(2) Cinder Phoenix Trilogy: Changelings Can Change!

by CinderUnicorn

The Coronation

Gaar flew high above the clouds, diving down to land on them every now and then to catch his breath before taking off again. Although he was only a young Changeling, he was still surprisingly good at flying. He headed for Canterlot as his Mother had instructed.
As he flew, he wondered if the pony in his dream was real. He doubted it, but there was a slight possibility. He wished to meet her again, but what if she would find out about his true, Changeling self? He sighed. The chance was small anyway. But even if it was possible, it’d be hard to get her to like him. He was, after all, a Changeling.

At midnight, he reached Equestria. His wings were sore from flight by then, so he landed carefully beside Sweet Apple Acres. Copying the appearance of a small, white and ginger Pegasi colt, he trotted into Ponyville. He spotted Princess Celestia with six ponies; two Pegasi; two Earth; a Unicorn; and a purple Alicorn. Gaar was shocked since he thought there was only three Alicorns.

He eavesdropped on their conversation and heard what was to happen. Twilight, the Alicorn, would go to Canterlot and her friends would follow. Fluttershy, one of the Pegasi, mentioned ‘Cinder’ who Gaar thought to be the Cinder Phoenix. Perhaps if he followed them, he’d be able to befriend the Cinder Phoenix. Lost in his thoughts, he didn’t notice the six friends walk off towards the train station. When he escaped from his deep realm of thoughts, he began galloping after them as quickly as he could. He knew he couldn’t fail his Mother even though he disliked her plan.

Just before the train took off, Gaar flew onto the top of it and clung on for dear life. The trip to Canterlot wasn’t as long as the one in his dream was, but perhaps that wasn’t such a bad thing. He’d have more time to find the bird, befriend it and bring it back in such a little amount of time that his Mother would be so proud. But little did he know just what he was going to find in Canterlot…

~ ~ ~
Meanwhile, in Canterlot itself, Cindy sat beside a tree in the Royal Garden and whistled to entertain herself. She would’ve been doing what her special talent is, but she just couldn’t quite figure out what her cutie-mark meant. She knew it was something to do with being a bird, her cutie-mark being a phoenix and all. It definitely wasn’t flying, she couldn’t set herself ablaze, use fire magic and she certainly wasn’t at all similar to Fluttershy and her special talent.

Cindy sighed and stood up, walking towards the Canterlot Castle. She turned into her bird form, flew over to the train station and stood perched on a nearby roof, keeping watch over the ponies pouring in and out of the newly arrived train for some time. She became bored for the second time and began to fly off, but then she noticed a familiar Pegasus amongst the crowd. It was Fluttershy!

Alongside Fluttershy were Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Princess Celestia. Cindy couldn’t be certain, but she was almost sure that Twilight was a unicorn the last time she saw her. Cindy sat there for a while, utterly confused at the whole situation. Many questions ran through her mind. What was Fluttershy doing here? Why is Twilight an Alicorn? Was she always an Alicorn but her mind was playing tricks on her?

Cindy decided not to interfere and to instead, just sit there and watch. Fluttershy and her friends were lead off by Celestia, followed by a crowd of excited ponies. As they made their way to the Canterlot Towers, Cindy flew off the roof and turned into pony form before following everypony. Cindy’s questions were soon answered once they got into the towers.

Twilight was having a coronation. Fluttershy and her friends were only in Canterlot especially for the event. Although she was there for another reason, Fluttershy kept glancing around as if she was looking for something. Cindy just watched from in the crowd, waiting until later to attempt to create a conversation. The coronation was fairly short. When it was completed, Twilight said a little speech on the balcony overlooking more large crowds. After that, Twilight led her friends to another room where they stayed for a while and chatted about the recent events. So Cindy followed them to talk to them for a while only to be greeted coldly by the door slamming against her face.

Gaar was not having good luck today. He tried to find the Cinder Phoenix, but instead he found only a few red macaws and a mocking jay. He thought back a little. He remembered his mother talking about how she could change appearance to being pony and a selection of many other creatures, but she could be anywhere. She had said that the Cinder Phoenix is usually a red Pegasus, but when reborn she could change her pony appearance to anything. She was only reborn four times, always a Pegasus. But the last time, she was Unicorn. And she wasn’t red either, which surprised the Changelings quite a bit.

Gaar noticed that there was a lot of cheering coming from the distance. He guessed that that the ponies he spotted earlier were celebrating. So without delay, he galloped toward the direction the cheers were coming from, since the Phoenix would more than likely be where an Alicorn is. He tried to fly a few times, but his wings were too small. That’s what he hated about Pegasi foals. The wingspan was miserable. When he reached the Canterlot Towers, he spotted the figure of a young Unicorn, sitting by itself in an empty corridor. As he walked closer, the figure became clearer to see. Then he figured out who it was. It was the filly. The filly from his dream. And she appeared quite sad and lonely.