“I gotta go. See ya later Pinkie Pie!” Spirit said as he walked to the door. Pinkie swept him into a tight embrace before he touched the door.
“See ya later, Spiry!” Pinkie exclaimed, oblivious to the choking hybrid.
“P-pinkie! Can’t...breathe!” Spirit wheezed.
“Oops! Sorry!” Pinkie said as she let go. Spirit coughed harshly as he rubbed his throat. ‘Why am I always getting strangled!?’ Spirit groaned.
“Because it’s effective.”
‘I didn’t ask for your opinion, Yin!’ Spirit growled.
“Something wrong, Spiry?” Pinkie asked.
“Oh, it’s nothing. It’s just Yin.”
“Yin?” Pinkie asked in confusion.
“He’s the one who hurt Fluttershy.”
“Oh yeah! It’s a good thing you showed that meanie who’s boss! It’s all thanks to you that nopony else got hurt!” Pinkie cheered.
I have always wondered what joy tastes like.
N-no! Stay back!
Spirit looked away from Pinkie Pie, the disturbing memory resurfacing. “Y-yeah. Me too. Hey, I should really get going. I shouldn’t keep Applejack waiting.” he said as he turned to the door.
“Hey, Spirit?” Pinkie said.
“Huh? What is it now?” Spirit said before receiving a kiss on the cheek and another hug.
"Welcome back to Ponyville, Spiry. Fluttershy, Aloe, Lotus, and I missed you." Pinkie said before bouncing into the kitchen. Spirit stood at the door, his face slowly heating up.
"I...I...I..." Spirit said.
"Dumbass.exe appears to have stopped working." Yin mocked.
***
"Howdy Spirit!" Applejack greeted as the Changeling got closer to the farm. "Ah thought you weren't gonna show up!"
"Hey Applejack," Spirit said as he walked through the farm entrance. "Sorry I'm late," he said. "I was at SugarCube Corner with Pinkie Pie and we had some...problems. So, what do you need me to do?”
“Ya see,” Applejack said as she lead the hybrid to the barn. “Big Macintosh hurt ‘imself again, and Ah was wondering if ya’ll could help me harvest some apples?”
“That sounds easy enough,” Spirit said as he stared at the apples trees in the distance. “I think I can manage.”
“Thanks, Spirit.” Applejack said. “All Ah need is ‘bout ten baskets of apples. There are some baskets next to most of the trees here, so jes’ find the ones with baskets next to ‘em.”
“Okay! I’ll get right on it.” Spirit said as he started to trot over to the apple trees.
“These trees are also pretty sturdy!” Applejack added. “Don’t hurt yourself!”
“I won’t!” Spirit said as he disappeared into the sea of trees.
***
“Alright, where to start?” Spirit said to himself as he trotted by multiple trees. “This looks like a good place to start.” The young Changeling said, examining a lone apple tree. Spirit turned around and gave the trunk a swift kick. He looked up expectantly, only to see leaves falling from the branches. “Okay, let’s try that again!” Spirit grunted as he bucked the trunk a second time. More leaves fell. Spirit pinched his fangs in annoyance as he tried a third time. Only leaves. “Okay, let’s try a different tactic!” Spirit growled as he closed his eyes. His horn began to glow as green magic slowly trickled down his body. Spirit groaned as he struggled to focus it to his hooves. “C’mon, work!” he said, sweat covering his body. “Yes!” Spirit cheered as he felt the green aura harden around his hooves. “Okay, from the top.” Spirit said, getting in the position to kick. He bucked as hard as he could, his hooves making a loud thump against the trunk. “Success!” Spirit cried as he watched the apples fall. “Time to start collecting.” Spirit said as he started to move towards the fallen fruit. “What the?” Spirit said, feeling something holding his hooves back. He looked behind himself, his eyes widening as he saw the problem. His back hooves were stuck in the tree trunk. “Oh balls.”
“Nice going, Dumbass.”
“Will you stop calling me that?!” Spirit yelled as he struggled to free himself.
“Why should I when it’s so obviously true?” Yin said smugly.
“You can go straight to Tartarus!” Spirit snapped as he continued to flail.
“I’ll see you there.”
“If it weren’t for the fact that you’re trapped in my heart, I’d be bucking you in the face right now!”
“And then you’d get your hooves stuck in my head. Like a dumbass.”
*Thirty minutes later*
“Ugh! I still can’t believe I got myself stuck in a tree!” Spirit groaned as he tried freeing himself again.
“And I still can’t believe how much of a dumbass you are.” Yin said.
“If I’m such a ‘dumbass’, then why don’t you tell me what made a ‘dumbass’!?” Spirit argued.
“You tried bucking a tree when you should have used your magic.” Yin deadpanned, causing Spirit to visibly flinch.
“Why didn’t I think of that!?” Spirit growled as he flailed a second time.
“Second verse is the same as the first: you’re a dumbass.”
“Why you-”
“Quiet! I sense something!” Yin interrupted. “It’s close and I think it’s been watching us.”
“Watching us?” Spirit repeated. “Whoever’s watching us, show yourself! I know you're there!” he shouted. A loud ‘eep!’ was his response as he watched the nearby bushes move. From the bushes, a small yellow filly with a pink bow in her mane emerged. She rubbed a hoof nervously as she slowly drew closer to the strange creature.
“H-how d’ja know I was hidin’?” she whimpered.
“A little birdy told me,” Spirit said calmly. ‘Wait a minute! Is that Applebloom?” Spirit thought. “You wouldn’t happen to be Applejack’s sister Applebloom, would you?” he said. The yellow filly’s eyes widened as she began to move away from the Changeling.
“H-how d’ja know mah name? Ah’ve never met you before.” Applebloom squeaked.
“Your sister’s friend Fluttershy told me about you.” Spirit said. ‘Well, that’s if you can call reading somepony’s memories telling someone.’
“You know Miss Fluttershy?” Applebloom said.
“How about we make a deal,” Spirit said. “You help me get unstuck and I’ll tell you anything you want to know. Deal?” Applebloom stared at the strange creature, unsure of what to do. “I promise not to hurt you,” Spirit added. “Not that I would cause harm to a filly in the first place. And besides, I still need to collect apples for your sister.”
“...Okay,” Applebloom said as she trotted to the bug-horse. “But Ah don’t know how much help Ah can be.” she said as she examined the thing’s back hooves.
“I’ve been struggling for a half hour,” Spirit said. “I think I’m almost there, but I just need an extra push. I’m going to start pulling myself away from the tree. I need you to wait on the other side of the tree, and when I say ‘go’, I want you to start bucking the tree. Got it?”
“Yessir!” Applebloom saluted as she trotted around the tree.
“Ready?” Spirit asked as he started to pull.
“Ready!” Applebloom answered.
“Go!” Spirit said, feeling the tree vibrate a second later. Spirit continued to drag himself away from the tree, now feeling something stuck in one of the holes of his hooves. “I think I found the problem,” Spirit said. “There’s a piece of wood stuck in my hoof. I can feel it getting weaker, too! Keep it up Applebloom!” he said as the leaves began to fall. ‘C’mon, just a little more!’ Spirit growled.
A resounding snap suddenly filled the air as Spirit felt the wooden shard give way. ‘I’m free...finally!’ Spirit cheered as he landed face-first into the dirt. “Ow,” Spirit said as he sat up. “Whoever invented inertia was an idiot.” he grumbled, rubbing his muzzle. “Hey Applebloom, I’m free now!” Spirit said to the still-kicking filly. As soon as those words left his mouth, the young filly suddenly was in front of him with a wide grin.
“You’re gonna keep your end of bargain, right?” The beaming filly asked.
“Well it’s only fair,” Spirit replied with a smile of his own. “Ask away.”
“What are you?”
“I’m a Changeling.”
“What’s a Changeling?”
“A Changeling is a creature that has no heart, and because of that, it needs to feed off of the emotions of other creatures.” Spirit explained
“So you’re like a Vampony!” Applebloom squealed.
“I guess we kinda are like Vamponies,” Spirit chuckled. “Only that we don’t burst into flames in the daylight. And we can do something that Vamponies can’t.”
“What’s that?” Applebloom said as Spirit exploded into green flames.
“Disguise ourselves.” Spirit answered, now an orange unicorn.
“...You look like a mare now.” Applebloom said.
“...You’re not the first pony to tell me that,” Spirit sighed as he returned to normal. “Anything else?”
“What’s your name?”
“My name is Free Spirit.”
“Wait, your name is Free Spirit?”
“That’s correct.”
“So you must be the False Hero everypony’s been talking about!”
“‘False Hero’?” Spirit repeated. “Who came up with that name?”
“It was Rainbow Dash.”
“Of course, why shouldn’t I be surprised?” Spirit muttered under his breath.
“What was that?” Applebloom asked.
“Oh, it’s nothing you should worry about!”
“So why?”
“Huh?”
“Why did you do it? Why would you hurt Miss Fluttershy?” Applebloom said. Spirit stared at the filly, unsure of what to say. The young hybrid turned away from her, tears forming in his eyes.
“I-I wasn’t feeling well at the time,” Spirit said. “Fluttershy’s the reason I stayed in Ponyville. I didn’t want to hurt her, but my instincts made me.” The tears started to fall as his body began to shake. “I refuse to hurt those who haven’t tried to hurt me, and the thought of killing another being makes sick!”
“Mister Spirit?” Applebloom said as she watched the Changeling break down in front of her.
"But I almost killed somepony! And she’s a national hero too! Yet she still treats me like a friend! I don’t deserve her kindness!” Spirit sobbed.
“Mister Spirit, please don’t cry.” Applebloom said, rubbing her hoof on his back. “Miss Fluttershy once told me that everypony deserves a second chance. Even the really mean ones who wanna hurt everypony else. If Miss Fluttershy’s being so nice to you, Ah think she wants ta give you a second chance.”
“Do you really think that?” Spirit asked through his tears.
“Why else would Miss Fluttershy be so nice to you? Ah think she wants ta be your friend.”
Spirit slowly dried his eyes as a small smile appeared on his face. “To think I’d get a brief pep talk from a filly,” he said as he calmed down. “Thanks, Applebloom.” he said, giving the yellow filly a quick hug. “So, do you have anymore questions for me?”
Applebloom smiled as she shook her head. “Nope. Ah wanna help you harvest apples.”
“I thought you’d rather go play with your friends?” Spirit said.
Applebloom’s face fell. “Ah would, but Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack grounded us for tryin’ to get our demolition cutie marks. So we can’t see each other for another week.”
“Wait, did you say demolition cutie marks!?” Spirit said, his eyes wide with disbelief. ‘Who the buck sells TNT to eight year olds!?’
“Anyways,” Spirit continued. “I guess you can help, but I want you to answer one question.”
“What’s that?”
“Why do you want to help?”
Applebloom beamed. “That’s easy: so Ah can get mah Changeling Helper Cutie Mark!” she squealed.
“I guess that’s a valid reason,” Spirit said, rubbing his head in pain. “C’mon, let’s get started. It’s starting to get dark.” Spirit said, staring at the sky.
***
“Darn, all that work and no Cutie Mark.” Applebloom grumbled through the small basket in her mouth as she glared at her backside.
“You’ll get your Cutie Mark when it’s time.” Spirit said as he carried the rest of the baskets with his magic. By the time they had finished collecting apples, Celestia’s sun had already set. The dirt-covered pair slowly made their way through the dark orchard, the lights from the barn being their only beacon.
“You sound jus’ like mah big sis. Ah want it now!” she pouted. Spirit chuckled at the filly’s impatience.
“You sound just like me when I your age.” he said
"Huh? What do you mean?" Applebloom asked in confusion. Spirit smiled and looked to the sky, the stars shimmering brightly in the night.
"You see, I'm different from most Changelings: I was born with a heart," he explained. "I'm part pony, which give me some advantages, like being able to eat food as a substitute for emotions. But it also gave me some disadvantages, one being my difficulty at disguising myself. I had trouble keeping up my natural disguise, and I couldn't even turn into somepony else." Spirit stared at the moon and sighed. “I wanted nothing more than to be able to transform like the other Changelings. To prove to them that I wasn’t a freak. I had almost given up, if it wasn’t for her.”
“Who’s ‘her’?” Applebloom asked.
“Her name is Kalinka,” Spirit said. “She’s a good friend of mine. She was the only Changeling in the Hive that actually cared about me. It’s because of her persistence that I can turn into others now, but not without some difficulty.”
“Is this Kalinka pretty?” Applebloom asked.
Spirit’s smile grew wider. “By Changeling standards, she’s beautiful.”
“Are ya gonna marry her?”
Spirit’s attention snapped back to Applebloom, his eyes bulging. “W-what!? W-where did that come from!?” he said, his chitin skin turning red.
“Ya obviously like her, so that must mean ya wanna marry her!”
“T-that’s crazy talk! There’s no way Kalinka would want to marry me!” Spirit countered.
“How do ya know that? D’ja ever ask her how she feels about you?”
Spirit opened his mouth to said something, but the words failed to flow. Spirit closed his mouth and continued walking towards the barn. “You’re right Applebloom, I’ve never asked her before. That’s twice you’ve given me a realization. It’s kinda scary.”
“So, are ya gonna ask her?” Applebloom said, trotting up to the young hybrid.
“One day Applebloom, but not today.”
***
“There ya’ll are! Ah was wonderin’ where ya’ll were.” Applejack said, greeting the pair as they walked into view.
“Sorry that took so long AJ,” Spirit said, setting down the baskets. “But I kinda got my hoof stuck in a tree.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Thankfully, Applebloom here was nearby,” Spirit said, pointing at the now swaying filly. “Applebloom?”
“Sooo tired…” she mumbled as she collapsed into the dirt.
“Um, is she okay?” Spirit asked as Applejack lifted her sister off the ground.
“She’ll be fine. She’s jus’ tuckered out, that’s all.” Applejack said over her sister’s light snoring. “Thanks for yer help, Spirit. Ah really mean it.”
“No problem, AJ. I’m just glad you let me help.” Spirit said, rubbing his head. "I gotta go. Kalinka's probably wondering where I am," he said, turning around. "I'll see ya later. Hope Big Macintosh gets better."
"You're welcomed to come back anytime! Take care!" Applejack said to the leaving Changeling.