//------------------------------// // Where the Pieces Fit (Surprise/Swing Shift): If The Truth Be Told // Story: Awkward Conversations And Other Stories // by No one is home //------------------------------// Surprise came to in a strange room, tied to a chair. A juvenile, burgundy changeling paced in front of her, while a larger drone stood guard by the only visible door. "It's not enough for you that you get to have all the snuggle-time with Train Wreck while he treats me like a little foal, is it Surprise?" Swing Shift accused angrily, "You had to go putting ideas in my sister's head, too!" "You know Train Wreck's gonna be pretty mad at you when he finds out about this, missy," Surprise warned, "Why don't you untie me before you get in any more trouble. We can all go back to the bakery and talk about whatever this is over some juice and cookies." "Don't try to change the subject!" the little changeling stamped her foot, "Switch Shift is supposed to be MY drone! I was supposed to be Z-978, not her! I told her she could be Pinkie Pie #7 again, but she won't listen! She's my drone, she's supposed to do what I say!" "Swing Shift, honey," Surprise kept her voice surprisingly level, "I'm trying to be super patient with you, but it's not nice to call ponies by names they don't like being called. Z loves you a whole lot and..." "She's not Z-978, she's Switch Shift! And she's my drone!" Swing dropped her flank to the floor, pounding her front hooves in a full on tantrum, "If I tell her to pretend she's Pinkie Pie, she has to pretend she's Pinkie Pie. If I tell her to pretend she's my sister..." "Pear Cobbler, Diane," Surprise's voice chilled the room. Little Swing shuffled away from the mare in abject terror, "How could you... it's not possible! HOW COULD YOU KNOW CHARLIE'S SAFE WORDS?!?!" "Because he didn't make them for you," the mare grinned maliciously, her mane somehow falling even straighter, "I tried to go easy on you, I really did. But Charlie was mine long before Celestia ever stuffed him in that nightmare you found him in. I thought I was sending him to a safe place, but Celestia found him and sent him into an even worse nightmare. You know why Train Wreck doesn't recognize you." "I- I don't know what you're talking about!" the little changeling stammered. "He recognized me, in a weird sort of way he even recognizes Z, and technically they never even met in the nightmare," the green mare explained coldly, "You can't lie to yourself, the goat told me your curse. So why doesn't he know you?" "Make her stop!" the filly commanded her guard, who continued to watch passively. “Ask yourself, ‘Train Wreck recognizes his relationship with everypony else from the dream world, even if he doesn’t remember how or why? Why doesn’t he recognize me?’ You know the answer,” Surprise continued coldly, “I want to hear you say it.” “Why are you doing this?” Swing Shift sobbed. “You don’t want to say?” the green mare raised an eyebrow, “Then let’s try another question, why is my Charlie dead? The pod therapy should have kept him alive. Or how about THIS little doozy: Why were all your drones running around in the middle of a war zone pretending to be the Elements of Harmony when Stand in had specifically told them to use the chaos to sneak you to safety? Why did your ‘sister’ die? All these questions have one answer, missy. I don’t care how much Train Wreck likes you, I’m not letting anypony in my home who keeps secrets and tell lies that big, so you better come clean, now while you still have a chance.” “I just wanted to play pretend,” Swing shift sobbed, “I didn’t mean for anypony to get hurt. Especially not Charlie. I thought I could handle the pod. I had seen drones do it, and it didn’t look that hard!” “The first question should be easy, then” Surprises voice softened, if only slightly, “Why doesn’t Train Wreck recognize you? He should, you know. Even without his memories.” “Be- because the whole time I was in the dream… I always pretended I was somepony else, because,” the little changeling hesitated, having clearly forgotten who was supposed to be whose prisoner, “Because I didn’t want him to treat me like I was just a foal.” “You are just a foal,” the changeling drone guarding the door vanished in a flash of green fire to reveal Princess Fast Change, “The rest of you can come in now.” The first through the door was Z, she was clearly angry and hurt, and stomped straight up to Swing shift with tears in her eyes, “You think Z-978 was PRETENDING to be your sister?!?! After she saw you die she spent so much dark lonely time hiding in that empty pony city, starving and living off only the love of the rats that would be her pets! She would only ever call herself Pinkie Pie #7 because that was the last thing her sister asked her to do before she died! Was that pretend too? You tell Z-978! Z-978 IS your sister, but apparently to the stupid little queen Z-978 is only her drone!” “I… didn’t mean it like that,” the little changeling cried. She was Quickly followed by Sweet Shift and Split Shift, Sweet speaking for them both, “None of us are your drones anymore. Split and myself are returning to our duties at the hive. You have a lot to make up to your sister darling. For her sake more than yours I hope she can forgive you.” Both drones left the small room, making space to accommodate Train Wreck’s massive form, “I don’t know what you wanted me to be in the dream. I don’t know what you thought was going to be between us if that other me had ever woke up. But I do know it would have been a lie just like the lies it would have been based on.” Swing Shift sobbed uncontrollably, until Train Wreck reached out with a tazzle snake and pulled her into a much needed hug, “But what I can be is a big brother. I can be an uncle. I can be a guardian and that’s NOT a lie.” “Everypony in this room is here because we care about you,” Surprise stepped forward and wrapped a foreleg around the little changeling, “But we can’t help you if you lie to us.” “Z-978 is Swing Shifts sister because she loves her. She is Swing shifts sister because she believes Swing shift can grow up to be a good queen,” Z stepped forward to join the group hug, “But Z-978 cannot play make believe with her sister anymore. When Swing Shift plays make believe ponies get hurt.” “I think we’re done here,” Fast change smiled, “I’ll have my guards escort the four of you home. There’s still formalities and paperwork. You’re not a perfect family, but I know a little about imperfect families. If you need anything, the hive is just a few blocks down the road.”