//------------------------------// // Chapter XIII - Breakfast Burns // Story: The Lost Changeling // by AizakkuHorooee //------------------------------// When the three of us see a flash, as usual, the locale changes. “Well, there’s Ponyville on the horizon.” Rusty points to what he thinks he sees. What I see beside that is a forest. “So, is if what you’re seeing is Ponyville, what’s that?” “The Everfree Forest.” The deadpan in Rusty and Pane’s voices amuses me. “So, if the Everfree Forest is south of Ponyville, then the trip to Las Pegasus goes right through Ponyville.” The two nod at me. “Swing by anyone?” “Actually, yeah, Carve. I feel up to that. How about you, Pane?” “Don’t we have to get home?” “The pancakes are going to be too hot to eat for quite a while. I’m sure that by the time we get home they’ll be cool enough to eat.” “Wait how do you know, Carve?” “Care to feel it for yourself Rusty?” Rusty proceeds to get close to the two plates and touch them with his forehooves. Suddenly, he shrieks and flails about. “HOT!!! HOT!!! HOT!!!” Then Rusty races ahead of us into a cloud with his forehooves visibly red. “P-poor Rusty!” Without hearing her voice any further, I can see Pane bopping her head in amusement. “Look, I should probably help him out. Okay, Pane?” She nods, giving me the go ahead to check on Rusty. However, when I get there, another pony is present, one that I instantly recognize. Her mane and tail are that of a rainbow, and her cutie mark is of a thunder cloud with a rainbow colored lightning bolt. She has a cyan coat with dark pink eyes. Meanwhile, Rusty tries to cool his hooves off by putting them inside a cloud, all the while, straining to ignore the burn. “Whoa. Are you okay there, burner?” “Burner?” “WAH!!! You!!! Uh... Weren’t you part of the Canterlot invasion?!?” “Well, every one of those kinds in my six years of invasion reports and erosion. Really, I had reported history to Queen Chrysalis and sorted through records located in little shacks.” “Huh. You do still seem...” “...a little young to help with an invasion? I get that all the time, to my amusement. I guess I’ll need that comment the next time that one day comes around. Maybe then, Rusty, Pane and I could all go to Taco Bell in remembrance of that day.” “Uh, which day are you talking about? And what’s Taco Bell?” Suddenly, Rusty gasps. “Phew!. Yeah, Taco Bell has a kind of sign that reminds her of o-” And I use a freeze spell to stop Rusty from continuing on how he was addressing the day I was talking about as. “Rusty Flashlight, we do not say that day in only numbers! My brethren would find it absolutely disrespectful if I said any day in that style to them!” Then, I release to end the spell. “Sorry about that... Rainbow Dash was it?” “Uh, how do you know my name?” “All the survivors of a brawl that apparently broke out told me how you and five others represent The Elements of Harmony. Anyway, the day I was referring to was January the thirteenth.” “January thirteenth, huh? Wait; I was twenty four back then. And what are those bandages doing on your hooves?” “I put them on Carve when I first found her at Rolling Acres.” “Rolling Acres?” “I had repeatedly stepped on some glass when I first woke up after landing from being blasted away.” “And where did you get those pancakes?” “Look RD, Rusty and Pane wanted to pay Ponyville a visit, so I think we’re going to-” “Oh, okay. Want me to tag along?” Whoa, did that get many times creepier. “Well, that’s up to you. You’re, uh, welcome to come with us.” Rainbow Dash nods, coming along as we land on Ponyville grounds. However, when the four of us land, I hear Rusty briefly groan in pain. Pane lands and runs towards Rusty as he begins standing on his hind legs. “Rusty! Are you alright?!?” “Guys, he can’t stay like that. Nop- why are you looking at me like that?” I apathetically glare at Rainbow Dash. “I think you know why. There’s no time for puns. We need to take him to the closest hospital.” “Carve’s right. Rusty may’ve gotten a burn from just plain touching the plates of our breakfast.” Rusty proceeds to start flying at a decent elevation for us to still talk to him. “Okay. Let’s go then. No burn is going to take anything’s life on my watch. To the hospital it is.” ;=; When we get to the Ponyville Hospital, we are immediately greeted by an earth pony in a lab coat with a pair of raspberry blue eyes, a flashlight yellow coat, and a lightning blue mane and tail. Her cutie mark represents that of a red and white pill with a black middle. When she sees me with Rainbow Dash and my two friends, she just blinks like I had cast some nonexistent spell on them to force them to take me here, even though we’re trying to get Rusty’s hooves back to normal and absolutely nothing else. “Uh, what is that changeling doing here?” As the mare says the name of my species, the ponies in the vicinity gasp and begin screaming “bloody terror”, as Rusty puts it. I just lower my eyes, and use my horn as I sigh. “As usual.” The resulting voice ringing throughout the room causes the ponies to stop. “I guess I can’t stop you guys from screaming ‘bloody terror’.” I let out a chuckle. “Could I have a medic help out my friend, Rusty Flashlight?” Suddenly, the mare we saw up close raises her hoof for a short time. “I-I am. But how can we be sure if this ‘friend’ of yours is-” “Rolling Acres,” Pane, Rusty and I say in a deadpan unison. “What’s Rolling Acres?” I nod. “Exactly.” “Well, okay. I’ll check your friend in then.” “Thanks, uh...” “Immunity. And you’re welcome.” I chuckle a bit, realizing how close the name sounds to one of the Elements of Harmony.