//------------------------------//
// The Cost of Truth 
// Story: What Lies Beneath 
// by fic Write Off 
//------------------------------//

"I can't do it anymore. I just can't. I need to tell them the truth."

Atop the hill near Ponyville, two black creatures stood under the moonlight. One of them—a male—moved towards the other—a female—and placed a black foreleg on her shoulder.

“Why the change of heart?”

“I... just can’t keep lying to her. It... it doesn’t feel right.” She looked downwards towards her house in Ponyville, lost in memories with her loved one. “Not to her...”

He leaned closer. “I’d recommend thinking it over a bit. Once you tell her, everything will change. Then you’ll regret it and you won’t be able to go back.”

She pushed off her friend's foreleg. "I don't care. If she hates me for telling the truth, then so be it." Pointing towards the house where her mate lived, she smiled. “It might seem silly, but I want her to love me for me. The real me. No more secrets. No more lies.”

He shook his head. "She'll hate you, you know. All ponies eventually do. We're not like them, and that makes them afraid." He tapped his chest with his appendage. "Our only purpose is to feed, nothing more. We changelings weren't meant to love, and you need to accept that. The most you’ll ever get is underneath a disguise, because if you show your true form to them, they’ll just run away.”

He grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her around, before continuing. “I’m telling you, If you tell them the truth, they’ll reject you. Your cover will be compromised and they won't love you anymore. You'll starve."

Frowning, she looked deep into his eyes. “I said I don’t care.”

With a sigh, he released her. "If you say so. Just don't say I didn't warn you."

She turned away from him and stared at the moon. "She said she’d stay by my side no matter what. I want to believe that. If nothing else, I... just want to feel like the love I'm getting is real

"It's not. That's the love of the form you impersonated. That love you feel, it’s not real. It may feel real, but it isn’t. For you, there is none." He fiddled with his hooves. "I'm sorry, that's just how it has to be."

"I can't accept that. If I can get love—true love—then I'll be able to finally be at peace. No matter what happens, I'll have no regrets." She turned around and stared her friend in the eye. "Besides, I know she loves me."

He remained silent, unsure of what to say. When he didn’t answer, his friend turned to leave and he reached out. “Wait.”

“What is it?” She turned around, raising an eyebrow.

He opened his mouth and tried to think of something to say, but nothing came to his mind. She tilted her head at him, her ears flicking back and forth.

“Just... just be careful, okay?”

“I will.” After a quick bow, she slowly trotted towards the center of Ponyville.

He watched her travel down the hilltop path. "For your sake, I hope you're right," he muttered.

As she was walking away, a stream of light appeared and disseminated through her body, replacing her black appendages with a familiar looking mane. Underneath her disguise once more, she smiled and nodded her head. “I believe in her. If anypony would still love me, it would definitely be her.” She whistled and bobbed her head, her pink and blue curls swaying in the wind.