//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 // Story: Shifting Morals // by Leafdoggy //------------------------------// Wandering aimlessly through Ponyville does a lot to help me gather my thoughts. The warm, crisp air, the afternoon sun casting the world in a cozy glow. It calms me, clears my head. Lets me reexamine my priorities. My wandering has brought me to a small park towards the outskirts of town. Well kempt grass and trees surrounding a small pond. Ponies are scattered around, taking in the atmosphere, but it’s an easy place to be alone in. The pond is spanned by a simple stone bridge, well made but clearly more about utility than form, and I find myself here, leaning over the railing. The water is smooth and clear as I stare into it. Fish dart around under the surface, waiting for some generous or bored pony to toss them food. Ponies walk by behind me, sightseeing or relaxing, paying me no mind. Every so often a duck or a leaf will disturb the water, casting out ripples which warp and skew my reflection. Looking back at the events since I got here, I see them with a clear perspective. Poor decisions snowballing together, unchecked emotions running rampant. It’s clear to me that this place, these ponies, have had an effect on me. Reintroduced compassion into my life. This is unacceptable. What I do is a form of protection, a way to shield myself from the harshness of the world. More than that, it’s the only way I know how to live. My stress relief, my meditation, my daily routine. It works, it’s kept me going, kept me happy, for lifetimes. I can’t let some pink girl and her friends ruin that for me. So I need to leave. Tonight, when I can be sure no eyes are on me. No going back to Pinkie’s, no saying goodbye. Leave before any of them can notice I’m gone, and start over somewhere else, play it smarter. I can’t ever let this happen again. On that note, I should probably not spend the rest of my time here as Strawberry Tart. There's no way to know what I might do if I get in another situation like the one with Rarity. Plus, pulling off a simple job will help me get back into the right mindset. Looking around, there’s not too many targets to choose from. The park is fairly empty, and a lot of the ponies that are here came here alone. Aside from them, there’s a family having a picnic, a couple of ponies that look like old friends catching up, and a small group tossing around a frisbee. The two friends are the closest, so let’s go with them. Step one is to gather information. There's no easy cover, so my best option is just to walk by them and hope to catch something. It's not very reliable, but it won't raise any suspicion. I look them over as I get near. One’s a small white pony with a two-tone blue mane and gaudy glasses. She’s clearly the more energetic of the two. The other is taller, all gray, listening to her friend’s every word. It’s not long before I’m close enough to pick up their conversation. “So I’m gonna see you tonight, right?” The white one asks. “You might,” replies the gray one slyly. “I better,” the white one says, hitting the other one on her shoulder. “I’m gonna blow the roof off that place. And when I do I’m gonna need you there to keep them from kickin me out.” The gray pony laughs, and says “I’m not sure I could stop them at that point.” “Well, then,” the white pony says, “you gotta be there so it’s not just me going on the run.” They both laugh as I walk out of earshot. It’s hard to get much, but this time was lucky. That was more than enough to form a plan of action. It’s simple enough. Copy the white pony, and wait for the two to separate. Catch up to the gray one and tell her she can’t go to the event. She’ll be sad to get disinvited, and the other will be sad when she doesn’t show up. Two birds, one stone, in and out no problem. Plus, odds are the gray pony will just go home after getting the bad news, so I can pretend to be her for the rest of the day to avoid Pinkie. The only hitch is that I need a place to change. There’s very little cover in the park, and if I leave or wait to change until later I risk losing my opening. Every second spent as Strawberry Tart is a gamble. Luckily, hardly anyone is here, and they’re all in the sunnier areas. It only takes a second to change; any simple cover will do. I look around and find the most isolated spot. It’s a big, low tree in a far corner of the park. The trunk is wide, and the canopy casts a sizable shadow. There’s no ponies anywhere nearby, so I walk over and take up refuge in the shade. I look back past the tree to make sure the coast is clear. None of the ponies are looking in this direction, and even if they did it’s too far away for them to see anything definitive. I take another look at the white pony, memorize her appearance, and make the change. It’s over in an instant, my brown fur going stark white, and- “WOAH!” I curse and wheel around, gritting my teeth, and find myself face to face with Pinkie Pie. She’s awestruck, jaw gaping open. There’s no doubt that she saw me transform. This is a complete disaster. “Strawberry, I didn’t know you-” she begins, but I jump forward and put my hoof over her mouth to shush her. When I take it away, she continues in a hushed whisper. “Strawberry, I didn’t know you were Vinyl Scratch.” What? Ugh, I can’t pay attention to her. I need to think this through. My instincts are screaming at me, urging me to just get rid of her, but I don’t know if I can bring myself to do that. Compassion has poisoned me, made me weak. “Wait, no…” I hear Pinkie mumble. “That doesn’t make sense, she’s lived here for years. So that means…” She deflates in front of me. Her ears droop, her mane drops, her smile fades. The shadow cast by the tree drains into her, whisking away her color and vibrancy. She falls back onto the ground and stares into the dirt. Could I convince her to keep me secret? I can’t imagine even she would be that trusting, not after this. She has to know I was behind the issues with Fluttershy, there’s no way she won’t take action. I have no other choice, though, I have to find a way to keep her quiet. “No…” Pinkie mumbles under her breath. “Pinkie,” I say to her. “Please, you can’t tell the other about this. You don’t know how they’ll react.” “No,” she says, shaking her head. “Come on,” I plead. “I was gonna leave tonight anyway. I messed up, okay, I got too close. You’ll never see me again after today.” She puts her head in her hooves. "No, no, no." "Pinkie, if you send people after me it'll just make things harder for both of us," I say. I'm running out of ideas. “No!” she bursts out, standing back up. None of her brightness has come back, but her eyes burn behind a layer of tears. “You’re not allowed!” I try to back up away from her, and run into the tree behind me. “Pinkie,” I say, “I know how angry you must be with me, but-” “You’re my friend!” she says, cutting me off. “You’re not… my friends aren’t allowed to be bad guys.” “What?” I stammer out. “I made you my friend,” she says, prodding me in the chest. “That means you don’t get to be a bad guy anymore.” “Pinkie, what are you saying?” I ask. “I’m saying you’re not allowed!” she says. “Not allowed to hurt me, not allowed to hurt other ponies, not allowed to leave, not, not, not allowed!” “That’s just who I am!” I say. “I’m a bad guy, I hurt others. You let me in, and I hurt you. That’s just what happens. This is what I am.” “You’re right,” she says, her voice cracking. “I let you in, and you hurt me. You hurt my friends. That’s my fault. But you know what? A good friend doesn’t let their friends just disappear when things go wrong. A good friend sees their friends at their lowest and helps them get better. And that’s what I’m gonna do. I’m gonna make you good.” “That’s nonsense,” I say. “I can’t be good. I’m a bad guy, a monster, a force of nature. I’ll never be anything else.” “I can’t accept that!” Pinkie says. She’s almost shouting. “Maybe you could fake it as Fluttershy, or Applejack, or whatever. But I met Strawberry Tart. I saw who you are. I can’t let myself believe that was all made up.” “Why would I even stick around to let you try?” I ask. “You’re not gonna have a choice,” she tells me. Her eyes are pointed, determined, but still blurred by tears. “Cuz if you leave, I’ll tell my friends all about you, and they’ve stopped bigger bad guys than you. They’ll never let you hurt another pony. So if you want me to stay quiet, you either gotta do what I say, or prove that you can’t be good and make me.” She stomps on the ground, tears streaming down her cheeks. She’s right. My only out is to stop her here and now, and… I can’t. I can’t do it. So instead, I turn back into Strawberry Tart, slump back against the tree, and say “Fine.” “I knew it,” Pinkie says. A shaky smile breaks through the tears.