//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 // Story: Ashley's New Life // by LostUmbrella //------------------------------// The following pair of days flew by swiftly for Ashley, who spent them divided between healing and satisfying Twilight's thirst of knowledge. On Thursday morning, she accompanied Lyra to the park: the two mares sat on a bench under a willow tree, the musician playing her instrument, the other listening while observing the ponies pass by, stop to enjoy a tune or make a request. It was almost midday when Lyra stopped; as the two of them paced towards a nearby restaurant, where they were supposed to meet Bon-Bon, the green mare stopped dead in her track and planted her gaze on her 'cousin'. "What's up, Lyra? Are you all right?" asked 'Ashen Sky' wearing a worried look. "I want to know," said the musician, her train of thought unbroken "Is there a way for me to understand how you feel?" "What do you mean? I feel much better, just the occasional ache from the wounds on my back, I already told you..." said the very confused 'gray unicorn', raising an eyebrow. "I mean your kin, how a changeling feels..." whispered Lyra, softly enough that only her friend could hear. The ex-queen yelped in surprise before pushing Lyra in a bush, where she hissed: "You where there when I told Twilight that turning into one of us is just an old legend, something that we don't do!" "I know, there's no need to get angry," retorted the green unicorn before explaining "I just thought that maybe there was a way for us ponies to understand you better..." "That's a nice thing to say Lyra, sorry for getting mad," said Ashley with a soft smile "But I'm sorry: there is no way." "And your disguise?" inquired the musician "It seems pretty real for an illusion..." "It has to be perfect to fool even the most observant ponies," explained the changeling with pride "To the point it feels real to both watcher and user." "Then if you disguise me as a changeling..." hinted Lyra, her eyes glimmering for the possibilities the idea held. "It should work, even if it won't give you the full picture..." said Ashley with a nod "Yet, it's strictly personal: you would have to cast it yourself." "Luckily, I know just the right pony to help me learn it!" said Lyra with a sly grin. --- Bon-Bon wasn't surprised of her marefriend's idea, nor that Ashley agreed to help her, but definitely she wasn't pleased. Yet, after Lyra treated her a generous portion of strawberries with ice cream, her secret vice, she declared that: "I'm not interested in the slightest in your crazy plans, just be sure not to turn irreversibly into a changeling!" And with the blessing of the one who wore the pants in the family (figuratively speaking, for it was Lyra the one who liked to wear them) the two friend directed themselves towards the only place in Ponyville where they could find a valuable help in learning spells: Golden Oak Library. So, after having answered Twilight's barrage of questions at the best of their possibilities (they were a little lost when the lavender mare started asking about mana flux and horn charge fluctuation), the three mares spent the afternoon trying to replicate one of the changelings most basic spells, until a slightly enraged Bon-Bon appeared at the library front door claiming that they were almost late for dinner. --- "Oh girls, you're on time!" stated Vinyl opening the door "Lyra, you should know that when I tell you eight o'clock I mean from half past eight onward." "See, I told you!" said the green unicorn to her marefriend as 'Ashen Sky' chuckled slightly. "But come in, luckily for you Tavi is much more punctual than me," said the owner of the house letting her guest in before calling: "Octy, they have arrived!" From what Ashley presumed being the kitchen emerged Vinyl's marefriend, or the one she was supposed to be: while the three ponies in the hall saw a gray coated, black maned earth mare with amethyst eyes wearing a white collar and a pink bowtie, the ex-queen could clearly see a changeling drone walking their way. "Good evening Lyra, Bon-Bon," she saluted the two mares before regarding the other changeling in the room "And you must be miss Sky, it's a pleasure to meet you." "The pleasure is mine, but drop the miss: I am no noblepony, as you might know..." said 'Ashen Sky' with a courteous bow. "All right, enough with the presentations, let's hit the dance floor!" said the DJ pumping a forehoof in the air. "Vinyl..." said 'Octavia' with a stern look. "I meant the dinner table, yes, definitely not the dance floor," said the white mare with a sheepish smile that gained her a chuckle from Lyra and a sigh from the cellist. The owner of the house and her marefriend guided them in the dining room which was, as the rest of the house, a mixture of jet black and bright white furniture on the setting of candid walls with hanged vinyl records and dark floors with white carpets. They sat down at the table as the DJ levitated five dishes of dandelion soup and the dinner began. "Oh, Octavia, this soup is wonderful, you have to give me the recipe!" exclaimed the baker as she emptied her dish. "It was Vinyl and not me who cooked," said the other with a shrug. "You can cook? Seriously?" asked Lyra regarding the blue-maned musician with a surprised look. Despite Ashley's alarm the evening went on well: Vinyl proved to be a good cook, and they ended up really hitting the dance floor in a nearby bar (literally in the ex-queen's case, for she was incredibly inept at dancing), but more importantly the fake Octavia didn't seem interested in the larger changeling's reasons to be there. It turned into an unexpectedly pleasant evening. --- The next day was another intensive study session at Golden Oak Library, and the three mares were sitting in the owner's room, which was cluttered by notepads full of knowledge on the changeling race and spellbooks about illusion and transformation. "May I ask a question Ashley?" inquired Twilight as Lyra's umpteenth try only led to her coat turning black. "What have you been doing for the past few days?" asked with irony the frustrated green unicorn, eliciting a chuckle from her teacher. "I meant a personal question," corrected herself the lavender mare rolling her eyes, then waited for the changeling nod to ask: "You are behaving really differently from our first meeting, and the same can be said for Chrysalis, is it some strange changeling feature to have a different personality upon the second meeting?" "Uh no, it simply is a matter of circumstances," started explaining Ashley "The first time we met I was the absolute sovereign of an invading army with the only purpose of disrupting your brother's barrier to conquer Crystal City and feed my subjects; now I have no responsibility whatsoever and I can be myself..." "So was it an act due to your role? And it's probably the same for your sister?" asked Twilight, sure of having reached the right conclusion. "Yes," wanted to say Ashley, but she was cut short by another herself shouting "I DID IT!" Both the librarian and her interlocutor watched a very happy looking 'Ashley' bouncing around the room. "Lyra, that's amazing! But why me?" "Well, it's not everyday you have a living changeling model to inspire your spell!" said the fake one with a huge smile before an idea struck her "We have to show Bon-Bon! Come on Ashley, let's go! Thank you Twilight for your help!" And with that the two changeling rushed downstairs, leaving the librarian to ponder on the fact that Lyra had learned a spell before her. Yet, those gloomy thoughts didn't last because a horde of Pinkie Pie diverted her attention for the rest of the day.