Prologue

The Greatest Show of Kindness
Prologue

Today was a beautiful day. The sun was brightly shining in the Krylon blue sky, the wind was rustling leaves among the fresh, crisp autumn grass, and the gorgeous petals of rose and tulip created a sweet, soft aroma that created a calm, soothing atmosphere. The chirping of birds and the chattering of small animals that were roaming freely around the small cottage sounded of serenity that was like music to the Fluttershy’s ears.

The past few days had been completely hectic for Fluttershy. She had been getting ready for the big wedding of Shining Armor and Princess Cadence, ‘helped’ to defeat the massive changeling army, and even witnessed the power of true love as the two defeated the great Queen of the Changelings, Chrysalis. Afterwards, she got to show off her bird choir’s beautiful music as the two completed their vows-a tremendous honor for her.

It was now four days after the wedding, and life had returned to a normal state for the mare. She continued to fulfill her once again planned out routine: She woke up and fed her animals, per usual. For breakfast, today, she ate a basic meal of toast, apple juice and a fruit salad, containing apples, oranges and cherries, with a hint of lemon. Alongside this, she read the daily newspaper. After this, she took a refreshing, warm shower, and did chores around her house, such as dusting and occasionally mopping her floor. Usually she took a nap for a few hours a day, and today, she decided to nap after she fed her animals their lunch.

Once she awoke from her nap, she made for herself a delicious lunch of a carrot, spinach and cherry tomato salad. As she went to take a bite, a knock at her door interrupted her. She got up to answer it, and it was Twilight.

“Oh, good afternoon, Twilight. How are you?” Fluttershy softly asked.

“I’m well,” Twilight quickly responded.

“What brings you here today?” Fluttershy asked, a glimmer of curiosity in her eye. It was positive curiosity as she enjoyed being with her friends.

“I’m here to issue an important message from Princess Celestia,” she urgently replied, getting a slight wide-eyed look from her friend.

“Oh, um… okay. What is it?” Fluttershy timidly asked. She didn’t know what kind of information her great Princess would be sending out, but because the changeling invasion happened so recently, she put a bet on it centering around them.

“Princess Celestia wanted me to tell you, as well as the rest of Ponyville, that if you spot a changeling, you are to inform me immediately so that we can put it jail. It is critical that these measures to protect the peace and well-being of the ponies, and also to make sure that no more plotting against Equestria occurs,” Twilight explained, putting a hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “I understand that because you’re the Element of Kindness that you may want to help them, but it’s very dangerous to do so.”

“Um… I understand, Twilight. I’ll…do my best to tell somepony if I do see any,” Fluttershy nervously nodded, too shy to say anything against her friend's words.

“Okay. I know it may be a little difficult for you, but I’m sure you can do it,” she reassured, timidly nodding her head.

Even though Fluttershy was instructed to report any changeling findings, she was reluctant about the matter. Before this point, in Equestria, changelings were considered animals, a specimen of nature. Because of this, she found herself in a tight bind.

By nature, she was inclined only to be kind to and help animals, no matter what kind of animal they were. No matter if were was a ferocious manticore in pain, an enraged grizzly bear, a small, innocent bunny rabbit, or even a rude, spiteful changeling, she was expected to show unconditional love and care toward it.

Now that the changelings had invaded Canterlot, they were only viewed as monsters across all of Equestria, and Fluttershy now had a stigma to view these creatures as normal animals like the rest of them. It was almost frustrating to Fluttershy that she would have to change her views on changelings, lest she wanted to be shamed, shunned and looked down upon in her society. She would hate to have to put prejudice against an entire race of creatures because of one incident. She found it unfair to have to say that every single changeling was bad, because she knew it just wasn't true. The peer pressure was intense. Because of her troubled past, this was a feeling she never wanted to have again.

Deep in thought about this, she went back to her small dining table and stared down at the meal she had made herself. She wanted to eat something, but she felt her appetite draining away from her. She was too invested into her thoughts about the changelings, which made her lose all motivation to continue doing things around her house.

In situations like this, she liked to take a walk through the known paths of the Everfree Forest to try and clear her mind. So, she got up out of her chair and took her salad into her miniscule kitchen and put it in the small refrigerator before making her way out the door of her cottage, setting off through the Everfree.

As she walked along the tree-filled path, she continued her thoughts on what she was thinking earlier. She had a disdain for what was to come of any changelings she found if she did find any. She had never had any personal encounters with changelings before the wedding, but she had heard mixed things about them, ranging from somewhat pleasant visits from the occasional kind changeling in rural towns to completely horrifying encounters. From her experience, they were militant, aggressive creatures, not hesitant to attack at all, but she knew that not all of them were this way.

Next, she thought about Celestia’s orders. She didn’t want to have to make any changelings suffer in a prison and during persecutions; her pure heart would not allow her to. She feared for what would happen to them-images of changelings being beaten and starved in jails in order to get any information out of them. It frightened her to think of these thoughts.

She almost resented the fact that unless she followed these strict rules by Celestia unless she wanted to have a rehash of her past. She loathed and feared going back to those horrible times, and the very idea of what she had endured still haunted her to this day.

Shrugging, she stopped in the middle of her trot for a few moments to take in all of these thoughts.

After gathering her thoughts, she still found herself troubled about what she had been thinking about. Looking around, she recognized that she was about to reach a crossroad that led down to Zecora’s hut. Thinking this could calm her mind, she decided to walk down the other path. Zecora always managed to calm Fluttershy with her delicious brews of tea and her witty, meaningful commentaries on life.

On her way, she decided to stop thinking of the things that had troubled her for the past half-hour and just look over the scenery and admire its beauty. The forest was dank, and almost had a musty scent to it, but there was a certain admiration she had for its vastness and serenity. As she smelled the forest air and closed her eyes to take in the echoing sounds of the dense shrubbery, she kept to her canter, not paying attention to where she was walking.

A moment later, she felt one of her hind hooves get caught on something. She tripped, stumbling forward before getting a face full of dirt as she slid forward a little. For a moment, she lay there, not doing anything, not thinking anything. After taking a deep breath, she lifted herself back to her hooves and looked back to see what she tripped over.

On the ground at the base of a tree was a black body lying there. All along its chitinous form were light-green scratches, as well as some thorns sticking out of its hard hide. Its back-left leg was twisted in a way that it wasn’t meant to, and its front-right leg was pushed back past its back on the same side. There were cracks running down the chitin; glowing green fluids slowly dripped from them. Fluttershy was terrified at the sight, but she understood at the same time that her greatest fear, which had just been realized not even an hour prior, had come true.

“A…changeling!?”

Chapter One: Medical Procedure

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The Greatest Show of Kindness
Chapter One: Medical Procedure

“A…changeling!?”

Fluttershy looked on at the heavily damaged changeling’s body in complete and total shock, unsure of what to do. It looked much smaller than the ones she faced at Canterlot, which made her believe that it was a child. For a few moments, she just stared at it, mindlessly thinking all sorts of thoughts. She found herself having a battle in her mind about how to tackle this situation.

‘Why is it here in the Everfree Forest?’

‘Oh, my goodness! I have to help it!’

‘If Twilight hears about this, it’s all over for it!'

‘I need to go get medical supplies now!’

‘If I get discovered helping it, it’s all over for me!’

‘It needs help now!’

‘I’ll have to relive my past!’

‘I can’t let it die like this! It’s a child!’

During her war of thoughts, she started to hyperventilate rapidly and desperately began to look around the woods for an answer to solve her problem. In her time of desperation, she could’ve sworn she heard a small, crackling sound coming from the changeling. Looking over to it, she could see that it had changed position slightly, giving her a glimpse of hope that it was still alive and she still had a chance to save it.

Galloping over to it, she put her ear down to its chest, and faintly could she hear a beating sound within. From its mouth, she could feel a warm, shallow breath being exhaled. She knew little of how to perform any CPR, so she knocked that idea out of her head. She knew she had started her walk about ten minutes ago, so she could gallop back to her cottage and return in probably about three minutes. She knew it would have to be a very speedy three minutes, Deciding on her best instinct, she turned tail and galloped back in the direction of her cottage.

Not even a minute later, she returned to her cottage and threw open the door, which almost broke off its hinges from the momentum. Not even noticing the stares that all of her animals were giving her, she hurried upstairs to her bed platform and pulled the sheets off, easily allowing her to access the underside of her bed.

From underneath the mattress she pulled a large red pouch with a white cross on the center of it. She opened it, revealing a bunch of different types of bandages, as well as a large roll of medical tape, some alcohol and peroxide. Digging through it, she saw that this is all that she had. Believing that she could make it work with what she had, she quickly zipped it back shut and bolted straight out the front door.

Within a minute and a half, she had arrived back to where the changeling was. She opened up the pouch and pulled out all of the contents, setting them on top of the pouch. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she took the peroxide and poured it over all the scratches she could, causing them to foam. She then grabbed the bandages and started to place them over them. She then took the tape and gently started to wrap it around the changeling’s twisted foreleg. Slowly, she unraveled the tape, switching it between her hooves. After finishing with that leg, she switched it to the next. She continued the same process for this leg, as well as its hind legs. With each leg, she made sure to wrap up above its legs, into its shoulders and flanks, to make it more difficult for the changeling to move when it did wake up. Softly, she rolled it over onto its back.

She was stuck for her next move. Examining the creature more closely, she could see that a bone was sticking out of the side of the hip that was face down, leading to her belief that its entire pelvic area was broken. The gossamer wing on the same side was also folded. This made her much more concerned about the small specimen than she was before.

Moving away from it, she gathered some twigs from the trees and started to arrange them into a makeshift gurney. She weaved the sticks together to create a basic stretcher with a hole in the center, and then used some of the leaves off of the trees, which were very sturdy and strong, to hold it all together.

She went back over to the supposedly young changeling and carefully put one hoof under its neck and another, very cautiously, under its backside. She lifted it up and put it on the gurney, making sure to lay it so that there was space in-between the sides of the stretchers and the changeling’s body. She lifted the tape back up and started to wrap it around its small lower torso, trying to be extra careful around it back end. Slowly bandaging its pelvis, she accidentally slipped her hoof, causing her to jab it right in the side.

A small crack sounded out as Fluttershy heard a high-pitched squeak come from its mouth. Dropping her tape, she gasped, putting a hoof against her mouth.

“Oh, my goodness!” she cried out as she delicately put a hoof to the spot she had hit.

She was immediately able to notice just by touching the area she had hit that there was another splinter. She gritted her teeth from frustration as she growled to herself. Realizing this would get her nowhere, she calmed herself with a deep breath before going back to cloaking its torso. This time, she made sure not to spike it in his side, successfully finishing it off.

Looking over its upper torso, she didn’t see any major injuries, and all she saw were a couple scratches. Tenderly, she pressed a hoof against its chest, and she couldn’t feel any breaks, which relieved her greatly. Taking a look over its head, the only thing she saw was its left fang was chipped, but that was a minor injury compared to the rest of its body.

Seeing those as the majority of its injuries, she placed a hoof around the large insect’s shoulders and the other under its flank, softly lifting up. The changeling was lifted from the false gurney and into her arms. Fluttershy used her wings and lifted off of the ground, and that’s when she realized that the changeling was heavier than it looked. She struggled to stay off the ground as she flew forward with it. She wasn’t a very strong flier, and it was apparent when she dropped back down to the ground after fifteen seconds of flying with it.

She softly set it on the ground, lying against a tree to regain her breath. She took this moment to think.

‘I’m going to need to be very careful with what I say and what I do around Ponyville if I’m going to keep this a secret. This child… even after all the bandaging I’ve put it through, I’m unsure if it’ll make it. I really want it to make it… Please, make it out okay, little one…' she prayed, looking over to the changeling. She took another minute to rest. 'Okay, I think I’ll try to lift it up again. I can do better this time.'

After taking these moments to rest, she lifted herself back up and once again attempted to fly with the changeling in her forearms. This time, she got much further than the last time, holding her and the changeling up for at least forty seconds. Once again, she rested until she found herself fit to carry the changeling. This pattern of carrying and resting kept up for about a half an hour before she finally reached her home.

By this point, it was almost time for the night to fall. She set the changeling on the ground and opened her door. Lifting it up one last time, she entered her home. Once she was inside her cottage, she made the final stretch and flew the changeling up to her bed, gently placing it down.

“There you go, little one. You should be safe from any other harm now. Don’t worry,” she requested from the small, unconscious insect, “I promise that you won’t be hurt again.”

Following this statement, she gave a gentle nuzzle to the changeling’s head before going off to feed her animals. After this, she remembered the salad she had prepared earlier. Going to her fridge, she pulled it out and moved it to her dining table.

“I forgot how hungry I was. Carrying that little one sure made me hungry,” she reflected to herself, lifting her fork to take a bite out of her salad. It was a very good bite, and she started to eat.

After she had finished with this, she figured that it was about time to go to bed. Glancing over to her clock, it was almost 9:30, which was about when she went to sleep every night. Before going to bed, she went up the stairs to check on the changeling, and it was sleeping soundly. She walked over to the bed, pulling a blanket out from under her matress, nuzzling the changeling affectionately on the way down. After this, she flew herself down to the couch and landed, laying down on the soft fabric. She pulled the blanket over her before falling into her sleep, unaware of what the next stage of her life would bring.

Chapter Two: First Meeting

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The Greatest Show of Kindness
Chapter Two: First Meeting

The next morning, Fluttershy awoke from a dreamless sleep, sitting up on the couch and rubbing her eye. A peaceful yawn was emitted from her mouth as she jumped off the couch, hitting the ground with a soft thump. Stretching out her forelegs and giving another faint yawn, she walked up the stairs to her bed.

Lying peacefully on the bed was the young changeling she had saved yesterday. Its belly was slowly rising and falling, and a constant, low, high-pitched buzz was hummed throughout the room. Fluttershy thought it was a sweet, soothing tone, and trotted over to it, making sure her hoofsteps were almost noiseless as not to wake it up.

As she approached, she could see that a warm smile had pitched itself onto its face, which made her grin. She brought her head down to it and tenderly kissed it on the forehead, causing it to squeak.

“Mama…” it sighed in its sleep, its face turning into a deep frown, making Fluttershy frown, as well.

The voice had a raspy nature to it, and it was high in tone. Fluttershy could tell that it sounded like a very young pony colt, maybe five or six years old.

“Oh, my, it is a child!” Fluttershy gasped to herself, putting a hoof on its forehead and tearing up. “You poor thing…”

“No, please don’t go, mama…” he pleaded in his sleep as Fluttershy had closed her eyes to hold in the tears.

As she closed her eyes, she could hear sniffles coming from the changeling. Shooting her eyes back open, she saw that tears were starting to run out of his eyes. In shock, Fluttershy put a hoof to her mouth, letting her tears start to fall, as well. By instinct, she lifted his head up to her chest, nuzzling him in.

She jumped on the bed with him, lying down next to him. Gently did she pull him into her embrace from behind, wrapping her forearms around his miniscule torso and cuddling him. Slowly, the sobs coming from the changeling died down, turning into sniffles and finally silence. Pulling away from him, she saw that he was once again sleeping soundly. Giving a small smile, she jumped off the bed, pulling the covers over him.

Giving one last look at him for the moment, Fluttershy went down the stairs to feed her animals. From there, she ate breakfast and went on to her normal daily routines, checking up on the young changeling every hour or so, just in case he woke up. After checking up on him one last time for that night, she went to bed.

The next couple of days went the same as they did that day. Three days after this, as she was coddling him to give him some love (she figured that this was the only way to feed him while he was unconscious), he started to groan. Pulling back from him, Fluttershy put a hoof against his chin.

“Nnn…Ugh…” he moaned, tensing the muscles around his eyes.

Fluttershy jumped off the bed, assuming he would want some personal space once he was awake. Within a few seconds, he slowly began to open his eyes, sleepily opening and shutting them. Yawning, he fully opened his eyes.

Immediately, Fluttershy could tell that he was frightened. He was frantically looking around, and his breathing became panicked and fast. As he looked around, he rolled over onto his bad foreleg, causing it to crack.

“Ah!” he cried, tears starting to fall from his eyes.

“Oh, my!” Fluttershy exclaimed, rushing over to the other side of the bed.

The changeling’s eyes were clenched as he sobbed loudly, grasping his hurt foreleg. Upon this sight, Fluttershy softly nuzzled his head, pulling back and then looking at the leg. There was no added damage, but the cracking sound worried her. How Fluttershy wished she could do more to help him out...

“Shh, shh…” she affectionately said. “It’s okay, it’s okay,” she reassured, kissing him on the arm. “Are you okay, little one?” she softly asked as not to scare him. His sniffles had died down and he got back to breathing normally soon after.

“I-I th-think s-so…” he said, opening his eyes once again.

The first thing he noticed was that he had no vision, no matter where he looked. Everything was black. The blackness ran inwardly, suffocating his visual senses and killing it without any consent.

“W-W-Where am I?” he asked, still trying to look around.

“You’re in my cottage, little one,” Fluttershy informed with a smile, trying to make him feel better.

“W-Who are you? I can’t s-see…”

‘He’s blind, too? He really has it rough... Poor thing…’

“My name is Fluttershy. I’m a Pegasus pony who-“

“A p-p-p-p-p-po-pon-ny…!?” he asked, horrified. He tried to move back away from her, but couldn’t.

“It’s okay, little one. I won’t hurt you, I promise,” Fluttershy assured.

Still, the changeling had nothing but a bone-chilling shiver all over his body. When Fluttershy went and touched him, he put his hoof out to knock it away.

“No, please, stay back!” he begged, starting to cry once again. “Don’t hurt me!”

“I won’t hurt you,” she restated, softly putting her hoof past his and touching him on the face. He flinched, smacking her hoof away out of reflex.

“No! Get away, I beg of you…” he cried, his voice getting squeaky and quiet. He shielded himself with his hoof.

Understanding that he was absolutely petrified of her, she stopped trying to touch him. She took a few steps back, and he became slightly less tense.

“Well, is there anything I can get you, little one, such as water?” she asked, getting a speedy shake of the head from the changeling. “Okay. If you do need anything, just call for me, if that’s okay with you…” she requested.

The changeling didn’t respond to this, which brought down Fluttershy’s mood a little, but she didn’t mind it. She understood that he was scared, but she didn’t know how to help him if she couldn’t get close to him. For the moment, she left him.

‘That’s really too bad for him. He’s so badly hurt, and he’s blind, too. He’s so afraid of me; so petrified to be anywhere around me. I guess I’ll give him some space and just try again later tonight…’

Later that night, right as Fluttershy was about to go to bed, she went to check on the young changeling. She could see that he had hidden himself underneath the covers and was shaking. Worried for his well-being, she went over to try and talk to him again.

“Are you all right, little one?” she attempted, staying at what she thought was a comfortable distance from him.

He poked his head out from under the blanket and turned his head at her, but didn’t say or do anything as he cowered underneath the sheets. Approaching the bed, she gently laid a hoof on top of the blanket, issuing a squeak from the changeling as he nearly jumped. The blanket flew off of him as he fell backward.

“Please, leave me alone…” he cried, guarding himself once again. “Make it stop…” he said, almost as if in agony. “Please…”

“Oh…” Fluttershy sighed in disappointment. “Well, I thought that I would come and say good night to you because I’m going to bed now.”

Fluttershy walked over to him, gently moving his hoof away from his face. She gave him a quick kiss of the forehead and nuzzled him before moving away and starting for the stairwell.

“Good night,” she cooed, going down to her bed.

The changeling just laid there, having flinched from what this mare he didn’t know just did to him. For a few minutes, he just lay there, not doing or thinking anything. Eventually, he grew tired and fell asleep.

Chapter Three: A Bad Dream

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The Greatest Show of Kindness
Chapter Three: A Bad Dream

The young changeling had just fallen asleep, and he was snoring soundly. In his sleep, he was dreaming of the mare that had saved him.

Fluttershy had just woken him up, gently shaking him and giving him a loving kiss on the left cheek. He giggled, reaching his fore hooves up for a hug. She tenderly lifted him out of the bed, putting both of her arms softly around him and pulling him into her chest. For a good minute or so, they just stayed there in that position, giving a huge show of love in their privacy.

Even though he couldn't see her in the real world, he could imagine what Fluttershy looked like. In his dream, he saw her as a cerulean Pegasus who had a light orange mane and tail. She had magenta eyes. He dreamed that she had a pony lifting another pony from the ground, symbolizing that her special talent was helping others.

She set him down, walking towards the stairway. He followed her, and soon enough they were in Fluttershy’s shower. Fluttershy lifted him up into the small tub, turning on the water faucet and turning a small temperature gauge to the “warm” setting. Once the tub filled up, she turned the water off and took a small rag, lathering some soap in it. She rubbed it all over the changeling’s body, thoroughly scrubbing all of the chitin and making sure it was shiny. Once she finished, she pulled him out of the tub and dried him. Afterwards, she brushed his teeth along with hers.

The two trotted over to Fluttershy’s dining room table, where Fluttershy pulled out a chair for the changeling. He sat down, and Fluttershy pushed the chair back in. Next, she went to the kitchen and prepared a meal of pancakes for them, putting some love into every cake for him. Once she finished making and plating them, she poured them each a glass of milk and grabbed an apple for him. She brought the plates of food out and set them down on the table.

Soon, she was sitting in the chair across from him, and they were both eating the delicious meal that she had made for them. He was enjoying it, and the huge smile on his face made it apparent. As they finished up, they both looked up at the same time and locked eyes, Fluttershy giving him the biggest smile she could muster.

Fluttershy grabbed his dish and piled it on hers and put both of the glasses on top and took them into the kitchen, giving him the a big nuzzle against the cheek. He closed his eyes and grinned from ear to ear as she went into the kitchen and rinsed their dishes.

When she came back in, she motioned to him with a hoof to sit down next to her on the couch. He did, and when he got up on the couch, she wrapped her wing around him in a loving fashion as she urged him to a laying position. Dropping down so that he was laying on his front legs, he pushed his head up against her cheek. Looking over, she kissed him on the forehead, putting her hoof around him.

All of a sudden, Fluttershy faded from existence and the room turned dark as night. All of the furniture in the room disappeared. The changeling dropped down onto the ground, trembling in fear immediately. All thoughts of the mare were erased from his mind as two changelings stood in front of him. Then, two light-green flashes of light filled the room around him. In front of him, all he could see were two piles of ash, which petrified him. In fear, he scooted backwards on his carapace, putting his arms in front of him as if they were the gods themselves that could guard him against what was assaulting him.

It served no good; however, as he felt himself being lifted up with a horrible jade magic. Slowly and excruciatingly, his front leg was twisted, causing the bones to crack and the leg to be pulled out of its socket, pulling back toward the wall behind him. He cried, but no sound came out; no one came to his aid. He was thrown into the wall behind him, causing him to go unconscious as his head slammed into the black rock. As he slid down, he fell off, spinning around and hitting his fang right on a jag, cracking it and forcing it to split in half.

The last thing he could see was the horrible, wickedly smiling face of one Queen Chrysalis, who cackled in the darkness of the room. Her fangs were dripping with saliva. Soon, her laughter turned into a deep growl as she prepared to speak.

“You are not to trust any ponies in this life! They are vile, disgusting creatures who live only to deceive! They live only to breathe hate into you! Shall you place your trust in them, you will only find betrayal and pain!” her voice echoed in his mind. Her face flashed redly, knocking any sense of trust and hope out of his mind as a sorrowful power invaded his mind, destroying any sense of hope he had.

Fluttershy could hear a loud scream echoing in the room above her. Shooting straight up out of the bed, Fluttershy darted for the changeling. As she got to him, she heard him loudly sobbing as he shook under the covers. Saddened by his trembling form, she softly pulled the blanket off of him and put a hoof on the back of his head.

“Are you okay, little one?” she affectionately asked, rubbing down his tiny, spiked mane.

“G-Get a-away…” he cried, bringing a hoof up. “You only want to hate me…”

“What!? No, I don’t hate you, little one,” she denied, bringing her head down to him. “What makes you think that I hate you?”

“You live only to lie to me…” he trailed in a hypnotized state.

“I would never lie to you!” Fluttershy defended, softly nuzzling his head. “I’m really trying to help you.”

“I can’t trust ponies…” he chanted, not paying attention to what he had to say.

“But-“ Fluttershy started.

“No!” he shouted, catching Fluttershy off guard. “Leave me alone! If I trust you, all you’ll do is hurt me when my back is turned! Go away!” he yelled, forcing Fluttershy to recoil away.

“Okay, okay,” she said, backing off and going back to her couch.

‘I wonder why that young one doesn’t trust me. He was acting very strangely right then, and now I’m concerned that he has a trust problem. Maybe something happened before the wedding or even in the past couple of days since. He wasn’t this bad yesterday…I think he might have had a bad dream.’

‘I really wish there was a way that I could just show to him that I do care for him, but he won’t listen to me, let alone allow me to touch him and give him the love he needs to live. I truly want to help him, but he won’t let me…’

Fluttershy, in distressed thought about the changeling, somehow managed to fall asleep. In her sleep that night, she twisted and turned unsoundly, worried about the changeling.

Chapter Four: Confliction

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The Greatest Show of Kindness
Chapter Four: Confliction

Fluttershy had just awoken from her nightly sleep and was in her restroom, washing her face; all of the tiredness of her sleep swirling down the drain along with the warm water, leaving Fluttershy feeling fresh and prepared for the day. She then brushed her teeth and mane, making herself look more presentable for the day.

She then went into her kitchen and made herself some toast with butter and poured herself a glass of apple juice; a simple breakfast, but one that always fulfilled her and provided plenty of energy for the day. Once she finished the meal, she said her graces to Princess Celestia.

“Thank you for the great sunlight needed to make this meal I have eaten possible,” she recited. “I just wish that you could show that child the light needed for him to realize that I’m here to help him, not to hurt him,” she prayed. After rinsing her dishes, she fed her animals their first meal of the day.

Next, she went up to check on the young changeling. Today, she was a bit more hesitant to approach him as his outburst earlier that morning had caught her off guard. Still, she went up to him, gently pulling the sheets from over his face and kissing him on the forehead. In his sleep, he mumbled something, but she couldn’t understand what was being said. Nuzzling his face, she went down to her main room, beginning to do her daily chores.

After sweeping her floor of all the food the animals accidentally split, she dusted all around the house, making sure that not even a spec of dust or fur was on the various surfaces of the cottage. After this, she cleaned her shower and took out her garbage bin.

Subsequently, she took her daily nap. Once awoken, she decided it was time for a shopping run.

‘Okay, so I need milk, juice, bread, butter, cheese, fruits and vegetables. That sounds good enough for now… I just hope nopony asks about changelings while I’m out in Ponyville. I don’t want to look suspicious…’

With that, she went into Ponyville, bringing along some bits to pay for all the things she needed.

While she was there, she had no trouble. She went in, got most of the things she needed, and almost got out without having to worry about the changelings. Just before she was about to exit the village; however, she was stopped by Twilight.

“Hey, Fluttershy!” she called out. A cold chill went down Fluttershy’s spine as she audibly gulped.

“Oh… hello, Twilight,” she greeted, turning around to face Twilight. “How are you?”

“I’m well. And you?” she asked.

“I’m also doing… fine. Was there something that you…um… needed?” Fluttershy questioned, trying to hold back her nervous sweat.

“I was just wondering how you were doing because nopony’s seen you in the last few days. Is everything alright?” she worriedly inquired.

“Yes, everything’s… wonderful. I just haven’t had the… um… need to come into town recently,” she lied. “Why? Do I not seem okay?”

“I was just wondering. With the way that Shining Armor and Cadence’s love beam worked, it spread changelings all over Equestria. I was just concerned that one had gotten you,” she said.

“Oh, no, no. I haven’t seen any…” she started, once again gulping, “…changelings. If I did, I would’ve definitely told you… heh…” she replied, thinking that Twilight was on her trail. She had started to visibly sweat as the perspiration dripped down her face; she was scratching the back of her head.

“Okay… are you sure you’re alright? You’re sweating really badly as if you’re scared of something,” Twilight commented.

“No, no… I’m fine, really…” Fluttershy falsely denied. “I’d… best get home now. I need to feed the animals now.”

“Alright… I guess I’ll see you later, then,” Twilight departed, turning back toward Ponyville. “Bye!”

“See you…” Fluttershy repeated, heading back toward her home.

‘That was really close…I really need to watch what I say from now on; I almost gave myself away.’

When Fluttershy got home, she fed her animals their lunch and followed up by making herself a lunch as she did every day. Afterwards, she went up to check on the changeling. She could tell that he was awake because of the constant shaking of the blanket above him. Fluttershy noticed that every time that he was awake, he had pulled the covers over his head as if he were afraid of the light. The light was a beautiful thing, but he only seemed to think that it was an omen, greater than the blackest darkness; the worst evil. Approaching him slowly, she spoke.

“Little one? Are you okay?” she called to him.

“Please… leave me alone… I don’t want to talk to you…” he quietly said, not changing his position.

“Little one, you’ve been laying there for the past week or so. I just want to check up on you, to see if you’re feeling any better,” Fluttershy explained.

There was no response from him for at least a minute and a half. Fluttershy approached him.

“Are you, little one?”

“I said, 'leave me alone!' I won’t talk to you, so just leave me be!” he rudely shouted. Fluttershy was more prepared for it this time, so she didn’t recoil much.

“Why won’t you talk to me?” Fluttershy asked, not changing her caring tone at all.

“Because all you want to talk to me about is how horrifyingly terrible I am! You’ll just boast that ponies are so much better and that I’m just a worm!” he yelled.

“That is not true!” she refused, raising her voice very slightly. “I don’t think either of those things! I would never think of you like a worm!”

“Then what do you think I am!?” he screeched.

“I think that you’re a very hurt child, and one that’s going through a lot of stress right now. I believe that you, inside, are a very sweet boy, and you have trouble bringing it out to me,” she told, placing a hoof on the back of his head, causing him to growl as he snapped his fangs. “I really am here to help you, but I can only help if you let me,” she softly carried, kissing his forehead. He brashly pushed her away with his fore hoof, hissing at her.

“Why should I let you help me!? The last pony who helped me ended up hurting me in the end! I can’t trust you to help me, so just go away!” he shouted.

“Little one-“

“No! Shut up and go away!”

“No, listen to me! Hear me out, please!”

“What!?”

“I think it’s terrible that you’ve been betrayed by other ponies, and I now understand why you don’t trust me, but please try to understand me when I say that I will never hurt you. Everything I’m doing to you is either trying to make you feel better or make the pain go away. If I ever do hurt you, whether it’s when I say something or I touch you somewhere that it hurts, it’s fully accidental. I really want you to get better, but you have to believe in me that I will make it better.”

“H-How can I trust you to make me better?”

“Well, let me put it this way: Instead of telling my friends about your position and letting them put you in a dungeon cell, I decided to bind your wounds and bring you here to heal further. I gave you love every single hour, and I made sure that your bandages were fresh. If you truly think that I’m here to hurt you, then… I just don’t know how to make you trust me.”

With that, she turned around and left him to think about what she had told him. He just lay there, unable to say anything to what she had told him. Silently, he began to cry, staining the pillow his head was laying on. He stayed there like that for what seemed like an eternity as a barrage of questions flooded his mind.

‘She’s being so nice to me, and all I’m doing is being a jerk to her.’

‘I’m such a horrible creature.’

‘She’s just trying to look out for me, and I’m throwing it in her face and acting as if she’s a monster.

‘I’m a monster.’

As these questions flashed in his mind, the words that Queen Chrysalis had relayed to him haunted his mind.

‘You are not to trust any ponies in this life! They are vile, disgusting creatures who live only to deceive! They live only to breathe hate into you! Shall you place your trust in them, you will only find betrayal and pain!’

Suddenly, he found himself with a massive migraine. He grasped his head with his good fore hoof, wincing at the pain. Before anything else happened, he fell into the pillow, unconscious.

Chapter Five: Silent

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The Greatest Show of Kindness
Chapter Five: Silent

The next morning, Fluttershy, per usual, tried to go and talk to the changeling.

“Little one, are you awake?” she called out quietly, just in case he wasn’t awake. As she approached the bed, she thought could hear him sobbing. “Little one?” she asked. A soft ‘huh-huh’ sound coming from under the sheets indicated that he was crying.

Still, there was no response by the young changeling. Fluttershy proceeded to the side of the bed and softly placed a hoof on top of him. Gently rubbing up and down on his back, she brought her head right next to him.

“Is everything okay?” she questioned, still letting him have the blanket over him. All she heard from him were more sobs. “Little one?”

When she pulled the covers off of him, she was surprised to see that the entire pillow was completely soaked. His face and chin were completely wet, and water dripped down the sheets behind the bed. Looking behind the mattress, she saw that water was drizzling down the frame and onto the floor. Putting her hoof to her mouth, she looked at the changeling in shock, tearing up herself.

“Oh, little one…” she cried, pulling his head up into her chest, rubbing her hoof down his back in sympathy. “It’s okay, it’s okay… shh…”

For a few minutes, or what seemed like hours and hours for Fluttershy, she stood there hugging him. Somewhere in the process, she climbed up onto the bed and lay down with him, making sure to wrap her hooves around him very softly. In trying to make him feel better, Fluttershy actually fell asleep herself, leaving her animals to be hungry for the morning. All the ‘shh’ing must’ve made her tired, as well.

She woke up a few hours later, still hugging him in the same position; he was soundly asleep, snoring softly. Fluttershy was disoriented-she thought that the sun was barely above the horizon when she woke up, but now it was high in the sky. She looked at a clock, which told her it was 10:39, which confused her further. She had just closed her eyes, and when she opened them, it was suddenly over four hours later? She didn’t know.

Instead of thinking about it and confusing herself further, she decided to go on with her daily routine. She fed her animals their now brunch and did the chores. She spent today in relative laziness as she didn’t do much else around the cottage. As the day went by, she heard little noise coming from upstairs, so every couple hours or so, she went and checked on the changeling.

“Little one?” she said out. Strangely, there was no answer this time. “Are you awake?” she asked.

There was silence that filled the air in the room. It was almost eerie for Fluttershy as he had always had something to say to her before now. She went up to him, softly pressing on his back. Still, there was no sound. She lifted the covers off of him, and she could tell that he was awake from his blind expression.

The changeling just lay there, unseeingly staring into the back frame of the bed. He didn’t tremble at her voice or feel any other emotions. He just stared on and on into the back of the bed.

“Are you okay, little one?” Fluttershy asked.

Silence. By this point, Fluttershy was starting to worry. She placed her hoof on his cheek, seeing if she could now get any kind of response out of him. He turned his head to her but still said nothing. He didn’t make any other movements as he snapped his head back to where it was.

“Little one?”

After about ten more minutes of trying to talk to him, she came to the conclusion that he just didn’t walk to talk right now. Pulling the covers back over him, she continued on with her day, which in its entirety was uneventful. For the most part, she sat down, read books and drank tea, doing little else. When it came time for her to go to bed, she fed the animals and herself dinner and went back up to the changeling. Still, he was silent.

Over the course of the next week or so, Fluttershy kept trying to talk to the changeling, but all he ever did was acknowledge her with a twist of the head and then go back to his other position. It made Fluttershy worry about him; she didn't know if what she had said to him silenced him or if there was something wrong with him. She felt so unable to do anything, and it frustrated her to no end that she couldn't.

A week later, it had become winter, which means that Fluttershy was spending much more time with her animals that staying indoors. One day, inside the cottage, the young changeling had a thought.

‘Maybe I should try to talk to her… she really wants to help me, but I won’t let her. But how? How can I talk to her? All I’ve ever said to her has been in bad taste. She probably hates me… But if she hates me, how can she want to help me? Ugh…I’m getting another headache.’

‘How should I try? I don’t know how to talk to her. Everything I say always comes out badly. No matter how I try, I always come out like a jerk. I can’t… I’ve been silent all of my life, but when I do try to make noise, all I do is cause guilt. Maybe I’m best suited to be out of sight after all…’

In all of these thoughts, he started to feel more tears coming on, and he couldn’t help but release some of them as his confliction. He always wanted to talk with others, to be friends, but no matter what he did, he always drove them away with his awkwardness and jerkiness. He could feel memories coming back to him.

Flashback Start

“(Um… Hey guys,)” a young changeling called out in a small voice as he entered a large room.

He was speaking in the changeling language, which was comprised of buzzes and hisses that varied greatly in pitch. Most changelings could speak Equestrian by this point as they were preparing for the invasion of Canterlot, which would take place in about two months. He personally didn't want to go, but he didn't have any choice.

There were at least twenty other changelings in the room, which appeared to be some sort of library or information center. The room was a light-gray all over, with cracks running down the jagged surfaces. They almost created unique patterns along the wall. There were many stone tablets hanging off of the rocks but small strings, all of which had some sort of runes on them.

“(Oh, it’s the pipsqueak!)” a larger changeling yelled out, causing all eyes to go on the small child. Immediately, he felt threatened as sweat dripped down his forehead.

“(What’s he doing here?)” another called out.

“(He doesn’t belong here! Get him out of here!)”

Suddenly, the three changelings who had spoken all got out of their obsidian-looking chairs and rushed at the young boy, who turned around and galloped out of the room as fast as he could out of fear.

“(Get him!)” one of them yelled.

The young child ran out of the library and into the streets of the changeling city. The street itself was made of dark-gray smooth stone, and the buildings were basic, cubed slabs of black rocks with the insides mined out. They were like their own miniature caves, most lined with gems and other minerals. Lining the streets were glowing, light-green chrysalises, which lit the streets in a creepy light. To the changelings, it was completely normal.

“(Help! Help! Someone, help me! Please!)” he cried as loudly as he could, gaining the attention of many of the changelings walking down the streets. No one even bothered to stand out and try to help as he was fleeing.

Out of nowhere, the young changeling was hit in the side with a blast of magic and sent flying into an alley between the buildings. He cried out of pain as he hit the stone wall with force, causing it to crack. He dropped to the ground and tried to get more attention.

“(Please… help me…)” he weakly cried, not making much noise. Soon, the three had all gathered around him.

“(Look who finally decided to show up for school,)” the largest of the three said.

“(The little weakling, that’s who,”) the shortest of them answered.

“(I thought that we told you that you don’t belong here, yet you came anyway. It looks like you could use some punishment!) the middle one, a female, threatened. All three of their horns lit up, and the young changeling thought it was the end; he had begun to cry.

‘Shall I find greater peace in the next dimension, where my great Overlord the Queen shall watch over me…’

“(Hey! What do you think you’re doing!? Get away from him!)” a very loud voice yelled from above them.

All three of them stopped in their tracks as they viewed a ｓmall changeling dropping down from above. Her voice was high pitched and singular, and she was about the size the beaten changeling was. She had light-green eyes and a dark-blue mane and tail, signifying only one thing.

“(P-P-Princess C-Chryssy!?)” the largest of the group stuttered, his eyes widening.

“(That’s right! And if you don’t get away from him right now, I’m going to turn you into dust!”) she threatened, staring each one of them down. They all just stood there, unable to move; they were each trembling with fear from the to-be monarch’s voice. “(Well? Get out of here!”) she shouted, causing each of them to retreat into the sky.

“(…H-Huh? I’m… still alive?)” he asked, looking up. Once he saw his princess’s face, he looked relieved but was crying. “(C-Chryssy?)”

“(Bumble, are you alright!?)” she concerned, galloping over to him. “(Bumble!?)”

“(Yeah, I-I think so,)” the young changeling, Bumble, answered, breathing heavily. In his side was a deep burn mark from the magic blast he had been hit with previously. “(Just another day being sileent...)” he sighed, not wanting to look at his princess from embarrassment. She was saddened to see him crying, so she got down onto the ground next to him and put her hoof over him.

“(Hey, it’s okay. Most adult changelings are busy and don’t have the time to mess around with children. It’s not your fault,)” the changeling princess said, affectionately cuddling him.

“(Thanks,)” he said, trying to stand up. The pain in his side was too great; however, so he fell back down.

“(Bumble, let me carry you,)” Chryssy instructed. “(Climb on!”)

“(Thank you so much, Chryssy,) Bumble gratified, crawling on top of the princess, letting his head rest on her mane.

“(Don’t worry about it!)” she ordered, looking back to him. “(Are you good?”)

“(Yeah,)”

“(Alright! Let’s go!”)

In a flash, Princess Chryssy teleported the two into the air and took off towards Bumble’s house, which was all the way across the grand city. It was a rare sight for the civilians of the changeling city-their princess was usually cooped up in the castle along with her mother, Queen Chrysalis. It certainly attracted many stares from the town’s changelings below. Chryssy didn’t care, though-her friend needed help. She would never leave him hanging; they had been friends for most of their short lives.

Within ten minutes, she had returned Bumble to his home. She knocked on the door and soon after, an adult female changeling opened the door, which was made of cobble.

“(Oh, good afternoon, Princess Chryssy. What brings you here today?)” she asked.

“(I have a delivery,)” she joked as Bumble climbed off her back. The changeling laughed and pulled Bumble into the house,

“(Thank you, Princess Chryssy,)” she said, waving good-bye. Chryssy moved forward and gave Bumble a quick smooch on the cheek, causing him to blush a vivid green and waved back and the adult changeling, who closed the door. “(Hey, Bumble. How was school?)”

“(It was…fine, mama,)”

“(That’s good, sweetheart,)” his mother said, nuzzling him.

Flashback End

Bumble lay there in his memories, falling to sleep once again. He didn’t know why, but for Bumble, this sparked something within him. Something that would be great for him. Something that could finally change his life for the better.

Chapter Six: A New Beginning

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The Greatest Show of Kindness
Chapter Six: A New Beginning

Fluttershy had awoken the next morning, and after eating her breakfast and feeding her animals, she went up to feed the changeling his morning love. For the past weeks, he hadn’t said anything, so she wasn’t expecting him to say anything today, though she hoped he would.

As she was nuzzling him, he was desperately trying to open his mouth to say something, but couldn’t. There was a mass crowd rioting in his vocal cords, being suppressed by an army of nerves. They were all screaming, yelling and chanting, but they were shot down with the artillery of shyness and the beatings of anxiety. His attempt to speak was an unlit flame that continued to remain in cold water.

As she left him and went into the main room, Bumble cried on the inside. The feeling that he had failed her filled his mind, blocking out all other thoughts.

‘Failure!’

‘You failed!’

‘Loser!’

‘Castaway!’

‘Dead beat!’

All of these voices from his past suddenly shot through his head, giving him a headache worse than that of any that he had ever experienced. His worst fear was failure, and it seemed like it was all he ever knew. So much of his short life was spent with disappointment; it almost made him sick how terrible he was at living.

Later that night, when Fluttershy was feeding him love, he once again tried to speak. Like before, his rioting within was held down. When she left; however, he finally managed to open his mouth and speak.

“… W-Wait!” he whispered, holding out his good hoof.

Fluttershy stopped for a moment, wondering what she had just heard. She looked back at him and saw him with his hoof extended.

“… Little one?” she asked. “Was that you?”

“Y-Yes, it w-was…” he mumbled, Fluttershy barely able to hear him. She walked closer to him.

“What was that?” she questioned, unsure of what she just heard.

“It was me,” he said, slightly louder.

“Oh!” she exclaimed, surprised to hear him speak. It had been a while. “What there something that you needed?”

“Um… no, not really…” he awkwardly said, rubbing his head with his hoof.

“Is there something that you wanted to talk about, then?”

“Y-Yes.”

“What is it, little one?”

Fluttershy jumped up on the bed and sat down beside the changeling. She cast her eyes down onto him, putting her hoof on his carapace. He tried to flip himself around to face her, but couldn’t. Sighing, he spoke.

“I just wanted to say that… I’m sorry…”

“You’re sorry? About what?”

“I’m sorry for being so mean to you…”

“Being mean to me? What are you talking about?”

“I said all of those… terrible things to you… I hurt your feelings… I made you angry and sad…”

“Oh, that? You didn’t hurt my feelings at all.”

“I… didn’t?”

“No, sweetie. While it might’ve been a little… shocking at the time, I can understand that you were going through a lot of stress and pain then, and probably still are. I don’t know what you’ve been through in your life, but I do know that it must be difficult. That’s the entire reason that I’m trying to help you, sweetheart-to help you heal the wounds that have been brought on you, in both a physical and emotional way. Being a changeling in today’s society is already hard, if not impossible, and to add on to it, you’ve gone through such great trials… I could never be angry with you because I know that you’ve probably been through a lot worse than I have.”

Shocked by her gentle and kind words, the changeling started to tear up again. It was such a wonderful feeling, knowing that she really was there for him. Twisting his head to look back at her, he gave a smile that outmatched any others. With every fiber of his conscious, he was joyful. The happiness was almost overwhelming for him-he never really had this feeling of pure comfort and glee before as nothing before in his life was truly good-there was always a negative to every situation he’d been in. This was raw elation, and it was the best sense he’d ever had.

Seeing his smile was the most beautiful thing Fluttershy had experienced in a long time. Within her, she could feel a whirlpool of tenderness and love swirling, sucking her into it and encompassing her. She swam around in it, splashing about and allowing it to seep into her mind. He joined her inside, allowing the two to enjoy their love and merriment. He was truly delighted, and knowing this, Fluttershy was, as well.

Bumble desperately wished that he could see the world around him, especially Fluttershy. He knew that the love that she was giving off was showing happiness, but he would feel even better if he had his sight-to see Fluttershy's kind face. He still imagined what she looked like all the time.

In an instant, she embraced him in the warmest hug she could, allowing him to absorb an extraordinary amount of love. As she caressed him into her chest, he let his tears go, allowing them to roam free down her soft fur. Once they stopped, she rubbed her forehead against his and kissed him.

“Thank you so much for being here with me, Miss…” he started, not being able to come up with her name. “Miss…”

“My name is Fluttershy, little one,” she filled in.

“Thank you, Miss Fluttershy.”

“You’re very welcome, but you don’t need to call me ‘Miss,’” she informed.

“Okay, Fluttershy,” he said with a giggle.

“Do you have a name?” she quizzed.

“My name’s…Bumble,” he answered.

“Bumble? What a sweet, little name,” Fluttershy praised, putting her hooves against his cheeks and smiling. His cheeks turned bright green, and he giggled.

“Th-Thanks, Fluttershy.”

“You’re very welcome,” she said. “Um… how old are you, Bumble?”

“I’m… seven.”

“Do you know when your birthday is?”

“It’s… I think it’s August 16th in Equestrian time…”

“I see. That’s coming up in a couple weeks here…is there anything that you like that you want?” she offered.

“Well… let me think about it for a little while.”

“Okay.”

“…What’s the date?”

“It’s July 26th, Bumble,” she answered.

“Okay. Thank you, Fluttershy.”

“You’re welcome. Well, I think it’s about time that I start getting on with my chores… Is there anything that you need, sweetheart?”

“No, thank you, Fluttershy.”

“Alright. I’ll check up on you later, okay?”

“Yeah.”

With that, Fluttershy went on with her day.

Bumble felt a wave of relief wash over him as he was successful in doing something good for his life. He felt that he could finally belong somewhere, which he could feel safe at with no chance of being hurt. He felt like nothing could ruin this now, and that made him feel more secure.

Later that night, Fluttershy went up to put Bumble to sleep.

“Bumble?” she called out.

“Yes, Fluttershy?” he asked.

“It’s time to go to sleep,” she explained, walking over to him. She planted a kiss on his forehead, lifting him up into her arms.

“Oh,” he sighed, putting his head to her chest.

“Good night, sweetie,” she smilingly said.

“Good night, Fluttershy,” he repeated.

Giving him one last kiss on the forehead, she put him back down onto the bed and tucked him in, nuzzling him against the head. Seeing that his breathing was stabilizing and hearing the small buzzing noise that came along with his snores, she went down to her couch and fell asleep.

Chapter Seven: Opening Up

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The Greatest Show of Kindness
Chapter Seven: Opening Up

The next morning, Fluttershy went up to wake Bumble up and give him his love. She had just fed her animals and herself their breakfast, per usual.

“Bumble?” she asked, softly pressing against his short, spiky mane and stroking down it. He yawned and stretched out, rubbing his eyes with his good hoof.

“Good morning, Fluttershy,” he said, letting his mouth open to a smile.

“Good morning, sweetie,” she repeated, giving him a warm kiss on the forehead. He blushed, bringing his good hoof around Fluttershy.

“Did you sleep well?” she questioned as she pulled him into her embrace. He cooed, almost purring with delight.

“Yes, Fluttershy. I didn’t have any bad dreams thanks to you…” he happily replied.

“That’s excellent, Bumble! I’m so glad that you’re starting to feel better,” she said, setting him back down.

“I would’ve never been able to feel this way if you hadn’t come along, Fluttershy. I owe everything to you, and I promise that I’ll find a way to repay you for helping me,” he pledged. She looked at him with a small frown, placing her hoof against his chin.

“Oh, sweetheart, you don’t need to do anything to repay me. I was more than happy to give you joy,” she explained, winking at him.

“R-Really?” he asked, surprised. Tears filled his eyes.

“Oh, sure! Kindness isn’t a service-it’s a given of life. Most ponies are kind by nature, and if you get to know them better, you’ll see that they really will stick out for you and that they really will help you through the tough times,” she hinted, nuzzling him against the cheek.

“Oh, Fluttershy… Thank you for everything you’ve done for me up to this point… you’re the only creature that’s ever been willing to look out for me, except for one friend I have back home. It’s so unreal to me, being able to know that someone’s there to protect me and be there for me… You’re my hero,” he praised, putting his head into her chest. She looked down to him and gave a deep smile, kissing him on the forehead.

“Your hero? Aw… that’s so sweet, Bumble,” she talked, getting close to his ear. “You know what, sweetie?” she whispered.

“What, Fluttershy?”

“You’re a true sweetheart, and I’ll never let you go.”

In an instant, a grin ten miles wide was painted on his face. His cheeks flushed with green as buzzing was created from his happiness. He wrapped his hoof around Fluttershy, sucking in the love she was giving off. It was the sweetest love that he had ever tasted-like a mixture of chocolate, strawberries and peanut butter all mixed together. It was perfect.

“Thank you,” he whispered. Fluttershy rubbed her hoof down his mane and backed away, softly setting him back down on the bed.

“You’re welcome, Bumble,” she said. “Well, I think that I should get to doing my chores now. I’ll be back later, but if you need me for anything, don’t be hesitant to call for me, okay?”

“Okay!”

With that, she gave him another love-filled smooch on the head and went off to do her daily activities. As she did, Bumble fell back asleep, allowing him to sleep more.

Later that day, Bumble was awoken to the lovely sound of Fluttershy humming to herself as she was organizing some books on a bookshelf. He found himself starting to hum along with her, causing the two voices to weave into each other and create a melodic sound. He smiled in the warm tones of the hum.

She looked back at him and saw him softly nodding his head as he hummed. His small, fanged smile was always alluring to her, and she couldn’t resist jumping up on the bed and cuddling him. She shifted herself so that his head was laying down on her stomach. Bumble snuggled up into it, burying his face deeply into the yellow fur. They had laid there for a few minutes before Bumble started to mumble.

“Oh, mama…” he murmured, rubbing his head along her belly. Fluttershy looked down at him in surprise; he looked almost dazed.

“Sweetie?” she asked, looking down to him, placing a hoof against his carapace.

“…Yes, mama?” he said, entranced.

“Bumble, it’s me, Fluttershy,” she said.

The moment she said that, he immediately stopped moving. Suddenly, she felt a warm liquid against her belly. Lifting his head up, she saw that tears were streaming down as he sobbed. Taken aback by his sudden change in attitude, she stared at him.

“No, mama!” he shouted unexpectedly, almost causing Fluttershy to recoil.

“Bumble! Are you okay?” Fluttershy concerned, moving herself so that his head could rest in her soft chest fur.

“Fluttershy… I-I-I’m such a failure! How can you love me!?” he yelled at her, bringing a sad look on her face.

“Sweetie, you aren’t a failure! You’re a sweet little boy, and you deserve all the love that I have to give to you! What makes you think that you’re a failure, Bumble?” she asked.

“I’m the whole reason that my… my… my…” he stuttered. Fluttershy softly stroked as his head, nuzzling him at the same time.

“It’s okay, sweetie. Just let it out,” she instructed. He sat there for a bit, sniffling and thinking about what he was going to say.

“If I hadn’t gone… to Canterlot, my… my…”

“Your…?”

“My… mama would still be…”

He found himself unable to complete that sentence, but Fluttershy could tell what he was going to say.

“Is she… gone?” she reluctantly asked, tearing up.

He nodded, beginning to cry again. Fluttershy stroked him against the back of his head with one hoof as she rubbed at his eyes with the other. She started to shed tears for him as she comforted him.

At that moment, he felt so worthless and weak-like an ant about to be crushed under a pony’s hoof. He couldn’t do anything against it except pray that he would get caught in the cracks of Fluttershy’s kindness. He seemed to be on a lucky streak, with the crushing feeling being suppressed by Fluttershy’s gentle personality. He felt that this; however, was going to flatten him completely.

“She’s gone… and it’s all my fault…” he moped, saddening Fluttershy further.

“Oh, Bumble… can you tell me what happened? I’m sure that whatever happened to her was not your fault! If it’s too personal, I completely understand, and you don’t have to say it.” Fluttershy assured.

“I… okay, Fluttershy. Can you just give me a minute?” he requested.

“Of course, sweetheart. You can take as much time as you think you need. My ears will be open as long as it takes you to say what you want to say,” she let on.

“Thank you.”

For a few moments, Bumble sighed a few times and took some deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself. After giving himself these few seconds, he began to tell his story.

Chapter Eight: A Bad Memory, Part I (Revised)

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The Greatest Show of Kindness
Chapter Eight: A Bad Memory, Part I

The changeling invasion of Canterlot had just begun, and the changelings were swarming into the city hundreds at a time. Bumble and his mother were part of the swarm that was infiltrating southern Canterlot – the most “rural” district of Canterlot. It was less kept to and a bit dirtier than the west-most area, which held the main castle, or the eastern section, which was the main housing district; however, this didn’t mean that it was still a very luxurious place to live.

As they touched down upon the bleak cobblestone, they looked at each other with unexcited expressions. Bumble shuddered a little as a fierce chill rolled down his spine. As he looked around the streets, he saw ponies of all sorts being held against their will and beaten, terrorized. It unnerved him, and worst of all, he felt terrorized himself.

“(M-m-mama?)” he squeaked, pushing against her. She turned to him, and seeing him so scared, sat herself and him down and pulled him up into her chest.

“(It’s okay, Bumble. I know that you don’t like this either, but it’ll be over soon enough. For now, let’s just obey the Queen’s orders,)” she whispered.

“(O-okay…)” he mumbled back.

The two went onward to a small house at the end of the street where no other changelings had gone to yet. It was a shade of red between light-red and pink and was one story. There was a small garage on the left side of the home. The home looked disheveled and unkempt; a ladder drooped down from the gutters on the roof, visibly reeking with rust and mold from the rain.

Bumble’s mother knocked on the white marble door and waited there. She looked to her side, but saw that her son wasn’t there next to her. Looking back, she saw that he was staring in complete awe at the structure.

(“Bumble?”) she asked. (“Are you okay?”)\

(“It’s so big…”) he said, mouth agape.

“(I know, sweetie, but we have to do our ‘job’ here… Come on, dear,)” she ordered. He shook his head and knocked himself out of his trance, running quickly up to his mother, who smiled at him.

“Eek!” a sudden cry rung as a door slammed.

Bumble and his mother looked to the door, which almost fell apart at the force of the pull. The two-hinged door snapped and crackled, falling backwards onto the pony inside.

“Ow, help!” the pony cried. The voice was unmistakably one of a young colt.

Bumble’s mother gasped, immediately using her magic to lift the door off of him and throw it behind her. He shook his head and looked up at the changeling. Upon seeing her, he did not making haste to get back to his hooves and backpedal away. Bumble’s mother, concerned, wanted to make sure that he was okay.

“Are you all right!? Do you have any broken bones!?” she worried, taking a few steps into the house. It was too dark to see what he looked like, but in the glimmers of the darkness she could see that he was a unicorn.

“Get away! M-M-Mommy! Help!” he screamed, backing up into a corner.

In an instant, the lights turned on and a dark-gray unicorn mare with a contrasting pink, straight mane and droopy tail rushed in. There was a long, golden tress on her flank. The colt, now visible, had a bleak-green coat and dark-yellow mane. Oddly enough, he had no tail.

“Get away from my son, you monsters!” she screamed, standing in defense. Both Bumble and his mother flinched in shock to the immediate hostility.

“Hey, we don’t mean any harm! We came here and saw that this door,” Bumble’s mom started to defend, pointing to the broken door that was now on their small front lawn, “was toppled on top of him, and we just couldn’t sit back and let him be hurt!” It wasn’t a complete truth, but that’s what changelings were known for.

“Oh, really? You’re a changeling. You are liars. Why should I trust your words?” she challenged.

"Because you've never seen or met me before, and you should stop being judgmental," Bumble's mother tried, realizing she was opening a can of worms. Before she could correct herself, the mare cut her off.

"I'm being judgmental? Look around you; look at what is happening to our city. You're one of them, and I know you're trying to fool me. I'm not an idiot," the mare growled, stomping the ground with her fore hoof.

"I am not!" she yelled, baring her fangs and buzzing her wings. If there was one thing she hated over anything else, it was being called a liar.

"Okay, I'm going to just-" the mare started, before casting a barrier spell over her now open door space. The adult changeling moaned from frustration.

"Okay, I'm sorry, but we need to get in there. I apologize for this," the mother said, charging a spell.

She grabbed Bumble and turned her body into a light-green missile, crashing herself into the barrier and shattering it. She slammed into a wall next to the colt, breaking through it and landing in a small kitchen.

The kitchen itself was quite small, with a miniscule, obsidian-black, double-burner stove and a pearly-white, short refrigerator and freezer combination with flowery designs towards the back, and a table for four in the center. There were rose and tea designed plates hanging from the walls that swung on their holders, and on a short counter along the left wall, a miniature vase that was tipped over was pouring out water; a rose lay in the now spreading puddle.

Bumble's mother set down him down gently and told him to 'stay there,' before the two ponies rushed into the room. In an instant, she released a green glow over both of the ponies, making them wobbly, apparently dizzy, and fall to their stomachs. She cast another spell, which put them to sleep.

Finally she analyzed their bodies, looking over their general anatomies one more time. After doing so, she turned towards Bumble and shrouded him in her magic. His body lit up in a green flame before a small puff of smoke launched out above him. He now assumed the form of the colt.

Changing into the mare, she looked at Bumble, who shook in his new skin and coat. She looked concerned at her child, pulling him into a hug.

"Is something wrong, sweetie?" she asked, nuzzling him.

"D-Did you h-hurt them?" he asked, frightened.

"Not at all, Bumble. I simply put them to sleep. They'll wake up eventually, so you don't need to worry about them for the moment. For now, let's find a spot to hide them at, and fast. We wouldn't want any other changelings to come in here and hurt them, would we?" she suggested, soliciting a frown from Bumble. She kissed him on the forehead, which made him feel a little better.

She looked around the house, which in itself was cramped on the inside, much more than one would think from looking at the outside. As she walked down a dark hallway connecting the kitchen to a group of rooms, two on each side. She checked each room to make sure there was space to fit both of the ponies, but none of them had enough space. They were all tiny and cluttered, mostly with family heirlooms and other things, except for the back-right room.

In the back right room, there was space underneath a long table that she could place them under, and in her mind, she thought, 'perfect!' Thus, she went back into the kitchen, lifted the two up, and took them to that spot, placing them softly down onto the wooden floor. A quiet squeak sound emerged from the floor. She then took a dusty, ugly cloth from a box in the corner and placed it over the table, making sure that it hid the two from immediate sight.

After this, she decided to use the fact that she had already changed herself and Bumble and tried to hide themselves. Going back into the kitchen, she was that Bumble was just sitting there, doing nothing in general. She figured that there wasn't much more space in the house, based off of what she'd already seen, so she took a quick look outside through a window in a door that lead out of the house.

She saw another external building literally five steps outside of the door, and she figured that she would be able to find a spot to hide in there.

"Bumble! Come on! We're going to find somewhere to hide in that building back there!" she informed her son, who stood up and nodded.

She opened the doors of both buildings and waved him inside. Once he was inside, she closed the door to the house and walked inside. She closed the door and saw a deadbolt lock on it and locked it with her magic.

Looking back to the room, it was a large tea garden. There were five rows of thorny, lush, green bushels of tea, one on each of the walls and three in the center, equal distance between each of them. On the far wall, there was a row of blueberries and strawberries. There were large windows on the walls, and purple light shone down from the ceiling and underneath each of the bushes. The building itself was made out of a light-blue metal.

Both Bumble and his mother were in complete awe - they had never seen this kind of garden. They looked around, Bumble in amazement, his mother in search of a hiding spot. She thought that the two could hide in one of the shadowed corners, behind one of the bushes of flora. So, she told him to go to the back-right corner of the garden with her, and he did.

In the spot that they laid down at, they were somewhat secluded by the shadows. Flutter was lightly covered in light that came from one of the windows on the opposite side, but she was otherwise darkened.

Bumble was already nodding off to sleep, so she decided that the way to remain the calmest would be to fall asleep with him. She smiled down at her child, pulling him up into her chest. Within minutes, they were sleeping.

Nearly fifteen minutes later, three undisguised changelings flew up to the side windows of the garden and looked around the inside through them. The one female out of the three noticed Bumble and his mother, and due to her changeling eyes, she could see right through their disguises.

"Oh, there! I see two of them!" she said, pointing in the general direction of the two.

"Where, Ambrosia?" one of the female, Ambrosia's, squad mates asked.

"In that back corner, Sniper! They aren't ponies. It's weak, little Bumble and Flutter, the cowards. Of course they would hide," she growled, twitching an eye.

"The Queen will have their heads for this!" the other changeling declared to them, causing both of them to nod.

"Do you think Her Majesty has taken the castle yet, Strider?" Sniper asked.

"Probably. It's been about a half hour, and Celestia wouldn't stand a chance to Her great power. Come on, let's go tell Her," Strider responded.

As the three flew back off to go tell Queen Chrysalis, a piercing scream rung out through the city. It even woke up Flutter, who looked up through the windows and saw a pink bubble extending out from the Canterlot castle. She saw changelings, including the Queen, flying outwards from the city. Her eyes widened as she held Bumble tighter. Within five seconds, the pink bubble passed through the garden building, picking both Bumble and Flutter up and throwing them through a wall and off the edge of the city, towards the badlands.

Chapter Nine: A Bad Memory, Part II

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The Greatest Show of Kindness
Chapter Nine: A Bad Memory, Part II

Crash!

Bumble and Flutter both hit a stone wall hardly and painfully, with Bumble’s carapace cracking down the middle. He screeched from anguish as the two dropped off of the wall, hitting the ground with a thud. Both of them fell unconscious in a moment.

Time passed from day to night as they both lay there in the gorge. The night was unimaginably frigid on the rocky surface of the ground.

Eventually, Flutter somehow regained her conscious. Groaning, she grabbed her pounding head with her fore hooves, rubbing at her temples.

She felt tired and weak, almost at the point of fatigue. Intense, nearly debilitating hunger cramped her heart and stomach. She gazed up at the sky, and the moon was shining brightly in the night.

Looking over to Bumble, her eyes widened. Seeing his split shell and the gushing fluids, she lifted him up into her arms and cried.

“Bumble! Bumble! Please, answer me, sweetheart!” she yelled, shaking his body softly. “Please!”

No response.

She put her ear against his chest.

No beating.

No breathing.

Her body tensed up. Fear shot through her as she trembled out of panic. She didn’t know what to do. In her chest, she could feel the weight of her own heartbeat, like a thousand rusted chains pulling down on her chest.

Thump-thump.

Lub-dub.

Thud-thud.

“No!” she screamed as loud as she could, her voice ringing throughout the barren wasteland. “Someone, please help me!”

No sound. Dead silence. A dropped pin would be audible.

The wall seemingly sounded the death knell for Bumble.

Flutter cried over Bumble’s body, putting her hooves up to her eyes. The tears tumbled down her face, leaping to their decease as they dripped to the ground.

Flutter felt like she had failed him. She couldn’t protect him from the villainous chime of death. She let it thunder in his ears against their wills.

She felt she had failed as a mother.

There was a pain in her chest, an agonizing pain. It broke her down inside, shattering her in a million tiny pieces of herself. Overbearing sadness and grief overcame her, swallowing her inevitably.

Eventually, she couldn’t handle it anymore. The pain was too great for her to take.

“No! I won’t let you take my baby boy like this!” she howled at life itself, rushing over to him.

Pressing her hooves down on his chest, she started to perform the little she knew about CPR. Push, pump, push, pump. Lift his head, give breaths. Repeat. She continued this for what seemed like an eternal night.

Seeing as this didn’t work, desperation to save her son kicked in. With the little strength and love energy she had left, she put her horn down to Bumble’s chest. Letting out a pained cry, her horn shimmered with a light-green, sending energy into his heart. The shimmer transformed into an intense glow as her small reservoir of love was completely expended.

Looking hopefully at his body, she saw that still nothing was happening. Miserably, she dropped to the ground in defeat. She had no more energy for tears, no more energy to cry. She just lay there, looking blankly at nothing. Closing her eyes, she fell asleep, silently wishing a prayer that perhaps Bumble would wake up.

Flutter woke up the sound of a soft mumble, of which she couldn’t figure out what from right away. Opening her eyes, she saw that Bumble’s form was shivering. Her eyes lit up, wondering if her eyes were deceiving her. With what little energy she had, she called out.

“Bumble?” she weakly whispered, painstakingly placing a hoof on his back. For a moment, there was no sound. “Are you awake?”

“M-M-Mama?” he mumbled, not having any energy to move.

“You are awake! Thank goodness… I was so worried about you. You, you…” she started, choking up, “You weren’t answering to any of my questions… you weren’t saying anything… I was so worried about you,” she repeated, pulling him into a hug from behind.

“Mama? Where are you? I c-can’t see anything!” he revealed.

“You can’t see? Are your eyes open, sweetie?” she asked.

“I th-think so… Everything is so dark…” he moaned.

“Here, Bumble, let me try something,” she tried, releasing her hooves. In a swift motion, she spun him onto his other side, making him squeak. “Yes, your eyes are open… do you see me?” she questioned.

“No, I don’t see anything, mama,” he confirmed, making her eyes droop.

“Bumble… you’re blind, sweetie,” she informed, tears filling her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Bumble! I couldn’t protect you, and now you’re blind! Please, forgive me sweetheart!” she begged, the tears falling from her eyes, down her face.

“Mama, it’s not your fault, I’m sure. Please, don’t be sad,” he requested, pushing his head forward into her chest, nuzzling her. She sniffled, wiping her tears.

“But, it’s my fault! I couldn’t-“ she started.

“Mama! No! Don’t blame it on yourself!” he shouted surprisingly, cutting her off. “You couldn’t have helped it either way! Please, mama, don’t blame yourself for it!”

“…Okay, sweetie. I won’t,” she agreed, holding him tighter than ever before. "Thank you."

For at least a few hours, they lay there in their embrace.

Eventually, Flutter decided to softly let Bumble down off of her, standing up and looking around. In the distance to her eastern side, she could see the obsidian-colored changeling hive. In her head, she wondered if any of her friends that were in the invasion made it back safely to their homes, or if they met their demises almost as her son did.

Knowing that the only way that she and Bumble would survive would be if they made it back to the hive, she painfully lifted him up onto her back using her magic. Making sure that he was secured over her, she used all of her physical strength to push herself to her fore hooves. Turning herself towards the hive, she began the long trudge through the cold badlands.

Slowly trotting in the direction of the hive, she noticed that there were many injured changelings laying on the side of the ground, moaning and crying from the agony they were feeling. It was a traumatizing sight for Flutter. She couldn’t stand it, but she knew that if she stopped even for a few moments, to help any of them out, she had the strong possibility of not making it back to the hive herself. She hated it.

To deter her attention from these horrible sights, she decided to look up at the sky and the stars. They were a sight that she seldom saw – in the hive, if you left, even for an hour, you had the chance to be trapped outside due to the heavily guarded entrances to the hive.

The reason for the intense security was for one simple reason: Rival hives. Often, in the past, spies from other hives had managed to come into Chrysalis’ hive and steal important data for defenses. It was mainly the hive of Chrysalis’ eldest sister, Miasma, who has had an intense rivalry with Chrysalis for most of their lives. Miasma found it was entertaining to see her sister’s huge frustration as she screamed. She kept her hive mind to Chrysalis for this sole reason.

As she eventually approached the huge changeling city, she noticed there was no external security – they probably were all part of the invasion, as well. Walking in, she had no idea about what kinds of things she would have to go through in the following couple of days.

Chapter Ten: A Bad Memory, Part III

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The Greatest Show of Kindness
Chapter Ten: A Bad Memory, Part III

Tiredly, Flutter trotted into the hive. Immediately upon entrance, she felt a rush of love enter her body. Because the hive was made out of material that trapped love inside of it, and it also radiated love, if a changeling made contact with it, they got love from it.

The way to charge it if it ran out of love was to steal love from other creatures, and then for a changeling to use its magic and imbue it inside. It was one of the rarest materials in the world, and almost ninety-five percent (95%) of it was used in constructing the hive.

The main reason of the changeling invasion of Canterlot was for the changelings to obtain enough love to recharge their hive, as it was running dangerously low on love. By conquering Equestria, there would be an infinite amount of love to use, which would cause this problem to never occur again.

As Flutter walked through the streets, the revitalization was a wonderful feeling. Both her’s and Bumble’s stomachs began to increase in size as strength returned to their bodies. Bumble’s cracked shell quickly begun healing, stitching itself back together due to a natural process in a changeling’s body, of which makes them heal upon receiving great amounts of love energy straight into their bodies.

Deciding that the best thing for her to do was to get her’s and Bumble’s strengths back up, she immediately followed the streets to return to their home and rest. She knew exactly how to get to her home from anywhere in the hive – the hive’s living districts were set up in a grid-like pattern, with between five-hundred and seven-hundred rows of homes. Each row had twenty homes.

Knowing that her home was the sixteenth cave on the two-hundred-thirty-ninth (239th) row, she immediately went there. It only took about fifteen minutes to get there, and the moment she stepped through the door, she trotted into her bedroom and set Bumble down. She looked down at him with a gentle gaze, lowering herself to his head and tenderly kissing his forehead. He smiled, using his hooves to pull a leather blanket over him.

Grinningly she climbed up into the bed with him, grasping the blanket and tucking herself and Bumble in. Quickly, she fell asleep.

Hours passed before anything happened in the hive. The night passed to day, and in the morning, there was a knock on the door. Flutter’s eyes shot open from shock; she wasn’t expecting any company so soon.

Rolling out of the small, stony mattress, she opened the door. To her surprise, there was a teary-eyed, sniffling Chryssy.

“F-Flutter?” she solemnly asked, looking into her eyes.

“Chryssy? Are you okay, dear?” she questioned, pulling Chryssy into a warm hug. Chryssy began to cry, putting her head against Flutter’s shoulder. “Oh, it’s okay. It’s okay…”

Rubbing her mane softly, she shooshed Chryssy, reassuring that everything would be okay. Chryssy gave a loud sob, clenching her fangs and eyes from the horrible anguish she was feeling. Flutter picked Chryssy up into her arms and flew them into her bedroom, sitting both of them down on the bed.

As Flutter rubbed Chryssy once again, this time down her carapace, she reiterated her question from before.

“Is everything okay, dear?” she repeated.

“My mommy still hasn’t come home yet! I’m so worried!” she sobbed. “You’re the only changelings that I’ve seen come back, and I just don’t know what’s going on! It’s been over three months since I’ve seen mommy, and… and…” she trailed, unable to continue.

“Sweetheart, Chrysalis is our Queen. I’m absolutely positive that she’s okay and that she’s on her way back right now. Don’t you worry your pretty little head off, you hear me?” Flutter requested.

“O-Okay. Thank you so much, Flutter,” Chryssy gratified, rubbing her eyes.

“You’re very welcome, Chryssy. Now, is there anything else that you needed?” Flutter offered.

“…Is Bumble okay?” she asked.

“I think that he’ll be fine if he gets a lot more rest. Unfortunately…” she started, giving Chryssy a view of Bumble, “I think that the impact that he had against the wall that we hit was too forceful on his body, and it caused him to go blind.”

“What!? He’s blind!?” Chryssy shouted, looking intently into Flutter’s eyes. She shifted her eyes between Bumble and Flutter, unable to accept this fact.

“He is. It’s horrible, I know, but-“ Flutter began.

“No! There has to be something that we can do about it! There has to be a spell that can solve it!” Chryssy cut off. The sudden shout surprised Flutter, causing her to recoil a little.

“Chryssy…”

“Flutter! This is so unfair! We can’t just let him go without being able to see!”

“Chryssy.”

“I’m going to go and find a spell that will help-“

“Chryssy!”

When she heard Flutter’s more authority-like voice, she quickly shut up. Looking down, she slumped to a laying position.

“Chryssy, I understand why you’re so concerned about this, but you’re making a bigger deal about this than Bumble did. If you want to go home and try to find a spell that will do something to help, I won’t and can’t stop you. But you don’t need to freak out about it,” Flutter explained.

“I understand, Flutter. It’s just that… that… I…” Chryssy stuttered, her cheeks becoming light green. She turned her head to look another way. “I… love Bumble. He’s the only changeling that I consider to be a true friend. All of those aristocrats act all “high-and-mighty,” and they don’t really care about anything that really makes a friend a friend. Bumble, though, he has those qualities. He’s nice, smart, reassuring, loving, cute… none of the rich court officials or upper-class changelings are those things, except for maybe smart. It’s for these reasons that I want Bumble to be able to be able to see – because he really deserves the absolute best in life.”

For a moment, Flutter could do nothing but stare in shock at what Chryssy had just said. She had no clue that she felt that way about Bumble. She wondered at that instant if Bumble had any of these same feelings towards Chryssy.

After breaking out of her trance, Flutter gave an ear-to-ear at Chryssy, pulling her into a big embrace from the behind. She lifted her up, nuzzling and buzzing her wings.

The embrace had lasted a few more moments before Flutter released Chryssy. After being let go, Chryssy jumped down onto the floor with a thump; she started to walk toward the door.

“Are you leaving, Chryssy?”

“Yeah. I’m tired, and I want to go and take a nap now.”

“Oh, all right. I guess I’ll see you later, then.”

“I’ll come back when mommy gets back. See you!”

With that, Chryssy walked out of the front door.

Outside, a huge thunderstorm was brewing. Lightning struck multiple changeling abodes, one of them being Flutter’s and Bumble’s. Bumble shrieked as loud as he could from the shock, pulling the blanket closer to his body.

When the flashes from the lightning subsided, Flutter saw him shuddering violently under the covers and immediately uncovered him and cradled her in her arms. He cried from the fear, and to this she shh-ed him.

“Shh, it’s okay. I promise that everything will be fine, sweetie. It’s just lightning. Nothing will hurt you, I promise,” she calmingly stated.

“O-O-Okay, mama. Thank you…” he shyly mumbled, falling back to sleep in his mother’s arms.

Chapter Eleven: A Bad Memory, Part IV (Final)

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The Greatest Show of Kindness
Chapter Eleven: A Bad Memory, Part IV (Final)

For the next two days, all that Bumble and Flutter did was sleep and eat when they needed to. This gave them a chance to restock up on the vital energy they would need to go back out and function normally again.

One day, there was a fierce knock on the door. It was loud, almost to the point where the door was knocked off of its hinges. Instantly, Flutter sighed and rolled out of her bed, shaking her head to wake her up a little.

“(I’m coming! Please, wait a moment!)” she screeched out, tiredly walking over to her door. She opened it with a tug.

Standing there were two heavily armored elite guards, each bearing a large, dark-blue exoskeleton-like shell. They glared into Flutter’s eyes, and she felt that her soul was being pierced deeply. The scowls they had on their faces caused her to flinch backwards. The deep, guttural growls they pushed out from their throats caused her to lock up with fear. She knew upon sight of these two guards that there was something very, very wrong – these were the Queen’s personal guards, of which never had business with the citizens.

“(You. Gather your children and anybody else that is inside and step out. Now,)” one of them ordered.

“(W-What’s happening?)” Flutter asked, unable to change her stance from fear.

“(The Queen demands that you go to meet her,)” the other stated.

“(What for?”) she questioned, cocking her head.

“(Get everybody out of the house. Now!)” they ordered, ignoring her question.

“(But-)” she started.

Suddenly, a hoof was slammed across her left cheek, leaving a bright-green mark. She cried out and fell to the ground, grasping her face from shock and pain. She couldn’t do anything for a minute, unable to comprehend what had just happened to her/

“(You just… you…)” she exasperated.

“(Everybody out. Now!”) one of them shouted, picking her up and throwing her back inside.

Flutter went into their bedroom and hesitantly lifted Bumble onto her back. He had no idea of what was going on.

“(Mama, what’s happening?)” he shyly asked Flutter placed him on her back.

“(I don’t know, sweetie. A couple of the Queen’s guards just came up to our door and told me to get us outside.)”

Within a minute, Flutter came out, carrying Bumble on her back. “(Now, come with us. Do not resist.)” Complying with her orders, she followed them intently through the streets.

Over the past two days, many changelings somehow managed to return to the hive. The streets were slowly refilling, but Flutter could feel a difference in the atmosphere. The normal busy feeling she got by walking through the hive seemed to be replaced with a horrible sensation of overwhelming despair. All of the changelings held their heads down, and there wasn’t any chitter-chatter that normally occurred at all times of the day. The only sound that was heard was the sound of sadly clicking hoofsteps.

On top of this, she didn’t feel very much love energy radiating from the black crystal material. It made her feel tired and worn as she slowly trotted through the streets with her escorts. There were stares on her from all angles as she approached the huge, extravagant castle. Eventually, they arrived at the castle, immediately heading inside.

Inside the castle, there was a huge domed ceiling, and on the walls were oddly enough, changeling runes. They were written in beautifully written cursive-style writing, and they spiraled up into the dome. At the epicenter of the dome was a gigantic character, of which meant “bravery,” or “honour.” Inscribed on each of the doors was a changeling proverb, ranging from things such as “a rock tumbling down may be lifted once more,” or “with a strong inside, a rich outside is born.”

As they walked up to a large, magnificent door, of which had the character for “court” inscribed on it, the two guards opened it using their furious, green magic and pushed the two inside. Waiting thereupon a beautiful jade and emerald throne was the Queen herself. Sitting in a smaller seat to her right side was Chryssy, who was shocked to see Bumble and Flutter entering the throne room.

On the sides of the room sitting in tables were court officials, of which were chattering with each other. Queen Chrysalis and Chryssy were both in conversation with each other as well. Upon Flutter’s entrance of the room, all talk ended and all eyes in the room were focused on the Queen and Princess.

Across the other side of the room on the floor was a shackled up changeling, whose head was looking toward the floor. Standing up in front of the stairs leading up to the dual thrones were three familiar faces to Flutter. Three faces of which the moment she saw, she knew that something horrible was about to take place.

The two were wearing silky, light-green and blue dresses. Chrysalis’ had a crest on the chest that had the rune for “queen,” and likewise with Chryssy’s, except hers had “princess” woven it. The dresses both flowed over their chairs, casting royal veils over the ground.

“(Court shall begin!)” Chrysalis firmly stated. “(To begin, I would like to thank you three, Sniper, Strider and Ambrosia, for making light of these three traitors,)” she directed towards the three, nodding at them in utmost approval. They all nodded back.

‘Traitors!?’ Flutter frantically thought as she quickly tensed up.

“(Traitors!?)” Chryssy whispered to her mother, who looked at her with a confirming nod.

“(As you know, there is only one good place for a traitor to be in any situation. That place is a graveyard with nameless graves, which is exactly where you three are headed,)” she threatened. Flutter took a chance at this moment. “(Have you anything to say in your defenses?)”

“(We’re not traitors!)” Flutter tried, standing in a fighting position.

“(Do you have any proof to support your statement? Because right here, I have three witnesses that tell me that you were conducting treasonous acts with ponies during our invasion.)”

“(But, we didn’t-)”

“(Enough! I know from experience that denial is the first sign of a liar. Your mouth is to remain sealed.)

“(B-But-)

“(Silence!)”

Flutter knew that it was a lost cause to try and defend her case at this point. Therefore, she closed her mouth. She looked Chryssy in the eyes, and the message she conveyed with her face was “please, help me!” Chryssy, seeing this, decided to speak up.

“(Mother…)” she started, but received a deep glare from Chrysalis.

“(Chryssy, no. You are not to interfere. This is business that only I may deal with,)” she replied. “(When you become Queen, you may deal with these things yourself, but for now, just observe.)”

At the moment, she saw that all eyes were on her, which caused her anxiety to rise greatly. Despite this, she once again tried to interject.

“(Mother! This is not the best way to handle this! You don’t need to kill them to get your point across! Put them in a dungeon for a while! Find something else to do!)” she ordered.

“(Chryssy, it is my decision on what to do with these traitors. You should understand that death is the only suitable punishment for their acts against us. You will sit back down on that chair and you will let me deal with this. No further comments from you, young lady!)” she demanded, stomping a hoof on the ground.

“(No! I won’t let you!)” she screamed, jumping down in front of Flutter and Bumble. She stood in front of them, scowling at her mother.

Bumble, during this entire process, said nothing, and did nothing but tremble on his mother’s back. His head was tucked into her neck. He understood everything that was going on at this moment – often, public executions were held for traitors to the hive, in front of children, even. He’d seen it, and this same process happened every single time. He felt so lucky right then that he had Chryssy to try and help him and his mother out.

“(Chryssy, enough from you!)” Chrysalis yelled, lifting her up with her magic. She lowered her to the guards to the sides of the thrones. “(You two, hold her back for me while I pass on punishment,)” she ordered.

“(No!)” she screamed as the two guards gathered to her sides. They each pulled their magic over her legs, forcing her into one position, unable to move. “(Let… me… go!)” she resisted, trying her absolute hardest to move. She couldn’t do anything at this point, except watch the events unfold before her eyes.

“(Okay… Now that that little… interruption has been solved, I pass sentence to you three. You are sentenced to death for your actions against the hive, and myself,)” she punished, stepping down from the throne.

With her magic, she put the three in order, from the unknown changeling on the left (in Chrysalis’ perspective), Flutter in the middle, and Bumble on the right. Bumble could barely stand, so she forced him to a standing position with a spell.

In one instant, she lowered her horn to the unknown changeling’s chest, firing a beam straight into it. When her spell finished, it was laying on the ground with a dark-green mark in its chest. Flutter’s and Chryssy’s eyes both widened at this sight.

“(No!)” Chryssy hissed, trying even harder now to be released from her magical grasp. She couldn’t believe that this was happening.

Next, she took aim at Flutter, whose face had a miserable, teary-eyed look. She took one last look at Bumble and gave him one final kiss on the head before she turned back towards her queen. Tears flowed from her eyes at this point, and she gave one final prayer.

‘Please, allow me and my baby to find peace in the afterlife, where we can re-unite for all of eternity. May we both find our heavens in the same realm so that we may come back together,’ she thought.

In a moment, her prayer was sent to the realm of the gods. She couldn’t hold her eyes open any longer, closing them to allow the warm tears to fall down her face in excess.

With a deep blast of energy into her chest, Flutter gasped. The pain in her chest was too great; she fell to the ground, hitting the ground with a thump.

Chryssy couldn’t take it anymore. A scream welled up in her lungs.

“(Flutter! No!)” she howled. It was so loud that it made the guards holding her recoil, their magical grips being released. Their ears rang with her words. Everybody in the room fell backwards into their seats.

Quickly, she shot her own bright, light-blue beams into their chest cavities, making them drop. She flew out of her dress, which fell to the floor like a decaying leaf, and landed in front of Flutter. She lifted her up into her fore hooves, shaking her vigorously.

“(Flutter! Answer me! Please! Flutter!)” she yelled, begging her friend to come back to life in her legs.

Her eyes looked down whilst solitude walked in disguise. Tears flowed from her eyes as she stared back up at her mother in disbelief that she could be so cruel.

“(M-Mother… how could you do this?)” she seeked, looking away. She couldn’t stand to look at her mother after what she had just witnessed. She boiled inside.

“(Chryssy, I told you-)” Chrysalis started, but…

“(I don’t care what you told me!)” she interrupted loudly, catching even her mother off guard. “(You just killed one of my only friends! You just… You’re nothing more than a monster! How can you possibly feel good about yourself!?)”

“(Chryssy! Enou-)”

“(Shut up! I’m done with you! All that you’ve done to me is made me do all of these things that I never wanted to do, and all it does to me is put me in misery! Can’t you tell that what you’re doing to others is causing them pain!? That what you're making me watch and do is causing me pain!? Can’t you see that you’re a monster!?)”

Chrysalis could just stand there, speechless, as she couldn’t believe the words coming out of her daughter’s mouth.

“(Chryssy, you have acted out enough for one day. I order you to leave the room and go calm yourself down somewhere else. You will take time to think about your actions.)”

“(No! I am going to stand here right where I am and protect the one I truly love! You won’t make me move or do anything else!)”

Having enough, Chrysalis used her magic and raised Bumble off the ground with her magic. She levitated him over her shoulder and looked at Chryssy.

“(Well, if you won’t let me do this execution, I suppose I’ll find another way of exhaling this cretin from our hive!)” she threatened, making Bumble squeak. She flew out of the courtroom, carrying Bumble with her.

“(I don’t think so this time, mother!)” Chryssy retaliated, flying out after her. Chrysalis quickly flew out of the castle through the main door, with Chryssy following in immediate pursuit. “(Mother! Let him go this instant!)” she demanded. Chrysalis stopped in midair in the space above the living districts and turned back to Chryssy.

“(Chryssy! If you are going to become the Queen of this hive when my time is over, you are going to need to understand that there are some things that are absolutely unacceptable! Treason, of which this worm has committed, is the absolute worst of them! You need to learn that the only correct manner of dealing with this is to send the offender as far away as possible from the hive so that they may never repeat the offense and hurt the hive again! Whether it be permanent banishment or death, they must be dealt with!)” Chrysalis yelled at her daughter.

“(That might be the way that you operate this hive, but I have no intentions of following this practice when I become Queen! You are so unforgiving to others that you look directly into their flaws and you offer no room for them to show any worth! I vow that I will never, ever have a death sentence when I rule! I will be forgiving, and I will give others second chances!)” she argued, her eyes twitching in raw fury at her mother.

“(You’ll understand as you grow older that what I’m doing is truly the right thing, Chryssy. Right now, this issue needs to be dealt with so that I can get back to court,)” Chrysalis impatiently stated, reeling Bumble back with her magic.

“(And as for you,)” she started, directing her voice towards Bumble, “(You are not to trust any ponies in this life! They are vile, disgusting creatures who live only to deceive! They live only to breathe hate into you! Shall you place your trust in them, you will only find betrayal and pain! Those are the only words I have towards you. Let them be your last!)”

“(What? No!)” Chryssy yelled, lunging forward at her mother.

It was too late, however, as the Queen threw Bumble with mighty force out of the hive, in the direction of Equestria. Chryssy’s face drooped as she saw her last friend fly off into the distance.

“(Bumble…)” she trailed, unable to do anything.

The last thing she remembered was shooting a beam of energy at her mother and screaming before blacking out.

Bumble had flown through the air for a few minutes by this point. His eyes were clenched from fear and he couldn’t help but shriek constantly. The feeling in his stomach was terrible, like the feeling you get when you get when you are forced to go up in front of a crowd against your will.

Eventually, he felt his lower back slam against something hard, splintering his back end. He felt splinters of wood in his leg, telling him it was a tree. He fell down, slamming his mouth against multiple branches, causing his left fang to crack and split in half.

When he finally hit the ground, he landed awkwardly on one of his forelegs and hindlegs, forcing them to bend in positions that they never should’ve. The pain was too great, and he couldn’t maintain consciousness.

Chapter Twelve: Comfort (Teen-Rated)

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The Greatest Show of Kindness
Chapter Twelve: Comfort (Teen-Rated)

“…A-And… and… when I woke up, I-I w-was here… She… killed my mama!” Bumble cried loudly, shoving his head into Fluttershy’s chest.

Fluttershy couldn’t believe the story she had just heard. Her mouth hung wide open, her eyes staring into the distance. It brought back horrible memories of her own, and tears flowed sullenly from her eyes. She pulled him in closer than she ever had before, nuzzling him and kissing his forehead.

“B-Bumble, I had no idea! I-I’m so sorry! I can’t believe that monster would do something so horrible to you!” Fluttershy sympathized.

For many minutes, the two sat there on the bed in a deep hug. She moved her mane so that it was covering his body, like a blanket that a loving mother puts over her child during a frightening storm.

“F-Fluttershy?” he asked, pulling his head out of her chest.

“Y-Yes, sweetheart?” she tenderly responded.

“D-Do you think that I d-did anything wrong? Or my mama?” he questioned. Fluttershy put a confused look on her face.

“What do you mean?”

“Do you think one of us did anything that made… that happen? Do you think it was our fault?” he clarified.

“Of course not, sweetie! Why would you think that it was one of your faults?”

“Because, i-if we didn’t ever try to sneak away from the invasion, m-my mama wouldn’t be… be…” Bumble started, but choked up.

“Bumble, that didn’t have anything to do with it!” Fluttershy reassured. “If anything, that just showed how big sweethearts you and your mother were. You didn’t want to and were scared to hurt anypony, so you befriended them instead. You should never blame yourself for something like that for wanting to not hurt anypony,” she explained.

At that moment, in Fluttershy’s head, a memory played faintly. She remembered a knife in one of her front hooves, with her trembling in a corner. There was a bloodied body behind a figure that stood above her. She saw it coming in closer. Even though there was a knife in her hoof, she couldn’t lunge it forward to protect herself. She was crying, but she couldn’t scream out for help.

The figure above her lunged itself down into her, causing her to cry out weakly. She was powerless to do anything against her attacker except accept what was coming to her. She couldn’t even breathe.

After the figure finished up, it got up and left her cloudy house. She sat there for a near eternity to her, crying to herself about what she could’ve done wrong that led her to these terrible events. She just felt so dirty, like mud in her fur, leaves in her mane. Tears flowed from her eyes until she passed out unconscious.

Back in the current world, Fluttershy was rocking back and forth, crying uncontrollably with Bumble in her grasp. Bumble could hear her sobs. He understood why she would be crying from his story, but he didn’t expect this much.

“F-Fluttershy? Are y-you okay?” he said, shuttering between his own sobs.

“H-H-Huh? Oh, I’m sorry… I just had a bad memory of my own,” she explained, wiping her eyes with one of her hooves.

“Oh… what happened?” he questioned, cocking his head.

“Well, I’m not sure if you’re old enough to understand it, and it’s a little bit of an adult topic, but… I… I was…” she choked. “I was raped.”

“You… were raped?” Bumble said in complete disbelief. “That’s… horrible! How could someone do that to someone as sweet and kind as you!?” he yelled, anger coming into him.

“You know what that is?” she asked, surprised.

“Of course! It’s one of the first things that we learn about in school, because it happens so often in the hive. But anyways, tell me about what happened!”

“Well, I h-had just returned home from another day of flight school, and my daddy had greeted me and kissed me and asked me how my day went. The day itself had gone fine, and I told him so. I had another run-in with my bullies, but a friend of mine, Rainbow Dash, chased them away.”

“So, after that, I did my homework like I did every day, which usually consisted of just practicing flying, as well as other basic skills such as math or writing. After this, I would usually take a nap, because I was tired from the day. So, I did.”

“The next thing I remember is a loud yell coming from my living room, and I got up and slowly opened my door. Part of our normal training for flight, even though it doesn’t really have anything to do with flying, is to learn to defend ourselves and protect ourselves if we feel that we really needed.”

“So, I went into my kitchen and smashed open the lock on the box that our sharper knives were held in. I pulled out the sharpest knife we had, and it was a really sharp knife. It could cut through a small block of wood if you went straight down on it. Then, I crouched and slowly looked around the doorway that went into our kitchen.”

“There was nopony there, so I very quietly entered the room. I had my knife ready at hoof, and the next thing that I saw horrified me.”

“I s-saw…”

Fluttershy sniffled, looked down towards her bed. She clenched her teeth and eyes, starting to clutch Bumble a little tighter. He squeaked, and she loosened her grip on him a little. He lowered himself to lay on his side. He could feel the sadness emanating from her body, like rock-gray clouds pouring ice-cold raindrops while you sit under them, crying so much that you can’t distinguish tears from rain.

“I-I saw m-my daddy l-laying on the ground, not moving o-or breathing at all. There was b-blood coming out of his m-mouth and nose, and his cheek had a bruise on it. There was a bigger colt that I recognized f-from my flight school standing over him, and he had blood all over his f-fore hooves. He was in the senior class, almost eight years older than I was.”

“W-When I saw this, I locked up. I couldn’t m-move or do anything but stand there in the h-horror that I was feeling. I was holding the knife, but I couldn’t throw it or swing it. I wasn’t a-a-able to do anything b-but tremble.”

“I c-could tell he had seen me by this point, because he was staring at me. I can remember those terrible, horrid eyes, staring, watching, preying, stalking me. They were so cold, so barren, but deep inside, I saw it - that monstrous, deadly soul.”

“The last thing I can remember is him c-coming closer. He kn-knocked my knife away from me, and towered over me, pushing me onto my back and into a corner. And then… and then…”

“Fluttershy, I… I’m so sorry. You don’t need to go on. I-I understand,” Bumble said, comfortably nuzzling his head up underneath her chin, like a cat. She wrapped her hooves around him. Right then, he was her security blanket.

“Thank you, Bumble, f-for listening to me. I never felt that I could tell anypony because I thought that they would judge me for it. It just feels so relieving that I could tell my story to someone, even if it was a changeling,” she sighed. Suddenly, Bumble found himself growling, which Fluttershy found unusual; it took her off guard. “Bumble?”

“How dare he do something like that to you!? You were powerless to do anything, and he just let himself go and do that! I hope that guy gets to rot in a dungeon!” he growled, baring his fangs.

“Sweetie, please, calm yourself. He did get caught and put in jail. After I woke up, which was in a hospital, I was told about everything that happened, and I was asked if I wanted to go before the royal court to testify. So, I did, and he was found guilty and sentenced to life in Tartarus for... murder and...”

“Good riddance!”

“Yes, he got the justice that he deserved. It’s just too bad that you’ll never get that real sense of closure that you really deserve.”

“Well, it’s okay, mama. At least now I’m away from Queen Chrysalis.”

Fluttershy noticed something about that first sentence he had said.

“Mama?” she asked.

“Huh?”

‘You called me ‘mama,’” she explained.

“Oh, well… You’re a lot like my mama, and you sound a little like her, too…” he trailed.

“I do?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

For a moment, they sat there on the bed, both unsure of how to continue.

“Fluttershy?” he broke the silence.

“Yes, Bumble?” she responded.

“…Will you be my mama?” he asked, much to Fluttershy’s surprise.

“Will I be your mama?” she repeated in shock.

“Yeah… I've been living here for a few months now, and every single day, even if I was angry or rude towards you, you gave me love and the energy I needed to get through the days. You’re nice, loving, caring – everything that my mama was before…” he explained

“Bumble…” he sighed, looking down at his face. It almost looked sad.

“Please, Fluttershy?” he begged, pushing his head up into Fluttershy’s chest.

“…Of course, sweetie. Of course, I’ll be your mama!”

At that moment, Bumble had the sweetest feeling inside. It was the biggest influx of love he’d felt in nearly his entire life, and it filled all of his senses. He could smell the scent of the sweetest roses, and the sound of his mother’s nicest, most loving voice filled his ears. He could’ve even sworn that he could see her smiling face.

Chapter Thirteen: Panic and Self-Promise

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The Greatest Show of Kindness
Chapter Thirteen: Self-Promise

After the two broke their embrace, Fluttershy jumped down from the bed to the floor. She turned towards him with a huge smile on her face, and noticed that he had lay down on his side and let himself sink into the soft, plush mattress. He used his fore hooves to pull the protecting blanket over his frail form.

Lovingly she went over to him and laid a kiss on his forehead, which made him squeak from happiness. He set his head on the pillow as Fluttershy nuzzled him.

“Are you going to sleep, little bee?” she asked him, her head right next to his.

“Yeah, mommy,” he affirmed.

“Okay. I’m going into town to get some food and supplies, all right? I’ll be back in a few hours, sweetie,” she softly informed, pulling her saddlebags over herself.

“All right, mommy.”

“Sweet dreams!”

With that, she walked down the stairs from her bedroom and out the cottage.

As Fluttershy walked into Ponyville, she decided that it would be the best if she got some relaxation. Thus, she went to the spa.

At the spa was Rarity, who was there for her weekly treatment. She was currently enjoying a mud mask. Deciding that she could use some quality time with her friend, she paid her bits and went to join her. She lay down on the bed and engaged in conversation.

“Um… Good afternoon, Rarity,” she greeted.

“Fluttershy, darling, how nice to meet you here! It’s been a while since I’ve had the quality spa time that I oh so enjoy with one of my best friends!” she exasperated.

“Oh, I know. I’ve just been so busy recently that I haven’t had enough time to do this,” she explained. The spa pony gave Fluttershy her mud and massaged it over her face, putting a slice of cucumber over each eye.

“Understandable; however, I’ve noticed that you haven’t been in Ponyville very much in the last few months. Is everything all right, darling?”

“Yes, everything’s just fine. It’s just that I’ve had some… important things that I’ve been taking care of recently.”

“Oh. Is there anything you might need help with? I’d be more than happy to lend some help if you need it.”

“No, that’s okay. Thank you, though.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Again, thank you. I just feel that this is something I should deal with on my own.”

“Okay, darling, if you insist. What is it that you’re doing, just out of curiosity?”

‘Oh, what do I say?

“Um… It’s a little personal. I’d rather I take care of this one by myself without bothering anypony about it.”

“All right, all right, darling. I just noticed that you started staying home more often than usual right after the wedding. I was just worried that a changeling had gotten its dastardly grips on you.”

“Oh, no. Nothing like that.”

“Well, that’s good. I do hope that you can fix your problem. Please, do come into Ponyville a little more often to tell us that you are all right,”

“Okay, Rarity. I promise that I will.”

For a while, the two lay there on the two beds, letting the mud set into their faces. After about an hour of sitting there in complete serenity and relaxation, she got up and removed the mud from her face.

“Um… Well, Rarity, I’m going to go now. It was nice seeing you again. I’d like to do this again soon… if that’s okay with you.”

“Why, of course, darling! Ta-ta!”

With that, Fluttershy walked out of the spa and went on to her next destination, which was Sugarcube Corner. She walked into the giant gingerbread house and was immediately greeted by her friend.

“Hey there, Fluttershy!” Pinkie Pie excitedly yelled out, causing Fluttershy to flinch slightly. Upon seeing her friend, she sighed and smiled at her.

“Oh, hello, Pinkie Pie. How are you today?” Fluttershy greeted.

“I’m awesomely fantabulous! How about you?” the sugar-rushing pink pony responded, smiling with a grin so side that it went off the sides of her face.

“I’m well,” she answered.

“Great! Hey, it’s been a really, really long time since I’ve seen you! Are you okay!? Did a changeling get you!?” she worried.

“Oh, no. I’ve just been dealing with some personal issues, that’s all,” she declined.

"Omigosh! Is everything okay? Are you being haunted by ghosts that are working with aliens who want to abduct you!?” Pinkie quickly hypothesized, confusing Fluttershy.

“Uh… No, that’s not it. It’s just some… um…” she stumbled, trying to think of something to say. The pressure she was feeling was like that of having your body squeezed by a giant, crushing wall. “It’s… just some light family issues that I’m dealing with. It’s not a big deal.”

“Not a big deal!? Family issues are the worst kind of issues! This is absolutely a big deal!” Pinkie exasperated.

“Pinkie…” Fluttershy sighed.

“I mean, if you aren’t close to your family, how are you going to talk with them when you need them!?” she continued, beginning to frustrate Fluttershy.

“Pinkie,” she firmly said.

“Is there any way that I can help!? I know how to get you all to be happy-“ she once again started.

“Pinkie!” Fluttershy shouted, causing Pinkie to quiet down. “We’re already better. Everything’s okay now. Don’t worry about it, all right?”

“Okay! If you ever have problems in your family again, come tell me! I promise I’ll help!” Pinkie said.

“Um… okay, Pinkie. I will,” Fluttershy promised.

“Are there any other issues you’re having?”

“Not at the moment. Anyways, I think that I’m going to go now.”

“Oh, okie-dokie-lokie! I’ll see you later!”

“Okay, bye.”

Fluttershy walked out of the confectionary and decided just to go home for the day. She already had two encounters in which she could’ve given away Bumble’s presence, and she didn’t want another, in fear of losing him.

Before doing that, however, she went to get some food for birds and other small animal friends. There was a neat little store called “Food for Friends” that had all sorts of bird seed and lots of different kinds of vegetable, fruit, and protein pellets for mice, rats, squirrels, and other smaller creatures.

Once she finished up there, she started the long trek back to her cottage, and like before, she was stopped by Twilight.

“Fluttershy!” she called out.

“Oh, Twilight… hi. Is there something you needed?” she responded, nervously turning around.

“It’s been a while, Fluttershy. Is everything okay?”

“Yes, everything’s fine.”

“Have you seen any changelings?”

“No, Twilight. I still haven’t.”

“Really? Because you haven’t been in town much recently, and all I ever see you coming into town for anymore is food and cleaning supplies. I believe that you’re under a mind-controlling spell by a changeling that is making you only come out when you need to get supplies that you need to survive.”

“What? No, Twilight, I-“

“Stand still, Fluttershy, I’m only doing this to protect you.”

When she said that, she aimed her horn at Fluttershy and cast a spell over her. It was a transparent colored spell that surrounded her entire body. Fluttershy’s eyes glowed white as a vortex of light swirled around her. Once the spell finished, her eyes turned back to their normal hues.

“What was that?”

“It was a spell that disables any spells cast on you prior that are still in effect. Do you feel any different?”

“Twilight, I never had any spells cast on me!”

When Fluttershy realized how forcefully she had yelled, she shied away a little bit. With a whimper, she looked down at the ground.

“…Sorry…”

“It’s okay, Fluttershy. I just wanted to make sure that you had no manipulation in your mind. You seem clean, so that means everything’s okay. Those changelings are popping up everywhere.”

“Speaking of the changelings, when you catch one, what do you do with it?”

“Well, first, we tranquilize it, to make sure that there’s no resistance. Then, we bring it to the jailhouse, where we tie up its forelegs and hindlegs and put a suppresser ring over its horn, to eliminate all chance of attacks. After that, once it wakes up, we ask it some questions, most of which are like ‘Where is your home at?’ and ‘What other plans does your queen have?’”

“Depending on their answers, we do one of two things. If they cooperate and answer our questions, which unfortunately doesn’t happen often, we allow them to start integrating into pony society. Of course, this comes with certain restrictions: They can’t use magic, they can’t change forms, they can’t live without a guard, etc.”

“The most changelings, however, decide to resist answering our questions, so those changelings are deported to Canterlot for more rigorous interrogation. I'm not exactly sure about what kinds of things they do, but it's probably nothing more than questions that are more focused and forceful than the preliminary interrogations."

"Okay... Well, I must be getting home now to feed my animals."

"Well, I'll see you later then."

"Good-bye, Twilight."

When she got back to her cottage, Fluttershy closed the door and set her groceries down in her small kitchen. She thought back to what Twilight said to her regarding the mysteriousness of what kinds of things would happen to changelings at Canterlot.

She envisioned her little Bumble tied down to a table, with a royal guard speaking down to him very forcefully. Bumble was oddly growling and snapping his jaws at the interrogator. His eyes were narrowed. Suddenly, the scene glowed crimson and Bumble was now shackled to the floor. The thought-up guard smacked him across the face, leaving a bright-green mark on his cheek. The scene once again changed to Bumble chained a second time to a table, with water dripping down on his head in various amounts, sometimes individual drips, sometimes torrents of water of which washed, tortured, down a drain.

These images all flashed within her mind in what felt like a second. His screech accompanied these terrible thoughts, pushing Fluttershy into a panic.

‘Oh, Celestia…’ she thought.

Her heart began to race, cold sweat dripped down her face. She could feel a hammer being smashed against the sides of her skull, right behind her eyes. Her vision blurred slightly.

‘Can’t let them find out about Bumble! Won’t, never, can’t do it. He’ll suffer, burn, drown, die, decay. I have to protect him always, support him, shield him…'

She realized that she was hyperventilating intensely, so she took deep breaths.

‘One, two, three… tick-tock… four, five, six, seven… tick-tock… eight, nine, ten.’

She calmed slightly at her counting, and the sound of her clock helped her time her breaths. The banging in her head stopped, and the knots in her stomach unwrinkled. She looked intently at her dimly lit bedroom, got up, and walked slowly over to it.

Up the stairs she went, and she saw that Bumble was still lying there, fast asleep under the covers. She flew onto the bed, curling up beside him and pulling the blanket over herself.

“Oh, sweetie… I’ll never let them take you away. I can’t, I won’t,” she promised, falling asleep with him in a hugging position.

Little to her knowledge did she know that there was a pair of eyes belonging to a Pegasus looking in through her window. In a flash, it flew off towards Ponyville.

Chapter Fourteen: Pulled Away

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The Greatest Show of Kindness
Chapter Fourteen: Pulled Away

The sun was shining brightly and there were few clouds in the sky. Fluttershy was walking Bumble outside in the Ponyville streets, where everypony was walking by, smiling and waving at them. They were both happily smiling.

They walked up to the Ponyville schoolhouse, where Cheerilee was waiting outside for all of the foals to come. She greeted Fluttershy and Bumble with a warm smile as she waved to them.

“Good morning! How are you today?” she asked.

“I’m well today,” Fluttershy answered, smiling back.

“And you, dear?” she directed to Bumble.

“I’m doing good, Ms. Cheerilee,” he responded cheerily.

“Class starts in a few minutes. Would you like to come in, Bumble?” she offered, stepping aside. “You’re the first one here today.”

“Sure, Miss. Good-bye, mommy!” he said, turning to Fluttershy and giving her a big hug, of which she immediately returned. They lovingly held themselves there for a few moments before they released each other.

“Hey, Bumble!” a voice called out, causing him to spin around.

Approaching him was Sweetie Belle, who was galloping up to him. He beamed as she threw herself into a big hug around him. The two toppled over as they embraced, making them both giggle from excitement. Cheerilee and Fluttershy also giggled at their giddiness to see each other.

“Good morning, Sweetie!” he exclaimed as she pushed her head into his chest.

“Good morning, Bumblebee,” she returned, nuzzling up against him softly.

“How are you today?” Bumble asked.

“I’m doing well today, but I’m a little tired. How about you?” Sweetie wondered, rolling herself off of him. They both stood back up, blushes creeping into their face.

“I’m also good today. Good weather today, huh?”

“It sure is! It looks like it’ll be sunny all day today. It’ll be hot, too, so do you wanna go inside?”

“Sure!”

The two headed into the red school; more and more young fillies and colts started to come to the school.

“Bumble’s just the sweetest little colt, isn’t he?” Cheerilee asked Fluttershy with a grin.

“He really is. I love him so much because of his kindness,” Fluttershy responded, looking inside the schoolhouse at Bumble, who was now talking with Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom at their desks. They seemed to be having a good time, as Fluttershy could hear their laughter from where she was standing.

“He’s a model student, too. He does all of his class work, and he gets along well with all of the other students. He’s also passed and excelled at every test we’ve had this year. He’s a really talented foal, and you and him should both be proud,” she praised. Right then, the school bell rang. “Well, it seems like I need to start school now, so I’ll see you at the end of school today. Have a nice day, Fluttershy!”

“You too, Cheerilee!”

As Fluttershy started to walk away, there was a loud banging sound. She looked around, but couldn’t find the banging. The noise continued, and she could feel a sense of unconsciousness hitting her body.

Bang-bang-bang!

Fluttershy’s eyes snapped openly as the sound reverberated menacingly throughout her home. An intense jolt of shock and fear riveted through her body, paranoia filling her mind. The clock tick-tocked, and it showed that it was almost four hours after she and Bumble had fallen asleep. Three more loud bangs crashed through her cottage, and she could feel Bumble shaking under the covers, giving short, light squeaks. Three more bangs, and her door's locks were unlocked with aggressive yellow magic.

Immediately, her door flew open, which made her eyes widen. She quickly covered Bumble with the sheets and shushed him, telling him that ‘everything will be okay,’ and that he ‘should be quiet.’ He did just as she said, silencing and staying as still as possible through his fear.

Fluttershy rolled out of the bed, galloping forward towards and down the stairs. She could see four royal guards quickly galloping towards her stairs. In an instant, she put a hoof out.

“Stop! What are you doing in my home!?” she frantically yelled, standing in a defensive position.

“We’ve been informed by a Miss Twilight Sparkle that there is a changeling residing here. Do not move from that spot,” one of them commanded, charging up his horn.

A blast of gold energy crashed over Fluttershy’s body, swirling around her and squeezing her. She screamed as the energy dissipated from her body. She shrugged, as the spell had a cold feeling to it.

“You three,” he said, looking at the three backup guards he brought with him, “go upstairs and check for changelings. Do not hesitate to fire if one begins to attack,” he said, casting a spell to hold Fluttershy in place.

“What!? No, don’t!” Fluttershy pleaded, trying to release herself from the grip of the magic.

“Hey, there’s one up here!”

In an instant, she could hear Bumble’s screech, making her cringe. Tears started to fill her eyes, and she writhed in the grip.

“No! Leave him alone!” she screamed, pushing her forelegs out of the magical aura in defiance.

The three guards came out from the top room with a sedated Bumble in their grips. Fluttershy could turn her head, only to see that his head was slumped downwards, with his arms dangling powerlessly beneath him. The tears in Fluttershy’s eyes tumbled down her face.

A scream built up in her lungs, shooting through her entire body. It pushed through her throat into her mouth. She clenched her eyes and teeth, before opened her eyes and mouth as wide as she could.

“Bumble!” she shrilled, forcing the guard holding her back.

She launched herself forward in a wave of unseen determination as she pounded the guard’s head downwards with her hooves, knocking him to the ground. Turning around, she jumped high into the air, spreading her wings as wide as she could. Remembering back to her flight school self-defense training, she put spread her forelegs wide, making herself look as big as she could.

This, as well as the fact that she had just knocked out the lead guard with one bang of the head, intimidated all three of them, causing sweat to drip from their foreheads and them to step back. They dropped Bumble back down onto the bed.

“How the-“ one of them mumbled.

He couldn’t finish, however, as he was sent to the ground by Fluttershy, who headbutted him. She immediately punched her other two hooves out, slamming both of the other two in the chests. They both recoiled backwards in a stumble, but didn’t fall unconscious.

They both eyed each other from each side of Fluttershy, nodding. In an instant, they rushed forward, trying to ram Fluttershy from both sides. She saw this coming, however, so she ducked underneath. They slammed into one another, bouncing off of each other like rubber.

She immediately jumped backward, grabbing the guard to her left and launching him at the other on her right side. They both flew into the wall, collapsing onto each other. They looked up to her in complete fear, both grabbing onto the other. She was breathing heavily, huffing and puffing.

“You won't take him!” she screamed, the room shaking around her.

She walked up to them, the ground trembling under her hoofsteps. The two guards looked in nothing but fear as she pounded both of them on the foreheads, knocking both of them out.

She took a moment to calm herself before she turned around. She sighed as she closed her eyes and jumped on the bed. She lowered herself to a laying position, deeply breathing.

“Bumble, don’t worry, you’re oka-“ she started, opening her eyes.

He wasn’t laying there on the bed. Fear rattled her body as she shot up again, looking to her lower room. Twilight was quietly trying to sneak out with Bumble in her magical grasp; the other four Elements of Harmony were with her as well.

“Twilight! Stop!” Fluttershy yelled out, touching down right behind the group of five. They all turned around and saw bared teeth.

“Fluttershy, you need to calm down,” Twilight calmly said, taking a step forward.

“Twilight. Put him down,” Fluttershy ordered intently, looking her deep in her eyes.

“Fluttershy, can’t you tell that you’re being controlled?” Rainbow Dash interrogated, taking a step forward with Twilight.

“No! I’m not being controlled! I had him here under my own power, and I cared for him with my own love!” she defended, getting ready to launch herself again.

“Fluttershy! This changeling’s dastardly spell is still manipulating you! Please, darling, you must overcome the influence!” Rarity attempted to persuade, also taking a step forward.

“All of you! Understand me! He is not a bad changeling! He’s been living here for the last few months since the wedding, and he hasn’t been in any control of me!” Fluttershy shouted, taking a step forward herself, narrowing her eyes.

“That’s enough, Fluttershah! He’s been foolin’ you inta thinkin’ that he’s a good changelin’! He’s just as nasty as the rest!” Applejack continued, advancing a step upwards.

“He’s only seven years old! He’s blind, and he doesn’t even know how to use magic! He couldn’t possibly be controlling me!” Fluttershy protested.

“Fluttershy, this meanie-pants changeling is trying to devour your heart and your brain! He’s only trying to make you think that he can’t use magic or see so that you’ll be consumed by his spell easier! He’s going to turn you into a zombie pony if he stays here!” Pinkie supported, following in the other’s hoofsteps.

“That’s it!” Fluttershy snapped, launching forward.

Before she could hit any of them, Rarity held Fluttershy in her magic, restraining her.

“Fluttershy, the only way that we can rid your mind of the spell is if we take the changeling off of the premises. Trust me Fluttershy, this is for the better,” Twilight explained, grasping Bumble in her magical grasp again. “His spell must be especially strong. There hasn’t been a single resistance this powerful.”

“No!” Fluttershy exclaimed, letting tears flow again. “None of you understand the kind of pain that boy has been through! He deserves a place to live, somepony to love him! Please, all of you, don’t take him from me!” she begged.

“No, Fluttershy. The sooner we get it away from you, the sooner you can be freed from his grasp. We’re doing this for your health and well-being, that’s all. Please, we all want you to be healthy in a mental standpoint, and this is the only way,” Twilight explained, turning around and walking out.

“No! Please, don’t take him! Please…”

Fluttershy let her head hang down as a deluge of tears flooded out of her eyes. A puddle of the agonized water droplets soon formed on the wooden floor. Rarity softly lowered her to the ground, releasing her light-blue magic from it. She put her hooves over her eyes, letting them drown in her cries.

“H-How c-could you d-do that t-to him? He… He f-finally found a p-p-place to live with s-someone to call a m-mother, and you j-just took that away from him…” Fluttershy sobbed, laying her head on the ground. "Y-You just r-ruined his life..."

“Fluttershah, we’re only doin’ this for your safety. This’ll all be a memory later on. You’ll start feelin’ better about it, an’ you’ll realize that he was controllin’ you like the rest of them do with other ponies,” Applejack said, reaching out and putting a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder.

“…Get out of my home,” Fluttershy mumbled so quietly that it was unintelligible to everypony.

“What was that, darling?” Rarity asked, cocking her head. Fluttershy stood up to her hooves, her head still hanging, and took a deep breath.

“Get out!” she screamed, scaring all four of the ponies in front of her. The room shook.

“Fluttershy, I know that you’re mad, but you’ve gotta-“ Rainbow Dash started, but was cut off by a hoof to the mouth.

“I said, ‘Get out.’ Out!” she cried again, shooing all of them with her hooves. She pushed them all back until they were out of her front door.

She then gathered all four of the guards who were unconscious in her cottage and threw them out of the entrance one by one before slamming the door and locking it. She collapsed right there, letting sorrow’s embrace shroud her body. Tears dripped from her eyes down onto her chest, wetting her soft fur. She pounded her right hoof into the floor, letting out a loud cry.

“Bumble!”

Chapter Fifteen: Questions

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The Greatest Show of Kindness
Chapter Fifteen: Questions

“Hey!” a slightly gruff, low voice said. “Wake up!”

The voice belonged to a dark blue Pegasus stallion, whose mane and tail were blood-red, with a cutie mark that depicted the talking mouth of a pony, of which was speaking at a jailed criminal.

“Nggg…” Bumble mumbled, trying to roll over to his side.

He found that he couldn’t, and became alert immediately. His ears heightened while he tried to hear where he was.

“M-Mommy?” he asked, shivering. The room around him had a stony fragrance, which is to say none at all, and a cold mist surrounded his body. “It’s really cold right now…”

“You awake?” the voice said. It was slightly less forceful than it was at first.

“…Mommy?” Bumble responded.

“…No, I’m-“ the pony started.

“Mommy!” Bumble shouted, trembling with sobs. The guard looked confusedly.

“I’m not your mother!”

“Where’s my mommy!?”

“I don’t know! Be quiet!”

As the guard yelled at him, Bumble’s tears dripped from his face, down onto a freezing, uninviting table that laid below him. The pool spread underneath his chin, wetting his chitin. He clenched his fangs as tightly as he could.

The guard looked down at the crying changeling in pity. His face changed from anger to sadness as he slightly slumped in the chair.

“Hey… stop crying…”

“H-Huh?”

“Stop crying, please. Just… stop.”

“Wh-What do you c-care? I-I’m a changeling, and y-you hate m-me…”

“I don’t hate you.”

“You d-don’t?”

“No. I may not like you, but I’m not cruel. Besides, hatred is for the weak, and I’m not weak. You’re young, too, aren’t you?”

“Yeah…”

“I couldn’t hate a child. It goes against everything Equestria was made for, which is love and tolerance. But anyway, I’m going to ask you some questions. If you answer them and give me the information I want, you can go home to your ‘mommy.’ Okay?”

“O-Okay.”

“Are you cold? You’re shivering.”

“A little bit…”

“Do you want a blanket?”

“Yes, please.”

“Okay.”

The guard stood up from a chair he was sitting in and went out of the room. The granite door opened with a deceptively loud creak as he disappeared. A minute later, he came back with a wool blanket. He unfolded it, laying it over Bumble’s form. Bumble relaxed in his spot and rested his head on the table.

“Better?”

“Yeah. Thank you very much, sir.

“All right. The weather’s nice today, isn’t it?”

“I can’t see, sir.”

“What do you mean you can’t see?”

“I’m blind, sir. I can’t see anything, even if my eyes are open.”

“That’s not good at all. Why are you blind?”

“Well, the last thing I remember before I was blind was my mama picking me up and us flying away from Canterlot. I had my head tucked into her belly, so I wasn’t seeing anything. I think it was a few minutes later that I felt my back slamming against something hard. I saw red and green and yellow, and I woke up blind.”

“Oh. Did you hit your head?”

“No, I don’t think so. I could have.”

“Okay. What did you do after that?”

“My mama picked me up and she brought us both back to the hive-”

“Before you go any further, what is the hive? Where is it? What does it look like?”

“The hive is the place where all changelings live. It’s all black, like… that one rock that the fire mountains make.”

“Fire mountains?”

“Yeah, you know. The mountains that shoot out ash and fire.”

“You mean a ‘volcano?’”

“Uh, I guess? I’ve never heard that word before.”

“No? We’ve sidetracked too much. Where was I?”

“Uh…”

“Oh, yes. Where is the ‘hive?’”

“I don’t know what the area is called. I know that it’s orange, but that’s all that I could see from inside the hive. We were never allowed to leave.”

“Didn’t you see it when you were flying out?”

“No. There were too many changelings to see through.”

“Oh. Do you know if it was sandy? Rocky?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Hmm…”

“What else is the ‘hive’ like?”

“Well, it has three different areas. The smallest is the markets area, which is at the west. The castle district is the next biggest, and the biggest is the housing area. How else can I say what it looks like?”

“Well, what does the castle look like?”

“It looks a lot like what the castle in Canterlot looks like, on the outside. I don’t know what it looks like on the inside.”

“Hmm… I assume that your queen lives inside.”

“Her, and the princess.”

“You have a princess?”

“Yeah. Her name’s ‘Chryssy.’”

“How’s she like?”

“She’s really nice, but she can be stubborn, too.”

“Did you know her personally?”

“Yeah. She would sneak out of her castle to come to my home. I mean, all we’d ever really do was talk, but it was company. I had no real friends except for her.”

“That’s nice of her. What kind of things would you talk about?”

“Whatever was on her mind, really. If she was happy, she’d just go on and on about whatever she was happy about, or if she was sad or angry, she’d tell me why she was angry.”

“Hm… would you ever talk about her home life?”

“She didn’t like to talk about her life in the castle. When I ask her about it, she would always say that her mother was always doing stuff that she didn’t agree with.”

“Like what?”

“She said that Queen Chrysalis was always saying things about how to ‘conquer and cease.’ Whatever that means.”

“Did she ever say any of the plans?”

“No. Not with me. That’s treason in the hive.”

“Hm… Okay.”

The guard took a checklist and wrote the information that he had heard until this point down, which wasn’t much. All that he had down for location was that the area surrounding the hive was “orange,” and that the hive was large and dark, made out of an obsidian-looking rock. He wrote down that he knew nothing of the plans that Chrysalis had in store, and that there was a princess.

"So, you don't know anything about where the hive is or your queen's plans?"

"No."

“Okay. I’ll be right back.”

He stood up and walked out of the room. He turned left and went down a long hallway, with rooms lining both sides. He walked all the way down through a door on the very end, which through led to a staircase that he trotted up. At the top, he entered a room where a white stallion with a light-blue mane and tail was. He was overlooking the town, scouting for the changelings he felt such a strong loathing towards.

“Captain Shining Armor, sir!” he addressed, putting a hoof to his head.

“Yes, Private Word Twister?” he answered, turning around.

“This is the report of the changeling I just interrogated,” he informed, offering the clipboard over. Shining Armor grabbed it in his magical grasp,

“Looks like little to me. We’ve already confirmed that it’s in the badlands, and that none of the changelings are going to tell us about Chrysalis’ plans. It is new information to me that the hive is made out of some black material, though. I also didn't know that they had a princess. Still, there isn’t enough information here to be able to let it go yet, so send it on the next chariot to Canterlot,” he ordered. Word Twister looked hesitantly for a moment.

“…It’s a child, sir,” he informed.

“The changeling? That doesn’t matter. It could still have valuable information that it’s hiding from us. Send it off, Private.”

“But-“

“Private, Do not argue with me about this. Send it off.”

Word Twister looked down in guilt for a moment before glumly turning around and walking back to the interrogation room.

"Well, since you didn't supply enough information, we're having to ship you off to Canterlot," he informed, gaining a face of shock from Bumble. "Now, I've seen what they do to changelings in Canterlot, so I have some advice: Listen to what they say. Do not argue with them and you'll have an easier time," he whispered.

"...Okay. Thanks, I guess."

Within the hour, Bumble had been loaded onto an armored chariot, off to Canterlot.

Chapter Sixteen: Bumble's Rage

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The Greatest Show of Kindness
Chapter Sixteen: Bumble’s Rage

Once the chariot arrived in Canterlot, Bumble was loaded off and immediately forced forward, his chitin scraping silently against the chains his hooves had been wrapped in. His legs were still sore from when they had broken previously, but they had healed for the most part. It was the same kind of pain that one gets after running at full speed for a while.

He had trouble moving without stumbling into the other changelings that were part of the group, due to his blindness. Luckily, the shackles prevented him from moving around as much.

The magnificent Canterlot Castle was right in front of him, glimmering in all of its royal glory. The giant shape of one of the spires cast a shadow over Bumble, chilling him. He shook his head to get over the cold. He may not have been able to see, but the atmosphere around him was very heavy - a crushing, anxiety-filled anticipation.

Suddenly, from one of the doors on the castle burst a large, metallic-silver unicorn stallion with a carbon-black mane and white hooves. The door shut itself with the help of a breeze, and he looked in an intensely intimidating manner over them. He had a very sneer-like narrowness to his eyebrows, but it seemed to be a bit grouchy as well, as if trying to say ‘Why do I have to be here?’

“Hm… looks like I’ve got some fresh meat on the bones… Let’s see what we’ve got here,” he mumbled to himself, putting on a menacing grin. He lit his horn up, teleporting with a flash to the ground level. “Filthy maggots,” he spat, taking a few steps forward. “All right. Guards, take them to the eastern wing. Put them in the tight cages,” he ordered, walking back into the castle.

The group of changelings was immediately escorted around the grassy lawn of the southern wing to the eastern wing. There wasn’t an immediately noticeable difference between the looks of the southern and eastern wings of the castle. That was until one of the guards lifted a trapdoor in the ground with their magic.

“All of you, get in!” the guard shouted.

The guards behind the changelings pushed them forward with their magic, forcing them down into the pit. There was a purple light coming from the hellish-looking hole, and the sound of dripping water and shouting faintly rung from within. One by one, the changelings jumped down.

Bumble didn’t know where he was going, so when he accidentally trotted around the hole, the guards mistook it as him trying to escape. They threw him down, causing him to land with full force on his sore front leg.

Tears flooded his eyes, and immediately his screech filled the entire cave. When the sound was gone, it echoed back from the other end of the crystalline cavern. All attention in the room was on him as he dropped to his stomach, bawling.

“Hey! Quiet down!” one guard said, not caring about the injury. Suddenly, the trap door slammed loudly above the changeling’s head.

“It hurts so-“ Bumble started, but was immediately smacked on the head.

“Be silent! Down here, you’re under our rules! You will oblige!” the guard yelled, causing Bumble to tremble underneath his voice.

“I-I’m s-s-sorry…” he trailed, shaking.

“You’d better be, you worthless maggot!”

Bumble said nothing to this, so he just lay there in his pain and tears. The guards all looked down in nothing but their own wicked smiles and laughter.

“Oh, is the little worm in pain?” one of them mocked, eliciting a laugh from the others.

“It looks like his puny foreleg broke. What a shame!” another joked, putting his hoof forcefully down on Bumble’s head. Bumble jolted under the sudden pressure, shuddering. “Oh, what? Can’t handle the pressure?” he continued, pressing harder.

“Please stop…” Bumble begged.

“Why should we? Didn’t you see what you did to our nation!? The lives you ruined!? We will not stop until you are completely exterminated from this world!” another shouted, gaining a cheer from the rest.

At that, Bumble inside started to burn. He felt that he specifically was being blamed for the entire invasion, and that struck him right at the core of his heart. He was blamed falsely for being a traitor, after all. He found resentment for those three rotten, disgusting changelings that completely ruined everything, and right then, he equated these guards to them. Hatred burned hellishly inside.

“Your kind are no longer welcome in this world, and the only way to fix that is to eliminate you permanently.”

Bumble’s shaking became more rapid, not out of sadness or fear, but out of the anger building up inside of him. He felt it, trying to hold it back as hard as he could.

“So now, it’s time for that dream to be realized into fruition, you maggots.”

Bumble’s anger finally exploded.

“Shut up!” he screeched, making the guards around him recoil. A light-green spark shot out from his horn as he gritted his fangs and growled.

“Silence!”

“No, you need to shut your mouth, you bigoted jerk! You think that I actually wanted to be in the stupid invasion!? Well, let me tell you, I didn’t! I was forced to do it by my Queen, who I never even liked in the first place! She called me a ‘traitor’ and blamed me and my mother for the entire invasion, just like you are!”

“Shut your-“

“And that’s not even the half of what happened! She killed my mother and one other changeling, and I don’t even know if that’s all she did! Just like you, as well! You call me a maggot and a worm, when in reality, it’s you who are those things!”

During his burning rant, he could feel a charging energy inside of his horn, screaming to be released. It was the collection of the massive pool of love energy that had congregated throughout his entire stay with Fluttershy trying to explode in one giant blast. He clenched his fangs even tighter, lowering his head and letting the energy consume his horn. Instantly, his first blast of magic erupted from the tip, shooting directly towards one of the guard’s horns.

In an instant, the guard started to charge his own horn, but it was far too late. The magical beam rammed straight into the center of the horn, and with the incredibly high concentration of magic in the beam, it ripped and sheared the entire upper half off and disintegrated it. A violent, light-blue tornado of magical energy surged outwards from the inside of his horn, causing the entire cave to glow cerulean. The guard’s eyes dilated as he dropped to his stomach, screaming. He started to breathe shallowly.

“Star Spinner!” one of the other guards shouted, immediately running over. “Star Spinner, are you all right?”

Bumble huffed and puffed out of the rage he was feeling, but was beginning to calm down. Suddenly, he felt a fierce pound against the back of his head, knocking him unconscious.

“Enough of you!” the guard that smashed Bumble’s head shouted, breathing heavily.

Star Spinner, who was poking at his horn with his fore hooves, was now being lifted onto a gurney and was being carted off to the right side of the cave to the healing ward.

The guard who hit Bumble lifted him with his magic, walking him over to the tightest cage he could find. He set Bumble down and opened the cage, and then picked Bumble back up and, as forcefully as he possibly could, threw him into the cage. He slammed the door on the cage, and with a dark scowl, clenched his eyes.

“I’m going to make you regret ever having been born!” he claimed, turning and walking away.

Author's Notes:

Headcanon moment (inspired by a comment by a Mr. Chaptastic brony: If a changeling is fed excessive love, it starts to collect within a chamber exclusively found within the changeling anatomy, located directly below the changeling's heart. This chamber is essentially bottomless, allowing a great amount of love to build up without any consequence. Over the months, Bumble acquired a lot of excess love from Fluttershy, which built up. Along with the canon fact that children and especially foals have excessive magical bursts, the massive amount of love energy was released in the blast of energy that sheared off Star Spinner's horn. :D

Hey, did you like this? If so, give it a thumbs up and comment (if you wish to do so) about what you liked! If you didn't, dislike it and give some (constructive) criticism as to what you didn't like or thought was off! Enjoy your reading! :D

Chapter Seventeen: Star Spinner

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The Greatest Show of Kindness
Chapter Seventeen: Star Spinner

In Equestria, the day was turning to night. Most ponies were enjoying their evenings, whether they were having a lovely date with their loved one, basking in the beautiful, warm mixture of sunlight and moonlight, or feasting on a delectable meal. There was one unicorn, however, that was in the most mind-numbing pain he had ever felt in his life.

The solar guard known as Star Spinner was laying on a hospital gurney, tossing and turning like a bear caught in a trap. He rolled over continually, giving growling, labored groans of pain as sea-blue energy spiraled out in a flurry, just like the storm brewing within his heart.

Ever since his horn was blasted off by Bumble, something seemed to completely change in terms of morality for Star Spinner. The senseless violence, the inhumane insults and other verbal abuse, everything – it just suddenly made no sense to him, and it shocked him. These were the guards that he grew up knowing as his best friends, that never showed a speck of violence except on the playground when the bullies started to screw with them. Ever since the invasion, they were different, and this horrified him to no end.

There was something wrong, and he could sense it all around him – the negative energy and atmosphere all around him had somehow messed with his heart, influencing him, contaminating him, polluting him. He knew that he didn’t hate changelings, or any other creatures for that matter, but he had the insatiable distaste all of a sudden.

He liked to think of situations like this, as sparse as they were in his life, like a clock: There were so many cogs that needed to be fine tuned perfectly inside of the clock for it to work, but none of them were able to fit together, able to be fine tuned. Thus, the entire thing fell apart into a mishmash of disarray, and it just didn’t work. He thought it fit pretty well.

Sometime during the evening, he felt the urge to use the restroom, so he rolled over and slowly dropped himself off the soft mattress. As his hooves clopped onto the hard, crystalline floor, his head was being struck with sledgehammers made of rust right behind his eyeballs.

He gasped, little breath coming to him. For a few moments, he stood there, collecting his breath, lifting his hoof to his head. The pain was nearly unbearable; the urge to scream out of pain was greater than that of the sensation one gets by having their brain extracted through their ears and nose with a wide tablespoon.

After the pain had lessened, he limped his way over to the loo, of which was only half a furlong away. That short distance seemed like miles for him, but he trudged it out all the way there - a perilous journey - and went into one of the stalls. As he conducted his business, he could hear two other guards walking by.

“…found the changeling hive a couple days ago! I can’t believe we finally found that place. The badlands are so vast down there. It's just a barren sea of heat and rocks and misery.”

“Yeah."

“I hear that we actually managed to purge their queen from the hive! A magnificent, majestic victory for ponykind! I also heard that there’s a changeling princess with her.”

“A princess? Really? She must live an absolutely miserable life, having to live under the rule of such a witch. Not like it matters – she’s probably just like the queen. Nasty.”

“I just wonder what she had to do in the whole scheme of things. I haven’t heard of any changeling princess until you just told me.”

“She was probably watching behind the scene, laughing at our anguish. She must’ve been doing something.”

Listening in on this conversation, Star Spinner felt indifferent about what they were saying. He had his doubts that the changeling queen had actually been captured, but he’d been so out of things for the last couple months that anything could’ve been possible. What he could believe, though, was that she had a daughter.

“Who knows? Come on, let’s go get some food. I’m starving!”

“All right. Let’s go!”

With that, the two left, and less than a minute later, he heard the reverberating sound of the slamming trapdoor that lead into the cave. He finished up his duty in the restroom and began the ever so long, half-a-furlong trek back to his bed. On his slow trot, he struck a thought.

‘These guy’s attitudes must have some kind of correlation to Chrysalis. They only started being this hateful after the invasion; even towards the nastiest criminals, they weren’t this cruel. I need to figure this out. Ugh… tomorrow, though. I’m too tired.’

Eventually, he made his way back to his bed. The soft, fluffy feeling of the mattress was very welcome to him, and the cushiony, yet firm, pillow felt inviting. He rested his body on the cushions, giving a labored sigh.

For hours, he tried to fall asleep, but the intense pain in his head prevented him from doing so. Thus, he reached down into a small, leather sack on the side of the bed, pulling out a large, white bottle with the words “Toravline” sprawled all over the front.

Toravline was one of the strongest painkillers ever created in Equestria, strong enough to null the pain of the worst injuries. It was used a great amount in the last major war of Equestria, the 2nd Equestrian-Minotaur war, which was about one-hundred and fifty years before the present day. It was created by a Minotaur scientist, but the recipe found its way into Equestrian hooves, and they used this amazing painkiller to win the war by a landslide.

He gave a sigh of relief – the pain could go away at last. He pulled the cap off and poured three capsules out onto a table next to him, with a glass of water.

Setting the bottle aside, he put the three tablets into his mouth, slamming them down with the water. The taste left little to be desired – it was the bitterest taste, attacking his tongue with full force, like black coffee, radicchio and arugula, all blended together and multiplied by a trillion. The disgustingly warm water just made it all the more enjoyable, its tastelessness making him cringe in utter delight as it washed down his pain.

He set the glass of water back down on the table and capped the bottle of pain relievers, setting it back down into the bag. He rolled over to his side, letting his legs spread out comfortably over the bed. Slowly, the pain dimmed in his head, and sleep slowly called him into its warm embrace, giving him some sense of comfort in his pain.

Author's Notes:

Note: A furlong is a distance in horse racing equal to about 1/8 of a mile, or about 200m.

Another note: Upon deleting the update false-chapter thingy (never doing that again. I've learned my lesson), it deleted all the comments on that chapter as well, which is unfortunate, seeing as how there was something like 35 comments on there. I guess sometimes life just hands you a poop sandwich and you've just gotta roll with it.

For this chapter, I tried to take a certain Magic Man's advice and focus a bit more on the non-dialogue bits. Tell me if it works better or not!

Chapter Eighteen: A Severed Family

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The Greatest Show of Kindness
Chapter Eighteen: A Severed Family

The night passed to morning, and two royal changelings were laying down on hard stone floor. Rain smashed into the castle walls as it fell from the sky, making a clamorous commotion that rung in their ears. The cell was poorly lit, the only light coming from the gloomy outside.

Chryssy was upset at the fact that she was in this ice-cold prison, not having done anything. Taken from her home, without a trace of evil deeds on her hooves. She had a suppressor over her horn, and her wings were pressed and held down against her carapace with strong bindings. Shackles pinned her to the ground, giving very little range of motion. Her mother was in the same imprisoned position.

“Chryssy? Are you awake?” Chrysalis asked in a tiny whisper, observing her daughter, who laid on her side, facing away from her.

Chryssy’s very sensitive ears picked it up, but she didn’t respond. She sighed, looking through a tiny, barred window on the left wall of the dungeon cell. The rain was peering in through the window, creeping onto her mane and chitin. Rolling over, she gave a glance to her mother, but said nothing.

In her daughter's eyes, Chrysalis could see a deep lamenting sadness, singing a song of misery. Ever since she banished Bumble from the hive, Chryssy had a difficult time even thinking of her mother without getting upset, and now, they were stuck in a tiny, uncomfortable cell together. Chryssy felt that all of the blame was on her mother.

“Chryssy, please speak to me,” Chrysalis requested, putting a hoof over her daughter’s carapace. Chryssy growled lightly, tucking her head into her fore hooves.

“Why should I?” she shot, voice muffled. “I-I h-hate you,” she said. Chrysalis frowned deeply as she heard her daughter’s voice breaking.

“Chryssy, you’re still angry about that? You need to get over it! The past is in the past!”

“I don’t c-care! You kn-know they were innocent, but you sent them to their deaths anyway! I’ll never f-forgive you!”

“I didn’t know that they was innocent! Nevertheless, I had three eyewitnesses that claim they saw them committing treason!”

“How can you know that they weren’t lying!? You didn’t see it yourself!”

“It doesn’t matter! You weren’t even there!”

“Mother, those three tormented and beat Bumble up so many times! They hated him so much, and I don’t know why! They blamed Bumble and Flutter just to get rid of them, and you just don’t get it!”

By this point, Chryssy’s voice had risen to a shout, and tears rose to her eyes. She shook under her mother’s hoof, putting her mane over her eyes to block out her mother’s face from her eyes.

“Chryssy, they have been my court advisors-in-training for their entire lives! They’ve never once lied to me, and I don’t understand why you’re so insistent on believing so!”

“But, they hated him-“

“It doesn’t matter! Everyone has others who hate him or her. That’s a fact of life, and you must learn that!”

“Mother-“

“Silence! Your impudence has gone on long enough!”

With that phrase, Chryssy finally broke down. She slammed a fore hoof into the ground, letting out a loud, labored lament. She sobbed, tears streaming down her face and wetting her mane.

“Y-You just d-don’t understand a-anything about me…”

“What are you on about now?”

“You d-don’t g-get it, m-mother! Th-Th-They were my only f-friends, and they're gone now! All of the high in power changelings that you want me to be intimate with are all either jerks, uptight or unpleasant to be around! I just… I hate being a princess…”

“What are you saying to me, young lady?”

“I wish that I could’ve been hatched into a different family! One without you!”

When Chrysalis heard these words from Chryssy’s daughter’s mouth, see was fully speechless. All that she could do was gasp at those words. Her heart became a stormy sea, tossing and turning with every passing moment.

To hear such foolishness, such disrespect, such ignorance from her own daughter enraged her to no end. She was a princess, and she was completely lessening her role as the monarch-to-be.

The other feeling she had was much worse. Her heart was like a priceless antique passed down from generation to generation for hundreds of years, and it was now broken, shattered all over. Tears filled her eyes, threatening to be released. For the countless arguments that she and her daughter had over the past months, never once did she say that she did not want to include herself within the royal family. These words tore her from the inside out.

For a couple of weeks after Bumble’s banishment, Chryssy completely shut out her mother from her life. Once she did begin talking to Chrysalis again, there were no friendly words exchanged, and the level of anger rose and rose every single day it continued. Every word had a tone of hostility to it. It was like they were two different warring countries, and they were launching countless missiles at each other, causing immense damage to the landscapes of their emotions. It only got worse as time went on.

“Ch-Chryssy… How could you say such a thing!? You are a princess, and you are unappreciative of the wonderful things that you have been given in life!”

By this point, Chryssy’s anger was sprouting outward. It leeched off of her, surrounding her entire being. She scrunched her face and bared her fangs behind her unkempt make; staggered breathing ensued. She stood up and faced her mother, letting her see the light glisten from her fangs. Full rage boiled over.

“Yes, I am unappreciative, because I never wanted anything that I have! No amount of money or physical possessions can change the fact that I am completely miserable living as a princess with a mother who doesn’t care about my feelings, who doesn’t care about anybody other than herself or anything other than her own possessions!”

“Chryssy-“

“Never mind the fact that she is completely content with mindlessly killing her own subjects without any reason other than her juvenile court advisers claim that they saw them committing treachery! Nor does she care about the fact that two of the fully innocent changelings she killed were her daughter’s only friends in the vague existence she lives in, one of them being the boy she loved most!”

“I would rather live and die in poverty’s cold embrace than under the collapsed roof of royalty, where I would have to survive every single day living under the rubble of responsibility! I will tolerate you no longer!”

Chrysalis stared at her daughter, unable to comprehend her words. Was it the inability to comprehend her talk, or the sinking feeling in her stomach telling her that what she thought was going to happen was going to happen? She blinked a couple of times.

“Princess Chrysalis II of the Obsidian changeling hive, what are you saying to me?”

“I hereby, from this day forward, abdicate my role as Princess to the heir of the Obsidian throne. As my final act of royalty, I formally emancipate from the royal family, and, therefore, revoke my title as Princess of the throne.”

"You cannot do that! You may not do that! I will not let you commit such… such… travesties!”

“Oh? I already have."

With that, Chryssy turned herself around and plopped herself back down to a laying position. A hearty “hmph!” sound bounced off the walls of the cell, hitting Chrysalis’ ears with the emotional force of an atomic bomb.

“Chryssy-“

“Enough from you two!” a loud voice shouted. A wall of sound slammed into the wall in front of their cell, surprising Chrysalis and barely phasing Chryssy.

“Huh?” Chryssy murmured, turning her head.

From around the door leading into the dungeon came Princess Luna, sparkling mane and tail flowing in the nonexistent wind. Chryssy didn’t respond, and Chrysalis tried to put on her best poker face, but found that Chryssy’s words were too bearing on her emotions. The tears that had collected in her eyes started to leak onto her cheeks. She shut her eyes as tightly as she possibly could to stop the tears, but couldn’t.

“You two have clashed thine tongues much too long!” Luna voiced, walking to the front of their cell. “Especially you, young one,” she said, her voice softening.

“I was just speaking my mind. I-“ Chryssy started.

“Silence! Thy tongue is too sharp for thy own ability to speak!” Luna interrupted, clearly frustrated. Chryssy shut up after that. “You two hath speech unfathomable for family! We listened to thine verbal warfare from within the hallway, but could not understand everything thou said. What is it that troubles the both of thine hearts so?”

“I-I refuse to speak to you,” Chrysalis responded with a break in her voice.

“Very well. Dost thou have anything to say to us, child?”

“Will you listen to what my answer is?”

“I asked thee not of a question in response. I asked thee what it is that troubles thy heart.”

“My mother doesn’t believe or understand anything that I say to her.”

“What dost thee mean?”

“A few months ago, right after the invasion, she summoned my only two friends to the court to be tried for treason. No matter how many times I told her that they were being falsely accused, she didn’t listen to a word I said and executed both of them, right in front of me! They were my only friends, and she doesn’t understand how lonely I am! I don’t have any incentive to continue living like this, and I certainly don’t want to live with a mother who just doesn’t care about anything but herself and her possessions!”

Luna laid down to Chryssy’s level and gave her a gentle stare. Chryssy turned her head to see a deep frown on the lunar goddess’ face. Tears were once again on the verge of falling, so Luna got close to the jail cell and put a hoof on Chryssy's head as softly as she could.

“We fully understand thee, child. We know the feeling of having dismay towards thy family, a sense that We regrettably have had experience with. Hast thou heard of the tale of 'Nightmare Moon?'”

“Of course.”

“We were Nightmare Moon. We allowed the hatred and envy towards my sister to consume ourselves, and it cost us everything – our possessions, our friends, and our very own sister. We can relate to the feeling of thine, and it pains us so that a child as young as theeself feels this way towards thy mother. How old art thee?”

“I’m nine-years-old.”

“Thou art much younger than We were when We were banished to the moon, and thus, We can’t fathom the difficulty of thy position. We imagine it to be a terrible pain in the heart.”

“You wouldn’t be able to understand the intensity.”

“Most likely not.We do understand one thing, though: You two must figure out a way to fix thine relationship, lest thou become polluted with hatred like We were all those years ago.”

Luna stood up from her laying position, giving a small, hopeful smile to the two changelings. She eyed both of them individually before speaking.

“A pair of royal guards will return in three hours to bring thee into the court. I suggest thou calmeth thineselves before then.”

With that, Luna exited the dungeon block. Chryssy rolled to her side and put her hooves under her head in a pillow-like fashion in order to fall asleep. She closed her eyes in wait of going in front of the court.

In the small cottage just outside Ponyville, Fluttershy was packing a saddlebag with small bags of bits and rabbit food in preparation for her trip to Canterlot. After finishing, she slung the saddlebag over her side and opened her front door. After exiting the abode, she found Angel, her white bunny friend gnawing on a carrot from a small garden on the side.

“Angel Bunny?” she asked softly.

The rabbit looked up at her with an eyebrow raised. She almost always told him in advance if she was taking a trip, so he knew that she had a request. He raised one eyebrow and gave a soft chitter.

“I want you to come with me to Canterlot. I have an important job for you.”

Angel gave a soft nod, finishing off the carrot he was holding. Discarding the root of the carrot, he hopped over to her and into her mane, peering over the top of her head.

“Good boy, Angel.”

With newfound courage and determination in her heart that she never felt before, she began her trek to the Ponyville train station.

“I’m going to save my baby boy!”

Chapter Nineteen: Sigh-Filled Conflict

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The Greatest Show of Kindness
Chapter Nineteen: Sigh-Fiilled Conflict

As Fluttershy walked through the small stretch of woods between her cottage and Ponyville, she immediately knew what her strategy for getting through town would be. The only thought that ran through her mind was confrontation, as she had the sinking feeling in her heart and stomach that her “friends” were going to try and talk to her and convince her not to save her precious baby boy. She had already spent a couple of hours just thinking about a list of different scenarios that could happen.

Hopefully, she could get through the town without much confrontation from the five ponies. After what happened the previous night, she was incredibly reluctant to meet them. She had a plan in case it did happen, however: Start out with her normal passive-aggressive attitude, and if she need to, attack each of their elements. Rainbow Dash and her ‘loyalty’, Pinkie Pie and her ‘laughter’, Rarity and her ‘generosity’, Applejack and her ‘honesty’, and Twilight and her ‘magic of friendship.’ Each of them had betrayed the critical trait that made them the ponies they were, and she was going to make sure that they knew it if they pushed her.

She was a bit of a hypocrite in this situation, as she knew that the hard truths she was about to lay down would be smackdowns on all five of them, and not in the least bit kind. She knew in her heart, though, that to save Bumble, she would have to do this.

When she thought a little harder about it, Fluttershy came to the realization that on top of acting against their characters, her “friends” were acting strangely hateful. She understood that they would have a dislike for the creatures, but for them to spark such intense hatred towards them… She knew that something was wrong.

Very, very wrong.

She had a quick flashback to earlier that morning, at about seven o’ clock, when she went to the jailhouse to go and break Bumble out. She went so early because she knew that it was before most ponies would be awake, and she would likely not be seen.

She looked frantically and frustratedly through the jail cells, and she saw a lone guard doing his rounds through the holdings. She froze immediately, hoping that he wouldn’t see her.

Of course, this failed, and he approached her.

“Hey! What are you doing in here!” he yelled to her, coming closer.

“Um… good morning, sir. I’m looking for a changeling that I saw being brought in here… He’s very young and sweet, and I was wondering where he was,” Fluttershy asked, hiding behind her mane.

“Oh, I believe that I met that changeling. Small, nervous, a bit jittery? About yay tall?” he replied, putting his hoof to his front knee, about three feet from the ground.

“Yes, that describes him perfectly! Where is he?”

“He’s in Canterlot.”

Fluttershy’s mouth dropped, tears forming in her eyes.

“In Canterlot!? Why!?”

“He didn’t pass the individual interrogation, so he was sent up there for more… intense questioning. I’m sorry, Miss Fluttershy. If I could’ve prevented it, I would’ve, but Captain Shining Armor gave the green-light to send him up to Canterlot.”

“Why would Shining Armor do something like that? He seemed so nice at the wedding!”

“I don’t know, Miss. If you get to Canterlot before one o’ clock, you should probably be able to get there before any kind of harshness plays out.”

“Oh, my goodness! That means I need to get my things ready! Thank you, sir! I’m in your debts!”

With that, Fluttershy began her gallop back to her home, but before she got far, the lone guard shouted out at her.

“Hey! I’ll meet you at the train station!” he cried, making her stop and listen. “I have some things to tell Princess Celestia about some suspicions that I have about this whole thing.”

“Okay!”

As she walked into the very outskirts of town, Fluttershy was immediately stopped by Rainbow Dash, who landed right in front of her.

‘Here we go already,’ Fluttershy thought, giving an exasperated sigh.

“Hey, Fluttershy! What’s up?” Rainbow Dash greeted, taking a step closer to her Pegasus counterpart.

“Oh, hello, Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy said, walking past Rainbow Dash and further into town. She felt a hoof on her right shoulder before looking back.

“Hey, listen. How are ya doing?”

Fluttershy’s anger had already started to rise. Every single time she thought of the events of the night before made her blood boil.

“You know, after last night, I’m not feeling very well.”

“You’re not? I thought that we got rid of that changeling’s magic!”

“No, it’s not about Bumble right now. It’s about how you betrayed me.”

The toxicity within that last phrase hit Rainbow Dash harder than a brick.

“B-Betrayed? Flutters, we saved you! Who knows what the changeling would’ve done to you if we didn’t it out of there!”

“Rainbow Dash, you didn’t listen to a single thing that I said! That changeling is the sweetest, most loving little boy in the whole world, and you cast everything aside, including my friendship, just to ruin his life!”

Fluttershy’s sudden rush of anger was very surprising to Rainbow Dash. Why was she defending the changeling? Was she not at the wedding?

“Fluttershy, why are you putting up for that nasty bug? He was probably part of the invasion! He helped hurt Cadence and-“

“I don’t care about that right now! He’s my baby boy! I need to save him, and you will not stop me from protecting him!”

By this point, Rainbow Dash was physically preventing Fluttershy from moving forward by crossing her legs with Fluttershy’s, making it so that if Fluttershy moved, she would trip and fall. Fluttershy herself was trying to calm herself, but found herself becoming angrier and also confused that Rainbow Dash would be so hell-bound to stop her.

“Rainbow Dash, please, let me go. I have to save him; he’s completely innocent!”

“Fluttershy, he’s just a changeling! It’s not like he has more meaning than-“

“Rainbow Dash!”

The sheer force of Fluttershy’s scream made Rainbow Dash recoil away from her, her eyes widening. The frustration… no, the ire in her eyes was unlike anything she’d ever seen before, like an even greater level than her infamous stare.

“I don’t care that you don’t like changelings, and you will not hold me away from Bumble! Why are you being such a traitor to me and my feelings!?”

Rainbow Dash just stood there, staring forward, shocked and hurt at Fluttershy’s words. She was no traitor! She was the most loyal pony this side of Canterlot!

“Fluttershy, I-“ she started, but just frowned when she saw that Fluttershy had already galloped all the way into Ponyville by then.

“Oh, mane…”

As Fluttershy made her way through Ponyville to the trains station on the opposite side of the town, she sighed as she saw Applejack at a market stand with both Big McIntosh and Apple Bloom. It looked like a relatively slow morning out, and the marketplace was pretty desolate, with only five or six ponies out doing shopping.

‘Okay, just make it through, Fluttershy. You can do this. Just canter on-‘

“Howdy, Fluttershy!” Applejack yelled, motioning for Big Mac to take over the stand for her. Fluttershy once again sighed as her second “friend” trotted over to her.

“Uh… Hi, Applejack. What do you want?” she replied, a tinge of rudeness remaining from her encounter with Rainbow Dash.

“Sugarcube, is everythin’ alright? How’re ya doin’ after yesterday?” Applejack asked, putting her left fore hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder.

“I’m… okay, I suppose,” she lied, trying a different strategy. “I’m just trying to… get some exercise.”

“Some exercise, huh? With yer pet rabbit?” Applejack bemused, suspicion and doubt rolling onto her face.

“Well, I decided that he might like to get out and have some fresh air.”

“Then, why do ya have saddle bags on that smell like kibble?”

“It’s to weigh me down, so I can… you know… get the most out of it.”

“Look, Ah know that yer lyin’ t’ me, Fluttershy. Where’re ya headed to?”

“I don’t believe that it is in your business to know where I’m going right now, Applejack. Please, let me go.”

By this point, Fluttershy’s frustration was almost at the same point that it was with Rainbow Dash. Why did everypony have to hold her hostage? Don’t they even have a little bit of regret or empathy for her after what happened last night?

“Sugar, just be honest with me! What’re ya-“ Applejack started, but was cut off when Fluttershy shoved her hoof off of her shoulder.

“Be honest? Why don’t you be honest? You’re the one who lied to me yesterday,” Fluttershy spat, taking a step back. Applejack’s mouth was agape, and she truthfully had no idea what her Pegasus friend was talking about.

“What’re ya talkin’ about? Ah would never lie to you! Ya know that!”

“No, Applejack. I knew that up until last night. You lied to me and betrayed me!”

“Wha!? Ah never did anything of the sort!”

“Oh, really? I remember you saying that you were only doing it for ‘my safety,’ and that ‘I would realize that he was just mind-controlling me,’ or things like those! Well, if it wasn’t clear enough to you, nothing you said was true in the slightest! C-Couldn’t you s-see my tears, or hear my c-cries?”

“Fluttershy, everythin’ I said was the truth! You’re much safer now than yesterday! He was controlling’ you, Ah just know it!”

“Can’t you tell that I love that little boy!? His safety is my safety! He’s not even eight years-old! He can’t use magic, especially not mind-control magic! You just want to lie to make yourself feel better about what you did! There’s no point in trying to talk to you!”

With that, Fluttershy galloped off, rejecting everything that Applejack was saying. Was it all a lie? Was all this just a lie? These were not her friends! Her friends were loving, compassionate mares who would’ve listened to what she had to say, and would’ve definitely realized that Bumble wasn’t evil! Were this “Applejack” and this “Rainbow Dash” changelings as well? Her reality was slowly collapsing.

Fluttershy was galloping so fast and was thinking so hard that she didn’t even realize how fast she was going, speeding right past Pinkie Pie and Rarity. They both tried to yell out to her, but Fluttershy didn’t hear them.

Fluttershy quickly made her way to the train station, where she met the guard that she had met that morning. She stopped in front of him, gasping for breath. He looked at her, taking a step forward.

“Hey, are you alright?” he asked.

“Y… Yeah. Just… wanted to… get here sooner. I’m fine,” she huffed, letting her chest heave downwards.

“Well, that’s good. You’re early. The train doesn’t depart until 10:45, and it’s 10:39,” he informed, looking up to the clock.

“Oh… okay. How are you?”

“I’m doing well right now. I don’t think that I properly introduced myself to you. My name is Word Twister, and I’m a private of the Solar Royal Guard.”

“I’m Fluttershy.”

“Oh? It’s a sure pleasure to meet the Element of Kindness!”

Word Twister lifted up Fluttershy’s fore hoof and kissed it, causing a deep blush on Fluttershy’s face. He smiled slightly at her adorable red cheeks.

“A-And it’s nice to meet you, too, Private Word Twister. Is the train ready to board?”

“In a minute or two. I’ve already bought the tickets.”

Word Twister handed Fluttershy her ticket, and then, the two sat down at the side of the train door for a few minutes until the conductor shouted, “All aboard!” Word Twister first got on, taking his seat to the left of the door. As Fluttershy started into the train, she heard a yell from behind her.

“Fluttershy!”

She turned her head to see Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie all running up to her.

‘Oh, what now?’ she thought, sighing.

“What do you want now?” she interrogated, annoyed that she must, once again, tell her friends to stop trying to convince her against saving Bumble.

“Please, listen to us!” Twilight yelled, taking a step forward. “We think that you’re making a big mistake!”

“Yes, I already know. You think the changeling is controlling my mind and that I’m in serious danger. I get it. I do not care. Leave me alone!” Fluttershy demanded, growling.

“Darling, please! That dastardly changeling is going to absolutely ruin you if-“ Rarity started, but was cut off when Fluttershy aggressively stamped her hoof.

“No, none of you understand anything! Know anything! You can’t say that he’s going to ruin me, because you don’t know him! If anything, you’re the one’s that are ruining me!” she screamed, making sure that all of them knew that she was speaking to the entire group.

“What!? How am I ruining you?” Pinkie Pie cried, looking very hurt. Fluttershy had high tolerance to annoying things, but she couldn’t hold in her steam anymore, so she exploded.

“Pinkie Pie, I haven’t cried more or been sadder in my entire life than in the last day, and I’m sure that changeling whose life you’re trying to take away and destroy would say the exact same thing! How do you call yourself the ‘Element of Laughter,’ when you’re just bringing a rain of tears from me and Bumble!?” Fluttershy raged back, shocking Pinkie Pie and leaving her speechless.

“Darling, I believe you’re being-“ Rarity tried.

“Oh, I’m not done. Rarity, why did you take part in taking Bumble away from me? What could you have gained from it? I see nothing that would’ve benefited you!”

“Why, I was simply trying to help!”

“The only thing that I saw you help to do was to fuel your own greed so that you wouldn’t feel the guilt of not joining in!”

“What!?”

“Rainbow Dash, Applejack, you two aren’t even worth my words anymore, so I’ll go straight to you, Twilight. What kind of-“

“Fluttershy, stop! You don’t need to-“

“Do not interrupt me! You stole my little baby boy away from me, even after I told you that he wasn’t bad! You are trying to make him suffer for no reason! The last time I checked, a friend wouldn’t try to steal her friend’s child away from her for no reason! What kind of ‘friend’ are you supposed to be?”

“This is so unlike all of you that I think that all of you are changelings, as well, but not the kind that Bumble is. I think that you’re the evil kind of changelings, the kind that want to ruin other's lives!”

“Excuse me, miss?”

Fluttershy nearly slammed her hoof into the conductor’s face when he said that to her, but she stopped short.

“What?” she said, calming herself enough to not scream at him.

“The train departs now,” he informed, shrinking down under her anger

“Oh, okay. Thank you.”

With that, she didn’t even bother to say anything else to the five accused mares and just boarded the train without a single other word. She took her seat next to Word Twister and just sighed. Outside, she could hear Twilight telling the conductor to let her and her friends in, but he denied them because of the lack of tickets.

“Hey, are you alright?” Word Twister asked to Fluttershy, rubbing her foreleg.

“I guess so. I’m just tired now,” she said, laying down.

“Do you want any water or anything?”

“No, thank you.”

As the train departed and started to roll off to Canterlot, Fluttershy took a moment to think about the recent conversation. She really lost herself when she yelled at them. In fact, she wasn’t even sure whether to think that she was just being angry at her friends, or whether the same influence that was controlling them had suddenly taken over her, as well.

Was she a changeling herself? Was she as bad as them for yelling at them in such a rage?

Either way, she was still going to get to Canterlot, save her little Bumble, and get to the bottom of why they were all acting so hateful towards the changelings.

Chapter Twenty: Caught

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The Greatest Show of Kindness
Chapter Twenty: Caught

Star Spinner awoke in the hospital ward of the caverns, a giant headache rocking his head like a hurricane. His eyes were bloodshot and red, sleep eluding him from the previous night. The intense magical tornado had died down by then, merely leaving a couple small sparks.

The first thing that shot into his mind was the little changeling that sheared his horn and how terribly the other guards treated not only him, but also every other changeling. He told himself that he would get to the bottom of this issue, and he thought that Bumble would be able to help.

He had a plan to get through this, and he hoped that it would be sufficient.

Rolling out of the bed, he landed on the floor. Luckily, this time, he didn’t have the sensation of his eyeballs literally exploding, but he did still wince. A mixture of a powdered form of the painkiller he’d taken the night before, Toravline, and water soon found its way being guzzled down his throat. A satisfied sigh escaped from Star’s mouth.

Star hobbled off in the direction of Bumble, the pain dimming instantly from the nasty tasting mixture. He passed by multiple guards making their rounds, tipping his head in false respect for his fellow guards.

He came up to the main room of the cavern, where the entrance was located, and found most of the ranks lined up before an earth pony in big, spiky, light-orange armor. The earth pony looked his way, nodding at Star. One of his brows was raised as he noticed Star’s horn.

“Prahvate Star Spinner, you are late!” he shouted, the loudness of the sound causing Star Spinner’s headache to return.

“I-I understand that, Sergeant Shell Cracker. I-“

“Be sahlent and join th’ ranks!”

“…Yes, sir!” Star Spinner trotted over to his spot amongst the lined up soldiers, standing himself as tall as he could.

“Attention, Prahvates! We’re expectin' four shipments from Manehatt’n, Balt’mare and Las Pegasus today! They are to be intercepted and brought int’ the far-west caves! The changelin's already here are to be brought to the undersahde at exactly one-thousand and thirty hours! Other than that, y’all 're slackers! Get to filin' yer reports, stat!”

“Yes, sir!” Everypony saluted and began to go in different directions.

At the mention of the “underside,” Star locked up. One of his eyes twitched. He envisioned a ruin, filled with spikes, rusted metal and fire, all lashing out in their automated power.

‘Why in the world would Shell Cracker want to send changelings to the underside? That place is filled with ancient traps! He wouldn’t actually want to-‘

A horrifying realization came upon Star Spinner as hard as a tree falling.

‘He’s going to destroy the changelings!?’

With this terrible awareness in his senses, he waited for all of the guards to disperse. He knew that he would have to act fast in order to figure out what was wrong with everypony and save the changelings, but before he could act and get Bumble, Shell Cracker approached him.

“Prahvate Spinner!”

“Yes, sir!”

“What happened t’ yer horn, private? Did one of ‘em buggers get ya!?”

‘What do I say? How should I-‘ Star Spinner thought, multiple beads of sweat dripping down his face. Shell Cracker’s thick, southern accent intimidated him very much.

“Spinner! Answer me immediately! Did one of the changelings harm ya?”

“Yes!”

Star Spinner blurted that word without even a thought. A wave of guilt suddenly washed over him as he put a hoof to his mouth, holding in a gasp. He couldn’t believe that he had just said that, and he felt like an idiot. He did not want to let Shell Cracker know that he was on the side of the changelings, so he coughed.

“Which one of 'em did this to you!?” he shouted, stamping a hoof in absolute anger. Star Spinner gulped nervously, an icy chill running down his spine. He knew he had to think quickly.

“I don’t know! They all look the same to me, sir.”

“Well then, in that case, Ah’ll have t’ punish each and every one of those nasty varmints! Ah’ll be back in fahve minutes!” Shell said, turning his back and walking towards the eastern caves. In his mind’s eye, he thought back to his plan, and this was an opportune moment to act on it.

“I have one question, sir.”

“What is it?”

“What time is it?”

“It’s one-thousand and six hours, soldier. Now, get to yer report!”

“Yes, sir.”

Shell Cracker continued walking on his way, and Star Spinner grinned as his plan fell into place. He was figuring that he himself would have to come up with a distraction for the other guards to do, but that step was efficiently knocked out by Shell. Now, he was the only pony soul in the room, and his plan could now be begun. He looked over to the caged changelings over to his right flank and trotted over.

Meanwhile, Bumble was laying in his cage. He could feel his connection with Fluttershy dwindling ever so slightly, and this scared him senseless. It had been only a day and a half since he was taken from her, but the strain that caused on his heart was great. It felt just like after he lost Flutter.

He felt a longing he had never felt before in his life. He couldn’t help but remember an old lullaby his hatch-mother sung to him every single night when he was a baby. He heard his mother’s voice speak to him in his heart.

"Well, my little snuggle-bug, it’s time to go to bed now," she would say. "Would you like me to sing you a lullaby?" He would nod happily every single night, and she would sing to him in her beautiful voice until he fell asleep.

‘Even if some of my emotions are to remain in this world,

That one whispered word from you is like a flower.

While I was confused, a miracle on the path of my dreams appeared.

“Welcome,” he cooed gently, extending out his hooves in aid

The spells piled on and twisted together,

Were shaken and untangled.

Toward that unchanged bond, you have leaded me far.

Even if all that was remaining in this world were my lost emotions,

There was always one light that lit my world—and that was you.’

Bumble was starting to cry at this point—the soft voice bounced around in his head, and endless memories sprung up of him and his mother.

‘I was very hurt, and my lonely heart needed to be ascertained.

“What a vague existence,” I recalled, yet you only laughed.

In the many dancing flower petals,

It looked like you belonged.

The pale of your fleeing face led me to the now.

Even if, after this, some tears flow out of my wary, tired eyes,

At least, in the end, I’ll understand your smile in my dreams.’

Bumble remembered his first day of school. Immediately as he arrived, his mother said, “Well, I hope you have a wonderful first day of school, my little snuggle-bug,” and nuzzled him. He could sense the blush on his four year-old face as she left him, and he entered the building.

Not even a minute in, he met three middleclassman changelings—Spinner, Strider and Ambrosia—and they hazed him. They told him that he wasn’t a “real changeling” if he couldn’t go and pick a fight with a middleclassman female changeling, which was something of a common opening ritual for new male students in the military school.

Of course, he wouldn’t do it. Just the thought of hurting another without any provocation or another reason was foreign to his innocent, young mind. He denied, and thus began a day of utter hell for the young child, filled with teasing and physical harassment. He was hit in the side, smacked across the face, slammed on the top of the head for what felt like an eternal ten hours. “Weakling” and “coward,” they called him.

When he got home from school that day, he couldn’t help but jump into his bed and cry until his mother finished her day of work at her market stall, where she sold jewelry. She returned a half-hour later and saw how broken down he was, and just cradled him until he was consoled. When she asked him what happened, he only said that it wasn’t a big deal. No matter how much she tried to pry the information out of him, he wouldn’t give in—he was just too scared of what would happen to him if he did. She cradled him until he fell asleep.

‘Inside the endless slow of this sensation,

I’m sure there’s an impulse stirring up in my heart.

Within this endless strife, there’s a single, unwavering flower,

That will modestly bloom into full.

Even if the scenery of life may already be drawn for us,

We will still be able to reach the petals in the sky.

We’re able to go.

Even if this world was completely engulfed in my feelings and thoughts,

There was always one light that lit my world—and that was you.

While I was confused, the warmth of our connected hooves,

Was the sign that I could faintly see to the future.’

All of the memories of Bumble being cradled, nuzzled and loved by Flutter, all the times she showed him just how much she felt for him melted away into the scene of Queen Chrysalis killing her. Bumble broke into a full sob.

Star Spinner observed each changeling to see which one was the one who saved him from his evil ways. All over, they looked the same—holes in their legs, perforated insect wings and giant fangs; however, he saw that one’s fang was chipped and wing was folded. He knew that changeling had to be the one. When he saw Bumble crying, he became concerned.

“Hey, you,” he softly said, kneeling down to the little bug. Bumble nearly jumped out of his sob and daze, pushing against the back of the cage in fear. "Are you all right?"

“Get back!” Bumble desperately cried, forcing his head against the side of the cage.

“Please, be quiet! I’m going to get you out of here!” Star hastily said, looking for the lock on the cage.

“You’re going to… break me out? Why?” Bumble seemed to become a bit less tense as the guard searched the cage.

“You were able to somehow save me from my internal demon, and I owe you a whole lot for it, little guy.” He noticed that the lock was on the bottom of the cage at the backside, so he went over and pulled out a pocket knife.

“Wait… are you the pony that I hurt?”

“Yeah, but it’s alright. You saved me, so now I’m returning the favor.” After fumbling around with trying to pick the lock with his knife, he just slashed it off. The sound of soft rattling rung in the corner of the room, and the door of the cage flew open. He sheathed his blade, walking back over to the front of the cage.

“But, aren’t you going to help any of these other changelings?”

“Well, for just this moment, you’re my priority.”

After he said that, Star felt such guilt. He felt selfish for putting his feelings for one of the changelings over the others, but he did feel that he had a debt to pay to Bumble. He took a deep breath. “C’mon, little guy. Let’s get you out of there.” He extended a hoof towards Bumble and a few awkward moments arose.

“…Are you going to help me out of here?”

“My hoof is there. Grab it!”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m blind, so you’re going to need to help me.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Here.”

Star Spinner softly extended his hoof under Bumble’s bum leg, making sure not to apply too much pressure. Using gentle force, he put his other hoof under Bumble’s other hoof and pulled him out of the cage.

Once out, Star helped Bumble stand up, holding his bad hoof softly. “You got it?”

“Yeah. Thanks, Mister…”

“My name’s Star Spinner, bud.” He smiled inwardly.

“Okay, Mr. Spinner.” Bumble grinned up at where the voice came from. “I’m Bumble.”

‘He’s a cute little kid, gotta give him that.’

“Let’s go. I’ll move your bad hoof on the count of three, okay?” Bumble nodded at Star, who counted, “One, two, three.” Exactly as told, the three moved forward a step with each hoof. “One, two, three.” Once again, they moved in rhythm.

The three continued to move toward the trap door, and Bumble could just feel love energy radiating from Star, and only being next to him made him feel full.

The two had already made their way to the exiting end of the cave, and Star was trying to figure out how he was going to get them out of there. He looked between their escape route and Bumble. He felt compunction wash over him as he decided that their priority was getting out of there. He frowned and went back to his task.

After another minute of Star Spinner having trouble hopelessly trying to climb the wall, the realization that he had no way to get out in his current state dawned on him. Not that it mattered, anyway, as Shell Cracker came back into the room. Star Spinner heard the clacking of Shell’s hooves on the ground.

Star panicked, jumping off his back hooves as hard as he could to gain as much height as possible. It was all for naught, as Shell galloped up.

“Hey, what’dya think yer doin’? Stop!”

Star landed on the ground, not turning to face Shell. He gulped; he knew he’d been caught.

‘Dang it! Why couldn’t I figure it out?’

“Hmm… It looks like we’ve got a traitor on our hooves.” Shell cracked a small, wicked grin as he grasped Star by the shoulders, turning him towards him. “Oh, I’m gonna beat yer-“

Shell Cracker couldn’t finish that phrase as Bumble rammed his horn into his side. He gasped, losing his breath, a wave of pure rage shooting through him. He turned towards Bumble, who stood with his fangs bared, and a deep, throaty growl and hiss arising.

“You will not hurt my friend,” he growled, pulling back his fore hoof.

“You’re going to regret that, you insolent worm!” Shell shouted, lunging backwards away from Bumble. He drew his blade from its sheath before shooting back forward.

Suddenly, Bumble remembered a skill he’d been taught in his year and a half of military school. He clicked his tongue, sending a wave of sound throughout the room. In his vision, he could see a quick flash of the room around him, allowing him effectively to sense Shell’s movements—echolocation. He lifted his bad hoof and used his other three to jump to the side, behind Star, causing Shell to miss Bumble and stumble forward.

Shell turned back around, giving a loud yell as he brandished his sword. Quickly Star pulled out his miniature knife in attempt to chance his overseer’s strike.

“Why’re you protectin’ that l’il cretin, Star Spinner? Answer me!”

“Because your problem isn’t with him, it’s with me! If anything, you should be angry at me for trying to escape with him! Punish me instead!”

For a moment, Shell thought about it. He could reprimand either of them, or even…

Both of them.

He sheathed his blade, giving a little chuckle. He took two sets of hoofcuffs, slamming one around Star’s and the other around Bumble’s. Bumble winced at the sudden pressure of his bad hoof, but he held in his cry.

He galloped to the barracks, and in a half-minute, he came back with six guards, each of which had lances drawn.

“You six take these morons up to the princesses. They’re no better than the dang changeling queen.” The six each nodded with no haste, one of them opening the hatch of the caves. Quickly Star and Bumble were lifted up out of the hole, as the guards were teleported out. Once they were all up, the sound of Shell Cracker’s maniacal laugh could be heard as the turf slammed back down, sealing the entrance.

They then began to push the two towards their fate.

Author's Notes:

Sorry for the really long wait this time, guys. Ever since school started, I've been having to adjust to taking college level classes, and it really took my motivation to write away from me. However, in the meantime, mean and a friend of mine, reflective vagrant, have been working on a new story together called, "My Little Pony: The Millennium Battle of the Demons," so that would also explain where my attention has been focused. Once again, sorry for the wait. :I

Big thanks to Gdenofa for helping me to organize the ideas for this chapter!

The lyrics of Flutter's lullaby are my own translated lyrics from a Japanese song called, "a-Live" by Team.Nekokan. If you want to listen to it, this is the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MrQDgRuY78&index=12&list=PLXkYa2jaQnKx_ymuyfytAST-KJf9ZjGUu

Update (A Word from the Author)

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Hello all! This is Sonik here, after more than two and a half years of complete radio silence.

I'm bringing this message today to explain what why I stopped writing this story.

Basically, it's because I really just dislike what I made this story. I liked the premise of the story, but there was no way that I was equipped with the creativity and writing skills necessary to come out with a well-functioning, well-written story. Especially after reading the great Magic Man's review of the story, I think the way I wrote the story felt generic, and the characters, after rereading it, are one-sided and bland compared to what I originally wanted.

Plus, after my mom died in 2015, with tomorrow (April 29) being the two-year anniversary, I just lost all motivation in life. Every day was a struggle to find any semblance of meaning for several months. My motivation for life eventually came back as I graduated from high school last year and got accepted into the college I wanted to go into in, but it didn't come back to me for writing.

All said, I have no intention of ever continuing this story, or ever writing fanfiction again. I've simply moved on in my life.

However, I wanted to open this story up. If anyone wants to take this story and rewrite it, go ahead. Maybe you can take this garbage and turn it into a radiant jewel of a story. In fact, I'd be thrilled to see a rewrite of this. I'm just not going to be the one to do it. If anyone does want to rewrite it and does, please send me a link to the story.

Thank you all very much.

Regards,

Sonik