//------------------------------// // Talking With The Sun // Story: Son of Change // by twow443 //------------------------------// Chapter 5- Talking With The Sun I was worried, and furious. Who was that strange unicorn, why had she attacked me and why couldn't I beat her? The fact that she used my own body against me frightened me to no end. If a simple unicorn could manipulate my body, what was stopping other unicorns from doing the same. As I flew towards Twilight's, I angrily rubbed the bite mark. Before, I could hide it whenever I shifted, but now it could show though my disguises. I knew that I needed help. I needed to talk to my mother. I made a soft landing in front of the library and headed inside, shifting into my unicorn form. I was so focused that I didn't notice Cheerilee stepping out the door, so I bumped into her. “Oh! Hello, Shade!” She cheerfully said as I stepped back. “Sorry Cheerilee, I'm a little out of it at the moment.” I apologized. “How are you today?” The teacher waved a hoof in the air. “Here and there today. I received permission from Princess Celestia to bring my class to her castle tomorrow, so I'm trying to prepare.” “Really?” I asked. I hadn't spoken to my mother in five months. She had been trying to repair the day and the night with Luna, my aunt. I knew from a letter she sent Twilight that she was also trying to smooth things over with other leaders from different parts of Equestria. Apparently, the princess suddenly having a child STILL wouldn't go over well, even though it's been eight months since my mother revealed it. “Yes.” Cheerilee sighed. “I'm so excited for the children. Most of them have never seen the castle up close.” I smiled. “I know one has.” I said, thinking of Sweetie Belle. Cheerilee continued on. “Are you going to see your mo- I mean, the princess?” I nodded. “It's okay to call me what I am Cheerilee. Yeah, I'm actually going to see her now. Haven't spoken to her in five months.” “Could I ask a favor of you then?” She asked me. “If it's possible, could you ask the princess if she would be able to talk to my class?” “Sure.” I said. “About anything specific?” Cheerilee shook her head. “No, not anything I can think of. Her being able to would be enough of a privilege.” I smiled again. “I'll ask for you.” Cheerilee pulled me into a hug. “Thank you Shade! I'll set things up in case that she can.” The schoolteacher trotted off. I pushed on the door and entered the building. Twilight and Spike were busily putting books away. Fortunately for them, the library wasn't too cluttered. For once. “Alright Spike, remember that those go in the Adventure section.” The purple unicorn told her assistant. “Sort those ones by alphabet.” Spike sighed. “I know Twilight. Sheesh, give me a little...” His voice trailed off and a smile lit his face as he saw me. “Hey there, Shade!” I waved as Twilight noticed me. She ran over and hugged me. “Hey there! Where you been?” “Resting.” I said, hugging her back. “Fluttershy forced me to take a few days off.” Twilight giggled and pulled away. “She has become rather protective of you.” I tilted my head. “Really?” “Oh yes.” Twilight replied, walking over to the bookshelf. “Always wanting to know where you are, if you're actually feeding yourself. She harassed me until I put a detector spell on you.” “You put a spell on me?!” I gasped, looking my body over. Twilight smiled. “It's fine Shade. Only I can see it. It just tells me if your actually absorbing emotions. Fluttershy and I stalked you for a day after I cast it on you.” She giggled again. “I had to hold her back when you almost passed out helping Applejack sell apples for a day straight. Sometimes I wonder who's protecting who...” I sat down next to her. “She has become a lot more assertive around me.” I shook my head. I loved talking to my friend, but I needed to move on with my plans. “I need to head over to Canterlot. Mind if I use the portal?” “Course not!” Twilight and I walked over to a large mirror that took up part of a wall. “How come you haven't been by here lately to go see her?” “She's been busy, and so have I.” I stepped forward and touched my horn to the mirror. The surface shimmered and the image changed from reflecting Twilight's library, to showing an image of my room in Canterlot. “Thanks, Twi.” “You coming back here later?” Twilight asked. “Probably not tonight.” I replied. As I stepped into the mirror, I heard Twilight yelling at Spike. Some things never change. . . . I stepped out from the portal into my room. I turned around and touched the tip of my horn the the portal surface. It shimmered, and the image of Twilight's home disappeared, replaced by the image of my room. “Ahh, It's great to be back home.” I said. I simply stood there for a few seconds, looking at all of the pictures in my room. Before I had beaten Discord but after I knew that I was Celestia's son, I spent a lot of time in here drawing. I drew pictures of myself, my friends, my parents. I drew anything I wanted. And I magically stuck them all on the walls and ceiling of my room. Sweetie Belle had complimented me on my drawing skills when I returned to Ponyville. Not wishing to wait any longer, I headed out into the hallway. My mom had posted guards at my room so she would be warned if anypony besides me stepped into or out of my room. We thought that would be best, seeing as that room had the only portal from here to Ponyville. They jumped when I walked out, but they nodded to me when they realized who I was. Silently, I walked though the castle halls, nodding to the guards that were standing or walking along. I had my senses cast out as far as possible, searching for any members of my family. Unfortunately, I found the most annoying one. “Well, well, well.” I turned the corner to see my annoying cousin, Blueblood. Or Prince Blueblood, if you weren't royalty. I had a extreme dislike for him, and he had extreme hatred for me. Not only did he hate the fact that I showed up out of nowhere and apparently took up Celestia's attention, but he absolutely loathed the fact that I was a changeling. His hatred for me went so far back, he had sided with my father and attempted to kill me. So, I guess you can understand why we don't like each other. “Look who finally crawled their way back up here.” Blueblood sneered at me. I rolled my eyes and kept walking. “Don't you even start with me. I'm not even close to in the mood.” Apparently I wasn't going to get a break, seeing as how he started to follow me. “So where have you been? You disappeared after you killed your father.” Because my cousin is a moron, he completely missed the warning signs that I was getting agitated. My eyes flashed green and my fangs slightly extended. “Blueblood, get away from me. I'm just trying to find my mother.” “Yes, about that.” Blueblood said. “What makes you think that she's even your mother? I mean, you are a changeling.” Now Blueblood was treading on dangerous ground. “Your point?” “She's an alicorn. Not only that, the goddess of the sun itself.” Blueblood paused, as if to build up suspension. “How can alicorn have a child that isn't even a pony?” I stepped around him and continued on. “It's called magic, Bluey. It exists.” “Well...” His voice had taken a tight edge, as it always did when I made a comment on his name. “It could be possible that she's been lying to you all this time. Making you try to feel better...” In an instant, I had the annoying unicorn pinned against the wall, my hoof at his throat. I intensively shifted into my changeling form and snarled at him. “Listen very carefully. Celestia's lied to me before and she swore that she would never do it again. I don't know what you have jammed up your flank to attack me all this time, but I can deal with it. I beat you when Discord gave you his power, so don't even THINK that I won't hesitate to do it again. Now do yourself a favor and never say anything like that about my mother again. Clear?!” “Y..yes.” Blueblood choked out. I'll be honest, I really wanted to bite him. I did. But the two of us heard a soft cough and turned to the side. Twilight's brother, Shining Armor and his wife and my cousin, Princess Cadence were standing there. I saw that Cadence had a hoof up to her mouth, and sensed that she was laughing. Shining had a stern look on his face but I knew that he found this amusing. “Prince Blueblood, Shade.” he said. “Is something wrong?” I glanced at Blueblood, then proceeded to drop him on the ground. “Nah, everything's cool. Right, cuz?” Blueblood glared at me, but I bared my fangs at him and he shuddered. “Yes, everything is just fine.” “Then I believe that Princess Luna wished to see you, Blueblood.” Shining said. My cousin got up and walked away, refusing to look at me. When Shining and Cadence looked at me, I became very self-conscious. “Oh, sorry...” I mumbled, quickly shifting into my unicorn form. Cadence walked over to me. “Shade, how have you been? I don't think we've had a moment to talk together since the wedding.” “That's true, we hav-” Suddenly, I shuddered horribly. I saw, actually saw a pink aura around the alicorn. I knew that it wasn't just love, it was her power. With a rush, it slammed into me and I winced. I saw Cadence's eyes dilate and she staggered. “Cadence!” Shining yelled and ran over to me. “What are you doing?!” I had to force my body to stop absorbing Cadence's power, cutting off the stream and dropping me to the ground. I hadn't realized how exhausted I truly was. I felt movement above me and heard voices. “It's fine Shining. He'll die if he doesn't. “You'll die if he does!” “I will not. I don't think that Celestia will appreciate if her son died because you were afraid for me.” I heard murmurs for a few more seconds, then I felt a horn tap my head. Instantly, I was unable to continue from keeping myself from feeding on Cadence's power. Slowly standing up, I thanked her. “Don't worry about it.” Cadence said. “In fact, walk with me for a bit? I'd like to talk.” I nodded. “I don't mind. That is, if Shining's alright with it.” The white unicorn looked away. “It's fine with me. I need to go check something anyway. Excuse me.” He kissed Cadence quickly and walked off. Cadence and I started walking. “I'm sorry for his attitude, Shade. He's been on edge lately.” “That's not all the problem.” I remarked. “I could sense that something else was upsetting him.” My cousin smiled. “I'll have to warn everypony around that we can't hide anything from you.” A sad look crossed her face. “What's wrong?” I asked, resting a hoof on her shoulder. “The truth is, he doesn't trust you.” Cadence said. “After the attack and us finding out that you've been a changeling this whole time, he's been doubting himself.” “Maybe I could talk to him?” I suggested. “I could convince him that I'm the only changeling around here.” Cadence sighed. “He might listen...” A rapid change spread over her face as we turned to walk towards the throne room. “But enough about him. SOMEpony here is having some love problems.” I glanced at her. “That obvious?” She giggled. “I'm the goddess of love Shade. How would I not know?” She laughed again as I mentally kicked myself. “So, want to talk about it?” I decided that it wouldn't hurt to talk to her about it. “It's Fluttershy. I know that she's been worried about me lately.” “So, what's the problem?” Cadence asked. “It's just that. I don't have a problem with her trying to protect me, but I'm worried that she'll be in danger because of it.” I stopped walking and looked at my cousin. “I'm in danger all the time Cadence, and I couldn't live with myself if she was hurt because she's with me.” My cousin was quiet for a moment. “Let me put it this way Shade. Changelings live on love, correct?” “Yeah.” I replied. “That's why my body is attempting to rob you of all of it.” Cadence just smirked at that. “Fluttershy knows this and knowing her, she'll do all she can to keep you healthy. And I know that she truly loves you, and you love her.” “I don't want her to be hurt though.” I said. “Shade, there isn't anyway to protect her from that, unless you convinced Celestia to keep her in view at all times.” Cadence said. “I know that you can stop Chrysalis, and I know that your marefriend will be with you every step of the way.” Cadence and I had reached the throne room door, where we heard talking from within. “Court meeting?” I asked. “Yes, and if it's the same way as they've been going, it's probably about you.” Cadence replied. “Really? Wow...” I sighed. “Shade, you're Celestia's son. That's a really big thing.” She replied. “Not only that, to their knowledge, you killed Discord.” I stared at the door, then grinned. “Wanna crash a meeting?” Cadence gasped. “You wouldn't...” I grinned wider then proceeded to push the doors open, walking inside. There was a large circular table in the room with about thirteen seats. Important looking ponies sat in each chair except for the largest chair, that belonged to my mother. Everypony in the room turned to look at me, but I focused on the sun princess. As I moved to take a step towards her, I felt myself lifted into the air. “Hey!”I yelled. “Put him down. Now.” My mother's voice rang clear across the hall, calm and serene. The unicorn guards instantly released their hold on me. I shifted into my changeling form, flew over to Celestia's side, and shifted back. “Everyone, allow me to introduce the topic of our discussion today, my son Shade.” Celestia said. I slightly ducked my head as everypony looked at me again. “Um, hi there.” The pony to my mother's right spoke up. “So, this is the one? Your child?” Celestia nodded. “Yes.” “Pardon me for asking, but your memory was tampered with as you've said, then how do you remember this?” A gray unicorn asked. “I've never forgotten it.” My mother replied. “If you'll excuse me, we are going to take a break for a half-hour. I need to talk to my son.” The stallions talked amongst themselves, but eventually they all left the throne room. I turned to apologize, but found myself swept up in a big hug. “It's so good to see you.” Celestia said. “How have you been?” I squeezed her back. “The truth? Tired mostly.” Celestia let me go. “So, I heard that you've been working for the ponies in Ponyville.” I nodded. “Might as well use my powers for some good.” “That won't help you though if you aren't eating.” She replied with a wink. It suddenly clicked for me. “Fluttershy got a hold of you, didn't she?” “Sent a letter though Twilight.” The two of us started walking. “You can't feel bad about absorbing emotions Shade. It's what your body runs on.” “I know.” I sighed. My mom nudged me. “Didn't you eat when you were running away from everypony five months ago?” “That's different though.” I said. “It is not.” We turned a corner and she gave me a stern look. “Shade, it isn't wrong for you to take emotions. You burn through them faster than a normal changeling.” “How would you know that?” I asked. “I've been studying.” My mother continued on. “Come with me to the library. There's some things that you need to know.” . . . When we reached the library, we moved into a secluded corner of the room. There was a small table with a notebook, a couple of books and a glass of water. Celestia sat down and took a quick drink, motioning for me to sit. “So, why are we here?” I asked, idly flipping though a book. “After we rescued you from Chrysalis and you returned to Ponyville, Luna and I renewed our efforts to learn more about changelings.” She said, sitting by me. “We felt horrible that we knew almost nothing about them.” I nodded. “Did you find anything?” “Yes, something very important.” My mother levitated her notebook in front of her. “Shade, that bite mark is more then just a bite. It's some sort of spell.” “Didn't we know that already?” I asked. “No, it's a spell itself.” My mother replied. “The bite produced the spell, and the spell sort of latched onto you.” “What?!” I gasped. Celestia sighed. “From what we could gather, the reason that Chrysalis and her daughter were able to control your power was because the spell is latched onto your soul. Every time she uses power...” “It takes it directly from my soul.” I finished. “That explains why I've been tired. She must be using a lot of power for something.” I looked up and saw tears in her eyes. “What's wrong?” “We've done all we can and researched everything, but it hasn't helped.” My mother stood up, walked over to me, and pulled me close to her. “Mom.” I said, my voice starting to break. “What's wrong?” She was quiet for a moment, hugging me tighter. “That bite is draining your essence Shade. You're dying, and I can't stop it.”