How Change Love

by Skylight77

Changeling Storm

“Miley, we’ve been talking about your Cutie Mark,” Rainbow Dash stated. She and Fluttershy had just returned home after their errand was complete.

After earlier’s episode, Miley wasn’t sure if she wanted to see them right now. But in fact, she wanted nothing more than to be with them. She wanted them to tell her how proud they were of her Cutie Mark. And now that they were here, she feared the exact opposite.

“Y-you hate it… don’t you?” Miley responded, hesitantly scraping her hoof on the cloud.

“Oh no, Miley. Of course we love it,” Fluttershy responded. “We just… had to discuss it for a while.”

Rainbow put her hoof over Fluttershy’s neck. “Yeah. Can you believe she thought your special talent was ‘breaking hearts’?”

Miley winced at that, placing a hoof on her own heart.

“I don’t believe that now. As a matter of fact, we think it means something special!” Fluttershy connected her head with Rainbow’s, smiling.

“And girl, do we have a surprise for you!” Rainbow followed up.

Miley was starting to be put at ease seeing their smiling faces and affections. “A surprise?”

“Ya see, we’re not sure yet if your special talent means what we think it does. But we think it means you’re talented for something ‘special’!”

“So we decided to make a very important appointment tomorrow. And you’ll be coming with us to see what, ‘she’ thinks!”

There was a short pause as Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy looked at each other. And then Rainbow turned to Miley and started.

“Miley! You’re about to meet-”

“Princess Celestia!” they finished in unison while springing themselves in the air.

The world around Miley suddenly froze to her. Eyes wide, with her mouth held agape, her heart felt like it had sunk in a dark void.

Princess Celestia. That name made many memories rush to her mind. She heard the voices of a ruler, voices she did not want to hear.

”Come child! You must learn to feed or you will not survive.”

The voice and images pounded into her mind.

"Princess Celestia, their ruler, will not be so merciful when she finds you feeding off their love.”

Her body slowly started to shiver, making Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy start to get concerned.

“Miley… are you okay?” Fluttershy asked. But their seemed to be no response.

”Attack children! Or you will not be fed!”

“N-no…” Miley stated silently, just barely enough for Rainbow to hear.

“No?”

“Starvation is the price of failure my children. Let this be your lesson!”

Miley’s voice started to quiver. She slowly shook her head. “I won’t…”

Rainbow Dash was about to respond, but she started to feel a small tremble starting up.

”When she finds you, your banishment will lack love, FOREVER!”

Miley's head slowly shaking left and right became clear. Three small, yet audible whimpers escaped her mouth as a small tear formed in her eye. “I don’t… want… t-” the trembles started growing bigger, making Fluttershy notice too.

“W-what’s going on?” she asked as the clouds forming their house was getting darker. Rainbow Dash looked from one side of the room to the other. Furniture was sliding around. Picture frames were falling off. And trophies were toppling over. She turned to Miley, who was slowly closing her eyes and lowering her head.

”Allies of Celestia are enemies to us. Feed before they find you.” Her eyes and teeth closed as hard as they could. Her head shook before it flung up high.

“NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

Lightning flashed from the clouds, striking all across the room. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy yelped as they tried to avoid being struck.

“Miley! What are you doing?!” Rainbow Dash shouted, but the lightning strikes made her voice barely hearable.

”I DON’T WANT T-”

A flash of lightning incinerated one of the statues in the house. “Miley! Sweety! Please, calm down!” Fluttershy tried to yell, not doing a better job than Rainbow Dash. Miley was starting to hover with the flutter of her wings. Tears were pouring out of her eyes, voice sobbing uncontrollably. She turned and yelled.

“NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

Miley flew out of the house as fast as she could, leaving her tears trailing behind her.

“Miley!” Rainbow Dash shouted.

“Where are you goAAAHH!” Fluttershy narrowly avoided a lightning strike in her speech.

Rainbow Dash took to the air. “Fluttershy! Get out of here! I’m gonna go catch her!” She and Fluttershy both managed to exit the house without getting hurt. Rainbow saw Miley’s trail and started following it.

But when Miley flew passed a white cloud, it quickly turned gray and started shooting lightning.

“Ahh!” Rainbow Dash had to slow down to avoid being struck, making Miley get further away from her. And it didn’t stop there. Miley passed another cloud. And another. Many clouds she had passed by, all of them turning gray and slowing Rainbow Dash down. “What is going on?! Why are they doing this?!”

With speed and agility, Rainbow Dash managed to swerve and tilt her way passed all the clouds and their lightning strikes. They soon reached an area without clouds and clear of skies, allowing Rainbow Dash to fly at full speeds. She was catching up to Miley.

“AAAAHHH!!!” Fluttershy’s screamed made Rainbow stop. When she turned around, she saw that the thunderclouds were striking at their garden home. The fields were on fire and the animals were scattering away. Fluttershy was trying to get them to safety.

“No! Miley!” Rainbow Dash was stuck between a rock and a hard place, in the air. She had no time to think about her decision. Miley could wait, this could not. She changed her route and flew back to the clouds, striking them one by one.

Lightning was striking through the trees, splitting them apart and making them topple over. The animals narrowly evaded getting crushed. But some of them were trapped. As the flames approached them, Fluttershy came to them and got them out of there.

Another tree fell, spreading the flames. Rainbow Dash continued striking the clouds, making them stop their lightning. She made some of them drop rain instead, positioning them over the fires and putting them out. One of the animals was trapped in a twig. But Fluttershy found it and noticed others trying to help it get free.

Suddenly, the cloud home struck a lightning bolt in their direction. Fluttershy gasped and covered the animals. She cried in pain as the lightning struck her left wing. Her cry alerted Rainbow Dash to the source. She rushed to the cloud home and pounded it with her hooves, avoiding the stray lightning strikes in the process.

When the animals managed to get the trapped one free, Fluttershy said, “I’m fine! Go!” They listened and left. She turned around, almost falling over as her wing increased in pain. Putting a hoof to it, she looked at the garden for anymore danger.

The fire had ceased. The lightning had stopped. All that remained was rain. But when she thought everything was safe, she heard a trunk start cracking. A few dozen meters ahead, she saw Rainbow’s pet tortoise, Tank, upside down with his motor just in front of him. Angel was there, trying to get Tank back rightside up. Fluttershy gasped as she saw the tree right next to them. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her.

Rainbow Dash had just managed to calm their cloud home down and looked at the scenery as well. She didn’t have to look long. Seeing Fluttershy rushing to a scene told her everything. She started flying, seeing Angel and Tank, along with the tree next to them. It was toppling over. Angel had managed to get Tank back up and quickly put the motor back on his shell. As soon as he started it up, the sudden movement made him slip. Tank managed to fly away, but Angel fell backside on the grass. The tree was about to reach him.

“AAAAAAHHH!!!” Fluttershy screamed. She wasn’t close enough, and Angel couldn’t get up in time and covered his face with his paws in fear. She was about to lose him.

But just before the tree crashed, Rainbow grabbed Angel at full speed, flying under the tree just before it crashed. She slid along the grass, kicking up the dirt from underneath. When her motion stopped, her body sprung back, making her flank smack against the tree. Her tail had been caught underneath.

Rainbow Dash panted heavily with her hooves still stretched out. Angel hopped out of her hooves, looking at her with concern. Another set of pants joined in as Fluttershy had reached them.

“Rainbow Dash… *pant* Are you okay?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Rainbow replied. She made a small attempt to get up, only to find it futile. “But I’m stuck.”

“Don’t move. I’ll go get help.” Fluttershy moved a few feet before she winced again. She put a bit of pressure on her wing and started running again.

Tank started hovering down in front of Rainbow Dash to join with Angel. After she managed to catch her breath, she told them. “I need you two to go look for Miley.” she pointed her head to the direction Miley went. “She went that way somewhere. Please, find her.”

Despite Rainbow Dash not being as connected to animals as Fluttershy, these two still understood her. Angel made a salute before hopping on Tank’s shell. Hanging onto the lower part of the motor, he and Tank went airborne and started flying in said direction.

When those two left, Rainbow was alone. She looked around at the disaster that storm had caused while the rain continued pouring down her coat.

The flower gardens… They were all burned to ashes, leaving the meadow practically a wasteland. No animals were in sight. The pens were destroyed. The lakes were tainted. One of the small houses had a tree that broke right through it. That tree… was one of their homes too.

Two questions kept lingering in Rainbow’s mind. Why did Miley react the way she did? And what caused these clouds to go berserk in her presence? But when she asked herself that, all she received, was a third question to her.

But before she could think on that, Fluttershy had returned with the help she brought. It was a large bear staring down at the tree, the same one that attacked Miley that one day.

“Close your eyes,” Fluttershy said. When Rainbow Dash obliged, the bear made a loud roar, then struck its paw down with mighty blow on the tree. The trunk of the tree shattered upon impact, allowing Rainbow Dash to free her tail. After getting up, she examined her tail and gave it a flick to test it.

Rainbow Dash wasn’t hurt, aside from the scrapes, but Fluttershy was. A pack of mice had followed Fluttershy, carrying a pack of bandages and some ointment. Fluttershy winced as she sat down, grabbing the ointment and trying to apply it.

“Here, give me that,” Rainbow Dash insisted and took it from her. After Fluttershy gently extended her wing, Rainbow Dash carefully rubbed the ointment along the burn marks in the back of her wing. It made her wince, but she tried to hold as still as possible.

After that was done, Rainbow Dash took the bandage and ripped a large chunk of it with her mouth. She wrapped it around Fluttershy’s body and under her right wing. When she reached her left, she slowly wrapped it around a few times before moving it to press against Fluttershy’s side. Doing another wrap around her body, she made one last tug to keep the bandage firmly gripped, then released her own.

“How’s that?” Rainbow asked. Fluttershy tested her wing’s movement and the grip of the bandage.

“It’s okay,” she replied, then looked to the direction Miley flew off. A tear escaped her eye. “Why did she fly away like that?”

Rainbow Dash didn’t know how to respond. She looked in the same direction Fluttershy was looking, pondering the same question. There were small whimpers coming from Fluttershy’s mouth. It sounded like she wanted to cry.

“Fluttershy,” Rainbow started. “I need you to go to Twilight, tell her what happened.”

“But what about Miley?” Fluttershy asked as Rainbow took to the air.

“She could be anywhere by now. If we’re gonna find her, we’ll need help. I’ll go gather the rest of our friends to meet there. Stay off that wing and go.”

With that, Rainbow Dash flew off. Fluttershy stood there for a few seconds, staring off at the distance. Hesitantly, she decided to leave and head to Twilight’s.

______________________________________________________________________________

Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and the rest of their friends had since gathered at the front of the castle. Fluttershy had already told Twilight about the incident that happened at their garden. Rainbow Dash was re-summarizing it to the rest of the friends after they all had arrived.

“But the weirdest thing is, they all went out of control without her having to touch it,” Rainbow finished, causing the rest of her friends to gasp.

“All of them?” Twilight asked.

“Yes! Even the ones that were suppressed to never spark lightning again!”

“Good heavens!” Rarity cut in and shouted. “Does that mean your house is…” The rest of the friends had their attention to Rarity, none of them had to respond. “This is a disaster! Don’t worry, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash! I’ll arrange a new design for your house. Twilight, cast that-”

“Now’s not the time for that, Rarity!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “Miley is missing and we have to find her!”

“But what about priorities, darling! She has nowhere to live now!” Rarity responded.

“Rainbow Dash is right, Rarity,” Twilight stepped forward. “Miley’s new home can wait, her safety cannot.” She turned to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. “But I still don’t understand. She reacted this way after you told her she was meeting Princess Celestia?”

“Yes,” Fluttershy responded. “She looked… scared.”

“But why though?” Twilight asked. “Has she been reading any books about her?”

“I don’t… think so,” Rainbow responded, rubbing a hoof on her head.

“She did start school the other day,” Fluttershy continued. “But I don’t think that’s what caused it…”

“Miss Cheerilee would never teach her students like that…” Applejack assured. Everypony had to take a moment of silence to think about what else could’ve caused this fear. But the silence was soon stopped.

“We’ll figure that out later,” Twilight said. “For now, we have to start looking for her.” She looked to Rainbow and Fluttershy. “Do you two have a picture of her with you?”

“Of course.” Fluttershy brought out a picture of Miley and gave it to Twilight.

“Good. Applejack, Pinkie Pie? I need you two to search the parks and alleyways in town.”

“Okie dokie!” Pinkie expressed.

“You can count on us!” Applejack followed up.

“Okay, Rarity-”

“Don’t worry, Twilight. I will work on that design right away!” Rarity interrupted.

“You will do no such thing! You’re coming with me to ask around town. We have to know if anypony saw her leaving Ponyville.” All Rarity could do was pout. Twilight turned to the pegasi. “Rainbow Dash, Fluttersh-” Twilight suddenly stopped herself when she remembered the bandage on Fluttershy’s wing. “Um…” She retraced her words.

“You want us to search the skies, right?” Fluttershy answered for her.

“I’m sorry, Fluttershy. But you’re in no condition to-”

“No Twilight,” Fluttershy interrupted. “She’s out there someone and I have to do what I can to find her.”

“But Fluttershy…”

“Don’t worry, Twilight,” Rainbow cut in. “I can take her with me and search. It’ll be no hassle.”

There was a moment of silence from Twilight. “Are you sure?”

“Two eyes in the skies are better than one.” Fluttershy lowered her head to rethink that. “Um… if you know what I mean.”

Twilight sighed. “Alright… Then is everypony clear on their task?” Four ponies gave their nod while one pouted.

______________________________________________________________________________

Deep in the far edge of Ponyville, there was whimpering. The whimpering was muffled too silently for anypony to hear. It was a whimper that did not want to be heard, did not want to be found. Hidden underneath a bridge was the source of the whimpers, being drowned out by the flow of the river.

Tears continued to drip out of Miley’s eyes. Her body held itself as close and as hard to the wall as it could, attempting to contain its shivers. She wasn’t crying because she was sad, or lonely. But she was crying out of her own fear, a fear so deep it was pounding her heart away. Even her ears pressed closed to her head, trying to block out the voices in her head, but to no avail.

Miley Heart was a changeling, an enemy to all of ponies in Equestria. Princess Celestia was their ruler. If Equestria had a queen, she was that queen. If anypony could figure out Miley’s secret, she was it. And when she found out, only the worst could happen.

The voices in Miley’s head continued to tell her all of this. It was the very thoughts that made her not want to go. She wanted to not think, to block those images out of her mind. But she couldn’t. She wanted her family. But she didn’t want them to find her. She wanted to be alone, but at the same time, she didn’t.

”Steal their love, or you will not live.”

Miley’s whimpers turned into a light cry of pain, bracing her hooves on her head. With her mouth opened up to release her agony, she just layed there. Seconds turned to minutes, and minutes turned to hours. Her crying didn’t stop. The fear wouldn't go away. The longer time passed, the less excessive her agony became. But it still wasn’t stopping. And after enough time, more voices came. They rekindled her fear. She thought they were in her head. But they were getting louder.

Miley gasped and opened her eyes, her heart beating faster than ever. She wasn’t hearing voices in her mind. They were real. And they were calling her name. In a panic, she activated her changeling magic, quickly changing her appearance.

______________________________________________________________________________

“Miley!”

“Miley! Where are you?!”

Rainbow Dash was flying while pulling a cloud ride behind her, searching both the air and ground. Fluttershy was in the cloud seat, searching as well, but through everything behind them instead.

They and their friends had been searching Ponyville for hours, still no sign of finding their daughter. The day was ending and the sun was setting. They were doing the last round of searching by flying above all the edges of town. Their path was almost at an end.

But as they flew above a bridge, Fluttershy saw something upon their pass. “Rainbow Dash! Look!”

Rainbow turned her head to where Fluttershy was pointing. It was behind her line of vision when she was flying above it, but easy to spot now. She flew down there to check what it was. When they landed, Fluttershy exited the cloud ride and joined Rainbow Dash. All they found was a black bag that looked like it could be fit like a saddle.

“This is hers, isn’t it?” Fluttershy asked as she picked it up in her hoof.

“Yeah, it is,” Rainbow said. She looked around the scenery. “But it doesn’t look like she’s around here…”

Fluttershy stared down at the saddle she held. “Oh… where can she be?” A sob started to escape her mouth. Rainbow Dash was looking at the saddle too. Seeing Fluttershy’s stuttering body and the only thing they could find of their daughter, she couldn’t help but tear up too. Fluttershy threw her body at Rainbow Dash, and they embraced each other while sobbing together.

Unknown to them, Miley could feel their pain from inside the saddle. Their presence only sank her heart further into her pit of despair, trying so hard to contain her shivering.

Miley was scared…

Miley, was terrified. Terrified, to be found.

Author's Note:

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