Rhubarb

by JuneLuxray2


Chapter Four

The next few months passed by without incident. Rhubarb/Scales settled in perfectly. Soon enough when he started getting paychecks, he was able to get himself a nice apartment nearby the bakery. No longer did he have to pose as a bird to gain entrance to Fluttershy's cottage to sleep. He was also now in a relationship with Merry May, boyfriend and girlfriend. One date turned into two and they were quickly a couple.

The changeling posed as a unicorn fell in as a regular sight around Ponyville and a beloved baker. Life was looking up, and everything was peaceful. The quiet life with a girlfriend, a home, and real friends was all he could ever want. Occasionally he would babysit for the Cake twins and he would have parties with everypony. Life was truly good.

It was April in the afternoon on a warm, lazy day. Pinkie Pie had taken the afternoon off of working to have a picnic with her friends, and Rhubarb was busy as usual making treats and a few cups of coffee for customers. His mind drifted to Merry May; he was getting the next Saturday completely off to spend time with her, and he looked forward to it.

Absentmindedly, he was stirring a mixing bowl when a shriek of excitement tangled with the ringing of the doorbell. The sound caught him by surprise and he jumped. His elbow banged into the bowl and the mixture went flying and landed on his head. One thing had not changed; Scales was as jumpy as ever. Mr. and Mrs. Cake laughed as he blushed and hastily used his magic to get the mix off of him and get more ingredients. He thought, by now, Pinkie's sudden antics would not surprise him.

Pinkie Pie stood in the doorway, looking excited. Not that this was anything new. Almost every day there was something for her to be excited about. She rushed up to Rhubarb, pulled him away from his work, and began shaking him. "Ohmygoshohmygosh, Rhubarb, guess what happened! Guess what happened!"

"I, um...a party?"

"Yes, a party indeed!" She let out a laugh and Rhubarb rolled his eyes and smiled. "Guess what sort of party though!"

"Hm...oh, is it one of the Cutie Mark Crusader's birthdays? I swore that Sweetie Belle's was soon..." He was about to start planning a birthday cake when Pinkie laughed again and shouted.

"No, silly billy! It starts with a w and ends in a g!"

"A wed-"

"That's right! A wedding! And I get to go and plan the party in Canterlot!" Mr. and Mrs. Cake gasped in awe, and Rhubarb beamed.

"That's great, Pinkie Pie! I know you'll make that wedding reception the best of the best. Show those hoity-toity Canterlot ponies how to party. When is it?"

"That's just it! I have to pack now; it's this weekend on Sunday! Mr. and Mrs. Cake, I need to take a few days off. I know it's sudden, but it's a big wedding!"

"For whom?" Mrs. Cake asked curiously. Pinkie squealed and bounced up and down.  

"Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and the captain of the royal guard! Shining Armor!" she shrieked in joy. Mr. and Mrs. Cake again gasped, this time louder. Immediately Rhubarb flashed back to Queen Chrysalis's plan to raid a royal wedding, something he had forgotten in the last few months. The mixing bowl he had started over with again overturned with his shock and coated him in chocolate cupcake mix.

"Exactly, Rhubarb! That's how I felt!" Pinkie said, mistaking the changeling's horror for awe. Scales coughed.

"Exactly." he said weakly, feeling sick to his stomach.

"And you would never guess this! Shining Armor is Twilight's older brother! Isn't that great?" Rhubarb felt even sicker and Pinkie finally noticed and investigated.

"Hey, Rhubarb, are you okay? You're looking a little green in the face. But that makes sense, considering your coat color is green."

"Just dandy." he spluttered. Mr. Cake stared at the unicorn soaked in chocolate.

"Perhaps you should take a break for a bit. It's stuffy in the kitchen. Why don't you go help Pinkie pack?"

"O...kay." He used his magic again to wipe off the chocolate and he followed Pinkie to her room, nearly tripping over his own hooves in his distraction. He could say something now. Reveal his former queen's plans. But doing so would reveal he is a changeling...and wouldn't that cause suspicion. Fear. Distrust. His entire world could come shattering down on him, his world of peace he worked so hard for could collapse.

Then again, he could say absolutely nothing. "Ponies aren't weaklings like the changeling army think," he thought to himself, "surely they'd be smart enough to notice if something is wrong. I'm sure the queen's plans will fail...everything will be okay. Just fine."

He was unaware of the fact he was now staring vacantly at a wall in Pinkie's room, folding a few things and party supplies and not looking at the suitcase he was putting them in. Pinkie stared, a little disconcerted. "Hello? Rhubarb?" She waved a hoof in front of him. "Are you still there?"

Scales blinked. "I'm here. I think." he muttered. Pinkie frowned, a rare action.

"You're acting funny today. Maybe you have a cold or something. I don't have to leave until the shop closes today, so why don't you go home? I'll take over."

"No, no. You took the day off and you have to pack..."

"You just packed everything for me."

Rhubarb looked back to the now fully packed suitcase. "Huh. Guess I did." he said, sounding hallow. Pinkie stood up and shoved him out the door.

"Go home, Rhubarb. Get some sleep. I'll take over." She beamed again and hopped off to the kitchen. He followed her and was soon shooed out of the kitchen by the Cakes, who promptly sent him home to his apartment. As it turned out, Merry May at the same time was getting done with weather duty. She peeked over a cloud as her boyfriend stepped out of Sugarcube Corner and she flew down and surprised him. He was pulled out of his thoughts and he smiled at seeing her.

"Oh, Merry!"

"Hey, Rhu." They kissed and she walked alongside him. "You bored? We could go catch a bite to eat."

"I'm fine, actually." he lied. Merry frowned.

"I know you're lying. You just got sent out of Sugarcube Corner before your shift was over."

"I'm just not feeling perfect."

"Well, no one feels perfect ever. But there's feeling far from perfect." She raised a hoof to his forehead. "You're not running a temperature. In fact, you're always cold for some reason, why am I thinking that?" He was silent and Merry's frown widened. "You're not sick physically right now, anyways. I remember when you got a cold. You were whining a lot more than this. No, something's wrong in there." She tapped his head. "What's wrong? Somepony give you trouble?"

"No."

"Well, are you gonna tell me?"

"It's nothing serious, May. Just a small case of the blues. I'll be fine."

"I understand." She said kindly. "Sometimes we're just blue. If you want to talk, you can come to my apartment. Do you just want to go home?"

"Kind of. Sorry I'm not more interesting today."

"You're interesting everyday. That's why I'm dating you. Come on, I'll take you home." Rhubarb smiled a little at her words.

"Thanks, Merry."


As night fell upon Ponyville, Rhubarb's worries got worse. At first he baked to try to release his stress. This failed and he chose then to lounge in his living room, staring at a flickering T.V. screen of the pony food channel. A knock came at the door, and he got up. Upon answering, he found Derpy with her bag of mail waiting. "Hiya, Rhubarb! Pinkie asked me to bring you a letter. She's in Canterlot, you know! Helping with that huge royal wedding."

"Already?"

"Yup!"

"Thanks, Derpy. Hold on for a second." He retreated to the kitchen and came back with a plate of muffins. Derpy gasped in delight. "This is for you and Dinky. I made them earlier as stress-baking and now I can't bring myself to eat them. Let me get you a few bits for your trouble too." He placed a few bits in Derpy's hooves, and the pegasus squealed.

"Yay! Thank you!" She hugged him tight and flew off with the muffins and bits. He closed the door and opened the letter.

"Dear Rhubarb,

I'm so excited to start planning the wedding reception! Twilight seems a bit suspicious about Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, but she'll get over it, I'm sure. I mean, her brother is Shining Armor and all. She's being protective. And also there's this really pretty pink dome over Canterlot! Something about a threat being made to the city, so there's security everywhere! I'm always surprised at how serious those guards are. I couldn't imagine standing all day and not making a face! Not even a single silly one! I'll be sure to send you and the Cakes more mail about this. Keep down the fort at Sugarcube Corner for me and make sure that the twins get their required daily game of 'Where's Pinkie Pie.' I mean, it'll be 'Where's Rhubarb' instead because I'm in Canterlot, silly, but it's something! Also, enjoy your date with Merry May on Saturday.

Love, Pinkie Pie."

Rhubarb reread the letter a few times and let out a sigh of relief. Everything was going to be okay. The ponies had heard of a threat and put up a force field. No way the changelings could get in. Unless...one snuck in before the increased security. He shook his head. No. That can't be. It was plausible enough, but...he couldn't accept it.

He marched off to bed, leaving the letter on the kitchen counter. He flipped off the lights and tried to pretend like nothing was wrong. Nothing wrong at all.