Time Has Passed.

by bronystrongwing

Unwanted solutions

Author's Note:

I deal with a bit of a touchy subject in the second half, you have been warned.

The holding cell the lone Changeling resided in would be small, cramped, and uncomfortable for an ordinary pony, but when you live in a cramped cave with about eight to ten others sharing the same space, you get used to small living conditions. He simply laid on the ground, rarely looking about, deciding to rest his head in his hooves. He was bored, no fun to have in the underbelly of a castle. Well that, and he was hungry. Really hungry. The optometrist had less visitors than he had expected, so he hadn't fed off of anypony's love. By the time the guard and her tall, lanky friend had arrived, he was close to collapsing unconscious. After the guard had informed him of his mistake, he dropped his disguise, but by then it was too much, and he had passed out right then and there. When he woke up, he was in the cell he now laid in. There was only a single guard down there watching him, a light blue unicorn stallion. He noted how the guard favored his left side.

"Well then, let's talk." Came a voice familiar to the Changeling. From a large door to the right of the single cell was Hidden Gem, accompanied by Abram. "Flashpoint, has our guest given you any trouble?" She asked the blue stallion.

"No, Ma'am, he was quiet the entire time." Flashpoint responded. He walked past Gem and Abram towards the door, placing more weight on his left hooves than his right.

"He's certainly as weird as you described him, but I wouldn't say 'ugly'." Abram says to Gem, observing the creature before him. "What's your name, then?" He asks.

The Changeling tried to stand, but quickly decided it was too much of a hassle and laid back down on the stone ground. "We don't have names." He responds, his voice raspy and quiet. "We identify each other through pheromones. Every one of us gives off a unique scent."

"We need to call you something, what would you like?" Abram asks, his interest piqued.

"I don't know, something simple, short. Something I can forget easily." He replied, his voice annoyed.

"We can decide that later. I need some information from you." Hidden Gem says.

"Okay, no need to ask twice. I'm twenty years old, I like walks on the beach and-" The Changeling begins before being cut off.

"Shut it! You know exactly what I mean!" Gem shouts, unwilling to put up with the prisoner's antics, while Abram struggles to hold a chuckle back.

"Hey, not so loud! If you couldn't already tell, I don't feel so great." The Changeling replied. "I haven't had anything to feed on in about 2 weeks." He says, followed with an exasperated sigh. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm too busy starving to death to answer any silly questions."

"Just, answer one question for us, and we'll leave you alone. I promise." Abram says with a warm smile.

The Changeling wanted to tell them to just give up, but something stopped him before he could say it. A feeling, but not his own. It belonged to the tall one. Love. The kind you would feel for a close friend you trusted anything with. Why was this stranger giving him love? "...Fine, but only one." He said.

"Where is the real Looking Glass?" Hidden Gem asked. "What did you do with him?"

The prisoner let out a chuckle. "Relax, he's perfectly fine. He left for some convention of sorts. I simply took the opportunity to try and get some food, which as you can see, failed."

"How do we-" Hidden Gem tried to say, but was stopped by Abram's hand in front of her face.

"We asked the one question. Leave him alone." Abrams says, standing. "We'll be off now, need anything?"

There it is again. More of that friendly love. This man absolutely baffled the Changeling. It wasn't enough to fill him, but it would hold him over for at least two days. "Uh, no, thanks."

"Right then, we'll leave you be. See you later." Abram says as he and Hidden Gem left the dungeon.

------
later
Throne Room
------

Princess Twilight sat atop her throne, awaiting the arrival of Abram and Gem. She was worried about what it meant for a changeling to just suddenly appear in Ponyville. 'Could it be another attempted invasion?' She thought to herself. 'He could just be a scout. But why did he just collapse? It could be a trick. An easy way into the castle. But Jason saw right through the disguise. How?' As she continued to think, Abram and Hidden Gem arrived.

"Your highness." Abram said as he bowed.

"No need for formalities." Twilight says as Abram rights himself.

"I'm sorry, it's just that I always do my best to treat everyone with respect, especially royalty, even more so women." He replies.

"Are...are you hitting on the Princess?" Hidden Gem asks, trying to avoid a small grin.

"What?!" Twilight shouts, surprised by this sudden statement, a light blush forming on her cheeks.

Abram couldn't handle it anymore and started laughing, accompanied by the occasional snort. When he finally caught his breath, he explained. "It's not that I wouldn't find dating you lovely," He says, which causes another blush to form on Twilight's face. "But I'm gay. Remember how I told about how I became good friends with my boxing opponents? Well, that's how I met two of my boyfriends."

"Alright then, now that bit of awkward is out of the way, we're here to tell you what we found out from the Changeling." Hidden Gem says.

Before Gem could continue, Abram began speaking. "He was in Ponyville because he was hungry. The pony He replaced was simply out of town for business. He hasn't fed on any one's love, he collapsed from hunger. He's a good person, I can tell. Just rough around the edges."

"We don't know for sure if it's telling the truth. It could have lied about what happened to Looking Glass. It might have been in Ponyville to relay information to it's hive." Hidden Gem says.

"Listen to yourself, Gem. 'It'? That is a living, breathing person, not some object or animal! He's starving, we should help him!" Abram says, almost shouting. "What happened to the hospitality you showed James, Axle, and I? We aren't ponies, yet all you've done is be nice to us. Why doesn't he get any of that?! Because of what his ancestors did?! Because you don't understand them?! There's a word for this where we come from, it's called 'Racism'. It means passing judgement on a person for what they are, not who they are. Considering yourself better than them just because they're not like you!" He yells.

"They invaded Canterlot! Kidnapped Princess Cadence and attacked Princess Celestia! Do you think they're going to just drop it over a cup of tea?!" Hidden Gem shouts back.

"That wasn't him! He wasn't even alive back then! What gives you the ri-!" Abram is interrupted by Princess Twilight.

"Enough! Hidden Gem, I understand your worries, but he's right. It- I mean he is still a person, and should be treated as such." Twilight says.

"Yes, your highness."Hidden Gem begrudgingly says.

Abram remains silent as he leaves the throne room. He is still very upset when he reaches his room. 'Even here bigotry still festers.' He thinks to himself as he sits on his bed. 'Guess it's universal.'

------
Meanwhile
Castle Dungeon
------

The Changeling lays on the cold ground, still thinking of the strange man. Something he said has stuck in his head. Finally he speaks to Flashpoint. "Hey." He says, but is ignored by the guard. "Hey!" He shouts again. This time the guard turns to face him.

"What is it?" He asks, annoyed.

"I need a name."

Comments

[Rain Nero]

For those without the inclination to find a translator... (Highlight below)
"Comprehension, such a silly concept. The mind is designed to fail. When a man has solved a problem, he has created a thousand more. A being is truly happy when their only major conflict is deciding between breathing through their mouth or nose."