//------------------------------// // Cindy and Gaar // Story: (2) Cinder Phoenix Trilogy: Changelings Can Change! // by CinderUnicorn //------------------------------// Gaar could have died he was so shocked. This was indeed the filly. But how? Gaar decided to walk over to her and introduce himself. He tried to think of the best wording he could display, but it was too late because the filly had already noticed him and was now starting to talk to him. "Oh, hi!" she lilted, resuming to her ordinary bubbly personality. "I'm Cindy. I haven't seen you around before, are you new here?" "O-Oh, um, yes," Gaar stuttered in reply. "I just moved from... from Ponyville and-" "Oh, my friends are from Ponyville!" interrupted Cindy. Then her joyful mood perished. "But I guess they aren't my friends anymore..." "Why, what happened?" "Well they don't seem to care about me... I walked up to them and they slammed the door on my face..." "Maybe they didn't see you." "What kind of friends wouldn't look for you when they visit?" Gaar put a hoof on her shoulder to comfort her. "I know how you feel; my friends back home hardly noticed me. They didn't care, hell I wouldn't even call them friends." This was true. The other changelings rushed around doing important errands so frequently that they didn't notice him at all. But Gaar didn't at all mind, he spent most of his time daydreaming that he didn't think it was that necessary to have friends. "Surely it was lonely?" Cindy asked, her question dragging him back into reality again. "No," replied Gaar sincerely. "I got used to it." Cindy smiled faintly at Gaar, "Well, if they aren't going to be my friend, will you?" "Yes." "Thank you. Do you want to have lunch at the café just outside the tower? I have a few bits in my saddlebag." "Sure, okay." Gaar acted calm, but really, one could tell that he was excited as the two friends walked off to the gardens to retrieve Cindy's saddlebag. Cindy herself was excited. She was starting to get attracted to Gaar. As they took the saddlebag and walked to the café, Gaar's interesting conversations kept her from thinking about how her friends had forgotten her. And for once in a very long time, Cindy was as happy as her personality suggested. They arrived at the café which had hardly anypony in it. "May I get a daisy sandwich, please?" Cindy asked the kind mare serving at the counter. She had to stand on her hindlegs to get noticed. She looked at Gaar, asked for what he wanted, and repeated the reply to the mare, "Make that two, please." She sat down beside a table designed for foals, and Gaar sat opposite her. The mare brought them their daisy sandwiches shortly after. "So, what's it like to live in Canterlot?" Gaar asked Cindy, digging into his sandwich. "Most of the folks here are easily disliked," Cindy sighed. "Especially the foals. Princess Celestia enlisted me into the school for magically gifted unicorns. I don't like the other foals, though. "Your parents must be really proud of you for getting into that school." "I never knew my parents. I grew up in Canterlot with the princesses." "Oh... well I ran away from my parents, so I don't have any anymore either." Cindy was about to reply with expressed worry, when a chubby and short unicorn colt walked into the café. He levitated a large bag above his neatly combed golden mane. He wore a posh suite that made him look much older than he was. His snow white pelt looked as if dirt had never touched it before. Cindy, ignoring Gaar's existence, immediately turned to face the colt, "Heya, Alistair." "Greeting, Cinder," said Alistair in a distinct Manehattan accent. The bag flopped onto the table in front of Cindy and some bits spilled out onto the floor beside Cindy's left hind-leg. As they both reached down to retrieve them, Alistair's hoof touched Cindy's and she pulled it back, her face blushing a deep scarlet. Alistair held out the bits in front of Cindy and smiled, "You can have them if you want." "Thanks!" "Would you like to accompany me to the coronation party of Twilight Sparkle? As you probably know, everypony is invited. Even those dreaded country blokes." Alistair glanced at Gaar. Gaar felt like killing him, he was so outraged. To Gaar surprise, Cindy agreed to go with him. Before leaving, Cindy smiled at Gaar, "I'll see you later, okay? You are going to be at the party right?" "Of course I will!" Gaar threw on a fake smile. "Good. Well, see ya!" "Bye..." Gaar watched them leave, his hate for Alistair growing past the breaking point. ---- Later, Gaar had devised a plan to get some time with Cindy. The first step was to find Alistair. Gaar searched the castle first because he had expected that he'd be with this so called 'Twilight Sparkle' the new princess. He was right. Alistair was chatting to a yellow pegassus mare with the longest pink tail Gaar had ever laid eyes on. "Um, excuse me," she looked at Alistair shyly. "Can you please tell me where my friend, the Cinder Phoenix, is? Only if you want to, I mean..." "She will be at the coronation party, Madame Fluttershy," Alistair smiled. Gaar was surprised that his ticket to a better life was so close. Queen Chrysalis would be so pleased that he found the Cinder Phoenix that she would actually notice him for once. He honestly didn't mind the other changelings ignoring him, but he thought that his mother's appreciation might let him have an important job when he got older. Ever since he could remember, he wanted to be one of Chrysalis' guards. That was what he used to daydream about as the changelings ignored and made fun of him behind his back. He would stare out of the golden, decorated pod-like window in his small, gloomy room and watch the swarms of unrecognizable soldiers dart high up around the brightly lit hive's ceiling with a desire to join them on their quests. Alistair's startled yelp woke Gaar from his transitory flashback trance. He turned to see that Alistair, for whatever reason, was now on the balcony that Gaar was sitting on and was staring at him, his eyes full of terror but his face surprisingly calmed. Gaar had forgotten that he turned back to his original form as he awaited a chance to come face to face with Alistair. Gaar stood up and walked calmly over to Alistair, grinning slightly. Alistair tried to back away, but Gaar lunged at him, entrapped him in a chrysalis before he could fight back, and took his form. "Don't worry," Gaar snickered at him, patting the chrysalis preserving the petrified Alistair. "I'm only borrowing this form for a while." -------------------------- Meanwhile, Cindy had gotten rid of Alistair's presence and went back to the café in search of Gaar. He was nowhere to be found. It was as if he had spontaneously combusted. She wasn't even gone a minute. Alistair had trotted off to meet the princess and left her there after being purposely trampled on by two bullies that suspiciously reminded her of Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara. So she decided to check the place that Twilight's coronation party was going to be held in. The chance that he'd be there was little, but Cindy was running out of places to search and she was tired even though it was only midday. But he could've been there. Cindy had no such luck. And what was worse, Alistair was there. "Greeting, Cinder," he beamed. "Come early to meet the new princess?" "No!" Cindy exclaimed a little louder than she meant. Alistair stared at her. She went quiet for a while before continuing, "I... I mean no, I just wanted to drop by to see if anyone was here. I was.. just planning on resting for a while" -she yawns- "for a few hours." "Oh, okay... well I will see you at the coronation party then..." "Bye..." Cindy galloped off to escape the awkward situation. She went to her room in one of the Canterlot towers. Immediately as she entered, she saw a pink letter on the table beside her bed. She picked it up and read it in a quiet whisper. It was a love letter from Alistair. She threw the letter on the ground. She was disgusted even thinking about Alistair and herself together. She thought that they'd make the most unlikely pair. She walked over to the balcony but found that the door was locked. She used her magic to take the hidden key from under her mattress. As she opened the door, she noticed that it didn't open fully and something was blocking it. She stepped out onto the balcony and pushed the door closed again. Cindy almost screamed. "Alistair!" she cried out, surprised. She touched the chrysalis and then examined the surface. She realized that she had noticed something off about Alistair's voice when she last met him. He was an impostor.