8 - Taking a Break
Cheerilee released us out into the yard for recess, where we could eat a snack, play, and generally do whatever we wanted, so long as we stayed near the school. I trotted out beside Silver Spoon just for Scootaloo to hiss at us and wave at us from behind the school.
The CMC were clearly ready to begin, and I wasn't sure if that was a good thing, or a terrible thing. I'd come this far... I could at least let them try to be useful. With a reinforcing breath, I turned towards Scootaloo and began approaching, mildly comforted that Silver Spoon was at my side.
She was there with her friends, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, and all three of them were smiling at me in a bit of an unnerving and shared way.
Sweetie rushed up to me the moment I was out of sight of most of the yard. "Is it true?! Don't worry, we'll fix everything!" She reached out and prodded at me, perhaps feeling for the icky bug hiding just under the flesh. I couldn't feel her caring, but I couldn't feel Apple Bloom's unless we were in hugging distance. What did that mean? Were they helping out of some kind of self-appointed 'duty' to everypony?
Scootaloo jumped into the air, her wings buzzing as she came down. "Can you fly?" The others looked at her oddly, and I joined them. "What? I'm curious. Changelings have wings... Did you try yet?"
Silver Spoon frowned a little. "We're here to fix Diamond, not practice being a cursed bug."
A sudden thought came to me and a smile crept across my snout as I held an image firmly in my mind. With a rush of flames, they could see how perfect I was. I spread my large feathery wings and held up my horn at them, right in the middle of my tiara. I was a princess! Princess Tiara. Princess Diamond Tiara. Yes, that had a nice ring to it.
They looked amazed and awe struck, as they should have been. Scootaloo broke the stun effect first by pointing at my new wings. "So, can you fly?"
My wings were much larger than hers, poor thing. I felt a little trickle coming from Scootaloo, was it jealousy or amazement? Did either count? I could feel something from her. I gave a few powerful flaps and lifted a few inches from the ground. It felt... amazing! I was flying! It wasn't effortless, by far, but I was flying!
Scootaloo began clopping her hooves and stomping in... joy? What about this was making her so happy?
Apple Bloom tilted her head. "Ah bet ya could use that horn of yers if ya practiced, but we didn't come back here to make you a better changeling."
Her words were like a pail of water. I touched the ground carefully and folded up my wings. "Right. Did you three have any ideas on how to turn me back?"
"D-don't!" We turned to see Blunt Hooves rushing towards us. "Diamond Tiara, please, turn back! Taking powerful forms is very dangerous, and painful, for us."
Was my Diamond Tiara-sized alicorn the same as that bear? It seemed ridiculous. "I'm not even bigger than I was before. Why would it be hard?"
Blunt Hooves glanced at the others and became nervous. I rolled a hoof at him. "They can be trusted."
He nodded slowly. "Alright... Yes. Unless you're in your natural form, showing off your wings and horns at once is hard, especially with such large wings, and a big horn. If you wanted to be a pegasus, or a unicorn, fine, but not both at once." He took a soft breath. "At least you didn't try growing with it. Please, turn back, for your own sake."
I decided he didn't have much reason to fib about that, so I returned to my usual earth pony filly self and looked myself over. I was normal, except the diamond mane and tail. "Since you're here, can you explain the diamond patches?"
Sweetie pointed at him. "That's the new foal, what's he have to do..." It struck her, right across her snout. "You're a changeling?!"
Blunt shrank away. "I just want to go to a pony school, like a pony."
Apple Bloom threw a leg over his neck and pulled him closer. "It's alright! Miss Cheerilee just told us about them yesterday. If yer here to be a student like the rest of us, then welcome to Ponyville!"
Blunt shook his head. "But... mother almost hurt you all very badly. Aren't you upset about that?"
Scootaloo shrugged. "She isn't you, and if she was pony enough to apologize and make amends, we can give her... wait, are you her foal?"
I had a lot I wanted to say about that rot... It died off in my head. I couldn't think nasty thoughts, or say any thoughts about her. Grr! I ended up just listening as they talked about her, unable to do very much.
Apple Bloom clopped her hooves twice. "That's amazing! What's it like to have a queen for a mom?"
Blunt looked embarrassed. "It's nothing special... She's a good mom, maybe a little overprotective..." He looked at me as he said that. "Sorry, again. I didn't mean for her to go to such extremes just to teach you a lesson. You don't deserve to be scared this way."
Sweetie tilted her head. "So she did zap Diamond Tiara?"
"That's what I said!" I never actually said that, but I was... trying to think it really hard.
Silver Spoon raised a hoof to her snout. "How did you get involved in Queen Chrysalis?"
Blunt seemed to realize he had been the one to rat out his own mom and started turning red. "I've said too much."
Scootaloo pointed at Blunt. "Not so fast! Turning a pony into a changeling like that? That's a big deal! Your mom's going to get into serious trouble." All three of them nodded firmly, looking ready to march off and tattle right to Princess Twilight or something.
Blunt held up his forehooves. "No! Please! It's not nearly as bad as it looks. I swear! She's trying to teach a lesson, not hurt Diamond. Why would anypony hurt Diamond Tiara?" He glanced at me, then away, and I felt the faintest wisp of something.
Oh... Oh Celestia... Was a bug falling for me? I looked closer at the way he stood and it all seemed so obvious. He wasn't just being nervous about his mom getting in trouble. He was trying... failing... He wanted to get closer to me. Why would he want to be anywhere near me, considering what I'd said?
Silver looked between me and Blunt. "But turning a pony into a changeling?!"
Blunt grit his teeth a moment. "I swear, it isn't as bad as it looks. Please... I can't explain it now, but she'll be alright..." He gestured a hoof at my diamond bits. "I'm not sure what did that though. I've never turned diamond, or any other rock before. Only some changelings can imitate crystal ponies at all." He gave a slightly goofy smile. "You're really talented."
The love of a changeling felt... different. I could feel it gently waving off of him, but it didn't fuel me like Silver Spoon's at all. I guessed bugs couldn't feed each other, at least not passively. I wondered a moment if I could draw on purpose if I didn't have my amulet on. That would be a grisly way for changelings to survive if things got really bad.
Apple Bloom put a hoof to her head. "Fine, then are we allowed to turn her back early?"
I nodded quickly. "Yes, that isn't against some 'rule', is it? S..." Darn it, I still couldn't talk about her. Maybe if I made up a keyword to stand in for her?
Blunt shuffled his hooves against the grass. "It won't work."
Scootaloo crossed her forelegs. "We're on the case! We'll figure it out."
Blunt gave a little nod. "If it makes you feel better, go ahead, but it won't. Mom'll fix you, especially if you are sorry."
I was being held hostage, for some lousy apology! "Changelings are still icky insects." He shrank and looked hurt. The wisp cut off. "Don't look like that! We are! We have big nasty shells and huge holes and..."
He closed with me and reached out a hoof. It was my turn to shy back. "We're not that good of friends!" But he touched anyway. Somehow he could press right through the disguise and he gently traced along one of my larger shell portions.
"Being shelled isn't all bad... It's different, but not bad. We don't have to hurt anyone around us, and a lot of us don't want to. I don't want to. Am I really that... That awful? Think of all the fun and helpful things we could do, with other ponies, if we were allowed to."
Silver Spoon moved between us, protecting me faithfully. "That's enough... What was your name?"
Blunt backed up a few steps. "Blunt Hooves. It was nice meeting you all. Please don't get my mom into trouble." He turned and fled away back to the front of the school house.
Apple Bloom tilted her head. "Well... That changes things a mite. Do we try to find a way to turn Diamond back on our own, or go to Twilight and ask her?"
Scootaloo tapped her chin. "As much as I think your alchemy is super cool, this feels way important. We learned our lesson about not asking for help, remember?"
Sweetie smiled. "My sister would stand right up to that changeling and tell her to change Diamond Tiara right back."
I realized that my condition was about to be blown wide open to everypony, especially the princess. I cleared my throat. "As much as I appreciate the sentiment, I'd rather my 'condition' were kept more discreet." I was going to say some things about Chrysalis, but just couldn't.
Silver Spoon jumped to my aid. "Her parents would get creeped out and I bet her mother would yell for months. Isn't there some way we can handle this without bringing more ponies into it?" She gestured at the CMC as a whole. "She's trusting you, all of you, to help her, quietly."
Sweetie frowned with thought. "Oh, yeah, you have a point there. We didn't mean to imply we were going to hurt your reputation, Diamond." She offered up a hoof. "Still friends?"
I tapped her hoof with my own. "Of course. You didn't actually go through with it." We all shared a hoof bump and it was agreed, no tattling just yet. Before much else could be said, the bell of the school began to gently toll, calling us back to class.
It wasn't as productive as I'd wanted it in some ways, and wildly more so in others.
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I hope they actually talk to twilight soon.
Then she can or not think about Chrysalis in bad ways :P?
6569593 Speaking of Chrysalis at all: No
Thinking of Chrysalis: Yes
Thinking poorly of her: No
Thoughts:
Chrysalis is the Queen. (pass)
Chrysalis is a jerk!(fail)
Of course, now her friends have learned! That changes the game considerably.
Hmm, Blunt being attracted to Diamond, that brings some interesting ideas. Is it because DT practically wears her emotions on her metaphorical sleeves abd therefore he can trust her authenticity? Is it just his instincts causing him to milk her up in preparation for her (assumed) reversion to a food source? Time will tell!
Keep going! ;)
bet
At the very least, she can use it for magically headbutting pavement without getting hurt, but that shouldn't come up very often.
didn't
I don't think anyone has actually mentioned the one-week time frame around Apple Bloom.
I love the CMC so much; they were going to do the right thing and blow up the whole conspiracy until Spoon and Tiara talked them out of it. After all, they learned some time ago that the best way to deal with a bully is to tell an adult.
I find the title of this chapter highly ironic, since you couldn't stop writing to save your life. (Anything written by your postmortem twitching is sure to have lots of typos)
6569757 Fixes made! Glad you liked the chapter. I celebrated being done with Nightmare Nights by doing two-two-TWO story updates at once.
I admit I was nervous I was revealing too much at once, but I think it worked out.
I think this story is going to get really good in a few more chapters.
exultant work David Silver.
I feel a new ship coming on!
Hey I just met you
And this is crazy.
But you're a bug now
Love me, maybe?
BH X DT. Saw it a mile away. Good ship. Weri Stronk! But why the hell isn't there a romance tag on this? And 'random'? Doesn't really fit when the story has any story logic to it.
Keep up the good work, or at least this level of writing, Mr. Silver!
Oooh, is she warming up a bit?
Cya
Raziel-chan
discreet
6593358 Fixed!
It would be much like what vampire bats do. If one doesn't get enough blood, one of the others will share some with it.
6682007 The More You Know!
Read a story recently that gives a plausible reason for Chryssi's more recent indiscretions & reformation, I'll spoiler black it if you'd prefer to read it for yourself but it does paint the changelings in a different light. The story in question: Changeling Mine by Fuedra. Here goes changelings are symbiotic with crystal ponies & used to share the love of crystal heart. Crystal empire is banished for 1000 plus years, love source cut off, By modern day Chryssi starts getting desperate losing to many of her kind, decides to coup Equestria to take love she needs to feed hive. Fails, Crystal empire returns hive rebuilds reserves, her & last 50 drones approach Tia for forgiveness & help to repair the damage & meet her punishment. That's as much as I'll tell, story is incomplete and going very well so I thought it worth a mention as it could help in future direction.