I thought I made myself clear I didn't want to see that changeling stallion again!" Derpy shouted in anger and disbelief.
"Mom, he is different than the others-"
"All of them are the same! They have no hearts! He cannot love you!"
"He has a heartbeat!"
Derpy froze in place, but stood her ground. "How do you know?"
"I felt it..." Without a father to defend her for her actions, she could do nothing but argue with her mother.
"It's impossible... No changeling has ever had a heart for over a thousand years!"
Tears came to Dinky's eyes. She got off of her bed and stormed out of the house. She was stunned her mother didn't believe her.
Shining Armor sighed as his wife and son talked about the Gala. He missed going with the real Cadence, but there was nothing he could do now. Chrysalis laughed with a smile upon her face, "you did an excellent job, my Prince. You have gained her trust just enough she actually almost kissed you! But... why did you hesitate?"
"I was already full..."
"Well it doesn't matter, it's over now! You have indeed made mummy proud all these years. Now, next-"
"I'm not doing this any more..."
Chrysalis was stunned by his quick reaction. "What!?"
"I'm not going to help you anymore, I'm done! I will no longer gather information for you..."
"Oh... really...?" Chrysalis circled the Prince. She sighed and continued, "it's a shame... I really didn't want it to come to this..."
Zany's eyes widened, "come to... What...?"
"Well without you, I guess I'll just have to deal with the mare myself... clearly YOU don't want to 'hurt' her anymore... So who better to continue than the Queen? That unicorn is a threat to my throne, and if I let it continue, I could lose my place..."
***
This had never happened to her before. Dinky had never even disobeyed her mother! The purple mare suddenly ran into her best friend Screwball, who happened to be coming her way. "Hey- um... something wrong, Dinky?"
"Well..." The two mares ended up in the Everfree forest where Dinky usually sat to think by the lake. She finished her explaining, and had she not been so down, she would have noticed the devious smirk on her friend's face. Dinky began feeling weak surprisingly fast. "Screwball... I-... I don't feel too well..."
The purple earth pony smirked and snickered as green fire surrounded her. She was revealed to be none other than Queen Chrysalis herself. Dinky gasped, but was too weak to teleport away. "Q-queen Chrysalis!?"
"That's right, in the flesh." Chrysalis sighed and lifted the purple mare's head with her hoof. "Love... such a stupid thing..."
"W-what?"
Chrysalis chuckled and backed away. "Did you really think Zany loved you? He's been working for me the whole time, gathering information from you to make me stronger..."
"W-what do you want from me!?"
"I want your power, young mare. You have more of it than you think... CHANGELINGS!" Her call echoed through the woods, calling changelings all around to her voice. "A meal for u, my hungry children." The changelings surrounded the young mare, making it impossibly for escape. It was not long before Dinky collapsed and the changelings hurried off, leaving her laying motionless on the ground.
Zany hurried through the Everfree forest, hoping to find his friend in need. After moments of looking, he finally found her, collapsed on the ground. He picked her up and brought her to his back, and began searching for the exit. "Don't worry, Dinky... I'll get you somewhere safe..."
He looked around as darkness surrounded them. It was almost as if the trees were purposely surrounding them. He heard a rustle in the bushes and stopped dead in his tracks. "W-who's there?"
A female voice came from the bushes, "is it true? A changeling helping a mare?"
"Y-yes... she's my best friend and I need to find a resting place for her quickly...! She's weak from my mother taking her love..."
The mare in the bushes squinted her eyes to a sudden realization. "Your the Queen's son?"
"Yes..."
A pink mare with long purple, pink, and yellow hair came out of the bushes. "Follow me, I know somepony who can help us... By the way, my name is Princess Mi Amora Cadenza. But you can call me Cadence..."
The three ponies began walking, when Zany took the name into consideration. "Princess Cadence? THE Cadence?"
"Yes... you've heard the stories, I presume..."
"Why are you helping me? Especially when my mother is Equestria's enemy...?"
"You may be Chrysalis' son, but your also my Shining Armor's son..." Cadence sighed, "if only I hadn't run away, I could have saved Equestria so much trouble...."
"How have you survived so long?"
"The zebra I'm taking you to, Zecora. She fed me and left me a place to sleep. She doesn't have many visitors..." The three arrived at a small hut built in a tree. It had grown some vines, and the air was a bit musky, but it still felt like home to the zebra who lived there. They walked in as Zecora made a potion.
"Who is this? A changeling I missed?" The curious zebra asked.
Cadence took Dinky set her on the couch, wrapping her in a warm blanket. "This is..."
"Um... Zany... My... name is Zany..." the white changeling finished.
"He is a 'friend' of Dinky, and found her in need. The love has been drained out of her by the Queen..."
"I see. I will make her some soup, to get her out of this loop..."
Zany tilted his head in confusion, "what?" He had never really got rhymes, but he just went along with it.
"So, son of Queen... Do you think yourself mean?"
"Mean? W-well... I've always been considered a monster... because changelings lack hearts..." The zebra walked up to Zany and put her hoof to his chest.
"Hey what are you-"
"Hmm..." She then picked up his hoof and raised it to touch her chest. "What do you feel?"
"A heartbeat?" She walked him over to Dinky and pulled the covers down. She placed his hoof upon her chest and asked, "what do you feel now?"
"A heartbeat." She then moved his hoof to touch his own chest.
"And now?" He felt a massive thumping meeting his hoof, and was puzzled.
"That's impossible... Changelings don't have hearts..."
"Perhaps this is not the case, your feelings should not go waste. Your father is a stallion, your mother is a changeling. A pair that's strange, but can be changed. You have your father's heart, so you and Dinky shall never part."
"So... it's true... I really do have a heart?"
"Indeed..." Zecora dipped a cup into her pot and pulled it out, now full of soup.
Zany sighed. "I was starting to think Dinky was immune... but... obviously that's not the case..." Zecora opened the young mare's mouth and poured it. Dinky woke up from the sudden warm liquid sliding down her throat. She sat up to see Zany beside the couch. She jumped out of the blanket clean on her hooves now alert, standing before him. "You!"
"Huh?"
"I can't believe I trusted you! Ugh! All this time..." Dinky filled with rage and ran out of the hut, not even questioning as to how she got there. Zany ran after her.
"Dinky stop! Your too weak! Just let me explain!"
The purple mare felt her legs almost collapsing below her. She soon ended up tripping on a rock, collapsing on the ground. Zany finally caught up as Dinky covered her face trying to hide her tears. "Just leave me alone!"
"Dinky my mother made me! If I didn't she would have hurt you!"
"Just go..."
Zany sighed. He began walking away when he thought of something that could just possibly work. He began singing,
"And as the years go by,
Your touch warms my heart
It is such an unusual love...
Dinky slowly uncovered her eyes and lifted her head to look at Zany. His voice wasn't perfect, but it wasn't bad either.
"But we can make it work,
If you stick with me.
Because I can't keep from sayin',
I-..."
Zany's ears folded back as he got caught on the words. "I..." He sighed and took a deep breathe trying to gain the courage. "I love you, Dinky..."