Saving Equestria

by Damaged


Establishment - Part 5

"Pinkamena Diane Pie, that is no way to speak to a princess." Rarity joined the conversation, looking between Pinkie and Luna. When Pinkie looked to be about to cut in, Rarity narrowed her eyes. "Even if she has done the wrong thing."

Luna was the first to react, lowering her head. "I am sorry, Pinkie Pie, if I have-"

"You need to apologize to Derpy first." Pinkie stepped aside, revealing the still-scared pegasus. "Look, she barely managed to eat the second muffin!"

It was a bad mistake, clearly this changeling—wherever they are—is more canny than I thought. "Derpy, I am sorry. I know how it is to be persecuted for something bad and… and I beg you to forgive me."

Derpy looked up at the alicorn, giving a little nod, but not moving from where she cowered.

"Now it is your turn, Pinkie." Rarity looked to her friend.

"Sorry I was a big inquisition buzz-kill." Pinkie Pie held out a hoof to Luna. "But what is this all about? I mean, I can't see any of those change-whatchamacallits around." She made a point of looking.

Luna carefully shook hooves with Pinkie. "They can hide themselves, disguise like a pony. Remember at the wedding, when the queen stopped looking like Princess Cadance?" Everypony nodded. "They can almost all do that. If we are lucky there might only be one or two of them here."

"You aren't alone, Princess Luna." Rarity stood proud and tossed her mane. "We all have a score to settle with these ruffians. But we are going to need a better plan, one that has less margin for error." She had the full attention of the Princess. "The dream idea was a good one, but there can be too many ways for a false positive. I could name nearly half a dozen ponies that were missing."

"But… why didn't you tell me? They could be changelings." Luna felt a little betrayed until she saw the disapproving look Rarity was giving her. "Uh, well, they could be."

"Right, or you could terrorize another ten innocent ponies, like Derpy, and turn the whole town against you." Rarity raised an eyebrow. "Darling, you don't think I got where I am by scaring ponies away, do you? We have to convince everypony that something bad is happening, get them interested in helping us. Then we can narrow down the infiltrators in our midst."

Luna blinked and looked to Pinkie, then Rainbow Dash, and finally back to Rarity. "I can see why Twilight has become the mare she is; with such good and wise friends to guide her. Please, I need help." She felt all the worry and panic start to well up. "The last time this happened I only barely drove them off. We… we might not be able to, this time."

"C-C-Can I go?" Derpy had since finished her muffin and was looking around.

"Sure you can, Derps." Rainbow Dash spared a look to her friends and the Princess. "You need me to hang around?" She settled her eyes on the mailmare.

"I… I just need to calm down. Everything is happening a bit fast…" Derpy eyes were wet again.

"Okay then, we'll leave you be." Rainbow looked around, suddenly remembering that she was inside Derpy's home. "Oh, right, I'll be going then." She blushed and made her way outside.

"Oh thank Celestia, they're gone." Derpy spoke the words fast, practically fighting to blurt them out into her once-again quiet home. Slowly, her breathing and panic slowed and while the former returned to normal, the later was almost gone before it poked her again. "I need to visit the fillies!"

Derpy's hoof was halfway to the door before her brain reminded her who was probably still out there. Fear flickered again, but she instead turned around and trotted for the back door. She barely had the door open when a huge white pony pushed it—and her—inside.

"Derpy." It was the softest voice Bulk had ever used in his disguise. "Derpy, it isn't what you think."

"Are you a changeling? Princess Luna said anypony not in the dream was a changeling, but then I left early and they thought I was a changeling and… what is a changeling?" Derpy had run out of steam, she was emotionally drained and seeing her friend was more comforting than it had any right to be.

"I…" Bulk slumped, which was more than a little comical for a pony of his size. "Please don't call her back, I'll leave. But please, after I go, you need to look after Scootaloo and her sister." With his piece said, he turned back for the door.

"Wait! Bulk!" Derpy threw herself at the big stallion, unable to really grab hold of him, but she tried to at least grab one leg. "What are you? Show me!"

"My name is Swift Stride." Bulk's form dissolved in green fire that poured over Derpy too, but unlike Bulk, Derpy didn't change—but she did stay holding on. "I am a changeling."

"Was… who is Bulk?" Derpy's eyes were screwed shut, she didn't want to see the creature her coltfriend had become. "Was he real at-" Her question was cut off as a pair of hole-filled legs wrapped around her, pulling her free from the back leg she had hold of.

Swift's hug was returned with interest as Derpy pulled him into a tight snuggle. She wept and wept, the tears flowing down his back. "It was me, Derpy. I don't play a role when I take a disguise, the disguise is me, a side of me."

"You could be perfect, you could be a princess!" Derpy wasn't thinking about gender—it was clear—she just saw "princess" as being "perfect." She jerked back to look at what Swift had revealed himself to be. "Why did you disguise like that? Why did you act like… like that?"

"That's me. The shouting… okay, that was over the top." Swift lifted one hoof up to rub the mare's chin until she opened her eyes and looked at him. "Bulk is, almost completely, me."

Derpy looked into the odd blue eyes, studied the fangs, saw the cute ears tucked back atop Swift's head. "So… Swift?" She watched him nod. "Do you still like me?" Derpy was pulled back into a tight hug by Swift, one she was happy to return.

"You are the cutest mare in town, of course I like you." Swift hugged for all he was worth. "But I really should go, if they came for you, they will find me eventually. I like you too much to put you in danger."

"Danger? What is going on?" Derpy pulled back and narrowed her eyes at Swift, although the gesture lost a lot since the mare's eyes still drifted off in different directions. "And what does Scootaloo have to do with it?"

"How do you… right, I said so. Scootaloo and her sister are very important. If anything is going to happen… get them on a train to Canterlot." Swift leaned up and stole a kiss on Derpy's cheek. A rush of green fire returned his oversized form. "DID YOU SEND MY… ahem. Did you send my package?" He set the giggling mare down.

"Of course I did, it went on the last train to Canterlot." Derpy was shocked when she got another kiss, although she certainly wasn't displeased. "Wait, Princess Luna said…" Derpy's askew eyes flew wide. "They were the Elements?"

"Yeah. I couldn't risk the Princess doing something silly. I wasn't meant to do anything, unless Twilight Sparkle asked for help, or if Scootaloo and her sister were in trouble." Swift reached up for the door and pulled it open. "I need to go talk to her, before I leave."

Things started to fall into slots, like mail in a post office. Each little fact, however, fell into one single box. Scootaloo wasn't in the dream with her friends. Swift asking after the filly. Changelings couldn't be in the dream. "Did… did you hurt the real Scootaloo? How long has she been replaced for?"

"She wasn't replaced, she is still Scootaloo. Just now she is… she is my sister, too." Bulk stepped out of the door and into the morning sun. "ARE YOU COMING TOO?"

The shout, her coltfriend's voice at its "normal" volume, snapped Derpy out of her contemplation. "I should go and wait for the mail…" She looked down at her hooves and thought a moment. "No, this is a little more important. Everypony will just have to get their letters a little late for once."

"OH YEAH!" Bulk trotted out, feeling the rush of air as Derpy fluttered along at his side. Nopony in town noticed the pair, the mare with her eyes a little damp caught an eye or two, but she was with the stallion they all had long-since paired her up with as special someponies, it was right that he was taking care of her.

The houses were soon behind Derpy and Bulk, they made their way in relative silence, passing under the sign that pronounced "Sweet Apple Acres."

"Derpy's here!"

The yell drew the focus of both Derpy and Bulk, they spotted Apple Bloom. Derpy flew forward and landed at the base of the little ramp to their clubhouse. "Certainly am, and I brought a friend!"

"HELLO CRUSADER!" Bulk didn't even try to fly, it wasn't really his thing. "DERPY SAID SHE NEEDED TO VISIT YOU AND I NEEDED TO TALK WITH SCOOTALOO!"

Apple Bloom blinked at the stallion, his head on the same level as the floor of the clubhouse. "Uh, yeah, about that. This is special crusader business, Derpy, we can't-"

"You know Scootaloo is a changeling, don't you?" Derpy shocked the filly, who had quickly stared at Bulk.

"What? No! Of course Scootaloo isn't a changeling!" She clopped her hoof three times sharply and a blur of orange leaped out of the clubhouse window and tried to fly.

The problem for Scootaloo was twofold. She wasn't really used to how normal pegasus wings worked, and she had a little foal on her back. She got nearly twenty feet before she plowed into the ground. On her back a little voice cried out, "Agwen!"

"SCOOTALOO!" Bulk beat even Derpy to the downed filly, leaning down to her and reaching with what everypony could see was reverent awe toward Bright Smile. "My Queen-to-be…"

"Your…" Scootaloo's head was spinning and she couldn't think completely straight.

"I'll save you Scootaloo!" Suddenly a little white unicorn interposed herself between Scootaloo and Bulk. "Back! Uh… please?" She energized her horn, the thing throwing tiny sparks and flares.

"Everypony calm down." Derpy trotted over to the crash-scene. "Scootaloo, Bulk is a changeling."

" 'ling!" Bright chirped happily on Scootaloo's back and bounced off, trotting to Bulk and looking up at the huge stallion. " 'ling!" She pointed a hoof up at him and was further delighted when a huge white hoof reached down and tapped her pink hoof.

"Yeah." Bulk arrested his "normal" voice down to something more discrete. Looking up to Scootaloo, he began to spill everything. "Mom sent me to keep an eye out for Twilight Sparkle at first. But then when she came here and… well, made you into a princess, she wanted me to stay on and watch over you too." His head tilted back down. "She is amazing. She is going to rule the hive one day, you know? All of Equestria will be hers to protect."

" 'tect!" Bright looked between the changeling she could sense and her sister. " 'tect, 'loo!" She pointed at Bulk. "Mus' 'tect!"

Scootaloo got her limbs sorted and got to her hooves. Something felt good about being near Bulk. She stepped up to him and grinned. "Yeah, Bright. We need to protect. But that starts with you first!" Scootaloo leaned down and nipped at the disguised nymph's neck, lifting her by her withers and setting her down between her own wings. "This is a lot to take in."

Derpy rolled her eyes, which was not only an amazing feat but had been known to make some ponies feel ill. "Don't get me started. Princess Luna thought I was a changeling." She turned and started walking for the clubhouse ramp. "We should probably go inside so we can talk."

"THAT IS A REALLY- That would be a good idea." Bulk trotted up to the ramp and realized the problem of trying to fit a big stallion in the little clubhouse. Glancing around, he winked to Scootaloo and then burned with fire, becoming a perfect copy of her.

Apple Bloom looked between the former stallion and her friend. "That's amazin'!" Her neck was rubber-banding back and forth. "Scootaloo, he looks more like you than you do."

"Do me, do me!" Sweetie Belle bounced up to Swift and tried to get his attention.

"Inside first." Swift shook her head and walked up into the clubhouse. "Come on…"

Derpy was left staring at the filly that had been her coltfriend. He is… she is… still my coltfriend, but she… he… looks different is all. It hurt her head a little to think about, so she followed Scootaloo and the others into the Cutie Mark Crusaders clubhouse.

Once everypony was together in the clubhouse, Apple Bloom closed the door. Trotting up to the front she stood up behind a lectern. "I hereby call this emergency meeting of the Cutie Mark Crusaders to order. We have two non Crusaders present, but I vote we make Derpy Hooves and…" She looked at Swift.

"Swift Stride." The second Scootaloo's voice even matched up properly.

"Derpy Hooves and Swift Stride are to be made honorary, limited members. All for?" Scootaloo quickly counted four hooves raised, which included the real Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and two from Bright Smile. "Motion carried. Alright, Crusaders, we have a problem!"

"Everypony seems to be a changeling!" Sweetie Belle blurted out, looking around the room. "How do I know if I am one too?" Everypony just stared at the filly. "What?"

"Sweetie Belle, you would know." Scootaloo smiled to her friend. "Wait, are there anymore here?" She looked to Swift Stride.

"I don't know. I don't think our Queen sent anyling else." Swift looked to the "princess" nymph. "Uh… technically, you could check. You saw how Bright knew what I was?" he watched the filly nod uncertainly, "You should be able to do the same. Reach out to me as if you wanted to drink from me."

Scootaloo looked at her twin and focused. Try to drink, don't actually. It might hurt him… her… should I use different pronouns for him? "Okay." She focused on what she had been doing naturally for nearly a year. There was some amazingly strong sources of love in the room, but where Swift sat there was an oddly cool sensation.

Trembling a little, Swift closed his eyes and gave a little chirp. "Okay, you… you worked it out… can you stop please?"

"Sorry!" Scootaloo drew back her power, tucking it back down inside. "That felt odd, you taste cool, blue… familiar."

"Well, we are technically brother and sister. Chrysalis made you a changeling, and she laid my egg." Swift wasn't prepared for a tackle-hug by two nymphs. Scootaloo and Bright were atop him, each having shed their disguises. "Hey, what?" Then he realized, his own disguise had dropped while she touched him with her power.

"I just found out I have a brother too now!" Scootaloo sounded so happy that nearly every single word got a little chirp along with it. "Wait, how many more sisters and brothers do I… we, have?" Her brain didn't register the word Swift replied with, it was too busy fainting at what her ears told her sounded suspiciously like "hundreds."

"You killed her!" Sweetie Belle jumped to her hooves and rushed to her undisguised friend. "Scootaloo! You have to come back! We have more crusading to do!" She held her friend's head between her hooves and was shouting into one ear.

"Sweetie!" Apple Bloom had to climb down from the podium and poke her friend with a hoof. "She fainted, she didn't die. She just… she never had a family, let alone a big family. And I don't think I know anypony with a family quite that… big."

Scootaloo slowly roused, looking up into Sweetie's face. "Uh… what happened?"

Swift smiled at the nymph. "Well, I said you have-" A yellow hoof had appeared in his snout, right between his big fangs. "Fmfmmf?"

"Don't tell her again, we need to get through our meeting!" Apple Bloom waited for a nod from Swift before taking her hoof back. "You have more siblings than I do now, Scoots, deal with it." She marched back up to her lectern and took her place. "Alright. So what are we going to do?"