//------------------------------// // The Change Is A Parent // Story: One Bolt, Moving Forward // by Boltsinger //------------------------------// Twilight and Boltsinger walked through the streets of Vanhoover, heading for the home the stallion once shared with his family. “So, I know you’ve seen the town in memories, and heard about it from Pinkie and the CMC’s, but, now that you’re here, what do you think?” Boltsinger asked, looking around at the ponies around town. Some of them waved, looking friendly enough, but there were a number of others that glared daggers at him, huffing and going about their business. Twilight took her own look around the town, noting the mixed response. “It’s a… nice town. I thought Sparks’ negative influence went away, though. Why do some of these ponies still look like they hate you?” Boltsinger sighed, looking ahead at their destination. “The resentment she put in there wasn’t all magical. There’s a lot of ponies here, namely friends of my parents, that honestly believe I… well… you know.” Twilight gave him an understanding look, turning her attention forward as well. “I guess not everypony can come to terms with it so easily.” She put a wing around her husband, squeezing him a little as their pace quickened. They came upon the house in question, each breathing a sigh of relief as the stallion rapped the door. From behind, a slow and deliberate rhythm came. A green light appeared around the doorknob, the door opening wide to reveal a grey Unicorn mare with eyes the same color as the magic on her horn. Her mane was white at the root, fading to black as it fell down her head and neck in a shorter, messier version of Fluttershy’s hairstyle. The Cutie Mark that was only just barely visible was an image of three smouldering sparks. She had a white-coated Unicorn colt in her foreleg, a hazel aura lighting up his horn as a number of toys flew around the room. She had a small smile on her face, trying her best to look friendly. “Hello, Bolt. Brightling told me you’d be paying us a visit.” she greeted. She looked over at the Princess of Friendship, the smile faltering just a little. “Princess.” she said with a bow of her head. Twilight’s royal composure came into play, offering a polite bow in return. “Sparks.” The mares brought their heads back up, a smile appearing on each of them. “It’s a pleasure to see you.” “Likewise.” Sparks replied, stepping aside to allow her guests in. “So, Boltsinger has informed us that you’re with foal, now. Congratulations.” She put her foal on the couch, offering a hoof to the lilac pony. Twilight, not one to turn down a kind gesture, reached out, placing her hoof against the one pointed at her and giving a firm shake. “Why, thank you.” She sat on the couch, the black-maned colt looking up at her. Boltsinger looked at the mares as they began a very stiff conversation. He sat on the couch and reached past his wife, picking up the little pony. “Hi, there, Oathsinger!” he greeted, nuzzling the colt lightly. “Looks like your mommy and Aunty Twily are still all stiff when they talk to each other, huh?” the colt laughed, putting his hooves in his uncle’s nostrils. “And you’re still a grabby one, aren’t you?” “That he is.” a tenor voice confirmed from the kitchen. Brightling put his forelegs on the back of the couch, leaning over so as to come into view. “Aren’t you excited to have one of your own soon?” Boltsinger laughed nervously, scratching his mane with his wing as his brother let out a chortle. “Good to see you, little brother! What brings you by?” Boltsinger moved his head back, letting the little hooves leave his nose. “Actually, today’s visit was Twilight’s idea!” He put the baby back on the couch, where his father picked him up and tucked him into his wing. “Oh?” Brightling turned to face Twilight, who was still having a rather uncomfortable conversation with his wife. “Can’t say I’ve ever had a visit from a Princess. It’s lovely to have you over, Your Highness.” Twilight perked up, her conversation ceasing as she directed her gaze at him. “Just Twilight is fine. We’re family.” She told him, smiling genuinely as he faced Sparks again. “And… that goes for you, too.” Sparks’ eyebrows raised considerably. “Seriously?” she wondered. “What brings this about?” Twilight opened her mouth to reply, but before any sound could escape, a loud knock came to the door. Brightling hopped over the couch, opening the door to see a mailpony holding a strange-looking letter in her teeth. He reached out with his free wing and took the letter. “Thank you.” The mailpony saluted and flew away, the yellow stallion closing the door and examining the envelope more closely. It looked like it was made from something… different from paper. He opened it, finding a normal piece of parchment inside. “It says… ‘To Dimming Sparks of Vanhoover, It would be very nice if you and your family could please, please, please come to the Changeling Kingdom. There is a really, really important thing that we need to do, and it involves you. So, if you don’t mind, could you please come and see us. Please? Sincerely, Thorax’ That was… oddly polite... “ Brightling put the letter aside, looking over at Sparks. “What could the Changelings want with you, dear?” Sparks shook her head, not even trying to comprehend what she just heard. “I’m not sure. This ‘Thorax’ is their leader, right? I suppose we should go and hear him out…” She turned back to the Princess. “You’re royalty. Do you happen to know him?” Twilight nodded. “I’ve been friends with him since before he came to lead the Changelings. He’s particularly close with my assistant, Spike. Why do you ask?” The Unicorn took a slow, deep breath. “It says to bring ‘family’... And you are friends with him, so… Would you and Bolt be willing to come with us?” Twilight looked at her husband, then back at her most recent sister-in-law, smiling. “We’d be happy to, right, Bolt?” “Absolutely!” He concurred, flaring his wings. “Do you have somepony to watch Oathsinger?” Brightling nodded, swaying the foal in his wing. “Sweet Pear is always willing to look after him. Gives him a chance to play with the other foals. I’ll go talk to him. You two might as well head to the train station. Pretty sure you don’t wanna deal with the locals just yet.” Boltsinger nodded, standing up and making for the door, his wife followed suit soon after. The four ponies stood on a cliff overlooking a vast field, where a spire-like structure stood in the distance. “That…” Twilight said, pointing to the structure. “... is the Changeling hive! It shouldn’t be too much of a walk.” “It seems… brighter than I expected.” Sparks commented, having a look at the surrounding foliage. “Wasn’t this place supposed to be a desolate wasteland?” “It used to be. That is, until my amazing student and her friends came and saved all of Equestria, along with the Changelings, themselves!” the Princess bragged. “Thorax was part of that group, and from then on he became their king!” “Spike has told me a lot about him, but this will be my first time getting to really meet him.” Boltsinger stated, giving an excited buzz of his wingtips. “I really look forward to it!” Brightling looked ahead, putting his wing around his wife. “I’m most interested in what he has to say about Sparks. What kind of thing has to involve her?” “I wish I knew.” Twilight admitted, looking at the now-towering structure before them. “Thorax is friendly enough, though. I’m sure he’ll explain everything.” As they reached the base of the hive, a number of creatures that looked like a mixture of ponies and insects walked up to them. Their eyes were each a solid color, rather than the normal eyes of ponies and other mammals. They each bore a shell on their backs, spread apart to reveal colorful, translucent wings in the same vein as their tails. Some had Unicorn-like horns, and all of them had what looked like three white crystals embedded in their necks. One of them waved to the visitors. “Hello! Our leader is expecting you!” it greeted, motioning as if to guide them in. The visiting ponies were led through the hive, seeing a number of Changelings engaging in different activities, ranging from discussions to arts and crafts to anything anypony could think of. A larger, black one was training several others to fend off potential danger. He looked at the visitors with a slight glare, but smiled when he saw the Princess. They came to the top of the vast structure, where a wooded throne sat under the open sky. Upon the throne was a larger Changeling with an exoskeleton of bright green, with a gradient into orange at the base of his neck. His tail was a translucent purple, with a darker green underbelly. The jewel-like decorations on his neck were larger than those of other Changelings, and his shell was a bright maroon. He had welcoming purple eyes, and large, orange mandable-like horns protruding out of his head in addition to the same kind of horns the other Changelings often had. He smiled wide as he caught sight of the guests to his kingdom, raising his shell to reveal his purple wings. He buzzed his translucent appendages, rising to the air to land next to them a mere moment later with a hoof extended in greeting. “Hello! Welcome to the Changeling kingdom! I’m Thorax, the leader, and…” his eyes fell upon the purple pony Princess. “... Twilight? Why are you here? I sent for Dimming Sparks and her family, but…” “That’s exactly what you got!” Twilight confirmed. “Sparks is my sister-in-law!” Thorax recoiled slightly. “She is? Is she related to Cadence?” Twilight shook her head. “No, Thorax. She’s related to my husband! You remember the wedding, right?” Thorax brought up a foreleg. “She was there with her husband, too! I’m surprised you didn’t recognize them!” Thorax took a few tentative steps back, looking at the other ponies. He turned his attention to the Unicorn mare. “Oh! I remember you!” He excitedly said. “It’s so nice to meet you!” He extended a hoof, taking one of Sparks’ forelegs and giving it a hearty shake. “I’ve wanted to meet you for such a long time, now, but I never got any response to my letters… I figured you might be too busy, and that maybe you didn’t know or care who I was… But that’s all in the past, now!” Brightling took a stance between his wife and the large Changeling, a challenging look in his eyes. “Why does the leader of the Changelings need my wife, anyway?” He jutted his head forward, clenching his teeth. “From what I hear, your kind has done more than enough to her!” Thorax shook, reeling away from the intimidating Pegasus and bringing himself low while hiding his face. “Brightling, calm down.” Boltsinger started, reaching out towards his brother. I’m sure King Thorax has a perfectly good explanation.” He came up to Thorax, moving one of his hooves away from his face. “I’m sorry about my brother. He tends to get a little… protective. Provoking him isn’t all that difficult. “ Thorax looked at the orange pony smiling at him, beginning to sit up. “Thanks…” “It’s no problem. If there’s one thing I’m familiar with, it’s panic.” he assured. He turned his eyes to look at Sparks. “But, I do agree with Brightling. Why is it you need to see Sparks so badly?” Thorax stood up to his full height. “So, I’ve been working with the other Changelings on how they could be happier with themselves, because some of us are… less happy than others…” he explained, hanging his head. “It’s been great to see them all opening up and learning to be friends, but some Changelings have a… checkered past. We did a lot of bad things when Queen Chrysalis was in charge, and a lot of Changelings regret that.” He led the four of them to a chamber where several Changelings were discussing their problems. “So, I’ve been talking with everyone, and every Changeling with regrets is gonna talk to whoever they may have hurt. That way they can apologize and make things right! And, that’s why…” He motioned his foreleg to the gathering. “Ganglia, have you managed to talk to the pony you’ve wronged?” the head of the gathering asked. “Or did she not come again?” “I haven’t…” a voice came from the group. From the gathering stood a Changeling with white chitin and a black shell. She had a bright pink translucent tail, a single-pronged horn, and emerald green eyes, standing as tall as an average pony. “I only hope she can forgive me for what I’ve done… But it’s been so long, that--” She was cut off by the sound of a clearing throat. “Ganglia, would you come with me, please?” Thorax requested. “There’s someone here I’d like for you to meet.” Ganglia looked at her leader, bringing her hoof up to her chest. “Okay…” She walked over to him, where she saw the ponies behind the larger Changeling. She was used to occasionally seeing Princess Twilight, due to her friendship with Thorax, but the other three ponies were even more shockingly familiar to her. She reeled back, the faces burned into her mind. “Boltsinger?” she started, pointing at the orange one. Her attention turned to the yellow one. “Brightling?!” The brothers each nodded at her, expressions of immense confusion showing up on their faces. She pointed a now-shaky hoof at the grey Unicorn mare. “Then… that means… Dimmy? Are you really my little Dimmy?!” Sparks’ eyes grew remarkably wide, showing a sense of shock. She slapped the shaky hoof aside as hard as she could, pointing angrily at the white Changeling before her. “How do you know that name?!” she asked, her face going from shock to rage. “Nopony calls me ‘Dimmy’! Nopony!!!” She stomped her hoof. “Nopony but my--” “Mother?” she finished with a weak smile. Sparks squinted at her. “Exactly…” She leaned in, putting herself muzzle-to-muzzle with Ganglia. “Who are you, and how do you know that nickname?” Thorax pulled Sparks away from his fellow Changeling, looking between them. “Miss Sparks, this is the reason I called you here. I wanted you to talk with Ganglia.” Sparks looked at the kind ruler, then at the creature that had infuriated her so. “So, what do you have to say?” Ganglia’s face sank as she stepped forward. “I wanted to apologize for all of the things I did to you.” she told her. “Back when Queen Chrysalis was in control, we all acted on instinct, replacing ponies who were surrounded by love…” She raised her head, a light forming around her. In a flash, she appeared as a white Unicorn mare with emerald green eyes. She had a black mane and tail, with her bangs parted to accentuate her face and horn and a loose, bouncy bun poking out from the back of her head. Her Cutie Mark featured three star-shaped fireworks exploding in the sky, the top one in a pink shade with the bottom two in a light blue. “In those days, this is what I looked like…” Boltsinger, Brightling, and Sparks looked at Ganglia, slack-jawed and wide-eyed. If his rump wasn’t already on the floor, Boltsinger would have made cracks in it with how hard it would have hit. Brightling reached out a foreleg, baffled to the point of nearly losing reason. “Aunt… Aunty Joy?” He guessed, stepping forward. “Is that really you?” Ganglia nodded, closing her eyes. “Not the original, but… yes.” She looked at Sparks, who stared speechlessly at her. “I’m the Changeling that… replaced your mother when she went to the hospital. I wasn’t the reason she passed. All I did was replace her.” She stepped closer to the Unicorn, holding her hoof over her heart. “She was just surrounded by so much love… I fed off of it, and then took her shape. The doctors thought it was a miracle, and I was allowed to go home with you and your father, where… Where I fed off of the love that the two of you had.” She looked her in the eye, putting her hoof back down. “What I didn’t expect was that, not only was I allowed to stay there with you, but… I was enamored with you, in particular, Dimmy. I wanted to raise you as my own. So, I did.” She averted her gaze, keeping it fixed on the entrance to the room. “But the only one I ever had for an example of what a ‘mother’ is was…” “Queen Chrysalis…” Thorax stated, his own face turning somber. “Yes... “ Ganglia confirmed, looking back at her. “So, I taught you in much the same way that… I was taught…” “Everypony for herself… Why others are friendly… and what I needed to survive…” Sparks said, as if in a trance. She looked up at the face she recognized as her mother’s. “All of that was you?” The disguised Changeling nodded, refusing to open her eyes. “I’m afraid so… I took your real mother’s place when you were still a very little filly. I taught you such… awful things… And I know, now just how wrong all of that was…” “I came to realize that, myself, recently.” Sparks admitted, diverting her gaze to Twilight and Boltsinger. “It took a lot, but I think it was all worth it.” She looked back at the white creature in front of her, her face softer than the fluff of a bunny’s tail. “I can’t believe you’re still alive… You disappeared years ago! What happened?” “Like all Changelings, I was summoned to take part in the Canterlot invasion.” she elaborated, looking over at Twilight. “That one, there, hits particularly hard with that horn of hers.” Twilight recoiled, a mild blush appearing on her cheeks. “When we were driven from Canterlot, all of us returned here, to the hive. No one ever went back, so I never could see you again… Until now.” Sparks took a deep breath, closing her eyes in contemplation. A moment later, she looked firmly at Ganglia, lunging forward into a tight hug. “It’s a miracle…” she said, stifling an oncoming sob. “Oh, Mom… It’s wonderful to see you again!” Ganglia’s eyes widened and watered simultaneously, her forelegs moving to the grey pony’s shoulders and pushing her only slightly away to look into her eyes. “What are you talking about? I’m not your mother… I just… I just replaced her!” Sparks smiled, some of the water streaming out of her eyes. “You said it, yourself. You took her place when I was just a little filly! And that was before I could even remember anything!” She pulled her mother in for another embrace. “You’re the mother I’ve always known… And, over the course of my life, there have only been three ponies I’ve ever truly loved. My husband, my son, and you… And I have all three of them, now!” Ganglia’s mouth hung open, her disguise falling away as Brightling came and joined the hug. The white Changeling broke down in the embrace of the one she now knew, for certain, was her daughter. Brightling patted her back with a smile. “It’s good to see you again, Aunty Joy… We’ve missed you.” Twilight looked at the scene with a sad smile, wiping a tear away with her hoof. “They’ve really become better ponies, haven’t they?” she asked, looking over at Boltsinger, whose expression mirrored that of his wife. “Eeyup…” he said, reaching over and pulling her close. “I blame you… and our friends.” Twilight giggled, leaning into him. “That’s a blame I’ll happily accept!” She moved away from the orange stallion, standing up and walking over to Sparks. When the Unicorn had finally pulled back from her reunion, the Princess put a hoof on her back. “Sparks.” She said with a genuine smile. Sparks’ smile stiffened a little, looking back at the Alicorn. “Princess…” Twilight returned her hoof to the floor, stepping closer to her. “I’m glad you got to reunite with your mother. Truly, I am.” The stiffness of the smile faltered, revealing more truth. “Thank you very much.” she replied, giving a curt nod. “So, I’ve got a question for you…” Meanwhile, Thorax took a look over at Boltsinger. “So, you’re Boltsinger, yes? Twilight’s husband?” he asked. Boltsinger looked up at the green Changeling. “That would be me. Spike has told me a lot about you.” He got up, walking to Thorax with an outstretched wing. “It’s wonderful to finally meet you!” Thorax put his hoof in the wing, the two sharing a firm shake. “It’s nice to meet you, too!” He put his hoof back on the floor, looking at Twilight. “So, Spike tells me that Twilight is something called… ‘pregnant’... What does that mean, exactly?” Boltsinger cocked an inquisitive eyebrow, looking at his new friend with a sense of bewilderment. “It means that she’s going to be having a baby, of course. How do you not know that?” Thorax pawed the floor with his hoof, drawing a circle. “Well… Changelings are all born from eggs in broods, and I hear from both Spike and Ember that dragons are born from eggs, as well… How do ponies have babies?” Boltsinger looked at Thorax, then over at Twilight, repeating the motion a few times, utterly dumbstruck. “Wow… I can’t believe the first one I have this discussion with is a king…” He sat on the floor, slapping his muzzle with his wings. “Well, when a mare and a stallion love each other very much…” “What do you need to know?” Twilight wondered, tilting her head. “Why did you want to pay us a visit?” came the question burning in the back of Sparks’ mind. “What made you decide that it was a good idea to come and see us, even though you dislike me so much?” Twilight scratched her mane with her hoof, pondering on how to phrase her answer. “Well, you see… The plan was…” She brought a hoof up over her heart, taking a deep inhale, only to exhale as she extended her foreleg. “I feel like it’s time you and I buried the hatchet.” “Bury the hatchet?” Sparks repeated, earning a confirming nod from the Princess of Friendship. “But… what I did to your husband was nothing short of unforgivable! Why would you ever want to… to forgive me?” “I’ve been thinking… It’s true that what you did to Bolt wasn’t a good thing. That much is obvious.” she started. Sparks’ head sank at the knowledge and regret. “But, some good came of it. If you hadn’t… done what you did to him… He might not have slammed into that wall, or met up with my friends and I. We might not have gotten married, and…” She patted her belly with her foreleg. “We wouldn’t be waiting for the greatest gift in the whole world…” She looked at Sparks with a spark of her own in her eye. “There’s a lot that I have to thank you for, Sparks. There’s no way I can hate somepony who has done so much to make my life better! Even if you didn’t mean to.” Sparks’ face was one that showed shock, awe, confusion, and pure joy all at once. Her mouth hung open, and her ears hung low. Her eyes dilated, and her breathing was surprisingly calm. “It seems… today… my family just keeps getting bigger, doesn’t it?” she pointed out, stepping closer to the Princess. Twilight nodded, pulling her in for a genuine hug. Sparks returned the embrace, the water from earlier flowing forth once again from her eyes. “Thank you, Prince-- I mean… Thank you… Twilight!” The mares separated, each letting out a great big smile as a scream sounded. They looked over to the source of the noise, seeing Thorax reared up defensively. “That’s how ponies have babies?!” he asked, showing a great deal of disgust in his voice. “Wow… That’s just… wrong!” Boltsinger and Brightling looked at one another and shrugged.