//------------------------------// // The Adoption // Story: The Sneezing Changeling // by Lirg //------------------------------// The Adoption “So, what’s the difference between you and the other changelings who attacked us?” asked Rainbow, as she flew in circles above the changelings. Illusion decided to answer the question. “These two are outlaws.” After a short moment of reflexion, she continued. “As is Doppel, which means that they no longer obey the Queen's orders. Moreover, they’ve actually been here in Ponyville for quite some time now.” “And you? You haven't told anything about yourself.” Rainbow was now nose to nose with the changeling who couldn't help stepping back. “Come on, you can admit it Illusion. You’ve always wanted to live like us,” teased Mimic. Illusion's stare went from the pegasus to her friend coupled with a frown. “My-Name-Is-Not-Illusion!” “Of course your name is Illusion,” Camouflage was piling on it. “That’s what you called yourself when you fought Chrysalis.” Illusion lowered her head. “I knew that was going to come back and bite me.” “What's the big deal about names?” Applejack asked. “The changelings who still are under Chrysalis' orders cannot bear any name,” Twilight answered before one of the changelings could even respond. Rainbow pinned Illusion on the ground. “So you're on the Queen's side!” “I'm... I'm not... anymore,” she managed to stammer, protecting her face with her hooves. “I just don't like the name they gave me.” Rainbow let her go with disdain. “Fine... But I still don't trust you.” Pinkie Pie appeared suddenly behind Mimic and Camouflage, making them jump. “Eh, eh, eh, I have a question, just a little question!” After a short moment of silence when the changelings didn’t object, she continued. “Do you keep the same disguise all the time?” Mimic, after recover from his shock, replied, “Yeah, we keep the same disguise because we already know the life of the pony we impersonate perfectly. It lets us trick easier.” The others stared at him with a look of suspicion. “We have to fool you if we want to feed correctly. If we came without a disguise, you'd hate us! And hate is yucky...” “So, you're always disguised as Derpy?” Rainbow asked vehemently. “Yes, most of the time. But I can assure you that Town Hall wasn’t my fault.” “So it was you I talked to when you were disguised as Derpy. You made me believe she worked on her holiday,” she exclaimed. Camouflage placed herself between these two. “No, it was me. Octavia was busy that day.” She then threw a anger stare to her friend. “However, he forgot to warn me that Derpy was on holidays.” Mimic blushed from the shame. “Everypony can make mistakes.” “But you make them more often than the others,” Camouflage retorted. “Twilight, what about the fourth changeling? The one who was disguised as Lyra and got sent to the hospital?” asked Rarity while the changelings continued their bickering. “Doppel?” Twilight thought about it for a few seconds, tapping her hooves against her chin. “Actually, he's the only changeling I met before the invasion. Fluttershy met him first, while he was sick and couldn't transform anymore. She asked me to help him get better.” “He could've just been faking it,” Applejack added. “No, I've checked when I met him. He was really sick.” Rainbow let a loud sigh. “And you didn't think that he could have used you to get him back on his hooves?” “That's Fluttershy's problem.” Twilight paused and looked the other changelings who were still bickering. “But I think that if he’s the same as these, there's no risk. He might have thought of using Fluttershy at first, but it's definitely not the case now.” She couldn't help giggling a little. “You should have seen his face every time he turned up at the library.” The others stared at her, not comprehending what passed through their friend's head. She regained her composure. “He also taught me a lot of things about changelings, and he was the one who warned us about the invasion.” --|-|-- Fluttershy was looking through every room of the hospital to find Doppel. She didn't bother, or have the courage, to ask where his room was at the reception desk, so she was trying to find it by herself, a little panicked. As she was walking, she heard a continuous high-pitch beep coming from an open door. Fluttershy peeked inside the room to see a motionless Doppel in a bed with greenish blankets. Just next to him, a patient monitor was drawing a straight line on the screen. Fluttershy rushed to the bed and started to shake the changeling. “Oh no, wake up Doppel! Wake up!” After seeing that nothing changed, she lowered him back on the bed, her tears was flowing on the blankets. “You should have never fought the Queen. You should have run like your friends said.” The others came into the room noisily, but when they noticed the unmoving Doppel and the continuous beep, they became quiet, Applejack taking off her hat. Fluttershy resumed her mourning. “We could have found a solution against Chrysalis. You could have stayed in my cottage like you’ve had been these last two weeks.” “Ah'm sorry to tell you that Fluttershy, but it was only a changeling.” Applejack felt the stare of the three other changelings reproaching her for the use of the word “only”. “No!” she exclaimed. “He wasn't only a changeling.” She rose her head and threw an accusatory stare at Applejack. “I had known him for two weeks. He's not like the others changelings. Every changeling is different.” She stopped talking and watched Doppel. “Doppel is different... I loved him...” She threw her head on the bed, sobbing. A hoof stroked her mane. “You think I didn't know?” Fluttershy rose her eyes and saw the tired look of Doppel. “I'm a changeling, I always knew what your feelings were.” “Doppel!” The pegasus threw herself on the hooves of the changeling. “I thought you were dead!” “Ouch!” he giggled nervously, making faces. “Watch it. I still just took an attack from the Queen.” Fluttershy released her grab, blushing. Doppel scanned the room, stopping on his changeling fellows. “You’ve wanted to play dead for a long time right?” Illusion teased. “I wasn't playing dead, I was asleep. I only woke up when Fluttershy shook me,” he responded. “But I don't understand,” Fluttershy said. “Why did the patient monitor not register your heartbeat?” Doppel looked at the machine, trying to understand its workings. “I think that the doctors didn't know how to link this thing to me.” He saw a doctor passing on the hallway, glaring at the changeling laid on the bed. “I can understand their confusion. It must have been the first time they’ve see a changeling this close.” After the explanation, a new silence reigned. Fluttershy was rubbing her hoof on the ground. “Uh Doppel... About what I said about you, I...” “Don't be sorry about that,” he reassured her. “Nopony can avoid their feelings. And I must say, it's an honor for a changeling to be loved by a pony.” Before he could even continued his tirade, Camouflage noisily coughed. Yeah, thank you for reminding me that no one is truly the master of their own feelings. He looked at Fluttershy and couldn't help his blush. At least when Fluttershy said it, she was under emotional stress. It helped get the message across. He opened his mouth and closed it immediately after. Why are they looking at me like that? “So, what are you waiting for?” Camouflage blurted out. Twilight's face lit up when she understood what the female changeling was after. “We won't leave until you admit it.” Rainbow's doubts grew again. “Admit what?” “The reason he fought the Queen with us...” the librarian added with a smirk. You all aren’t helping. The others were glancing between the changelings and Twilight, not understanding what was happening. Rainbow was still keeping her guard up in the case she needed to intervene. Doppel took a huge breath and turned to Fluttershy with her lack of understanding the same than the others. “You know, nopony is the master of their own feelings, and that also goes for changelings.” The pegasus began to blush, realizing where it was going. “Fluttershy, I'm also in love with you.” The only thing Fluttershy could muster after that was a feeble eep. She laid on the ground and hid her face in her hooves. On the other side of his bed, Rainbow and Applejack stood there with their mouths agape. Pinkie was jumping all over the place. “Whee, it's so cute! A changeling in love!” At these words, Doppel blushed. He looked again at Fluttershy who hadn't recovered yet from the shock. “How romantic! The chivalrous gentlecolt, uh changeling, ready to sacrifice himself to save his beloved one's town, to protect her,” Rarity went further. “I would have saved Ponyville anyway, even if I wasn't in love, but it clearly helped,” Doppel clarified. “You know, you're pretty harmless for a changeling,” Rainbow said, after she was able to shut her mouth again. When she saw Twilight’s glare, she corrected herself, “I mean, harmless for Ponyville.” “No, I never wanted that. Even when we first met, I didn't want to bring harm to anypony. I just wanted to help Fluttershy with a matter concerning... Well, you at the time but not anymore.” Fluttershy stood up. She couldn't muster to look at Doppel but she was able to talk. “I still don't believe it.” “Neither do I,” Doppel answered. “But it's clear that I'm in love with you. Camouflage confirmed it.” “Though he hit the jackpot,” Mimic complained by whispering to his friends. “His food source is in love with him, and he is with her.” “No, the true jackpot would be her in love with him but not him with her,” Camouflage responded. “He wouldn’t have to do stupid things because of it.” The changelings stopped their chatting when they noticed that ponies were looking at them. “Sorry...” She lowered her head. Doppel giggled at the expense of his friends, embarrassed at their behavior. “Don't laugh at us. It's not funny!” Doppel took a few breath and regained his composure. “By the way, why are you still disguised? Everypony knows that you're changelings.” “We're not like you!” said Illusion, blowing through her cheeks. “We don't like strolling around undisguised.” “It's tough at first, but...” Twilight and her friends looked at each other, like if she was going to explain. They hoped to get a  response from Fluttershy, but she was too busy staring at Doppel. Finally, Applejack asked, “What's the problem with not being disguised?” She said, scratching her neck with her hoof. “It's embarrassing for a changeling to show himself undisguised in front of ponies.” Rainbow rose a hoof to protest, but Illusion continued her explanation. “And Doppel doesn’t really count.” Doppel looked jokingly hurt by the jab delivered by his friend. “That's not what I wanted to ask. I want to know why during the invasion, you weren’t disguised?” the prismatic pegasus retorted. “We were so many of us at that time that it didn't matter. Moreover we had adrenaline from battle so, it helped.” “Your embarrassment may come from a physiological function,” Twilight intervened. A heavy silence showed that the attention was now on her. “The fact that you had to hide to survive has created emotions preventing you from dropping your disguise. One of those being embarrassment.” A smile crept on Doppel's face. “So, you're not in danger here, right? Why shouldn’t you change back? If I managed to stay in my normal form and make my declaration in front of everypony, I don't see why you can't manage to only stay undisguised.” Illusion frowned. “I still don’t think you're a normal changeling.” Doppel continued to stare her with his grin. “You're not going to let me live that down, aren't you?” He made a slight shake of the head to say no. “Fine...” All at once, the three changelings dropped their disguise. As soon as the flames died, Twilight took out a small notepad and began to take notes. “Are you happy?” protested Illusion. “We look absolutely ridiculous.” “Not from our point of view,” assured the librarian who was coming closer to Camouflage, her pencil ready to write. “But it's very useful for my studies.” She was studying from every angle the female changeling who couldn't help being embarrassed. “I’ve always wanted to know how you identify each other. For us, you all just look like the same. I need to do an extensive list of every difference I can detect.” “Do... Doppel. Can you ask Twilight to stop looking at me like a science experiment?” stuttered Camouflage. “It's already hard being undisguised, but it's worse when you're stared at.” Twilight stopped counting the holes in the hooves of the changeling and smiled sheepishly. “What are we going to do now that all of Ponyville knows about these four changelings?” asked Rarity. Twilight took a serious face and dropped her notepad and her pencil. “First, we have to tell the Princess.” She turned to Spike. “Spike, take a letter!” He responded by a salute but was quickly interrupted by a white hoof. “That won't be necessary,” came a warm and soft voice. “I already know everything.” “Princess Celestia!” they all exclaimed. Mimic, Camouflage and Illusion all hid themselves in a corner of the room, shivering like they'd seen a ghost, and Doppel buried himself on the bed, hiding under the covers. “No need to be afraid, dear changelings,” Celestia reassured. “I know what you've done for Ponyville.” Despite reassuring words, the changelings didn't move an inch. “I know that the Queen of the changelings attempted to attack Ponyville and was rendered powerless by the Elements of Harmony.” She approached Doppel, still hidden behind the sheets. “And you must be the one who revealed the deception of the Queen.” Doppel took his head out and look at the Princess. “Yes...” What is the right phrase for her? Princess? Your Highness? Your Majesty? Your Royal Illustriousness? No, that one is a bit too much... “Yes, Your Majesty...” he finally managed to stutter. The Princess couldn't help giggling. “It must be hard for you.” She took a more serious and kind tone. “You've always been told that I was a ruthless and tyrannical ruler that would torture any changeling who had the audacity to cross my path. Even as outlaws, these ideas remain, thanks to the years of brainwashing you faced. But I assure that it is not the case.” “Princess, how do you know they're outlaws?” Twilight suddenly asked. “We never told you!” "They fought the Queen by your sides. If they weren't outlaws before, they are now," Celestia explained. "I think fighting the Queen was something very terrifying for you but you did it nonetheless and I and the citizen of Ponyville thank you." "But what are we going to do with them now that the entire population of Ponyville has seen the fight?" Twilight asked. "These changelings are no danger for Ponyville, but now that their cover are discovered, it will be harder for them to feed." "Not for one of them," rainbow snarked, looking at Doppel still half hiding under his covers. "It is clear to me that this event is going to change a lot of things now. We can't ask them to leave, less punish them while they helped Equestria." The Princess thought about it a few seconds. "I think they earn to live among us but laws are not adapted to them. Their ability to transform could lead to punish the wrong pony and left them unpunished." Camouflage moved towards Celestia, her hooves shaking. "We assure you that we'll never use our ability to transform to get around your laws."   "Oh yes!" Mimic went on, putting himself beside his friend. "The last thing we want is to have trouble with you. Endure the wrath of one royal family member is enough for me." Camouflage hit him on the head to make him behave. The Princess giggled again. "I pretty sure that you wouldn't dare to break the law. You wouldn't be here if that was the case." She took a more serious face. "The problem is that the Queen is longer in command and several changelings could be tempted to follow your kind of life. They will have to  follow Equestrian's laws as much as you. So we need to find a way to make the newcomers respect the laws without hindering their freedom." "To do that, we'd need to know every ability a changeling has and a way to deal with it." Twilight pointed out. "I know, my dear student, that you have already gather a lot of data on the subject." She picked the notepad up and gave back to Twilight. "I'm sure that I will have soon a complete encyclopedia on changelings." "Yes Princess!" She said happily before taking a somber tone. "But it still lacks some vital data. All information I gather is from Doppel. So I can't tell them apart and I don't know yet the difference between male and female." Pinkie jumped among the three changelings. "But Twilight, you have three more to play with now." She caught Illusion around the neck. "Look at this one, he's funny." "I'm a female changeling, thank you." she replied in a harsh tone. "But what are we doing with them while you'll make the new laws, Princess?" asked Applejack. Celestia looked at the changelings, trying to find an idea. Twilight spoke up. "We only need to make sure that we know all the time the identity of the pony in front of us." Her face lit up as she turned towards the changelings. "So as long as somepony knows where you are, we can't mistake you for somepony else. By assigning you a pony, you could go anywhere as long you don't leave them."     "It's a way indeed," the Princess nodded. "But let's ask the interest party to see what they think of it. Do you agree on that terms? I reassure you, it's only temporary." "Doesn’t matter to me," Doppel answered. "I was intending to live with Fluttershy before the invasion. Fluttershy can vouch for me as well." He look at Fluttershy. "Unless you don't want me to anymore?" "Oh no. I'd be happy to live with you." "Great, one down, three to go!" Rainbow exclaimed. "I could vouch for one also," Twilight said. "I need to complete my study on changelings and it'd be useful to have a changeling all the time near me, a female one if possible." She stared at the three changelings, trying to tell them apart. After a short instant where they were looking at each other, Illusion moved forwards. "I think it should be me." She took one breath. "After all, I just arrived in Ponyville and all I know about this place is what these three have told me." "So, you're Illusion?" tried Twilight, not sure at all. "You really can't tell us apart, can't you?"   Before anypony could say something, Vinyl Scratch entered in the room. "Wow, I finally found the changelings!" The ponies in the room remained silent, staring now the newcomer. What would Vinyl Scratch want from us? "Which one of you was disguising themselves as Octavia?" "How did you guess I impersonated Octavia?" Camouflage exclaimed. Vinyl's grin made her understand her slip. "I think you just gave yourself away," said an amused Celestia. "So, it was you!" The DJ walk towards the now embarrassed changeling. She took some rapid glance at her, like as she was trying to find any resemblance between her marefriend and her impostor. "I had doubt about it before... But when the changeling's army came and that you were there to keep it away, my doubts were confirmed; a changeling was taking the place of my marefriend from time to time." "But I mimicked her behavior to perfection. How could you possibly have a doubt?" "I admit you grasped her character pretty well. You fooled me there. But there is a little detail you overlooked. Octavia is preparing herself so much that she never forgets her things." Vinyl put her glasses on the top of her head. "Now, I'd like to retrieve the bows you stole from us. Because Octavia still thinks it's me who steal them as a joke." "Yes…" Camouflage lowered her head like a foal who was scolded. "I was going to bring them back eventually." Vinyl caught the chin of the changeling and rose it. "There, there. I'm not here to punish you. I find you rather funny. It was fun to tease you, trying to know how far you'd go to not be discovered." Camouflage only respond with a pout. Twilight's face lighted up. "Eh, I have an idea. Vinyl, why don't you take Camouflage with you?" "Come again?" "I mean the changeling you find fun…" Vinyl pondered about it for a moment. She finally put her glasses back on her nose. "You mean I could have my own changeling at home?" "Eh, we're not common pets!" Camouflage complained. Her comment was ignored when the DJ raise a hoof upon the roof. "You bet I want it! Now I just want to see the look on Octavia's face when I come back with the changeling." Her smile was growing larger and larger. "Perfect! Doppel is with Fluttershy, Illusion is with me and Camouflage will be with Vinyl. Mimic, you're the last one." Outbursts of voice came from the hallway. "I told you I’d get to the bottom of this!" "But honey, I can assure you. I didn't cheat on you." "I know that. But I'm making it clear that no one can touch my wife without…" Lyra appeared on the doorstep, accompanied by Bon-Bon, cutting her own sentence at the sight of the four changelings. Her pupils shrink in size. "Which one of you dared to use my face to hit on my wife?" Doppel hid under his covers. Being the only trying to hide, it became clear who was the culprit. "So, it was you!" Great… I didn't know that Lyra was the jealous type. What do I do now? Doppel pushed the cover down to let him see the others. I wonder why I was afraid of the Princess when Lyra is way scarier. "Sorry. But, in my defense, I never wanted to take Bon-Bon from you. I simply used the fact she was in love with you to feed." The only thing that Doppel was reading now was the disgust on Lyra's face. The truth wasn't the best idea to calm her. He joined his hooves in front of him. "Forget about feeding. I swear I never put my hoof on her. Each time she was making advances to me, I reject them." "That's why you seemed colder from time to time," Bon-Bon exclaimed. "So, you not only hit on my wife, but you made me pass as a cold hearted pony as well!?" "Please, don't hurt me!" Doppel hid again under the covers. "I really meant no harm." How will I get out of this? Why do I have the feeling that fighting the Queen was easier than this? He poked his head out to see Lyra still boiling with rage. "I assure you that it wasn't in my interests to break up your marriage at all." A sudden realization came to him. "I even tried to help you." Now, Lyra relaxed a little, still on the defensive. It seems to work. "You might remember when you argued with Bon-Bon about the melted chocolate on the oven? You left the house telling yourself that you would never come back and Bon-Bon would never forgive you for that?" The unicorn nodded, her eyes focused on the changeling. "I passed myself off as you and did anything I could to get Bon-Bon to forgive you, and I made her swear that she never told you about it." "But that’s impossible. Bon-Bon found me later in the park to apologize." Lyra looked at her wife, not understanding the situation. "I never found you in the park that evening. I simply waited you come back home." Bon-Bon explained. "I assure you that she's telling the truth. She stayed home for the rest of the evening. But I can't say I did the same..." Lyra began to understand what Doppel was saying. "Sure, it wasn't nice to meddle in your relationship but it would have been a shame if you had broke up for a failed culinary experiment." Now the last argument. "If it makes you feel any better, I won't stick my nose in your relationship anymore." To prove his point, he tenderly gaze at Fluttershy. "Okay…" Lyra grumbled. "I forgive you." She turned around to leave when she ended up facing the Princess. "Oh sorry, Princess!" She kneeled at once, along with Bon-Bon, not daring to look at Celestia's eyes. "We didn't see you were there."   Before the Princess could even reassure them that it didn't matter in this case, Vinyl grabbed Lyra's neck to face her. "Eh Lyra! What do you think of taking a changeling home?" "Huh?" was the only word the green unicorn could manage. "They’re giving changelings out to make sure they don't wreak havoc in Ponyville." "And she's still talking about us like we're common pets," Camouflage complained. "Why would I shelter the changeling who flirted with my wife?"   "No, he's already taken." Vinyl said, pointing to Mimic with her hoof. "It's this one. Imagine all the possibilities." She rose her hoof to the roof. "They could transform in anything you want. You told me how much you wanted to see humans… They could transform into that too." Lyra now looked at Mimic who was smiling sheepishly. "Transforming into humans, huh?" She pondered it a second. "It won't be real humans… But it could help my studies so much." "Lyra! You can't consider taking a changeling home? You don't remember that their kind brainwashed you at the wedding?" Mimic took a step forward and lay a hoof on Bon-Bon's shoulder. "That kind of spell is far too advanced for me. Only the Queen and some spies are able to master it. I only know the basic spells that every changeling has to know." He looked at the Princess warily. "And then, even if I could do the spells, I wouldn't even dare to use them. I don't want any trouble with your Princess." Celestia couldn't help but giggle at the remark. "No need to restrain yourselves like that. Unless the spell in question causes harm to somepony, you can do anything you like." She took a more serious tone. "However, I'll ask you one last thing." The changelings all looked at the Princess with apprehension. "I need you to find a disguise that isn’t an existing pony." "Why is that?" Applejack queried. "Everypony knows that there are changelings in this town. It has no purpose to hide it now." "Their disguise will serve three purposes on the contrary," the Princess responded. "Firstly, it will help us tell the difference between them. They look the same to us and so, it's impossible to tell who is who. Secondly, Ponyvillians are still afraid a little by changelings, no need to rushed things out. Let them gradually get used to them. And the more important one, if your vouching pony is unable to be with you at the moment, you could only wander off in that disguise. Obviously, it's only in case of emergency." "Seems logical," Applejack said after a moment. "I already know which disguise I’m taking." Doppel jumped on the bed and after a green fire whirl, a grayish brown stallion with a blue-purple mane stood there. "This was the disguise I used when I first met Fluttershy." "You remember your disguise from that day?" Fluttershy wondered. "It was a life changing day for me, so yes, I remembered. I also remember the name I used, Cobalt Crescent." "The name is optional," the Princess said, with amusement in her voice. "Mimic, Camouflage, Illusion. You don't have to find a disguise right now." She turned to Pinkie. "But I think it should be a good idea to find one before the welcoming party that I'm sure Pinkie is about to launch." "You can count on me Princess!" Pinkie saluted. "I shall leave now. I will let our new changeling friends to get used to their new life." "Thank you Princess!" The changelings bowed. With that, Celestia left the room, followed by her guards.