Brandt looked out the window, staring at the passing landscape.
Maybe one day when he’d rack up enough vacation days, he’d take a trip around Equestria. Exploring and experiencing what the new land had to offer. That sounded pretty nice.
But right now? He had a job to do. And that was to hit the good ol’ ponies of the Crystal Guard with a nice big bat called, “stop being stupid,” at the behest of its ruling monarch. Because apparently, this was what his job had boiled down to.
He turned around to face back into the passenger car.
Sadly, he made the one-in-a-while mistake of forgetting to charge his phone, leaving him without a source of entertainment. Equestria, sadly enough, had yet to completely integrate modern technology into their daily lives. So that meant no charging stations aboard this ride. Leaving him with nothing else to do besides observing the other commuters in a non-disturbing fashion or going through some light paperwork.
“Might as well get started,” he sighed, pulling out a pen and the briefcase, alongside some forms he believed would be good at passing the time. “Which one…? Agh, whatever is the least annoying.”
He tapped the pen against his stubbled chin, humming to himself. The car was awfully quiet. A confirming glance told him that the place was… empty.
Well, save for the one pony sitting at the far end of the cabin.
He blinked and leaned in to look at the only other passenger. Most ponies hardly ever had truly-black fur and those who came close were actually a very dark gray. This one, however, looked like someone had dipped them in ink and then sprayed them with a finish. Leaving their outer surface… shiny…
A bug shell. Yes, that was the word for it! Wait, hold up. He stood up. A bug shell? Pony-looking bug… “Changeling…” he whispered. He spun around to see if there was anyone else. “No one but me and them. I hope.”
They don’t look to be doing anything but sitting there. And they’re undisguised. Did they miss me or something? There was something sitting on their face. It was… a piece of paper with a drawing of a pony face on it. Oh for the love of god, does that thing expect that to work?
He walked over and sat down next to the changeling, his right hand resting on the holster. The startled bug snapped to face him. “How’s your day going?” Brandt greeted.
“Uh, iz good,” they replied, fidgeting. He forced back the laugh from how terrible the attempted accent was.
“Anything bugging you?”
“N-No, I... iz good.”
“Mhm,” he said as he crossed his legs. “You’re not a changeling, right?”
That immediately set them on the defensive. “NO! No! I am pony! Pony from Ponyville… EQUESTRIA! I from Equestria!” they shrieked. The obviously-a-changeling furiously waved their forehooves back and forth. “Not changeling!”
“Right,” Brandt chuckled, not bothering to hide his laughter. Ponyville? That’s got to be the stupidest fake town name for a backstory. Did he even try? “What’s your name, then?”
“Uh…” The changeling tapped their head, most likely trying to think of a believable pony name. They obviously hadn’t thought this out. “Uhm… I am… I am Hooorsseee?”
“Hooo-are-si?”
“Yes!, Yes, am Hoooaresi!” they said, nodding their head to the point where it looked ready to fall off. However, the rapid head movement was far too much for the simple string attachment keeping the mask secure to their face, and it flew off and smacked the back of their head.
“Mr. Hooaresi, your face fell off.”
“Wait, it did?” they asked. “Oh, er, I mean, oh, no! My face iz broken! Am need medikal assist!”
“You can stop now,” Brandt deadpanned. “You’re not very good at this, are you?”
He was lucky the changeling knew when to admit defeat. They sighed. “I’m supposed to be really good! I fooled three ponies on my way here.”
“And what’d you do? Only wave at them?”
“...yes.” The changeling shuffled their hooves.
I think this problem goes deeper than just the guards. I'm lucky I caught them before they entered the Empire itself. God knows what he'd do in there. “And you’re heading to the Crystal Empire by yourself?”
He looked away. “I am… by myself.”
Brandt couldn’t lie that he was mildly interested in their story. “I thought you guys always traveled in groups—a swarm, I think it was called. Can I ask why you're alone?”
They were silent for the longest time as they stared blankly ahead. “I’m… I’m an outcast. I was in the Invasion of Canterlot… but I couldn’t bring myself to fight… so I tried to desert. However, the squad leader caught me and broke my legs and wings so I couldn’t escape. She told me they would deal with me after they won.”
Brandt interlocked his hands and placed them on the upper knee. “That's... damn.”
The changeling made no indicator to acknowledge his comment and simply continued. “So… so when they lost and we were scattered to the winds, I landed near a town, bleeding, starving, and dying. If it wasn’t for this little colt who came by and helped me, I would’ve joined the Grand Hive,” he whispered, barely audible. “He helped me back on my hooves and even told me stories about this place that existed solely because of love! And so… so I wanted to see it for myself. And I wished that maybe I could join them, under this disguise I was thinking about.”
He pulled out another mask, this one with a shiny-white pony on it. He hoofed it to Brandt, who stared at the drawing before flipping it around to get a full examination. “So you made this up?”
“The little colt helped me out. I filled in the rest with the little infiltrator training I had. Together, we crafted this.” He reached for the mask and Brandt gave it back. The changeling stared into icy-blue eyes of the disguise. “I named them ‘Black Diamond.’ They’re actually based off of that new story that Scout told me, about these ducklings and a swan chick. So the pony was born far away from the Crystal Empire, left with an ugly coal coat, made fun of because of it. It was until they came across this diamond they managed to find. The latent power in the crystal unlocked their crystal pony heritage and their fur took on a beautiful, jewel pattern. With renewed vigor, they leave their hometown to rejoin their fellow crystal ponies.”
Huh. I guess some human stuff does get read. “I see…”
The changeling gave a sad laugh, waving his mask around. He looked up to gaze into the empty train car. “L-Look at me, telling the complete stranger who caught me my life story. This wasn’t even a real interrogation and I caved—heck, I couldn't even act properly to avoid this. I’m pathetic. Some changeling I am.” He bit his lower lip and sniffled, holding back his tears.
“...”
They shared another moment of silence, listening to the train clack against the rails. The changeling placed the mask down. “So are you going to report me? I understand if you are go—”
“No.”
“...what?” he asked in disbelief.
Not everything is so black and white. He sighed. “You’ve been through enough suffering as it is. You don’t live up to the expectations of the monsters I expected, either. Really, I don’t think you should be paying for the sins of the masses.” He placed both feet on the floor. “You’re just a broken soul, searching for something to fill the hole, looking to fit in a world that persecutes you for your appearance. And besides, I think my mother would have my hind if I turned my back on my upbringings. I can't hate a man who did me no wrong.”
“I… I don’t know what to say…” he choked, wiping a forming tear away. “I’ve… I don’t...”
Brandt raised his hand to stop him. “How about this? You can start by telling me your name.”
The changeling froze. “I don’t have one…” he mumbled, inaudible to the human, as embarrassment and shame crept on his face.
“Pardon?”
“I don’t have one…” he repeated, louder this time. “I’m just another number.”
That was completely fucked. There was always more to a story once you heard what the other person had to say... but... things should never be this bad. A fire burned in his heart. “Well, that won’t do.” The human brought up his phone, staring at the shiny black surface of the screen. He hovered above the home button but stopped. “Your Queen’s name was Chrysalis, right?”
“Yes… she was one of the few who were awarded with names.”
Brandt frowned as he walked down memory lane. He landed on a specific set of memories from his childhood, playing in the dirt amongst the critters. “Thorax.”
“Huh?”
“Thorax. That was the name of the bug friend I had back when I was a kid. It was cute little beetle, no bigger than my finger. I remembered coming home from school and playing with it. They were… good times.”
The changeling blankly watched the clouds pass by. He could see his wings flutter slightly, buzzing like a bug's. “I… I like it.”
He smiled. “Well then, nice to meet you, Thorax,” he said, sticking his arm out. “I’m Brandt.”