//------------------------------// // Chapter Five: Silent // Story: The Greatest Show of Kindness // by Sonik //------------------------------// The Greatest Show of Kindness Chapter Five: Silent The next morning, Fluttershy, per usual, tried to go and talk to the changeling. “Little one, are you awake?” she called out quietly, just in case he wasn’t awake. As she approached the bed, she thought could hear him sobbing. “Little one?” she asked. A soft ‘huh-huh’ sound coming from under the sheets indicated that he was crying. Still, there was no response by the young changeling. Fluttershy proceeded to the side of the bed and softly placed a hoof on top of him. Gently rubbing up and down on his back, she brought her head right next to him. “Is everything okay?” she questioned, still letting him have the blanket over him. All she heard from him were more sobs. “Little one?” When she pulled the covers off of him, she was surprised to see that the entire pillow was completely soaked. His face and chin were completely wet, and water dripped down the sheets behind the bed. Looking behind the mattress, she saw that water was drizzling down the frame and onto the floor. Putting her hoof to her mouth, she looked at the changeling in shock, tearing up herself. “Oh, little one…” she cried, pulling his head up into her chest, rubbing her hoof down his back in sympathy. “It’s okay, it’s okay… shh…” For a few minutes, or what seemed like hours and hours for Fluttershy, she stood there hugging him. Somewhere in the process, she climbed up onto the bed and lay down with him, making sure to wrap her hooves around him very softly. In trying to make him feel better, Fluttershy actually fell asleep herself, leaving her animals to be hungry for the morning. All the ‘shh’ing must’ve made her tired, as well. She woke up a few hours later, still hugging him in the same position; he was soundly asleep, snoring softly. Fluttershy was disoriented-she thought that the sun was barely above the horizon when she woke up, but now it was high in the sky. She looked at a clock, which told her it was 10:39, which confused her further. She had just closed her eyes, and when she opened them, it was suddenly over four hours later? She didn’t know. Instead of thinking about it and confusing herself further, she decided to go on with her daily routine. She fed her animals their now brunch and did the chores. She spent today in relative laziness as she didn’t do much else around the cottage. As the day went by, she heard little noise coming from upstairs, so every couple hours or so, she went and checked on the changeling. “Little one?” she said out. Strangely, there was no answer this time. “Are you awake?” she asked. There was silence that filled the air in the room. It was almost eerie for Fluttershy as he had always had something to say to her before now. She went up to him, softly pressing on his back. Still, there was no sound. She lifted the covers off of him, and she could tell that he was awake from his blind expression. The changeling just lay there, unseeingly staring into the back frame of the bed. He didn’t tremble at her voice or feel any other emotions. He just stared on and on into the back of the bed. “Are you okay, little one?” Fluttershy asked. Silence. By this point, Fluttershy was starting to worry. She placed her hoof on his cheek, seeing if she could now get any kind of response out of him. He turned his head to her but still said nothing. He didn’t make any other movements as he snapped his head back to where it was. “Little one?” After about ten more minutes of trying to talk to him, she came to the conclusion that he just didn’t walk to talk right now. Pulling the covers back over him, she continued on with her day, which in its entirety was uneventful. For the most part, she sat down, read books and drank tea, doing little else. When it came time for her to go to bed, she fed the animals and herself dinner and went back up to the changeling. Still, he was silent. Over the course of the next week or so, Fluttershy kept trying to talk to the changeling, but all he ever did was acknowledge her with a twist of the head and then go back to his other position. It made Fluttershy worry about him; she didn't know if what she had said to him silenced him or if there was something wrong with him. She felt so unable to do anything, and it frustrated her to no end that she couldn't. A week later, it had become winter, which means that Fluttershy was spending much more time with her animals that staying indoors. One day, inside the cottage, the young changeling had a thought. ‘Maybe I should try to talk to her… she really wants to help me, but I won’t let her. But how? How can I talk to her? All I’ve ever said to her has been in bad taste. She probably hates me… But if she hates me, how can she want to help me? Ugh…I’m getting another headache.’ ‘How should I try? I don’t know how to talk to her. Everything I say always comes out badly. No matter how I try, I always come out like a jerk. I can’t… I’ve been silent all of my life, but when I do try to make noise, all I do is cause guilt. Maybe I’m best suited to be out of sight after all…’ In all of these thoughts, he started to feel more tears coming on, and he couldn’t help but release some of them as his confliction. He always wanted to talk with others, to be friends, but no matter what he did, he always drove them away with his awkwardness and jerkiness. He could feel memories coming back to him. Flashback Start “(Um… Hey guys,)” a young changeling called out in a small voice as he entered a large room. He was speaking in the changeling language, which was comprised of buzzes and hisses that varied greatly in pitch. Most changelings could speak Equestrian by this point as they were preparing for the invasion of Canterlot, which would take place in about two months. He personally didn't want to go, but he didn't have any choice. There were at least twenty other changelings in the room, which appeared to be some sort of library or information center. The room was a light-gray all over, with cracks running down the jagged surfaces. They almost created unique patterns along the wall. There were many stone tablets hanging off of the rocks but small strings, all of which had some sort of runes on them. “(Oh, it’s the pipsqueak!)” a larger changeling yelled out, causing all eyes to go on the small child. Immediately, he felt threatened as sweat dripped down his forehead. “(What’s he doing here?)” another called out. “(He doesn’t belong here! Get him out of here!)” Suddenly, the three changelings who had spoken all got out of their obsidian-looking chairs and rushed at the young boy, who turned around and galloped out of the room as fast as he could out of fear. “(Get him!)” one of them yelled. The young child ran out of the library and into the streets of the changeling city. The street itself was made of dark-gray smooth stone, and the buildings were basic, cubed slabs of black rocks with the insides mined out. They were like their own miniature caves, most lined with gems and other minerals. Lining the streets were glowing, light-green chrysalises, which lit the streets in a creepy light. To the changelings, it was completely normal. “(Help! Help! Someone, help me! Please!)” he cried as loudly as he could, gaining the attention of many of the changelings walking down the streets. No one even bothered to stand out and try to help as he was fleeing. Out of nowhere, the young changeling was hit in the side with a blast of magic and sent flying into an alley between the buildings. He cried out of pain as he hit the stone wall with force, causing it to crack. He dropped to the ground and tried to get more attention. “(Please… help me…)” he weakly cried, not making much noise. Soon, the three had all gathered around him. “(Look who finally decided to show up for school,)” the largest of the three said. “(The little weakling, that’s who,”) the shortest of them answered. “(I thought that we told you that you don’t belong here, yet you came anyway. It looks like you could use some punishment!) the middle one, a female, threatened. All three of their horns lit up, and the young changeling thought it was the end; he had begun to cry. ‘Shall I find greater peace in the next dimension, where my great Overlord the Queen shall watch over me…’ “(Hey! What do you think you’re doing!? Get away from him!)” a very loud voice yelled from above them. All three of them stopped in their tracks as they viewed a ｓmall changeling dropping down from above. Her voice was high pitched and singular, and she was about the size the beaten changeling was. She had light-green eyes and a dark-blue mane and tail, signifying only one thing. “(P-P-Princess C-Chryssy!?)” the largest of the group stuttered, his eyes widening. “(That’s right! And if you don’t get away from him right now, I’m going to turn you into dust!”) she threatened, staring each one of them down. They all just stood there, unable to move; they were each trembling with fear from the to-be monarch’s voice. “(Well? Get out of here!”) she shouted, causing each of them to retreat into the sky. “(…H-Huh? I’m… still alive?)” he asked, looking up. Once he saw his princess’s face, he looked relieved but was crying. “(C-Chryssy?)” “(Bumble, are you alright!?)” she concerned, galloping over to him. “(Bumble!?)” “(Yeah, I-I think so,)” the young changeling, Bumble, answered, breathing heavily. In his side was a deep burn mark from the magic blast he had been hit with previously. “(Just another day being sileent...)” he sighed, not wanting to look at his princess from embarrassment. She was saddened to see him crying, so she got down onto the ground next to him and put her hoof over him. “(Hey, it’s okay. Most adult changelings are busy and don’t have the time to mess around with children. It’s not your fault,)” the changeling princess said, affectionately cuddling him. “(Thanks,)” he said, trying to stand up. The pain in his side was too great; however, so he fell back down. “(Bumble, let me carry you,)” Chryssy instructed. “(Climb on!”) “(Thank you so much, Chryssy,) Bumble gratified, crawling on top of the princess, letting his head rest on her mane. “(Don’t worry about it!)” she ordered, looking back to him. “(Are you good?”) “(Yeah,)” “(Alright! Let’s go!”) In a flash, Princess Chryssy teleported the two into the air and took off towards Bumble’s house, which was all the way across the grand city. It was a rare sight for the civilians of the changeling city-their princess was usually cooped up in the castle along with her mother, Queen Chrysalis. It certainly attracted many stares from the town’s changelings below. Chryssy didn’t care, though-her friend needed help. She would never leave him hanging; they had been friends for most of their short lives. Within ten minutes, she had returned Bumble to his home. She knocked on the door and soon after, an adult female changeling opened the door, which was made of cobble. “(Oh, good afternoon, Princess Chryssy. What brings you here today?)” she asked. “(I have a delivery,)” she joked as Bumble climbed off her back. The changeling laughed and pulled Bumble into the house, “(Thank you, Princess Chryssy,)” she said, waving good-bye. Chryssy moved forward and gave Bumble a quick smooch on the cheek, causing him to blush a vivid green and waved back and the adult changeling, who closed the door. “(Hey, Bumble. How was school?)” “(It was…fine, mama,)” “(That’s good, sweetheart,)” his mother said, nuzzling him. Flashback End Bumble lay there in his memories, falling to sleep once again. He didn’t know why, but for Bumble, this sparked something within him. Something that would be great for him. Something that could finally change his life for the better.