Taking place not long after the Canterlot invasion:
Fruit Heart was returning to her home in Canterlot. Not even a day had passed since the invasion of the changeling's; and she was more than happy to be going home.
"Thank Celestia I'm nearly home" she murmured to herself, as she was more than happy to be going home. She walked down the streets of Canterlot, looking around at the ponies still trying to collect themselves from their capture from the dark creatures earlier. She was walking down the public area of the Canterlot district; a place where other ponies, just like herself, lived, for those who were neither fancy, rich or well paid. Despite this the housing estate seemed to differ no more than the other parts of Canterlot, the only real difference being the ponies themselves who lived inside.
Fruit Heart was a tan-brown earth pony mare with a yellow-orange mane, it itself was puffy and quite well-groomed. On her flank was her Cutie Mark, made up of an orange behind an apple, an image that represents her job as a market-seller. As she trotted down the path, she took her time to watch all the other ponies try to re-accustom to their own lives; a task not always easier said than done. Many of the ponies were still shaken up from the ordeal, as Fruit Heart watched a pegasus stallion try to calm down her mare friend, whom the ordeal had left hysterical. She could hear her shout out and yell for the monsters to get away from her, waving her hooves around, just like one would do if one was being attacked by a swarm of bees.
"It was a swarm of something, alright" she mumbled under her breathe, before tripping over and falling face-first into the ground.
"Ow my nose" she said as she picked herself up, seeing a small pony-sized crater underneath her. "What did that, I wonder?" As she rubbed her nose, she realised something; she was home. Fruit Heart opened her muzzel and breathed in deeply, as if smelling a beautiful rose. "Ah home" she said to herself as she walked in, content with just being back to her old place
As she walked inside and shut the door she admired her surroundings; she may not be living fancy, but she lived fruitfully. Her house is small, basic, and, as some ponies would say, boring, but to her, it did the job just right, They wasn't much to say for her front room, it was spread out and seemed to form together with her kitchen, where there was no actual obstacles in the way. It was just one large room, a hybrid of a kitchen and living room.
"Ah, my books" she said out loud as she marked her eyes on her bookcase, smiling to herself as continued. "My couch too" she said as learned on said couch, embracing it as if she had just brought it for the first time. "How I missed you". Since the attack on the wedding, the only thing she ever wanted to do after the real ceremony was to get back home and fall down in defeat. She didn't want to even stay behind for the reception, the invasion itself giving her enough excitement to last her a month. She wasn't the only pony to think that, she could swear she saw some ponies literally charging out the castle to go home; she really could not blame them.
Fruit Heart shaked her head to get rid of those thoughts. She didn't want to remember that. She only wanted to remember her home. "Ahhhh" she sighed out, relaxing as she weakly opened her eyes, her body now in total relaxation.
That, however, did not last long.
As she looked around her house lazily, she immediately shot up as she noticed something on her living room floor, glass, broken glass. "What the?" she said silently as she got off the couch and walked towards it, her green-coloured eyes affixed towards the glass all the while. She stared quizzically, trying to find it's original source. "You have got to be kidding me?" she wished as looked at her broken window. She moved towards it to inspect it, it looked as if some pony threw, well, a pony at it. "Hey Fruit Heart" came an ecstatic voice with a worried tone outside her window. "What happened to your window?"
Fruit Heart looked through the broken remains of her window to find her friend standing outside, looking back with a face full of worry. "Are you OK?" asked Bright Glow, the green maned and butter-yellow coated earth-pony mare. "Did somepony attack you?" She asked, her Manehattan accent coming out as strong as ever. "Oh no no no nothing like that, I think." Fruit Heart dismissed her friend, "Ah thank Celestia for that" Bright Glow sighed, smile full of thankfulness. "But then what?"
Fruit Heart looked around for any clue as too what was the answer. "That I do not know". "All right then." Bright Glow said "Well, I gotta go help my family, my parents are still shook up after the, you know, invasion. Bye."
"Bye, and watch out for the-
*Smack*
-crater" Fruit Heart finished too late, as Bright Glow fell face-first into the ground. As she picked herself up she rubbed at her nose. "Are you OK?" Now it was Fruit Heart's time to ask. "Yeah yeah, I’ll be fine, got to dash, bye Fruit Heart" she replied quickly before trotting off. "I told that girl to never rush things" Fruit Heart muffled to herself, before looking back at the broken glass behind her.
Fruit Heart mentally sighed to herself as she walked off to the kitchen area of her living room, flipping through her cupboards until she found her dustpan and brush. As she preceded to clean away the glass she was left to her thoughts, of course all wondering what had caused it. Did one of those creatures do this? I mean, it could have been, but why. I did not see any other ponies house's get smashed up like this. So why me? And what were they called again....
Fruit Heart was brought out of her thoughts as she realized she had already cleaned up the broken glass, and now seemed to be unconsciously cleaning the air. Seeing that she promptly emptied the contents of her pan into her bin and put away her utensils.
"Now what do I do?" She said to herself. "There's not much to do know....I guess I could just sleep-nah too early for sleep."
She thought it over before saying "Aw, stuff it, I'm going to bed" And smiled at that. She had a long day. Everypony did. At this notion, Fruit Heart turned to her stairs and went up them, happy to finally get some rest from her disappointing day.
But she didn't.
As she climbed up the rest of the stairs and turned the corner, her tracks stopped when she noticed something very out of place; her attic was open. Situated right in the middle of the top floor, the door hung down as limp as one would expect, and the ladders also were down, as if somepony was living inside.
"Hello" a cautious Fruit Heart said "Is somepony up there?"
No answer.
"Hello" she tried again.
No answer.
"Hello!" she said, this time much more louder.
No answer.
"Hmmm" she mused to herself before walking into another room, returning shortly with a lit lantern held dangling in her mouth. "I nefd t gt t th butom uf dis" she announced while dangling the lantern. [Translated as: "I need to get to the bottom of this"]. Now with a sudden sense of courage and bravery, she proudly walked up the stairs fold-up ladders, her lantern firmly gripped in her mouth as she walked up the last of the steps.
As she looked around the attic she saw only what she wanted to see; nothing but, dust, cobwebs and old boxes littered the storage room. But she, however, pressed on, not wanting to quit until she was absolutely sure there was nopo-nothing, in her house. Fruit Heart held the lantern in her hoof and un-clenched her teeth from it, allowing her to speak. "Hello" she said "Is someone up here?"
No answer
"Helllooo" she called out.
This time, however, there was an answer. I small shuffling noise could be heard from across the way from where Fruit Heart was standing. She tentatively ushered forward, her heartbeat increasing from her fears of the unknown....thing that invaded her home. Now, she was sure it was not pony, but some creature that nested in her attic. She did not know what it was, and that was what she feared the most.
"Listen, I don't know who, or even what you are, but you don't need to be scared from me, I'm not gonna hurt you, I promise". In the corner of her watchful eyes she saw a shadow dart between some boxes on the far end of the attic, stopping her in her tracks.
"You can come out, I won't hurt you." And with that, the new entity walked out from behind the boxes. Almost putting her fears to rest. Almost. For what came from behind those boxes, illuminated only from the light of Fruit Heart's lantern, was a snarling, pitch-black creature with impure hooves and insect-like wings. A creature that reaps fear into every pony it saw. A monster that steals the hearts of other.
"A....a...." she ushered out, her whole body shaking with fear. At that the creature snarl viciously at her; baring it's sharp fangs at her like a predator ready to pounce on it's unsuspecting prey.
"A...A...A Changeling!!!!" She screamed out in pure terror
Fruit Heart couldn't believe her eyes. Right out in front of her, was a dark, chitinous creature, one she hoped she would never see again. Ever. Fruit Heart froze up in place, unable to move as if the Changeling had put her under a freezing spell of some kind. As her whole body tensed up the Changeling took a step forward towards her Fruit Heart yelped out, as she tripped backwards and falling down on her rump, dropping the lantern down as it rolled behind her, the light now weakening as it moved away from.
The Changeling took another step towards her, ready to pounce as if to strike in any second. "No, no!" she screamed at at "Don't you come near me!" her voice filling with unbridled dread. The creature itself was unmoved by her screams, and if anything, it just filled it with more anger, as it snarled aggressively at her. "Get back...Get back" she yelled out as she moved backwards, her back hooves refusing to stand up, causing her to only shuffle backwards on her flank. "Don't come near me!" She screamed as the Changeling was closing the distance between her.
As she believed the Changeling was ready to strike, at that moment she felt an object touching her side, looking down to reveal the item she dropped previously. The lantern she thought, eyeing the object before suddenly picking it up in one of her hooves and threw at the Changeling; who was right in the middle of pouncing on its prey. As the lantern hit the creature it found itself flown backwards, landing down somewhere as the lantern light faded, signaled by the sound of breaking glass.
Seeing as she had a chance to escape, she instinctively got up and rushed frantically towards the attic's entrance; now the only source of light able to reach the top room. She climbed down without a moments thought and headed straight towards the nearest room, closing the door behind her and propped herself against for weight as she tried to gather herself; her breathing heavy and fast and her heartbeat beating out like it was on fire.
As she regained herself she cautiously opened the door slightly and peeked out, eyes transfixed on the attic's entrance and hooves clenched to the door if she would ever need to close it immediately. She stared out towards the attic for what felt like hours, but in reality was only five minutes. For Fruit Heart, it was five minutes too long.
Is it still up there? It's got to be, but, why hasn't it moved? Did I get it? Did I do something, I'm sure I hit it. These's are questions her mind simply couldn't answer. Knowing this, she back inside the room to find something to help her predicament. In fact, she realized she was inside her own bedroom, and on her bed-side table was the one thing she didn't wish to see, but now, the one thing she needed: a light source. Or to be more exact, a candlestick. Fruit Heart walked towards her bed-side table and reached in and took out from underneath the table's door the two things she now needed: matches and her dad's old combat knife.
Convenient, no?
As she light the candle with the matches and held her knife in her teeth, a knife she never thought she would ever have to touch again, she pressed on towards her attic. If this Changeling thinks it can run me out of my home, it's got another thing coming. A strong sense of determination filled her body, something she hadn't felt in a long time. Too long....
She pushed those thoughts out of her head as she made her way up the ladders to the attic, and as she reached the top she placed the candlestick down to her side and took the knife out of her mouth with her hoof, holding it out as if ready to strike the moment the creature is seen.
But the changeling wasn't. "Come out, you monster, I won't let you chase me out of my home!" she ordered. "Face me, I won't you out of here right now!"
No answer
The candlestick's light was significantly less brighter than her lantern, and so her visibility was shorter and weaker, but this didn't deter Fruit Heart's courage. "I said come out!" she commanded.
No answer
"Oh for fuc-" she irated as she placed the knife back into her mouth "sek" [Translated as: "sake"] she finished and she picked up her candlestick with her hoof and, slowly but surely, trekked forward, her eyes ever so watchful to seek out an ambush by the changeling. Her stare soon found it's place as she found the body of the changeling, oddly lying down in a heap, but Fruit Heart ticked this off as a trick, a trick to lure her into a false sense of security. She quickly placed her light source down and took out her knife from her mouth, aiming towards the black body of evil. "Get up" she yelled at it.
No answer
Fruit Heart just stood there, and rather then press forward, she used one of her back hooves to slide the candlestick forward along the floor, allowing her to see the body better. However, as she light on the changeling became more clear, she was shocked to see what she had found.
The changeling was unconscious. As more light was shed on the changeling, the reason why became more clear. On the other side of the body was a broken lantern, the lantern of which she threw earlier. I must have knocked him out earlier when I threw it at it. More to her shock, she realized there was more than to this creature than she had previously thought: it was hurt. Dry blood covered the changeling body, along with fresh blood that gathered from one of its eye a gash was seen along it's eyelid, making it hard to decipher if it's eye was actually cut as well. Alongside this Fruit Heart could see the one of it's wings were ripped off, and it's left front hoof was broken twisted out so badly you could even see it from it's hole-filled hoof. .
"Hello" Fruit Heart called out, an odd, yet present, bit of sadness fell in her tone. The changeling only responded by shuffling slightly letting out a faint, but apparent, whine of pain. It was hurt. Badly. Fruit Heart dropped the knife in surprise as she just realized something, something she had never thought she would give towards such a devilish creature. A creature that, not even a day ago, raged a war in her home city:
Sympathy
"Oh..my" She whispered out as she walked slowly towards the creature, no longer feeling any fear, courage, or determination on her, only regrets.