The Half Changeling: Isabella's story

by Sdlghskjvnkj

A Reason To Stay

"So... why aren't ya still up in Canterlot?" asked the stallion as he reentered the main room.

Isabella had been expecting this question. She knew a small fib would work on him and she had thought of one. The chain of light that connected them was small, but strong. If that little light was a measurement of his affection for her, as she assumed it was, she could tell a story that would worm its way into his stupid heart.

She hesitated to make it sound like she didn't want to talk about it, just for a second, then told her 'story'.

"I fled." she said, telling him a half truth.

"Ye fled?" he asked, confusion deep in his voice.

"Yes. I came from a wealthy family and they believed I should marry some one I did not love." she said. There was silence from the stallion. Isabella could feel the small chain of light pulse with a wave of cold energy. She thought that was odd, but she continued.

"I was engaged to a man, against my will. And I was forced to live in the same house as him. He was... violent. When he drank." she smiled on the inside. This was just too perfect. She could feel the hatred rising off of the stallion without even looking at him.

She turned her head away and blinked her eyes several times, making sure her eyes teared up.
When her eyes were sufficiently moist, she turned her head back towards him.

He was trembling. His eyes burned with anger and the wheat stalk that usually hung from his mouth had been chewed in half from him grinding his teeth. He was waiting for her to continue. She could tell, he truly held loathing for this imaginary pony.

"One evening, he came back to the estate, having spent the entire day drinking and he was especially violent. He threw things at me and hit me. Slapping me and forcing me into a corner. I was... molested."

She turned her head away, letting her hair fall across her face, making fake sobs.

She smiled, this time on the outside. This was too easy. The small connection between them grew ever so slightly. If she had give it a size, it felt like it was about half an inch around. It was progress, but compared to the love she had seen other ponies exchange, this was so small it would be like comparing a mouse to an elephant.

She was about to say something else when a loud 'wham' sounded next to her. She jumped and turn to see the stallion had punched a wall, putting a sizable dent in the solid wood. He began to pace, snorting in rage. She watched him move back and forth until he spoke.

"Did ya kill him?" he snorted. "Before you ran. Did you kill that son of a whore?!"

She nodded.

"Good! Beating a mare is bad enough! But doing... that to somepony! He deserved no less!" he growled, his deep voice dropping even lower.

She had not seen this side of the gentle stallion. Granted, she had been here maybe five days. But this was so against everything she knew about him, that it unnerved her.

Finally, after what must have been ten minutes, the stallion stopped and sat down. Isabella noticed he was sitting closer to her than before. She didn't move but she didn't like how close he was to her.

He even reached out to her. She moved away and he blushed.

"Ah- Ah'm sorry. Ah forgot. Now Ah know why ya don't want to be touched." he drew his hoof back quickly, as if he had been burned.

Another wicked smile on the inside. She hadn't even meant to do that, but now she had an excuse to not want to be touched. Now he wouldn't try to help her with things she didn't need help with.

"Is that why ya try to act so strong?"

The question caught her off guard. What? Act? She wasn't acting! But he continued to speak.

"Ye whisper in yer sleep. Yer always talk about trying to get back to some thing. And when ya look me in the eyes, Ah can see that distant yearnin' fer somethin'. It's strange. Yer a strange mare, Ms. Isabella."

She was speechless. Partially because of what he had told her, but also because that was the first time he had actually said her name.

"I... I do not whisper in my sleep." she said. It was all she could think to say.

"Yeah ya do. Each night. Ah hear you movin' and you say things." He was looking directly at her face. She wouldn't look back at him. What kind of things had her mind revealed about her in the night?

"Like what?" she asked nervously.

"Ya talk about yer mother. Sometimes a father that wasn't there."

This was not possible. She hated her mother, the queen, and she had never even spared a thought for the father she didn't care for.

"What did I say I wanted to return to? " she asked, her voice skeptical, but curious in her heart.

The stallion looked down at her, pity in his eyes. Why should he pity her? She hated it, and was going to tell him to stop when he spoke.

"Yer family." he stated, almost whispering it.

No. no. He was obviously lying now. She didn't care about her family. She didn't want to be part of the hive. She was content with being alone.

"Alone"

The word echoed in her head. The little voice in the back of her head spoke.

"You're alone. You'll always be alone. You'll die alone."

She tried to shut the voice out, but it continued to beat against her mind. Why was this such a big deal to her subconscious all of a sudden? She had always been happy to be alone. Was it because of this stupid stallion? Or was her brain just addled?

"Let me make something abundantly clear." she spoke to the stallion, but mostly to herself. "I hate my family. I have always hated my family, and no matter what I may say in my sleep, that has not and will not change. Do we understand each other?"

There was surprise in the stallion's eyes at her change of tone. He looked at her blankly for a moment before he nodded his head.

"Good. Now. I require a meal." She said. She was eager to change the subject.

Just as she said that, the stallion's stomach rumbled.

"You and me both." he said laughing a little bit.

"Since yer well enough to walk, I want to show you something." he said motioning towards the door as he walked to it.

"What ever you wish to show me had better deal with some food, or I will not be very happy." she said, holding her nose in the air as she walked through the door he held open, out into the sunlight.

She gasped at what she saw before her. A beautiful orchard, ripe with apples, stretched out in front of them. Having lived in Canterlot almost her entire life, she had never seen such a sight. Maybe once or twice in a book, but never like this. It was breathtaking. She looked at the stallion as he walked up beside her.

"It's amazing." she said.

"Heh. This ain't even what Ah wanted to show ye. Come on." he said as he began to walk off to their left, along the side of the orchard. She followed him, having to trot to keep up with his huge strides.

As Isabella looked around at the trees and soaked in the sunlight, she felt something. Something she wasn't used to. She couldn't be sure, but it felt like contentment. Why was she feeling this here? In this place she didn't even know. She had never felt like this in Canterlot. She had felt powerful and invincible there, but never content.

Once she had her strength back and found some more ponies to feed from, maybe she would settle herself around here.

After several minutes of walking, Isabella could see what looked like a barn house rising over the trees. They came around the side of the orchard and the house came into full view. It wasn't Isabella's idea of a good house, but it looked inhabited, and there was the smell of pies in the air. The smell was amazing. There had been pies in Canterlot, but those had been mass produced and their quality was questionable. Isabella had never eaten one and had never thought about eating one. But this smell made Isabella's mouth water.

As they approached the front door of the house, the stallion motioned for her to stay back. She stopped. Why must she stay behind? Were the ponies that lived here violent to those they didn't know? That seemed unlikely, but she sat down on her haunches and waited as he approached the door. To her surprise, he opened the top of the door without even knocking and bellowed "Grannysmith! Applejack! Applebloom! I'm home!"

Home? But didn't he live in the shack on the far side of the orchard? Isabella shifted her weight and watched the stallion.

Soon, three voices greeted the stallion. Each one with that same southern drawl.

"Howdy Big Macintosh!"
"Hey Big Macintosh!"
"Hey there sonny!"

The stallion leaned inside and greeted each one in turn. Isabella still couldn't see the other three ponies, but she could feel it. There was so much love here. She could drain it all and be able to leave sooner than she thought.

A smile spread across her face as she began to pull at the lights that connected all these ponies together.

Her smiled vanished when nothing happened. She couldn't reach out and grab the links and draw on their energy. What the hay? This had never happened before. She could always just reach out and take what she needed, but now, she couldn't. No matter how hard she tried. All she could feel was the small link that stretched between her and the stallion.

A horrifying thought jumped into her head. If she continued to burn the 'love' she received from the stallion at the rate she was, she wouldn't be able to leave here for quite sometime. Also, she seemed unable to feed the way she was used to.

That's when it hit her. She almost a full adult. Had the changeling part of her matured further? Could she only collect love now by being the target of the pony's affection? But why? She was only half changeling.

As if that wasn't enough, one more thing popped into her head. She was not a unicorn like all the other changelings. She wouldn't ever be able to change her shape.

Suddenly she heard her name. She blinked a few times and came back to the present.

"Ah want y'all to meet Ms. Isabella. She's a fancy pony from Canterlot."

Three ponies stepped out of the house. She immediately recognized them from the stallion's photos. The filly and young mare both stared at her, their mouths wide open while the old mare simply kept smiling while her old eyes seemed to be trying focus on Isabella.

"Wow. Big Macintosh, she's pretty." said the filly.

"Now now." said the young mare, setting her hoof on the filly's head, "Don't talk about her like she isn't here, Applebloom."

"Hm?" said the old mare. "Who's what now?"

"Granny Smith, Applejack, Applebloom. Meet Ms. Isabella. Ms. Isabella, meet ma family." said the stallion, pointing at each of the mares when he said their corresponding names.

Isabella didn't know what to say. She suddenly became aware of her mane and began to try to hide it again as she blushed furiously.

Applejack stepped forward and said "Howdy Ms. Isabella. It sure is nice to meet ya." and offered her hoof.

Isabella didn't have to refuse her hoof. 'Big Macintosh', as he was called, put out a hoof and lowered Applejack's, shaking his head slightly. Applejack got the message and dropped her hoof immediately, but continued to speak. "Are ya okay? Somethin' wrong with yer hair?"

Isabella looked at Applejack, then at her mane. She must have some sort of brush, because her mane was perfect. It swept across her forehead, ran down the back of her neck like water, and finished by being tied off with a rubber band.

"Yes. I've had it like this all morning. Could you help me?" said Isabella, hoping Applejack would oblige her.

"Come on." said Applejack, motioning for her to follow her.

Isabella sighed on the inside. Finally, she could get her mane and tail in better shape. Plus she could be away from 'Big Macintosh' for a while. He was caring, yes, but he was also smothering. Besides, she didn't need a guardian.

Then she remembered. She was probably stuck with him for at least a month. She might as well get used to him.

"Well," she thought to herself, "If I could get used to the scum that I hired to run my operations, I could get used to some big hearted, tiny brained stallion."

For some reason, when she insulted him this time, she felt a twinge of guilt. Why? He was a fool. Why not say he is what he is?

That small voice in the back of her head spoke up. "He saved your live. You could be a little more grateful, don't you think?"

Ugh! Fine. Now, it seemed, even her mind had turned against her. She would see if could be a little nicer to him, but she wasn't going to cozy up to him unless she needed to.

They were in what appeared to be a washroom now. Applejack grabbed a brush and said "Sit down." with a smile on her face.

Isabella shuddered on the inside. She didn't want to let Applejack touch her, but she would have to get used to that now. She was stuck here and if they were touchy ponies, she would have to deal with it.

She sat down and felt Applejack begin to pull the brush through her mane. After the first minute or two of being incredibly tense, she began to relax. This wasn't so bad. In fact. Having some one else do this for her felt wonderful. She smiled slightly as she closed her eyes. After her mane was finished, Applejack moved down to her tail. Isabella sighed as she felt her hair straighten out. It was so much better than having it all knotted.

Isabella felt a small twinge of regret once it was over. It had felt nice.

When Applejack led Isabella back towards the front of the house, they found the others gathered around the table in the kitchen.

The filly, Applebloom, gasped and Big Macintosh stared. He seemed to do that a lot.

"Ah said it once, and Ah'll say it again Ms. Isabella. Ya look beautiful."

Isabella rolled her eyes and sat down in between Big Macintosh and Applebloom as Applejack set down a plate infront of everypony before she sat down across from Isabella. 'Granny Smith' came over to the table from the counter carrying the pie that Isabella had smelt earlier. It still smelled absolutely wonderful, and the old pony couldn't have done a better job of putting it together.

The crust around the edges was golden brown, and the pieces that crisscrossed over the stuffing, glimmered with a cinnamon glaze. Isabella had only ever seen something like this in pictures.

"Now, don't go eatin' it too fast. Ye'll burn yer mouth." said Granny Smith, setting the pie on the table. It was already cut and there was a pie server stuck under a slice.

Big Macintosh pulled a slice up and set it on Isabella's plate before taking one himself and serving the others.

The sauce from the filling slowly oozed out the sides of the pie, small chunks of apple riding along with it. It steam slightly and the smell permeated the room. Isabella's mouth began to water again. She didn't know how to start though.

She watched as the others simply began to eat it. So she leaned forward and took a bite.

It tasted heavenly. She smiled in earnest for the first time since she had arrived.

"How could you let her get away!?"

Back in Canterlot, Shortly after Isabella's close escape, Sir Roderick was furious. What did he pay these idiots for if they couldn't catch a simple thief?

He pushed the guards out of the way and looked down at the corpse of Dungus. She had at least saved him the trouble of removing him. He would have been dead before the sun rose anyways.

He pushed the corpse onto the floor and groaned. These sheets had cost him at least a thousand bits. Now they were ruined.

"You!" he shouted at one of the guards, who stood to attention, "Get this filth out of here and hunt down as many of her scum as you can. They may provide us with some information as to where she went. Now get out!"

The guard grabbed the corpse and dragged it out by the tail, the other guards right behind him.

"That idiot." said Sir Roderick as he examined the streak of blood that the corpse had left on the ground from being dragged out. "I'll have him fired. My carpets will be ruined if he doesn't take more care."

He walked out of the room and looked out the window. The sun would rise soon. By then, who knew how far away she would be from here.

He slammed his hoof against the sill, making a small piece of glass fall from its frame. He had hardly believed she was the thief in the first place, but when Dungus had shown him her 'records', he was all ears. He had held some resentment for her since she had spurned his advances. How could any mare resist him? He was the wealthiest, most handsome, and most influential Stallion in Canterlot. She was lucky he had not taken offense, but that was merely because he had still desired her.

He ran his hoof over the sill and grinned to himself. She was now a know criminal in Canterlot, and if his men caught her before any real guards did, he would be free to punish her as he saw fit.

He felt himself heat up at the thoughts of the things he would do to her. He could imagine her tied down, no way of defending her self. Her beautiful body subject to his will.

A few minutes later, his personal captain came to him.

"My lord. What are your instructions?"

"I want you to send a group of two men into each city near by. I want Isabella found. She has yet to pay for her crimes. If any of them find her, they must report back here immediately to get more men to go back with them. I don't want her to disappear again." said Sir Roderick, scratching his chin with his hoof.

"As you say, my lord." responded his captain, bowing his head before he straighten up, saluted, and trotted away.

Sir Roderick smiled wickedly to himself as he looked out the window. The sun rose as he thought "Soon, Isabella. Very soon, you will be... punished."

Comments

[Aluminaughty]

Wow that was amazingly well done so far. That is all I can say.

[Gabriel LaVedier]

Granny Smith is two words, just, at the base.

Also, you're still hitting a lot of the homophonic errors that will crop up from spell-checking without manually examining the piece. But I like the progression, and I really want to learn more about Isabella, especially her absent father, because that, obviously, was not necessarily his choice.

[Placebo]

To add to Gabriel's help, "Corpse" is the term for a deceased body, not "Corps".

Really enjoying this. I'm noticing a lot more detail and elaboration compared to the original. Keep up the good work.

[Sdlghskjvnkj]

534324 Thanks you guys. Please send the corrections as private messages if you can in the future.

[SFaccountant]

"Good! Beating a mare is bad enough! But doing... that to somepony! He deserved no less!" he growled, his deep voice dropping even lower.

Aw, c'mon Mac, that's not fair. This hypothetical made-up stallion could be a totally chill guy when he's sober, you don't know!

She had never felt like this in Canterlot. She had felt powerful and invincible there, but never content.

It's pretty hard to be content when you live under constant threat of discovery and detention/execution, and survive entirely off of petty thievery. It's just another job, you know?

As if that wasn't enough, one more thing popped into her head. She was not a unicorn like all the other changelings. She wouldn't ever be able to change her shape.

Well, no WONDER Chrysalis was so disappointed in you. I mean, it's great that you took all those levels in rogue, but a changeling that can't shape-shift? That's just a parasitic pony, isn't it?

Plus she could be away from 'Big Macintosh' for a while. He was caring, yes, but he was also smothering. Besides, she didn't need a guardian.

Except for eating, drinking, consuming love, cleaning herself, and getting shelter. But besides that, she doesn't need him at all.

Sir Roderick was furious. What did he pay these idiots for if they couldn't catch a simple thief?

"She's like, level fourteen, Sir! We're stock guards! We need to roll an eighteen just to scratch her!"

"Get this filth out of here and hunt down as many of her scum as you can. They may provide us with some information as to where she went. Now get out!"

It IS a pretty big oversight to just abandon a large criminal empire. None of those minions had any loyalty to her since she treated them so badly, and most are probably looking for an opportunity to supplant her. Not smart, Isa.