
"You told my cousin about this, but you never told me?!" She billowed.
"Spark is my closest, most trusted friend, I knew I could trust him." He replied
"But not me!" She snapped.
"Dash, I knew you would react like this. I also knew you would want to tell the princess, being the Element of Loyalty." Dash's fury grew in her eyes.
"And you're right! The princess needs to know about this." Dash started to fly off, but was stopped by Blazing's hooves around her hind legs. She looked back at him, her eyes filled with anger.
"You can't tell the princess! She'll take Chocolate away, lock her up, banish her, or worse! I can't let that happen!" Blazing cried.
“You're kidding, right? You don't think this is that important?" She asked.
"She is the most important thing to me right now!" He stared into her eyes for a minute. "I love her!" Dash's wings stopped flapping, causing her to fall to the ground. She looked up at him from the ground, tears streaming down his face. Chocolate also had tears falling down her cheeks. She knew Blazing loved her, but he never said the words aloud. "I love her." Blazing repeated, more to Chocolate than to Dash.
There was a long silence in the air. Dash still on the ground going over in her head what she just heard. "You..." Dash started. "... love... a changeling?" The question hung in the air. Blazing looked into Dash's eyes, his face stained with tears. "How could you love a changeling?" She asked, her tone calm, but filled with disbelief. The question hit Blazing like daggers in his heart, he didn't answer, he just let his head drop.
Dash slowly got to her hooves, still trying to understand what was going on. Blazing raised his head to Dash. "Look," he started," you have to promise me you won't tell a single soul, not Celestia, not even our friends, Chocolate is a changeling. I can't loose her." Dash said nothing, she just stared at Blazing. "Please, Dash."
Rainbow Dash backed away a few steps shaking her head, she turned and took off through the trees. Chocolate watched her fly off then looked back at Blazing, who let his head drop as his knees gave away under his weight. He fell to the ground with a thud, his sobs filling the air. Chocolate walked up to Blazing and laid beside him. Zecora backed into the hut while Forest ventured off into the forest.
Chocolate rubbed his back as he cried. "It's okay Blaze." Blazing continued to sob. Chocolate leaned closer to him, setting her cheek against his. She nuzzled his face, his sobbing quieting. She then turned to face him and gave him a long soft kiss on his cheek. Blazing looked up at her in surprise, she smiled at him. "I love you too, Blaze." The tears in Blazing's eyes grew as he stared into her eyes. They both reached their forelegs around each other and sat in each others embrace.
~~)oOo(~~
The next few days Blazing and Chocolate stayed locked in his house not letting anypony in and they only left the house once to get food from the market. It seemed as though Rainbow never told anypony about Chocolate, every day somepony came knocking on the door to check on Blazing, never asking about Chocolate being a changeling. Then again, if Dash did tell anypony it would have gotten all over town and everypony would be coming after her with torches and pitchforks. Not to mention Celestia herself would come to take Chocolate away.
Blazing was laying face down in his bed without a word, his thoughts swimming from here to there about everything that had happened that day. Chocolate came in the room in her changeling form with concern on her face. She walked in and sat next to him and placed a hoof on his shoulder.
"Blaze?" She asked. Blazing looked up at her, his eyes filled with both sadness and fear. "Are you okay?" Blazing said nothing, he just reached up and hugged her, who returned the embrace.
"I feel like a huge part of me was ripped out." He said, tears staining his face. "Somepony could show up at any moment and take you away, and Dash may never speak to me again." They stayed in that spot for the next hour doing nothing. Blazing let his tears slide down his cheeks while Chocolate petted his mane.
~~)oOo(~~
Chocolate found herself alone in a dark abyss. She was in her pony form, looking around and calling for Blazing, but to no avail. The area was cold and damp, ideal for a changeling.
"It's been some time my daughter." Came a deep menacing female voice from behind.
Chocolate whirled around, her heart skipped a beat as she saw Queen Chrysalis walking up to her. Chocolate almost could not tell who it was at first, Chrysalis was so scarred and cut up from the day of the Canterlot Wedding, Spark Storm's efforts to defend Ponyville added to her wounds.
"You don't need that disguise here." She said pointing her glowing green horn at Chocolate and with a flash of green light, Chocolate was a changeling. "You found a promising stallion to feed love off of." Chrysalis said. "You should come back now my child"
"No!" Chocolate protested. Chrysalis looked at her with disapproval. "I'm not going back! I like it here!"
"You mean, you like the stallion." Chrysalis said, starting to walk circles around her. Chocolate's eyes shot open with surprise. As if reading her thoughts the Queen answered the burning question. "I've been keeping a close eye on you for some time now my dear. One of my subjects has been reporting to me all your activity in Ponyville, and I must say it's making me upset that you would want to leave me for him."
"I love him mother!" She barked. "He showed me kindness, he healed me and he really cares for me!"
"I care for you." Chrysalis said.
"You only want to use me!" These words made Chrysalis arch an eyebrow. "You only want me to be Queen of the Changelings. I don't want that! I never wanted that! I'm staying with Blaze. I love him and he loves me! I want to be with him the rest of my life!"
Chrysalis eyed Chocolate, she looked displeased. "You're blinding yourself my child. He doesn't truly care for you. He's only keeping you around so he can keep a close eye on you. The second you turn your back, he will dispose of you."
"He's not like that, mother! He's much to kind and full of love to do anything like that." Chocolate countered.
"This will not end well for you my child. If you take this path there will be nothing but loneliness and heartache for you and your subjects."
"Your subjects mother!" Chocolate snapped. "I renounce my title as Princess of the Changelings."
Chrysalis looked at Chocolate with anger. "You will regret this choice. All you have come to care for in Ponyville will be destroyed, starting with the stallion." Chrysalis started to vanish in the darkness, Chocolate felt a cold dark sensation around her. She screamed out for somepony, but no sound came from her mouth.
She sat upright in her bed in the guest room of Blazing's house, sweat streaming down her face. She looked at the window to see if any changeling was out there, but saw nothing. Blazing came in the room and saw Chocolate sitting on her bed. She looked at him, fear, hope and joy in her eyes. "Blaze!" She cried.
"What's wrong?!" He asked as he ran in and sat down beside her.
She wrapped her forelegs around him and told him about the vision, the dark void and Queen Chrysalis. When she was done, Blazing embraced her in his forelegs. For the rest of the night they stayed together, Blazing comforting her while she cried.