//------------------------------//
// Wherefore Art Thou So Pony? 
// Story: In a Name 
// by Detectivefish 
//------------------------------//

Almost immediately after the flames began to roar, there was a gasp from Fluttershy, who rushed over toward the column of fire, before stopping, wincing as the heat stung at her eyes, before backing away. She looked toward Princess Celestia, who simply returned the look, both ponies saying nothing.

After a while the bright green flames that surrounded Wisp slowly began to dim, then faded out completely. Left there was a full-grown Changeling, holes dotted about the cannon of the incredibly long legs, the twisted, equally be-holed horn, and the translucent wings glinting in the sunlight, and finally a golden-brown mane and tail, both of which were abnormally long, the only bright colours on an otherwise charcoal grey body, outside of three noticeable scars running along the right-hoof side of Whisper Wind's body, just passing by the wing. For a long time, there was silence as Princess Celestia just stared. Had there been somepony there who was an expert in analysing the nuances and subtleties of her expressions, they might have suggested she actually looked surprised. Then, in a loud clear voice did Whisper Wind speak.

"Ow!" Whisper Wind stated. "Buck!"

Princess Celestia didn't react at all to that, but she could practically feel Fluttershy's shocked glare, as the now former pony performed a quick self-examination, looking almost but not completely satisfied with what was there. Fluttershy coughed imperiously, to which Whisper Wind just looked bashful.
"Sorry, mom" the Changeling said quickly. Before Fluttershy could say anything in response, Whisper Wind grimaced.

"That hurt more than I was expecting" Whisper Wind stated, before suddenly looking concerned. Slowly, bright blue eyes turned to look at Princess Celestia.
"Am I-?" the changeling asked. Princess Celestia nodded, to which the changeling's eyes darted about rapidly.

"Just a moment" she said.

In an instant flames wrapped around the pony's form once more, fading to reveal a golden brown pegasus stallion. After a few seconds, he sighed, then started blinking.

"And it all comes rushing back" he said, before turning to Princess Celestia. "Could you step back a bit, Your Highness?"
She did so, at which point Wisp looked far more relaxed. "That's slightly better" he said, before adding, "sorry, your emotions are a bit strong. Or perhaps my Changeling half feels it has to make up for lost time."

For a few moment, he said nothing, merely looking up into the sky, then sighed once more.
"You know, for a while there, I almost thought it would work out, that I could've stayed like this" he stopped, and shook his head. "Doesn't matter now, does it? I'm not a pony. I never was a pony, and I'll never be a pony."

"Then what are you?" Princess Celestia asked. Whisper Wind's ear twitched.
"Pardon?"

Princess Celestia was staring at him, "if you aren't a pony, who and what would you want to be?"
There was the barest pause before he answered.

"Whisper Wind, son of Fluttershy. Not royalty, not a Changeling. Not anypony important, or special. Just another pegasus. Just me." He pawed at the ground absent-mindedly.
"But you are in a relationship with my grand-niece" Celestia said, "and the last time I checked, she was a Princess."

Wisp nodded. "Can't help who you fall in love with."
Princess Celestia's expression didn't change in the slightest, as she looked toward Fluttershy, who had made her way over toward Wisp, and was now eyeing her son with concern.

"I'm alright" he said, trying to sound reassuring and, from Fluttershy's expression, failing.
"If you say so" she said quietly.

"And it seems to me, the last time I checked," Princess Celestia continued, "your mother is mayor of Ponyville. And the former bearer of the Element of Kindess. And a former model. And the first pony to become friends with Discord."
"You can stop any time you like" Wisp interrupted, his voice terse. Silence reasserted itself once more.

"You're right though" he said, "I would like to be a normal pony, but it doesn't mean I am. "
"Does it matter?" she asked. For several seconds, Wisp said nothing, his brow furrowing, before he shook his head.

"I am Whisper Wind, of Ponyville" he stated. "My mother is Fluttershy, and as far as I'm concerned, nothing can change that."
There was a pause, "and I love Shining Sapphire. Even though she is a princess, who lives in a castle. And... being with her would likely mean being as close to royalty as makes no difference."

He sighed again, this time sounding angrier than before.
For a few seconds, Princess Celestia stared almost impassively toward the Changeling. "Do you know" she said, "I don't actually like tea very much."

Wisp nodded. "So I've heard."
Princess Celestia raised an eyebrow to this, before continuing. "I don't hate it. I'm not exactly crazy about it, it just is. I can take it or leave it. But ponies expect me to drink tea, and so I do, because it is one small thing in my life. Like tedious paperwork, or the gala."
Wisp just nodded, remembering Shining Sapphire's miniature burst from the day before.

"And while these small things can, sometimes, be more trouble than they are worth, they don't automatically detract from the value of everything else. I accept that there are parts of being a Princess I do not enjoy, and never will, because there are other parts that are so much better, so much more important that one or two tiny troubles."
"So" she said, beginning to smile, "is she worth it?"

Wisp nodded, slowly at first, but then more confidently. "Yes. Of course she's worth it. She's worth Tartarus" he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Suddenly, Princess Celestia just smiled, and suddenly Wisp could have sworn everything seemed to have gotten just a little bit brighter.
Wisp blinked, and then smiled slightly. "It's weird, I'm never usually this talkative about anything. Ever."

He sighed. "I usually just keep it all bottled up. Which might, I suppose, explain last night's meltdown."
There was a pause as he briefly shifted, and apparently felt the need to continue. "I mean, I keep pretty much everything to myself, because... because I was afraid. Afraid that if somepony found out what I am and who I am, they'd..." he trailed off.

"Which doesn't hold much water when everypony either already knew, or just didn't care" he said, a small amount of what sounded like bitterness slipping into his voice.
"Anyway" he said, matter-of-factly, "I think that's probably enough speechifying and whining and not doing what I said I was going to do. It's time I went and made up for some lost time."

He smiled warmly at Princess Celestia. "Thanks for the tea, your highness, and the help."
"That's quite alright" she said in return, "just be sure to give Shining Sapphire my love when you see her."

"I'll do that" he nodded, tensing and crouching slightly in preparation for taking off, before looking toward his back, and facehoofing. "Saddlebag" he murmured, rushing off toward the cottage, stopping briefly to hug Fluttershy, and then again once he had the saddlebag. He slowly tensed himself, and then took off into the air, soaring away in the direction of Canterlot.

A few seconds later he turned around, heading straight back toward Princess Celestia. He hovered a few feet away from her, and looked incredibly nervous.
"Actually, before I go, Your Highness, can I just ask for a favour?"

Princess Celestia looked momentarily surprised. "Ask away" she said. Wisp drifted slightly closer, whispering into her ear. Slowly she began to smile slowly.
"I'll... see what I can do" she said, looking for all the world like she was trying not to smirk. Wisp smiled back.

"Thanks, again."
He glanced back toward Canterlot. "Anyway. Gotta go. She's waiting for me."

And with that, Whisper Wind took off in the direction of Canterlot, rapidly becoming a dot in the distance. After a few seconds Fluttershy spoke.
"You know" she observed, "I've never seen him fly quite so fast in his entire life."

"Really?" Princess Celestia asked.
"Rainbow Dash did offer to tutor him in flying when he was younger" she noted, before smiling, "and he thought I never noticed him coming back from school late, and all those baths he kept taking, or that fact that Rainbow Dash was in town."

"You know" Celestia said, "I had a similar experience with Cadance when she was that age, always thinking I'd never noticed her sneaking out on dates with Shining Armor,"
The two ponies chuckled, Celestia shaking her head at the memories. "Well, I should probably be getting back to Canterlot, before somepony needs me. It was a pleasure seeing you, as always."

"Likewise" the mare smiled, as Princess Celestia's horn glowed, before she vanished an instant later. Fluttershy turned around to see Minty Pie still standing in her front doorway, mouth unhinged in a fashion that, had she not been one of Pinkie Pie's children, might have had Fluttershy worried. She walked over toward the filly.
"Minty?" she asked cautiously. A Pie with their mouth hanging open could have reacted in any fashion. Conversely, the problem with a Pie was that they could react in any fashion. So Fluttershy was both surprised and not surprised by Minty's reaction.

"Banana said he was boring!" the filly said, insistently.
Fluttershy gently wrapped a wing around the young mare. "Come on" she said, "I think perhaps we could both do with something to drink."

"'kay" Minty Pie nodded, vaguely aware somepony was speaking to her.


*****


Whisper Wind soared toward Equestria at phenomenal speeds. Not ludicrously fast, and definitely not Rainbow Dash-fast, but definitely somewhere above very fast. Of course, even at the speeds he was going at, it was still going to take time to get to Canterlot, and therefore he found himself thinking about things, about how he was going to talk to Shining Sapphire, and how he actually felt... pretty good, for a pony who had just seven minutes before suffered an uncontrolled magical burst. In fact, all his usual concerns and fears just didn't seem to matter as much. He was beginning to wonder if his brain had been scrambled from the sudden shock of going from pony to changeling in an instant, or because of (accidently) absorbing some emotions from Princess Celestia, or perhaps the tea had just been that relaxing. Or maybe all of them at once.

Either way, he felt good about things, for the first time in what felt like a very long time.
Suddenly, he stopped, quickly remembering to flap his wings to stay airborn, as he facehoofed.

Something was obviously wrong.


*****


Shining Sapphire was not one for cussing. Perhaps this was to do with the fact that her parents would have disapproved of such a thing, or because outside of the events of yesterday, she'd never had cause to do so. However, if ever there was cause to cuss, then randomly bursting into flames, while feeling like she was being torn apart and put back together again would definitely be as good a reason as any.
"Ow" she murmured, rubbing a hoof against the side of her head. Then she blinked. She stared, and while she was still in an incredibly dark cave, there was somehow just enough light for her to see a bright pink hoof in front of her face. She looked down. She wasn't hanging from the ceiling anymore. Her legs were free. She looked again at her hoof, and then got the sudden feeling to check her teeth, slowly running her tongue over them. No sharp fangs were there to be felt. She felt a momentary surge of triumph. She was a flesh-and-blood pony again! Perhaps, she reasoned, Wisp had managed to do something.

Then she heard the low groan from somewhere in the darkness.
"What the hay was that?" she heard Chrysalis groan. Then she felt a pair of hooves slam her against a wall.

"You!" Chrysalis growled. "Nice try, but you aren't escaping so easily. Now, hold still..."
The mare's horn glowed sickly green again. In an instant, Shining Sapphire tried to think of some means to get the mare off her. She doubted levitating her would work, and she didn't have any form of combat spells, and with the way the queen's horn was glowing, she doubted she had the time to cast anything like that anyway. She needed something quick, something simple, somethi-

She smiled. Chrysalis stopped casting, and blinked.
"What exactly is it you're smiling about?" she asked. Shining Sapphire looked into her eyes.

"Oh, well" she said, trying to sound as calm as possible, "just thinking about something, is all. You see, if I had kidnapped a pony, brought her to goodness knows where and was preparing to brainwash the heck out of her so that she went along with my ludicrous plan, I'd make sure she couldn't cast anything."
Chrysalis just grinned right back at her, "this may surprise you, but I do know a few things about what you can do, and the last time I checked, you had practically no combat magic worth a damn."

"True" Shining Sapphire smiled nervously, "I'm not a fighter, or an adventurer like my cousin. I'm a scholar, at best. Heck, even my parents were surprised when my Cutie Mark wasn't a book, or book-related. But my point is, like all bookworms, I have on occasion stayed up long past my bedtime, reading under the bedcovers."
"Your point?" Chrysalis asked, her voice dripping with apathy.

"Well," Shining Sapphire said, calmly, "that little illumination spell I was just casting? I can make it brighter."
At that, she focused, and there was a massive blast of intense light. Chrysalis flinched, drawing her hooves back, which Shining Sapphire took as her chance to rush past the mare, her horn still glowing slightly, until she came to what appeared to be a door.

"For the love of-" she heard Chrysalis mutter, "someone get her!"
"Wow" Shining Sapphire called out brightly, "have you ever considered writing for theatre?"

She quickly tried opening the door, and to her joy found that it was not locked, but on the other side there was a corridor that was entirely pitch black. She stopped to review her situation. She was still in an incredibly poorly lit place, with no idea where she was or how to get to somewhere safer, and she hoped more well lit. Then she heard the angry buzzing sound, and remembered she was in a cave or a building designed to feel like a cave, but which apparently had a 'retinue' of Changelings in it. She wasn't sure how much Changelings there had to be to count as a retinue, but she was fairly certain she didn't want to know at that point. She began running, noting that the floor didn't exactly feel very cave-like. She stopped again, once she was aware the buzzing sound had stopped slightly. All she had to do was work out where she was. If she had to guess, she probably wasn't too far away from anywhere, unless the Changelings actually did live in a wasteland, as Wisp had said. Unless, she noted, they'd moved since then, which she supposed was possible.

Then she heard the sound of movement, and began running again. As she did, light started appearing around her, like lamps being turned on, but the light they provided wasn't actually enough to see where she was going. She looked ahead. She was almost in at the end of a corridor. She skidded to a halt, just managing to stop before she slammed into the wall. She looked about, and then saw it hadn't been a dead end, but there had been another corner. Hearing a skittering noise from somewhere in the darkness, she decided to keep going.


*****


Wisp made his way through the streets of Canterlot, glancing back-and-forth as he tried to determine which house was Twilight Sparkle's. He knew the general look of the building from her description of it, but he couldn't recall where exactly it was. He frowned, but continued onward, until he saw two ponies looking about, apparently concerned. He decided to try asking them.

"Excuse me" he said, trying to get their attention. One of them, a mare, turned around to glance at him.
"Yes?" she asked, her voice sounding weirdly familiar for some reason.

"I was wondering if you knew where Twilight Sparkle's house is" he said. The mare stared at him for some time, then glanced to the dark blue pony next to her. To Wisp's eyes it looked almost like they were engaged in some unspoken conversation. Actually, now that Wisp thought about it, the mare looked amazingly like Twilight Sparkle, just older, and without wings.

"It's just there's somepony there I need to talk to. Or apologise. Or apologise and then talk with."
"So" the mare said, "I suppose that'd make you this 'Whisper Wind' we've been hearing about, then."

"Yes'm" Wisp said, "that's me."
"I thought you'd be shorter, all things considered" the mare smirked, before it vanished. "But if you're looking for Shining Sapphire, she's not there. She's disappeared."

"Disappeared?" Wisp repeated. Twilight Velvet (if he remembered her name right) nodded.
"Went out to go coffee a while ago, and didn't come back."

She shifted, "Twinkie was about to go find her, but then she got summoned to the castle."
"And that was at least half an hour ago, I'm guessing" Wisp said. The mare looked at him suspiciously.

"Yes, actually" she frowned, "how did you know?"
"Because a short while ago Princess Celestia just appeared on my mother's doorstep saying Twilight Twinkle had asked her to 'help' me with a problem."

"She was talking about something that was bothering Sapphy" Night Light (Wisp was certain that was his name) spoke up, "who, I can't help but note, looked amazingly like a Changeling earlier. Why is that?"
"I'm not sure" Wisp sighed, "she's the brains of the relationship. If there is a relationship anymore."

He facehoofed again. "Sorry" he said, on seeing the slightly alarmed expressions on Twilight Velvet and Night Light's faces, "I said I was going to stop whining, and there I go whining again."
"Why would you not think you two are in a relationship?" Night Light asked.

"I might have done something incredibly stupid things" Wisp muttered.
"Like taking her saddlebag?" Twilight Velvet said. He looked at her, and noticed the amused grin she had, then looked over toward his saddlebag.

"Yes" he said awkwardly, "like... exactly, taking her saddlebag."
"Son" Night Light said calmly, placing a hoof on Wisp's shoulder, "I wouldn't worry about it. Sapphy didn't seem angry at you for whatever it was you did, or thought you did" he mumbled.

"Oh" Wisp said. "Okay, then."
He frowned, and looked about. He was certain he could hear a buzzing noise. He knew the noise. It was usually a noise that followed his waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, the noise of Changelings communicating with one another. But it sounded faint, distant, somehow, but he was certain that it sounded... annoyed.

"What is it?" he heard Twilight Velvet ask. He blinked.
"I'm not sure... but..." he trailed off. Then he looked about.

"I think, though, I have an idea where Sapphy might be."
At this, Twilight Velvet raised an eyebrow. "Alright then, I suppose if you know what you're doing, we'll just... toddle off and leave everything to you, then."

Wisp stared at the mare for a moment, his mind struggling to understand how the mare in front of him could possibly have been the mother of Twilight Sparkle. However, he did see the resemblance to Twilight Twinkle. Perhaps it was the annoyed look on her face.
"It was nice meeting you" he said, "hope we do it again."

Twilight Velvet just sighed irritably, then smiled, "yes. Nice meeting you. Hope everything works out with you two."
"A pleasure" Night Light just said, as the two ponies turned away. Wisp just stood there, and frowned. For a moment, he tried to think of a way to figure out where Shining Sapphire was. Then the thought occurred to him. Reluctantly, he focused, blocking out all other noise, until the only sound he could hear was the distant buzz of the Changeling swarm, the noise he'd spent his entire life trying to block out. It sounded so distant, now. Perhaps, he reasoned, it was fitting. The minute he stopped fussing about such things, it disappeared. There was probably a word for that.

Slowly, he flapped his wings, taking to the air again. When he was suitably high enough over Canterlot, he turned this way and that way, until he seemed sure as to which direction to go in. Then he set off as fast as he could.


*****


Shining Sapphire stopped to catch her breath, after several minutes of corridors, more corridors, and the odd staircase. Now, she saw where she was. It looked like a massive hallway, one that was far better lit than anywhere else she'd been yet. And now that her eyes were adjusting, it looked incredibly ornate, especially for the Changelings. Columns, and bannisters, and a massive set of stairs, and odd shafts of light. It looked almost like something that belonged in a castle. She looked about, suddenly feeling the need to go slowly, and get a good look at it all. She had, once or twice in her youth, tried reading about architecture. It hadn't been as fascinating as, say, entomology, but it had its moments. However, she still couldn't tell what style the Changelings, if they were the ones who'd built it, had used. A part of her felt a sudden desire to go ask somepony if they knew anything, and that it wasn't going to stop until it got answers. She tried to force it down. Getting out of the building with her mind intact sounded so much more lucrative to her at that moment. She looked about, hoping to see a giant door of some kind. She saw arches, more bannisters, what looked like a candelabra, and then... she smiled, as she saw what was indeed a door. She cautiously made her way over toward it. She was just barely there when she heard a loud slamming noise. Quickly she dimmed the light from her horn, and tried to find somewhere small and out of the way. There were a few quick buzzes. Changelings were in the hall with her. She tried shuffling away from the door, without attracting any attention. She quickly found a small spot of the room, behind a column, and tried to think.

'Okay, Changelings have followed me. Great. Which means there's no way I can open that door without them noticing me, and mostly likely swarming over me. Wonderful. Of course, I can't panic about this, because then they'll just find me anyhow. Which means I've got to not feel anything.'
She sat there, hearing the sound of the Changelings walking about, slowly at that, as she tried not to feel anything. It took her a few seconds to realise that wasn't working in the slightest, especially since in order not to feel she had to think about nothing, and her mind kept thinking of Wisp, hoping that whatever he was doing, he was okay.


*****


Wisp found his wings beginning to ache. No wonder, really, considering he barely used them for more than a minute at a time, and he'd been flying now for much longer than that. He ignored the aching, and the stinging of the wind in his eyes, pushing himself further onward, going as fast as possible.

It was a universally recognised fact of science that regardless of things like wing-power, weight, aerodynamics and the laws of physics themselves that there was absolutely nothing faster than a pony fuelled by their own determination. However, scientists were still unsure as to the effect of love on a pony's speed. The cynical sorts most likely would have argued that the speed of a pony fuelled by love would most likely be going at the speed of 'not fast enough'.


*****


Shining Sapphire shook her head, trying not to feel anything again. She sat there, hearing the sound of a hoof tapping.
"Oh, Shining Sapphire" the familiar voice of Chrysalis called out, "where are you?"

Shining Sapphire felt her wings tense up.
"Come now, Shining Sapphire" Chrysalis said, sounding almost... maternal. Shining Sapphire felt something twist in her stomach, which had the unfortunate side-effect of reminding her she had skipped breakfast, and now lunch.

"Come on out, dear. Don't be so shy. If there is a problem here, why don't we talk about it?"
She frowned. Did Chrysalis honestly expect her to do that? Surely she wasn't that mad?

"I admit, I... over-reacted, earlier. A lot of things were said that, in hindsight, shouldn't have been, and I got.. swept up in my memories."
Shining Sapphire resisted the urge to roll her eyes, as she felt her tension grow. Chrysalis was building up to something, she knew it. But what?

"We don't have to be enemies, Shining Sapphire. We both just want what's best for dear Wisp. We both know he'll never achieve anything by... hiding?"
Shining Sapphire felt something rising in her throat, even as she found herself wondering when Chrysalis had ever considered Wisp's opinions. Then she realised what Chrysalis had said. She looked about. Several pairs of bright blue eyes were clearly fixed on her, the Changelings they belonged to were just staring at her, silently, with the exact same blank expression. She walked out, and sighed. Even in the mild gloom, Chrysalis's fangs were glinting in the darkness from the top of the large stairway.

"What a clever girl" Chrysalis smiled. "But really, what did you think running would solve?"
Shining Sapphire stopped in front of the stairway, and glanced up at Chrysalis, her eyes not blinking. Slowly, Chrysalis began making her way down toward her, step by step.

"This is our castle, after all. And we know every inch of it" she grinned, slowing her pace as she neared the young alicorn, whose expression hadn't changed in the slightest. She frowned.
"But, then," she sighed, "I suppose my child had to get it from somepony, and he certainly didn't get it from that spineless mare from Ponyville."

Shining Sapphire offered no opinion on this, which gave Chrysalis pause. She stared at the mare for a moment. Then, Shining Sapphire dissipated, turning into a light smattering of bright pink fragments. Chrysalis's jaw dropped, and she glanced about wildly.
"Don't just stand there!" she roared at the Changelings, "find her!"

The real Shining Sapphire, meanwhile, shook her head, as her horn dimmed again. She hadn't been expecting her construct to work as well as it had, even with some extra spells thrown in to make it look more like her. But it managed to do its job successfully, allowing her to slip past the Changelings. Of course, she noted, she still had the problem of escaping from wherever it was she was, especially since that had looked tremendously like the front door. She looked about. She was in yet another featureless corridor. Then and there she made a vow, that if she ever had a castle of her own, she was going to ask the designer to add some variety to the hallways, rather than just reusing the same design over and over again.

She frowned. Thinking about interior design wasn't going to help her escape. She sat down, and pondered, staring at the wall, and staring. Then, an idea came to her, along with something her cousin had once said.
'If there's no way out, make one.'

Her horn glowed, and in seconds a construct of a large sledgehammer appeared. She looked over at the wall, and smiled, pulling the hammer back. It took several blows, but finally the stonework cracked, and collapsed. There was a sudden burst of warm, welcoming light, and a gentle waft of air. She made her way over toward the edge and looked out. There was a vast expanse of nothing. She looked down. There was a very long drop, which apparently ended in what was most likely shallow water. She frowned. The Changelings had likely heard her little 'renovation', and were hurrying toward her. She took several steps back, braced herself, and rushed forward, then leapt, her wings unfolding as she did. She quickly began flying as fast as she could, not looking back for an instant.
It took her several minutes to realise she couldn't hear anything following after her. Strangely, she didn't feel at all comforted by this.


*****


Wisp soared through the lazy afternoon air, trying to ignore the fact that he was in fact beginning to slow down considerably after what was now at least an hour of continuous flying, though he wasn't entirely sure how long it'd been, as he'd been distracted by what to say to Shining Sapphire on the way. He had considered stopping, even if only for a few minutes, but the way his wings were feeling at the moment, if he did, it was likely he wasn't going to be able to get back into the air again. And the noise of the Changelings was so loud now. If he had to put a hoof on it, they sounded furious about something. That and he hadn't seen any signs of civilisation for some time. So he kept going, trying to think of something, anything other than the fact that his wings were really beginning to hurt. It proved difficult, but he continued onward.

After some time, he was certain he could see something. Perhaps it was the heat, or the strain, but he was certain he could see a bright pink and blue something coming in the exact direction he was headed. As he got closer, he tried slowing down a bit more in order to get a better look, only to realise the problem that raised, as the ground beneath him got closer. He braced himself, but his crumpled landing still hurt. Slowly, he tried to unfurl himself from the heap he'd become, only to see the pink and blue blur was now approaching him. As it got closer, he found himself beginning to smile uncontrollably, as the mare landed gracefully in front of him. She was smiling widely as well.
After a few seconds both ponies were hugging one another. He was fairly certain Shining Sapphire was kissing him.

"I was just coming to find you" Wisp said, now trying to get his breath back, partly from the fact that he was genuinely exhausted, and from the fact that Shining Sapphire had put a bit too much effort into her hug. Shining Sapphire just smiled at him, mercifully deciding not to point out what he meant by that.
"I was worried about you" she said. Wisp blinked, as she hugged him further.

"I... think I'm supposed to say that" he pointed out. Shining Sapphire leaned back, her face locked in contemplation.
"Doesn't sound right to me" she said, dabbing at a tear as she did, "are you sure about that?"

Wisp stared at her for a moment, before she giggled. He looked down at his hooves, trying to steel himself. He'd been going over what to say to Shining Sapphire, and now he wasn't even sure how to say it.
"What is it?" she asked. He blinked, and then tried to smile warmly.

"There's something I need to say" he started, "something I should've said ages ago."
"What?" Shining Sapphire blinked.

"I love you" he said. She stared at him, with all the air of somepony who'd just been told rain was wet and that hay was edible.
"I love you" he repeated, "and I know you're going to say it doesn't need said, but it does to me. I love you, and I'm sorry for what I did this morning. It was stupid, and..."

He groaned, "I shouldn't have run off like that. I am sorry, and I know I can't make up for it, but, I just... I'm sorry."
Shining Sapphire's wings flapped for a moment, her smile having slowly receded. "Wisp" she said quietly, dabbing a hoof against the ground, "I..."

She sighed, "I know. I do want to be mad at you for what happened this morning, but I'm not going to be. You had every right to be alarmed by what'd happened to us, just as much as me. And since this whole nonsense seems to have worn off on its own, I should probably be apologising as well."
Wisp just shook his head. "No. I can't accept that. You had far more to deal with that I did, being thrown into a completely alien body, having to see your parents not recognising you as their daughter."

He sighed, "what I was concerned with wasn't important."
The two ponies stood there for a time, utter silence between the two of them. Shining Sapphire shifted occasionally.

"Well," she eventually got out, "I don't think we just stand around here."
She glanced behind herself, "because otherwise we might have some unwanted quests for our little conversation."

She stared at Wisp, and smiled uneasily. "Don't get me wrong, I am upset with you, but that apology does go a little bit of a way toward making up for it."
She sighed, "although if you really want my complete forgiveness, you might have to work for it."

Wisp nodded, smiling. "Got it."
"So..." he asked, "what exactly happened to you? I mean, I did sort of kind of run into your grandparents, they said you'd gone out for coffee, then vanished."

Shining Sapphire shook her head. "Some Changelings showed up and zapped me. The next thing I know, I'm in this dungeon slash cave thing, with who else but your m-... with Chrysalis."
She facehoofed, "three guesses what she did next."

"She started mono-" Wisp guessed.
"She starts monologuing!" Shining Sapphire nodded, "about you! About your entire life! I almost expected her to get out baby photos at one point."

"My mom doesn't really have baby photos of me" Wisp noted. "But I think miss Pinkie has some stashed somewhere, knowing her."
Shining Sapphire stared at him for a moment. "Anyway, I figured I'd get her talking, then escape, but that sort of failed. I figured perhaps somepony would show up in the nick of time and we'd escape, but no, instead I just sort of randomly..."

She trailed off. "I don't even know what happened."
"Your biology was 'reasserting' itself" Wisp said, "at least I think that's what Princess Celestia said."

"When?" Shining Sapphire blinked.
"She came to my mom's house, with tea. We just sort of talked about stuff. Apparently Twilight Twinkle asked her for help, before going off somewhere for some reason."

Shining Sapphire frowned. "That explains why she didn't show up to perform some manner of daring rescue, I suppose. I hope she's okay" she added.
"So, how did you escape an entire bunch of Changelings on your own?" Wisp asked. Shining Sapphire shook her head.

"I don't think there was that many. And from the way the ones who captured me were acting, I'd swear... I don't know. From the way she was speaking, most of the other Changelings don't want anything to do with her. I don't think they even consider her their queen anymore."
Wisp felt his stomach drop at her change of expression. "And, much as I am loathe to admit it, she might have had a point with some of the things she said. You could probably be doing more for the Changelings than... whatever it is you've been doing for the last month."

Wisp found himself sighing. "I know" he said. "I should. She does have a point, insane though she is. There are a lot of things I could stand to improve about myself, especially when it comes to my fellow Changelings."
He stared straight ahead, "but if those other Changelings want to find me, they'll know where I am. But I'm not going anywhere near her."

The two ponies stared at one another for a few minutes, before there was a sudden gargling noise from Shining Sapphire's stomach. "Well," she said, "this conversation has been brilliant, but I think perhaps we should be moving on. I definitely need something to eat soon. And if I don't get any caffeine quickly, I might become capable of anything."

She smiled, "then we can go home."
Wisp nodded, "home" he smiled, "I like the sound of that."

Suddenly Shining Sapphire looked shocked. "Wow. What did grand-aunt Celly say to you?" she asked. Wisp just shook his head, as he slowly tried standing up. From the way his muscles were aching, he was going to be sore come the next day.
"Not much," he said, casually, "not much. She just helped me with a few things I'd been thinking about."

"That was nice of her" Shining Sapphire said, glancing at Wisp, who shook his head.
"Home, then?" she nodded.

"Home" Wisp grinned. Then his smile faltered. "Unfortunately we'll have to walk. My wings... aren't going to be much use for a while."
"At least it'll give us plenty of time to talk."

As the two began slowly walking in what they assumed was the nearest town, Wisp leaning on Shining Sapphire, a thought occurred to her.
"So, once we get home, and tell my parents about this, what're we going to do next?"

"Pretend the last two days didn't happen?" Wisp suggested. She looked at him with concern.
"Must've been quite the conversation" she said. Wisp shrugged.

"I figure either this has really happened, or there's a chance I've just gone completely insane, in which case I'm just going to run with it."
There was another pause. "I think, perhaps" Shining Sapphire stated, "we should probably talk about some things."

"A lot of things" Wisp agreed. "A lot of things."