//------------------------------//
// I Am No Hero 
// Story: A Free Spirit in Ponyville 
// by HalfAngelHuman 
//------------------------------//

	“The emotion I feel right now is fury!” Spirit shouted as black chitin skin bursted into green flames. His body began to transform into a cross of his Changeling form and his ponysona. Black became orange, jagged became smooth, holes disappeared from his legs. The only reminder of his Changeling form was his gossamer-like wings.  “This ends now!” he said, charging at Yin.

~Reality~

Yin suddenly pulled away from Fluttershy, screaming in pain as he grabbed his head. “Gah! W-what!? HOW!?” he groaned, his body convulsing. “Impossible!”

~SubCon~

Spirit and Yin’s horns were fiercely aglow with magic, making them longer than usual, as clashed against each other repeatedly. Neither one backed down as they performed their seemingly endless waltz in the white void.
“Where did all this power come from!? Answer me!” Yin demanded as he blocked a stab aimed at his chest.
“You what to know where this strength came?” Spirit said, dodging a blow to his face. “It came from my heart! You what to know why!? Because I’m fighting for that mare you were feeding on! She was my first friend in this kingdom!” he grunted, his strikes becoming stronger. “I probably wouldn’t be alive right now if it wasn’t for her! She gave me a life!” Spirit said, pushing Yin back. “She gave me a home!” Yin slid back more. “She gave me a chance!” Spirit shouted, locking his horn with Yin’s. “And I won’t let some twisted version of me ruin that!” he declared, their brief struggle pushing them both back.
“It came from your heart, you say?” Yin said, a visible sneer on his face. “Let’s see how strong that heart of yours is, after I rip it and scatter it into the wind!” he hissed as he charged back into the fray.
“I’d like to see you try!” Spirit challenged, charging as well.

~Reality~

Consciousness slowly returned Fluttershy, her body recovering from shock. As she struggled to get up, she almost fainted from the intense pain throbbing in her neck. ‘Oooh, what happened?’ she thought, reaching for her neck. ‘Why is it wet?’ Fluttershy questioned as she looked at her stained hoof. ‘Is this...my blood?’ she thought, staring at the crimson liquid.
“Rrgh! Nngh! Gah!” a voice groaned from her floor. Fluttershy peered off the edge of her bed. Spirit laid on the floor, curled up in a fetal position. His eyes flashed green and blue as he clutched his head.
“Spirit? Is that you?” she asked.

~SubCon~

“Why do you resist the temptation!? It makes no sense!” Yin asked as he unleashed a series of overhead strikes on Spirit. Spirit managed to block most of the blows, but couldn’t stop one from leaving a gash in his cheek. Spirit hissed in pain as blood spilled from the wound. He was getting tired, and Yin knew it.
“Maybe it’s because I’m not a monster!?” Spirit retorted, briefly standing on his hind legs to smash his forehooves into Yin’s face. Yin took the attack full force, unexpecting the sudden change in tactics. He skidded across the ground, a scar appearing on his chitin skin.
“I’m a monster for doing what nature intended? I’m just following the Rules of Nature. Something that you should be doing.” Yin said smugly.
“Shut up!” Spirit yelled, charging at Yin in an attempt to spearhead. Yin sidestepped out of the way, as he watched Spirit crash into the ground.
“You can’t keep this going on forever, Spirit.” Yin said, walking towards the collapsed Changeling. “Why don’t you just give up?” he offered, standing in front of Spirit.
“Buck you.” Spirit said, trying to catch his breath. Yin frowned at the hybrid’s stubbornness. His horn glowed brighter as his magic wrapped itself around Spirit’s throat. Spirit gagged as he was lifting into the air, his limbs flailing.
“I grow tired of this.” Yin said as he increased the tension on Spirit’s neck. “How about I do us all a favor and end it?” he asked, watching Spirit thrash wildly.

~Reality~

Fluttershy fell off her bed as she tried to move herself towards the Changeling. Every little movement she made caused the pain in her neck to spike, making her vision slightly blurred. “Spirit?” she said, now laying next the young hybrid. Spirit growled in response to her being close to him, causing her to flinch. Fluttershy placed a hoof on his shoulder as she slowly pulled him towards her. Spirit squirmed as he tried to escape the embrace she had him in, causing her to hold him tighter. “Spirit,” she repeated. “If you can hear me, I want you to know that I forgive you. You wouldn’t attack anypony like that, you would never intentionally hurt somepony. And I don’t know what exactly is going on, but whatever it is, I want you to fight it. Don’t give up. You’re not just a Changeling, or just a pony. You are something greater. You are Free Spirit. Now please, be strong!” she said, holding onto him for dear life, as if he would fade away if she didn’t.

~SubCon~

Spirit struggled to breathe as he felt Yin squeeze his throat even tighter. Tears began to well up in his eyes as he saw his life before him. Chrysalis exiling him, his journey to Equestria, Meeting Fluttershy and everypony else, reuniting with Kalinka. ‘Is this how it ends? Choked to death by myself of all things?’ he thought to himself. He could feel his heartbeat slowing down as his eyes grew heavy. “Damn...it.” he said as his eyes closed.
“Just like that, you’re gonna ya quit?” a voice said to him. Spirit opened his eyes. He was back in his home, in his bed. “I thought I knew you better, ya joker.” Kalinka said, standing next to him with a frown on her face.
“Kalinka? Is that you?” He asked, sitting up. “Wait, am I...dead?”
“Are you dead?”  Kalinka asked back.
“I-I don’t want to be dead…” he answered.
“Then don’t be.” she said, laying her forehooves on the bed.
“Kalinka, please tell me how to beat Yin.” Spirit asked.
“What are you fighting for?” Kalinka asked.
“What am I fighting for?” he repeated. “I’m fighting for Fluttershy.” he answered.
“And that’s how you beat him.”
“Huh?”
“You don’t want her to die, do you?”
“Of course not!”
“Then let that be your driving force.”
“But, it was. And it wasn’t enough…”
“Spirit, do you want me to die?”
“Huh? What are you talking about?” Kalinka shook her head in disappointment.
“You can’t be this dense, can you? Do you really think he’ll stop after he’s done with Fluttershy? If you give up, he’s gonna kill everyone in Ponyville until someone stops him. And who knows how long that will take?”
“Don’t give up, Spirit.” Pinkie Pie said, suddenly appearing on the other side of his bed.
“You can do it, Spirit.” Aloe and Lotus said, both appearing in front of him.
“Spirit.” Fluttershy said. appearing above him.
“Spirit.” Two unfamiliar voices said. A female Changeling and orange unicorn walked into the room, a golden band on their horns. The four other ponies (and Changeling) moved out of their way as they walked towards Spirit. “We believe in you, son. You can do it. We know you can. We shall meet again, when and only when it is your time.” they said, a smile smile on their faces.
“We believe in you.” all seven said in unison as everything began to fade away.

~~~~~~~

Spirit's eyes snapped open, newfound power coursing in his veins. His horn sparked with life as it sent out a magical pulse, disrupting Yin’s magic as well as sending him flying. Instead of plummeting to the ground, Spirit floated in the air, his wounds and bruises healing themselves. His magic started to glow with all seven colors of the rainbow as he descended to the ground.
“This horn of mine glows with a great power,” Spirit said, walking towards Yin. “My hybrid heart tells me to defeat you.” he stopped in front of Yin, who was starting to get up. “You like feeding on emotions? Well feed on this!” he said, slamming his hoof into the right side Yin’s face. “My Love!” he slammed his hoof into Yin stomach, causing him to retch blood. “My Anger!” he picked up Yin magic, immediately slamming him back into the ground. “And all of my Sorrow!” he shouted as he encased the dazed clone in his magic, flinging him straight into the air.
Spirit’s horn began to glow its new rainbowfied color, his magic concentrating at the very tip. He proceeded to line up Yin with his horn, a metaphorical target reticle appearing in his eye. “Burn away.” Spirit said, firing a black and white beam of energy at the falling doppelganger. Yin barely had time to react as the beam grew closer to him, threatening to engulf him.
“If you think it’ll be that easy, you’re sorely mistaken!” Yin said, retaliating with blast of green magic. Both beams collided in a clash of power, Yin’s quickly pushing the other back.

~Reality~

As the final battle for control waged on, Spirit’s body began to convulse again. Only on a more violent scale. “Spirit!?” Fluttershy exclaimed as she watched the Changeling blindly flailing his limbs, his head twitching rapidly. Fluttershy moved her head out of the way, his horn nearly stabbing her in the eye. “In the name of Tau, please be strong Spirit.” she said, struggling to keep a grip on him.

~SubCon~ 

“You can’t beat me! I’m still at full power from my brief feeding! You’re just running on reserves! There’s no way in Tartarus you can win!” he taunted, the beam struggle slowly turning in his favor.
“The funny thing is, in any other circumstance, you might have had a point there.” Spirit said calmly.
“WHAT!?”
“Except that I’m a half-breed,” the beam pushed back towards Yin. “My parents are dead,” Yin exerted more magic to hold it back. “I have no idea what Lotus wants to do to me,” the beam was now five feet from Yin. “And to top it all off, we’re inside my head. And by that logic, that means my rules! So in other words: CHECK YOUR PRIVILEGE!” Spirit shouted as he fired everything he had, the beam swallowing Yin whole. Yin screamed as the colorless magic tore him apart, piece by piece. It felt as if he was an onion, layer after layer of skin being stripped away from his body.
“THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING!” Yin shouted. A few seconds later, the beam finally dissipated, and in his place was dust. Spirit dropped on his rump, panting as he tried to catch his breath.
“I must be in Tartarus, because I think I just won.” He wheezed, falling on his back. “Victory!” he cheered as he held his now black hoof to the white sky.

~Reality~

Spirit’s body slowly calmed down as it went limp in Fluttershy’s hooves. “Spirit?” she asked, gently shaking the young Changeling in her hooves. “Spirit? Come on, wake up.” she shook him again.  No response. Fluttershy’s eyes widened, fearing the worst. ‘No...he can’t be.’ she began to shake him wildly. “Spirit! Wake up! Please wake up!” she started to shout. Her window suddenly slammed open.
“Fluttershy, what’s going on!?” Rainbow Dash yelled as she flew into the bedroom. “I heard screaming! Is everything okay?” she said, spotting Fluttershy’s blood-stained bed.
“Rainbow! Over here! I need help!” Fluttershy panicked.
“I’m coming Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash said, running around her ruined bed. “Why is there blood on your bed, Fluttershy!? What’s going on-huh!?” she demanded as she took in the sight before her. Fluttershy mane and fur was a total mess. Two puncture wounds were in her neck, blood slowly trickling out of them. And in her hooves, was a rather young looking Changeling. “What in Equestria is a Changeling doing here!?” she shouted. “And what is it doing in your arms!?” Rainbow said, glaring holes into the Changeling.
“Rainbow, I’ll explain everything, I promise. But he needs help!” she begged.
“Ngh.” Spirit groaned as he started to wake up. “Fluttershy? What’s going on?” he asked groggily. “What’s Rainbow Dash doing here?” he questioned, noticing the cyan mare’s presence. “Fluttershy, I can’t move.” he said as he attempted to stand up.
“Everything’s going to be okay, Spirit. Just relax for me.” Fluttershy reassured the hybrid. “We’re going to take you to a hospital, okay? I need you to disguise yourself. Can you do that?” she asked.
“I-I’ll try.” Spirit said, his horn flaring up. Half of his body began to change into his ponysona when he started losing consciousness.
“Spirit, I need you to stay with me. You need to finish changing.” Fluttershy urged, shaking him gently.
“Okay…” his horn flared up again, finishing the rest of the transformation. “I’m so tired…” he said as he closed his eyes.
“Wait, Spirit? You mean the your cousin is a Changeling?” Rainbow asked.
“To tell the truth, Spirit isn’t my cousin. I’ll explain more, after we get him some help.” Fluttershy said.
“...I don’t like this Fluttershy. I’ll help, but I’m only doing this for you!” Rainbow said begrudgingly.
“Thank you, Rainbow.” Fluttershy said as both mares proceeded to pick up the sleeping Changeling.

~~~~~~~

Spirit awoke in an unfamiliar room. His eyes slowly adjusted to the brightness of the room to reveal that he was in a hospital room. “W-what happened?” he said as he recollected his thoughts.
“So, you’re finally up?” a voice said next to him. Spirit turned to see who was his mystery guest. “How do you feel?” Kalinka asked, sitting next to his bed.
“Fine, I guess.” he answered. “Wait, how did you get in here?”
“Once I told the doctor and that yellow pegasus that I was a good friend of yours, they let me come see you. I can’t believe how simple it was.” she explained. “Spirit, I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but the Royal Sisters know that you’re a Changeling. And they’re already on their way.”
“What? How?” Spirit asked, sitting up.
“Well, your friend Fluttershy had to explain to her friends why she was bleeding and that you weren’t really her cousin. When she told them the story, the purple unicorn said that the princesses needed to know. So, your secret is out.” Kalinka explained.
“...It was bound to happen.” he said, staring at the bedsheets.
“We’re leaving.”
“What?”
“I said ‘we’re leaving’. We’ll find somewhere else to live. Somewhere far from here. I won’t let arrest you.” Kalinka said, placing a hoof on his shoulder.
“I’m sorry Kalinka, but I’m not running away.”
“Excuse me!?”
“I know you were sent to keep an eye on me; to keep me safe. If we ran away, you’d be an accomplice. And let’s not forget:You’re a Changeling too. I refuse to knowingly put you in danger Kalinka. Besides, what are the chances that we will get even ten feet away from this hospital. There’s probably Royal Guard members surrounding the building.” he said.
“B-but I-” Kalinka struggled to speak, tears forming in her eyes.
“This might be the last time we see each other, so why don’t we just spend what little time we have left together?” he offered, pulling her into a hug.
“Why? Why do you have to care so much about others?” Kalinka asked through her sobs.
“I guess that’s the way I was born.” Spirit said.

~~~~~~~

“So, can you remember anything that happened last night?” Kalinka asked, now sitting in the bed with Spirit.
“Some of it, yeah. Why?” Spirit answered.
“Would you mind telling me?” she asked, leaning on his shoulder.
“I don’t mind. Do you remember when we we’re at SugarCube Corner, we I had that nasty headache?”
“Yeah? What about it?”
“That headache is the reason I’m here in the first place. Turns out, it wasn’t a headache at all.” Spirit explained. “Apparently, I was neglecting to take care of my Changeling side. It got hungry, it keep telling me to feed on emotions. After a while, my Changeling side’s hunger manifested itself into a form it called ‘Yin’. Yin then took over my body, attempting to fill itself with emotions. I managed to break free from the trap Yin put me when I witnessed him feeding on Fluttershy. We started to fight for control of my body, neither of us backing down in the beginning. But he had just fed, giving him an advantage. Yin started to choke me after I showed signs of fatigue. I could feel myself fading away. I thought I was going to lose. But then, I heard your voice call out to me.” he said, a small smile forming on his face. “You, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Aloe and Lotus, even my parents showed up. All of you told me not to give up, to keep on fighting. I realized what I was fighting for: my friends. They were counting on me. And with that thought in mind, I managed to beat Yin, reducing him to dust.”
“So, does that mean he gone?” Kalinka asked hopefully.
“I wish that was true,” he said, placing a hoof over his heart. “I can still feel him inside me. He’s badly hurt, so he won’t be showing up anything soon. But he’s biding his time, waiting for me to slip up. But I’ll be waiting.”
Knock. Knock. Knock.
“Come in!” Spirit said. The door opened, two alicorns stepping inside the room. Spirit’s blood turned cold. “Y-you must be Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. I have heard stories about the two of you. I-it’s a pleasure to meet you.” he said, struggling to not panic.
“And you must be the Changeling Twilight told me about; Free Spirit.” Celestia said.
“I-I am.”
“And you must know why we’re here.” Luna said.
“I-I have an idea.”
“Well then,” Celestia said, walking toward the bed. “Would you care to explain why you are here?” the older alicorn asked.
Spirit told the two sisters everything that had to him in the past five months: his banishment, his journey to Equestria, meeting the Bearer of Kindness, fighting his darker half. As he spoke, he noticed that the Royal Pony Sisters’ expressions rarely changed. The only expression that appeared consistently was a look of intrigue.
“I decided to Equestria because I heard stories of ponies that value love and tolerance above almost everything else. I was not aware that the Changelings had attacked Canterlot at the time, nor did I know there was a law made that prevented Changelings from entering Equestria. But if you wish to send me back, I will not resist.” he finished.
“But I will!” Kalinka said, making herself known.
“And you are?” Luna asked.
“My name is Kalinka, your Highness. Good friend of Spirit,” he said, her body bursting into flames. “And Changeling! If he goes, I go.” the female Changeling challenged.
“Tch! Kalinka! Why did you go and do that!?” Spirit exclaimed.
“Two Changelings…” Luna muttered.
“...:”
“Something troubles you sister?” Luna asked.
“Can you and miss Kalinka step outside for a moment? I wish to speak to Free Spirit in private.” the white alicorn asked.
“Of course, sister.” Luna said, stepping out the door.
“I assure you that no harm will come to him.” Celestia said, meeting Kalinka’s glare. Kalinka slowly got off the and followed Luna out the door.
“He better be okay…” she muttered as she walked out. Celestia turned to Spirit, a look of relief on her face.
“Are you okay, Princess?” Spirit asked.
“I wanted to talk to you in private because I want to tell you something I’ve never told anypony else. Ever since the attack on Canterlot, I’ve been having nightmares. Dreams of my loved ones being kidnapped by Changelings, my loved ones being Changelings in disguise and attacking me. Sometimes I dream about being in that cocoon Chrysalis trapped me in, unable to escape as she harmed my subjects. Out of fear, I issued ‘Order 66’. Many of the Changelings that were found after the law was made were violent.” she said with a heavy sigh.
“But you are different, Free Spirit. You intended no harm on anypony. And you have gone through many hardships to get here. I will not arrest you or your friend, if you do something for me in return.” she said.
“What is it?” Spirit asked.
“I have considered making a peace treaty with the Changeling Empire. Perhaps we could strike a deal and make both of our kingdoms stronger. I was wondering if you could be the messenger? I will send a letter in advance telling them that a somepony will be bringing the letter so that no harm will come to you when you arrive.” Celestia said.
“But why me?” Spirit asked.
“You and your friend know where the kingdom is. Sending a pony to deliver the treaty would be a death sentence.” she answered.
“So If I agree to do this, me and Kalinka won’t be arrested?”
“I will also make both of you citizens of Equestria. Will you do it?”
“...I’ll do it.”