1-4: Revelations
Everything happened so fast. It was too fast for Sweetie Belle’s mind to catch up with. After Twilight had rescued her and her friends from that gooey pod, Shining Armor and Cadance shot a shockwave of magic. As the wave came towards her, Rarity leaped over to her and quickly grabbed her protectively, putting herself between her and the wave. As the wave passed through them, it felt just like when they went through that barrier when first coming into Canterlot.
When Sweetie opened her eyes, she realized that she was no longer being held by soft white fur, but instead by a hard black exoskeleton. She turned her head to her right, to where her friends were. They were looking back at her. But the looks on their faces were not that of comfort or worry. They were terrified… of her. She could actually feel their fear as they stood frozen.
She was aware that the other ponies were talking. But her mind wasn’t registering the conversation. Everything was just happening too quickly. She reached out for her friends, who backed away at the motion. But that was when she realized why they were so terrified. She saw her outstretched hoof… except that it wasn’t her hoof. It was hard, black, and full of holes, just like the creature that took the place of her sister.
Her mind was slowly coming to a realization. It was a terrifying one, but one she was still in the process of comprehending. She was able to understand the conversations going on around them at this point.
“Guards! Take those two and lock them in the dungeon!” Sweetie Belle heard Shining Armor’s voice say authoritatively, “And make sure that they are held in separate cells!”
As the gears in her brain began grinding together as they restarted her thought processes, there was only one reaction that she could think of at this point.
“AHHHHHH!!!”
It was a dungeon cell, so it wasn’t built for comfort. But for a dungeon cell, Rarity was quite surprised at just how well-maintained it was. The cot was far from soft. But she was surprised that they set it up fresh and new when putting her in that cell. And then there was the cell itself. Like the cot, it was far from ideal. But it felt like proper living quarters carved out of stone, unlike what she expected, which was just a hole in a cave.
It was still small and drab. But she didn’t feel like she was just thrown in a stereotypical dungeon to get her away from the public. Perhaps there were different quality cells, each dependent on the kind of criminal intended to be held. After all, you wouldn’t expect someone held for petty theft to have to stay in the same conditions as someone held for murder.
And it especially brought Rarity comfort to know that Sweetie Belle was being held in a similar cell. At least, she hoped that was the case. If not, she’d gladly request that they change cells so that Sweetie Belle could have a more comfortable cell.
But that comfort did little to raise Rarity’s spirits. Her secret was found out. Sweetie Belle was found out. And now they were separated from each other, Rarity unable to comfort Sweetie Belle.
The door to her cell opened, and in came an irate Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, the latter pulling a lamp out of her mane. Pinkie then turned on the light and shined it in Rarity's face.
"Alright, buddy! We want answers, and we want them yesterday!" It was unclear if the pink living sugar rush was taking this seriously or if it was just Pinkie being Pinkie, "Who are you, what did you do with the real Rarity, and can you toast marshmallows when you transform?"
Rarity took a moment to process what Pinkie had just said. It was Pinkie, after all, "I've always been the real Rarity," Rarity answered, "I just haven't been honest about what I am."
Rainbow trotted up to the changeling so that they were face to face, close enough for Rarity to feel the hot air blowing out of her nostrils, "A likely story!" the rainbow pegasus said sarcastically, "Do you really expect us to believe that we were friends with an evil creature that tried to take over Equestria?"
"Don't group me in with those changelings!" Rarity shot back before her demeanor returned to its depressed state, "And 'expect' is a strong word. 'Hoped' would be more accurate."
As the interrogation continued, Fluttershy and Applejack were outside of the cell listening in. Fluttershy wasn’t quite sure what to think of everything. Was this the real Rarity, who was always a changeling, or was she an imposter? If she was the real Rarity, did that mean that a changeling was chosen by the Element of Generosity, or can changelings fool the Elements? Was she a friend, or did she have ill intent? If she was an imposter, where was the original Rarity?
While Fluttershy’s mind was a torrent of thoughts and questions, Applejack’s mind was calmer. True, the questions that were in Fluttershy’s mind were also in Applejack’s mind. But rather than dwell on those thoughts, Applejack kept her mind calm as she listened in on the interrogation. She listened to what was being said, trying to detect any lies in the changeling Rarity’s words. She couldn’t determine to the best of her abilities, seeing as she wasn’t close enough to make out any tells. But from what she could hear from outside, she detected no deceit.
Meanwhile, in another cell similar to Rarity’s, Sweetie Belle was also being held. Although Rarity knew about what was going on, Sweetie Belle did not. Her entire world… no. Her entire existence was flipped upside down and inside out. For all her life, she was a pony. Then suddenly, she’s a changeling?! How was this possible?
“Who am I? What am I?” Sweetie Belle said, wincing at the sound of the distortion in her own voice, “Am I the real Sweetie Belle? Have I been a changeling this whole time and never knew about it? Or was I changed into a changeling?”
As much as her own voice sounded alien to her, she was all alone in that cell at the moment. And if she didn’t vocalize her thoughts out loud, the lonely silence would be deafening to her. And since her voice sounded different, it almost felt as if someone else was in there with her.
“What if I’m not the original Sweetie Belle, and I’m just a changeling that was given Sweetie Belle’s memories?!” the youngling continued her downward spiral into an existential crisis, “And if I’m not the real Sweetie Belle, where’s the real Sweetie Belle?! Why did I replace her?!”
The youngling’s panicked thought process was disrupted when Apple Bloom and Scootaloo arrived. And to her dismay, her friends’ expressions were not that of comfort. Though their expressions were different and certainly conveyed different emotions, there was one word to describe the looks on both of their faces: betrayal.
Apple Bloom opted to stay outside of the cell, not quite sure of what to think about this whole situation. Scootaloo, on the other hand, had to speak her mind. And her mind was not filled with happy thoughts.
“How could you?!” Scootaloo exclaimed as she stomped up to Sweetie Belle, “How could you betray me like this?! I thought we were friends!”
“We are,” Sweetie Belle replied timidly, evidently not sure of herself anymore, “At least, I think we are.”
“If we’re such good friends, then how could you betray me like this?!”
“I didn’t… I mean, I don’t think…” Sweetie Belle didn’t know what to say, her self-doubt affecting her thought process, “I don’t even know if I’m the real Sweetie Belle or not.”
“But why? Why didn’t you tell me you were a changeling?” Scootaloo asked, her demeanor calming down slightly, “I understand why you’d want to keep it a secret from others. I even understand why you wouldn’t tell Apple Bloom yet since we’ve only been friends with her for less than a year. But we’ve been friends since we were in preschool. Why wouldn’t you share a secret like that with me after all that time? Didn’t you trust me enough to keep your secret?”
“I didn’t even know I was a changeling,” the youngling said meekly, not quite catching the secondary implication of Scootaloo’s line of questioning, “I don’t even know if I’m the real Sweetie Belle. For all I know, I could just have her memories and replaced her. I don’t even know where the real Sweetie Belle is or if she’s okay.”
“How can you not know you’re a changeling?” Scootaloo asked, “Isn’t that like me not knowing I’m a pegasus? Or Twilight not knowing she’s a unicorn? I suppose if my wings were removed as a baby, I wouldn’t know I was a pegasus. But my wings are clearly there. And I don’t know what you’d need to remove for you not to know you’re a changeling.”
“You know, maybe you’re an earth pony and don’t know it,” Apple Bloom said from outside the cell, “Considerin’ how you have problems flyin’, maybe you had yer wings attached as a baby, and you were actually born an earth pony.”
“And as for Twilight, her magic is powerful enough,” Sweetie Belle added, “Maybe she had her wings removed and was originally born an alicorn.”
The three of them got a small laugh at that idea, a sense of normalcy returning to them. But it was short-lived.
“I just don’t know what to think anymore,” Scootaloo admitted as she sat down and lowered her head.
Sweetie Belle’s demeanor matched the pegasus filly’s, “I don't know what to think anymore either,” the little ling admitted, “I don’t even know what to think about what I am or why I’m a changeling. Could you imagine how I feel? What if you suddenly learned that you might not be the original Scootaloo?”
“I… guess I’d feel confused,” Scootaloo said, “I’m already more confused than I’ve ever been in my life, and I’m not even the one going through an identity crisis. If I’m this confused, and if it’s true that you never knew that you were a changeling, I don’t think I can even imagine how confused you must be. I… I’m sorry for yelling at you.”
Tears began to form in the little changeling’s eyes. She was trembling. The build-up of emotions was becoming too much for her to bear, and the damn was about to break, “I’m scared,” Sweetie Belle said in a whisper that would be rivaled only by Fluttershy. Scootaloo pulled her into a hug to try to comfort her.
As they were distracted with each other, they were unaware of Apple Bloom taking that moment to leave.
They were also unaware of a wisp of blue mist that followed Apple Bloom out.
Twilight looked over her notes, disappointed at how little was written down at this point. Applejack was there to act as a makeshift lie detector. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were off to the side, their expressions unreadable, despite it being evident that they didn’t know what to think. Rainbow Dash was off to the other side, constantly glaring hateful daggers towards Rarity.
Despite Rarity’s willingness to comply, she was quite vague in her story, “So let me get this straight,” Twilight said with a sigh, “You and Sweetie Belle were taken in by Hondo Flanks and Cookie Crumble. They know about your true forms. Sweetie Belle doesn’t know anything. And you’re outcasts from your original hive… Chrysalis’ hive.”
“That is correct,” Rarity said.
“That don’t sound like much of an explanation,” Applejack grumbled, “Yer still hidin’ somethin’.”
“Please understand, the less you know, the better,” Rarity pleaded.
“Yeah, you said that already,” Applejack explained, “But that don’t change the fact that yer still hidin’ what could be important details.”
“Applejack’s right,” Twilight agreed, “I understand that it’s in your nature to hide… well… your nature. But more information can help your case in this situation.”
Rarity was still apprehensive, “It’s not just about hiding my nature,” she explained, “It’s that more knowledge will be putting you in danger! And I can’t bear the thought of you being in harm’s way because of me.”
“I think we’ve passed that threshold when Chrysalis attacked,” Twilight said blatantly.
“I understand that you want more information. But I just cannot bring myself to give it,” Rarity said, “I understand that more information could help get me out of here.”
“Fat chance of that happening!” Rainbow Dash shot.
“Did you just call me fat?!” Rarity complained before regaining her composure, “I know I probably can’t be forgiven for what I am. But I’m begging you to at least let Sweetie Belle go! She’s just an innocent youngling with mistaken identity! I’ll accept a life sentence if it means Sweetie can go free!”
“You’re not fooling anypony, changeling!” Rainbow shot, “We’ve learned enough to know that your kind are nothing but liars! So why should we believe you that that little ‘ling you call Sweetie Belle is as innocent as you claim?!”
“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight scolded.
“She ain’t lyin’, Rainbow!” Applejack shot back
Rainbow calmed back down, though her glare never left the changeling, “Yeah, whatever.”
Applejack was getting frustrated. In part, it was because of Rainbow Dash’s attitude. But she was also frustrated at the fact that Rarity hadn't told a lie, yet the vagueness was… well… vague. And it was getting under her skin. She wasn’t gonna take it anymore, and she knew that she was gonna hate herself for what she was about to say, “Yer fate’s still up in the air, Rarity. So I can’t say what’ll happen to ya,” the farmer explained, a pit forming in her stomach, “But if ya don’t start talkin’, yer sister ain’t gonna see the light of day again!”
Everycreature’s eyes turned towards Applejack at that comment. Rainbow Dash was mildly impressed at the comment, though primarily for the wrong reason. Tears were welling up in Fluttershy’s eyes, as well as Rarity. The others just shared various levels of shock. Applejack had just blackmailed Rarity, using Sweetie Belle as leverage.
The threat did seem to have the intended result, though, as Rarity was wrestling between keeping their secret and Sweetie Belle’s potential freedom. Rarity didn’t believe that the apple farmer had the authority to make that decision. However, she wasn’t sure if she should take that risk, especially if she were to talk to someone who does have that authority.
Meanwhile, as Rarity was debating with herself and everyone else was focused on Applejack, Fluttershy took the opportunity to leave.
‘Consarn it, Applejack! Why’d ya have to go an’ say somethin’ like that?!’ Applejack thought to herself.
‘Cause we need answers! An’ Sweetie Belle is the only way we can get what we want from Rarity!’ Applejack countered… to herself.
‘But Sweetie Belle is just an innocent filly! She don’t deserve to spend her life in a prison!’
‘We don’t know how guilty Sweetie actually is! And as Ah said before, we need answers!’
‘And what if yer plan don’t work? Do ya really plan on makin’ sure that filly gets a life sentence even if she’s innocent?’
‘Are you implyin’ that I’m a liar?’
‘If Ah am, then yer implyin’ it to yerself.’
“Alright, I’ll tell you everything!” Rarity said desperately, cutting off Applejack’s inner debate, “It’s a somewhat long and complicated story, though. But if you must know, and if it means Sweetie can have the chance to be free, then… then I’ll tell you.
“As you already know, I was hatched into Queen Chrysalis’s hive. Back then, I didn’t have a name. Chrysalis never named her children. She didn’t think there was any need since they were mostly just there to serve her anyway. But that doesn’t mean we didn’t have names. Some of us would give ourselves names, and I was one of them. However, my name wasn’t Rarity back then. I used to go by the name Damselfly. I soon learned that that was my first mistake.
“If a changeling chooses a name, that’s often a sign of independence. It makes that changeling stand out. And… well… you know me and how I stand out. But that didn’t change the fact that I was still devoted to my Queen. Naming myself was just what made Chrysalis keep an eye on me.
“Of course, I just had to show off and stand out, whereas most other changelings would just become obedient, loyal servants. I was still loyal and obedient most of the time. After all, a changeling’s desire to serve the Queen is a biological fact amongst changelings. Even now, I still have a desire to please my Quee- I mean, Queen Chrysalis.
“I started standing out more when it was apparent that I wasn’t nearly as interested in training and being as aggressive as the others. Changelings have different ranks, which they are born into. And I wasn’t born a drone. At the time, I thought I was born an Infiltrator since they have more independence. It wasn’t until later that I would find out the truth, and why Queen Chrysalis really had her eye on me.
“I eventually came across a young Infiltrator. Like me, he was different. He wasn’t aggressive or anything like that. I even thought it was cute how he liked to play with his toys. And he was so gentle. I chose to introduce myself by asking if he wanted to share his toys. He was apprehensive at first, perhaps because of how other changelings would treat him. But when he saw that I was honest, he began to open up to me.
“As time went on, one thing led to another, and… well… a lady doesn’t talk about such things in civil conversations.”
“Don’t give me that crap!” Rainbow Dash cut in, stomping up to the changeling, “What are you trying to hide from us?!”
Rarity apprehensively whispered something into Rainbow Dash’s ear. Rainbow’s face went beet red.
“Oh! Uh… no need to go into detail about… that,” Rainbow Dash stammered, walking away bashfully, “You can continue… you know… from after… that.”
Applejack just raised an eyebrow at that interaction. Pinkie was… Pinkie. But Twilight was unphased and just nodded to confirm Rainbow’s affirmation of continuation.
“Now hold on a minute,” Applejack said before Rarity could continue, “Mind tellin’ the rest of us what ya told Rainbow?”
Twilight sighed before including her part, “If you don’t tell us exactly what you said now, will we be able to evaluate what you said later in your story?”
“I suppose.”
“Then please continue.”
Rarity took the instruction, thankful that she didn’t have to talk directly about personal matters, “So afterward, I soon learned that I was gravid.”
“Is that why you didn’t want to talk about details?” Twilight asked.
“Correct.”
“Consarn it!” Applejack exclaimed, “Mind fillin’ the rest of us in on what ‘gravid’ means?”
“Gravid is similar to pregnancy. But unlike pregnancy, gravid applies to egg-laying creatures. Since changelings are insectoid, it makes sense that they would lay eggs instead of live birth. So Rarity is functionally saying that she was… pregnant…” Twilight explained, pausing as she realized the implication before turning back to Rarity, “You’re a mother?!”
Rarity sighed at that, taking it as her cue to continue, “I promise I’ll get to that detail. Yes, I’m a mother. And that’s what terrified me, as well as what made me realize what exactly made me different. All changelings are capable of reproduction. But you see, there’s only one kind of changeling that will be a threat to a queen…”
“Another queen,” Twilight finished.
“Precisely,” Rarity confirmed, “I suppose the proper term would be a proto-queen. A proto-queen doesn’t become a queen until she’s started a hive, which only happens by having children of her own. That’s also why my Queen kept an eye on me. If another hive rose to power, that would be a threat to her authority. She kept an eye on me to make sure that I was obedient. If I knew what I was, I wouldn’t have… been intimate. But because I didn’t know, I betrayed my Queen’s trust without even knowing it.
“I spent a week in seclusion until I could lay my eggs. And I had to make sure that they were kept in a secluded area so that Chrysalis wouldn’t find them. However, I knew it was only a matter of time. I was just delaying the inevitable. But I believed at the time that I could hide them.”
“Forgive my interruption,” Twilight said, “But where is Sweetie Belle in all of this?”
“She hasn’t been born yet,” Rarity answered matter of factly, “But it wasn’t long at this point. It was a significantly small clutch, even for a first laying. But the fact that it was more than one was what made me realize I was a Proto-Queen. Other Changelings can only have one egg at a time. But It wasn’t long before Queen Chrysalis found out. Before a proto-queen becomes a queen, we look no different than any other Changeling. Even a proto-queen won’t know that they’re a proto-queen. It’s not until after their first clutch when changes begin to occur. The mane color alters to differentiate between queens. That part is biological. The style, on the other hoof, is affected by the queen’s personality. I suppose I’ve taken the form of a pony for so long that my mane and tail just naturally adopted that identity. Or perhaps it’s the other way around.
“The first change that started was my mane color. I was able to get by for about a week before it caught Chrysalis' attention. When she addressed me, I panicked and teleported to my eggs. I was able to grab one before she followed me on a chase. That’s when I ran. Chrysalis pursued me, but I was able to escape her wrath. I don’t know what happened with the hive after that. But it’s safe to say that she… would’ve…”
Twilight took note of the discomfort in Rarity’s voice, “She eliminated a rival queen’s eggs, didn’t she?”
Rarity whimpered and nodded her head, “A week later, the egg hatched,” Rarity continued, Twilight taking note of the three-week period between a changeling egg’s conception and the egg hatching, “I didn’t begin to develop my carapace until after that.
“It was hard enough to collect enough love to survive at that point. But then I had a nymph to feed. So, most of the love I collected went to feeding the nymph. That also meant that I was starving myself in the process. It was about three months later when the nymph went through the metamorphosis.”
“Metamorphosis?” Twilight questioned, “Can I assume that because changelings are insectoid, they are born as a larval form?”
“Yes,” Rarity confirmed, Twilight noting that detail down as well, “We spend about three months in our larval form before we go through the metamorphosis. Normally, nymphs never leave the hive because they are so vulnerable and can’t even transform yet. The metamorphosis takes three days to complete. During this time, they require extra love energy to sustain them, I made sure we were hidden in Whitetail Woods so that we wouldn’t be spotted. I disguised myself as a timberwolf to chase away any potential intruders. But holding that disguise while providing enough love energy to sustain the nymph was too much. I was able to feed my child, but I had run out of energy myself before the metamorphosis finished. It was only a few hours away, though.
“The metamorphosis finished, and the child was in the next stage of life. But I could no longer help. I was starving to death at that point, unable even to disguise myself. As much as I hoped my surviving child would make it, I was as good as dead.
“But it seemed that fate saw fit to give me a second chance. I was only half aware of everything at this point, so my memory is fuzzy. But a couple happened to take that opportunity to go hiking right by where we were. We were off the path. But from what I heard, it was my child who went to find help despite being too young even to talk. She just had enough sense to recognize that her queen needed help.
“The next thing I clearly remember was waking up in a house with my daughter sleeping next to me. I was confused since I should’ve been dead. But despite what we looked like, that couple had come to help us. They took us in. The first thing I did when I saw them was to… try to chase them away by being aggressive. But I was still too weak to be effective. They told me that we had nothing to be afraid of. And as much as I wanted to run, I could sense that they cared for us. They were accepting of us despite our appearance.
“It’s thanks to them that I adopted my name. I didn’t know how to answer when they asked for a name. If I had used the name that I chose for myself, Damselfly, Queen Chrysalis would’ve been able to find us easier. But when they called me a rarity, I was inspired and adopted what they called me as my new name. Rarity. Then they referred to my youngling as my little sister, calling her a sweetie. When they asked what her name was, I again used the name they did. That’s when my youngling got the name Sweetie Belle, making her one of the only Changelings to be named by their mother.”
“Are you sayin’ that yer little sis is actually yer daughter?!” Applejack exclaimed in surprise. The rest of the room had shocked faces, including one of the guards fainting at that revelation.
“I later learned that Cookie Crumble was barren. They had learned a week before going on that hike. When they met us, and I finally agreed, they adopted us as their children. They saw us as a gift. They were curious about what we were and where we came from. But I told them what I told you. The less they knew, the better. After all, at the time, even though I had escaped, I was still on Queen Chrysalis’ hit list. That’s why I was apprehensive about accepting their help at first. I didn’t want them to get hurt because of me.
“I was inspired by Cookie to create my more fashion-forward disguise but took my white coat from Hondo. But I chose to keep my mane color the same as my natural form. They were indeed surprised when they saw me catch fire and change forms but thankful that I was taking a form that would make me look like their daughter.
“As for Sweetie Belle, she was too young to learn how to transform. That normally doesn’t come until age five. So I cast a disguising spell on her as she slept, transforming her into the form you’re most familiar with. The spell draws off of Sweetie’s natural magic. The benefit is that the disguise would stay for as long as Sweetie had magic. And her magic refueled itself faster than the spell could drain it. The downfall is that her spellcasting ability is weak because of the spell drawing off her magic.
“So… our parents kept our secret. I hid the truth for all this time, and Sweetie Belle never even knew. When I cast the disguise spell on Sweetie, I also cast a memory spell. She would remember nothing from before she was disguised. After that, we lived our lives as ponies. And that brings us to recent events.
“When I first met Cadance, I had an immense desire to please her. At first, I thought it was because I was chosen to make the wedding dress for a princess, so I had the desire to do my best for a princess. But I later realized that it was my instinctive desire to please my Queen. Even now, I have the desire to please her. But I know better.”
“When you were supporting me, that was you trying to warn me, wasn’t it?” Twilight realized, “If I had heeded your warning, I may not have found the real Cadance. In a way, it was the better option.”
“Chrysalis is extremely dangerous!” Rarity insisted, “I wanted you to get away! She could’ve killed you if you found out! Or worse!”
“Is she really that psychotic?”
“Let’s just say that there’s a reason why nopony knew about us until now,” Rarity said, “We are masters of disguise. But on the rare chance that we are found out… we make sure that the knowledge never leaves. And in the case of a public reveal, the entire civilization is eliminated. Hondo and Cookie are the first known cases of survivors, and now Canterlot is the first case of a surviving civilization.”
“I appreciate yer cooperation,” Applejack said as she got up and headed out, “I’ll go see what I can do fer Sweetie Belle.”
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A good chapter, though I'm not fond of changelings being murderers. They need ponies alive to take their love. To wipe out an entire population to keep a secret is crazy. It would be like humans burning their own crops to avoid someone else taking them.
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That normally doesn't happen, though, since they disguise themselves. They don't go out of their way to kill. But it's in their nature to hide their nature, which includes their natural appearance.
Also, you can blame Chrysalis more than anything else for that mindset. Chrysalis may be intimidating, but not that smart. In the original Season 2 Finale, she could've kept her disguise and thrown the accusation of being a Changeling back at the original Cadance. If nothing else, it would have created enough delay for the invasion to succeed.
I like to think that my reinterpretation results in Rarity being able to call out which one is Chrysalis, so it's less likely for her to keep up her disguise successfully. But I digress.
I have two guesses as to the reference, it's either Winds of Change or another Rainbow Dash is a changeling story that involves her being replaced by a changeling when young and her memories being transferred.
But it's probably Winds of Change