Chapter Two: Plan your Route
“So...questions?”
“But, I-...how?”
“How what?”
“I've known you for years!”
“...And that's not really a question.” Davenport, or rather the changeling that looked like Davenport, pointed out to the young, bewildered princess.
Twilight couldn't help but use her hoof to rub the back of her head, embarrassed by her outburst “I-...sorry. Sorry, I didn't mean to-”
“It's fine.”
Twilight shook her head for a moment, before composing herself “Sorry. It's just, I never even suspected that you were-...”
“A what? What's goin' on here, Twi?” Applejack called over, as she stepped away from her big brother to investigate.
“Applejack, dear, you remember Mr. Davenport, yes?” Rarity interceded for Twilight, trying to set the tone for the coming conversation.
“Sure do.” AJ easily replied, giving a tilt of her head towards the stallion “Hard to forget the day ya had us movin' in that fancy couch of yours all over your place.”
“Well, not that it matters, but it was a divan.” Rarity corrected, before giving a shake of her head “In any event, it seems Mr. Davenport is the representative we've all been so eagerly waiting upon.”
“Come again?”
Sparing a pointed glance for Big Mac, who was now making his way towards the door after having finished his conversation with his sister, the fashionista put on a smile for her friend “Like I said, Mr. Davenport is the representative we've been waiting for today.”
Turning first to look to Davenport, then to Rarity, Applejack finally decided to settle back upon the stallion once more, sending him a questioning look.
After a few moments of this, Davenport pointedly turned his attention towards the library's main entrance. Watching as Big Mac took his leave, he waited for the door to close before turning back to Applejack. Only then, did he settle for giving a simple shrug and a nod of affirmation to the apple farmer.
“...Well, how in Equestria did that happen!?” Applejack eventually blurted out.
Rainbow Dash took that moment to float over, visibly scrutinizing Davenport “Probably by doing that thing that changelings are kinda known for doing?”
“I don't think that's what she meant, Dash.” Twilight pointed out.
“Yer darn tootin'! If this fellow's a changeling, then where exactly is the real Davenport?” Applejack demanded.
Davenport visibly rolled his eyes at this question, as if he'd been waiting for it “And here we go.”
Taken a bit aback by his flippant response, Applejack narrowed her eyes in annoyance “Listen here. I don't know who came up with the idea, but you can't go abductin' ponies like this.”
“AJ.” Twilight tried to intervene.
“Ah mean, first you guys went and grabbed Cadance that one time.”
“Applejack, dear. I think-” Rarity made the next attempt.
But Applejack was on a bit of a roll now “And now you're off grabbin' up ponies out of their homes like-”
A roll that came to an abrupt stop that coincided with the moment Rainbow Dash chose to land between the irate farmer and stoic changeling.
“Hey.”
Some what nonplussed by the sudden interruption, Applejack had to shake her head for a moment “Dash? Just what in tarnation are ya doin'?”
“Not much. Just letting you know that you're probably going to be feeling kinda dumb in the next few seconds.” Rainbow Dash cheekily replied.
“And what's that supposed to mean?” AJ countered.
“It means nopony was abducted.” Davenport supplied, leaning around the pegasus as he did so.
This seemed to do more to stem Applejack's temper than anything, giving the Earth pony some brief pause. Even so, she wasn't so ready to relent “What are ya talkin' about? Ya just said-”
“I never said anything about abducting anypony.” The changeling pointed out.
“Our guest has yet to really say much at all, thus far.” Rarity pointed out, gesturing a hoof towards the stallion.
“Errr, well...Ah guess that's kinda true.” Applejack conceded after a moment, before taking a step around the interposed pegasus and pointing a hoof towards the stallion “That still doesn't quite explain what ya did with the real Davenport.”
“Here it comes.” Rainbow Dash noted, earning a brief look of confusion from the farmpony.
The stallion let out a long sigh, before facing the Earth pony directly “I am the real Davenport.”
“How's that now?” AJ replied, one eyebrow shooting upwards at that.
“Or, at the least, I'm as much the real Davenport as there ever was.” The changeling clarified, before being taken briefly by a thought “Well...myself and a couple of other changelings that would substitute in for me when I needed a break.”
Shaking her head at this for a moment, Applejack held out a hoof as she tried to parse this apart “So, wait...you're sayin' that you've always been Davenport?”
“Again, I occasionally needed time-off. But, yes.”
“But...how's somethin' like that even possible? Ah mean, you've been livin' here since-” AJ tried to respond.
“Since I inherited the Sofa and Quills shop from my Uncle Bridgewater? The same Uncle Bridgewater that left town after he sent away for me, prompting me to move to Ponyville and take over the family business?” Davenport supplied in a somewhat tired tone “The same Uncle Bridgewater that was also a changeling?”
“And that would mean-” Twilight started.
“That when Uncle Bridgewater inherited the store from his mother, Feathery Soft, she was also a...?” Davenport again prompted, leading everyone present to the obvious conclusion.
“...”
“...”
“...Huh. Well that kinda explains why a store would only ever sell sofas and quills, I guess.” Rainbow Dash observed.
“How does that explain anything?” Rarity posed, confused by Rainbow Dash's comment.
To that Davenport could only give a shrug “As I understand it, the changeling behind that decision might have been sent out into the field a bit prematurely...We've tried to make the best of it.”
“So...you folks have just sorta been livin' here this whole time?” Applejack finally asked of Davenport.
The changeling seemed to think about it for a moment, tilting his head one way and then another “More or less.”
The Earth pony had to stare a moment, before abruptly turning towards Rainbow Dash with an annoyed look “Well then, why'd you have to go and let me make a damned fool of myself like that?”
“What? I warned you.” The pegasus countered a bit defensively.
“After Ah'd already gone about assumin' and accusin' that they'd kidnapped some poor, helpless ponies. Why couldn't you have just told me from the beginnin' what was up?” AJ pressed, pursing her lips a bit as she posed her question.
Rainbow Dash had to roll her eyes and cross her forelegs at that, taking to the air again to do so “Uhhh, maybe because I didn't know what was up?”
Shaking her head in befuddlement at this argument, Applejack seemed to struggle to come up with a response “But...didn't you know about Davenport when Ah was makin' an idiot outta myself?”
“No?” Dash replied with a raised eyebrow.
Twilight eventually took this moment to step forward, extending a hoof towards her hovering friend to prompt her “Rainbow Dash...what did you know?”
At this the pegasus had to let an exasperated puff of air out “I don't know...Just that changelings don't bother with that sort of thing very much. Cause it's totally risky or something like that?”
“So ya didn't know that there feller was a changelin'? AJ asked.
“Not really. I just figured that he probably hadn't abducted anyone like you thought.” Rainbow Dash replied with a mid-air shrug.
“Huh.” Applejack eventually noted, sparing a brief look towards the oddly stoic Davenport before turning her head down in mild shame “So Ah'm thinkin' it's a bit of an understatement to say that Ah owe ya an apology?”
Having been placidly watching the interactions between the group of friends, the changeling seemed briefly surprised by being addressed “You are asking me if I think you should apologize?”
“Uh...well, Ah suppose Ah'm not really askin'...” AJ admitted a bit sheepishly, using a hoof to adjust her hat for a moment “...s'more like Ah'm outright sayin' Ah owe you an apology.”
“If you say so.” The stallion calmly replied.
The Apple farmer had to blink at this mild response “Are ya thinkin' Ah don't or are ya-”
“There is no point in apologizing for what we are.” Davenport evenly interjected. Seeing the bemused looks coming from Applejack and her friends, the still disguised changeling gave a shake of his head “I am a changeling and I behave as a changeling should. You are a pony and likewise do the things that ponies do.”
Pursing her lips for a moment, AJ head turned to give a cockeyed look towards the changeling “And...jus' what are ya saying that ponies do, exactly?”
“Distrust changelings.” Came the incredibly blunt response.
“Now hold on there! Ah might have-” The Earth pony began.
Before things could follow their most obvious course, Rarity took the opportunity to interpose herself between Applejack and their changeling guest “And I think we can all agree that it is our very noble goal to start changing all of that today. Isn't that right, Twilight?”
“Uh, yes!” Twilight quickly blurted out, having been shaken from her discomfort and uncertainty by her friend's prompting “That is- I mean...”
The alicorn found herself trailing off as her mind worked to figure out a way to disarm the situation, her gaze bouncing between her irate friend and the seemingly unbothered changeling.
She rather doubted it was intentional on everyone's parts, but Twilight couldn't help but feel the pressure of everyone looking to her for a way to move this conversation part. All of her friends, the changeling that she once knew as Davenport, the largely forgotten Star Shade looking on from the side, Spike...
The purple princess had to spare a moment to take in a deep, calming breath...
…
…
…situations like these were why Twilight put so much effort into planning and making her checklists.
She kind of felt like it was her own fault for not taking the lead on this from the get-go, letting herself lose control of the discourse. Admittedly, it hadn't taken very long for things to start going off-the-rails. And it's not as if Twilight had a lot of information to work with going into this whole endeavor.
And in the course of a few moments of calm, the young alicorn felt a semblance of confidence coming over her mind.
Twilight was actually kind of impressed with herself. Maybe all of these incredibly stressful changes and situations she found herself slipping into as of late was steeling her nerves a bit.
Looking around the library once more reminded her that she still didn't quite know what to say, however.
“Uhmmm...” Twilight hedged for a moment, eliciting a quirked eyebrow from Davenport.
She idly wished that Starswirl the Bearded's assorted time-manipulating spells were more useful, as Twilight could certainly use another go at all this.
But she had to be realistic.
They couldn't just start over.
'Then again...why not?'
“I think we should start over.” Twilight declared. And rather abruptly at that, if the confused looks everyone was sending her was any indication.
“Uhm, what is it we're starting over, dear?” Rarity posed.
Swallowing down any consternation she might have held for herself, Twilight straightened out her posture before clarifying “We're going to start everyone's introductions over.”
Rainbow Dash glanced from one side to the other before leaning over, while gesturing with her hoof “How do ya think we're gonna do that, Twi?”
Glancing to the side, momentarily stymied, Twilight had to clear her throat before responding “We're just going to do it.”
“And we can just do that?” Rainbow Dash followed up with a tilt of her head.
“...Yes?”
To which the pegasus just shrugged “Alright. That's good enough for me.”
“Thanks.” The young princess responded with a slightly awkward smile. For a moment there, she was actually kinda worried about how trying to really assert her theoretical authority might have gone over.
Granted everyone still seemed more confused than anything. Including Davenport. Although, continuing to think of the stallion as Davenport didn't seem quite right at this point.
There was a thought.
“Would you mind dropping your appearance?”
“Excuse me?” The changeling replied with a tilt of his head.
“If you don't mind, I mean.” Twilight clarified with a smile.
Sparing a moment to cast his gaze about the room, before settling his attention back upon the purple princess, he was very clearly curious about what this would lead to. In the end, the changeling gave a slow nod “As you wish, Princess Twilight.”
A burst of magical green fire briefly lit up the room, before dissipating just as quickly, leaving behind a somewhat bemused changeling staring back at Twilight and her friends.
A few moments of silence lingered over the gathering, as everypony was struck by the reality of what they were doing.
“Eeyup...he's definitely a changelin'.” Applejack observed.
“Was that in doubt?” The changeling asked, his voice noticeably different now. It certainly still sounded male, but deeper and possessed of the same resonant quality that all changeling voices seemed to have.
“Ah guess not. It's just-”
“You're here! Oh my gosh! You're here, you're here, you're here! Twilight...They're here!” Came the rapid fire exclamations of an excited pink blur.
“Pinkie, he's been here for a-”
“Oh my gosh! This is so exciting! Do you like streamers? Balloons? Cupcakes? Green cupcakes?” Pinkie Pie continued, sending a barrage of questions towards the impassive changeling “Oh, oh, oh! Do you want to try on your party hat now? And when we yell 'Surprise!' do you think we should do like a countdown or-”
“Hello, Pinkie Pie.” The changeling-formerly-known-as-Davenport calmly intoned.
The pink Earth pony gave an excited gasp at his greeting, quickly raising her front two hooves together to clap them together “Oh my gosh! He knows my name!”
“Yeah, apparently he's been living in Ponyville for years, Pinkie.” Rainbow Dash supplied.
The changeling gave a nod at this “And there is no one, pony or changeling, that doesn't know who you are, Miss Pinkie.”
“Awwwww! That's so sweet of you!” Pinkie replied, holding a hoof to her chest and clearly moved by the innocuous remark.
“It's really more a statement of fact...but feel free to enjoy it.” He replied, not unwilling to let the pink party pony feel flattered by his comments “We actually inform all changelings being newly assigned to Ponyville to be ready for your Welcome-Parties.”
“Oh my gosh! I'm famous!?” Pinkie blurted out.
The changeling visibly hesitated for a moment, before giving a small nod “That is one way you could look at it.”
“Heh. I bet Twilight would have loved to have had that kind of info when she first got here. Right, Twi?” Rainbow Dash observed, giving a nudge to the princess' side with her hoof.
“There were a lot of things about Ponyville I wasn't really aware of, but it's not like I really minded the party. I was just a bit more focused on an impending crisis at the time.” The alicorn defended, avoiding her friend's gazes for a moment.
“I would say that it all worked out in the end. Wouldn't you agree, Rainbow Dash?” Rarity chimed in, putting the pegasus on the spot.
“Well, yeah. It all turned out alright. Just kinda funny thinking that this guy's been living here longer than Twilight has.” Rainbow Dash pointed out.
“I've been living in Ponyville longer than you, as well.” The changeling patiently pointed out to the hovering pegasus.
“Huh. Yeah, I guess that's true.” Momentarily thrown by this, Rainbow Dash brought a hoof to her chin as she thought about that “Yeah, now that I think about it, you would have been here before Fluttershy and Pinkie then too, right?”
The changeling simply nodded.
Rainbow Dash let out a laugh at that “I guess that means we should be the ones introducing ourselves, huh?”
Another shrug was his only reply to that thought.
“That's actually a good idea, Dash.” Twilight pointed out, as she stepped over, ready to get everypony's introduction back on track. Clearing her throat as she approached the changeling, the Pony Princess extended a hoof out towards him “My name is Twilight Sparkle and it's nice to finally meet you. Properly, I mean.”
“...I'm assuming you want my real name?”
“If that's not a problem?” Twilight replied, a slightly awkward smile forming as she continued to hold out her hoof.
“Phyll.” The changeling, Phyll, calmly replied. A moment later he extended out his hole-filled hoof and tapped it against Twilight's in a hoof-bump.
“Phyll?” Twilight blurted out, a bit thrown by the name.
The changeling just nodded, before reaffirming his name “Phyll.”
A certain pink pony was at the changeling's side almost immediately “Hi, Phyll! You can call me Pinkie Pie, Ponyville's Party pony! Hey! That was kind of fun to say! Ponyville Party Pony Pinkie Pie! The Pinkie Pony-”
“I know. All of that.” Phyll evenly interjected. A few moments of scrutiny for the eccentric Earth pony led to the changeling clearing his throat “We had a short conversation about my knowing who you are just a minute ago?”
“Oh, right! So whatcha doin' around here, Phyll?” Pinkie Pie posed, briefly confusing the changeling again.
Before he could answer, the sound of a stallion clearing his throat brought everyone's attention back to a certain forgotten bat-pony. Star Shade, still standing off to one side, turned towards Twilight “Pardon my interruption, Princess Twilight. But if our special guests are going to be dropping their disguises, I might suggest that we pull the curtains and shutters on the library's windows. To ensure privacy.”
Twilight blinked at that, as her mind quickly parsed the suggestion apart, before agreeing with it “Oh! That- that would probably be a good idea wouldn't it? Give me a second and-”
“Don't worry yourself, Twilight. You continue with this and I'll take care of covering up the windows.” Rarity calmly intervened, even as she started to move towards the nearest set of windows, her horn already glowing.
“Thank you, Rarity. I really appreciate it.” Twilight replied, sending a smile towards her friend. Her attention was brought back to the member of the Night Guard, as he once again cleared his throat.
“If that's the case, Princess Twilight, I should probably make a quick circuit around the building. To ensure that nopony has spotted out guest yet.” Star Shade evenly offered, supplying the still relatively inexperienced royal with some direction.
“That seems fair.” Twilight conceded, leading to the bat-pony stallion giving a respectful nod before heading towards the exit.
“Well, anywho...” AJ began, drawing everypony's attention as she approached Phyll “Ah guess- Look. Ah just wanna say Ah'm sorry about thinkin' you'd gone and-”
The Apple farmer was brought to pause as the changeling raised up a hoof to hold her from going any further “Somethin' wrong?”
Phyll gave a nod of his head toward Twilight before speaking “Princess Twilight has called for us to start over. There's nothing left to apologize over.”
“Ah'll be beggin' yer pardon, but Ah feel like I should. Ah can admit when Ah'm let my assumptions get the better of me and there ain't no shame in apologizin' for that.” AJ countered, quite intent on owning up to her accusations.
The changeling openly scrutinized her for several seconds, his faceted eyes wandering across her face. Briefly glancing to the side, then towards the onlooking ponies, the changeling eventually faced Applejack once more before extending a hoof out to her.
“I'm Phyll.”
It took the orange Earth pony a bit to take in what he was trying to communicate, but before long Applejack settled for bumping hooves with the changeling while sporting a ruthful smile on her face “And Ah guess you can call me Applejack.”
Setting his hoof down, Phyll gave a nod at that “And I can understand where the previous misunderstanding came from.”
“Well, Ah can honestly say Ah don't care for that Queen of yours one lick. But it weren't right a'me thinkin' that says anything about all of ya.” AJ replied, taking the opportunity to mend bridges, even as she missed the frown her remark earned from the changeling. Taking a moment to tilt her hat upwards, Applejack held out a hoof towards Phyll as she continued “And Ah know we're puttin' that all behind us- even that sneaky invasion that-”
Rainbow Dash had to roll her eyes before lowering herself between Phyll and her farmer friend, holding out a hoof for the expected hoof-bump “Hey. Rainbow Dash. You've probably heard of me.”
Another bumping of hooves took place.
“So, hey, you're a changeling. I'm guessing you probably know the twins, right?” The pegasus continued on, not letting AJ get another opportunity to say something sour about a certain Changeling Queen.
“I know of those two, but I don't interact with them very often.” Came Phyll's knowing response, seeing through what Rainbow Dash was striving to achieve.
“Well, how about that. We'll have to compare notes sometime. You mind if I borrow AJ for a sec?” The pegasus flippantly asked without waiting for any sort of response before dragging her Earth pony friend off to one side.
“Jus' what do ya think yer-”
“You guys just keep doing your hoof-bumping thing.” Dash called back, as she continued making her way across the library with Applejack in tow. Indeed, she was nearly half-way to the kitchen by the time AJ grew fed up with this and finally dug in her hooves, bringing their journey to an abrupt stop.
“Rainbow Dash! Just what in tarnation are ya doin' here?” The Earth pony demanded.
“What? You got angry the last time I didn't stop ya from saying something.” Rainbow Dash pointed out.
Shaking her head at this vague response, Applejack had to cradle her head for a moment in annoyance “What are ya talkin' about now? Just how do ya think Ah was makin' a fool of myself now?”
“I don't know if you noticed or not, but they really don't care for folks dissing Chrysalis.” Rainbow Dash countered, crossing her forehooves once more.
“Come again? Hold on. Are ya sayin' that fella's gonna get all ornery if Ah badmouth that overgrown varmint?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
Applejack gave into the urge to do a double-take, her gaze darting over to where Phyll was still greeting the rest of their friends, then back to Rainbow Dash, only to settle finally back upon the changeling “And yer tellin' me Ah oughta just bite my tongue about their Queen?”
“Yeah?”
“You know Ah can't just do somethin' like that, Dash! Phyll here might not be any sort of menace, but I haven't even heard a single apologetic word comin' from that Queen of his.” Applejack denied.
Infuriatingly enough, Rainbow Dash didn't give anything more than a shrug “Eh, she's not that bad. Kinda moody and snarky, but she's alright.”
“More than just kinda moody. Ah can't just pretend that Chrysalis hasn't done all kinds of things Ah can't condone.”
“Why not? I do it all the time.”
Applejack couldn't help but scowl at that “Oh? So ya just don't care that she went and abducted Twilight, hypnotized Shining Armor, and-”
“Huh? No.” Rainbow Dash interrupted, clearly confused by Applejack's remarks. Setting down on the floor, she gestured with her hoof “I'm talking about with Princess Celestia.”
“...Pardon?” AJ blurted out, utterly bewildered now.
“Yeah, well...look, I'm not saying that things don't usually workout when Princess Celestia is calling the shots. But there's some stuff she's done that I still don't really care for.” Rainbow Dash explained.
“Ah- well, Ah'm not sure quite what yer talkin' about. What's this got to do with anything?” The farmpony demanded, not seeing how this tangent was relevant.
The pegasus let out a puff of a sigh at this, before responding “I mean-...like I said, things usually work out pretty much alright, okay? But there's stuff like not telling anypony about Luna coming back or making Twilight think she needed to deal with that Sombra guy all on her own.”
“Dash. Ah'm sure Princess Celestia had her reasons for makin' those decisions.” AJ pointed out.
“You're probably right. But it's not like I ever got to hear those reasons, so it makes me wonder sometimes. I mean, did she really need to keep Twilight or us in the dark about some of this stuff?” Rainbow Dash eventually asked. After a few moments without a response, the pegasus let out a sigh before continuing “The point is, I'm not sure I like all the choices Princess Celestia's gone with. But I don't go telling that to Twilight.”
“But if ya gotta problem with her, shouldn't ya-”
“What's it gonna do, AJ? It'll just upset Twi and then she'll go on about how she has faith in whatever Princess Celestia does and it's just gonna make everypony sour.”
That gave Applejack some pause, as some part of her mind conceded to the plausibility of such a scenario.
“And I figure it's the same with the changelings.” Rainbow Dash continued in a more relaxed tone “They believe in Chrysalis the same way Twilight believes in Princess Celestia.”
The Apple farmer let her face slip into a frown, her lips pursing and her brows furrowing “Okay...let's say that's all true, yer still basically tellin' me to lie about how Ah feel, Dash.”
“I'm not saying you gotta lie about her. Just don't bring her up when you're talking to changelings.” The pegasus easily advised “Doing that'll make things that much easier for Twi. And we are here to help her out, right?”
“Yeah, Ah suppose so.” AJ conceded.
“Great.” Was all that Rainbow Dash bothered to say before moving to re-join their friends.
Furrowing her brow once more, Applejack made a quick canter to catch-up with the pegasus “Hold on a second, Dash.”
“Yeah?”
“Ah gotta ask, when exactly did you get this keen understandin' of the changelings, hm?” The farmpony asked, clearly more curious than anything else.
“Uh, duh!” Rainbow Dash had to quirk an eyebrow at that “When we went on that trip to see the changelings. I mean, that was kinda the whole point.”
“Yeah, Ah get that. It's just Ah kinda figured it'd be Twilight piping up with all of these penetratin' insights into their ways.” Applejack explained.
Rainbow Dash thought about that for a moment, before giving a shake of her head “I think that was the plan, but Twi ended up spending all of her time hanging out with Chrysalis.”
“Come again?”
“Yeah, she pretty much spent the whole trip chatting up the Queen of Mean. Apart from this thing where she ended up chatting up Chrysalis' mom.” The pegasus casually elaborated.
“Queen Chrysalis has a mom?”
“I know, right? Turns out she's kinda crazy. And super-old. And crazy.”
“Ya said crazy twice.” AJ pointed out.
“Super-crazy. Like tried-to-attack-Twilight's-brain crazy.” Rainbow Dash relayed, before quickly realizing how her farmpony friend might take that “And before you freakout, it wasn't Chrysalis' idea.”
“Really now?” AJ asked, clearly skeptical.
“Yep.” The pegasus casually replied “I'm pretty sure Chrysalis ran to her rescue when she figured out what was happening. And Twilight seems to believe her on all this, so...”
“Okay...Ah'm not really sure Ah know how Ah feel about any of this.” Applejack finally said, raising a hoof to massage her forehead.
“Yeah. I'm pretty sure Twilight doesn't know how to feel about any of it either.” Rainbow Dash added, before taking another few steps back towards their friends “Probably best not to think about it too hard, unless it actually becomes a problem. That's what I do.”
The farmpony frowned at that, but couldn't really think of a proper counter “Ah guess we just gotta deal with what's in front of us.”
“Sounds good.” She replied before cantering back over to the others.
AJ spent a few moments letting her eyes follow Rainbow, still a bit thrown by just how much thought her normally brash friend seem to be putting into everything.
Giving a shake of her head, Applejack briefly double-timed her steps to catch-up with her and rejoin their friends.
It seemed the introductions had moved on to Rarity's, with the fashionista loudly chatting up the changeling envoy “I honestly don't know what we're going to do without you in Ponyville. Before you go, you simply must tell us your secret.”
“My secret?” Phyll asked, giving a tilt of his head at this request.
“Yes, dear! I'm simply dying to know how it is you always seemed to know just where to find such lovely furnishings.”
Phyll still seemed a bit thrown by this “I could provide you with a list of contacts before our departure?”
Rarity seemed to light up at the offer “Oh, that would just be divine! And now that I think about it, Twilight might have a need for-”
“Hey.” Rainbow Dash calmly interjected, sidling back up to the rest of the group.
Blinking in surprise at this mild interruption, Rarity quickly turned to the returning pegasus and Earth pony “Oh, Rainbow Dash. I take it the two of you have finished up with your little chat?”
“Somethin' like that.” AJ supplied as she stepped up a few seconds after Rainbow Dash.
“May I ask what it was you were chatting about?” Phyll calmly asked, his own attention going towards the returning duo.
Before AJ could give a reply, Rainbow Dash waved off the the question with a hoof “Nothing much. Just pony stuff.”
“Pony stuff?” The changeling repeated.
“Pony stuff.” RD reiterated with an easy nod.
Twilight herself seemed a bit curious about her answer, sharing a look of uncertainty with the changeling “Uhm, Dash? 'Pony stuff' could refer to just about anything.”
“Uh-huh.” Rainbow Dash quickly agreed, giving another nod.
“...Okay?” Twilight eventually replied, a small frown forming on her lips, as she pondered this vagueness.
Clearing her throat, Rarity once again took the lead, having noticed their declining momentum “Well, your timing couldn't have been better, as we were just about to wrap up everyone's introductions.”
“Sweet. So we can get out of here then, right?” The blue pegasus inquired, eager to get a move on after all the talking they had already sat through.
“In just a moment, Rainbow Dash. We still have one more introduction to finish.” Rarity explained, stalling her friend for a moment.
“Yeah? Who's that?” Rainbow Dash asked, giving a jut of her chin to emphasize the question.
This was the cue for a certain butter-colored pony to lean out from behind Twilight. Her face still framed by her mane, Fluttershy lightly lifted a hoof to give a wave before speaking up “Uhm, it's nice to meet you.”
Phyll blinked at this quietly uttered greeting, clearing his throat for a moment before standing up a bit straighter “Err, likewise, Ms. Fluttershy...That is, even though I've met you before- That is to say while it was nice meeting you previously, I never-...introduced myself...”
Everypony, apart from Fluttershy, had to stare for a few moments, as Phyll's calm, direct demeanor fell into a halting, stumbling mess.
“...Properly. I never introduced myself properly.” The changeling finally clarified for Fluttershy, once more clearing his throat.
It took Fluttershy a few moments herself to parse apart just what Phyll was alluding to, but it was a visible event when she began to understand “Oh! I'd almost forgotten in all the excitement. You come every week for eggs, right?”
Phyll gave a quick nod at this, before hesitantly adding “Well...I came as Davenport. And I-...obviously, I won't be needing anymore eggs after this.”
“Did you need eggs before?” Twilight chimed in, a bit oblivious to the awkwardness that had overtaken the conversation. Using her magic to sift through some notecards, the princess frowned a bit, as she failed to find what she was looking for “I don't recall ever hearing anything about eggs being a key part of the diet of changelings before now. How many would you say-”
The changeling had to close his eyes briefly, as he reasserted his sense of composure “Adult changelings have no particular need for any sort of pony food. The eggs were for the sake of appearances.”
“Oh...” Fluttershy quietly uttered.
Though not so quietly that Phyll failed to turn his attention back to her “Something wrong?”
“Hm? Oh, I'm sorry. It's just, I hope the eggs didn't go to waste.”
“No, no! Not at all!” Phyll quickly blurted out, startling the soft-spoken pegasus. Looking briefly sheepish, the changeling soon resumed in a more measured tone “Rest assured, Ms. Fluttershy, none of the eggs went to waste. They were excellent eggs and they went to proper use.”
Fluttershy gave a smile at that “That's such a relief. Elizabeak and the others can be very temperamental about their eggs. I'm sure they'll be glad to know they're being appreciated.”
“Uh, yes. They were very fine eggs, indeed. With-...very lovely shells and yolks.” The changeling added.
“Oh? Well, if you'd like, I could arrange to send you off with one last basket?” Fluttershy happily offered.
“Pardon?”
“I mean, since you'll be leaving soon, you won't be able to come by each week for more. I'm sure I could convince my little feathered friends to make a few extra.” Fluttershy clarified.
The changeling gave a slow nod at this “Right, because I won't be able to visit anymore...for eggs.”
“And this way you'll be able to enjoy them when you get to the Crystal Empire.” The pegasus' cheerfully added with a nod.
“That's right. Because I do enjoy eggs very much...having them and eating them and all of that.” Phyll slowly agreed.
Fluttershy gave a tilt of her head at the changeling's sunken demeanor, before leaning in a bit “Uhm, is everything alright?”
To which the changeling quickly nodded and seemed to force himself to smile a bit “Yes. My apologies, Ms. Fluttershy. I was just-...I got very used to visiting you for all of my eggs. I suppose, I'm going to miss that...the eggs.”
“It's okay, Phyll. I'm sure that they have plenty of eggs in the Crystal Empire.” Fluttershy added in a very compassionate tone, smiling for the sake of trying to reassure him “And I'm sure that when everything's settled, you'll be able to visit Ponyville in the future. And I promise there will always be some eggs waiting for you.”
From the sidelines, Rainbow Dash couldn't help but stare at the two of them, one eyebrow hitched up high and a look of befuddlement on her face “...So, this is kinda weird.”
“Ah gotta agree with ya there, Dash.” Applejack quietly replied, before adjusting her hat “If Ah didn't know better, Ah'd say that-”
“Now that's enough out of both of you.” Rarity discreetly shushed the two of them, shaking the two of them from their obvious gawking “It's certainly not our place to judge.”
“I'm afraid I have to agree with Rainbow Dash on this one, Rarity.” Twilight quietly added, as she too sent a scrutinizing eye towards the changeling “Phyll does seem oddly preoccupied with Fluttershy's eggs for a changeling...”
Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash all turned away from the curious pony-changeling dialogue to send newly bewildered looks towards the young princess.
Glancing between her friends and feeling a bit self-conscious now, the young alicorn cleared her throat before quietly replying “I suppose, it could just be a general fixation on eggs...”
“...”
“...”
“...”
“...Yeah. So is anyone gonna say anything or-” Rainbow Dash started.
Rarity held up a white hoof to forestall the pegasus from continuing “I think it best if we shelved this conversation for later.”
“What conversation?” Twilight asked, frowning as she glanced between her friends. The purple princess resorted to holding up a hoof, feeling a bit defensive now “I'm not suggesting that there's anything wrong with liking eggs.”
“Okay. We're going with Rarity's idea.” Rainbow Dash abruptly declared, leading to the alicorn's lips pursing a bit, as her frown deepened.
Before Twilight could give voice to her frustrations, the blue pegasus quickly zipped through the air, before stopping over Fluttershy and Phyll “Okay, you two. Break it up, cause we got stuff to do.”
“Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to keep everyone.” Fluttershy, after getting over being startled by her friend, was as quick to apologize as ever for any perceived misdemeanor.
Shaking himself from his own distraction, Phyll once more had to clear his throat before re-focusing on the matter at hoof “It is no problem, Ms. Fluttershy. There's still plenty of time left in the day, more than enough to accommodate my schedule.”
“I hope everything goes according to your schedule then.” The yellow pegasus added.
To which the changeling nodded, before responding “As do I.”
“Alright, great! So where to first?” Rainbow Dash interjected once more, clapping her forehooves together to put things back on track.
“I'm sorry?” Phyll asked, giving a quirk of his changeling brow as he did so.
“I think what Rainbow Dash means is, what's our first stop for collecting your fellow changelings.” Twilight soon took over, cantering over to rejoin in the conversation. The alicorn's horn flared its magic for a moment, signaling the moment her collected maps and notes began floating over “I think you'll be pleased to find that we've already got a number of optimized routes through town already arranged.”
“That won't be necessary.” The changeling replied with a shake of his head and upheld hoof.
Twilight gave a confused blink at this, before responding “Did you already have some planned routes or-”
“I mean, that I won't be needing any assistance, Princess Twilight.”
“Oh...You want to-” Twilight began, looking a bit disappointed by this turn of events.
“Nope. Sorry bud.” Rainbow Dash easily denied, as set down to one side of Phyll. Casually leaning on the changeling's shoulder, the pegasus gestured a hoof towards her alicorn friend “Turns out Twilight's already got a plan. And that plan involves us hanging out with ya for most of the day.”
Giving a befuddled look at this, Phyll turned a skeptical look to the purple princess “Is that so, Princess Twilight?”
“Err, well, I wouldn't refer to it as simple hanging out, but-” Twilight began.
“Very well, then.” The changeling simply stated with a nod.
“What, really?” The young princess blurted out.
“Queen Chrysalis gave very explicit instructions.” He clarified.
Twilight couldn't help but give a skeptical look at that, recalling how the Changeling Queen so enjoyed teasing and tricking her “What were these instructions exactly?”
“To defer to your orders and trust in your judgment in the course of facilitating this move.” Phyll explained matter-of-factly.
“She said that?” The Pony Princess asked, a bit floored by this. Shaking her head for a moment before trying to restate her question “Chrysalis trusts in my judgment?”
“Is that a problem?”
“No! No. It's just a bit...unexpected.” Twilight explained.
“Heh. Told ya she thought you were cool, Twi.” Rainbow Dash crowed from the side.
Twilight had to clear her throat at that, unintentionally mimicking Phyll's own nervous tic, as she tried to avoid giving into her unexpected sense of embarrassment.
“Are you sure everything is alright, Princess Twilight?” Phyll reiterated.
“Uhm, yes. I was just-...where do we start?” Twilight eventually asked, looking to move on from this topic.
The changeling spared only a few more seconds for scrutinizing the purple pony, before giving a shrug “As you say, Princess Twilight. When you and your friends are ready, we can set out.”
“And where are we setting out for?”
Before responding, the changeling was engulfed in green fire, as he re-assumed his Davernport persona. Speaking once more with the stallion's voice, he gestured a hoof to the door “First, we must pay a visit to one of the most important institutions in all of Ponyville.”
“Oh...” Twilight slowly responded, before pointedly glancing about their surroundings “Uhm...I think this is the only library in town, though.”
Rainbow Dash loosed a loud snort of laughter, as she visibly struggled to contain herself.
AJ had to roll her eyes at her friend's reaction, even as she strived to contain her own amusement “Somehow, Ah don' think he was talkin' about the library, Sugarcube.”
“Oh...” Was the only reply Twilight could muster, looking a bit put out by this.
“Indeed not. We will be paying a visit to a place of much greater importance to changelings and their safety.” Phyll continued on, back to being unbothered by everything around himself.
“Oh my, that does sound important.” Rarity observed from one side, before extending out a hoof towards the disguised changeling “Pray tell, where exactly is it you're going to be taking Twilight?”
“The post office.”
“...What?”
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7196629
No Chrysalis/changeling emoticon either. This site's emoticons are rather lacking, really.
You know something is going to go hilarously wrong when Rainbow Dash is the most insightful character in a story
Here I was just thinking yesterday "It's been a while since I read a good Chrysalis story, I hope Dungeonguy88 updates soon". And lo, my wish has been granted.
Nice work with the comparison to Princess Celestia by the way. That's a character that's more complicated than a lot of people want to make her out to be. She's genuinely benevolent but she's willing to do some shady things on the way to her goal of helping people.
I get the impression Dash applies this motto to a lot more than the current situation.
Fluttershy really has universal appeal, I see. Now this is set before Twilight realized what was going on with Celestia and Chrysalis, so cross-species romance isn't on her mind. I wonder if she's going to revisit this conversation after that little revelation or will have just forgotten about it?
7381491 Yeah, I do feel the creative juices flowing now. Indeed, I'm probably going to start on the next chapter tonight, so I don't lose my momentum.
As for RD's thoughts on Celestia, I wanted to make sure that it didn't come off too harshly on her, but still brought up some reasonable criticisms. For someone like Rainbow Dash, it seems pretty in-character to care more about her friends than the plans of others, even when that other happens to be a nigh-godlike ruler.
Things have generally worked out when Celestia is pulling the strings, but RD doesn't feel like she has to like the danger it puts the individuals she cares about in.
And, I also think Rainbow Dash is overall fairly perceptive and sharp. But, as in the show, she doesn't really put it to much use outside of the things she cares about. Which mostly consists of flying, the Wonderbolts, and her friends. And if she comes across as a bit more considerate than usual, this story does take place shortly after Intermediate Lessons (Mostly finished, but I'll finish it up properly soon) and the character development she picked up there in regards to changelings and being there for her friends.
And you are correct. It hasn't really occurred to Twilight yet that changelings might be attracted to ponies, or vice versa yet. She's still thinking of them from the angle that they are an entirely different species, rather than being fairly close to equines overall. So, Phyll's little infatuation just flew right over Twi's head. Rarity obviously has more of an eye for this sort of thing, and RD and AJ basically just view changelings as funny looking ponies, so they were in the right mindset to pick up on things. Eventually figuring it out will have an impact on how Twilight views changelings, so worry not on that account.
EDIT: Also, yes. Fluttershy does have canon on her side in that regards. And with the changelings natural empathy, her compassionate nature has its own appeal to changelings. Meanwhile, her fretful nature has a tendency to draw out the urge for a changelings to help and protect her...kinda like with people and kittens.
EDIT.EDIT: Plus Phyll just likes her. That too is a major component.
7381460 It helps that this takes place right after Intermediate Lessons, where Rainbow Dash has already learned about changelings and is putting an active effort into being of more use to her friends when they need her. She realizes all the problems she caused Twilight on that trip, so she's actively trying to avoid slipping into that again.
This was excellent. You really did a great job of showing off what makes Rainbow who she really is here which is always a great thing. Sure she may generally not worry about a lot of things, but she is the smartest member of the cast (with the possible exception of The Pink One who defies categorization) which is why she sees these things that the others miss and can pull these kinds of performances off in a way that utterly confounds people like 7381460 who see the laid back facade and mistake apathy for ignorance. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more of her in the near future along with the rest of your cast since it sounds like you are finally getting back into the swing of things.
Also, Fluttershy and Phyll are adorable and I'm looking forwards to seeing how things play out there since at least Rainbow and Rarity are clearly looking to get that ship moving as soon as possible.
Interesting chapter but what was the deal with the eggs exactly? Am I missing something?
7382022
You're probably missing the same thing Twilight Sparkle is. Why would a male pony-shaped creature that doesn't actually eat eggs keep going to Fluttershy's house to buy them? And be embarrassed when confronted with these actions? What kind of motivation would then compel him to keep pretending he had been interested in eggs because he couldn't bring himself to say the real reason while being something Rarity would support?
7382022 ForSpite has got it. Basically, Phyll is very much fond of Fluttershy and can't spit it out.
7382735 Ah so that's it, he has a thing for Fluttershy and is using eggs as an excuse to visit. Clever move.
7196629 I just had a funny thought. If "tall" is her thing, it would be hilarious to see her meet a human. Preferably a new arrival who isn't totally settled on the whole "talking pony" thing and has no idea how to respond to Sea Breeze's special brand of flirting.
7384217 Heh, maybe one day, when I'm feeling like doing some goofy stuff. I always have lots of-...I guess you could call them scrap ideas? Ideas I can't work into something that makes sense. I might just grind those out into something one day.
7384334 Heh, fair enough. You can't really fit that kind of thing into this continuity after all, but a scrap bin or some independent short stories would be a good option and might be a useful way to get back in the groove next time you have trouble.
7384217
7384334
Of course, if 'tall' really is her thing, there's one person we skipped mentioning her hitting on. Someone taller than Luna or Big Mac, someone as tall as Celestia... Chrysalis.
7385415 Now that sounds like a fun idea.
7385415 Sea Breeze sees Chrysalis coming down the hallway:
Sea Breeze: "Well, hello."
Chrysalis: (Pauses) "...Hello."
Sea Breeze: "I don't know if anyone's ever told you this, but you are the spitting image of tall, dark, and beautiful."
Chrysalis: (Stares impassively)
Sea Breeze: "Uhhhh...so are you, like, the shy type?"
Chrysalis: "...You understand that I am in a relationship with one of your princesses?"
Sea Breeze: "Uhm, two questions...Which princess are we talking about here and what's everyone's comfort levels with guests in the bedroom?"
~5 Minutes later~
Star Shade: "Sea Breeze! What are you doing out here? I thought you were patrolling the palace."
Sea Breeze: (Slowly picks herself up from the ground) "Don't worry about it..."
Star Shade: "I feel like I should."
Sea Breeze: Nah...So, hey...you know that really tall changeling that hangs out around the palace?"
Star Shade: "Queen Chrysalis? Why do you ask?"
Sea Breeze: "...Do you know what 'defenestration' means?"
Star Shade: (Narrows eyes) "It means to be thrown through a window...why do you ask?"
Sea Breeze: "Just curious."
Star Shade: "Is that broken glass?"
Sea Breeze: (Shakes some broken glass from her mane) "Nope..."
7387546
Cute. I'm just going to move that and your little "Traitors" comment into a newly created text file I've named "Advanced Lessons - Omake".
7381518
To address your earlier concerns, I think you pulled off just the right mix, being critical without being harsh. It's something a lot of people seem to struggle with, tending to either treat Celestia as perfect or horrible but you managed to capture it quite perfectly. And it's a line of thought that seems in character for Rainbow Dash, which is equally important.
7389631 Perhaps I'll start doing these little omakes more often. They serve to amuse and they're a good outlet for getting out some of the less story relevant quirks of the characters (For example, 'defenestration' is one of Chrysalis' favorite words). And I'm glad you approve of the interactions in the story; it's too easy to get caught up in wondering if a character's portrayal is coming through properly or if my perspective has been tainted.
7390138
I find a good thing to do if you feel like your perspective on a character is wandering off-model is to watch a couple episodes of the original show (or re-watch). Or read a couple chapters if they're from a book. Just reacquaint yourself with the source material.
7390404 That could be a good idea. I've fallen a bit behind on MLP:FiM episodes anyway. Probably wouldn't hurt to review my own stories to remind myself of the direction I've been developing things in. Thanks for the advice.
Damn, I forgot to tag this story to follow it last time, only now realised that it updated several times.
... That meeting went about as awkward as expected.
I think Twilight needs several flashing explanation boards to get the point.
Phylshy!
7387546
...
Also, I love how you write Rainbow.