04 - Go Under
He wasn’t going to say that this forest was particularly… Homely. Because, in all honesty, it wasn’t. It was big, scary, and dark. But despite himself, he couldn’t help but feel that little bit more at ease the deeper he went in. From the outside, these towering trees were scary, but he knew them like the back of his hoof. He knew how to be careful with his steps around here. Which paths to take, which plants to avoid, and which trees housed angry squirrels. He wasn’t joking about the territorial squirrels. That was a genuine fear.
In his younger days, he had spent a significant amount of time in this forest. After he had fled his last town- named something with a spire in it, he wasn’t exactly sure, but this was the forest he had ended up, for better or for worse. And that in itself must’ve been five or six years ago, maybe even more.When he had arrived, he was nothing more than a foal-hatchling-thing, and although Ponyville had supplied him with an infinite supply of love, he was forced to live in these woods until he could maintain an adult disguise for prolonged periods of time, and therefore able to work and afford his house.
But, even after leaving this forest for such a long time, there was still a faint memory that stood out to him. It was one, tiny, annoying and painful detail that refused to leave his brain, and unfortunately, his recollection of that detail was reignited ten-fold when he stepped foot back in here.
The thorns. The damn thorns. Out here, they were everywhere. He would barely even brush a plant, and end up looking like a pin-cushion on the other side. Soon enough, his entire body was covered in tiny little needles, pricking into his skin, and turning his disguise, Staples, into a porcupine. They weren’t dangerous, per say, but he would much rather go without them than with. They were just painful and annoying. Annoyingly painful. Painfully annoying. Whichever one was worse.
But, past the tiny little devils that turned his hooves into swiss cheese (not that they weren’t already,) the crying he had heard from the trail had become crystal clear now, despite the filly going from racking sobs to pitiful sniffles. Not only was she easily heard now, but Radius could distinctly hear a strange ruffling sound. It was like a thousand bed linens were flapping in the wind all at once. He couldn’t pinpoint what was causing the sound, but it sounded natural in nature, and not at all like the ruthless monster he was imagining in his head.
The sky had turned black now, and Radius could feel his Changeling instincts take over as the darkness surrounded him. If he wasn’t disguised, he would’ve perfectly blended in, just like how he was designed. He automatically lowered his body to the ground, and like a panther, began stalking his prey.
He winced as a thorn dislodged, poking into the crook of his leg. He paused for a moment, distastefully looking down at his armpit where the thorn resided. A sly grin peeped it’s way onto his muzzle as he looked around at the surrounding area, looking for any potential witnesses. Then, carefully, he loosened his orange tie and slipped it around his neck, tossing it a good distance away. His horn ignited, and his glasses were levitated away from his face.
The Changeling ignited into orange flames, but instead of changing into a new disguise, when the flames faded, it was still good ol’ Staples. Only the hundreds of little thorns had turned into ash, falling away and drifting in the wind. He slipped the tie back around his neck, tightening it, and plopping his glasses back onto his muzzle.
That, ladies and gentle-stallions, was one of the perks of being a Changeling.
Such a shame he relied on others emotions to live. Fortunately, Ponyville was set in that department.
Slowly, he began creeping forwards once more. He came to a large tree, and like the previously mentioned panther, his head barely creeped around the tree, one of his orange eyes peeping around the massive trunk and towards the crying.
For a second, he didn’t even see the filly, nor the scene around her. Instead, he flinched back, his muzzle turning up in disgust as he was hit with a wave of sadness. Imagine standing outside and letting the sun burn your skin brightly, no sunscreen, and no clothes. Just burning, singing heat. It was a little bit like that, but instead of the heat of the sun, it was the taste of bitterness.
Radius quickly ducked his head back behind the tree, gagging slightly as he momentarily forgot the taste of love. Similarly to holding their breath, Changelings could hold their emotion receptors, momentarily pausing their emotional intake. Of course, just like breathing, he would have to turn it back on. But, unlike breathing, he only had to turn them back on when he began starving.
He peeked his head back around the tree trunk, unobscured by the gallons of sadness pouring out of the filly. He could still barely taste it in the air, but compared to before, it was… manageable.
It was a tiny opening, splitting of the trees, and not really big enough to see from the sky unless a Pegasus knew to look for it. The noise he had heard earlier- the sounds of bed linens- they had actually turned out to be the sound of a rushing river. It was foamy, the water rippling and sputtering around big jagged rocks. It wasn’t a small river, neither. It was wider than a small building, going both ways, and down farther than his eye could see.
Not ten feet in front of him was the filly he had heard, laying down with her back facing him, and staring down into the water. She was shaking slightly, her body wracking with little sniffles as she fought back tears. He couldn’t see her face from his position, but he could definitely tell that the filly had been crying for a good long while.
Her head was laid down onto her hooves, and she let out a momentous sigh, her hoof pushing into the water and watching as the current moved around it.
He could feel the tension break from his shoulders, but instead of being replace with relief, Radius was filled with disappointment. Horribly so. Nopony was being mauled by a Timberwolf, Ursa-Major, Cock-a-trice, or anything of the sort. Not even by another Changeling. It was just a young filly and her own problems.
Radius felt his face fall into a deep frown, adjusting his spectacles and turning around with a huff, beginning to make his way back the way he came. He let his very little daylight burn completely out, leaving the world masked in a dank darkness for a little filly.
Or…
Radius stopped in his tracks.
Or the filly was lost, and couldn’t find her way home.
He chewed his lip thoughtfully as he looked up at the bright moon, illuminating his face with ghostly light. He chewed a little harder as he pondered the possibility. It… would make sense as to why she was crying. Being lost out here by herself in the great big Everfree. All alone. It would make anypony cry, not just a little filly.
Okay- maybe she wasn’t being attacked by a Timberwolf or what-nots, but still, he had the chance to save a filly, even if Ponyville was only a little more than a mile out.
He turned around once more, and began trudging back towards the filly, going further than the tree’s trunk he had hidden behind earlier.
How long has it been since he was in that spot? How long ago was it when he wanted somepony to tell him everything was going to be okay? Truth be told, he had never had that kind of comfort. Of course, he was a Changeling, and had fooled ponies into giving him sympathy before. Well- ‘fooled’ was a strong word. It felt fooled due to his disguise. He would’ve felt much better if they had just… accepted him for being a bug monster.
There was a reason why he didn’t make close friends. Not anymore, at least.
The filly had a cream coat, similar to his own. Her mane was curly, like his, but a deeper red instead of Staples’s orange. Her Cutiemark was that of two candy canes crossing each other. Maybe some kind of treat-maker? Just really loved candy?
Radius paused, now standing directly behind her. Which, in all honesty, was a little creepy. Here he was, a full grown stallion, towering over a filly. At night. And although he didn’t mean to be, his hoof steps were completely silent, the sounds of rushing water completely masking any sound he made.
He took one last breath, and suddenly had the feeling that he was immensely under qualified to deal with… this. He looked to the moon for any help. All that it responded with was something blue dash away. Maybe a shooting star?
He looked back down, and lightly, cleared his throat.
Nothing. The filly didn’t hear him, and she didn’t react. So, like a normal pony and definitely not a creepy Changeling, he tried again, clearing his throat louder.
She kept sniffling, her hoof still dipped in the water, playing with the current.
“Hello?” He asked quietly.
Not a twitch. Finally, he had enough.
“Hey!” He yelled.
“Gah!” Unfortunately, it seemed his yelling had worked a little bit too well.
He saw her face for a quarter of a second.Through that teeny-tiny glance, he saw her bright fuscia eyes that looked extremely startled. In front of those eyes were purple glasses that looked identical to his, only instead of his square and boxy frames were smooth and curvy.
That was all he managed to glimpse of her, however, as the next moment were full of pain, stars, and the sudden introduction of two hooves connecting directly into his muzzle.
Pow!
She, in her startledness, had accidentally and completely reflexively bucked him in the muzzle. There was a cracking sound as either his jaw or his glasses were shattered where they sat, his neck snapping backwards as he collapsed on the ground like a paper bag full of air. The sounds of glass littering the ground told him that the shattering sound was not his jaw, and instead the glasses that he always wore turning into a fine glass mist.
He squeezed his eyes shut tightly as he grasped his muzzle, sending silent curses out as he withered in pain.
“Oww! Ow-ow-ow-ow!” He hissed on the ground, his legs kicking up dirt as he withered around. “Celestia above, kid, you really know how to kick!” He not only silently cursed the pain away, but also silently cursed himself. He hadn’t just startled a filly, but also startled an Earth-Pony, the ones who were known for shaking apples loose from trees by sheer force. He was lucky he didn’t loose any teeth, and that the only casualty seemed to be his glasses, a billion bits on the ground next to him.
He slowly pushed himself back up lethargically, rubbing his muzzle in pain as he did so. Truth be told, he didn’t need the glasses to see, because of course he didn’t. But, when the guards come knocking, are they going to expect a Changeling to be wearing glasses? No. Well- maybe. That’s besides the point.
Finally, he met the eyes of the filly. They seemed to be glowing under the moonlight, illuminating her face as she breathed quickly. Her eyes were wider than saucepans as she stared directly at the Changeling in front of her, her legs quivering with fear.
Wait. Fear?
She wasn’t just scared, but she was horrified. Her jaw was flexed tight as her lip quivered, her stance telling Radius she was in a fight or flight response.
“Kid, are you okay?” He asked in his best polite tone. “I know I scared you, but-” He pushed his tie up with his hoof, showing the filly the orange fabric as a means to make her feel less stressed. “I’m just a lowly office worker. I’m not here to hurt…” But something was off about his tie. It crunched as he moved it, and when he looked down at his tie, he quite quickly realized it was burnt. Crunchy and crispy. The fabric looked like it had gone through a fire, leaving behind a charred corpse.
He looked farther down.
Radius wasn’t cream anymore, like his coat.
He was black. And holey.
Slowly, he looked back up. The fear in her eyes suddenly make much more sense. She wasn’t startled by a pony. She was startled by a Changeling. The kick to the teeth must’ve accidentially made him undisguise, and he hadn’t even realized it until just now.
The Changeling. The blood-sucking parasite that plagued Equestria. The species that tried to overthrow Princess Celestia herself.
That species was currently staring down a defenseless filly.
“Uh…” He swallowed heavily, suddenly aware of what this filly was capable of. Outing him to the town. Had she even seen his disguise? She could probably put two-and-two together, with the burnt orange tie and the shattered glasses, and link straight back to Staples. It was best to approach this carefully. “I know what it looks like-”
“Changeling!” She suddenly shouted, the volume surprising him. He winced at her words, suddenly and quickly standing up as the filly began backing up. “Changeling! Help me! Changeling!” She screamed. Adrenaline began pumping through his veins as visions of a Changeling-hunt began swimming through his head.
“I’m not going to hurt you!” He tried to reason. The filly just kept shaking her head viciously. Radius gasped as he looked behind her. “No-no- wait!”
But it was too late. Her hoof suddenly slipped off of the rocks she had been resting on moments before.
She slipped.
Right
into
the
river.
It happened in less than the blink of an eye. She was there one moment, and then like a failed rock skip, she vanished below the surface of the rushing water, the only semblance that anypony ever being there was the echoing of her screams in the forest around him.
A second passed.
He could leave. Turn around right now, and pretend nothing had ever happened. Nopony would have to know he was here. To Tartarus with it, he wasn’t even sure if anypony knew that filly was this far out.
And then another second.
He was a Changeling. A fierce species, known for having no heart. No emotions of their own. Only the skills of a psychopath that only cared for themselves. Yet- as he watched the rushing water, he knew that bit of his research was false. Untrue. He wasn’t a psychopath. He had a heart, the same as any other pony. And that filly needed his help. (Even if he had caused the situation she had found herself in.)
And another second.
Time, if it had slowed down, he wasn’t even sure. But it had resumed, and without a second thought, he was galloping quicker than he had ever galloped in his entire life.
The moonlight barely illuminated the path in front of him, but it was more than enough to see where he was going. He was going the direction of the water, desperate to outpace the filly and get to a point where he could potentially grab her out of the water.
His foreleg suddenly tripped on a loose stick, and although he caught himself, he quickly remembered he had a horn. It ignited, lighting the path in front of him an extra few feet. He dodged and weaved, looking to his side and catching glimpses of the river. Those rocks looked sharp.
He didn’t know what he was doing. Really, at the end of the day, he was a simple office worker. Not this… jumping, weaving, and dodging Changeling desperately chasing the river in the hopes to outrun her drowning. He was a Changeling, damn it! He wasn’t supposed to feel emotions! Panic, fear, and guilt! He felt these things!
But Radius wasn’t a normal Changeling. At least, he didn’t think he was. He sure as hay wasn’t a part of Queen Chrysalis’s hive. So did that give him the excuse to feel these emotions? Sure. Sure it did.
His hooves dug into the ground, not even feeling tired from galloping. This was far enough, right? Surely he outran the filly, right?
He quickly surveyed the area and found a long stick. It looked like a thick tree branch that had snapped off a long time ago, sturdy in construction. Now, as he began wrapping his magic around this branch, it was time to show up Twilight Sparkle.
The branch heaved into the air, and for a moment, his magic faltered, not ready for it to be so heavy. But he forced it to stabilize, and without a second thought, dunked it halfway into the river.
And waited. He watched, the rippling, the current. The jagged rocks under the surface. How fast it was moving. He was looking for a quick moving blob that resembled a filly.
And the seconds ticked by. They ticked by so, painfully slowly. Had he not run far enough down? Was it too late? Was she already halfway to the nearest ocean?
It was so painful. So, so painful. He began to feel his adrenaline wear off, his shoulders slump as he began to slowly realize exactly what had happened. He had practically just murdered a filly. And, although he had tried to save her, what good would it be?
Thunk!
Suddenly, her head burst from the surface of the water. Her chest heaved as she tried to breathe, her hooves wrapped around the log, pulling herself up as far as she could. Radius redoubled his magic, holding on as tight as he could, gritting his teeth.
The filly looked unharmed, although her purple glasses had been long since lost in the current. Her red mane clung to her scalp, water dripping down, blinking harshly to clear her vision.
Radius leapt forwards, his magic shaking for half a second as he laid down, reaching as far off the river bank he could.
“Give me your hoof!” He shouted. “Kid, give me your hoof!” He added quickly.
The filly blinked again, and although she was halfway in a river, on the verge of drowning, she still hesitated. Just for a moment. Her eyes flickered up in a small internal debate, and although Radius held his hoof out, she just held onto the log tighter.
“Kid, please!” He begged. “Give me your hoof! I’m not dangerous! I promise!”
The filly still just stared.
“I’m not like them!” He shouted, suddenly finding himself on the verge of tears. “I’m not the same! Please!”
She tried to hang onto the branch tighter, readjusting her grip. Unfortunately, the moment she moved her hoof, the current took her away once more. All he heard was a little gasp as she went under the water again.
“Damn it!” He screamed, dropping the branch into the water, discarded, and began galloping again.
Why was he crying? He wasn’t the one drowning. But, for some reason, his eyes were full of tears, burning in the wind as he galloped further down. Why. Why wouldn’t she just listen? Would she rather die than be helped by a Changeling? What would she loose either way? It was dumb. Just simply put- dumb.
Through the moonlight, he saw the structure of a fallen tree. It had collapsed over the river, a portion of it even dipping below the surface, and the top flattened as many animals had used it as a bridge, across the terrible rapids.
Without thinking, he lept onto the tree.
But, unlike last time, he had barely ran at all before stopping. Compared to last time, he had zero time to prepare for the filly approaching. Before even completely stopping on the log, he saw the black blob of a filly, moving quickly under water, approach him.
Radius was a compulsive Changeling. He did things without thinking. He says things without thinking, which usually lands him in sticky situations, like earlier today at Sugarcube Corner. Maybe he was compulsive because of the way he was raised, out in the Everfree and skipping town to town. Or, maybe he was always destined to be like that.
Truth be told, it was just his modus operandi.
And compulsive he was. Without a second thought, he leapt into the river.
The water was cold. Ice cold. Almost instantly, he felt himself tense up almost painfully as the water bit him. The thorns felt like nothing compared to this. He began to feel the intense current throwing him as hard as it could in the opposite direction.
He quickly flailed his hoof, and through the dark and cold water, it made contact with the filly. Quickly, he pulled her tight against his chest, and reached one hoof out of the water.
Another pro of being a Changeling were his hooves. They were holey, which upon first glance, might be revolting. It looked as if he had went through a war zone, or maybe just some intensely gross birth defect. But they were strong, and in some cases like stalking or falling, actually quite useful.
The log he was standing on not four seconds earlier made contact with his hoof. He felt his shoulder pull, and suddenly, he was locked in place just underneath the log, the current still trying desperately to pull him under.
A branch of the log had went through a hole in his hoof. He was locked in place, the filly still held close to his chest.
This was ridiculous. He was an office worker! Not some kind of super hero! And now, with his head below water, the blackness everywhere and the coldness seeping into his skin, he suddenly realized why office workers weren’t cut out for super hero activities.
He was getting tired. All of that running, all of that leaping and prolonged magic use had weakened him, and now, as he wiggled and wormed against the current, he felt his lungs begin to burn, desperate for air.
He was an adult and he was running out of air already. The filly that he held close to his chest was just a foal. Had she already run out of air?
That thought scared him, and somehow, gave him a little bit of extra energy. That little dosage of adrenaline that he needed. He twisted himself underwater, pulled his legs forwards, and revenge-bucked the filly.
There was a splashing noise, and the filly was gone.
Just like that. No huge saving scene as the hero poses dramatically like in the movies, no confetti, and no pony thanking him. The filly was gone, and now he was stuck under water.
His lungs really began to burn now. It was like they were trying to turn themselves inside out, and he could distinctly imagine them turning into a raisin. He cringed, his eyes squeezing tightly, and he was desperate to pull in a breath.
Although his eyes were already closed, he begun to see darkness seep into the corners of his vision. He was starting to black out from a lack of oxygen, and although he was fighting it as long as he could, he couldn’t help it. He even tried to take a deep breath in, but exactly what he thought would happen happened.
And he slipped.
Further.
And further.
And further.
“You know I forgive you, right? I forgive you, because you never did anything wrong, Radie.”
Suddenly, he was yanked from the water. Two strong hooves wrapped around the only limb out of water, and with herculean strength, his entire body was chucked to the shore like a rag doll. He hit the ground and rolled a few extra feet, coming to a complete stop.
The first thing he did after being saved, of course, was cough.
Cough non-stop like a mad-pony. His coughs went from normal coughs to racking, sounding almost like he was trying to throw up.
His head was light, his limbs were in pain, and he was cold. So, very cold. The coldness seeped through every vein, every bone, and every muscle. His chitin felt like it was frosted over, his eye almost glued completely shut. But, painfully, he looked up from his position on the ground. Slowly, he saw a silhouette standing over him in the darkness. It wasn’t the filly, as this pony was much taller, and a Pegasus.
“Sup.” He weakly croaked out. And then finally, the world went blank as his head hit the ground.
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Looks like Staples has some explaining to do, and I'm all here for it
Well, at least he tried. Makes sense that an office worker wouldn't be capable of such heroics. I'm going to guess that it was Rainbow who saved them based off the way she acted the previous chapter.
NOOOO a cliff hanger how will I go on??!?!?!?!
Jokes aside great chapter and I look forward to the next one!
Oh yeah, squirrels can totally be real mean when they wanna be.
We all know you aren't going to though, dude, so hope your breaststroke is up to snuff.
Oh yeah, nearly forgot about Rainbow.
I don't get it... Did I miss something?
this should be very, very interestinf
No rush(very excited for this story though), but might wanna update that part of the description
I noticed you've been working on if twilight was a Pegasus instead, is this fic on hold until that one is done?
11691899
I’m a poorly made human.
I actually had about three or four chapters written in advance, but when I posted the first three chapters I decided to rewrite the fourth. And if I want to continue, I should probably rewrite the next few, too.
If I continue to update, I want this story to be something I’m proud of. I can crank out a chapter in like two days, just look at my youtube channel, but I really love this story and don’t want to do that. I’ll probably finish it.
Actually, if you want, send me a DM and I can send you the two scrapped chapters that’ll never be published. Goes for anyone else reading this comment, too.
11692124
Hey I feel that. But anyway no rush, I just saw a ton of updates on one fic and no response on this one so I was just curious. But yah I'll send a dm, be awesome to read them
Eyyy, it's Twist!