> Green Flame Casts the Same Shadow > by ImpossibleReflection > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Of Flames and Shadows > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Celestia looked at the paper, it was a poem. She did enjoy the occasional poetry, so she decided to read it, as a small respite from the other political jargon of pointless noble arrogance and greed. She poured the now cold tea into a cup, and warmed it as easily as one would blink. She then began to read. Once upon a time not long ago A town had paranoia that did show They knew there were changelings, feeding on love They prayed to the princesses in the castle above Soon the Princesses sent aid to the town A platoon of guards had been sent down They marched in, armed and in armor In hopes for the changelings to be no more The guards patrolled the streets night and day Unlike expected, the fears did not go away A new fear has arisen, of the guards they had wanted They rarely showed any emotion, and then only hatred The changelings in the town were trying to survive With the guards, changelings where starting to starve Many had left, and there were few that had died Thrown into a hole, a funeral where no one had cried. A few changelings did still stay Hoping the guards would go away Life was still difficult, some couldn’t leave Some still did well, though it’s hard to believe However, late one night, a disaster occurred, From the nearby forest, a wolf pack had stirred And came wandering to the town, looking for food The soldiers tried to run them off, strong they stood The size of the pack was larger than expected Soon the two forces met and conflicted Discord smiled upon the strife of the town And soon the soldiers were scattered aroun’ It was by chance that a guard had been cornered By a trio of wolves that saw him and hungered The guard in a previous fight, was left without weapon The wolves, with lust in their eyes, encroached upon The guard just laid there, all his hope lost A new contender arrived, something he expected least From the adjacent house, a changeling emerged From adrenaline and panic, left undisguised The guard saw the changeling, poised and ready to attack But not towards him, instead at the hungry wolf pack The changeling’s horn was soon engulfed in flame At a wolf, the changeling launched a blast of the same The wolf ignited, and in panic and fear fled From this the remaining two wolves were angered They approached intending to fill their gullet However they met with the same fiery fate Once the wolves had lost the fight The changeling asked if the guard was alright The guard nodded and confirmed that he was fine The changeling looked at the guard once again Then the demeanor of the changeling changed Undisguised, in front of a guard, realization dawned The changeling lowered, dropped ears, and started to back with a slow pace The changeling wore a triangular pendant on a necklace He knew the changeling was scared of him being a guard It felt entirely wrong to him, the feeling of being feared He assured the changeling that he wouldn’t do anything The changeling backed into dumpster behind a building The changeling sat there and cowered, looking at him in fear Looking much like the guard moments ago at the wolves right here The guard stood up, and he asked if the changeling was alright The changeling didn’t respond, and just sat there shivering with fright The guard looked at the changeling, and asked nicely for a name The changeling didn’t respond aside from acting the same The guard was perplexed at this situation, just staring at the equine bug He decided attempting conversation would be futile, so he gave a hug He could feel the changeling’s body tense in the beginning But the action itself had the effect he had hoped, one of calming After a few moments he released the hug began walking away As he was walking, “I-370” he heard the changeling say He turned around and saw the changeling peeking around the dumpster The changeling pleaded him to not report this to his superior The guard promised, but couldn’t guarantee her safety from other guards And once that assurance was given, he marched onwards After the incident life returned to normal, or as close as it could get The changeling recurred in the guards mind, nigh impossible to forget On occasion, a pony with a triangle necklace pendant would pass by Offering a smile and a wink, eventually however, she decided to say hi They went to tea, quickly became friends, they enjoyed each others company After a while, the pony would shed her disguise, after she was assured of her safety They became great friends, however it was never fated to last forever Peeking in through a window one day saw this, was a reporter He took pictures of the pair, while the changeling was undisguised After the article was published the guard was easily recognized The guard who had befriended the changeling was arrested that day and when asked of the changeling, his friend, he didn't betray After the questioning he was charged with harboring a changeling The rest of the guard took him to Canterlot for a formal hearing At the trial the guard was found guilty as charged and imprisoned The changeling with this knowledge became disheartened The changeling fled, knowing that the guards where raising alert She found someplace new, a new face and a new life did start She still hopes that one day all will be peaceful and happy And the one pony who showed her kindness would be free Celestia then saw a small note along with the poem. Dear Princess Celestia, I hope you enjoyed the story, I thought it needed to be shared. It is a sad story, hopefully the happy ending will come soon. sincerely I-370 Celestia set the parchment down and thought about the poem and accompanying letter. After a few moments Celestia arose and poked her head out of her office door, "Guard, fetch the prisoner from cell 3."