//------------------------------//
// Chapter 6 
// Story: Love's Many Forms 
// by DraconequusMaximus 
//------------------------------//

Cherry just sat there as Noteworthy backed away from the table, obviously close to panic. Cherry sighed & placed his head on the table. Well, I've had a good run. Hopefully the pony princesses hold my execution at sunset, I've always liked sunset. Cherry thought to himself. He knew running wouldn't do any good, he had nowhere to run to, & he knew only what he had been told about ponies. He'd plead Berry's innocence of course, her & his new friends had been good to him. He could just say that he had hypnotized them into helping him. He looked over to Noteworthy who was beginning to come to his senses.
"Y-you're a changeling?" He managed to stammer out.
"If I said no would you believe me?" Cherry said in a downtrodden tone. Noteworthy shook his head no, as Cherry had expected.
"You're not going to run or cocoon me in slime & replace me or something?" Noteworthy said, his eyes never leaving Cherry.
"Nope, don't have anywhere to run besides Berry's house. & I'm not going back to running for my life in the Everfree, so call the guards or the princess or whatever." Cherry said through tears. He let his disguise drop through the pinkish purple flames leaving himself totally exposed to Noteworthy. Noteworthy visibly cringed as the flames appeared but he looked back at the changeling after a moment. He somewhat fit the descriptions he had been given by Canterlot ponies & tabloid ads but was also a bit different. He seemed taller than the description, he had pupils, & his colors were way off. Instead of black & green Cherry was a dull purple color with pink accents & eyes. That, & he had a set of curved plates across his back were his wings protruded from.
"A-aren't changelings black & green?" Noteworthy asked failing to sound confident. Cherry looked at him & sighed.
"Berry asked me the same thing, I'm from a different hive. Chrysalis's hive is the one that attacked Canterlot, they're from the badlands. My hive was between Equestria & the Zebra Lands, Chrysalis took over ours after the attack on Canterlot failed so they could steal our love reserves & regroup before taking over the rest of the hives." Cherry said taking a deep breath & expelling it afterwards.
"So... Berry knows you're a changeling?" Noteworthy asked genuinely confused.
"& Lyra & Bon Bon. Oh, & Pinchy. Berry found me half dead at the edge of the Everfree a few nights ago. They gave me my back story & enough love to get me up & running. I really do work for Berry, she has me check the quality of her liquor by sensing how much love is in everything." He replied with a wobbly smile before bursting into tears. His brand new life had just been shattered as quickly as it had began. 
"Who's Pinchy?" Noteworthy asked genuinely confused.
"B-Berry's f-foal." He replied while still blubbering. Noteworthy was unsure of what to do, on one hoof he was in position to uproot a confirmed changeling. On the other hoof, he was beginning to genuinely feel really bad for the guy. He had an idea, but was unsure of how well this would go, & he could very well be walking into a trap. Regardless he retrieved something from a drawer in the kitchen & stood before the sobbing changeling.
"Put your disguise back on." He said with mock authority. Cherry looked up at him to see his serious expression. He could feel, pity, confusion, fear, anger, & especially uncertainty brimming within Noteworthy. Despite this he complied, regaining his now useless disguise in a burst of colorful flames complete with cutie mark. Noteworthy slapped one end of a pair of hoofcuffs on himself, & the other to Cherry.
"Where'd you get hoofcuffs on such short notice?" Cherry said wiping tears from his eyes with his free hoof.
"I had a really weird excoltfriend, let's just leave it at that." Noteworthy said obviously uncomfortable with the situation for several reasons. 
Luckily it was dark & there were no ponies on the streets to see the pair in the compromising situation. Noteworthy led the way, Cherry hung his head without paying much attention to the path they were taking. After a few minutes of walking Noteworthy stopped as did Cherry. Cherry looked up, & much to his surprise they were at Berry's house.
"Open the door, I'd feel weird doing it. She isn't expecting me." Noteworthy said not meeting Cherry's gaze. Cherry was confused but did it anyway. As they entered the living room three mares looked at them curiously, & back down to the hoofcuffs.
"I forgot my cutie mark again." Cherry said hanging his head. Bon Bon double facehooved, while Lyra fell over laughing. Berry groaned & trotted over to the stallions.
"Dammit Cherry! We went through this!" She said as she smacked him in the back of the head. Cherry rubbed the spot wishing he wasn't in disguise for that.
"I'm sorry! I was gonna have you look me over before I left but he got here early!" Cherry pleaded with his boss & default best friend. Berry sighed & pulled a flask from her mane & took a long drink from it. She placed it back in & sighed heavily.
"Noteworthy, we know this seems bad but Cherry's a really nice stallion. He even offered to help Pinchy with her homework on top of working for me." She said placing a hoof on his shoulder.
At that moment Ruby Pinch trotted down the stairs, having heard the commotion. She looked upon the scene with dread & trotted up to Cherry & hugged him with all her might. 
"Please don't go Cherry! We really like you!" She said through tears. Cherry did his best to stifle another round of tears but failed miserably. He let his disguise burn away, the cold flames not harming Pinchy whatsoever. He held her tight tears streaming from his big pink eyes. The mares in the room weren't far from doing the same. Noteworthy himself was feeling an awful lot like the villain in the room. He sighed & undid the cuffs on both of their legs & stepped away from the group. Cherry looked over to him & pulled him into a hug.
"Oh thank you Noteworthy! If I can ever do anything for you don't hesitate to ask!" Cherry said through happy tears. Despite the size difference of himself & Cherry Noteworthy could tell the changeling was remarkably lacking in the muscle department. He felt like he was being hugged by a foal. As soon as Cherry released him he began thinking about the situation he had just roped himself into, Might as well make the most of it. He thought to himself.
"So... I've had worse first dates before." Noteworthy said with a more than slightly awkward chuckle. Cherry looked at him with confusion, he could feel relief, regret, & apologetic vibes coming off of the blue stallion.
"Are you suggesting... " Cherry cut himself off, not wanting to make any assumptions. Noteworthy was still a bit unsure of everything but knew on thing for sure.
"Yeah, I'm willing to give this a shot since you aren't hurting anyone. You genuinely seem nicer & somehow more honest than other stallions I've been with." He said looking at the hoofcuffs he was holding. The mares all seemed unsure of this but didn't say anything out loud. Ruby however hugged Noteworthy with all her might.
"Yay! If you get married I can have another new cousin!" She said looking up at the blue stallion. Noteworthy was powerless before the awesome force of Pinchy's adorableness. Cherry spoke up for him thankfully.
"It's pretty early to be thinking about that Pinchy." He said very glad chitin didn't show embarrassment. The tension in the room was broken by Lyra falling out of her chair again with laughter. Bon Bon walked over & shoved a hoof into her mouth effectively silencing the unicorn. Berry took it upon herself to put an end to the repetitive cycle of awkwardness.
"Okay everypony, I think we've all had enough excitement for tonight. Pinchy, Cherry, bed. Girls, home. Noteworthy, I'll show you to your house."  She said in an authoritative tone that commanded absolute respect. Everypony saluted her & went their various ways, Noteworthy waited at the door as Bon Bon & Lyra trotted out. As soon as everypony was where they needed to be she walked out with Noteworthy. The walk to his house was eerily silent, as soon as they reached his door Berry's serious face returned with a vengeance.
"I'm only gonna say this once Noteworthy, Me & Pinchy have accepted Cherry into our family. We both like him, & my friends like him. Pinchy could use some positive male role models in her life & I'd be happy to count you both as one." Berry took this moment to pound a perfect indentation of her hoof several inches into the stone wall of his home's exterior. "But if you do anything to put him or anypony else I love in harms way you're gonna wish that was all I did to you." She said pointing to the hoof-crater in the masonry.
"Do I make myself clear, Noteworthy?" She said leaning in uncomfortably close to his face.
"Y-yes Berry." He said shakily. Berry's expression softened into one fitting of a school teacher or nurse with remarkable speed, as if her steel melting gaze had never bore a hole into his consciousness.
"Well alright then, you'll be joining us for dinner tomorrow night. Be there by seven." She said sweetly before walking off. Noteworthy could feel his heart start back up as soon as he walked into his house. Berry's incredibly disturbing warning aside, he was eager to see this new strange relationship through. He took a deep cleansing breath & promptly passed out.