A Changeling can Change

by Bronyxy

5 To be a Hero

Gabby rose as soon as the train came to a stop and Kevin followed her lead as they joined their fellow travellers in the carriage making their way out onto the platform. The first thing he noticed was that the air had a freshness and clearness about it that was quite invigorating following the soporific contentment he felt after having gorged on his companion’s rich love for so long.

“It’s over there” she commented, “The other side of the train.”
“What is?” he replied.
“The Crystal Castle and the whole city!” she shot back in playful exasperation, before drawing close and gently rubbing shoulders, “Come on, we have to go round the train.”
She led the way off the platform and round to the buffers at the front of the locomotive that sat at rest, hissing contentedly to itself. He was a little hesitant at being so close to what he had originally thought to be a mechanical dragon, but as nopony seemed remotely concerned, he steeled himself and walked around, leaving a noticeably wider berth.

As he rounded the front of the locomotive, his eyes beheld the panorama progressively unfold before him. A collection of blue and purple buildings gave way to an impressive light blue castle that towered over them all and seemed to glow against the clear azure sky.

They followed the last of the other passengers on the path that led between two tall purple crystal obelisks forming the gateway to the city, and Gabby resumed her narrative, cross referencing back to things she had already mentioned on the journey up. Kevin was impressed both with her comprehensive knowledge and also her stamina, and secretly began to wonder if she had an OFF switch.

When they arrived in the centre of the city, Gabby dragged Kevin to the Crystal Castle and enquired whether it was still open for public viewing. When she was told it was, she happily dug into her satchel to retrieve a few bits which she handed over in exchange for two tickets.
“What are these?” he asked.
“These, my dear Sir” she announced, leading the way, “Are two tickets to go to the top of the castle – the views up there are absolutely stunning!”

Kevin fell in with her and they started the long walk up the spiral staircase. The stairs seemed to be interminable and he wanted simply to morph into his own form, or even that of a pegasus so he could fly and be done with this hoofslogging drudgery, but knew better than to act on such wishful thinking as it would compromise his disguise.

The pace was slow, and they had to stop a number of times, but even though they were both getting breathless regularly, he noticed that she wasn’t talking any more. He had become used to the constant commentary, and to have it removed suddenly made him feel a little uneasy; either that or his sixth sense was trying to tell him something.

Eventually the stairs ran out and they emerged onto a circular platform with a ring of tall balustrades around the outer edge, providing limited protection against the wind that whistled across.

The views were indeed most impressive, especially to ponies that did not have wings, he reasoned; this was the next best thing to flying he had ever experienced.

They had the entire platform to themselves as she walked over to one of the gaps and looked out. He walked over and joined her.

“I’m afraid I lied to you” she said slowly, not taking her eyes from the view over the city and the countryside beyond, “I don’t have a meeting here at all.”
“What do you mean?” asked Kevin.
“You see, I’ve been fired from my job as a tourist guide and now I have to reconsider my future.”

She fell silent and reflected before continuing, “I love the Crystal Empire, because it's reappearance spoke to me about new beginnings, and I committed myself to it right then. I was so excited about it that I made sure I was on the first train here, and this was the first place I came. It’s where King Sombra hid the Crystal Heart for a thousand years – right here. I felt the magic and it spoke to me; that's why I became a tour guide. Now I've come back again in the hope it will give me a new direction for my life.”

The taste of her love had turned bitter and Kevin could tell something was wrong.
“Why did you lose your job?” he asked.
“Apparently, I talk too much. You’re the only pony I’ve ever met who hasn’t got tired of listening to me. I like you and just wanted to share a few precious moments with someone I like at the most special place to me. Selfish of me, I know.”
He knew he was expected to say something, but wasn’t sufficiently versed in pony culture to know what, and recognised that saying the wrong thing now could be worse than remaining silent, so held his tongue.
“You drew the short straw I’m afraid” she lamented, turning to face him, a distant look in her eyes, “Tab.”

Kevin suddenly felt his senses tense. Ponies were his sworn enemies. They had injured and killed other clones in his hive; they had even seriously injured his Queen. On the other hoof, they had been kind and generous towards him, so many of them freely giving him more love than he had ever experienced in his life.

His mind was in as much turmoil as hers and he wasn’t even sure any longer where his own loyalties lay. Perhaps ponies were nice and only did what they did in self-defence? If so, that would make him and his kind aggressors against them. This made him feel bad inside, a new sensation; guilt.

If he reached out to this one pony, it wouldn’t mean he was betraying his hive, would it? He was no longer sure, but not doing anything felt wrong; he had to help.

“Step back, please” he warned, “It is windy and if you fall, you do not have wings.”
She snapped her head back quickly and replied, “Oh no, I'm not going to jump, if that's what you're worried about. I just want to lose myself in the beautiful view and …”

Just at that moment a gust of wind whipped across the platform, catching her off balance and she slipped, disappearing from his sight, leaving nothing but the fading scream as she began the long fall to the solid ground of the plaza below.

Quickly, Kevin got to the gap between the balustrades and looked over, catching his first sight of this kind pony tumbling down, all four legs flailing as she kept screaming. He knew that sound would soon stop when she hit the ground, but it wasn’t what she deserved. He knew he had failed in his mission; he had allowed himself to go native and had let down his own kind. There was now nothing for him at the hive. He had nothing left to lose.

In a flash of green light, Tab Lloyd disappeared and a cyan blue pegasus appeared in his place. He quickly jumped through the same gap that had just claimed Gabby only seconds before and flexed his wing muscles, marvelling at their strength; this was clearly the top of the range sports model and totally unlike the yellow mare he had impersonated before.

Kevin streaked down the side of the castle, flying faster than he ever had before.

The ground was getting close, but he was gaining fast on the pink unicorn.

It would be close as to whether he would get to her before they both ran out of height. Even then, he wasn’t confident that his flying abilities would be stable enough to save them both, but he chose to ignore the thought of failure as he continued to close in on her.

He had a fleeting moment to appreciate the rippling muscles in this blue pegasus’ body and gave thanks to whatever guardian angel was looking out for him for having at least given him a chance to save her.

The ground was now frighteningly close, and he knew he only had one chance. He reached out and clasped her terrified body close to his chest, then angled his wings to try and pull up and save them both.

Even Rainbow Dash would have been hard stretched to have pulled off such a daring rescue so close to the ground, but knowing her, she probably would have, somehow. But, Kevin had very limited experience as a pegasus, let alone this one, and his reactions were not as finely honed.

Through a supreme effort, he managed to avoid a direct impact with the ground, but didn’t quite manage to miss it completely, and still struck it a glancing blow as he struggled to pull up. If they had just had a couple more feet of height, they would have made it, but that was not what fate had in mind, and instead it left him tumbling end over end, still with Gabby tight in his clutches.

A sudden thump abruptly winded him as they collided untidily with a hedge, ending their impression of a blue and pink bowling ball.

He felt the shock of pain tear through him and watched his vision fade, offering no resistance as he slipped into welcome unconsciousness.

Comments

[Yoshifan30]

Aww poor gabby That's kind of sad And Kevin fell bad for her But what makes worse that she fell By accident and Kevin save her that was awesome of him But I wonder what's going to happen