Sweetie Belle thought back to when she had first met the adolescent changeling, Diane Pastel…
-=-=-=-=-
“We’re gonna get in trouble,” Sweetie pleaded with her friends.
“No, WE’RE not,” Apple Bloom replied, “Ah am. We all know my sister’s the only one who has any problem with Trainwreck OR his family… and it’s mostly just Trainwreck, and we’re not gonna be talkin’ to him.”
“Actually Rainbow Dash and Jake hang out with him a lot at Berry Punch’s tavern when he’s not with Surprise,” Scootaloo interjected helpfully, “And your sister was one of the first ponies to really warm up to Train Wreck. Admit it Sweetie, you’re just scared of Diane.”
“Well… she’s scary, alright?” Sweetie squeaked defensively, “I mean, have you SEEN her teeth?”
“Sweetie, she just a filly, just like us,” Apple Bloom drawled, “And… her mom… Surprise… she ain’t gonna be with us much longer.”
“I know…” Sweetie Belle slumped down in guilty defeat. “I shouldn’t judge a pony… or a changeling by appearances. And they live with the Cakes and Pinkie Pie… and nopony who Pinkie Pie likes that much can really be a bad pony, right?”
“Look, I’ll go talk to her first.” Scootaloo volunteered. “I mean, he uncle’s buddies with Jake and Rainbow Dash so… uh… Sweetie Belle?”
The little white filly was already moving. Marching against her fear right up to the sad, shark toothed changeling filly, he held out a friendly hoof and said, “Hi, I’m Sweetie Belle. Wanna be friends?”
-=-=-=-=-
“Diane? Is it really you this time? What happened to you???” Sweetie Belle stared in awe at the horror before her, the changeling was nearly unrecognizable… but that smile…
Diane shrank back at the filly’s inquiry. She knew there was no explanation she could offer. At the end of it she knew she could never tell her the truth. Diane Pastel knew all too well how fragile innocence could be, and she couldn’t tarnish that.
“Freeze!” Diane was saved by the Royal Guard bursting into the train-car. “Step away from the filly and keep your hooves where we can see them!”
“Congratulations, Diane,” Dayglow replied dryly, “We’re busted.”
“Sweetie!” Cookie crumbles swept her daughter into a bone-crushing hug as Hondo moved between his family and the surrounded couple.
“Okay… I know these words get thrown around a lot.” The bright blue pegasus colt flashed a greasy smile at the assembled guards. “But I can explain…”
“Mom! That’s Diane! Diane Pastel!” Sweetie said in a rush. “You remember? Surprise’s daughter? From Ponyville?”
“Or Sweetie Belle could just blurt out everything.” The colt rolled his eyes in clear annoyance. “That’s okay. It’s no like I just broke Diane out of pony-hell or anything. Oh no, we’re not in hiding at all. So let’s just all reveal our true identities and drop as many names as possible.”
“They’re not the bad guys!” Sweetie insisted. “They actually stopped the train robbery.”
“How does a train robbery even work,” Dayglow mused softly, mostly to himself. “I mean, it’s a train. Given they could fly, but still… I’m sure if you hurried you could catch them… but you’re not hurrying… I guess this is how a train robbery works…”
“D-Diane Pastel?!?!” The head guard stammered. “As in the Canterlot Mangler?”
“Oh come on!” Diane protested, “I just killed invading changelings! Nopony calls Pinkie Pie ‘The Canterlot Mangler’!”
“Not helping Diane!” The bright blue colt rolled his eyes.
“Oh come on Charlie…” Diane started to argue only to be cut off.
“It’s ‘Dayglow’, Diane.” The colt insisted.
“Seriously?” The little changeling huffed, “In case you haven’t noticed, Charlie, the gig is up. It’s not like there’s much use in keeping on with the fake names.”
“Well, I happen to LIKE the name ‘Dayglow Neon’, thank you very much!” Charlie sapped back. “Besides, I thought one of your big fat hairy dels was nopony getting to make you use any name but the one you chose?”
“Fine,” Diane sighed, while the guards looked around awkwardly, “You can be ‘Dayglow Neon’, but I still get to call you Charlie, alright?”
“Uh, sir,” one of the guards timidly asked his commanding officer, “Should we arrest them… or…”
“You can’t arrest them!” Sweetie pleaded, “They just stopped the train robbery, and totally didn’t steal my parents bit pouch that I found lying in the aisle when I came back to their car to see if they were okay!”
Hondo raised an eyebrow at his daughters comment, but remained silent.
“Actually, we will surrender ourselves peacefully to Twilight Sparkle,” Dayglow smirked.
“Wait, what?” Diane asked incredulously.
“Diane has been falsely imprisoned in Tartarus while awaiting her hearing for her completely justified actions defending her hive, city, and loved ones, by the upstart changeling regent Stand In.” The young colt smiled as the guards looked on slack jawed. “The Crown in Canterlot has shown complicity in this injustice, and as the rightful heir of the Unspoken Prince Trainwreck Pastel, Princess Diane wishes to plead for sanctuary with the Kingdom of Friendship.”
“I don’t think Twilight actually has literal Kingdom,” Sweetie Belle said under her breath.
“I thought we weren’t going to Ponyville, Charlie?” the little changeling raised a skeptical eyebrow.
“Well, that was before all the loli waifus on this train made it impossible for us to keep our cover.” Dayglow responded dryly.
“Dammit Charlie!” Diane fumed. “You can’t just call the Cutie Mark Crusaders ‘waifus’, it’s weird!”
“It’s only weird if you make it weird, Diane.” Dayglow responded.
“What’s a waifu?” Sweetie Belle looked confused.
“Well… protocol DOES say we should report Tartarus escapes to the nearest available princess…” The guard captain mused.
“Does it bother anyone else that this little colt is pleading for diplomatic immunity in the company of a known serial killer?” One of the guards whispered to his comrades.
“Mass murderer, dammit!” Diane snapped angrily, “‘Serial Killer’ makes it sound all weird.”
“Seriously, what’s a ‘loli waifu’?” Sweetie Belle’s face scrunched in thought as she pondered the unknown turn of phrase.