//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Single Parent Seeks Special Somepony // by angelofrombelow //------------------------------// Berry reared up and staggered backwards into a table, its wooden edge digging sharply into her back. The pain barely registered, her senses dulled by drunkenness and fear. Surprise stood by the front door, merely watching her at this point. “You can’t get away, so don’t even try. Calm down. I don’t want to hurt you,” she said. Berry’s eyes flicked left, affording her a glance at the window. If she could just get there and open it, she could call for help. Her entire body tensed, she stared back at the changeling who had invaded her home. She waited for an opening, waited for her to drop her guard. A few seconds passed. Surprise was totally relaxed, assured that she was in full control. The silence was too much. Berry panicked. She turned clumsily and bolted towards the windows, her hooves tripping over each other. She barely made it a few yards before Surprise was upon her. There was a flash of movement and then the changeling lifted her off her hooves, slamming her back against the wall with her leg against her throat. “Just because I don’t want to hurt you, doesn’t mean I won’t,” she said. Her voice was breathy, trembling - she appeared shaken by what had just happened. “Now, I want you to answer a few questions.” Berry was helpless to resist and she knew it. She closed her eyes and nodded her head wordlessly, fighting back tears. “I only had a brief chance to check this when we were at the bar, but you’re Twilight’s friend, aren’t you?” she asked, releasing her grip slightly. “I’m not really her friend, I told you. I just asked her out,” said Berry. Surprise looked nervous now. She pressed on with her questioning, her tone more urgent. “But you have to be. You match the description. I asked around, said I wanted a party organised. They said you were the best one to talk to.” Berry fell quiet, a realisation dawning on her but not yet fully risen. Her silence didn’t help Surprise’s anxiety. “You’re one of the princess’s friends, aren’t you? You’re one of the six.” That’s when it hit her. She spoke quietly, almost afraid to contradict her aggressor. “Do you mean Pinkie Pie?” Surprise let her go and took a step back. Her horrified expression confirmed her case of mistaken identity. “Pinkie Pie’s out of town at the moment. Seeing her parents at the rock farm. You’ve got the wrong pony.” Surprise gritted her teeth, emotion building until she couldn’t hold it in. “Damn it!” she cried, cursing herself. “Damn it. I wasn’t certain it was you, I wanted more time to make certain, but when you said you had a daughter I couldn’t… I panicked, I…” She broke off her rambling speech when she noticed Berry was edging towards the window. “Don’t you move! Don’t you move an inch!” she shouted, her voice suddenly filled with rage. The earth pony froze with terror at the outburst, her heart beating so fast it almost hurt. Surprise beckoned her over to the side of the room, near to the door to Ruby Pinch’s bedroom, and she had no choice but to comply. “Why didn’t you say anything?” asked the white-coated pegasus, clearly distressed. “When I said I liked what you’d done with your coat, why didn’t you say anything? I’d assumed you’d dyed it.” “So that was you. You were Lyra,” said Berry, finally gaining an explanation for her friend’s earlier behaviour. “You’d just told me that their relationship was a lie. That Lyra was deceiving Bon Bon. With that in mind, why would I care about some off-hoof comment about my coat?” “Right. Right,” Surprise said, holding a hoof to her head. “I keep forgetting love means more to your kind than ours. I’d assumed you would correct me.” Berry shook her head. “We ponies don’t dye our coats, that was a craze that died out decades ago. Manes, yes. But how could you mistake me for Pinkie Pie anyway? Not only are we coloured differently, but our faces are nothing alike.” She sighed. “I wasn’t around when we made our attack on Canterlot. That was many months ago and we’d focused our attention on other species. We were – I was sent in alone to try to find one of the princess’s friends, take her identity. All I had to go on was the description I was given, the rest I would find out through questioning my target. The plan was that I would get to know her better so I could imitate her perfectly. And I have trouble telling your faces apart. All you ponies look the same to me.” Berry blinked. “You’re saying we all look the same… when you’re a changeling?” She frowned. “Prejudice goes both ways, doesn’t it?” She wiped a hoof over her mouth. “No matter. I can still make this work. You said you were interested in the princess, didn’t you? You’d asked her out? Yes. Yes, I can still do this.” She was talking to herself, her tone indicating she was trying to convince herself of something that she didn’t quite believe. Berry was still afraid but she could tell the dynamic had shifted. The changeling had miscalculated, her plan had failed. Perhaps she could be talked into making a retreat. It would be a difficult feat to accomplish, especially for a pony with a belly full of booze. “She’d rejected me,” she said. “Quite definitely. No way I’d be able to get close to her. No way I’d…” “I don’t have any other choice,” Surprise said firmly, her mind made up. “This is all or nothing, you don’t understand. If I don’t succeed, my species dies.” Berry was struck dumb by the certainty in her words. She found her voice again when Surprise began walking towards her. “Wait. Wait! What do you mean?” she said. “What are you going to do to me? Why are you even here?” The changeling stopped in her tracks, bowed her head and sighed. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m just going to hypnotise you and keep you asleep here while I carry out my mission, then I’ll set you free. You can be sure I’ll keep my word. The reason I acted so hastily, why I attacked you before I was sure, was because I found out you had a daughter.” Berry held up a hoof and turned her head away, now wary of looking Surprise in the eyes. “What did you mean when you said your species could die? Why do you have to attack us?” Surprise considered her question carefully. “I suppose you deserve an explanation. It won’t do any harm for me to tell you,” she said finally. “Our mission was planned at very short notice. It was a happy coincidence that we made our move at a time when your children had all been sent away on an exchange trip. Less chance of harming an innocent. But the idea of having to tackle you while a filly was in your house… I didn’t want her to be hurt, so it had to be tonight or tomorrow. You were drunk, vulnerable, so I took the advantage.” Berry’s fear subsided a fraction as she realised Surprise had a conscience, though she was still afraid of her intentions. “What about Twilight? What are you going to do to her?” “Again, we’re not going to harm her. We need her under our control,” said Surprise. “It’ll be easier if I take this from the beginning. When we invaded Canterlot, it wasn’t in the name of conquest but in search of sustenance. We were born of magic and don’t function in the same way as normal beings: our bodies can’t process food or drink. We need to feed on emotions to stay alive. “Love is the most satisfying emotion but it is difficult to earn and easy to lose. When we first came into being, my kind attempted to integrate into society. But our true nature was always discovered and we were chased away. Folk judged on our appearance and were afraid of us.” Berry remembered how the zebras were first treated by ponykind, Zecora in particular. They were distrustful, wary. That caution came from a lifetime of being surrounded by such dangerous places as the Everfree Forest. “But you attacked us,” she said. “You invaded us. You didn’t even try to…” “We tried to negotiate with Celestia when we were first born, three years ago,” said Surprise. “Three years?!” Berry couldn’t believe it, but the changeling appeared to be genuine. “That’s impossible, you’re fully grown. How can an entire race come to adulthood in such a short time?” Surprise growled, wounded by her outburst. “So, the princesses didn’t tell the public the truth. Figures. Couldn’t let a scandal like that get into the open.” She raised her head defiantly, wings outstretched. “Do you know what Nightmare Moon was? What she really was?” “Luna,” she said, confused. “Luna got jealous and, and she turned evil. She was corrupted.” Surprise stared back at her and she wasn’t able to meet her gaze. She looked away, feeling foolish somehow. “Luna was jealous, yes, but her attempted overthrow of Celestia was not her doing. Back then, a thousand years ago, there were creatures called will-o’-the-wisps, magic-imbued spirits that fed on emotion. One of them found Luna and chose to take energy from her. “But there was an unexpected side effect. Luna is a dream walker and a shape-shifter – much like the wisp, she could sense emotion and turn herself into a gaseous form. When they met, there was some kind of psychic feedback and they merged into one. “Even in that combined state, the wisp needed to feed on her emotion. Her jealousy. So, to keep it satisfied, Luna’s jealousy grew. “Using the princess as a source of constant energy, the creature set about creating an environment of negativity, an atmosphere where the other wisps could have a feeding frenzy on the emotions of other ponies. And what better setting for that than one of eternal night?” Berry swallowed, her throat dry. She didn’t like where this was going. “What happened to the wisps? Are they still around?” She shook her head. “They’ve either been consigned to the Gate of Tartarus or been made extinct. We changelings only share the memories of the wisp that merged with Luna. Even myself, despite the fact I was born later, even I have the same memories.” Berry tried to think past the pounding in her head – given the amount she had had to drink, she could only sober up so much. So, the original form of the changelings had been indirectly responsible for one of the most significant conflicts in Equestrian history. Surprise continued: “Of course, Luna returned after her exile and the Elements of Harmony came together to purge the wisp’s influence from her body. But the wisp had been feeding on the alicorn’s power for a thousand years. That much energy had to go somewhere. “Unable to stabilise itself as a single entity, the wisp was scattered into pieces. Like a parasprite gorged on food, it split into several life forms, each one strong enough to take on a physical shape. Each one adopting a body that faintly resembled its host. Each one sharing its memories. “And like the wisp before them, the changelings needed to feed on emotions to survive. Chrysalis was the most powerful among us, so she became our leader. After the others came to terms with their new-found sentience, her first action was to seek out the one who bore us. Luna. “She met Celestia first and attempted to negotiate with her, but Chrysalis was too headstrong. She argued that Luna had created us, so she owed us. You can imagine how well that went down. Celestia had only just regained her sister and here were the creatures responsible for her exile, demanding the right to feed off her subjects. “The changelings were cast out of her kingdom and the rest of the world was warned about our existence. We were forced to eke out a meagre life, infiltrating other societies and feeding whenever we could.” “So then you invaded Canterlot,” said Berry. Surprise nodded. “Positive emotions are the most fulfilling for our kind, but quantity beats quality. If we could hold an entire kingdom in the grip of fear, we would never go hungry again.” She looked at the floor. “It could never have lasted, even if Cadance hadn’t defeated us. If the invasion had never been then I wouldn’t have been born, but at the same time I can’t help regret that it happened. I know they say the fruit never falls far from the tree but I’m not like Chrysalis, I don’t have her sense of superiority. “I certainly wouldn’t have been able to keep up the oppression of your kind and many of the others felt the same way. We would have tried to reach out, attempt to create an understanding. Build something that could last.” She grimaced, forcing herself to forget that train of thought. “I doubt the ponies would have ever accepted it.” Berry shook her head, trying to process all his new information. “How do I know you’re telling the truth? You could just be lying to get me on your side.” “Why should I lie? If I want you on my side, all I have to do is hypnotise you.” Surprise saw the other pony cringe and regretted her bluntness. “Besides, think about it: where was Luna during the invasion? She would probably have been taken to safety – Celestia knew our origin and would have been afraid of losing her sister to us again.” Berry was convinced. “So, so why the hurry now?” she asked. “You’ve survived this long without food, why the rush?” She couldn’t hide her sense of guilt. “Since the invasion, it’s been harder for us to infiltrate society. Folk have been on their guard more. We needed a dependable food source, so we got one. About a dozen ponies who we kidnapped and kept at our hive.” The earth pony gasped in revulsion. “You, you held them captive? For how long?” “It was… months before they were rescued.” Surprise saw Berry’s look of horror and became angry. “What would you have us do?” she cried, her voice catching. “Just roll over and die? Heaven knows your princess would prefer it if we did!” Berry held up a hoof in appeasement, her fear returning. “Sorry. Sorry, I know… I’m sure it was difficult, please don’t…” She took a moment to calm herself – as much as she could given the circumstances, anyway. “So, what are you doing here?” she asked, aware this would hasten her destiny but lacking anything else to say. “News came to us of Twilight’s coronation a while back,” said Surprise. “We didn’t think much of it then but, when we found ourselves facing starvation, Chrysalis came up with a last-ditch plan centred around her. “Canterlot is a fortress filled with guards trained to spot changelings, yet Ponyville is nothing more than a town. Twilight’s apparent desire to be among her people left her vulnerable. Like her brother before her, Chrysalis sought to take her power and use it to provide us food. But this time, it would be different.” Her eyes showed reluctance but her tone of voice showed she had convinced herself this was the only way. “We knew that one of Twilight’s abilities was manipulating minds – we learned this when we sent scouts out before our first invasion of Canterlot and heard about how she freed her friends from Discord’s influence. “Her new status an alicorn will have increased her power greatly. Chrysalis intends to hypnotise her and force her into casting a spell over the entire town.” Berry clenched her teeth, her body tensed as she fought the urge to try to flee. “You’re going to brainwash us?” “Only in the subtlest of ways,” said Surprise. “Once her spell takes effect, your kind will become fully accepting of changelings. We’ll be able to establish ourselves in your town and live normally without any need for conflict. We’ll become fully symbiotic.” She leaned forward, a determined expression on her face. “This isn’t a hostile takeover, we’re not going to treat you as slaves. Chrysalis learned from her first attempt. We’ll be on equal footing. As I said before, you won’t even remember any of this conversation. And there won’t be any need for a constant drain on her energies, as there was with Shining Armour – the spell we have in mind only needs to be cast once, then your minds will be permanently altered.” “It won’t work,” said Berry. “What happens if the spell wears off? What happens when somepony comes in from outside town?” “Our first priority is getting food. We can work out the rest from there. Perhaps we’ll need to increase the scope of Twilight’s spell – as I said, it’s a one-time deal. It only needs to be cast once, unless someone dispels it. We can encompass other towns and cities.” The earth pony closed her eyes. “This is no different from before. It’s an invasion under a different name.” “We don’t have any other choice,” said Surprise. Her expression changed. “This is where you come in. I need to take your form so I can get close to Twilight, I need to become somepony she trusts. Chrysalis is the only one powerful enough to hypnotise an alicorn, but it won’t take effect immediately and under normal circumstances, the princess would recognise what was going on and our plan would be ruined. “I have a potion with me that will make her more submissive, more vulnerable to Chrysalis’s spell. Once she ingests it, our plan can proceed.” She raised her head, adopting a confident stance to show that she was in control. “So now you see our situation. My race is facing starvation. You need to be restrained here so I can get to the princess – your co-operation would be appreciated, but not essential. I just hope, now I’ve told you all this, that you can understand.” Berry backed up against the wall as Surprise’s eyes turned a milky blue. “Wait!” she cried. “Wait. This isn’t right.” The changeling hesitated. “Don’t resist, please. Don’t make this any harder than it has to be. If you try to close your mind to my hypnosis, I’ll have to break down your mental defences. It’ll hurt. I’m not as strong as Chrysalis either, so it’ll take longer. I’m going to put you to sleep. When you wake up, you’ll have no memory of this.” “No-one’s going to win this way!” Berry squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head away. “Think about it. What if you fail? You’ll all starve. And if you win, if you enslave all of Ponyville, you’ll be in constant fear of the illusion fading away. What about Celestia? You really think Twilight can overpower her?” “We’re starving now,” said Surprise. “The ponies we held captive could barely sustain us, and we drained as much of their strength as we dared. We can only think in the short term because that’s the time span we’re dealing with.” “Can’t we work together?” she said quietly. “You’ve told me your history. I know what happened wasn’t your fault. Wouldn’t it be better if ponies and changelings could get along, live together?” Surprise grimaced, her conscience biting at her. “Yes, of course. But you know that’ll never happen. Your kind didn’t trust us from the start and we’ve done nothing to prove you wrong. Please, open your eyes.” “But isn’t that your plan? To hypnotise us so we’ll accept you? Wouldn’t it be better if it happened naturally?” “Yes, it would. But how can I…” Surprise shut her eyes briefly, the weight of her species’ survival bearing down on her. “How can I trust you? How can I risk everything? If I let you free…” The silence hung heavy in the air. The trembling earth pony pressed herself against the wall, pushing herself as far away as she could from the guilt-stricken changeling. Berry felt the room spinning, the alcohol mixing with her fear to create a sickly feeling. She was blind, frightened to open her eyes lest she lose her free will. Minutes passed. Then Surprise spoke. Her voice was soft, kindly. “Look at me,” she said. “I promise I won’t do anything. Then we’ll see if we can work something out.” Berry’s eyelids flickered, then she squeezed them shut again. A few seconds passed before she came to the conclusion that if Surprise wanted to overpower her, she could do it easily. She had nothing to bargain with, nothing to lose. She looked at the changeling through narrowed slits and saw that her eyes had reverted to normal – at least, normal if she had been a pony. Slowly, she untensed until the two were sharing eye contact once more. “That’s a start,” Surprise said eventually. “But if we’re going to build up any state of trust, we’re going to need to enter a social environment. And I’m not sure I’m willing to do that, I’m sorry.” Berry flinched, expecting her to attempt to hypnotise her on the spot. But she didn’t. The pair of them stood in a stalemate, both wanting to trust the other but unable to do so. Several minutes passed, neither of them sure of where to go from there. And then, fate made the decision for them.