//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: The face of my face is a face I'd face in a face. // Story: The Changeling Within // by IceQB //------------------------------// With the exams over and prom closing in, the mares of Canterlot High couldn’t be more than excited. Most had spent the week before prom dolling themselves up, and some even took the liberty to miss class for that. It seemed like the population of the school had suddenly halved itself for each day that passed. The school could have done something about it, but the teachers couldn’t care less about the missing students. With the level of spirit in each and every one soaring high, classes were often taught with the subject of prom in it, with much digress. Math? Calculate the surface area of a dress. Science? Study how tenacious fabric can be with certain chemicals found during prom. English? Write a short story about how you asked your date to prom. Vinyl couldn’t care less about all of that; he was going to return in a few days, and dreaded each day that passed. However, prom was nearing too. He wanted one slow dance with Cadance; it was going to be his most memorable experience that he would bring back with him, or so he dreamed. If he knew anything about couples, it was that priority came to them during slow dances, and he would most likely have to dance with Soarin’. Unless… “I can’t dance!” - - - Ɵ-Ɵ-Ɵ-Ɵ-Ɵ-Ɵ - - - “So, which one? The blue dress with the white shoes and white wings necklace, or the fuchsia laced dress with black shoes and black fedora?” asked Cadance as she propped up each set for Vinyl to see. The pair had been dolling themselves up for prom—or rather, Cadance had been and Vinyl just played along with it. If he could go in a simple dress, he would already be happy. However, simple was not a vocabulary in Cadance’s dictionary. Neither was the closet they were inside of. “I’m digging the purple dress, but the fedora is over the top,” said Vinyl as he glanced around Cadance’s closet, eyeing for the most non-flashy, unpretentious dress around. With racks of assortments hanging above Vinyl, he felt like he was in some kind of super store for models. Dresses were arranged in a circle according to the colors of the rainbow, with black and white forming a zen-shaped symbol in the centre. Pink was, however, on a different floor with its own grouping; lighter pinks were on the left, while darker pinks were on the right. On the floor above that, there were many platforms with different accessories. “You’re right,” said Cadance as she tossed the fedora away. “How about the pink cloche?” “Nah, too out-of-style.” “Mmm. True.” Cadance gently placed the cloche hat aside. “Can you look over at my hat section and pick something nice? I can’t seem to find something fitting.” Vinyl looked up at a platform with the big hat sign. He spotted beanies, baseball caps, berets and many other hats that started with B that he hadn’t really known until Cadance told him the names of each and every one. He eyed a black veil, but it reminded him too much of Nightmare Night. “How about just letting your hair flow?” “Now that you mention it,” Cadance brought a mirror to herself, “I don’t really need a hat now, do I? Alright, hatless it is.” She put the mirror away and started grabbing purses from a closet. “Now time to find me a matching purse. Vinyl, go pick whichever dress you want. I’ve too many to wear anyways. Just tell me once you’re done,” said Cadance as she disappeared behind racks of clothing. “Hmm… what’s good for my first—” Vinyl rolled his eyes and deadpanned “—date? Ugh.” His eyes darted to a floral white dress that was draped over a mannequin. “Ooh, that one looks decent.” Carefully, he levitated it down to his level and donned it. “Perfect size even! Alright man! Time for some bling!” He glanced around at the platforms above him. On one, there were necklaces with jewels of all shapes and sizes, and bracelets of different kinds. On another, there were plenty of shoes—plenty enough for every occasion imaginable. There were shoes for occasions unimaginable either, like a ‘Birthday’ shoe, a ‘Good-Luck’ shoe, or a ‘Talk-to-my-Aunt’ shoe. “A ‘Birthday’ shoe? Pffft.” Vinyl giggled as he continued his search. Something shiny caught his attention. It was a pair of blue headphones that hung out of a transparent Toyoga container that had ‘Junk’ written over it. There were piles of stuff in that box that did look like junk. He made his way over to the box and fliped over everything until he reached the headphones. Gently, he picked those up and donned it over his ears. Man, these feel so soft! Time to test this out with my iPony. He plugged the jack into his iPony and began playing some of his songs. Not bad… could use a little treble—oh wait a minute. Browsing through the equaliser on it, he realised he had turned all but low frequencies down. Now if I just turn these babies back to normal, then it—AHH! YES! OHMYGOSH THESE ARE AWESOME! “Hey, Cadance! Can I keep these headphones? These are AWESOME!” Vinyl yelled out as he rocked his head back and forth. “What? Oh, those things. Yeah, Shining got them for me last birthday. You could have them if you want.” “Sweet! Thanks! Hey—” Vinyl picked up a pair of purple retro shades that was hanging on a wall “—mind if I take these babies too?” He donned the shades and posed in front of a mirror. “Uh, if it’s from the junk box, sure. I was planning on donating those to the charity home down the street.” “Sweet! Thanks, Cadance!” Eagerly, he put it on and took a stance when he realised he was still in his pony form. Glancing left and right, he made sure no pony else was around before he dropped his cloak. In the mirror stood a slightly feminine changeling with a white dress, blue headphones and retro purple shades. “Not bad, not bad all… minus the dress, of course,” Vinyl mused. “Hmm, but it’s got to do.” As much as I’d like to go all out, I can’t. Pony body will have to do. Vinyl sighed and dropped his shoulders before changing back into his pony form. “Hey, Vinyl, you done yet?” asked Cadance as she stepped out of a door labelled ‘Make-up’. “Do you wanna… oh? What’s with the frown?” “What frown?” Vinyl hadn’t noticed, but his eyebrows had dropped and he hadn’t exactly been smiling. “Ohhh, that frown.” “Is there anything wrong, Vinyl?” voiced Cadance as she levitated herself down and landed beside Vinyl. “Is the dress not good enough? I’ve plenty more than my aunt gets me during—” “No, no.” Vinyl grabbed her by the shoulders and smiled, letting a slightly nervous chuckle escape. “The dress is lovely. It’s just… there’s plenty of things on my mind right now.” His smile disappeared. In its place was discontent. “About prom? You know, I’m nervous too.” “Nervous? Psh. Well, that’s not the right word.” Vinyl let go and started pacing around. “It’s just… I don’t know if I wanna do this anymore.” Cadance eyebrows rose. She stared at Vinyl who started flipping through more ‘junk’ in the junk box. “Hey, Cadance… ever thought that maybe you were someone else. And that the ‘you’ you show isn’t you at all?” asked Vinyl as he took off his shades. “Like sometimes, you have to act like somebody else in order to get what you want? And then it hurts. It kinda hurts doing that.” “Then don’t do that anymore. Be who you are. No one is going to judge you.” Cadance placed a hoof on Vinyl’s shoulders, which surprised him. He remembered she was much further away. “But… it’s not that I’m not who I am inside. It’s just… faces, you know? I gotta be someone else for now, and I don’t have a choice.” Vinyl looked at the floor and sighed. “You do have a choice. Just stop. That’s how I did it.” Cadance chuckled. Vinyl’s eyes enlarged and his jaw dropped. “You? The Princess’s niece has problems?” “Hey!” growled Cadance. “Being royalty doesn’t mean I get everything I want, okay?” “No, no. Don’t take offence, Cadence. What I’m trying to say is… you have plenty of helpers in the castle. Your aunt’s the Princess. Like, when you have trouble, don’t you have someone to help you?” Vinyl was waiting for Cadance to rebut him. Instead, what surprised him was that she actually answered him with a simple, quiet ‘no’. Cadance’s voice dropped to a hush. “It gets lonely here when Shining Armor or his sister isn’t around. Everyone’s so busy and… professional. Like, I can’t even find time to sit down and chat with my aunts.” It hadn’t travelled around walls of the gigantic closet, but Vinyl could hear her whispers. He heard her cry out in a non-woeful plea that Vinyl knew too well. “You’re lonely?” Vinyl stared at Cadance who nodded her head gently. “But, it’s not all that bad. I learn to do everything myself, I guess. Washing, cooking, making my bed.” “Don’t your servants help you?” Vinyl tilted his head aside. “What servants? I’m not even technically blood related to Princess Celestia.” Cadance paused, and the closet got quiet for a minute as if someone had said the wrong thing. “OH SHIT. DON’T TELL ANY PONY, VINYL. IF NOT, IF WORD GETS OUT… MANY PONIES WILL BE IN DEEP, DEEP SHIT! PROMISE ME!” She shook Vinyl rather violently. “Okay, okay! Calm down! Relax!” Vinyl cried out, but Cadance continued shaking him. “I swear I won’t tell any pony! Now will you please release me?” This time around, Cadance stopped. Her breathe was heavy and she broke out in cold sweat which ruined some of her makeup. No pony spoke for a while as they stared at each other. Vinyl, on one hand, was rather speechless. Not only did he probably just hear Equestria’s biggest secret, his had been stading right next to Cadance. Their noses were mere inches away. He could feel his warm breath and the upbeat pounding of her heart. He could smell all the makeup she had put on, as well as the perfume she always had on during class time. Wow… “Wow,” whispered Vinyl as he stared into her eyes. “You’re beautiful.” Cadance blushed as red as Vinyl’s eyes and grinned. “Thanks.” However, her smile quickly faded. Her eyes widened again before she broke away from Vinyl. “Those eyes. I recognise it.” What does she mean—oh shit. Vinyl hurried to a mirror and looked at himself. He had on his red changeling eyes, but much to his relief, he was still in his pony body. “Shining Armor had on those eyes when he first asked me out. When we were on our first date. When we first kissed.” There was a slight pause before Cadance continued. “You’re in love. And you’re in love with me.” - - - Ɵ-Ɵ-Ɵ-Ɵ-Ɵ-Ɵ - - - The room went silent for a few seconds. Vinyl had dropped to the floor. His jaw hung low and his heart felt like it had just imploded on itself. His hooves shook and his breathe was shallow. “Well? Say something, Vinyl!” He looked up to the rather confused-looking pony whose mouth matched his. “You know, you said I was supposed to be myself. No pony else can tell me otherwise, right? Well… I can’t help myself. You’re amazing. You’re beautiful. You’re the world to me. I can’t think of possibly living without you.” “But you can’t be in love with me!” Cadance yelled. “It doesn’t work! I don’t know how it works, but I know it just… doesn’t!” “Cadance… listen to me… I don’t know what I’m feeling inside either. It’s like I don’t know who I am anymore.” Vinyl’s voice slowly dropped to a whisper. “But I know, I wouldn’t be right here if I wasn’t who I was.” “Vinyl, I think you’re just confused.” Cadance calmed down a little, but her words still had a tinge of disbelief in them. “You… you can’t be in love.” ”Changelings can’t feel love. It’s our flaw, son.” “Then how do you guys know who to marry and such?” “… Most of us don’t get a choice. And those who do don’t live here no more.” “What do you mean?” “We’re automatically matched based on our personalities, and we get married. That’s how I met your mother.” “My parents said that we couldn’t feel love,” said Vinyl as he looked away. “It’s some sort of, disease? I think. Like, I don’t know if it’s love, or if it’s just the emotions inside of me toying with me heart. And right now, all I know is that if you suddenly disappeared, my heart would break.” “Me too, Vinyl.” Cadance sighed as she sat down beside Vinyl. “You’re an amazing friend. You listen to our problems. You actually care for me. That I can tell. I can only imagine that the day you leave would be the like the last leaf on our budding tree of friendship. It just… disappears, and dies off, you know? But you can’t possibly love me… you can’t.” Gently, she lifted his chin up and smiled. “C’mon. Don’t be sad.” “Help me, Cadance. Show me that I’m just a confused being in this world.” Vinyl locked her eyes onto Cadance. There was a brief moment of silence before Vinyl spoke again. “Don’t be scared.” He closed his eyes and leaned forward. Slowly but surely, their lips touched. I love you, Cadance. It felt like an eternity to Vinyl But truthfully, it had only lasted mere seconds before he pulled away. He stared at Cadance whose teary eyes completely wrecked her makeup, and felt that she was still beautiful. Gently, he lifted Cadance’s chin up. “Don’t be sad.” Instead, Cadance was stunned. She stared at Vinyl who looked like he was equally shocked. “I… I…” she tried to speak, but her words escaped her. Instead, tears flowed. It had always been his dream to kiss her. But now that he’s got it, he hadn’t exactly thought it would be as … depressing as it is. He was supposed to be happy, but the only thing he could do was lament inside. Is it worth it? Lose a friend by chasing a dream? His gaze wondered to her lips, and then down to his chest. It’s not worth losing what I always wanted. On impulse, he jumped onto her and hugged her. “It’s alright, Cadance. I’m okay. I’ll still be your friend. You’re right. I’m just confused.” He released his grasp and shifted his hooves to her shoulders. “Like, you know how you two talk about a ‘spark’ whenever you guys kiss? I don’t feel it. I don’t feel it at all.” Am I doing the right thing now? Vinyl hoped for a reply. Instead, silence was all he was given. “Cadance… say something.” “Thank you. For being a friend of mine.” Wobbly, she took to her hooves. Vinyl followed suit, but kept his hooves on her. “Think you can leave me alone for a while? I need to think things out.” If I were to be her friend, I’d help her out. And if she wants it, I’ll give it to her. “Okay.” Vinyl nodded as he walked out of the closet and into her room. “Just wait here. I… I…” It was the last thing Vinyl heard before she closed the door. Vinyl heard the sound of a lock coming from the other side and sighed. I should get some fresh air too. I needa think things straight. His eyes wandered to the backdoor of her room that led to the castle’s garden. “A walk in the park wouldn’t hurt,” thought Vinyl out-loud as he proceeded out of her room and onto the grassy soil.