The Changeling Within

by IceQB

Chapter 3: Every pony, meet Sabertooth and Emera. They're awesome and I love them to bits.

The clouds wafted past him as he swerved from one to the other, using it as cover from the ponies below. Occasionally, he would bump into a couple of birds and other pegasus, some nastier than the others. Not that he was a bad flier or anything, but Vinyl could use help focusing on the clouds rather than his clouded mind.

“I still can’t believe I said yes,” groaned Vinyl. He scanned his surroundings. A y-shaped tree. A statue of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Two identical looking shop houses.

He flew past the window on the second floor of the left shop house and headed down the corridor. Phew. The lights are off. Landlord’s not around. He turned a corner, opened the second door on the right and entered.

Yawning, he threw himself on the bed and stretched his hooves. He let his eyes close as a gentle breeze swept over him. Today was a long day. I still can’t believe… sigh… I should stop moping over her. She wasn’t even mine to begin with.

But why am I still thinking about this afternoon?

Vinyl froze as he threw his eyes wide open. He heard buzzing sounds, as well as the sounds of two pony whispering faintly around him. He dared not budge. It didn’t matter who they were. If they saw Vinyl in this form, chances are that Vinyl would somehow end up in hiding or back with his parents.

“Think we should be doing this?”

“It’s about time. He can’t stay.”

“I thought we talked about it. We can always take our time. There’s no rush.”

“But now’s the time. Have you prepared the items necessary?”

“Sigh. Yeah, they’re here with me.”

“Good. He’s overstayed.”

“Forgive me, Vinyl.”

Vinyl scanned his room. There were no ponies other than the reflection of himself in the tall mirror across the room. He liked that sight, but now wasn’t the time to check his body out.

“I’m disappointed.”

Vinyl turned around. His breath was shallow and his heartbeat raced, but that was all he could do as he frantically searched the room for the source of the voices. Self-defence 101.

“Let’s go.”

Instinctively, Vinyl grabbed his flattened pillow behind him and raised it as if it was a shield. He raised another one using telekinesis as if it was a sword. I knew this landlord was trouble. I saw it coming when I first came here, but nooo. My parents insisted on living in this cheap, run-down, dilapidated, dirty, dusty… this piece of shit junkyard. If he’s thinking of taking me down, he better get ready. This changeling’s ready for shit.

He propped his infallible, trusty weapons in the air and braced himself. “Go… g-go away!” His eyes darted across the room to the cupboard that was slightly open. Squinting his eyes, he peeked through the tiny crack. “I s-see you.” Self-defence 101. “Go a-away!”

Vinyl waited for a reply. Silence. Few seconds passed. Birds chirping and shallower breathing.

He dared to stand up, his weapons by his side. Self-defence 101. Vinyl gulped. These ponies are wasting my time. Freaking standing here as bait and they don’t even want to get me.

“Vinyl.”

“N-no! Shoo! G-go away!” whimpered Vinyl as he propped his shield above his shoulder.

“Put those pillows down. You look silly.” Vinyl’s ears picked up an unfamiliar roughness in the voice. He didn’t recognize it; it sounded too soft for the rugged, drunk-half-the-time landlord, and it definitely sounded too rough for any ponies he knew. This better be someone I don’t know. I’d rather not snap the neck of any pony in my school. Maybe not even Spitfire. I pity him. Hangs around those few ponies who wouldn’t even stand up for him.

“Vinyl. Put it down. Now.” Vinyl heard a different voice speak this time—a mare’s voice, not too high-pitched to be a pony, but not too low-pitched to be a changeling. It reminded him of blueberry waffles, butter toast and the smell of lavender. His nose picked up a scent wafting in the room. Lavender. Oh, you have got to be kidding me.

Vinyl shook his head. Rolling his eyes, he let a soft chuckle out as he lowered his weapons. “You really need to lay off that perfume I got you for last Christmas.”

“Told you he would recognise you,” said the pony with the rough voice.

“Oh please, I never intended to keep my identity a secret,” replied the mare.

Vinyl chuckled once more as he rested his head on his hoof. “You too, dad. What’s up with that voice?” Vinyl laughed out loud. “You sound like a lion with a sore throat.”

“Hmph. I’ll take that as ‘you’re glad to see us, son’. And yes. I’m—“ Vinyl heard a cough, “—I’m sick.”

“Wait a minute,” deadpanned Vinyl as he searched the empty room. “Are you guys invisible or something?”

“Try again.” And Vinyl did just that. Except that he illuminated his horn, releasing steady pulses of electromagnetic waves out of it.

“Nope. Keep trying.” Vinyl groaned as he switched from electromagnetic waves to white shimmering light.

“Ah. Heat detection. Nice try, but no.” The pony with the rough voice laughed.

“Oh come on,” whined Vinyl as he shot a purple beam at his cupboard, causing sparks to jump around wildly, “Mum, dad, where are you?”

“Nope, we’re not in here.” Compulsively, Vinyl lighted up his horn and began firing neon-green projectiles at every corner of his room—a spell that if it hits a living target, the target will start spewing action phrases such as ‘Thou shall not mess with wubs’.

“Really? Son, I’m getting bored of this.”

“Oh, Sabertooth, let’s get on with this already.”

“Oh fine. Hey son, look up!” Vinyl did just that, and slammed his hoof against his face.

- - - Ɵ-Ɵ-Ɵ-Ɵ-Ɵ-Ɵ - - -

“Not bad. You still remember my teachings. Let your opponents think you’re weak before surprising them with your fangs,” said Sabertooth as he patted Vinyl’s shoulders.

“Sh’yeah. Learnt from the best.” Vinyl smiled. “I don’t say my dad’s the First Lieutenant of the Qua Ustar Epreon Es Nasion, or QUEEN, for nothing. It’s quite fun to see my changeling classmates go all 'wooooow' at me.” Vinyl chuckled and leaned back, resting against the back of his bedframe. He laid his head on top of one of his ‘weapons’, while the other was being held in captive in between his two hooves. “Bes poro ty secratio ina ino espa e. (I think they secretly were jealous of me.)

“You still know how to speak our native tongue? I thought you stopped caring a few years back?” asked a surprised Vinyl’s mum who sat on his blue swirling chair.

“Well, yeah. I do remember some words though. Um, Mum, dad..." Vinyl adjusted himself, sitting upright and facing his parents. "Why are you here?"

The only replies Vinyl got were the whirls of the fan in the corner of the room and the birds chirping outside his window. The three changelings stared at each other. Well, Vinyl did most of the staring. His parents kept nudging their heads and pointing at Vinyl with their eyeballs as if they’d rather not deliver the news, good or bad may it be. A scowl or two appeared on their face before Vinyl’s dad broke the silence.

“Um... Our Queen asks you back. You have to go back now.”

More silenced filled the room. Vinyl heart sank like his jaw dropped—heavily. He stared at the floor under him. His body laid dormant, sitting upright and facing his parents who tried to put on a smile for him. He couldn’t see their smiles. However fake a façade may be, Vinyl loved to see a smile, but he himself couldn’t smile at everything that happened today.

”Hey mum, dad! The letter’s here!”

“Vinyl Scratch will be studying in Canterlot High. Attached is your timetable, a map and a journal. Oh I’m so excited!”

“I’m… I’m glad for you son.

“Oh, what is this? Queen Chrysalis informs you that your study pass limits to the years in Canterlot High. The moment the years end, you are to come back to serve the QUEEN under the 42nd Afarso Rocen Telin for five years as grace of your Queen’s decision to allow you to leave the hive.”

“Son, five years. Wow.”

“Doesn’t matter anyways. 42 is Intel, isn’t it? It’s easy, I heard.”

“Don’t be too bummed about it. It’s rare for our Queen to let any changeling study aboard.”

“Well, I feel lucky then.”

"W-what?” squeaked Vinyl as softly as a mice. Still staring at the floor, he allowed himself to grab both his weapons and hugged it.

“Um, our Queen wants you back. She needs all the changelings back. For whatever reason, we dare not ask,” replied Vinyl’s mum, sighing. “I know the letter did say until the year end, but we can’t defy our Queen’s orders.”

Vinyl rocked slightly back and forth, sighing and breathing into his weapons. He buried his head into them, hoping that they would somehow solve his problem. That and to hide his even redder eyes from his parents. I… I knew… I knew this was coming one day, but not now. This wasn’t supposed to happen until this year ends.

“Son, I know it’s tough. Heard from your mum that you’ve taken a liking to the city here.”

“Y-yeah.” Vinyl sniffled.

“But everything goes away one day. Everything dies. No one lives forever.” His dad sighed. “I don’t know why. I can barely understand why you do certain things, my son. When you’re five, you starting making this noise at home.”

“Dad, that’s music. Dubstep,” deadpanned Vinyl.

“Yeah that. I don’t understand it. No one does. I don’t know if anyone except you considers that as music. But at age seven, that’s all you did. You played around with the mecroput and tinkered with it. And then it stopped working, and you cried for days.”

“Yeah. I lost all my music.” Vinyl sighed.

“At age ten, we found out you suffered from Bi-eraflucta. You couldn’t change to any other pony except that white one. Your classmates bullied and teased you. And we had to step in and call their parents.” Vinyl shuddered and frowned. He didn’t like his childhood back then. He didn’t like how because he was different from others, he was treated differently.

”Vinyl, what’s wrong?”

“No one understands me, Shining. No one.”

“It doesn’t matter. The two of us do, and that’s all that matters.”

“I’m different from all of you, Shining. I… I can’t perform magic really well. I fly slower than the others and I keep tripping.”

“That’s cause you’re a clutz.”

“Not helping!”

“Point is, no ponies here mind that. We’re all different, but that what makes it unique and fun. Because everyone’s special, no one can tell you what to do. Remember that. Just do what you can do. Don’t let them tell you. Stand up when you fall. Find your own true call.”

“It didn’t stop though,” said Vinyl’s mum. “We had to home-school you. At age twelve, you didn’t want to learn our language any more. You felt it was too hard. And so we let you be, but made sure you could speak Equestrian. You weren’t truly proficient in it, but at least you could speak and write. Parci Queen Chrysalis es do. (Thank Queen Chrysalis for that.)”

“I… I was never good at it. You kept scolding me and demanding I do tons of homework every day,” replied Vinyl.

“It was for your own good, son. Point is, nothing lasts forever.” Vinyl burrowed his head deeper into his weapons.

Sighing, he looked up at his smiling parents and asked, “Why now?”

“We… we don’t know.”

“You’re one of the highest ranking officers in the army, and you don’t know?!” retorted Vinyl.

“Watch your tone there,” growled his mum.

“It’s okay, Emera. Vinyl, my son, we… we know how hard it can be for you. How stressful it is for you to hear this news. Honestly speaking, estra udr nu ina epa. (I really don’t know.)” He scratched his head and walked towards Vinyl. In his hoof held two pieces of half-folded paper. Looking down at his son, he unfolded and held out one of them for Vinyl to read.

“Our Queen Chrysalis regrets to inform you of your annulation of your study pass. You are to return to the Hive within the next moon or you will be charged with Section Three of the Erapa Consigno Et Ta Act.”

“So, it is true.” Vinyl sighed. He noticed his dad wielding the second piece of paper in his hoof and gestured for it. His dad hesitated, pausing to stare at Vinyl in his eyes, before unfolding that piece of paper too and bringing it down to his eye level.

“I think you’ll hate us for this.”

- - - Ɵ-Ɵ-Ɵ-Ɵ-Ɵ-Ɵ - - -

“And if you need anything, just write to us like you always do.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Take care, my son.” And his parents flew out of his window disguised as a pegasus. Vinyl waved at them cheerily. They too, looked back and waved at him before speeding towards the clouds.

- - - Ɵ-Ɵ-Ɵ-Ɵ-Ɵ-Ɵ - - -

“You think we made the right decision? Not to tell Vinyl that he’s adopted?”

“I think I do. I don’t want him growing up thinking we treat him differently just because he’s… well… different than the other colts who have real parents.”

“But we are his real parents, Emera. We raised him up like he was our own.”

“Sigh. People ask me if I’m his mum, and I say yes. Although, sometimes I wish I can say no. He… I have to admit. He embarrasses me sometimes.”

“What is there to be embarrassed about? He’s an amazing young changeling.”

“Not the way the others tell me about him. I… I think he should know the truth, Sabertooth.”

“One day, Emera. One day.”

Author's Note:

Pillows are best weapons. 'Nuff said.

Comments

[Darkus Relling]

Pillow fight!

[IceQB]

3207137 *throws pillow* THE WAR HAS BEGUN!

[IceQB]

3207608 *dodges pillows* THAT'S ALL YOU GOT?! *pulls Raripillowcannon* YOU MESSED WITH THE WRONG PONY!

[IceQB]

Gah I see my errors, but I'm on the phone and it's hard to fix it D: