//------------------------------//
// Chapter 11: In Dreams 
// Story: It Takes a Village to Reform a Changeling 
// by MattTOB 
//------------------------------//


It Takes a Village to Reform a Changeling

Chapter 11: In Dreams






Mandy collapsed onto his bed with a huff.

He'd just completed another long day filled with gruelling community service – helping AJ gather all the bruised and rotten apples, assisting Rarity with carrying supplies, keeping Rainbow Dash on task, etc. – and he was exhausted. Not to mention, his freshly-molted body was still somewhat soft, and it ached more than usual.

He rolled over to get comfy, and almost instantly fell asleep.





He was back in Canterlot, flying low above a non-descript street on a cloudy night. Nobody else was nearby – no Changelings, no Ponies, nothing – and it was starting to become very disconcerting. He turned to search down a street, but stopped when he heard a powerful magic spell activate.

Shining Armor's shield spell was racing towards him. He tried to get away, but it was too fast.

However, instead of blasting him away, it bound his limbs upon contact.

He skidded to a stop on the ground, unable to move and free himself. He tried to call out, but all that came out were hisses and growls.

Then the ponies came.

Hundreds upon hundreds of nondescript ponies mobbed him, carrying pitchforks and torches and torched pitchforks. He tried to speak, tried to call for help, but he couldn't find his words.

Then he locked gazes with one specifc pony, an orange mare with yellow hair and that iconic stetson, who was sitting off to the side.

Applejack.

He looked to her with desperation, silently pleading her to talk some sense into the crowd or something, anything!

She stared at him, wiped away a tear, and turned away, no doubt devastated by the pain he'd caused her.

Tears streamed down his cheeks as the mob drew closer, ready to do unspeakable things to –

"ENOUGH!"

In an instant, the ponies disappeared like smoke on the wind. The clouds parted to reveal the full moon, from which came Princess Luna.

Mandy suddenly found his voice, and cried out "No! Don't hurt me!" as she walked down from the sky.

"Relax, Mandibles," Luna held up a hoof to silence him, then repressed a chuckle. "What an interesting twist of fate; usually, it is ponies who are needlessly pleading to you."

Mandibles stopped, but didn't calm down. "W-what are you doing here? Why am I in Canterlot? Is Princess Celestia going to destroy me for leaving Ponyville before my –"

Luna held a hoof over his mouth, and he suddenly felt himself relax. "I assure you that my sister would not punish you for leaving Ponyville within a dream."

Mandy blinked. "A-a dream?"

As soon as he said this, he felt the forces binding his limbs together let go, and he was able to move again.

"I assure you that you're dreaming," Luna confirmed. "And judging by its contents, I'd say I was right in giving you the benefit of the doubt when I first heard your story."

Mandy blinked. "W-wha?"

"I used to be like you," she explained, "Confused about my place in the world, angry and lashing out, and, more importantly, seen as a threat even after I'd begun to make amends."

Mandy stood up. "Yeah, I know about that; the whole 'Nightmare Moon' thing didn't exactly go unmentioned, even in the Hive."

Luna blushed slightly. "Anyway, that is not the point of my visit."

The Changeling eyed her. "Yeah, speaking of which, how ARE you here?"

"I'm the Princess of the Night; not only do I raise and lower the Moon, but I also patrol the dream realm and stop nightmares."

Mandy hopped a little in a rare moment of excitement – likely brought on by the fact that they were inside his dream, and therefore, his mental state showed much more easily. "You are? Oh, wow! I've never had somepony come to stop my nightmares before! So, how can we stop this from happening again?"

Luna shook her head. "This sort of fear would be easy if not for the circumstances. These fears are well-based, and thus, it'll be a LOT harder to stave them off."

Mandy deflated a bit at that. "Oh."

"But," Luna reaffirmed, "I CAN give you some advice so as to deal with them in the future."

He raised an eyebrow. "Okay?"

Luna began, "You shouldn't worry so much about how others perceive you; If you keep working to better yourself, they'll come around – and if not, it's their loss. The only ponies who matter are those who can see past their biases and find the heart underneath that chitin."

Mandy waited for her to continue, but she didn't. "Wait, that's it? That's what I've been doing already!"

Luna nodded. "And yet sometimes, we lose faith, or we get impatient, and thus we abandon the right path before it bears fruit."

As she said this, Mandy didn't even need to use his empathetic senses to tell that she felt forlorn, as though those words brought back a bad memory.

But she quickly shook it off. "Do you understand, Mandibles?"

Mandy nodded, easing up at the sight of the Princess's emotions. "I think I do, Princess. Thank you for reminding me."

She nodded, smiling slightly. Then, she turned to look at the empty streets around them and began to muse to herself, "Now, about this dream..."

Her horn lit up, and the scene morphed until they found themselves in Ponyville.

Mandy looked at the Library, and, almost as if on cue, Applejack stuck her head out and called, "Hey, Mandy! Wanna play some Chutes and Ladders?"

Mandy called back, "Be right there!", then turned to Luna, who was failing to hold back a giggle. "What?"

"I apologise; I just didn't expect that you liked Chutes and Ladders."

Mandy blushed. "What can I say? The little pictures on the board make me feel happy..."

Luna nodded. "Alright, I'll let you get to it. Sweet dreams, Mandy."

Mandy waved as she retreated back into the Moon, leaving him to head into the Library and enjoy the rest of his dream.





The next morning, he put on his suit and some saddlebags and bounded gleefully down the stairs, finding Spike and Twilight in the kitchen.

"You seem pretty happy today," Twilight commented. "Sleep well last night?"

"I suppose you could say," Mandy shrugged, "that I 'slept like royalty'."

Twilight and Spike blinked, not understanding the joke. "What?"

Mandy chuckled to himself as he grabbed a board game from the designated shelf, tucking it into a saddlebag. "It's nothing. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a date with Applejack."