From a pony to a changeling

by skittle strike

chapter 2 returning home and leaving

Continuing on from the hive while looking over his shoulder for any changelings following him he makes his way back to his home. Still wobbling around in the Badlands, after being left suspended in the air for ten days, unable to move has really left him weak and starting to feel hungry, but being in a hot and deserted environment isn't showing any signs of any type of food which would be edible.

"Celestia if you can hear me, please turn down the sun a bit it's too hot today." skittles whispered to himself hoping to cool himself down from the heat.

He has been walking for thirty minutes now, stopping to take a rest he takes another look at himself, still seeing himself in his changeling form, frowning to himself wondering how he can change to look like he used to.

'How do I change? I've seen them do it but how do I?' thinking to himself, he starts to think of himself looking like he use to light amber coat, blue mane, when suddenly he becomes enveloped in orange flames.

His body shifts and he looks like his old self before he had been captured by those changelings, just a single difference he still has the black stripe going through his mane and tail.

Sighing to himself he can only think to himself. 'why does that stripe stay, somepony will definitely notice that when I get back!'

After resting for another five minutes, he starts getting up, his legs feeling better after finally being able to walk around, moving on and now happy to be looking like a pony again, he starts to see a forest ahead of him, hoping it will be the hayseed swamps and also hoping he can also get some type of food into his belly to at least state his hunger for a while.

Twenty minutes later he's on the outskirts of the forest, looking through the trees he can see some bushes with some blueberries on them, going closer to them he can see they like ripe and juicy.

"I wonder if their poisonous or not, I've never been good at telling the difference for wild berries." Sniffing the blueberries he can't smell anything wrong with them. "you know what I'm not exactly that hungry so I think I'll skip this one time, I'm sure I'm close to home anyway, just need to follow the tree line and I should be able to see it soon."

So skittles starts to go along the tree line in hope of finding any signs of finding dodge city and finally seeing his friend lance flash.

While walking on the outskirts he could hear the sounds of bushes rustling in the treeline, looking over he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary so he continued walking but keeping an eye on the forest knowing that manticores, cockatrices and some hydras are known to be in there.

After a while something catches skittles eyes, squinting his eyes he can see what looks to be buildings, finally seeing something resembling civilisation he spreads his wings and starts to flap to go faster, getting closer to the town he can start to make out familiar colours of some of the ponies he knew in town.

getting closer he can't stop the smile that makes it's way on his face.

Another three minutes he finds himself looking upon the familiar sight of dodge city. Looking around it seems nopony has noticed him yet.

Out of the corner of his eye he sees a welcome sight the form of one lance flash trotting up to him in his full armour flanked by two earth pony guards brandished with their spears.

"Hey lance am I glad to. . . . see . . . you" skittles trailed of when lance got closer seeing him looking at him not as a friend.

but as an enemy.

"HALT, stay back changeling your gonna be coming with us and no funny business!" lance exclaimed at him

Taking a couple of steps back from his outburst skittles could only stare agape at his friend.

"But lance it's me, it's skittles don't you recognize me?" skittles replied finally able to talk.

"Oh don't give me that, somepony saw skittles ten days ago being taken away by a group of changelings, your tricks won't work on us." lance signalled the guards flanking him to surround the supposed changeling. "Now your going to come with us, then your gonna tell us where your hive is so we can get back our friend and everypony else you took!"

Skittles could only look between his friend and the other two guards, while it was true he was taken, they didn't know how he managed to escape. " Well yeah I was captured, but I managed to escape a few hours ago, come on dude you know me." he tried to plead with him but the look on lances face said he wasn't buying anything.

"Well clearly you don't know my friend, because last time I saw him he had blue hair, you seem to have made a mistake with your disguise." lance states with a smirk, knowing that he caught the changeling in front of him. "because last I remember, my friend doesn't have a black line going through his mane and tail so quit talking your only making it worse!"

Because of the shouting being done by lance they were getting a lot of attention from the ponies walking by, some of the ponies looking at skittles strike the same way as the guards, with only suspicion and a few others looking at him angrily being ones who were close to him, they grew up with him for years but now they couldn't even recognize him.

Looking around at the ponies he loved as friends and family, he couldn't believe this 'why are they acting like this' he thought to himself while looking around frantically, hoping that somepony would believe him and help.

Just as he was looking to his left some thing came flying from his right and hit him in the back of the head, looking down he saw a decent sized rock, what he also noticed from where he got hit he could feel something wet falling down his face. Putting his hoof to his head he brought it back round and saw some blood. His blood.

Then another rock hit him, looking round he saw more ponies picking up rocks getting ready to throw them. So as quick as he could he spread his wings and took flight away from them and going back a distance away from town before they could catch him.
Turning around back to his home he could see them preparing to follow him, knowing he couldn't stay he started to go again not daring to look back with tears falling down his face, wishing this could all be a dream and that he would wake up from this nightmare.

Flying for ten minutes getting a good distance from dodge city, he finds a small area with some fruit bushes. Having been here in the past he knows these blueberries are good to eat so heading his growling stomach he starts eating. Having ate enough he sits down on his haunches thinking back to what just happened, he breaks down into small sobs, knowing he can't go back he looks around. Then he sees a sign going up to it he sees it says 'Appaloosa 10 miles' looking in appaloosas direction decides that's where he'll be going.

Looking up he notices it's becoming darker, looking around the only area which looks the least bit safe for sleeping outside is the berry bushes he had seen a little ways away, so he heads back towards it. When he gets back to the bush he lies down by the bush, as he does lie down does he feel the fatigue hit him and he falls asleep as soon as he closes him eyes.