Episode 2: Petty Desires
Petty desires
“Why is Ponyville so boring?” Suncloak muttered to himself as he walked through the streets.
Okay, the ponies in Ponyville weren’t boring, but if there weren’t any of them around to act crazy, it turned out the village itself could be pretty dull.
And that wasn’t even considering Suncloak’s own home. Sure, it was the house of Ponyville’s only changeling, but there wasn’t even anything to do there. It was empty, aside from the furniture that stood in it. And seeing as Suncloak didn’t have a job to earn bits, he couldn’t even buy anything.
Suncloak sighed as he turned a corner, continuing on his bored slog through Ponyville.
“Hi Suncloak!” a voice called out from behind him.
Suncloak jumped up with a startled shout. He looked behind him to see a grey pegasus with a blonde mane and crooked eyes. There was some kind of furry thing around her neck. “Oh, hello Derpy. You kinda startled me there for a moment.”
“Sorry,” Derpy said with a kind smile. “What’re you up to?”
“I was just walking through Ponyville, being bored.” Hopefully, Derpy could bring some change into that. She wasn’t as energetic as Lyra, but she was a kind and hardworking mare nonetheless.
Wait, Suncloak was actually eager to be subjected to some kind of craziness? It sounded like he was becoming crazy himself. It didn’t really surprise him, though. He’d anticipated that prolonged exposure to ponies would have that effect.
“So, uh, what’re you doing today, Derpy?” Suncloak asked. It seemed like the polite thing to ask.
“I was just bringing Will to the vet,” Derpy answered.
“Will?” Suncloak tilted his head in confusion. Who’s Will?
“Oh, that’s right, you haven’t met Will yet!” Derpy said excitedly. She removed the furry thing from her neck and presented it to Suncloak. He could now see the thing had little claws and two beady eyes. “He’s our pet ferret!”
Will squeaked excitedly and waggled a paw in what seemed to Suncloak like a tiny wave.
Right, a pet. Some ponies had pets, Suncloak remembered. But, a ferret? He hadn’t heard of that being a pet very often. He realized something that made him take a step back. “Wait, you’re taking him to the vet? Is he sick or something?” Ferret germs were not exactly on Suncloak’s wishlist.
“Oh, no, just a routine checkup,” Derpy said as she deposited the ferret on her neck again, “You know how it goes. Do you? You never told if changelings keep pets.”
“That’s... complicated,” Suncloak answered. Sure, changelings could keep pets. But since those dumb animals couldn’t tell the difference between changelings, it often happened that another changeling stole your pet. And the next day, it’d be stolen again, until there wasn’t anyling who could remember who the pet originally belonged to. Coupled with some very strange rules on pets in the hive, there were only few changelings with a pet at any one given time.
“But sometimes, I had to take care of a pet when I was out trying to get love,” Suncloak said. “Does that count?”
“Ooh, I bet you’ve seen lots of different pets then,” Derpy said excitedly.
“Let’s see...” Suncloak dug around in his memory. “Dogs, birds, reptiles... cats.” He spoke the last word with particular disdain and venom. “I hate cats. Arrogant, egoistic furballs, thinking they’re better than everyling else!” He gritted his teeth. Even thinking about those meowing demons annoyed him. “I don’t understand why ponies are so fond of pets, to be honest.”
“They’re such great companions!” Derpy pulled Will from her neck and nuzzled him. “Isn’t that right?”
Will squeaked happily.
Derpy put the critter on her neck again. “They make great family members, and Dinky just loves playing with him. She even picked out his name!”
Right, that explained the strange name. Will the ferret, only a little foal could think of that.
Derpy lifted a hoof and looked at her fetlock. “Oh no! It’s almost time, I really have to get going now!”
Suncloak gave her a confused look. “Uh, you’re not even wearing a watch, how can you tell what time it is?” Derpy must’ve had some kind of profound way to tell the time, using shadows or something.
The wall-eyed pegasus showed her fetlock to him. “Don’t be silly, it says so right here!”
On her fetlock was a crude drawing of a watch. There were no arms, it literally said ‘Almost Time’.
Before Suncloak could react, Derpy hurried off. “See ya later, Suncloak!”
Suncloak just stood there, gaping. “But how... I... That doesn’t make any sense!” He shouted, gathering confused looks from ponies in the street. “Whatever. Crazy ponies,” he mumbled to himself. Maybe I’ll just go to Vinyl Scratch, at least she makes sense, he thought to himself. Maybe she had a way to get rid of his boredom, too.
As he walked off, the changeling had a nagging feeling in his chest, as if something was missing. He wasn’t hungry, so what could it be?
As Suncloak knocked on Vinyl’s door, his thoughts shifted to Derpy’s pet again. It wasn’t like Suncloak himself actually wanted a pet. Back in the hive he didn’t need one, either. Enough other changelings around for company. Lousy company, but still company. Then again, he wasn’t living in the hive anymore...
Vinyl opened the door and gave Suncloak a surprised look. “Hey Sunny! What’s up?”
Suncloak sighed. “I’m really bored. Help,” he said in a dull monotone.
Vinyl lifted her sunglasses for a moment. “Hmm.” She gave Suncloak a critical look. “No... no,” she mumbled to herself as she lifted one of Suncloak’s eyelids using her hoof. “Huh.” She let go and pulled Suncloak’s jaws open. “Yeah...” she said to herself.
“Wha’s ‘is ‘or?” Suncloak tried to say, but the fact that his mouth was wide open didn’t exactly help.
Vinyl let go, Suncloak’s mouth snapping shut. “Yep, this is a serious case of boredom,” she said with a mock-authoritative tone. “You’ve come to the right place. Come in!” she said with a broad gesture of her hoof.
Relieved, Suncloak stepped inside. “Thanks. I think that, maybe, I’m starting to get used to living in Ponyville. Well, until something new pops up and I’m back at the start again.” Considering the amount of things he’d seen so far, however, he seriously doubted that.
“No problemo,” Vinyl said, closing the door behind her, “that’s what friends are for, right? Just gimme a minute.” She went over to a flight of stairs, hurriedly jumping up.
Suncloak went over, peering up the staircase. “What’re you doing?” He wasn’t sure if it was polite or not to go after her, so he decided to stay downstairs, as he could vaguely remember a rule like that. Or was that a gryphon rule?
“Oh, I’m just feeding Snowball,” Vinyl called down. “Did I tell you about Snowball yet? Wait, hold on.” Some rummaging around followed before Vinyl descended the stairs again. “This is Snowball!”
Suncloak looked her over. “I don’t see any difference. You’re Snowball?” This was confusing. Did she go upstairs to feed herself? No, that wouldn’t make any sense, the kitchen was downstairs.
“No, silly,” Vinyl said with a chuckle, interrupting Suncloak’s thoughts. “He’s just a little shy,” she said as her horn started glowing. “I just gotta find him.” After a few seconds, she carefully levitated something out of her mane.
It was a white mouse, staring at Suncloak with big eyes. Well, big eyes for a mouse. This critter was pretty small, after all. Its shaking tail and paws gave the changeling the impression that it was scared. As it should, that little, white, ugly monster.
“Isn’t he cute?” Vinyl asked, turning the little mouse to face her and nuzzling it. “Yes he is, yes he is so very cute!” she cooed.
Suncloak could do nothing but stare incredulously at the DJ, who was now talking to the mouse like it was a little foal. This was certainly a side he never would’ve guessed she had.
Suddenly looking like she’d been caught stealing from the cookie jar, Vinyl put the mouse back on her head and faked a cough. “Uh, I mean, he’s pretty cool, and stuff.” To complete her façade, she adjusted her sunglasses and faked a large grin.
“Right.” It all seemed fine to Suncloak! “How does a DJ end up with a mouse as a pet, anyway?” Surely, a pony as hip and cool as Vinyl Scratch would’ve gotten a pet that was a bit more... impressive. Not a tiny, quivering, white mouse.
“Well, I live alone in this house, so it feels pretty empty sometimes. And boring,” Vinyl answered. Yeah, Suncloak could fully understand. His own house also felt empty and boring. “One time, after a gig, one pony suggested I get a pet. So I asked Fluttershy if she could help me find something.”
“And out of everything, all she had for you was a mouse?” Suncloak asked, baffled. Surely, Fluttershy would have something far more fitting for a mare like Vinyl Scratch!
“I’ll have you know that it was an excellent choice!” Vinyl countered. “Snowball can look after himself just fine and he’s very clean. He’s a low cost, low maintenance pet, so he’s perfect for me!” Under her breath, she added, “He’s also really cute.”
Suncloak groaned and rolled his eyes. “First I meet Derpy with her pet, and now you. What is it with you ponies and pets?” He started pacing around the room, thinking. Maybe there was some sort of universal law stating that every single pony had to own a pet.
Vinyl Scratch walked over to her couch and laid down on it, gently setting down Snowball next to her. The little mouse proceeded to scurry around the couch, looking for a comfortable spot. “They’re always there when you get back home, and always happy to see you. And you can always talk to them, even though they can’t talk back,” Vinyl said with a smile. “Seriously, I know you’re a changeling and all, but could it really hurt to try and think like a pony?”
Suncloak snorted. “The day I start thinking like a pony is the day I start my own hive.”
Vinyl gave him a confused look. “And that is...?”
“Absolutely never,” Suncloak stated flatly. “If I start thinking like a pony, there’s no chance I’ll ever understand anything around here. If I want to live a normal life here sometime in the near future, I need to understand everything there is about it.” He turned his head up. “So no thanks, I’ll stick to my changeling ways. They haven’t proven me wrong so far!”
Well, except for that one time where he had completely underestimated the intelligence and forgiveness of the ponies he’d met. But hey, that was only one time, and mistakes were inevitable!
Vinyl snickered, although Suncloak had no idea why. “If it’s any consolation, Lyra and Bon Bon don’t have a pet, so you’re not the only one without a furry little buddy.”
Suncloak rolled his eyes. “Pfft, as if that would be such a big deal, like I’d be jealous. I can live without a pet!”
“Right,” Vinyl said, unimpressed. “Speaking of Lyra and Bon Bon, let’s go over there and see if they wanna join us in doing something fun! Lemme just put Snowball in his cage.” She carefully levitated the mouse on top of her head again and bounded up the stairs.
Suncloak stared in front of him. Well, at least this is the last of that pet business for today, he thought to himself.
“Oh come on!” Suncloak shouted as he pointed at the thing in front of him. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”
A fairly large, mostly red bird with a white face and brilliantly coloured wings sat on a perch in Lyra and Bon Bon’s living room. “Awk,” was all it said in response.
“Isn’t she amazing?” Lyra gushed, “I got her just a few days ago!” She went over to the bird and gave it an affectionate scratching on the head. “Her name is Feathers.”
Right, because when Suncloak thought of birds, the first thing he thought of was scales, so of course it made sense to call a bird ‘Feathers’!
Vinyl stared incredulously. “What in Equestria made you two get a parrot? It’s not exactly the first thing that jumps to mind when I’m thinking of pets.”
“Well, I was reading this book a few weeks ago, you see,” Lyra started rambling, “and it had pirates and stuff, and the pirate captain had a parrot and it was a really cool bird who was really helpful and he could talk and everything! I thought to myself ‘how awesome would it be if I had a parrot?’ so I asked Bon Bon and she didn’t really know but I kept asking and then she was okay with it so now we have a parrot.”
It took Suncloak and Vinyl a while to process all that. “Right,” they both said.
As Bon Bon came out of the kitchen with a tray of tea and biscuits, Suncloak decided to turn to her. Lyra was obviously less-than-reasonable right now. “You really went along with this?”
Bon Bon sighed. “Lyra kept badgering me about wanting a parrot, assuring me she’d take good care of it. I had to give in sooner or later.” She gave a short shrug. “I do have to admit, Feathers is a really sweet bird.”
“Awk! Feathers want a cracker!” the bird suddenly piped up.
“Tut tut,” Bon Bon chided the bird, “what do we say?”
Feathers blinked a few times, apparently thinking. “Please.”
“Good girl!” Bon Bon praised the bird, presenting a biscuit to the bird, which it swiftly devoured.
“Thank you!” Feathers piped up in response.
“See?” Bon Bon said, turning to Suncloak and Vinyl Scratch again. “She’s been properly raised. I think I can get used to this, to be honest.”
“Wow,” Vinyl said with a surprised look, “you taught her that in two days?” Suncloak was evenly surprised, although he didn’t doubt Bon Bon would be capable of this, seeing as she lived together with Lyra.
“Oh no,” Lyra said, “there’s no way I could do that. I think Fluttershy taught her all that. I got Feathers from her, after all.”
“Well, that makes sense. I don’t think you could find a parrot anywhere else in Ponyville.” Vinyl scratched the back of her head. “But did she really just give you a bird on a whim? Parrots aren’t exactly the easiest pets to take care of, or so I’ve heard.”
“I spent a lot of time thinking about it in advance, honestly,” Lyra said. Considering Lyra’s energetic behaviour, Suncloak was surprised she had a long enough attention span for such a matter. “And Fluttershy told me a whole bunch of things about how to take care of Feathers.”
Suncloak stared fiercely at Feathers. Stupid bird. Now, he was the only one without a pet! Not that it really mattered, but still... If he could set the parrot on fire by merely staring at it, that would be incredibly satisfying right now. Too bad that was just one of the things changelings weren’t able to do.
“So Suncloak, whaddaya think?” Lyra asked eagerly. “I dunno what changelings think of pets, but you have to admit that Feathers is pretty cool!”
“I think it’s great and I’m glad you’re so happy with her,” Suncloak said monotonously, still glaring at the parrot. There, no need to make his friends worry about anything, just tell them that everything’s okay. Don’t tell them that all this talk about pets is seriously starting to get annoying. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some business to take care of,” he said as he abruptly turned around and headed outside.
Lyra gave the changeling a look of glee, happy that her friend was so positive about her pet. Vinyl Scratch and Bon Bon, on the other hoof, were decidedly more confused and far less impressed.
Bon Bon rolled her eyes. “He’s such a bad liar,” she told Vinyl as she went after Suncloak.
Said changeling had paused outside for a bit, silently fuming. This whole pet thing turned out to be incredibly aggravating, although he had no clue why. He shouldn’t care! They’re just animals, they’re not even good conversational partners!
Well, except maybe the parrot since it could actually talk.
“I thought you were going to your business.” Bon Bon had suddenly appeared behind him, taking Suncloak out of his thinking.
“I was on my way,” Suncloak said swiftly, waving a hoof in the general direction of his house. “I was just a bit tired and decided to take a little break.”
Bon Bon sighed. “Suncloak, you didn’t even walk ten meters from my house,” she said, pointing to her house, which they were practically standing in front of. “Something’s clearly got you upset. Maybe you should talk about it?”
Stupid, clever ponies! “I don’t need to talk about anything, and I certainly don’t feel a bit mad about all these pets everyling has although I don’t know why!” Suncloak huffed, taking off at a hurried pace.
Bon Bon debated going after him. “I guess it’s best to let sleeping dogs lie. He’ll probably have to figure it out on his own,” she said with a sigh. “I just wish he wasn’t so bullheaded about everything...”
That night, Suncloak had surprisingly much difficulty sleeping. He tossed and turned in his bed in a futile effort to get comfortable.
With a frustrated groan, he hopped out of bed and started pacing around the house. Something was bothering him, but he still didn’t know exactly what. It had to do with these pets his friends had, although Suncloak didn’t see why that would be an issue.
They were just pets! Animals! They were meant for crazy ponies, not for changelings, and especially not changelings living on their own.
Well, Suncloak hadn’t actually heard of a changeling living on their own before, so he had no way of knowing if it would really be such a bad choice. But it had to be, right?
Suncloak sighed as he stopped pacing about. His friends had pets, he didn’t. He walked over to the window, opening the curtains. Absolutely nothing was outside, aside from the usual houses and the night sky.
It struck him how incredibly silent it was. Not just his house, but outside as well. Figures, there aren’t any playing, noisy foals around when you need them, he thought to himself. He stared at the moon, absent-mindedly tapping his chin with a hoof.
He didn’t have a pet, nor had he ever had one for a long stretch of time. He just didn’t understand the appeal. His friends, on the other hoof, did. They had pets, so they probably knew a whole lot about those critters.
That aggravated Suncloak. If his friends ever got into a conversation about pets, he couldn’t even join in! They all had some kind of surrogate family member, and he didn’t! How was that fair?
He froze as he realized something. His friends had pets, he didn’t. That was a pretty big difference! Would he fit as well as he could if he didn’t have a pet? Maybe his friends would start alienating him. How could he understand how they lived, after all? He’d be without friends! He’d starve!
Suncloak bit on his hoof, distressed. He’d have to leave town, build up a new life for himself... again! But wait, that wouldn’t work. He still wouldn’t have a pet, he’d get in the same situation!
In a bout of clarity, he realized something. Of course! The only, obvious answer! There was only one way to avoid losing his friends. He enthusiastically threw the window open.
“I, Suncloak, will get myself a pet!” he proudly announced to the entirety of Ponyville.
“Be quiet! Some ponies are trying to sleep!” a voice shouted angrily somewhere in the street.
Suncloak groaned as he closed the window. “Ugh, some ponies. Can’t a changeling make a little noise once in a while?”
The next morning, Suncloak ran through the streets of Ponyville. No time to waste, he had to get a pet as soon as possible. His life depended on it! Luckily, there weren’t that many ponies in the streets right now, since it was still very early.
Suddenly, still some distance away, Derpy Hooves landed in the street, wearing a pair of brown saddlebags. Her face lit up as she looked in the changeling’s direction. “Hi Suncloak!”
Suncloak instantly planted his hooves on the ground, skidding to a halt right in front of the grey pegasus. “Hey Derpy,” he said. He didn’t have time for this! However, he couldn’t just leave. That’d be somewhat rude. “What’re you doing up so early?”
Derpy threw an uncertain look toward Suncloak. “Uh, my job? Delivering the mail?” She took a small stack of letters out of one of the bags with her mouth and deposited it into a nearby mailbox. “Why’re you up so early?”
“I’m headed for Fluttershy’s house so I can ask her if she can get me a pet,” Suncloak said, starting to run in place. He had to get going as fast as possible.
“Really? That’s amazing!” Derpy said, excitedly flapping her wings. “So what kind of pet are you getting?”
Suncloak paused for a bit. “I don’t know. Anything will do, I just want a pet!”
This seemed to surprise Derpy, for some reason. “Anything? Suncloak, how much thought did you put into this, exactly?”
Suncloak paused for a moment, confused. “Uh, I spent an entire... half an hour, or something, last night, thinking. Why?” He didn’t know what to make of Derpy’s reaction. Possibly a side effect of her having a pet and Suncloak not having one. All the more evidence that he had to get a pet as soon as possible!
“I mean, are you really sure about this? A pet is a big responsibility.” Derpy answered. She didn’t seem convinced that Suncloak put enough thought into this. It was already happening! A rift between them! Some reassurance was needed...
“Look, I’m as sure about this as about the fact that I have holes in my hooves,” Suncloak said. He held up a hoof and peered through one of its holes at Derpy. “See? Absolutely sure.” He put his hoof down again and walked past Derpy. “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.”
Derpy hopped up, calmly flapping her wings to keep up with the changeling. “I don’t know...” She put a hoof to her chin, thinking. “Don’t you think you’re being a little bit too hasty about this?”
Suncloak halted. “Hasty?! My life depends on this! I have to act fast!” Swiftly, he added, “Besides, it’s not like some pet can bite my face off or anything. Right?”
Derpy muttered something about ‘slightly over dramatic’ under her breath. “Well, I don’t know how most animals react to changelings, but I don’t think they’ll do anything like that.” She thought for a few moments, and ultimately let out a sigh. “I don’t even know if Fluttershy is awake yet, to be honest.”
Oh, right. It was pretty early, after all. Suncloak slumped down. “So what do I do if she’s not awake? I have to get a pet, as soon as—”
“Yes, yes, I know, it’s really important,” Derpy interrupted him. “You remind me a bit of Dinky, to be honest.”
That thought made Suncloak cringe. Him, similar to a foal? Eeeuuugh. Surely, Derpy must be even crazier than he already thought.
“Why don’t we ask Vinyl, Lyra and Bon Bon if they can help us find a pet for you this afternoon?” Derpy suggested.
Hmmm. Suncloak had to get a pet as soon as possible... but if his friends were to help, he might find a better pet, plus it was an excellent thing to do together. He weighed both options against each other in his mind for a few moments. “Well, okay,” he said. While it was important that he get a pet fast, nurturing his friendship with others was important too.
“Great!” Derpy said, excitedly clapping her hooves. “I’ll go get the others, and we’ll meet you at Fluttershy’s cottage in a few hours, okay?” She hopped up and started hovering. “But first, I have to finish my rounds. See you later!” she said as she took off.
As Suncloak said his farewells, he noted that he now had a few spare hours. And where else to spend them but the boring streets of Ponyville? Great, just what the changeling was looking forward to, another boring slog through town.
“Hellooo? Chickens?” Lyra almost shouted into the chicken coop, only the front half of her body sticking in. “Are you there? Bawk b—”
The energetic unicorn was suddenly interrupted by something fiercely tugging on her tail, pulling her out of the chicken coop and eliciting a surprised yelp.
Bon Bon spat out her housemate’s tail. “Lyra, please don’t scare the animals. Fluttershy very kindly gave us access to her garden, because she trusts us not to scare the living daylights out of everything.” She walked over to the chicken coop and pointed inside with her hoof, showing some rather distressed chickens. “And what’re you doing?”
“Saying hello?” Lyra said with an apologetic grin. Upon receiving a disapproving look from Bon Bon, she hastily said, “I’m sorry! We were here a few days ago but it’s still all so exciting! Look at all the animals! There’s bunnies and cats and insects and birds and all the stuff in between!” she said, rapidly pointing at a variety of critters. “But, uh, I’ll be a bit more calm from now on.”
Satisfied, Bon Bon went over to Derpy and Suncloak. “She’s like a foal in a candystore. Which, funnily enough, is how she always acts back home, seeing as I make candy every day.”
Suncloak scratched the back of his head. Was this still such a good idea? He still needed a pet, but he was starting to doubt if the help of his friends would be very useful. “So, uh, how’re we going to do this, exactly?”
“Well,” Derpy piped up, “how every pony finds a pet, of course!”
Suncloak gave her a confused look. “And you do that how, exactly...?”
“How else? By singing a song, of course!” Derpy took a deep breath, and...
Suncloak quickly plugged up her mouth with one of his hooves. “No! No singing! I can’t— I mean, we shouldn’t sing!”
Overhearing their conversation whilst looking at some animals, Vinyl decided to join them. “Why shouldn’t we? You have two musicians here,” she said, pointing at herself and Lyra, “and a pony who can do some pretty amazing things with her voice.” She pointed at Bon Bon, who blushed and muttered a very flattered denial under her breath. “Derpy is a really good singer as well, and I would really like to hear a changeling sing, to be honest. Please?”
Derpy tried to say something like ‘Yeah, why?’ but Suncloak’s hoof in her mouth was preventing her from doing so. It came out as a garbled “Mwuh whuh?”
Suncloak removed his hoof with a quick apology. Gross, it was covered in drool! Then again, that was expected to happen when you jam your hoof into someling’s mouth. He quickly shook it off, searching for a reasonable excuse. “Well... I... my singing is... really, really, really... special?” he said with a large, fake grin, hoping the others would buy it. “It’s so special, in fact, that... it would detract from the overall experience?”
Bon Bon gave him a surprised look. “Special? Are you saying it’s really good? The best in your hive, or something?”
Suncloak tapped his chin with a hoof. Not the one that was previously covered in drool, that would be disgusting. “No. According to the rules, Queen Chrysalis is the best singer in the hive, no exceptions. I’d say my singing was... notorious. Yes, that’s the word. Notorious. So notorious, in fact, that after singing only once, I was banned from singing. Forever.” No, that hadn’t exactly been his finest moment. Seeing as his life had been filled with not-so-fine moments, that was saying something.
“Well, maybe some other time then,” Bon Bon said. “Let’s look at some pets, shall we?”
Phew, another potential crisis averted.
“So, where do we start?” Suncloak asked. Somewhere in the back, he could see large animals, like a bear or a large cat, and if he looked closely at the ground, he could see a colonne of ants and other such insects walking around. “There sure are a lot of animals here...”
Derpy flew up to a tree, checking its branches. “I already had the perfect idea! I thought I saw it sitting in this tree, but I can’t find it anymore.” She flew around the tree, checking branch after branch. After checking the whole tree two times, she found what she was looking for. She carefully picked it up and flew back to present it to Suncloak. “Tadaah!”
In her hooves was some kind of grey reptile, with two eyes that almost constantly pointed in two different directions. Seeing the grey, wall-eyed pegasus holding this creature was actually pretty amusing, as they had an uncanny resemblance toward each other.
However... “It’s kind of boring,” Suncloak said. “I mean, I haven’t seen a grey reptile before, but is this all it does?”
“Just wait, I think you’ll like this,” Derpy said, flying back over to tree, prompting Suncloak to follow her. Once there, she placed the reptile on the side of tree.
Slowly, the creature turned the exact same shade of brown as the tree itself.
Suncloak could only look at it, stupefied. What kind of magic was this? Was this some kind of changeling version of animals?
“Isn’t that amazing? It’s called a chameleon,” Derpy told the surprised changeling. “I thought, you can change your appearance, chameleons can change their appearance, it’s a perfect fit!”
Suncloak attempted to pick the chameleon up, missing two times before he could actually touch the well-camouflaged reptile. Once in his hooves, the creature slowly turned black. How uncanny! Suncloak then put it down on the ground, where it slowly turned green to match the grass around it.
“Hey, what’re you two looking at?” Vinyl suddenly asked from behind the changeling.
Suncloak turned around to face her. “Oh, we were just checking out this chameleon. It can change its colours and everything!” He whirled back around, pointing at the critter. “Look! It’s...” Not there anymore. “It’s gone!”
Where moments ago, there had been a green chameleon in a patch of grass, there was now just a patch of grass. “It was here just a moment ago,” Suncloak said, panicking, “it can’t have gone far!” And hopefully, it hadn’t. Who knows what Fluttershy would do if he lost one of her pets!
Well, be very sad and very disappointed, most likely. But that might lead to... to her not wanting to be friends with Suncloak anymore! It’d be terrible, horrible, catastroph—
“Suncloak, it’s sitting right in front of you,” Derpy said, picking up the chameleon, who hadn’t moved from his spot at all. Once in her hooves, the reptile slowly turned grey again.
“Oh,” was all Suncloak could say to that. “Camouflage. Of course.” Okay, now he just felt silly.
“Maybe this isn’t such a good idea,” Derpy said, “I don’t think you’d want a pet you’d lose all the time.” Suncloak begrudgingly agreed as Derpy placed the chameleon back in the spot she found it.
“It’d cramp my style anyway. There’s already a shapeshifter in my house, and that chameleon isn’t even that good at it,” Suncloak said in an attempt to come up with slightly better reasons not to take the reptile. Plainly saying ‘I’d keep losing it’ just sounded slightly embarrassing.
“Well, maybe you’ll like what I found better,” Vinyl said, shortly thereafter adding, “but you might wanna remove that thing that just landed on your horn.”
“Do what now?” Suncloak asked, baffled. He didn’t feel anything on his horn! Looking upwards cross-eyed, however, revealed that something green was sitting there. “What is that?”
Derpy held out a hoof to the changeling’s horn, urging the little creature on it. She held it a bit closer to take a look. “Looks like a big moth,” she said, but before she could show it to Suncloak, it hopped off of her hoof and onto the changeling’s horn again. “I think it likes you.”
“To be honest, the feeling is not mutual,” Suncloak said, poking the moth with a hoof. To his surprise, it hopped on.
As Suncloak took a closer look, it surprised him how large the moth actually was. Its wingspan must’ve been bigger than his own face!
“Wow, that’s pretty big,” Vinyl said, “I’m surprised you didn’t feel it sitting on your horn. I’ve never seen such a pretty moth before, though!”
Well, Suncloak wouldn’t have used the word ‘pretty’ to describe it. The moth had large, green wings with brown, eye-like spots. Its body was covered in white fur and its legs were all brown. It had two leaf-like antennae and two beady black eyes. Not exactly the best-looking insect the changeling had ever seen. At least not as good-looking as changelings themselves, since it was white. Yuck.
“Well, shoo, go away,” Suncloak told the moth, waving his hoof about. “Moth, I’m looking for a pet here. You’re not making this any easier on me.”
Very hesitantly, and with a surprisingly dejected look, the moth retreated to a different part of the garden.
Suncloak sighed. First crazy ponies, now crazy insects. All he needed was a crazy pony-insect hybrid and his life would be complete!
Vinyl watched the moth leave. “Funny little thing. But I got something cooler!” She pointed at a completely black bird, perched on a nearby fence. “It’s a raven!”
Suncloak approached the bird. “And what’s so special about it?”
The raven was cleaning its feathers, clearly uninterested in the changeling. It gave him a short glance before returning to the far more important task of personal grooming.
“Well, it’s black, just like you,” Vinyl said, “and it can fly, just like you. Oh, and ravens are really smart!” She turned to the bird, which was still deeming its feathers far more interesting than the ponies. “Right? C’mon, you can show Suncloak how clever you are, right?”
The bird stopped grooming itself to look at the white unicorn. It waited for a while, apparently in deep thought, before disdainfully rolling its eyes and turning to Suncloak. It unfurled one wing, pointing to somewhere behind the changeling.
Suncloak rolled his eyes at the bird. “Wow. You can point. Congratulations.”
The raven pointed again, this time more insistently.
“What, you want me to look over there?” Suncloak asked, turning his head. “I don’t see an—” he started to say, but was interrupted by something hitting him in the back of the head. He looked back at the bird, who was staring innocently at him, wing still extended. “Ow. What was that?”
The raven pointed in a different direction, still somewhere behind the changeling.
Suncloak growled and turned his head. “I swear, if I find the thing tha—” Another whack to the head interrupted him. Indignantly, the changeling turned his head back to the bird. “Agh! If whatever it is that’s hitting me in the head would stop, then I can look at what you’re pointing to!”
The raven, on the other hoof, was now burying its face into one of its wings, wheezing some kind of hiccuping caw. Almost like it was laughing, although Suncloak had no idea why it’d do that. Physical harm is no laughing matter!
Vinyl Scratch politely coughed. “Uh, Sunny, he’s the one slapping you.” She gave the bird a piercing stare. “And that isn’t very nice, is it?”
The bird shrugged and smugly turned its head up, almost like it was trying to say something like, ‘What? You wanted me to show him how clever I was and I did.’
The white unicorn and the black bird then stared at each other for a few moments, until Vinyl suddenly started flailing her hooves about, scaring the raven out of its wits and causing it to fly off. “Jerk.”
Suncloak turned away in disgust. “Bah. I never liked birds anyway.” Well, except parrots. Lyra and Bon Bon’s pet was actually a pretty cool bird. This raven, on the other hoof, was an obnoxious jerk. Not only did it remind him too much of other changelings, it would also probably be a pretty lousy housemate.
The back of his head was feeling pretty sore. Who knew a bird could have such a mean slap? As he reached behind his head with a hoof to rub the sore spot, he felt something hairy. “What in the hive...?” He tried flicking it off, but instead, it placed itself on his hoof.
After pulling his hoof back to check, Suncloak could see that it was the same white-and-green moth that had been bothering him earlier. The changeling sighed. “We’ve been over this. I’m looking for a pet, and you’re bothering me.” He waved his hoof about, but the moth wouldn’t budge. This critter was uncannily clingy, which reminded Suncloak of most grubs back in the hive. And particularly unattractive female changelings, for some reason.
Rolling his eyes, Suncloak hopped up and hovered over to Fluttershy’s house. He could have walked, but his hoof was pretty occupied with holding a moth right now. And he wasn’t going to let said moth get close to his head. Who knew what it could do to the sore spot on the back of his head? If it were anything like changeling grubs, it’d probably give Suncloak a headache or two.
As he politely knocked on Fluttershy’s back door, he looked at the moth again, who was giving him a confused look. “I’m just going to ask Fluttershy about you, and how I can get you to leave me alone. You can bother me after I’m done here, okay? I’m on a vitally important mission here.”
The top half of the door opened to reveal the pink-maned, yellow owner of the house. “Oh, hello, Suncloak. Is everything okay?” Fluttershy, as always, spoke softly, and partly concealed herself behind her long mane.
“Well, I haven’t found a pet yet, but this moth has been following me around,” Suncloak said, pointing at the mentioned insect. “It’s being kind of annoying, so how can I get it to stop bothering me?”
Fluttershy looked at the moth, confused. “A luna moth... But that’s Emerald. She doesn’t even like being around ponies that much.” She absentmindedly rubbed the side of her head in thought. “She usually avoids anypony except me.”
Suncloak looked back and forth between Fluttershy and the moth, apparently named Emerald. “Luna moth? As in the princess? And can’t you politely ask her?”
Fluttershy scratched the side of her head, giving Emerald a critical look. “Well, she is nocturnal, so... I guess?” She cleared her throat demonstratively, causing the moth to turn around to face the timid pegasus. “Emerald, would you please leave Suncloak alone for a bit? You see, he’s very busy...”
Emerald sat still, looking like she was mulling this over for a bit. A few times, she made a motion as if to leave, but decided to sit still.
“Huh? I know she can be a bit stubborn, but...” Fluttershy started, surprised. “Maybe you could—”
“Suncloak!” Lyra came galloping toward the two, clearly very excited about something. “You gotta come take a look at this!” She came to a perfect halt just beside Suncloak, but not before scaring Emerald half to death, causing her to fly away.
Suncloak paused for a moment. “Well, that was convenient.” Lyra, local scourge of insects. Very, very useful indeed! “What’ve you got for me, Lyra?” If ponies like Derpy and Vinyl couldn’t find a suitable pet for him, maybe a more crazy pony like Lyra could. Of course, she had Bon Bon to even it out a little, but it’d probably work.
“You’ll love this,” Lyra said, leading the changeling away. “Come on, come on!”
“—have Emerald as your pet,” Fluttershy finished, sighing. “Oh, I just hope Suncloak can find a nice pet,” she said to herself.
Meanwhile, Lyra was already dragging Suncloak toward the next candidate for a pet. Figuratively dragging, of course. Although Suncloak didn’t doubt she would actually drag him somewhere, if needed.
Bon Bon joined them, carefully approaching her energetic unicorn housemate. “Lyra, are you really sure this’d be a good pet for Suncloak?”
“Pfft, of course, just look at how amazing this pet is,” Lyra answered, pointing to the animal in question.
It was a pinkish thing, covered in black hair over its whole body, except for the wrinkly feet, hands and face. It was currently munching on a banana.
“A... monkey?” Suncloak asked. An... odd choice, to say the least. He was actually pretty interested to hear Lyra’s reasoning behind her pick.
“A chimpanzee, actually,” Lyra answered, positioning herself next to the ape. “And just look what it can do!” She sat down and struck an elaborate pose, nodding towards the chimp.
The ape, somewhat disinterested, finished its banana, dropping the peel on the ground. With a bored look on its face, it copied Lyra’s pose exactly, creating a pair of fists to mimic her hooves.
Lyra struck another pose, and the chimpanzee soon followed. “Isn’t it funny?” She changed her pose again, and the ape followed suit.
“So... you chose it because... it’s good at monkeying around?” Bon Bon asked. “Though, I guess it’s not really ‘monkeying’ around, because it’s an ape.”
There was a difference between monkeys and apes? Huh. “It’s not really impressive,” Suncloak said. That chimpanzee was worse at blending in than that chameleon, so Suncloak probably wouldn’t lose it. But really, an ape?
“Well...” Lyra started, breaking her pose to tap her chin. The chimpanzee didn’t mimic her, instead scratching itself on the head. “I couldn’t find anything better,” Lyra continued, “and I sorta got distracted by his fingers.” She started scratching herself on the head, accidentally copying the ape.
“Well, looks like we’ve got two copycats now,” Bon Bon said with a smirk. “Or should I say, copy-apes?”
Lyra indignantly pointed a hoof at her housemate. “Hey, I’m not a monkey! Or an ape, or whatever!” She peered toward the chimpanzee next to her, who had already struck the same pose in advance. The minty green unicorn growled, drawing a short laugh from Suncloak. It was actually pretty funny if he wasn’t the one being embarrassed by these animals.
Bon Bon started giggling. “No, I’m pretty sure we lost Lyra somewhere. Hey Suncloak, maybe we can ask one of these chimpanzees where she went.” Suncloak could only laugh in response. Laughing at his friend at her expense did feel a little bad though, even if it was a common changeling hobby.
“Bon Bon!” Lyra whined, pouting. “Look, I’m a pony, I’ve got hooves and everything, and I can do magic! Chimpanzees can’t do magic.” She demonstrated this by picking up the banana peel which the chimpanzee dropped with her magic, waving it about demonstratively.
In response, the chimpanzee made a clearly unimpressed “Pfft,” almost as if it was implying it was capable of magic. It presented the back of one outstretched hand to the ponies and changeling. With an exaggerated motion, it wrapped a finger of the opposite hand around the thumb. And then...
It just pulled the thumb straight off.
Lyra, Bon Bon and Suncloak stared wide-eyed at the ape in surprise for a few moments. “Whoa! It just pulled its own thumb off! How the hay did it do that?!” Lyra shouted excitedly.
“Wow,” Bon Bon said. “I guess chimpanzees can do magic.” After a few moments, she added, “Though I don’t know if that’s magic or just really, really gross.”
Suncloak, on the other hoof, felt like hurling. That was not normal! Limbs are not for pulling off like that! It was... it was... even thinking about it made him feel sick.
“Hey, wait a second,” Lyra said, taking a closer look at the chimpanzee, who was now re-attaching and removing its thumb repeatedly with an incredibly smug look on its face. “He’s just bending his fingers and stuff to make it look like he’s pulling it off! Cheater!”
Probably feeling insulted, the chimpanzee took off. The magician’s integrity applied to apes as well, it seemed.
“Well, I don’t think I’d want a pet that could make me feel sick by doing something like that,” Suncloak admitted, still feeling a little green around the cheeks. Luckily, that moth, Emerald, wasn’t here to annoy him again. He really didn’t need that right now.
“Next pet, then?” Bon Bon asked. “I think I have just the thing for you, Suncloak...”
“I really don’t think we can find the right thing for you, Suncloak,” Bon Bon said. Her eyes drooped a bit, which wasn’t surprising, seeing as the ponies and changeling had been in the animal-filled garden for quite a few hours now.
“Yeah, we’ve been over a bazillion pets,” Vinyl said, about as tired as the others. Which, on the other hoof, was actually surprising. The DJ often spent long nights at clubs, so seeing her exhausted was a very rare thing.
“And there was that moth that kept popping up,” Lyra added. She was the only one who wasn’t tired, something Suncloak attributed to her boundless energy.
“Either they don’t like you, or they’re unsuitable,” Derpy added with a sigh. “Maybe a pet isn’t something for you, Suncloak.”
“No way! Impossible!” Suncloak blurted. If he couldn’t get a pet, his life would be over! Ruined! If he couldn’t get a pet, his friends would surely abandon him, and he could never let that happen! “I have to get a pet, I just have to!”
“You know,” Lyra said, pensively tapping her chin, “you never told us why exactly it was so important you had to get a pet, other than that your life depended on it. Or something.”
That was... surprising. Did they really not know why Suncloak wanted a pet so badly? Wasn’t that obvious? “You all have pets, I don’t. How can we be friends if I’m the only one who doesn’t have a pet? If I don’t get one, I’m doomed!”
The others stared at him in utter surprise. Apparently, they really didn’t consider this line of thought before. In that case, it was good that they were now alerted to it, and aware of Suncloak’s problem. They could help him even better, now!
“Suncloak, sweetie, that’s ridiculous,” Bon Bon said with a caring smile.
Wait, what?
“Yeah, you don’t need to have a pet for us to know that you’re a pretty cool guy,” Vinyl added.
Uh... oh. “So... it’s not important at all?” Suncloak asked, seriously confused.
“Of course not!” Derpy answered. “It doesn’t matter if you have a pet or not. We already became friends with you because of who you are, right?”
“Yeah!” Lyra added. “You’re the coolest changeling in Ponyville I know! Well, you’re the only changeling in Ponyville that I know of. But still, just because you don’t have a pet doesn’t mean I don’t wanna be friends with you anymore.”
“Oh.” Suncloak felt his cheeks become a bit hotter. “Well, uh... I suppose this was all a bit useless, then.” And also, pretty embarrassing. He’d been wrong all this time, and now he’d dragged his friends to some futile endeavor.
“That doesn’t matter,” Bon Bon comforted him. “We had fun! Right, girls?” After the others nodded in agreement, she headed towards the garden’s exit. “Let’s go and thank Fluttershy, and then we can go home, okay?” The others joined her, quickly walking around the house.
At the front of the house, they already ran into Fluttershy, who was just finishing tidying up some feeding supplies. When she noticed the group of ponies and changeling, she timidly went over to them. “Did you find what you were, um, looking for, Suncloak?” she asked softly.
“No,” Suncloak answered flatly.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Fluttershy said, sounding a bit distressed, “weren’t they nice to you? You can come back later, and I’ll make sure you can find something,” she continued, becoming continuously more panicked.
“No, no,” Suncloak said, careful to not upset the fragile pegasus any further. Not only would that be exceptionally rude, he probably couldn’t take upsetting the poor mare. “It turns out a pet isn’t something for me. I thought it’d be really important to have one, so my friends would like me more, but that turned out to be about as nonsensical as telling a grub that holes in your hooves are useless.”
Lyra held up one hoof to her face, silently comparing it to Suncloak’s hoof with an arched eyebrow. With a shrug, she put it back on the ground.
Fluttershy perked up after hearing what the changeling had said. “That’s wonderful, Suncloak. I’m glad you learned something so important.”
“Huh, you’re right,” Suncloak said, pensively looking toward the Everfree Forest. He had indeed learned something important, and about friendship, no less. “That reminds me, I have to go somewhere,” he said, turning to leave toward his house. He had an appointment to go to!
The others said their goodbyes as well, joining Suncloak to head toward Ponyville.
Little did they know, however, they were being followed...
“...and that has been your lesson for this week,” Suncloak finished.
Seven changelings were sitting in front of him, in varying degrees of deep thought. “That’s ridiculous.” #14, the only female changeling there, spoke up first. As always.
“Hey, who’s the resident pro at friendship here?” Suncloak asked. Not even giving the others time to react, he added, “Me, that’s who, and that’s how it happened. I already told you, friendship is weird like that.” The insanity of ponies knew no bounds. It was something Suncloak couldn’t tell his ‘students’ often enough.
“Uh, boss?” #21 asked, thoroughly annoying Suncloak. ‘Boss’ was not something he liked being called. “Why do you still have an animal with you, then?”
Oh, of course. Suncloak reached a hoof to his horn, allowing the moth sitting on the horn to hop over to the hoof. “Right, this.” Emerald, the thoroughly annoying moth that had been pestering him in Fluttershy’s garden, had followed him all the way home and had refused to go back. “She keeps following me around. Pretty annoying, actually. Her name is Emerald.”
#145, the changeling grub, hopped up and down to look at Emerald. “But she’s so pretty!” The moth, in response, flew over to the little changeling’s nose, perching right on top of it. “That tickles!” #145 said with a short giggle.
Huh. Emerald almost never let Suncloak alone, but she apparently had no problem with other changelings. In fact, when the other changelings came to take a closer look, she took her time getting acquainted with all of them.
“So, you took all of your friends to another friend’s house to find a pet, found out you didn’t need a pet to be able to keep your friends, but you have a pet anyway?” #14 summed up. “That sounds pretty hypocritical. And also, silly.”
“Pfft,” Suncloak scoffed, “a changeling who says my name is bad and then takes ‘Shining Nova’ as her pony name can’t tell me anything about hypocrisy. Or silliness. You sound like you’re Princess Celestia’s long lost sister! How many ponies were instantly suspicious of you, again?”
#14’s cheeks turned red. “Shut up,” she muttered.
Critiquing him for his name, and then taking something way worse herself. Other changelings could be the worst, sometimes.
“Besides,” Suncloak continued, “I didn’t take her as a pet. She just sorta forced herself onto me as my pet.” He never even asked for this. It’s like the moth suddenly decided she was his pet, for no reason whatsoever.
Well, he did tell Emerald that she could bother him after he was done at Fluttershy’s house, so the moth had, in fact, listened to him.
“So, are you gonna take it as a pet?” #21 asked.
“I suppose I’ll have to.” Suncloak grumbled. “I’ve tried everything to get rid of her. Forcefully returning her to Fluttershy, bribing her with food, disguising myself to hide from her...” He sighed. “I even asked nicely.”
The other changelings were pretty impressed by this. A changeling asking something nicely was a pretty rare thing, after all.
“Well, enough about Emerald,” Suncloak said, as the moth fluttered to his horn again. “I think that’s it for this week. You’re all dismissed, so go be friendly somewhere.”
After all the other changelings had left, Suncloak crossed his eyes upward to look at Emerald. “You really aren’t going to leave me alone, are you?”
Emerald shook her body ‘no’.
“And you’re just going to follow me around almost all the time?”
Emerald shook her body ‘yes’.
“Well, look, I haven’t told anyling in Ponyville about these other changelings yet, okay? So don’t spill the beans until I have. I just have to figure out how to tell them without them freaking out.”
Emerald did absolutely nothing.
“Oh, of course, you can’t talk. My bad.” Suncloak sighed. “Let’s just go home, okay? I’ll ask Fluttershy if I can keep you tomorrow.”
Emerald shook her body ‘yes’ again.
As Suncloak walked home, he thought back to how empty his house always felt. Looking up at Emerald again, he noted that maybe, just maybe, having her as a pet wouldn't be so bad.
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Oh wow, this episode took waaaaaaaaay longer to write than I had intended. I'm really sorry it took so long, but between writer's block, redecorating my room, my first podcast, another project and university, I just couldn't write as much as I had liked.
There were also a ton of people waiting for this. Holy moly, how did this get so popular with only 1 chapter?
But hey, like I said, pets! Biological errors, hoooo! I'm sure people will point out some stuff, and I did do my best to keep everything accurate, but I had to take some liberties to make the story more fun (hopefully). Speaking of fun, this was a whole lot of it to write. Imagining which ponies would have what pets, writing Suncloak's encounters with animals, it was all really amusing to write. Not every part of this came out as well as I'd hoped, but I still think it's up to snuff.
Anyway, enjoy, and criticism and corrections are always welcome, of course!
1268185 Wow just checked favorites and saw it was updated
mfw
Was not expecting a chapter on pets to pop up. It was, however, well done as always. I particularly liked the gag with Lyra and the chimpanzee. I do quite enjoy the "lesson" at the end of each chapter with the other changelings. I hope at one point we get to experience their escapades as well. Can't wait for the next chapter.
I honestly can't tell whether Suncloak is a genius or an idiot, but it is a definite fact that he's awesome.
>According to the rules, Queen Chrysalis is the best singer in the hive, no exceptions.
Seems legit.
>All he needed was a crazy pony-insect hybrid and his life would be complete!
Gee, I wonder where Suncloak could find one of those.
Two Changeling fics? in MY update list? Yes it can. =3
(the other one is the fic with Wubsy)
Yes! One of the top 3 changeling fic series updated!
Aaaaand now it's time to sleep.
Oh snap! An update! I've been waiting on this for like, forever!
And Suncloak is still as ridiculous as ever. I wonder if it'll ever dawn on him that he's every bit as absurd as the ponies he's made friends with?
Yeah! More chapter!
Took me a moment to realize the pun in the title of the chapter.
Yay an update and it only took a month and a half
666 likes..... Oh dear.
1268238
If you listened to the Brony Bookclub podcast I was on, you would've seen it coming!
1268239
I'm pretty sure he's a geniot. An idius. Wait, what's this about again?
1268271
Pfft, no such thing. His actions are perfectly logical when compared to changeling standards.
It's too bad changelings standards are pretty absurd.
1268416
I'M NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY HELL-RELATED SHENANIGANS!
Nice! The story was pretty funny!
1268249 Hmm... not sure about those crazy pony-insect hybrids... They could be anywhere, blending in like chameleons...
1268339 I found it moth amusing
... Argh, that was a terrible pun
images.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw3637-1330097145371495.gif
When I first read the paragraph about Emerald, I nearly screamed: "PARASPRITES! PARASPRITES IN PONYVILLEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
...and then I realized she was but a 'Lunar Moth'.
At last!
Happily awaiting more.
Well he does have a small swarm of changelings hanging on to his every word about friendship... are they his pets?
Also I want a Luna Moth... I'd call her Mothra
WHOO AN UPDATE FINALLY!
[img] http://images.wikia.com/theamazingworldofgumball/images/1/12/Huzzah.jpg [/img]
Well, I know why bribing it with food didn't work. Luna moths have no mouths, and can't eat. Sunny will have her for about a week, tops.
(Except of course, this is Equestria, where nature isn't such a colossal douche as to evolve animals with no mouths.
)
:Well, its black, just like you,"
...
25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m7maxr4fUe1rq3b5ko1_400.gif
Derpy owning a ferret is... brilliant.
Definetly awesome. You have great writing style.
And about friendship lessons, Twilight is not the only one who learns about friendship in Ponyville anymore. I really wonder if she is hiding somewhere near when he teaches his changeling students and when he ends talking, she returns home to write a letter to princess.
1268251 Same thing here. They're both good.
Was that meant to be a Will Ferrell joke?
#14 and Cheerilee, sitting in a bar on a Friday afternoon, swapping complaints about foals/grubs. Make it happen.
Yay! Derpy has a ferret! I knew she had good taste.
I wish I could give you another tumb's up.
1268747
I know, I ran into this while doing research on various animals. I thought 'wow, this would be a pretty cool pet for Suncloak', but then I saw that they only live for one week because they can't eat. Hence, I took a few liberties!
1268771
And I didn't even delve into Suncloak's massive street cred which he got that one time he forgot to turn his swag off
1269027
YES. That pun is what gave me the whole idea to give Derpy a ferret. It's terrible, but I had to do it!
Better than my dad naming our Mischief the Mystical Ferret.
Look in the mirror, buddy!
All he needed was a crazy pony-insect hybrid and his life would be complete! Well maybe #14 is available.
I demand the comedic styling of Will Ferret in a future episode.
“Well, I live alone in this house, so it feel pretty empty sometimes.
1268185 I hope next chapter won't take as long but you do make it up for the long chapters
1269290
Fixed, thanks!
I totally fell over laughing when he said a crazy pony insect hybrid, he doesnt even know. oh and to be honest I don't think the others will mind since twilight was pretty much doing the same thing
Hm...
Derpy with a ferret, Vinyl with a mouse, Lyra and Bon-Bon with a parrot, and Suncloak with a moth...
Sounds like reasonable pets for everyone to me.
1268339
I DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE THAT UNTIL YOU POINTED IT OUT!
Wow.
That was great.
I'm really hoping that the Everfree changelings are discovered and after shenanigans ensue they all end up moving into Suncloak's house, sitcom-style.
Sorry if our podcast made this take longer, but man was this worth the wait!
fc04.deviantart.net/fs10/i/2006/153/0/9/For_waltersh___Roy_Mustang_by_Bouncy_Britt.jpg
I LOVE THIS FIC
I thoroughly enjoyed this read (as well as Thrown Abroad and the last chapter). I look forward to the next update
So, first the chimp imitates Lyra, then Lyra ends up imitating the chimp?
images.tvrage.com/screencaps/17/3332/635263.jpg
1269214
Nevar enuff puns.
I really like humor. Sunclock inner monologues are hilarious. Lyra is acting too much like a Pinkie at the times but otherwise great read. Waiting for next chapter.
You know, so many of poor Suncloak's woes could be taken care of if he just searched around for a job.
The part where the ape shows off his "magic finger" had me laughing up a storm!
Wow man, this is canon-quality here. I swear, they could do an mlp spinoff if you were writing the stories.
>1268771 fun fact. ''it can fly, just like you'' fly is voler in french, which mean stealing.
Well I really like the chapter and the basic ideas on fitting in with a group, after just having to talk about confroming with a group of peers to be accepted. The characters were great and I like how you put lyra's human obsessiveness with monkey's and doing the finger trick.
Wubsy was great. I was thinking the same thing when I woke up
1268251
Gorram hilarious and fun character development to boot. Good work.
Well worth the wait.
1269800
Psh, that doesn't matter, it was a lot of fun to do! I still had writer's block anyway. In fact, doing something different usually helps me get over that, so I suppose it's your fault that I got over my writer's block
1271913
Suncloak with a job? What would he do, be annoyed and snark for a living? But I don't really see anything he'd be good enough at to actually take it as a job. And he's still getting used to living in Ponyville, too!
1273384
Apparently, I'm extremely racist. HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN
1273037
Comments like this always amaze me. When I write it, it doesn't seem that good, but apparently people like my stuff enough to compare it to the actual show and say 'yeah, this is pretty equal'. That's pretty freakin' cool!
In fact, I'd say that I have almost everything I ever wanted now, except a TvTropes page (srs bsns, that site). So I guess I'll have to continue writing until somebody makes one... and then continue anyway because it's so much fun
1274874
Sounds like a newspaper column writer.
Or maybe a consultant.
In all seriousness, though, he'd probably have to settle for a part-time sales clerk job at quills and couches. Just enough to get some "fun" bits and meet new people.
SO AWESOME!!!!
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