A Kindled Beginning

by Darkevony

Chapter 2: And shake off the rust,

Chapter 2:

And shake off the rust,

It was that time of morning again. The quiet time when the dew on the blades of grass were painting a glittery tapestry of the world as sunlight hit them at just the right angle, all while the songbirds shook awake the air around them with their early dawn blues. Ponyville was still very much asleep at this time, and a small little changeling with distinct amber eyes had no problems making her way to the library at the center of the town. Despite that, she took extra caution in traveling through the roads in the form of a rabbit. A part of her was still afraid of the pony-folk finding out the truth of her identity, even if she had braved a lot of onlookers the day before with Twilight. She did not feel even half as courageous without the purple alicorn by her side.

Chrys made sure to transform back into her original form before knocking on the door, at Twilight's behest. She had told her how important it was that she should maintain her original form even in the face of adversity. She had said never to change into another pony or sentient creature due to everypony still being mighty suspicious of changelings in general. Their power to steal the identity of others with ease made them untrustworthy in their eyes. Almost as if to prove this, the one that answered the door was a rather sleepy baby dragon who eyed her up and down once in his grogginess, then proceeded to give her a stink eye before stepping back with the door to let her in.

“Spike. Thank.” Chrys said while bowing her head almost to the point of her horn reaching the wooden floorboard of the house.

“Yeah, don’t mention it.” The baby dragon replied with a bit of indignation in his tone. “Twilight is still asleep. Take my job and wake her up, alright?” He yawned and walked back over to his bed.

Spike didn’t have the best first impressions of her. He had been the voice of reason for Twilight when they first found out Chrys had been a changeling. He hadn’t appreciated the pony form she had taken for over a week before being revealed and had seen this as dishonesty. Despite the moodiness of the purple dragon, she did not mind his attitude at all. She quite respected him for saying what he did. Chrys could see that this was Spike's way of looking out for Twilight. She only felt sorry every time they interacted, as Chrys could tell that despite his good intentions with the harsh truth, he had incurred Twilight’s wrath and this had brought a wedge into their relationship.

After all, she could see the moody dragon’s flame. How it flickered sadly when he looked at Twilight taking the time and extra care to welcome her. It only served to exacerbate the rift between the two. No doubt Spike felt lonely and left out in thinking that he was being replaced by someone else. The heart is a heavy thing, and we can’t help but feel what we feel, or think what we think despite logic pointing to the contrary. If only she could explain it to him in no uncertain terms with her own voice... Again, the feeling of needing to go to school became stronger in realizing what she needed to improve upon.

Getting to Twilight’s bed, however, Chrys felt a bit conflicted. On one hand, she understood how Twilight’s new role as Princess was tiring her out, especially with her taking the time to go to and fro from Canterlot and Ponyville to handle her royal duties and also in taking care of her. Chrys didn’t want to wake her up believing she was deserving of more rest. But then again, her going to school was incredibly important to both of them, and she could not muster the courage to go it alone. Besides, they had also made a promise to go together, and she intended to keep it.

Chrys placed two hooves onto her back and nudged her gently in an attempt to wake her, to no success. She tried a bit harder and finally felt the shuffling of the purple alicorn having tossed the weight of her body towards her. Twilight had barely missed the pointed edge of her crooked horn by a hair’s breadth thanks to her quick reaction.

“Huh? Spike? It’s still a little early no?” Twilight said groggily, confirming how much she still relied on the little dragon’s help. It made Chrys happy inside knowing that their relationship still existed to this extent. Twilight’s eyes finally adjusted to the dim light of the early dawn, and the visage of the changeling princess finally came into view.

“Morning! Um. Good. Hello.” Chrys said with a bright smile as Twilight returned it with a faint tired one.

“Oh, hello, Chrys.” Twilight yawned while she pushed herself up slowly with her hooves to finally get up for the day. “Did you come all this way alone? I’m sorry, even after I told you I’d be there at the same time yesterday.”

“No sorry. It okay.” Chrys responded and shook her head. She pointed in the direction of Twilight’s sundial near the edge of her windowsill.

“Hmm? Oh my, it’s still quite early! I see what you mean now. You must’ve been looking forward to today then? Was your first day at school that exciting?” Twilight laughed and gently petted Chrys with one sleepy hoof. She finished gathering herself and started making her way toward the kitchen. “Let’s get some breakfast going early shall we?” Twilight made some pancakes while they started on more vocal lessons at the same time she prepared the batter.

“Hello. I am. Chrys!” The little changeling jumped with happiness. She'd finally got a mostly complete sentence going, which prompted a very amused and very proud smile from Twilight. This look from her caused her to shrink in her embarrassment at the little display she’d put on.

“You’re making great progress Chrys, no need to feel ashamed. Keep it up, and you’ll have tons of friends at school in no time.” Twilight said with no hint of doubt in her voice.

Though the same could not be said for the changeling princess as she looked down and pawed the ground, her mind full of worry and anxiety. She knew very well how much she stood out from the rest of the kids in her class, and considering the bad reputation of changelings, the prospect of making friends was so far away from her grasp. Chrys would not speak of it to Twilight, not wanting to worry her over such trifles. Though it didn’t take a genius to see that the girl’s confidence had been shaken, and Twilight was far more aware of the going on's in Chrys’ heart than even she herself knew at times. After pouring the batter into the heated skillet, Twilight walked over to the little changeling to give her a hug.

“Aw, it’s okay Chrys. You know, if it makes you feel any better...” Twilight leaned into her hug a bit to whisper into her ear. “I was pretty bad at making friends when I was younger too.” She pulled away to see the wide-eyed surprise of those amber eyes as they practically exclaimed ‘really?!’ from their depths. “Yeah, it’s true. It took a lot to get me to make friends with other ponies. A pretty big Equestrian catastrophe at that! Until that point, Spike was my only real companion and we’re more like family than friends.” She said with a playful grin. “If you look at it my way, you’ve already gone through one of those types of catastrophes. I’m sure it’ll be easy to make friends!”

A plume of black smoke erupted from behind the purple mare as she finished saying it like some bad omen. The pancake batter that Twilight had added to the skillet burned in her carelessness. The two girls clattered to fix the mess and magically waft the smoke out through the kitchen window. The little dragon from before walked into the chaos that had become the kitchen having been roused by the noise.

“What’s going on? I was trying to get some sleep and then I smelled burning. Is everything alright, Twilight?” He said sleepily, still holding onto his blue blanket.

“Everything’s okay! Everything is A-O-K.” Twilight replied with a huff after she fixed the remains of her mistake. “Sorry for the rude awakening, Spike. I made a whoopsie. But since you’re here, care to join us for breakfast? I’m making pancakes today.”

“Ah, that makes sense. You even begged Pinkie to show you how to make them so you could prepare them for this occasion.” Twilight’s cheeks grew quite pink. She signaled the little dragon to stay quiet which made him endlessly amused. “Sure, I’ll join. Make mine with blueberries and gemstones please.” He climbed up the stool to sit at the table and then dropped his chin on its surface, closing his eyes to get some more rest.

Chrys sheepishly made her way back onto the same table as him, but thankfully, the little dragon looked asleep, so she didn’t feel too nervous sitting down together while Twilight finished cooking the rest of their breakfast. The purple dragon darted awake at the smell of his breakfast after Twilight magically levitated it in front of him, and they all sat together to eat their meal.

“Thanks a bunch, Twilight. You even added emeralds, my favorite!” Spike had said while practically inhaling the food. In trying to follow up on Spike’s gesture, Chrys began trying to make the effort to thank Twilight as well.

“Twilight. For. Food, thank.” The little changeling shook her head and tried a little harder. “Thank you. Twilight for. Food.” She shook her head again in frustration, and as she opened her mouth to try harder, the purple dragon spoke up at her behest.

“Thank you for the food, Twilight.” He said underneath an audible breath. Chrys could tell he hadn’t meant it as an insult. He was genuinely just trying to help her, evident by the flame in his soul as it teetered in his conflicted emotions about the little changeling herself.

“Aw shucks, thanks, guys. I just think it’s nice that we get to share breakfast together.” Twilight said meekly at her handiwork and began to concentrate on eating her own portion.

Chrys nodded and bowed in respect and thanks toward Spike. He chose to ignore it by focusing on his own food. In taking a bite out of Twilight’s pancakes, the overwhelming sweetness of the syrup and the tangy blueberries that lay within made her voice out a muffled cry of delight. She dug into the rest of them heartily. Until now, and as a changeling, she hadn’t had many meals, and most of her food both in the cave and in the outside world when she was eventually released was substituted by her magic. The few meals she had, had in recent memory were with her adventure to save Twilight and her friends when they had fed her rice gruel and other savory soups. She had never had anything too sweet, especially to this degree. An absolute joy resonated from her face as she ate.

Suddenly, she felt a stream of warmth down the side of her cheeks not realizing she had begun to cry. Good food had a way of opening up a troubled heart, it seemed.

It was then that Chrys noticed that the two faces that had been staring at her with wonder and joy at her reactions, had shifted to worry.

“Oh no! What’s wrong, Chrys? Was the food bad? You looked like you were enjoying it but was it not good for changelings?” Twilight asked in her confusion, rushing to comfort her and brush away the tears with a napkin. Chrys shook her head as Twilight finished wiping away her tears.

“No. Um. Food, great! Yummy.” Chrys beamed a bright smile at Twilight, easing up the tension in the room.

“Then what were the tears for?” The little dragon asked. “Maybe you added one of my gemstones into hers by accident and she bit it?”

Again, the changeling princess shook her head with defiance. “Good food. Yummy.” She said more adamantly. Twilight and Spike looked at each other for a second or two and then looked back at Chrys. They both figured that there were still things in the girl’s heart that they could not identify or know just by asking, and they let the matter rest. The three finished their food and cleaned up their plates before heading out into the still-early morning.

Spike was more than glad to open the door for them to see them off. He was finally feeling more content now that he had gotten to share in that moment with Twilight, seemingly being reassured of his position in her life. He was quite easy to read, both on the inside and on the outside since his expressions said it all. Before Chrys walked too far away from the entrance and before Spike was able to close the door behind them, the changeling princess walked up towards the dragon to magically produce a crystal from within her hair. Both Twilight and Spike were a little stunned when she decided to hand it to him. This was a first for her.

“Know. Spike. Like! I make.” She said as she touched her horn to the colorless transparent crystal now in his hands, allowing her magic to pour into it. It began to glow steadier and steadier in a fluorescent and beautiful hue of a yellow gemstone, like a bright topaz made from magic.

“Real transmutation, Chrys? You knew that kind of spell?” Twilight asked after the glow had dimmed. Chrys tilted her head inquisitively, unsure of what Twilight meant. Before she could follow up on that thought, she spotted Spike lowering the crystal into his mouth from behind Chrys. “Spike! It’s not okay to eat the gifts others give you!” She said too late as he took a mighty chunk out of it with one bite.

“What? She made it for me. I thought she wanted me to eat it.” He said in between the crunching. “Mm, it’s fantastic. Almost like a real topaz.” He tried lowering the last bit of the remaining stone into his mouth again, only to be stopped by a very cross look from Twilight.

“Spike...”

“Oh alright.” He said a little defeatedly. “Sorry.” He told Chrys now that he'd turned to look her way.

Chrys shook her head and bowed to him again. “It okay. I sorry.”

“For what?” The little dragon rubbed his scales near his head unsure. Chrys could see the fire in him light up with happiness. Spike could somewhat understand the meaning in her apology, to the utter confusion of Twilight since she hadn’t known what the little changeling meant by this. Chrys smiled again knowing he was a little more contented and returned to depart with Twilight leaving him to ponder on her strange actions.

“Did you do something to Spike, Chrys?” Twilight asked eyeing the bright smile on her face while they walked towards the school.

Chrys only smiled up at her with her eyes closed, almost like if saying ‘It’s between us' with that expression. Twilight had enough sense to understand this and promptly gave up. They were left to talk about more pleasant matters and Twilight recanted her stories to Chrys about her arrival in Ponyville and how she managed to meet and make friends with the colorful cast of quirky ponies. Before she could get into the nitty-gritty of it, they were already in front of the school and it was time to say their goodbyes for the day. Twilight hugged her again as she noticed the anxious look on Chrys’ face. She brought their foreheads together again to comfort her before leaving.

“It’ll be a longer day than yesterday, but don’t you worry about a thing. I’ll be here once school is out. I know you’ll do fine.” She whispered quietly.

“Mm.” Chrys nodded. They said their farewells and the little changeling was left to walk into the school building, toward her class.

Perhaps she really had awoken a bit early, Chrys thought as she noted down that it was still not time for school from the empty classroom. She made her way over to the chair that Miss Cheerilee had asked her to sit in yesterday, in front of the whole class on the elevated platform overlooking the chalkboard. She began to fill the time by combing her hair with one of her hollowed-out forelegs and tapping at the ground in her boredom.

Outside of the school in a bush were three little fillies spying on her. They looked on from a distance with the help of a handmade, makeshift telescope created from a glass bottle and a bit of ingenuity. The three of them fought to take control of it all while yawning in their tiredness at having to wake up so early to be a part of this charade.

“Quit shoving girls, I’m gonna miss it if she does something funky again.” Said an exasperated Scootaloo in the middle of the group, holding onto the piece of ju-Telescope.

“You brought us out here so early in the mornin’ just so you could hog all the action for yourself. Now ain’t that rude.” Apple Bloom said indignantly.

“I just wanna go back home. I’m tired. Being at school this early is really bumming me out. Scoootaalooo.” Sweetie Belle whined, shoving the orange pegasus for an entirely different reason.

“Shh! Can it, you two. This is a top priority mission.” Scootaloo whispered loudly and handed the telescope over to Apple Bloom.

“Okay, so what dun’ you see that was so important to call us out here again?” Applebloom asked while she looked at the figure of the changeling girl just mindlessly filling time by tapping at the ground with her hooves.

“She used some crazy magic! I saw it when I was doing my early morning training. Even Twilight was surprised. That’s gotta be something if even the Princess was shocked. I didn’t catch a good glimpse but I think she did something with a thing that Spike had.”

“So we’re just banking on hearsay? Bah!” Sweetie Belle rolled over to her back and spread her limbs out into the grass annoyed.

“It’s not much to go by Scoots. I mean sure, she’s weird and gots all sorts of weird things around her but she’s probably not evil.” Applebloom chimed in, handing back the telescope to Scootaloo.

Scootaloo was quiet for a bit while she brought the telescope back up to her eye. “I mean yeah but... I don’t know. There's a voice in my head that's telling me something's not right. My intuition is saying there’s trouble brewin’.”

Sure enough, at this, she spotted the rest of the early ponies gathering towards the school now that the time for class was almost approaching. It was the haughty Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon that arrived first, believing themselves too perfect to want to look anything less than such. Then came a few boys and girls behind them, namely Snips and Snails as well as the close entourage of the other two.

“C’mon, let’s get closer to see how this goes down.” Scootaloo said as Apple Bloom and her each took a foreleg of the lazy Sweetie Belle to drag her to a bush near the window of the classroom, close enough to listen in. All three peered into the window believing they were still undetected, entirely conspicuously.

“Oh, it’s you.” The voice of Tiara was the first to be audible. The three girls outside could hear the tiny little _’meep’ that squeaked out of the surprised changeling. “I was wondering where the bug had crawled to.” Silver Spoon followed it up with a laugh as Tiara said those cruel words. It seems they were extra sour about being beaten to class by the new student of all ponies.

“Did you even leave the school yesterday? Were you here overnight in the walls or something? Ugh, I don’t know what the Princess was thinking. Right, Tiara?” Silver Spoon sneered.

“Why those rotten little...” Apple Bloom whispered under her breath, getting a hoof to the mouth by Scootaloo who was trying to temper the Apple’s anger and quiet her to keep on listening. If Chrys really was a problem they needed to look out for, then Scootaloo wanted to find out here and now.

“Come, don’t be so mean, Silver Spoon.” Said the snide tone of Tiara’s, shushing the crowd of girls that had formed while the two boys were still laughing mindlessly at some joke between the two. Likely at the trio peering in. “I mean, she can’t really help what she is, right?” And the laughter in the crowd erupted again.

It was painful to listen to.

Scootaloo was doing her darndest to keep Apple Bloom down with the full weight of her body now, not realizing that Sweetie Belle had disappeared from her other side. She figured that she had just left home to get some rest, but much to her dismay, she heard her friend’s voice cut into the laughter in-between the harsh japes.

“And you can’t help being a snot-nosed brat!” Sweetie Belle yelled from the classroom door.

Apple Bloom tossed Scootaloo aside with the strength of a workhorse at this comment and she went to join Sweetie Belle in a sprint.

“Darn right, ya’ll just some boogies on the sidewalk is what you are.” The Apple followed it up with.

Scootaloo sighed. Her two friends always had a hard time controlling themselves. She couldn’t stomach their comments as much as the next pony, but she felt it necessary to confirm her suspicions. Well, nothing to it now. So much for the subtle attempt. She got up to go help her friends with the inevitable fallout.

“Oh goodie. It’s the Cutie Mark Losers. What is it with the three of you always cutting into our conversations? You just don’t know when you’re not wanted.” Tiara said after Scootaloo walked in through the classroom door.

She wasn’t particularly heads or tails on what Tiara was saying, as she had used her harsh words as a tool to sleuth information on the new kid. But in laying eyes on the poor little changeling, however, she felt her heart being stabbed with guilt seeing how hard Chrys was holding her tears in.

She was definitely unnatural compared to the rest of them. Her very form had corrupted and twisted to the point where she looked... compressed. Like she was in the middle of transforming into something else. Beyond that, it was written all over her face how hurt she had been to hear those words, and how hard she was trying not to run away from them despite that hurt. It was more than enough to convince Scootaloo there and then of her harmless intentions.

“Alright Tiara, that’s enough. I really think you should apologize, but I don’t know if you’re capable of that. So maybe just leave her alone for now, alright?”

“Whatever. I have more important things to do than to talk to creepy crawlies and a couple of nobodies.” Tiara huffed indignantly, her group walking away with her.

Sweetie Belle and Applebloom had made themselves busy trying to comfort the changeling by trying to assure her that not every pony thought like Tiara. Unfortunately for the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Chrys could see the real truth in all of their words. It took a bit of doing, but they had finally managed to calm her down right before every other pony entered to take their seats, and more importantly, right before Miss Cheerilee noticed what had happened.

The teacher mare had walked into the strange scene of three fillies hugging the changeling girl. She smiled with delight in her misunderstanding.

“Already getting along? Very good, girls. It’s always nice to welcome our neighbors. Now go on, take your seats. Class will be starting soon.” She said, sending the crusaders scattering towards their own seats and leaving the small changeling girl to sit in the dab center of the classroom again on her own. “Oh! It seems I had forgotten to find you a seat, Chrys. You can go ahead and take that empty one over there.” Miss Cheerilee pointed toward the front corner of the room opposite the windows and near the exit.

A little downtrodden, Chrys did her best to hide her emotions to great success. Miss Cherilee had not noticed a thing and thankfully no issues were raised from the stink before. Although Chrys couldn't say she was happy since she was feeling mighty uneasy, her seat being in the very front of the class. To her, it didn’t feel like much had changed from yesterday. She could still feel the piercing gazes of some many curious ponies as they whispered behind her back.

Having lived so long in the dark, she had honed her other senses so much that she had an almost unnatural ability to hear from a greater distance. Chrys could easily piece the conversations that were being passed around despite not wishing to eavesdrop. For all the wonderful traits she had been born with and all the ones she had created throughout her life... In the end, they had become a heavy curse that only served to increase her problems. Her magic, her senses, and her role as a princess... they were incredible burdens for a child.

More than those, however, what truly weighed her down now was the self-found responsibility she had created for herself to never dismiss her own emotions again. She had seen the mess that holding them in and ignoring them had created before and she swore a very solemn promise to never repeat that mistake. What Chrys herself could not understand was that in allowing her emotions to be free to plague her by accepting each and every one of them, she was inadvertently making a mess of her everyday life. It is not healthy to feel sad for every little bad thing said to you or mad at every injustice you see. Any smart pony or creature would know to temper their feelings so that they could tackle the things that truly mattered in life.

But Chrys... she didn’t have that filter. Or more accurately to say... She COULDN’T have that filter. So long as she truly, sincerely believed that her duties as princess meant that she needed to harness the power of her emotions in order to save her kin, she would be eternally cursed to the fate of being in a constant state of hurt. But then, who would save her?

In some horrible irony, it was history repeating itself. It was the same as Queen Chrysalis losing her mind by accepting the anger, the hatred, the sadness, and the overwhelming grief of that unavoidable tragedy all those years ago. Instead, this time... It was Chrys that had become the sacrifice.

“Alright, that’s the bell for lunchtime kids. Go on out and have some fun.” Miss Cheerilee had said before Chrys noticed that half a day had gone by. Every small pony child ran as fast as they could outside to partake in the events that were only natural for kids. Everyone save for the confused little changeling who still sat in her chair not knowing what she needed to do.

She tapped her hooves together quietly in the silence of the classroom, Miss Cheerilee busying herself with cleaning up the chalkboard. Finally turning around to see Chrys still in the classroom, a small part of her jumped with surprise not expecting to still see another student there. Twilight had said something about Chrys not being accustomed to normal pony traditions, but she had not expected it to be to this extent. Eyeing up the changeling girl carefully for the first time that day, she could now see the troubled expression she was creating, and the anxious air that floated around her.

“Hey, Chrys. Do you not want to go outside and play?” Miss Cheerilee asked as she walked up to her, already knowing the answer before she had received it from the look in her eyes. It was a look of bewilderment, almost as if she had just spoken in a different language.

Chrys’ confusion at this question stemmed from multiple sources. For starters, she had never ‘played’ in the same capacity as other kids, so she was unaware of how she should go about it. She also didn’t have any friends to interact with, and no reason to initiate conversation either. Everyone feared her or were suspicious of her. If anything, she had reasons NOT to talk to anyone.

Miss Cheerilee was a bit pensive in not knowing what to do. This was a very rare occurrence in her classes. It was not often that a pony found themselves almost entirely alone like this. To make matters worse, this wasn’t a pony at all! She had been handed quite the difficult duty by Princess Twilight to look after her, it seemed.

“How. um. Play?” Chrys spoke up after a bit of thinking of her own.

This made Miss Cheerilee quite happy, realizing that Chrys’ inquisitive nature would not be so hard to work with after all. She sat down next to her to explain the variety of ways in which ponies played.

“Well, that’s just a few ways which some ponies play, but say... I have an idea. Come over here.” Miss Cheerilee beckoned Chrys over to the window of the classroom overlooking the schoolyard. “Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom!” She shouted out towards the group of kids, the three from before whipping back after hearing their names being called.

“Yes ma’am?” Applebloom replied having arrived first trailed by the other two.

“I was hoping to ask you for a favor. Would you be dears enough to help out Chrys today?” Miss Cheerilee pointed to the little changeling that had been trying to make herself as unnoticeable as possible thinking that this courtesy call between them had not been about her initially.

“Help with what?” Scootaloo asked with suspicion in her voice.

“Nothing big, I just wanted you guys to show her how to play! She doesn’t know much about pony games, so I was hoping you could teach her. Considering you three had been on good terms with her in the morning, I was hoping you’d take her under your wing for now.” Miss Cheerilee was practically pleading with them from the tone in her voice. In the background, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon's laughing could be heard amongst themselves and their small group.

“Sure thing, Miss Cheerilee.” Sweetie Belle had exclaimed already inside the classroom before Scootaloo could deny anything.

“I’m very proud of you girls. Now go on and have some fun.” The teacher mare hadn't even finished saying it before Chrys had been dragged away by the rambunctious young filly.

What followed next was a very extensive lesson in learning to build sandcastles at the sandpit in the schoolyard. Chrys had been trying really hard to follow the steps that the Cutie Mark Crusaders were each trying to teach her, all while they tripped over each other in their directions. This eventually led to a very poorly built castle and an overloaded changeling as she collapsed into the sand, a bit mentally overwhelmed.

“It’s not bad for a first sandcastle.” Scootaloo mused to herself while she looked at her work up and down.

“Maybe to you, Scootaloo. Looks like something you’d make. I can already see my big sis despairing at it.” Sweetie Belle chimed in, making the two bicker amongst themselves.

“I agree with Scoots, Chrys. I think it looks nice. Sorry we tripped ya up.” Applebloom apologized on all of their behalf as she helped the changeling sit up by supporting her with her foreleg.

“Mm. Thank.” Chrys gave her a smile while she shook the sand out of the hollowed-out parts of her forelegs. If she had to choose, Chrys didn’t much like sand. It got into those little nooks and was hard to remove from her hair. Still, she had been enjoying her time with the quirky little trio, even as a couple of hushed words and curious gazes nettled at her from a distance.

With only a few minutes left for lunch to end, two young colts walked up to the group of four.

“Oh hey! You’re the new student. Hello bug thing. Sorry, I forgot your name.” Snips extended a hoof to her, only to be shut down by Apple Bloom hitting them away with her own.

“Hey! Don’t go calling her a bug! That’s so rude!” Applebloom shouted indignantly, standing in front of Chrys in a gesture to protect her.

“It’s like Diamond Tiara said. She can’t really help what she is.” Said the slow, slovenly voice of Snails. His comment had only served to make the rest of the Crusaders mad and they too joined Applebloom to defend Chrys.

“We weren’t looking to fight, I swears it!” Said Snails. “Just wanted to say how awesome the holes in her legs are. She looks cool.” Perhaps it was something in his tone, or maybe he was just naturally that irritating, but it didn’t make the Crusaders any less angry at him and shooed the two away all the same. It'd been a little too late. The damage had been done with every pony in the playground looking at the spectacle they had created, which prompted Miss Cheerilee to call the girls into the classroom again to investigate.

“What happened girls? Did Chrys do something to disturb the other students?” This question from her alone was indicative of her distrust for the little changeling as she had not asked that question the other way around.

“No teach, listen to this. Snips and Snails insulted Chrys by calling her a bug! They’re so mean.” Scootaloo fumed. Finally, the three crusaders parted to give Miss Cheerilee a good look at Chrys who they had assumed was almost to the point of tears by that insult, especially considering what had happened earlier in the day and seeing how sensitive she was.

To everyone’s surprise, she wasn’t looking as glum as she usually had. In fact, she had a bit of a smile on her face.

“Is this true, girls?” Miss Cheerilee asked, looking at the other three in confusion which prompted them to nod in agreement. “I’m sorry, Chrys, I’m sure that must’ve hurt you.” Miss Cheerilee hugged her, repenting at her own misconceived notions. “I’ll lecture them after class today. I promise you this won’t happen again.”

Chrys shook her head within her embrace and pulled away to speak. “No. It. Ok. I’m ok.” She said smiling again.

“Are you sure? I really could tell them to stop you know...”

“Mm.” Chrys nodded to say that it really was ok, to everyone’s confusion.

What they could not understand was that in being able to see the fire in Snips and Snails, Chrys was able to discern the good intentions and the truth in the words of the two young colts. They really had just been there to give her that compliment and that Snails had not meant anything bad by what he had said, unlike Diamond Tiara who had said those words with vitriol in her heart. If nothing else, she was happy that there were at least four little ponies now who did not hold the same mean thoughts or suspicion for her like the others did.

The rest of the day passed by without incident, except for Chrys feeling lost during class now that she was barely learning how to do things like simple mathematics and writing for the first time. There was also a brooding feeling floating in the air stronger than most of the other children’s, from Miss Cheerilee of all ponies. She no doubt blamed herself deeply for having assumed wrong, and as an adult, she felt that her error was unforgivable. But Chrys had been through those emotions before. Making mistakes and learning to forgive yourself... Well, that was part of learning to grow up. So after class ended and Twilight was waiting at the front of the door to escort her out, Chrys asked the Princess to wait while she walked over to Miss Cheerilee who was still feeling sorry for herself.

“It okay. Thank you. Miss. Teacher.” Chrys hugged the conflicted mare pony before leaving again to walk away with Twilight, already feeling the positive effects of this expression behind her while walking out the door.

“Did you enjoy school today, Chrys?” Twilight asked as they returned to her home at the library.

“Mm!” She exclaimed happily as she recounted the events of the day. Then her expression shifted to sadness as she thought of the unsavory parts of it. Then to stress as she wondered if she would be able to do good in school after feeling lost all day on the lessons being taught. Then finally happy again at being able to spend more time with Twilight.

“Well, it looks like you’ve certainly had a doozy of a day.” Twilight smiled warmly while looking at the little changeling’s shifting expressions with amusement. “Think you can keep it up then?” Twilight asked worriedly as she remembered how much anxiety Chrys had returned with on her first day. Her whole body relaxed as Chrys thought about the question for a bit and then nodded a yes.

“Whatever happens, I’ll be here to help you.” Twilight brought her horn to her forehead again, making the changeling smile from ear to ear.

Once they'd returned to the library, everything was strangely silent when they opened the door and stepped in. The purple dragon was nowhere to be found even as Twilight spoke his name to summon him.

“Spike? Spike!” She yelled to no response. After a bit, his voice finally became audible with his own shouting coming from another room.

“Twilight? I’m in the kitchen!”

Sure enough, Spike was in there cooking up a meal. He was dressed in a white apron that was far too big for him. It dragged along the floor along with a big poofy white hat which he had not been able to keep upright on his head and just opted to put on his tail instead. The two girls giggled amongst themselves at the sight of him.

“Haha, laugh it up you two. Real nice reaction to the one who is cooking you dinner. So ungrateful.” He got back up to the stool near the stove with a spatula to flip over something in a skillet.

“Cooking dinner for us? Thank you, Spike. You didn’t have to.” Twilight walked over to him to see whatever it was he was making.

“It’s nothing.” He said, refusing to turn back to face the two. Most likely embarrassed from the look of his soul’s flame. “Just repaying a gift with a gift.” Twilight smiled brightly as she guessed his intentions just as easily as Chrys had.

“Hmm, but pancakes again, Spike? Do you like them that much?” Twilight asked him while looking over his shoulder.

“What? They’re easy to make. Besides, she really liked them, right?” He said as he pointed a spatula at Chrys, prompting her to nod. “See?”

“Easy. Yeah. Right.” Twilight remarked snidely while she eyed the mess of cooking utensils in the sink. The little dragon had been practicing most of the day, it seemed.

“Spike, thank!” Chrys beamed.

“Nothing to it.” He finished cooking the final pancake and carried the plates over to the table where the three of them proceeded to eat.

Maybe they hadn’t tasted as good as Twilight’s had considering that she had been more knowledgeable and accurate in cooking by the book, but Chrys couldn’t tell. They were sweet and filled with syrup, and the little voice she made to sound out her delight squeaked out of her all the same as she ate them with fervor. Food always tasted better when someone made it for you with the best of intentions. It was much to the little dragon’s pride, and he huffed out smoke from his nostrils with self-serving satisfaction at his work being enjoyed so thoroughly.

With the day coming to an end, Twilight got ready to go drop off Chrys at her home. Chrys took the opportunity to hug the little dragon and thank him one last time before they left.

“Ah, I get it! Quit it with all the sappy stuff.” Spike yelled out trying to hide his embarrassment that was now showing both on the inside and on the outside. He waved them off as they left towards the Everfree forest with Twilight flying her with her wings now that she was awake to make the trip securing herself onto her back.

Before she sunk back into the darkness of the cave, Chrys looked a little worried about something that made Twilight sit there for a bit after they'd exchanged farewells. The little changeling pawed the ground in the usual way she did to show that she was troubled, and then looked at her with concern and regret in her expression.

“Chrys, what’s wrong?” Twilight asked.

“Sorry. I arrive. Morning. Early. Twilight, tired.” She finally said after a bit.

“Don’t you worry about that okay? I don’t mind. I love having you around. Besides, we got to enjoy breakfast together. It was nice.” She hugged her again, making her feel a huge sense of relief. “Come around at any time you want. My home is yours.” Twilight gave her one more resounding hug before they finally went their separate ways for the night.

That night, Chrys did her duties with the regular changeling folk before heading towards the Queen’s chamber. The magic spent to help them had worn her out considerably. In recalling the story of her day to the Queen, she began to yawn through her words. The day had left her exhausted. Finishing up her story, she brought their foreheads together to cast the usual spell. Just as she finished it, her body gave way to the tiredness that consumed her and she fell asleep right beside the Queen.

A lot had happened, and things were starting to look up for Chrys. She was almost starting to enjoy her time at school. Perhaps... everything would be alright in the end.

Comments

[hmaf43]

"We weren't looking to fight, I swears it!" Said Snails. "Just wanted to say how awesome the holes in her legs are. She looks cool."

A cultured man i see.

[Little galaxy]

Chrys is a lovely child,Twilight is like a gentle teacher guiding her. This story makes me feel very healed.

[Forcalor]

Hey, Twilight could make a very cool mom, come to think of it