Separation
“Changeling! It's a changeling!” The two fillies screamed, pointing their hooves. “Scootaloo, stay back, it'll eat you!”
“Scootaloo,” Echo buried her face in her hoof, “shut them up, please. We don't need the whole neighborhood hearing this.”
“Don't you tell us to shut up!” Apple Bloom stood up and walked straight up to Echo, poking her in the chest with her hoof, “I may be little, but I bet I could buck a big crack in that shell of yours!”
A lot of spirit in this one. Echo thought as Scootaloo pushed Apple Bloom back.
“Apple Bloom, Sweetie, calm down.” Scootaloo said.
“How can you tell us to calm down,” Sweetie Belle screamed, “when there's a changeling right behind you, with the wings, and the horn, and the fangs, and it's going to eat you!”
“No, I'm not,” Echo raised an eyebrow, “changelings don't eat ponies,” she stated simply.
“She's not going to hurt you two,” Scootaloo pleaded, “stop screaming, please.”
“I'll explain everything,” Echo chimed.
“I don't want to hear none of what you've got to say!” Apple Bloom spat.
Well, isn't this going wonderfully. Time for a little of the old changeling assertiveness. “Tough. You're going to,” she said flippantly as she clamped their mouths shut with an aura of green magic. “I am still the same mare you know as Candlelight. I am not here to hurt you or anypony else.”
A muffled voice came from Apple Bloom for a second, before the filly gestured at her muzzle in annoyance.
Echo sighed, “If I release you, will you promise not to scream?” Apple Bloom murmured something in an affirmative tone, and Echo released her magic.
“If you want us to believe you, then you have to tell everypony the truth.”
“You're kidding,” she looked at her daughter, “They're kidding, right?” Then again, what choice do I have? “Look, let's just talk about this, okay? Because I don't think that's a smart idea,” Echo begged.
Sweetie mumbled through the magic, and Apple Bloom nodded her head 'yes' with an expression of grim determination. As Echo let them go, the two fillies walked up to her inquisitively.
“Well, she didn't kill us, Apple Bloom.” Sweetie said.
“That's true, she didn't.” Apple Bloom thought as she looked at Echo's carapace uncertainly. “You knew about this the whole time and didn't tell us?” she asked Scootaloo.
“Yeah, well, you didn't have the greatest reactions, did you?”
“I guess you're right,” Apple Bloom conceded.
“Well, I'm not okay with this,” Sweetie Belle said, “I think you should at least tell our sisters. They're the elements of harmony, they have to at least try to be friends with you.”
“I don't think Rainbow Dash would get mad at you,” Scootaloo rubbed her chin. Ever since Scootaloo's adoption, Rainbow Dash had been spending a lot of time visiting Echo's home. While Echo wouldn't go so far as to say that she and Rainbow Dash were friends, they certainly weren't on bad terms. “I think telling her is as good a place to start as any!”
Echo sighed and closed her eyes. “I suppose.” This is not going to end well. I'll end up in the Canterlot dungeons for sure. “She's supposed to come by tomorrow morning to pick up Scootaloo for the day. I'll tell her then, okay girls?”
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle shared a glance and nodded to each other before they turned back to Echo. “You got it,” Apple Bloom said, extending a hoof for a shake. She definitely takes after her sister. Echo grabbed the little yellow filly's hoof and shook it vigorously.
“Now don't tell a soul until I do, okay?” Echo made each filly – including her daughter – promise. “Good. Now get home, you two. I don't want your sisters to come looking for you right now.”
“Sure thing, Miss Candlelight,” Sweetie Belle said in a sing-song voice as she trotted out.
“G'night, Miss Candlelight,” Apple Bloom said respectfully as she curtsied before walking after Sweetie Belle.
“Well, I'm gonna go to bed. Good night, Mom!” Scootaloo said impetuously.
“Not so fast,” Echo called in her best 'mom' voice, “Before you go to bed, you're going to try 'Cutie Mark Crusader Housecleaner' for a few hours.”
“I was afraid you would say that,” Scootaloo admitted.
Several hours later, the changeling and the pegasus had made some small headway in cleaning the mess in the kitchen. The cabinet doors that had been pulled from their hinges had been replaced, and the wallpaper that had been strewn about the floor was left.
“I suppose you can go to bed now, bird-brain,” she chided playfully.
“Thank Celestia,” Scootaloo yawned, “g'night, Mom.”
“Good night, sweetheart.” Her eyes took on a wistful haze as she watched her daughter stumble up the stairs and heard the floorboards in her room creak. She turned back to the still considerable mess in the living room and spent a few more minutes sweeping up the bits of glass and sawdust that littered the floor. After a while, she heard her daughter's voice.
“Mom?” Scootaloo sounded surprised, “when did you come up here? What are you doing? Mom?”
Oh, sweet Chrysalis. “Scootaloo,” she shouted as she started up the stairs, “run!” As she said this, though, she heard her daughter scream. No, please, no!
She charged into her daughter's room to find a mirror image of herself staring at her with a wicked grin. Behind her doppelganger, Scootaloo was lying unconscious, a small trickle of blood running from the corner of her mouth.
“She's got some fight in her, doesn't she,” her double said.
“I'LL KILL YOU,” she screamed as she leaped forward. The imposter stepped to the side quickly and pinned her to the ground in a green aura. Echo struggled with all of her might, but couldn't break free.
“Now, now,” the intruder chastised, “is that any way to treat a guest, Echo? You little bitch.” Her mirror image snarled at the last word before flashing green, blinding Echo for a short moment. As her sight returned, she saw a large changeling male standing in the center of the room. One of his wings was torn badly, and Echo could tell it was an irreparable injury. His horn had been severed halfway from the base. It took her less than a second to realize who it was.
“Cluster? You traitor!”
“Oh, I'm a traitor, am I? I knew that you were an inept leader. You didn't deserve the command you received, you don't have what it takes to lead a single squad of changelings, let alone an entire battalion. You got lucky because you've got connections. Then you turned me in to Chrysalis, and she mutilated me. From my point of view, I feel pretty betrayed,” he held one hoof to his chest, his face radiating mock offense, “but now I've got you right where I want you.”
“I'll do worse than what Chrysalis did to you, if you lay so much as another hoof on that filly.”
“What, you mean you actually care about this feather duster?” Cluster huffed, “This little chicken can't even fly. She should have been culled from the herd years ago.”
“What,” Echo sneered, “you mean like you were?”
Cluster's face contorted into a visage of pure, unbridled rage as he stepped closer. “Listen to me, you conceited little bitch, I'm going to show you pain. I'm going to make you understand what it's like to be tortured, and to have everything you live for taken away from you – and I'm going to make her,” he gestured to Scootaloo, whose eyes were beginning to crack open again, “watch.”
Echo looked up into the eyes of her captor and pleaded quietly, “no, please...”
He laughed as he stepped closer, and whispered into her left ear, “how about we try an old classic on for size?” At that, he bit one fang through her ear and pulled a chunk away. Echo clenched her jaw and closed her eyes, determined not to scream with her daughter so near.
“I swear, Cluster, I'm going to kill you. I'll ram my horn into your throat, I'll smash your skull in with my bare hooves.”
“That's pretty big talk for someone in your position. What else can we try, do you think?” He looked her over with an inquisitive gaze before his eyes settled on her wings. “Oh, you don't need this, do you?” He chuckled as he grabbed her right wing with his magic, and began to slowly twist it. As it reached the end of its range of motion, he paused. “This is going to hurt you a lot more than it's going to hurt me.” Without another moment's hesitation, he twisted her wing another 90 degrees. Echo felt the muscles in her back tear, but seeing her daughter in the corner of her eye gave her the strength not to cry out.
“Impressive,” Cluster admitted, “I guess that training you got gave you more strength than I figured. Regardless, I'm going to have to get going soon, and I'm going to have to bring chicken little here along with me; and I can't have you following me,” he brought his head in close again, “can I?” Echo spit in his eye, and Cluster cursed for a moment as he wiped his face with his hoof. “I was only going to knock you out, but now I think I'll break your leg.”
He pulled one of her hooves out from her body and stretched the leg out straight. He raised his hoof up over his head and brought it down on her knee. Echo heard a sickening crack as pain shot up her foreleg. She let a muffled cry escape from her clenched jaw. Cluster let her go, and she fell limp to the ground.
Roughly, he picked Scootaloo up and placed her on his back. He changed in another flash to Candlelight, and wiped the small trail of blood from Scootaloo's mouth. “It's been a pleasure catching up with you, Echo.” His horn flared for a moment before he and Scootaloo disappeared in a blinding green flash.
Echo stayed there in silence for a moment as silence settled over the room. When she was sure that she was alone again, she felt tears escape her eyes. I failed. I promised her I would keep her safe, but I just sat here and took it while he tortured me right in front of her.
She didn't know how long she stayed there before she heard her front door open. Rainbow Dash's voice trailed up the stairs. “Echo,” the pegasus called, “are you here? Scootaloo?”
Echo swallowed the lump in her throat before she managed to croak, “up here!”
She heard hoofsteps coming up the stairs, and in a moment Rainbow Dash stood in the doorway. She gasped quickly before staring at the scene with a curiously flat affect.
Rainbow Dash stared vacantly for another moment before she asked, “what happened to you, Echo?”
“No time,” she said, “Scootaloo's in trouble.” Echo hobbled to her hooves but fell flat on her face as soon as she tried to take a step. Rainbow Dash zoomed forward to catch her.
“Jeeze,” Rainbow Dash said, “you really took a beating, didn't you? I'm sorry I didn't show up sooner to help.”
Echo began to mumble something, but she didn't really know what. Her eyes started to droop closed.
“Oh, no,” Rainbow Dash started as if she were giving a pep-talk, “don't you give up on me yet, stay with me, Echo - come on, stay with me.” Rainbow Dash started to pat Echo on either side of her face. “Come on, wake up.”
“I need help,” she managed to stammer.
Rainbow Dash paused for a second and looked Echo over with concern. “Can you change shape?”
“Yes,” Echo groaned as she leaned some of her weight on the pegasus, and switched into her disguise, “I can change. Where do we go, though?”
“Twilight probably knows some spell that could help you,” Rainbow Dash sputtered.
“No, not for me. I need help getting Scootaloo back safely.”
“You have to come first. If you can't hold your own weight, you wouldn't be much help to Scootaloo, would you?”
Echo was silently agreeing when she suddenly realized something. How does Rainbow Dash know my name? More than that, why didn't she freak out to see me as a changeling? The two began to walk out the door and toward the library. It was very late, so nopony was out on the streets. When they were on the library's doorstep, Echo finally worked up the courage to ask what was on her mind. “Rainbow Dash,” she started, “how do you know who I am?”
“Echo, please,” Dash looked down at Echo wistfully, “just trust me.”
Echo laid in a stupor on the couch in Twilight's basement. The unicorn came rushing down the stairs levitating a book, which she hurriedly placed on a desk in front of her. As she read, she asked, “Rainbow Dash, did she tell you anything? Do you know what happened?”
“No, Twi,” Dash said. “I don't have any idea.”
The two continued to talk while Echo remained prostrate on the couch. After a few minutes of discussion, Twilight walked over next to Echo and whispered, “this is probably going to hurt, Echo, but it should get you back on your hooves.” Nothing could hurt me more than knowing Scootaloo is in danger.
Twilight stepped back a few paces and her horn ignited. Her eyes were closed in focus. Dash, a few steps behind Twilight, looked at Echo with great concern in her eyes as the purple light of the healing spell encircled her. The bones in her foreleg screamed in pain as they were set by the spell, and the muscles in her back burned as they reattached themselves to her skeleton. She didn't utter a word, but remained still and suffered quietly. I'm dead. She thought. I'm dead and this is hell. As the aura around her faded, Echo's vision fell, too, and she lost consciousness.
She awoke some time later, alone. She could hear voices above her, Rainbow Dash's and Twilight's. She hobbled to her hooves and found that, while painful, her broken leg could support her weight, now. She buzzed her wings and found that they, too, could support her. The noise she made as she flew must have been enough to alert the two ponies upstairs, since Rainbow Dash quickly came flying down the stairs, and barreled straight into Echo.
“Oh my gosh, Echo! I'm so glad you're okay.” Dash had tears in her eyes. What the hay is going on here? Rainbow Dash doesn't cry.
“I'm glad too,” Twilight chimed as she rounded the bottom of the stairs, too, “but maybe we should be a little more gentle with Echo right now?”
“Yes," Dash stood up and brushed herself off, "you're probably right, Twilight.”
Echo's temper flared though her substantial pain, and she snapped, “Just what the hay is going on here? She isn't even concerned that I'm a changeling? She knows my real name? Did you tell her, Twilight? Is that what happened?” Twilight and Rainbow Dash looked at each other blankly. “Well, say something!”
“Echo,” Twilight said calmly, “let's just take a moment to relax while I explain, okay?”
“No,” Echo shouted, “I won't take a moment to relax, because my daughter is out there somewhere in the hooves of a mad changeling with a serious grudge against me. I'm not going to sit down here and listen to you two explain some stupid pony drama to me.”
“Echo!” Rainbow Dash's voice boomed with a sudden authority, “you will sit down, and you will listen.” As Echo looked into Rainbow Dash's eyes, a familiar glimmer crossed over them. It would have been imperceptible to a pony, but to a changeling, it was a dead giveaway.
“You're a changeling.” Echo stated in disbelief.
“Not just any changeling, Echo,” Rainbow Dash's silhouette was shrouded in a tower of green flame that licked the ceiling. As it dispersed, the tall, slender figure of queen Chrysalis stood in Twilight's basement. “I'm your queen.”
Stats
Page generated in 0.022 seconds
Total duration
1,030 users online
1,565,306 hits today, 2,004,447 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
ok then, one question, where's rainbow dash?
Cutie mark crusaders the most destructive force ever managable
Well, that came out of left field.
so... the enemy of my enemy is (disguised as) my friend?
Damn. You just blew my mind with that.
Welp, wasn't expecting that one. Time to see how they're going to tackle this
*While waiting for this chapter*
Oh my, I suddenly have a very bad feeling...
*When I see it is updated*
Ok, everything is going to be fine, just fine....
*After reading*
Crap! Crap! Crap! Everything is not fine, everything is going terrible wrong!
Please let everypony be ok!!!!
What...the...actual...FUCK!!?!?!?!?!
DA BUCK?!?!
Oh....oh wow.... It's the mark of a good story when you can get someone to say "Oh wow thats sad" It's a mark of great story when they cringe and shudder when something bad happens to the characters. Poor Echo
The next update just can't come soon enough.
'Holy fuck' was my thought wen reading the end
What a
. Now whats Chrysalis up to? Did she impersonate RD all the Time. Did Twilight know? And Chrysalis crying? So i guess that Twily was right with her guess that Chrysi is Echo's Mother? Will we get another Chapter today (would be pretty awesome)?
So many questions.
Wait, if Chrysalis is pretending to be Rainbow Dash, what is up with Twilight? It is Twilight, yes? Not another changeling? And if it's not, what the hell did Chrysalis say to her? ...unless there's some powerful mind control magic on Twilight so she's not flipping out over all the changelings but just helping "Candlelight" with "RD" there.
2175842 I'll be happy to answer your questions, as well as everyone else's.
Just wait for the next update(s).
2175940
2175959
2175932 Probably not another update today. I'd guess you'd have to wait at least another 24 hours.
I don't want to fall into the same trap I did a week ago and start pushing updates too quickly. Especially here near the climax, things need to be done right.
Glad you're enjoying it, though! Keep an eye out.
Well, that just happened.
WHAT THE HAY JUST HAPPENED?
Oh god I just got trolled... must be karma paying me back for cliffhangering my readers lately...
One question: What?
I hear scootaloo tastes like chicken
2175842 Taking a nap
Also good update.
Whenever I write a story with a scene like this one had have a hard time myself
2176018 The most successful villains are the ones that strike when they are least expected.
Cluster's no idiot.
2176057 No I mean RD being a Changeling... She's probably
at me now.
Wait... so that means we authors are villains
after all, we surprise the readers when they least expect it 
2176087 Unfortunately, if I respond too in-depth to your comment, I'll spoil a few things, so I'm going to have to regrettably tell you to wait.
2176103 That's understandable, I have to do that with my readers too. It take so much effort to just shut up when they speculate.
Oh lawd, shit's goin down!
"This little piggy went to market..."
Uhhhhhhhhhhhh...........
Stupid Cliffhanger Man! MOAR!
2176087
I swear, Clusters going to be in one hell of a clusterfuck(hehe) when Echo gets her hooves on 'Im.
I will have to withhold judgment on
until the next chapter.
OH SHIT CHRYSALIS!!!!!!
Crusaders know she's a changling
Cluster knows where she lives
Echo got her flank kicked
Scootaloo was abducted
Rainbow Dash is Queen Chrysalis
...
I'm gonna be honest, I don't really know where that leaves us.
There are often those characters that you just want to step into their world and beat them to death with their own spine. such as That b****** who attacked the changeling foal in "Changing times". and (before it was changed) the one judge In "catch you" who gave scootaloo a 9 after performing a sonic rainboom in honor of rainbowdash who had died. That one alicorn in "Fallout: Equestria" who decided to wear Luna's skeleton as armor. And now CLUSTER!!!
im kind of lost here..
Cluster was it? You are going to die in the most painful way imaginable and be dragged off to hell.
There are few times where I really just want to kill a character, this is one of those times. Congratulations author, you have made the blood-lust in me come out. Kill him slowly and painfully please (and please don't do this)
What the HELL is going on?! How can Rainbow Dash be a changeling, much less the Queen changeling that attacked Celestia?!
And then, my brain exploded!
I like this! Can't wait for more
Wait, what?
DA FUCK IS GOING ON??
And cluster I will Rip your throat out through YOUR GODDAMN ASS!
Straaaaange, nearly looks like Chrysalis isn't an antagonist(or at least not the big evil) for a change.
But that brings up some questions:
1. Is Chrysalis realy related to Echo, or even her mother? would explain why she was concerned about Echo.
2. How long is Crysalis in Ponyvill already?
3. WHERE THE BUCK IS RAINBOW?
...a week ago i would probably be disturbed by this developments... but than i read a VERY fu*ked up story... and now i nearly feel nothing in the matter of disturbing... omg... are my feelings dead?
any ways, good work ^^
…well, that was unexpected.
Okay I love your story dude but one thing. THE BUCK JUST HAPPENED!
I guess I'll have to wait until next chapter.
2177452 All will be explained, cease your worry.
2176652 In my world, there is no such thing as a Karma Houdini. A villain may temporarily escape their karmic justice, but that only means they're compounding the pain.
2176483 Be still, good sir. Answers will come.