False Colours
Chapter 6: False Colours
Apple Bloom yawned as she went outside to the playground for the break. She rubbed her bleary eyes and turned to the sound of buzzing. As she exited, she noticed Bastion hovering out with a big box in his hooves, or paws, she wasn’t sure what they were called.
“Anyone want to play a game?”
The rest of class swarmed around him as he opened up the box.
“What’s the game?” Rumble asked.
“It’s called ‘Warlock Craft’,” he replied with a mildly unsettling smile. “You play a warlock who’s trying to get his demon servants to take over the world.“
The foals circling him all stared as he folded out the playing field.
“You play on these hex tiles, and every corner has a resource. Depending on who you’re playing, you want different resources: Root Zombies start off needing grass, Cinders start off needing tar. You can check which is which on these cards.” he held up some big cards with the name of the demon race and pictures of the resources, framed by two circles. “Then as the game goes on, you can adapt so you can use other resources and put those on the empty circles there.”
“I’ve seen this,” Sweetie Belle remarked. “It’s ‘Dominance’, right?”
“Sort of. This is based on it, but it’s got a few differences. Every turn, you can spread out your food resources to different terrain tiles, so your pawns can survive on them. You can fortify your position and add pawns, but it depends on the type of terrain you’re on to see how much. You get food out of your pawns based on what you’re harvesting, and the amount of stuff you harvest determines your score; it’s the number of circles there times the number of pawns on the hex times the number of points that have it. Then you lose some of those resources as food, depending on how many pawns are on the square and how much they need. But you don’t just use them for food, you can send them into combat, too. And you get special units.” Bastion got out another set of cards.
The foals looked to one another as Bastion showed it all. He may as well have been talking about the infection vectors of tapeworms, for all they understood of it.
“Those are your avatars. They’re like hero units, and they cost different amounts of food. The good thing is: a hero can let you research spells to make the game more interesting. They can move around, spread your pawns, deal damage to the other player’s pawns. You get all sorts of spells, but you have to spend some of your resources to research them, and the kinds of spells you get depends on the kinds of resources you can harvest. If you want to research fireballs, you need a good amount of tar, so if you don’t have any tar you can’t use that spell. Plus, you spend spell power for every spell, and how you regain that depends on your hero and your race. Every hero’s got strengths and weaknesses, and every race has a passive ability you can use anytime.”
By this point, a few jaws were hanging slack and a couple of pairs of eyes went wide.
“Soooo… anyone wanna play?” Bastion asked with a shy smile.
Silence fell. Rumble, Silver Spoon, Snips and Snails were looking at all the race cards, Diamond Tiara and Piña Colada were looking at the hero cards, Apple Bloom was browsing through the rulebook with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo hanging over her shoulder.
“I don’t know. It looks kind of complicated,” Scootaloo started.
“Yeah, Bastion. I don’t see how anypony would play this game,” Silver Spoon agreed. “Besides, it says on the box ‘Suggested for mature players.”
“That’s what the salespony told my mom when she got it.”
“And what did she have to say about that?” Rumble asked.
“She said: ‘Suggestion noted’. It’s not that hard, actually.”
“Yes. Yes, it is,” Piña Colada replied, still trying to make sense of all the rules.
Apple Bloom stole a few glances at her classmates, then one at Bastion. He looked embarrassed at bringing a game to school that was too complicated for anyone else to play. She smiled.
“I’ll try it. But you’ll have to be careful to keep the rules clear, okay?”
“Of course. It has to be fair. Which race do you want?”
Apple Bloom sat down and shuffled through the cards, comparing avatar cards and passive abilities.
“Doomweavers. They can feed off their enemies, right?” she asked as she set up the pawns as the rulebook stated.
“Right. If you’re attacking with your pawns, you get food based on what I lose. And if your heroes take out my pawns, they regenerate health and spell points. Mine are Root Zombies: most of their abilities are about surviving and regrowth. They keep coming back no matter how often you beat them. And their passive ability gives more spell power to my heroes if they’re on friendly territory and past a critical mass.”
Apple Bloom nodded and smiled. A little ruffle through the bag of resources, a little bit of setting up, and the game was on.
“Huh,” Apple Bloom remarked. “You know, this looked a lot easier in the manual.”
The little crowd around them seemed to agree. While the game was fast-paced enough to do a duel on their break, it did leave the board littered with pawns. Combat had been intense, with pawns falling on both sides, but Apple Bloom always being left at a disadvantage because of the regrowth abilities of her foes.
Bastion had outplayed her, pure and simple. His pawns had expanded to cover more ground while hers had mostly been locked in combat the whole game. Her avatar hadn’t fared much better, either. The Lord of the Web got plenty of kills, but Bastion’s Gleancrawler kept undoing a lot of her damage with his reviving abilities. He kept researching higher level revive spells, which made combat with the hero an uphill battle, even if it did hamper his damaging abilities.
And to add further insult to injury, Apple Bloom lost so many pawns in combat she couldn’t catch up on the economic side of things. Bastion had played it pretty smart, all in all, avoiding risks and only really taking tiles of hers if he knew he would come out on top. Aside from that, he spent more time customising the tiles he could hold, so he got more resources from them.
He was focused on food while she was focused on combat, and the food had won out. It had been a good game, and Apple Bloom had to admit that the changeling played fair. He’d always pointed out rules and abilities and made sure she knew what his units could do and what hers could do. She couldn’t blame him for losing, and the foals around still seemed to think it was anyone’s game.
She saw what was going to happen now, though.
“I think you got me.” She smiled warmly, though. It was an interesting game, and Bastion had kept his word on making sure things were fair.
Bastion winced.
“Yeah. Sorry.”
“Don’t be: you didn’t cheat. You just used your abilities better than me.”
“Wait, how has Bastion won? You can still do a lot of damage to him next turn, right?” Sweetie Belle started.
“Nope, there’s not going to be a next turn. His race has got a passive ability that lets him supercharge a spell once enough pawns are on the hero’s square. And since he just got his Gleancrawler’s biggest spell up, I’m toast.”
“She’s right. I move my avatar to this marsh square here.” He motioned to the centre of the playing field and the edge of his opponent’s territory. “And then I use my Gleancrawler’s ‘Living Plague’ ability. And because he’s got over twenty pawns on his tile, the range is two tiles higher than normal and the damage is twice as high.”
“Meanin’ I’m wiped out,” Apple Bloom admitted. “Good game, Bastion.”
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle breathed a sigh of relief as their friend extended a hoof to the changeling for him to shake. She was finally acting nice to him.
“Good game,” he replied as he shook that hoof, “you just didn’t focus enough on expanding. You need to make a good balance between getting food with your pawns and using them for combat.”
“Right.” Apple Bloom helped him clean up, their break nearly over. “But I guess for the ones you were playing that’s still different, since you can use your pawns to power your spells.”
“Yeah, I like the Root Zombies. They’re hard to master, but once you figure out the best way to turn your food into magic, you can make some interesting strategies.”
Apple Bloom froze for a moment as the bell rang.
Turn food into magic.
“That did look pretty fun,” Scootaloo offered, “I wouldn’t mind trying that game sometime.”
They keep coming back, no matter how often you beat them.
“Apple Bloom? You okay?” Sweetie Belle asked.
Concentrates on food first, because that powers his magic.
Bastion turned around to look at the filly. He looked happy, almost smirking.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she lied. “And actually, Bastion? Would you mind if I sat with you for lunch today? There’s some stuff I’d like to talk about. Alone, if that’s okay.”
“Sure,” the changeling replied with a flourish, making that odd clicking noise again like a bat.
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle turned to their friend as the rest of class went in.
“What? I’m just bein’ nice, like I promised. I want to ask him a few things, get to know him. Ain’t that allowed either?”
Wordlessly, Scootaloo went in. Sweetie Belle stayed behind.
“Try to be careful with what you say to him, okay? I think Scootaloo might be getting a little upset about the whole thing.”
“Don’t worry, everything will be just fine.”
Bastion finished munching on his cucumber sandwich just as Apple Bloom got done with the last of her daisy sandwich. The other foals were already done with their lunch and were running about on the playground, leaving them both be.
“Want some apple juice?” she offered, holding up a bottle for him.
“Sure, thanks. I-I didn’t bring any red nectar for you, though.” He blushed.
“That’s okay, think of it as a little present. I made that just for you.”
Bastion smiled and took a long couple of gulps. He licked his lips when he was done.
“Thought you might like that.”
“Hmm, it’s great. I love apple. This isn’t the same kind of apple you put in the pies, though, right?”
“No, it’s one we keep for special occasions. Kinda like how your red nectar was for special occasions, wasn’t it?” Apple Bloom coyly inquired.
“Uh huh,” Bastion took another sip. “After battles, or if the Queen wanted to celebrate.”
“So that means you had normal food and drink, too. What are you used to eating? If you don’t mind me askin’.”
“I don’t mind,” he replied with a smile and a shrug. “Most of our food was the same thing every day: mushrooms, honey, acorns, whatever we could find. We didn’t farm too many different things, just what we needed to survive, and even then...”
“What about love? I mean, you do need that to live, right?”
Bastion nodded.
“Most of the time one of our infiltrators would ambush someone, put them in a pod, then take their place for a while. We can copy basic personalities on sight, but it’s not perfect, so they only have a little while before they’re found out. When the infiltrator is done feeding, they come back to the hive and share.”
“But how do you keep going now? Do your parents let you drain them?”
“No, no.” he shook his head vigorously. “It’s not like that at all. I don’t need to drain anyone. Love is something you give off, like heat. Draining someone means you have to peel away some things and let them bleed out. You can’t even do it if they don’t love you already. But if someone likes you, you can warm up to that and they don’t even notice. And even if no one likes you that much, just a little kindness works, too. It’s just different. We don't really need to hurt anyone to feed, not if we don't want to. It's just that we can take more than we need, and that does cause a lot of damage. But I don't do that, never have.”
“How much do you need, then?”
“Umm… well, it depends. It doesn’t just fuel magic, but it keeps it stable. They told me it’s like a vitamin and a steroid? If you have just enough, you can get stronger on your own. If you get a lot, that alone makes you stronger. But if you want to get stronger the fair way, you only need enough to survive, which isn’t that much.”
“And the ponies who get drained? I mean, the ones you feed off of just a little?” Apple Bloom asked carefully.
Bastion rubbed his throat.
“My throat hurts.”
“You should drink a little, then. It’ll help.”
He took another few swigs of the apple juice, finishing it.
“It doesn’t hurt that much when you’re drained, not for a pony. You just get listless, I guess, maybe depressed. If it's freely given, you wouldn't even notice it happening.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad. At least you don’t turn ponies into changelings by draining them,” Apple Bloom remarked.
“No, there’s a spell for that,” he blurted out, eyes going wide when he realised what he’d said.
“You’re kidding.”
“It’s a pretty advanced spell, only royals are taught. And it doesn’t work for very long, it’s mostly a distraction.” He felt his throat again and finished his drink. “My tongue feels kind of weird.”
“Wait, hold on. You said only royals know that spell. Are you a royal, then? A changeling prince?” Apple Bloom went wide-eyed.
Bastion bit his lip.
“I-I’m not supposed to talk about it.”
“Then let’s talk about your drink. It must be something really special for ponies to like it so much.”
“Yeah, everypony who’s tasted it likes it.”
“And that’s because you put something special in it, isn’t it?” Apple Bloom tensed up just a little.
Bastion shivered and covered his mouth with his paw, but replied anyway.
“Y-yeah. Ramp from the council sent me a care package, I made the drink from that and some stuff of my own.”
Apple Bloom got up and leaned in close.
“Tell me, Bastion: what is your red nectar really?”
Bastion winced at her proximity. His jaw clenched, his paw moved to cover his mouth, but he still gave the filly a reply.
“It’s changeling blood,” he admitted.
“Say that again?” She leaned in closer.
“My red nectar is changeling blood, watered down.”
“I knew it!” the filly shouted, pointing at the changeling accusingly.
Every foal from their class stopped what they were doing and turned to look at the pair.
“What is going on?” Scootaloo asked, walking over.
“Admit it, Bastion. Say it where everyone can hear it,” Apple Bloom commanded.
Bastion’s breath quickened, and he kept one paw to his throat, wincing like he’d swallowed something hard.
“Red nectar is changeling blood, watered down.”
“See? I knew there was something up with him,” Apple Bloom attested as the rest of the foals circled around.
“So what?” Piña Colada asked. “Everypony who drank it knows it’s changeling blood. What’s the big deal?”
“What’s the big deal? He’s been selling poison, brainwashing ponies with a drink. You don’t even realise it’s changed you.”
Diamond Tiara smirked.
“Wait, hold on. You think Bastion has been using me and Silver Spoon to sell something that brainwashes ponies?”
“He said so himself. It’s changeling blood. I heard you talking to Filthy Rich yesterday, Bastion, I know the whole story.”
“Sure you do,” Diamond mocked. “You think just because he’s a changeling, he’s trying to take over town. I knew you were dumb, but I didn’t think you’d be this stupid, blank flank.”
“Laugh all you want, but it’s over now. I don’t know how or why, but these little tricks stop now.” Apple Bloom glared at Diamond, then at Bastion.
Piña Colada stepped forward from the group and tapped Apple Bloom on the chest. She glared at the red-maned filly and looked to be fuming.
“Apologise. Apologise right now.”
“For what?” Apple Bloom asked, outraged.
“For thinking my sister would let something like that happen. She watched him mix the stuff before she tried it, she knows what's in it. Who do you think made the first batch for him? Who do you think found the right recipe for him? Who do you think bottled that stuff for him? Maybe if you hadn’t been so busy finding stuff to accuse him of, you might have noticed ponies actually wanted to help him with a good idea!”
“Yeah,” Rumble agreed. “How do you think he think he got the stuff around so fast? I’ve been doing deliveries around town for ponies who signed up. He hasn’t done anything wrong.”
“But it’s changeling blood, I heard. Bastion put meat in that stuff. You’ve just had so much of it you don’t even realise how gross it is.”
Piña Colada slapped herself and snorted.
“Mead, Apple Bloom. He put mead in it. You heard wrong.”
“What?” Apple Bloom asked, raising an eyebrow.
“It’s a mix of honey mead, cherry juice and some other fruits. Changelings call it ‘red nectar’, ponies and griffons call it ‘changeling blood’. He put honey mead in it, it’s like wine with honey instead of grapes. And he had to water it down so everypony could drink it, like table beer. My sister looked up the right recipe for him because he only remembered the taste, he didn’t know how to make it and neither did any of the other changelings. Their queen kept all that to herself, she didn't share anything other races were using. Bastion just wanted something to remind him of home, so Berry helped him.” Piña Colada shook her head, trying to make sense of her classmate’s accusations.
“It’s true,” Bastion added. “The care package they sent me was fruit juice and honey. I made the first mead from the stuff I got from my own hive, that had the best taste in it. Berry Punch showed me how to do that when she came over, and it gave me something to keep me busy for the first two weeks, even if I was still a little sick. But I had to make more mead and I wound up having to do it too quickly. So Berry showed me how to distil the stuff so I could get a stronger taste and just mix it up with regular mead. I had to check the pots every day, stir the barrels, get the temperature right, and always add a little of everything to make sure all the bottles tasted the same.”
Piña Colada nodded at him.
“Ponies like it because it’s a little fancy, like wine, but it’s simple like lemonade and it barely has any alcohol in it. He made it himself once my sister showed him how. He worked hard to make the mix, and to get all that honey mead going. We helped because we thought it was a good idea and he put a lot of effort into it. He works just as hard as you do. And you’re standing there, shouting accusations at him for that. What is wrong with you?”
“What’s wrong with me? I’m not the one who’s been lying to everyone, or acting suspicious. Bastion’s not even an orphan, he told me himself,” Apple Bloom attested.
Everyone looked at the changeling, whose lips were quivering by now. His eyes weren’t watering up, though, which led Scootaloo to wonder if changelings could even cry at all.
Apple Bloom turned towards him, panting with rage.
“Tell them. Tell the truth: your birth mom‘s not dead.”
Bastion bit his lip and shook his head.
“Stop it, Apple Bloom,” Rumble protested. “You’re hurting him. It’s bad enough that you pretended to make friends, but you’re hurting a classmate. Did you know about this, Scootaloo?”
The pegasus filly looked at her friend, then to Rumble, then to Bastion, who was now biting his paw as if trying to stop himself from blurting something out.
“No, I didn’t know she’d do this. You’re going too far, Apple Bloom. You can’t do this,” Scootaloo agreed.
“I am not going too far, I’m being fair. If he’s been lying to everypony, we should know about it. I just want him to tell the truth. Come on, Bastion, tell them. What’s the real deal with your mom?”
“Don’t,” Diamond Tiara told the changeling. “You don’t have to listen to this blank flank. She’s just jealous because she can’t do anything special and she can’t even do what she’s supposed to be good at. Why don’t we get Miss Cheerilee to work this out?”
“Apple Bloom, please stop?” Sweetie Belle tried, tears of sympathy starting to well up. Her friend was looking horribly tense, and all of class was staring at the two.
“Tell them, Bastion. Just admit that you lied. Where is your mom now?” Apple Bloom persisted.
The changeling clenched his eyes shut, the words stuck in his throat.
“M-mmm….” he stammered.
“That’s enough, Apple Bloom,” Rumble threatened, “if you don’t stop right now, I swear –“
“My mom’s a griffon!”
Silence fell. Apple Bloom blinked a few times before the boy’s words registered. He gasped for breath and rubbed his sore throat before explaining.
“My mom was sent to the griffons when my wings got their third hole, so I guess it was when I was five. She was supposed to go to this summer dance, hook up with someone, then come back. They gave her a new personality, some fake memories for her cover story, but… it worked too well. She never came back.”
Bastion slowly shook his head, and all of class winced in sympathy.
“It happens sometimes, you see. We do have a lot of different personalities in our hive, just like ponies, but it’s only the personality the queen gives you. If she makes you act like a soldier, you act like a soldier. If she makes you act kind, you act kind. It’s all there, but it’s all planted, all switched on and off. There’s nothing there behind the switch once it’s pulled, no backup. And sometimes the switch gets stuck.”
Apple Bloom’s mouth started hanging open as the implications sank in. She could feel her breath cutting off a bit as she realised just what she'd made him admit to.
“My mom forgot she was a changeling. Sapphire Gaze, our Archmage, went after her to get her back. She knew the shape, she could trace the smell they gave her, but by the time she found my mom… my mom was expecting. And the griffon she’d gotten love from had married her, he’d helped her get her paperwork in order. Sapphire thought maybe my mom just didn’t want to draw attention, but a couple of months later my mom had twins. She fit right in with the griffons, it just wasn’t worth the hassle to bring her back into the fold. No one noticed. They’ve got lots of little hamlets on the borders, so no one thought it was weird. She just moved to the city, and everyone thought she was a country girl. No questions asked. No turning back.”
“Didn’t your dad try to stop that?” Diamond Tiara asked.
“My dad was already dead by then. He went out to replace someone in this town in the middle of nowhere, I don’t know what country. It was a good location to get a foothold, so he was supposed to scout and get some love, that’s what I know. According to the scouts that got sent afterwards, he caught and replaced one of the locals. But his target got loose, and when they found him they drove him out of town. The scouts told me that someone must have thrown a rock that hit his head while he was trying to get away. He went down.”
Diamond Tiara swallowed, Silver Spoon grimaced. Bastion just let his head hang.
“And then the rest of town kept throwing rocks at him ‘til he stopped moving. That’s what they told me.”
Scootaloo reeled at the thought.
“Was it ponies?”
“Does it matter?” he answered with a shrug. “My dad died, but my mom is still alive. My family isn’t all dead. I don’t know where you got that, I never said I was an orphan. Apple Bloom is right: I’m not. It doesn’t count.”
“Yeah, it does, Bastion. If your birth mom’s left you, it does count,” Sweetie Belle explained.
Bastion shook his head dismissively, swallowing hard to soothe the bunched up feeling in his throat that a lot of foals felt at that point.
“It’s not a big deal, really, not anymore. It happens. Lots of changelings don’t grow up with their birth moms. There’s no reason for me to be sad about it. She wouldn’t recognise me if she passed me by, she’d be worse off knowing she’s a changeling. I don’t count as her son anymore.”
Apple Bloom shook her head in sympathy.
“My mom’s not coming back for me. She doesn’t need me. She’s got a better life now, and two new sons. And now I get to have a better life, and two new moms. That’s fair, right?” Bastion asked calmly. He looked like he was holding back tears, though, or even trying to cry but unable to due to his anatomy.
“But if your mom and dad were drones, why aren’t you?” Sweetie Belle blurted out, holding up a hoof in front of her mouth after the question.
“If you’re not a drone yourself, some of your family won’t be, either, but not all of them. My uncle decided I shouldn’t be a drone. But my mom, she… she had two younger sisters. They weren’t drones, but they died in the wars. And my mom was older than my uncle, old enough to already be a drone when he was picked, so it couldn’t be helped. Then when my uncle died, that was the last of my family in the hive.”
“But what’s the big deal with your uncle, then?” Apple Bloom persisted. “Was he a king or something?”
“I don’t know. Sort of, I guess.”
Everyone backed away at that confession.
“And what does that make you?”
“Apple Bloom, you stop this instant,” Cheerilee interjected. “What are you doing to poor Bastion?”
The filly looked to the door of the school. Cheerilee was looking at her angrily, with Rumble right next to her. She hadn’t even noticed the boy leaving after his threat.
“I just wanted to hear the truth from him, I didn’t want to hurt him. I didn’t do anything wrong,” Apple Bloom started.
Cheerilee looked at the changeling, then to the filly. She narrowed her eyes and took a deep breath to steady herself.
“Really? Bastion, stick out your tongue, please.”
Reluctantly, the boy stuck out his tongue. It didn’t look out of the ordinary, though. Scootaloo’s jaw dropped a little when she realised what was going on.
“Alright then, Apple Bloom. Are you happy now?” Cheerilee asked.
Apple Bloom looked to Bastion, Bastion looked right back. He was shaking like a leaf, and biting his lip.
“I-I’m sorry, Bastion. I just wanted to make sure.”
His eye fluttered and he rubbed his head, as if he’d had a shot of migraine. It looked just like when Cheerilee had asked him a math question he couldn’t answer.
“I-it’s fine, I think? I-I don’t know if I’m okay with this.”
“Lunch break is over, everypony. Apple Bloom,” Cheerilee started, “go home and think about what you’ve just done.”
“What?”
“I don’t want to see you in class for the rest of the day. I’ll decide tomorrow what kind of punishment to give, but for now… you have a lot to think about.”
Apple Bloom looked away.
“Sure, now you start punishing.”
“What was that, young lady?”
“Nothing, Miss Cheerilee.”
Apple Bloom lay in the clubhouse, head poking out the window and looking out at her home.
“So you’ve been here all afternoon, huh?” Scootaloo asked as she came into the clubhouse with Sweetie Belle in her wake.
“Yeah. I haven’t even told my sister I got suspended yet.” Apple Bloom turned to face her friends.
“And have you thought about what you did?” the pegasus asked calmly.
“Yup, and I think I’ve finally figured it out. I know why Bastion’s here and not with the rest of them.”
“Why did you do that, anyway? You saw what happened when Cheerilee kept asking him questions, you know he doesn’t handle that like normal ponies,” Sweetie Belle insisted.
“I know. I wanted to be nice to him, I really did. I went over to his place, like you told me to, but then I heard Filthy Rich and Diamond Tiara talking, and Berry Punch. It just sounded like they were all fine with drinking changeling blood, even getting more of it to give to the rest of town. And I heard Bastion say he put meat in it. He said ‘meat’, I swear. I didn’t know what to think anymore, on top of everything else.”
“Now you know why his drink was so popular, at least. So why is he here?” Scootaloo asked.
“Bastion’s uncle was a king, but he lost his kingdom. Like he said, they had big wars and the other hives were destroyed. Bastion got captured, or maybe his uncle surrendered. He’s not with his family because his family’s not in that town. And on top of that, he can’t go live in that town because he’s not from the same hive as them.”
“Why would that matter?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“My sister told me once that princess Celestia is the reason we have peace now. If you make a contract with her and you break it, she’ll live long enough to remember it forever. If you sign a pact with ponies, it’s a pact with one pony who’s always going to be around. So that means princess Celestia’s the most honest pony alive, because she can’t back out on her word, ever.”
“I don’t get it,” Sweetie Belle started.
“The changelings signed a contract, but the contract says the settlement is for the ones who were from Chrysalis’ hive. If princess Celestia ever backs out of a contract like that, then every contract she’s ever signed would be worthless. Every other nation she made a deal with would have an excuse to break the rules. And every changeling alive would be fair game, including the ones that surrendered. They probably only thought of that after they signed, so it can’t be changed now. And since Bastion isn’t from the same hive, that contract doesn’t apply to him. So he doesn’t get to live with them.”
Scootaloo nodded in understanding.
“You know, you look kind of thirsty.”
“I’ve been here for hours, with nothing to do, so yeah. I kind of am.”
Scootaloo gave her one of their bottles of apple juice, which Apple Bloom took some greedy swigs of.
“Thanks. I really messed up this time, didn’t I?”
“Yup. And it’s all because you just can’t be nice to changelings.”
“I can too be nice to changelings. Bastion’s just been manipulatin’ me, that’s all. He pretended to be like me so I’d drop my guard, and then he set me up so I’d look like a jerk.”
“So you really still think Bastion’s evil, after all that?”
Apple Bloom sighed, then rubbed her lips.
“He’s taking advantage of the fact everyone’s all nice to him just because he’s an orphan, and he has been from the start. That’s not right. Look at how everypony treats him special: he’s milking this whole thing. He’s got every grownup wrapped around his paw, for no reason. He’s even worse than Diamond Tiara.”
“And that’s why you thought it was a good idea to hurt him like that and force him to talk,” Scootaloo reasoned.
“It was the only way to make sure. Why do you care?” Apple Bloom started to get annoyed at the interrogation.
“I care because he’s a classmate, a blank flank who is trying to fit in and who is kind of like you. He tries really hard to fit in and find something he’s good at, just like us. And he cares a lot about playing fair, you saw it. Yet the only thing you’ve done is make him feel bad about himself and accusing him of the silliest things. You could have been friends with him, Apple Bloom, and instead you hurt him.”
“I’m just as nice to him as I am to the other colts in class.”
“You really believe that?” Scootaloo asked. “That’s funny, because you didn’t pull this sort of stunt when Pipsqueak first came to town. You never grilled Rumble like you did Bastion.”
“Scootaloo, come on. Apple Bloom was just worried,” Sweetie Belle offered.
“That’s right, I was. He shouldn’t be here, even if he isn’t from the same hive. He should just go back to the rest of those bloodsuckers,” Apple Bloom blurted out, before feeling her throat.
“Apple Bloom!” Sweetie Belle objected. “That’s a horrible thing to say.”
Apple Bloom winced, taking another sip of her drink. Her throat felt tight all of a sudden.
“I know. I’m not sure what’s wrong with me. I feel like someone’s cut into my heart and I just don’t see it. I’m so angry and I can’t even figure out why.”
“Maybe it’s because you know you should have been nice to Bastion, and now you finally feel guilty,” Scootaloo retorted. “You’re just full of hate, Apple Bloom. It’s like you’re not the same pony anymore. You crossed the line today.”
“So what? It was fair: he’s a changeling. You can’t tell if they mean it or if they’re faking it when they act nice. For all I know he’s plannin’ his next move right now. And if you care so much about him, why don’t you go flying to him? I’m sure he’d love to hang out with another fake!”
“You think he’s a fake? You think I’m a fake?”
“Why should I listen to either of you, anyway? You can’t fly and you can’t use magic. Maybe that’s why you’re all for defending him: you’re just as fake as that bugface is. You try to be like some pony you look up to, but you’re never goin’ to be like them. I guess he’s got more in common with you than with me; you two are constantly tryin’ to copy Rainbow Dash or Rarity, but you’re never gonna be more than fakes. At least I act like my own self,” Apple Bloom ranted, before noticing Sweetie Belle’s eyes watering up.
She held up her hooves and tried to cover her mouth. Staring at her friends, Apple Bloom realised she’d been had. Scootaloo’s calm, unrelenting gaze confirmed her suspicion.
“Silver Tongue Serum. Turns your tongue grey, and makes you tell the truth. I found that bottle in your room, along with the book Zecora gave you for your birthday. You really did it this time. You slipped truth serum to a classmate just to get him to talk about the family he lost, because you thought he was faking the whole thing, and you did it in front of the whole school. You’re a monster, Apple Bloom.”
“It’s not Silver Tongue Serum in that bottle. You saw it: his tongue was still red. Look at mine.” She stuck out her tongue, revealing it to be red, still.
“That’s because you know your way around potions. You know how to make so it doesn’t leave a trace. Miss Cheerilee knew what you did, but she couldn’t prove it. That’s why you were so tired this morning: you got up early to experiment.”
Apple Bloom huffed and crossed her forelegs in front of her chest.
“So what if I did? At least now I can be sure.”
“Yeah. And now we know how you really feel about us,” Sweetie Belle sobbed, crying in earnest now.
“I-I didn’t mean it like that, honest. I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” the little Earth pony stammered, sobbing as well.
“You know, I don’t even wanna hear it,” Scootaloo started. “I can understand being scared of a changeling, but we’re your friends. If you really don’t wanna put up with us fakes, after all we’ve been through, I don’t want to make you. Goodbye, Apple Bloom.”
With that, Scootaloo walked off, with a sobbing Sweetie Belle in tow.
“Please don’t,” Apple Bloom begged. “I didn’t mean to, honest.”
Sweetie Belle just shook her head and followed her friend out.
Apple Bloom let her head hang, staring at the floor. Her eyes burned, and tears made their way down her face.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. It’s not my fault.”
She lifted her head at the sound of creaking boards. The shadow of a figure crept over the floor, a figure with a Stetson hat.
“Are you gonna yell at me too, sis?”
Applejack took a deep breath.
“After what your teacher told me, I got half a mind to, but no. I think you’ve had enough yellin’ for one day. Why’d you do it, Apple Bloom? You can’t have thought it was a good idea, not after everything else you’ve been through.”
“I didn’t. I really didn’t. I wanted to be nice, I wanted to be wrong about him, even after what I heard. I only made that potion just in case. Bastion brought this game to school and nopony wanted to play, I thought maybe if I tried it I’d see things more clearly. And I did. He played fair, it was fun, I didn’t mind that I lost. And he’s really smart, that’s why he beat me. I thought I was wrong about him. I wanted to be wrong about him.”
“So what happened?” Applejack went to lie down next to her.
“It was this strategy game, with gathering food and spells. He had his plan all worked out, I could tell. After the game was over, he said something about the way he’d played. He said he liked to play the way he did because he turned food into magic.”
“Oh, sugarcube,” Applejack offered, rubbing the filly’s back, “you thought he meant it like that?”
“It’s true, I did like him. Not at first, but once I got to know him a little… he’s tryin’ so hard, and he winds up acting like me. I’m not sure he even realises it, he hasn’t been watching me or anything. I wouldn’t mind having a friend like him, honest. I just don’t want to be food for him.” Apple Bloom shivered at the admission.
“You know that’s not how it works, Apple Bloom. What’s really bothering you?” the mare insisted.
“I don’t know, sis. I really don’t know. I want to like him, I do. But now every time I think of him all I can think of is how angry I am with him. I don’t wanna hate him, but I do. I hate him so much now, it’s drivin’ me crazy.”
“So what’s he done to deserve that?”
“If I knew, I’d tell you. I don’t wanna be a bad pony, but I just can’t shake this feeling. I don’t know what it is, but it hurts, it hurts so much I can’t think straight.”
Applejack sighed. Her little sister was breaking down, it seemed. She didn’t look angry now, but hurt.
Guess if it works for manticores, it works for ponies, too.
“Alright then. How about you and I go over to his place sometime and talk this out. We can work out whatever it is that’s bothering you, with you and him sitting down and talking. No shoutin’, no hatin’, no jumpin’ to conclusions and running off, just talk.”
Apple Bloom tensed up at the thought, shaking her head and looking away with gritted teeth.
“Or you could just sit here for a while and wait for that anger to die down first,” Applejack said gruffly as she got up to leave. “This isn’t like you, Apple Bloom. Whatever’s goin’ on, you need to work through it. That boy is not going to go away, you don’t have a say in that. He’s trying to get used to you, you need to get used to him. If you want to talk, you know where I’ll be.”
Apple Bloom dried her tears with a foreleg and nodded. She gulped.
“Think I’ll just wait for the truth serum to wear off first.”
“Suit yourself.”
“I can’t believe that girl,” Bon Bon started. “She slipped him truth serum?”
“Yeah,” Scootaloo replied, “I think she’s gone nuts or something.”
“Maybe we were a little harsh on her? She looked really upset,” Sweetie Belle offered, drying her tears.
“Sweetie, if she’s angry enough to yell at you like that, it’s best to leave her alone. Let her simmer down first,” Lyra replied. “What’s gotten into her, though?”
Scootaloo shook her head.
“I don’t know. What does Bastion think about all this?”
Bon Bon shrugged.
“He just went up to his room after he checked his bees. Piña couldn’t get him to talk much, he didn’t say anything to either of us. I think he’s just confused; he doesn’t know how to feel about this sort of thing. Didn’t even want a treat to feel better. Oh, which reminds me, do you girls want something to drink?”
The girls nodded, then clenched their teeth when Bon Bon came in with some glasses of that red nectar.
“What’s wrong?”
Scootaloo smiled nervously.
“Nothing. It’s just that… Apple Bloom never got around to asking whether Bastion put anything else in his drink.”
Bon Bon set the drinks in front of the fillies.
“And what do you think, then?”
After a moment of thinking, Scootaloo shrugged and took a good sip, licking her lips at the sweet taste. Sweetie Belle following suit a little more sparingly.
Bon Bon smiled and called out.
“Bastion, honey? Feel like coming down now?”
No answer came. Lyra looked back to the staircase leading up to his room.
“There are some fillies here to see you, sweetie.”
Still no reply.
The mares looked at each other for the briefest moment before rushing up the stairs. The fillies came after them, and found Bon Bon and Lyra in a state of near panic.
“He’s gone. He slipped out, Lyra. He’s gone and he’s alone. He can’t be alone.”
“It’s okay, he wouldn’t just run off like that. Did he leave a note or anything?” Lyra asked, looking around.
Sweetie Belle went up to his bed and checked the nightstand. A little piece of paper was on it, with squiggly writing.
“Off to see Apple Bloom. Fixing everything.”
Lyra’s eyes went wide.
“He’s going to see Apple Bloom. Where’s Apple Bloom right now, exactly?”
Sweetie Belle shook at the sudden shift in tone.
“She’s at our clubhouse. But Bastion’s never been there, he doesn’t know where it is.”
“Doesn’t matter, he can track her scent. We need to get there right now. If his conditioning’s come up from all this stress, he’s going to hurt her.”
Apple Bloom huffed to herself as she tried to make sense of everything. She pictured Bastion, and couldn’t stop herself from clenching her jaw. He’d tricked her somehow, she was sure of it. The anger she was feeling just didn’t make any sense. From the first day, she’d felt off around him.
It had to be him.
She just couldn’t figure out why.
Why me?
“I’m the general,” she heard him say.
Apple Bloom turned towards the door. The changeling was standing there, all alone, deathly calm.
“What?”
“You wanted to get to know me. You wanted to know what I was. I’m the one in charge of Queen Chrysalis’ armies,” Bastion explained.
“So you are from the hive that attacked us. And you are a prince. Why would you tell me about that? What are you doing here?”
With a quick flash of green flame, Bastion changed shape.
He turned into her.
Her twin, her clone, an identical copy stood right in front of her, smiling.
A replacement.
She growled at him and pounced. With her enemy caught off guard and quickly changing back to his regular shape, she bowled him over and managed to push him over the boards leading up to the clubhouse. He hissed as they rolled over the walkway, digging his little fangs into her neck.
They landed and squared off for another round. Bastion looked furious, mindless, even. His breath came in ragged hisses, she was panting. Apple Bloom felt light-headed with adrenalin, and wasted no time lunging for him again. He sidestepped her tackle, giving her a blow to her belly with the back of his left foreleg.
She wheezed as it knocked the air out of her.
Turning for the follow-up, his right leg went up, aiming a blow to her head.
He hesitated.
She didn’t.
With barely time to breathe, Apple Bloom found the opening she needed and gave him a firm buck to the head with her hind hooves. The changeling sailed through the air, then bounced off the ground as he landed.
Apple Bloom panted heavily. She’d gotten him. She’d finally beaten the changeling. Now she could be at peace.
A vague dripping sound caught her attention. Looking down, she saw the red drop on the grass. Looking to the prone changeling, she noticed the red stain on Bastion’s left leg, on the sharp bit that had popped her ball.
She didn’t want to look down at her belly, especially with the feeling of another drop falling over it mixing with that of a nasty cut.
Eventually she did, though. Bastion was out cold, but she had a gash that ran over nearly the whole length of her torso.
She was bleeding. Badly.
Apple Bloom went faint in the head as she sat down. Her whole world went blurry and she felt her head grow heavy.
She lay her head on the grass and tried to keep her eyes open, breath slowing down.
Then everything went dark.
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what.
this does not make sense. why would bastion do that? I thought that this was going to be a good guy changeling story. I was wrong apparently.
re-read. Ohhhhhh... a condition of some sort. Anger management... I still hope Bastion I a good guy.
Oh man, back to where he was at the math board; mindless, drone-like, unfeeling...
With all that's been going on, he must've snapped :(
... Or you've been leading us on the whole time, he's actually a horrible, evil changeling, and it was all a ruse to kill/replace ponies. But you wouldn't just murder Bastion as a character like that... Right?
2628591
have faith. Cliffhangers throw you in the wrong direction all the time.
He is general ? Not to young for that?
2628759
How exactly could you be sure how old he is in the first place? Are you even aware of his species?
Listening to my experience of cliches, Applebloom should wake up soon.
Or she´s dead and this story really caught me offguard. Poor Applebloom
2628786
Just so we're clear: are you saying 'Poor Apple Bloom' because you think she's dead or because you feel sorry for her at this point in the story? I think you'd be the first on the latter one.
Now that you announced it and i thinked about it, the latter. Also i dont really think that Applebloom is dead. No "Dark" or "Mature" tag.
But if Applebloom was right the over the whole thing, i feel a LITTLE bit sorry for her. Still she kinda acted like a jerk
Sorry if I didn't comment on the last two chapters. Both were read on my way to work, and I didn't really have a chance.
While I'm not sure it's true, the Griffin story brings all manner of possibilities to mind.
But yes, poor Apple Bloom. Poor Bastion. It'll be interesting to see if I'm right on where things are going.
WHAT IS HIS CONDITION?
2628609>>2629010
I get the distinct impression you don't know what mental conditioning is, even though it was explained earlier in the story. It's not a condition, it's a mental conditioning process he's been through. Like brainwashing, but less blunt and harder to catch.
2629021 sorry I guess I wasn't paying attention when it was told.
2629057
No worries. It's the scene right after the quick answers to the math questions in class. That's the conditioning they're referring to.
Hm. "Bastion's" confrontation of AB doesn't make sense, conditioning or no. You kept bring up the fact that Bastion is not allowed to be out alone, and more-or-less stated it was for his protection (not ponies', at least not foremost, but by extension). I'm betting that Sapphire (and perhaps the others) suspected that something like this might happen: Changelings (Chrysalis's?) were waiting for Bastion to make a mistake so they could fly in and take his place. More than that, though, Bastion replacing AB just wouldn't make sense, because then Bastion would "disappear" and the note would be a pretty obvious clue to what had happened. EDIT: Also, from the dodgeball incident, he should know how much stronger she is compared to him, whereas some other Changeling merely using his form wouldn't necessarily know such a thing.
2628762
He go to school with kids? If that not enough, then why rest of them didn't get some study ?
Seems I was half right about a number of things. And while I figured some sort of AB vs Bastion showdown was going to occur I really didn't see this particular outcome coming. Also
how did I not see this one I even made a guess at 'Changeling blood' being something like a 'White Russian' ages ago.
<_< >_> applebloom shall burn in the afterlife
2629748
I'm beginning to wonder if you can see the difference between things I'm saying and what characters are saying. The perspective shifts to Apple Bloom when Bastion confronts her, the same way it shifted to her perspective when she overheard him talking. She could be hallucinating.
Also, it's been established several times that Bastion has had mental conditioning. If he's just following his programming, rational thinking or moral judgments don't factor into this. He will do what he's programmed to do, with no emotional response or intervention from his thinking self.
2632049
Hallucinating? There's a big difference between mistaking "meat" for "mead" and hearing someone say he is the general of an enemy army before seeing him transform into your exact likeness. Before even that, though, you've presented absolutely no evidence that AB could be suffering from hallucinations, so if that is the case, then that would be a massive failure on your part. I doubt it's that, though, because... what author gives away his(?) twist ending!?
Also, if this is his conditioned response... I'm surprised the Changelings aren't extinct yet, because attacking with (apparent) intent to replace when he already has a role whose absence would be instantly noted, in addition to leaving behind a message that basically says "If I don't come back, then I probably killed/'cocoon-ed' Apple Bloom and replaced her" is beyond stupidity.
...
However, now looking back at it, a key point appears at the moment he hesitates before the final strike... I got nothing on that, though.
2632231
. You're not understanding what I'm saying. Just wait for the ending.
You know what, never mind
Wow I wonder what's wrong with Apple Bloom she don't seem natural. I just can't see her thinking that about her friends she almost sound like how I'd think diamond tiara would think of blank flanks. At first I thought it was just because she thought that he wasn't being honest because of how changlings take the place of others and her sister is the element of honesty. But now it's like she just had the love and tolerance sucked out of her even if it was because of the truth serum it was really jarring hearing what she honestly thought of her friends I just can't see how a sorry could fix that. But it worked for fluttershy so I guess it can work for her.
WAIIIIIT... Has Apple Bloom been replaced/mind controlled by Chrysalis/a changeling under Chrysalis' control?
That would make SO much sense.
2632599
Uhm, perhaps you could try again instead of just leaving me in the dark? I'd like to understand, but what you've said so far hasn't made any sense...
damn you!
why end it here?! now i wont be able to sleep now! XD
but ill be honest and hate me if you will. Applebloom had it coming, she drugged a fellow classmate! and im surprised applejack dident make her assume the postion and started to spank her! i know i would of been spanked with a lead pipe if i drugged a classmate XD. thats crossing a line but assuming she will be ok since i didn't see a dark tag im sure she will be ok.
still not sorry she got hurt if its really REALLY serious and yes i will. its funny how she became the most hated classmate now X3.
well if she gets suspended or kicked out fo school she can sell....things
"Breaking Bad:Apple season"
XD
Is this Board game Applebloom and Bastion played based on a real game? if yes, which one?
That was probably the fastest escalation I've read this week.
2653798 sounds like heroscape.
Man, Apple Bloom really started becoming a bitch in this chapter. She's got a long ways to go to make it up.
Wait a minute...yellow with red hair, a massive bitch...why does that remind me of somepon-
oh
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