Halfling

by Dee Pad

Epilogue Part 2: Honor

Halfling
By Dee Pad
=====================================================================

Epilogue Part 2: Honor

=====================================================================

As Ponyville's local pastry shop, Sugarcube Corner was usually a hot spot for the small town's residents, stopping by to get their sugar fix, or requesting the organization of an upcoming party. As such, the establishment and its three-pony staff were typically high energy and constantly busy, running to and fro as they put together orders and managed customers with utmost efficiency.

However, today was somewhat slow for the shop's standards. Or perhaps "slow" wasn't the right word; "quiet" may have been more appropriate. That was the first thought that ran through the heads of the two mares who happened to walk in on this calm and beautiful afternoon.

After stepping inside Sugarcube Corner, Winter glanced around curiously. She immediately noticed a distinct lack of people—customers, or otherwise—but she could hear movement from the kitchen in the back past the front counter. Chamella walked in behind her, making the same observations. It was unusual for the place to be so quiet. Typically, whenever either of them would pay a visit, they would be quickly greeted by an excitable pink mare, eager to greet them with a toothy grin and offer of free sample cupcakes or other confections. It almost felt like they had walked into the wrong building when Pinkie Pie didn't jump them immediately, the only confirmation that it was indeed the correct location was the distinct candy-themed design of the building, both inside and out, as well as the powerful, sugary scents wafting through the lobby.

Winter approached the counter where the register was, trying to peek over it and through the door to the kitchen to see if she could spot somepony. She could hear the sounds of pans clattering and hooves clomping on the wooden floor, so she knew somepony was there. "Hello? Mrs. Cake?"

Her name having been called out, the face of the portly, blue-coated mare poked out from the kitchen, a pleasant grin appearing on her batter-stained cheeks. "Oh, hello, dears. Sorry, I didn't hear you come in," she greeted as she stepped out of the kitchen. She lifted the apron hanging around her neck to wipe the stains on her face. "How can I help you girls today?"

Winter put on a friendly smile of her own. "We were actually looking for Pinkie Pie. Is she around?"

"Oh, here on wedding business, I assume," Mrs. Cake surmised with a hearty chuckle. "She's actually down in her 'Party Planning Cave' working on it right now. Honestly, it feels like she's been spending more time down there than actually working lately." As she said that, the trio of mares heard a loud bang coming from beneath the floorboards, as if something large had fallen over. Mrs. Cake laughed it off. "She's been pretty excited about the wedding, if you couldn't tell."

"Seems like everypony is," Winter said with a roll of her eyes, though smiling regardless. "If you're not too busy, could you tell her we're here."

"Sure thing," Mrs. Cake said with a nod. She then startled the two mares by aggressively stomping a hoof on the floor three times. "Pinkie! Your wanted!"

Her call was quickly followed by a series and clatters and thuds and a surprised yelp. The three mares in the lobby waited patiently as they listened to the sound of hurried hoofsteps moving around, followed by a creaking noise and what sounded like a door shutting, before the pink mare in question skipped down the stairwell on the left; how she had managed to go from underneath the building to the second floor, they weren't even going to bother questioning. Pinkie was covered in confetti and streamers and also a few sticky notes adhered to various parts of her body, but despite her messy appearance, greeted her guests with her signature pearly whites.

"Oh, Winter! Just the pony I wanted to see!" she exclaimed excitedly as she hopped over to the pegasus's side. She reached into her cotton candy-like mane and pulled out a beige folder with some papers inside, removing one sheet in particular and showing it to Winter. "I was just going over some possible designs for the cake, and I wanna get your input on them. Whadda ya think of this one?"

While Winter was a bit caught off guard by the sudden question, she gave the paper a quick glance, but promptly and respectfully pushed it aside. "I'm not actually here for any of that stuff right now. Besides, I'm sure whatever you come up with will be fine."

Pinkie closed the folder and deposited it back into her void of a mane, though with a hint of noticeable disappointment. "Oh, okay. Then what brings you here?"

Winter gave the pink pony a grin and pointed to the changeling standing beside her. "I brought Chamella by to help you out."

"Really?!" Pinkie chirped eagerly. Despite her excitement at the prospect, Chamella didn't seem very enthused herself. "Hmm... That doesn't look like the face of somepony who wants to help."

At the accusation, Chamella straightened up and attempted to defend herself. "N-No, I do! I just... don't really know how I can..." she explained, shuffling her hooves sheepishly.

"Being my maid of honor, she said she wanted to do something to really earn the title," Winter told Pinkie. "I figured simply chipping in to help with the cake design or reception planning wouldn't be too stressful for her."

Pinkie quirked an eyebrow. "Isn't she helping to make your dress? That sounds pretty important."

"Well, yeah, but that's kind of her job anyway."

"I'm willing to step outside my comfort zone for a bit if it means making this wedding the best it can be," Chamella stated resolutely.

Pinkie held up a hoof and smiled. "Say no more. I'm sure you can help me out. Wanna come with me now? I could use some input on the stuff I'm working on."

"Oh, um, sure."

"Great. But, hey, I gotta get going," Winter informed them, already heading toward the door and waving over her shoulder. "My mom and dad are coming for a visit soon and I gotta meet up with 'em. Have fun, you two."

"Bye Bye," Pinkie waved backed with a big grin. Once the door shut, she turned to the changeling. "Alright, let me show you my seeeecret laaaair," she said ominously before gesturing for Chamella to follow her upstairs.

Mrs. Cake stepped forward quickly as Pinkie and Chamella ascended the stairs. "Uh, Pinkie? I could kind of use your help in the—" But she was cut off by the sound of Pinkie's bedroom door slamming shut. "—kitchen..." She let out a sigh of exasperation, but managed a smile regardless. "Oh, well. At least what she's doing is work related."

***** ***** *****

Despite her intentions, Chamella didn't feel like she was helping much. She'd been with Pinkie Pie in her apparent "Party Planning Cave" for the better part of the past hour and hadn't really done much of anything but take in the bizarre surroundings.

True to its name, the secretive chamber underneath Sugarcube Corner—yet somehow accessible from the second floor—was, indeed, a cave. The walls were entirely comprised of solid stone; an aesthetic that Chamella would have been fine not seeing any more of. But the stone walls were the only similarity to the labyrinthine passages of her homeland. The fairly spacious cave was decorated with all manner of things, from giant, novelty lollypops, to colorful streamers strung up over everything, to several disco balls hanging from the ceiling. Those particular items were among the expected for Pinkie Pie decor, however, what weren't were the filing cabinets and cork board. Pinkie was surprisingly organized, with party plans filed away years in advance, and all sorts of papers pinned up for plans in the works displayed on the board.

Chamella found herself looking over the contents of the cork board a few times, noting that they were plans for parties coming up soon. Most appeared to be birthday parties for some of Ponyville's residents; names Chamella recognized, but nopony she was particularly familiar with. However, there were several pieces of paper with plans for Shade and Winter's wedding, including alternate cake designs aside from the one Pinkie had shown Winter, as well as reception plans, and even the bachelorette party. That last one had Chamella somewhat curious and confused, though she hadn't bothered to ask about it yet.

In contrast to how Chamella was simply standing around doing basically nothing, Pinkie Pie was bounding here and there, jumping back and forth between the filing cabinet, the cork board, and a desk with even more papers and plans. She had been spouting off the details of everything she was going over, but Chamella couldn't actually discern whether or not the pink pony was talking to her, or simply rambling her thoughts off to herself. Either way, Chamella could barely catch any of it due to how quickly she was talking.

Finally, the quiet changeling decided to throw her voice into the underground chamber. "Um, is there anything you actually want me to do?"

Pinkie halted mid-bounce, hanging in the air for a moment before dropping to the floor and turning her head to Chamella as if she had just realized something. "Oh! Whoops, I kinda forgot you were here. Sorry about that," she apologized with an embarrassed blush. "I can get kinda caught up in all this stuff when I really get 'in the zone.'" Pinkie tapped her chin as she looked around at the various aspects of the wedding she'd been planning out. "How about the cake? Any input on the design or anything?"

Chamella frowned slightly as she looked at some of the samples on the cork board. "I don't really know much about baking."

Pinkie waved the comment off. "You don't have to bake it, silly. I just thought that, since you design and make dresses with Rarity, maybe some of that creativity and flair could translate to cake design."

Chamella's attitude lifted a little as she took another glance at the papers. "I hadn't thought about that. But... These designs all look pretty good as they are. I don't really know if there's anything I can add."

"Good!" Pinkie chirped, eliciting a confused look from Chamella. "Even having that input from a design expert is helpful. See? You're helping already!"

While the compliment was welcome, Chamella still didn't exactly feel like she helped much. She felt more like a child being patronized while the parent does all the actual work.

Pinkie could see that her temporary associate wasn't quite satisfied, so she began to look around for something else. "Okay, so what about... Hmm... The reception? You could help plan the seating arrangements."

"That's the dinner after the wedding, right?"

Pinkie nodded. "Yep. Although..." She grabbed the paper outlining the details of the reception. "I already kinda set that up... Caterers, entertainment, seating... Huh. Guess there's not much more to do with that, then. Oh, wait! Since you're the maid of honor, you can give a speech at the reception!"

Chamella tensed up suddenly. "I-I've already said that I probably won't be doing that."

The pink pony seemed disappointed to hear that. "Really? Oh, well, that's a shame. I was kinda hoping to hear what kind of heartfelt stuff you'd come up with, especially given how much your relationship with Winter has changed over time."

Chamella was silent for a moment before speaking again. "Is that what those speeches are usually like?"

"Yeah. Talking about the good times, and the rough times—I know you've had a lot of those lately—maybe some good-natured ribbing and roasting," Pinkie giggled. She noticed that Chamella had gotten quiet again, and her gaze had fallen away as she stared at the floor, though Pinkie couldn't read her expression. Interpreting that as a sign that Chamella wanted to shift the subject, Pinkie did just that. "Anyhoo, I get that that would be uncomfortable for somepony as shy as you, so I won't push it. Let's see if we got anything else for you here... Ooooh, what about the bachelorette party?" she suggested, stifling a little laughter.

Chamella raised an eyebrow, having been a touch curious since noticing it on the cork board. "What is that anyway?"

"Oh, it's just a fun little get-together for the bride-to-be's girl friends. Just one last chance to enjoy her freedom before slapping on the ol' ball and chain."

The changeling wasn't any less confused by the explanation given to her. "What?"

Pinkie let out an exasperated groan as she elaborated. "Basically, just doing the sorts of things somepony would normally do if they were single. But Winter's gotta be a buzzkill and say she wants to keep it 'low key,'" Pinkie complained with a roll of her eyes. "Which is kinda lame, because I know this one hunk of a stallion for these sorts of things who'll come over and do this thing where he—"

"So it's basically like the baby shower she had, then?"

Pinkie was jostled from her unsanitary thoughts and nodded with a slight shrug. "For what Winter wants, basically, yeah. Oh, right, you didn't actually go to the baby shower, did you?"

Chamella shook her head. "That was back when she didn't like me, so she didn't want me there, I guess."

"Well, it might be fun for you!" Pinkie reassured her. "Although, I guess that doesn't really put you in much of a position to plan the bachelorette party, huh? Eh, it's not really something worth planning anyway; they're better when you wing it!"

"Alright, so what options do I have left?" Chamella asked, though her hope of finding something worthwhile was quickly dwindling.

"Um..." The party pony glanced around, she, too, running low on suggestions. However, something quickly came to mind. "Oh! Invitations!" Pinkie grabbed a stack of cards held together by a rubber band and passed it to Chamella. "While I've already done up the actual details and everything, these things still need to be delivered. The wedding's in a couple of weeks, and everypony on the guest list needs their invitations A.S.A.P. so they can get in their meal orders for the reception and stuff. Think you can handle that?"

Chamella looked over the invitation at the top of the stack. The cards were printed on thick paper with a gold, embossed trim around the edges. The writing was written in elegant cursive, far from what Chamella would have expected from the silly mare who had made them up. The top card in particular had Rarity's name on it, giving Chamella an easy place to start.

The changeling managed a small smile. "Okay, that sounds easy enough."

"Great! But gimme a sec..." Pinkie snatched the stack of cards again, then grabbed a stack on envelopes with similar gold trimming. She pulled the rubber band off of the invitations and tossed them all into the air. But instead of creating a mess on the floor, each card dropped perfectly into the open envelopes, each one slipping into the envelope with the same name on it as the invitation. Pinkie then wrapped the rubber band around the stack of now-sealed envelopes and passed it back to Chamella. "Here you go."

Not about to question the logistics of what she'd just witnessed as it saved her an inordinate amount of time, Chamella happily accepted the envelopes and turned to take her leave so she could get started on her errand. "Thanks, Pinkie. I know it's not much, but I'll do my best."

"That's all anypony can ask of you," Pinkie chirped as she waved goodbye.

Chamella was about to leave, but her eyes fixated on the colorful playground slide that she had slid down when first entering, extending up into the ceiling of the underground chamber through the only entrance or exit she could see; a gap that looked a little too narrow to safely fly through. "Um, how do I get out of here?"

***** ***** *****

The door to Carousel Boutique opened with the familiar chime of its entrance bell. Chamella casually sauntered inside, though wasn't really paying attention to where she was going. Rather, her attention was focused on the stack of sealed envelopes that Pinkie Pie had just entrusted to her.

There were a lot more than she was expecting. Chamella wasn't aware that Winter actually knew this many people, even in such a small and tightly knit community. Now that she was looking them over with the large number of them in mind, the task of handing them all out was starting to feel a little daunting, especially considering that she wasn't exactly a social butterfly. But she wasn't going to back down; if she was too intimidated by something as simple as delivering invitations, what good was she as Winter's maid of honor?

"What's that you have there?"

Chamella looked up from the stack of envelopes. Rarity was cantering over to her with a curious expression as she eyed up the bundle of rectangular papers. The changeling had been so focused on her thoughts that she hadn't even noticed that Rarity was there, despite the fact that she had only come home to deliver the unicorn's own invitation.

"Oh, these are the wedding invitations," Chamella answered. "I'm trying to find something to help out with the wedding, but this is the best I can come up with that isn't too... important, I guess? I mean, it's important, but not, like, um..."

"It's hard to mess up?"

Chamella felt a little ashamed of herself when Rarity had said that. It was pretty much exactly what she was thinking, but hearing it said out loud made her feel a touch incompetent. "Pretty much. Oh, here."

The top envelope on the stack floated over to Rarity in an aura of neon green magic, transitioning to powder blue once the unicorn took hold of it.

"Well, you're certainly doing a good job so far," Rarity giggled, though quickly realized how patronizing that sounded. She decided to move on and open the invitation, grinning as she observed its elegance. "Pinkie certainly did a fine job with the design."

"Do you think this is enough?"

Rarity looked up from the invite curiously. "Hm? Well, it is quite a large stack. Plus, from what I've heard, Winter said that anypony in town can come to the wedding if they want. Those are probably just a bunch of people that Pinkie figured she'd invite herself."

Chamella frowned slightly and shook her head. "That's not what I meant. I mean, is delivering these invites enough to earn being Winter's maid of honor?"

Rarity sighed and rolled her eyes, though smiled at her friend. "This again? Chamella, darling, we've told you not to worry so much about it. It's just a title; more a sign of Winter's respect for you than anything. If anything, you've already earned it. You wouldn't even be the maid of honor had the two of you not become so close during your time in the Changeling Kingdom."

Chamella managed a smile, her doubt starting to melt away. "I guess you have a point. But still, this is the least I can do to actually contribute to the wedding."

"You mean aside from helping with the wedding dress," Rarity reminded with a playful smirk.

Chamella chuckled. "Yeah, but Winter said herself that that's actually my job, so I want to try something else, too."

"Well, then you should hop to it," the fashionista suggested. "Plenty of daylight hours, and I did give you the day off today."

The changeling grinned and nodded, turning back toward the door. "Right, then I'll get going." She glanced back down at the stack of envelopes, the one that had been below Rarity's having a name on it she didn't recognize. "Although, I might have to ask somepony for directions for a few of these. Oh, well. Bye, Rarity."

"Ta ta, darling."

With a quick wave as she closed the door, Chamella stepped outside and went on her way to start her errand. However, she didn't get far from Carousel Boutique before bumping into a familiar face.

Literally.

Chamella had taken a moment to quickly look at the name on the first envelope again, and in her moment of distraction had smacked barrel-to-barrel with a mare just outside of the boutique's front door. It happened to be Daily Scoop, the freelance journalist who had recently come to Ponyville to meet its two changeling residents.

After briefly readjusting the satchel slung over her shoulder, Daily Scoop offered a friendly, yet apologetic smile to the insectoid mare she had inadvertently bumped into; she couldn't help but find the situation a little amusing. "Whoops, sorry. We've really gotta stop meeting like this," she chuckled.

Chamella met her apology with a slightly surprised expression. "Oh, uh, hi. Um, Daily Scoop, right?"

"Daily's fine."

"I didn't know you were still in town. I thought you went back to Manehattan to publish your article."

The beige unicorn shook her head. "Nah, I've been here the whole time. And I plan on sticking around to see the wedding. I don't want to publish my article and invite other journalists to swoop in on the wedding. That scoop's gonna be mine."

Chamella gave her a suspicious look. "Do you think Shade and Winter will let you?"

Daily gave her a confident smirk. "I've actually already got their permission to cover the event. Winter's actually pretty excited about it."

The changeling's expression lightened a bit upon hearing that. "Oh. Well, okay, then. So, um, anyway, I'm a little busy, so I've gotta get going. Nice to see you."

Chamella started to walk past Daily, however, the other mare only turned and followed alongside her, making the changeling a touch uncomfortable.

"Actually, I came over here to talk to you," Daily explained, her smile indicating that she was unaware of Chamella's discomfort. "So I hope you don't mind if I tag along."

Chamella involuntarily gulped nervously. "Me? What do you want to talk to me for?"

"Because you're a changeling," she answered frankly. "I've gotten Shade's side of the story, so I wanna get your story."

If Chamella's nervousness wasn't evident before, it was becoming more noticeable now. Her pupils shrunk slightly at the other mare's implications. "Y-You want to write an article about me, too?"

Daily waved her inference off. "No, no, I've got pretty much all the information I need for that from Shade already. He's told me a bit about you, but I actually just want to talk and get to know you a little better myself."

Chamella felt her muscles loosen a bit, her pensiveness dissipating as she let out a quiet sigh of relief. "Oh. I guess that's okay."

With permission to engage given, Daily first aimed to get an answer to the question that was at the forefront of her mind since they bumped into each other. "What's that you have?" she asked, pointing to the stack of envelopes held in Chamella's bright green aura.

"These are all the wedding invitations. I'm delivering them to everypony."

"Oh, right. Winter mentioned that you were her maid of honor. Guess you two must be pretty close, huh?"

Chamella grinned awkwardly with a slight chuckle. "I guess you could say that. I know it's probably hard to believe considering I kidnapped her before."

Daily came to a sudden stop, prompting Chamella to do the same. The unicorn was staring incredulously at the changeling with mouth agape in shock and disbelief. "Uh... You what now?"

Chamella suddenly felt her stomach knot up, her eyes widening as she realized what she'd just inadvertently done. "They... didn't tell you about that, did they?"

The journalist slowly shook her head, her face still adorned with shock, but with a hint of intrigue. "No. No, they did not." As if on instinct, Daily Scoop used her magic to remove a notepad and pencil from her satchel.

Chamella was quickly overcome with panic, accidentally releasing the stack of envelopes from her magical grasp and littering them all over the ground. "Y-You're not going to put that in your article, are you?"

"It seems like a pretty big detail to leave out," Daily stated.

"You can't!"

Daily was taken aback by Chamella's sudden outburst as the changeling took a desperate step toward her. The changeling's face was awash with worry and fear.

"Th-That was a long time ago! We've made up since then, really!"

Daily raised an eyebrow at Chamella's extremely defensive behavior, giving her a look that showed some sympathy for her situation, but also suspicion towards the circumstances behind this unexpected revelation. "That's true, I suppose, but the fact that you did it at all might concern some people. How are we supposed to trust you knowing you did something like that?"

"It was a mistake! I was in a vulnerable place and I wasn't thinking straight! It took me two years to earn her forgiveness! Please, you can't put that in your article! I don't want her to hate me again!"

Daily quietly observed the desperation on Chamella's face and in her voice, tears even beginning to well up in her pink eyes. While she was attempting to maintain an air of apathy, Daily's conscious prompted her to let out an exasperated sigh as she reluctantly replaced her pad and pencil back into her satchel. "Alright, fine. I guess the fact that you're her maid of honor is evidence enough that it's a thing of the past. Plus, information like that is likely to sow mistrust throughout the populace, even if we say you've been forgiven. And like I said, I'm not looking to start a panic."

Chamella let out a long sigh as though she'd been holding her breath the whole time, and wiped the moisture out of her eyes. "Thank you. I don't want people to mistrust us because of my dumb lapse in judgment."

In a bid to apologize for worrying her, Daily Scoop started helping Chamella in sweeping up the envelopes the changeling had dropped in her panic. "I am admittedly curious as to the 'how' and 'why' behind that, though. Any chance you want to talk about it?"

The request made Chamella visibly uncomfortable again. It seemed no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't really escape from her past sins. She shook her head in response. "I'd really rather not. If Shade and Winter purposefully left that out, then I don't think I should talk about it either. It's not exactly something I like thinking about."

Daily nodded in understanding as she passed the envelopes she'd picked up to Chamella. "If I had to guess, they probably left that out for your sake. I guess you guys have been through a lot more than I originally thought."

"You don't know the half of it..." the changeling muttered, turning away from the journalist.

From the somewhat disheartened expression on Chamella's face, Daily figured that she was hoping for a change of topic and decided to oblige. "How about we try talking about something less... traumatic, then? So, you're a seamstress, right? I mean, I know you work at that boutique back there."

Chamella managed to compose herself again, putting on a friendly smile as she nodded. "Mm-hm. Rarity was nice enough to offer me a job and a place to live when I first got here."

"What did you do to make her want to help you out like that?"

"Um..." Chamella paused for a moment, thinking hard about it. "I didn't really do anything. I didn't really know Rarity any better than anypony else here. She's just a very generous person. She saw there were things I needed and simply offered some help. Really, she's more than just my boss and landlady; she's one of my closest friends. And it's been pretty fun working on Winter's wedding dress together."

"Are you excited about the wedding, then?"

Chamella's smile faltered a little, but managed to persist as she blushed slightly. "I'm honestly a bit nervous."

"About being the maid of honor?" Daily presumed.

"Sort of. Winter keeps telling me that I don't need to take the title so seriously, so I guess it's not that stressful. But I'm just a little worried about what's going to happen after the wedding."

Daily nodded knowingly. "Ah, right. The press. Yeah, not gonna lie, this wedding is probably going to attract a lot of attention. And while Winter and Shade are gonna get the brunt of it, I'm sure there'll be some people looking to get some info from you, and they're not all gonna be as friendly and considerate as me, and I use those terms lightly."

The unicorn watched as Chamella went silent. She didn't seem necessarily discouraged by what she'd said, but rather appeared to have gotten lost in thought, likely thinking about how she could deal with the situation when or if it arose. Out of her aforementioned consideration, Daily left Chamella to her thoughts for a few moments.

As the two continued to walk, Chamella still aiming to deliver the first of the sealed invitations, Daily took notice of something as she discreetly looked the changeling over. On her left flank, Daily spotted two oddly discolored spots, almost unnoticeable against her dark skin if one weren't looking closely. She could tell that they weren't anything like birthmarks or blemishes, but she didn't want to stare too long, so she figured she might as well voice the question on her mind. "What're those spots there?"

Snapped from her thoughts, Chamella glanced back at her flank, grimacing slightly. "Oh, those are scars. I was bitten by another changeling."

Daily cringed a little at the thought of it. "Yowch. Shade wasn't kidding when he said growing up in the Changeling Kingdom was rough."

"Actually, the bite was pretty recent."

Chamella realized the moment that she'd said that that she probably shouldn't have. She could already sense the look of curiosity focused on her from her unicorn companion.

"Really? Have you been back to the Changeling Kingdom recently?" Daily Scoop inquired. "After everything Shade told me, I figured you two would never wanna go back there. Do you normally visit your homeland?"

The changeling hesitated awkwardly, biting her lip. "Um, no..."

"So why were you there?"

Again, Chamella hesitated, turning away from her. "I... can't tell you."

Daily quirked an eyebrow, staring at the sheepish changeling suspiciously. "Oh? And why is that?"

"Because we agreed not to talk about it yet..." Chamella mumbled quietly.

"'We'?"

Chamella flinched. Why couldn't she just keep her mouth shut? She looked Daily in the eye again. She was staring back at her with an inquisitive expression, similar to how she did earlier when she blabbed about her history with Winter, though this time with more suspicion.

"So you're not gonna tell me why you—and presumably Shade, if I had to take an educated guess—have been back to the Changeling Kingdom recently?"

Chamella shook her head with a self-reprimanding frown, but this time kept her lips zipped.

Daily held out a hoof in front of Chamella, stopping her. There was a rather serious look coming from her maroon eyes. "Alright, let me explain something to you."

Chamella gulped nervously at the sudden forcefulness in her voice.

"I shouldn't have to remind you that the goal of my article is to give the people of Equestria an idea of who these new changeling residents they've been hearing about really are. Now, before today I've heard nothing but good things, but since I've been talking to you, I've learned that you kidnapped somepony—"

"But I—!"

Daily held up her hoof to interrupt Chamella before she could interrupt her. "And while I am willing to give you the benefit of the doubt on that one, other people might not. But now, you're actually keeping something from me—you and Shade both—and you refuse to tell me about it."

"I promised I wouldn't..." Chamella murmured, disheartened.

"And that makes me wonder what exactly it is. How are people—myself included—supposed to trust you if you're keeping secrets? If you keep refusing to give me information, I may be forced to add that to my article, and then the public will fill in the gap with whatever they can think of. Is that what you want, Chamella?"

Despite her concern and guilt, Chamella furrowed her brow at the journalist's threat. "Stop it!"

Daily took a step back at the sudden outburst.

"I know you're looking for information, but can you at least have some respect for our privacy?! There are good reasons why we don't want to tell anypony about it yet. We're focusing on the wedding and getting our lives back in order. We'll probably talk about it eventually, just... not yet. And I promise it's nothing to be suspicious about, it's just... personal stuff, but it's over and done with now, so don't worry about it."

Daily hummed to herself quietly as she listened to Chamella's defense. She was still a touch skeptical, but the only actual reason she would have to mistrust Shade and Chamella was solely the fact that they were changelings, and she didn't want to come off as prejudiced when she didn't have any actual proof against their characters. She continued to stare at Chamella, and while there was still a hint of suspicion, her expression softened slightly. "Okay, but I will be mentioning it to Shade. I want to know what all this is about to make sure I and the rest of Equestria can trust you. Plus, if it really is nothing big, then you have nothing to worry about, right?"

That notion did manage to make Chamella smile a little. "Right. Look, I'll talk to Shade and Winter and see if I can convince them to talk about it. If it means earning Equestria's trust, then I guess we probably should."

Daily nodded in agreement. "Well, like I said, I'm sticking around 'til the wedding anyway, so there's no rush."

Chamella's ears suddenly perked up, her expression shifting as she remembered something. She looked down at the stack of envelopes she was still carrying, not even one invitation lighter than when she'd left Carousel Boutique. "Oh, shoot. I completely forgot about what I was supposed to be doing. I-I should really pick up the pace." Chamella began to hurry off, leaving Daily Scoop behind, but glancing back at her over her shoulder. "Sorry, but I really have to pass these out! Maybe we can pick up later!"

"Uh, yeah, sure," Daily replied with a half-hearted wave. She was honestly a little surprised that Chamella was still interested in talking despite her behavior. She was worried her prying might have put the changeling off. But whatever the case, there were still plenty of people in town to talk to about the two changelings.

***** ***** *****

Chamella let out a tired yawn as she returned to Carousel Boutique, feeling the effects of a day of wandering around town starting to bear down on her, having alternated between flying and walking frequently until both her legs and wings were a little sore. She looked up at the sky as she approached her home. It wasn't exactly late, but the sun had started to descend toward the horizon; not enough to tint the sky orange, but enough for Chamella to realize she'd been on her errand longer than anticipated.

After noting the time, Chamella then turned down to the stack of envelopes still within her magical grip, a somewhat ashamed frown curving her fanged lips as she let out a disheartened sigh. Despite how long she'd been at it, she had only managed to deliver about half of the invitations. Ponyville wasn't exactly a large town, but it felt like a sprawling metropolis when she had to visit practically every house. She also hadn't thought about the notion that some people might not be home, though, if anything, that made things easier as she needed only drop the invite into the mailbox and be on her way. Still, this endeavor made her realize that she still wasn't entirely familiar with the town and its residents, having passed through parts of town that she rarely visited. As a result, she had wasted a lot of time trying to find individual homes and people and trying to work up the courage to ask people for directions.

On top of everything, she was getting pretty hungry, and a sandwich was sounding pretty good right now. Opening the door to the boutique, Chamella stepped inside and began sauntering toward the kitchen. However, before she could get there, a cheery voice beckoned to her from the stairwell to the second floor.

"Oh, Chamella, you're back," Rarity greeted as she descended the stairs. She quickly noticed the envelopes she was still carrying, raising an eyebrow. "Have you not finished yet? You've been gone for a while."

Chamella let out another sigh. "Yeah... It's taking longer than I thought."

Rarity could see the downtrodden expression on her friend's face, so she placed a hoof on the changeling's shoulder and offered a soft grin to comfort her. "Don't let it stress you out, darling. The wedding's not for a few weeks yet. You've still got plenty of time. Tell you what..." The unicorn took hold of the envelopes, replacing Chamella's neon green aura with her powder blue magic and placed them on a nearby desk. "Why don't you leave the rest of this for tomorrow and help me with the bridesmaids' dresses, hm? I know I said I was giving you the day off, but perhaps it'll take your mind off things."

Chamella nodded her head solemnly. Though that idea sounded good, she couldn't find it in her to feel reassured by Rarity's words. "Alright, but I wanna get something to eat first."

Rarity's comforting grin faltered as Chamella continued on her way to the kitchen. The unicorn followed her, intent on cheering her up. "Chamella, dear, I'm starting to wonder what exactly it is I need to say to help you understand that you're trying too hard."

Chamella wandered over to the counter, focusing on the breadbox and retrieving two slices of bread before turning to the refrigerator for ingredients for her sandwich. "I just... I just want to do something to show Winter how much I appreciate everything she's doing for me," she said with her head in the fridge. Rarity could hear her let out a long breath through her nose. "But I can't even handle a simple task like delivering envelopes."

"Well, you could have simply dropped them off at the post office."

Chamella looked over her shoulder, her face not looking any more assured.

Rarity blushed, chuckling awkwardly. "Sorry, forget I said that.

Chamella took her chosen ingredients—keeping it simple and vegetarian for Rarity's sake with some lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise and cheese—and brought them all over to the counter.

"But my point is that it isn't something to get upset over," Rarity continued as Chamella put her lunch together. "Besides, if what you're really after is to show your appreciation to Winter, have you perhaps thought about doing something a little more personal?"

Chamella's ears perked up slightly, and she turned to look at Rarity. "More personal? Like what?"

Rarity shrugged, but smiled knowing that Chamella was at least listening. "Well, I don't know what exactly; by personal, I meant something important to you. I can't quite help much on that front. But it doesn't even need to be something like a gift or a favor. Maybe something as simple as saying 'thank you' would suffice."

The changeling looked down at her unfinished sandwich, but wasn't focusing on it. Rather, her thoughts were on what Rarity was saying, trying to figure out something that fell within those lines. "I've thanked her so many times already, but I just feel like it hasn't been enough."

Rarity let out an exasperated sigh. As much as she wanted to help Chamella, there was only so much she could do and say. "Well, I suppose it's up to you to decide what's 'enough.' But I think it's safe to say that Winter wouldn't want you to do too much. Just... do whatever you feel you need to do to get this off your chest."

"Get this off my chest..." Chamella repeated quietly to herself as Rarity's words echoed in her mind. Those words felt like they were activating something within her, as though they were just the series of words she needed to hear in order to properly motivate her. Those words also clicked with something else, something that she remembered Pinkie Pie say earlier. Her eyes suddenly widened as an idea finally came to her. She hesitated for only a moment as the idea cemented itself in her head, the thought admittedly a little daunting. However, she spent little time contemplating. She needed to do something, and this idea was just the 'something' she was looking for, even if it was a rather simple solution. "I think I know what I have to do."

"Hm?" Rarity tilted her head curiously. "Just like that? Oh, well, wonderful. I was expecting it to require a little more thought, but if you think you have it, then good for you."

Chamella quickly slapped together her sandwich, ready to hurry out of the kitchen and have her lunch in her bedroom. "Alright, I have to get started on this now while it's still fresh in my mind. I'll be in my room if you need me. Thanks, Rarity!"

Rarity yelped slightly as she was nearly knocked over by Chamella when she hurried past. The unicorn ran behind her, stopping at the stairwell and calling out. "But what about the dresses! You said—" But she was cut off by Chamella's bedroom door slamming shut. Rarity rubbed her temple gently with a quiet groan. However, she managed a smile. With how much Chamella had been stressing out over the wedding, one would think she was the one getting married. Rarity was just relieved that Chamella had found something to focus on rather than sulking and worrying about properly contributing. And now, she was quite curious as to what exactly Chamella had in mind, but was willing to let her be so she could concentrate. But she also had to wonder if this meant somepony else would have to deliver the rest of the invitations.

Comments

[TexasDragon1995]

Always nice to see another chapter from you

I wonder how Shade and Winter are going to react to Chamella's accidental slip.

Keep up the good work my good man

[Titan Commander Sebaste]

Finally caught up!

[straydog15]

Great story so far

[Slavenger Karl]

I think that Chamella should get it together and admit that integration into pony society wasn't a smooth process and the larger changeling society is a brutal place which breeds brutal folk, that if ponies will see any refugees they should know how hard it is to acustom even a willing changeling to any sort of civilised behavior.

[Truthseeker]

Oh great, the press. So, the vultures decided to stop circling and descend huh? This won't end well. No matter what any of them say, do not EVER trust the press or any reporters. They will lie, steal, bribe, anything for a story. The worst ones are the ones who say bullshit like 'trust me'.