//------------------------------// // Day 10 & 11: A Day of School // Story: Changeling Trust // by Nightmare Rift //------------------------------// Styx’s POV: I hear a knock on the door, so I saunter downstairs, open the door, and see Twilight with the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Twilight is smiling at me as if nothing had changed. The CMC on the other hand, well, they are staring at me with fright evident in their eyes. An interesting thing, since over the last few days I have been around them constantly. Shaking off that thought, I smile and ask, “What brings you here Twilight? And why are the Cutie Mark Crusaders with you?” “I am here to ask you to come teach at my school! As for the Cutie Mark Crusaders, they want to ask you something.” Applebloom speaks first, “We wanted to ask you if you would be willing to be our pony of interest for school.” Sweetie Bell next, “What Applebloom means is that we would you like you to come talk to our class as like show and tell.” Scootaloo finishes off, “That means that we would like you to come talk about yourself and The War of Crystal to our class so that we can learn about it. Not from textbooks, but from somepony that actually lived through it. Ms. Cheerilee says that if we ask you and you say yes, then we can go last so you can comment on other ponies' presentations about the War. It would be amazing, as much as we appear afraid.” “Are you girls afraid of me?” “No, we were just nervous about asking you and what your reaction would be. So would you be willing to help us?” asks Sweetie Bell. “Of course girls, I would be delighted to! When is this presentation?” “Tomorrow!” all three fillies excitedly shout. “Goodness. Well at least I don’t have to prepare a speech. You girls can go home and I’ll see you three tomorrow.” “Alright!” the three yell as they go running off. “So Twilight, about that teaching position, what in all of Equestria would I be teaching?” “Eeeee! You kind of represent trust, even though half of the town doesn’t trust you right now. However, who better to teach it when they know so much about how important it is to be yourself, and earn friendship through trust? You! So what do you think? I even have a classroom all ready for you to teach starting in three days, if you want to that is. You can decorate it and use whatever you need to teach your lessons.” “Twilight, I would be honored to do that! I promise to be the best teacher I can be.” “That is all I ask.” I go back inside and spend about 2 hours cooking some different apple confections, since I have ingredients that Pinkie brought me yesterday. I spend the rest of the day cleaning and tidying up my house. I go to bed thinking about what tomorrow is going to bring, a presentation, and commenting on the things fillies can find in textbooks that are beyond inaccurate. I yawn and groggily get out of bed. I go over to my closet, but decide against getting dressed as I don’t need to scare the colts and fillies any more than I will just by being normal. The CMC promised to meet me at Sugarcube Corner to show me to the school house. As I arrive at Sugarcube Corner I see the three fillies all standing in a line patiently waiting for me. Although their expressions betray everything, smiles like wide canyons. They see me and Scootaloo waves for me to follow them, so I do. Not like there are any shops to go into anyway, even if I didn’t want to go. Applebloom tells me on the way that there will be five presentations total, including me. We reach the schoolhouse and I am amazed to see parents with their foal’s presentations in hoof. Wow, the poor things can’t even carry their own presentations. We all enter the schoolhouse and I settle myself comfortably in the back, sitting on the ground, noticing that I am much taller than the average pony. The presentations begin and I am already bored. As the four presentations progress over the next four hours I make a mental list about everything they get wrong. Sombra being evil. Crystal ponies being unhappy with reign and forced to fight. Changelings were not involved. Umbrum are still alive and in hiding. Children were forced to fight or their parents would be tortured/killed. Sombra being on the losing end of the war. Celestia and Luna stepped in when they were close to winning. I make another little mental list about things they got right. War started over a feud between two royal ponies with access to military forces. That is it, that is all that is correct through all of the presentations. Cheerilee quiets the class, gestures to me, and says, “And our last presenter, who is standing in for Applebloom, Sweetie Bell, and Scootaloo. Please welcome Styx.” “Wow, they were too lazy to put a presentation together so they just had a pony come talk for them instead,” Diamond Tiara pipes up from the front row. “No, they were willing to come find me and ask me to speak about the real events of the war,” I say, keeping my voice steady. “How would you know about the war?” I flick the lights on and say, “Because I lived through it.” Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, and two colts scream. Cheerilee calms them down and I start to explain. “I am Styx, the last known dark Changeling in existence, and I was a filly, about your age, when I aided King Sombra in the War of Crystal.” A little filly in the back raises her hoof and asks, “So you’re a traitor to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna?” “In a way I was. However, today I am not. I stand as an equal to them in most ways, but I don’t want to rule anypony. Now in regards to King Sombra being evil, he is not. Anything but, he was a kind and fair ruler, much like Celestia and Luna. Or better if you ask the Crystal ponies their thoughts. The Crystal ponies were happy with Sombra’s rein and weren’t forced to take part in the fighting. All they had to do was provide food for the troops. Most of the troops were Umbrum and Changelings, all willing volunteers.” “What do the Umbrum look like?” a colt from the second row asks. “Like this,” I say producing an image of one with my magic and showing in comparison to a normal pony. “Woah, that’s cool, are there any still alive?” “No, as soon as Sombra was killed, they all vanished. As the Umbrum were in link with him. Speaking of being killed, no children were forced to fight. All but one Changeling foal remained at home and lived a normal life during the war.” “No way, that can’t be possible,” Diamond Tiara says, as if she was all knowing. “As much as you read history textbooks, I can tell you that most of them are wrong. I was the one Changeling foal that chose to aid in the war, mostly by raiding villages for food disguised as a normal pony filly. But enough of that, did you know that Celestia and Luna almost lost the war? Had they not taken action against Sombra, his troops would have won.” “Liar!” yells Filthy Rich from the back of the room. “Oh, I wish that were the case, but no. Fun fact: Celestia and Luna sentenced hundreds of Changelings to death after the war for being traitors. Then they killed the parents of every other Changeling foal except mine, thereby putting all of them into normal pony foster homes. All but one of those foals ended up starving themselves to death. The last one threw himself off the roof of Canterlot castle. Filthy, you know nothing of how hard that was to watch fillies of my own kind kill themselves, just to get out of a world run by Celestia and Luna. I almost joined them, but I thought to myself why would I. I have so much to live for. Thankfully Celestia and Luna let me live, as much as it came back to haunt them later. Well that’s all I got, have a good day everypony.” I finish and go running out of the school house and back home where I immediately fall into bed and pass out from exhaustion.