//------------------------------// // A Sliver of Light // Story: The Odd One // by theOwtcast //------------------------------// Cadance decided to take Flurry straight to dinner and I went back to my room. Trusty Shield followed, still without a word. I glanced at him a couple of times, wondering why he hadn’t made any comments on the things I’d done during the walk with Cadance, and he should have had plenty to say if I knew him at all, but he was lost in thought, not bothering to pay attention to his surroundings, and especially making an effort to avoid noticing me. “Trusty?” I asked eventually. “Is something on your mind?” “What’s it to you?” he said, barely bothering to look at me. “You look like something’s troubling you, and I thought… maybe… I could-” “Help?” he snapped at me, but with less than his usual vigor. “Is that what you were going to say?” “...yes?” “Forget it! I don’t want your help! Who’d ever want help from a changeling?” “Sorry I asked,” I muttered. We were approaching my room by then, and I hurried to the door and went inside. “Well, good night, I guess.” “Yeah, whatever.” “Hey, if you change your mind-” He slammed the door in my face. I remained standing there for a minute, wondering why he was acting like that. Had I offended him? Said something I shouldn’t have? Done something I shouldn’t have? But if that was the case, why hadn’t he told me? He’d never hesitated before! Well, not while we were alone, anyway; but we had been alone now, so why hadn’t he spoken his mind as usual? Could Cadance’s plan have worked on him too? As attractive as that possibility was, I didn’t want to put too much hope in it, lest I get disappointed later. But it was a possibility nevertheless, and I didn’t want to dismiss it, either! Cadance’s words and actions had apparently worked on some of the ponies; was it that hard to believe that they might have, if not convinced Trusty, but at least made him question his stance on me and allowed him to see me in a new light? If that was really the cause of his change in behavior, it looked like he was going to need some time to sort it out with himself, and I wanted to help him… but he’d said he didn’t want my help, so maybe I’d do better to give him some space instead of trying to push him faster than he could go. I didn’t have anything else to do, and it was still a little early to go to bed, so I grabbed one of Sunburst’s books at random, found the page where I’d stopped reading, and continued from there. I didn’t get far. After only a couple of pages, my door opened, Shining Armor marched in with a lit-up horn - I’d been right in assuming that he wouldn’t bother to knock first - and dropped something onto my table. “You got mail,” he said in a voice that suggested an ‘I’ll-strangle-you’ continuation of his sentence. “Uh, thanks?” I forced a feeble smile. “I heard about your little stroll,” he continued, now openly scowling. Uh-oh. Should I have bought myself a shield while out there? I gulped. “Look. I’ll forgive it this time because Cadance insisted on taking Flurry with her, but this is going to be the only exception!” He poked me in the chest. “So don’t get it in your head that you can run around as you please just because you did once! Flurry is off-limits, understand?” “Yes,” I squeaked. “And what will I do to you if you disregard that?” “I’m guessing it’ll involve a locked room and a lot of pain…” “Good. I see we understand each other.” He marched out, and I noticed that Sunburst was standing at the door. How long had he been there? “May I come in?” he asked. “Sure, why wouldn’t you?” He closed the door behind himself and lit up a torch on the wall. “I heard you had quite an afternoon. Why didn’t you come to me after the first round? Or better yet, why didn’t you cut it short as soon as things started going bad and came to me? I would have gladly come along!” “It… didn’t occur to me. And I guess I didn’t want to bother you after everything you did, not to mention disappoint you.” “You wouldn’t have disappointed me! I should have taken into account that they might not have responded to you well even before you got to show them that you’re friendly!” He put a hoof on my shoulder. “You could have at least come to me after the fact, you know. I wasn’t doing anything that couldn’t wait.” “I intended to, but needed some time to pull myself together first, and then Cadance showed up.” “I see. Well, according to what she told us at dinner, at least things went better with her at your side.” He looked at the door. “Regardless of what Shining thinks about it.” “Was he very furious with Cadance when she told him? Please tell me he didn’t do anything bad to her!” “Relax, he’d never do that! He just told her he didn’t think it was a good idea… and they might have argued a little… but it didn’t escalate into anything like that last time, not even close!” “You’re not hiding things from me to spare me the grief and guilt, are you?” “What?! No! That never works out! I learned it the hard way!” “You did?” “It was at Flurry’s crystalling. She’d accidentally broken the Crystal Heart as you know, but what I haven’t told you is that Starlight and I could have ended the resulting chaos much sooner if we hadn’t wasted time, me by pretending that I was any good at casting spells, and her by trying to avoid telling me that she’d messed with the timeline for petty revenge!” “For what it’s worth, that ‘wasted time’ might have saved me. If you’d repaired the Crystal Heart sooner, I might have arrived to the Empire after the chaos was over and recognized Cadance and Shining, and the worst of the storm might not have been so strong that I’d think I couldn’t leave, and I would have gotten out of here and tried to go somewhere else. Who knows what would have happened to me then! I might have starved to death, or gotten captured or killed…” “Well, they do say that something good can come out of every bad situation,” he shrugged. “I’m sure the original meaning was that one gains experience from failures, but sometimes one can gain a friend, too. Speaking of friends, I think you’ve got a letter to read. I’ll give you some privacy! See you in the morning!” When he left, I sat at the table and examined the envelope. It was plain, addressed simply ‘Thorax, Crystal Castle, 10110 Crystal Empire’, and upon closer inspection, I noticed the word ‘Ponyville’ and yesterday’s date written over the stamp. One of my friends had sent me a letter! I tore the envelope open with a fang tip and pulled out a sheet of paper. When I unfolded it, the signature caught my eye right away, and even without it, I should have known who had sent the letter! It read: Dear Thorax, Please accept my apologies for making you wait this long before receiving my letter. Actually, I hope you will receive it at all… but I digress. I should probably explain why it got delayed. You see, Twilight and I found out that we had to make an unplanned journey to Yakyakistan with the other girls immediately after returning from the Crystal Empire. I wanted to write to you from there, but things were kinda busy and by the time I got to finally sit down and have some time to myself, I sneezed into all the spare paper we’d brought and burned it! Embarrassing, right? I’m not normally that klutzy! Then I had a major freakout and turned the whole yurt upside-down looking for more paper (I knew it was all used up by then but still hoped to find an overlooked one) and Twilight had to intervene… long story short, she convinced me that you were probably busy enough making more friends and wouldn’t feel left out if you didn’t get my letter so quickly, or that a letter from you might be waiting for me in Ponyville. Imagine our surprise when we instead found a letter from Shining telling us about what you told him during that interrogation, and a separate letter from Cadance begging us to not turn our backs on you! The revelation caught us off guard, but despite being tired from the journey, Twilight rounded up the rest of the girls in the castle right away to discuss the news, and we all agreed pretty quick that one, we probably didn’t know the whole story at this point, and two, it didn’t matter because none of us blame you for what you did to that mare. I’ll make myself very clear: it wasn’t your fault, and I don’t care what Shining says about it! None of us do! In fact, the only reason why we didn’t rush back to the Empire right away to get you out of jail is because Cadance promised in her letter that she’d handle it herself! I sincerely hope you’ll be free again soon if you’re not already, but if you’re still locked up and manage to get this letter, I swear to you that we’ll get you out of there if it’s the last thing we’ll do! Hang in there, buddy! We haven’t forgotten you! Your friend, Spike P.S. I see Twilight is writing a letter to Cadance too, so if this doesn’t reach you, at least she might be able to send our regards. I read the letter again. This time it was a little harder; my hooves were shaky and my vision blurred with tears pouring from my eyes. I didn’t mind them; they were good tears, tears of joy and relief, the best kind of tears I could imagine! I didn’t have to be ashamed of crying this time! I got hung up on a line near the end of the letter. Hang in there, buddy, it said. We haven’t forgotten you! We haven’t forgotten you… Buddy… another word for ‘friend’... Oh, Spike, how could I ever have doubted you? How could I have thought that you’d abandon me when I needed you most? Of course you understood! I pressed the letter onto my chest and smiled. Another surprise came at that moment: I sensed love within the letter! It must have seeped from Spike as he was writing it! Why hadn’t I noticed it before? Had I been so overwhelmed with the written words that I’d ignored the indisputable proof of their truthfulness that permeated the paper they were written on? I knew then what I had to do. I would have done it regardless, but now I realized it couldn’t wait! I had to write back to Spike right away, tell him I was alright and ease his worries! I opened the table drawer. Save for the scroll with addresses Spike had given me, it was empty: no writing paper, no quills, no ink, nothing! Were they somewhere else? I looked in the cupboard; nothing there either. I checked Sunburst’s stack of books, looked in the cupboard and the table drawer again, glanced around the room as if paper and quills would suddenly pop into existence at a most unlikely spot… it was futile! How was I supposed to write a letter to Spike if I didn’t have anything to write it with? My gaze fell onto the pouch of bits Cadance had given me. I could use that to buy what I needed; I was pretty sure I still had enough money! But where would I buy it? Spike hadn’t shown me, but maybe Sunburst would know? Oh, but what was the point? The shop would probably be closed by the time I got there if it wasn’t already! Or would it? Sunburst would know that too! I stormed out of my room as if my life depended on it, only to come to a halt in the middle of the hallway. I didn’t know where Sunburst’s room was! Did he even have a room in the castle, or did he spend the nights in his house? “Where are you going now?” Trusty Shield yelled after me. I turned to him, realizing I could find the answer more easily than I’d expected… if Trusty would cooperate that much, that is. “Do you know where I can find Sunburst by any chance?” I asked. “Can’t it wait until morning?” “Pleeeeeeeaaaaaase?” “...ugh, fine. This way.” He led me one floor above and to a door that must have been almost directly above mine, maybe one or two doors closer to the stairwell than mine was. “Try here,” he said. “Best guess, he’d be either here or in the castle library at this hour. I wouldn’t exclude the astronomy gallery, either, but it’s probably a little early in the night for that.” I knocked on the door. “Who is it?” Sunburst asked from inside. “Thorax.” I heard hoofsteps and then the door opened in Sunburst’s magic. “Do you know where I can find some paper to write on?” “Now?” “That letter was from Spike. He found out from Shining and Cadance that I got locked up and he’s worried! They’re all worried! I have to send him a letter right away, let him know I’m fine!” “Whoa, slow down… you do realize the post office is closed for the night, don’t you?” “...oh.” I considered this. “But if I can write the letter now, I’ll be able to send it first thing in the morning, and he’ll get it as soon as possible-” “-except that it won’t get on its way right away unless it’s labelled as urgent, which costs significantly more than a normal letter, and all the letters to places beyond the Crystal Empire’s borders get underway every evening anyway, so Spike won’t have to wait much longer than he would if you send a priority letter. Besides, he knows how long it takes for a letter to travel to its destination, and isn’t expecting a reply yet. Getting an urgent letter from you would probably only freak him out.” “You’re right, I guess,” I sighed. “I should have written to him days ago, then he wouldn’t have to worry! Why didn’t I write to him?” “Wow, this is really getting to you.” “Is it that obvious?” He nodded. “Tell you what, Thorax. I have plenty of writing paper and ink. Why don’t you use some of that, and then you’ll have a finished letter to take to the post office first thing in the morning. Would that help?” “You have no idea!” I hugged him. “I’ll try not to use too much, I promise! I hope I’m not intruding?” “No, I wasn’t planning to go to bed yet. New book,” he smiled sheepishly. He gave me a stack of paper, a quill and some ink, and an envelope, then sat on the couch with a large and impressive-looking book. I sat down at the table and began writing. Dear Spike, First of all, let me ease your worries by telling you that I’m fine. Cadance got me out of jail the very next morning, and has somehow managed to convince Shining Armor to refrain from locking me up again for the same thing. Second, thank you so much for not giving up on me when you learned what I’d done! I still haven’t forgiven myself for it, and probably never will, but knowing that you and the girls understand and won’t shun me means so much more than you realize! I wish you were here so I could hug you to pieces for it! As for Princess Twilight and her assumption that I was too busy making friends to think about you, I’m afraid it isn’t going as easily as I was hoping it would. Most ponies are still afraid of me and I haven’t had much luck in approaching them. Sunburst thinks that it’s partly due to the way Shining treats me (first by throwing me in jail, and then assigning guards to follow me wherever I go and other things that followed a certain oatmeal incident), but he and Cadance have been helping me overcome those difficulties, and though it’s still a little early to know if they’ll succeed in the long run, I’ve already seen a bit of progress. Not much, but it’s still something. Anyway, how was Yakyakistan? Sunburst’s book says it’s relatively close to the Crystal Empire - if I’d known you’d be in the neighborhood, I would have invited you to drop by! Assuming I could get permission from Cadance and Shining Armor to invite you, that is. I’m trying to avoid putting too many demands on them. Speaking of which, any idea when you’ll be visiting the Crystal Empire again? I’d love to see you again soon! I’m not sure if they’d let me travel to Ponyville, though. Sorry if this was jumbled and hard to understand. I’ve never written a letter before, and yours has gotten me so excited that I just had to write back to you immediately and I haven’t really thought about what to write and how to make it presentable; I just started writing and kind of assumed it would make sense. And sorry for not writing to you sooner! I wanted to, but with everything going on, I was kind of just struggling to last through one day at a time, not to mention that Shining’s interrogation had opened up some unhealed wounds and I wasn’t sure you’d want to have anything to do with me when you found out. But you understood (thanks again for it!) so I’m ready and willing to make up for that delay! Oh, and how are the girls? Tell them I said hi! Write back soon! Your friend, Thorax I folded the paper and started to put it in the envelope, but then remembered I was missing something. “Oh, eggshells!” I slapped my forehead. “I forgot the address!” “Didn’t I give you that scroll?” Sunburst asked from his couch. “You did, but I was so worked up today that I forgot to check Spike’s address. Mind if I go and fetch it?” “Sure.” I got up and went back to my room. Trusty Shield followed without a word and waited until I grabbed the scroll, then we returned to Sunburst’s room. His door opened before I could knock again. “How did you know we were back?” I asked. “Hoofsteps. There aren’t that many ponies galloping about at this hour, especially ones wearing armor horseshoes, plus I had a pretty good idea of how soon to expect you back.” “Oh. Right.” Come to think of it, wasn’t that logic taught as part of sentry duty basics in the hive? Good thing Pharynx wasn’t here to witness me forget that! I sat back at the table and unrolled the scroll. Okay, let’s see… Spike’s address was the first on the list: Spike the Dragon, Castle of Friendship, 43280 Ponyville, Equestria I copied it onto the envelope as I’d seen it done on Spike’s letter. “Um, Sunburst? Do you have any stamps?” “You’ll buy them in the post office tomorrow.” “Okay then, I guess I’m done. Thanks for letting me do this! I’ll make it up to you!” “Don’t sweat it, paper is cheap,” he winked. “Glad to be of help!” “I’ll leave you alone now. See you in the morning?” “You bet! Good night, Thorax!” “Good night!” I woke up to the sound of banging. At first I wasn’t sure what was going on or where I was - it almost felt like being jerked from one disjointed dream to another - and it took me a moment of surveying my surroundings to realize that I was, in fact, in my bed, and that no immediate threats lay in wait. Soon I finally recognized the banging for what it was: somepony was knocking on my door. Sunburst? Probably; I wasn’t getting many other visitors. But it felt a little early for our daily lessons! Had I overslept? Or had something happened? Was I in trouble for something after all? “Who is it?” I asked cautiously. “Crystal Berry,” a vaguely-familiar voice answered. The name didn’t ring any bells, but then again, I might have come across her without a chance for a proper introduction. What could she want at this time of day, though? I got up and opened the door. The mare on the other side was smiling nervously, and I recognized her right away: she was the servant from the dining room that I’d met just before the oatmeal incident! I’d assumed that Berry was her full name, not an abbreviation! But I hadn’t seen her for days, not even in passing; what could she want now? “Good morning,” she said. “I don’t know if you expected a wake-up call, but Sunburst mentioned at breakfast that you forgot this-” She reached for something on her back; it was my letter to Spike and the scroll with the Ponyville addresses! How could I have left them behind?! “-and that you were planning a trip to the post office,” she continued. “So I offered to bring it to you while he eats.” “Thanks. Isn’t he coming here later?” “He is, but since this seems important to you, he’s decided to wait until you’re back before you start today’s lessons.” She fumbled with her hoof. “And… I wanted to apologize to you.” “For what?” “For that time when you followed me into the kitchen and tried to apologize for everything that was basically nothing. I acted as if you were an idiot, and honestly, I thought you were one, and I found you annoying more than anything. But Sunburst’s been talking about you ever since, and now I know that you weren’t an annoying idiot; you were confused and unprepared for living among ponies and stressed out by everything that had happened to you, and your over-apologizing was simply an attempt to leave a good impression! And the way I reacted, I must have freaked you out even more!” “It’s alright,” I assured her. “I didn’t take offense. I figured I must have acted awkwardly but that was the best I could think of.” “Whew, I’m glad to hear that! Friends?” She offered a hoof. “Friends.” I accepted the hoof-bump. “Uh, I’d love to chat some more,” she said, “but I have to return to the kitchen! See you later!” She cantered off. I put the address scroll back in the table drawer, checked my letter again, and went out. Paladin was standing at the door. “Good morning,” I said to him. “As you’ve probably overheard, I’m headed for the post office.” “Sure thing!” We didn’t talk much during the walk there, and though he was armed and armored up just like Trusty Shield, I could tell from the bounce in his steps and from his relaxed posture that he was in a better mood than I’d ever seen Trusty in, and he wasn’t scowling at all. In fact, his aura of love was bright and warm, suggestive that he was looking forward to something! I didn’t want to go as far as assuming that he enjoyed my company, but whatever he was happy about was way better than Trusty’s incurable sour attitude! Soon enough we reached the post office. “Do you know how post offices work?” he asked me. “Spike and Sunburst explained the basics. I’ve never actually been in one, but I figured I’d either find a worker and say that I want to send a letter, or observe what the ponies do and attempt a similar approach.” “Good, that’ll do. I’ll wait here if you don’t mind.” I went in. Three booths were lined up against the far wall, and a couple of tables were placed along the side walls. One pony was writing something at one of the tables, and another one was standing at the middle booth, discussing something with the postmare. I decided I wasn’t likely to learn anything useful with so few ponies to observe, and I’d probably look awkward attempting it. I approached one of the remaining booths. “Good morning,” the postmare said, eyeing me curiously. “Good morning,” I replied and passed her the letter. “Uh, I’d like to send this, please.” She stared at me for a second. Had I said something wrong? Done something wrong? I bit my lip. Eventually she took the letter, weighed it, then reached for a notebook and wrote something in it, glancing at me every so often. I glanced at the other booth, suddenly nervous about the whole thing. Was I about to get in trouble? Should I have asked Paladin to come inside with me? I wished I had! But soon I realized that the mailmare in the other booth was doing pretty much the same things as the one in mine, so that was probably routine procedure after all. But why couldn’t she take her eyes off me for longer than two seconds? Thorax, you’re an idiot, I told myself when I remembered that I was undisguised! The mailmare had simply never dealt with a changeling before! Should I have disguised myself for her convenience? But if I had, wouldn’t it have been weird if a pony turned out to be clueless about how to use a post office? That could have gone even worse if they got the idea that I was up to something! “Regular or priority?” the mare asked. “Huh?” “I said, do you want to send this through regular mail or as a priority letter?” she repeated slowly, then muttered to herself, “How did these things nearly overtake Canterlot if they’re this stupid?” “Regular,” I said, “and they nearly overtook Canterlot by being better trained in combat than I am, and I’m pretty sure it doesn’t require knowledge of how to send mail.” She flinched a little. Had I crossed the line? “Ahem. Two bits, please.” I passed her the money. “Thank you, erm… mister. Goodbye!” The tone of her voice suggested: get out of here before I call that guard outside to drag you away! I left the post office, glad to be done there for the time being. I hoped I’d get somepony with a better attitude next time! Either that or to remember to disguise myself to get better treatment, even if I’d prefer to get them to treat me well regardless of disguise. Paladin was right where I’d left him. “Done so quickly?” he asked. “Yeah, there weren’t many ponies inside.” He nodded. “Where to next? The castle?” I almost said yes, but then I remembered I had a bit of shopping to do. “Actually, do you know where I can buy some paper and ink for the next time I have letters to write?” “There’s a bookstore and stationery shop in Quartz Street. Wanna go there now?” “Quartz Street sounds a bit far. I wouldn’t want to keep Sunburst waiting for me too long!” “Hey, I’m sure he won’t mind! You’re his friend! Besides, it isn’t that far.” “If you say so,” I shrugged. “Lead the way, I guess.” We trotted in silence at first. I used this opportunity to observe the passing ponies. Some still scowled and grumbled at the sight of me, but their disapproval was now subdued, and there were more ponies whose eyes avoided mine. A few stared openly but without unfriendly gestures, though none attempted to approach me. Well, at least I wasn’t getting yelled at or having things thrown at me! A dismal improvement since yesterday, maybe, but an improvement nevertheless; had my walk with Cadance done that? Her plan couldn’t have worked that quickly, could it? And what was Paladin so happy about? “Is something troubling you?” he asked halfway through Topaz Street. “Just thinking about things,” I said. “For example?” He seemed genuinely interested so I told him. He listened without interrupting. “I’m happy because I’m finally getting the chance to get to know you,” he explained. “I’ve been interested ever since Princess Cadance granted you citizenship. Spike made you sound like a real nice guy, and Princess Twilight approved of you, and I trust their judgment. I got into guarding you by pure chance, and didn’t mind, but I wasn’t expecting you to shut yourself in your room for a full week. I wanted to come in and chat a few times but wasn’t sure if you’d want me around, especially with how Trusty Shield’s been treating you. So I waited.” “Aren’t you supposed to be tough with me?” “Captain Shining wants us to, and Trusty’s obeying that wholeheartedly - he’s always been overly eager to please his superiors, you know - but unless I see you actually harming anypony, I prefer to be friendly and respectful.” “And I appreciate it! But won’t it get you in trouble?” “Don’t quote me if I get court-martialed,” he whispered, “but Shining can stick that attitude of his in a certain something. I get it that he wants to protect Flurry, but he doesn’t even realize what he’s actually doing!” I chuckled. “I mean,” he continued, “isn’t it obvious? You noticed that ponies aren’t acting nearly as hostile in your presence as they were before Princess Cadance demonstrated her friendliness with you yesterday in front of half the city!” “What does that have to do with Shining?” “It has everything to do with him! Ponies were somewhat suspicious about you but willing to give you a chance immediately after Cadance’s announcement of your legal presence in the Empire, and Shining ruined that by marching you to prison in chains! As soon as rumors spread through the city, their suspicions about you returned, and it didn’t help that a few guards told their civilian friends exactly why you got locked up, and it all snowballed from there! They needed to see Cadance being on friendly terms with you in order to pull themselves together!” “How do you know all this? Did you question them?” “My wife told me. She’s a reporter for Crystal Empire Times; it’s her job to know what goes on around here.” “She talked to ponies about me?” “Yes, and wrote a few articles about you. I think there’ll be one today or tomorrow too. Wanna read them?” “Maybe later.” An idea struck me. “Is Crystal Empire Times sold in any cities in Equestria proper? Or just here?” “There are a few news stands in Canterlot, Manehattan, and Vanhoover that sell it, plus tourists can buy it here and take it home. Why?” “Chrysalis has infiltrators throughout Equestria,” I said. “I don’t know who and where exactly, I don’t even know how many, but I can bet all three of the cities you mentioned would have at least a few infiltrators. What if any of them reads an article about me and inform Chrysalis where I am?” He considered this. “Fair point,” he admitted. “But wouldn’t she have infiltrators here too?” “I’m pretty sure they would have already found a way to capture me if that were the case.” “Maybe, maybe not. So I’m guessing you’d prefer not to appear in newspapers anymore?” “Absolutely! I don’t suppose you can do anything about it?” “I can talk to my wife. She likes you and will understand, and I’m sure she can explain it to her boss in a way that he’ll understand too.” “Thanks, Paladin! I owe you!” “Don’t mention it,” he winked. “Anyway, we’re here.” The bookshop was a building located a little past the intersection with Malachite Street and a little larger than the surrounding houses, and I could see through the window that it was already pretty busy. I must have looked nervous, as Paladin touched my shoulder. “Want me to come in with you?” “Um... yes, I’d appreciate that.” We got in, and an employee at the cash register took immediate notice of Paladin. “No weapons allowed in the shop, Sir,” she said flatly but firmly. “I’m afraid we can’t make exceptions for Royal Guards unless a crime is in progress.” “Okay. Excuse me,” Paladin said and levitated his spear outside. “Will that do?” “Yes. You may enter now.” “The same thing happened yesterday in the toy shop,” I said, “but Trusty refused to leave his spear unattended and went outside. Aren’t you worried something might happen to it?” “Don’t you see my horn is glowing? I’ve put up a shield around it. Nopony can take it without my knowledge!” “What if they try to break the shield?” “Then I’ll be out of the shop before they get there.” “What if something more powerful tries to get to it? Something strong enough to break your shield before you can react?” He chuckled. “Thorax, if anything that powerful drops by, we’ll have bigger problems than a loose spear in the streets, and anyway, such a threatening creature wouldn’t need any spears to wreak plenty of havoc!” “I guess you’re right. So, where are writing supplies around here?” “In the rear section.” He pointed the way. Sure enough, the shelves there were packed with notebooks of many colors and sizes, and with scrolls, and pencils and quills, and bottles of ink, and some wrapped-up packages that I completely ignored until Paladin offered me one. “What’s this?” I asked, confused. “A package of writing paper. Haven’t you ever seen one?” “No, I… gee, I was expecting that they were sold as individual sheets!” I facehoofed and laughed. “This makes much more sense!” “Well, you can’t be blamed for not knowing something that’s new to you. I take it you’ll need envelopes, too?” “Yes… wait, can I afford it all?” “Unless you’re down to your last twenty bits of something like that, yes, you can.” I reached for my pouch and checked. I still couldn’t count all the bits at a glance, but it looked like plenty more than twenty bits. “Looks like I can. Wow, I should really count that money when I get back to the castle.” “You haven’t already?” “No… I guess I didn’t expect to be spending them very often.” “And yet, you’ve spent some in two different places already and are about to add a third one to the list.” “Only proves how pitifully little I know about living among ponies!” “Hey, you’ll get there. I’d probably be just as lost if I tried to live in the changeling hive!” “‘Lost’ doesn’t even begin to describe it, and in more ways than one! Let’s see; I’ll also need a quill and some ink… maybe a pencil, too, for when trying to control the wobbly quill gets too tiring…” “You write with your mouth?” “Yes. You’ll laugh, but I never figured out how to levitate things properly. Either that or my magic isn’t strong enough. I could try shapeshifting into something with claws, but wouldn’t I smear the ink that way?” “Maybe at first, but it isn’t something you can’t overcome with practice.” He looked at the shelves, then levitated some kind of short stick with a metallic tip on one end. “Hey, I think this would solve your problem!” “What’s that?” “It’s called a stylus. It’s basically a quill that doesn’t wobble. Ponies mostly use it for precise drawing, but I’ve seen non-unicorns use it in place of a quill, too.” “Hmmm.” I took it in my hooves and looked it over. “Yes, that does look promising. So if I buy one of these, I won’t need any quills or pencils?” “Not for writing letters, but you might want to buy a pencil anyway for when you just need to write a note for yourself. They may not be as fancy as quills, but they’re cheaper than ink and easy to use.” “Okay, so we have paper, envelopes, a bottle of ink, a stylus, and a pencil. Do I need anything else?” He shrugged. “Probably not right away, but we can always come back if you remember something or run out of supplies.” We went to the cash register. This time we had to wait in line, but it wasn’t a very long one and our turn came quickly. The shopkeeper did her thing with the stuff I presented, and somehow it was quicker than the ordeal in the post office. Or was my perception distorted by expectations? “Sixty-four bits, please,” she said in a completely uninterested tone. I winced at this. Hadn’t Paladin mentioned twenty bits? Wait, that had been an estimate without the ink and stylus. But would I have enough money? What would happen if I didn’t? Would Paladin be forced to arrest me? And what would Cadance say? Fighting the urge to hyperventilate, I counted the money, and let out an audible sigh of relief when I turned out to have enough to cover my expenses after all. But how much did that leave me? I really should count the leftover money at the first chance! “Do you need a bag?” the salespony asked. I glanced at Paladin; I hadn’t thought of that! He opened his mouth to say something, but then I got an idea. “Hold on,” I said and morphed a saddlebag onto myself. It would do for now! Paladin opened his eyes wide and a few nearby ponies gasped or flinched at the display of changeling magic, but the salespony didn’t even blink. Well, at least one pony wasn’t freaking out over what I might do! But then again, she looked like she wouldn’t freak out at a pack of maulwurfs about to eat her alive, so her attitude towards me didn’t really say that much. “Thanks,” I said to her and put my newly-acquired stuff into the saddlebag. The money pouch followed them shortly. “Have a nice day!” She simply nodded and moved on to her next customer. Once we were out in the street again, we were greeted by the sight of Paladin’s spear still untouched in its shield bubble and a couple of colts pawing at the magic. They dashed away as soon as they saw us, and Paladin dropped the spell at last and reclaimed his weapon. “Didn’t it tire you out to maintain that spell?” I asked him. “No. Oh, and how do you manage to shapeshift so effortlessly but simple levitation is beyond your abilities?” “It may be simple to you, but changeling magic works differently, I think. Shapeshifting is instinctive and we all figure it out pretty quick after transitioning from the larval stage into nymphs, but every other spell has to be taught, and I’m not the only changeling struggling with them. It usually isn’t a problem unless we’re required to pose as unicorns for long enough that ponies would expect to see us use magic at some point.” He nodded and didn’t press the matter further. “So, do we have any more errands to run?” he asked instead. “No, and even if we did, I’d leave them for later. I’m getting overwhelmed already, and I still have a whole learning session with Sunburst to go through!” “Okay then!” We returned to the castle. Another letter arrived for me a few days later. It said: Dear Thorax, You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that you’re free again! Cadance sent Twilight a detailed recount of what’s been going on and, honestly, I can’t believe you put up with it all! I hope at least the guards assigned to you are friendly? She’s assured us that she’ll keep trying to win you more freedom, and I hope it’s working! And I get it that you had more pressing matters on your mind than writing letters, but me wanting to have nothing to do with you? That’s NOT GOING TO HAPPEN, not in a million years, so stop that line of thinking RIGHT NOW! We’re friends, for Celestia’s sake! Why would I turn my back on you? I don’t have any plans to visit the Crystal Empire soon, which isn’t to say that I won’t, but I might have something to offer instead: Applejack’s visiting her cousins in Appleloosa and is planning to stay for about a week (she left yesterday), and if you can get permission to travel there, she’ll help you sort out that apple-stealing incident like you wanted to. You still want it, don’t you? It’s fine if you don’t; Twilight, Starlight, and I won’t blame you if you’ve decided that you don’t want to risk losing what little freedom and acceptance you’ve gained in case things don’t work out in Appleloosa, or that you’d rather put it off for a later time, and I’m pretty sure the other girls would support you in whatever you decide. If you’re going, maybe you can stop by in Ponyville on the way back, too. I’m afraid you still can’t be safely undisguised in public (the same goes for Appleloosa), but rest assured, we’re working on it. Yakyakistan was chaotic and cold, and they smashed a lot of things, and the rest was super boring, honestly. You haven’t missed anything! It was basically royal business but it still required all of us, and we were exhausted by the end, both physically and mentally. Yes, even Pinkie. Hope to see you in a few days or at least to get your next letter soon! Your friend, Spike Yes, Spike, I still wanted to sort it out! Cadance would undoubtedly let me go there, but would Shining? Convincing him was bound to be tricky! This alone kept me from galloping to the throne room to ask for permission. I still went there, only at a much slower pace and with knots in my stomach. Another discouraging factor was that I couldn’t count on the guard assigned to me to back me up. Paladin probably would have backed me up if he hadn’t had to miss his shift today to care for his son who had caught a cold or flu or something, and his last-minute replacement was by-the-book stiff and hadn’t said a single word all day, not even to introduce himself. At least I wasn’t denied access to the throne room this time. Much to my chagrin, Cadance and Shining both happened to be there. “Hello, Thorax!” Cadance said. “How can we help you?” “I hope I’m not interrupting anything?” “No, we’ve got a free moment.” “What do you want?” Shining asked. “Um. Remember what I told you about my first day in Equestria? In Appleloosa, to be more specific?” “You got arrested under charges of apple theft. What of it?” “I just got a letter from Ponyville. Applejack is travelling there and has offered to help me sort it out with Braeburn and the sheriff-” “-and you thought you’d go?” Shining interrupted me. “Forget it! You’re staying here where I can keep my eye on you!” “Haven’t you loosened up with that already, dear?” Cadance asked him. “He hasn’t done anything to warrant all that supervision!” “Yet! He’s a changeling, Cady! Have you forgotten what they did in Canterlot? Have you forgotten how many of their infiltrators have been caught all over Equestria? They can’t be trusted, ever!” “Thorax can! He isn’t like the others!” “And how do you know that? They’re masters of deception! He’s probably waiting for the right moment to show his true face! In fact, this trip could be an excuse for him to get away to where he can get in contact with his accomplices and relay everything he’s learned!” “Aren’t you getting paranoid?” “I’m simply trying to protect you and Flurry and the Empire from an enemy invasion!” “And I’m trying to protect an innocent changeling from suffering under prejudice!” He turned away from her and snorted. “Innocent, my hoof,” he muttered to himself, just loud enough that I could hear him. “Shining, dear,” Cadance said after a moment of uncomfortable silence. “Would you feel better about letting him go to Appleloosa if a guard were to accompany him?” He was silent for a little longer, and then groaned and turned to me. “Give me one reason why letting you go there would be a good idea!” “Objectively or from your perspective?” Cadance interjected grimly. I considered this and could think of only one thing to tell him that would maybe, hopefully, put his mind at ease. “Because as much as I’m hoping to sort it out successfully, there’s still a chance that we won’t be able to sort it out and that the sheriff will send me to prison, both for the alleged apple theft and for being a changeling.” “You intend to reveal yourself to them?!” “Yes. That’s the only way to explain the situation: by telling them the full truth about me.” “Oh, Thorax…” Cadance sighed. “Isn’t that too risky?” “Maybe so, but I’ve made up my mind. I want to do this!” “Fine,” Shining said. “You and a guard will go tomorrow and attempt to sort it out at first opportunity. If you succeed, you’ll return here by the first train you can catch. No lingering to socialize and no detours! If you get arrested, the guard will either return alone immediately or remain there to watch you until you’re transported to a proper prison, depending on whether or not Sheriff Silverstar requests your guard’s assistance. Do you understand?” “Yes.” “Good.” He poked me in the chest. “Don’t make me regret this!”