A Kindled Beginning

by Darkevony

Chapter 4: A spell aimed at the distant past.

Chapter 4:

A spell aimed at the distant past.

The warm, golden gentle rays of the early dawn had a way of creating magical moments. Seeping in through the window, they dimly lit up a portion of the room and bounced off the walls, only really illuminating a bit of dust that floated in the air. With a chill to the room from the not-yet-spring winter breeze, it was hard to get up in this kind of scene. Wrapped in a cozying warmth and peering out with one eye from beneath the bedsheets, it was like a moment frozen in time as it felt like it could go on forever.

Chrys definitely didn’t want to leave this moment either. For the warmth that enraptured her was not her own, but Twilight’s as she slept peacefully and soundly beside her so close she could feel the wind from her own breath hitting the purple alicorn’s chest. Besides, what had Twilight said? Something about no school today either. It was okay to sleep a bit longer today, she thought while she wrapped her forelegs around her in a hug to be completely enveloped by the moment.

Unfortunately for Chrys, as all well-rested children are, she found she could not fall back to sleep. The boundless energies of her youthful soul were urging her to be expended, and she had to reluctantly abide by her circadian rhythm. She huffed with exasperation at the restlessness in her body having denied her this pleasant scenery.

Slipping away as cleanly and quietly from the bed as possible, she carefully walked downstairs to begin an important personal project of her own while the rest of the home slept on.

Twilight hadn’t had such a pleasant wake-up, however, having roused awake in a mild panic after scanning the bed with one foreleg half-asleep and being met with nothing but the faint, still-lingering warmth of a missing changeling princess. After sitting up with a start and before she could yell out her name in a panic, Twilight sensed the residue of Chrys’ unique magic in the space around her and the sounds of clattering and clinking in a room downstairs.

“Chrys? What are you up to?” Twilight asked her, walking in at the exact moment the girl had been done with whatever she was doing, to a scene of just the changeling princess standing alone in the middle of the room staring blankly and inquisitively at her not having understood the question. Scanning the room gave her no clue either. Nothing was out of place even by a single hair. Mighty suspicious. If she was anything like the crusaders, Twilight knew children had a habit of getting up to something outside the purview of adults.

“Twilight! Morning. Good.” She paused to shake her head and tried that statement again. “Good morning, Twilight.” She finally said after talking very slowly and carefully piecing them together.

Whatever that something was, it had been completely blown away by the excitement and pride Twilight felt at watching her improve right before her eyes. What miraculous progress she was making! She did not think Chrys would reach this point so early. Twilight had estimated in her head it would take her at least three to four months for her to have a semblance of orderly speech, guessing by the changeling’s age and demeanor until now. Her incredibly fast improvement probably stemmed from all the practice that she was putting in on her own every night when talking to the Qu-

Ah, yes. The Queen. Twilight had forgotten about it in the heat of the excitement. She did not let her concern show and congratulated the little changeling on her achievement. Afterward, she invited her to breakfast like usual, but all throughout the cooking process Twilight shot peeks at the girl who did not at all look bothered by having her most intimate secret revealed. Her reality was heavy, and even Twilight as an adult was having a hard time behaving and acting normally under the pressure it brought.

The small girl had busied herself in completing her ‘homework’, a special assignment created just for her by Miss Cheerilee to help her integrate better with ponies. She was tasked to draw a scene she really liked, and hadn’t had the chance to complete it due to the craziness of the day prior. Chrys hummed quietly to herself contentedly while she drew a crude picture of light breaking through a window. While watching her act normally, Twilight could not help but think how strong she was, and how strange fate worked.

How could she continue to walk forward? Any lesser soul would have been crushed by it. She had not complained nor even asked for much at all. It felt wrong... to see her this way. Children were meant to live life greedily. They were meant to play and cry and laugh and want for things and live without a care in the world. Not just kids, but every adult too. Every sentient race. Every living thing in all of Equestria, from the ants to the mighty dragons... they were meant to be free.

But freedom came at a cost as it turned out, and the one paying for it was one small changeling.

In the swirl of these negative emotions and thoughts Twilight couldn’t help but feel, every time she looked at or even pictured the changeling princess in her mind, she couldn’t erase the picture of the invisible chains that bound her. So much so that she brought both of her hooves to her head to press together her temples that’d begun to physically hurt in the overwhelming concern.

Thankfully for Twilight, the little changeling she was worrying so much about and feeling so much despair for... well she had already overcome those feelings. She had accepted them, fed them to her magic, and nurtured her want and will to keep moving forwards. Plus, she also had some rather special eyes and she could read Twilight like one of her own books.

What resulted was a very tender moment between the two. The changeling princess had stopped what she was doing to touch Twilight’s forehead with her own. She didn’t do this just as an expression of affection like she usually did. Chrys cast the spell she had used many times before for her kin. The spell that Twilight had taught her in order to get rid of bad thoughts and bring levity to the troubled heart. A spell that now meant so much more than just that effect alone. And at that moment, the little changeling recited the few words she had only said once before, to a very special someone so long ago.

“It’s okay. I’m okay. We’re okay.” The words that had been used to subdue the mad Queen. The words of a beautiful soul.

When the spell ended and Chrys hugged the now calmed Twilight, it was the purple alicorn’s turn to feel the floodgates open. She dug her face into the shoulder of the changeling princess to cry her heart out in quiet resignation and subsequent acceptance. To the utter confusion and concern of a sleepy baby dragon who had walked into the surreal scene of Twilight being sincerely comforted by the small girl.

“Do I want to ask?” He asked sarcastically before seeing Twilight’s genuine moment of weakness after she pulled away from the shoulder she was crying on, wiping away at the remaining tears. “You okay, Twilight?” He asked now noticeably troubled by the scene.

“Mm, okay! Good, morning, Spike!” Chrys said with enthusiasm on Twilight’s behest, still a bit choppy but now with more complete sentences. He looked to Twilight for confirmation and shrugged when she silently nodded at him with a smile to indicate that she was feeling better.

“Well, if you say so...” He said with suspicion in his tone. “But hey! Good morning to you too, Chrys. I see that you’re improving!”

“Mm.” She nodded in gracious acknowledgment and proceeded to get off the table to go fetch Spike the breakfast that they had prepared for him which prompted the little dragon to thank her in return.

Twilight spent the rest of that morning thinking happier thoughts while she watched Chrys put her all into drawing the rest of her assignment. Mostly, she was thinking about what she had to do. For Chrys. She had felt the want and the need to protect the little changeling before, but now that feeling had grown tenfold. It wasn’t just a matter of principles in helping Chrys’ benevolent cause. No, this ran much deeper now. More than any sense of duty or moral obligation, Twilight was feeling the desperate desire to see her happy, safe, and loved.

“Spike, what you, think.” She said as she slid her drawing over to the baby dragon before he had finished eating.

“What’s it supposed to be?” He asked as he looked it up and down.

“Light. From, window.” She put a hoof to the empty space on the page. “Dark.” She put the other towards the black squiggles that likely indicated shadows. “Morning, pretty. I, draw, it.”

“Oooh, I can see it now yeah.” He thought for a bit. “I think you could improve the drawing though. Want some help?”

“Mm.” She nodded, happy about the offer. Spike taught her how to show light through a window on a drawing by shading the shadows better on the things around it. It still turned out a bit crude considering it was the work of two kids, but it was a lot more understandable, and Chrys was finally able to complete her assignment with that.

Twilight watched all of it go down like a fleeting moment in life that passed by way too fast, happy to have witnessed it and sad that it was gone. Even just watching her be heartened the purple alicorn. Unfortunately for her, now the time to take care of important day-to-day tasks came and there were still things she needed to do.

There was the bed to consider, that if everything went right yesterday should be ready to be put together. She just needed to collect the frame, stuff the pillows and mattress, and... darn, she had forgotten the bedding of hay from the commotion of yesterday. It was the bottom layer of the bed that would protect and support the mattress.

“I’m sorry to keep asking this of you Spike, but could you help me take care of a few things? I need to go with Applejack to investigate what happened to the herd yesterday so I’ll be out most of the day.” She asked the purple dragon.

“You don’t even have to ask. Just tell me what it is I need to do.” He said, his nostrils flaring with pride.

“Thanks, Spike, I can always count on you. I just need you to bring Chrys over to the park so that she can train with Rainbow Dash. Afterward, I was hoping you could get the order of hay I never finished getting from Applejack’s farm. We’ll be gone so just speak to Big Mac, he should know about it already. Let me know if anything happens, anything bad at all. Even if you just SUSPECT something’s wrong, just c-”

“Call you, yeah, way ahead of you on that,” Spike noticed Twilight’s tone had shifted towards being overprotective.

Twilight was still a smidge worried, and it showed when she hesitated to leave. Eventually, she could delay it no longer with her many half-baked on-the-spot excuses, Spike growing more irritated with her and yelling at her to get going already. Starting to walk out the door himself towards the park, Spike sighed when he looked back to see the little changeling standing still and watching as Twilight faded out of view in the sky.

“Not nothing.” He whispered under his breath knowing full well that the events from that morning weren’t as unimportant as Twilight had led on. “Chrys, are you coming?” He said audibly enough once Twilight had disappeared from view, breaking the spell on the changeling and getting her to join him at that.

Walking through the town of Ponyville was different this time. Even though it was morning, the streets were buzzing with the sound of conversations galore. The kiosks and store stands were in full swing and there were many a pony shopping for their day-to-day needs. It was a Sunday, an important day of relaxation and freedom for the pony folk. Adults would use this day to prepare for the coming week, and the kids used it to play as loud and as much as they could before school began the next.

Chrys was feeling a might nervous walking through the town roads with so many pony-folk around, but to her surprise, not many of them were paying her any attention. Most of the adults were engaged in the air of commerce around them, too focused to mind the small little changeling girl trying to make herself scarcer and smaller in the corner of their view. And the kids were far too busy making the most of this day by having fun, running up and down the street, and generally annoying their parents by making a game of sliding under them like some adventure with a heavy door that’s about to close behind them.

What was also different, strangely enough, was the stares and the whispers of the few ponies who did notice the girl. Their gazes were not as piercing as before, and their voices were softer and kinder. There were now more questions than concerns in their hushed conversations. It was quite the welcome change, and it allowed her to feel a bit better about her place within pony society while they walked all the way to the park.

In getting there, they could already see the tomboy pegasus warming up mid-air, doing a quick loop mid-flight, and coming back down to stretch her wings. Chrys immediately bolted into a jog to go meet up with her, leaving the little dragon to enjoy the next few hours napping on a nearby bench.

“Rainbow Dash!” Two excitable voices said in unison, overlapping with each other.

Rainbow Dash’s two students had arrived at the same time, and they both looked at each other upon hearing the other’s voice after having been too focused on the Rainbow Pegasus herself to notice initially.

“Eh?! New kid! Er uh...” Scootaloo immediately went to go whisper a question to Rainbow Dash, a question the little changeling caught easily. “What is she doing here Rainbow Dash, I thought this was gonna be my practice...”

“I guess I forgot to tell you since it barely happened yesterday, but she said she wanted to learn how to fly, like you, and I made a promise to teach her.” Rainbow Dash whispered back, a bit amused from having understood why Scootaloo was a little concerned about this arrangement. “Aw c’mon, don’t look at me like that. She’s a good kid. She’s not the type to go airing out your secrets and using the fact you can’t fly against you. Besides, you’re both in the same boat. So let’s get some practice in!”

Scootaloo already had her suspicions of the little changeling, and now they were being drawn together in a way that left her vulnerable in case Chrys ever decided to turn tail and do evil things like humiliate her. Still, Scootaloo had done some growing of her own in the past and she knew when to swallow her pride. Especially when the one begging her for this was her idol. After all, she had finally mustered the courage to ask Rainbow Dash for these types of lessons only a few days prior. What was one more humiliation in the face of that? She walked gingerly over to the changeling princess and held out a hoof to her.

“Well um, seems like we’ll be partners for a while then while we both practice how to fly better. I’m not too good at it just yet myself. Let’s get along better, yeah?” She said, her hoof still out waiting to feel a shake or a hoof bump.

“Mm!” Chrys exclaimed enthusiastically having recognized the filly’s efforts and knocked on her hoof slowly, switching between bumping it and shaking it, not sure of what to do as she had only seen ponies make either of those expressions a few times before.

“Alright, if we’re all in accordance, get ready for some hard lessons girls. We’re gonna start off with some stretches, then go into lots of exercises, and then we’ll study aerial dynamics.” Rainbow Dash began stretching again to show them how to do it.

“Wait, so we won’t try to fly today? What’s the point of all of that?” Scootaloo asked, a bit confused. She had assumed flying was just something that came naturally to every flier, considering all manner of flight birds and creatures did so when grown enough.

“We’ll get to the actual flying part later, but it’s important to keep these lessons in mind. Not everyone is a ball of instinct ready to fly as soon as they grow their wings! If you would believe it, even I attended flight school to learn how to fly better.” She said rather matter of fact.

“Wait really?! You didn’t know how to fly either, Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo had been the one to ask it, but Chrys was also feeling that question too. Adults were full of surprises.

“Well, I did know from the get-go actually. Most of it came naturally to me. Sorry.” The rainbow Pegasus said which disheartened the poor little filly who had been excited by the prospect of sharing something in common with her idol. “But it’s true that I did go to flight school to get better at flying.”

“What do you mean?” Asked a now puzzled Scootaloo.

“I wanted to be the fastest pegasus ever, so I studied everything I could under the sun from theories to research like if I was Twilight.” She said to the amusement of the two girls, understanding the purple alicorn’s pension for studying. “I learned a lot about how and why it is that our wings carry us through the air, and also why it’s important to keep that knowledge in mind for your safety. Especially for young, inexperienced fliers like yourselves. So make sure to listen up when we go over the lessons! For now, let’s get to stretching and exercising.”

They proceeded to spend the better part of an hour running laps around the park and doing sit-ups and other seemingly un-flying-like training and muscle-building. Chrys could see Scootaloo’s frustration building from still believing that this was all just jokes and part of Rainbow Dash’s usual pranks. She didn’t want to believe that her idol would pull such a mean joke and was hoping to hear a good reason for this come lecture time. Still, her mood was rapidly declining as the grueling workout continued. Eventually, she boiled over onto the ground defeated, physically and mentally.

“Scoot, okay?” Chrys asked after going over to her to help her up seeing as she was almost on the brink of exploding.

Perhaps all she needed was a friend because at that point, the pressure in her mind relieved itself after seeing the changeling’s concern for her. A part of it had been the shame of having to work so hard for something others could do so easily. Another was feeling alone in feeling desperate and wanting to fly. Except... the hoof that extended itself out to help her up proved otherwise, and she had a newfound respect for Chrys after she looked almost as worn out as her yet not at all downtrodden by any of it. She was looking out for her even, the little changeling waving over to Rainbow Dash to let her know that they could not continue on and needed some rest.

“Dash! Sorry. I, am, tired. Like rest.” She said, despite looking like she could still go for a while. It was obvious to Scootaloo that she was doing it to protect her pride and she whispered her thanks under her breath, making the little changeling smile having caught it regardless with her great hearing.

“No worries girls, this is how it is at first. Still, what stamina you have! I was actually waiting for you two to tire out so we could begin our lessons.” Rainbow Dash beamed with pride at both of them, making Scootaloo feel way better after the compliment from her. “Okay, so I hope you’re ready to pay attention so here goes. Aerial Dynamics 101: Weight and Muscle/Bone density.”

Rainbow Dash described to them in detail the scientific research of how and why creatures were able to fly. While Chrys and Scootaloo weren’t able to understand most of the big words being tossed around, what they very much understood was this: All flying animals, ponies, or otherwise rely entirely on the strength of their wings. It takes a great deal of energy to not only take off but maintain their flight mid-air especially if the individual’s wings were smaller, or in Chrys’ case, thinner and more delicate. The exercises Rainbow Dash had them do was to train their body up to be able to do that eventually, by working the muscles on their back and training up their stamina. No doubt Scootaloo’s confidence had returned to her after understanding this.

“Conclusion, what did we learn? We learned that it’s not about flying. It’s about gliding with style. We push off the air and maintain that with our sheer willpower. Drops from high altitudes can be very dangerous, even for a Pegasus. That’s why you shouldn’t skip out on training your body every day.” Rainbow Dash finished her lessons. “It’ll still take you guys at least a few weeks before I’ll think about teachin’ ya some real flight moves. So I want you two to train your darndest in the meantime, alright?” The two young girls nodded with enthusiasm. “Good, good. That ends the lesson for today then.”

“Shouldn’t we keep training all we can then, Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo asked.

“There is such a thing as overworking your muscles, so get some rest for today and pick it up again tomorrow for as long as you think you can hold on. Like what we just did today.”

“Well, that frees up my day... I guess I’ll catch you two around, I’m gonna go ride around town! Bye Rainbow Dash, bye new kid!” Scootaloo put on her helmet and rode off on her scooter at this farewell and left the two behind.

Before Rainbow Dash could dismiss herself by saying her goodbyes, the little changeling walked up to her.

“What’s up, Chrys? Something you didn’t understand?”

From her hair, the changeling princess magically produced and levitated toward Rainbow Dash a hexagonal crystal imbued with dense magic, shining in a brilliant and lustrous red hue like a ruby. It was strikingly similar to the one that Spike had received.

“Whoa! It’s so cool...” Rainbow Dash took hold of it with one hoof. “Are you giving this to me, Chrys?” The little changeling nodded. “Where did you get this?”

“I make. Gift, for, Rainbow Dash.” She said with a beaming smile.

“You made this?” She eyed it curiously. “You’re a bag of surprises you know that? Thanks. I really like it.” She said smiling and ruffling up Chrys’ hair into a mess, making the small girl giggle. Chrys motioned for Rainbow Dash to get closer so she could whisper something in her ear. “What, there’s still more?” Rainbow Dash leaned in.

“Thank.” Chrys placed her forehead to hers for a brief moment, then ran away towards Spike so that they could depart to their next location.

Leaving the pegasus tomboy stunned in the process. She one hundred percent had not been expecting it. For her of all ponies, especially considering she had been the one to give her the rudest welcome from the group of friends when they first met the little changeling. She had initially taken the strongest stance against her especially after barely coming off of Queen Chrysalis’ Canterlot invasion. Rainbow Dash had only really warmed up to Chrys thanks to seeing how helpless she was when she was sick, and also because she found the little changeling incredibly amusing when she tried imitating her step for step, like a young filly star-struck for an idol like she herself had been with the Wonderbolts...

Now she was feeling a bit bad for ever having thought so negatively about her. The feeling of warmth from having received such a precious gift from Chrys was outweighing that guilt, however, and she figured bygones were bygones. Rainbow Dash promised she would do her best to support her as redemption. She was definitely something special, Rainbow Dash thought after she watched her leave from a distance.

“Alright, first item on the agenda, done. How was the training, Chrys? Feel any stronger?” Spike asked which made her look herself up and down only to shrug having only felt more tired as a result of her workout with Dash.

“It’s okay. You’ll get there. You watch.” He said rubbing at his own back, wishing he had wings of his own. “Let’s see now. We have to head to Applejack’s farm for the hay. Twilight said Big Mac should already know that we ordered a bail the other day so that takes care of the payment.”

Applejack’s farm was only a few minutes away from the park on foot so it hadn’t taken them long, but before they could enter it, an untoward white bunny with an attitude ran straight into Spike in its attempt to run away from something, sending the baby dragon crashing backward in a daze.

“Oh, what did I tell you about watching where you’re going... And don’t you run away from me Mister. You need to visit Dr. Fauna too.” Fluttershy’s unusually assertive tone rang out behind the rabbit as she made a quick swoop for the little man. “So sorry Spike, Angel is just being a little dramatic because we’re going to the vet today. And hello Chrys, it’s good to see you again.” She bowed and smile warmly in her direction, with the changeling princess nodding her agreement.

“Oof. A little?” Spike grunted while being helped up by Chrys who had rushed to his aid. “What are you doing over at Sweet Apples Acres anyhow, Fluttershy?”

“I came to check up on Winona for Dr. Fauna as well as Applejack’s hens. The strangest thing has been happening. A lot of my poor animal friends are getting sick one after another, but it seems most of them just need bed rest. It looks to be the case with Winona too.” She said all while the little bunny in her impossibly strong grasp was writhing to get free. “Except Angel, who REALLY needs to see a doctor, or I’ll get very mad at him.” The bunny drooped defeatedly in her grasp.

“Well, good luck with all of that Fluttershy. We just came here for some hay for the bed. Do you know where Big Mac is? We’re supposed to talk to him about it.”

“Oh yes, he’s out inspecting the oncoming harvest in the orchid right now. Just follow around behind the house and you’ll spot him straight away. Anyway, I gotta get going.” Before she could leave, Chrys had already been levitating towards her a pink hexagonal crystal with an infinite depth to its gleam. “Oh? What’s this?”

“That looks...” The little dragon licked his lips as he eyed the jewel. “Tasty. Chrys, did you make another one of those?”

“Mm! Gift, for Fluttershy.” She nodded.

“A gift for me? It’s so pretty. I didn’t know you could make these.” The crystal was snatched out of the air by the white rabbit, having been mesmerized by its luster. “Oh Angel, you shouldn’t be taking things that are not yours. Although... He does seem calmer.” She said, noticing how passive he’d become. “Anyways, thank you so much, Chrys. I’ll treasure it always.”

And with that, the pair made their exit with Chrys and Spike being left to complete the task at hand. Not even halfway through the front of Sweet Apple Orchards, a familiar little filly bolted up to them in an instant after having spotted the two from a distance.

“Chrys! Spike! Watchu’ two doin’ all the way out yonder?” Applebloom said, laying on the accent thick to amuse herself.

“Hello, Applebloom. We came to get the hay we ordered yesterday. We were looking for Big Mac to help us out with it.”

“Well, why didn’t you say so in the first place, he’s out back with Granny Smith inspecting the budding spring apples. Follow me.” She sprung towards the back of the house with haste.

“But I did ask that first, didn’t I?” Spike asked a clueless Chrys who couldn’t get a good bead on the wilds of the excitable little pony.

In following her, Chrys was able to see the ever-expanding lands that constituted Sweet Apple Orchard, chock full of barely budding apple trees with the small green nubs on their branches indicating the new harvest.

Chrys was quite lost in awe. She tried to fathom just how many trees there were, not being able to keep up the counting in her head. And she would’ve stayed lost in that scene, if not for an incredibly sharp pain that pierced right through her like heated daggers in that instant.

A pain stemming from a very powerful mixture of emotions like fear, hatred, and horror.

Emotions coming from one old-looking pony that had just about almost jumped out of her skin and had begun to yell for dear life as though the end times were upon them, all from having only taken one look at Chrys. There was also a deep stirring in the changeling’s heart that was making that reaction that much more hurtful.

“It’s that thing! The formless! They’ve come to raze the land! Help!” She yelled out, spooking everyone present. Applebloom, Big Mac, Spike... except Chrys.

After having heard those words, Chrys knew what this was about. Formless. There were only a few souls left alive who understood that name. It was a name that had been lost to the annals of time. An old pony’s tale of disaster, destruction, and ruin.

Almost immediately, the poor changeling was struck with sadness. She ran behind Spike trying her best to hide from the growing pain, tears beginning to form in her eyes with her form struggling to stay intact.

Having seen this, Applebloom was the first to come to her aid, having become angrily flustered at the old pony who was still in the middle of hysterics. She had no clue what this was about, but she could tell that there was a disconnect between Chrys and the reason why Granny Smith was beside herself.

“Granma! Calm down. Look at what you did! Chrys is my friend!”

At these words, the old pony slowly composed herself again after Appleboom placed both hoofs on her.

“Huh? What? Where am I?” She said while scanning her surroundings, having been struck out of the vivid scene from the past as her senses had been frayed in the ancient trauma.

“You’re in the orchard, Granny Smith,” Applebloom said exasperated. “Now apologize to my friend. You said some very hurtful things.”

“Wuzzat? Who?” She eyed the little changeling who was still trembling behind Spike, her forelegs hiding her eyes. “Oh dear, did I? I’m sorry young’un. I got reminded of... somethin’. Can’t remember now that I think about it.”

“Well whatever it was, you were screamin’ like a banshee Granny,” Applebloom said as she and Spike helped Chrys up off the floor, regaining herself slowly after the feelings from before having vanished from the old mare, though she was still very conscious about being seen by her. She remained behind Spike, worried that she could relapse at the sight of a changeling again.

“You said something about a ‘Formless’ when you saw her, but she’s a changeling, see?” Applebloom said, pushing Chrys directly in front of Granny Smith so she could get a closer look.

While looking away and hoping nothing worse would come of this, Chrys felt a hoof gently pass over her hair. She was being comforted by Granny Smith who now wore a much gentler, kinder smile.

“Looks like any filly to me.” The old mare laughed as though nothing had happened at all.

“Mighty sorry folks, ol’ Granny Smith has a failing memory as she gets on in age.” Reverberated the deep voice of the large red stallion behind them that until now had been looking at them with concern, not knowing what to say. “I s’pose you were here for the hay Twilight Sparkle ordered?”

“Oh! I had almost forgotten about that. That’s right.” Spike answered.

“It’s already prepared. It’s that big bale over there.” Big Mac motioned a hoof to point at the rather large haystack, far too big for two kids to carry.

“Er, how are we going to move it?” The purple dragon wondered to himself.

“You don’t, silly. Big Mac here will help ya lug it to Twilight’s.” Applebloom smacked the bottom part of his hindleg.

“Eeyup. Just give me a bit to load it up onto a cart.” He responded and went off to go do just that.

“Well uh... I guess I’ll go help him.” Spike looked back at Chrys having been pulled onto a rocking chair by Granny Smith and being petted as she looked like a lap-sized kitten. With that, he ran off in Big Mac’s direction.

Despite the hostile welcome, Chrys had spent the rest of her stay there in comfortable bliss. Granny Smith very warmly recalled the tales of her past to her and Applebloom, still not ever being able to clearly remember why she had startled the way she had over the little changeling. But Chrys could hazard a guess why. It had been the truth of the changeling’s past. A past that had long been forgotten by the newest generation of pony-kind.

The tragedy of the Formless Kingdom, the changelings of old.

The Formless had been destroyed almost overnight due to a natural cataclysm of magical veins beneath the earth erupting upwards in a tectonic shift, sundering the kingdom into desecrated ruins. Any empathetic race who had been good neighbors to the Changelings, like the ponies, had been too late to help them to any real capacity. It all had happened far too fast. But the Changelings could not see that rationality past their overwhelming grief. They had become mad with rage and had thought that they were abandoned.

Why only them? Why must they have been made to suffer? In a self-reinforcing cycle, eventually, their insanity had given way to an instinctual collective hive mind to destroy and burn the world around them. Led by the mad Queen Chrysalis, who had tried to take responsibility for all of those negative feelings and ultimately failing in this duty.

It was the nature of Changelings to fuel their magic by consuming emotions. Their own, and those given to them. But the heart and the mind are much more susceptible to those feelings as a result. The Queen could feel she was slipping into a madness of her own. So she had made a pact with the Sun’s Ruler in order to seal her kind away until they would be free from their cursed thoughts.

Chrys had been the only one to survive that time of turmoil without the madness that consumed all of her brethren, by the powerful magics of a desperate Queen Chrysalis who had used the last of her magic and the last of her right mind to protect her. A magic of unfathomable power, as she had used every ounce of grief, sorrow, anger, and hatred of the stricken Changelings and her own love for Chrys to cast it. A spell whose effect had erased Chrys’ memories and even her sense of self. A spell strong enough to stop even the very passing of time over many decades. A spell that Chrys had awoken from only a few years ago, into the maw of absolute darkness inside an ancient and slumbering cave. The prison that had served to hold back the growing insanity of the changelings.

Chrys rode on top of the bale of hay with Big Mac pulling it to the library in a very somber mood as she recalled all of it. How she had been freed from the cave by the mad Queen after she had pooled her magic over those many years, and how she had met Twilight and her friends in the small time afterward. How she had confronted Chrysalis again after her failed invasion. And how she almost brought about ruin to everyone in trying to seal her madness away and letting the mad Queen feed off of her own desperate emotions in a moment of weakness.

It was all in the past now though, and she had a need to look to the future. She shook her head to toss those thoughts away after they arrived at the library at last.

“Welp, here we are kids.” Said the red stallion, letting the bay down gently next to the library.

“Huge thanks Big Mac, we certainly wouldn’t have been able to carry this ourselves,” Spike replied only getting a quiet nod of acknowledgment from the stallion.

Before he could leave, however, the little changeling princess stood in his way. She smiled at him and held her hoof out.

“Mac. Thank!” Chrys knew that Big Mac’s hesitation to hoof-bump her had not been anything overtly negative. She could see that this small expression had made him feel a little happy and a bit embarrassed. He eventually succumbed to the little changeling and returned the gesture. Chrys felt like she could trust the reliable stallion almost implicitly. His quiet attitude was something she could deeply understand from the depths of her own personality. She magically produced another crystal from her hair and presented it to the stallion, this one in a bright orange hue. “Please help, Mac. Gift, for, Apple. Jack. Big, thank.” He took it, and silently nodded his agreement to give it over to her the next time he saw her.

“Did you make one for everyone, Chrys? When did you have the time to do that?” Spike asked after Big Mac took his leave.

“Morning!” She replied with a smile.

“Ah, so that’s what the noise was about.” Seems she had awoken the little dragon too, but unlike Twilight, he hadn’t bothered to check what the commotion was about. “Hmm, we still have a lot of time in the day. Do you still need to go hand out some?”

“Mm.” She nodded. “Rarity. Pink Pie.” She said, stumbling her words a bit at Pinkie Pie’s name.

“Always glad to have an excuse to visit Rarity, so let’s go deliver ‘em. What do you say?”

“Spike, thank!” She hopped in her happiness.

The trip to deliver the gifts had been shortened considerably when they had arrived at Rarity’s boutique, Pinkie Pie having already been in there seemingly using Rarity’s tailoring workshop to work on party decorations. Both Rarity and Pinkie Pie flew to the little changeling upon her arrival before the door had even shut behind her, the little bell at the top of it still ringing while she was embraced by two pairs of forelegs.

“My dear Chrys! So good to see you again. I suppose you’re here to try out some new clothes? Now that we have time, we can put your ensemble together.” Rarity had been first to speak.

“What? But we have so much partying still left to do!” Pinkie Pie argued. “We don’t have time for silly old clothes, we gotta get out there and have some fun!”

“Nonsense Pinkie! There is always time for you to look your best. I aim to make Chrys the brightest star in the night.”

Before they could devolve into a heated argument over how to spend Chrys’ time, Spike coughed to get their attention and make them notice that they had been pressing the poor little changeling in between them. They finally let off apologetically after calming themselves.

“Sorry girls, the day is already pretty late. We just came to deliver something Chrys wanted to give you guys.” Spike said at her behest, the little changeling taking two crystals out of her hair and magically levitating the corresponding one to each of the two mares, a light blue one and a purple one.

“Oh... oh my! What shine! What brilliance!! Why where ever did you get these?”

“I make!” Giggled the little changeling princess noticing Pinkie Pie trembling with happiness and Rarity absolutely smitten by the jewel.

“Darling, you really made these for us?” Rarity put a hoof on her chest as a show to say how truly touched she was.

And once more, Chrys surprised the two mares by doing what she had done to the rest of the group of friends in motioning them over to her as if to whisper, only to touch their foreheads with her own, this time simultaneously to the two.

“Friends. Thank!” She said. The barely contained excitement in Pinkie Pie exploded all at once at this, and she bounced a good few feet into the air, disappearing to who knows where within the boutique.

“Haha, you’ll have to forgive Pinkie Pie. She’s a bit... excitable?” Rarity said having been witness to the strange actions of the Pink one. “Oh but Chrys... you’re such a doll. I’ll treasure these gifts you’ve given me forever.” She took a bit of time to process how meaningful this gift was. “In fact, I feel a work of art coming on! I’ll incorporate it in the finest outfit I’ll own for myself!” She said as she dove into the back of her workshop to go work on it.

At that moment, a pair of customers walked into the boutique with two very young ponies on their backs. Two toddlers much younger than Chrys had ever seen. Immediately they stretched their forelegs towards her to touch her, mesmerized by the unique-looking creature before them.

“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Cake. Out for a walk with the tots?” Spike asked after noticing Chrys approach them only to be thoroughly scanned up and down by the two foals.

“Hello, Spike dearie. We just came to collect what Pinkie Pie was working on. As you know, the stampede yesterday tore up a lot of our decorations, so we asked her to make some new ones for our shop.” Mrs. Cake responded as Mr. Cake had made himself busy trying to get the tots off of Chrys who were now riding on her back and touching her wings, making her struggle not to laugh at their ticklishness.

“Pound, Pumpkin! Stop that!” He yelled to no avail.

“We were so worried about Pinkie Pie yesterday. It’s not often you see her so down about something, but it really crushed her when the party got ruined. Seems everything turned out okay in the end. Your friend is such a nice kid.” She smiled at the sight of Chrys playing with the tots, much to Mr. Cake’s relief.

“Yeah, she really is.” Spike agreed. He looked over at her to the sight of her batting her wings gently in the faces of the two foals to make them sneeze.

“Mrs. Cake!” Yelled out Pinkie Pie after having reappeared with many a bag of streamers, curtains, and other party goods. “Got what you asked for, here you go.” She said as she unloaded everything onto her back, with Mr. Cake finally resting control of the tots after they had dropped their guards for a brief moment.

“Thanks a million, Pinkie. See ya back at the bakery, dear.” Mrs. Cake walked over to the little changeling and patted her head a few times. “You too little one. You’re always welcome in our shop. Come by any time.”

With that, they were gone, and the only ones left were the two kids and Pinkie Pie waving them off at the door. She was silent for a bit in thought until she finally remembered something important, then turned back to face Chrys in a flash.

“Chrys! I’m so happy that we’re friends! The gift was so lovely I knew I had to do something for you! I made this for you.” She brought out a small stuffed doll of a pony.

“Wait, is that Twilight?” Spike asked as he looked at the uniquely purple, alicorn features of the doll.

“I figured she’d really want one, so I made it just now with the things Rarity had upstairs!”

“Wow, you work fast.” Spike said flabbergasted. “Was it okay to use her stuff without telling her?”

Pinkie did her usual snort laugh at Spike’s question. “Don’t worry about small details like that, silly. I can always pay her back. This is an important gift for Chrys!”

Meanwhile, the little changeling girl was stunned. She had never really accepted a physical gift from anyone before. But this was a small image of Twilight, and she felt such longing for the purple alicorn after not having seen her all day. It took a lot of beckoning from Pinkie Pie for her to finally take it, and she proceeded to hug the small doll very tight, her happiness pouring forth as she embraced the plushie.

“Pinkie. Pie. Thank, you.” She said as she began to cry from her happiness, throwing Spike for a loop in trying to comfort her all meanwhile Pinkie knew well what kind of tears they were.

“Pinkie? What did you do?” Rarity said with confusion after she walked in on this scene, noticing the little changeling girl crying with a bright smile on her face.

Chrys held out the small doll of Twilight for Rarity to see. “Gift! From Pinkie.” She brought it to her chest to hug it again.

“Ah, I see. Those are tears of happiness, Spike.” Rarity said, seeing the concern on the baby dragon’s face. “It seems Pinkie Pie beat me to the punch, as I too intended to give you something Chrys. I hope you like it.” She magically brought a small golden ornament to her hair with three beautiful little jewels inside of it, to clip her bangs backward so that they wouldn’t cover her face so much.

It was quite a simple, yet beautiful addition to her look, parting her flowing hair enough to show her delicate, small features. The three of them stared at her. Such a tiny change had brought such a significant difference to her appearance. Although a bit embarrassed, Chrys couldn’t help but smile from the wonderful gifts she had been given and hugged the two mares before Spike and her finally departed back to the library, the day almost coming to an end.

Back at the library, however, time was passing by almost exhaustively. Chrys was pacing up and down wondering what had happened to Twilight. Dusk was already upon them. They hadn’t had any verbal agreement or promise to go together to handle her duties, but she had been waiting for Twilight to return to make the trip back through the Everfree forest together as it was something they had always done from the start. Yet as much time passed, Twilight had not returned.

“Twilight’s fine, Chrys. She’s an alicorn, and I can sense if she’s in trouble. I’m sure she’s just running late because of the investigation. Don’t worry too much about it.” Said Spike trying to reassure her. He eventually succeeded and got her to feel calmer about this situation. With the night growing older, the baby dragon went to sleep early after being exhausted from having to help move the hay, and Chrys was left alone to wait however long she needed to wait.

Still, there were things she needed to do no matter what, and she steeled her resolve. It wasn’t good to always rely on Twilight for everything, and she was sure she had enough magic in her to complete her duties. With this in mind, the changeling princess slipped away from Twilight’s home and towards the Everfree forest.

It had been a long while since she had traveled that uneven dirt path through the forest on her own at night. The road to the cave had become second nature to her. She only needed to follow the stream of water that connected to it. In the veil of night, she remembered the first day and night she had escaped the cave after the changelings were released, having walked down this very stream just wandering in the world above, taking in the sights all around her. She had lost all of her memories back then, and she knew nothing of the world above save for a few blurry memories of the sun and moon.

The scenery all around her, even as spooky as the Everfree forest could get at times, was quite beautiful and enchanting to a creature who had spent a major part of her whole life in near-complete darkness. The moon and the stars shone brilliantly across the night sky, untouched by the light pollution of Ponyville, and reflected off the stream in such a way that she could almost picture the water as a liquid night.

In reaching a familiar pond of undisturbed water, Chrys was able to see her reflection clearly since she had received Rarity’s gift, finally being able to spot the golden hair clip she had given her. Chrys smiled the world having loved every bit of how it looked on her. She took out the Twilight plush that Pinkie had given her to levitate it in front of her so she could see herself in the reflection with Twilight, imagining it was the real one. Feeling satisfied, she stuffed it back into her hair and got ready to continue to the cave.

Before she could, suddenly, the pond began to ripple as a light tremor began to shake it. Stronger and stronger the ripples began to form higher and higher until the pond became a mess of waves bouncing off each other. Now she could physically feel the ground shake with intensity. Something was approaching.

Something big.

The noises of every single animal had gone away now. All the birds had departed, the fish had swam away, and the woodland critters had run to their homes to hide. The air was tense as the trembling became audible. In the distance, Chrys could hear trees being felled left and right. Whatever that something was, it was mowing them down with ease.

“Chrys!!” Twilight’s voice came into earshot making the little changeling jump since she had been so focused on trying to listen to what was happening. The purple alicorn had almost crashed directly into her having flown in such a hurry to get to where she was, a strong wave of concern and terror in her soul. In reaching her, Twilight immediately brought both of them down to the ground to look as small as possible as the tremor from before were RIGHT in front of them now.

The both of them eyed the threat in absolute silence as the thing from before pulled apart the trees surrounding the pond with one mighty claw.

What they saw was one massive eye looking at them, with dense fur all around it. Its hairs were unlike anything Chrys had ever seen, as its colors were translucent and transparent, with a small tint of purple to them. Within each hair somewhere deep in that coat, small lights floated inside them making their appearance almost like that of the very stars above in the night sky.

Twilight was absolutely terrified. She was lying very still indeed, hoping the creature before them would leave. To her sheer dismay, the changeling beside her on the other hand was not. In fact, the small princess had gotten up off the ground to stare back at the eye, mesmerized by the mystical coat.

Twilight immediately got over her fear after seeing the pupils of this creature dilate, and thinking that it was about to do something to the small girl, she ran up in front of her with her horn at the ready, prepared to protect her at all costs.

Strangely enough, the creature pulled away from them, giving way to its entire form as it stood back up on both of its hind legs, almost reaching the very stars in its sheer size and looking like it partially intended to integrate with them by the look of its coat. Then, silently without even so much as a second thought, it moved away towards its own home in the mountainside near the Everfree forest.

Twilight fell to her back in her relief, having been run to the very ground emotionally and mentally in the terror of the moment. That thing was a living calamity all on its own, a nightmare of incredible proportions that no pony or creature in all of Equestria could go against.

A real Ursa Major.

She remembered her one encounter with a baby Ursa Minor back in her early days in Ponyville when Trixie had boasted about defeating one. She remembered just how much power it took to subdue it into sleep and send it back to its home. She had seen a picture of it once, but nothing could prepare her for the real living thing that was an Ursa Major. She strongly exhaled the stress that had accumulated and got up to look at the small changeling that was mindlessly smiling at her after seeing her there.

“Chrys!! What were you thinking!” Twilight inadvertently found herself yelling, making the little changeling slink into the ground. This was the first time she could remember Twilight being truly angry about something. And at her no less... “You could’ve died! You should’ve waited for me!” Twilight’s emotions were understandably running very high, and she could not stop her voice from driving the small changeling girl to tears.

The cruelty of reality was that Twilight could not understand Chrys’ point of view. Chrys had not been scared from the start, because she understood the heart of the creature they had just met. She knew it did not mean to hurt them. The mama bear had just been curious about them at best. She knew this, but Twilight could not. For the first time, Chrys had upset her so much, Twilight was truly angry from the depths of her heart over this misunderstanding. It wasn’t even so much that Chrys felt that this was unfair, but that it hurt to see those feelings being directed to her, by Twilight who she very much loved.

She so sincerely wished she could apologize with her own words right there and then to keep Twilight from being angrier at her, but all she could muster at that point in time were sobbing, hiccupy cries as she hid her eyes with her forelegs to keep from having to see the fury in Twilight’s expression.

Twilight, however, had already shifted from anger to remorse in that instant. There was no way for her to understand why the little changeling had done what she’d done. Why she had thought it was okay to leave on her own to the Everfree forest or why she had been so careless in front of such a dangerous monster. But she knew she had overreacted. For a multitude of reasons. From being beside herself when she found out she was missing from the library when she got home, to the encounter with the Ursa Major, and from the overbearing nature of her love for the little changeling as she had finally come to understand just how much she really cared about her. It was the concern from that love that had made her yell to that degree.

Twilight hugged the curled-up changeling, trembling in her grasp and unable to stop her from crying.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Chrys. I didn’t mean it. I was just afraid that something bad had happened to you.” Twilight spoke softly, patting her back.

It had been twice now that Chrys had been driven to this point today, and she could not stop herself from crying out the aching in her heart anymore. Like most of the emotions of that day, this kind of sadness that Chrys was feeling well... it was coming from more than just the simple scolding or tension of the moment. The look on Twilight’s face and the emotions in her soul... while not the same, they reminded her of the first time she had revealed herself as a changeling to her. She was reminded of all those conflicting, horrible emotions of that time. Emotions that she was deathly afraid of Twilight feeling for her.

Again, it’s important to say, that we cannot help but feel what we feel, or think what we think even when all the signs point to the contrary. It’s been overstated many times, but this is the honest-to-goodness truth. It doesn’t matter if you have eyes made of the purest magic that can see the flames in every living being’s soul. It doesn’t matter if you know implicitly that this anger does not stem from the same place as the one from before. It doesn’t matter how different the circumstances may be, or how much you’ve been drawn together and trust each other.

You cannot stop the hurt. It will hurt, no matter what. That’s what being alive means.

It took quite a while before she was eventually reduced to quiet sobbing, with the last of her sorrows finally giving way to a calmer state.

“Not... angry?” She finally asked in that moment of quiet.

“No, I’m not. If anything, I’m sorry Chrys. Please forgive me.” Twilight said, hugging her a little harder.

“Mm,” Chrys said weakly within her hug.

It took many more moments after that before Chrys was able to get up to keep moving forward. It severely pained Twilight to see how much this had affected the little changeling. She didn’t speak, she didn’t look her way at all, even when walking she was slower, her enthusiasm and energy drained altogether. Even when she stood by at the Queen’s chamber to watch Chrys perform her duty, she recited her day to the Queen quieter and less lively, drooping her head to the ground on occasion, as if falling asleep. And when she began to cast her spell, the power of it fizzled out. Only for her to try harder again, fizzling out a second time. And again, a third time with nothing.

But as Twilight walked up to help her, the fourth time she tried it, the spell managed to pull off, albeit in the weak glow of her exhaustion. Twilight knelt beside her after seeing that the little changeling did not have the energy to continue, beckoning her to get on, but the small girl refused and tried walking ahead of Twilight towards the exit of the chamber on her own, only to collapse to her knees midway through, yet still urging her body forward with what little strength she had left, determined to continue. Twilight had to force herself to drape the changeling over her body, believing she would refuse. Yet she was met with no resistance. She figured that this was likely due to how tired she was, but she couldn’t have been more wrong.

It was a misunderstanding on both of their parts. Chrys still believed she was walking on eggshells with Twilight, trying her best to be more independent to keep from incurring her wrath further. And Twilight believed Chrys was angry at her over getting yelled at. But such is the way of misunderstandings, that unless you can spell it out with your words, you can’t really learn to grow past one.

Twilight had helped with the room with all the changelings since Chrys still did not know how to cast it en masse and she was far too weak to continue. All the way home they flew in silence. They labored to talk about anything at all, still very much afraid of making things worse between the two. In arriving at the library, Chrys disembarked Twilight’s back in order to walk over to the bed on her own to sleep, but the small girl stumbled and collapsed to her knees again, this time her head spinning in a strong dizziness.

The purple alicorn had noticed this, and she touched Chrys’ forehead with her own to confirm what was happening. Sure enough, she had grown a fever. Likely due to the stress of those emotions. Chrys had become this way only once before due to a similar aching in her heart.

Twilight picked up the changeling princess gently and placed her on the bed with all the care in the world, draping the cover over her. Chrys immediately fell asleep in her ailing state. At that moment, Twilight noticed Chrys make a grab for something in her hair amidst her sleep and pulled out a small doll to hug almost instinctively.

Twilight gritted her teeth with mist beginning to cloud her eyes at the sight of it, as it was in the shape of her own image.

She promised herself a very solemn promise indeed as she hugged the little changeling.

What would she do to protect her? To make her happy? To make her feel loved?

Everything, she thought.