//------------------------------//
// A Free Spirit in Ponyville Part 2 
// Story: A Free Spirit in Ponyville 
// by HalfAngelHuman 
//------------------------------//


~30 minutes later~

Fluttershy woke up groggily in her bed. “Oh, Angel. I just had the craziest dream.” she said.
“Um, miss? I’m not 'Angel'.” the Changeling sitting next to her bed said.
“Oh, you not Angel, you’re a Changeling…” she said, the sweet grace of sleep pulling her back into its grip.
Her eyes snapped open. “C-CHANGELING!?” she shrieked (in a Fluttershy sort of way) as she began to hyperventilate.
“Miss? Um, please calm down. I-I need to ask-” Spirit tried to speak, but he was unheard by the panicking mare. A few seconds later, he raised his mangled hoof. “Great Gods above, forgive me for what I am about to do.” He silently prayed. He brought his hoof down.
The sound of a hoof striking a cheek echoed through the room. Silence was next to follow. Fluttershy grasped her pained face, tears welling up in her eyes. “Sorry,” Spirit apologized, rubbing his sore hoof on the back of his head. “It was the only thing I could think of to calm you down. Now, before anything else, question number one: does my appearance frighten you?” A quick nod was his answer. “Of course it does, silly question.” He sighed, closing his eyes. Spirit’s horn began to glow, along with the rest of his body. A harsh light suddenly engulfed the room, forcing Fluttershy to shield her eyes from the intensity. In the Changeling’s place, sat an orange unicorn with a chocolate brown mane parted between his eyes, which were still the same light-blue. His cutie mark appeared to be that of an angel’s wing.
“Well? What do you think? It’s Custom-made, too.” the disguised Changeling asked. 
“...Truth be told, you look rather feminine." Fluttershy answered, now sitting up in the bed.
“Tch, why does everybody I meet in this form say that!?” he complained, earning a small giggle from the butterscotch pegasus. “Oh yeah, before I forget, my name is Free Spirit. But Spirit is just fine." Spirit said. “May I ask what your name is?”
“Um...i-it’s Fluttershy.” she whispered.
“Come again?”
“M-my name...is Fluttershy.” she repeated.
“Are you serious? You were just shrieking and panicking just a few minutes ago and now you choose be silent?” Spirit deadpanned.
Fluttershy merely whimpered.
“Fine, I didn’t want to do this, but…” He trailed off, walking towards her.
“W-what are you-” She started, but stopped as he stared deep into her eyes, entrancing her. The whole event elapsed about five seconds.
“...So, your name is Fluttershy and you are the 'Bearer of Kindness'. Well, doesn’t that sound fancy?” he murmured as he moved away from Fluttershy, a small smile on his face. Fluttershy, on the other hoof, felt very light-headed, as if she had just finished a crying session.
“W-what did you just do?” she asked, pulling herself together.
“I simply took a peek in your memories and searched for what I was looking for. It’s something I was born with, though I don’t get much practice out of it.” the pseudo-stallion explained. Fluttershy sat there in silence, letting in all the new information. Her face slowly became as red as an apple.
“Y-you were in my head, looking through my memories...” she said, her face turning evermore darker, her head starting to steam.
“WHAT!? No, I would never! I do have standards, as hard as that may be to believe.” Spirit reassured. It seemed to work, as Fluttershy stopped looking like she was about to faint for the second time.
“O-okay.”she said.
“By the way, one more question.”
“What is it?”
“While I was searching for your name, I came across a peculiar memory. What is 'Order 66'?” Spirit asked
Fluttershy paled.
“Fluttershy?”
“You mean you don’t know?”
“If I did, I wouldn’t have asked. Please, tell me what Order 66 is.”
“...”
“Fluttershy, please, tell me.”
“You shouldn’t have come here.” she said sadly.
“What?”
“About three months ago, me and my friends Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle were invited to Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Prince Shining Armour's wedding, Shining Armour being Twilight’s older brother. But it turned out that the princess was in fact the Changeling Queen, Chrysalis. Chrysalis ponynapped the real Princess Cadence and took the form of her to fool everypony, but the real Princess Cadence and Shining Armour managed to stop the Queen and her army from invading. A week later, the Royal Pony Sisters made a decree: Any and all Changelings found within the kingdom of Equestria were to be arrested and imprisoned. Changelings that resist arrest are to be….executed. I don’t want to have to say it but your kind isn’t welcome here in Equestria. I don’t have it in me to report you to the authorities, so I’ll let you stay here. Just for tonight. After tonight, you should try to go back home. Okay?” Fluttershy explained.
“I-I can’t.” Spirit said, staring at the floor.
“Why not?”
“I-I have no home. Five months ago, I-I was banished from the Empire. J-just because I was different I was considered a threat. All b-because I was born w-with a h-heart. T-that’s why I came to Equestria. I’ve heard st-stories that you ponies are accepting of all species. B-but, n-n-now you’re telling me that I’m n-not even welcomed here!? I do-don’t have anywhere else to g-g-go! I-I-I-” Spirit could hold back the sorrow no longer. He finally broke down and cried. Five long month’s worth of tears came flooding out. The longer he cried, the more his disguise fell apart. Soon, what stood before Fluttershy was a young, blue-eyed Changeling, his little heart on full display.
Fluttershy sat in shock silence. 'He’s been alone...for five months? The poor kid.' she thought. Her motherly instincts took over, and she reached over to console the Changeling with a tight embrace. Her coat quickly became matted from the influx of tears, but she didn’t mind. Changeling or not, right now, he needed support. “Shh. Shh. Shh. It’ll be alright.” She reassured, petting his head. “I bet your parents-”
“A-are de-dead.” Spirit choked out between sobs.
“What?” Fluttershy said in disbelief.
“Th-they dead. S-supposedly, my unicorn father was caught o-off guard and murdered by a gang of Gryphons months after he met my m-mother. M-my m-mother. She...died in childbirth. I am a-all alone.”
“...Spirit. Remember when you’d said you’d find a way to make it up to me for letting you stay here for the night?”
“Y-yeah?”
“I’ve decided you can stay here.”
“R-really?”
“Yes. Tomorrow morning, I’ll introduce you to everypony as my cousin. And you are welcome to stay at my house until you can afford a house of your own.”
“T-thank you, Miss Fluttershy." Spirit said, cleaning his face.
“It’s quite alright.” she said with a smile on her face. “Now are you going to join me?” She asked, patting the bed.
“Join you?”
“It’s past midnight. A little colt like you especially needs his rest. Come on, don’t be shy.” The irony not lost on him, Spirit quickly climbed into bed with Fluttershy.
“Um, Fluttershy?”
“Yes?”
“I’m pretty hungry. Do...do you mind if I can...feed off of your kindness?”
“...It’s okay.” Spirit’s horn began to glow for the second time that night. Fluttershy thought it would hurt, but instead it felt like she was softly poked all over.
“Goodnight, Fluttershy.”
“Goodnight, Free Spirit.”