//------------------------------//
// Chapter 12 
// Story: Love's Many Forms 
// by DraconequusMaximus 
//------------------------------//

Today is going to be fantastic! Cherry thought to himself as he trotted through the streets of Ponyville. It was a little less than a week since he & Noteworthy had taken their relationship a step further & the couple was closer than ever. Noteworthy was currently at an interview in Canterlot for a position in the in house band of a swanky restaurant, & he had the day to himself since Berry was making a delivery to princess Luna & was in Canterlot as well. He decided to head to the library & pick up a new cookbook to learn to make something to surprise Noteworthy with upon his return. He had a noticeable spring in his step on this bright sunny day.
After a few minutes of walking he came to the Golden Oaks Library, a place he frequented. He had even become friendly with princess Twilight, she admitted that hardly anypony ever checked books out anymore since television had become commonplace. He failed to notice a new addition to the door frame of the library, there were several runes carved into it along all three sides & into the floor. As he stepped through his disguise melted away silently without him even noticing. He looked around finding himself alone he trotted over to the shelf that held the cookbooks & began browsing. He was so involved with his search he failed to notice the sound of hoofsteps coming down the stairs. As he searched through the various culinary tomes a certain purple pony princess entered the room with a cup of coffee held beside her in her magical grasp. She had apparently just woken up, most likely having stayed up late researching something or other. After a moment she took a glance at her surroundings & noticed Cherry browsing the shelf. Her coffee clattered to the floor as her concentration shattered like the mug. Cherry turned to see the visibly disturbed princess.
"Oh, hello there Twilight! I hope you don't mind, I know it's a little before hours but the door was open. I wanted to surprise Blues with something special tonight so I needed a cookbook." He said with a smile, absolutely oblivious to his nakedness. After a moment of silence he realized something was wrong.
"Are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost or something." Cherry said concerned. Twilight's expression remained the same but she levitated a mirror from a desk in front of Cherry. His ears drooped as he saw his reflection, his natural, changeling reflection.
...
"I don't suppose you'd believe that it's Nightmare Night?" Cherry said with a weak smile as he looked out from behind the mirror.
His response was a magical glow that slammed the door & produced a forcefield over it & the windows, effectively trapping him with a now very angry looking alicorn princess. Faced with no other options he did the only thing he could think of & fainted on the spot.
When he awoke it was dark & he was chained to a chair, he tried using his magic but not even a spark would appear from his horn. A second later the light clicked on revealing he was in what he assumed was Twilight's basement. It was filled with more books, a vast array of scientific apparatus, & one still angry looking purple alicorn. With the lights on he could see there was a strange ring engraved with runes on his horn preventing the flow of magic. His eyes returned to Twilight, who was now walking towards him.
"Well when I carved magic dispelling runes into the door frame last night I never thought I'd get a test run so quickly." Twilight said before adopting an even angrier expression. "What are you doing in Ponyville? Are there others? Why are you purple?"
Cherry, having been in this situation exactly twice before, was taking this fairly well.
"Well, why are you purple?" Cherry asked sarcastically. Twilight was caught off guard by this.
"I was born purple!" She said trying to regaining her composure.
"So was I, see? Not black like Chrysalis. I haven't replaced anypony, I don't cocoon ponies in slime, hypnotize ponies, spit acid, & as far as I know I'm the only changeling for hundreds of miles." Cherry said trying to remember all the things he had been asked before in these instances. Twilight looked him over skeptically before speaking again.
"You sound like this has happened to you before, who knows you're a changeling?" Twilight said before summoning a quill & paper.
"Berry Punch, Lyra & Bon Bon, Noteworthy, & Ruby Pinch, Berry's foal. Oh, & now you I guess." Cherry said hoping that they wouldn't get in trouble for helping him. Twilight raised an eyebrow in suspicion.
"Five ponies know that you're a changeling?" She said in disbelief.
"Yes, I actually work for Berry. I'm her assistant slash quality control expert. She has me make sure that there's an adequate amount of love in her work. Lyra & Bon Bon are good friends even if Lyra creeps me out sometimes. I help Pinchy with her homework sometimes. & Noteworthy & I are in a happy relationship, I really was looking for a cookbook. He's been upset that he hasn't been able to find work & I wanted to have something special for him when he came home from his interview today." Cherry said happily recalling all the good experiences he had had since arriving in Ponyville. Twilight lit her horn again & the chains fell to the floor, but the ring remained on his horn. He looked at Twilight in surprise.
"You believe me?" Cherry said looking over himself & back to Twilight.
"I do, mostly because that ring would have given you a few thousand volts of electricity if you had lied to me." She said pointing to the rune covered ring. Cherry was happy to be out of his bonds but was a little worried about the shocking device about two inches from his brain.
"So... do I get to go home?" Cherry said hopefully.
"No, not yet. We still need to talk to somepony else about this." Twilight said summoning a new piece of parchment which she began writing on. After a moment she finished & the letter vanished seemingly being sent to the "somepony" in question. She led him back up to the ground floor of the library. They sat there in silence on opposite sides of the room waiting for whoever was coming. After a few minutes Cherry decided it would be a good idea to apologize to Twilight.
"So... I'm really sorry about lying about who I was. I just thought that ponies would freak out after the black swarm's invasion of Canterlot." He said with no small amount of regret in his voice. Twilight looked at him like he was crazy before answering.
"Isn't that, like what changelings do?" Twilight said confusedly. 
"I'm not an infiltrator, they're the ones that leave to collect love for everyling else. I was a royal attendant, I was basically mother's butler." Cherry said trying to put changeling terminology into pony terms.
"If you were just a butler why would you leave & come here?" Twilight asked genuinely interested.
"Chrysalis." Cherry said with ears drooping again. Twilight opened her mouth to ask him to elaborate, but was interrupted by two flashes of bright light in the center of the room.
When the lights vanished, there in the center of the room was princess Celestia & princess Luna accompanied by Noteworthy & Berry Punch respectively. Berry & Noteworthy both looked over to see Cherry sitting there smiling sheepishly at them. Noteworthy was visibly worried, Berry merely facehooved upon seeing him in his native form. The princesses eyes were also upon him making him sink into his seat as far as he could, trying to make himself as unnoticeable as possible.
"Changeling, arise so we might speak with thee." Princess Luna spoke out in an authoritative tone. Cherry jumped to the floor & bowed to the alicorn one after the other until Celestia raised a hoof, telling him to stop. He looked up to her fearfully, he noticed after a moment that she didn't seem angry, more concerned.
"Princess Twilight penned us a hasty letter telling us to locate these ponies in Canterlot, telling us they could attest to your character. Would you mind telling us your name?" Celestia said in a surprisingly motherly tone. It helped ease Cherry's nerves a little.
"C-Cherry Plum, your highness. I-I really enjoy living in your country princess Celestia." He said trembling.
"I'm glad to hear that, but would you mind telling us specifically why you've taken up residence in Equestria?" She replied with a smile.
"He said it had something to do with Chrysalis, princess Celestia." Twilight said stepping forward. Cherry nodded affirmative before he spoke.
"Yes, when the black swarm was flung from Canterlot they needed to regroup. Our hive was the nearest source of love, so we were invaded. She killed mother, the queen & many of my brothers & sisters. The rest were assimilated into her hive via some sort of mind control magic. I'm technically royalty, so she kept me unharmed so I could become her... consort. I managed to escape & fled to Ponyville, knowing she wouldn't risk an attack on the home of the elements of harmony. I've been living here since Berry found me half dead in the Everfree. I haven't harmed anypony since my arrival & I have several friends who know what I am. For a little over two months Blue-I mean Noteworthy & I have been in a relationship. He discovered me on our first date, I forgot to give myself my cutie mark before leaving the house." Cherry said with as much confidence as he could muster. He looked over to Noteworthy as he finished, as did Celestia & Luna. 
"Is what Cherry Plum speaks true, Noteworthy?" Luna asked the nervous stallion standing beside her sister.
"It is your majesty. I-I've come to love him more than I ever have anypony I've ever met. He even offered me his hard earned bits when I was short of buying a home. We've been living together for about a week actually." Noteworthy said before trotting over to stand beside his coltfriend. Both stood their ground in front two of the three mightiest beings in Equestria, albeit shakily. Celestia & Luna's faces didn't change in the slightest. After a moment Luna turned to Berry.
"Berry Punch, though art our favorite brew-master & a pony we consider a friend. What say you of Cherry Plum's character?" The dark alicorn said looking at the mare expectantly. Berry trotted alongside Cherry as well.
"Cherry's a great guy, helps my daughter with homework, helps me cook, & never complains about the work I give him. He's the only pony I let help with my brew, & I trust him with my life. He's already like family, if he's in trouble then I'm gonna take just as many lashes as him Luna." Berry said placing a foreleg around Cherry's back as a show of support. Luna's expression didn't falter & after a moment Celestia spoke up.
"Well then, Princess Twilight. Your letter said that you knew Cherry when you thought he was a pony, what did you think of him?" She asked in her normal tone. Twilight was hesitant, but spoke honestly.
"He was a perfect gentlecolt, & he always showed genuine interest in learning about a broad range of topics. Even though we only ever spoke when he came to check out books, I definitely considered him a potential friend. I honestly feel kind of terrible for chaining him up in the basement after hearing his story." Twilight said before walking over & standing in front of the other three, showing her support. Both Luna & Celestia smiled at this.
"If Discord could be given a chance, I see no reason to deny this changeling who has done nothing but good citizenship." Celestia said with a smile. Cherry & the three ponies supporting him visibly brightened at this. Cherry & Noteworthy were already in each other's embrace. Luna coughed garnering everypony's attention.
"We will have to require you to not abuse your shapeshifting powers, the public will be informed of your situation & identity, but you will receive the full rights, benefits, & protection from harm we give to all citizens." Luna said looking directly at the stallions who were separating themselves from each other.
"That's fair, but... do we have to go around telling everypony? I'm not sure how well that would go over." Cherry said fairly nervous at the prospect. Twilight spoke up this time.
"Well, I haven't gotten to have a press conference yet. We could hold it in the town square tomorrow at noon. Pinkie Pie can have everything set up in a flash, should it be televised?" She asked the senior princesses.
"That sounds good, but I think the word will spread quickly enough without it being on television. Noteworthy & Berry will gather the ponies closest to Cherry & will be on stage with him tomorrow. I just hope things go smoothly, there will likely be those amongst the ponies that will be against this." Celestia said with a touch of worry. Twilight removed the ring from Cherry's horn & made it vanish to an unknown location.
"You should go home & rest, tomorrow will probably be kind of crazy." Twilight said apologetically, as she still felt responsible for the grief this might cause. Cherry nodded & said his thanks to the princesses before he, Noteworthy, & Berry left. As soon as they were out the door Cherry donned his disguise for the trip home. 
After returning their home Berry left them to talk to Lyra & Bon Bon about the situation. She promised her & Pinchy would definitely be there for Cherry. The rest of that night their was definitely an air of worry in their home, but they had each other & they would get through it. Cherry kept his disguise up, as this was likely the last time he would wear it.