Cutie Mark Crusader Changelings

by Smiley216

Chapter 9

The day grew warmer as Celestia’s sun rose to its apex in the clear sky.

The leaves of the trees were beginning to change color, signaling that summer was drawing to a close.

That meant harvest was in full swing at Sweet Apple Acres. That, in turn, meant Pippin Apple was out bucking the southern orchard with his wife Jubilee. Their son and daughter were working the market with Granny Smith. Their still newborn filly, Apple Bloom, was nestled snugly in a basket of red delicious apples. There she napped, the way all the generations of Apples before had napped as newborns.

Pippin and Jubilee were working the orchard nearby. They sang the song of their family name while they toiled both keeping their child lulled and helping to pass the time.

"Official Visiting Hours Have Now Begun"
~~~~
Apple Bloom’s head reeled as her mind’s eye returned to the hospital waiting room. While she had learned to lend her voice to the hive almost at will, taking specific memories from it was still beyond her. In fact it almost seemed as if the minds retaining what she sought were actively resisting her.

Looking at the clock on the wall, she saw that non-family visiting hours were about to begin. So, she decided to shelve her external recollection for now and go visit her friend.

“But it doesn’t make sense,” she heard somepony say.

“Look, Miss Lyra, I commend you for wanting to go the extra mile here. I appreciate it, I really do. But we have plenty of irons in the fire as it is before we go chasing down wild guesses with barely an ounce of evidence to back them up.”

“But-”

The grey unicorn silenced Lyra with a hoof wave and continued. “I’ve been in the business a long time, Lyra. And while I’m all for keeping an open mind about the situation, more often than not the simplest conclusion is the most correct. We checked the filly out and she’s not using magic to disguise herself. Blatantly-”

Plain sight realized her voice was carrying more than it should and brought herself down to a stern whisper. However, Apple Bloom’s interest had already been piqued and she stopped after rounding the corner to continue listening.

“Blatantly foalnapping sompony, in broad daylight, in front of dozens of witnesses, is simply not part of a changeling’s M.O. That means the changeling discovery was coincidental. That means separate cases.” The mare pointed a hoof at Lyra. “Simply put, the foalnapping is your jurisdiction; the changeling is ours. If you require assistance while we’re here we’ll be more than happy to put some extra hooves on the ground or just lend an ear to bounce ideas off of. If you want to try and prove that changelings were involved then that’s your prerogative to waste your own time. But, start getting in the way and muck around with our case without permission, even once. Things will get messy, and not just for you. I don’t want to become the mare of misfortune, but trust me when I say nopony will forget it if I’m pushed to.”

Applebloom wanted to stay and listen longer, but lingering this way in a hospital would get her in trouble. So she scampered off towards Scootaloo’s room. When she arrived she found Pinkie Pie regaling her friends and Scootaloo with a story told in the only manner rosey-maned mare seemed capable of … flailing pantomime.

“So there I was,” she said, “with my hoof comPLETELY stuck in the brambles. The Timberwolves are stalking closer, and closer. I’ve got ONE packet of sprinkles left, but I’m all out of cherry stems. All of a sudden, the momma squirrel starts giving birth, right there. So now I’m TOE-tally freaking out and it seems like all hope is lost.”

“But then I realize I’ve got one last option in my mane. Just as the wolves are about to pounce I spin around and-“

“Oh, hey Applebloom. You here for Scootaloo’s ‘Nearly Eaten by a Monster and Lived’ party?” A collective groan resounded through the other six occupants, all of them knowing Pinkie’s story was now long forgotten.

Applebloom smile’s sheepishly at her inadvertent distraction. “I was just bring’n along the schoolwork Ms. Cheerilee assigned today. I didn’t know ya’ll were hav’n a party.”

“Well duhh¬-” replied Pinkie, bouncing back and forth in front of the filly, “of COURSE we’re having a party. It’s not every day somepony survives a sprite attack. Although,” she tapped a hoof to her chin and pondered that statement for a moment, “if you count Sprite© attacks, then that happens to me almost every other week.”

Rainbow Dash “Awesome as your parties are, I don’t think spit-taking a soda warrants one, Pinkie.”

Pinkie giggles at this. “Oh I know that, Silly-Billy. Parties are supposed to be special. Wasting soda is hardly special.”

“I know this isn’t really a gifting party, but,” Rainbow shuffled and pulled out a brown paper bag, “here’s a little something that helped me out last time I was stuck in the hospital.” Scootaloo reached in and pulled out a hardcover book. Daring Doo: The Quest for the Saphire Stone, to be precise.

“You probably won’t need it as much as I did,” Rainbow continued, “but I enjoyed reading these books even after I was out of the hospital.”

“O-oh … umm,” Scootaloo set the book down on the bed, looking at the cover. “Thanks, Rainbow Dash. It … sounds great.”

She paused a moment and glanced around the room. “I-I own all of them. So if you … ya know … ever want to borrow some, just ask.”

“Yeah, that sounds … great.”

Rarity and Twilight shared a look of concern and nodded in unspoken agreement. “Pinkie, dear, you simply must show me what you’ve done with these cupcakes. I’m certain if I serve something like these to my next host of clients it will certainly make a wonderful impression.”

“A-and, Fluttershy,” Twilight said, breaking into the conversation before Pinkie could, “I’ve got a few books you might be interested in to keep your critters safe with the sprite swarm nearby.”

Applejack was catching on to the plan and leaned her head down to Applebloom. “Hey sis, come on out with me. I’ve got someth’n I need to talk with ya’ about.”

While the two of them didn’t technically need to be out of the room, it was obvious her friends had decided to make things easier for Rainbow Dash by clearing the room entirely. “I’ve gotta get back to the farm an’ help Big Mac’ finish mend’n the south field fence. You can stay with yer friend for a while if you want an’ help her with her schoolwork. Jus’ wait for Rainbow t’ be done, and make sure y’er back afore sundown, alright?”

“Sure thing sis.”

Now that everypony else was out of the room Rainbow Dash sat on the bed. She sent out silent thanks to her friends for the privacy. “Hey … squirt?” She’d been wracking her brain as to how to go about this. “You know … I can tell something is bothering you.” Scootaloo turned to face her but couldn’t quite keep herself from scowling.

Rainbow Dash winced. “Okay, yeah. That was stupid to say.” She paused for a moment to re-gather her words. “What I mean is. If there’s anything you want to talk about, or anything you want to ask, or say. I’m here for you. I know ever since I said I’d take you under my wing, things have … well … well I pretty much haven’t. But I want to change that.”

The filly’s expression softened at this. “You … you mean it?”

“You’re one special kid. And I’m sorry it took something like this to make me see I really haven’t been treating you like you are.” She reached over and tousled the filly’s mane a bit, which elicited a small smile. “So yeah, I mean it. I’ve got some vacation time coming to me. So let’s say when you’re out of here tomorrow, we see what we can do to get you off the ground under your own power.”

Under different circumstances Scootaloo would have probably jumped for joy; and while the offer sent a thrill of excitement through her, it was blunted by all that had happened in the previous day. Still, she leaned in and gave her idol a warm hug. “Thanks Rainbow Dash.”

The hug lasted a few moments before Rainbow broke it and slid off the bed. “Well, kid. I gotta go get back to weather patrol,” she said. “Those clouds won’t bust themselves. Oh, and don’t forget to give that book a try. I think you’ll rather enjoy getting to the end of it.” Instead of using the door like any sort of civilized folk would, Rainbow Dash opened the 2nd story window and took off from there. The sudden displacement of air roared in her wake, heralding her departure to the entire hospital.

At this sound Applebloom opened the door and peeked her head inside. “Was that her?”

Scootaloo smiled, both at the entrance of her friend and the obvious answer to the question. “Yeah.”

“Good,” she said trotting in and shrugging off her saddlebags, “’cause we got things to talk about.”

“Umm Applebloom … I don’t think I’m up for any crusade-”

“’S’not what I meant.”

Scootaloo balked at not just Applebloom’s words, but the flat and serious tone that delivered them. The yellow filly had always been the most serious of their little clique, but this was something different entirely. It was even a bit scary. “W-what do you mean?” she asked.

Jumping up on the bed Applebloom sat down and looked at her friend. She’d thought about telling her friends before, and the scenario had played out in her mind many times. Even though she had to now, she found herself drawing up short. “I’m …. I uhh … I’ve been keeping a secret.”

“Huh?”

“I mean, we’ve all got secrets an’ … well … some are bigger than others.”

Scootaloo leveled a suspicious eye on her friend’s sudden burst of weirdness. “Yeeaaah?”

“Well … the other day…” Applebloom was torn between saying it outright and trying to find a way to break it gently, “I found out we share a secret.”

“Applebloom? We share lots of secrets.”

Applebloom’s hoof followed that statement straight into her own forehead. “No! You featherbrain. I mean …. I know why you were foalnapped.”

Scootaloo could see where this was headed. Applebloom wanted to play detective and maybe get a cutie-mark in investigation or something. A noble effort, but something Scootaloo had to put a stop to before things got out of hoof. “Applebloom, I don’t think-”

A hoof on her mouth silenced her. “No, Scoots,” declared the yellow filly. “I know what happened. Because I am exactly … like … you.”

The orange pegasus narrowed her eyes, thinking about what her friend could mean. What struck her as odd was the way she said “exactly.” She was being serious. She meant literally the same. That meant …

Scootaloo’s eyes shot open and she gasped. Her friend had been replaced by a changeling. She tried to shout but Applefake’s hoof was already covering her mouth. She then tried struggling but already being on her back and covered with a sheet made it easy to be pinned down.

“No, shhhshshsshh Scoots it’s me. Calm down it’s really me, I swear. I swear on the cutie mark I haven’t earned yet that I am Applebloom.”

Scootaloo wasn’t so much scared as she was angry, but that last statement gave her pause. It actually even made sense. If Scootaloo herself was a changeling, but hadn’t been replaced, (well, obviously she had, but not for the sake of simply being who she was) then it stood to reason that the same could be true of Applebloom.

The yellow filly felt her friend relax some and gave her a stern look. “Yer good now?” and removed her hoof as she nodded.

“Sorry, AB,” she apologized. “I thought you were … well-”

“I know what you thought,” she stepped back and let Scootaloo sit up again “an’ it’s fine. I kinda expected it. What I didn’t expect was fer you to be some kinda mega-changeling. You gave me a powerful headache before the other brains started toning you out.”

“The other guy called me ‘a royal’ or something,” Scootaloo explained, “Said I was strong enough to control drones or something.” A thought occurred to her and she squinted hard in Applebloom’s direction.

“Uhh … Scoots,” she asked, “why’re you look’n at me that way?”

“Mind control cutie mark,” she answered with obvious strain in her voice.

To this Applebloom struck her friend on the top of her orange head. “What good is hav’n a stronger brain if all you got in there is rocks? I just told ya yer bein’ toned out. Not to mention it don’t work like that anyhow.”

Scootaloo rubbed the sore spot on her head, a little disappointed she couldn’t make Applebloom jump on one leg making a silly face. “Well you’re so smart why you tell me.”

“It’s,” she thought for a moment, “it’s like your feelings become theirs.”

The orange filly narrowed her eyes in annoyance. “What sort of namby-pamby nonsense is that?”

“I’m bein’ serious, Scoots. That’s what happens.” She tried digging for an example. “It’s like, how you want that new scooter they’re sell’n at Barnyard Bargains, but the clerk won’t haggle down to a price you can pay. If he were a changeling and you weren’t a moron afraid of a little ‘namby-panby nonsense,’ you could make him feel how much you wanted that scooter. He’d know how much you needed it, how your life wouldn’t ever be complete without it, and how all he has to do is drop the price ten more measly bits.”

“Darned cheapskate won’t even let me layaway it.”

“FO-cus,” commanded Applebloom, punctuating each syllable with a clop of her hooves. “What I’m say’n is that if you feel your desires in here,” she pressed one hoof on Scootaloo’s heart, “and calmly share them in here,” pointing a second at her head, “then those feelings will become everypony else’s.”

After a few moments of looking at her friend a little dumbfounded, Scootaloo found her voice “Applebloom that … that was … ptstssschHAHAha,” her façade of seriousness broke into bouts of laughter. “That was the most sappiest thing I’ve ever heard you say.”

“Most sappiest ain’t even-”

“Feeeel your desires. Hahaha”

“Are you about fin-”

“Search your feelings young ponewan.”

“I’m being ser-”

“Wait, wait, one more, one more,” she said still giggling between breaths. In a swift motion Scootaloo gripped Applebloom’s face between her hooves and chanted, “Your mind, to my mind. My thoughts, to OW-” she cried as her friend’s hoof revisited the upside of her head. “Hey, I was just fooling around.”

“Well cut it out, this is serious.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m ‘one of the brains’ so I have to get used to it. But can I at least call the doc for something to eat. I don’t really want to get sappy on an empty stomach. And no more braining me today, ponies are gonna think I’m sprouting a horn.”

“Do they actually have anything good to eat here?” She asked as Scootaloo searched the bed remote.

“Just the dessert really. I mean, everything looks worse than it actually tastes, but that’s not saying much.” She picked up the remote but Applebloom stopped her from pushing the nurse-call button.

“Hold on, let me try something,” she asked.

“What are you-”

“Shh”

“I thought-”

“Shh”

Scootaloo closed her mouth and watched as Applebloom … sat there with her eyes closed …

… and breathed

… silently

… doing nothing

“Can I call for my food now?”

“Will ya just … shut … up for five seconds? I’m trying to-” A knock on the door interrupted her, but she smiled at this disturbance, “to impress ya.” She hopped down from the bed and opened the door. There was no one there, but a slotted tray sat on the floor just outside. The yellow filly picked it up and revealed to her friend that it contained only six cups of chocolate pudding and two spoons. “Well?” she smirked.

“Did you just?”

“Impress ya? I think so, but that’s for you to decide,” she snarked tossing up a cup, taking one for herself, and setting the tray on the bedside table.

“Oh ha ha,” she retorted. “How’d you do that?”

“A touch a’ super sappy, a dash a’ namby pamby. You wouldn’t understand.”

“C’mon, Bloom, I’m serious. You closed your eyes and thought about pudding cups for a minute and they get hoof delivered to your room?”

“I told you it don’t work like that. I simply reached out with my desire for food and impressed upon the notion for extra dessert.”

“Applebloom … this is ALL dessert. How long have you been doing this?” she asked before licking the foil top clean.

“Bout’ a year and a half now.”

“Eoo bem ah,” Scootaloo spat the foil top out of her mouth. “You were a changeling before even met us?”

Applebloom leveled a glare at her friend. “So were you.”

“You know what I meant.”

“Yeah, I never told you because you wouldn’t understand. Heck, yer just like me now and you still couldn’t understand even if ya wanted to?”

“Huh?” Scootaloo could feel the topic shifting to something a bit more serious. “Why not?”

Applebloom looked down at her hooves, and the unopened pudding cup. “It’s differn’t fer me than you.” She hadn’t meant to start making this about herself. “I …” She’d meant to start teaching Scootaloo how to integrate, to become part of the mind. It’s what she was supposed to be doing. “I didn’t have some other changeling pick’n me up when it happened. Try’n ta keep me safe.”

“W-what happened?”

“I was out in the orchard, buck’n with my sis.” She took a deep breath and exhaled. “Bout’ half way through the day my head started throbb’n and spinn’n someth’n fierce. Sis thought I was com’n down with something and sent me home but … but as soon as I see the barn over the hill I hear this voice tell’n me to run. Run and hide. I didn’t know what to think. Might’a been goin crazy, might’a just been sick, might’a been a prank. But then there were least a dozen of them, all tell’n me to hide. I was so scared I didn’t know what to do.”

“At first I ran fer the house. Big Mac was injured but I knew he’d keep me safe. But, the voices just got louder, tell’n me to run away from there. To hide where I couldn’t be found by anypony. Something about ‘letting the transformation come’ or something. So I … I ran fer the forest.”

“I was so out of breath when I got there I just collapsed. Then I started hurt’n so bad I thought I was burn’n alive. That’s when I changed for the first time. Scared myself half to death when I saw my reflection in a pond nearby.”

“The voices all told me I had to change back, or … or hide forever. I think it was just a test to see how good I was, but that scared me even more. It took me a couple tries but I figured it out.”

Applebloom felt a tear drip off the end of her snout and she wiped her eyes. “But you … yer this super special changeling and ya’ haven’t even done anything. I’ve been try’n fer years to get stronger so’s they can’t force me to do what I don’t wanna. S’why I spend so much time in town try’n to absorb emotion. An’ it turns out ya’ll are changelings too.”

Scootaloo’s ears drooped and she looked away. “Oh … I … I didn’t know.”

“It’s alright,” amended Applebloom. “It ain’t nopony’s fault. It’s just frustrat’n. My whole life I thought I could be the best at whatever I wanted with hard work and elbow grease an’ you just go an’ showed me up without even try’n.”

The little pegasus gave a humorless laugh. “Oh, you know me. I’m just … too good for my own good, right?”

This got a smile and a shove from Applebloom. “Oh shut up, you ain’t that special.”

Scootaloo smiled back. Glad to have her friend back in amicable spirits. However, there was a detail niggling in the back of her mind. A question of context. “Applebloom … you said ‘ya’ll’ didn’t you?”

“Huh?”

Scootaloo knew the question was odd but she didn’t want to rehash a detail Applebloom probably didn’t remember. “What I mean to ask is …”

“…Where’s Sweetie Belle?”