To Be Different

by Astrocity

Epilogue

I never dreamed that there’d come a day when I’d find myself far from the Badlands, enjoying a cup of tea with a princess.

Months have passed, and over time, I’d grown used to being surrounded by ponies. My mane had grown a little since then, now just reaching my shoulders. My hoof brushed a hair back, touching my torn ear. The hole in my ear remained just as the doctor had said, but I didn't mind. This imperfection only reminded me of the changelings I once lived with, which made it all the more lovely.

I glanced at the pink pony sitting across from me. “Princess Mi Amore Cadenza?” I asked from my seat. We sat at an outdoor table by the same cafe where we met for the first time.

“Please, call me Cadance,” she said. “It’s a lot better than calling me by my full name.”

Instead of a long dress and hat, she wore a golden tiara with matching shoes and a necklace. Without a dress to cover her body, I could see the wings folded at her sides—bright pink tipped with violet, like the feather she had given me. A crystal heart adorned her flank.

“I heard what happened from Princess Celestia, and I’m glad things worked out for the changelings,” she said. “Celestia has also told me a lot about you. Do you still go by Nymph or have you changed your name to your birth name?”

I cringed at the thought of having any other name than the one Chrysalis gave me. “My name is still Nymph,” I said. “It’s the name I grew up with. Although, my parents haven’t gotten used to it yet.”

Princess Cadance nodded, pouring me a cup of tea and using her magic to drop two cubes of sugar into it. “So, Nymph, how have you been?”

My face lit up. “I’m doing great,” I told her. “I’ve been writing to Pound and Pumpkin. They said they’re going to visit Canterlot next weekend with their parents.” There was a smile on my face as I fidgeted in my seat excitedly. “I can’t wait to meet with them again. It feels like it’s been forever.”

She giggled. “It sounds like you made wonderful friends in Ponyville.”

I nodded. “I’ve been telling my parents all about them, and now they want to meet them!”

“That’s wonderful!” she said. “As a parent myself, I know they would want to get to know your friends. But, what do you think about your pony family?"

I held a hoof to my chin, trying to sort out my feelings. “They’re very nice, but it’s still strange. They want to make up for all those years they missed out on since I’ve been gone.” I stared into my cup’s reflection. “They’ve gone a long time without me, and I’ve changed so much.”

“You’ve certainly grown up to be a bright young mare,” she said.

A hollow laugh escaped my throat. “It’s funny. I sought out to become more grown-up, but I ended up showing how much of a child I really was. Until I went out to see the world, I never really understood changelings or their problems.” I held the cup between my hooves and let out a sigh, watching the ripples under my breath. “Little by little, I learned more about them—their shapeshifting, their hunger for love, their fear of what tomorrow would bring. It wasn’t until I learned more about them that I could make a difference in their lives.”

"That is a lot to expect from a child," she said, pouring herself a cup. "You've been through so much."

"I had to," I said. "I had to keep Chrysalis from making a mistake."

I blew the steam from my tea before taking a careful sip.

“I really thought she was gone,” I said somberly. “I saw how awful Chrysalis looked. Everyone thought she wasn’t going to make it. But then, a miracle happened.”

The Princess gave a thoughtful hum, stirring milk into her tea. “Perhaps it's a reward for those who are willing to die for love.” She took a sip of her cup. “Love is its own magic much like the magic of friendship.”

"Love, huh?" I said as my mind drifted. “Happy said that those who aren’t loved are fated to disappear, but that’s not true. Loveless creatures can find love in one another and their hearts will be bigger for it because they understand what it is like to feel unloved.”

Cadance set her teacup down and looked me in the eye. “Tell me. Do you think her love for you was real?”

I paused.

“It might not have been real at first, but she made it real,” I said. “And that’s all that matters in the end.”

"I heard some rumors about Queen Chrysalis. There’s been an arrangement set up between her and Princess Celestia. I heard that changelings will soon be able to live in Equestria, openly and freely. And from what I’ve gathered about Chrysalis, I heard she's still not entirely thrilled about her own end of the deal. The details of it have been kept confidential."

I nodded slowly. “I’m glad she’s at least doing okay.” The last time I saw her, she said goodbye and disappeared along with Happy. I only wished she could have met my parents or have said goodbye as herself.

A bell tolled from a distant clock tower.

Princess Cadance stood from her seat. “I think that's all the time we have for today. I will check up on you again next week.”

I nodded. “Sure, Cadance. I'm still not sure what therapy is, but I like talking to you.”

She let out a chuckle. “We can keep talking even while I’m at the Crystal Empire. You can write letters to me.”

"Thanks, Cadance,” I said as I got out of my seat.

Before we went our separate ways, Princess Cadance waved goodbye. “Goodbye, Nymph.”

I waved back to her. “Bye, Cadance!”

As I turned a corner, a passing stallion and mare walked by talking to each other. My ears perked up as I overheard their conversation as they crossed the street. I stared at the pair of ponies.

“This is for the best. Think of our future," said the blue earth pony.

There was a derisive snort from the light green pegasus. “What bothers me is she's making me work with her student on friendship lessons of all things.” Her feathers ruffled. “And of course, the goody-goody little princess is still mad about that incident with her brother. I barely did anything to him!”

The stallion made a toothy grin. “You’ve changed a lot since then. Maybe ponies are starting to rub off on you?”

“I have not grown soft!” she shot back, but then her face softened and made a wistful expression. "But some days, I think she has changed me."

As they disappeared around another corner, I walked in the direction of the pair of ponies and followed after them, picking up the pace with my hooves. There were joyful tears in my eyes.

~~~~~~~

All my life, I had been trying to become something I wasn’t, but changelings were no different than I was. We lied to ourselves in believing we were something else. A pony, a changeling. A mother, a daughter. But, lies aren’t all bad because we could be whatever we wanted to be.

My name is Nymph, a changeling princess, daughter of Queen Chrysalis.

Author's Note:

I finally did it.

A lot went into this story, which I'll write about in a blog.

Comments

[tsaukpaetra]

🎉

[Shadow of doubt]

Honestly, a very touching story. Thanks for sharing this.

[Holydude]

Got to admit this was very beautiful. I see she will be a great changeling princess as she grows up. She can except cadance as cadance and celestia as celestia... not many ponies feel like they can do that but for her it's natural. Now i hope she gives chrysalis the hug she deserves and maybe a kiss on the cheek

[Gravity012]

This story was amazing. It had such a bittersweet ending that it twinged at my eyes for a moment. Very beautiful. I’m adding this to my favorites folder. I hope you continue to write stories this amazing.

[Shadow of Death]

Not too bad. Have a like and fave, hmmm?

[Twilight_Shimmer]

plans for a sequel?

[Doctor_Den]

Despite the good ending, I do not feel it is full.
Until the last moment, I hoped that the weekly hour of therapy with Cadance would be a kind of weekly meeting of the child and the mother who was deprived of custody but allowed to see

[Teraunce]

This definitely needs a sequel or at least a second epilogue showing a get together of both families.

[Mocha Star]

This was a great read and I found it by accident, so it must have been fate!

[Starlight Glimmer1]

Interesting.