Return to Equestria

by HalfAngelHuman

Episode 1: The False Hero Returns

Author's Note:

Here it is! This the third and final part to the story of Free Spirit. This is where Spirit's story truly begins. Now, the genre of this story is going to be kinda all over the place, but the main three this story will be focusing on is Dark, Comedy, & Slice of Life.

“And the cupcakes are done!” Pinkie said, placing the tray of sweets on the table. “Happy Birthday, Fluttershy!” the five mares congratulated.

“T-thank you, everypony! You shouldn’t have.” Fluttershy blushed. Today was a special day for Fluttershy; it was her 21st birthday. The Cakes told Pinkie that they could celebrate Fluttershy’s birthday after SugarCube Corner closed for the night, as long as she didn’t make a giant mess like last time.

“But you’re finally 21, Darling!” Rarity said, sipping from a glass of cider.

“Yeah! Now you can drink real cider! Not that apple juice AJ calls cider that she gives to Applebloom.” Rainbow Dash said.

“As if ya’ll could tell the difference.” Applejack grumbled, taking a bite out of a cupcake.

“Speaking of cider, We need more drinks!” Pinkie analyzed. “I’ll be right back!” She said as she dove into the kitchen.

“But more importantly,” Rarity continued. “You’re now old enough to get married!” Fluttershy’s face turned beet-red, thought of being romantically involved with somepony too much for her. “M-m-m-married!?”

“Fluttershy! Calm down!” Twilight said, rubbing her friend’s shoulder. “You can get married when you’re ready. Nopony’s going to force you.”

“O-okay.” Fluttershy said, her face cooling down.

“I’m back!” Pinkie Pie announced as she entered the room. “I got some Sassparillas for me and Twilight, Cider for Rarity, AppleJack, and Dashie. And for you Fluttershy, here’s a Strawberry Oat smoothie.” she said, passing out the beverages.

“Thank you, Pinkie.” Fluttershy said, sipping the smoothie.

“Strawberry Oat?” Rainbow Dash said in confusion. “I thought you didn’t like strawberries?”

“She doesn’t!” Pinkie chirruped. “But Spirit does! So I thought since Spiry isn’t here, she should at least have one!”

As soon as those words left Pinkie’s mouth, the room grew quiet. Rarity and Twilight looked away as Rainbow Dash glared at the table and gritted her teeth. “I hope it stays that way.” Rainbow Dash said vehemently .

“Rainbow!” Applejack said. “That’s uncalled for!”

“Are you going to defend that little demon!?” Rainbow Dash shouted, standing up. “Have you forgotten what it did to Fluttershy!?” she asked, pointing a hoof at Fluttershy. “It’s been almost two months since that thing left and Fluttershy still has that scar on her neck! And it doesn’t even look like it’s getting better!”

“He’s not an ‘it’, Rainbow Dash.” Fluttershy interjected.

“Yeah!” Pinkie said, sweating slightly. “And it wasn’t his fault Dashie! Spiry wasn’t himself!”

“That monster shouldn’t have been in Ponyville in the first place!”

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight said sternly. “This is not the time or place. We’re here to celebrate Fluttershy’s birthday, not to cause problems!”

“Whatever!” Rainbow Dash huffed, sitting back down. “I hope that little bug never comes back! I say good riddance!”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Dashie.” Pinkie said, who was now panting heavily.

“Pinkie, are you feeling well? Rarity asked the usually bouncy mare.

“I-I’m fine.” Pinkie said, waving a hoof dismissively. She walked up to Rainbow Dash, wrapping a hoof around her shoulder. “I think Spirit not coming back is going to be veeeeeeeery difficult.”

“What are you talking about, Pinkie Pie?” The technicolor mare asked.

“The thing is-” Pinkie said, suddenly bursting into a green flame, startling everypony. “I’m already here!” Free Spirit announced. Suddenly the kitchen door opened, the real pink pony laughing and snorting on the floor.

"S-spiry! T-that was a-a-amazing! T-the look on everypony’s faces-Bwahahahaha!” she giggled. Spirit looked at her and smiled. Suddenly, he felt himself being lifted into the air before slamming back-first into the table, scattering everything on it.

“Ow!”

“Spirit!” Fluttershy cried, reaching for the hurled hybrid.

“Try that again bug breath and you’ll be sorry!” Rainbow Dash said angrily before storming out of SugarCube Corner.

“Rainbow Dash! Git back here!” Applejack shouted at the Pegasus, but it fell on deaf ears.

“Something tells me she doesn’t like me.” Spirit said through clenched teeth. “Wait. Do I hear...gurgling?” he said, searching his surroundings. “Oh, Tau! Rarity!” Spirit yelled. The white Unicorn in question laid on the floor, her body twitching as she held two hooves over her chest.

*10 Minutes Later*

“I am SO sorry, Miss Rarity!” Spirit said, his hooves in a praying position. “I didn’t mean to give you a heart attack! I just wanted to surprise everypony, that’s all! Please forgive me!”

“I-It’s quite alright,” Rarity said, fanning herself. “It’s just that it has been so long since I’ve seen a Changeling. Seeing Pinkie Pie suddenly burst into flames was quite shocking.”

“Spirit,” Fluttershy said, earning his attention. “I have some questions for you.”

“As do I!” Twilight added.

“Ask away.” Spirit said.

“When did you get back?” Fluttershy asked.

“I’ve been back in Ponyville for a week. I remembered that today was your birthday, so I decided to let myself be known. By the way, happy birthday!”

“Wait, how did you know it was my birthday? I never told you that.”

“Remember when I dove into your mind? While I was searching for your name, I came across the memory of you birthday.”

“Okay. My second question is when did you learn how to disguise yourself as other ponies?”

“I would have gotten here sooner, but me and Kalinka decided to explore a bit.” Spirit explained. “During our travels, Kalinka encouraged me to try to disguise myself as another pony. It took awhile, but I finally got it right. The thing is, it takes a lot out of me to do it. Even more than my natural disguise.”

“Who’s Kalinka?” Fluttershy and Twilight asked.

“A Changeling friend of mine.”

“ANOTHER CHANGELING!?” Twilight yelled. Spirit winced at the shriek, his hooves immediately covering his ears.

“Don’t worry,” Spirit said. “She won’t be a danger to anypony. Trust me.”

“Trust you?!”

“Yes. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna know that she’s here. We were granted citizenship after we finished the task Princess Celestia gave us. If either of us cause harm to anypony here, we’ll have it revoked. She’ll be able to go back to the Changeling Empire, but I’ll have nowhere to go.” Spirit explained. "We just want to start over."

"...If you say so." Twilight said cautiously.

"Hey," Applejack said, walking towards the Changeling. "You attacked Flutters, right?" The orange mare asked.

"Um...yes?" Spirit said, the mare uncomfortably close to his face. Applejack raised her hoof, banging Spirit square in the head.

"Ow!" Spirit yelped, instinctively covering his head.

"Now from what Fluttershy told me, y'all wasn't right in the noggin. Correct?"

Spirit rubbed his head and sighed. "Correct. Apparently, I was neglecting my Changeling side, which led to my Changeling side's instinct to feed gaining a mind of its own." Spirit explained. "To make a long story short; I lost control of my body, I got it back, and now he's stuck in my head."

Applejack stared blankly at Spirit for a moment before bonking him on the head a second time.

"Ow! What did I do that time!?" Spirit said, covering his head again.

"You seem honest," Applejack said, ignoring his question. "So I got ya back. Just make sure that it doesn't happen again, 'k?"

"I won’t let that happen, because I refuse to let it happen. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." Spirit said as he went through the motions. "This promise won't be broken." Spirit said to Pinkie.

“It’s getting pretty late,” Fluttershy said, examining the clock on the wall. “We should probably clean up now.”

“I hope you don’t mind me helping.” Spirit said, hopping off the table. “Um, Fluttershy,” he said. “Sorry for ruining your party.”

“Don’t worry,” Fluttershy said, giving the Changeling a hug. “You didn’t ruin it. Besides, knowing that you’re okay is the best gift I could have gotten.”

“If you say so…” Spirit said, returning the hug.

“Welcome home, Spirit.” Fluttershy whispered.

Across the room, Twilight watched the two embrace. “So that thing that attacked Fluttershy is trapped in his head? Interesting.”

“Spiry! You think you can visit tomorrow? I got a surprise for you!” Pinkie asked, skating across the wall on brooms.

“I’ll try Pinkie!” Spirit said, cleaning cupcake frosting off the ceiling.

“Do ya think y’all can come visit my farm after that?” Applejack said as she took the silverware back into the kitchen.

“Just tell me when to be there and I’ll be there.”

“Can you help me at my boutique the day after?” Rarity said.

“Okay.”

“I don’t suppose you could visit my library after you’re done helping Rarity, could you?” Twilight asked.

"Looks like I'll be busy for awhile." Spirit sighed. ‘But I don’t mind. I’ll do whatever it takes to atone for my past sins.’

Comments

[Zephyr Ward]

"Looks like I'll be busy for awhile." Spirit sighed. ‘But I don’t mind. I’ll do whatever it takes to atone for my past sins.’

Did you intentionally have Spirt say that as a reference to Past Sins, or was it just a coincidence?