Family. That was the word that started it. It didn't matter if it was a true family. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy loved their new foal like one. Will their foal ever reveal what she is? What would change when she does?
The life of a Changeling isn't one to call lovely. Living in a family like this, changed that. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy loved their daughter with all their heart. The last thing their daughter wanted was for that to change.
Because of that, she vowed that she would never change back. She would forever be their loving daughter. And as long as they continued to love her like a true family would, she could keep her form.
But how long will it really last? Would she have to change back if they ever found out? Questions like that kept lingering in her mind. And every time they did, she would smile them off. Until then, loving her family was all that mattered.
Family. That was the first word that she spoke. It was the first word that came to mind when naming such a sweet, newborn filly.
But that’s what everypony thought she was. Truth is, she wasn’t a filly at all. Nopony knew that, except her. She may not have been a filly. And she may not have been their filly. But at heart, she was.
Miley Heart. That was the name that formed from her first word, and being one at heart.
Rainbow Dash was shifting through the photos of her daughter, reminiscing in how her presence had changed their lives. The photos showed Miley playing with Fluttershy’s animals, riding Rainbow Dash as she flew the skies, even a picture of the two cheering Miley on as she flew her first flight alone.
Rainbow Dash tried to hide a tear as she saw how much her filly had grown. It had been a while since Miley had come into their lives. She and Fluttershy’s bond as a family kept growing as they raised Miley together.
But there came a time when that daughter would have to leave them for a while. All her life, Miley had been spending her time with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. At times, she was separate from one of them, but never both at the same time. Whether it was playing, helping, or sight seeing, she stayed with them. She didn’t have much chance to meet other fillies/colts or other ponies in general.
Now was that time. She had achieved the age where that would happen.
“Miley!” she heard the voice of Fluttershy say, “Hurry up in there. You don’t wanna miss your first day!”
“Okay mom! I’ll be right there!” Miley responded before turning her attention back to the mirror. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she activated her magic. A luscious green glow resonated along the fluffy cloud walls within her room. She hoped that the light didn’t bring any attention into her room, for she hadn’t done this for as long as she can remember.
When the glow faded, she looked back at the mirror. Staring back at her was the hideous form that she left behind. The lifeless blue eyes, the deep black skin, and the holes in her legs and wings... It was all alien to her.
“This thing…” she started speaking to her reflection. “This is how I really look like huh?” She looked away. “I can’t imagine what they would do if they ever saw me like this.” Turning her attention back to the mirror, she flashed a confident smile.
“But it doesn’t matter now does it? Because they’ll never see me like this! I’m not a changeling. I never was to begin with, no. My family has taught me, that I always was, and forever will be-” she activated her changeling magic again. A green flaming circle surrounded and slowly engulfed her, changing her appearance from hoof to head. Her black skin changed to a bright yellow coat. The spikes on her head formed a smooth blue mane along with her tail. The holes on her wings and legs vanished. Those lifeless blue eyes shined a lifeless white with life filled black pupils surrounded in green. And most importantly, her changeling horn vanished from sight.
“-a pegasus pony!” she finished while springing her head up high as her transformation was complete. However, her stance paused as she remembered something. She turned her attention to her flank.
“Well… a pegasus pony without a Cutie Mark yet.” Looking back to the desk with the mirror, she moved her hoof to the book of Cutie Marks she had been reading. “I don’t think it should be that hard. I just have to find something that I enjoy doing and then bam! Pick a Cutie Mark that looks like it.”
Placing a hoof under her chin, she pondered. “But how will I know if I really enjoy it? And how long should I wait before deciding?”
“Miley Heart!” Fluttershy’s voice called again, making Miley gasp.
“That'll have to wait. Coming!” She slipped her book into her bag and went to leave her room.
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy heard the door opening from Miley’s room. Soon after, Miley herself jumped and flew down from the upstairs floor, showering Fluttershy with her presence.
“Hey Miley!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “Catch!” Rainbow Dash tossed a rose-filled salad across the living room. As Fluttershy headed out, Miley noticed the salad She leaped into the air, tossing her bag over to Rainbow Dash, then catching the salad in her mouth. She started chewing after landing.
The taste of the salad disgusted her. She struggled to get her bites within the salad while keeping her tongue away from the taste. Her face scrunched and her voice groaned. But after chewing her food enough, she managed to swallow. The disgust quickly vanished and was replaced by a sweet delicious shower of flavor. Her eyes burst into hearts from the taste of the love put into that salad.
“Atta girl!” Rainbow Dash praised. “Now let’s go! Fluttershy will be waiting for us outside!”
As Rainbow Dash flew out using one of the many open windows in this house, Miley headed towards the front door’s exit. Next to that door was a slide leading outside which she used to leave the house.
“Weeee!!!” Miley screamed as she slid down the cloud slide, turning full circles around the house. Multiple butterflies filling the colors of the rainbow spread from the slide as she passed by. She laughed in joy with her hooves in the air, enjoying the colorful sight. It was such a thrill to her going this fast. The path shifted upwards, making her release a “Yahoo!” as she flew in the air. Her velocity allowed her to fly through the rings the butterflies made. They led her to the landing zone; a cloud ride still high in the air. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were at its front, waiting there to operate it.
“Ready for your first day of school, Miley?” Fluttershy asked.
“I’m ready!” Miley replied.
Rainbow Dash thrust her hooves forwards.. “Then let your first day begin!” she yelled. “Hiya!”
Fluttershy yelped as the cloud ride suddenly took motion. She did her best at trying to keep up with Rainbow Dash in pulling the cloud, but at this speed, she had trouble keeping up
Miley continuously laughed. Her tears of joy blew off her face from the sheer wind. “Faster! Faster!” she screamed while flailing her hooves in the air.
“Miley Heart, please!” Fluttershy pleaded. “Keep your hooves on the cloud! What if you fell off?”
Miley laughed some more before responding. “If I fell, I could just catch myself with my wings!”
“But it’s too dangerous to-”
“Relax, Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash cut off. “Let the kid have her fun! If she falls, we’ll catch her.”
“But-”
“Besides, I’m more worried about catching you at this speed!”
The cloud ride picked up speed, making Miley laugh harder and more difficult for Fluttershy to keep up. Her worries vanished when the Ponyville Schoolhouse came into view.
Seconds after, Fluttershy yelped as gravity fell on her. Their cloud ride was hurtling towards the ground. Just before impact, Rainbow Dash detached themselves off the cloud ride while Miley jumped from it. The cloud instantly dissipated while Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy skidded along the dirt road. Rainbow Dash caught Miley on her back before they came to a full halt. And finally, Miley’s bag, which flung from the crashing cloud, fell and strapped itself around Rainbow’s neck.
“That was fun!” Miley expressed.
“Thank you for flying the SS. Dashport. Feel free to leave the east, west, or rear exit.”
Fluttershy held her chest, panting as she approached Rainbow Dash to search the bag while Miley chose the rear tail slide to exit her ‘vehicle’. “Next time… *huff*... could I lead the flying?” Fluttershy asked as she removed a brush from the bag.
“Sure thing.” Rainbow responded.
Many other fillies were arriving at the schoolyard, ready to start class. Some of them stopped to watch as their new classmate was arriving.
Fluttershy sat Miley down as she started fixing her daughter’s mane. Miley hummed and rubbed her head along her mother’s sides while this was going on, enjoying the loving affection she was feasting. Rainbow Dash was also getting Miley’s final preparations by strapping the bag along Miley’s back. She flattened it comfortably so that it would fit like a saddle.
“You’re all set, kiddo!” Rainbow Dash said.
“Be good in there,” Fluttershy followed up after returning the brush in the bag. “And make sure you’re making friends too.”
Rainbow Dash double tapped Miley’s bag. “If you need anything else, give us a holler.”
“Okay!” Miley said with excitement. She looked towards the school then back to Fluttershy. “Can I get a goodbye kiss for my first day?”
Rainbow Dash’s expression faltered at this request, but Fluttershy was more than happy to oblige. “Of course my little pony,” Fluttershy said.
Miley winked an eye as her cheek received a lovely smooch. The loving affection made her wings beat rapidly, fueling her energy for the day that was ahead. You could practically see the hearts showering on her as her body collapsed, sighing happily in the skies. It was a sight that made Fluttershy all too happy being a mother.
“Okay… too sappy,” Rainbow Dash expressed before lifting herself in the air. “Take care Miley! Remember what I said!” she waved.
“Goodbye Miley. And listen to your teacher.” Fluttershy joined Rainbow Dash and the two took off together.
After the two had left, Miley licked her lips, savoring the last bit of love she received for her first day. When she was ready, she picked herself off the ground and shouted. “This is gonna be great!”
And then, she saw the expression of all the fillies and colts, as well as the teacher. Most of them had their pupils shrunk in disbelief. Some of them couldn’t close their jaws. And their teacher, Ms. Cheerilee, had her ears flattened at the sight of her student’s responses.
Nevertheless, Miley's wings fluttered with excitement.
“How come? Isn’t she Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy’s daughter?”
“Yes, but she’s a total nutjob.”
“And we haven’t seen that before?”
“She can’t be that bad. But I still wonder how she’s in school already.”
The bell rang, signaling the start of the class. Miss Cheerilee was busy preparing her chalkboard for the lesson today while the fillies and colts were taking their seats. Or she thought they were all. She stopped when she felt breathing unusually close to her flank, turning to see what it was.
“Those flowers are lovely Miss Cheerilee!” Miley said with half lidded eyes. “Do you grow them with your Special Pony?”
A giggle escaped Cheerilee. “Oh, I don’t have a Special Somepony,” she said.
“Then you still live with your family?”
“Um… let’s save the questions until after class, shall we?” Curiously, Miley turned towards her other classmates. “Okay class. Before we begin, I’d like to introduce our new classmate. Why don’t you introduce yourself to everypony?”
Cheerilee jestered Miley to stand in front of the front desk for everypony’s attention. She obliged, but stood on top of the desk. “Hello! My name is Miley Heart!”
“Hi Miley!” the class said in unison.
“Good. And can you tell us a little about yourself?” One of the fillies in the back cringed when this question was asked.
“Well, I am the loving daughter of Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. You may know them as two bearers of the Elements of Harmony-” she paused to hug herself, “-Kindness-” and then posed triumphantly, “-and Loyalty! But now, they are very wonderful parents. Like one time-”
Cheerilee wasn’t sure whether she was happy at how well Miley was expressing herself, or concerned that she didn’t realize the question. Yet, Miley continued on.
Miley ran across the meadow as fast as her legs could carry her. The constant roaring of a bear chasing her filled her with fear. She ran until she was trapped, with nowhere else to go. All she could do, was scream. Her scream went out like a cry for help. A cry that sounded twice before it could be answered.
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy arrived at the scene, noticing their daughter being chased by an angry bear. “Oh my goodness! Rainbow Dash, stop him!” Both pegasi flew as fast as they could to the scene. Rainbow Dash stopped the bear and tried to push him away, giving Fluttershy enough time to retrieve Miley and take her a safe distance. Rainbow Dash did her best to keep the bear at bay while avoiding its claws.
“What is going on here? What did Miley do to you?” The bear only roared back, attempting to get to Miley. Fluttershy couldn’t understand him at this rage level. She flew up to its ear and sang a lullaby.
“The way she handles animals is lovely! That bear was so scary, and I was in so much pain. Yet despite that, she showered it with just as much love and care as she gave to me!”
Miley reached into her saddle and took out a Rainbow Dash plush toy. “After they calmed the bear down, they treated my injuries with lots of bandages, lots of ointment, and best of all, kisses and affection!” She layed down on the the table and started kissing the forehead of her plush.
A collection of gags sounded around the class. Some of the fillies and colts were looking away. Cheerilee’s eyes shifted from one side of the class to the other, worry filling her heart.
“W-wonderful story uh… Miley,” Cheerilee hesitantly said. “But uh… could you tell us more about yourself, and what you like to do?”
Miley put down her plush. “But I just talked about myself.”
“No sweetie. You told us about your parents.” Cheerilee covered her mouth. “-in much detail.”
“But my parents, are, who I am. Without them, I wouldn’t be who I am today.” Miley turned to the class. “None of you would be anything without your family. They raise you, take care of you, love you. What could be a better way to tell about yourself than that?”
The classroom fell silent. None of the fillies and colts went on to answer. Cheerilee hoped that somepony would say something, something nice. But the only response was whispers which she couldn’t hear.
“I think I see what you mean…” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle said in unison.
The bell rang again, signaling the time for lunch. The fillies and colts were already outside and Miley let herself be the last one to leave. The first thing she noticed from the side of the school were a pack of flowers.
“Ooh, how lovely.” She approached one of them to take a closer. The smell reminded her of the flowers Fluttershy took care of for her and her animals. To grow them like this required lots of love and attention. She went for a bite.
“Miley!” Cheerilee gasped, making Miley freeze. “That’s not your food sweetie. Your food is over there where those three fillies are.”
Cheerilee pointed to the direction of said table. Miley did take a glance, but brought her attention back to the flowers. Smiling, she took a whiff of each flower, making their petals brush her face. She had absorbed a sample of the love that each of the flowers were given, and then proceeded towards the table.
Scootaloo cringed when she noticed Miley. “Uh oh… she's coming this way.”
“Come on Scootaloo, our sisters are countin’ on us to make sure she has a good first day.”
Sweetie Belle took a glance towards Miley. “It looks like she’s already having a good day.”
“Ah meant with friends.”
“Friends with us is the part that I’m worried about.” Scootaloo drooped her head.
“What do y’all mean? Didn’t ya meet her back when she was still a baby?”
“Yes! And do I have to remind you that was last year?]
“What was last year?”
The conversations stopped when Miley appeared with that question. Scootaloo’s eyes shrunk with sweat dripping down her forehead. “Uh… when I came to play with you,” she said smiling hesitantly.
“Oh yeah, that was a lovely day, wasn’t it? I especially liked the time we went watering the flowers.” Miley gave a pleasant sigh at the memories, leaving the other fillies looking at Scootaloo.
“Hey! The only reason I had any part of that was because Fluttershy wanted me to be nice to her.”
“Of course!” Miley replied. “Being the kind and loving mother she is, it’s only natural that her love and care would spread all around us!” She zipped behind Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle and brought them closer together, despite their reluctance. “If we all could share her example, we wouldn’t have to live so far apart.” Zipping back in front of Scootaloo, she placed a hoof on her own heart. “We wouldn’t all be strangers to each other. Everypony could live together. Nopony would hate each other. And our affection could spread just like this!”
The last thing Scootaloo expected was a sudden kiss to the forehead. If there was a cockatrice around, she had seen its eyes. With her eyes shrunk and bones stiff, she fell backwards like a statue, making Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle flinch.
“That would be a dream come true!” Miley turned away from them. “But like most stories, they can only be a dream. And even if it can never happen, I will always live that dream!”
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle couldn’t find words. The only thing on their mind was the kissed statue of Scootaloo laying before them. Taking their hasty chance, they grabbed Scootaloo, and fled from the table.
When Miley turned around, she noticed that no pony was left at the table. But she also noticed that the three fillies who were here hadn’t taken their food with them. Almost forgetting that it was lunch time, she went to inspect the food.
Sliced apples, cherries, pickles, and chopped onions, all filled into a bowl with jello to the side. It looked like a lovely meal. But sniffing it, she felt no love coming from it.
“Ms. Cheerilee?!” Miley called out. A second without response, she looked around the school and called again. “Ms. Cheerilee?!”
“Yes, Miley, what is it?” Cheerilee arrived after the second call. “...And where did-”
“Ms. Cheerilee, who made this food?” Miley interrupted.
Cheerilee was puzzled by this question. “I don’t know dear… Why do you-”
“Well do you know where it comes from?”
Cheerilee had to take a moment to find her words. “Well… I do know that we receive them from Mr. Rich’s business.”
“Mr. Rich…” Miley repeated. “What’s his first name?”
“Um… are you going to eat deary?” Cheerilee attempted to change the topic.
“No thanks. I’m not hungry.”
There was a short pause. “Not hungry?” Cheerilee looked her student over, looking for any signs of hunger and believing that she was faking because she didn’t want to try something. But even after getting close to her stomach, Cheerilee found no signs. What she did find was the untouched bowls belonging to the other three fillies. But those fillies were nowhere in sight. Cheerilee's heart sank deeper, fearing the worst had already happened.
It was the end of the school day. All the fillies and colts were leaving the playgrounds and returning to their families or other hobbies. Miley however, had to stay longer at the playground site. She spent that time playing with her Rainbow Dash plushie.
“Thank you for coming girls,” Cheerilee started. “I really need to talk to you about your daughter.”
“Please don’t tell me she’s in trouble,” Fluttershy said.
“No, it’s not that,” Cheerilee responded, relieving Fluttershy.
“Are the kids bullying her?!” Rainbow Dash argued.
“Worse. They’re not associating with her.”
Puzzled, Rainbow took a glance at where Miley was at, then at Cheerilee. “You mean they’re ignoring her?”
“Avoiding, but yes.” Cheerilee’s ears fell. “Not even the Cutie Mark Crusaders wanted to be around her.”
The weight on Fluttershy’s heart increased. “But our daughter is a very nice and loving child. Why wouldn’t they want to be with her?”
Cheerilee had to scratch her neck before answering. “Well… I think that’s the reason why they haven’t been connecting. Her definition of getting to know the other students… well… it breaks their comfort zones.”
“Breaking their…” Rainbow paused. “What could she be doing to get them like that?” she said while turning towards Miley again. She didn’t expect to find her answer like that though. Miley was feeding a plastic bottle to her Rainbow Dash plushie while making smooching movements with her lips. Rainbow’s ears dropped. “Oh…”
“Yes, I’m afraid your daughter is going too deep with her affections towards the other students. And that’s why they don’t want to associate with her.”
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy lowered their heads in sadness. They knew they had to have a talk with their daughter after this.
“Can you two answer a question?” Cheerilee asked, bringing their attention back. “Miley has been oddly curious about the outside environment. It distracts her a lot in class, and, she’s asked a lot of questions. Does she go out often?”
“Well, yeah, of course!” Rainbow Dash answered.
“Although her first time was not a very pleasant one,” Fluttershy continued.
“After she used the slide at our house, she landed on one of Fluttershy’s animals.”
“The poor thing was hurt… and our daughter was in so much pain.”
“After that, we’ve never left her outside unsupervised again.”
Cheerilee wasn’t expecting that sort of answer. Now she was worried about their daughter’s mental health. “Was she alright?”
“No, she wasn’t.” Cheerilee’s eyes popped out at Rainbow’s answer. “When we inspected her, there was a huge hole on her left wing.” A gasp escaped Cheerilee.
“We thought she would never be able to fly again. And she was just a baby when this happened…”
"That's why we don't keep her alone. We don't want that happening again."
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy’s words made Cheerilee’s mind scramble. Miley’s cheery nature could only sound like she was using it to suppress a horrible moment she had in the past. It made sense now why she expressed Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy the way she did in class. Cheerilee couldn’t bare imagining something like that happening to a-
“Wait… back when she was a baby?” Cheerilee asked.
“Yeah, that’s right,” Rainbow answered. “And somehow her wing outgrew that cut like it never happened.”
Cheerilee had to take a look at Miley again to make sure she was hearing correctly. “Um… H-how long have you had her for?”
“One year,” they answered in unison, leaving Cheerilee unable to respond.
“S-see… when our foal arrived, she already had a few years in her. I think Princess Celestia had trouble sending us our little baby.”
The look on Cheerilee’s face made Rainbow Dash cringe. A memory she wanted to forget was coming back to haunt her. And it would come back if she didn’t do something.
“W-well, Miss Cheerilee uh, thanks for the chat but I think we need to get going.”
“We’re going now?” Fluttershy asked.
“Don’t worry Cheers. We’ll talk to our daughter about her methods of making friends. We’ll see you later.”
Rainbow Dash didn’t wait for a good bye. She just took Fluttershy to the air so that they can get Miley and go home.
“So kiddo? How are ya feeling?” Rainbow asked as they flew through the air. Miley was riding her back. “Did you make any friends on your first day of school?”
“Rainbow Dash, we just talked about that,” Fluttershy responded.
“Yeah, yeah, but I wanna hear it from her point of view.” Rainbow looked to Miley. “Did you enjoy it?”
“I sure did!” Miley responded. “Everypony was so nice. And I feel like I’ve already made some friends!”
Fluttershy tried to respond to this, but Rainbow cut in. “Yeah… about those friends.” She bounced Miley in the air so she could catch her in her hooves, flying upside down. “Some ponies are not as affectionate as you are. They don’t like all that mushy stuff that you love so much. So if you can, try and cut down on it. Some ponies just need their space. Like me! Got it?”
She could hear the sound of two birds chirping. Her parents went to go see the news. Two birds, one red, and one blue, held between them multiple eggs in their nests. All three pegasi ‘aww’d at the sight of the start of another new family.
“It’s just like us, Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy said.
“I bet by tomorrow their kids will be flying already,” Rainbow stated, making Fluttershy giggle. Fluttershy decided to go in for a kiss, but Rainbow stopped her. “Not in public, Fluttershy.”
“Oh…”
Miley was disappointed at the chance of feeding on more love being halted. But she wouldn’t be disappointed for long. After they had all went back inside, Rainbow was feeding off of Fluttershy’s lips like that one wild bear almost fed on her.
“Atta girl!” Rainbow pulled her in closer and started giving her mane a playfully noogy. Miley giggled from the playful act. It was Rainbow’s way of showing her own tough love, to which Miley loved feeding from. However, Fluttershy wasn’t liking the sight.
“Rainbow Dash! Stop that!” she said.
“No! Don’t stop! Haha!” Miley expressed. “Keep going! Haha! Harder!” More pressure gave Miley more love. But Fluttershy couldn’t take the roughness anymore. She snatched Miley out of Rainbow’s hooves.
“Hey!” Rainbow shouted.
“I don’t think you understand your limits, sweety.” Fluttershy pulled out the brush in Miley’s saddle. “You keep letting her do that to you, you’ll bruise your head.”
Rainbow Dash saw the disappointment in Miley’s eyes and crossed her forelegs together. After bringing back that bear attack incident, she thought Fluttershy would know a little better about Miley’s limits. But maybe it was just her protective nature, so Rainbow let it go.
Carrots, darts, flowers, hearts! Miley Heart had been shifting through the pages of her List of Cutie Mark Pictures book. Each Cutie Mark in the book was also given a short description as to what they had represented once before. She noted that they hadn’t all meant the same thing. Some of the pictures also came in triplets, making her wonder if that represented a family.
She looked at the description of one of the heart Cutie Marks. And it wasn’t what she was expecting.
Baking Box of Chocolate Hearts. Although it wasn’t what she was looking for, she pondered on it for a moment. She thought about what her parents told her.
”Well kid, sometimes your Cutie Mark could be something you’ve never tried before. Why don’t you tell her about your experience, Fluttershy?”
Fluttershy nodded. “On the day I got my Cutie Mark, I didn’t know anything about animals. The first time I came to the ground was when I discovered them. I could communicate with them, sing with them, and take care of them.” Fluttershy brushed Miley’s mane with her hoof. “Sometimes your special talent just comes naturally.”
Miley made sure to remember that. Her talent could come from something related to what she likes, but not in the most direct way. It made it more difficult to choose what type of Cutie Mark her form should have. It could’ve been anything related to love. But the only way she would figure out is if she tried something new herself.
Miley closed her book with a smile. She knew what she was doing today. But she also knew that she was gonna need a little bit more energy for this. Since the night was still early, and she was supposed to be in bed, she decided to sneak out of her room to get to where her parents slept.
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were usually still up at this time, having one of their little moments together. And sure enough, when Miley was close to their room, she could already feel the spreading of their love.
Inside the room, Fluttershy was looking around in the dark, wondering where her Rainbow had gone off to. Rainbow Dash continuously appeared behind her, upside down, with a smirk smile. Every time, Fluttershy felt her Rainbow, but every time she looked, her Rainbow vanished, only to appear behind her again.
One time, she didn’t look. Because she knew that once she looked, Rainbow would just vanish again. Seeing that Fluttershy was losing interest, she decided to pick up the moment. The next time she appeared behind Fluttershy, she snuck a kiss on her cheek. That made Fluttershy turn around again, only to see nothing, again!
And then, Fluttershy yelped when gravity left her. Rainbow Dash had picked her up in the air, making sure Fluttershy saw her Rainbow eye to eye. In the air, she took Fluttershy’s hoof and extended it out. She worked her kisses along that hoof from the bottom to top, making Fluttershy giggle with each kiss.
But then, another tease. When she was about to reach her cheek again, Rainbow stopped. As soon as she looked, her lips were captured by Rainbow Dash’s.
Miley couldn’t see anything that was going on in there. But the strength of their love was strong enough for her to feed off of from being outside. Laying her head against the wall, she decided to rest there until their affections for each other had ended. She didn’t mind how long it lasted. The more they acted, the more her energy was fueled with love.
Class was about to begin. Cheerilee took note of all of the fillies and colts who were entering the schoolhouse, keeping track of who was absent and who was present.
The last filly to arrive again was Miley Heart. Cheerilee’s ears drooped. After yesterday’s conversation with her parents, she wasn’t sure what to make of with Miley. She wanted to be in good spirits with all her students. But with Miley’s… unique traits, and other things she didn’t want to think about, she just didn’t know what to do.
“Hey Miss Cheerilee?” Cheerilee gasped. She didn’t realize Miley was already in front of her. “Has lunch already been delivered to our class?”
Whatever was on Cheerilee’s mind left her to focus on the now. “Oh… It’s a little early to be thinking about food now, right? Just be patient. It’ll come.”
Miley smiled. “So it hasn’t come yet. Great!”
Miley just walked in after that, leaving Cheerilee baffled. Focusing on the now wasn’t easy already.
Trying to keep an eye outside and on the clock was quite difficult to do. Pretty soon it was gonna be lunch time for the class and there was still no sign of its delivery. It didn’t help that paying attention to the lectures was also important.
But finally, Miley saw what looked like a carriage that was heading towards the school. Her wings started fluttering, making her float off her seat. They carried her towards the window as the carriage started deploying.
“Miley, please sit back down,” Cheerilee said. But Miley didn’t respond. She kept looking at the carriage to make sure it was the one that delivered their lunch. And sure enough it was.
“Miley!” Cheerilee called again. The rest of the class had their eyes on her as well.
“Sit down Miley,” the voice of Scootaloo called.
“You don’t wanna get in trouble do you?” Sweetie Belle’s voice. That was when Miley turned to the class.
“I got it!” she beamed, leaving the rest of the class confused.
“Got what?” Apple Bloom asked.
“A lead on what I’ll find to enjoy!” Miley responded while flying towards the exit.
“Miley, please. There’s-” Cheerilee was interrupted.
“It was just like everypony here was saying.” Miley stopped at the door and turned around. “I wasn’t talking about myself because I didn’t know what I enjoyed. I never found that because everything I did was with my family. Now I found a chance, and it all starts out there!” She pointed a hoof outside, to nowhere in particular. Some of the students believed she meant to point at the carriage, which was already leaving.
“Miley-” Cheerilee was interrupted again.
“And besides, my parents talked to me yesterday, and they said everypony here needed some space away from me. It’s always good to listen to your parents, so here is your space!” Miley’s words sounded mad, but her tone sounded pleasant. She left the school with a single ‘bye’, taking flight towards the direction the carriage headed.
Cheerilee gave an exhausted sighed. “Stay here class. I have to do something.” And now Cheerilee was leaving the school. The fillies and colts were confused. Some of them looked to one another, discussing what just happened and why. But none of them were as ashamed as Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. They hid themselves under their seat with their ears flat on their heads.
She looked at the cloud Rainbow Dash was jestering to her. She hadn’t flown this high by herself that many times, so keeping herself airborne for long periods of time was exhausting. She did as Rainbow Dash told her and let herself land on the cloud.
A bit of fear was still on her mind even after landing. Looking down at the cloud, she could see that it was slowly changing color. The fact that she could also see the ground far below from the corners of her eyes didn’t help either.
“Just relax,” Rainbow spoke again and flew up to her. “The clouds out here can feel your emotions. As long as you don’t cloud your mind, you’ll be safe around them.”
Looking at Rainbow Dash helped clear her mind of the fear of falling off. She knew that even if she did fall, there was somepony here to catch her, somepony who was always there for her. And as long as her mind was filled with happiness, this cloud wouldn’t harm her.
Rainbow smiled seeing the cloud brighten back to its normal white color. “Remember, clouds have emotions too. So treat them right, and they’ll carry you anywhere.” Rainbow backed herself further away from her and the cloud. “Now let’s see you use that cloud to come to me. Just hang onto it and gently flutter those wings. Come on.”
Miley allowed her cloud to carry her in the skies of Ponyville, using it to keep track of the carriage she was following. It was always pleasant whenever moments like these brought memories to her. She sometimes wished she could feed off of her own love. But having those memories was enough for her.
Now, she wanted to make them proud. This is why she’s following this carriage. She felt she already had a lead on what her talent was. But she wasn’t sure how it could be expressed, yet.
Seeing that the carriage had stopped and reached its destination, Miley stopped her cloud. She made sure to note which building it was stopping to. Leaving the cloud behind, she let herself flutter down to the opposite side.
Taking a few sniffs, Miley noticed the flowers that had been growing in the back of the house. But those flowers were a bit strange to her. Although to another pony, they would probably look just like any other flower. After landing, she moved closer to the flowers. She could already feel how different they were. They weren’t expressing any sort of love around them, yet they looked healthy.
Miley took a few glances around her surroundings to make sure nopony was around, then looked at the house. She moved under one of the windows and hid her head beneath the window sill. After placing a hoof over her changeling horn hidden beneath her mane, she closed her eyes and sparked her changeling magic with as little strength as she needed.
Thanks to the use of her magic, she could now see what was inside the building. But because of the strength she put into her magic, she wasn’t able to move around much. If somepony were to see her, it would look like she was just staring at a wall. Instead, her vision was seeing through that window.
What she saw was a pretty complex set of decorated furniture. Some sofas held handles that looked like it could change their shape. There were shelves packed with supplies and vases that looked pretty expensive. There was even a display of diamonds near the front door. The walls held picture frames of bags of bits and some of them with a pony receiving them.
It was everything she could describe as a rich place. She was sure there was more to it, but she couldn’t get a clear focus on them. The atmosphere inside the house was making her too nervous to try and focus better. What she was looking for wasn’t its design, but rather, its feel.
But Miley found nothing. There was no love surrounding this house. She could see the pictures of a developed family living here, but the love was missing. A family without love, it was almost like…
Miley turned off her magic and moved away from the house, shaking her head. She suddenly felt like she was out of breath. Something was trying to enter her mind, but she shook it away.
Whatever it was, she wasn’t gonna let that stop her from finding what she was looking for. She decided to stop delaying and move to the front of the building. Clearing her mind with a smile, she knocked on the front door. It didn’t take long before an answer was made. The answerer was a female pony who she believed was the wife of the family.
“Hello Mrs. Rich!” Miley said while fluttering her wings. But the mare didn’t respond back. She just shut the door on Miley’s face. Her ears fell flat. She tried knocking on the door again. There was no answer.
Miley looked down in shame. There was no love in presence or action here. Whatever she was looking for was not going to be found here.
But as soon as that crossed her mind, her magic sensed something else. The magical spark made her body jolt. She quickly tried to hide it with her hoof, then jumped to a nearby bush. Keeping her hoof to her horn, she tried to check what it was.
She could feel love coming from somewhere else. But this sort of love was different. Not one that she would call lovely, but it was still there. Peaking out of the bush, she looked in the direction of where it was coming from. But with how many ponies were walking around, she couldn’t pinpoint where it was.
Thankfully, it looked like none of the ponies noticed her when her horn sparked, so she was able to come out of hiding. Her horn wasn’t shining anymore, but she still kept her hoof on it while moving closer to the source she felt.
It seemed to be coming from a green coat and black haired female earth pony sitting on a bench just on the edge of the town roads. She seemed to be staring at a photo, allowing Miley to sneak behind the bench to get a better feel.
The love that Miley was feeling from this pony felt familiar somehow. It felt empty, yet it was there. All she knew was that the pony on that bench seemed sad.
Deciding to figure out what was causing this, Miley activated her changeling magic again. She released a small ball of light and gently floated it in the air. With sweat dripping along her head, she glanced toward the pony and the light to make sure it was in the right position. When she was sure she was aiming properly, she quickly zipped the light straight at the photo.
The photo shined as soon as the light touched, making the pony gasp while Miley gasped inside. She fled the scene before the pony could look around to find the cause. Miley was already behind a building, sweat dripping down her forehead. She waited there for a few seconds. Nopony came to her, making her sigh in relief.
“I wish I could’ve had more time to learn about that. My parents are really good teachers.” She wanted to think back at the memory that taught her how to sneak around, but she needed to keep something else in her mind.
For that split second where her magic made contact with the photo, she was able to feel what was causing that strange love. She could only describe it as untapped love. There was somepony that this green pony had special feelings for, but they either didn’t have the same feelings, or didn’t know she felt that way about them.
That sort of feeling felt very familiar to Miley for some reason. It was not something she could feed off of though. But maybe she could do something about it. Keeping herself attached to that untapped love, she used her magic again to search for the source.
It didn’t take Miley long to find the source of the untapped love she felt earlier. And it wasn’t too far either. Peeking down from the cloud she was on, she saw a pink coat and gray haired earth pony, who looked like she was going back home with her errands completed.
Miley could tell that this was the source of that untapped love. And it looked like she was headed in the direction where that other pony was.
“Hmm…” Miley put a hoof to her chin, thinking back to another lesson she learned.
”Some animals are more confident than others, and some are too shy to try. Sometimes they just need a little push to find what they’re looking for. They may not even realize that 'something' is what they’re looking for. But that’s what makes finding it all the more special.”
This time, it was only words that Miley had to remember. She came up with a plan. Reaching into her saddle, she pulled out a small Fluttershy toy with a string on it. Taking a gaze at it, she said. “Don’t worry mom. I’ll make you proud!”
”And now, let me tell you the tale, of the toys who just wanted some fun.”
After Rainbow Dash’s start, Fluttershy gave a soft sigh of relief. “Toys. That doesn’t sound so bad.”
But Fluttershy’s relief just made Rainbow Dash smile before continuing. “It all starts with a single pony just casually making her way back home. Her name was-”
-Cinnamon Flake, who was just now gaining sight of her home before she suddenly stopped walking. She thought she had heard a small filly crying somewhere. Taking a close listen, that sound didn't return. Thinking it was just her imagination, she continued on. But the sound came again, making her stop. It was clear that there was a small filly crying somewhere, But the direction she heard it from seemed to be where an alleyway was. Being the caring pony that she was, she decided to investigate.-
A flashlight was pointed at Rainbow’s face. “Inside this dark alley, she found many boxes filled with toys. They were cute, sure. But nothing was cute about their figure. Dusty. Abandoned. Alone. Her hooves were trembling with each step already. But she continued, until she found-”
-the source of the crying. Cinnamon thought it was a filly at first, but a closer look showed that it was just a yellow pony toy with its hooves over its eyes. How it was emitting that crying, she had no idea.
And then, there was a sound of something that moved. She looked behind her, and found nothing. The move happened again, making her gasp as she looked the other way.
”Everywhere she looked, shadows were moving about. She wanted to scream, but she didn’t want those shadows finding her. But then, it crossed her mind that the little toy she heard the cry from, was nowhere to be seen.”
“H-Hey! Come back here!” Cinnamon heard a voice call. The first thing she saw was a picture being smacked into her face, and then a loud crash within the alley. “Ahh! What the?!”
“Casserole? Is that you?” Cinnamon asked. “What’s going on here? I keep hearing these sounds.”
”With the two of them trapped and nowhere else to go, the shadows closed in. ‘Go away!’ they said, ‘Leave us alone!’.”
A loud filly’s cry sounded followed by a flash of lightning, booming their ear drums. It was as if it responded to their protests. Cinnamon’s bags had all fallen out of her grip including the picture as she and Casserole held each other in their fear.
A wound up toy fell from the barrel behind them, causing them to jump and scream. They moved away from the barrel.
”But they kept coming. One by one, the toys appeared from the barrel. ‘Why? Why?’ the toys called, creepily crawling towards them with each passing second. ‘Why didn’t you play with us?’ they said.”
Despite how much she was shaking in fear, and how tightly her mother held her during the story, she was enjoying every moment.
“The poor ponies wanted nothing more than to run away. But backed in a corner, they had nowhere left to go. They approached. Closer… closer… …”
“...”
“Maybe we’ll play with you…”
The shadow of what looked like a dragon came into view. Cinnamon and Casserole held each other tighter in their fear of the beast stomping towards them with its vicious growl. They didn’t know what to do. They wanted to run, but they were cornered. They wanted to scream, but their lungs weren’t working. They wanted to just close their eyes, hoping this nightmare would be over.
”And then, the dragon appeared. It was all over right there.”
The nightmare had ceased. After one last flash of lightning, the large shadow had shrunk considerably. The growling was no longer vicious sounding. And the dragon walking towards them was very small. Casserole had stopped shaking, noticing the tiny dragon’s walking decrease. Slower, slower… until it suddenly fell over. Cinnamon was still shaking, but Casserole was able to walk up towards it.
“Cinnamon, look, it’s okay,” Casserole said, pointing towards the dragon. “It was just a wound up toy.” Taking a clearer look at the scenery, she noticed the rest of the toys scattered around. “It looks like they were all just wound up toys…”
Cinnamon took a few deep breaths. “Toys…” She held her chest. “It was all just… *pant* hallucinations… *pant*”
“Cinnamon? Are you okay?” Casserole rushed to Cinnamon’s side, who almost collapsed to the ground. Casserole held her firmly in her forelegs. Casserole tried so hard not to reveal her blush, but she couldn’t hide her body's increasing temperature. And yet, Cinnamon seemed very comfortable in her grip.
“U-um… come on,” Casserole stuttered. “I-I’ll get you home safely.”
Cinnamon sniffed, but smiled. She allowed Casserole to escort her. They used their strength to push the barrel that was blocking their path out of the way, and both left the alley.
When the ponies were out of sight, the toy dragon surrounded itself in a green flame. The flames quickly vanished, revealing Miley back into her filly pegasus form. She laid herself against a wall and gave a big whiff of the air, holding it in for a few seconds before releasing through her mouth with a pleasant sigh.
“That was sooo lovely…” She allowed her body to sink along the wall, savoring the taste of the love she tasted. It wasn’t complete, but it showed signs of the start of a very new relationship. All it needed, was just that little push to get it started.
She hovered slowly back up to the cloud she left her bag at. The love that she tasted felt so fa
miliar to her, like she had tasted it before. But for some reason, she just couldn’t pinpoint why it felt so familiar. All she knew, was that it was a pleasant thought to hang on to.
“That must be it,” she told herself as she reached her bag. “This must be what I was looking for. What my talent of being a pony is.”
Miley pulled out her book of Cutie Marks and placed it on the cloud. Now that she had found what she enjoyed doing, she felt she could finally choose one to stick with. There was no magical connection that would choose one for her when the time came, so she had to choose herself.
But oddly enough, Miley couldn’t bring herself to open her book up to find one. She just found herself staring at it, thinking about what she had done for her talent. Looking at the book wasn’t gonna help her choose. Her talent wasn’t gonna come from something she saw in a book. It had to come from something from her heart.
With that in mind, she set aside her book and closed her eyes. She then opened them to take a few glances around the scene, making sure nopony was around. Her eyes closed back afterwards. Placing a hoof on her horn, she activated her changeling magic once again.
A green glow slowly enveloped her body. Sparkles floated in the air. The sparkles were more gathered around both sides of her flank. Her body was glowing brighter with every second. Then, green flames spawned from the cloud surrounding where she stood. They floated up from her hooves to her head. When they reached past her body area, both sides of her flank changed with a glowing image. No longer blank, her flank spawned a green cracked heart with a bandage covering its top. Finally, the flames evaporated and the glow and sparkles vanished. She was complete.
Miley turned her head towards her flank and opened her eyes. She was proud of the results she had created. Re-closing her eyes she turned her head forwards, taking a whiff at the fresh air surrounding her before allowing her body to plop backwards on the cloud.
Many memories flooded Miley’s mind, all relating to her family. She wanted to rest, but the excitement of seeing their reaction to what she achieved anticipated her. But her body was too exhausted to move too much after all the magic she used up. The love she fed off of was just enough to get the job done. And when she returned to them, she was sure there would be much more to feed off of.
”Did you find her?”
“No…”
Miley opened her eyes when she heard those voices. As if luck had fallen upon her, she smiled, recognizing those voices. Picking herself up, she looked off the edge of the cloud in the direction of where it came from. She saw her parents near a playground park where trees surrounded by flowers bloomed. Holding on to her cloud, she fluttered her wings to fly the cloud over to them.
“Heeey!” Miley shouted and waved.
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were alerted to the sound of Miley’s voice and saw her approaching them on a cloud. They were both relieved, but at the same time, angry with their daughter. When she reached them, Fluttershy started. “Where have you been young lady?”
“And why did you sneak out of school in front of everypony’s eyes?!” Rainbow Dash continued. “At least show some class and use an excuse or sneak out without them knowing!” Fluttershy was a bit shocked at that response and stared at Rainbow Dash. With her ears falling, Rainbow corrected. “Sorry, not the time.” She returned her glare back at Miley. “But it’s still not right to be skipping school like that! What were you doing out here anyway?!”
Miley jumped off the cloud and looked up at them. “You know how you said I could find my talent in the most unexpected way? Well that’s what I did! And look what I found!” She turned to the side to show her Cutie Mark.
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy gasped at the sight of it. They weren’t sure what they were more surprised about. The fact that she got a Cutie Mark, or what the Cutie Mark was. They took glances at each other with their mouths held agape. But Miley just kept holding her pose, waiting for a response.
“Miley,” Fluttershy started. “We need you to go home now.”
Miley’s ears fell. That wasn’t the response she expected. “But I-”
“Listen to her, Miley!” Rainbow cut in. “Your parents need to talk, and YOU need to get home. Now get on your cloud and go!”
Miley’s heart began to sink within her blood. It felt like all of the love in her body was starting to leave her. Hesitantly, she obeyed and climbed on top of her cloud ride. With a frown, she looked to her parents. “W-will you be coming?”
“We’ll be meeting with you later, now get going!” Rainbow Dash took it upon herself to raise the cloud’s altitude. When it was high enough, she kicked it to start its motion. Miley’s cloud ride was starting to fly itself. She brought a hoof out and wanted to say something, but Rainbow’s glare made her too scared to say anything. The cloud was taking her away, and alone.
When Miley was out of sight, Rainbow Dash flew back down to ground level so she and Fluttershy could talk. “Will she be alright?” Fluttershy asked.
“Don’t worry. I set that cloud so that it’ll stop inside her room.” Rainbow released a sigh. She wasn’t sure what she should be more upset about. The fact Miley skipped class, or the way she did. But what was important now was its result. “Now about that Cutie Mark. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
Fluttershy had to glance away for a second while a tear formed in her eye. “If you’re saying her special talent is breaking hearts… yes…”
The words and tone from Fluttershy’s voice took Rainbow by surprise. “What? No! That’s not it at all!”
Fluttershy returned her look to Rainbow. “Wasn’t her Cutie Mark a broken heart? What else could it mean?”
“No Fluttershy. Weren’t you paying attention? There was a bandage on top of that heart.”
Fluttershy’s tear stopped. She put a hoof to her chin to think back at that. “A bandage? Are you sure about that? She skipped class to get that Cutie Mark.”
“Psh… Yeah! And that hasn’t stopped us now has it? Don’t you remember how successful we were after getting our Cutie Marks?”
Another pause from Fluttershy. “But… weren’t you kicked out of Flight School?”
Rainbow Dash snarfed. “I told you, I didn’t get kicked out. Why does everypony think I got kicked out of Flight School?”
“Well… you never told anypony what really happened.”
Rainbow placed her hoof on Fluttershy’s nose. “Well if you were more interested, I would tell you. But that doesn’t matter now. We gotta go visit Twilight right now,” she finished before taking to the air.
“Twilight? For what?”
“Haven’t you been paying attention to how Miley’s been acting? She’s been showing her love and care to everypony she meets!” Rainbow’s face warmed to a slight blush. “Not that I’m… all that into the sort of thing. But now she has a Cutie Mark to show that. Who else do we know that has a Cutie Mark similar to that?”
Fluttershy joined Rainbow in the air as she thought about that. “Princess Cadance?”
“Exactly! She must be destined for something awesome! ...Well, in a way, awesome, but still awesome!” Rainbow put a hoof around Fluttershy. “And there’s only one way we’re gonna find out! That’s why we have to go to Twilight and make that appointment!”
Everything that Rainbow Dash said made sense to Fluttershy. Her worries were put at ease. She believed that she did see the Cutie Mark wrong, and it was what Rainbow said. Realizing this, she made a nod.
“Good! Now let’s-” Rainbow Dash started flying, but then suddenly froze. “Wait… will Miley be okay at home by herself?”
“Oh don’t worry. I told Angel to look after her if she ever came by the house.”
“Alright! Then-” Rainbow froze again. “Hold on. You left Angel in charge?”
Fluttershy hesitated to respond. “Y-yes… Is there something wrong?”
“N-nevermind.” Rainbow shook her head and started flying slowly towards Twilight’s place. Fluttershy followed after her.
The Cloud Garden. That is what they could describe their home as. When she came into their lives, they had agreed to build a brand new home that would represent both of them. It was a very tall home that utilized both the skies and ground.
The higher points of the home was made with compressed clouds covered with structures that would support the weight of most small animals. The outsides held multiple cloud slides and wooden ladders for animals and ponies to climb in and slide out as they please. One of the slides circled the entire house two times with an end that leapt upwards, used for takeoff. Rainbow waterfalls decorated the outsides and fell into a cloud fountain. And of course, many windows without glass decorated the many rooms within.
The lower points of the home was made with the usual lumber to create homes. A smaller cottage was at its center, but the rest of the field was a large and spread out garden. There was enough space to form a meadow. The corners of the meadow held more tiny houses, pens, holes, tree coves, flower beds, lakes, and even a few houses made out of clouds for some of those flying creatures that liked it better close to the ground. One could say the home was far bigger down below than in the air.
It was everything that she could call, a paradise. But today… it was her prison. No animals were playing in the paradise today. Instead, almost all of them were in her room, which used to be decorated with lots of love and family care. One corner of her room held blue and yellow bean bags with wings spread to support the one who laid on these. The other side of that was her bed, fitted with a blanket that was decorated of butterflies with the colors of the rainbow. Even her pillows held pictures of her parents. Next to the door to her room was a dresser and mirror which she looked at every day before she ever went out of her room. The dresser itself however contained no brushes or makeup. There was a closet next to her door which held all her toys and books. And most importantly, there was a window next to her bed pointed at the exact location the sun would appear, greeting a beautiful morning to her every day.
Today… it was no longer home. The window was blocked by bats. The bean bags were covered with porcupines. Her bed was covered in a web with a large spider resting where the pillows used to be. And all her toys were replaced with real living animals. Standing on her mirror was the mastermind behind all this change, Fluttershy’s personal animal assistant and favorite rabbit, Angel Bunny.
“Angel, please! Let me out!” Miley begged as she tried to open her door, finding it locked thanks to him. Angel signaled a few birds hanging from the ceilings. They flew to Miley and grabbed her by the mane and tail, forcing her away from the door and made her sit in the middle of the room.
“I want to see my family… Where are they?” Angel didn’t listen to Miley’s pleads. He obeyed Fluttershy’s order to take care of Miley and make sure she didn’t leave before they came back. From Miley’s drawer, Angel pulled out a celery stick that he had prepared. Riding one of the birds, he was taken in front of Miley’s face. With a grin, he showed a fake bite into the celery to signify what he wanted Miley to do. But Miley scrunched and turned her face away.
“Oh… that doesn’t look lovely… Do I have to-” a bird silenced her by flying into her mouth. The bird forced her mouth to open, allowing Angel to stick the celery in her mouth before they allowed her to close it. Immediately, Miley was greeted with a foul taste. She wanted so bad to spit it out, but Angel wasn’t allowing her to. He kept his paws on both sides of her cheek and made a chewing motion with his mouth.
Tears started welling in her eyes as the horrible taste spread along her taste buds. There was no love added to this celery so she didn’t have a lovely aftertaste to look forward to. She moaned and whined inside her mouth, trying her best to continue chewing. If she was a normal pony, she would probably feel like hurling right now. But if she was a normal pony, she wouldn’t be disgusted with the celery in the first place.
Miley took one large gulp. The celery hadn’t been chewed much, and she just barely managed to avoid choking on it. The aftertaste was just as foul as the celery. She had to stick her tongue out and groan. Fortunately, Angel wasn’t that cruel and soon had a cup of water ready for her after she had eaten. Angel helped pour the water into her mouth. Thankfully water being water, the taste of it was normal to her, and it was washing out all the terrible taste that filled her tongue.
When Miley was done, Angel signaled the birds to carry her over to the spider web-filled bed. Her body shook with fear at the sight of the large spider waiting for her. She was assured that this spider was harmless, but the look on its eyes and the venom seeping out of its mouth told her otherwise. She wanted to fly away. She wanted her family. But the birds weren’t allowing her to escape.
Miley was dropped on the web, and immediately her wings were trapped. The spider had crawled over to her, using its many legs to roll her body around in the web. Whimpers escaped her as her shaking was slowly being forced to a stop due to the grip of the web.
It didn’t take long before her body was now cast in a cocoon, with only her head free to move around. She couldn’t even flinch her body when the spider gave a last nip at the cocoon to ensure its brace. Angel was next to her again, pressing both paws next to his head and making a snore. He jumped off the bed and started leaving. He signaled the rest of the animals to follow suit, leaving Miley alone with the large spider watching over her.
All Miley could do, was tear up. If she could, she would look down at her Cutie Mark and reflect what a terrible she had made. All she could see... all she would see, was the blank white prison that now covered her body, and her shamefully made Cutie Mark. This was her reward for finding her talent. Her eyes closed with that crossing her mind now. She never wanted this change.
“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?”
“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.
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.
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy shamefully walked through the castle halls of Canterlot, being escorted by Celestia’s Royal Guards. Normally they would be enthusiastic about this visit, but not today. Everytime a door opened within the castle, their hearts’ sank further down their body. At times, they had to close their eyes before they could pass a door.
”We still have to attend our meeting with Princess Celestia.”
Rainbow’s voice played in Fluttershy’s mind. She took another look at the saddle she was carrying, reminding her why she had to attend. Despite her heavy heart, she continued.
”We’ll stay behind to keep searching for her. You two do what you need to do.”
Twilight’s voice playing in Rainbow’s mind didn’t ease her heart. There was something else in her mind that she was trying to block. Something about Miley. Something that she never told Fluttershy about. But she didn’t want to remember it. She didn’t know what it meant either. And she was afraid if this meeting would give her that answer.
The last doors in the castle, leading to Celestia’s throne room had opened. The Royal Guard escorts turned to the two pegasi and gave their nod, signifying that they were clear to enter. Slowly but surely, they entered. The atmosphere in this room hadn’t felt this tense in a long time.
But their tension was nowhere near as high as the one hiding in the bag Fluttershy held without their knowledge. Miley’s body was twitching in her own fear, trying desperately to not reveal her presence. This was the last place she wanted to be. The only thing maintaining her sanity for the moment was the heartbreaking yet loving comforts that her parents were emitting with each other.
And then, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy stopped walking forwards. Miley could barely see outside the bag. But… her presence was very clear to her. The large white body. An aura-like mane that continued to flow as if the wind continuously blew on it, along with the tail. Very large, majestic wings and a horn. But most importantly, the Celestial Cutie Mark.
Every presence of this princess chilled every fiber of Miley’s blood. Her pulsating eyes felt like they would pop out of her head. She found it very difficult to breathe now. And now, their speech had started.
“Princess Celestia,” Fluttershy started. “We’re sorry that we came to you on troubling matters…”
Miley could hear their voices. She tried not to, but it wasn’t possible at this state. “What has got you two troubled?” The voice of Princess Celestia felt like it crawled through her skin, biting at her.
“It’s our daughter, Miley Heart,” Rainbow Dash spoke. “We made this appointment so that you could take a look at her.”
“She had just earned her Cutie Mark. And when we saw it, we had high hopes for her…” When Fluttershy mentioned Cutie Mark, Miley’s heart ached even more. It reminded her why she was here today, why she was hiding.
“But when we mentioned we were gonna take her to meet you, she... flew away.” Rainbow’s voice was as painful as Fluttershy’s was. But Princess Celestia didn’t lose her composure. She was neither smiling, nor angry. Just… fully listening.
“She was afraid to visit me?” Celestia said. Both pegasi took a glance at each other.
“We’re not sure…” they said.
“She was saying things like… ‘I won’t’, and, ‘I don’t want’. But she could never finish what she was trying to say.” Fluttershy rubbed a hoof against her other fetlock.. “After she flew away...” She pointed her head to the saddle she held. “We tried to look for her… But this was all we could find.” She stopped talking for a moment, shedding a few tears from her eyes. “I... don’t understand… She was always so happy… so free spirited. She enjoyed everything we did together. And now…” Fluttershy sat herself down as she tried wiping her eyes. Rainbow Dash move closer to her and started patting her back, trying to hide her tears.
“Tell me, when did this happen?” Celestia asked.
Rainbow Dash took a deep breath and answered.. “Yesterday… a few hours after she earned her Cutie Mark.” She stopped for a moment to rethink what happened. “It was also the day she skipped class in front of everypony. I mean, sure, we were glad to see her Cutie Mark, but we were still kinda upset about her doing that. So we… um… sent her to go home, alone.” Rainbow stopped talking for a moment to see if Celestia would respond. The fact that she didn’t gave her a bit of fear. She continued. “We were doing it so that we could make our appointment with you. And… we didn’t exactly leave her alone. We had Fluttershy’s animals watching over her.” She lowered her head as she remembered which animal was in charge of that. “I hope they didn’t treat her too badly…”
Fluttershy took a glance at Rainbow Dash during that comment, wondering if she should ask something. But before she could, Celestia started talking again.
“Your daughter cares about you, yes?”
“Very much,” both pegasi said in unison.
“She was very open to doing activities with us. Even-” Fluttershy silenced herself when Celestia raised a hoof in her direction.
“Has she experienced any other times of trauma?” she asked.
Fluttershy drag her hoof along the ground with her ears flattened. Thinking about that moment made her sick to her stomach. “Well…-”
“Actually, no.” Rainbow Dash’s sudden interruption shocked Fluttershy. The look on Celestia’s face made it look like even she didn’t expect it.
“But… what ab-” Rainbow interrupted Fluttershy again.
“There was a time where she was attacked by one of our animals. And it wasn’t something to take lightly. If we didn’t arrive when we did, we could’ve lost her.” Rainbow Dash stopped to inhale her breath for a moment to ease her nerves. Even now, she still found it hard to believe. “But the next day, she was up and about as if that attack had never happened. Like, not even a little hesitant to go outside.” She mashed a hoof against her head. “I mean, sure she was scared, but she didn’t seem tormented at all, like her mind was as hard as a rock.”
Fluttershy’s mouth fell open somewhat, having a hard time believing what Rainbow said, despite being there. Then Celestia started speaking and she quickly turned her head to face her.
“Perhaps your daughter has a more sensitive mind than you believe,” Celestia started. “But it didn’t show itself until now. However…” There was a short pause. “Why her torment came about now, I am not certain.”
Fluttershy bowed her head down. “We wish we could find her… When we do, we’ll talk to her, ask her what’s wrong.”
Rainbow Dash bowed her head as well. “We’re sorry we had to come to you like this. We only wanted to surprise her.”
Celestia also lowered her head. “It is no trouble, my little ponies. You only meant the best for your daughter.” After all three ponies raised their head back up, Rainbow and Fluttershy were about to turn to leave. “Before you go, Fluttershy, can you tell me about what happened to your wing?”
It felt like a sample of the celestial sun conjured by Celestia had entered Fluttershy’s body. It was a subject she didn’t want to bring, not because she was afraid, but for Miley’s sake. She didn’t want to talk blame on her daughter like this.
“Miley happened…” Rainbow Dash answered instead, making Fluttershy release a sad gasp.. “Ya see… after we told her about her appointment with you… she didn’t just fly away from us.”
“Rainbow…” Fluttershy pleaded.
“Don’t worry, Fluttershy. It wasn’t her fault.” Fluttershy couldn’t say anything more and let Rainbow talk. “Before she flew out, the clouds surrounding her started going berserk. She didn’t even have to touch them for them to activate.” Celestia’s expression changed, like she was surprised by this. “I don’t understand why it happened. It all started right after she was shouting and screaming. But the weirdest thing is, it even activated the clouds that were suppressed to never spark lightning again."
It was clear now that Celestia’s eyes had widened upon this new information. Rainbow Dash wasn’t sure what this meant, but when Celestia’s eyes focused on her, she felt like she was undergoing a stare more powerful than what animals experience with Fluttershy’s. A huge chill ran along her spine. Celestia was checking on her as if searching for something. She was afraid Celestia would find it too. There was something in the back of her mind that she was still too afraid to bring up.
But then, Celestia’s eyes switched to Fluttershy. Rainbow’s eyes constantly switched between Fluttershy and Celestia. But the comparison she saw with the two was shocking. Fluttershy was nervous, that was understandable. But the way Celestia was focusing on Fluttershy was different from hers. She couldn’t tell how, but it was.
And then, Rainbow Dash could’ve sworn that Celestia gasped inside. This was more confusing to her than it was shocking. Perhaps it was just her imagination? But it still bothered her. She wondered if it was possible that Fluttershy had a secret deeper than hers. But why?
“That will be all. You may leave now.”
When Celestia answered that, Rainbow decided for no more questions and turned around. Fluttershy saw Rainbow leaving and went to join her. But their walk out would be cut short.
“Your daughter, Miley Heart,” Celestia started again. Rainbow and Fluttershy stopped to listen. “She does not wish to be found right now.” Fluttershy had to turn around for this, but Rainbow stayed still. “She is confused under her own fear. Let her have her time to think. If she cares about you as much as you say, she’ll return to you when she’s ready. She knows where you live correct?” Fluttershy was too afraid to speak, but managed to nod. “When she returns, perhaps a therapist can help her reveal her fear.”
Rainbow Dash took a deep breath. This sudden change in tone from Celestia meant they should heed what was said more seriously. She may not have known why, but she didn’t need to.
“We will,” Rainbow answered. “Come on, Fluttershy.” Fluttershy took a glance at Celestia, then turned back to follow Rainbow. Nothing else was said until they left the room.
“Should I inform Princess Luna of these troubles?” one of Celestia’s Royal Guards asked.
“No,” Celestia answered. “I’m afraid her presence would only increase the issue.”
“Princess?” Celestia held a moment of silence. She was just staring in the direction Rainbow and Fluttershy exitted. Whenever this happened, there was something deep in her mind. This was confirmed when she spoke it.
“I only hope she tells them, before they find out the hard way.”
Everything was silent minus the train chugging along its tracks. Miley’s body tried its best to stay as still as possible within the bag. Fluttershy was clutching said bag as close to her as she could. She was missing her daughter so much. Rainbow Dash was sitting right next to her, holding their hooves together against their seat.
The visit with Princess Celestia had terrified Miley the whole way. But it was odd. The princess herself didn’t seem as scary as she believed, but that was what frightened her. The pureness in Celestia’s voice as well as her parent’s willingness to her requests, it frightened Miley to what it could've meant.
But before she could think on that, the train had arrived at its destination, releasing a loud roar from its steam engine. Rainbow and Fluttershy went to leave the train.
Outside in the night, they found all their friends waiting for them. They all held a sorrow expression on their face. When they approached, Twilight stepped forward.
“We’re sorry you two,” Twilight said. “We couldn’t find anything more on your daughter’s whereabouts. We tried.”
Fluttershy could only respond with a sniff.
“It doesn’t matter,” Rainbow said. “She doesn’t want to be found anyway.” Four sets of eyes had grown upon that response. “All I know is, she’ll come to us.”
With that, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy both walked past their friends and left the station.
Twilight wanted to ask how their visit to Princess Celestia went, but their response partially already told her. It was like they already knew what they were doing. She decided to give them time before she asked.
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy took a long look at their Cloud Garden, mourning over the state that it was in. With all the homes destroyed, Fluttershy had to get most of the animals temporarily moved somewhere else. Some of them ended up returning to the forest. And some of them insisted on staying, despite the state the garden was in. They wanted to do whatever they could to help.
Especially Angel, who was flying with Tank over to them. He was carrying a toy pony with him. A toy of Fluttershy, one of the toys Miley loved playing with. Angel put the toy down and dropped his ears in shame.
“It’s okay,” Fluttershy said. “You don’t have to look anymore.” Angel looked up at Fluttershy with concern. But they were already walking away. All Angel could do was carry on with Tank, keeping the pony toy with him.
Upon reaching their cloud home, they saw that the lower sections of the home was all but burned inside and out. The upper sections looked a bit more intact, although the clouds were no longer in their home-like shape.
Rainbow Dash offered a hoof to Fluttershy, which she took. Afterwards, Rainbow gently took to the air, carrying Fluttershy with her. Rainbow insisted that Fluttershy didn’t move her wings while she was being carried. She obliged, and they managed to reach the front door. After she was set down, Rainbow opened the door, allowing both of them to enter. But they didn’t stop there. Despite the state that their home was in, Fluttershy set Miley’s bag down and followed Rainbow somewhere. It was suddenly silent.
Miley soon realized that her bag had been left alone. Hesitantly, she peaked out of the bag again. She didn’t see them, but the fear in her heart was still strong. It was time for her to come out of hiding. But she decided to wait for a few minutes, just in case they came back. Seeing that a good amount of time had passed, she dropped her toy looking body out of the bag, activated her changeling magic, and transformed back to her filly pegasus form.
Still shaking in her hooves and breathing deeply, Miley took a look around the room. But the sight didn’t make her feel any better. The cloud walls were all crumpled down, no pictures hanging from them. Miley shook more and switched her view. Most of the furniture was burned to shreds and sunk within the cloud. Some of them probably fell through the cloud as the ground held multiple holes. Lowering her head and ears, she checked the direction of her room. Seeing the stairs were barely hanging made her slowly back away. The second floor of the house had nearly lowered to the first level. Even the windows were being covered up. And the atmosphere felt very soggy.
An audible thunk suddenly sounded in the house. After having finished replacing the bandages, Rainbow and Fluttershy were alerted to the sound. They left the kitchen to see what it was.
Miley had tripped over her bag due to her fear of the house’s state. Before she could pick herself up, she saw her parents at the kitchen entrance. Miley’s heart rate increased tenfold, both out of fear, and need. Her lips couldn’t stop quivering.
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were staring back at Miley with utter shock. They were glad to see that their daughter had returned, but there was something about her that they didn’t expect to see. Miley was facing them, but her body was turned to the side. They thought they had remembered right, but now they were convinced they didn’t. They saw Miley’s Cutie Mark as a broken heart, without its bandage.
“Miley…” Fluttershy softly said. Fear had filled her heart not just from the Cutie Mark, but the sight in her daughter’s eyes. She wasn’t sure what to say. She didn’t want to go back to believing what she thought the other day.
“I-I caused this… didn’t I?” Miley hesitantly said.
Fluttershy wanted to say it wasn’t her fault, but that wasn’t the right thing to say. She had to say something else. “Don’t worry about it, sweetie,” she said. “It’s okay. We’re more worried about you right now. Are you okay?”
Miley’s breath began stuttering. She didn’t know the answer to that question. All she could do was look into the caring eyes of the mother that she had hurt. Slowly, she took a step forward.
“Miley…” Fluttershy took a step forward. When she started approaching, Miley stopped. But Flutteshy, just kept going.
Rainbow Dash continued to watch the exchange. Fluttershy was coming closer to Miley, softening her steps the closer she got. Miley’s body was shaking with each step, slowly getting less and less tense. Even her breathing was starting to settle down.
But when Fluttershy got half way to Miley, she stopped. She sat down, looking at Miley with hopeful eyes. Rainbow switched her focus to Miley, begging for her not to run away again. She was itching to spread her wings again in case she did, but even so much as moving them might ruin any chance they had that Miley wouldn’t want to run off again.
And then, Miley did. She started running, but not away from them. She ran, straight for Fluttershy’s open forelegs. And when she closed the distance, she released her tears and cried openly within Fluttershy’s embrace.
“I’m sorry!” Miley said as she sobbed her breath. “I’m so sorry!”
Fluttershy patted the back of Miley’s mane as she continued crying within her coat. “It’s okay Miley, it’s okay,” Fluttershy assured. “All that matters is that you’re here now. You really had us all worried.”
Miley pulled her head out of Fluttershy’s embrace, sniffing while blinking some tears away. “I-I thought you would hate me… Look at our home…” She sniffed again. “It’s… it’s a…”
“Hey, Miley,” Rainbow Dash spoke up. “Don’t worry about our home. It’s no big deal. We can replace it.”
Miley took a few more sniffs. “Replace? Does… that mean we have to move?”
Rainbow Dash chuckled. “No, of course not. We’re just gonna rebuild it, fix it up.” Miley’s sobbing was starting to calm down, but she held a slight look of confusion on her face. “Believe us, we’ve had to fix up damages far worse than this before. We’ll have our garden back in a cinch.”
“The only thing that matters is that nopony was hurt,” Fluttershy finished. But as expected, Miley turned to her bandaged wing which made her giggle. “You know what I mean. My wing will heal with time. And I’ll be alright, knowing that you’re okay now.”
Miley looked Fluttershy in the eye. She believed what Fluttershy was saying, but she still couldn’t smile. Her lips quivered before another flow of tears came in. But it was much more calmed this time. It made Fluttershy’s heart warm as she rocked Miley in her embrace.
Rainbow Dash was a bit relieved at the sight she was seeing, but something else still made her uneasy. She may have only seen it once, but she swore she saw correctly when she saw Miley’s Cutie Mark the first time. Her mind kept telling herself that she didn’t see it correctly. But no matter how much it did, it still bothered her.
Whatever it may have been, Rainbow did know one thing. She had to heed what Princess Celestia told them. The only question to that was how Miley would take it.
Miley dangled a hoof down from the cloud ride that was being led by Rainbow Dash. Even though Rainbow agreed to Fluttershy that she could lead their next cloud ride with Miley, due to her damaged wing, she was unable to for the time being. Rainbow thought the least she could do was at least fly the ride in the style Fluttershy would, especially since the ride was escorting both Fluttershy and Miley.
As they flew the skies, Fluttershy was doing everything she could to keep Miley calm. She was embracing her firmly, brushing her mane with a hoof, wiping any new tears that had appeared in her eyes, and even giving her a few kisses on her forehead. It was working for the most part, but it wasn’t stopping the shivering.
The more Rainbow watch their filly, the more she thought on something that made her uncomfortable. All she could wonder was how much longer this would go on. She knew there was something wrong about Miley, but she didn’t know what. Even if she brought it up now, she wondered where that would lead, or if it would even help at all right now.
Rainbow shook her head. She had to focus on what was important right now. Their daughter needed help. That’s all she knew, and all she needed to know right now. She kept telling herself that, hoping it would all come together.
Their destination came within sight. Rainbow Dash carefully descended their altitude so that they would land nice and easy in front of the building she was looking for. It was a Therapist Center for ponies with ill-willed minds seeking an answer for their fears, distress, dreams, or any number of mental problems. Behind that building was a small hut with less borders for a more atmospheric environment. And although it wouldn't look like it, but the hut was surrounded by an invisible barrier that would let everything in, and out, except for sound. It would ensure that all conversations be kept inside.
There was a light purple unicorn with two shades of yellow in her mane and tail, waiting near the hut. Her name was Violet Straw, with a Cutie Mark that showed what looked like the top of a pony’s head and a black arrow pointing at it.
Rainbow Dash led the cloud ride down to park next to the hut. Miley, still a bit shaky, hesitantly climbed on Fluttershy’s back as they exited the ride. Violet seemed to be keeping her eyes on Miley and marking on her clipboard already. Looked like a good sign for Miley with the therapist they hired. All that was needed was Miley’s cooperation.
“Now remember, Miley,” Fluttershy started as she was walking towards the hut. “Violet here is just going to ask you some questions. She just wants to help you figure out what’s wrong. Don’t be afraid to answer.”
Rainbow Dash opened the hut for Violet and Miley to enter. Violet was already inside, but Miley was still trying to climb down from Fluttershy. “We’ll be waiting for you out here the whole time,” Rainbow said. “And don’t worry about what you say. Anything said in here, can’t be said outside, or used against you without your word.”
Miley slowly nodded while trying to settle her breathing. The words coming from her parents didn’t really help calm her nerves. The only one she was comfortable hearing was them being near while this session occurred. Nevertheless, she found it in her to enter the hut.
When Miley was out of sight, Fluttershy's worries returned once again. Rainbow Dash saw that Fluttershy had started frowning again with a lowered head. She inched closer to Fluttershy and placed a wing over her, making sure not to get too close as to avoid injuring her damaged wing. Fluttershy looked up to Rainbow as she felt that firm wing being wrapped around her. She saw the worry in Rainbow's eyes too. The look in them reminded her that she wasn't alone in this worry. It warmed her heart seeing how much Rainbow cared.
Fluttershy moved her head closer to Rainbow, and Rainbow followed suit. Their heads connected with each other, ever so lightly nuzzling together. Concerns filled their minds as one. Though their worries were a bit different, they were from the same source. They wished the best for their daughter, Miley Heart.
The atmosphere in this hut was very silent and still. The only real movements and sounds came from the gentle breeze resonating within the hut. To say that it was calming considering the circumstances would normally be the case. And if it was a few days earlier, it would’ve been.
But for Miley, she might as well have been in a swamp and the atmosphere to her wouldn’t be much different. She continued taking deep breaths, lying on a laying sofa while Violet continued to write on her clipboard using her magic. Overtime, Miley’s breathing settled to a fairy normal tone. It was settled enough that they were able to start.
“Now Miley,” Violet started. “Can you tell me how this all started?”
Hearing her question, Miley had to squeeze her eyes shut to keep her nerves in. After about two seconds of pressure on them, she hesitantly responded. “S-Started?”
Violet turned to her clipboard. “From what I understand, your family describes you as a wonderful and carefree filly, always open to try new things with them, until recently when an uncontrollable fear entered your mind. How did this start? What did you do before these troubles came?”
Miley’s heavy breathing somewhat came back to her. She looked away, turning to look at her Cutie Mark. This broken heart of a Cutie Mark now resembled how she felt about it. She didn’t mean to make it like that, but the way she felt made her remember it that way.
“I…” Miley sniffed. “I wanted… to make them happy. My family… by getting my Cutie Mark.” As Miley spoke, Violet was writing her notes on her clipboard. “I was able to do it. I… got my Cutie Mark. But when I came back to them to show them… they were… um… u-u-upset.” Miley’s tears were starting to return as she recollected her memories.
“Upset? Was it because of your Cutie Mark?” Violet asked.
“They… t-they…” Miley choked on her words through her sobs. “Sent me… home… sent me… away…” Her voice was growing higher pitched and more hyperventilated. “I w-wanted them… to be proud.” A hiccup followed by a shudder. “B-but, they… s-s-she” An image of the princess flashed in her mind, a stern looking glare. Miley shut her eyes, cowering her hooves above her head as she sank further in her seat.
“But Miley, your parents told me what they thought about your Cutie Mark. Have they ever told you?”
Still with her hooves on her head, Miley slowly opened her eyes, the fear in them still present. “They… They were, s-sending me to… t-to…” She just stared down, her pupils shaking in her eyes.
“To?” Violet asked, eying Miley carefully and keeping her actions in track with the clipboard. “Take a deep breath Miley. Try and speak it out.”
Despite what Violet said, Miley was still breathing heavily with her eyes down. Voices started coming to her head. They all mentioned one name. She spoke it. “Princess Celestia.” she spoke it. It felt like a piece of her heart had pulled away.
Violet nodded and scribbled more on her notes. “Mhm… it’s like everypony was saying. You seem to hold an uncontrollable fear of her. But the question is… why?” She set down her clipboard and looked Miley sympathetically in the eye. “What do you know about Princess Celestia?”
Miley turned her eyes back down at the sofa, taking slow, but large breaths in. The movements in her mouth was even struggling. She closed down on her teeth. “Sh-...” They opened back up, preventing her from speaking. They closed. “Sh…e...” The process repeated itself. Violet made note of every action, every hesitation into her notes.
And then, Miley looked up. “She’s the Princess… the ruler of us… of Equestria…” Many stuttered breaths escaped her lips from her pause. An image flashed in her mind, the image of the one that used to be her ruler. “Princess Celestia… she’s our Queen.”
Violet’s writing had frozen upon that word. Her expression had faltered there, revealing that she was a bit surprised. Miley continued.
“She’s watching us… always watching…” An image of Celestia flashed in Miley’s mind, making her inhale a painful sounding breath. “If she finds me…” An image of herself along with her parents being in the throne room flashed. “I-If she sees me…” Another flash. This time, being witnessed by everypony as her form changed back. She turned her head, believing the images were real, believing their voices were real.
”Your daughter is a changeling!” the voice of Celestia boomed in her head.
“No… please!” Miley’s head turned to Fluttershy, which to Violet was toward the door.
”You are not our daughter!” Fluttershy’s voice teared into her very soul, making her tears return full force. She lifted a hoof out as if trying to reach something.
“Please don’t send me away!” She turned another way as her voice grew louder with despair, Violet watching her every move.
”Get outta here! You lied to us, betrayed us!” Rainbow’s voice made another piece of her heart split.
“I don’t…” Miley backed her body away with her hooves, like a terrifying monster was directly in front of her. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” When her back hit the back of the sofa, she quickly turned around, seeing the image of Celestia right there.
”Return from whence you came!” The image of Celestia fired her horn at Miley. Miley screamed. She tried to crawl away from the blast, but she felt it hit. When it did, her body froze, her eyes went blank, and her tears had stopped. Even her wings and her breathing were stiff. It was as if time had frozen for Miley right then in there. It was silent. Silent. Until her body fell by itself, where she curled into a ball.
Violet put a hoof over her mouth. Of all the patients she's had to meet, she’s never dealt with a condition quite like this. She gasped when she realized she hadn’t been writing on her notes. Keeping an eye on Miley, she turned her page and started writing in a new section.
Miley’s actions hadn’t stopped there. She was still talking, still breathing. “Don’t leave me…” Her voice was reduced to whisper. “I can’t live… without you…" Her breath made very brief sobs. One breath out, two breaths in. Two breath out. Three breaths in. Seven breaths out. Violet wrote down every detail. Three breaths in. ”Without… your love…” Five breaths out. One large breath in. ”Don’t…leave me…”
Silent. Miley had grown silent upon that last breath. No more of her actions were presenting itself.
Violet levitated her clipboard in front of her to review her notes. She quickly skimmed through them with concern. She found it hard to believe, but everything towards Miley’s fear pointed directly to Celestia. She couldn’t believe a filly could express so much fear towards a princess as nice and wise as Celestia.
Violet continued reviewing them, trying to figure out why Miley was so afraid. It was strange though. Miley only seemed to hold fear of Princess Celestia, despite the fact that their were two rulers. Surely her dreams couldn’t have spoken ill of Celestia. Violet also thought about the things Rainbow and Fluttershy told. There was nothing about Celestia that was told to Miley that would express this.
She did find one possibility though, but it was a very delicate conversation to tread on. If she wasn’t careful, it could change the way Miley thought about her life forever. Seeing as Miley was currently passed out on the sofa, she decided to give Miley’s break time, and wait until she was ready.
A loud gasp came without warning. It came from Miley. She panicked on the sofa, violently breathing, turning left and right, checking her surroundings.
“Miley! Calm down!” Violet’s words didn’t reach her.
“Where are they?!” Miley frantically spoke. “Celestia! She’s here! I want my-”
“Miley!” The second time, Miley gasped and shot her vision towards Violet, pressuring her body with her breathing. “Princess Celestia isn’t here. Don’t worry. Nopony here is going to take you away.”
Miley took a clearer look at her surroundings. Her visions were starting to go away and return to reality. She wanted to see her family again, but they were nowhere to be seen. But she remembered where they were now, where she was now. With her breathing settling down, she now remembered she was still in a session with Violet Straw, and her parents were still waiting outside, probably still worried about her.
But now, all Miley could worry about was what she had done. She looked back at Violet. “Oh no… Did I do something bad again?”
Seeing Miley returning back to herself, Violet sighed a relief. “No Miley. You just panicked in your seat and fainted.” Miley took a sigh and slumped down in her sofa, not really happy with the scene that she had caused. “Do you wish to continue your session, or do you need more time?”
Miley shook her head. “No… we should…” Miley paused, releasing a hiccup. “We should…” Another hiccup. She looked down, away from Violet and answered more calmly. “We should.” It was the same words, but her tone meant what it said.
“Very well.” Violet levitated her notes back to her. She looked specifically towards a side note of the clipboard that reminded her what words to use to start this subject. “Let’s take a step back over the source of your fear and talk about how it started. You’re convinced that your parents wanted to send you to her because of your Cutie Mark.” She looked away from her notes and eyed Miley. “But before we get into what you think they think about it, let’s talk about you.”
Miley’s ears dropped. “M-Me?”
“What do you see, when you look at your Cutie Mark?”
Miley turned her eyes away, avoiding the sight of her Cutie Mark. “I-I don’t know… My paren-”
“Miley.” Violet’s interruption caused Miley to shiver. Violet had to quickly change her expression into a more friendly one. She needed to remind herself to be careful with this subject. “We’re not trying to talk about your parents. We’re trying to talk about you.” Miley’s body started crouching back down, laying her head forwards on her sofa. It was as if she had received a punishment and was accepting it. “Listen. I know how much your parents mean to you. You’ve expressed how much you care for them and how much their words mean to you. But let’s take a moment to stop thinking about them.”
Miley’s ears shot up, followed by her head. It looked like she would grow on full panic again. But when she saw Violet’s hoof stretched forwards as if telling her to stay silent, she obliged, much to her dismay.
“I know it’s difficult to think on that concept, but this is important. You will see them again. But what we’re focusing on, is the now.” Violet paused for a moment to view how Miley was taking this. There wasn’t much change, but she was still listening. “Pretend that your parents would love your Cutie Mark no matter what it was. Pretend that whatever their opinion is, is what your opinion on it is. Try not to think about what they would think. What do you think about your Cutie Mark. What did you do in order to get it, and talk about how that made you feel.”
Silence followed suit. Nopony changed their expression. Violet had a sweat drop from the side of her head, hoping she didn’t push things too far. She waited for Miley’s response, not wanting to change her own expression on the matter. They stared. Stared.
Finally, Miley closed her eyes, but her mouth stayed open. Her lips however appeared to be moving slightly, trying to usher out words. Nothing came from them. Not even her breath. It was as if her mind was talking to itself again.
“Remember Miley. Anything said in here, stays in here. Nothing said here can be used against you.”
Miley’s mouth stopped moving. And then, they closed while her eyes opened. And then, she was able to speak again.
“I left the school… to find my Cutie Mark. I did it because… I thought about what I was told the other day. About why I didn’t have anything to say about myself.”
Violet continued writing on her clipboard. Curiosity came back to her with what Miley was saying now. But this was good so far.
“To find my Cutie Mark, and to make them proud, I wanted to find what I like. But… I don’t think I found that…” Following Violet’s earlier suggestions, Miley took a deep breath, and let it out. “There were two ponies there. I could see their love. I could see that they wanted to be together, but were too afraid to tell each other.” There was a pause. “Again... I could only think on what others wanted, rather than what I wanted. I wanted to see them together... because they wanted to be together. So I did what I could. I gave them that chance. They don’t even know it was me who gave it to them. But I didn’t mind. I didn’t want them to. I…”
Miley stopped, suddenly feeling a huge chill run along her body. It was freezing to her stomach, her lungs, and more importantly, her heart. It felt like another piece of her heart chipped off from that icicle.
“That was when I got my Cutie Mark. I was happy. But, I was only happy, because they... were happy. They weren’t even my…” Another freeze. It lingered on for a moment. Something had clicked in her mind right then, something that made her more curious than afraid. “I never told them that…” 'Never told them' repeated in her mind.
Violet finished writing on her clipboard. Reviewing it, she believed she had a lead on the answer to this fear. “What do you think would happen if you told them that.” Miley opened her eyes back up and curiously looked at her. “Your Cutie Mark. When you were describing it, you never looked down on it.” The mention of this of course made Miley turn her eyes down toward it. “Yet despite what it looks, all you described was something that brought joy to you, and to others. What would they think about it, if you told them that?”
Violet wouldn’t know it, but this subject was making Miley feel more regretful than ever. “They hate it… They have to hate it…”
“'Have to' you say?” Violet put her notes down. “Have they ever told you that they hated your Cutie Mark?” Miley didn’t respond. “Why do you think they wanted you to meet with the Princess. What words did they use?”
It took Miley a few seconds to think on that, any words that they used that described, and described alone. “'Something… special…'” she said.
“Mhm… And do you think they would use that if they wanted to send you away?” After Violet’s question, Miley just nodded. “And why is that?”
Miley’s shivers returned. She tried to contain them, but they wouldn’t allow her to. All she could do, was repeat her reason. “If she sees me… she’ll send me away…”
Although Miley was frowning when she said that, Violet smiled. “I think I found the real source of your fear.” Miley’s face lifted to Violet, curiously. “You’re not really afraid of Princess Celestia are you? But rather, you’re afraid of what happens when she sees you.” Miley’s stomach had dropped, fearing if Violet knew. “You’re afraid that she’ll recognize you as this something that is special, and that special thing is what’s making them send you away.”
Miley’s breath released itself violently. Her hooves felt like they wanted to pick themselves up, and run away right then and there. She was too afraid to hear the end of this, but barely managed to stay put.
“Miley. Your family wish only for the best of you. But they would not force something upon you if you didn’t want them to. You’re afraid that your visit with Princess Celestia will cause a change to your life forever. Maybe she will take you as a student. Maybe she will take you to a special school. But it doesn’t matter. No matter what she would recognize you as, she would never take you away from those most important to you.”
Violet paused and drew closer to her. “And if you don’t want to leave them, tell them. What matters to you is just as important to them. They love you, just like how you love them.”
...That last sentence. Something released from Miley’s mind. Her eyes were stiff. Her body was stiff. And when those words registered to her mind as to what they meant, what they meant to her, her mind went stiff. It was then that the last piece of her heart, broke away from her body.
And then, her expression went normal. No more shivering. No more chills. No more fear. With her body back in control, she stood on the sofa, bringing her attention to Violet.
“Thank you,” Miley said without a tone or hesitation. “I understand now.”
Seeing that all the fear was no longer present with Miley, Violet nodded. “You understand your family’s feelings toward you?” Miley nodded normally, without a change in her expression. Violet was a bit surprised by Miley’s responses. But after tackling a subject as delicate as this, it was a better sign than seeing any signs of fear from Miley. “Would you like to see them now?”
Miley answered by turning her head to the door. She was sure they were still waiting outside for her. Climbing herself off of the sofa, she carefully started leaving. Each step she took echoed in her mind. Every step brought her closer toward that door.
Miley understood now. She didn’t understand in the way Violet said. But she understood now. Her fear was all too clear to her now. And now it was gone.
No, it wasn’t. It was still there, Her fear was still lingering. But now, it would no longer affect her. Her fear of that door she closed in on would no longer keep her away, no longer make her think otherwise. Her mind was set. She reached for the door, ever so carefully opening it.
“Would you like another carrot?” Angel nodded as his wound up Fluttershy toy held out a carrot for him. After he took it, he was about to munch on it. But his ears caught the attention of some ponies approaching. Leaving the carrot and the toy, he left his little shed to see what it was.
In the night sky, Angel saw Rainbow flying a cloud ride with Fluttershy and their daughter. The garden had been seeing quite the repair thanks to them and the help of the animals. But Fluttershy told them not to do anything unless one of them was around with instructions.
Seeing that they were just returning home, Angel wiped his forehead and went back inside. He wound up his Fluttershy toy, eager for its response.
“I love you!” the toy said. Angel smiled and rubbed his face up against the toy.
Fluttershy went in first. She carefully pressed a hoof against the sill and reached down with her other. After making contact with the floor, she picked her weight off the cloud ride, letting the rest of her body enter the room. Miley followed after, jumping off the cloud ride and through the window. When they both had entered, Rainbow Dash detached herself out of the cloud ride and left it parked there in the air. She then flew in through the window, joining Fluttershy and Miley.
The repairs for their home had been coming along nicely. They had already been able to fix up the bedrooms, the shower rooms, and the kitchen. Although a lot had been lost due to the storm, nothing was lost that couldn’t be replaced. And those that were still damaged, could be fixed.
They were hoping Miley had fit among one of those. That’s why when they got home, they brought her here. The first thing they wanted her to see, was her repaired room. And now, she was seeing it.
The bed sporting the rainbow colored butterflies blanket was right where it was, next to the window pointed at the direction where the sun would rise. The bean bags with wing supporters were right next to that. She couldn’t see if her closet had been filled back with the toys she loved playing with so much. But right now, that wasn’t important to her.
Rainbow and Fluttershy watched as Miley started walking towards the area where her front door was. Initially, they felt their hearts being pulled. But they soon realized that she was only going to the most important thing in her room. Her mirror table. They didn’t know why it was the most important, but it was the only thing Miley asked for hopes of being fixed or replaced.
Miley jumped up on the table to get a clearer view of the mirror. Every time she looked into this mirror, she would only do just that. No brushes were ready anywhere in her room. The drawers from the mirror’s table contained no makeup. In fact, they usually contained little snacks instead. Not even cleaning tools were present. Just looking at this mirror, was all that was important about it.
And that’s what Rainbow and Fluttershy were seeing now. Miley hadn’t spoken a word since arriving. She just stared into that mirror. Her eyes pointing towards every section of her body from head to hoof. No change in her expression.
“Miley,” Fluttershy winced inside when Rainbow broke the silence. She feared doing it herself, fearing for the worst. But Miley hadn’t responded to it, so now it seemed needed. Rainbow continued. “How are ya feeling, Miley?”
A few seconds of silence followed suit. Miley responded. “Bad…” She turned her head to them. “Just like you.” Her view went back to the mirror.
It was an odd response, but Fluttershy stepped forward to speak. “Miley, please tell us what’s wrong. We want to be here for you whenever you’re feeling down.” Miley’s eyes lowered from the mirror’s view. It seemed like the words were reaching her.
“Listen, Miley,” Rainbow continued. “If this is about Princess Celestia again, remember what your Psychiatrist said. We would never-”
“Not… about her...” Rainbow’s words were cut off when Miley started to speak, barely audible. ”It never was…”
“Huh?” Rainbow stepped closer for a better hearing.
”I’ve been… I-I’ve been...lying.” Rainbow Dash was about to question again, when suddenly, Miley spun around and kicked her hind hooves against the mirror, emitting a shatter loud enough to startle some of the animals outside.
After Rainbow and Fluttershy recovered from their wince, Miley had dropped away from the mirror and faced towards them with her head down. Her teeth were gritting with slight sobs escaping them like she was desperately trying to hold back tears.
“What did you-” Rainbow was interrupted again when Miley looked up and shouted.
“I’ve been lying!” Miley turned away, speaking through her sobs. “T-This was never about Celestia in the first place! I, I’m afraid! And I’ve always been afraid! Sca-a-ared because I’ve… I-I’m…” The hiccups in her sobs made it too difficult to continue what she was saying. She sat down and covered her eyes with a single hoof.
Rainbow Dash became a bit nervous pursuing this subject now. Biting her lip, she took a step back while Fluttershy took a step forward with a caring, yet concerned expression. “How long have you felt like this?” Miley didn’t respond. She just kept hiding behind her hoof, sobbing. Fluttershy decided for a different approach. “Miley… if it makes you feel better, tell us. It isn’t healthy to keep these things bottled up. So please, if it’s that bad keeping it inside, then let it out for us.”
Miley wiped the tears away from her eyes and put her hoof down. No new tears made itself present, but she still wasn’t speaking. She just continued staring down, her eyes lightly pulsating like they were trying to form new tears. They wouldn't come though. As Rainbow Dash stepped forward again, Fluttershy continued.
“Remember. No matter what it is you’ve been lying to us about, we will still love you like a good family would.” Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash reached their opposite side hooves towards each other and pressed them together. They held them together much how they would hold onto their hope.
“No…” Miley responded. Irritation formed in Rainbow’s mind.
“Come on, Miley. You know how kind-” Rainbow was interrupted again.
“Not been lying to you… Just… … lying…” Rainbow and Fluttershy looked to each other with confusion, wondering what she was saying. She looked back up to them, slowly standing herself up. “I have to show you… s-show you what I’ve been lying about… What I’ve been so af-… afraid of you to find out.”
It was then that Miley turned herself to the side, closing her eyes and keeping that same frown. Of course, the first thing they saw was her broken heart Cutie Mark, reminding them of how this all started. When they saw that heart, curiosity made them wonder if that Cutie Mark had anything to do with what their daughter was saying.
But then, as Rainbow looked into that heart, her own heart, bat a beat ten times more powerful than any beat has ever done. Every nerve in her body and brain tingled at that beat, making her feel just how bad of an omen Miley was making this out to be. But this went unnoticed by both other ponies as Miley showed them her Cutie Mark.
And then, Miley’s Cutie Mark began to glow. Sparkles started resonating from it. It seemed to be peeling itself off from the bottom. When it got to the top, it fell gently like a leaf, swaying back and forth. But it was still resonating that glowing sparkle. Fluttershy was beginning to think that Miley had faked her Cutie Mark. Because now, Miley’s flank bare blank right in front of their eyes.
The broken heart Cutie Mark reached the ground, where it looked like it laid stiff. But it wasn’t touching the ground yet. They would’ve guessed that it was over now, until the Cutie Mark started spinning itself around. It spun faster, and faster, then started circling around Miley’s hooves. Miley didn’t move from her spot as her own Cutie Mark spun circles around her.
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy watched as that Cutie Mark gained speed, faster, and faster. The Cutie Mark reflected off their eyes and they could no longer keep up with it. The speed became so fast that they could literally see multiples of that Cutie Mark.
Suddenly, a green flame circled around the path that Cutie Mark flew in. Both Rainbow and Fluttershy opened their mouths in awe, Rainbow feeling more stings crawl under her coat and in her skin.
The green flame started rising along with the Cutie Mark. The light from the flames resonated along the cloud walls as well as the broken shards of the mirror. It became bright enough that it was difficult to look at in this night. But Rainbow and Fluttershy did not tear their eyes away as they witnessed that flame engulfing their daughter.
Miley’s appearance was changing as the flames passed her body. Her yellow hooves had now turned black. Her legs revealed to have multiple holes in them. The flames reached up to her wings, revealing a clear bug-like set, revealing more holes in them. Her blue tail started vanishing and was replaced with a black bug-like one. They reached her closed eyes and passed the top of her head, engulfing her mane and revealing more black. And finally, the Cutie Mark flew to the front part of her forehead and connected with it, engulfing itself into flames and revealing her horn. When the transformation was complete, she turned her body to Rainbow and Fluttershy, slowly opening her eyes, and revealing the deep lifeless blue in them. Her eyes blinked once.
Every muscle in Rainbow’s body begged itself to flee from the room right then and there and hide herself forever. From the very start, she knew that there was something wrong with their daughter, and she ignored it every time the signs came. Now, it has come back to haunt her. She stared at Miley in shock, fighting every urge to not move where she was.
Fluttershy was not taking it any better. Fear filled her mind and her eyes shrunk pea-sized. She could barely supply her lungs with the oxygen that they needed. Her mouth vibrated gibberish words, trying to get them to say something clear.
“You… Y-Y-You’re a… a-a c-c-c… Changeling?!” Fluttershy bursted out. She placed a hoof on her chest and started hyperventilating. “N-No! T-T-That can’t be right, if you’re a changeling, t-then… Celestia… our foal… o-o-our... “ She gasped. “Oh no!” Fluttershy turned and was suddenly starting to run. It looked like she was headed toward the window, but Rainbow stopped her.
“Fluttershy, stop!” Rainbow shouted.
“But Celestia made a mistake!” Fluttershy responded. “If Miley is a changeling, then our foal-”
“Celestia made no mistake! Now come over here!” Fluttershy yelped as Rainbow started dragging her to the door despite the struggles.
“Wah-” Miley reached a hoof slightly out to them as they passed her by.
“Go to our room, Fluttershy! I’ll explain everything there!” Although Fluttershy still struggled to get passed her when they reached the door, Rainbow struggled keeping her there as she turned to Miley. “Miley! Please don’t-... wait…” Rainbow retraced her words as a thought came up, the struggle causing feathers to go flying from Rainbow’s flapping wings and Fluttershy’s one flapping one. “Miley, what’s the name of Fluttershy’s favorite pet rabbit? And answer quickly!”
“U-Uh… Angel Bunny?” Miley answered nervously.
“Okay, just had to be sure. Now Miley, please stay here! This has nothing… Well no, it has everything to do with you. But not for the reasons you think! Gah! I’ll come back later and explain everything. Just please! Don’t! Leave!” Rainbow Dash finished with a large grunt as her wings flapped faster, forcing Fluttershy and herself out of the room with the doors closing behind them.
Miley… was just standing there, staring at the door to her room, now revealed, yet alone. But oddly enough, all the fear that was present in her was gone for the moment. Of all the things she had expected as a response to her reveal, this was not one of them. Only one question was filling her mind right now.
Rainbow Dash had managed to push Fluttershy to their room, where she had followed up with locking the door and prevented Fluttershy from leaving. Fluttershy, still hyperventilating, was frantically trotting in place, looking for a way to leave.
“Rainbow Dash! We have to go to Celestia. Miley’s a changeling. Our foal… our real foal is still-”
“Fluttershy! Our foal is not out there. Miley is our-” Rainbow stopped herself as she realized what she was saying. “Actually, no. Miley isn’t our foal.”
“See?! That must mean our foal is-” Rainbow cut Fluttershy off again.
“Our foal was never with Celestia! We never had a foal, Fluttershy!” When those words escaped Rainbow’s mouth, Fluttershy’s panicked stopped and was replaced with a stock-stilled fear. “Look Fluttershy, when we received Miley from Celestia that day, the letter that was there wasn’t from Celestia. And I could tell because the writing was very sloppy and wasn’t even close to hers.”
Fluttershy started backing away, looking towards the ground. “B-But… if Miley isn’t our foal… and we never had one… then why…” Fluttershy looked to Rainbow Dash. “What did we do wrong? Didn’t we do what we needed to get a foal?”
Rainbow Dash cringed and sighed. She started walking towards the bed, passed Fluttershy. “No, Fluttershy. That isn’t where foals come from. Don’t you get it?”
Fluttershy put a hoof to her chin. “Then they do come from the hospital?”
“Nooo!” Rainbow grunted loudly and let herself fall hard on the bed in grief.
Fluttershy’s ears dropped. “I don’t understand… Where did Miley come from then? And why didn’t you tell me she wasn’t our daughter?”
Rainbow Dash sat up and sighed. “I don’t know…” She picked herself up, sitting at the edge of the bed. “But when I saw you two together like that, how happy you were… I was too afraid to tell you… Like if I told you the truth, that would ruin not just your happiness, but Miley’s. And… and...” All she could do was finish with a sigh. Fluttershy walked over to the bed and sat next to her, where they looked each other in the eye.
“Rainbow…” Fluttershy started. “Do you know where foals come from?”
Right after Fluttershy asked, Rainbow got off the bed and answered. “Yes!”
“But I don’t understand… if you knew, then why didn’t you tell me?”
Rainbow turned around a pointed a hoof at her. “Because you didn’t know!”
Fluttershy backed her head away at the sudden violent gesture. “I… What do you mean?”
Rainbow’s voice trembled over many different words. “Because… they come from us… They… I… Y-You… The animals… Gah!” She turned her head away in shame.
“What do you mean they come from us?”
Rainbow’s stomach sank deeper into her body as she tried to talk. “I… Me and you, I…” Seeing she couldn’t control her words, she sighed. “I can’t tell you… I don’t know how to… I’ve been trying and trying… but if you don’t know already, how could I… How would I be able to… Grrr!!!” Rainbow shook her head with irritation. “I don’t know how to tell you! I don’t!” She turned her head away to avoid vision with Fluttershy. The thing that caught her eye was the closet. Something in that closet provided a very delicate thought in her mind. There was something still in there she could use... something she wished she didn't have to use. “I don’t… I can’t tell you… But I… I-I think… I think I can… show you…”
“Hmm?” Fluttershy’s ears turned up, somewhat confused as to what Rainbow was saying. Rainbow returned her vision with her.
“Fluttershy… you trust me, right?” Rainbow asked in a very careful tone.
Fluttershy tilted her head. “O-Of course I do… Why wouldn’t I?”
“Because I need you to trust me more than that.” Rainbow was backing up, appearing to be headed towards the closet. “I need you to trust me more than you have ever trusted me before. And whatever I do now, please… please don’t get mad, or scared, or something else bad.”
Fluttershy had no idea how to respond. Her heartbeat suddenly increased at the amount of pleading Rainbow was setting upon her. Rainbow was really serious about this, but she had no idea why. It had been forever since she ever had to hide behind her mane whenever she talked to Rainbow Dash. But now, she found her eye hiding behind one of the locks of her mane.
“O-Okay…” Fluttershy responded with a nod.
Rainbow took a deep breath and reached her hoof to the closet door. “Then I’ll show you… I’ll show you where foals come from.”
With that, Rainbow Dash opened her closet door. What followed after was the last thing Rainbow Dash would ever expect to hear in her entire life, even from Fluttershy.
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had been out of the room for quite a while. Miley, now bare in her changeling form, could not make up her mind between switching her vision to the door and the outside window. The longer the seconds passed by, the more she thought it would be all the better to just leave right now. But with what Rainbow Dash told her, she couldn’t help but listen.
Listening seemed to be proving Miley worse for wear with what her magic was feeling right now. There seemed to be love coming from the bedroom Rainbow and Fluttershy were at. But the love was tainted. She remembered that taste. It was the taste she experienced a long time ago, before even knowing her family.
No… not her family. Before knowing Rainbow Dash or Fluttershy. She wanted love, not this. But no… She didn’t want love right now. She wanted to leave. No. She wanted to listen to Rainbow Dash. Not that either. She wanted to… She didn’t know what she wanted.
Miley looked away from both the window and the door, breathing heavily all of a sudden. She wanted a distraction right now. That’s what she was sure of. But the only thing that came to view and mind was the broken shards of the mirror. She walked over to them, hoping to see her reflection in one of them. No pieces were big enough. Using her hooves, she tried to arrange them so that they would show her reflection together. She moved one piece here, one piece there. It didn’t matter where they were positioned, as long as it was enough gathered together.
A lot of time had passed, but Miley was successful. The pieces she had arranged were enough to show her reflection. But all she could see, was the broken reflection upon herself. That’s what she was right now… Broken…
A door opening suddenly snapped Miley out of her thoughts. Looking behind her, she saw the door to her room open, revealing Rainbow Dash entering and closing the door behind. It was just like she said she would do, but she was alone. Miley attempted to look behind her, wondering why Rainbow was alone.
“Don’t worry, Miley,” Rainbow said while putting a hoof up. “Your… um… Fluttershy… is just taking a nap right now. I told her it would be okay.”
But would it really be okay? That was the question Miley wanted to ask right now. But instead, a different question came to her mind. “What were you two doing?” she asked.
Rainbow Dash shook her head lightly and started walking to her. “I know I said I would explain when I got back… but I kinda don’t want to right now.” When she reached Miley, she sat down and put a hoof to Miley’s head. “Besides, if you don’t know now, you probably shouldn’t know until you’re older.”
Miley thought about asking what that meant, but she had a feeling it would give the same answer. She just looked up at Rainbow Dash, nodding as a sign of understanding. She could feel a breath of nerve release coming from Rainbow Dash. She wasn’t sure what to say right now.
“So… you’re a changeling, huh?” Rainbow asked, to which the answer was obvious, but the tone was oddly calm.
“You mean, you’re not scared, or mad?” Miley asked.
“Kid… from the very moment you entered our family, I knew that you weren’t really our daughter.” Rainbow stood up and started pacing. “But when I saw the faces on you two… Fluttershy’s, and yours, I couldn’t bear to say anything. Like, if I did say anything, it would take away the happiness we were given that day.” She stopped pacing for the moment to look at Miley. “The one that you gave us, actually. Speaking of which, do you remember that day?”
“Y-Yes…” Miley responded.
“Then…” Rainbow waved a hoof. “Feel free to not answer this, but who was it that really sent you to us?”
Miley had to turn her vision back to the mirror shards before responding. “No one… I came to you mys-... or rather, you came to me…”
“Huh?” Rainbow responded with a tilt to her head.
“When you two came to the hive… well… after what happened there actually… my magic, my changeling magic felt something with you two. And it allowed me to follow you when you left.” Miley turned to Rainbow Dash and placed a hoof on her own horn. “I think it was, untapped love. A love that was there, but was missing something before it could happen.”
Rainbow Dash released a breath in awe at what she was hearing. She couldn’t believe that her trip to the changeling hive actually meant something. Miley continued.
“When I came to your house, and saw the sadness that you two shared, I could feel that love hinging. If something wasn’t done, the love that you two had might’ve broken, and never came back. So I did what I could to make sure that love happened. I changed myself into your foal. I hid what I really was from you for a long time. And now... “ Miley paused. “N-Now…” Miley stopped. She looked down and sighed.
Rainbow Dash’s eyes focused on Miley in disbelief. She started walking towards her. “You did that for us just so that we could be happy?” she asked. “But what about you? What about the rest of the family in your hive?” Rainbow paused to turn away. “N-Not that I really think they’re great and all, no offense, but…” She turned back and continued. “What made you want to abandon them like that?”
Miley shook her head. “The hive wasn’t very lovely at all. I could never keep up with them. No matter how hard I tried, I could never find love. And whenever I did find love… it was tainted… disgusting…” Miley stuck her tongue out with a scrunched face of disgust.
“Tainted? What do you mean?” Rainbow asked. “What could a family be doing to cause that?”
Miley turned her head to the door. “Well… I tasted something like it earlier today… when you told me to stay here so you two could… talk?” Rainbow’s eyes went wide as her face started flushing red. The memory of Chrysalis’s reaction to the love from her and Fluttershy flashed in her mind. She had a feeling she knew exactly what Miley was talking about. “And I was always punished whenever I told them about the taint. None of them really believed me. The other changelings… my Queen…”
Suddenly, the door to Miley’s room opened. Rainbow and Miley turned their attention to it. Rainbow’s body heated up even more upon sight.
Fluttershy was there. Her body was showing resistance in her shivering. Her hooves were unstable standing on the cloud. Her right undamaged wing was pressing unusually hard against her side. And her eyes were small, yet trying to focus purely on Miley. It was as if Fluttershy was putting all of her energy to keep herself standing still.
“I-I’m fine…” Fluttershy said. “Really I am.”
Rainbow Dash wanted to tell her to go back to their room and rest some more. She thought the experience of the lesson she taught earlier would leave Fluttershy mentally exhausted for much longer than this. But seeing as Fluttershy was already up and going, she had to ask.
“How much did you hear?”
Fluttershy started walking forward and answered. “Enough to hear how Miley came to our family.” Rainbow Dash watched as Fluttershy’s hooves shivered with each step. Clearly she hadn’t recovered from her experience yet, but she looked determined to be here right now, like she felt she was needed.
“Miley, Rainbow,” Fluttershy turned her head to them as she mentioned their names. “You both held a secret from me ever since our family formed. Even though I was confused, I was so happy when we all came together.” Fluttershy paused as her ears dropped and her head lowered. “I wish I could say you didn’t have to go through so much for me… But how I reacted today, maybe it was for the best that I didn’t know.” Her ears and head raised with new confidence.
“But now I do know. And I want to make it up to both of you. Rainbow.” Fluttershy turned to her. “I don’t care that our family was never official. To me, you did keep your Pinkie Promise in the end. And I’m very grateful that you hid that from me, just to make me happy.”
Rainbow Dash tried to hide a blush as she responded. “Aww, Fluttershy. I would do anything for you.” Fluttershy smiled then turned her head to her daughter.
“Miley.” Miley looked at her curiously as she spoke. “Even though you weren’t our daughter officially, as long as you still want to be, you still are our daughter, you know? You came to us when you were just a baby. And we raised you just like a loving family would. We even gave you a name that you loved. To me, you’re still our daughter. We’re still a family.” Fluttershy closed her eyes. “Because we all love each other, just like a true family would.”
It warmed Rainbow Dash’s heart to see just how well Fluttershy was taking this. It wasn’t just the fact she had to handle the reveal of their daughter, but also the reveal of where foals really came from. Rainbow felt at peace now. The fear that she held in her mind for the past year could finally be put to rest.
“No…” Both Rainbow and Fluttershy’s thoughts were interrupted when that voice spoke. It was low toned, and they weren’t sure where it came from. But when they looked toward Miley, a chill ran through their body. “You’re wrong…” Miley slowly lifted her head, revealing her serious look through her lifeless blue eyes. “I… don’t care about you guys…” Her words sounded full of hate, but her tone seemed filled with fear. She slowly let herself stand up straight, watching the other two’s eyes fill with concern.
“Miley, what are you saying?” Fluttershy asked, not believing what just came out of Miley’s mouth.
“You said that I care about you the same way you care about me… But I don’t…”
Rainbow Dash stepped forward. “How can you be saying that?”
Miley looked to Rainbow Dash, then to Fluttershy. After a moment, she turned away and looked to the pieces of the shattered mirror behind her. “I was always told that I could never talk about myself. When anypony asked, I always talked about you.” She closed her eyes and thought back to her first day at school. “I told them… my family was everything, that I was nothing without them… couldn’t live without them. I always talked about you, because I could never talk about myself. But… Talking about myself...” She paused and turned to Rainbow and Fluttershy. “That wasn’t true…”
For some reason, Rainbow’s heart bat a beat at almost the same pressure she felt before Miley revealed her secret. She and Fluttershy looked at each other, both wondering where Miley was going with this. But Rainbow felt far more scared to find out for some reason, like her instincts were screaming at her of this bad omen. And it all came from the way Miley toned her words, ‘that wasn’t true’.
“What do you mean?” Fluttershy asked.
Miley’s eyes turned down. “You remember the time… I remember the time… The time I was attacked by a bear.” The sound of a small gasp came from Rainbow. “I was scared… I was in pain… If you two didn’t show up when you did… I don’t know what might’ve happened. You calmed the bear down, took me in, and treated my pain. But you weren’t treating them the way you thought you were… You were treating them… with your love.”
Fluttershy just looked at Miley with a confused look. She understood what Miley was saying, but she had no idea where she was getting at.
“Hold on,” Rainbow stepped in. “Is that how your wing was able to heal so fast?”
“What do you mean?” Miley asked, blinking twice.
“When we were treating your injuries, one of your wings was… we saw a huge hole on it. Even after we treated it, we were worried that you would never be able to-” Rainbow suddenly stopped when she took notice of Miley’s wings. Seeing the holes in those wings gave her the answer to her question. And Miley noticed.
“I was never in pain at all. I was only scared.” Miley turned her attention away from them. “The injuries that you saw… the pain that you saw… I understand them now. They were just parts of my body losing my pegasus form, showing you the hideous body that you see now. I was so scared that you would see what I really was. When you treated me with your love, you weren’t treating my injuries.” Miley turned back to them. “I was lying to you… so that I could feed off of your love.”
Rainbow Dash’s body was trembling over the words she was hearing. She didn’t want to believe what Miley was saying. They couldn’t be true.
“Miley-” Fluttershy tried to say something, but was interrupted.
“Don’t you see? I never cared about you. I never cared about being in your family. I told them, I told myself, that I couldn’t live without your love.” Miley’s tone was grasping at the words she was spouting. “I couldn’t bare to think about what would happen to me if I was ever seen like this. I’ve been lying to you so that I could steal your love. Every time that I talked about you, I was only talking about the love that I was feeding on.” The volume in her voice continued to increase. “I could never find some way to talk about myself, because I always was talking about myself. Never about you!”
Fluttershy reached a hoof out. “Miley, please-” But the words didn’t reach.
“If it wasn’t for me living off your love, I would’ve never came to your family. If I wasn’t stealing your love, I wouldn’t be around here. Every time something didn’t involve love, I always avoided it. Nopony liked my affections so they avoided me, which made me avoid them! But you loved my affection and that gave me more love to feed from.”
“Miley! Stop it!” Rainbow shouted. “You’re not thinking straight!”
“How else could you explain what I am? When was there a time I ever enjoyed doing anything that didn’t involve love?!”
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy tried to respond, but the realizations of what was said were kicking in their minds, making them hesitant to answer. They saw Miley’s breath shuddering with a burning venom. The more her words came out, the deeper their meanings meant to her.
“What about all those times you enjoyed playing with our animals,” Fluttershy asked. “You looked like you were always having so much fun playing with them.”
Miley turned her head to Fluttershy, still with that same serious expression. “You loved watching me play with them. The more I played, the more I fed.” Fluttershy’s eyes grew wide at such a cruel toned answer. She didn’t want to believe at all what was said.
“What about when you went to get your Cutie Mark?” Rainbow asked next. “You weren’t with us then.”
Miley turned to Rainbow the same way she turned to Fluttershy. “That was the worst day of my life since living with you.” Rainbow felt as if a sword had cut through her heart and twisted it out of her body. Her breath had stopped working upon hearing those words. “You were angry that I left class that day, and I deserved your punishment.” Miley’s body was starting to shake. “B-But there was no love that I could feed off of... There was no lovely reward for what I had done. A-All I was given… w-w-was…”
A low rumble could be heard resonating along the house. Rainbow and Fluttershy looked around as their hooves began to tremble. The rumble soon stopped, and they could see that Miley was no longer shaking. But she was looking around, just as they were. She then turned back to them with a very deep concerned face.
“Miley…” Fluttershy squeaked, not sure what to say.
“When you told me I was gonna visit Princess Celestia, I hurt you…” Miley’s voice was grasping even more than ever, like it was speaking without thinking. “That was no accident… I was afraid that when she saw me, my lie would be revealed and I would be taken away from you.”
There was a sudden pause. Miley’s body started to glow green. “I didn’t want to take that chance. From the power of the love I stole from you, my magic activated these clouds. My magic hurt you so that I could fly away.” Miley’s body was glowing brighter by the second. More lights came from the ceiling to shine down upon her, spreading a wave of magical particles. Rainbow Dash had to slightly look away as she covered her eyes from some of that light with a single hoof. Fluttershy had to sit down to use both hooves to cover her eyes.
“Miley! What are you doing?!” Rainbow shouted as the magical waves grew brighter and louder.
“I used your love against you so that I could hide. So that I could keep lying and continue to steal your love!”
“Miley! Please stop!” Fluttershy pleaded. “Think about what you're saying!” But due to the magical waves, the words couldn’t reach Miley. Miley’s voice continued to grasp.
“When you found my bag, you found me! But I continued to hide. I continued to steal your love so that I could hide!” Two green lightning bolts struck around Miley. Their strike left behind a green flame that circled around her hooves. The light became so bright that some of the animals outside the house caught attention to it. Even Angel stepped out of his little shed when he noticed it.
“Miley! Listen to us!” Rainbow could feel the power emanating from these magical waves. She had to brace all her hooves down to keep herself from sliding away.
“I didn’t care about your worries! I only cared about myself! I always only cared about myself.” Miley’s voice started to slow down. “Stealing your love was all that I cared about. Stealing your love was the only thing I enjoyed. I only stayed in this family because of your love… But no more.” Miley closed her eyes as the green flames suddenly engulfed her, leaving behind a green shield surrounding her. The mirror shards behind her were scattered and blown away from the waves.
“Miley!” Rainbow shouted as she started pushing herself forwards.
“Miley!” Fluttershy tried pushing herself forwards too, but was unable to move where she was. Despite this, Rainbow continued on. Miley was in danger again. In danger of herself.
“I’ve been stealing your love for too long. That’s why I showed you who I was. I wanted to stop lying. I wanted to stop stealing love. But if I continue to live with you… I’ll continue to…”
Rainbow reached the shield. “Miley! Ahh!” Upon touching the shield, Rainbow burned her hoof and stumbled back. The shield flashed upon contact, and Miley flinched.
“I won’t steal your love, ever again. But I’ll use your love, one last time, to put an end to all this.” The floor below Miley’s hooves glowed a bright white. More flames appeared within them, surrounding each of her hooves. Rainbow Dash forced herself back to the shield, pressing her hooves against it and keeping them there.
“MILEY!” The shield flashed and a wave of magical energy blowed on her. Fluttershy yelped as the waves blew her back, the only thing stopping her being the walls. But Rainbow kept her ground, keeping her hooves against the shield despite the fiery heat emanating from it. “You gotta stop this now, Miley! You’re not thinking straight! You’re confused!”
Rainbow’s words were drowned out from fierce magical flames burning from such powerful magic that came from their love. Miley closed her eyes, saying one last word. “Goodbye…”
Miley’s hooves started to slowly sink within the ground. Rainbow Dash grunted her breath through all the nerves in her body. The flames were burning, but if she didn’t do something…
“Miley!” Rainbow could hear Fluttershy’s cry despite the sheer volume of the waves. Those sobs echoed in her mind, motivating her to press herself harder. She lifted one of her hooves back while keeping the other pressed on the shield.
“MILEY!” Rainbow shouted with all her strength and thrusted her hoof forward, slamming it against the shield with a mighty force. A loud clang sounded from the impact, causing Miley to flinch. The shield flashed and another large wave of magic blew against them. Rainbow kept her ground, but Fluttershy was thrusted back. Rainbow pulled her hoof back, and thrusted it again with more strength. The clang sounded again. The wave blew again. Miley flinched again. And Miley’s sinking was slowing down.
“You’ve gotta stop this, Miley!” Another clang as Rainbow shouted. “Listen to us! Listen to me! Miley!” Another clang. Rainbow’s hooves burned hotter and hotter against the shield, but she ignored the pain as she continued to pound against the shield.
Miley flinched with every pound. The magic wave blew with every pound. And now, Fluttershy was fighting against the waves, pressing herself against every impact that Rainbow caused.
Each pound echoed in Rainbow’s mind. The echoes and flashes resonated outside of the cloud house, alerting more and more animals, both asleep, and awake. A pound resonated and one set of animals switched their attention to the cloud. Another pound resonated and a different set of animals woke up. Some of them even started to slowly move or fly toward the cloud.
Miley’s flinches turned into winces as Rainbow’s hoof struck harder and harder against the shield. Fluttershy had managed to reach Rainbow Dash, and brace herself behind her, allowing Rainbow to put even more strength in her strikes.
Rainbow yelled and struck once again. The clang echoed deeper into their minds. Miley winced fiercely from the clang, her whole body flashing from bottom to top as the magical wave blew again. Another yell and strike from Rainbow, another wince, flash, and magical wave.
This time, a crack sounded. It came from the shield. Rainbow’s hooves were burning, but she couldn’t stop now. With Fluttershy’s support, she yelled and struck again. Miley’s wince and flash grew more intense than the last, making the shield crack even more.
Rainbow pulled her hoof back, and yelled as loud as she could striking one more time. The scream was deathening to Fluttershy’s ears. But it didn’t compare to echo from this strike. The clang echoed, echoed, echoed…
Miley’s body dropped as the shield’s cracks surrounded the entire bubble, her body flashing from bottom to top more fiercely than ever.
Something split right then and there, when the flash reached above her head. Very hesitantly, she opened her eyes, trying all her might to lift her head to look at Rainbow.
Rainbow’s hoof was pulling back one last time. Teeth gritting, hooves burning, sweat dripping from her face, and the thought of Fluttershy holding her in place, it all supported her. Fluttershy was counting on her, and she wasn’t going to let Fluttershy down. With all her might, she thrusted her hoof forwards.
But then… Rainbow’s hoof froze. Her eyes grew stiff in utter shock as she met Miley’s eyes. Miley’s lifeless eyes… They were pulsating with a fresh batch of tears flowing outside of them. Her body was shaking heavily against the ground. Her teeth and fangs gritted and grinded against each other while her breath struggled to feed her lungs.
But what stunned Rainbow the most, was the sight of Miley’s horn. That last strike had chipped off the tip of that horn, and it now lay rest next to Miley’s shaking head. It now dawned on Rainbow what her actions were doing. Every strike with her hoof that she laid on that shield…
Rainbow Dash was hurting Miley… very fatally…
Miley’s body continued sinking within the green circle. Now, nothing was stopping her from sinking. Her hooves had disappeared beneath them.
“Miley! No!” Fluttershy shouted, but the words didn’t reach. Miley kept her eyes on the stilled Rainbow Dash as her body continued sinking. Most of her body disappeared, along with her wings. “Please stop! Miley!” The last thing Fluttershy saw, was Miley’s eyes turning to her before they sank. “No…” A silent breath from Fluttershy.
The shield and flames fizzled out shortly after Miley completely vanished. The magical waves no longer blew on them. Rainbow’s body slowly landed forwards on all four hooves, her eyes and mouth frozen with shock.
“Miley!” Fluttershy rushed passed Rainbow and to the spot Miley used to stand. “Miley! Please come back!” Fluttershy’s breath hiccuped in a sob as her tears dripped on the cloud. “Miley…”
Rainbow’s ears twitched at the repeated sobbing breaths coming from Fluttershy. She suddenly regained her feelings and gasped. “No… What have I done?! Miley!” She flapped her wings and zipped out of the room. “Miley?!” She flew to other parts of the cloud house. She checked the downstairs living room, the kitchen, their room. Miley was nowhere in sight. She flew out a window. With all her lungs, she shouted. “MILEY!”
Many animals started spreading from the garden through Rainbow’s shouts. A flock of bats flew around the scenery. Birds sang. Owls hooted. Squirrels and otters called.
“Miley! Where are you?! Miley!” Rainbow searched the entire scenery with her eyes, looking for any signs of Miley. The animals understood her despair and were searching and calling with her.
But to Rainbow, it was too dark in this night sky to see anything. The flapping, the chirping, and the cries. They all echoed in her mind as everything swirled around her. Her breathing faltered. Her hope shattered. Hovering where she was, still searching the garden and the skies with her eyes, she began to tear up.
“No… Miley…” Rainbow’s hooves and body jolted with each sob. She began to descend. She descend back down to the cloud house, where she went back to Miley’s room. Fluttershy had rushed in as well, holding the same despair as Rainbow did.
“Rainbow Dash… I-I checked everywhere,” Fluttershy sobbed. “She’s not here… She’s…” Fluttershy squeezed her eyes shut as she rushed towards Rainbow Dash, tears pouring behind her. Rainbow Dash rushed to her as well with the same tears pouring behind her. They didn’t stop until they reached each other.
“She’s gone…” Rainbow sobbed for Fluttershy.
“Miley’s gone…” Fluttershy returned the sobs.
“And this time…” Rainbow then threw her hooves around Fluttershy with Fluttershy following suit at the same time.
“She’s never coming back!” They both shouted their weep and cried into each others embrace, sharing their sadness together. Many animals cried along with their despair outside. Some of them flew, and some of them climbed up the house to join them. They gathered around Rainbow and Fluttershy, singing along with their cries to match their despair.
Most notably, Angel had ridden on Tank’s shell and leapt onto Fluttershy’s mane, where he sobbed and patted her head. Tank did a similar jester with Rainbow’s mane, using his head to nuzzle it.
And yet, they continued to cry. They continued to comfort. Their despair could not be contained. Their cries, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Angel, Tank, the birds, bats, owls, squirrels, otters, mice, and many more, their cries echoed in the night sky, together.
Deep in this forest, she sobbed. Her hooves trembled under her weight as she tried to contain them. Hesitantly squeezing her eyes shut, she ducked her head down to the lake in front of her. Gritting her lips together, she carefully started to drink from the lake’s water, taking about three full gulps in order to calm herself down. Afterwards, she submerged her head underneath the water, holding her breath as the cold refreshing touch eased the nerves filling her head.
She wasn’t crying because she was sad. She was crying because she was in pain… so much pain. The water was helping to ease that pain. Her shivering was settling down. When she ran out of breath, she released her head from the lake, shaking the water out of her head and eyes, as well as the tears. Slowly, she opened her eyes.
The reflection of the water showed the hideous image of the changeling form she grew to hate. She did not want to see this form ever again. But now, here she was, staring into it. Deep black skin, bug-like wings, leg holes, lifeless blue eyes, and of course, the only thing that changed out of her, was her horn. The tip of her horn was broken off, but not broken enough to stop working.
She placed a hoof to that horn. Even now it still emitted pain. But knowing where that pain came from both soothed her, and ached her. It was a very powerful love, the love that came from being in a family. As much as she hated this form, she had to break down and accept the fact that the image she saw in this reflection, was her. She was not Miley Heart. This is what she was. This was why she always avoided talking about herself. She hated what she was. She was a changeling who stole love in order to live.
The echoes of cries entered her ears. She looked away from the pond and into the night sky toward the direction of the cries. The despair, she could feel it. It was silent, but clear to her. Bats, birds, owls, squirrels, otters, mice… The despair identified them all so clearly to her. But none was as clear to her, as the sounds coming from her family.
“No…” she said quietly to herself. “Not my family… Never was… Never will be.” She turned her vision down as the heartbreaking cries taunted her tastes. She resisted the urge to go back for them.
“Rainbow Dash… Fluttershy…” Speaking their full names pained her, but she willed herself to continue. “I wish I could tell you, that I would never steal love again… But I can’t do that.” She paused to take a deep breath. “I need to keep stealing love in order to live. It is what I am. I can change my form to look whatever I want. But I can’t change what makes me… me.” She raised her head back to the skies, listening to the cries echo and feeling their despair.
And then, for the first time in a long while, she smiled. “But I’ll never forget you both.” She closed her eyes and continued. “I’ll never forget your love. When I steal from others, I’ll do it with mercy. I’ll do what I can to avoid hurting them when I steal their love. I’ll even find ways to make it up to them.”
She started sparking her horn one more time, letting flames surround her body. “I’ll change one last time for you. Wherever I go, whatever I do, and whatever I’ll be-” The flames started engulfing her, changing her appearance. “I promise, I’ll never steal your love, ever again.”
The flames left behind her body in a deep black coat with a dark gray mane and tail. Her eyelashes were a dark yellow while her eyes wore a dark blue. And her Cutie Mark, was a dark gray pony ghost, barely visible to represent her former self. The appearance would allow her body to camouflage in the night and hide who she really was. Even her black wings would blend in while her horn remained invisible to others.
And in this night, when they saw her, they would only see one thing. The one thing that could never be darkened and shined anywhere in the night. But they could only see when it opened. The life filled white surrounding the pupils in her eyes. This light, vanished when she closed her eyes. And then, through the power of the last of the love she had stolen from them, her body, started fading one last time. She left, smiling.
Miley’s body dropped as the shield’s cracks surrounded the entire bubble, her body flashing from bottom to top more fiercely than ever.
Something split right then when the flash reached above her head. Very hesitantly, she opened her eyes, trying all her might to lift her head to look at Rainbow.
Rainbow’s hoof pulled back one last time. Teeth gritting, hooves burning, sweat dripping, and the thought of Fluttershy holding her in place, supporting her the best way she could, she didn't stop. Fluttershy was counting on her, and she wasn’t gonna let Fluttershy down. With all her might, she thrusted her hoof forwards.
But then, Rainbow caught sight of Miley’s eyes. All of Equestria froze to her at that moment. Miley’s lifeless eyes… They were pulsating with a fresh batch of tears flowing outside them. Her body was shaking heavily against the ground, teeth and fangs grinding together in a firm grip while she struggled to feed her lungs.
But what stunned Rainbow most was the sight of Miley’s horn. That last strike chipped off the tip of that horn, and it now lay rest right next to Miley’s shaking head. It now dawned on Rainbow Dash what her actions were doing. Every strike with her hoof that she laid on that shield…
Miley was in pain… so much pain right now. And Rainbow was causing all that pain. She wanted to stop. She wanted to freeze her hoof’s motion and not cause that pain anymore. The thought of seeing her daughter in pain because of her, begged her to stop.
But no. Rainbow Dash didn’t stop. She didn’t listen to her thoughts. She listened to her heart. This wasn’t about the pain she was inflicting. Miley was in danger. In danger from herself. And Rainbow Dash would save Miley, even if it meant having to hurt her.
The world around Rainbow Dash suddenly took motion again. Her hoof struck the shield one last time. The clang echoed in her mind. And then, her hoof went through, shattering the shield. Miley’s body was blown back, her screaming echoing in Rainbow and Fluttershy’s mind. Her body flashed from bottom to top. When the flash reached her horn, it snapped off. The green flames slowly fizzled out as her body and horn were flung. The magical waves stopped blowing.
Miley’s body fell to the cloud. The plop echoed with her body stopping on her back while her horn rolled to her side. Her eyes were shut tight with her wings and limbs spread out, lying flat. She wasn’t moving at all.
The world around Rainbow and Fluttershy came back to them. Rainbow’s breath was heavy while her eyes grew stiff. Fluttershy’s heart sank into a black hole seeing the sight of her daughter.
“Oh no… M-Miley!” Fluttershy cried as she ran to Miley’s body. “No, no, no…”
The sight of Fluttershy sobbing just above their fallen daughter pulled Rainbow’s heart, threatening to rip it out of her body. A few more heavy breaths came from her before realization dawned.
“No! What have I done?!” All feelings returned to Rainbow’s body and she rushed to Miley.
“Rainbow! She's hurt! We have to take her to the hospital!”
Rainbow gasped at the thought. “But Fluttershy! She’s a changeling! What can they do?”
Fluttershy’s breath shook her body. “We… W-We have to do something!”
“But if they…” Rainbow stopped to look around. They weren’t gonna get anything done standing around questioning themselves. She looked for the best and fastest answer to her last problem. “Fluttershy. Get to the cloud ride. Hurry!”
Fluttershy didn’t have time to ask as Rainbow flew towards the bed. Fluttershy ran to the window as Rainbow quickly took the covers, came back to Miley, and wrapped her body as well as her broken horn in the blanket, covering her completely. Rainbow then flew to the window where Fluttershy was waiting in the back seat of the cloud ride. She took Miley as Rainbow delivered her.
“Hold on tight, Fluttershy!” Rainbow attached herself to the front of the cloud ride, flying quickly away.
It was quite late in the night, but the hospital was still in operations for its patients. Despite how great and friendly a town Ponyville was, it was constantly plagued with ponies getting themselves hurt in one way or another. Their constant operation hours left it quite useful in a case of emergency.
This was one such emergency in more ways than one.
The front doors had burst open without warning. Two pegasi, one flying, one running, rushed to the front desk. One of their yellings disturbed some of the waiting patients and frightened the receptionist.
“This is an emergency!” Rainbow was shouting. “Our Miley is hurt! You have to do something!”
The receptionist, a yellow pony with blue hair known as Nurse Snowheart, was about to respond until Fluttershy released the covers enough to show Miley. Seeing the initial changeling, Snowheart’s eyes shrunk and she shouted. “But that’s a changeling!” A few ears sprang up at this mention. “That thing’s-”
“In so much pain and needs help!” Rainbow interrupted, standing on top of the desk. “Please! You’ve gotta do something for her!”
Snowheart stumbled back out of fear from both Rainbow and the changeling that Fluttershy was holding. “E-Even if that thing’s safe, this is a hospital for ponies. We can’t- AHH!” Snowheart was suddenly interrupted by a rather violent shove from another pony, a white pony with pink hair known as Nurse Redheart. Rainbow and Fluttershy flinched from the crash.
“Her horn is broken! We have to start treating her now!” Redheart shouted.
“But that’s a-” Snowheart was interrupted.
“I’LL TAKE CARE OF IT!” Redheart jumped over the desk and next to both pegasi. “You two follow me to room twenty-seven! Hurry!”
Without thinking, Rainbow and Fluttershy followed Nurse Redheart wherever she went. They didn’t care how the help came. They were willing to accept whatever they got that would help Miley.
They soon reached room twenty-seven and allowed Nurse Redheart to take Miley inside. As the door shut, their tensions narrowed. The life of their daughter now depended on what the hospital could do for her. That feeling, left Rainbow Dash worse for wear. As she waited, her wings vibrated in anticipation, wanting to do something, anything besides waiting around.
“Fluttershy,” Rainbow said, turning to her. “Stay here. I’m gonna-”
“There it is! That’s the room!” A group of three earth ponies, one brown stallion with grey hair, one blue stallion with a darker blue hair, and a light purple mare with two shades of light green hair came rushing. Rainbow noticed that they were heading to the room Miley was in.
“Hey!” Rainbow shouted flying in their path.
“Don’t try to stop us!” the mare shouted. “We saw a changeling taken in there! We have to stop it!”
“You’re not laying a hoof on our daughter!” Rainbow shouted. The mare and Rainbow pressed their heads together, attempting to overpower the other.
“Your ‘daughter’ is a changeling! Do you intend to doom us all?!”
Fluttershy gasped as the other two other stallions started charging at Rainbow from both sides. “Look out!” she shouted.
Rainbow released her head away from the mare, causing her to stumble forward. Before the stallions reached, Rainbow brought herself in the air with her wings while the mare jumped back, both avoiding the two stallions as they collided. Rainbow landed herself further away, but kept herself in front of their path to the door. She stood her ground with her wings flared, watching the stallions recover from their bumps while the mare joined them. When they recovered, they stared Rainbow down. She didn’t back off. As soon as they started charging forward, she engaged her wings and flew towards them.
“STOP IT! STOP IT RIGHT NOW!” Both sides froze in their tracks as Nurse Redheart appeared out of nowhere. She turned her glare and shook a hoof towards the three attackers, who were frightened from her shouts. “This is a hospital and you are not gonna disturb my patient with your senseless fighting!”
Fluttershy rushed to Rainbow’s side as Redheart scolded the attackers. It was a scary moment to be involved in. Being by Rainbow comforted her.
“A-Are you crazy?!” the mare said, hesitantly stepping forward. “If that changeling recovers, do you realize what it could do to us?”
Nurse Redheart’s head practically grew in their view while fire burned behind her. “I don’t care if Tirek himself is in that room!” Her voice echoed in their ears, causing them to back away. “A patient under my supervision will not be disturbed! So leave now or her life will be on your hooves!"
Both stallions gasped at this consequence and turned tail. The mare turned her head left and right, then back at Redheart with a panicked face. She cowered and ran with them.
“And you!” Rainbow and Fluttershy flinched, surprised at why Redheart was suddenly yelling at them. “You two are to not leave this hall, or your daughter’s life will hang over you in a greater consequence than those assaulters! You will not screw this up for me!”
Rainbow and Fluttershy had to jump out of the way as Redheart rushed back to Miley’s room, leaving their position no regard. The door closed behind her and all they could do was gasp quietly. It was odd. Nurse Redheart acted like the sake of Miley’s life was as important to her as it was to them, if not more. And they had no idea how.
Now they weren’t sure on what to be more worried about. They were already worried about Miley’s well being. Now they worried if Nurse Redheart would come back to yell at them, whether more ponies would come to attack Miley, and the one thing that was on Rainbow’s mind right now. She said it out loud.
“I guess leaving to tell our friends is out of the question…”
The longer the time ticked by, the more anxious their minds were. Rainbow continued to fly pace back and forth from the door while Fluttershy sat herself against the opposite wall, hoping for the best of Miley’s condition. The more they waited, the more they wondered if listening to the doctor was really the best idea right now. What could they do? Nurse Redheart seemed pretty intent that she could help.
Thinking thoughts like this was all they could do. But thankfully that moment ended when the door opened. Rainbow stopped pacing and Fluttershy looked up, finding Nurse Redheart coming out. She looked at them, her expression unknown, not even saying anything.
“How is she?” Fluttershy asked as Rainbow landed to her side, wanting the same question answered. Nurse Redheart took a deep breath and released it without opening her mouth.
“You should come see this,” Redheart responded before re-entering the room. Rainbow and Fluttershy glanced at each other. They would be wondering about Redheart’s sudden change in nature, but Miley was more important. They followed Redheart inside.
This room looked like a setting for a single patient. The only bed in the room was at the center, where Miley layed. Slowly, they walked towards her, hoping she was alright. Most of her body was exposed, but her head held a few wires while her broken horn was completely covered in bandages. All they could see was a stump.
“Miley…” Fluttershy walked ahead of Rainbow and to Miley’s side. She could see that her eyes weren’t shut tightly like they were before. In fact, they seemed pretty calm, like she was just sleeping. Even her breathing was settled. “Is she okay?” Fluttershy asked.
“Well…” Redheart closed her eyes and turned her head down. “It’s a little difficult to answer, but I’ll say this.” She turned her attention towards a beeping monitor. The monitor seemed to beep at the rate a patient would have when recovering. “Besides her horn, your daughter’s physical health is maintaining quite well. Her body seemed to suffer a bit of magical strain, but nothing serious.” She paused to put a hoof to her chin. “She…” Redheart trailed off, turning her head away.
“Hmm?” Fluttershy turned her attention to Redheart.
“What happened?” Rainbow asked. “Tell us.”
Redheart shook her head. “I don’t know…” The response made Rainbow and Fluttershy glance at each other again. “Can you tell me what caused her to be in this condition?”
The question left a bite at Rainbow and Fluttershy’s hearts. They realized they never told her what happened and were unsure of how to say it.
“Miley…” Fluttershy started. “She was panicking… believing she was taking advantage of us by stealing our love.”
“She was using the power of our love to fuel her magic,” Rainbow continued. “I think she was trying to banish herself away from us, hiding behind a shield.” Her muscles tensed and she grunted. “I had to stop her… and she resisted me. But… she tried too hard to resist, and this is what happened…”
Nurse Redheart nodded and closed her eyes. “So that’s what it is… and she’s doing it again.” Both Rainbow and Fluttershy lightly gasped. They turned their gaze to Miley as Redheart continued. “As I said, physically, your daughter should be fine. But mentally is another story.” She lifted her head and opened her eyes. “It’s like she already accepted her fate and refuses to see the light. She should be waking up already.”
Fluttershy’s ears twitched. “‘Should’?”
Redheart nodded and looked towards Miley. “But… she’s resisting it, refusing to wake up. And if she has no will to let her mind return…” She didn’t have to finish for Rainbow and Fluttershy to fill in the blanks.
“But why is she doing that?” Rainbow asked. “Why doesn’t she want to come back to us?”
“I was hoping you would know,” Redheart answered. “You are her parents aren’t you? At least, that’s what you’ve been describing her. And if there’s anything that would give her reason to wake up, it would be from you both.”
Rainbow and Fluttershy glanced back to Miley’s sleeping figure. Fluttershy thought deeply, thinking about Miley, thinking about what happened to her. Fluttershy thought about why she resisted, what she did the past few days, and what she was searching for. But more importantly, what did it all mean to Miley?
“Miley is afraid.” Both Rainbow and Redheart turned their attention to Fluttershy as she spoke. “She’s confused about what she's doing. She thinks that she was only being a part of our family to steal our love. But that isn’t true.” Fluttershy looked to Rainbow. “We’ve been sharing our love with open hooves to her. And that’s not the same as stealing.” She turned to Miley with a firm look. “I have to show her the difference. I have to share my love with her, so that she could understand. And then she’ll come back.”
If the circumstances weren’t so dire, Rainbow Dash might’ve gagged at how sappy it all sounded. But this was about a changeling, a creature who fed off love in order to live. As far as she was concerned, there was no reason why it wouldn’t work. She gave her nod to Fluttershy. Redheart nodded as well.
With the clear, Fluttershy walked to Miley. She thought about all the wonderful times they’ve had together. A vision of Miley playing in the garden came to her thoughts. She saw Miley and Rainbow flying together. Laughter of all three of them echoed. The feeling of playful fear from Rainbow’s antics came as well. And of course, words used in a bedtime story sounded.
Fluttershy reached Miley and leaned her head down. All those memories, the feeling of those memories, she kept them at heart with this movement. Whether it be pain or happiness, the love that justified the end was all that mattered. And when she reached Miley’s head with all those feelings in mind, she planted a gentle kiss just below the bandages.
As her forehead was being kissed, Miley’s body began to twitch. A very light groan could be heard coming from her. The beeping monitor picked up its pace, catching Rainbow and Redheart's attention. Fluttershy continued with the kiss, sharing her love to Miley.
And after a few moments of holding that kiss, Fluttershy retracted her head. The groaning stopped, the twitches ceased, and the monitor’s beeping returned to normal pace. Fluttershy didn’t take her eyes off Miley. She kept her eyes on Miley at all times, keeping her memories alive to show just how much Miley meant to her.
But… nothing happened. Rainbow gasped. Redheart put a hoof to her mouth in worry. And Fluttershy… she kept holding onto her memories, waiting for the moment that Miley opened her eyes. It took her longer to realize, they weren’t opening. She whimpered a gasp while her eyes pulsated.
“What happened?” Fluttershy asked, keeping her eyes on Miley. “S-She’s not waking up. What did I do wrong?”
“Oh… this is worse than I thought,” Redheart started. “You said she was afraid of stealing your love, right?”
Fluttershy nodded. “But she’s not stealing my love. I’m sharing it with her.”
“But your daughter thinks she is. She’s resisting the love that is being present to her, trying her very best not to feed from it.”
Fluttershy’s tears returned. “What can I do?” She turned her head to Rainbow and Redheart. “How can I give my love to her if she won’t accept it…” Her head sank and she began to sob. Nurse Redheart didn’t know how to answer. If there was an answer, only Rainbow or Fluttershy would know it.
This situation, it left Rainbow Dash in a deep thought. It left her heart in an aching world of pain. She experienced this feeling not too long ago. And the decision she made she thought she would grow to regret. She would regret it, if Fluttershy didn’t make the same decision right now.
“Fluttershy, kiss her again,” Rainbow said with the most firm tone she could muster. It left Fluttershy scared.
“But Rainbow… Miley won’t accept my love. If I try again, she’ll keep resisting.”
Rainbow Dash glared towards Miley’s body. “You can’t think about Miley’s feelings anymore.” Fluttershy gasped hearing this coming from Rainbow’s mouth. “If I had thought that when the time came, Miley wouldn’t be with us right now.” Rainbow closed her eyes and lowered her head, thinking back to that tough decision she made.
“When Miley was trying to leave us, we tried to tell her to stop. She didn’t listen of course. She thought that what she was doing, being in our family, was a bad thing. I tried to stop her and make her understand, but she didn’t listen to me. She didn’t listen to us. So I attacked her shield. That was fine, right? Stopping her from leaving us and making a terrible mistake? I had to save her from herself.”
Rainbow paused and opened her eyes, looking at Fluttershy. “But then… she looked at me. She showed me the tears in her eyes. I felt torn. Seeing her horn chipped off, I realized that I was causing her pain and suffering from pounding on that shield. She was begging me to stop, begging me to let the pain go away. And if I listened to her, what would’ve happened?”
Rainbow stomped her hoof to the floor. “I didn’t stop. Sure I was worried about what would’ve happened if I didn’t. But knowing what would happened if I did was worse. She wanted me to stop. But I didn’t care about what she wanted. Because what she wanted, wasn’t important. No. The only thing that mattered, was what she needed.”
Rainbow pointed a hoof. “Fluttershy, what she needs now is love. It doesn’t matter if she doesn’t want it. It’s what she needs. And you have to give it to her.” She narrowed her eyes. “Even if you have to hold her down, and give it to her by force… just like when a foal refuses to take medicine.”
Fluttershy was speechless, her mouth held agape. This was something else coming from Rainbow. She spoke through experience. All those times of serious injuries, any times of falling sick, Rainbow experienced them. She experienced the pain of having to receive what she didn't want, and having to receive what she needed despite her protests.
Now… those moments were speaking a thousand words. And every word talked about what Miley needed. Rainbow already caused an action that would fill her with regret. And that regret would fold true if Miley wasn’t given what she needed.
Fluttershy turned her attention back to Miley, taking every word Rainbow said to heart. This wasn’t about what Miley wanted. This was about what Miley needed. Despite her heavy heart denying Miley’s wishes, she held onto that care, the care of saving Miley from herself.
Fluttershy planted her second kiss. Miley’s breath moaned, her eyes squeezed, and her body twitched once again. Fluttershy ignored the resistance and continued. Even the increased rate of the monitor didn’t stop her from sharing her love.
Fluttershy released her kiss with a grunted sob, hoping Miley would wake up. But she didn’t. “Please Miley… Please stop resisting.” Fluttershy reached down and kissed Miley’s forehead again. The same resistance came about, but more intensely. Even the monitor was beeping faster. “Listen to us… Accept my love, please.”
The more Rainbow Dash watched, the more it ached her heart. Every kiss that Fluttershy planted created the same results, each one more intense than the last. The next kiss caused Miley’s body to tense. It was like the love she was being shared was hurting her. But the only pain that was being caused was from her own resistance. The more Fluttershy kissed, the harder it became to resist. Why couldn’t she understand? Was it really wrong to force her to return?
These thoughts swam across Rainbow’s mind. The more she thought, the more her hopes edged. But then, something clicked. She was resisting herself. This feeling, it told her that it was the same for Fluttershy. All these worries, all these doubts. This was why Miley still resisted.
Rainbow Dash started walking over to Fluttershy. She had to put aside her pride, put aside her embarrassments. She had to do something she never thought she’d do, think in a way she never thought she’d think. But it was all for their daughter, and she didn’t want to let her down, no matter how much Miley wanted to be. She put a hoof to Fluttershy’s face, and turned it towards her direction.
Fluttershy looked into Rainbow’s eyes. The confidence, the hope, the love, she could feel that entering her heart from looking into those eyes. And then, Rainbow leaned in to kiss her. It was firm. It was passionate. But more importantly, it was filled with her love, her care. The worries were dissipating. The regrets were forgotten.
As they held the kiss, Miley’s body tensed more violently than ever. The monitor was beeping at a pace that spanned four beats a second. Her body started to glow. That glow spread, and it entered Rainbow and Fluttershy. Their bodies returned the glow, and they released their kiss.
Looking into each other, both minds were in sync. It was what they felt that Miley needed to see, needed to understand. Even if there was reason to doubt, that wasn’t important now. They looked down to Miley, thinking of only what was important to her. She needed love. And not the love she fed off. But the love that told her they cared. The love that would tell her she felt the same way. Rainbow and Fluttershy leaned down together, and kissed both sides of Miley’s forehead.
The glow around Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Miley, all brightened as they connected. Miley’s moan grew louder as the kisses were held. The monitor’s speed increased to eight beats a second. When they released, two halves of a heart were left behind. The magical glow led those hearts along Miley’s body. They circled around her, creating a green flame that only engulfed above her.
Miley’s body was changing once again as the hearts led the flames. The holes in her legs and wings filled. Her body turned from black to yellow with her mane and tail forming into a smooth blue. And then the spikes on her head vanished. When the transformation was complete, the two halves of the heart connected. The crack was still visible, but it hovered just above Miley’s own heart.
And then, the struggles stopped. The monitor slowed its pace. The glow faded from Rainbow and Fluttershy. But Miley’s body still glowed. She was breathing heavily, yet carefully. Finally, her eyes opened.
The first thing Miley saw, was the smiling faces of both Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy looking down upon her. Her eyes began to tear up. This feeling in her heart, she couldn’t describe it. She didn’t know what it meant. But it kept calling to her, aching her. It was much like how her magic called her to the love she fed. But this time, it was different.
“W-W-Why…” Miley could barely ask. She could feel the heart floating above her beating. “I-I… steal love… your love.” A hiccup escaped her mouth. “W-Why do you keep making-” Fluttershy gently put a hoof over her mouth to silence her.
“Miley,” Fluttershy started with the softest tone. “You are not stealing our love. You never did.”
Miley’s eyes focused on Fluttershy’s. The love that they expressed continued to taunt her, continued to torture her. “L-Love… is what I need to live… I-If I’m not stealing it… how am I…” The feeling that she couldn’t describe continued to grow. The heart above her beated faster.
“Do you like having to steal?” Fluttershy asked, and Miley shook her head. “Do you enjoy breaking hearts?” Miley shook her head again, her heart beating faster. “Do you want to be a bad pony?” This time, Miley couldn’t find it in her to answer. But the increased beating of her heart told her and Fluttershy the answer.
Fluttershy smiled. “Then don’t be. Just because you need love, doesn’t make you a bad pony.” She leaned down to nuzzle Miley’s cheek, increasing the heartbeat even more. “If you need our love to live, we understand. We’re willingly sharing you our love. That’s not stealing.” She lifted her head and looked Miley in the eye. “And even if you didn’t need our love, we’d still give it to you. Because in a way, everypony needs love. It is what we do and what makes us love each other. That feeling…-” She pointed towards the beating heart. “-comes from your heart. Not your mind. Listen to your heart, and you will understand that feeling too.”
As Miley’s mind cleared from Fluttershy’s words, her body began to glow brighter. Something came from underneath the bandage on Miley’s head and it formed into a glowing bandage similar to the cracked heart floating above her. The bandage connected with the heart, sealing the cracks. It glowed along with Miley’s body.
And then, the heart began to sink, sink within Miley’s chest. As it disappeared inside, sparkles were left behind, trailing down her body and splitting into two. They crawled along her body until they reached both sides of her flank, giving a shimmering glow. Even the part where Miley’s heart was, glowed.
When the glowing stopped, Miley’s flank was no longer bare. The sparkles left behind that same cracked heart with the bandage, the same one that entered her heart, the same one that she thought up herself. That feeling... she understood it now. That feeling… it wasn’t the love she fed off. It was the feeling of actual love, the love that ponies felt. The love of being in a family.
That feeling, it made Miley smile for real. It wasn’t a smile she hid behind. It wasn’t a smile from the love she stole. It was a very real smile that came from her heart. A tear escaped her eye. She threw herself to Fluttershy, and openly cried.
Fluttershy accepted her embrace with open hooves, hugging her passionately. “There, there, Miley. There’s no reason to feel bad anymore. You’re not a bad pony.” She moved her mouth closer to Miley’s ears and whispered. “You’re a good daughter.”
The more Nurse Redheart watched the scene unfold, the more surprising it was. She couldn’t keep her hoof away from her mouth through it all. If a changeling could earn a Cutie Mark, she just witnessed one. A Cutie Mark was obtained when a pony recognized their special talent or realized what made them special. It was a type of magic that flowed through all ponies. They had no control of what their magic would form their Cutie Mark into.
Miley, being a changeling, could control the shape and form of her Cutie Mark at will. But this wasn’t magic that was being controlled by her. It was a magic that came from the heart, a magic that formed not only her form, but her Cutie Mark as well.
And that wasn’t all that surprised Redheart. Glancing over towards Rainbow Dash, she saw a smile that was similar to Fluttershy’s, along with a tear that Rainbow didn't hide.
Redheart found it hard to understand the relationships between the two. It felt like something was off. But the more she thought on it, the more she believed it couldn’t be more right. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy weren’t just two ponies to Miley Heart. They were two opposite halves of what made the perfect mother figure to Miley. And even under these circumstances, their boundaries never crossed unless needed.
It was no wonder why Rainbow Dash or Fluttershy didn’t seem to do something when a circumstance needed them to. But the answer was, it didn’t need them. When Miley was being threatened by three ponies wanting to take her out, it was Rainbow Dash who defended her. When Miley needed to understand the difference between good and bad, it was Fluttershy that assured her. Rainbow Dash was the guardian angel, while Fluttershy was the caring angel. Two opposite halves that represented the perfect mother figure. Seeing and understanding this family brought a tear to Redheart’s eyes. She couldn’t be happier for them.
The sobbing stopped. Miley picked her head from Fluttershy’s chest, looking at her with all her love. “I do love you mama,” Miley said as her tearful eyes slowly closed. “I really do.” Her smile didn’t falter. As her eyes closed, Fluttershy gently laid her back on the bed, tuckering her in.
“I know, sweety,” Fluttershy said as she tucked Miley’s wings comfortably before placing the covers over her. “I know.” Fluttershy closed her eyes.
And then, Fluttershy hummed a tune. It was a pleasant tune that everypony knew. A pleasant tune that even Miley knew. She hummed, and Miley listened.
Miley opened her eyes when the humming stopped. She smiled brighter than ever, warming Fluttershy’s heart. Seeing how real that smile was made Fluttershy so happy to be Miley’s mother.
“I’ve never seen such wonderful parents before.” Rainbow and Fluttershy caught attention to Nurse Redheart’s voice. She was wiping a tear away from that sight. “This has been such an interesting learning experience too. I’m sure you both will take good care of her.”
“Thank you nurse,” Fluttershy said.
“And if it wasn’t for your help, we may have never gotten Miley to wake up.” Rainbow paused to put a hoof to her chin. “Speaking of… how did you know so much about how to treat her? I mean, I’m glad that you helped, but I thought this was a hospital for ponies.”
Nurse Redheart covered her mouth and giggled. “I may be a pony nurse, but that’s no reason to limit myself to just pony physiology.” Rainbow gagged at the use of complicated words. “Even though my medical degree only makes me liable to treat ponies, I’ve always wanted to try my hoof at other sentient beings as well. Besides changelings, I’ve also learned the inner workings of zebras, griffons, donkeys, and yaks.” Both Rainbow and Fluttershy’s eyes grew while Nurse Redheart blushed. “And, to be honest, the reason I was so anxious to treat your daughter is because I didn’t want to have a chance at treating a changeling slip away.”
Rainbow Dash gulped at this, unsure of how to feel about it. Fluttershy was feeling the same way. But when they looked at their daughter, all they saw was that smiling face. It told them that it didn’t matter how it came to be. In the end, their daughter was safe and cured, and that’s all that mattered to them.
“Well… thanks for helping our daughter,” Rainbow replied. “It means a lot to us.”
“My pleasure. But…” Nurse Redheart paused, and immediately Rainbow and Fluttershy didn’t like where this was going. “There’s still another matter about your daughter that we have to discuss.”
Redheart turned her head over to the desk. Rainbow and Fluttershy initially thought this would have something to do with the fact Miley was a changeling. And they were right, but not exactly how they thought. When they saw that item, they already knew, and their hearts sank at the sight of it. Even Miley saw it, and her smile faded.
The item they saw, was Miley’s broken horn.
“As you know, your daughter is a changeling,” Redheart started. “And without her horn, she won’t be able to control her magic anymore.” A collection of frowns filled the room, even from Miley. It seemed like their happy ending was gonna be left bittersweet.
“Is there any way we can repair it?” Fluttershy asked.
“Well… yes, and no,” Redheart answered. “We have a way to implant a prosthetic horn. However, since this is for unicorns, that leaves very theoretical issues.”
Nurse Redheart picked up a clipboard, giving them a stern look as she went over the details. “First, since your daughter’s a changeling, we have no idea if the implant will allow her to even use magic again. And if it did, she would only be capable of controlling magic that a unicorn would be capable of. Any of her changeling magic will not work.”
Redheart flipped the page over. “Her changeling magic is still with her, but they won’t be controlled through this horn. That means she won’t be able to absorb love from anypony, or change her body’s appearance again. Her body could change through another changeling’s magic, but that’s a different matter.”
Redheart turned her eyes up to Rainbow and Fluttershy. “So the possibility of repairing her horn is very slim, and very limited. What do you wish to do?”
The atmosphere in this hospital room grew very tense. Rainbow and Fluttershy looked at each other with the deepest concerns. It seemed Miley was never gonna be able to use her magic again. They looked at Miley with even more concern. Miley of course heard all of this, and they wondered how she was taking it. They looked at each other, all with concern. Everypony was silent.
And then, Miley closed her eyes and smiled. “I’m not a changeling. I’m a pegasus!”
All eyes grew wide. “Miley… Are you sure?” Fluttershy asked.
Miley giggled. “I’ve always wanted to be a pony, ever since you took me in. Please treat me like one, please?”
Rainbow Dash chuckled and looked to Redheart. “I guess that’s your answer nurse. Our daughter’s no changeling. She’s our pegasus filly.”
Nurse Redheart couldn’t help but giggle. “A pegasus at heart, but she still needs a changeling’s diet. Luckily, you two seem to cover that really well.”
Fluttershy gasped as a thought came to mind. “Wait, without her horn, how will she be able to feed off our love?”
“Oh don’t worry. Her horn may be gone, but her magic can still feed from your love as long as you two continue to physically share that. She won’t be able to do it herself, so you’ll have to be more observant of her.”
Fluttershy smiled and hummed a question. “How often should we do it?”
The question made Redheart giggle again. “As often as you would feed a normal child. You’ll figure it out.” Fluttershy couldn’t help but join in with Redheart’s giggles. “But if you want specifics, I’m sure your daughter can never gain enough love to be full. But she’ll tell you when she’s satisfied. And as long as she’s satisfied, she’ll be able to go a full day before getting hungry again. Although, stressing activities may accelerate that.”
“Say…” Rainbow cut in. “What about giving her some actual food, like cupcakes, and sandwiches. Would that help?”
Redheart put a hoof to her chin and hummed. “Well, no, that won’t help her at all. But if you add your spice of love with your daughter in mind to it, I’m sure she’ll be able to taste its pleasant aftertaste.”
Rainbow Dash took a glance towards Miley. “Huh… Is that why she always had trouble chewing her food?” Even though she knew the answer, Miley nodded for her anyway with a smile.
“But just remember.” Redheart’s tone changed. “She may be a changeling, but she still needs water just like everypony else. Be sure to give her plenty as she’s recovering.”
Fluttershy nodded. “We’ll do that. Thank you again.”
“No problem,” Redheart replied. “You’re free to take your daughter home now. I’m sure your love will help her recover faster there. And, one more thing.” Redheart paused, waiting for Rainbow and Fluttershy to hold open ears. “If there’s anything else wrong with your daughter, please, let me know. I’d be happy to continue treating her.”
Giggles were released from both pegasi and their now changed daughter pegasus. “Thanks nurse,” Rainbow replied. “Will do.”
As Fluttershy picked Miley from her bed and onto her back, Rainbow moved to the door to open it for them. Nurse Redheart watched their smiling faces as the family started leaving. She couldn’t be happier for them. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were genuinely grateful.
But none were as happy as Miley Heart. In the end, she got what she always wished for. She was a filly pegasus, a daughter to a loving family. She no longer had to hide from them, no longer had to change. It was her dream come true.
