Things Are Rarely as They Seem

by Orkus

Mother Knows Best

"Peach Blossom, what exactly is... this?" Habeas inquired, scratching his chip-horned head with a hoof and fixing the bandanna around his neck in confusion. What now sat before his laying shape was a pile of at least ten books that the filly had simply dumped there after bringing them into the barn.

"Just some books that we have in the house," Peach Blossom replied, having returned home from the school she had this day not a half hour before. "I thought that since you like to read, you might like to look over them yourself. Ya'know, to pass the time."

"That's really kind of you," Habeas complimented, using his magic to take a random book off of the pile and scan over what its title was, before floating it back to the top. "Thank you, Peach Blossom."

She giggled, easily flattered by his gratitude. "Yeah, well... I bet it gets boring just reading a cookbook in your spare time, so I wanted to expand your horizons. Also, I kinda, sorta, maybe might have filched some mushy romance novels my mom likes to read. She has so many of them around, after all..."

A moment of quiet spread between them, and just by looking at her mirthful face Habeas knew that there was something she wanted to say to him. "You look like you've got a question you want to ask," he commented. "Is there something on your mind?"

She anxiously pawed at the dirt on the floor with a hoof. "Um... I kind of want to see if you can do something. Can... you maybe change forms for me? I really want to see what it looks like."

Though Habeas would have gratefully done it anyway, the pleading look she gave him with her big eyes after speaking made him chuckle in amusement. "Sure, why not," he said.

Peach Blossom cheered and jumped up. "Oh, thanks! It's just that I've never seen it before, but I heard it's really weird. And cool."

As he stood up from his resting spot with a groan, he stretched out his good legs and prepared to shift forms. Unable to hold in her inquisitive desires, Peach Blossom asked him another question.

"So how do you do it?"

"Like this," he began, before motioning for her to get back. "Watch this!"

Putting some of his effort into it, a wisp of green fire enveloped most of his body. When it parted but a second later, what stood in front of Peach Blossom looked just like her, save for the damaged changeling leg her doppleganger still bore; unable to shift forms in its current state. It was her size, her shape, and even had the same look of surprise and joy over its face. It was like looking into a mirror.

Peach Blossom let a tremendous grin curl over her face. "That's amazing!" she clapped, slapping her hooves together in vigorous applause.

"Well, we changelings are born to do this," Habeas shrugged, using the filly's voice, to her delight. One wisp of green fire later and the same changeling from before stood once more in front of the pony. Sitting down again on the hay, he let out a sigh before looking to injured leg. Peach Blossom finished her clapping and decided what to do next; now satisfied from the feat she got to see.

"I'll leave you be so you can see what stories you like," she said to him, turning around to the door and looking at her friend over her shoulder. "See ya soon, Mr. Brittle!"

"Goodbye, Peach Blossom," he bid farewell in return.

"Be back soon!" she said again, before closing the door with a squeak of the hinges. Trotting off a ways, the young filly turned her head in front of herself - just in time to bump into a large shape. Stepping back in startled reaction, she looked up and saw it was her mother she had run into.

"Whoop- sorry!" her mother quickly apologized. "You got me in the direction of my bad eye."

"Oh, um... hi, Mom," Peach Blossom greeted, fitting on a happy face. Finished recuperating, her mother rubbed a hoof over her chin and looked to the building her daughter had just exited from.

"I was coming to check on you. You've sure been spending an awful amount of time in the barn as of late. Is something... in there?" she asked, raising a brow.

Peach Blossom gulped. Knowing the curiosity-provoking consequence of saying 'nothing', she gave the first lie that came to her mind afterword. "It's just... an injured bird I'm taking care of," was her shaky response. "I've, uh... got it tucked in safely in a box filled with cotton and... stuff. I didn't want to tell you..."

"An injured bird, you say?" Persica gave a very interested look and puckered her lips. "And you didn't inform me of this before... why?"

"I... I wanted to take care of it by myself," she affirmed, confidence coming into her voice as she sensed her mother taking in the great fib. "Remember that hurt chipmunk that we both saw had gotten attacked by a hawk last year? Remember how I brought him into my room and cared for him until he was strong enough to be on his own again, right?"

Persica smiled. "I remember the chipmunk. He was a feisty little fellow, wasn't he?"

Peach Blossom nodded before continuing. "The thing is, since I did such a good job with helping that chipmunk regain its health by myself, I wanted to help this bird that way too."

Persica thought for a few seconds on this new predicament before looking down on her daughter with a mien of easiness and understanding. "Blossom, have I ever told you how mature you act for your age? Don't worry darling, if you say you know what you're doing, I won't interfere," she spoke. Peach Blossom put on a matching expression and was more than ready to head to the house, when something else came up.

"One more thing..." Persica started once more, but with a sly glimmer in her good eye.

"Yes, Mom?"

The mare smirked. "What kind of bird is it?"

Peach Blossom's face went from rigid and sure, to loose and pale as the words graced her ears. "What?" she finally asked back.

"What kind of bird is it?" her mother repeated. "Do you know?"

"A... it's a sparrow. Yes! A sparrow," Peach Blossom mumbled, thinking of the first species of bird to come to her head. "A brown one."

"A brown one, you say? Interesting..." Persica let out a hum. "Have you been feeding it plenty of birdseed?"

"Of course I have."

Persica smiled and patted her daughter's soft head proudly. "Very good. I hope you've been giving it water too."

"Yep!" the filly replied. "And I've been reading stories to it. It's asleep right now, so I'm trying not to bother it."

"And you don't have to worry about me. As I said before, I won't bug it either," her mother assured. "Where are you off to now, might I ask?"

"Just going to finish up the last of my homework from school," she responded, trotting to the other side of her parent, closer to the house.

"Good. I'll be in the orchard if you need me," Persica replied. After witnessing Peach Blossom happily walk off and disappear into the house, Persica turned away and went about tending to the rest of the business she had in store for the day. As she made her way to the peach orchard, her mind only focused on the thought of the conversation that had befallen between herself and her daughter.

---

As the middle of the night came around, Habeas was sound asleep on his hay pile. Small snores from the soundly-sleeping changeling were the only noise to echo through the otherwise-still air. Placed over his prone face and left there since he fell asleep reading it, muzzle snorting through it, was an open book; one of the many given to him by that kindly filly.

His wounds healed better when he slept, and he knew, come morning, he would be strong enough to move around better than he had today or the day previously. Happily, for once in what felt like a very long time, he was asleep without worry to clout his mind.

But as he dreamed, a small, grating creak went out through the entire barn, tearing through the air like a sword in spite of its low volume. It was enough to stir Habeas awake from his once-peaceful slumber with a sluggish start. The book falling from his snout and to the ground with a plop, he rolled off of his back and looked around.

Nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary. After a few seconds longer of checking over his surroundings, he could make out a faint shard of moonlight shining through the tall doorway on the other end of the barn, now cracked ajar by scant inches. In spite of the silence still blanketing him, that was when he knew something was terribly wrong. He got to his shaky legs and was on them for five seconds, when a horrible sound touched his ears.

"Hello, little sparrow," an unfamiliar, female voice greeted in a cold, growling hiss. The blood in Habeas's veins froze like ice, and his jaw fell open, moments before he felt a large, warm and fuzzy body impact against him in a violent tackle.

Comments

[Philosophysics]

AND TSUNDERE!

[Vitae]

I miss Pendles. But this is just as good!

[LunaRisen-Web_System]

OH SHIT, HABEAS RUN!!!

[Lord Sergal]

7642290
I saw this and thought you were referring to another author with a similar story, then spent five minutes scrolling through comments on the recent changeling forum posts so I could link to show you he was still around. Then I realized you were referring to a name change and felt like an idiot.
Also, I can't wait to see how this turns out. At least she wasn't in full armor or there would be a changeling pancake right now.

[Vitae]

7642485

You know, I actually expected someone to do that and I thought it'd be funny.
I was right.

[Huntersquad6]

Omg the cliffhangers are a kill in me. I need my fix man!

[Vitae]

7354233
You must enjoy changing your name.

[Amethyst Blade]

Yup...The beginning of a lot of tsundere moments for the rest of the story.

[Dustchu]

And curses! :O

Nice job!

[HoneyBadgerr]

"As I said before, I won't bug it either," her mother assured.

Haha. Bug a changeling. Badoom-tsh.
Thank you. I'll be here all week!