Dear Princess Celestia,
Looking back in the past can be great, but it isn’t always a good thing; and holding a hatred grudge from the past is even worse. No pony can serve a better example of this fact than the Queen of Changelings herself, Chrysalis. For more than a decade her hatred of what ponies did to her kind in the older years has caused a major distrust to form between the two kinds. Ponies and Changelings have being hating each other’s guts for as long as I can remember and no pony could ever imagine peace coming between us again.
But one young Changeling recently changed all of that. She had a sole dream apart from the rest of her clan that one day ponies and changelings could live in peace once again; but since her Queen made it seem impossible, she felt that it was up to her to make it happen.
She faced many challenges, took many risks, and forged a unique friendship bond with a certain dragon. But no matter how hard the challenge was; no matter how hopeless it all seemed; and no matter how hard scared she felt inside, she never gave up. And after friendships were forged, and battles were fought, in the end… that changeling’s dream became reality when her Queen’s heart changed for the better.
It’s hard to believe that more than a month has passed since then and so many things have changed between us and the Changelings already. Just goes to show you that even during a period of trials and tribulations, a single spark can ignite a light through the darkness and create a new era of peace.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle
-----
At the C.M.C. Clubhouse in Ponyville…
“Alright girls, listen up,” shouted Apple Bloom as she paced back and forth in front of her friends Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, “Today is a very special day; do ya’ll know why?”
Sweetie Belle wildly waved her hoof in the air, “Oh, oh; is it somepony’s Birthday?!”
“No, that’s not it.”
“Are we trying something special to strive for our cutiemarks?!” said Scootaloo excitedly.
“Ah wish, but that ain’t it either.”
Sweetie then almost said something that she would regret, “Or maybe Pipsqueak will finally…” She suddenly gasped as she covered her mouth.
“Will finally what?” questioned Scootaloo with an arched eyebrow.
“N-n-nevermind.”
“Girls, come on; don’t ya remember?” questioned Apple Bloom, “Today is the day that Dragon Heart is coming back to Ponyvile to visit us!”
The other two fillies suddenly felt a little dumbfounded for not remembering that piece of information.
“Oh yeah, Dragon Heart,” shouted Scootaloo, “She’s so awesome!”
“I almost forgot about that,” said Sweetie Belle, “I can’t wait to see her again!”
“Exactly mah point,” said Apple Bloom, “Dragon Heart maybe a changelin’ and not a pony, but she’s still a crusader like us; and as fellow crusaders, we must do everythang we can to git ready and prepare fer when she gits here.”
Suddenly, Scootaloo looked out the window and then looked back at Apple Bloom, “Um… even if it’s right now?”
“Don’t be silly, Scoots; why would you say that?”
“Because… she’s here, like now!”
The two crusaders rushed over to the window Scotaloo was at and look up at the sky in the distance. They could see her, Dragon Heart and her other two changeling friends Razor and Dusk coming right towards to where they were; it was like they could sense where they were.
“Oh my gosh,” Sweetie gasped, “she’s here!”
“Um yeah, that’s what I said,” Scootaloo scoffed.
“C’mon, let’s go greet her!”
All three crusaders quickly rushed out the clubhouse door and came into Dragon Heart’s view as she and her other two friends came down. The young changeling came up to them wearing a smile and gave all three of them a hoof bump.
“What’s going on, fellow crusaders?” she said excitedly.
“Wow Dragon Heart, you’re looking as good as ever,” shouted Apple Bloom, “ya know… for a changelin’! It’s so good to see ya again!”
Suddenly, Dusk coughed and straightened his throat to gain the crusaders’ attention.
“Don’t forget about us,” said Razor.
“Oh yeah, and you too, guys.”
Dragon Heart just chuckled; she knew that they were happy to see Dusk and Razor too.
“I just thought I stop by to see my favorite pony friends!”
And then she and the other crusaders all high-hoofed each other shouting, “Up high!”
“Seriously Dragon Heart,” said Dusk shaking his head, “no offense to them, but why continue to be a cutiemark crusader when it’s obvious that we Changelings can’t gain cutiemarks?”
“Does it really matter,” Dragon Heart stated, “Besides, you know what they say…”
Dragon Heart shouted out along with the other crusaders, “Once a crusader, always a crusader!”
Razor was standing right beside Dusk wiping a tear from his eyes, “Such moving words, isn’t it beautiful?”
“Oh stop being so overly emotional,” said Dusk rolling his eyes.
Just then, Apple Bloom came up to Razor and Dusk with pleading eyes and tried to ask, “Hey, um… Dusk and Razor, right? You guys are good friends to Dragon Heart; so… wanna share the thrill and be crusaders with us too?”
Dusk just arched his eyebrow and then slightly looked away from AB’s shimmering eyes, “I-I think I’ll pass.”
“It sounds tempting,” said Razor, “but I think I’ll leave the changeling crusading to my sis here.”
All crusaders just sighed and shrugged their shoulders.
“Aw well,” said Apple Bloom, “it was worth a shot.”
“So how are things back the nest?” Sweetie asked Dragon Heart.
“Well… things aren’t completely settled down yet even though it’s been about a month since last time,” Dragon Heart responded, “but we are getting there; getting accustomed to our changed life and all.”
“And what of your Queen, Chrysalis,” said Scootaloo, “How is she doing?”
Dragon Heart, Razor and Dusk all looked at each other questionably, and then Dragon Heart said, “Oh yeah… Chrysalis; we’re doing all we can to be there for her.”
“Is something wrong?” asked Apple Bloom.
“Oh, no, everything is fine for the most part; it’s just that… well, for many long years we Changelings have listened to Chrysalis and always followed her commands; but we didn’t do it just because she was our Queen and we were loyal to her, but also because we feared her as well. Her power succeeded over all of us, and we knew that stepping out of line would result in major punishment. That’s why we never stood up to her or questioned her.”
“But that was until you finally got brave and stood up for your dream!” shouted Scootaloo.
“Yeah, that’s right; I guess I was finally fed up with everything that we had done. But you guys already know that.”
“Yeah, ya told everypony here and yer whole clan,” said Apple Bloom, “So what’s happenin’ now?”
“Well now that we have changed our colors and Chrysalis is giving the peace treaty a chance, things have been a little awkward.”
“Chrysalis has been doing her best to try and be a lot nicer to her subjects,” said Razor, “and some outcomes have been a little amusing.”
“I would hardly call her Highness embarrassing herself trying to change to be amusing, Razor,” said Dusk.
“Is it really that hard for somepony to learn to be nice and friendlier?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“Well you have to remember, Sweetie Belle,” said Apple Bloom, “Chrysalis was filled with hate and anger for most of her life; right Dragon Heart?”
“That’s right,” she responded, “but for someone who has been like that for many years, her change custom is coming along nicely. In fact… I think she’s finally ready to do it.”
All of the crusaders gasped and said at the same time, “you don’t mean…”
“That’s right… and she’s really willing to do it.”
“I’m still not sure if she’s quite ready yet,” said Dusk feeling unsure.
This was big news to the crusaders; big news indeed. However, they didn’t want to waste anymore time.
“This all sounds so cool,” said Scootaloo, “but you can’t tell us more later; I just bet that you can’t wait to see… you know who again.”
“Ooooooooooooooh,” said Apple Bloom Sweetie Belle in a teasing tone.
“Cut it out, girls,” said Dragon Heart smiling nervously, “you’re making me blush.”
Suddenly, Scootaloo smirked at Dusk who was looking at her weirdly, “Hey, you’re still cool with Dragon Heart loving our dragon friend instead of you, right?”
“Well of course I am,” Dusk scoffed, “I accepted it that very day. However, in the future if he ever does something that causes problems for her, he and I will have a serious talk.”
“Oh don’t be such a downer, Dusk,” said Dragon Heart while hugging Dusk, “I don’t think you need to worry about that. Spike is a good friend; you’ve seen that proof already.”
Dusk blushed a bit from Dragon heart’s hug and turned his head away slightly so she wouldn’t see, “Y-yeah, I know…”
Pretty soon, the original crusaders started to lead Dragon Heart, Razor and Dusk towards the main part of Ponyville where they knew Spike would be waiting; but there were other astonishing things that they would soon witness.
“Just wait until you see how Ponyville is thriving now;” said Apple Bloom excitedly, “You might be surprised.”
-----
Within the town of Ponyville at the Library tree, a certain dragon was inside doing all sorts of different things. He was going all around doing a lot of dusting and cleaning and straightening; all for when Dragon Heart comes to see him.
His pony friend, Twilight Sparkle, was looking from her writing desk and saw him going everywhere and dusting all while humming a happy little tune to himself… thinking about you know who.
“Feeling a bit exuberant are we, Spike?” she said with a smirk.
“Well of course; don’t you know who is coming to Ponyville today?”
“You mean Dragon Heart?” Twilight questioned.
“Yep, that’s the one!”
Owlicious was resting on his perch just taking a usual snooze as Spike went by him with a delightful smile on his face, “Sup Owlicious; glorious day, isn’t it?” And then he went off with a little skip.
‘Whoo’?
Twilight looked all around her surroundings and saw that the library was completely spotless, yet Spike was still going around “Um… Spike, don’t you think you’ve cleaned up enough?”
“Yeah, but there’s no harm in checking over things.”
“You mean like you’ve already done 2 times?”
Spike froze in mid-movement and thought to himself, “Huh, I did; I never really noticed.”
Twilight smiled and shook her head, “Spike, I think that you’ve done enough; besides, cleanliness doesn’t mean anything, right?”
“I know that,” Spike replied, “but it helps.”
Suddenly, Twilight took a little whiff in the air and her nose scrunched up, “Spike, do I… smell smoke?”
“Holy gemstones,” Spike shouted, “my ruby pie!”
Spike rushed to the kitchen area and quickly opened up the oven that suddenly blew out a huge plume of smoke. Spike was coughing mildly as he reached in to get his pie; but once he got it out the whole thing already was burnt to a crisp and hardly edible any more.
“Aw man,” Spike whined, “I was going to share this with Dragon Heart.”
“Lost track of time, huh?” said Twilight.
Just then, the front doors of the Library Tree suddenly swung open and their friend Pinkie Pie suddenly jumped in feeling gleefully happy as usual, “Good morning, everypony!”
“Ah, hey Pinkie Pie,” said Twilight, “and have you ever heard of knocking.”
Pinkie took a deep sniff in the air and suddenly gasped, “Oh no, do I smell… burnt pie?!”
Spike sadly walked out from the smoking kitchen holding his ruined creation, “Yeah,you do. There go some perfectly good ruby stones gone to waste.”
“Aw, don’t frown, Spike,” said Pinkie, “surely something good will come out of this.”
Spike just glared at Pinkie, “Oh yeah, like what?”
“…Um… hmm… I don’t know, I actually haven’t thought up of anything yet.”
Twilight just rolled her eyes, “The good thing will be that Dragon Heart won’t care about the pie or an extra tidy library, she will just be happy to see you; isn’t that enough?”
“Well…” said Spike in a seldom-like tone while looking at his burnt pie, “I suppose so. I mean, a pie is just a pie I guess.”
Twilight used her magic to levitate the pie from Spike’s hands and placed it in the trash and she also casted a spell that cleared the kitchen of the rising smoke. She came over to Spike and smiled as she placed her hoof on his shoulder.
“Why don’t we take a little walk outside; maybe Dragon heart is already here.”
“Ooh, ooh; I just bet she is!” Pinkie shouted happily, “Come on Spikey, don’t you want to see your changeling friend?”
Spike just took a deep breath and let it all out with a grief sigh for his pie, and then he just let it go, “Well… yeah, you guys are right. Perhaps just my charm and good looks are enough to make her happy.”
Twilight and Pinkie both started to chuckle lightly to each other over Spike’s comment; however Spike still overheard.
“Hey, what’s so funny?!”
“You’re so cute, you that Spike?”
Spike just lowered his eyes and sighed to himself, “Why can’t anyone take me seriously?”
-----
Dragon Heart along with the rest of the Cutiemark Crusaders and Razor and Dusk, they all left the clubhouse area and were heading towards the main part of Ponyville. But before that, Dragon Heart figured that she could stop by Apple Bloom’s home, Sweet Apple Acres to see how things were doing there. As they approached the site, Applejack, Apple Bloom’s big sister saw them coming from up ahead as she waved out to them with an honest smile.
“Howdy Dragon Heart,” Applejack shouted, “nice to see ya here on our farm again… along with your 2 friends this time!”
“Nice to see you too, Applejack,” Dragon Heart responded, “You look as riled up and hard working as ever.”
This was Razor and Dusk’s first time fully seeing all the surroundings at Sweet Apple Acres and they were looking all around feeling astonished; they were impressed.
“So this is Sweet Apple Acres,” said Razor, “How do you earth ponies keep all of these apple trees so healthy all the time?”
“Patience, hard work and a whole lot of sweat,” stated Applejack, “It’s a tough job, but somepony has to do it. But of course, Ah don’t do all of this on mah own.”
Suddenly, Dragon Heart caught a glimpse behind Applejack of a big red earth stallion pushing some crates around.
“Hey Applejack,” she said, “isn’t that your big brother, Big Macintosh is it?”
Applejack looked behind her and saw him and she smiled while waving at him, “Yep, that’s him alright; good ol’ Macintosh!”
“He looks real handsome.”
“Careful now, Dragon Heart,” said Apple Bloom, “you don’t want Spike to get jealous, do ya?”
They all had a good laugh, and Dragon Heart did know better; but she also knew that it didn’t hurt to compliment on other males either.
“Hey Big Mac,” Applejack shouted out to her brother, “Granny Smith better not be in there helping you with those heavy creates.”
Big Mac froze a bit and looked at his sister and nodded, “Yup.”
Applejack just sighed, “Well… she didn’t throw her back out carrying any of them, did she?”
Big Mac shook his head, “Nope.”
Suddenly, they heard a loud shout in the barn, “Oh dear, my back; ow, cramp, craaaamp!”
Then Big Mac sighed and awkwardly said, “Yep.”
“Aw horseapples,” Applejack groaned.
The three changelings were quite surprised at this Granny of theirs, but they were also feeling a bit awkward about it too.
“Your Granny seems to think that she’s still young, huh?” said Dragon Heart to Apple Bloom.
“She sure does, but sometimes she does tend to think that a bit too much.”
Granny Smith was suddenly walking out from the barn murmuring and groaning from the pain in her back; and then Big Mac simply came over to her, sighed and then gave her a little whack on the back that suddenly straighten her back right again.
“Whew, thanks again, sonny,” she said while patting Big Mac on the back.
“Yup,” he responded with a smile and then walked off back into the barn.
Granny Smith then turned her attention to the small crowd that was right behind her looking at her with some awkward reactions… some more awkward than others.
“Oh, howdy there, Apple Bloom,” she greeted, “Ah see that yer here with yer little friends.”
“Hey Granny Smith,” shouted Apple Bloom while waving and smiling, “you remember Dragon Heart, right; and her friends, Dusk and Razor?”
Granny Smith reached behind her and pulled out her reading glasses and placed them on as she squinted her eyes a bit to recognize Dragon Heart right away.
“Oh, ho, ho, Ah see now; the strange, odd changeling creatures that changed the course of history by bringing peace to us ponies.”
Dusk just scratched his head feeling confused, “Wait, this old pony could see her granddaughter well but she had to put on her view enhancers to recognize us?”
“They’re called ‘glasses’ genius,” Razor chuckled.
“You guys are being awfully nice to us ponies here in Poniville,” continued granny Smith, “Why just the other day some of ya strange creatures came and lended a helping hoof with our harvest collecting. Sure saved us a lot of lost time it did.”
“Oh yeah, that’s right;” said Apple Bloom, “Ah can’t believe that Ah almost forgot that!”
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were impressed feeling shocked that it actually happened.
“They really did that?!” said Scootaloo.
Applejack nodded her head in agreement, “Yep, we were a bit behind schedule in our harvesting and they were willing to help us out; that was mighty nice of them.”
A little proud smile came upon Dragon Heart’s face hearing the good news, “Well, nice to see that they were actually up to the task.”
The crusaders all looked at her with wide eyes as a lightbulb went off in their heads.
“Wait, did you send them, Dragon Heart?” questioned Sweetie Belle.
“She sure did,” Razor responded, “and they were actually glad to take her request. Just goes to show you that a lot of us Changelings were secretly very nice to begin with.” He suddenly lightly elbowed Dusk on his side smirking slyly, “Isn’t that right, Dusk?”
“Don’t push it,” said Dusk while giving Razor a little glare.
“Ya sneaky little critters are A-okay in mah noggin’,” said Granny Smith, “and ya’ll are welcome to come by here anytime ya want.”
Big Mac smirked and nodded in agreement, “Yup.”
Dragon Heart came over to Granny Smith and shook her hoof as an act of friendship, “Well that’s mighty nice of you guys; thanks!”
Suddenly, Dusk caught a whiff of something in the air as he poked his nose up and his tummy started to grumble slightly, “Wait, do I smell… apple cobbler?”
“Apple cobbler?!” the crusaders shouted excitedly.
“That’s right,” Granny Smith responded, “yer smellin’ the sweet delightful smell of mah good ol’ classic homemade apple cobbler made from some of the finest, freshest green apples we’ve grown. Perhaps ya’ll would all like to try a slice?”
Taking in a deep smell of the wonderful aroma, Razor suddenly shouted out, “Would we?!” Then he awkwardly lowered his voice and said, “I-I-I-I mean… if it’s not too much trouble.”
“Of course it’s not,” said Apple Bloom while jumping up and down, “Everypony is welcomed to try Granny Smith’s homemade apple cobbler! It’s the rootin’est, darn tootin’est delicious apple dish in all of Ponyville!”
Everyone stood silent and were staring at Apple Bloom very awkwardly… except her family members.
“Rootin’est?” questioned Dusk.
“Tootin’est?” questioned Razor.
“Um… its southern talk,” said Applejack smirking awkwardly, “we tend to sometimes get into it more than we wish to let on.”
Scootaloo was snickering under her breath and whispered to Sweetie Belle, “She said toot; get it… toot?”
Sweetie Belle just arched her eyebrow, “Really?”
Granny Smith turned herself around and started heading towards the house while expecting the crowd behind her to follow.
“Well, come along little youngins, come and try a taste of the cobbler; ya won’t be disappointed.”
“We’re game!” Apple Bloom and her friends said as they hopped up and down and trotted along behind Granny Smith.
“Did that old mare just call us… youngins?” said dusk confusingly.
“Just roll with it,” Razor responded amusingly, “she is pretty old.”
As the others went towards the house, Applejack came beside Dragon Heart who was taking in the sweet fresh air of the apple farm. It was obvious to her that this changeling was looking forward to something more than fresh apple cobbler.
“So, Dragon Heart, you’re here to spend some time with Spike, aren’t ya?”
Dragon Heart’s cheeks blushed red in an instant as she was trying to not make eye contact with Applejack to avoid embarrassing herself.
“Wh-wh-what… what are you are you talking about; maybe I am but I’m here for other reasons too.”
“But it’s definitely her main priority!” Razor called out from the house.
“Razor!!!” Dragon heart shouted out in frustration, “I oughta claw you!”
“Hey, were trying to learn to not deceit and lie, remember?!”
“Don’t be so embarrassed D.H,” said Applejack with an amused smile, “it never hurts anypony to be honest. As we ponies around here always say… the honest truth will set you free.”
Dragon Heart knew that they were right; after all ever since that day when everything changed, she confessed in front of everyone. So it wasn’t like she had anything to hide.
“Y-yeah, I guess you’re right,” said Dragon Heart with reformed smile, “I guess I should be more honest about my friendship with Spike…” Then she had a good chuckle, “You probably understand that more than anypony else.”