“This doesn’t change anything, okay?” Surprise said, raising her hoof in a bid to calm Berry down. “I want peace. I don’t take after my mother.”
“Doesn’t change anything?” The earth pony was painfully aware of how loud she was speaking, but she was too flabbergasted to help it. “You – you’re royalty! You’ve been hiding that from me all this time?”
“It didn’t seem relevant. If you had needed further assurance that our plan could work, I would have told you,” she said, adopting a confident stance. “Don’t you see? This is a massive advantage in our favour. She’ll be more willing to listen to me than to any other changeling. I’ll be able to convince her.”
Berry’s initial shock faded a little and she considered this new information. It made sense. It went some way to explain why Surprise had been so quick to destroy the potion that had been so crucial to her plan.
Still, the revelation had shaken her somewhat. This was no ordinary changeling, this was one who was directly related to a would-be tyrant who had usurped Princess Cadence and led the assault on Canterlot. As much as she hated to admit it, it made a difference.
And if Surprise had kept something this big secret, what else might she be hiding?
The pegasus saw the uncertainty in her eyes and moved closer to her, her voice low. “Hey, you can still trust me. I know as well as you do that war is not the answer. I’m sorry you had to find out about this in this way, but I was worried about giving too much away.
“Trust goes both ways, you know. Think about it – if you were hostile and you discovered I was her daughter, the first thing you’d do would be try to take me hostage. I may have mistaken you for Pinkie Pie, but I’m not completely stupid.”
Berry sat back on her haunches as her fears subsided. She shook her head. “Wow. What is it with me and princesses? First Twilight, now you.”
Her eyes widened as she made the connection as to who Surprise’s father must be. The stallion who Chrysalis had drained all her energy from.
She spoke in a low, stunned tone: “Oh my lord, Twilight’s your auntie.”
Surprise looked away, ashamed. “Don’t say that. That’s not how it works. It wasn’t Shining Armour who fathered me, it was the emotion that Chrysalis drained from him.”
“It absolutely does work that way. If it wasn’t for him, you wouldn’t be here,” said Berry. “He may have been a donor, but he’s still your dad. You wouldn’t be able to get away with that excuse if you were a pony. You wouldn’t be able to say ‘it wasn’t the stallion who fathered me, it was his…’”
She shook her head. “I’m going to stop that line of thought there. The fact is, you and Twilight are related. I’m not sure if that could help us or not. It’d be one hell of a shock.”
“Please, can we drop the subject?” Surprise looked almost sick with guilt. “I can’t think about that. Family is incredibly important to us changelings. We were all born from the same being.
“The thought that I targeted Twilight Sparkle, the thought that we might be related… I found it hard enough to attack innocent creatures without that also weighing on my conscience.”
Berry tapped her chin with her hoof. “I should probably introduce you to her, even though you don’t appear to be comfortable with the idea. It’ll have to happen at some point. I mean, you’re both princesses. You’re both ambassadors for your people. Celestia and Chrysalis are unlikely to ever get along, but with you two I think it’ll work.”
Surprise squirmed, clearly wrestling with her thoughts. “We don’t have much time. I don’t know how long we have before Chrysalis resorts to plan B,” she said. “You mentioned earlier that I might get along with Rainbow Dash. Let’s meet her. See how that goes. Then…”
She took a deep breath, aware that things were coming to a head. “Then we’ll have to make a decision.”
The earth pony nodded. “We’ll arrange a meeting with Horte, Dash and Twilight. It’ll be perfect. They’re three of the most well-connected ponies in Ponyville. If we can convince them that you’re on the level, the rest of the town should be more accepting.”
She tutted. “The only other pony who’s better connected than them is Pinkie Pie. Though to be honest, I’m glad she’s not around. Who knows how what would have happened if you’d met her instead of me.”
Surprise stared at the ground. “Berry, you’ve been such a friend to me. Every step of the way since we started talking, you’ve always tried to do what’s best. I’ve never really spoken to anyone outside my own race before and this, this has been the opposite of what I expected.”
She nudged the changeling in her side and smiled reassuringly. “Come on, let’s go. Time’s-a-wasting.”
The pegasus looked into the sky and muttered to herself. “It’s early afternoon. We still have time. Let’s do this.”
The pair of them trotted into the fields just on the outskirts of town, checking the clouds for any sign of Rainbow Dash. The sun was bright and there was little to no wind, which probably meant the weather mare was catching some rays.
There wasn’t much cloud cover either, which implied she had carried out her duties for the day. Berry’s attention was caught by a particularly conspicuous white puff of vapour that was hanging quite low in the sky.
She raised her head and called: “Dash? Hey Dash, are you up there?”
There was no response at first, so she tried again. This time her cries were heard. Dash lazily peeked over the side of her chosen napping spot and caught sight of the two ponies below. “Hi Berry. What’s up?” she asked, making no move to get out of her cloud.
“I’ve got somepony I want you to meet. She’s a big fan of yours.”
Surprise took an inadvertent step back. “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing,” whispered Berry. “If you want Dash on your side, you’ve gotta play to her ego.”
The blue-coated pegasus flew down to greet them. “A fan, eh?” she said, raising her leg for a hoof bump from the new arrival. “Good to meetcha. What’s your name?”
The changeling cautiously returned her greeting. “Surprise. My name’s Surprise.” She fell quiet and there was an awkward silence. She stared at Rainbow Dash, studying her face carefully.
The other pegasus frowned slightly but maintained a friendly outlook. “No need to be scared, sport. I’m just a pony, like yourself.”
She held a hoof against her chest and corrected herself. “Well, okay. I’m not just your average pony so I can understand if you’re a little starstruck, but don’t sweat it. Where do you know me from? My contest wins? All the times I’ve saved Equestria?”
“Ah, no. No, that’s not it,” said Surprise, slowly perking up as her confidence returned. “I’ve been hearing all about the great things you’ve been doing at the Wonderbolts Academy. Breaking records, sharing new tricks – I bet you’ll be their star performer one day. I wanted to meet you before you’re world famous.”
“Hey, thanks.” She was unable to keep the smile from her face but she tried to remain modest. “I don’t know about star performer – I mean, there are so many talented pegasi like Spitfire and Soarin’ – but I’m going to make it onto the A team one day.”
“No doubt. There’s no way they won’t want you.”
Dash shot a grin at Berry. “I like this mare.” She turned back to Surprise. “Where are you from? I haven’t seen you around Ponyille or Cloudsdale before.”
“No, I’m from Manehattan. I’m looking for a new place to settle and this seemed like a nice place. Met Berry last night and we’re just getting to know each other.”
“Making friends already? That’s cool,” said Dash, completely missing the implication. “Hey, you’ve got the same cutiemark as a friend of mine.”
“Yeah, somepony’s mentioned that to me already,” said Surprise, grimacing slightly. She tilted her head inquiringly. “Rainbow Dash, I don’t know if it’d be too much to ask, but could you, ah…”
“Hm? What is it?” she asked.
Surprise crossed one foreleg over the other, affecting self-consciousness. “Well, I’m not much of a flyer and I’ve always wanted to improve my skills. Could you, would you be willing to teach me?”
Dash smiled. “Yeah, I’ve got some time to spare. Come on, show me what you’ve got.”
The changeling nervously unfurled wings that had never properly been used, then stood there with them fully spread out, hesitant.
It took her a few flaps to get herself properly airborne and even then, she was unsteady. Though she had the natural instinct to fly, she was far from proficient.
Dash looked at her uncertainly – she hadn’t expected to be teaching such an obvious novice. “Wow, you don’t fly often, do you?” she asked. She changed her tone when she saw Surprise’s expression drop. “Just making an observation. You don’t need to worry yet, not with me as a teacher.”
She took to the sky and inspected her charge, looking over her technique. “Your wings are moving just a fraction out of sync. Think of them as one organ, it’ll improve your flying skills no end.”
Surprise concentrated and tightened up her movements to meet Dash’s expectations.
“That’s good. Now you’ve gotta think about how you carry yourself, hold your body so you’re at your most aerodynamic. Watch me.” Dash nodded as Surprise followed her lead. “Better. Okay kid, let’s go for a spin.”
Berry watched as the two pegasi flew up into the sky, Dash re-teaching the basics as they went.
The time alone gave her some time to reassess the situation. So, Surprise was a changeling princess. She had certainly lived up to her name.
But this was a positive thing. She probably held a lot of sway among her kind and from what she had been saying, there were many other changelings who were unhappy about their need to make others suffer just so they could survive.
The younger generation would have to take care of this one. What she had said earlier was true – Chrysalis and Celestia were enemies and that sort of relationship would be difficult to overcome without time, which was something the changelings lacked. Survival was more important to them than diplomacy.
But Surprise’s relationship to Twilight was problematic. That would have to be kept secret, for now. Berry wasn’t sure how the pony princess would even react to a talk of peace from a changeling. She was open-minded, yes, but was she that trusting?
Once her thoughts turned to Twilight, Berry couldn’t help comparing the two in a different sense.
She was still unsure of the effect that last kiss had had on her. Whether that small spark of excitement had come from within her or if it was an after-effect of Surprise feeding on her emotions. There was also the possibility that it was just her loneliness talking – perhaps she was so desperate for affection that she’d take any chance that presented itself, no matter how unlikely.
She realised that whatever the answer, she now counted Surprise as a friend. Within the space of a day – it was now well past midday – the changeling had gone from someone to be afraid of to someone she felt close to. If the peace effort succeeded, Berry would certainly end up with someone she could count on to keep her company.
But would a relationship with a changeling ever be real? Berry was uncertain what she felt about Surprise and she had no idea how the pegasus felt about her. Changelings definitely had emotions, that she knew, but were they capable of love?
They needed to feed and love was the most fulfilling emotion, so would they just do whatever they could to keep their partner happy? Would they just be completely compliant? Or would they behave normally, taking each emotion as it came, riding the ups and downs like a normal lover would?
Plus there was the fact that they were completely asexual. Berry would find that a problem.
She shook her head, trying to rid herself of those thoughts. She was getting way ahead of herself. Ponyville was still at risk of war and she was filling herself up with pointless little hopes and dreams.
The important thing now was to broker peace. Dash and Surprise seemed to be getting on swimmingly, the changeling taking to flight like a natural. The pair of them were now swooping through the skies above her head, at a much slower pace than Dash would normally go but still going at a decent speed.
So along with Horte, that was two ponies Surprise could reveal her secret identity to. The sooner they did that, the better. Berry didn’t know how much time they had, but she wanted to start moving things along before sunset.
Going by what Surprise had said, they had until tomorrow morning to reach a settlement.
She suddenly became aware that there was somepony behind her. She turned her head to see the third pony she had hoped to introduce Surprise to before the day was out – Twilight Sparkle.
The princess’s expression was hard to read. She didn’t seem unhappy but she wasn’t exactly joyful, either. She was watching Surprise playing with Dash, and Berry wondered how long she had been there.
“Twilight? I didn’t see you there, why didn’t you say hello?” she asked.
“Hi Berry. Sorry, I was distracted,” she said, then glanced back up to the sky again. “So, um, is that your new marefriend up there?”
The earth pony froze up, unable to respond straight away. She still had no idea how to reply after the initial shock faded – she hadn’t even considered how Twilight might react to Surprise’s cover story. The princess had only rejected her yesterday and here she was, going about town with somepony new the very next day.
“She seems to be getting on well with Rainbow. What are they doing, leaving you down here alone?”
“Oh, um, Surprise isn’t a very good flyer so Dash agreed to give her a lesson. Show her a few tricks,” said Berry.
“That was nice of her,” said Twilight. She turned her attention away from the sky but wasn’t able to look the other pony in the eye. “Sorry. This is really kinda awkward. I’d heard rumours about town that you’d found somepony and when I saw her flying around, I thought I’d find you nearby.”
“Yeah.” Berry could feel her throat tightening – it was harder to lie this time. “I met her last night and we decided to meet up this morning. It’s, uh… going okay. Haven’t really decided yet.”
“It’s okay. She seems nice. Well, I haven’t met her yet but if she’s getting on with Dash then she’s probably alright. Um.” She glanced at Berry. “I went against the advice you gave me the other day. I went to see Bon Bon this morning.”
“You did?” The earth pony wasn’t sure where this was going, but she had a sinking feeling that she wasn’t going to like it.
“I did. I’ve got a scientific mind, you see, and whenever I’m thinking about something I like to consider as many viewpoints as possible.”
She gestured with her hoof as she spoke, still not looking the other pony in the eye. “So I spoke to Bon Bon and she wasn’t very friendly at first, but I think that’s because she was a little hungover. I told her what I told you, that I don’t know what I feel about… that I hadn’t decided whether I, whether I like mares. You know.
“She can be very persuasive, but I kept a neutral perspective. Even so, now I’ve had some time to consider it, I think I’m more open to the idea. Still don’t know for definite.” She exhaled, then made an attempt at humour. “But, going along with my science analogy, you can only find things out if you experiment.”
“Twilight, look…” Berry tried to speak but the princess held up a hoof to stop her, determined to finish what she had to say.
“I know Bon Bon’s your friend and that’s why she spent most of the morning encouraging me to get together with you. I know my own mind and I’m not easily swayed unless I want to be, so you don’t need to worry.”
Berry was struck dumb. Even after the trouble she had given her last night, Bon Bon had still tried to help her.
Twilight forced a chuckle. “You should have heard some of the stuff she was saying, though. Ridiculous things. ‘You’re both purple’, she said. ‘You can have matching wardrobes’. Silly.
“She also said that, well, that we’d complement each other really well. She said you needed somepony to look after you.” She shook her head. “No, not look after you. She said that but I don’t think it’s what she meant. She said I would be a positive influence. Keep you grounded.
“And you, in turn, could encourage me to come out of my shell more. I don’t know what she meant by THAT.” She seemed mildly offended. “I’m a very social pony. I have lots of friends. I’ve acted as a representative for Equestria in far-off nations. I’ve actually saved Equestria several times. Could I have done any of that if I was shy?”
She looked at Berry and kept eye contact this time. The earth pony didn’t know if she was expecting an answer but she gave one anyway. “No. No, you couldn’t.”
“Come out of my shell. Hmph. I need my alone time. I need to study,” she said. She smiled weakly. “It doesn’t matter now, though, does it?”
Berry wanted to say something but she couldn’t find the words.
“I’m happy for you,” Twilight said. “Truly, I mean it. You’ve found somepony who can make you happy and I have a chance to sort myself out. It probably wouldn’t have worked out anyway. You need somepony who… you need somepony who is… who isn’t like me. Somepony outgoing, who you can have a drink with.”
She forced another grin. “And hey, I rejected you. I’m not going to regret it now you’ve found somepony. It’s simple psychology. Wanting something that you can’t have.” She blushed, becoming flustered. “Not that I do, I mean, I… I… I should probably stop talking.”
Berry stayed quiet, wanting to look away from Twilight but worried about how that might be interpreted. She still didn’t know what she wanted in the long term, what would be best for her. But she knew what she wanted to do right now, just as well as she knew that she couldn’t do it.
And she knew that if the peace effort was going to be a success, Surprise and Twilight would have to meet.
“Twilight,” she said, keeping her voice steady. “You’ll find somepony. I know it. But only when you’re good and ready. You shouldn’t just jump at the first thing that comes along. That’s what I’ve always done and it never works out.”
Before she could finish that thought, a voice called out Twilight’s name and the pair of them turned to see who it was.
It was Rarity, Ponyville’s best and only fashion designer, and if it had been any other pony she would have appeared unduly excited.
She was running over, a wide smile painted on her lips. “Darling, you simply have to come to the boutique!” she cried. “I’ve thought up the most fabulous design that’d suit you down to a tee! It’ll complement your wings perfectly – oh! – and the colours! You have to come along right away!”
Twilight raised her hoof as her white-coated friend reached her. “Rarity, we were in the middle of a private moment here,” she said uneasily. “Can it, can it wait?”
“Oh but darling, the inspiration has struck me now!” she whined. “If we delay any longer, my mojo might leave me!”
“It won’t take a minute,” Berry said anxiously. “Twilight, I just wanted you to meet Surprise.”
The alicorn almost fled there and then. “You want me to meet her? To be honest, I’d rather take my chances with Rarity.”
The unicorn gasped in indignation. “And what do you mean by that?”
Berry ignored them both and called to her friend to come down. Surprise and Dash swooped down in unison, landing neatly in formation.
“Nice going,” said Dash. “You were a little sloppy when we first started but you’ve made great progress today.”
“Thanks!” Surprise’s smile froze when she saw Twilight and disappeared altogether when she noticed Rarity beside her.
“Twilight, this is Surprise,” Berry said, not noticing the changeling’s switch in mood. “I know this is awkward, but I’m hoping you two will get along. You see, there’s something that we need to discuss.”
“There is?” said Rarity, raising a wary eyebrow. Her tone grew a shade darker. “Hm. I wonder what that could be.”
Twilight sighed and stepped forward resignedly. “Hello, Surprise. It’s good to meet you.”
The changeling shied away, her gaze flicking between the princess and Rarity, who was looking at her with some suspicion.
“Surprise?” Berry realised her friend was in a state of distress and couldn’t work out why. “Surprise, what’s the matter?”
“Ah… I…” Her voice was shaking and she looked as though she was about to cry. “This, this is too soon. I thought I had more time.”
Berry moved to her side, deeply worried. She spoke in a low whisper: “You’ve got nothing to fear. I’m with you.”
“This isn’t right.” She paid no attention to the earth pony and was unable to take her eyes off the two new arrivals. “We can’t do this. I can’t, I can’t do this!”
Suddenly she bolted, running away blindly at full tilt.
“Surprise!” Berry was too shocked to make a move at first, and the other ponies were too taken aback by the sudden outburst to do anything to help her.
Panic took hold of the earth pony quickly, but by the time she snapped back into action the changeling was already several hundred yards away and nearing the edge of town.
“Oh no. No,” she muttered, visualising the collapse of any type of peace accord. “Dash, get after her. You have to stop her!”
“What? What the hay’s going on?” the pegasus asked, completely bewildered.
“Just get after her! Go!” cried Berry.
Her friend didn’t need to be told a third time. She was off in a flash, leaving a hazy rainbow trail in her wake.
“Berry, what’s going on? Why did she run like that?” asked Twilight.
The earth pony hesitated, thinking through her options quickly. If she revealed Surprise’s true identity now, all the work they had done in building up a rapport with the residents of Ponyville could be undone in an instant. She had no idea how the princess would react to the news, especially after Surprise had just fled like that.
“I can’t tell you now, but I have to speak with you later, okay? It’s important.” She gazed off in the direction the changeling had escaped in. “I’ve got to go.”
With that, she ran. As she reached the edge of town, her heart sank as she saw Rainbow Dash hovering in the air, looking around in confusion.
“I don’t know where she went,” the pegasus said. “I had sight of her, then she ducked into an alleyway. I followed her into it but she’d vanished, there was no sign of her.”
Berry held a hoof to her head, completely stumped as to what to do next. Anger mingled with fear. Of course, Surprise was a changeling. She’d have no trouble in giving a pony the slip if they didn’t know what they were looking for.
“Do you mind explaining to me what’s going on?” Dash was suspicious now. “Something tells me I haven’t got the full picture here.”
Berry’s mood briefly flickered between distraught and furious, finally settling on the latter.
Surprise’s behaviour was about to ruin everything. She couldn’t let this come to conflict. Not with her daughter arriving home tomorrow morning.
“SURPRISE!” she screamed at the top of her lungs, scanning the area for anypony who could be the errant changeling. “Come out here now! You come out here now or I’ll tell everypony! EVERYPONY!”
The surrounding area fell deafly silent. There weren’t many ponies around, but those who were stared at Berry in astonishment.
Seething, her teeth clenched, she marched down the street searching left and right. A few moments later an abashed Surprise reluctantly trotted out of an alleyway, though not the one Dash had followed her into earlier.
Berry and the pegasus were with her in an instant. She raised a foreleg to shield herself, her cheeks wet with tears.
“Please, I don’t want there to be any fighting,” she said, her voice choked. “Please, I can’t do it. I don’t want this to happen.”
“Will one of you tell me what’s going on?” Dash demanded, her forelegs crossed.
“Dash, give us some room. I need to speak to her alone,” said Berry, who had her back to her.
“No way I’m letting that happen,” she said resolutely. “You look like you’re about to batter the tar out of her. And I want to know why she was so afraid of Twilight.”
Berry turned round and reared up, her forelegs raised and ready to strike. “Dash, I swear to Celestia, if you don’t move…”
“Stop it!” cried Surprise, loud enough to deter them both from any conflict.
“Stop it,” she repeated quietly. She looked up at Berry, visibly shaking. “Berry, it’s alright. It’s my fault. I’ll take whatever punishment I deserve.”
The earth pony shook her head, still angry. “No, this isn’t the right time. Let’s just go home and you can tell me what’s up. Then, Dash, I promise you I’ll tell you everything straight after.”
“We don’t have time,” said Surprise. “Berry, I didn’t tell you everything. I didn’t show you the same trust you showed in me. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”
Whatever she was building up to, she seemed afraid to put it into words.
“I had to think of my kind first,” she said. “I just kept it in reserve, as back-up in case our plan of peace didn’t work out. But I didn’t think the others would get to work so fast.”
“Others?” The word sent a chill ran down Berry’s spine. “What others? Surprise, what have you done?”
“I didn’t do anything, it was the plan from the start.” The changeling looked away, unable to bear her guilt any longer. “Think about it, Berry – our race was facing extinction. Why would our last hopes be pinned solely on me?
“Twilight has five close friends. Five other Elements of Harmony, all with their own strengths. We had to move fast and we were only given a few days to complete our mission. As long as one of us succeeded, it didn’t matter if the others failed.”
The look of horror on Berry’s face showed her she didn’t need to finish her confession, but she said it anyway.
“That wasn’t Rarity you saw just now. It was a changeling.”