A changeling out of place struggles to forge a new life while hiding from his race. He will need to find good sources of love to keep himself strong, but what if love meant more to him than food? Can he really afford to wait for somepony special?
A changeling out of place struggles to forge a new life while hiding from his race. He will need to find good sources of love to keep himself strong, but what if love meant more to him than food? Can he really afford to wait for somepony special? This is the story of Cherry Plum, a self-named changeling that wants to be a pony everypony would want to call friend. But he may find more than friendship in the small town of Ponyville.
M/M with Noteworthy. Teen rating is for language & suggestive themes.
It was the dead of night on the edge of the Everfree Forest, there were just enough lights in the distance to make out a pony village. Staring at the settlement from the confines of some shrubbery was an unusual changeling. Normally changelings would have disguises if they were anywhere beyond the confines of their cavernous underground hives. This particular changeling was visibly decrepit, it's chitin was cracked in places & the luster in it's eyes was all but gone. It had been traveling for a week to reach this settlement, this was the only place it knew for sure that it would be safe from those that hounded him.
"S-so empty, need love." The changeling uttered weakly to no one in particular in a seemingly male voice. He knew he needed to keep moving but he simply didn't have the strength to go on. He managed a few clumsy steps out of the dense foliage into the clearing where it would be easier to walk, the cover of darkness combined with the ponies' fear of these woods would keep him safe for the time being. This was the plan at least, but his vision soon blurred & he felt himself falling. As he landed on his side in the forest clearing he saw something drawing nearer to him from ahead. He had no way of telling what it was as his vision was currently failing alongside the blanket of night. As he slipped into unconsciousness the figure was now standing over him.
"This is it." Was the last thing the changeling thought before the world went black.
Slowly an indeterminate amount of time later the changeling opened his eyes. The world slowly came into focus around him, he was somewhere dark & musty. Changelings live underground & therefore have perfect night vision, as such he saw that he was surrounded by large shelves full of bottles. The entire room was as big as a small house a pony might live in, every wall lined with the bottles. He glanced down at himself, something had tied rope through many of the holes in his legs leaving him essentially hog-tied. He surveyed the objects closest to him, the wall behind him was bare of the shelves but was stacked high with crates. He cared little for the surroundings but was curious as to how he was still alive. He opened his senses to the world around him, there was love everywhere! Whatever was in these bottles was giving off small amounts of ambient love energy. The sheer number of them allowed for a hefty snack, not enough to sustain him for long but enough to keep him conscious for awhile.
After several hours of sitting alone in the building he was feeling much better then he had when he awoke. The love in the room wasn't much but he wasn't complaining so long as it kept him alive. He was still very nervous as someone had obviously placed him & bound him here, but he had yet to see or hear anything.
"Hello? Is anypony there?" He shouted out into the confines of the room. When no answer came he decided to try & sleep to conserve his low levels of energy.
He was rudely interrupted by a splash of water to the face. He sputtered & flailed around nervously like a fish pulled from the depths. He looked up to see an electric pink earth pony mare with purple mane & tail standing over him with a bucket in front of her. He was having difficulty reading her expression, it seemed to be a mix of anger, confusion, & worry. His emotion sensory organs sensed the same things, he was unsure of how to deal with this. Ponies are never supposed to see a changeling in it's true form, he immediately took the only course of action he could: Panicked grovelling.
"Please don't kill me! I'm to young to die! I'm not even finished with my molt cycle yet!" He said looking up at her with tears streaming from his eyes. The mare's expression remained the same but with a raised brow.
"Are you here to take over again? How many of you are there? Are your kind already in the government?" The mare asked stamping a hoof to the floor before leaning in to look him directly in the eyes.
"No! No invasion! It's just me, & I can't stand politics!" He shouted doing his best to gain the mare's trust. She merely looked at him for a moment before sitting in front of him & letting a sigh of relief out.
"I was worried for a minute there, I had heard changelings were scary but you're kind of a wuss." She said still looking at him, but with a much softer expression. He too had to let out a sigh of relief that the mare wasn't going to hurt him, at least not at the moment.
"So, what were you doing out there without a disguise? I thought you bugs were great at hiding yourselves in plain sight?" She asked as she reached over grabbing herself a bottle with a hoof. She removed the cork with her teeth & took a hearty swig.
"I'm too weak to make one right now, I've been running for over a week." He said watching her down the very substance that had saved him from certain doom. He could feel a small amount of love emanating from her as she did so.
"What's in all these bottles? There's love coming off of all of them & you when you drink it." He asked looking around at the various shelves. The mare had a smug look on her face & no small amount of pride poured into the changeling's senses.
"I'm Berry Punch & this is my off site wine cellar near the Everfree, I'm in the business of booze & I love what I do. I put more love into my work than anypony else in the world, thanks for the compliment. I knew that my stuff was special but it's nice to hear it from a professional that feeds on love." The mare named Berry Punch said with a smile before killing the bottle she held with remarkable speed.
"So, now that I've introduced myself, who the hay are you?" She asked setting the empty bottle beside her.
"Well, changelings don't have names unless their queen gives them one. I never got one." The purple changeling visibly drooped as he said this. Berry knew from his demeanor she had hit a touchy subject so she immediately thought of how to change the subject.
"How about we get you out of those ropes? You promise not to drain my emotions or whatever?" She asked as she pulled a utility knife out of her mane. While he was still unsure of the strangely tolerant mare before him he nodded & she began cutting his bindings. After a moment or two he was free, he attempted to stand but his legs were still pretty weak so it was a bit of a task. After some wobbling he was on his hooves again.
"So Mrs.Berry Punch, what are you going to do with me? Last I checked Equestria was less than fond of my kind. I wouldn't blame you if you turned me in to the guards." The changeling said looking at the floor. Berry thought on it for a minute what am I going to do with him? The room was quiet as the changeling didn't feel like speaking & Berry was deep in thought.
"How about you come work for me?" She asked as if it were the most sensible conclusion anypony had ever made. The changeling just looked at her with his mouth open for a minute as he tried to process the words that were said to him.
"You want me to work for you? Wouldn't you get in trouble if anypony found out you were harboring me?" He asked obviously wary of the idea.
"Meh, then just don't get caught right? I've got a spare room back home & it'd be just you, me & my daughter Ruby Pinch. She's good at secrets, she hasn't told anyone about the still I have hidden in the basement for 'special orders' & she's only 7 so nopony would believe her anyway." Berry said waving his concerns of with a downward motion of her hoof. This offer was too good to pass up, but there were still problems with the arrangement.
"What would I have to do? I've never made alcohol before." He asked as his mood dropped again.
"You just need to do as I tell you & inspect the quality of my work. Everypony always says they can taste the love in my booze but I want an expert opinion." Berry said as she gazed around at her treasure trove of bottled intoxicants. He knew that this was his best opportunity to have a steady supply of love, even if it wasn't as powerful as he would like. He knew he had no other options so he outstretched one of his hole riddled hooves. Berry smiled & accepted, the deal was struck & both were sure to benefit from the arrangement. There was just one problem left to address.
"How are we going to get me into town if I don't have a disguise?"
It was a beautiful day in the town of Ponyville, birds were chirping, the sun was shining, & nopony suspected that the large covered cart Berry Punch was hauling through town had anything other than alcohol from her wine cellar outside town. Ponies waved at her as she pulled her cart through the town square, Berry was a very popular pony in town. She was well known for being the best alcohol supplier this side of Equestria & was always there to help when somepony had been irresponsible with her product. The changeling in the back of the cart was trying to be as still & silent as possible under the tarp. Everything was going smoothly until he felt the cart lurch to a stop. He dared not move until Berry came & pulled the tarp away.
"We're here, we're around back so nopony should see you. Follow me okay?" Berry whispered to the now uncovered passenger. He merely nodded & peered over the edge of the cart. They were on the covered porch of the backyard of what he presumed was Berry's home. Being glad for the shady covered porch he got out as fast as his tired limbs would allow. Berry opened the sliding glass door & ushered him in with her other hoof. Not wasting a second he trotted into the house, this is going better than I thought it would. He thought to himself with a smile. He was instantly proven wrong as a minty unicorn mare trotted into the room.
"Hey Berry, Pinchy called us when you were late getting ba-" Was all the mare said before stopping dead in her tracks. The mare & the changeling stallion looked at each other wide-eyed before the both fell over after fainting. Berry trotted in with a crate setting upon her back a moment later. She surveyed the scene before her for a moment before sighing. She placed the crate on the floor next to her before trotting over to the fridge retrieving a hard cider which she downed quickly.
"Well buck." Was all she had to say afterwards.
About an hour later the unicorn mare awoke to the sound of talking.
"She knows! I'm dead Berry! We can't keep her here, somepony will come looking for her! What are we going to do?!" A male voice said from somewhere behind her. She tried to right herself & look but she found she was tied to a chair.
"Calm down, she's a friend of mine. She just has some history with changelings, we can show her you're a good colt & everything will be fine. Lyra's not a nark, she's weird but a good mare." The mare apparently named Lyra recognized that voice.
"Berry? What the hay is going on?! Why was there a changeling in your kitchen! Why are you talking to it?!" Lyra yelled as she struggled in her bindings. Berry trotted over to the bound mare & sat down in an adjacent chair where Lyra could still see her.
"Good you're awake, I thought maybe you hit your head on the floor when you passed out." Berry then motioned for the changeling to come over. He complied but reluctantly so, Lyra gazed at him with a mixture of fear & hatred which he could taste. He was less & less optimistic each second.
"This is my new friend, I found him passed out in the Everfree near the cellar. Poor guy was starved, he's a good guy despite appearances. He's gonna work for me for awhile. We can let you go if you promise to keep this quiet, deal?" Berry asked in a calm tone. Lyra's eyes darted from her to the changeling several times before she nodded affirmative. Berry smiled & undid the ropes keeping her in place. As soon as Lyra was free she took a deep breath, let it out & jumped onto Berry pinning her to the floor. The changeling succumbed to his baser instincts & hid behind the sofa.
"Where's the real Berry Punch?!" She screamed at the pink mare.
"One & a fourth ounces dry gin, three fourths of an ounce lemon juice, three fourths of an ounce simple syrup, three ounces club soda. Put the gin, lemon juice, & simple syrup in a shaker of ice. Shake well & then strain into a glass of ice cubes, add the club soda & stir well. Garnish with an orange slice or maraschino cherry depending on preference & serve." Berry stated completely from memory just as easily as she would her own name.
"What? That's a Tom Colttins... Berry?" Lyra replied with a confused expression but pulled herself off of the mare nonetheless.
"So you really brought a changeling to your house? What were you thinking? Wait, where did it go?" Lyra said looking around the room. Her response was a holed leg waving from behind the couch.
"You're kinda scary so I took cover while you were distracted with Berry." The changeling replied from his refuge.
"Wait, you're afraid... of me? Aren't changelings supposed to be deadly love stealing warriors?" Lyra said looking from the sofa to Berry who merely shrugged. He poked his head out from behind the couch warily. When Lyra didn't assault him he emerged from the safety of his plush bunker.
"Changelings only steal love so they can eat, we don't like hurting anybody. The black swarm is the only militant hive, they're the ones who tried to invade. Chrysalis wants to take control of all the hives so they stole love from Equestria to fuel their soldier drones. They're why I was headed to Ponyville Chrysalis wouldn't come here because of the elements of harmony. They conquered my hive & captured me but I managed to escape." He said with a sad expression as he remembered his awful time as a captive. Lyra took a good look at him now, although he was obviously a changeling he was taller than the ones that had invaded Canterlot. He was also different colors & had a different shelled carapace across his back. The cracks in his chitin seemed to tell that he was indeed worse for wear. She still was wary of the changeling but had to admit he didn't seem to pose any threat to anypony.
"If Berry trusts you I guess you're alright, but no more tying ponies to chairs or anything alright?" Lyra asked with a serious expression.
"Actually, he fainted when you did. I'm the one that tied you to the chair." Berry admitted as if it was nothing important. Lyra shot an angry look at her but said nothing of it. After a moment something she had forgotten crept back into her mind.
"Berry, Ruby Pinch was in here before I passed out. Where is she?" As if on cue a young filly's voice came from upstairs.
"Mom? Can I come down now? I wanna talk to the changeling!" Soon hoofsteps were heard & a little pink unicorn appeared at the top of the stairs. Berry nodded & the filly jumped onto the banister & slid down to the bottom. She jumped of & trotted up to the changeling with wide eyes & a smile of wonderment.
"Can you turn into anypony?" Ruby said after a moment. The changeling was nervous but answered the question to remain polite because he was a guest in their home.
"Well, if I know what somepony looks like yes. But I haven't eaten much in awhile so I can't transform right now." He said looking at his own hole riddled hoof.
"We have food in the refrigerator, mom keeps it really well stocked." The little filly said unaware of changeling dietary needs.
"Well, I don't exactly eat the same things ponies do, changelings eat love. But we do eat solid food when we're growing or we need to heal." As he said this he looked back to the cracks in his chitinous exoskeleton. He poked one of the fissures with a hoof & a small chitin chip fell off & landed on the carpet.
"Maybe food isn't such a bad idea" He said meekly as he picked up the chip with a hoof. Berry & Lyra had noticed the declining health of his carapace but now genuinely worried about it.
"Well, let's get to the kitchen then, can't have my little filly or employee starving now can I?" Berry said before trotting to the room in question. Lyra stood there for a moment before an idea struck.
"Berry, I'll be back in just a second!" She shouted before heading out the door. The changeling was visibly worried that she would call for help from somepony but had no way of stopping her. He sighed & trotted off to the kitchen as well where Berry was already going around gathering the necessary ingredients for whatever she was making. Ruby was sitting at the table with a coloring book featuring some kind of bipedal creatures that looked ridiculous to him. After a few moments he was coloring with her holding a crayon she had given him in his teeth. She looked at him like he was insane.
"Why don't you use your hooves or magic? You have a horn." Ruby asked as she pointed to the smooth curved horn on his forehead. He looked up at it himself before sighing.
"I'm not very good with my hooves & I'm not strong enough to use magic right now." He said lamenting his predicament. As he spoke with her & Berry put pasta into a boiling pot the door was heard opening. Lyra rushed in with another mare the color of cream with navy blue & bright pink mane. The new mare was genuinely surprised at the presence of the changeling who was sitting there next to Ruby Pinch with a crayon in his mouth. Before he or the mare could say anything Lyra pulled her into a deep passionate kiss. Initially surprised the cream colored mare's eyes were wide with surprise but after a moment they closed & she got into the kiss. Berry chose this moment to trot over with plates & other supplies on her back.
"Well, I haven't even set the table for dinner yet but you seem to have skipped right to dessert girls." She said in a smug tone, proud of her quick wordplay. Ruby though young obviously got the joke as she began giggling.The mares separated blushing & catching their breaths. The changeling had just been hit with a fair amount of love just then & was feeling a tad giddy at the sudden influx of energy. His wings were abuzz at the energy as it soothed some of the aches & pains he had. The new mare was returning to reality & looked over to the changeling with returning surprise. She quickly ran behind Lyra using her as a shield.
"Lyra, would you mind telling me why we just made out in front of a changeling in Berry's kitchen?" She asked with worry & confusion evident in her voice.
"Bon Bon, this is Berry's new employee. He's seen some hard times lately & he was starving, so I thought he could use a snack." Lyra stated as if she thought it was the greatest idea of her life. Bon Bon did not share in her enthusiasm however as she punched Lyra in the shoulder before emerging from behind her.
"Berry, is this changeling really going to work for you?" Bon Bon asked still very confused & more than a little irritated.
"Yeah, he's going to be great for quality control. He can literally feel the love coming off my booze." Berry said proudly. Bon Bon thought about that for a moment before turning back to the metaphorical elephant in the room.
"So you can feel love coming off of things made with it?" She asked a seemingly evil grin coming across her muzzle. He was a bit intimidated by the smile but nodded nonetheless. Bon Bon's smile didn't falter whatsoever until she said:
The changeling stood before Bon Bon who had just left & returned with a varied assortment of sweets in tow. He could feel the love from the candies just as he had from the various bottles of Berry's brew. He was given a piece of each kind & was instructed to give her his opinion. He turned out not to be a very good judge of anything other than the amount of love he sensed as changelings had no taste buds in natural form. Bon Bon was disappointed but still thanked him for telling her how much love was in each candy. The least loved candy was the black licorice which Bon Bon admitted she wasn't fond of. The most loved was her white chocolate spearmint bon bons, upon hearing this she blushed & looked over at Lyra.
"It seems like your personal preference has a lot to do with how much love you put into your work." Bon Bon said eying her licorice, slightly disappointed at herself.
"So, if you get enough love you'll be good as new again right?" Berry asked attempting to change the subject & lighten the mood. He looked back to his cracked chitin, the cracks seemed to be making good progress with healing thanks to Berry's food & Lyra's impromptu show of affection with Bon Bon.
"Actually, I feel much better now. My chitin is the only problem now, but it can heal while I'm in disguise. I should be good to go now." He said looking himself over to make sure his exoskeleton was still without major breakage.
"Well then fire it up! You have a disguise ready or do you need to think of one?" Lyra asked curious as to how the changeling would look in a moment.
"Yes, I have one in mind. I was going to use it when I made it here anyway." He then motioned for his new friends to step back a bit to which they complied. Ruby Pinch was practically vibrating on the spot with excitement & the others weren't far from it either. He took a deep breath & focused for a moment as he didn't want to mess up & waste his energy. After a moment his hooves erupted into pinkish-purple flames that slowly spread up his form. When the last of the flames vanished a dull blue unicorn stallion stood before them. His mane was bright pink & purple & he wore rose tinted glasses & a red-violet hoodie. The mares were all silent for a minute until Ruby ran up to him & hugged his now hole free foreleg.
"That was awesome! Can you change into me now?" She said looking up at him. He smiled as the minor affection soaked into him.
"I'm still not in tip top shape just yet. I can't change whenever I want without a steady supply of pure love, but keeping this disguise up doesn't take much love." He said. He paused for a moment not yet used to the sound of his new voice. He decided he liked it & put his worries on the matter to rest. The other mares trotted up to him now too to examine his new form. Lyra raised a hoof & poked him in the chest cautiously as if he would pop if handled too roughly.
"Whoa, you really feel real! Even this hoodie feels exactly like it should!" Lyra moved to the side as Berry took her turn looking him over. She looked him over meticulously inspecting the quality of his new body. She completed a circle around him before speaking.
"Alright, I think it's good enough to fool anypony in town. But the mane seems a little... pink for a stallion don't you think?" She said looking to Bon Bon. Bon Bon put a hoof under her chin & looked him over herself.
"I dunno, it is a bit unusual for stallions to have pink in their manes or tails but it seems to go well with the rest of him." She said turning to Berry who merely shrugged.
"I'm just looking out for the guy, he needs love to survive. He won't get any mares if they think he's a colt cuddler." Berry said looking from Bon Bon back to the disguised changeling. He raised a brow at the comment.
"What's a colt cuddler?" He asked unaware of the terminology used by ponies.
"It means a male that takes another male as a mate." Lyra said slightly surprised by his lack of knowledge. He visibly grew nervous when she said this, his new sweat glands already being put to the test.
"T-that's a bad thing here?" He said looking at Lyra as his ears drooped. Berry immediately felt guilty for automatically assuming that her new friend would be into mares. She trotted over to him & put a hoof on his shoulder.
"Nah, I was just being a little silly for a second. You can love anypony you want in Equestria, but if you like stallions couldn't you just turn into a mare?" Berry asked him as if it were nothing.
...
"But that'd be weird." He said after a short awkward silence. Lyra giggled a bit & Bon Bon thumped her on the back of the head for it. Berry thought about it for a second before shrugging.
"Fair enough, but you do make a decent stallion even if you forgot your cutie mark." Berry said before pointing to his flank. He turned to view it & realized that she was right. His flank was bare & blue like the rest of him. He raised a hoof & focused himself lighting it aflame, he pressed it to his flank & the flames vanished. When he removed his hoof there was a mark that looked like cherries on his flank. The mares stared at it for a moment before Ruby Pinch spoke up.
"What are the cherries supposed to mean? What's your talent?" She asked innocently. He looked at the cutie marks of the mares & back to his own several times.
"I didn't know they meant anything, I thought they were just tattoos. Like a cultural thing or something." He said as he felt increasingly stupid. Bon Bon facehoofed at this & didn't even bother to stop Lyra from laughing herself silly. Berry however bumped Lyra's flank with her own sending her over into the floor.
"When a pony discovers what their calling is the mark magically appears, scientists can't even explain it. It just happens, I got mine when I was helping my father bottle wine when I was 12." Berry said looking at him seriously, which told him this was very important to ponies. Bon Bon looked at his artificial cutie mark again before thinking for a moment.
"What made you pick cherries as a mark?" She asked.
"Well, on my way here I was in pony form in a place called Dodge Junction. They had trees full of them there & they smelled really good so I ate some. I really liked them & they were the first food I had ever eaten in pony form. The ponies there ran me out after that though, it was somepony's crop apparently." He said thinking back on his expedition to Ponyville. The mares looked at him thoughtfully for a moment, their concern was in the air making him feel worse about his lack of pony knowledge.
"We're gonna need to come up with some some back story for you" Lyra said.
"& he needs a name." Bon Bon added, & with that the group spent the next several hours fabricating a life for their friend.
"What's you're name & where are you from?" Lyra asked him in a mock serious tone.
"I'm Cherry Plum, & I'm from Vanhoover." He said as casually as he could fake.
"Why are you moving to Ponyville & where are you staying?" Asked Bon Bon.
"I'm moving in to my cousin Berry Punch's house because I wanted to get into the family business. I'm going to be her assistant brewmiester & quality control specialist." He recited from memory.
"How old are you, when did you get you're cutie mark & what does it mean?" Berry continued.
"I'm 22 & I earned my cutie mark when I made my sick mother a cherry pie when I was 8. It means that I'm especially good at making things with cherries." He said with a triumphant smile.
"What's 200,000 times 857 divided by pi assuming that pi is represented by 3.14?" Ruby Pinch yelled to the surprise of the other mares. Cherry visibly started sweating & his eyes darted back & forth.
"I-I don't know! I didn't know math was going to be on the test!" He blubbered through his forehooves. Berry shot a glare at her daughter who visibly sagged. Ruby trotted up to Cherry slowly before hugging him tight.
"It's okay Cherry, I don't know either. I just wanted to be part of the group." She said feeling terrible for panicking the sensitive shapeshifter. He sniffled a bit before returning her embrace. The mares shared in a collective AWWWW at the scene, much to the embarrassment of the shifted stallion. He let go of Ruby & righted himself though he still had a hint of redness in his cheeks. He liked being soft & furry but missed the fact that chitin didn't show embarrassment like flesh. After a goodbye Lyra & Bon Bon departed for their home & wished Cherry the best of luck at starting a life here. Berry tucked Ruby Pinch into bed as the hour had grown late. She then showed Cherry to his new accommodations upstairs. The room was pretty bare, there was only a bed & a window with closed blinds.
"I know it isn't much, but when you make some bits working with me we can go shopping." Berry said somewhat guilty that the room was less than luxurious. He examined the room carefully & smiled.
"It looks great Berry, back at the hive all I had was a small hexagonal hole in the hive wall with hundreds of thousands of neighbors. This seems like paradise in comparison." Cherry said as he tested the firmness of the mattress he hopped on & let himself relax. Berry's mood picked up at this as he hadn't seemed less tense all day.
"I'm glad you like it Cherry, hope you get some rest. I'm putting you to work tomorrow!" Berry said semi jokingly as she trotted out shutting the door behind her. Cherry slipped under the covers & reflected on the days events. Changelings were supposed to be the perfect stealth species, but four ponies already knew of his identity. Heck, they had built his identity for him. He had never been meant to leave the hive, he wasn't an infiltrator drone. He was unfit to be doing all this, but the love & friendship radiating from his new friends was all that was keeping him alive. He needed to keep his identity they had forged him better from now on or Cherry the pony would cease to be. Cherry Plum... I really do like the sound of that. He thought to himself as sleep overcame him & his cares were momentarily forgotten.
Berry awoke at her usual time & got Ruby up & ready for school, as it was Monday. As soon as her daughter was out the door she fixed herself & Cherry breakfast. She left everything set on the table & went to wake the changeling. She opened the door to find him already awake & staring out the window at the town below, still in disguise. She trotted up to him without him noticing. She tapped his shoulder with a hoof surprising him so much he jumped straight to the ceiling. Strangely enough he stuck there, hooves affixed to the roof as if it were nothing. She stared at the scene for a moment before the jittery changeling spoke up.
"Berry? Why'd you sneak up on me like that? I nearly lost my disguise!" He said as he walked back down the wall nearest him as if it was nothing. His apprehension lifted when he saw Berry's confused expression. She snapped out of it after a moment but was still quite confused.
"You can still use changeling powers in pony form?" Berry asked looking back to the ceiling where he had been moments before.
"Yeah, but I had to choose between wings or magic otherwise they'd know I was a fake. I'm not good with hooves so I picked magic, even if I'm not strong enough for it yet." He said looking at his darker blue hoof.
"Well hold off on the wall climbing in public. That'd get you busted for sure." Berry said in a serious tone. "Now lets go downstairs for breakfast"
The pair ate & chatted about pony society, for coming from a race that ponies assumed was all cunning tricksters, Cherry severely lacked knowledge. Berry explained their government as best as she could, along with typical pony behaviors. Cherry had an alright grasp of being friendly & sociable from back at the hive which would work in his favor. After a breakfast of eggs, hay bacon, & a bagel each they left the house to Berry's brewery in the backyard. Ponyville was a small town so her operation wasn't grand but it was just as big as her actual house, though it had only one level & one large room. Cherry looked around at all the vats & various apparatus with wonder & worry. He had never made alcohol before, & was secretly worried that if he couldn't earn his keep Berry would turn him in. His train of thought was derailed when Berry began speaking.
"Alright, today is your lucky day Cherry! We're going to be making cherry schnapps! I've got just enough black cherries to make it, so lets get to work."
The work turned out to be less complicated than Cherry had assumed beforehand. At first all he had to do was inspect them for imperfections & load the cherries into a large washer to ensure they were perfectly clean. The cherries came out in a large basket with small holes to allow the water to flow off without losing any fruit. While they dried he & Berry cleaned other various equipment, Berry was working very hard & looked entirely serious. Despite appearances love was wafting off of her as they worked, even something as mundane as sterilizing equipment got an emotional response from her. She truly did love her work & would not stand for anything less than perfection. After several hours of cleaning & checking on various other vats full of assorted liquors they came back to the cherries.
"All right, now we load the cherries into that vat there, it's empty at the moment." Berry said pointing to a vat at the far side of the room. They loaded the basket of cherries onto a wheeled platform & pushed the basket over to the vat. The only really difficult part was pushing the cherries up the ramp to the top of the vat. Through the combined effort the two they managed & were able to dump the cherries into the vat. The vat seemed about 2/3rds full.
"Berry, is that enough? The vat isn't full yet." Cherry asked his friend & employer.
"It isn't supposed to be, we need to fill the rest with that." Berry said pointing to an adjacent vat. She trotted down the ramp & over to the vat. She looked at a gauge on it & seemed satisfied.
"Go over to that closet & bring me the large hose." Berry shouted to him. He saluted & trotted over to the closet in question. The hose truly was large, it was nearly as thick as his foreleg. There were several places along it with handles specially designed for hooves. With some difficulty he managed to get the hose to Berry. She took an end & attached it to a port at the base of the vat. She unwound the rest of the hose & took the nozzled end with her back to the cherry vat. She placed the nozzle over the side & pulled a release valve with her teeth. A clear liquid poured into the vat until it reached a marked fill line. Berry closed the valve at just the right moment, an impressive feat for only having a mouth to do it with.
"What's that stuff? Water?" Cherry asked as he trotted up the ramp.
"Nope, eighty proof unflavored vodka." Berry said with a smile. "Now they need to steep for a few months, in about 13 weeks after it's been filtered & settled it'll be fit for drinking."
Berry's pride & love directed at her product was obvious to him, he could feel it seeping into the vat. He stopped himself from taking it in, after all it wasn't meant for him & he wasn't in any immediate risk of starving. Ponyville had a high level of ambient emotion that should keep his disguise going anyway. Much to his surprise, Berry hugged him, forcing sweet sentiment into him.
"I wanted to thank you for your help today, I know I didn't give you much choice in this but things went a lot faster with another set of hooves around." She said before releasing him. Emotion was most powerful when it was directed at you, so Cherry was feeling a wave of relief from his aches. Even if he had pony flesh at the moment he could feel his true self heal a little.
The day was still young so Berry had him help her bottle some finished product on the other side of the room. She said it was her special "Berry Punch", something she herself had invented. It was her best seller & she would tell nopony the exact recipe. Cherry could feel the amount of love coming from the liquid but again stopped himself from taking it, Berry was being very generous to him & he would feel ashamed if he did something to lower the quality of her work.
After they had bottled the special beverage Berry hoofed a bottle of it over to him.
"Since you've been such a big help today I wanted to give you this, it's the first bottle of the batch. It's dated today so you won't forget when you started out here." Berry said with a smile on her face.
He gladly accepted it as a reminder to himself that he had met ponies that cared, even if they knew he wasn't a real pony. After they loaded the bottles into crates they loaded them onto the same wagon berry had snuck him into town in. They would take the bottles to the Everfree cellar tomorrow. It was already late, & they were a bit tired. They entered the house to find Ruby doing homework at the kitchen table. The group decided to eat out since Berry didn't feel like cooking & Cherry didn't know how. They trotted down the streets of Ponyville to a new restaurant called "The Grazing Spot". It was a family place with an all you can eat buffet & menu options. Ruby opted for the kids meal, while the adults were having the buffet.
Cherry knew next to nothing about pony foods so he just took a little of the first few things he saw. He was headed back to their booth but suddenly tripped on something sticking out underneath one of the other booths. He fell flat on his face, or would have had it not landed into his plate. There he was, glasses askew & face covered smashed foods in front of the entire restaurant. He didn't bother to look around, he could feel the emotions in the air surprise, & shock. Everypony in the restaurant had their eyes glued to him. He was about to have a breakdown when a new emotion pierced his senses, worry, regret, embarrassment. He looked over to the table closest him. There sat a blue earth pony stallion looking very apologetic. He got up from his seat & offered Cherry a hoof. Cherry hadn't seen this stallion before, he would have remembered those beautiful amber eyes. Cherry broke himself from his trance & accepted the hoof.
"I'm really sorry about that, I must not have gotten my saxophone case far enough under the table." The stallion said. Cherry looked over to the underside of the table, sure enough there was an imitation maroon leather case. It was nearly the same color as the carpeting of the restaurant, explaining why Cherry hadn't seen it.
"I'm noteworthy, I'm super sorry about this. Let's go get you cleaned up." With that the two headed to the Stallion's restroom. Noteworthy pushed the device on the wall's lever with a hoof several times for paper towels, which he then wet & handed to Cherry. Cherry looked at himself in the mirror as he cleaned himself, I look like a mess he thought to himself. After a few minutes & more than a few paper towels he looked much more like himself than before. He placed the glasses back on his face & sighed.
"Well I'm glad you didn't get hurt or anything, but I still feel bad. The whole restaurant was gawking at you. How about you let me get you dinner sometime..." Noteworthy paused & looked him over for a minute. "Wow. this is embarrassing. I don't even know your name."
"Um, it's Cherry Plum but it was an accident. You really don't need to do anything." Cherry said nervously.
"Nonsense, I insist. I ruined your dinner so I'll get you a new one." Noteworthy said with a smile. "How about tomorrow night?"
"I really don't have any plans after work so that would work." Cherry said.
"Great, what's your address?" Noteworthy asked.
"Uh, I'm not sure. I'm new in town, I'm staying with my cousin Berry Punch." He answered ever grateful to his friends for his fabricated life.
"Cool, everypony knows Berry. How does eight sound?" Noteworthy asked with a smile.
"Um... sounds great." Cherry said unsure of the situation.
"Great, see you then." & with that noteworthy trotted out of the restroom.
Cherry was so full of worry & doubt that he could taste his own negativity. He slowly trotted back to the table where Berry & Ruby were sitting.
"You alright? That couldn't have been easy to deal with on your first day." Berry said worriedly.
"Actually it went really well." Cherry said sadly.
"How does face planting into dinner end really well?" Asked Ruby Pinch confusedly.
"Noteworthy, the one who made me trip on accident asked me out to dinner to make up for it." Cherry said lowering his head to the table.
"That's great! I thought you were looking for a nice colt?" Berry said.
"Yes, but I don't know the first thing about pony dating! This is happening way too fast! I'm gonna get caught!." He blubbered through his hooves. Much to his surprise Berry smacked him, He sat there stunned for a minute before Berry spoke up.
"Now you listen here, you're my friend & Berry Punch never leaves a friend in trouble. We're going to get you ready for your date & everything is going to be fine. I'm sorry I smacked you but you were starting to get loud" She said before gesturing to some ponies at adjacent tables staring at him. He took a few deep breaths before sitting up as straight as he could.
"Thanks Berry, I guess I needed that." Cherry said as he rubbed his cheek.
"Anytime." Berry said sarcastically.
After the mares had finished eating they headed home & each of them turned in a bit early. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.
Cherry woke early the next morning, he hadn't slept very well at all. He had terrible dreams about ponies catching him, locking him in prison, or even execution. The worst dream of the night involved a cheese grater, just thinking about that one made him feel ill. He walked down the hall to the bathroom & splashed cold water on his face. It helped, but he was still on edge about what would happen later that night. He eventually went down to the living room, he found a book on the sofa. It was a history book, likely belonging to Ruby, as it was rather simple but he decided it would be a good idea to bolster his knowledge of Equestria anyway.
After several hours of reading Berry & Ruby trotted down the stairs to prepare for breakfast. Berry saw him sitting there & motioned for him to follow them into the kitchen. He sat at the table with Ruby & passed her the textbook.
"I hope you don't mind but I couldn't sleep so I read your history book." He said apologetically. Ruby looked at him in surprise.
"You read the whole thing?" She asked. Cherry nodded in response. "Can you help me with my homework sometime?"
"Um... sure?" He said unsure of his abilities. Ruby's eyes lit up & she hugged the disguised changeling. The flow of childish affections was strong. Foals contained the purest energies thanks to their innocence, the aches he had only a few days ago were steadily disappearing. He felt a little better than he had before, if these ponies can accept me for who I am maybe more can down the line? He thought to himself.
"Well, I was going to offer you breakfast but I see Pinchy beat me too it." Berry said with a smirk as she carried over several plates of food on her back. Cherry & Pinchy giggled a bit before chowing down, while Berry made coffee. After a about a half hour Ruby trotted outside to meet up with a group of other foals on their way to school. After the foals were out of sight Berry turned to Cherry with a smile.
"Since we got so much work done yesterday, me & the girls are going to school you in romance today." Berry said leading him down the streets of Ponyville. The journey was interrupted by some sort of pink emotional creature that completely overloaded Cherry's senses. When everything came back into focus he was wearing a party hat & there was an invitation in his hoodie pocket.
"Berry, what just happened?"
"That was Pinkie Pie, I'd avoid her as much as possible if she makes you blank out like that. I told her to hold off till next week on the obligatory welcome to Ponyville party." She said pointing to the invitation in his hoof. Sure enough, it said he needed to be at Sugarcube Corner next Tuesday. He removed the party hat & looked himself over to be sure nothing else was wrong.
"Actually, I feel pretty good right now. Is she always that full of positive emotion?" He asked placing a hoof on his stomach.
"Pretty much constantly, she's Equestria's premiere party pony. Good customer too." Berry said happily. Cherry thought to himself for a moment before placing the invitation on the ground. After a second of focus the invitation lifted in a pink aura.
"Yes! I can use magic again!" Cherry said clapping his forehooves together in delight.
"Congratulations, now let's head to Lyra & Bon Bon's house." Berry said only semi enthused.
After a few minutes they arrived at a shop unfamiliar to Cherry. Berry opened the door & they walked in. It was obviously a candy store thanks to the various jars & bags full of assorted sweets lining the shops shelves. Behind the counter sat a familiar bored looking minty unicorn. Lyra looked up from the comic book in front of her & smiled at the pair as they trotted up.
"Hey guys. How's the pony act going Cherry?" She said in a whisper as she looked around making sure nopony could hear.
"Well actually, that's we came to see you two about. Cherry here got asked out by a stallion on his first night out & needs some dating advice." Berry told Lyra as she nodded to the changeling in question. Lyra's expression brightened greatly & she hugged Cherry from behind the counter.
"That's awesome! You work fast bud! How'd you do it?" She asked.
"I accidentally tripped over his saxophone case & fell face first into my dinner. He felt so bad he offered to take me out to make it up to me." Cherry said with ears drooping. Lyra's expression matched his after a moment.
"Okay, well... that's a little less awesome." Lyra said after a moment. Lyra failed to notice Bon Bon trotting down the stairs that lead to their home above, she then took a place next to her marefriend.
"So... on a slightly related note, is your disguise anatomically correct? I've been wanting to ask sin-" Lyra was cut off by a hoof to the back of the head courtesy of Bon Bon. Lyra rubbed the spot while smiling weakly at her lover.
"Heh, hey there Sweetie. Cherry's here to ask for dating advice, we can totally help with that right?" Lyra said to her scowling love. Bon Bon's scowl vanished as if it were never there in the first place, it was replaced by a cheerful expression.
"Well isn't that nice. We can definitely show you the ropes Cherry. Lyra, thanks to your inappropriate question you can watch the shop for the rest of the day." Bon Bon said never breaking her mock sweetness.
"Awww" Lyra complained. Afterwards she merely went back to her comic book, Cherry could make out strange bipedal creatures on it's pages. Bon Bon lead them behind the counter & up the stairs. Their home was a decent size, easily as big as the first floor of Berry's home. There were pictures of Bon Bon & Lyra together at various places like beaches & some landmarks unknown to Cherry. They both looked so happy together, despite Bon Bon often disciplining Lyra their home had a fair amount of ambient love in the air. Bon Bon motioned for them to sit on the sofa while she fiddled with a strange device he had seen one of at Berry's as well. After she was done she trotted back to the couch with a black rectangular device in her teeth, she took her place on the sofa & pushed a button on the rectangle. The device on the other side of the room came to life & there were ponies on the display. Cherry looked at it with wonder.
"What is that? Is it magic? Can earth ponies do magic?" He asked not taking his eyes off the device. Berry & Bon Bon looked at him like he was stupid, making him feel as such. His ears drooped again & he hung his head.
"Hey it's okay, television is a pretty new thing in Equestria. We shouldn't be surprised that you don't know what it is." Berry said placing a hoof on his shoulder.
"This is new pony technology, it doesn't run off of magic. It runs on electricity supplied through cables & stuff. We don't really know how it works, we just know it does." Bon Bon said as she flipped through channels until she found one she deemed appropriate.
"This is a show, it's basically a play without the need to leave your home. You see them, but they don't see you & nearly everything is fictional but often has realistic elements to it." Berry said pointing to the screen.
"Well I did always enjoy going to the theater with mother." Cherry said, his mood brightening a bit.
"That's the spirit! This is a romantic comedy, you basically need to ignore the story & just let social queues & stuff soak in." Bon Bon said cheerily.
After the romantic comedy they watched several of Bon Bon's favorite soap operas, the news, & the history channel. By seven o' clock Cherry was full of relevant knowledge about being a social pony & Equestria itself. The girls were surprised that he could tell them absolutely everything he had learned in the last few hours. He merely told them that changelings had wonderful memories so they could better formulate disguises. They shrugged it off as fact & he & Berry trotted off after he received hugs from everyone to bolster his reserves. They returned home to see Ruby once again concentrating hard on her school work.
"Cherry since we're back don't you think it'd be a good idea to take a shower & get cleaned up before your big date?" Berry asked.
"Oh, yeah good idea." He replied. He dropped his disguise & trotted up to the bathroom. Berry heard water running & began cooking for her & Ruby. Cherry trotted back down to the kitchen at about seven thirty five.
He put his disguise back on, happy that he finally had enough magic built up to change now & again. Just as he was about ask Berry how he looked he heard a knock at the door.
"Oh, that must be noteworthy! He's early! Berry? I'll be back later!" He said with nervousness evident in his voice. He trotted over to the door & opened it revealing an equally nervous stallion of similar coloration. Noteworthy was the first to speak up.
"Uh, hi Cherry. Look I feel awful about this, but I actually just realized how financially in the red I am after paying my bills today. I can still get you dinner but it's gonna have to be homemade & nothing quite as fancy as I planned." He said as he rubbed the back of his neck with a hoof. Cherry relaxed a little at this much to Noteworthy's confusion.
"That sounds great actually, I don't do so well in public situations anyway." Cherry replied. Noteworthy's mood brightened considerably at this.
They walked to his home in relative silence, as it turns out he lived only a couple blocks away from Berry. His home was visibly smaller than Berry's or Bon Bon & Lyra's but had a cozy feel to it. The smell of food filled Cherry's nostrils as they entered the kitchen. Noteworthy had already prepared the food & left it in the oven, there was scalloped potatoes, green bean casserole, & turnip greens. Cherry had never had any of these things but had to admit they smelled good. As they made their plates Noteworthy struck up conversation as best as he could.
"So, you're new in town right? Were are you from originally?" He asked without making eye contact.
"Oh, I'm from Vanhoover originally. I'm staying with Berry until I can afford a place of my own." He said feigning honesty.
"Oh yeah, you said she was your cousin right? I haven't met her too many times, but she seems like a nice mare. You... here to find a mare for yourself?" Cherry didn't know much about this stallion but he could tell it was a baited question, & he could feel hope coming off of him as well. He decided to go with it & answer as honestly as he could.
"No, I'm just here to learn to be a brewer like Berry. I'm not really into mares, but they make really great friends." Cherry replied with a smile before taking a bite of the scalloped potatoes. He could feel the relief ooze out of the stallion when he said this. His changeling instincts were overriding his nervousness, making him much more collected than he thought he would be.
"So, how about you? What do you do for a living?" Cherry asked. Noteworthy's mood fell again at the question.
"I'm just a small time musician, I play saxophone for a jazz group in a cafe in Canterlot a few times a week. I live here though because living there costs a fortune." He said feigning happiness at the mention of his work. Cherry could feel the sadness emanating from him, making him feel bad about bringing it up.
"I'd love to hear you play sometime, I'm sure you're great. Your cutie mark is music notes after all." Cherry said trying to lighten the mood. Noteworthy had his mouth full & couldn't answer just then but Cherry didn't need him to, he could feel the sadness lift somewhat. After Noteworthy swallowed, he began talking again.
"You sound just like my mother, every time I get down about my career she says pretty much the same thing." He said with a chuckle. "What about you, Cherries are a little less specific. How did you get your cutie mar-" Noteworthy stopped before he finished his sentence. Cherry could tell he was surprised by something, but he seemed to be staring at... My flank? He thought to himself. He turned to see that he had left his cutie mark off his disguise again. His eyes widened & he began to sweat profusely, he said the one thing he could think of.
Cherry just sat there as Noteworthy backed away from the table, obviously close to panic. Cherry sighed & placed his head on the table. Well, I've had a good run. Hopefully the pony princesses hold my execution at sunset, I've always liked sunset. Cherry thought to himself. He knew running wouldn't do any good, he had nowhere to run to, & he knew only what he had been told about ponies. He'd plead Berry's innocence of course, her & his new friends had been good to him. He could just say that he had hypnotized them into helping him. He looked over to Noteworthy who was beginning to come to his senses.
"Y-you're a changeling?" He managed to stammer out.
"If I said no would you believe me?" Cherry said in a downtrodden tone. Noteworthy shook his head no, as Cherry had expected.
"You're not going to run or cocoon me in slime & replace me or something?" Noteworthy said, his eyes never leaving Cherry.
"Nope, don't have anywhere to run besides Berry's house. & I'm not going back to running for my life in the Everfree, so call the guards or the princess or whatever." Cherry said through tears. He let his disguise drop through the pinkish purple flames leaving himself totally exposed to Noteworthy. Noteworthy visibly cringed as the flames appeared but he looked back at the changeling after a moment. He somewhat fit the descriptions he had been given by Canterlot ponies & tabloid ads but was also a bit different. He seemed taller than the description, he had pupils, & his colors were way off. Instead of black & green Cherry was a dull purple color with pink accents & eyes. That, & he had a set of curved plates across his back were his wings protruded from.
"A-aren't changelings black & green?" Noteworthy asked failing to sound confident. Cherry looked at him & sighed.
"Berry asked me the same thing, I'm from a different hive. Chrysalis's hive is the one that attacked Canterlot, they're from the badlands. My hive was between Equestria & the Zebra Lands, Chrysalis took over ours after the attack on Canterlot failed so they could steal our love reserves & regroup before taking over the rest of the hives." Cherry said taking a deep breath & expelling it afterwards.
"So... Berry knows you're a changeling?" Noteworthy asked genuinely confused.
"& Lyra & Bon Bon. Oh, & Pinchy. Berry found me half dead at the edge of the Everfree a few nights ago. They gave me my back story & enough love to get me up & running. I really do work for Berry, she has me check the quality of her liquor by sensing how much love is in everything." He replied with a wobbly smile before bursting into tears. His brand new life had just been shattered as quickly as it had began.
"B-Berry's f-foal." He replied while still blubbering. Noteworthy was unsure of what to do, on one hoof he was in position to uproot a confirmed changeling. On the other hoof, he was beginning to genuinely feel really bad for the guy. He had an idea, but was unsure of how well this would go, & he could very well be walking into a trap. Regardless he retrieved something from a drawer in the kitchen & stood before the sobbing changeling.
"Put your disguise back on." He said with mock authority. Cherry looked up at him to see his serious expression. He could feel, pity, confusion, fear, anger, & especially uncertainty brimming within Noteworthy. Despite this he complied, regaining his now useless disguise in a burst of colorful flames complete with cutie mark. Noteworthy slapped one end of a pair of hoofcuffs on himself, & the other to Cherry.
"Where'd you get hoofcuffs on such short notice?" Cherry said wiping tears from his eyes with his free hoof.
"I had a really weird excoltfriend, let's just leave it at that." Noteworthy said obviously uncomfortable with the situation for several reasons.
Luckily it was dark & there were no ponies on the streets to see the pair in the compromising situation. Noteworthy led the way, Cherry hung his head without paying much attention to the path they were taking. After a few minutes of walking Noteworthy stopped as did Cherry. Cherry looked up, & much to his surprise they were at Berry's house.
"Open the door, I'd feel weird doing it. She isn't expecting me." Noteworthy said not meeting Cherry's gaze. Cherry was confused but did it anyway. As they entered the living room three mares looked at them curiously, & back down to the hoofcuffs.
"I forgot my cutie mark again." Cherry said hanging his head. Bon Bon double facehooved, while Lyra fell over laughing. Berry groaned & trotted over to the stallions.
"Dammit Cherry! We went through this!" She said as she smacked him in the back of the head. Cherry rubbed the spot wishing he wasn't in disguise for that.
"I'm sorry! I was gonna have you look me over before I left but he got here early!" Cherry pleaded with his boss & default best friend. Berry sighed & pulled a flask from her mane & took a long drink from it. She placed it back in & sighed heavily.
"Noteworthy, we know this seems bad but Cherry's a really nice stallion. He even offered to help Pinchy with her homework on top of working for me." She said placing a hoof on his shoulder.
At that moment Ruby Pinch trotted down the stairs, having heard the commotion. She looked upon the scene with dread & trotted up to Cherry & hugged him with all her might.
"Please don't go Cherry! We really like you!" She said through tears. Cherry did his best to stifle another round of tears but failed miserably. He let his disguise burn away, the cold flames not harming Pinchy whatsoever. He held her tight tears streaming from his big pink eyes. The mares in the room weren't far from doing the same. Noteworthy himself was feeling an awful lot like the villain in the room. He sighed & undid the cuffs on both of their legs & stepped away from the group. Cherry looked over to him & pulled him into a hug.
"Oh thank you Noteworthy! If I can ever do anything for you don't hesitate to ask!" Cherry said through happy tears. Despite the size difference of himself & Cherry Noteworthy could tell the changeling was remarkably lacking in the muscle department. He felt like he was being hugged by a foal. As soon as Cherry released him he began thinking about the situation he had just roped himself into, Might as well make the most of it. He thought to himself.
"So... I've had worse first dates before." Noteworthy said with a more than slightly awkward chuckle. Cherry looked at him with confusion, he could feel relief, regret, & apologetic vibes coming off of the blue stallion.
"Are you suggesting... " Cherry cut himself off, not wanting to make any assumptions. Noteworthy was still a bit unsure of everything but knew on thing for sure.
"Yeah, I'm willing to give this a shot since you aren't hurting anyone. You genuinely seem nicer & somehow more honest than other stallions I've been with." He said looking at the hoofcuffs he was holding. The mares all seemed unsure of this but didn't say anything out loud. Ruby however hugged Noteworthy with all her might.
"Yay! If you get married I can have another new cousin!" She said looking up at the blue stallion. Noteworthy was powerless before the awesome force of Pinchy's adorableness. Cherry spoke up for him thankfully.
"It's pretty early to be thinking about that Pinchy." He said very glad chitin didn't show embarrassment. The tension in the room was broken by Lyra falling out of her chair again with laughter. Bon Bon walked over & shoved a hoof into her mouth effectively silencing the unicorn. Berry took it upon herself to put an end to the repetitive cycle of awkwardness.
"Okay everypony, I think we've all had enough excitement for tonight. Pinchy, Cherry, bed. Girls, home. Noteworthy, I'll show you to your house." She said in an authoritative tone that commanded absolute respect. Everypony saluted her & went their various ways, Noteworthy waited at the door as Bon Bon & Lyra trotted out. As soon as everypony was where they needed to be she walked out with Noteworthy. The walk to his house was eerily silent, as soon as they reached his door Berry's serious face returned with a vengeance.
"I'm only gonna say this once Noteworthy, Me & Pinchy have accepted Cherry into our family. We both like him, & my friends like him. Pinchy could use some positive male role models in her life & I'd be happy to count you both as one." Berry took this moment to pound a perfect indentation of her hoof several inches into the stone wall of his home's exterior. "But if you do anything to put him or anypony else I love in harms way you're gonna wish that was all I did to you." She said pointing to the hoof-crater in the masonry.
"Do I make myself clear, Noteworthy?" She said leaning in uncomfortably close to his face.
"Y-yes Berry." He said shakily. Berry's expression softened into one fitting of a school teacher or nurse with remarkable speed, as if her steel melting gaze had never bore a hole into his consciousness.
"Well alright then, you'll be joining us for dinner tomorrow night. Be there by seven." She said sweetly before walking off. Noteworthy could feel his heart start back up as soon as he walked into his house. Berry's incredibly disturbing warning aside, he was eager to see this new strange relationship through. He took a deep cleansing breath & promptly passed out.
Noteworthy awoke hours later on the floor of his humble dwelling. Okay, so... did last night actually happen? He thought to himself. He turned on the porch light & trotted outside to see it was early morning. The damage Berry had effortlessly inflicted to his house was most definitely there.
"Alright then, that answers that." He said to himself before trotting back inside.
"So, I have a dinner date with Berry & a changeling that I suppose is currently my coltfriend... I never thought I'd ever say that." He said aloud before settling in on the sofa. Try as he might he couldn't honestly bring himself to think about turning Cherry in. He hadn't actually replaced anypony, he was working to make an honest living & had a small group of friends that loved him for who he was. Noteworthy didn't even have that, his career was nearly nonexistent & he never really took the time to make a lot of friends in town or Canterlot. If he looked at everything objectively he seemed more likely to be a changeling than Cherry at first glance. He promptly stopped thinking about that, deciding it was pretty depressing.
"Okay, so what do I actually know about changelings?" He said staring at the ceiling in thought. The answer was very little. Aside from tabloids & what Cherry himself had told him he was very lacking in changeling knowledge. Black changelings equals bad, purple equals good. He surmised, but immediately pushed out of his head because of how blatantly racist it sounded. He thought about going to the public library later, but decided against it. The newest princess of Equestria was the librarian. According to the news her brother had been mind controlled by a changeling queen that had replaced her new sister-in-law. She might very well give him the third degree if he went to her looking for knowledge about them. He also ruled out television, the cheesy body snatcher films he had seen would probably border on the territory of insults to an actual changeling.
He sighed & turned on the television anyway, according to a 24 hour news channel it was 6:12AM. Luckily he didn't have to go into Canterlot today, but that also left him with quite a lot of nothing to do until dinner. He decided to look over his photo album he had kept since leaving home to make it on his own three years ago. The first page was of him & his family on his eighteenth birthday back in Whinnypeg & of him packing his possessions into a rickety old cart he had purchased. The next page was him standing in front of his current residence, he had spent nearly every bit to his name on the place. He worked his tail off to keep himself afloat that first year until he could find a job he liked. There were several other pages of photos he decided to ignore, pictures of himself & various coltfriends from failed relationships.
Things definitely hadn't gone as he had imagined them, he finally had a music job & his own place. But his job offered little satisfaction, he was only playing Friday, Saturday, & Sundays at a dingy cafe in lower Canterlot. His home left much to be desired as well, the plumbing was in need of repair & the roof leaked in the bedroom. He couldn't afford a better place, he was probably going to need a second job before long as is. He decided to try & make the most of his current situation, he had a prospective new lover who was an admittedly nice stallion (species aside) who had no criminal record & a steady job. The thought rejuvenated his dying mood enough to get him off the couch. He made himself breakfast, a fried egg & cheese sandwich & a glass of orange juice.
After that he decided to try & patch the roof, it was insanely early to think about bringing Cherry into the bedroom but better safe than sorry. He got right to work (after a few minutes of contemplating the pros & cons of shape shifting in the bedroom) & used a ladder borrowed from a neighbor to get onto his roof. With a bucket of waterproof adhesive & roofing shingles in his teeth he made it up to the roof without incident. He was able to spot the hole in his roof's weather defenses & applied a liberal amount of the waterproof sealing agent to the leak & replaced the damaged shingle with relative ease.
"Ha! Why didn't I do this sooner? That only took me like fifteen minutes!" He said triumphantly. Anypony who reads or watches television knows that making out loud declarations of victory is almost always a foolish idea, as it tempts fate. Noteworthy apparently forgot this important fact as the roof began creaking & a faint cracking could be heard.
"Oh no, no no no no n-AHHHH!!!" Was heard by several of his neighbors, alongside a loud crashing noise. Noteworthy alongside a fair percentage of his home's roof had come crashing down into the home itself.
MEANWHILE
Cherry was having a lovely morning all things considered, last night could have been disastrous but had seemingly turned out pretty well. Berry had invited Noteworthy over for dinner later tonight as a thank you for giving him a chance. Pinchy had just left for school & he & Berry were bottling another batch of finished product, this time it was some kind of coffee flavored liqueur that Berry already had a buyer for. This was his first time working with her on a special order & he intended to put his all into it. They were making good progress but something had been nagging at the back of his mind since he had seen the wonders of television.
"Hey Berry? If ponies are so advanced & everything, shouldn't you have some sort of machine to do most of this?" He asked her. Berry looked slightly offended, but calmed herself.
"You're quite right Cherry, most places have much larger facilities & automated machines. But my family has been making booze since several hundred years before the rise of Nightmare Moon. We pride ourselves on being smaller operations because that much more care is put into everything we brew. Our family may not be as famous as the Apples, but we've been around even longer. We've catered to royalty since the fall of Discord, & satisfaction is guaranteed. This order right here is going to princess Luna herself. She's my best client for bulk orders, I have another to fill as soon as this one's shipped out. She likes my work so much she payed Pinchy's college tuition to Celestia's school to buy this vat for herself." Berry said with pride as she worked. Cherry looked up at the vat & sure enough there was an Equestrian royal seal placed on the side of the enormous container.
"There's no way one pony could go through that much alcohol." He said in disbelief. Berry merely shrugged.
"The princesses are ancient, & don't have a foreseeable lifespan. Liquor keeps good for a very long time. Last Hearth's Warming she sent me a bottle of moonshine. Not the illegal stuff I make for special occasions mind you, but distilled moonlight & lunar magic condensed into liquid form. Supposedly strong enough to drop a dragon with a shot. It's the last bottle she made before she fell. Probably the most expensive bottle of liquor on the planet, saving it for Pinchy's wedding." Berry said proudly. Cherry was extremely proud to be part of something so important to Berry, the mare had taken him in to her home with little thought & made him feel like he belonged. It made him feel... at home again, like he was still part of the hive. He knew they were all either gone or had been assimilated into the black swarm's corrupt hivemind, but being a part of Berry's family helped immensely. He was about to thank Berry when a familiar face burst into the miniature brewery. Lyra had obviously ran here from her & Bon Bon's house & was panting heavily.
"Cherry, *pant* Noteworthy *pant* accident *pant* Ponyville General!" She said before collapsing. Bon Bon trotted in several moments later & propped her up on her shoulder.
"Sorry about that, Lyra hasn't been taking advantage of our lifetime gym membership lately. Noteworthy was trying to fix up his roof when it caved in & he fell with it. He's at Ponyville General Hospital right now receiving treatment." Bon Bon said sadly as she supported her marefriend. Cherry hadn't known Noteworthy long but got many good vibes off of him & he had agreed to enter a relationship with him even after learning his secret.
"Berry? Would it be okay if I went to see him?" He asked pleadingly at his employer.
"We'll all go after we're done bottling this batch, by then he should be done being treated & we'll actually be able to see him right away." She said placing a hoof on Cherry's shoulder. Cherry hugged her in response before getting back to work. Bon Bon & Lyra went to wait in the house, Berry loved her friends dearly but business was business & employees only during business hours except in emergencies was her rule. Plus Lyra had gotten a bottle stuck on her horn the last time she had tried to help out. After a couple hours of bottling & another crating up bottles they were ready to go.
Ponyville general was a bit of a walk outside town but was readily equipped to handle all sorts of mishaps, accidents, & Pinkie Pie induced trauma's. Nurse Red Heart was sitting at the front desk when they entered. Berry was the most familiar with her, she would often bring those unfortunate enough to challenge her drinking ability with their own here. As such, Berry approached her.
"Hey Red, we're here to check in on Noteworthy. This is my cousin Cherry he just started dating him last night & Noteworthy was supposed to come to dinner at our house tonight. We had to be sure that he was doing alright." Berry said motioning to Cherry & the girls. Red looked past Berry to see the sullen stallion & their friends.
"Oh, yes that's right. Pinkie Pie sent me an invitation to his welcome to Ponyville party for next week. Noteworthy is down the hall in room 4, he should be awake but the painkillers may be making him a little delirious." Red Heart said as she smiled & pointed to the hallway to the right of the desk.
The group headed down the hall a short distance before entering the room. Noteworthy had obviously seen better days, both of his right legs were in casts, he was in a neck brace & had bandages around his barrel & an obviously black left eye. Cherry trotted in first looking very close to tears.
"N-Noteworthy? Are you awake?" The stallion in question's good eye opened to look at Cherry. "Is there anything we can get you?"
"Nah, I feel pretty awesome at the moment. Doctor says I have two broken legs, I pulled something in my neck, I cracked a rib & hurt my eye, but whatever is in the IV has me carefree for the moment. The police looked into the records, turns out Filthy Rich hadn't had the house inspected in years before I bought it. I get a fat sack of bits as a settlement as long as I don't sue, but the authorities condemned the house." Noteworthy said as if things were less serious than a papercut.
"B-but where are you gonna stay? What about your job?" Cherry asked obviously more concerned than he was.
"I have no idea, & I can't work without both my hooves. Plus my saxophone got pretty banged up too." Noteworthy said looking over to the table beside the bed. Cherry was no expert on instruments but it probably shouldn't be so dented & he was pretty sure the mouthpiece was supposed to be actually attached. Cherry looked over to the mares who were a little uncomfortable in the situation, Bon Bon & Lyra didn't have any real interaction with him before so this was kinda weird. Berry was trying to deflect the intense puppy dog eyes being directed at her from Cherry. She was doing remarkably well until she actually looked at Noteworthy. She felt bad, he had lost everything in one swift incident. Plus, she had previously threatened him with bodily harm just last night. She looked back to Cherry & sighed.
"Ugh, fine he can stay with us. But you have to share your room & take care of him. I'm not giving anybody a sponge bath, I already have to take care of you & Pinchy. Just don't let it interfere with your work." She said upon giving in. Her response was a hug & teary expression of thank you's. Things are gonna get awkward once those painkillers wear off. Berry thought to herself before she trotted off to fill out the necessary paperwork.
Things had went admittedly well since bringing Noteworthy home from the hospital the previous night, although this could probably be attributed to the fact that Noteworthy was strung out on painkillers almost all day. It was currently somewhere around three AM the day after his accident, his medication was wearing off & he was quickly waking up to severe pains. He groaned a bit as he tried to survey his surroundings, he didn't get very far as it was pitch black wherever he was.
"Hello? Is anypony there?" He shouted into the darkness. He heard someone yawn before his reply came.
"Good morning Noteworthy, is it medication time already?" A voice said to him. Oddly enough the voice sounded very familiar.
"Cherry? What are you doing in my hospital room?" Noteworthy asked greatly confused.
"Wow, those were some powerful pills. You really still think you're at the hospital?" Cherry asked sounding amused.
"Where else would I be? I just had a terrible accident!" He replied getting louder with irritation. Suddenly a hot pink fireball came into existence, illuminating the room. Cherry was standing upside down on the ceiling above his bed still in disguise. Noteworthy's weird quota had been reached several times over very quickly, in response he did the only thing he could think of. Scream.
"AAAAAAAAAAA-" Noteworthy cried before receiving a hoof in the mouth.
"Quiet! Berry & Pinchy are sleeping!" Cherry whisper-yelled at the injured stallion before removing his hoof. "You're in my room at Berry's house, you didn't have anywhere to go so I convinced Berry to let you stay with us. I let you have the bed because you're injured & need your rest. Changelings can walk on walls & stuff, I explained all this last night but I guess the painkillers messed with your memory a bit."
Noteworthy took a moment to process this before responding.
"Oh... um, thank you? You weren't like, watching me sleep or anything... right?" He asked unsure he would like the answer.
"What? No! I was asleep before you were! You were giggling to yourself about how you looked sort of like a mummy, last I remember." Cherry said sounding offended. Noteworthy felt bad, & slightly embarrassed now. Cherry could sense it & sighed.
"You don't need to feel bad, or embarrassed, or whatever. This is an admittedly weird situation for both of us. Now let's just go back to sleep & start fresh in the morning." Cherry said reassuringly. It helped Noteworthy a little but something new was bugging him.
"Did you just read my mind?" He asked genuinely weirded out now.
"No, I can sense emotion. It's sort of like a smell/taste combo thing." Cherry said feeling a blow to his self-esteem, his possible love interest/roommate thought he was purposefully invasive to his privacy.
"Oh, that's actually pretty cool. What does guilt taste like?" Noteworthy said genuinely interested.
"Well, I really haven't eaten a lot of pony foods to compare things too just yet. Although it doesn't taste very pleasant. It's kinda like the taste I get from the air after I just cleaned the brewery floor with that spray stuff." Cherry said relieved that something he could do was considered "cool".
"You're right, that doesn't sound pleasant." Noteworthy said in a sympathetic tone. "What does love taste like?"
Cherry was silent for a moment, trying to articulate the right words to describe it.
"It's complicated, familial love is sort of sweet & the flavor stays with you for awhile, friendship is like that but kind of less potent. Romantic love is sweet, tangy, & kinda tart all at the same time. Pure love is totally indescribable though, I've only had it a few times back at the hive. You can get it directly but it's nearly impossible, every time I've had it it was refined from love reserves over a long period of time. It makes you full nearly instantly, makes you feel like you could take on the world." Cherry said with a pleasant tone as he remembered the past times he had had it. Noteworthy wished he could feel things so vibrantly like Cherry could, if he could do that he might be able to express them better in his music.
The two carried on for awhile until Noteworthy needed to take another pain pill. After that the pair went back to sleep, both with renewed optimism. It seemed Cherry could teach ponies just as much about changelings as they could teach him about ponies. Noteworthy awoke several hours later in an unfamiliar place again. He almost thought he was dreaming, everything was polished metal & gauges. When his eyes adjusted properly he could see Cherry & Berry before one of the polished metal objects, now obviously a vat. It was pretty easy to decipher his location from what little he knew.
"Why am I in the brewery?" He asked, thinking it a reasonable question. Berry & Cherry turned from their work to look at him.
"Thought you were gonna sleep all day, it's nearly one o' clock. Cherry promised taking care of you wouldn't interfere with work, so he wheeled you in here with us so you could at least talk to somepony. Didn't feel right to leave you inside alone in case you needed anything." Berry explained as she looked from a clipboard to the gauge on the vat before her. Satisfied with the reading she trotted off to the next one. After a few more she was finished & instructed Cherry to clean up before they called it a day. Cherry retrieved the necessary things from the supply closet & began working, Berry stood next to Noteworthy's wheelchair & they watched him. Noteworthy decided to start up conversation first, as he had nothing better to do.
"So Cherry, what was your hive like?" He asked, continuing their chat from earlier. Cherry looked up for a moment before returning to work.
"Well, it wasn't too different from Ponyville really. Everyling had their own job they would do, & mother would oversee like your mayor does." Cherry said as he mopped.
"Mother? You mean the queen? Your mother was the queen? Does that mean you're a prince?" Berry said unsure of how to feel about making royalty clean her floors. Cherry looked at Berry like she was crazy.
"Well of course mother was the queen, she's the mother of everyling in the hive." Cherry stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"How many brothers & sisters did you have then?" Noteworthy asked unsure of how to take this.
"Counting myself & mother the total population of the hive was 18,373 changelings at last census." Cherry said immediately without stopping to think.
"Th-that's a big family." Noteworthy said trying to fathom having that many siblings.
"Your mother gave birth over 18,000 times?" Berry said practically shuddering at the thought.
"Changelings traditionally come from eggs, only royal changelings are given birth too." Cherry said looking up from his work, sensing Berry's discomfort. Before he could ask her about it Noteworthy spoke up.
"So are you a royal changeling? You're almost as tall as a princess." Noteworthy asked trying to string together similarities between ponies & changelings.
"Yes & no. I was specially birthed using material from another hive's queen to be prince consort & pass new genetic advantages down to my offspring. But mother gave me the option of going through with it or not & I decided against it. I'm not particularly interested in females, so I was more of mother's attendant than anything. She just used more material to make a different consort." He replied. He began to grow worried after several moments of awkward silence. "Um... guys? Everything okay?"
"You were supposed to be your mothers husband?" Noteworthy asked a little louder than he had intended.
"Well yes, my genes would have passed positive traits from me to future generations. I can process love more efficiently than previous generations. Queens of friendly hives often exchange gene samples to augment future offspring for the better, their hive now has better durability added to their chitin." He said dropping his disguise momentarily to tap on his hard exoskeleton before putting it back on. It was Berry this time that spoke up.
"But if you still had some sort of relation to your mother wouldn't the future changelings be... inbred?" She said failing to put it delicately. Cherry looked upon her with a look of understanding.
"Oh no, changelings aren't affected by things like that. Like bees, but we can diversify with other hives & such through magic. You'd have to ask a changeling queen about the specifics though, I'm no scientist. I basically just refined love so it was fit to her standards & accompanied her to meetings & stuff." Cherry said as he wrung out the mop & started on a new section of floor.
"So... changelings really are bugs?" Noteworthy asked still a tad weirded out.
"I think bugs have to have six legs, we're more like... bug ponies i guess. I'd ask, but I don't know any other changelings anymore." Cherry said as his ears drooped. Berry trotted over to the downtrodden changeling & hugged him.
"We're here for you, I'm sorry if we opened some wounds there. We were just a little curious about your life, you hadn't really told us much about yourself. We won't push you to talk about it if you don't want to." She said. Berry was definitely scary sometimes, but she was a mother before anything else. Noteworthy unfortunately had to stay where he was, since he really didn't have a choice.
"I'm really sorry Cherry, I should've remembered your situation." Noteworthy said from his wheelchair a couple yards away. As he & Berry got up Cherry wiped tears that had started to form from his eyes before smiling.
"Actually, it sort of helped a little. I'd been trying to keep my mind off of the hive but I think talking about them made me feel a little better about everything." He said before sniffling a little. Berry & Noteworthy smiled a little at this.
"Alright then, how about I round up some lunch for us then?" Berry said trotting to the brewery door. Cherry took place behind Noteworthy & pushed the wheelchair forward after Berry.
They went back into the house through the kitchen where Cherry set Noteworthy at the table. Berry began cooking something while the stallions sat at the table across from each other. The awkward silence slowly made a comeback, until Noteworthy spoke up again.
"So, do you have any cool defense mechanisms like changelings in the movies? Like acid spit, hypnosis, or poison fangs?" He asked excitedly.
"Um... no? I can shape shift, fly, & do magic, although I don't really know any aggressive magics. I can make a waxy substance to store love in like a honeycomb though if I have more than I need." Cherry said thinking of things unique to changelings.
"How do you fight?" Noteworthy asked slightly disappointed about the lack of awesome abilities.
"Well, I personally don't know how to fight. My hive was peaceful & I was technically royalty. The worst thing I normally had to deal with was mother's complaining during egg laying cycles." Cherry said thinking back on how moody his queen got from the excessive hormones. Noteworthy was kind of bummed that he wouldn't get to see acid spit, but it was cool he was close with royalty. That's when a thought occurred to him.
"How are we gonna go on dates & stuff if I'm gonna be stuck in a wheelchair for the next two months or so?" He asked having just remembered his promise of a romantic trial period.
"Well, we could still go right? I can get you nearly anywhere with the chair & my magic." Cherry said looking up at his now spiraled horn. Noteworthy knew he was right, but was reluctant.
"I suppose, but I'd feel terrible if you had to wheel me around all the time. People would think you were my nurse instead of my coltfriend." He said his expression sinking. To his surprise Cherry erupted into his trademarked pink flames & reappeared still in disguise but in maroon scrubs like a nurse would wear.
"I could be both, I saw a male nurse on television the other day. He was wearing clothes like these." Cherry said looking himself over. Noteworthy hated to admit it but Cherry did make a cute nurse, even if it was a facade. Berry chose this time to set a plate of sweet potato fries in front of each of them & her own spot before sitting down.
"Now you're just showing off Cherry." She said before munching on a fry.
"Well, I'm just happy that I have enough love stored up for a few changes here & there." He said before taking a fry for himself. Noteworthy ate a few before speaking.
"Wait, I thought you didn't need to eat actual food?"
"I need it to help heal some cracks in my chitin, shouldn't be much longer till I'll only need to eat to look realistic though." He said before eating another. "Plus, it's interesting tasting things like this. In my actual form I can only taste emotions."
"Weird, but anyway... When were you thinking of going out 'Nurse Cherry'?" Noteworthy asked with a slight grin.
"How about tomorrow night? It's not like I have plans or anything." Cherry replied.
"I'm game, just so long as Berry doesn't need you." Noteworthy said turning to the mare in question.
"Nah, we should be done with work for the week. All the vats are full, all that'll need to be done is taste testing & gauge monitoring which shouldn't take more than a half hour." Berry said before finishing off her fries.
"Alright then, how about Sugarcube?" Noteworthy said turning back to Cherry.
"It's a date then." Cherry said unaware he was blushing. He had yet to master the pony disguises emotional responses, but with his love life picking up he would learn quickly.
Today was the day of Cherry & Noteworthy's first date. Though technically they had one prior, both of them agreed not to count that one for obvious reasons. It was still pretty early in the day, & their date wasn't until dinner time. Cherry was currently using his magic to push Noteworthy alongside him as he trotted through the streets of Ponyville, following Noteworthy's instructions. After about ten minutes they reached their destination, the home of Filthy Rich. Filthy Rich was the town's wealthiest pony, according to Berry & Noteworthy he owned at least a small amount of everything in Ponyville except for Sugarcube Corner. The house had an impressive iron fence around it with a heavy gate in the front. There was a small post with a button & speaker on it. Cherry pushed the button for Noteworthy.
"Who is it?" An annoyed staticky voice said through the speaker.
"It's me Noteworthy, here to talk about me not suing you." Noteworthy replied in an equally annoyed tone. No reply came, but after a moment the gate made a clicking noise & opened slowly. Cherry wheeled Noteworthy to the front door & with a little strain got the chair up the front porch steps. As soon as they reached the door, a posh pony in a black suit with coattails. His eyes seemed closed & he had an exquisitely groomed curly moustache & wore a monocle.
"Gentlecolts, Master Rich will receive you in the study. If you would be so kind as to follow me. My name is Sebastian the head butler." The posh pony butler turned & motioned for them to follow him with a white gloved hoof. The pair followed closely behind him through the ritzy near-mansion home.
"So... does Filthy pay you extra to put on the fancy clothing & ridiculous moustache?" Noteworthy asked from behind the butler.
"As a matter of fact, he does. My name isn't even Sebastian, it's Smiling Service. But you didn't hear that from me." The butler said without changing tone. Noteworthy had been joking, but now he felt genuinely bad for the stallion.
After a few minutes, the trio came to a large set of wooden double doors. "Sebastian" opened one side of the wooden doors & ushered them in. Behind a large ornate wooden desk sat a displeased looking stallion wearing a vest & tie & slicked back mane. Cherry wheeled Noteworthy in front of the desk & stood at his side.
"Hello Noteworthy, I'm sorry to hear about your accident. I apologize for my minor oversight, the official paperwork for the residence had been misplaced due to a clerical error. Thus, we had no idea that the property was in need of inspections." Filthy Rich said with an obvious face tone of sincerity. The emotions coming of of the stallion sickened Cherry a little but he held his composure.
"Right, well I'm willing to settle instead of going to court. But I want at least three times what I payed for that dump, otherwise I'm sure Princess Sparkle would be glad to look into your clerical error. I hear she's a master of organization, she loves keeping things in order." Noteworthy said not trying to hide his obvious threat. Filthy was seething with hatred & Noteworthy wasn't putting off many positive vibes either. Cherry was feeling sick to his stomach.
"I see, I suppose that's fair. That will certainly afford you a nicer home." Filthy said as calmly as he could. He pulled a checkbook from his vest pocket & began writing out his owed sum. He ripped the check from the book & slid it forward. Cherry took it into his magic & passed it to Noteworthy. Noteworthy looked it over & smiled.
"Thank you very much Filthy, it was a pleasure doing business with you again." He said sarcastically.
"Sebastian, please show our guests out." Filthy said through gritted teeth.
The pair complied with Filthy's subtle "get out". They left without saying a word to Sebastian or each other. The gate quickly slammed itself shut behind them. Noteworthy was in rough shape still, but at least he could afford a much nicer home now.
"How much did you end up getting?" Cherry asked curiously.
"21,000 Bits! I was totally bluffing too! That stuff about the princess was just a rumor!" Noteworthy said giddily. Cherry could feel the happiness oozing off of the incapacitated stallion.
"So... I'm guessing that's a lot?" Cherry said tilting his head to one side a little. Noteworthy just looked at him strangely for a minute.
"Do you... not know about money?" Noteworthy asked him.
"Well, I know what it is & everything. But back home we didn't use money, everyling was given enough love to live comfortably as long as they did their job. I don't really know much other than ponies tell you a number & you give them that number." Cherry said looking back at him, feeling silly for not knowing more.
"Oh well yes, this is enough for three houses as nice as my old one. But I'm going to use most of it to buy one really good house, & the rest will furnish it. I'll still need to find a job before long but everything will probably work out alright." Noteworthy said with a smile. Cherry could feel worry behind Noteworthy's smile but he chose to not say anything about it.
The two headed back to Berry's house after a quick stop at the bank. Cherry also opened an account & deposited his first paycheck which he had been holding on to, unaware of what to do with it. Noteworthy explained the way money worked in as much detail as he could, Cherry was a quick study & was already asking questions Noteworthy was unable to answer.
Berry & the pair lazed about until Pinchy arrived home from school. Afterward Cherry ended up being drafted into helping her with her history assignment. Noteworthy sat in silence with Berry in the living room, it was pretty awkward considering the last time they had been alone Berry had threatened him with severe bodily harm. Strangely enough it had happened without Berry lifting a hoof. Regardless, Noteworthy didn't really know what to say to the mare. Luckily a familiar turquoise unicorn came in through the front door wearing a camera around her neck & saddle bags.
"Hey Berry, Hey Noteworthy. Have you guys seen Cherry? I had a favor to ask." Lyra said looking at the mare, then the injured stallion.
"He's helping Pinchy with her homework right now." Berry said motioning toward the kitchen with her hoof.
"What do you need Cherry for?" Noteworthy asked genuinely curious. Lyra's eyes darted back & forth a little at the inquiry.
"U-um... nothing important." Lyra said before looking at her saddle bags. Berry raised an eyebrow at the mare.
"Lyra, why do need a camera?" Berry asked as she got up from her seat on the sofa. Lyra was visibly sweating. Berry trotted closer to the unicorn & looked her in the eyes, Lyra felt like Berry was staring into her soul.
"Okay, Okay! I was going to ask Cherry if he could turn into a human so I could take a picture with him!" Lyra said levitating several well drawn & extremely detailed sketches of humans, inside & out. The last picture was of a human on the cover of a comic book. Berry's face met her hoof quickly upon Lyra's confession.
"Dammit Lyra, you're a grown mare! The human nonsense was kinda funny when we were foals but now it's getting weird." Berry said removing her hoof from her face. Cherry & Ruby Pinch chose this moment to enter the living room.
"Um... are we interrupting something?" Cherry said looking at all the documents floating around Lyra.
"Cherry! Can you turn into a human?" Lyra said practically running up to the disguised changeling with her many drawings in tow.
"I don't know what that is." Cherry said officially confused. Lyra floated the documents over to the changeling, they were almost medical quality notes on anatomy, bone structure, & organ placement. There were also scale drawings & specific height & weight measurements marked clearly.
"Where'd you get so much detailed information on a fictional creature?" Berry asked slightly disturbed.
"Princess Twilight! She was telling her friends about this mirror thing & I overheard her talking. She drew these up for me! She saw real humans!" Lyra said almost shaking with excitement. Cherry was carefully studying the drawings, memorizing the plethora of vital information required for formulating a disguise of a creature he had never seen before. After a moment he looked up at Lyra.
"I should be able to do it, I've never heard of humans before but these notes have all the information I need." Cherry said unsure of how easy the task would be. Lyra made a series of squee noises & began hopping around frantically. Cherry focused himself on the information in his head & tapped into his magic. His hot pink flames engulfed him & shot upward before dispersing. Cherry was obviously still Cherry, his clothes were like those of his original disguise but fitted to his new form. He looked himself over warily & examined his new hands.
"This is so weird, I have hands like a minotaur. But I don't have any fur, or chitin or anything!" He said poking his hand with his new pointer finger. Lyra was simply speechless for a good five minutes. She eventually came back into the realm of consciousness & darted over to him. She floated her camera in front of the transformed changeling & snapped a photo which slid out of the bottom of the camera. She shook it with her magic to develop it faster. After viewing it she donned a smile to rival the intensity of Celestia's sun. She pulled Cherry into a bone crushing hug, there was so many positive emotions seeping out from her Cherry's senses were nearly overloaded. After she let him go she regained her composure.
"Thank you sooo much! I've gotta go show this to Bon Bon!" Lyra said before turning to leave. Berry stepped on her tail, preventing her from leaving though.
"I know this was important to you Lyra, but you can't keep that photo. If anypony saw it Cherry's cover could be blown. Give it back to him so he can destroy it." Berry said deadly serious. Lyra knew nopony talked back to Berry when she was like this but still wasn't happy about it. She levitated the picture over to Cherry. Cherry flamed back down into his original disguise & ignited the photo with his own magic. He could feel Lyra's hurt as he did it.
"If it's that important to you, I'll shift into a human for you the next time Bon Bon comes over." Cherry said hoping to lift the mare's spirit. It worked as he was tackled into another emotional hug.
"Yes! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!" Lyra cried out. After being freed from her vice-like grip Cherry caught his breath while Lyra apologized to everypony for the weird visit. She took her leave shortly after, but there was a noticeable spring in her step.
"Does this sort of thing happen often around here?" Noteworthy asked Berry.
"More than I'd like to admit." Berry said trotting into the kitchen. "I'm going to get our supper started, you two probably wanna get cleaned up for your date."
Cherry & Noteworthy nodded to one another & Cherry took him to the bathroom to get him cleaned up. Some embarrassment & awkwardness ensued as Cherry had to help clean him up as he couldn't reach some areas & couldn't get his casts wet. The two agreed to forget what transpired, after that was done Cherry changed the bandages across Noteworthy's chest. After that Cherry placed Noteworthy back into the living room & left to tend to himself. A little over a half hour later Cherry trotted in in his native form. He stood before Noteworthy before using his magical fire to change into a pony. This time however Cherry's clothes were different, he wore his rose tinted glasses, but instead of his hoodie he wore a light red jacket open over a light pink button down shirt.
"What's with the new duds?" Noteworthy asked, looking him over.
"Well, this is a date. The television programs I've been watching say you shouldn't wear just anything to a date. Why? Do you not like it?" Cherry said with ears drooping.
"No, No, you look great. I was just curious." Noteworthy said trying to fix his minor blunder. Evidently it worked as Cherry perked up & his cheeks became flushed a little.
After double checking his disguise the two left the house. The walk to Sugarcube Corner wasn't long, as Ponyville was still a fairly small town. Cherry had never actually seen the building before now & was genuinely impressed with the sweet inspired design. As he wheeled his date inside he stopped to take in the numerous wonderful smells. Sugarcube corner had recently expanded it's menu from just sweets & baked goods to other foods at dinner, making it a bit more than just a bakery. Cherry positioned Noteworthy opposite himself at a table near a window. A tall & skinny yellow stallion in a paper hat & apron brought them their menus & took their drink orders shortly after. The couple began talking as they searched through the menus.
"Looks like we lucked out, Pinkie Pie doesn't seem to be working tonight. Everypony likes Pinkie, but she's a little much sometimes." Noteworthy said trying to start up a conversation.
"Yeah, She managed to find me the first time I was out during the day. She was so overwhelmingly emotional I just kinda froze up, apparently she's throwing me a welcome party on Tuesday." Cherry replied looking up from his menu.
"Well you know me & the girls will be there for you, right?" Noteworthy said catching Cherry's worried tone.
"I know, but I've never been around very many ponies at a time before. I'm kind of worried about it." Cherry said before turning back to his menu. Noteworthy had already decided on his choice. He was going to try & further reassure Cherry but the stallion came back to take their orders. Cherry was having the vegetable stew bread bowl, & Noteworthy the roasted bell peppers stuffed with, beans, cheese, & spices. As they waited for their meals conversation picked up again.
"So, did you have any ideas for what you wanted to do for work once you're well again?" Cherry asked. Noteworthy was silent for a moment.
"I'm not sire yet, I've always wanted to do something with my music but there are already so many musicians out there. It's becoming harder & harder to find a good job in music right now, I may have to settle for something else." He said obviously saddened at the thought of giving up his dream.
"You know, I never did get to hear you play. Maybe you could play for me once you're up & around again?" Cherry said trying to encourage Noteworthy.
"Well if I ever get a new sax I'll be sure to play for you." Noteworthy said brightening a little. Their conversation carried on even after their food had arrived. The two were getting along well, Noteworthy was honestly having a much easier time connecting with Cherry than he had had with any other stallions. Cherry could feel Noteworthy's small spark of affection, things couldn't be rushed but in all honesty Cherry didn't want them to be. He had a steady food supply of positive emotion, he wouldn't risk anything by trying to move too fast with Noteworthy. He genuinely liked the stallion too, he had still given him a chance even after the disguise was dropped. Plus, Cherry had never connected with anyone like he was with the injured stallion.
After the finished eating there was a brief squabble over who would pay, they ended up splitting the bill evenly despite it. As they walked home they were mostly silent but caught each other's glances a number of times. After arriving home Cherry used his magic to get the wheelchair & stallion back up the stairs, & into their room. The two talked for awhile before deciding to turn in Cherry did his physics defying wall walk up the ceiling after helping Noteworthy into the bed. The two were quiet for awhile until Noteworthy broke the silence.
"Hey Cherry? Do you think maybe when it's just us & the girls, drop the disguise? I think you make a really cute stallion & all, but I like knowing the real you too." He said in a sincere tone. Cherry was genuinely taken by surprise, he didn't know what to say. So he didn't say anything, he just let go of his disguise. His facade dissolved into pink flames. Noteworthy could make out faintly glowing pink eyes & smiled. The two fell asleep soon after with smiles on their faces.
Once the weekend rolled around Cherry rolled Noteworthy around town to look at available houses, there were a total of three available in Ponyville. The first was owned by Filthy Rich's realty business, so it was out of the question. The second was on the outskirts of town a bit further out than Noteworthy was happy with. The last was a wonderful two-story house with two bedrooms, two bathrooms & separate kitchen & dining room, & a fairly spacious living room as well as an attic & basement. Noteworthy really liked it, but it was a little more than he was willing to pay. Cherry could taste the disappointment coming from his coltfriend, & he wanted to help.
"You know, if you went ahead & bought the house I could help out with money. I don't really need food, & I make my own clothes & all. Berry insists on paying me anyway, so why don't I just take it?" Cherry said as they stood in front of the for sale sign in the house's yard. Noteworthy turned to Cherry in surprise, his mouth hanging open slightly. He shook his head to break himself from his stupor.
"You'd just give me your money? I know you don't have a lot of needs, but there has to be something you want for yourself?" Noteworthy said in disbelief. Cherry nodded his head yes before speaking.
"I already have what I want though, I've got Berry, Pinchy, Bon Bon, Lyra, & you. You five keep me happy, & fed, & even gave me a place to stay. I don't really know of anything else I could ever need. I'd be more than willing to chip in if it means giving you a place to live." Cherry said reaching into his hoodie & pulling out his pouch of bits. He set it on Noteworthy's lap & smiled at the incapacitated stallion. Cherry could feel a plethora of emotions running through Noteworthy the stallion held the sack of bits in his good hoof for a moment in silence.
"I'll take you up on your offer, but only one one condition. You move in with me." Noteworthy said with a serious face. Now it was Cherry's turn to be dumbfounded.
"What? But... isn't that kind of soon? I don't know a lot about relationships, but I've been learning. We've barely been together a week, shouldn't we take things more slowly?" Cherry said nervously fiddling with his hooves.
"I'm still going to need to stay with you at Berry's until I'm better, & the house's paperwork & inspections are through. We'll be together a couple more months before we make the move. Besides, we already share a room & you've given me a sponge bath. We're already further along than we should be." Noteworthy said with a blush that made him seem almost purple. Cherry wore a similar blush of his own.
"Okay, but we can still see the girls all the time right? They've all been really supportive of me, & I promised I'd help Pinchy with her school work." Cherry said looking at Noteworthy hopefully. Noteworthy merely smiled.
"Of course, we're your new family. Plus Berry would break the rest of my bones if she thought I wasn't being good to you." He said starting with a smile & ending completely serious. Cherry assumed that he was joking, but he genuinely liked the idea of Noteworthy & the mares being his new family. To be perfectly honest, even back at the hive the only changeling he really knew was his mother the queen. He missed her dearly, but now he had five times the social interaction.
Cherry wheeled Noteworthy away to town hall to pick up the proper paperwork & drop off the check for the property. True to Noteworthy's prediction things would take around two months, give or take a week. After receiving the mountainous pile of paperwork, Cherry brought them home & deposited the papers in their shared room to fill out later. Cherry dropped his disguise & the two settled down in the living room to watch television. After a few minutes Berry walked into the house through the back door after tending the various vats in the brewery. She joined Cherry on the couch.
"So, how'd house hunting go?" Berry asked the stallions before taking a drink from a bottle of hard cider.
"Great actually, put the down payment in on a house a lot like this one. Everything should be ready by the time I'm all healed up. But there is something we need to talk to you about." Noteworthy said looking from Berry to Cherry. Cherry caught on that Noteworthy wanted him to tell Berry.
"Well, I'm gonna move in with Noteworthy once everything is ready." Cherry said fiddling with his hole-riddled hooves & not looking directly at Berry, fearing she would be angry. Berry was a little surprised but not angry if Cherry's senses weren't deceiving him.
"Well I didn't expect you to stay around here forever, although I wasn't thinking you'd be out of here so soon. So long as you visit now & again I don't have an issue with it. You're an adult, you can make your own choices. That said, me & Pinchy will miss having you around. Make sure you get to work on time though." Berry said with a smile before finishing her drink.
"Where's Ruby Pinch?" Asked Noteworthy looking around as best he could in his neck brace.
"She's off with some of her school friends, they're playing in the park." Berry said while flipping through television channels. "You running low on juice Cherry? You normally keep your pony costume on twenty four seven."
"U-um, Noteworthy said he liked my real form just as much so I'm gonna stay like this unless we're going somewhere." Cherry said obviously flustered even though chitin doesn't blush. Berry smirked a little & looked over at Noteworthy who failed to look away due to his neck brace. His regular pony flesh could most definitely blush & was doing a wonderful job demonstrating it.
"W-well, I think he should be himself unless it's necessary. I like him for who he is, not who he pretends to be." Noteworthy said still very flushed. Cherry was touched, he could feel the affection in the words. Cherry was giddy, affection given freely without the facade of a pony was quite powerful. It wasn't love exactly but coupled with Noteworthy's words Cherry was on cloud nine. He got up from his spot on the couch & hugged Noteworthy as best as he could without hitting any injuries.
"Oh Blues!" He said happily hugging his coltfriend. Noteworthy smiled with his good eye's brow raised.
"Blues?" He said curiously. Cherry's eyes opened & he Noteworthy go with a nervous smile.
"Heh, well the television shows I've been watching have relationships where one pony gives the other a nickname. So I came up with Blues because you play music & you're... blue? Okay, now that I say it out loud I feel stupid." Cherry said his expression sinking a bit. To his surprise, Noteworthy placed his good hoof on Cherry's shoulder.
"Actually, I think it's kind of cute. None of my other coltfriends ever gave me cute nicknames." Noteworthy said with a reassuring smile. Cherry's expression brightened instantly & his wings fluttered quickly for a few seconds. Berry & Noteworthy both tried to withhold their chuckles.
After those heartfelt & embarrassing incidents time passed quickly as they watched television. Pinchy came home & Berry prepared dinner with Cherry's assistance. Cherry had secretly asked Berry to teach him how to cook, mostly so he could help pull his weight when he moved in with Noteworthy. Noteworthy & Ruby Pinch were getting better acquainted by having Noteworthy help her with her math homework. After about an hour of homework & dinner prep everything was ready. Cherry took on his disguise so he could taste the food. He had done admittedly well for his first time cooking ever.
After dinner more television followed until bed. Cherry once again used his magic to move Noteworthy up the stairs without incident. There was a bit of awkward silence going on between them after earlier, Cherry took his place on the ceiling after Noteworthy become situated. It was dark but Noteworthy could see Cherry's luminous pink eyes looking the other direction. The tension was getting pretty thick until Cherry finally cracked.
"So... I know it's kind of a weird situation we're in, but I don't think I'd change anything if I had the chance." Cherry said with glowing eyes directly on Noteworthy now.
"Well, I could have done without the injuries. But other than that you're honestly the nicest guy I've ever been with." Noteworthy said from below.
"I know you mean it. Emotions shift when ponies lie. That's why I was so flattered earlier, you were being completely honest. I appreciate that. To be perfectly honest, I don't like wearing my disguise. It's not that there's anything wrong with being a pony, but I kinda wish I could just be me. It just feels like lying to everypony all the time, but if I walked around as is I'd be carted off to a lab or a dungeon or something, ya know?" Cherry said with a stressed sounding tone. Noteworthy was at a loss for words, Cherry had just admitted something pretty serious & he had no idea how to respond to it.
"I'm not really sure there's anything I can do about public stuff, but just know that you never have to hide who you are from me." Noteworthy said after thinking on it for a minute. He hated that there wasn't anything he could do about it, but admitting that was probably better than having Cherry know he was being lied to.
"I know, I trust you. You've been great despite everything, I'm actually pretty happy I tripped over your saxophone & embarrassed myself in front of everypony. Thanks for listening Blues." Cherry said with more vitality in his voice. Noteworthy smiled at this.
"Anytime Cherry. I'll see you in the morning." He said happily.
"You too Blues." Cherry replied happily.
After their emotional exchange the couple drifted off to sleep, resting up for the coming day & whatever it may bring.
It was now a little over two months since Noteworthy's accident, he had been given a clean bill of health & was out of his numerous casts & bandages since three days ago. The time had passed quickly, Noteworthy & Cherry's relationship was going well & Cherry had even made some friends around town. Pinkie's obligatory welcome party had gone off without a hitch, due mostly to the fact that everypony was more focused on Noteworthy's health at the time. Cherry had even started visiting Ponyville's public library to further deepen his knowledge of pony kind. He even talked to the library's resident princess on occasion. Today however was an important one, today was moving day.
Noteworthy was healed, but was weaker than normal thanks to being incapacitated so long. Luckily Cherry, Lyra, Bon Bon, & Berry had plenty of strength or magic between them. Cherry & Noteworthy's possessions only filled a few boxes, but Berry had donated the guest bed, & the girls a spare sofa from their basement. After only a little under two hours everything was where it needed to be, their new home was remarkably empty but it was theirs. Their friends stayed over & ordered pizza to celebrate the couple's new home, needless to say there was alcohol courtesy of Berry. Pinchy was staying over at a friends house that night so the little party lasted well into the night. After the mares left a drunk Noteworthy & Cherry passed out on the sofa together.
They were awakened many hours later by the alarm coming from Cherry's watch he had bought himself about a month prior.
"Ugh, is it morning already?" Noteworthy asked getting up from the couch with a forehoof to his throbbing head.
"Unfortunately I think it is, we must have drank too much last night." Cherry said as he tried to get up. He succeeded but toppled over mere seconds later.
After the pair was coherent enough they got themselves cleaned up & ready for the day ahead of them. Cherry was going into work while Noteworthy was going out to look for a new job now that he was able again. Cherry donned his disguise in his usual burst of pink flames, he then gave his coltfriend a quick peck on the cheek.
"I'll see you later Blues, good luck today." He said with a smile before trotting out into the still quiet streets of Ponyville. Noteworthy waved as Cherry slowly left his field of vision. He always enjoyed a kiss from Cherry, even if it was only on the cheek. The two had shared their first kiss only two weeks ago, as both of them were nervous. Any apprehension either of them had harbored melted away that night. Noteworthy often forgot Cherry wasn't a pony, it just didn't matter anymore. Cherry was the strangest, but best coltfriend he had ever had. He knew he was quickly developing feelings for him, & he knew Cherry knew too. But neither stallion had said anything about it yet. Cherry's chitin was repaired now & had even developed a slight glossy quality. He was obviously very healthy now. Every now & again he would get depressed about having to hide from other ponies behind his disguise, but Noteworthy was always there for him.
After a few minutes of happy reflection of the last few months events Noteworthy ventured out into Ponyville. After three hours of entering businesses he was feeling pretty downtrodden. It seemed nopony had any need for new employees, & there was no need for anyone with musical talents in Ponyville either. Eventually he decided to call it quits for the day & went to the store. The house's kitchen had luckily come with kitchen appliances such as an oven, refrigerator, & microwave but they still needed food. After picking up things like eggs, milk, flour, sugar, & some other assorted food basics he returned home to put them away. He himself couldn't manage much more than eggs, but Cherry was quickly becoming a talented cook thanks to Berry & Bon Bon's lessons. After several hours of doing nothing Cherry returned to find him asleep on the sofa.
"Blues? Hello? You in there?" Cherry said nudging the comatose stallion. With a little more effort he eventually woke him.
"Wha... Oh, hey Cherry. Done helping Berry already?" Noteworthy said rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Blues, its 5:30 in the afternoon. I'm actually late getting home." Cherry said before dropping his disguise & joining him on the sofa.
"Heh, guess I fell asleep after I got home." He said sheepishly. "Job hunting was a bust, I picked up some groceries before I came back though."
"Well, don't worry about it too much, it's only been a day. You'll find something soon enough, I know you will." Cherry said nuzzling the depressed stallion. This lifted his spirits a bit, though Cherry could tell it was still bothering him. Cherry thought for a minute before getting up & trotting to the hall closet between the living room & the kitchen. He came back a moment later with a familiar case floating in his magical grasp.
"I was going to wait for a special occasion to give this to you, but you seem like you could use a pick-me-up." Cherry said as he levitated the case onto the sofa next to Noteworthy. Noteworthy knew what the case held, but it had been ruined in the same accident that had temporarily crippled him, hadn't it? He undid the clasps on the case & opened it to reveal his saxophone, looking better than it had before the roof collapsed.
"How did? When? What?" Noteworthy said looking back & forth from the instrument to his smiling coltfriend.
"Well, I may have fibbed when I said that I was only reading about pony culture. I also picked up some books about pony magic, there was one about fixing things & I knew this was important to you." Cherry said looking pleased at how happy he had made Noteworthy.
"I can't believe it! I thought I was gonna need to save up for years to get a new sax! Thank you so much!" Noteworthy said with tears of joy in his eyes as he pulled the changeling into a hug. Cherry was very full at the moment, love, happiness, & gratitude were all flowing into him without him even trying to feed. He smiled almost as big as Noteworthy was at the feeling, but more than that, he was happy because Noteworthy was happy. After a few minutes of continuous hugs Noteworthy released him.
"I can't thank you enough Cherry, you're the best thing to ever happen to me. I know you can probably already tell, but I-I love you Cherry." Noteworthy said teary eyed looking directly at the changeling. It was now Cherry's turn for extremely emotional hugging, he pulled Noteworthy as close as he could to himself.
"I love you to Blues!" He said through his own tears.
The stallions stayed like that for sometime until a rumbling brought them back to reality. They separated & both looked down at Noteworthy's stomach, Noteworthy blushed as Cherry would have if he was capable of it.
"Well, looks like I need to start dinner huh?" Cherry said before hopping off the couch & trotting off to the kitchen. Noteworthy followed behind him intending to help.
"Is there anything I can do? I feel bad that you go to work & make dinner for me when you don't really need money or food to keep going." Noteworthy said with drooped ears. Cherry just smiled at him.
"You know you feed me just as much as I feed you, & you're giving me a place to live & you genuinely care for me. I really don't you should feel that way." Cherry said before thinking for a minute. "But, if you feel like doing something I still haven't heard you play before. After dinner you can play me a song, & we'll call it even." Cherry said as he pulled various ingredients from the refrigerator.
"All right then, but I haven't got to play in awhile so don't blame me if it isn't up to your expectations." Noteworthy said nervously. Cherry rolled his eyes & shooed him out of the kitchen so he could cook.
After about forty five minutes of cooking Cherry returned to the living room with a stack of fried corn cakes, it wasn't fancy but they were on a budget & Noteworthy wasn't a picky eater. They didn't yet have a dining room table so they ate in the living room on the sofa while setting their plates on their less than new coffee table. They chatted for awhile, mostly about Cherry's day since he had more interaction. Noteworthy volunteered to clean up the dishes after they had finished he returned to find Cherry examining his sax in his magical aura curiously.
"What are you doing?" Noteworthy asked his confused looking coltfriend. Cherry didn't bother to look up, & kept examining it as he answered.
"I was thinking, how are you supposed to play this with hooves? It seems impossible to me, I can't see how it'd work unless you had magic. The little button-like things look like they were designed for fingers." Cherry said still gazing at the saxophone skeptically. Noteworthy rolled his eyes & took the instrument from Cherry's ethereal hold. He sat on the couch & took it into his forehooves & began to play. Cherry was mystified, he knew next to nothing about music, but he knew he liked this. He listened intently as Noteworthy masterfully played his instrument, he moved his hooves across the button like parts of the saxophone somehow working them as if he did have fingers. After a few minutes he finished his song & took his lips from the mouthpiece. He set it back into it's case & looked over to Cherry who was slack jawed at the masterful performance.
"I have no idea how you did that without magic, but it was amazing! How are you not a professional at this?" Cherry said excitedly. Noteworthy blushed a bit at the praise.
"Well, I don't do as well when I have an audience. When it's just me & you like this it's not a problem." Noteworthy said looking from Cherry down to his newly repaired instrument.
"Why don't we work on that then? I'm sure the girls would be happy to listen to you play." Cherry said looking at Noteworthy hopefully.
"Well, if they're okay with it I guess I could give it a shot." Noteworthy said obviously skeptical of his skills. Cherry figured this was as good as it was going to get for the moment, & decided to let it be for now.
"Alright I'll ask the girls tomorrow, for right now we should probably get some rest." Cherry said before yawning into one of his holed forehooves. Noteworthy had taken a pretty long nap earlier, so he wasn't that tired. He went along however, tonight was the first night they would actually sleep in the same bed. Neither were quite ready before, & it would have been difficult with Noteworthy's injuries anyway. The two had chosen the upstairs bedroom as their own. As of right now it was still largely empty except for the donated bed & blankets. They climbed in & got under the covers & snuggled, the scene was adorable & peaceful & the pair was enjoying the closeness. Cherry up closer, which Noteworthy didn't mind. Or at least didn't mind, until a certain biological reaction spoiled the tenderness of the moment. The awkward silence was almost suffocating, Noteworthy felt as though he had just ruined everything, which he might have.
"Cherry... I-I can go sleep on the couch if this is too awkward right now." Noteworthy said shame evident in his voice & apparent in the air to Cherry.
"Well... actually... It's not like I haven't thought about that sort of thing. Especially after Lyra gave me that trashy romance novel. It's just... I've never... you know?" Cherry said with his wings buzzing in his state of nervousness & excitement. Noteworthy had thought about certain bedroom activities from time to time but generally pushed them from his mind. There were a lot of things to wonder about.
"So... you want to try? Are we... anatomically similar enough for that?" Noteworthy said with a very red face. Cherry didn't meet his eyes but answered all the same.
"Y-yes, I looked that up in the library too. We're essentially the same, so... if you wanted to... I don't have any objections." Cherry said over the buzzing of his nervous wings wearing a slight grin. Noteworthy didn't respond, but leaned in & kissed his love deeply. After that nothing needed to be said, it wasn't perfect but it didn't need to be it was special for both of them. The pair looked at each other with tired smiles before drifting off to sleep. The last thing either of them heard was "I love you." Spoken at the same time by both of them. They slept peacefully until morning, wrapped in each other's warm embrace.
Today is going to be fantastic! Cherry thought to himself as he trotted through the streets of Ponyville. It was a little less than a week since he & Noteworthy had taken their relationship a step further & the couple was closer than ever. Noteworthy was currently at an interview in Canterlot for a position in the in house band of a swanky restaurant, & he had the day to himself since Berry was making a delivery to princess Luna & was in Canterlot as well. He decided to head to the library & pick up a new cookbook to learn to make something to surprise Noteworthy with upon his return. He had a noticeable spring in his step on this bright sunny day.
After a few minutes of walking he came to the Golden Oaks Library, a place he frequented. He had even become friendly with princess Twilight, she admitted that hardly anypony ever checked books out anymore since television had become commonplace. He failed to notice a new addition to the door frame of the library, there were several runes carved into it along all three sides & into the floor. As he stepped through his disguise melted away silently without him even noticing. He looked around finding himself alone he trotted over to the shelf that held the cookbooks & began browsing. He was so involved with his search he failed to notice the sound of hoofsteps coming down the stairs. As he searched through the various culinary tomes a certain purple pony princess entered the room with a cup of coffee held beside her in her magical grasp. She had apparently just woken up, most likely having stayed up late researching something or other. After a moment she took a glance at her surroundings & noticed Cherry browsing the shelf. Her coffee clattered to the floor as her concentration shattered like the mug. Cherry turned to see the visibly disturbed princess.
"Oh, hello there Twilight! I hope you don't mind, I know it's a little before hours but the door was open. I wanted to surprise Blues with something special tonight so I needed a cookbook." He said with a smile, absolutely oblivious to his nakedness. After a moment of silence he realized something was wrong.
"Are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost or something." Cherry said concerned. Twilight's expression remained the same but she levitated a mirror from a desk in front of Cherry. His ears drooped as he saw his reflection, his natural, changeling reflection.
...
"I don't suppose you'd believe that it's Nightmare Night?" Cherry said with a weak smile as he looked out from behind the mirror.
His response was a magical glow that slammed the door & produced a forcefield over it & the windows, effectively trapping him with a now very angry looking alicorn princess. Faced with no other options he did the only thing he could think of & fainted on the spot.
When he awoke it was dark & he was chained to a chair, he tried using his magic but not even a spark would appear from his horn. A second later the light clicked on revealing he was in what he assumed was Twilight's basement. It was filled with more books, a vast array of scientific apparatus, & one still angry looking purple alicorn. With the lights on he could see there was a strange ring engraved with runes on his horn preventing the flow of magic. His eyes returned to Twilight, who was now walking towards him.
"Well when I carved magic dispelling runes into the door frame last night I never thought I'd get a test run so quickly." Twilight said before adopting an even angrier expression. "What are you doing in Ponyville? Are there others? Why are you purple?"
Cherry, having been in this situation exactly twice before, was taking this fairly well.
"Well, why are you purple?" Cherry asked sarcastically. Twilight was caught off guard by this.
"I was born purple!" She said trying to regaining her composure.
"So was I, see? Not black like Chrysalis. I haven't replaced anypony, I don't cocoon ponies in slime, hypnotize ponies, spit acid, & as far as I know I'm the only changeling for hundreds of miles." Cherry said trying to remember all the things he had been asked before in these instances. Twilight looked him over skeptically before speaking again.
"You sound like this has happened to you before, who knows you're a changeling?" Twilight said before summoning a quill & paper.
"Berry Punch, Lyra & Bon Bon, Noteworthy, & Ruby Pinch, Berry's foal. Oh, & now you I guess." Cherry said hoping that they wouldn't get in trouble for helping him. Twilight raised an eyebrow in suspicion.
"Five ponies know that you're a changeling?" She said in disbelief.
"Yes, I actually work for Berry. I'm her assistant slash quality control expert. She has me make sure that there's an adequate amount of love in her work. Lyra & Bon Bon are good friends even if Lyra creeps me out sometimes. I help Pinchy with her homework sometimes. & Noteworthy & I are in a happy relationship, I really was looking for a cookbook. He's been upset that he hasn't been able to find work & I wanted to have something special for him when he came home from his interview today." Cherry said happily recalling all the good experiences he had had since arriving in Ponyville. Twilight lit her horn again & the chains fell to the floor, but the ring remained on his horn. He looked at Twilight in surprise.
"You believe me?" Cherry said looking over himself & back to Twilight.
"I do, mostly because that ring would have given you a few thousand volts of electricity if you had lied to me." She said pointing to the rune covered ring. Cherry was happy to be out of his bonds but was a little worried about the shocking device about two inches from his brain.
"So... do I get to go home?" Cherry said hopefully.
"No, not yet. We still need to talk to somepony else about this." Twilight said summoning a new piece of parchment which she began writing on. After a moment she finished & the letter vanished seemingly being sent to the "somepony" in question. She led him back up to the ground floor of the library. They sat there in silence on opposite sides of the room waiting for whoever was coming. After a few minutes Cherry decided it would be a good idea to apologize to Twilight.
"So... I'm really sorry about lying about who I was. I just thought that ponies would freak out after the black swarm's invasion of Canterlot." He said with no small amount of regret in his voice. Twilight looked at him like he was crazy before answering.
"Isn't that, like what changelings do?" Twilight said confusedly.
"I'm not an infiltrator, they're the ones that leave to collect love for everyling else. I was a royal attendant, I was basically mother's butler." Cherry said trying to put changeling terminology into pony terms.
"If you were just a butler why would you leave & come here?" Twilight asked genuinely interested.
"Chrysalis." Cherry said with ears drooping again. Twilight opened her mouth to ask him to elaborate, but was interrupted by two flashes of bright light in the center of the room.
When the lights vanished, there in the center of the room was princess Celestia & princess Luna accompanied by Noteworthy & Berry Punch respectively. Berry & Noteworthy both looked over to see Cherry sitting there smiling sheepishly at them. Noteworthy was visibly worried, Berry merely facehooved upon seeing him in his native form. The princesses eyes were also upon him making him sink into his seat as far as he could, trying to make himself as unnoticeable as possible.
"Changeling, arise so we might speak with thee." Princess Luna spoke out in an authoritative tone. Cherry jumped to the floor & bowed to the alicorn one after the other until Celestia raised a hoof, telling him to stop. He looked up to her fearfully, he noticed after a moment that she didn't seem angry, more concerned.
"Princess Twilight penned us a hasty letter telling us to locate these ponies in Canterlot, telling us they could attest to your character. Would you mind telling us your name?" Celestia said in a surprisingly motherly tone. It helped ease Cherry's nerves a little.
"C-Cherry Plum, your highness. I-I really enjoy living in your country princess Celestia." He said trembling.
"I'm glad to hear that, but would you mind telling us specifically why you've taken up residence in Equestria?" She replied with a smile.
"He said it had something to do with Chrysalis, princess Celestia." Twilight said stepping forward. Cherry nodded affirmative before he spoke.
"Yes, when the black swarm was flung from Canterlot they needed to regroup. Our hive was the nearest source of love, so we were invaded. She killed mother, the queen & many of my brothers & sisters. The rest were assimilated into her hive via some sort of mind control magic. I'm technically royalty, so she kept me unharmed so I could become her... consort. I managed to escape & fled to Ponyville, knowing she wouldn't risk an attack on the home of the elements of harmony. I've been living here since Berry found me half dead in the Everfree. I haven't harmed anypony since my arrival & I have several friends who know what I am. For a little over two months Blue-I mean Noteworthy & I have been in a relationship. He discovered me on our first date, I forgot to give myself my cutie mark before leaving the house." Cherry said with as much confidence as he could muster. He looked over to Noteworthy as he finished, as did Celestia & Luna.
"Is what Cherry Plum speaks true, Noteworthy?" Luna asked the nervous stallion standing beside her sister.
"It is your majesty. I-I've come to love him more than I ever have anypony I've ever met. He even offered me his hard earned bits when I was short of buying a home. We've been living together for about a week actually." Noteworthy said before trotting over to stand beside his coltfriend. Both stood their ground in front two of the three mightiest beings in Equestria, albeit shakily. Celestia & Luna's faces didn't change in the slightest. After a moment Luna turned to Berry.
"Berry Punch, though art our favorite brew-master & a pony we consider a friend. What say you of Cherry Plum's character?" The dark alicorn said looking at the mare expectantly. Berry trotted alongside Cherry as well.
"Cherry's a great guy, helps my daughter with homework, helps me cook, & never complains about the work I give him. He's the only pony I let help with my brew, & I trust him with my life. He's already like family, if he's in trouble then I'm gonna take just as many lashes as him Luna." Berry said placing a foreleg around Cherry's back as a show of support. Luna's expression didn't falter & after a moment Celestia spoke up.
"Well then, Princess Twilight. Your letter said that you knew Cherry when you thought he was a pony, what did you think of him?" She asked in her normal tone. Twilight was hesitant, but spoke honestly.
"He was a perfect gentlecolt, & he always showed genuine interest in learning about a broad range of topics. Even though we only ever spoke when he came to check out books, I definitely considered him a potential friend. I honestly feel kind of terrible for chaining him up in the basement after hearing his story." Twilight said before walking over & standing in front of the other three, showing her support. Both Luna & Celestia smiled at this.
"If Discord could be given a chance, I see no reason to deny this changeling who has done nothing but good citizenship." Celestia said with a smile. Cherry & the three ponies supporting him visibly brightened at this. Cherry & Noteworthy were already in each other's embrace. Luna coughed garnering everypony's attention.
"We will have to require you to not abuse your shapeshifting powers, the public will be informed of your situation & identity, but you will receive the full rights, benefits, & protection from harm we give to all citizens." Luna said looking directly at the stallions who were separating themselves from each other.
"That's fair, but... do we have to go around telling everypony? I'm not sure how well that would go over." Cherry said fairly nervous at the prospect. Twilight spoke up this time.
"Well, I haven't gotten to have a press conference yet. We could hold it in the town square tomorrow at noon. Pinkie Pie can have everything set up in a flash, should it be televised?" She asked the senior princesses.
"That sounds good, but I think the word will spread quickly enough without it being on television. Noteworthy & Berry will gather the ponies closest to Cherry & will be on stage with him tomorrow. I just hope things go smoothly, there will likely be those amongst the ponies that will be against this." Celestia said with a touch of worry. Twilight removed the ring from Cherry's horn & made it vanish to an unknown location.
"You should go home & rest, tomorrow will probably be kind of crazy." Twilight said apologetically, as she still felt responsible for the grief this might cause. Cherry nodded & said his thanks to the princesses before he, Noteworthy, & Berry left. As soon as they were out the door Cherry donned his disguise for the trip home.
After returning their home Berry left them to talk to Lyra & Bon Bon about the situation. She promised her & Pinchy would definitely be there for Cherry. The rest of that night their was definitely an air of worry in their home, but they had each other & they would get through it. Cherry kept his disguise up, as this was likely the last time he would wear it.
It was almost time, princess Twilight had come to fetch Cherry & Noteworthy several hours before the press conference. To their amazement Pinkie Pie had somehow constructed a stage, complete with a very official looking podium in the center of town during the night, without waking anypony. The elements of harmony were already assembled at the behind the stage in a tent with the senior princesses & an alicorn & stallion Cherry didn't recognize. The alicorn was pink with multicolored mane & tail, she looked at him with uncertainty & the stallion in a red military uniform looked at him with hate. The mares that made up the elements were wearing similar expressions except for Twilight & Pinkie. At second glance there was also a pale yellow mare with a very long mane & tail hiding behind the rainbow maned one. Cherry had only met two of the elements & it was apparent that the others had little desire to get to know him.
"Twilight, why is he still in disguise?" The stallion said without taking his eyes off of the newcomers.
"He needed to make his way here without incident Shining." The pink alicorn interjected before Twilight could answer. The stallion, apparently named Shining didn't change expression, but trotted up to the couple.
"I've got my eye on you changeling, ever since Canterlot I've been practicing seeing through illusions. You can't fool me." He said leaning looking menacingly into Noteworthy's eyes. Unbeknownst to him several of the mares behind him, including each of the alicorns, save Celestia shared in a collective facehoof.
"Prince Armor, the changeling Cherry Plum is the other one." Luna said with her tone practically dripping disappointment. To his credit his expression didn't change but his ears drooped momentarily.
"Yes, I knew that." He said before shooting an angry look to Cherry before trotting back over to the pink alicorn.
After the Stallions became acquainted with everypony in the room at Celestia's request, Twilight went over the plans for the reveal. She would go up to the podium, say a few words, & then Cherry was to come on stage in disguise, say a few words, & then reveal himself to the entirety of the town, plus a few reporters that had been called from Canterlot & Manehattan. Those supporting Cherry would stay in the audience until the appropriate time. They went through the plan several times before the moment arrived.
Twilight exited the tent alone & took her place at the podium. The entire population of Ponyville minus the elements & Noteworthy stared back at her. She could see the ponies Cherry had spoken of fondly were all in the front row. Even a small unicorn filly Twilight assumed was Berry's daughter sat next to the town's famous brew miester. They each had a look of determination on their faces. Lyra even wore a white T-shirt that displayed a crude drawing of Cherry's cutie mark. The other Townsponies were talking amongst themselves, wondering about the mysterious & sudden event. Even Zecora could be seen in the crowd. Twilight signaled for the ponies to quiet themselves before speaking.
"Attention citizens of Ponyville, I have gathered you here today to formally introduce you to the newest citizen of our town, & Equestria. This... individual has suffered greatly recently & has come seeking refuge here. No matter the circumstances I ask that all of you remain quiet & calm until prompted otherwise." She said in her newly acquired mastery of the royal Canterlot voice. After a moment Cherry walked up the stairs at the side of the stage after exiting the tent. Ponies looked at him, some in recognition, some in confusion. Twilight stayed at the podium, but summoned a microphone a few feet from herself, telling Cherry where to stand. He hesitantly took the microphone into his magic & spoke.
"H-hello Ponyville. I've been living amongst you for about three months now. I know some of you personally, but to those of you that don't know me, I'm Cherry Plum. Though it may be hard to believe, I didn't live in Equestria until recently, & I didn't even have a name." He stopped to catch his breath & steel his nerves. He saw many of the ponies were rightfully confused, but he kept himself strong by looking to his loved ones in the front row.
"I know that this will be a shock to almost all of you." He said before pausing to take in a deep breath & let it go. "I am a changeling."
With that, he burst into his classic pink flames & resumed his natural form. As expected there were several shocked gasps, jaw drops, & terror-freezes. Seeing so many ponies afraid of him was painful, but he knew he needed to do this to live in Equestria as peacefully as possible.
"I know about the attack on Canterlot, but I had no place to go other than Equestria. The changelings that attacked Canterlot were flung far away, into the lands where my hive, my home occupied. Changelings are mostly peaceful, but the hive of the badlands we call the black swarm is the exception. Injured & out of love from their failed attack, they raided my home killing the queen, my mother. They did the same to all 18,371 of my brothers & sisters if they resisted having their minds erased & being assimilated into queen Chrysalis's hive. I was kept alive, & was to be forced to be her... consort, as I am of minor royalty. I escaped, battered & broken, making my way here through the Everfree. I was starved to near death until a kind mare found me & took me in. I'd appreciate it if Berry Punch would join me on stage." He said doing his best to keep his composure.
The assembled crowd was speechless from the tragic story. Nopony said a word as a familiar purple mare & pink filly trotted up onto the stage. Cherry levitated the microphone over to her, which she gladly accepted.
"You all know me, I make the best booze in Equestria & am proud of it. I found this scrawny fellow in the woods unconscious when I was making a trip to my wine cellar. I picked him up, brought him with me, & tied him up. Not once did he lie to me about anything I asked him about, I could tell. He didn't fight me, he didn't beg for his life, he accepted his fate for what he thought it was. I knew from talking to him that he was a pony who had hit rock bottom. I've been there myself when Pinchy's father passed shortly after her birth." Berry said before stopping to nuzzle her filly affectionately. "I don't care who, or what anypony is, I'd never leave anypony there. I brought him home & put him to work, so long as he'd keep moving forward he'd have a place in life. There were a few close calls here & there, but everypony who really knows Cherry personally likes him. I'd like the girls, & Noteworthy to get up here next." Berry said passing the mic to Pinchy & motioning for Lyra & Bon Bon to take the stage. Noteworthy emerged from the tent & quickly trotted up the stairs before the girls could make it to them. After everypony was there Twilight looked the group over before turning back to the audience.
"These are the ponies that have come to know Cherry best for who, & what he is. They will now attest to his strength of character." She said before turning everypony's attention back to those on the stage. Pinchy had the mic, so she was first to speak.
"Cherry is always nice to me, he even helps me with my homework. I was sad when he left to live with Mister Noteworthy." Pinchy said with easily readable emotions. "But he still comes over every other day to help cook & help me, even when he doesn't need to be there for work with mommy." She said, her expression brightening. She used her unsteady magic to hand the mic off to Bon Bon.
"Cherry may not be a pony, but he's certainly the nicest stallion I've ever met. He even helps me at the candy store whenever I ask, even if it's inconvenient for him." Bon Bon said happily before passing the microphone to her lover who took it into her magical aura.
"Cherry even does requests for me! I've had him turn into all sorts of things, I even got him to turn into Sapphire Shores once so I could take a picture with him." Lyra said excitedly as she pulled a photograph of her standing next to a very uncomfortable looking pony of pop. Bon Bon looked at her with a deadpan expression, but much to everyone on stage's surprise the crowd "Oohed" at the photo Lyra floated in front of the audience. Bon Bon facehooved while Lyra passed the microphone to Noteworthy while wearing a triumphantly smug expression. Noteworthy was almost as nervous as Cherry, but moved closer to his coltfriend to cement his conviction. He took a calming breath before he spoke into the mic.
"Cherry is the greatest stallion I've ever met, he may not be the same species as me, but I've never been more in love than I am now. At first I wanted to turn him in to the guard, but once I confirmed that he was telling the truth to me about living with Berry I let him go. Through a weird series of events we even started dating. Then my home's roof collapsed & injured me, a lot of you probably saw Cherry wheeling me around for a couple months. Cherry took care of me while I was sick & our bond grew a lot quicker than either of us had imagined. He even gave up several of his paychecks to make sure I had a place to live once I was better. He is easily the most generous stallion I've ever met. I invited him to stay with me, & I haven't regretted it since. I know we haven't been together long, but we love each other despite everything. No matter what happens I will stand by him." At this point, Noteworthy's gaze had shifted from the audience to his lover. He dropped the mic which caused a loud *thud* & pulled Cherry into a deep kiss, much to the changeling's surprise. His eyes looked to the audience momentarily, but soon closed as he was lost to the world around him. He didn't even care that his wings were buzzing at an astonishing rate.
The pair were cut off from the world until they noticed the noise coming from the audience. To their surprise it was a chorus of cheers, the vast majority of the crowd was showing their support. Flashbulbs went of with incredible frequency, the reporters & journalists were already hard at work, documenting the event in great detail. Cherry & Noteworthy adopted smiles & waved to the crowd. This went on for several minutes until the other three princesses took the stage accompanied by the elements & Shining Armor. Princess Luna took to the podium & used her powerful voice to silence the crowd.
"SILENCE!" She bellowed, immediately quelling the uproar of approval. "After the testimony of these ponies, the aid of magical lie detector spells, & separate testimony from princess Twilight Sparkle, we have come to a decision. In addition to citizenship, the changeling Cherry Plum is granted ambassador status for all situations pertaining to changelings in the future should they arise. He has the full rights of a citizen & is under the protection of the government." Luna said before stepping to the side to make room for Celestia.
"This is an Equestrian passport, identification card & necessary forms for becoming a member of our society." She said loud enough for everypony to hear as she handed him a stack of multicolored documents, a royal passport, & an ID. Celestia to stepped aside & let the pink alicorn he had learned was princess Cadence take the podium.
"Cherry Plum, I regret to inform you that it was I, with the aid of my husband Shining Armor that repelled the changeling invasion from Canterlot into your territories. We cannot apologize for this, as it was necessary to the survival of Equestria. We do offer our condolences for the loss of such a vast number of your kin, we were unaware of the consequences of our impromptu defense spell. We offer you dual citizenship to the Crystal Empire, as well as a permanent reserved suite in the crystal palace for you & your adoptive family. We realize this is nothing compared to what you have lost, but this, & our friendship is all I have to offer you." Cadence said genuinely saddened by the consequences of defending her country. But she couldn't in all honesty apologize for her actions. Cherry wasn't sure how to take this news, but he could see & feel the mixed up emotions of the princess. He looked over his new family & back to the distraught alicorn.
"I accept the gifts you have for me, & your friendship. I would have done the same to protect my loved ones, if I could. But despite all that's happened, I wouldn't change anything. I'm happy here with my new family, I don't hold any ill will towards you or your husband. You did what had to be done, nopony should blame themselves for that." Cherry said trying to ease the princesses worries. From his special senses & his eyes he could tell her mood lifted a bit.
Cherry & Noteworthy both had to field some pretty personal questions from various reporters over the next few hours, but managed. The townsponies were mostly accepting, but some were still wary. Cherry happily let a fair portion of the town introduce themselves for a few more hours. As the day changed into night, most ponies went back to their lives & went about their business, but offered Cherry a wave or smile every now & again. After the last of the citizenry had left, he was approached by Shining armor, who surprised the couple by apologizing for his earlier rudeness. He gave a similar, less articulate apology like his wife's.
After the long day of hobnobbing with his now fellow Equestrians the couple collapsed in their shared bed, tired from the stressful day. The foreseeable future was uncertain, & they were sure to make the front page of every newspaper in Equestria & the surrounding lands, but they had each other & a fairly simple life together. For now, that was all they needed.
