*Knock knock knock*
The changeling had turned round to face the source of the noise. As he looked back he eyed the closed door of the bedroom, where the knocking had just been.
Not much time had passed since he the black, hole-filled hoofed creature had selflessly saved the mare from having a bookcase fall on top of her, an act that surprised the changeling himself just as much as the previously saved pony.
In fact, it had only just been five minutes ago since it happened.
Not long really.
*Knock knock knock*
The sound repeated as the changeling trotted off to the edge of the door.
"Hello." The familiar sound of the mare named Fruit Heart called out. "Umm, mister changeling?" He heard her speak in a sort of nervousness tone, thought he wasn't sure of that, considering the sound wasn't very audible being as it came behind a wooden door.
"Can I, maybe, come in please?" He heard her ask him.
Without a second thought the changeling opened the door and looked straight at the mare who was waiting for him. As he looked as her the changeling thought she seemed....off. In truth, this was the only thing the changeling could think off, as her face appeared to be almost unreadable; her mouth was neither pointing up or down, nor was it open or even fully closed. The changeling also saw that her eyes looked low, almost tired even.
"Can I come in?" She asked in an hushed tone.
Why are thou looking down? You never got hurt. He thought, confused at the mare's sudden lack of enthusiasm. Though not knowing her for long, in fact not knowing anything about ponies themselves for longer, one thing he found to be an oddity that even he believed was something she had more of then other's is her outward enthusiasm. He seemed to almost admire her enthusiasm for even the smallest things. Things that doesn't even understand why they are there.
For some reason he doesn't know why this is true. For him, everything about the pony culture was weird.
"Can I?" Fruit Heart asked, almost pleading to him. With a look of unsure-ity the changeling stepped aside to allow her entry to her own bedroom. "Thank you." She said as she walked into the room. The changeling followed her movements with his eye, watching her as she sat down in the middle of the room and looked straight to him.
"I just want to say; thank you, I guess." She said in a nervous tone. "I know I already said thank you, but I wasn't sure you had heard me." The changeling continued to listen to her as she started to shuffle uncomfortably on the floor. "The whole bookcase-falling-on-me was my fault, I I shouldn't have gotten angry at you. I know you wouldn't have thrown the book at me if I didn't throw it first. So, I'm sorry." She finished with a small sigh, looking down at the floor in defeat.
As soon as Fruit Heart said sorry, the changeling immediately felt an odd pain inside him. It was new to him, a foreign feeling he had never felt before. Something that made it hard for him to truly look at her. It was different to him, a feeling which, he presumed to be, was known as...guilt.
It was wrong. That's what he thought. It was wrong. It was not something he liked to feel. At all. Even more oddly, he felt like the pain of...guilt would never go away until he ushered out some words. Some words he never even thought he would say. He never thought he would even speak to her, let alone say those words.
And yet, he felt like it would hurt him more if he didn't speak now as opposed to never speaking at all. Ever.
"Look." Fruit Heart started, inadvertently knocking out the changeling's own demons. "I don't expect you to accept my apology, all I want for you to do is understand that I'm sorry."
How? He thought. How is this pony able to make me feel this way? What kind of pony is she?
"I don't know why I feel like I should apologize again, but I should."
Stop.
"I just feel really sad about something."
Just stop! Now!
"And I think it's because you don't trust me."
...
"And...I can see that. You don't talk to me, you have only ever said something to me once, but, now I think I was just hearing what I wanted to hear. I do not even know if you can talk at all, let alone to me." She sighed. "And even if you don't, I do."
...
"I trust you. And, you know, I feel like that's all that matters really. I trust you. I trust you...quite a bit actually. You could have ran away or attacked me, but you didn't. You could have let that bookcase fall and harm me, but you didn't."
...I...
"I don't care what others say about you, because I know the truth. Your'e aren't evil at all. You have proven to me that you aren't. That's enough for me." As she finally finished her thoughts to the changeling, she stood up and headed to the door, the changeling still standing there, barely even moving.
"I trust you." She whispered out as she passed by the chitinous-skinned creature and walked out the door, smiling slightly as she made her way out the room.
"Wait."
Fruit Heart immediately stopped moving and turned round, her body almost shaking with shock. "Did you just..." She stammered out, not fully able to comprehend what she had just heard. The changeling, on the other hoof, was just in as much shock.
Did I just...
Fruit Heart's gaze rested on the changeling's own, both unable to fathom what just had been said. What he had just said. "Do...you want me to...?" Fruit Heart tried to ask him, but the words were found being stuck in her throat. The changeling, as if knowing what she was going to ask, pulled his head back and pointed it towards the middle of the room, silent, in a near reluctant manner.
Nervously, but boldly, the mare walked back in the room and sat down in the same place she was before. The changeling then after moved towards the mare and sat down in front of her, staring at her stoically with his single good eye.
"Sooo." Fruit Heart started, her nervous having been strangely replaced by the awkwardness clinging in the air. "You told me to-"
"Yes." The changeling interrupted her. This was now the first time the earth pony had actually seen the changeling talk to her. Really talk to her. Not something she might have thought up, but actually say something.
The mare just sat there, dumbfounded by the changelings outburst, her mouth hanging down unceremoniously. (Pretty much making her look stupid.)
"Why?" He asked simply to the confounded mare in front of him.
"I..ya...what?" Fruit Heart stammered, still in shock.
"Why?" He repeated again.
"Why what?" She said to him.
"Why everything?" He said to the mare. As one would expect, she was very confused, not only was this the first time the black creature was truly communicating with her, but he was being as cryptic as possible.
She was almost starting to get annoyed.
"Why everything what?" Fruit Heart asked what again, her tone changing to a more normal one.
"Everything." He asked again, as simple as possible.
"Oh Faust." She breathed out, pulling a hoof to her temple, shaking her head as if to say no. "I don't understand, what's everything?"
"Everything."
"Everything what? That's not a sentence."
"Why...." The changeling started to say to her, but seemed incapable to say more than a few words. "Why do thou trust me?" Or maybe not.
As Fruit Heart looked up to him, she couldn't help but see how...sincere he was being to her.
"Thou doth said thou trusted me, correct?" He asked her. This was now the first time the pony had truly heard the tone of the changeling, and she was quite surprised. It didn't sound like what she had expected; it wasn't bug-like (though she wasn't entirely sure what that meant, she new that it doesn't sound like him) it wasn't too deep, too high, too odd or evil sounding, and it doesn't sound like a distorted echo which makes it sound like two voices are speaking at once. It was...normal. It did sound a little weird, but mostly he spoke in tone true to an average pony.
"I said that?" She replied to him in virtual disbelief. "I did say that, didn't I." She said said in a manner then made it sound like a question.
"Correct?" He asked her again.
"Correct." She replied to him, thinking this was the best way to get answers.
"Why? I'm a changeling, a creature that feeds off the love of others and invaded the capital of this country. I am enemy of this place, and thus an enemy of the citizens, including thou. But thou didn't give me in, instead thou healed me, thou fed me and thou protected me. Does that make much sense?" He said to her as he stared straight at the mare.
"Well..." She answered as she sheepishly scratched the back of her head, essentially bothered by his stare. "No, no I guess not." She managed to finish.
"I hath attacked thou before, and thou had ample opportunity to expose me, but thou hadn't. Thou instead helped me. That's what I don't get, I should be in chains, from what I hath believed, not in bandages in a pony's own home."
"Yes."
"So why?" He finished, dead serious.
Fruit Heart mumbled something inaudible under her breath, to quite for the changeling to pick up.
"Say again?" The changeling asked her, surprisingly patiently.
"I said," she started, sighing, "I don't know."
The changeling had paused for a few seconds, unsure of what to say, before saying "I do not understand." This being the only thing he was able to say. "We attacked the capital. That's make us your enemy. I cannot muster why thou hath helped me."
"It's instinct." Fruit Heart said sharply.
"Instinct?" He said in disbelief
"Yes, instinct." The mare repeated. "To me, that's why I had helped you. It's instinct for a pony, like me, to help those who are hurt. That's the reason why I patched you up. You were hurt, and I felt like it was my duty to help you."
"That still doesn't make any sense." The changeling replied, still in disbelief. "Changeling's shouldn't be treated like this now. We are hated by many, no thing would hath helped me. That is the truth."
"No." Fruit Heart deadpanned, pointing an accusing hoof at the him. "That isn't the truth, that is you belief."
"But-"
"But nothing." She interrupted him calmly. "If you said no thing should help you, then what does that make me? A pony. A thing. That's what I am. I am an earth-pony named Fruit Heart. That's what I am. That's who I am. And no belief by you is going to change that. Do you understand?"
The changeling looked away from her when she had asked him, as if he felt like a fool. "I...guess so. We think differently because we are of different species."
"No." She corrected him, making him look at her abashed. "We don't think differently because we are of different species, we think differently because we are different. As different as next pony walking down the street. Do you see now?" Fruit Heart asked him, smiling.
The changeling looked at her with his one eye and nodded, we earned him an unexpected hug from the mare!
Surprising.
"But..." He stammered, his tone wavering as he felt the mare's head rest on his shoulder. "Thou hath not explained why thy said thou trusted me."
"It's simple." Fruit Heart began, moving her head off his shoulder and looking back at the changeling. "Because you trust me. I see that now." And with that the earth pony stood up and walked off towards the door, but not before looking back at him. "And that's the truth." And then she walked off.
The changeling just sat there, mouth agape in unbelief. That pony He thought deeply as he closed his eyes. She hath a way with her words. I feel...better now. She...is weird. And why now does my stomach feel weird. Were her words laced with love? There feel like they were.
And that's when the truth struck like a lighting bolt. I trust her.