Buzzer walked towards the library, his limbs protesting against every step, as he approached the oak-house. He was tired, even though his disguise hid it pretty well, so when Pinkie saw his awful condition, she told him that there were some recipe books she ordered some days ago, and probably Twilight had them by now in her library. So Lime Biscuit set off to the town for a quiet walk.
He was taken aback when he saw the royal chariot in front of the building. His curiosity took over his fear, and he approached the library acting casual. When he stepped inside the oak however, reality hit him with a low blow.
“Thank you for your understanding, Twilight Sparkle,” The princess of the moon said to her. “Be sure to keep in touch.”
“Of course, Princess Luna,” Twilight replied, and then noticed the changeling, standing in the doorway shocked. “Oh, hi there, Lime!”
“Another of thine friends?” Luna asked, stepping a bit closer to the shifter. Buzzer quickly bowed. “We never saw him before.”
“Oh, he’s Lime Biscuit,” she replied. “He just started working with Pinkie.”
“My brothers and I recently moved here princess.” Lime explained fast. Maybe too fast he realized. “We moved here from Canterlot after the changeling invasion.”
“We see,” she nodded, but the changeling couldn’t see it, still staring at the floor in a bowing position. “Twilight Sparkle, we would like to have a word with thine friend here in private.”
“Of course princess,” Twilight answered, heading upstairs. “I’ll be in my room if you need me.”
“Thou may stand up Lime Biscuit,” Luna said, and Buzzer obeyed. “We have a secret to share with thou, but first thou must swear on thy life that you will not share this knowledge with anypony!”
“I swear on my life that I will guard whatever secret you entrust me with!” he replied, barely keeping up his act.
“We have a task for thee,” She continued. “We have knowledge of a changeling in Equestria.”
Buzzer almost fainted. He knew he was doomed, but the hope that his brothers may have a chance of escaping kept him conscious. But as Luna resumed talking, things took a very interesting turn.
“We wish of thee to keep thine eyes open for any sign of these creatures,” Princess Luna said, and Buzzer suddenly became very interested. “Whatever these changelings are up to it could not be beneficial for us. Therefore I’m tasking you with keeping an open eye here in Ponyville, and consult with my sister’s protege, Twilight Sparkle, if you notice any trouble.”
“But,” – the shifter was taken aback, – “why me princess?”
“Thou have said that thou and thine brethren were in Canterlot during the invasion, correct?” Buzzer nodded. “Then thou knows what these creatures are capable of, and thou have come here recently. For an outsider such as thyself others won’t take it too rudely if thou questions their friend’s or loved one’s behavior. Thou have a bigger chance at noticing anything that is even a bit different from the average, and thou can investigate it without too much attention. Thou art not popular yet in Ponyville right?”
“Well, we were thrown a party by Pinkie, but nothing too popular I guess,” Lime replied, scratching the back of his head.
“Good, then thou has been marked as an average pony,” Luna concluded. “And thine position next to Miss Pinkie is an excellent one. Keep a close eye on her, as she knows everypony in this town. We must go now our faithful subject. If thou wishes to send us a letter, thou can do by asking Miss Sparkle’s number one assistant, Spike.”
“I understand Princess Luna,” Buzzer bowed again as the alicorn passed him by. “I shall not fail you.”
“Farewell!” Luna said her goodbye, as the chariot started moving.
This is insane, the changeling thought, and gathered his shattered confidence.
He may have kept up his act, but barely, and now things took an interesting turn. He must tell this his brothers, and they must act as one.
But telling them could end up badly! He realized. Lancet might suggest we leave the village and start over somewhere else!
As much as he hated to admit it, Buzzer knew one thing; during the last few days he began to like this village and its silly ponies. He got a peaceful home, he got a job, affection, saw the most beautiful mare of his whole life, and he had access to a shower.
The only thing that might cause trouble is if they were somehow exposed. But for now, they were hiding in plain sight; a perfect cover. Any other course of action would blow their disguise, and that meant his task was to keep this a secret. So for now he has nothing to worry about.
Except that this illusion of peace will shatter soon. He thought to himself. And my life turns into a living hell.
He suddenly saw a familiar mint-blue mare trotting on the street.
Might as well make the most of it. He smiled, leaving the library to catch up with Lyra.
Zaffre barely managed to herd the group of foals towards the library, much less stop them from charging in on the front door. The herd of young ponies, a seemingly unstoppable force was however suddenly silenced by a serious lavender unicorn.
“Oh, hi Twilight!” Thorax greeted. “How are things going?”
“Oh, just fine, thank you!” She replied, somewhat twitchy. “First Princess Luna appears, asking a favor of me, then you brother, Lime arrives, and they both leave without a word, and now there is a small army of foals roaming around in my perfectly quiet library, disturbing the peace of others!”
“But there is no one else here except you,” Zaffre remarked, and then covered his mouth with a hoof. “Oh, sorry for disturbing you! Were you studying?”
“No, I was just furiously rumbling around thank you,” she answered with a wave of her hoof. “But enough of my problems. How can I help you with the magic of friendship today?”
“Well, the kids wanted to return what they borrowed a few days back, and I thought I would get everything I have jotted down on this list while they remain here and select a few books for themselves.” The expression on the mare’s face was calm and understanding up until the last few words.
“And how long do you think this shopping trip will last?” Twilight asked cautiously.
“Oh, maybe an hour, I guess,” Zaffre replied casually.
“AN HOUR?” she yelled. “This is a library for Celestia’s sake, not a daycare! What if I get an important message from the princess, and have to leave immediately? I can’t just leave them here!”
“Well, normally you couldn’t I suppose,” Thorax said. “But trust me, an hour is not that long, and I think they will behave.”
The disguised changeling let out a loud cough to grab the attention of all the foals in the library.
“If they would try to misbehave I’m sure they will learn their lesson while they’re washing up after the whole orphanage for a week,” he added, and his message found its target, as all the foals cowered. “I’m one-hundred percent they will be like little angels. Or else…”
The shifter turned around, leaving a surprised lavender unicorn and a herd of shivering foals behind. Even though Thorax hasn’t been part of their lives for very long, the foals learned to take his threats more than seriously. They experienced first handed how cold their new caretaker could be with them, if they would directly misbehave.
Zaffre closed the door of the library behind himself, and trotted away humming a happy tune.
“You know you can share anything with me,” Nurse Redheart tried to reassure Shiftlight. The pair has almost reached the library of Ponyville. “I’ve heard quite bad secrets and none of them caused the seal on my lips to break.”
“I’m sure about that,” Lancet replied. “But why won’t you believe me, when I say that right now I’m more comfortable with keeping this inside.”
“I’m just trying to understand why,” she explained. “Understanding why a patient does something is the first step in helping them.”
“You’re still an idealist,” Shiftlight giggled, and the white pony’s face turned red. “I like you for that.”
“You like me so much you’ll share your problems with me?” Redheart asked, a smug grin creeping on her face.
“Fine, I’ll share a piece of it,” he said, opening the door of the library, only to see a group of small ponies arguing over several books. “I hate foals.”
“I think that could hardly be a…” – Redheart was shocked by the same sight the shifter saw. – “Oh.”
“I say we take the newest Daring Do book!” a small black pegasus yelled.
“But we haven’t finished reading the one before this!” a unicorn filly argued. “And you can’t keep your mouth shut, and always spoil the ending!”
“Yeah, and if we take the Daring Do book, we can’t take the newest Cloudsdale magazine!” Another pegasus, a pale green added.
“Kids, what are you doing here?” Nurse Redheart asked.
“We’re trying to decide which book to take back with ourselves to the orphanage, Miss Redheart,” the cream unicorn replied.
“Figures,” Lancet remarked with a snort and a grin. “My brother released his army of pipsqueaks to invade the only place that contains the knowledge to defeat him.”
“Lancet!” Redheart yelled, and the shifter cowered. The nurse turned to the small foals. “If you cannot decide it yourselves, then wait until Zaffre returns, and then ask him to help you.”
“Told you we should do that!” The unicorn filly said to the black pegasus.
“Did not!”
“Just remain silent, or I might introduce you to body parts you never knew you had.” Shiftlight said as he passed the foals by.
Suddenly the library fell silent, and the two colleagues could start their research. Except, none of them had a clue where to start.
“What are we looking for?” Nurse Redheart whispered to Lancet.
“I don’t really know.” Shiftlight replied in the same style. “Whatever I feel was sudden, it was triggered by a memory, and it certainly didn’t feel like any sort of illness described in the books I read.”
“That’s because you felt an emotion,” she explained. “Or I guess you did. You never experienced sadness, anger, happiness, or something similar?”
“I experienced anger, maybe a form of sadness yes, and we can rule out happiness, I know the symptoms of that.” – Redheart giggled at the changeling’s understanding of the positive emotion. – “Maybe what I felt was closest to sadness.”
“Would you like to talk about the memory that triggered it?” Redheart inquired, but Lancet shook his head. “Not even just the baseline of what happened? It would help, you know.”
“I wish I could forget it all,” he replied. “It’s too unpleasant to remember.”
“You’re probably feeling regret or guilt,” she concluded, and the shifter gave her a quizzical look. “I have to read my patients better than I read an open book you know. Even if in your case it’s harder, since you don’t know the apparent reaction to an emotion.”
“There are apparent reactions?” Shiftlight asked.
“Even though we don’t realize it, there are certain behavioral patterns we pick up without knowing during out lifetime,” the nurse answered. “I must say it is quite interesting to see someone without these patterns.”
“Okay, so we’re looking for a book on how to solve my little problem with this ‘guilt’,” Shiftlight looked back to the shelves of the library. “Then I’ll be free to worry about managing my life as I planned it before.”
“I’ll go ask Twilight,” Redheart suggested, knowing that the most obvious answer to the shifter’s problem. “You just keep looking.”
Soon they stacked up a few parchments on a small table, their every move being watched by several pairs of curious eyes.
“Oh, Celestia, that’s what I was afraid of!” Twilight yelled, running down the stairs of the library. “Rainbow just arrived with a message from Applejack, saying they need some magical help in Sweet Apple Acres! I can’t just deny my friend’s request, but Zaffre’s not back yet either!”
“Don’t worry Twilight, Lancet and I are more than able to watch the foals!” Redheart assured the unicorn. “You just go and take care of your own business!”
“You sure it’s not a problem?” she asked back. “I can ask Rainbow to bring Fluttershy here and help you! Or maybe Cheerilee, or…”
“Twilight!” Redheart snapped. “Take a deep breath, and calm down! Everything will be fine! No need to monitor everything, it will work itself out in the grand scheme of things!”
“You’re right. Thank you!” she said and ran off.
Redheart turned back to Lancet, who sat on the other side of the table with a deadpan look on his face.
“You just had to make yourself the volunteer general of the pipsqueak army, didn’t you?” Shiftlight asked annoyed.
“Oh, come on, how bad could it be?” She teased the changeling.
“Lancet sir, why are you so always so grumpy?” A black pegasus inquired, managing to sneak close him, and Redheart couldn’t help but laugh. “Are you suffering from some rare muscle infection that stops you from laughing?”
“Why don’t you test that theory, and try to tickle him?” Redheart suggested, and Shiftlight’s eyes grew to the size of dinner plates.
“No! Stop! Get them off me! Help!” Lancet screamed, as the foals found their courage and one by one attacked him. “I’ll laugh just leave me be!”
Redheart couldn’t help, but giggle uncontrollably, as the army of foals chased the panicking changeling around in the library. Unfortunately, her joy soon came to an end, as Zaffre returned for the foals, and they left in a hurry to get back to the orphanage in time to prepare their lunch.
“How many times do I have to say I’m sorry?” she asked Lancet, who hid behind the stack of books.
“You can’t convince me with that huge grin on your face,” he replied, not even looking up from the book he was reading.
“I’m not even grinning! My face is as serious as a statue’s! See?” she pointed at her head with a hoof, hoping she would draw out Lancet from behind his book fort.
“Your voice betrays you,” Shiftlight replied. “And no amount of apologizing could make the terror you caused me go away.”
“Okay, I’m sorry I did that,” she apologized. “And I’m sorry for the vivisection joke too, but it was just so much fun to tease you!”
“Now I believe you,” he said, looking out from behind his hiding place. “But I still won’t forgive you.”
The nurse let out a heavy sigh, and placed her head on the table.
A few books later Shiftlight came to an impasse. He found an answer, but a rather unpleasing answer in his opinion. Either he would go and talk his problems out to somepony.
Or he would be swallowed up by this ‘guilt’ parasite of his. The latter somehow at the moment seemed more acceptable to the antisocial changeling. Sure he could tell his brothers of course, they trusted him, and he trusted them. But even he knew that talking about feelings was a weakness. Even when they tried to ease the other’s sorrow, they usually just said ‘suck it up’ and went on with their daily lives, while the ‘comforted’ enjoyed the short second, that someling else at least took notice of how they felt.
The shifter put down the last book he read, and let out a heavy sigh. Nurse Redheart watched him, a mixture of curiosity and concern on her face.
“So, what is the conclusion?” She asked after a small pause.
“Nothing. These books are no good,” he replied.
“That’s only because you are unable to socialize with anypony.” Redheart retorted.
“You knew it al along?” Shiftlight wasn’t even surprised at this point.
“Well duh, I’m a nurse!” she answered. “Ponies almost always feel guilty about the accidents they caused. I have healed more ponies in the past month with guilt than the flu shots I gave during my whole career!”
“Then why didn’t you say that in the first place?” Lancet inquired.
“I thought you should find it out yourself, and talk to somepony when you feel like it,” she scolded the shifter. “I never expected you to downright deny any help.”
“You thought wrong,” he stood up and headed for the exit. “I’ll find some way to get rid of this by myself.”
“I just hope you know what you’re doing,” Redheart said to herself, and then followed him.