A Change in Darkness

by David Silver

15 - Making a Decision

Skyline took a deep breath, the weight of Luna's request pressing heavily on him. To bring an entire tribe out of myth and into reality - it was a daunting task. But as he gazed into Luna's earnest eyes, he knew his answer.

"I will do it," he said finally. "For you, for the night - for the chance to make real what only dreams before."

Luna's face lit up with joy. She embraced Skyline, thanking him profusely for undertaking this perilous journey with her. As they discussed the path ahead, Skyline felt a nervous energy building within him. He was venturing into the unknown, but Luna's faith gave him courage.

Over the next days, Skyline spent more time with his friends and loved ones. He shared guarded hints of what he would attempt, seeking their support. Most were startled, even concerned, but ultimately wished him well. His fellow guards especially seemed to understand his loyalty to Luna's vision.

Piercing was one of the ones that reacted most powerfully. "Do you need help?" He slipped his helmet into place. "I'm here for you. Um, what can I do?"

Skyline could feel the love radiating from Piercing. "You're already doing it." He kissed Piercing's cheek, getting it to warm up. "Now even more. I still don't entirely understand why you love your predator so much... But thank you."

"Silly." Piercing was studying himself in a mirror, making sure all his armor was on right. "Love is not a thing you give away and you lose it."

"It... isn't?" Skyline raised a tufted ear at that. The scent of the armor oil reaching him. The barracks often smelled of that, and a bit of sweat. "We take, and it is gone, usually..."

"But you aren't taking it." Piercing turned from the mirror, satisfied. "I'm giving it. There's a big difference."

Skyline considered this as he watched Piercing prepare. The concept of freely giving love without losing it was foreign to his changeling instincts. Yet that seemed to be what Piercing was doing.

"So you can just...keep loving, without running out?" he asked.

Piercing chuckled. "Pretty much. It grows sometimes, even." His expression became serious. "But Skyline, what you're doing...it could be dangerous. Are you sure about this?"

Skyline took a deep breath. "No. But Luna believes, and so I must try."

Piercing stepped forward and embraced him. "Then I believe too. And my love will sustain you, no matter what comes."

The sentiment warmed Skyline, even as it baffled him. Perhaps a changeling could learn to love after all, with time and friendship. The latter of which the ponies seemed so eager to push towards him. It was so confusing, but also... kind of nice.

He had been grounded. No missions. His hooves would remain on the ground, at least officially. He could fly if he wanted to, but not in any official capacity. Having little else to do, he wandered the halls of the castle, searching for ponies in need of him.

He spotted a prim and fancy looking stallion. "Excuse me." Piercing went up to them, feeling no intimidation of class. "Can I assist you?" Skyline waved at his armor. "I'm with the night guard."

"Oh, I see." Fancy Pants inclined his head at Skyline. "I say, this is the first time one of those just came up and asked how I was doing."

Skyline hadn't asked that! But he knew better than to mention that fact. "Can I help?"

"Since you're offering... I was headed to the library." He pointed the way. "But I won't say no to a helping hoof."

Skyline walked with Fancy Pants through the ornate castle halls, hooves paffing gently against the soft carpet they were walking along. The ornate windows hung on either side, brilliantly colored. Fancy Pants made idle chatter as they went, commenting on the windows and architecture.

"So what brings a stalwart fellow like yourself to offer help to a pony like me?" Fancy Pants asked.

"Oh, I'm not permitted to take part in missions presently," Skyline explained. "So I've time to assist around the castle."

"Not allowed to take part in missions! My word, whatever for?" Fancy adjusted his monocle with his magic.

Skyline hesitated, unsure just how much to reveal. "I've a...special assignment from Princess Luna. It requires me to remain here."

"A special assignment from royalty? You must be a pony of particular talents." Fancy nodded at Skyline, still walking.

Skyline gave a small smile. "I'm a changeling, sir."

"A changeling!" Fancy Pants looked at him with fascination and a little clear surprise. "Extraordinary. You must tell me how that came to be, sometime. Oh, here we are."

They had reached the grand doors of the royal library. Skyline moved to open them, but Fancy Pants waved a hoof.

"Allow me. Can't have you doing all the work, now can we?" His horn lit up and the doors swung open gracefully, revealing the lines of books that Skyline had seen before. "I came to do a little bit of particular research. You're not the only one with an assignment, though I did give this one to myself."

Skyline advanced with him, into that place thick with the scent of old scrolls. He could hear other ponies reading, sniffling, and turning pages. It was a place of study. "What assignment would that be, sir? Do you know where the books are?" There were so many. He figured it'd be quite a while if he had to dig through them all...

"Fortunately, I do." Fancy led the way, tail swaying with his steps but showing no further sway than that. "Right here." He waved at an aisle.

Skyline looked up at the plaque that said what it was. "Property laws?"

"Property laws," echoed Fancy with all due gravity. "A heavy topic, and the one for today. One must be informed on what one plans to argue, I dare say."

Skyline tilted his head curiously. "Argue, sir? Are you a lawyer then?"

Fancy Pants chuckled. "Oh goodness no, though I do have more than a passing familiarity with such matters. Let's just say a friend of mine finds herself in a tricky property dispute, and I aim to help her case."

He scanned the shelf, humming tunelessly to himself as he searched for a particular tome. "Ah, here we are - Principles of Equestrian Property Law, 15th edition. Just the thing."

He levitated the large book off the shelf, blowing dust off the cover. Flipping it open with his magic, Fancy Pants grinned. "Now then, let's see about untangling this little mess, shall we?"

Skyline watched with interest as Fancy began perusing the dense legal text. "Is this what you do, sir? Help friends with things like this?"

"On occasion, though I prefer less dreary affairs. But one must make use of one's talents where one can." Fancy glanced back at Skyline. "And what of you, my changeling friend? How do you employ your particular gifts outside of royal orders?"

Skyline considered the question. In truth, he had never contemplated using his abilities beyond their prescribed roles. But watching Fancy freely wield his influence on behalf of another, he wondered what else he might do...

"I suppose I'm still discovering that," Skyline said. "This life as a guard is new, but full of possibilities."

"Positively rife with them, I'd say!" Fancy agreed enthusiastically. "Why, with your prowess, you could likely teach even a bumbling unicorn like myself a thing or two. What an adventure you have ahead of you!"

Skyline dared a little more of a smile. "One talent I have, sir, is to see the angles of things. In the guard, that's often... literal. But it works besides knowing how to throw things."

"I should hope so." Fancy's magic turned the book carefully. "You didn't strike me as the barbaric sort. Go on then, tell me what angles you're considering."

Skyline felt his guard dropping. That aristocratic pony was surprisingly easy to talk with. "Luna, Princess Luna has put a large task at my hooves. I could be the father of an entire new tribe of ponies." She hadn't said to keep it a secret! "And I think I want to help... No, I know I do. I just don't want to hurt myself doing it."

Fancy lowered his book, his attention pulled. "And... dare I ask, why would you suffer the risk of injury? Father of an entire tribe, you say? That's quite the endeavor. Fanciful, I would say, but I don't imagine this is any flight of fancy on your part." His tone became serious, regarding Skyline. "Please do change the subject if I'm being untoward."

Skyline considered for a moment, then decided to share more. "It's no fantasy. The princess believes bat ponies could become a true tribe, with my help."

He went on to explain Luna's vision in bringing the mythic ponies to life, and the role she hoped he could play by bearing the first of their kind. Fancy Pants listened intently, occasionally interjecting a thoughtful "hmm" or "my word!"

When Skyline finished, Fancy stroked his chin. "A tremendous proposition indeed. I can certainly understand your trepidation, venturing into such uncharted territory. But if anypony is up to the task, I'd wager it's you."

He smiled kindly at Skyline. "While I may move in lofty circles, I'm no stranger to risking comfort for a worthy cause. If this endeavor might benefit ponykind, and you feel compelled toward it, then I say bravo!"

Fancy's enthusiasm heartened Skyline. Perhaps nobility and guardsponies weren't so different after all.

"To stand at the dawn of a new age, shaping history itself..." Fancy mused. "What an opportunity! Of course, you must be cautious as well. But have faith in your princess, and yourself. With the love of family and friends to guide you, even the most impossible dreams can take flight."

He winked. "And on that note, might I invite you and the princess to tea sometime soon? I'm simply dying to hear more!"

Skyline laughed, the anxieties in his heart easing. "I would like that, sir. And I will place my faith in Luna, and in all of you who stand with me. Um, but I can't promise she'll want to have tea. I can't speak for her, sir. I can only ask."

"And that's all that I ask, well, and to help me. You did volunteer." He began grabbing smaller tomes in his magic. "I will need all of these brought to my manor. Having a second set of hooves will make this so much easier." He passed roughly half of them towards Skyline to hold on their skilled and powerful wings. "I wasn't sure you could hold them that way, but there you are."

So they made their delivery, dropping off the books where Fancy could pore through them. Skyline set down the many legal tomes just in front of Fancy Pant's door for his butler to move. "Thank you." Fancy Pants nodded to Skyline. "But, your task is complete, and a larger stands before you." He set a hoof on Skyline's chest. "Go forth, and do what you know you must. You have my cheering support behind you."

Skyline had only just met the stallion, but that support felt like it meant something... "Thank you, sir."

It struck him as he walked towards the palace. He had done something new. He told someone not in the military that he was a changeling. Not because he had to, or even felt urged to. He just did it, and it wasn't even a big deal. "Maybe..."

He focused on... not focusing. He focused on becoming normal, on not being shifted, of returning to normal.

But nothing changed. He lifted one wing, then the other, checking over and above them. He could see nothing wrong with his wings, or his body. But he remained a bat pony. He raised a chin. "Dragon." With a rush of flames, he was a dragon. "Mare." He was a mare. "Foal." He was a foal. "Normal." He was a bat pony.

When he relaxed, he became a bat pony.

Author's Note:

Oh no... what happened?!

Join the special community of folks who like my stories, get updates early, and/or get your own here at atreon!

Don't want to do an ongoing thing? You could

Join my discord to chat!

Comments

[Eroraf86]

Either he has become the mask, or he is now bearing an egg. Either way, Fancy Pants is the best noble.

[redmar]

He's accepted that he's batpony it seems. If he decided on changeling he would probably become a changeling still but I doubt that's relevent.

[Lord BLACKHUNTER]

Yesssssss... Soon more bat ponies there will be.....