Chapter 9
Trace followed Pipsqueak and Zecora all the way back to the town he'd visited before, Ponyville. Zecora didn't talk much, while Pip, on the other hoof, wouldn't stop talking.
The foolish colt had gone into the Everfree forest on a dare to prove he wasn't a coward to his peers. His cute charms worked well enough on sentient beings, but the animals of the woods would only see it as a sign of vulnerability and take advantage of him. The assassin couldn't fathom what went through Pip's mind when he took that dare.
Zecora rhymed farewell to her young friend and returned to the forest. Trace eyed her suspiciously, but she didn't seem to suspect his presence.
Pipsqueak waited for her to leave. "Trace?" He looked around.
"Over here," Trace replied.
"Oh." Pip faced his general direction. "Do you want to come to my house with me and meet my family?"
"We talked about this," Trace said, "I can't be seen by anypony. I can't talk to them either. Only you can know about me."
"But I don't think I can keep that secret," Pip said dejectedly.
Trace's wings twitched, and he grinned. "You can try. But I'm only going to talk to ponies I trust. And I will trust others on my own terms."
Pip looked down sadly. "Oh, OK."
"Hey," Trace said, deciding he should try being friendly while also gathering information, "How about you show me around town? Tell me about the ponies here."
Pipsqueak perked right up. "Alright!"
The chatty foal led Trace through the village. Most of the routes, he'd already seen, but Trace was now given the names of all the important land marks, as well as the names of some of the ponies that Pipsqueak knew. Pip insisted that everypony was friendly and would like Trace if he introduced himself to them, but all the assassin was concerned about was which ones were dangerous and which ones weren't; his only objective now was his and Pipsqueak's survival.
Pipsqueak stopped after the sun started to set. "Um, I should be getting home now."
"Where do you live?" Trace asked.
"This way." Pip pointed north with is hoof. "Do you want to come with me?"
"I am your protector now, aren't I?"
Pipsqueak tilted his head. "I dunno. Are you?"
"It's a simple question," Trace said, "Do you want my help, or don't you? Because I can't guarantee your safety should you choose to reject my protection and venture into the wilderness again."
"Hmm." Pipsqueak tapped his hoof to his chin. "Is a protector just like a friend?"
Trace facehoofed. "Yeah, sure, whatever. Do you want me, or don't you?"
Pip nodded. "Yes, I do."
"Good. Then let's go." Trace sighed as he followed Pipsqueak back home. If only he'd rescued somepony older, someone who didn't ask silly questions. It was in a foal's nature to be curious and naive, sure, but that didn't make it any less annoying. The assassin-turned-guardian decided to deal with it; it was a living after all. No sense in looking a gift horse in the mouth, much less a pony.
Pipsqueak's parents welcomed their son home while Trace slipped in through the top of the door. He made sure not to touch either of them on the way in, and found a spot on the ceiling where he could stand out of the way and observe the events of the evening.
"So, Pip," the colt's father began, "How was your day?"
"It was great!" Pip said enthusiastically, "We learned about how the princesses defeated Discord over a thousand years ago in school, and then some of the other foals were picking on me again, and I told them I wasn't a scaredy pants, and then Diamond Tiara told me to prove it by going into the Everfree forest. So I did, and then this giant manticore appeared and almost gobbled me up!"
His parents gasped in shock.
"You met a manticore?!" his mother cried, "What happened?"
"Well, he was right about to eat me," Pip continued, "when out of nowhere, this invisible pony came and beat him to a pulp!"
Trace's eyes widened. Oh, you have got to be kidding me.
"He swooped in, slayed the manticore, and then he said we could be friends! And then Zecora came and showed me the way out of the woods." Pipsqueak concluded his short epic. "And now Trace is my new friend. He even came home with me."
The adult ponies looked at each other and smiled, figuring the story was made up.
"Oh, really?" his mother asked, "So Trace is here now, is he? Will he be joining us for dinner?"
"I think so." Pipsqueak looked around. "Trace? Do you want to have dinner with us?"
The changeling remained dead silent.
"Oh, I forgot he's really shy," Pipsqueak said, "He only talks to me."
"That's alright," his dad said, "Just as long as you stay out of that forest from now on. I'd hate to have to punish your new friend for letting you get into trouble."
Trace folded his legs under his head and smirked. Heh, right. As if you could even touch me.
Dinner went by slowly for the changeling. He sat and watched the way ponies ate, how they consumed physical food instead of emotions. Trace knew other races ate with their mouths, but never took the time to really watch; he was usually too busy killing them to observe their feeding habits. The temptation to try pony food arose, but he brushed it off as a useless curiosity. Doing such a thing would be wasteful, and may draw attention from those he desired to avoid detecting him.
Later that night, after Pipsqueak was tucked into bed, he waited for his mom to leave before trying to talk to his guardian again.
"Trace?" he whispered, "Are you here?"
A moment passed.
"I am," Trace responded.
"Will you stay the night with me?" Pipsqueak asked.
Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't even need to be offered. Trace would have willingly shed his cloak and rested with his companions back when he lived among other changelings. But sleeping while invisible would yield poor rest, and to become visible now ran the risk of losing his ward and alerting the ponies to his presence.
"I'm sorry," he said, "but I must return to my home for the night. But I'll be back tomorrow, OK?"
"OK," Pipsqueak said sadly, "Will you be here in time to walk with me to school?"
"I will try." Trace opened the window and climbed out.
"Trace."
The changeling stopped.
Pipsqueak smiled. "Thanks for being my friend."
Trace was still unsure of how to respond. "Alright. Go to sleep now. We both need our rest." He turned and took off, flying back to his nest in the forest.
Pipsqueak yawned and fell into a deep sleep.
A few hours prior, at Sugarcube Corner, Pinkamena Diane Pie felt a strange sensation run through her body. She shivered in different places while her ears flopped in a certain way.
"Hmm," she said to herself pensively, "Somepony new is in town." She suddenly put on a big grin. "Ooh, that means I get to plan a party! But first, I need to find out who the new pony is!"
She set out into town in search of her target, but despite her best efforts, even when her Pinkie Sense told her she was close, she could find no sign of the new pony. Finally, when night fell, she gave up and decided to continue her search tomorrow.