//------------------------------// // Chapter VIII: "You Know, Stuff" // Story: Faux Pas of the Heart // by Jet Howitzer //------------------------------// (Moar fun times. And a glimpse into the past, but not your past.) The morning light woke you, and yet, despite sleeping soundly through the night, you felt no more rested than when you had gone to bed last night. And, to make matters worse, you still couldn’t feel any of the latent emotional energies that permeated nearly every bit of the town. It left your mind reeling, some, and you found yourself staggering just a bit as you took care of your usual morning ritual. As the fog on the mirror faded, you found that your disguise had fallen without your noticing. The slightly mirrored orbs that looked back at you seemed just like they had yesterday, but now? Now there was something just slightly off about them. It took you several moments to realize that there was just the slightest lack of shine to them. Like the spirit that once raged behind them had been curbed just slightly. You brought up a hoof to the mirror, and the reflection did the same. A half forgotten spell weaved itself in your mind, but you banished it before it could come to fruition. No mare was worth what that spell would cost you. No living being was worth that cost. Without a second thought, you turned from the mirror and began making your way from the bathroom and down to the kitchen. Much to your displeasure the room was occupied by a grey pegasus. He wasn’t looking at you, but by the small twitch on his ear you could tell that he heard you. He moved a mug of coffee along the counter towards you, and you grasped it before taking a quick sip. No words were said for quite some time. “I admire your grace, Quill.” “Fuck off, Storm.” As you brought the mug up to your mouth once again it was knocked out of your hoof, the shattering sound ringing in your ears. “Don’t you fucking brush me off, Catalyst.” The way he said your name he made it sound like a curse. Like he was disgusted by your very presence. “Rarity was this close to telling the mayor who you were. I was tempted to tell her as well, given the state Rarity was in. Lucky for you I saw her as she was heading to the mayor’s office.” “What do you want from me? What the hell do you expect me to do? I can’t just go and erase my past, Storm. You, of all ponies, should know that!” A dark expression flickered over the stallion’s face for a moment, and then he shook it off. “We aren’t the same.” A single step was taken towards you, and the stallion pointed a hoof at your chest, jabbing it in roughly with each word. “Don’t. Compare. Me. To. You.” “What, did I strike a nerve? Did I offend Celestia’s precious pet project?” The next thing you knew you were sprawled out on the floor, your head spinning. A solid impact directly next to your head made you flinch, and when you looked up all you could see were the twin golden orbs of the stallion’s eyes. “I’m only going to say this once, so you had better listen, and listen good. You’re here because Celestia sent you here. I saw a fairly large chunk of your past in the form of some letters from Celestia before you got here. I vouched for you, since I thought I saw something consistent within your past.” The stallion narrowed his eyes as he continued. “Was I wrong about you? Are you really no better than the masses of now dead Changelings? Normally I’d be wary around a magic user, but I don’t think you’re much of a threat anymore. Twilight saw it in Rarity when she explained it last night.” “No. No, I’m not much of a threat anymore. I’m not getting any latent emotional energy anymore.” “And I take it you know why that is?” “I’m not stupid. There’s a reason why Changeling’s steal emotion, rather than share it.” “And?” “Due to the long standing relationship I had with Rarity, it became incredibly easy for me to draw emotions from her when we met in person. Last night…” A deep sigh escapes you, and you close your eyes, unwilling to look at the stallion any longer. “Last night the bond was created. I can no longer draw in emotions, save for intense extremes, from anypony other than Rarity.” The stallion backed off of you, giving you room to maneuver into a sitting position. “And with Rarity so pissed with you?” “I’ll probably starve within a week. Less if I have to use a lot of magic. I doubt I’ll have that week, though. Even Chrysalis, my mother, found that going the full week became next to impossible after the fourth day. It’s because, at that point, it becomes detrimental to maintain a disguise.” “So, what can we do about this problem?” “You mean aside from getting Rarity to not hate me?” “Well, yeah. Other than that.” “Find the plot behind the attack on Taupe, and then I leave.” You look to the stallion, your voice betraying none of your thoughts. “So that I can die alone, the last of my kind.” The stallion just shook his head before he took another sip of coffee. “Pessimistic?” “Realistic.” You got to your hooves, and then you trotted over to the counter where you got a new mug, and filled it with coffee. “Storm?” “Yeah?” “Do… Do I have a chance with Rarity?” Silence answered you, and you just nodded. “I’ll need to talk with Taupe first. He’s seen the most of the seedy underworld. After him, I’ll need to see Ace and Twilight at the same time. Twilight’s first, though. We’ve got a problem in Ace, and without my magic Twilight’s the only one who can help.” “I’ll see what I can arrange. Where do you want to talk to them?” “The library.” You answered quickly, and then you turned to look at the grey pegasus, but he had already left. You finished the mug of coffee, and then you cast a simple spell on yourself. A spell you had only used once before. A spell that was tied directly to your vital functions, so it cost you no more energy than it did to breathe. One hundred and sixty four hours, eight minutes, thirty seconds and counting. Assuming, of course, that you used no magic. Fantastic. The library door swung open silently on the well oiled hinges, revealing to you two mares, and two stallions. All four sets of eyes were focused on you, and their gazes seemed far colder than most you had gotten in the past. The door closed behind you, as you pushed it with a hoof, and then you approached the small group. Both Taupe and Applejack kept their distance from you, taking unconscious steps back at your approach. Twilight, though, just kept looking at you, her gaze more analytical than anything. Storm’s gaze passed between you, Twilight, Taupe and Applejack at regular intervals. He didn’t need to be here, clearly, but he was anyway. “They all know, Quill. Ace doesn’t know, but he’s out at the moment. And, if Twilight is accurate in her estimations, he won’t be back for at least a couple of hours.” The grey stallion motioned for the two earth ponies to approach you, and they did, but not without a measure of caution. Taupe spoke first, his voice strong despite his uncertainty. “So, Quill. You really are a Changeling?” You just nod, not seeing a need to elaborate. “Damn. Well, Storm told us that you were here to try and figure out what’s up with that whole escapade in Manehattan. So, what do you want to know?” You motion towards the couches in the room, and soon you are all seated, Twilight levitating a quill just above a fairly large stack of parchment. “Alright, Applejack, starting with when you were first separated from Taupe, tell us what happened. Try not to skip much in the way of details, since it may just be a small detail that makes everything come together.” The mare nods, and then takes a moment to compose herself. “Okay, well, it started at that bar. After the massive stallion dragged me into the back… ---/\/\Applejack’s Perspective/\/\--- Applejack found herself too stunned to do anything at first, the surprise at the action robbing her of her usual gusto. As she caught a last glimpse of Taupe sitting in the booth, she held onto the door frame for just a moment, trying to keep him in her sight. Sadly, even Applejack’s prodigious strength was insufficient to keep the stallion from continuing. As soon as her hooves slipped from the frame they took to mashing at the stallion, each blow making a solid thud of impact, yet eliciting no response from the mass of meat and bone. When the stallion finally stopped he just tossed the mare through an open door into a small cell. Several long hours passed with nothing happening, save for the occasional buck at the door to try and open it. That, and a good number of heartfelt profanities hurled at each pony that passed the door. Through it all, though, the mare never lost her head. She didn’t break down and weep, or call out for help. She was confident that either she’d get herself out of this, or Taupe would find her and help her out of this. She was more confident in the former, but the latter did have a certain appeal. A series of clattering noises came from the door, and the orange mare lunged at the door as soon as it opened. However, the same massive stallion as before was there waiting for her, expecting her rush. Behind the hulk of pony came a suited stallion, along with a red unicorn. The same red unicorn as before. “You’d best hope that this brick of meat doesn’t let me go, ‘cause if he does you’ll be bucked to Canterlot and back before you can say ‘Buck me’.” Her threats seemed to fall on deaf ears, though, as the red unicorn continued conversing with the suited stallion as though nothing had been said. After a few minutes, the stallion in the suit finally deigned to take note of the struggling orange mare. “My, aren’t you a feisty one. I was expecting a deal of fight in you, but this is far more than I was led to believe. Not that that’s a problem. Just means that some extra precautions will need to be taken for the next few steps. Lock Jaw, be a good peon and knock her out, if you please.” Without waiting to see the results of his order, the suited stallion and the red unicorn both departed. The massive hulk of a pony delivered a swift blow to the back of the farmpony’s head, and her world was plunged into darkness. ---/\/\Your Perspective/\/\--- “That suited stallion. What can you tell me about him? Coat color, eye color, cutie mark, anything.” You leaned forward some, the scratching sound of Twilight’s quill forming a subtle background noise. “Well, he was a bit taller than I am. Not by much, mind you. His coat was a shade of blue, I think. He’s just an earth pony, though. Unless he’s got his wings cooped up under his suit.” Storm shuddered a bit at that, and then he interjected. “No. That’s hell on the wings. If he was a pegasus, he’d have his wings out.” “Right, so, like I was saying, he had a blue coat, and nothing that I could see that would lead me to think he was anything but an earth pony. I never got a look at his cutie mark, though. That suit he wore was always in the way. His eyes, though. There was something off about them. The color always seemed to change when I saw him, and I don’t think his pupils were circles, like ours. I think they were squares.” “Did he have any particular habits that you could see? A nervous tic, or anything like that?” “Not really. He was always calm and collected when I saw him.” “Alright, what happened when you woke up?” “It was dark. That stallion in the suit was back… He… I can’t remember what he said.” The mare frowned, and she closed her eyes. “He woke me up, or I woke up. Then… I can’t remember.” You look from the farm pony to Twilight. “Do you think there’s anything you can do to help, Twilight? Some memory spell, or something? She knows the events took place, so the memories must be there, simply buried.” “I’ll see what I can do, but memory magic isn’t foal’s play.” Her horn glowed for a moment, and then a tether of magic joined the two mares. From your perspective, nothing seemed to occur, but the faces of the two mares shifted rapidly, each emotional response flashing past faster than the one before it. After several minutes the lavender mare recoiled sharply, the magical tether snapping with an audible crack. You looked between the two mares, unsure of who you should go to first, your sense of responsibility putting you in a quandary. Luckily, Taupe indirectly answered your question, moving to Applejack faster than you thought was possible. You moved to the lavender mare, looking at her with a mixture of fear and eagerness in your eyes. Her eyes were both closed, and you could see that her eyes were moving rapidly behind her sealed lids. “Twilight, are you okay?” There’s no response, so you try again, louder. When there is still no response, you tentatively place a hoof on her face. Her eyes both snap open at the contact, but rather than her usual eyes, they were pits of black, seeming to suck the light in. “You know not in what you meddle, Changeling.” As the words passed the mare’s lips, her eyes quickly shut, opening immediately after and revealing her usual eyes. You’d heard those words once before, at a time when your mother was dealing with a clan of zebras. While the words themselves weren’t all that special, it was the way they were said. “Quill, what happened?” The mare’s voice is uncharacteristically shaky, and you offer her a wan smile. “I’m not quite sure, but I think that things will be getting worse before they get any better.” You help the mare to her hooves, and she takes an unsteady step before she gets her bearings back. You walk back to your chair, and you feel a bit of relief to see that Applejack was already seated again, albeit with Taupe directly next to her, holding a hoof around her. “Applejack, do you think you can tell us what happened, now?” A shaky nod is your response, and then she lets out a sigh before she begins again. ---/\/\Applejack’s Perspective/\/\--- The suited stallion stood before her, a look of blatant superiority smeared across his face. A soft chuckle escaped the stallion before he began circling the prone mare. “The fearless Element of Honesty reduced to a helpless crying mass. How the mighty have fallen.” He stopped for a moment to look at the mare, before he chuckled once again. “How nice it would be to reduce you to a compulsive liar once again, but, my master seems to think it best not to allow me to work my magicks. Hence this pathetic form.” The mare struggled to rise, but her hooves refused to support her. Her mouth still worked, though, and she made use of it. “D...? Discord?” “Aye. Although not quite as discordant as I’d like to be. It seems to me that your hero Storm isn’t quite all he was cracked up to be. It was his influence on the world that allowed me to escape the stone prison that you managed to put me into.” A wistful sigh escaped the stallion, and then he sat down before the mare. A quick movement of the stallion’s hoof pulled down his collar slightly, revealing a mark branded around his neck. “You see, controlled chaos isn’t really chaos at all. Anarchy is what I strive for. The complete abandonment of what makes ponies thrive. But what my master seeks? His is a plan that not even I support.” “Then fight back. You may not have your fancy magic, but you’re still powerful in your own way.” The stallion just laughed softly in response to the mare’s words. “What are you laughin’ about? You need to fight back!” “I did, my little pony. I most certainly did. But, even a demon fades in the face of that much raw power.” A cringe of the stallion’s features flashes across the stallion’s face, and then nothing. “I must go, for my master demands my presence. I will wipe this from your mind, so that none, save for a certain unicorn, may find it. My message to you, Twilight Sparkle: Where once were two, now are three.” ---/\/\Your Perspective/\/\--- Discord. He was, indirectly, responsible for making the Changelings the way they are. While evolution factored into it heavily, it was only because of Discord that the Changelings came to rely so heavily on emotions for survival. They were always emotional leeches, drawing off emotions from others in order to supplement their abilities, but it was only because of Discord that this beneficial ability became a need that quickly turned into a crippling fanaticism. “We need to inform Celestia.” “About what?” The sound of a door closing caused you to whirl around in your seat, your undisguised eyes meeting the heterochromatic eyes of the blue pegasus that had just entered. “Oh.” His eyes quickly began darting from pony to pony, always coming back to yours. “Hey, Twi. You do see the Changeling, right?” Twilight just nodded, and then the pegasus began approaching slowly, his form growing more tense with each step. “Ace, you’re back a bit earlier than I expected.” “Yeah, I thought I’d cut short my practice and bring some muffins for breakfast.” His words were forced, and you could see the tension in his body. “What have you been up to?” “Oh, you know. Stuff.” (Oh, Twilight. Eloquent as can be. Still, things are taking shape nicely. And now we know who the suited stallion is!)