//------------------------------// // We Are More // Story: Five Changelings In Equestria: Ling // by Bucking Nonsense //------------------------------// "So, what are our options?" Gold Caduceus looked to his brother, Silver Lance, then sighed. While the two unicorns seldom saw eye to eye, the young doctor had promised to do what he could to help his new foster niece. However, there were limits... The two, and Silver's wife, Platinum Print, were seated in the doctor's office in the Shadowfax Center For The Handicapped. Doctors in the Shadowfax center specialized in the treatment of ponies and other creatures who were handicapped in one way or another, or were at risk of becoming so. There were a number of success stories in the hospital, such as ponies that many thought would never walk or fly again regaining their abilities. However, even with magic, there are limits... "Regarding her voice," Gold began, "There's not anything that can be done. I can't say for certain why, but there appears to be something wrong with the her vocal folds. She can't make any sort of noise originating from the throat. If we knew more about changeling biology, there might be steps that could be taken, but I wouldn't count on it. I've run across similar cases in young colts and fillies, and they were permanently mute. I fear that she'll never be able to speak... But I think you both knew that already." Silver Lance and Platinum Print both nodded. Silver said, "We'd heard the same from the other doctors. That's why we came here. Her condition might not be able to be cured, but it can be overcome." Gold nodded, smiling, and said, "You are absolutely correct, and that is one of the founding principles of the Shadowfax Center. I've already consulted with a few other experts here in the center, and we believe we may have a viable solution I had to ask for a favor from the princesses, but they were happy to help in this case. However, before we go into that, there is something that I feel I should bring to your attention..." The doctor tapered off, uncertain of how to start... Platinum said, "Well, what is it?" Gold sighed, then asked, "Do you know whether or not she can change her appearance?" ---------------- Ling sat in the playroom of the clinic, waiting for Silver and Platinum to finish speaking with uncle Gold. While she didn't really care if she couldn't speak, she supposed she could humor her new parents. While it would be nice to be able to speak, to sing, and all that good stuff, she'd long ago adjusted to her disability... "Thanks for coming with me, Rainbow Dash," said a voice from the hallway. "No problem, Scootaloo," another voice replied, "Twilight was headed this way anyhow, and since your parents were busy, they didn't mind me coming along with you for your checkup." Two pegasai, the older one blue with a rainbow mane, and the other orange with a purple mane, walked into the playroom, escorted by a nurse. The nurse said, "You can wait here while doctor Gold finishes with his guests." The two pegasai stopped in their tracks, staring in shock at the little changeling... Seeing the expression on the two pegasai, the nurse said, "Ah, don't mind her. Her foster parents are seeing the doctor right now." Rainbow Dash stared at the nurse as though the earth pony had sprouted a second head, and said, "But... she's a changeling..." With a shrug, the nurse asked, "And that means she doesn't have the right to treatment like anypony else?" The pegasus blushed, then said, "Sorry, I guess you're right." The smaller pegasus walked over to the little changeling and said, "Hi! My name's Scootaloo. What's yours?" Ling smiled, picked up her chalkboard, then wrote, a piece of chalk clenched between her teeth. When she was done, she held up the chalkboard for Scootaloo to see. "Ling," Scootaloo read aloud. ------------------- Silver and Platinum both stared at the doctor in shock. They'd been prepared for Ling being mute, but this... this went well beyond anything they were prepared for... "The injury appears to be long healed, but whatever caused it did significant damage," Gold continued, his expression severe. "So much so that several organs that we believe assisted in the regulation of magical energy in her body were completely destroyed. While not life-threatening, it would have caused her to lose many, if not all, of the abilities normally associated with a changeling. She can still absorb love energy for sustenance, but anything beyond that will be impossible for her." Silver rubbed his chin in thought, and said, "While I wasn't expecting this, in a way, it isn't surprising: The fact that when we first saw her, she was out on the streets without any sort of disguise, should have told us something..." Gold nodded, and said, "Yes. My primary concern is that, unlike her muteness, this isn't something she was born with, but something that was done to her afterwards. The overall pattern of the scar tissue implies that she may have been attacked by some sort of wild animal. Further examination implies that the organs in question were removed afterwards, potentially because they were infected or damaged beyond repair in the aftermath. Whoever did it used very crude tools, but in spite of that, did an impressive job in patching her up." Platinum Print placed her hoof against her mouth to stifle a gasp. That Ling was such a small child, and have gone through so much was... startling. The fact that, in spite of all that, she was such a cheerful, happy child was nothing short of a miracle... -------------------------- Scootaloo, her head tilted to one side, asked, "So, you're here because your parents want to see if your voice can be fixed?" Rainbow Dash watched the two as they played with a set of building blocks. Well, play wasn't the right word: under Ling's direction, the two were building a rather impressive tower. If Dashie had been in possession of a camera, Scoot would have wanted to take a picture of it when it was done. The changeling had an eye for art, the pegasus had to admit... Ling nodded in response to Scootaloo's question, placing a set of blocks in place near the top. After a moment's thought, she flew down from her perch, then wrote a question on the board... Scootaloo read the message, then said, in a whisper, "I'm here because my wings don't work like they should. The doctors say that my wings are 'underdevoloped'. I can flap them really fast, but they're not big enough to keep me airborne. The doctors hope that I'll have a growth spurt soon, but if it doesn't happen in the next year or two, I'll be stuck as a groundwalker forever." Ling wrote a question on the chalkboard. Scootaloo read it, then said, a little bit upset, "Of course it would be bad!" She looked on the other side of the tower the two were building, making sure Rainbow Dash didn't hear that, then turned back to the changeling. "My parents are both really, really good fliers. My dad was a recon flier in the guard for five years, and my mom used to be in the Wonderbolts. When I was born, they were both looking forward to teaching me to be as great a flier as they are. Rainbow Dash is a better flier than both of them together, and she took me under her wing last week. I have to be able to fly, or I'll disappoint everypony who cares about me..." Ling wrote a message on her chalkboard. Scootaloo read it, then her jaw dropped. Written, in nice, fanciful letters, were the words, "If they care about you, then it won't matter whether you can fly or not." Scootaloo opened her mouth to respond, then shut it, and after a moment, she said, a little angry, "And how would you know that?" The changeling wrote a new message on the board, set it against the tower, then raised up on her back legs, and Scootaloo saw something on the changeling's tummy that she hadn't before: a very ugly looking scar. Scootaloo turned towards the chalkboard and read the message there... ----------------- Two years ago... All she knew was pain. Bitten on the belly by a basilisk, it felt as though her tummy was filled with fire. The only reason she was still able to move at all, instead of being a stone statue, was because it was a baby one that had bitten her. However, the damage was done: the organs that the venom reached were turning to stone, one by one. Slow or fast, she'd still be a statue by sunset... Through eyes half-closed in pain, the little changeling saw her big sister, speaking with the doctor. 'Stilts' asked, "Can you save her?" The doctor looked at the little changeling on the table and said, "I can, but it's going to come at a price. The organs that have been touched by the venom will have to go, as well as those around the affected area. That's going to give her an even worse handicap than just being without a voice: without the ability to change, can you really call her a changeling?" Queen Chrysalis, who the little changeling always thought of as 'Stilts', because she was so tall, looked down at the little girl, and said, "Whatever she may become, she will always be my little sister. Do it." ------------------------- Scootaloo read the message written on the chalkboard. "I was bitten on the tummy by a basilisk when I was little. To save my life, the doctor had to pull out the pieces that the venom turned to stone. Because of that, I don't have any magic inside of me like other changelings do. I was sad when I found out afterwards, but my big sister Stilts told me that it didn't really matter to her whether I could change or not: she'd love me just as much." Scootaloo's jaw dropped as she read that. So... she wasn't just mute, she couldn't do any of the stuff that other changelings could do? That was... Ling wiped off the board, then wrote something else there. Scootaloo read the message on the board, then smiled. "What you can't do isn't important. What matters is what you can do. Don't let the fact that you can't do one thing keep you from doing a thousand other things. We are more than what our disabilities would make of us." Scootaloo gave Ling the biggest hug she could, and said, "Thank you." After a moment, she wiped her eyes and said, "We'd better hurry up and finish: I can't wait to see what the tower looks like when we're done." --------------------------- Silver Lance looked down at the little necklace that Twilight Sparkle had handed him. After a moment, he asked, "So this is it?" Twilight, freshly minted princess of the realm, nodded, then said, "That's it. She just has to put her hoof on it, and think of what she has to say. The charm will do the rest." Looking at the charm, Platinum Paper said, tears forming in her eyes, "Thank you, your highness." Blushing a little, Twilight said, "It wasn't a big deal: it took a little bit of research to find the right spell, and from there, I just had to swap out one line so that it would work on any creature, instead of just a pony." Silver Lance smiled, and said, "Well, I think it will be a big deal to Ling. Would you mind coming with us when we give it to her? I'm pretty sure she'll want to thank you in person." Princess Twilight Sparkle giggled, and said, "I'd be delighted." ------------------- Rainbow Dash, with Scootaloo on her shoulders, and Ling flying beside her, put a tiny flag atop the majestic tower just as Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Twilight Sparkle entered. While said in different tones, their reaction was universal. "Wow..." It was a work of art: action figures and dolls stared out of windows, manning the ramparts that surrounded the building, with little swords and spears in hoof, or were perched on little waterspouts like gargoyles. It almost came to the ceiling, all of it with incredible, almost unspeakable, detail. It almost looked like it could have been the real thing. You'd definitely want to have this as your refuge if you were ever shrunk to mouse-size. ...It's amazing what you can do with those little interconnecting blocks. Ling held up her chalkboard, a message written on it... "Go get your camera, mom, quick!" Giggling, Platinum Print rushed off... Silver slipped the necklace around Ling's neck, then said, "According to her highness, if you put your hoof on the stone, then think about what you want to say, this will do the talking for you. Give it a try, and we'll see how it works." Ling nodded, and placed a hoof upon the stone. After a moment, a dull, monotone voice said, "Testing, one two three.." Twilight blushed and said, "Sorry about that. It'll take a few adjustments before it'll start sounding more natural... WHOA!!!" Twilight toppled over, as the changeling tackle-hugged the princess. Her hoof still on the gem, the monotone voice chattered, "I can talk. I can talk. Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you." After the changeling was disentangled from the princess, Platinum Print returned with the camera. Smiling, Ling and Scootaloo posed in front of the tower. With a click, the moment was immortalized... ------------------- On a nearby rooftop, Top watched the proceedings with a feral grin. It had been a few weeks since the little changeling had arrived, but this proved what he had suspected: she'd wormed her way into the hearts of the guard commander and his wife. Even if they'd only known one another for a short time, it was clear now that the commander would do anything for the child, even ask a favor from a princess. Finally, there was a way to get what he needed from Silver Lance. The diamond dog turned towards his underlings, and said, "Alright, get everything ready. At the first opportunity, we'll strike."