Chapter 9
Forever a Changeling
by Scootaloo-009, a.k.a. Mechsrule1
My Little Pony and related names, images, and scenarios are property of Hasbro Inc.
Chapter 9
Rainbow Dash and Applejack walked through the outskirts of the earth pony farming town, aptly named Dust Bowl. The town listed on her birth certificate was so remote it didn't even have a train station so they had been forced to walk several miles.
It had been surprisingly easy to get access to the records. All she had needed to do was walk in and give her name. They had been back in the station before the next train had arrived. The name Dust Bowl seemed familiar but it could just be because it was such a simple name.
They were walking by a large farm that seemed fallow. The fields were covered in rocks and little else. A farmer was busy rolling a stone about. The girls trotted over and he looked up.
“Excuse me,” Rainbow Dash said to the brown earth pony farmer. “I’m looking for some ponies. Could you help me?”
“Sure. I’ve lived here my whole life so I know all the folks in town. What’s the name?” the farmer replied.
Rainbow Dash sighed. “Their names were Posey and Spectrum Chaser.”
The farmer looked even gloomier and shook his head. “I’m sorry, but they’re not around any more. They passed a few years ago.”
“I know. I’m here to see them.”
“The cemetery is on the other side of town. Did you have business with them? You’d have to see the town clerk if you do.”
“I just need to see them. I’m their daughter,” Rainbow Dash said.
He blinked and was visibly shaken. “It was my understanding that you died with them,” he said.
“No, I left and ended up in Cloudsdale. I just haven’t been back. I should have come sooner but...”
“I understand. I would still see the clerk, they may have left some things for you.”
“I will,” Rainbow Dash agreed.
Suddenly a loud crash rang out, emanating from behind the house. The farm pony stormed off towards the house.
“Pinkamena, what have I told you about being careful near the rock pile!” he shouted.
Rainbow Dash and Applejack looked at each other and quickly followed. They went around the side of the house to find their pink friend busily restacking some boulders.
“Pinkie?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, causing her to look up from her work.
“Girls! You came to visit?” she said, skipping over, letting the rock she had been moving roll back down.
“You all know each other?” the brown pony asked.
“Oh, Daddy, these are my friends from Ponyville, the ones I’ve been telling you and mom about. Meet Rainbow Dash and Applejack. Applejack is a farmer too, but she farms apples, not rocks, and Rainbow Dash is going to be a Wonderbolt!”
“Hi,” Rainbow Dash greeted.
“Howdy,” Applejack added.
“A what?” Pinkie’s father asked.
"Wonderbolt. They’re the greatest fliers in Equestria."
"Never heard of them," Mr. Pie said.
"What are you doing here?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Well, you said you were going to visit your parents. It reminded me that I hadn’t been home in a while so I came here."
"Pinkamena, why don’t you help your friends find their way around town,” Mr. Pie suggested.
"But I want to help fix the rock pile," Pinkie said. As she spoke she bumped another boulder and sent a bunch rolling off the pile. She smiled sheepishly. "I’ll be back in time for dinner."
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“Hey, Scootaloo,” Sweetie Belle greeted. She and Apple Bloom were waiting for her outside the school house. Class didn’t start for a few minutes so most of the foals were milling about outside.
“Hey, girls,” Scootaloo replied. Normally she was the first one there, and she was really dragging her hooves that morning. She didn’t even have her scooter with her.
“What’s wrong, Scoots?” Apple Bloom asked.
“I... I’ll tell you about it after class,” Scootaloo replied.
“Okay,” Sweetie Belle said.
“Hey, Ah heard Rainbow Dash has been back fer a while. Have yah had a chance tah talk with her?” Apple Bloom asked.
Scootaloo nodded. “Yeah.”
“And?” Sweetie Belle urged.
“She’s Rainbow Dash. That’s all I need to know,” Scootaloo said.
“But is she-” The school bell ringing, signalling the start of class, cut Sweetie Belle off.
“Better get to class,” Scootaloo said, fidgeting.
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“Hi, Mr. Clockwork, hi, Mrs. Hearts,” Pinkie greeted. She’d greeted by name every pony in town so far. “So, what are you doing here?” she asked.
“I’m here to see my parents,” Rainbow Dash answered.
“I didn’t know they lived here? What are their names?”
“Spectrum Chaser and Posey,” Rainbow Dash half grunted. They had reached the entrance to the cemetery. It was large for such a small town, covering at least ten acres, maybe more. It was hard to see with the rolling hills. She stood at the break in the stone wall, trying to psych herself up.
“I’ve never heard of them before. Are they new? Why are we stopping here?” Pinkie asked.
Rainbow Dash ignored her and slowly marched into the graveyard.
“Are your parents the new groundskeepers or something?”
Applejack put a hoof to Pinkie’s muzzle. Pinkie looked at her, confused, but Applejack just shook her head. Pinkie nodded. She put her hoof down and Pinkie stayed quiet as they walked through the rows of headstones.
As they walked, Rainbow Dash focused on each stone monolith. It was after a while that she began noticing each had a distinct symbol on the top: a downward facing crescent shape. She wondered what it was until she saw one with a different symbol, this one one had a cone on it. In the next row she saw one with what looked like a crude wing.
They’re showing what tribe they’re from! she realized. She wasn’t at all surprised to see most of the towns inhabitants had been earth ponies.
Some stones had multiple names on it, others were grouped together to show families. The ones with multiple names almost always had the same death date. Together they walked up and down the rows, scanning for two names. Rainbow Dash paid extra attention to the larger stones.
They came to a stretch of nothing but large stones, with several dozen all grouped together.
“Oh my,” Applejack said, realizing they were all from the same time period.
“Plague,” Pinkie said solemnly. “I’ve heard stories about it. Half of the town was wiped out in four months.”
Rainbow Dash was getting a bit anxious. The town was clearly very old. They had started at the oldest graves, dating back over a thousand years, but now they were coming to more recent dates. Their stone would be coming up.
And then she saw it. A large, but plain stone with two crescents at the top. Rainbow Dash laid down and wept. Applejack joined her and patted her back.
“Uh... Dashie?” Pinkie asked. Applejack tried to silence her with a glare but it didn’t work. “Girls, this doesn’t make any sense.”
“What? That I’ve been an orphan this whole time?!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “Sorry I didn’t feel like telling you!”
“But-”
“Hush, Sugarcube. We’ll talk later,” Applejack said sternly.
“Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie yelled. Rainbow Dash looked over, her eyes very red. “Look, I know what it’s like to lose family. So many of these graves belong to my ancestors. I know you want to grieve, I just wanted to point out this can’t be their grave.”
“It is,” Rainbow Dash said. “I know it’s hard to believe they were earth ponies, but it says right here, Spectrum Chaser and Posey... and....”
“”Rainbow Dash,” Applejack finished reading the third name. It had been hard to spot. It was lower than the others, and between them, but it had a little wing symbol over it.
“But... but how? I survived the storm!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
“Maybe they didn’t know?” Pinkie suggested.
“No, I know one of the ponies who found me stayed behind to let them know,” Rainbow Dash replied. “This just does not make sense.” Rainbow Dash backed up, rubbing her head with a hoof. Suddenly there was a loud crack followed by a dull thump. “No no no!” Rainbow Dash said, watching the headstone fall back after she had bumped into it. She examined it carefully but it didn’t seem damaged in any way. “Phew...”
“That broke really easily,” Applejack commented.
“What’s that?” Pinkie asked. She was pointing to the base of the headstone. It appeared as though the headstone had been separated from the base a long time ago. What Pinkie was directly pointing to was a small concave hole in the base in which a small piece of blue material sat.
Rainbow Dash looked at it and picked it up. It was very fragile feeling and actually cracked when she lifted it out to get a good look at it.
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Suddenly Rainbow Dash was somewhere else. A cave of some sorts. She barely had time to make sense of where she was before she was moving. She was flying backwards rapidly. The world blurred, the blurring seemed exaggerated from her perspective.
She began to slow. Now she was looking at the cave from the outside. She sped up again and could see the mountain it was on. Something was wrong though, these trees were beginning to brown but it was mid summer. She moved back yet again. Now she could see just the top of the mountain beyond another mountain.
The next few pauses followed the pattern, seeing the mountain from farther and farther away until she couldn’t see it any more. It receded into the distance. The vision kept going until she was looking over Dust Bowl, but it still looked like early autumn. There was a flash and the graveyard returned.
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“Rainbow?”
“Dashie?”
“Woah,” Rainbow Dash said, holding her head. She noticed she’d dropped the blue thing.
“Are you alright?” Applejack asked.
“Ye- yeah.”
“What is it?” Pinkie asked, picking up the blue thing.
“I... I think it’s mine,” Rainbow Dash said. “I just looked at it and I had a vision.”
“Huh,” Applejack said, sniffing the blue thing. “Is this thing... an egg shell?”
“Like I said, I think it’s mine.”
“What did you see?” Pinkie asked.
“I... I think it was where I came from.”
“This is really nice work,” Applejack commented, righting the headstone. “Ah think this was done with magic. The break, Ah mean.”
“And who put this here? And why?” Rainbow Dash wondered. “Wait,” she said suddenly, remembering something. She dug around in her saddlebags and pulled out the blue box.
“What’s that?” Applejack asked.
“I got it from Meadow Breeze. If the queen left this for me, maybe...” Rainbow Dash focused on the box and used her shapeshifting abilities but didn’t change her outward appearance. The flames encircled the box and when they vanished, she was left with a pile of blue dust. “Ah ha!”
“What? I don’t get it?” Pinkie asked.
“My- our queen must have left these for us. Meadow said she would know how to open it when she needed to. It would stand to reason that time would be when she learned she could shapeshift. This must have been put here for me to find!”
“She must want you to find her, " Pinkie said.
"What are yah gonna do?" Applejack asked.
"I don't know... if that really is me down there, then that means Twilight was wrong and I did replace her. That means its all a lie! I never knew them! All my memories are just fake!" Rainbow Dash wailed, tears streaming down her face.
"Rainbow, this don’t mean anything. There weren’t any definite answers here," Applejack said, trying to comfort her.
"You’re right. This doesn’t prove anything," Rainbow Dash agreed. "But now I know where the answers are."
"And we’ll be there with you," Applejack said.
"It’s miles to the north and over some mountains. It’ll be faster if I just fly."
"I brought my balloon, " Pinkie said.
"Yer not goin' alone," Applejack declared.
"Fine.. but first I want to visit that clerk."
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“Okay, yah said yah’d tell us when class was over, then yah said yah’d tell us when we got to the clubhouse,” Apple Bloom said, getting a bit irritated. “Now are yah gonna tell us whatever it is yah wanted tah tell us er not?”
Scootaloo sighed. She couldn’t delay it any longer. She could make something up, but she had promised herself that morning she would tell her friends the truth. “Girls, I want to tell you something. Something really important but you have promise never to tell anypony, especially not the fillies at school.”
“Of course we won’t tell,” Sweetie Belle said.
“We’d never spill somepony’s secret... well now that we’re not Gabby Gums, that is,” Apple Bloom added.
“Alright.” Scootaloo took another deep breath. “I’m an orphan.”
“Scootaloo!” Sweetie Belle cried, hugging her. “Why didn’t you tell us sooner?”
“Ah don’t get it,” Apple Bloom said. She cocked her head to the side.
Scootaloo looked back in shock. “I’m an orphan. That means I don’t have any parents.”
“Ah don’t know what yah mean by that. Yah had tah have parents, everypony does. We don’t just fall outta a tree,” Apple Bloom said.
“Okay, I had parents but I don’t know where they are.”
“So they’re off somewhere,” Apple Bloom said, trying to see if she understood.
“No,” Scootaloo said in disbelief.
“Are they dead?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. I hope,” Scootaloo said.
“Ah just don’t get it,” Apple Bloom said. “So who do you live with?”
“I live at the Ponyville Orphanage. There are a couple other foals there but one’s way older than me and the other is way younger,” Scootaloo answered.
“So yer... cousins? Friends ah yer parents?”
“Apple Bloom, do you really not know what an orphan is?” Sweetie Belle asked. “I mean they’re not common but they’re around.”
“Ah’ve never heard the word bahfore,” Apple Bloom said. “Can yah just tell me what it means?”
“It means that a week after I was born my parents dumped me at Town Hall and never came back. I’ve grown up in an Orphanage full of ponies like that, or whose parents died, or whatever. The reason we never have sleepovers at my house is because I don’t have one! How can you not get that?”
“Maybe yah just got left here bah accident, and they’ve been lookin’ fer you,” Apple Bloom suggested.
“I let go of that fantasy years ago. They didn’t want me and I don’t want them,” Scootaloo grumbled.
“They’re yer parents, Ah’m sure they care about you. Maybe somethin’ happened and they died,” Apple Bloom said.
“Apple Bloom, why can’t you just get I don’t have any family?”
“Apple Bloom, not everypony has a family as big as yours,” Sweetie Belle said. “And we’re your family, Scootaloo.”
“Don’t get all sappy on me,” Scootaloo groaned. “And don’t tell anypony. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are bad enough now.”
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“Welcome to the town hall, how can I help you?” The grey mare behind the counter was very surprised to have three ponies walk in. The town hall hadn’t been this busy in weeks.
“Her dad said you might have something for me. My... parents passed away a while ago and I haven’t been back since,” Rainbow Dash said, gesturing to Pinkie.
“Okay, can I have your name?” the clerk asked.
“Rainbow Dash. They were Spectrum Charger and Posey,” Rainbow Dash answered.
The clerk nodded then walked away from the desk. She went into one of the back rooms. From where they waited they could hear the opening and closing of filing cabinets. She was gone for several minutes before coming back to the desk with a single very thin folder. She placed it on the desk and began flipping through it.
“I don’t know what to tell you, sweetie. According to these records, you’re dead.”
“I know. It’s a mistake. I was taken to Cloudsdale. I thought a pony stayed behind to tell you that, but something must have happened.”
“Well I’m sorry, but according to this, I don’t have anything. I have your parents’ will here. All of what they left you is gone. The property was sold off, and what was left of the estate was given to your surviving relatives. I could give you some names and addresses if you want to speak with them.”
“No thanks. I... was just curious. Thank you for looking,” Rainbow Dash said, her ears drooping. When she had heard Mr. Pie’s suggestion, she’d hoped her parents had left her something. Anything. She turned to leave.
“Wait,” the clerk said. “I’m not supposed to do this, but seeing as the file is closed, nopony will notice. I know it isn’t much.” She pulled a small photograph out of the file and hoofed it to Rainbow Dash. The photo depicted in black and white, two happy earth ponies with a little pegasus pony hovering just over their heads.
“Thank you. You can’t imagine what this means to me,” Rainbow Dash said, her eyes tearing up again. She delicately put the photo into her saddlebag, inside the Daring Doo book so it wouldn’t get bent or wrinkled.
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"Ah think Ah get it now," Apple Bloom said after an hour of trying to explain things. "Yer parents are out there somewhere but yah don't know where, they ain't lookin' fer you, and yah've been livin' with some other ponies in the same situation. Right?"
"Yes, finally," Scootaloo sighed.
"Ah still don't get why parents would do that,"Apple Bloom said.
Scootaloo smirked. "Me neither."
“So how do you leave?” Apple Bloom asked.
“When I’m a grown mare I can leave on my own, or I can get adopted. A family takes me in. I’m not sure how that works, none of the orphans I’ve seen have gotten adopted, but it does apparently happen.”
“That’s an idea! Why can’t our parents adopt you?” Sweetie Belle suggested.
Scootaloo smiled and rolled her eyes. “If I wanted to be adopted I would have told you a long time ago. I’m happy the way things are. Really.”
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The trio left the town hall and headed back to the Pie farm.
“So how far do yah think this place is?" Applejack asked.
"I'm not totally sure, but maybe a couple hours," Rainbow Dash replied.
Applejack looked up at the sky. "It's sundown soon. We should probably wait until the morning before traveling."
"And I'm hungry. I don't want to travel on an empty stomach," Pinkie Pie said.
"I'm not hungry at all," Rainbow Dash said.
"Well that's great fer you, but we ain't all changelings," Applejack replied. "We can't just get food from the air."
"Eh, heh, right," Rainbow Dash said, rubbing her head. "I kinda forgot."
"We'll find an inn and restaurant in town then head out tomorrow," Applejack said. "It-
"You need a place to stay?" The trio stopped. They had walked all the way back to the Pie farm without realizing it. Mr. PIe was looking at them. "You're welcome to stay here. With all the girls having moved out, there's plenty of room for you."
"We wouldn't want to impose," Applejack said.
"Yeah, I'm sure the inn is nice," Rainbow Dash said.
"Nonsense, dinner is ready. Come on," Mr. Pie said, walking off towards the house.
"Sleepover!" Pinkie Pie cheered, hopping after him.
"Dinner. Great," Rainbow Dash grumbled.
"Ah it can't be bad. This is Pinkie's family after all," Applejack said.
"Yeah. Real food. Like what I haven't eaten in weeks. This will be interesting."
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If you like this story, you should check out some of my other works:
My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009.
The Seven Tribes, a rather long fanfic that, like many stories, tries to explain the past.
Samurai Applejack, a drastically different kind of story. It’s rated mature for violence and some suggestive lines.
Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s surprisingly popular. It’s just one chapter long.
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Applejack there's a reason why Pinkie became such a good confectioner of sweets and the pie families cooking was part of it. lets just hope they don't make rainbow dash too sick.
Forever a drone...
Another great chapter. I can't wait for the next.
You sure it's your most popular? Looking at the statistics - faves, votes, and unique commenters - it seems less popular than either Forever a Changeling or The Seven Tribes.
Didn't Pinkie hate the rock farm?
D'aww to Dash.
I don't get what was in Meadow's box. May I get some explanation?
...interesting...
Awaiting further releases.
Yeah what was in mEadows box?
1870624>>1870736
The box was a changeling illusion and inside was the blue dust. Powdered eggshell.
Ahhh right gotcha
Play da musics
[youtube=2UeA9Nus9Eg]
1870580 she hated how boring it was. not cause of what it was her family still lived there so she still liked part of it. thats my take ;)
1870886
>Powdered eggshell.
Now more sence. Thanks
Another enjoyable chapter, well done. I was drawn in throughout this chapter. ^^
Ah, buck. More "Replacement Goldfish" angst.
Also, author's notes say Scoots has a half-sister in the area! Yay!
1870077 lendmeyourkite.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/icee.png
1870077 I see what you did there
obligatory ranting: yes your writing needs work.
ON THE OTHER HAND: omfg I love your themeing, pacing and use of "minor" arcs to tell a deeper story, please keep writing and getting better.
Plot is ticking.
I wonder what RainbowDash and Applejack are going to find about PinkiePie family, it wont end good, that's for sure.
Also secret of Changelings hive are waiting ahead.
1881519
Um... That was Mr. Pie. I'm not sure how you could get confused about that.
Alert! Plot Hole Detected!
In Pinkie's flashback during "Cutie Mark Chronicles", Pinkie said the rock farm was "outside of Ponyville". It's clearly not as close as AJ's farm, but it isn't as far as you're describing, and definitely not in some town called Dust Bowl.
Most people seem to miss that little detail.
If Scootaloo and Dinky are half sisters in your headcanon, I think it would be logical for Derpy to adopt her. Even if she is not her mother, I know her heart would be big enough
I love the way this story is going! Its really great!
I. Like to story
gripping.
Fixed that for you.
Seriously, how can Apple Bloom not know this stuff?
poor Rainbow Dash. I was crying when found out her parents were dead.
"Team fortress 2"
?