//------------------------------// // CH 24 (the secret revealed) // Story: Accepting Change // by drFraud //------------------------------// Patchwork   Celestia and I were standing in front of the cell that held Mantis, watching him as he cleaned the last of the ichor from his molt. I made a mental note to talk to him about how he was able to molt so quickly at a later date. “For the record,” He surprised both of us by speaking first, “I thought for a few moments that that pill of yours is going to literally kill me from an overdose.” I nodded my head in agreement, “Yeah, I can see it. I did warn you though.” “That, you did.” Mantis raised his head, and I could see his green pony-like eyes. Getting up and approaching the cell door, he sat down in front of us. “So, you want to talk about yesterday.” “Yes,” Celestia answered, “I would like to continue from yesterday. Have you given it a good thought? Are you willing to listen to us?” She fluffed her wings. Mantis lowered his head in thought. Neither of us wanted to interrupt and both of us were willing to wait as long as necessary. I just hoped he would at least agree to listen. “Okay,” he lifted his head but there was still doubt on his muzzle, “Tell me everything.” … It took a better part of two hours to tell the whole tale, start to finish, and answer all of his questions. By that point, we have moved into his cells and were all in various states of comfort. Celestia magicked a pillow for herself, I was pacing up and down the cell itself and Mantis was lying on the bottom bunk bed. For a while, the only sound in the cell was my claws clacking on the floor from my pacing. Suddenly, Mantis lifted his head and looked at Celestia. “And you can verify everything he just told me?” “Every word.” It went quiet after that. I stopped pacing and sat down facing Mantis, waiting for his verdict. “I can’t – I – Let’s say I believe you, what now? I am just an infiltrator, a high position one, but only one infiltrator, nonetheless.” I opened my mouth to say something, but Celestia beat me to it. “Now you can help us.” She looked at me before looking back at Mantis, “It is my firm belief, that Chrysalis would rather start a war than accept help from us…” “You can say that again,” Mantis snorted, and I looked incredulously at Celestia. “Seeing as that is the case, we have only two options open to us,” Celestia stood up and magicked her pillow away, “either we work towards removing Chrysalis and allow the changelings to pick a more suitable leader, or we find a replacement ourselves and challenge her rule.”  She cleared her throat, “We also have the option of offering a better life to those that join Equestria in peace, but I doubt that will happen as long as your queen is in charge.” “And who do you propose would challenge her? You?” Mantis hissed, uncurling himself from his position. “No, not me.” Celestia fluffed her wings. “Me taking over would not be seen in a positive light by your kind. We need somepony else…” She looked at me this time, and I felt the hair at the back of my neck stand up. Mantis also looked at me and he let out a thoughtful hum. “He is bigger than an average changeling… probably stronger too.” He muttered. I cleared my throat, uncomfortable with where this is going, “Maybe there is someone that could help us further?” I suggested. Mantis hummed again, scratching his chin with a hoof. It was very noticeable how effective the pill was with healing him, as his body looked much better, with roughly over seventy percent of his holes missing. One more feeding and he would be fully healed. “There is one… but I don’t know if she will help us. She doesn’t have a very high opinion of me.” “Who is this mare, maybe we can talk to her.” Celestia offered, tilting her head to the side. “My sister Dicty. She betray- abandoned the hive the first chance she got, calling Chrysalis a madling. Now that I can think somewhat clearly, I… Anyways, she loved studying changeling history, if there is anything that could help us, she would know it.” “And do you know where she lives?” I asked, scratching behind my ears at an itch. “Yes. Chrysalis tries to keep an eye on everyling that betrays us. Dragging them back to the hive could cause all sorts of issues if the changeling doesn’t cooperate, so she stopped doing that since the minotaurs killed over a dozen of us last time it was tried. She just cuts them off and keeps an eye on as many as she can. Ridiculous waste of effort.” He scoffed and I had to agree with him. “Do you think you could convince her to help us in this endeavor?” Asked Celestia, “It would benefit us greatly if we had somepony as knowledgeable as her if what you told us is correct.” “I can certainly try.” Mantis lied down and snorted, “Just… just give me a day to deal with all of this. I said I believe you, but this is still a bit too much.” “Understandable, given everything said, I am truly grateful you are giving us your attention and your help. Come, Patch, let us give him some space.” We both left the cell, and we were about to leave when Celestia turned around and gave Mantis another pill. “Here, heal yourself fully, when you wish to speak to us again, just let my guards know.” “Will do,” Mantis answered. … “So, war?” I asked Celestia as we left the cells of Canterlot castle. “Chrysalis has significantly increased her effort in both locating the changeling that is assisting us as well as capturing other ponies. And while we have, thus far, been able to thwart their efforts their increased activity can only be interpreted in so many ways.” We entered one of the side rooms that looked like a meeting room for officials; nicely decorated and comfortable looking with plenty of pillows and a low table on which a steaming pot was already waiting for us. “Tea, I’m guessing?” I sat down in front of her on one of the pillows. Now that she knows about the show (in a sense), I wanted to ask some questions. More specifically, about Sunset. “Zebrica berry tea, to be precise. A bit sour, but otherwise sweet and invigorating. I received a batch a few days ago, and I liked it.” She decided to lie down after making sure that the tea is ready. “Now, my dear, you haven’t said anything, but I had a feeling you wish to speak to me about something. Am I correct?” She poured some tea into a cup and levitated it towards me. “You are,” I took the offered cup with a ‘thank you’ and blew on it. “I had this on my mind for a few months now. If it’s too personal it’s okay if you don’t wish to answer this, but what happened with Sunset?” Celestia’s cup froze halfway to her mouth, and she got a painful, faraway look in her eyes. Her emotions started rolling as well, from sadness to anger, to depressed and wistful. “Sorry for asking,” I immediately apologized, “I shouldn’t have brought it up.” “It’s all right,” she dabbed at her eyes with a napkin she got from somewhere, “I do not mind telling this story.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, “how much do you wish to know.” I took a gulp of my delicious tea and looked at the ground thinking. Raising my head, I looked her in the eyes, “Not everything, just tell me what happened.” “She was, is an orphan,” Celestia sighed, “I found her as she passed the entrance exam for my school for the gifted unicorns, and we slowly developed a bond… a powerful bond.” She took off her hoof guards and her peytral and put them on the side. “I thought I was doing a good job being a mother, but that all changed when I showed her the mirror.” The same mirror that brought me here?” I asked. “Yes,” she looked out the nearby window. “If a certain spell is applied to the mirror, it can show you a possible future of the pony standing in front of it. One look… one look and that sweet, darling filly I helped raise was nearly all but gone.” There was a tear going down her muzzle and I choked on the heavy emotions emanating from her. “She saw herself as an alicorn, didn’t she?” Celestia whipped her head around to face me with a shocked expression, but then she mirthlessly chuckled, “Yes, she saw herself as an alicorn and that was all she saw afterward.” She took another napkin from the tea tray and dabbed at her teary eyes. Seeing ponies cry is painful, doubly so if it's Celestia apparently. My chest started to tighten, and I cut off my empathic senses. “We started to argue, more and more. Both me and Shield tried to stop her from going down the path she put herself on. She wanted to be an alicorn, and it seemed there was nothing I could do to change her mind.” There was a moment of silence where Celestia took a shaky breath, the only other sound was me sipping my tea. Celestia seemed to forget I was there for a moment, but then she looked at me and I was glad I cut off my senses. “Then she left. She- Her hunt to become an alicorn led her to attempt several dangerous spells, and when one nearly backfired I had enough. We argued, we yelled at each other, and just when I thought I will finally reach her, she ran. Straight through the blasted mirror I callously left in the open.” There was a choked sob and I got up. I sat down next to her and gave her a wide hug, trying to get as much of her as I could under my claws. She sat up and wrapped me in a wing-hug and we just stayed there for a while. “The mirror opens roughly every thirteen years and leads into a world far different from our own. I tried to chase her down, but it was in vain, I couldn’t find her,” She spoke softly. “I could help,” I heard myself say with conviction. “Oh, my dear, you cannot, you…” “Yes I can, I know exactly where she is, and how to reach her.” I interrupted, “Next time the mirror opens, you just tell me, and I’ll bring her back, kicking and screaming if I have to.” This got her to giggle, “I’ll think about it.” … I used the knocker that hung on the door of the Sparkle residence. Velvet’s mother Aurora opened the door. “Oh, Night Front, it’s good to see you again, come in, come in.” She ushered me in and immediately started fussing over me. “You look so down sweetie, what’s gotten to you? Do you wish to talk? How about a cookie, I know you love those.” “Thank you, ma’am. I’m just here because I promised to talk to Velvet about something.” That got her to frown a bit. It looked strange on her face, I have known this mare now for a few months, she was never without a smile in some shape or form. “Oh, oh dear. Hopefully, it’s nothing bad. She has been treating you right has she? Or is it some other kind of talk?” She started walking to the kitchen. “No, no, nothing like that, miss Sparkle. Well…” I thought about it for a moment, “You know how I got a few secrets?” She nodded her head, “Well, I got this, um, permission to tell Velvet a few things.” “Oh, that’s what it’s about!” She laughed and started piling sweets on a plate, along with two glasses of orange juice. “Well, I hope it’s nothing too dramatic,” I swallowed heavily, “but in either case, here.” She gave me a tray with a full plate of sweets and the two glasses, “You two have fu~n.” She sang as she trotted out of the kitchen and into one of the side rooms. I sighed and started making my own way to Velvet’s room with the tray firmly in my mouth. I could have used my magic and revealed myself, but I did not wish to spook them or worse. I would be doing a lot of revealing in the first place today. Better not overdo it. Climbing up the stairs and making a beeline to Vel’s door, knocked on it twice and entered. Velvet's room was a surprisingly simple affair for a mare her age, albeit a large one. Other than some basic amenities like a bed (which was against a wall opposite the door), and a desk (right next to the bed touching its bottom part), she had a gramophone (on a small table next to her desk), several large plush pillows in various colors strewn around the floor as well as a large wardrobe and a cabinet with always slightly open drawers (both on the immediate right of the door). The walls of the room were light pink with some blue ribbons here and there as decoration. The only thing that stood out in her room were two large and very ornate chests filled to the brim with various toys and books that I was always on the verge of organizing, but Vel always managed to draw my attention from it. “Night Front!” She greeted me from her desk, she must have been studying for her exams some of which was next week. “Or do you go by Patchwork?” Dropping the tray off next to her, I gave her a quick peck and answered, “That depends on who I am talking to. Ponies like the Princess and the Captain call me Patchwork as that is my name, the others call me Night Front.” “You are on a first-name basis with the Princess?!” She asked looking shocked. “You only just now noticed?” I snorted, “Honestly though, that mare acts more like a mother sometimes than a friend. Not that I mind much, but it’s very jarring sometimes.” “I can imagine. Why I wouldn’t believe it if the Princess acted like a mother to me, it would be weird.” “It’s not as weird as it seems.” I countered. “But yeah, my name is actually Patchwork. Please keep it to yourself or when we are together.” “Huh, so why Patchwork? I’m sorry but you don’t look patchy at all,” She giggled. I chuckled as well, but then I lowered my head in thought. I need to be tactful with this. I don’t want to scare her or make her hate me. “There is a reason for that…” I trailed off, moving away from her to the center of her room. “You see, I’m – I’m actually not a pony.” I closed my eyes and waited for a response. Sensing her emotions, I only felt amusement. “Well, you look, smell, and act like a pony, so consider me fooled then.” She giggled again, but then she got serious. “Seriously Fro - Patch, stop beating around the bush. I can see it eating at you, I won’t freak out or something like that if you show me who, or what, you are.” “You say that now,” I muttered but all that got me was a pillow in my face. “This is serious Velvet!” I about yelled, tossing the pillow away in a huff, “I am terrified here, this isn’t a joking matter.” “I know you are terrified, I can see it from here, but I think that you are making a flame out of an ember, nothing you do could change my opinion of you… Unless you are, like, some kind of a pathological liar, then we might have an issue.” She shrugged. I kept looking at her for a solid minute, trying and failing to find anything that would give me a reason to just give up on the whole thing, but nothing came forth. She just sat there, waiting for me to finally reveal myself and tell her my tale. Her emotions betrayed no negativity, not hatred, or that she is even upset at me, no. She is looking forward to learning my secret and that was it. Sighing heavily, I lowered my head, “What you are about to see is a state secret. There is only a claw full of ponies that know what I am. My name is Patchwork, I am a pony/changeling hybrid from a different world. Please, don’t be afraid.” I pleaded. With practiced ease I let the flames wash over me, causing her to gasp in fear and jump to her hooves, but then her eyes went wide, and her mouth hung open when I finally stood uncovered in front of her. I shut off my empathic senses and just sat there with my eyes closed, waiting for the final verdict.   Velvet My heart was still hammering in my chest after the flaming pillar disappeared and I could only gape at what was leftover. His white coat and blue mane were replaced with completely black armor-looking plates that covered his whole body. His mane was turquoise with a white stripe going through it and there was a tuft of fluff on his chest. He also had claws, actual claws on his forehooves. He looked different, strange, exotic almost, but not ugly, or repulsive. Like those Kirins I read about. He looked scary though. Even if his nose crinkled in that cute manner he always gets when he is thinking. But he probably wasn’t thinking. I was scared, but I could tell he was terrified. His legs, no his whole body trembled, and I could feel my own fear slowly be replaced with worry. Getting on my hooves I approached him noting that he is a good head taller than me, which was half a head more than what he was before, which only made him look even scarier. He looked dangerous, and I could feel a part of me loving it despite my poor hammering heart. Walking around him I spotted that his midsection was turquoise as well, like his mane. He tensed for a moment when I got closer to him, and I could see some of the plates shift and move and I got very surprised when I spotted the muscle underneath. He looked more powerful now than as a pony. ‘Okay, I can do work with this,’ I thought with a nod. ‘He just looks a bit different, but I can still see Night Front there beneath all those plates.’ Making my decision, I made my way to his front and sat down. ‘He is still him, I can see it,’ I smiled. ‘Just gonna have to get used to the real him.’   Patchwork Nothing happened for a few minutes. I heard her shift and just walk around me but otherwise nothing. “You are… bigger.” Her trembling voice cut through the silence like a sword and opening my empathic sense I got a whole mess of things; fear, excitement, surprise, but not anger, hatred, or revulsion. I smirked, “I am a bit bigger, I'm also taller, yes.” That got a very nice blush out of her, and I laughed at her stammering. “You bucker,” she suddenly shouted and started pelting me with several pillows, “You seriously scared me there when you burst into fire, and you are making jokes now?!" She kept hitting for a few seconds only to then hug me squeezing viciously for all she was worth. I just sat there, with my heart hammering in my chest out of both fear and relief. “You smell different.” She spoke and I froze. “I'm sorry, what?” “You smell different, it’s not a bad smell or unappealing, but it’s just different… You’re different.” She pulled away and craned her neck to look me in the eyes. There was no longer fear in hers, just curiosity, but there was still fear deep down. “Well, mostly different. You still sound and behave the same as Night Front I know and love.” Pulling away and lying down on a nearby pillow, she relaxed and then giggled. “You can relax silly; I’m not going to bite you or anything. What’s gotten into you?” She asked me tilting her head to the side. “I just revealed a terrifying secret to my, hopefully still, marefriend and you are surprised that I’m tense?” I almost shouted at the ridiculousness of the situation, but I managed to control myself. ‘Take it for what it is I guess, she isn’t screaming, yet.’ “Hopefully? I am still your marefriend silly, you think I’m going to break up with you because you look different?” She glared at me, “My parents raised me better than that you know.” “I know, I know… But I still - “I stuttered before she interrupted me. “No! We are not having this,” she hit the pillow with a soft thump, “we are dealing with this right now,” She jumped to her hooves and approached me with a look that brokered no argument and I leaned back as if she will strike me, “You are my coltfriend, I am your marefriend. You looking like this changes nothing… Nothing!” I nodded my head rapidly hoping to calm her down, but she seemed on a roll, “You will tell me how, and what you are, you will tell me how you got here, and what happened to you, and then we will cuddle and talk until we are both comfortable with each other again, am I clear.” I nodded my head again without questioning her, but inside I was counting my lucky stars that I found a mare like this. ‘I am such a lucky bastard’ … We were lying next to each other, me in my changeling form and her being her adorable self. We spent the last ten minutes just chilling, relaxing, and I decided that was a good time as any to start. “I’m not from this world, originally.” “Mhm,” she nodded. There was a spike of excitement, but no fear. “I was dragged here by a mare through a mirror of a sort. A magic experiment gone wrong.” “So, she just, took you from your home?” She gasped. “What about your family, your friends?” “Don’t know,” I took a shaky breath. “I never got to say goodbye to them.” We were quiet for a few moments. I sensed sadness coming from her, and she surprised me with a hug. We stayed like that for a minute. “After that,” I continued where I left off, “I spent the last two years learning how to use this body, while the ponies tried to learn as much as they could about changelings. I was their personal lab rat for the duration.” She shook her head, “I’m sorry, but that sounds horrible.” “It honestly wasn’t, minus a hitch here and there they actually treated me very nicely.” I chuckled at some of my fonder memories of the old team, “They treated me like I was a normal pony.” “That’s sweet of them… but where do Princess Celestia and the Captain factor in?” “Celestia visited me every week and we would just, talk. That’s how we became friends… or more, I’m not sure about the specifics.” “What do you mean?” She shifted her weight more into me. “I was honest with you when I told you about my family. I essentially had no mother figure as mine was cold and well, distant from me. Celestia and Shield Strike acted like mothers sometimes… Or acted more motherly as time went by.” “But you don’t call them ‘mom’ do you?” She shifted again. “It… feels strange to do so.” I shrugged. My wings buzzed and Vel turned her head to look at them, looking strangely transfixed by it. I started lightly buzzing them causing a light shimmering effect due to their own magic and she gasped with a happy smile on her face. “They are very pretty.” She shifted her weight again and I frowned, “Your skin isn’t as soft as a pony’s though. Takes some getting used to.” “It’s because it’s not skin, it's chitin. I am what is known as a bug-pony. Or a hybrid of one.” This time I shifted causing her to lean into me with a sigh. She did not move to correct herself. “You don’t look like much of a bug. You look more like you are carrying armor though.” “Yeah,” I sighed, “It’s because I’m still somehow growing. Parts are changing and shifting all the time, it is annoying.” “You are still growing?” She asked with wide eyes. Sensing her emotions I felt some fear, but it was slowly being suppressed. “Probably, I grew for almost half a head over the last four months, and my carapace feels tighter which is usually an indication that I will go through another growth spurt.” “That is amazing, how tall do you think you will get?” She lay down on her side and started poking at my various plates. “Don’t know to be honest.” I extended my left foreleg and ran a gentle claw through her hair which gave me a happy hum of contentment. “Can you do that some more?” Her eyes started drooping as I kept running my claw through her mane. “Anytime, love.” I thought she nodded off when she slowly opened her eyes and looked at me. “So, what are you now exactly?” She murmured. “I am what you would call a changeling or a bug-pony by classification. A shapeshifter that can change into whatever creature you can think of.” “Any creature?” Her eyes were wide as saucers, and she had a massive grin. “Yes, just about any creature,” I chuckled. She suddenly had a small frown and, slowly lifting her hoof, she moved my lips gently apart getting my mouth to open. I saw a shiver run down her spine and I got some more fear and surprisingly excitement coming off of her. “What are those fangs for…” She muttered. “Do you eat meat?” Slowly closing my mouth, I gave her hoof a gentle kiss before shaking my head. “No, love, Those fangs are there for defense only. I have small venom sacks in my upper jaw that can put ponies to sleep. No, I eat two things actually: sweets, as you may have noticed, and emotions.” She raised a beautiful eyebrow, “Emotions? How does that work?” “Think of it like how your horn lights up when you use magic. Your emotions work the same way to me.” “So, your feeding would probably drain me if your explanation had any truth to it, so why don’t I feel tired?” She closed her eyes in contentment as I continued to run my claws through her mane. “Because I haven’t needed much in the first place. When I originally came to this world I was starving to such an extent that I would drain ponies severely on accident. Later I learned to control it and as time went on, and I was no longer starving, I needed less and less to sustain me.” I removed my claws from her mane causing her to give a pitiful whine which made me chuckle. “Now I need such a small amount that just being next to you, or other ponies is more than enough for me if I feel like eating it in the first place. The last time I ‘fed’ was three days ago.” When she figured that I would no longer comb her mane with my claws she huffed and rolled back to her stomach. Lighting up my horn I brought the juice glasses over to us. She followed the glasses with wide eyes, turning to look at my horn, then back to the glasses a few times. “You can even do magic?!” She squeaked. “Yup, but I’m not much of a spell caster in the first place. I prefer my shapeshifting abilities to anything else.” We laid there in silence for a few minutes slowly sipping our juice. “So… You said you were bigger… Can I see it?” The spit-take I did was legendary.