//------------------------------// // Chapter 13:Consequences // Story: CiderCon Chronicles // by SSCiderConOfficial //------------------------------// CiderCon Chronicles Chapter 13:Consequences "If you build up the guts to do something, then you better save enough to face the consequences." - Autumn Light (Toshiro Mipony), "Seven Stallions" It seemed to Warm Welcome, Bramley and P'tach that time had stopped around them. They were in a bubble that included only the three of them. Warm Welcome's eyes raked over Bramley, her hooves turning him this way and that looking for any sign of injury. Bramley, in his bewildered and stupefied state, offered no objections. He just looked around, mouth agape, as his mother inspected him. When Warm Welcome had explored every place where an external injury might hide, the realization dawned on her that he was fine. He was alive, safe, and perfectly healthy. Her tunnel vision for Bramley's safety dissipated, she surveyed the scene around them. On the ground less that a body length away was the remaining part of the tree. The section she could see was roughly as big around as her torso, and ended abruptly in a jagged rent where the changeling had struck it. Looking behind her, she found another large section of tree littering the yard. To her left was a field of splinters: all that remained of the huge section of tree P'tach had obliterated. It all sunk in. Bramley was safe. Her plan was ruined. P'tach had risked everything to save Bramley. She looked up at the changeling. His massive form still towered above them, intent on protecting them from a threat that was already that was already gone. She felt a wave of love and gratitude towards him wash over her and she began to cry. Speechless with emotion, she lurched toward him to convey her indebtedness in the only way that she could. She wrapped her forelegs around one of his massive legs and hugged it with all of her might, burying her face in the fur and sobbing P'tach looked down at Warm Welcome as her embrace shook him from his own thoughts. He realized dimly that the threat had passed. He had saved Bramley. A feeling if euphoria welled up inside him. Not only had he been able to save the colt, but, for the first time in his life, he was completely unashamed of who he was. He realized now, that his inability to completely replicate another form wasn't a defect or a failing, it was due to an ability that they'd never seen before. He was, as far as he knew, unique among changelings. Where other changelings could replicate a single other being, had the ability to pick and choose different parts from different creatures. Heads, arms, legs, tails, his mind spun with the possibilities! All it had taken was the right inspiration, and a leap of faith in himself. The Mother had never instilled either in him. He understood everything that Warm Welcome had said about her. She had given him life, but, having seen the way Warm Welcome encouraged and nurtured Bramley, he understood now that it took more than a biological act to deserve the title. She had only ever held him back from discovering that of which he was truly capable. His heart rejected the Mother's scorn, her derision, her disgust. He vowed never to think of her, or refer to her, as "Mother" again. A shout from behind him caught him by surprise, and reminded him of the fact that they weren't alone. "What in the Sam Hinny is that thing !?" He felt Warm Welcome stiffen, and knew that she'd been shocked by the realization as well. He felt her shiver, and reached down with paws the size of dinner plates to gently detach her from his leg. He wasn't running anymore. He wasn't going to let someone else fight his battles either. The changeling turned to address the gathered townsponies. There was a "FWOOSH" of colored fire as he changed back into himself. He remembered too late that he couldn't speak anything but his native language that way. He prepared to change into the piecemeal form to which he was becoming accustomed, when that new voice inside spoke again. "Just change what's inside your throat." Empowered by the new found trust in his abilities, he did just that. "I am a changeling." He said to the assortment of faces before him. Seeing that he had their attention, he launched into an impassioned speech about what he was, where he was from, and all that he had been through. He sought to quell the townsponies fears, to explain the nature of his kind, and insure them that he meant no harm. Bramley and Warm Welcome watched with a mix of amazement and pride. Even with these possibly hostile strangers, he was calm, self-assured, and unashamed. They watched the faces of their neighbors change as P'tach spoke. Fear and anger became interest, and then empathy as the changeling described his hardships. Most smiled as he spoke fondly about his meeting with Bramley, and the wonders of Warm Welcome's cooking. There were nods of understanding as he described his own fear at Warm Welcome's entrance. He led them on a journey that started with his banishment and ended where he stood now. He looked around to smile at Bramley and Warm Welcome before turning back and addressing the crowd. " I will leave it to you to decide whether I am allowed to stay. I hope that you will allow me to stay and become a part of your community. As I was watching you all enjoy one another I was envious of the bond that you share. I have only recently come to know what it feels like to be valued for who I am, and am eager to share that with others ,but I will abide by your decision no matter what it may be. Warm Welcome trusts you, and I trust Warm Welcome." As the townsfolk broke out into whispered conversation behind him, the Constable's eyes remained on P'tach. Throughout the speech, he alone had remained unmoved. He had stood, stolidly keeping the changeling fixed with an inscrutable, appraising stare. The conversation stopped when Constable Even-hoof stepped forward. All eyes were on him. "Son," he began, "I just saw you risk everything to save a colt you've known for less than a week. That, and the fact that Warm Welcome trusts you, tells me about all I need to know." The Constable extended a hoof. "Welcome to town." ********************