*CRASH!*
Ow. Yeah, note to self. Purposely crashing a cart into the Ponyville fountain hurts. Like, a lot. Oh well. Adds believability I guess.
"Oh my gosh! Are you okay?"
Bingo.
Just as planned, even though the ringing in my ears, I can still hear that prissy purple pony princess rushing to my aide. Predictable.
"Here, let me help you."
I feel the heavy wooden cart lifted off me effortlessly in her powerful Alicorn magic. Okay buddy, time to make a good impression. Remember the mission.
I try to get to my hooves, but wince and fall back onto my side. Great. I'm actually hurt. Not good not good not good.
The princess helps me up to my hooves, holding most of my weight while I tried to steady myself with my one good hoof. "Thanks." I murmur, blinking stars out of my eyes.
"Of course! Are you okay?" She asks, genuine concern apparent in her expression. Typical pony. Taking it in now, I guess she doesn't look half bad, at least by pony standards. Purple pelt, blue mane with a few purple or pink streaks, cut neatly and hanging loosely over her horn. And of course there are those stupid wings.
"Yeah, yeah I should…" I yelp as a sharp stabbing pain runs through my lower body. I fall into a kneel, my front hooves unable to support my weight, and a back leg threatening to give out as well.
"Oh my! Here, let me help." The princess lifts me up onto her back. No respect for anyling's dignity. "I should get you back to my castle, I'm sure I could find something to help you…" I give her a grateful look, masking my unending loathing for her and her species.
It is quite a short walk, but I still do get quite a few odd looks, being carted around by an Alicorn princess. For a second, I think that they must know who I really am, but I quickly shake the thought. Noling could see through a changeling's magic. Despite that knowledge, I'm still growing increasingly self-conscious by the time we both reach the grand doors of her crystal castle.
"Can you walk?" she asks worriedly as she lowers me down with the help of her magic. I nod, testing out my hooves, shifting the weight from one to another until I'm satisfied that I could walk ten feet without too much trouble.
"Thank you, Princess Sparkle. Really. I appreciate it." This was only a half lie. True, I loathed her very existence, but if it weren't for her, I would still be lying under a broken cart by the Ponyville fountain.
"It was nothing, really. And it's just Twilight. No need to be formal." She looks at me expectantly. "Would you like to come in?" I nod and step forward.
"I hope I'm not being too much trouble, Twilight." I say, stepping through the ginormous crystal doors. Egh. How did this purple trash heap get her own castle? In my opinion, she should still be living in that old decaying tree. Heh. It seems all the nights I spent researching this town have stuck. It's annoying, but all a part of going into deep cover I guess.
"Again, I assure you, it's nothing. I'm just happy to help, Mr…" She hangs on that last word and waves her hoof, asking my name. Crap. Okay Peek, remember your training. I look at myself in the reflective walls of her crystal castle. Dark grey pelt, neon purple mane and tail, spiked back of course, green eyes and a horn. I've outdone myself. Very nice.
"Black Light." I answer after a small pause. She smiles and walks over into her living area. It's clean and feels warmer and more homely than the rest of the castle. Probably due to the blazing fire and the two sofas positioned in front of it. Whereas this room feels comfy and warm, the rest of the castle just feels a little… dead. "Impressive place." I say, trying to layer a few tones of awe over my disgust.
"Thank you, though my friends did most of the work. I'm no designer." So humble. Why are these ponies like this? "Would you like some tea, Black Light?" She's so… So… Nice. It's sickening. At least it tastes alright. I guess. I don't even get a chance to decline her tea. She's already boiling the teapot, so I guess I'm staying here for the time being. To be honest, I expected this to take a little bit longer. Like, shouldn't she have guards or something? Or at least be a little cautious of random ponies she picked up off the street?
"That would be nice, thank you." No use saying anything else at this point, plus it helps me worm my way further into her life. I sit down. "Why did you help me?" I ask. " Why not just leave me? I mean, you don't even know me." Something I'm genuinely curious about. I mean, she went out of her way to help someling she's never met. Noling would ever do that for anyling back at the hive.
"Well I couldn't just leave you, could I?" she says, smile plastered on her snout as she levitates over two cups of tea. Yeah, not drinking that. I drink emotions, not tea. "And besides. What kind of princess would I be if I didn't help out my subjects?" she giggles, but all happiness washes from her almost immediately. "Not that I think of any of you as my subjects of course. I wouldn't want you to think I'm looking down on you!" She stares at me and taps her hooves together, a small frown on her muzzle, her tea momentarily forgotten. She's anxious. I can feel it. It's strong too. It's like she will do anything to avoid upsetting me.
I wave my hoof. "It's okay, really. Thanks for the tea, Twilight." I reach out for the cup with my magic, dreading the disgusting liquid, but I suddenly feel a sharp stabbing headache funnel through my horn and into my head. "Arrgh!" I yell out, clutching my head as green sparks fly from my head. Okay, I now regret choosing unicorn. Well, it was either being one of those featherbrains or having nothing at all.
"Black Light!" I hear her yell. There's real fear and concern in the air. It tastes bitter as all Tartarus. My head feels like it's going to split in two. I think I overloaded my horn. But from that? I've done some way harder stuff before. Do you know how much magic goes into a shapeshifting spell?
At some point it appears that I had fallen off of her couch and onto the floor and now the princess is standing over me, shaking me with her forehooves. I clench my eyes shut and try to slow my breathing. From the heat in my brain, I'd say that I'm still sending out green sparks like it's new year's. I focus my remaining willpower through the wall of pain and block off my horn from my magic. Instantly, my headache becomes more manageable and I roll over onto my back. I groan and open my eyes. I feel Twilight's relief wash over me. Really. Sure it's bland, but I could probably live off this for a good while.
I pull myself up until my front half is resting on her table. I wait until I stop seeing fourteen separate Princess Twilights and hold a hoof up to my horn. It's hot. Great. Just great. "Black Light!" Twilight grabs me in her hooves. "Oh my gosh! Are you okay? I haven't seen an overload like that in years!" I nod.
"Any idea what could have caused it?" I ask, my voice straining. I'm usually so good at this sort of thing. "I haven't overloaded like this since I was a colt." Well, a grub, but it's still true. I once tried to shift a few more times than I was able. It wasn't pretty.
She gasps. "Your horn!" I bring my hoof back up to my horn. Crap. There's a chunk missing. Like, not just a chip or something, like, a whole massive chunk. I wince. One, because I have a chunk of my horn missing, and two because of the exposed nerves. "You might have to get that filed down and wait for it to heal." I look at her. "You're lucky it didn't come off at the base, otherwise it might not be able to heal at all." Yeah. Lucky me.
I continue to stare, genuine fear creeping into me. "Is there any place here in Ponyville I could get it filed?"
"I could book you into the Ponyville spa. I'm sure they could help you out." I smile.
"Thanks Twilight." I get back up onto the sofa and stare out the window. "You've been nothing but nice to me, and I don't know how I can ever return the favour."
She smiles warmly. "Believe me, you don't owe me anything. I'm just happy to help." I smile. Being indebted to this pony would be the worst. "Are you sure you're okay? That was quite the overload." I nod and look back out the window. "Are you new in Ponyville?" she asks. "I don't think I've seen you around lately."
"Yeah. I'm actually new here today. I was just going to stay at a hotel until I got a place of my own." I say, turning back to this purple princess.
"If you want, you can stay here for the night," she says, waving to the hall. "I'm sure I could find a spare room." I smile. And a genuine one too. This changeling's not sleeping on the street any time soon.
"I'd appreciate that, Twilight." I say as she stands up and ushers me out of the room, my tea cold and forgotten for good.
"You know, I might be able to fix your cart for you."
"Really? That would be amazing, Twilight."
I lay in bed, the lights having gone out hours before. I'm conflicted. I'm trying as hard as I can to hate this purple pony princess, but the more I try, the less I'm able to do it. She's done so much for me, and I'm genuinely grateful. She saved me from my cart, made me tea, however inedible for my species, showed real concern for me before and after my magical overload, gave me a bed to sleep in and even offered to fix my cart. Sure I did mean to crash it, but she's still going out of her way to help me.
She didn't need to do any of this for me. She could have just as easily passed me by, leaving me for someling else. She went the extra mile. She cares for me. That's… That's not a feeling that's common in the hive. We all just have one goal, and if a few of our changeling brothers and sisters fall along the way, so be it.
Ugh. It's too late for this. I'm getting to sleep.