Right after suggesting minimalist designs use singular gems to brighten a whole piece she was back at her new lodgings with a bouncing pink ball of high spirits. Feeling confident for the first time in almost a year and a half about staying in one place (even if she had to dye to do it), this seemed like a bucket of water magically levitating over her head.
Drenched, stunned and collapsing onto the ground as her front left leg collapsed under her with a series of snaps she saw the pony from the library leap out from behind a bush with a maniacal grin. “Take that changeling! It's not water, it's a dispelling potion!” The triumph in her voice started to waver as she saw the mare fail to turn into a deformed miniature alicorn. “Uh... you should be bursting into green flames and... looking different, not having all your mane and coat colours look weird. You also seem to have a horn starting to show. It looks really normal.”
Twilight stuttered an explanation about the amulet not being a real zebra amulet as the vanishing cream began to wear off, before Pinkie Pie settled the whole situation in an instant.
Twilight!” She yelled, shocked. “Swan Song is trying to be our friend and she's allowed to dye her mane and coat any colour she likes!" She showed confusion for a brief second saying: "I don't know why she wanted to look like an earth pony," Then resumed her indignant defense. "yet she's allowed to do that too!” Turning to the fully-collapsed, psychedelically-coloured mare in her ruined dress she saw her covering her face with her right foreleg, heaving silent sobs.
“I thought it could last this time,” These words created silence that no spell ever could break. “I just want to have a home I'm comfortable in.” As she looked up at Twilight Sparkle, it was impossible to tell where the tears ended and the drops of potion began as another silent sob shook her frame. "I really wanted friends..."
=_-****************-_=
Amidst a blur of pink motion somepony said something about knowing how to remove traces of cake and pranks-gone-wrong from party dresses. Soon 'Swan Song' found herself upstairs at Sugar Cube Corner in Pinkie's bathroom about to be defrocked and afraid of being humiliated again. One question pierced her her stupor.
“Can you straighten up a bit? This dress is really tangled.”
Shaking her head ruefully, Pinkie was surprised by her response: “Not until I have this potion washed off. When we get the dress off I'll show you why.”
Pinkie simply passed her a rope with a mouth guard on it, telling her to champ down while she hoisted her up snd removed the dress. “This is how I get in and out of my bigger party creations. So why didn't you want to tell anypony you're related to Flim and Flam?”
The unicorn was now suspended, blinking in surprise over the bath tub as Pinkie used a chemistry set she set up for frequently-occuring mishaps to test the make-up of the dyes on the party dress. Studying the results she muttered. “Yep yep yep, that's the cheap stuff. I might have to re-stain the dress... perhaps a lilac or gold fringe would cover it up?” Stopping, she turned to the mare she was about to scrub-down with a chemical cleaning agent.
"Um... your leg looks kinda..."
As Pinkie observed the clips and studs permanently attached to the unicorn's body Sham shifted to hold the rope with her right hoof. "It's magic wood and collapsed when the potion hit it. That's why I couldn't take off the dress."
"Oh... well that's... I guess that's more interesting that being related to Flim and Flam. You never did tell me why you didn't bring them up."
Pinkie dropped her into almost-cold-water, breaking the fuge state. ”Pinkie, I'm a pariah everywhere I go! My brothers come up with great money-making schemes to support me, then they get greedy and get kicked out of whatever town they are in. Ponies don't trust me once their picture gets shown in a local paper.” She wasn't crying, she was doing her best to just shiver.
“So I figure you're real name isn't Swan Song? I kinda liked the idea of making you a swan-themed gift for your birthday though. Something with whipped cream... mmm cream.” Pinkie's eyes were closed in delight as she contemplated her next culinary creation until she was interrupted.
“I am a sham! I was named Sham! My whole life is a sham life! People only trust me when I'm pretending to be someone else! I'm... I...” Oddly-coloured water dominated the bath as potion, dye and tears leached from her mane and coat, no magic left to hide her horn. This left a unicorn sobbing in Pinkie's bathrtub.
'D-don'tt you remember when I arrived ah... at Sh-Sugarcube Corner?”
Pinkie sighed and retrieved some sponges from her “Pranks gone wrong” shelf and cradled Sham's head while wiping her face down. She began talking in a slow caring tone as she worked toward her neck.
“Yeah, I remember. I was doing my seal act and you were trying to hide your horn, colours and cutie mark. You based your mane on mine, didn't you? That's sweet of you Sham... though I'm guessing you based your coat off Bon Bon? She'd like that too. Look, your mane is looking more like your old self.”
Holding up a mirror with one hoof while using the other to sponge the remaining dye off her new friend. She smiled down at her with patience and compassion that would make Fluttershy proud. “See? I'm not freaking out, though until Zecora explained that she wasn't evil I freaked out...” Pinkie coughed and changed the subject. “So you're good with puppets?”
Before Sham could answer there was a wail from across the hall causing Pinkie to trot out. The foals Pound and Pumpkin Cake were awake and crying after either one had a bad dream or feeling the wrong temperature for too long. Pinkie picked up the crying foals and was trying to calm them down when Sham, who had been holding her breath while furiously shaking her head under water, walked in with her leg in place, the join covered by a large towel bunched at her withers and back. Pumpkin, obviously awake because of her brother, pointed to Sham's cutie mark of a puppet controller with an enquiring expression. “Play?”
Sham saw the unicorn foal then point to a minotaur marionette puppet dressed up in colourful rags in a miniature theatre. “Oh, I couldn't... I don't know if I can stand and...” She saw the helpless foal start tearing up and gulped. “Well, if you don't mind me being rusty...” She sat to play it safe and used what magic she could gather.
It was like she'd only learned yesterday. Manipulating the strings and controller, making the puppet dance and move rushed back to her, as clear as when she had started to learn. Pinkie noticed Carrot had stopped crying, more fascinated by the puppet waving at her from the stage. The foal waving back inspired the puppet's mock embarrassment before a bow. Sham couldn't help but smile as she walked the puppet over from the stage, lowering herself so the puppet could climb onto her shoulder and shake Carrot's small hoof.
By this time Pound had stopped crying, resting easier from whatever had woken him, noticing that Carrot was amused by whatever was happening on the other side of Pinkie's mane. Pinkie suddenly found herself wearing the squirming foal as a hat as he clapped along with the puppet and his sister. Sham nodded toward the crib as she started singing:
“In the morning when you'll rise
You bless my sun, you bless my skies
You bless with slips, You bless with sighs
Those blessings shine from you.”
Pinkie started tucking Pound Cake in as Sham's puppet helper kept Carrot amused.
“In the nighttime when you sleep
You're a blessing to the watch I keep
As you lie in slumber deep
These blessings shine from you.”
Carrot Cake was lowered into the crib, refusing to let the puppet go.
“This is a prayer from you
There in you, ever true
Each, every day from you
In everything you do”
“And when you come to me
And hold me close to you
I bless you
As you blessed me, too”
Pinkie picked up where the song left off as she helped dry her now-mobile friend.
“When my weary heart is tired
When my life leaves me uninspired
When no one around me is desired,
My blessing comes from you.”
She saw Sham into her own bed, gathering a nest of towels and blankets beside it.
“When the storms of life are strong
When you're wounded, when you don't belong
When you no longer hear this song
My blessings go with you.”
“This is a prayer for you
There in you, ever true
Each, every day from you
In everything you do”
“And when you're there with me
And I have a friend in you
I bless you
And you bless me too.”
Pinkie saw Sham close her eyes and finally rest comfortably.
“I bless you
As you've blessed me, too.“
=_-****************-_=
In the days that followed Sham explained that she was using her persona as Swan Song as a way to make ponies feel more at ease with her, getting to know her and not her past (neglecting to mention her medical condition). Saying it was no longer needed so she could now get back to being an ordinary performer and puppeteer. Soon she was flooded with requests to entertain foals at parties and to work with other acting and entertaining troupes to make theatre props animate themselves.
While Poniville became more acquainted with her Twilight Sparkle was busy learning to be a princess. That meant she missed Sham use an improvised construct to charm a manticore, cheer up the Canterlot Royal Orphanage by singing a song that saw most of the older foals adopted within a month and a half and become Pinkie's co-planner for her welcome-back parties yet Twilight Sparkle did write to thank her for the effort.
It wasn't till after the dimension-hopping events in the Crystal Empire that Pinkie and Sham met back in Ponyville and were treated to raspberry and white chocolate chip muffins. The two sat and talked, laughed and, when they hugged each other goodbye, they had tears in their eyes. Before leaving Pinkie presented Sham with a small picture frame telling her it was for the photograph she'd seen in her things when she'd rushed her to her house the first night she was in Ponyville.
Walking from the cafe she was her confident that she'd become her own Sham.