Case Sixteen, Chapter Eight: A New Song
Up on the fourth floor of Ponyville Hospital, an aqua blue changeling in a white coat bent over his black coated kin, frowning as he listened to his resting patient’s breathing.
“Buzz?” Phillip asked as he and Daring entered.
The changeling opened one blue eye and managed to smile. “Hey, detectives,” he groaned, sitting up in bed. “Glad you came to see me.” He glanced down at his rough, perforated forelimb with a self-conscious frown. “Even if I’m not at my best.”
“No worries,” Phillip smiled, pulling up a chair and sitting next to him, removing his new trilby as he sat. “You doing okay here, doc?”
“Unfortunately, the doctors here know little about changeling biology,” Asclepius stated. “A result of years of secrecy on our part and tense relations between Equestria and the New Changeling Empire. I’ve been coming here to take care of him.” He glanced up as a nurse passed by outside the room. The young mare paused and gawked for a moment, then quickly moved on, burying her face into her clipboard. “Some of them have been...more accepting than others,” Asclepius commented bitterly.
“I’m alive because of you, doc,” Buzz said with a grateful smile.
“Is that honey?” Daring asked, blinking at the IV stand in the corner. A bag filled with a thick, green-yellow syrup was dangling from the stand, emanating a faint, sweet odor. A tube led from the bag to Buzz’s forelimb.
“Some of my own,” Doctor Asclepius explained, running a hoof through his blonde “mane.” Phil and Daring both noticed that the doctor’s colors were dulled, and his hind legs and wings had become rough and jagged. “We produce honey to feed our young, but it makes good medicine or emergency food to sick or wounded changelings. Some of the doctors here are asking me about medical applications for it.”
Buzz sat up straighter in bed. “You didn’t come here to just shoot the breeze, detectives. What’s up?”
“We caught the guys,” Phillip said.
Daring cleared her throat. “Okay, you caught the guys,” Phillip said with an exasperated smile and a roll of his eyes. “Point is, they can’t hurt anyone else.”
Buzz and Asclepius both gave relieved sighs, their shoulders sagging as the weight of worry was released. “And did anyone else--?” Buzz started to ask.
“No one else died,” Daring reassured him.
“Great,” Buzz nodded. He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, his relieved smile dissipating.
“What’s wrong?” Daring asked.
“I’m just thinking of what this could mean to changelings here in the city,” he admitted. “To other changelings in Equestria. After the war, when Chrysalis died and King Thorax took over the Empire and started trying to make alliances with Equestria, I had hope that one day we’d be accepted...that we wouldn’t need to hide.”
“Plenty of ponies saw you dive on top of a bomb to save their lives,” Phillip said. “We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you; dinky-di, that’s the second time you’ve saved us. Far as I’m concerned, mate, you’re a hero.”
“But you’re only a few ponies,” Asclepius pointed out.
“There’s always gonna be guys who judge you, no matter what,” Daring said with a bitter undertone, glancing down at her right foreleg. “But you don’t deserve to hide forever. Especially not after what you did.”
“Look up a friend, Autumn Blaze,” Phillip suggested. “She can help you say your side of the story.”
Buzz and Asclepius both looked at each other for a few moments, then Buzz smiled. “I’d like that.”
Exclusive Interview: The Changeling Who Saved Phillip Finder and Daring Do’s Lives!
Daring chuckled and shook her head, staring down at the evening edition of the Foal Free Press spread out before her. “Had to lay it on thick, didn’t you, Autumn?” she asked.
“Well, I had to say something to grab ponies attention!” the kirin next to her replied, foam from her beer comically clinging to her lip like a mustache. “Honestly, it was really good of you to get me that interview. Ponies need to know that they needn’t be afraid of changelings anymore.”
“Myself included,” a red-faced Applejack commented from the other side of the Apple Pie’s bar. “I feel right embarrassed that I shot at that poor fella when I saw him last year. You think you could pass along an apology to him for me?”
“Will do,” Phillip replied from his seat next to Daring.
“Detectives!”
Phil and Daring turned just in time to receive two tight hugs. “Thank you!” Ocellus cried, clenching her forearms around Phillip’s neck.
“No worries,” Phillip choked out, giving the blue pegasus a few pats on the back. “Ocellus, it’s only been a couple days since I inhaled a lot of smoke.”
“Sorry!” she squeaked, quickly releasing him.
“I can’t thank either of you enough,” the white unicorn beamed at Daring.
“You can start by not dragging us into any more ambushes,” Daring replied.
Rose gave a guilty grin and nodded. “Will do.” Her eyes settled on the paper.
“Buzz says in that interview that he hopes changelings can one day walk around without needing a disguise,” she commented with a sad smile. “I hope that Ocellus gets to see that day.”
“Come on, Miss Rose!” Silverstream called from the stage, where she and the other two costumed dancers had already set up with Octavia and Vinyl.
“I gotta go,” Rose stated, giving the detectives a final nod before hopping up on stage, Ocellus trotted over to a waiting Sandbar, taking a seat next to him. Silverstream smoothed out her dress, then smiled and waved at a blue griffon who was sitting in the corner with Bumblebee. Gallus turned slightly pink but waved back briefly with a small smile.
“You really think that that day will come?” Daring asked.
“Maybe things’ll get better,” Phillip said.
“I know they will,” Autumn declared, striking a bold pose in her stool. “This interview, it’s the first step towards that. I have a dream where one day all creatures will be judged not by their species, but by the content of their character! I have a dream that one day all nations will live up to the creed, ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all creatures are created equal!’”
Everypony stared at the kirin for a moment, who blushed and ran a hoof through her bushy mane. “Sorry. I get carried away,” she chuckled.
The New Flappers swung into their performance, the onlookers applauding as Blue Rose once again welcomed them to St. Megan’s Ballroom. “Oooh, I love this song!” Autumn chirped, immediately getting up and heading to the dance floor. As Phil and Daring watched, Twilight and Flash stood up from their seat and joined Autumn on the dance floor, Flash leading Twilight in a jitterbug, both ponies blushing and laughing as they stumbled over each other, clearly having a good time regardless. A little while later, Sandbar and Ocellus joined them, Sandbar’s green eyes starstruck as Ocellus guided him through a Whinny Hop, her shy smile becoming broader by the moment.
Phillip glanced over at Daring, who returned his gaze with a raised eyebrow. After a moment, she sighed and set her glass down. “Okay, fine.”
Smiling, Phillip led her over to the dance floor, drawing a cheer from Pinkie Pie. They both paused for a moment, staring at each other, then Phillip started with a quick sidestep that Daring mimicked before they separated, kicking their legs out. With every movement, every step and bob and kick made in time to Blue Rose’s voice and Octavia and Vinyl’s music, their worries started to melt away a little bit, and Daring’s smile grew as Rose whirled into the chorus:
“And I don’t know wha-what you do,
I like everything ‘bout you,
Your smile, your face, your bod, your moves,
How you tip and tap your shoes!
I know what you do to me:
Mister, you make me crazy…”
Phillip pulled Daring into him and dipped her, causing a bout of laughter as she leaned back, eyes closed to savor this moment. She opened her eyes to find his face close to hers, noticing Flash and Twilight behind him beaming at each other, nose to nose.
“Now kiss me at Saint Megan’s Ballroom!”
Four lovers’ lips met in a kiss, while Ocellus and Sandbar continued to dance, both of them blushing and giggling as Blue Rose looked on in glowing approval. All was well with the world.
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Hate crimes are always hard to read about, making this case a lot tougher to read, emotionally, in certain places (especially when the crime scene was first described). That said, hate crimes are not something that should be ignored, and I felt that you did a wonderful job of portraying such a theme.
I'm going to have to revoke a previous comment of mine claiming that the last case was my favorite, as this case here may have just surpassed it. I marvel at how you're stories still managed to increase in quality, despite having started incredibly well writen to begin with.
10625138
Oh shoot. I just realized I've finally caught up with the main stories. I guess it's time to get on those side fics. I look forward to what you have planned next.
10625146
Thank you! It means a lot to me for you to say how much you enjoyed this story!
Finally caught up. Super glad I did, this series is great. I liked this case a lot, it's really nice to see all the different character interactions and growth throughout. Definitely looking forward to more, keep it up!
10625590
Thank you! This story, and this case in particular, were kinda hard for me to write and I wasn't sure that people would like them. Thankfully, that seems to have not been the case! I hope that you're looking forward to more!
I actually really liked this case. I’m glad you decided to stick with it
Martin Luther King Jr.: That's my kirin!
let's out a long, wheezing sigh of relief
Remember when I told you I was worried about Case 16, Josiah? I was worried that Blue Rose was one of the "two creatures" killed.
But yes, the good bugs made it. Phew.
"Phillip pulled Daring into him and dipped her, causing a bout of laughter as she leaned back, eyes closed to savor this moment. She opened her eyes to find his face close to hers, noticing Flash and Daring behind him beaming at each other, nose to nose."
I am just reading this wrong or should that be Flash and Twilight?
10897398
Oops! Thanks for pointing that out.
I'm sorry, and I hope this doesn't make you feel bad, but this case was confusing.
First it was simply some hateful ponies murdering Changelings because they were Changelings. Then Signor Dorata (sp?) showed up and things got really complicated. Now instead of a simple vendetta against Changelings the same villains were actually trying to find a Changeling partner to assume the identity of Dorata while they tortured some information out of him (and apparently this had happen several times already).
So how does a simple extermination crusade against Changelings by Pony bigots suddenly morph into these same bigots getting Changeling partners to help them in their crimes? If they want Changeling partners, then they don't want to exterminate them. But the secretary in Aesclepius' office certainly seemed only to want to kill them all, and how about that last villain? He didn't seem to be out to recruit any Changelings.
Maybe I'm stupid, but my head is simply spinning right now. They two plots seem mutually exclusive, and I've no idea how they fit together.
11045814
It was two different groups. One group was working with a changeling to kidnap and impersonate Dorata to try to get his money. The other was a group of hateful bigots that were trying to exterminate changelings. The second group killed the changeling that was going to impersonate Dorata and that's where things got tangled together. Sorry if that was confusing, I was hoping to give this case a bit more of a noir-esque style.