Back inside the boutique, Rarity was pouring more tea into all of their cups.
“Dreadful, simply dreadful!” Rarity said to Twilight.
Twilight just nodded, staring at Echo from the corner of her eye. “Yeah, Rarity. It’s pretty bad stuff. Are you okay, Candlelight? You got pretty emotional back there.”
No, I'm not okay. He was one of my soldiers. It was my responsibility to protect him, and I didn't. I just let them take him. After a pause, Echo asked, “Twilight, what are they going to do to him?”
“Him?” she said quizzically. “How do you know it was a him?”
“You mean you couldn’t tell?”
“No, it was just another changeling.”
“Just another changeling?” She said indignantly. “That was a living creature scared for his life. Just tell me what is going to happen to him.”
Twilight's eyes widened in shock at Echo's outburst before her gaze softened. She nodded succinctly. “You're right, Candlelight, I'm sorry. He’s going to be taken to see Celestia. She’ll decide what happens then. Are you alright?”
“No.” She got up from her seat and stormed past Twilight, heading into town. “I need a walk.” as she was walking out, she heard them talking.
“Dear,” Rarity said to Twilight. “I think maybe you should make sure she's okay.”
“Yes,” Twilight agreed. “I probably should.”
Echo walked silently through the streets, and ponies on all sides were going about their daily business. As she walked forward, a few ponies gasped when they made eye contact. Remembering her dream, she glanced down at her hooves. She was relieved to find the leg of a normal unicorn pony, but as she stared at the sole of her hoof, a single droplet landed in its center. She was crying.
Eager to escape the gaze of the ponies in the street, Echo ducked into an alley. There, she sat on the ground, leaning against the wall and staring intently at the ground while she sobbed. After a short time, she heard hoofsteps coming toward her. She didn’t bother to look up.
“Hey, you.” A gruff male voice spoke. “Got any bits?”
“No. Go away.” She snipped.
“I wasn’t asking.” Echo looked up into the face of a robust earth pony stallion. He held out his hoof expectantly. A snarl crossed his face. “Now, got any bits?”
“You want my bits?” She said, rising to her hooves. She felt her voice quiver as her rage began to rise. “Why should I give you my bits?” Echo closed her eyes, straining to control herself.
“For starters, if you don’t, I’m gonna turn your face inside out.”
“Oh, I’m SHAKING WITH FEAR!” Her eyes shot open, the pure eyes of a changeling. She lost control, and her eyes began to glow in her rage.
“What the h-”
“I've just had a very bad day. I'm alone, I'm frightened, and I'm really, really angry. If you think you can persuade me to give you my bits, you’ve got another thing coming, pal,” as she stared into the stallion's terror-stricken face, she had a lucrative idea. “in fact, I think you’re going to give me your bits, aren’t you?”
“No way, lady. You’re gonna regret this!” He swung a hoof at her. In a swift motion, she raised a foreleg, caught his hoof, and twisted it around with a sickening crack. With her other foreleg, she muted his scream. She pushed him back and pinned him against the wall.
“You picked the wrong day, and the wrong changeling, you sorry, sick, disgusting pile of -”
“Echo!” Twilight Sparkle’s voice rang in her ears. “Stop! What is this?”
“This,” she charged a blast of magic to her horn. “is an ex-theif.” In a blinding green flash, the stallion collapsed to the ground. “When he comes to, he’ll be sure that he just had his flank kicked by a filly.” She turned her gaze to Twilight, when it hit her. She just saw everything that happened.
“Good.” Twilight said. “I was worried you were going to kill him.”
“I was going to kill him. I still might kill him.” She shot a glare at the unconscious stallion. “What about you, Ms. Sparkle? I can’t very well have you running off to tell everypony about me, can I? I may not be the best with maintaining my disguise, or stealing love, but combat is something I know very well. I don’t think even you could defeat me in a one-on-one fight.” Echo’s horn began to glow again. She was bluffing, but she hoped that Twilight wouldn't know that.
“I – I'm not here to fight you!” Twilight said, backing up. Her face showed panic. Perfect.
“Well, that's convenient of you to say, now that you're face-to-face with an emotionally unstable changeling.”
The Element of Magic held her head high as she sighed. “I knew you were a changeling before now,” she said, “and you know it.”
Echo laughed, and stepped closer to Twilight. “Just how and why would I know that?”
Twilight suddenly became very serious. “Because I was there in your dream. You told me yourself.”
Echo’s magic dimmed, and her eyes widened. That was actually her in my dream? What kind of power this is, to be able to infiltrate the dreams of somepony else! “What do you want from me?” Echo said begrudgingly, not allowing her voice to betray an ounce of the terror she felt. “Are you going to cart me off to be judged by your precious princess, too?”
“Well, Echo, I've spent all day thinking about that. I looked through the library and I couldn't find even one reliable book about changelings. Ponies hardly know anything about you, and our only experience has been,” she hesitated, choosing her words carefully, “unpleasant.”
Echo nodded. Twilight was right, after all – their only real exposure to changelings had been during one of their military campaigns. “So, if you aren't going to have me hauled off, what do you propose?”
“Well, I want you to be my research subject.” Twilight began. Echo snarled in disgust. “It won't be anything invasive.” Twilight was quick to add, “I just want you to come to the library for a few hours each week and answer some of my questions, maybe have you demonstrate some of your magic. In return, I’ll help you stay hidden. The only other thing is that you can’t hurt anypony, and I mean anypony.” Twilight gestured to the unconscious stallion. Echo scoffed.
“He was mugging me. I was justified.”
“Not anypony,” Twilight reiterated sternly.
She’s got me in a bind, but maybe a little good old fashioned intimidation can do the trick. “What's to stop me from just killing you and go on hiding like this never happened?” Echo said with a lighthearted giggle.
“You said it yourself when we first met. I'm the princess' personal student. If you killed me, you'd have the entire royal guard on your heels for the rest of your life, so why do that when I'm offering you an easier solution?” Twilight smiled confidently.
Damn. That dossier didn't lie, she's good. “Fine.” Echo conceded. “I'll do it.”
“Good. Tonight, though, I think you have a party to go to.” Twilight smiled gently at Echo. “Try to have fun. I have a hunch that things aren’t as bad here as you believe they are.”
I think you're right, they're ten times worse. Echo thought as Twilight walked away. With a quick flash of green, her eyes returned to their disguised state. Another thought crossed Echo's mind, and she trotted up beside Twilight. A quick moment of deft hoofwork put a halt to the Element of Magic’s escape. “It might mean that I get chased for the rest of my life if I kill you,” she reignited her horn. “but you’d still be dead, and I doubt you want that.”
Twilight stuttered, trying poorly to hide the fear on her face. After a moment, she chuckled nervously. “Perhaps we can come to a mutually beneficial arrangement?” She coughed unconvincingly.
“Indeed. For starters,” Echo injected as much venom into her voice as she could, “get me out of this party.” Tables've turned, now haven't they?
“I can’t do that!” Twilight sputtered desperately. “It’s Pinkie Pie, no force in Equestria or in Tartarus could change anything that mare does! She’s a physical impossibility!”
“It’s true, I am!” Pinkie’s head popped out of a barrel next to them. Echo screamed, jumped, and nearly lost control of her magic. “I was just stopping by this barrel to get the apples for your party, Candlelight!” She held out an apple in her hoof. “Bye!” Pinkie descended into the barrel again, taking the lid with her.
Twilight remained unimpressed. “Told you.”
“Point taken.” Echo coughed. “How much did she hear?”
“Probably nothing.” Twilight murmured. “Pinkie really only hears what she wants to hear,”
Relieved but exhausted, Echo groaned. “Could you at least help me out if things get out of hoof at the party?”
Twilight smiled warmly. “Of course. You know, aside from your inclinations toward violence, you changelings don’t seem nearly as bad as I thought you were.”
“Shut up,” Echo said dismissively. “I don’t trust you, but I have to work with you. Don’t delude yourself into thinking we’re friends or anything.”
Twilight’s smile faded slightly. “Of course not, Echo. It's a professional relationship.”
“Don’t call me Echo. You're supposed to call me Candlelight. I’m not Echo, remember?” She motioned toward herself.
“Right. Sorry. I’ll see you at the party tonight!”
“Sure.” Twilight turned the corner and walked back onto the street, quickly dissolving into the crowd. Oh, Chrysalis, why me?
Echo walked back to Carousel Boutique in a state of utter dejection. Certain she had ruined any chance of a life in Ponyville, she contemplated her options. I could always make a new disguise, but that would require Candlelight to disappear. Plus, since Twilight already knows about me, she’d be on the lookout for anything even slightly suspicious. I could just run, but then Twilight will turn me in to the guards. Besides, where would I run? I don’t know any places that I could get to without any food to sustain me on the way. No, I have to stick this out. Echo turned the handle on the Boutique’s door sullenly, ready to just head upstairs and pass out on her bed. Hey, that’s right. She thought. I have a bed. I have a life. The swarm doesn’t exist anymore, this is the only home I have. Well, this or the dungeons of Canterlot, and I much prefer this. Maybe I can eke an existence out of this after all. She slowly opened the door. Raising her head, Echo stepped inside to find it completely dark.
The lights came on suddenly, blinding her. “SURPRISE!” came a chorus of voices.
“DIE!” she shouted, dropping instinctively into a defensive stance.
“Silly Candie!” With frightening rapidity, Pinkie Pie erupted from the crowd of ponies and pulled the nerve-racked changeling into a hug. “If anypony dies, the party will be totally ruined!”
“Candie? What’s that mean,” She coughed through the mare's death-grip. “and why were you all hiding in the dark?”
“It’s your name, Silly. Well, not your whole name. Candie is short for Candlelight, just like Pinkie is short for Pinkamena, and we were hiding in the dark because it’s a surprise party and we needed to surprise you, or else it would just be a regular party!”
“SURPRISE!” A white pegasus mare shouted, sporting an enormous grin and floating above the crowd for a moment. She looked deceptively like Pinkie Pie, if she had a blonde mane.
“I don’t get it.” Echo said. In the hive, the only time that a surprise gathering was organized was when somepony was going to get killed.
“Nevermind. The point is that this is your ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party, so WELCOME TO PONYVILLE!” She made a snapping noise with her hooves, the mechanics of which eluded Echo, and then motioned to a DJ’s booth. “HIT IT!” At that, a white mare with a frazzled blue mane appeared from underneath the table. With great dramatic flair and the push of a button, the music started. “Try bobbing for apples, it’s really fun!”
“Yeah!” An orange mare that Echo recognized as Applejack said through a thick drawl. “They’re the finest in Equestria. Grew ‘em myself!”
“I thought the party was supposed to be at at 6.”
“I changed it.” Pinkie beamed, seeming proud of herself.
“So, what do you think?” A familiar voice came from Echo’s left. She turned to face Twilight Sparkle.
“How the hay did you get here so quickly?” Echo asked, astonished.
“Teleportation. It’s the only way to fly. Erm, so to speak.”
Echo couldn’t say anything. Instead, she just nodded quickly to Twilight, turned around, and headed for her bedroom.
“Where are you going?” Pinkie Pie’s look-alike said. “The party just started!”
“Okay. Why do you need me for it?”
“Well, duh! You’re the one we’re throwing the party for!”
Echo paused, giving a deadpan expression. “I don’t get it.”
The pegasus flew up to meet her. “Just get back down there!” She said with a shove. “Go on, move it!”
“Are you related to Pinkie Pie, you crazy mare?” Echo was losing her patience.
“No, but we’ve been best friends since, like, forever! That’s not the point though. You need to stay down here and party with us! I’m Surprise, and I’ll chase you down if I have to, okay? Stay.” She gave Echo a sage nod, then trotted off to rejoin the party.
Echo started to whine, but Surprise was already gone. Great.
The hours passed, and everypony and their mother tried to talk to her. She did everything in her power to avoid telling her backstory, since she didn't really have one yet. After she was sure that nopony else was going to try to introduce themselves, she went to stand next to the refreshments table, where she stood awkwardly while levitating a glass of punch. Behind her on the table sat a wall-eyed, toothless alligator, slowly swinging its tail to the beat of the music.
“What. The. Hay.” she said aloud. A few more minutes passed, and then a tan earth pony stallion sauntered up to the refreshments table. His mane was black with some light gray highlights. He grabbed glass of punch and stood awkwardly a few hooves away from her. Echo avoided his gaze. through the peripheral vision of her red eye, she saw the slightest bit of movement from the stallion. He was inching closer to her. Maybe I’ll have a little love tonight, after all. She thought. Turning her gaze to him slightly, she made eye contact. He smiled slyly and scooted closer, his eyes darting side to side. That’s weird, I’m not feeling any affection from him. Suddenly, it clicked. Oh. I get it. Sheesh, he doesn’t even like me. She shot him a glare, and averted her gaze dramatically. He continued to scoot closer.
“Hey,” He said.
“Buzz off,” She curtly replied.
“Hey, come on, I need to talk to you,”
“Well, I don’t want to talk to you. Buzz off,” she reiterated.
The unicorn took another scoot closer, and reached out his foreleg as though he were going to pull her closer. ENOUGH. In one swift motion, she grabbed his foreleg, whipped him around, and gave him a solid thump on the back of his head, sending him tumbling to the ground. “I TOLD YOU TO BUZZ OFF, CREEP. I SAID I’M NOT INTERESTED, GET IT?” With that, she huffed off, leaving the unicorn disoriented on the floor, in a cloud of slowly settling dust. As she trotted away, she passed Twilight and whispered with smug self-satisfaction, “Not even a single broken bone, happy?” Without another word, she stormed off loudly to her room, closing the door a little more sharply than was probably necessary.
Echo couldn’t figure out why the unicorn’s attentions had bothered her so much. It wasn’t the first time somepony had tried to make a move on her, and she’d never beaten the snot out of anyone just for that before. Was she actually starting to feel a connection to these ponies? Did she seriously care if they genuinely liked her?
No. She corrected herself. That’s impossible. There’s no way. They'd all hate me, and I hate them.
Even as she tried to convince herself that she had no feelings for any of the ponies around her, she felt a deep depression creeping up on her. In a fit of self-pity, she flung herself onto her bed and began to sob into her pillow. She could hear the muffled sounds of the party continuing below her. She had to question just who she was trying to convince. Suddenly, a knock came on the door.
“Candie?” Pinkie Pie’s voice rang with concern.
“Are you okay?” Surprise chimed in.
“Can we come in, Candlelight?” Twilight’s voice rang out.
“Sugarcube,” Applejack joined the chorus. “I don’t know quite what just happened, but we all put two and two together. Let us talk to you.”
“Darling, I know what it’s like to be treated so poorly,” Rarity admitted. “but hiding from the party and from your friends won’t help!”
'Friends'? Did they just call me their friend? “I don’t have any friends.” Echo shouted into her pillow. Apparently, it was loud enough for her visitors to hear.
“Nonsense!” Rarity shouted.
“Yeah!” Echo could hear a fluttering sound as Surprise undoubtedly began to hover. “There’s five of us right here. That’s at least five friends!”
“Let us in, please.” Twilight pleaded.
“Fine.” Echo lifted her head from the pillow, but turned her body to face away from the door. “Come on in. It can’t get any worse.”
The door clicked as it opened, and the floorboards creaked as the five ponies quietly came into the room. “Come on, sugarcube.” Applejack said. “I don’t think I ever introduced myself. I’m Applejack.” The mare tipped her hat.
“Charmed,” Echo rolled her eyes. I know more about you than you do. With a frightening speed, Surprise’s face appeared upside down in Echo’s field of vision, causing the changeling to yelp in shock. “I think I see where you get your name!” she puffed, clutching at her chest.
Surprise grinned and giggled at that before righting herself and coming to rest on the ground in front of Echo. “Look, Candie,” Echo grimaced at her nickname. Surprise paused, her face reflecting concern. “Sorry. Candlelight. What that creep did wasn’t okay,” Surprise laid a hoof on Echo’s shoulder. “but you can’t let it get to you! There’s a room full of ponies downstairs that are really worried about you. There’s also one unicorn sitting outside with a headache that will probably last him a lifetime.”
Echo couldn’t help but laugh. “I did give him a good thwack, didn’t I?” She smiled.
“Yeah, and he needed it.” Twilight said reassuringly.
“Do you guys really mean it?” Echo asked, unsure. “That you’re my friends?”
“But of course!” Rarity shouted.
“Absolutely!” Twilight stated with a solemn stare.
“You can bank on it, sugarcube.”
“Abso-positive-a-lutely!” Pinkie and Surprise chimed in perfect unison.
Echo felt tears wellling up in her eyes again, but she wasn’t sad anymore. Why am I crying? She wondered. Looking around the room, she saw concern on all of her friends’ faces.
My friends. I have friends. Me, friends! A smell wafted through Echo’s nostrils. Is that... love? No, it smells different, it isn’t love. Wait a minute, is this... friendship? She allowed herself to absorb some of the energy, and she found that it was both filling and satisfying. The tears welled up further, and she saw all of her friends glance at each other and share a nod. When they turned their gaze back on Echo, she could see the glare of a huntress in each of their eyes.
“What are you -” She never got to finish her sentence before all five mares jumped on her, causing the bed to creak and groan under the strain. The surprise elicited a quick scream from Echo, who for the briefest of moments was sure they had only pretended to be friends that they might catch her off guard. As she prepared to defend herself, though, her ears caught the sound of laughter. “I don’t get it,” She said once more from under the pile of giddy ponies. “but I don’t hate it either.”