After finding one of the changelings unconscious near the outskirts of Equestria from the Canterlot attack, Princess Celestia gives Twilight a special mission that she must undergo: Find out about the Changelings.
Twilight is given the ultimate task, which may be harder than she thought. Princess Celestia has sent her an unconscious Changeling that was found in the outskirts of Equestria after the Chrysalis attack on Canterlot. Her main test is to try and learn about the Changeling as much as possible. However, things start to get a little bit complicated as she learns more about them, and might even form a bond between the two.
Authors Note: As of January 6, 2018, I am officially cancelling this fanfiction. It's been a fun ride from the years, but it's quite obvious that I lost interest in remotely writing this. Thank you all for the support and critique to help me grow as a writer! If I ever, for whatever reason, gain my spark to write this again, then I shall! Again, thank you everyone for the support.
There wasn't much to see. It was completely dark. And not your ordinary dark, but as in pitch black can't-see-anything dark. There was the occasional small creak that came from the void, and sometimes you could even hear the wind blowing outside if you listened hard enough.
Then there came a loud bang.
Within seconds, the whole room was filled with light. The windows brought in the sun-rays from the afternoon gleam that had been trapped behind the curtains for what seemed to be hours. Or to the certain changeling that was strapped to the table. He squinted his bug-crossed eyes, trying to adjust to the sudden appearance of light as it blinded him. He tried to move a hoof, but it proved no use. Casually looking over, he saw that his hole-filled hooves have been strapped down by some chains. This had also been the case for his back hooves and neck, all carried down to the wooden table that he rested upon. Looking around him, he could find that he was in some sort of library, mostly due to the books that surrounded him on the shelves. But more disturbingly was some of the things he found on the tables next to him. Upon these metal tables, there were vials filled with strange liquids, along with empty tubes that were used for who knows what. Strange contraptions had occupied the space on the table and maybe even a few papers with some words on it. This was a very strange situation to wake up on. There was, however, a small aura that could be seen in the darkness.
Off into the shadows, Twilight had been writing down every single move that the changeling had made. With the quill magically floating in front of her, it heavily jotted down all of her findings on a clipboard bounded with papers. She was observing. After a few more scribbles that were made, she gently placed the clipboard on a nearby stand. Turning her head off to the side, she nodded towards a small creature that had also been sitting in the darkness.
"Spike. Take a letter please," Twilight said. And just like that, the baby dragon had grabbed a scroll and quill from behind him. He placed the tip of the quill on the paper, awaiting the words that would come out of the unicorn's mouth.
Twilight said thus:
"Dear Princess Celestia.
The observations have been going smoothly, and it has seemed like the changeling has woken up for the first time. I am not sure if it does understand Equestrian, despite Queen Chrysalis' knowing it. And when I mean by 'it', I mean I'm not even sure if it's a stallion or mare. Are they called that anyways? Nevermind. No Spike, don't write nevermind! Don't write everything I say that's not part of the situation! I was just saying that so you wouldn't-... Forget it. As I was saying, I need to go further into this study. Perhaps even ask a few questions after it has gotten used to the environment. I will inform you if anything else has erupted.
Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.
With a bright flash, Spike had 'blown' the letter into thin air. Twilight nodded to Spike, giving him the order that he may leave, so the dragon scuttled upstairs without another word. The unicorn gave a large smile before looking back over towards her objective, which was the changeling. She was given this task to figure out most of their lifestyles and habits. It was going to be tricky to try and make him talk, if he did at all. Not to mention she didn't even know if they spoke the same language. For all she knew, they probably speak in some code that only Changelings would know. Maybe he'd call a cry for help! She had to stop worrying so much and just get this over with.
"So uhm... Welcome to my treehouse?" Twilight had said in the darkness, her voice sounding very unsure. Stepping a hoof into the light, her lavender hooves could be clearly seen without much focus. It was quite a big stand out compared to the white lab coat she had been wearing. On top of that, she had a pair of purple goggles just resting above her horn so that her purple eyes could be seen. They shimmered with wonder, and a little bit of uneasiness.
She focused on the changeling strapped to the table, still feeling a little bit bad for the over excessive safety standards. But she couldn't let anything happen that might harm the citizens of Ponyville! This changeling could still be a danger to everyone!
"My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I will look after you for the duration of your stay here in Pony-." She stopped herself right after that. She couldn't give away where he was! He could tell other changelings to come to this position and terrorize the town! "Ponytown! Welcome to Ponytown! Yep! That's where you are! Good ol'... Ponytown!" Twilight gave a nervous chuckle, hoping that had saved her from this.
Silence.
The Changeling had said nothing. Nada. Zip. He just stared at her with his bugged eyes, not even blinking. It was rather unsettling if she said so herself. Twilight tried to think of something to say, hoping that he would understand. "I'm Twilight Sparkle. Twi-light." This was stupid! She wasn't going to get anywhere with this guy! Girl! Thing! Whatever it was! She gave an awkward smile, slowly trotting up towards the table that held the prisoner. Well, prisoner wasn't a really good word to use.
With her horn lighting up, the clipboard and quill that had been set down earlier had floated over towards in front of Twilight. She began writing more scribbles on it, taking note of the eyes and other appearance related observations that she couldn't have seen before in the dark. This wasn't her first time seeing a changeling, but it was her first to see one so up close without it fighting back or giving any sign of struggle. In all honesty, it was starting to frighten her.
The Changeling had been staring at her for the entire time, blinking very few times during the whole thing. It has not said one word, and the only sound it made was the occasional flutter of the wings that were probably instinctual. Twilight wrote this down. It was starting to get too quiet, but Twilight spoke up to break the silence. "So... If you don't mind I'm going to ask a few questions. Just a few! I know you're probably as confused as I am, but if we just work together, then everything will go by much faster." She gave a small smile, which was still unsure, as she stared down upon the bug-like pony.
Silence.
"Perfect!" Twilight exclaimed, "I'll take that as a 'no' that you don't mind! Okay... First question: We know Changelings feed on love, but do you have other sources of food? Surely you must have some other type of food source other than love. Living out in a place without said love would starve you... Which led to the reason of Chrysalis coming to Canterlot... You know what? Just forget about that question." She took the quill and scratched it against the paper on the clipboard, marking off that question. "Okay, next one. What do you do on your spare time?"
What did she think this was? An interview on the school newspaper? These questions were ridiculous! This was ridiculous!
Giving a loud groan, she slowly levitated the clipboard and quill on the table behind her, putting a hoof to her face. This changeling couldn't possibly know what she was saying! It hasn't said one thing yet! This was pointless! For all she knew, this changeling didn't even know what she was saying!
"I can't believe I'm doing this," Twilight remarked under her breath. "Why would the princess give me this task? She couldn't find somepony in her highly trained scientist labs to figure out what this thing is?" She turned her back away from her subject, slowly trotting away. "This stupid thing will never get me anywhere."
Just as she was about to enter the shadows, there was a loud growl from behind her. Stopping in her tracks, her pupils shrank to the size of a needle, and she slowly turned around towards the Changeling. Its eyes were narrowed. Fierce looking. It looked directly in her eyes, and she swore she saw some sort of flame inside of it. Oh Celestia, it does speak Equestrian. It heard every word. It just didn't say anything. It heard her remark.
Twilight tried to force a chuckle, but it came out as a very rough and frightened cough. "I-I'm sorry. I-I didn't know that you.. I-I..." Her ears lowered to her head, instantly feeling regret for her actions. She had to remember: all beings are sentient, no matter how strong they hided it. Surprisingly, she noticed that the growling had stopped, and the changeling's eyes had fixed back to its normal sized stare. Did it just... accept her apology? You know... This might not be as bad as she thought. This might actually work.
Twilight regained her posture, clearing her throat before speaking. "Okay... I'm going to let you rest.. Tomorrow is going to be a long day." And with that said, her horn lit up one more time in the magical aura, before the loud slam had been heard again and the room was thrown into darkness.
A small groan could be heard throughout the quiet library. Slight twitching of the wings illuminated the room from the quietness, which was much more quiet than you would think. The changeling strapped to the table couldn't see anything, just like yesterday. But was it tomorrow yet? Judging by the silence, he could only think that it was still either very early in the morning or still somewhere around midnight. It was too quiet. But then again, he wasn't so sure where he was in the first place. The only hint he got was somewhere called 'Ponytown.' He's never heard of such a place on the map. But then again, he hasn't heard lots of things from the world. The silence was invaded once more, as hoofsteps were heard approaching.
Twilight yawned loudly to herself, rubbing her eyes to adjust to the darkness around her. Couldn't really help since it was completely pitch black. To change this, her horn fizzled in the darkness before the slam echoed throughout the tree house. She squinted at the sudden light, rubbing her eyes once more to adjust to the sudden entry of the blinding sun. She wasn't wearing her lab coat this time. It was probably hung upstairs, along with her goggles. She looked like any other pony without clothes. After a few moments, Twilight looked at her surroundings, still noting that everything had been in place. Even the Changeling.
This was starting to frighten her. The Changeling hasn't made one move to try and escape yet. It was almost as if it was just waiting for something to happen. Like it was planning something. If she were to be in the position, she would be fighting to get out of the strapped prison. But that's her. It was a good idea to give the Changeling a paralyzing effect mixture for the horn. Without it, she wouldn't know what would happen.
"Good morning," Twilight greeted. "I hope you slept well. I know it's not a very comfy table or anything, but I'm afraid you're going to have to deal with it for a while. For all I know, the princess could just step on in at any moment."
The Changeling didn't say anything. If anything, it gave the blank stare once more. Every so often it would blink, but it would hide the amazing blue-bugged eyes that were plastered on it's face. That was one thing Twilight couldn't seem to understand. They were just so.. pretty. But enough of that. Back to the experiment. Twilight was going to have to try and figure out what the Changeling could eat other than love. She didn't have anything to provide it at the time, so surely they had to have something else to eat. But what? If only it would give her the answers, then she would be glad to serve it a meal! You can't experiment something on an empty stomach!
Twilight noticed that she had been staring at the Changeling for quite some time now, and she quickly shook her head to get out of the trance. "Right! I'll fetch you something to eat!" She said with enthusiasm, even though she didn't even know what to serve.
The Changeling watched as Twilight disappeared into the kitchen, and this gave it time to take one more look at its surroundings. The room hadn't changed a bit, which was expected. The thought of trying to escape was piercing its mind, but there was something that wouldn't make him leave. He had been treated nice so far from this pony. Perhaps he could use her to his advantage if he played his cards right. But then again, he really shouldn't hurt this pony. Or Twilight, as she said.
This particular Changeling wasn't like most that were born in the hive. Most of them were born as fighters, or main instinctual behavior was to feed off of love. As corny as it sounds, he wasn't born that way. It wasn't that it was a birth defect, but he understood the world around him. He knew what he was becoming into if he followed the rules of the Hive. During the attack on Canterlot, he mostly stayed out of sight, making sure that Chrysalis wasn't watching him. He knew that this was wrong.
"Here you are!" The voice called out, which caused the Changeling to turn his head towards Twilight who had just exited the kitchen.
"I made you some hayfries, if that's alright! I mean, it's not really a breakfast thing, but it's really all I have at the moment. And I hope you understand that I can't take you outside because... Nevermind. Here," she said as she put the plate next to him on the table.
The Changeling looked at the plate with a confused expression, raising it's brow while looking at Twilight. Was she seriously toying with him?
Twilight got confused and just stared back at him. "What?" She asked, "Do you not enjoy hayfries?" After a few moments, it clicked in her head. Gazing down at the fries, she looked at the Changeling's hooves that were still strapped on the table and she put her hoof on her face. "Oh Celestia, I'm such an idiot." She gave an awkward smile, picking up the plate once more. "Sorry about that.. I forgot about this whole ordeal you're in. But um, how are you going to..." She left the question hanging as she considered the possibilities.
There was only one that stuck out to her. If she couldn't release the bug, she just would have to do it herself. Picking up the hayfry with her magic, Twilight slowly moved it over towards the Changeling's mouth, still smiling a little bit awkwardly from the situation.
Oh, this was the game that was being played, was it? The Changeling raised a brow at her, feeling like a foal for doing this. He scrunched at the fry, smelling it slightly in order to know at least what it might be like. And, as expected from Twilight, he turned his head away in disgust.
"What? Do you think I poisoned it or something? You won't know until you try it," Twilight said to him. If this was going to be a force feeding, then so be it. But he had to eat! The rule of keeping subjects in good condition was essential for a good experiment test!
The bug looked back over to the fry suspiciously, still not up to the idea of tasting the weird substance being fed to him. Snorting through his nose, he slowly tilted his head over towards the fry before taking a very tiny bite out of it. Almost immediately, the Changeling spit out the crunched up remains of the food. Twilight could be heard groaning very silently.
"Look, you're going to have to eat something. You won't tell me what you want to eat, and all we can assume is that you feed on love. Sadly, I don't have anything like that to give you, so you're going to have to make due with what you have." Twilight said quite harshly, but not out of line. She wanted to at least get the point across. She waited impatiently as the Changeling didn't make another move towards the hayfry, and it just scrunched its nose away from it.
Twilight gave one final groan, "Fine. Here." She set the plate on his chest, backing away from the table. "I'll live this here if you want to continue eating. If you won't eat it, then I'm sorry. I can't help you. Now if you excuse me, I'm off to eat something myself. We'll continue this momentarily." With that said, Twilight faced the opposite direction and trotted towards the kitchen before leaving the sight of the Changeling.
The hole-filled creature tried to keep his head away from the plate as much as possible. This was torture! How dare she! Rolling its eyes, he set his head back on the table and stared up at the ceiling. She was right. This was going to be a long day.
Voices were echoing throughout the somewhat quiet treehouse. That is, of course, if the scrambling of hooves and tiny dragon claws were considered quiet. The noise was awfully loud, and there had to be some sort of action to be taking place if there was so much commotion.
"You mean this one, Twilight?" Spike asked, holding up a small vial with a strange liquid inside of it.
"No Spike, that's the color Folly! There's a difference you know, and that determines the outcome of this procedure!" Twilight shouted frantically back at him, her voice sounding very demanding and hasty. After all, she did need to finish this before anything major happened that could cause the whole town of Ponyville to go into panic. However, she didn't even really know what the effects of the potion that she was concocting. It hasn't even been tested before! From all of her ingredients, and a little knowledge she was taught by Zecora, this thing should do the trick.
Whatever that thing was, it was important.
Twilight had put her lab coat back on, her goggles resting over her eyes. Behind them, her pupils were small but intense, paying attention to every single detail that was happening on the table before her. She was positioned next to the changeling, but facing away from him which just blocked the view of the bug from seeing anything happening.
After a few more moments, Spike had quickly shuffled his way back over towards Twilight, handing her another tube that held another red substance. "Please tell me this is the right one," Spike whined, "I've been running around for the past five minutes trying to find this thing! You should really put labels on them, you know!"
Twilight didn't even look at the vial. Her horn lit up, quickly grabbing the glass and bringing it over in front of her and quickly uncapping the top. "YesthankyouSpikeyouaredismissed," the unicorn said quickly. Spike was getting a little bit worried. Whatever Twilight was doing, he didn't want to be part of it any longer! With that, the baby dragon quickly ran out of the room and upstairs to a safe distance, no doubt trying to make sure he didn't get into this mess.
After uncapping the vial, Twilight quickly tilted the glass until a small drop fell into a beaker full of a purple liquid. The reaction was almost instant, and there was a large flash before her until the whole treehouse was just engulfed in smoke. Coughing could be heard everywhere. Twilight was coughing, the changeling was coughing, and Spike was even making loud noises from upstairs. A sudden burst of light was shown through the thick smoke, and the cloud of black fumes were slowly seeping outside. Twilight continued to cough, waving her hoof in front of her until most of the smoke had dispersed.
She gave a loud sigh, taking the goggles off her eyes and resting them just above her horn. "Well... At least that was a first. But everything has ended up in a disaster thus far, and I don't think I'm getting anywhere with this." Bringing the clipboard over with her magic, she took the quill and started jotting a few notes onto the paper, writing down her observations and... unexpected results.
Twilight gazed up from her clipboard, seeing that the Changeling that was chained to the table had been staring at her once more. This was really starting to bug her now. The whole 'staring' facade was really taking a toll on her mental stability. Can't it just say one thing? Just one?!
"Sorry if I woke you up," Twilight apologized, "I was just doing some things in here. But I guess it ended up in a very unexpected way... as you can already tell." She gave a small and awkward chuckle, trying to lighten up the mood from that horrible disaster of an experiment. She honestly thought that would go better. "I didn't expect it to work anyways. But that's what science is for. Trial and Error."
The thought was still scrambled in the Changeling's head. What was she making in the first place? As much as he wanted to know, he just wanted to let it slide.
Twilight gave one more sigh, putting a hoof to her muzzle. She was going to have to think of something now. That potion probably wasn't going to help her anyways if she hasn't even tested it yet. It was probably Spike's fault. Him with his not-knowing-which-vials-are-which thing.
She was going to have to try another tactic. Slowly bringing her gaze over to the Changeling, she gave a small hum in thought before placing a hoof on the table the bug was rested on.
"Okay. I'm going to take a huge leap right now. You're not going to be doing good with your body trapped on that uncomfortable table for long, so I really need to get you up and moving. So, if you just bear with me, I'll let you off the chains for you to roam around. Just please, PLEASE, don't do anything I would regret." Twilight offered, giving a somewhat serious face. And as expected, the changeling said nothing.
With the aura coming from her horn, Twilight started to slowly unlatch the chains one by one. The clanking noises were very satisfying, knowing that freedom was coming near for the changeling.
After the last chain was unhooked, a flash of black whipped in front of Twilight before she felt a large force push her to the ground. She gave a loud grunt from being winded, and she opened her eyes to see what had just happened. The Changeling was above her, it's eyes narrowed as it glared down at her. She felt terrified. With the creature growling, he snorted in her face before a large flash of green engulfed the body of the once changeling into a very generic looking stallion. A white coat, blue shaggy mane, and eyes that glowed as green as the flames that took over the body. Twilight was too shocked to be moving right now, because all she could do was stare. Her eyes were shrunk to the size of pin needles and she couldn't seem to move one muscle. And just like that, the disguised changeling quickly bolted towards the door, swinging it open and making its escape.
"Twilight! Is everything okay down there!?" A voice come from above, which was no doubt Spike's. With very fast paced feet coming down the stairs, the dragon ran over to Twilight and looked down at her with a worried expression. "What happened?! All I know is that there was an explosion and there was smoke everywhere! I came down here and you're just sitting here on the floor!" Looking around, he wanted to see if nothing serious was damaged from the explosion he heard. Thankfully, nothing was ruined completely, other than a few ash piles here and there that would be needed cleaning later. But one thing caught his eye. "Um... Where's the..." He stopped himself there, gazing at Twilight with a feared expression.
The only thing he could see was just the horrified expression on Twilight, and how she was staring at the door that was wide open.
Twilight struggled to keep herself at pace while searching for her clipboard. How can she be calm at this moment in time?! Her test subject, let alone a Changeling, had escaped from her possession! What was she going to do!? What was she going to tell the Princess?! This was a disaster!
"Twilight! Snap out of it!" Spike yelled, snapping his claws in front of Twilight's face that seemed to be distinguished with fear and intensity. "Just take a moment and calm yourself! You're not going to get anywhere if you just keep running around, throwing things left and right!"
Twilight looked dead at him, her pupils shrunk and her mane a mess. "Do you not understand what is happening right now, Spike!? We are having a crisis right now! A wild Changeling is out in Ponyville or who knows where! It can be out telling its other Changeling friends to come back and attack this very town, only because I was stupid enough to trust it! I have every right to be scrambling around right now! If you excuse me, I've got to find my clipboard!" She snorted once before back to searching. She trotted over towards the table where all of her test tubes were set out. Nothing. She trotted over towards the patient table. Nothing.
"You mean this clipboard?" A voice rang out in her ears.
Snapping her head backward, she saw that Spike was standing there with the clipboard in his claws, the paper with all of Twilight's notes on it. Furrowing her brows, she slammed her hoof on the table. "Spike, give me that clipboard!"
"Not if you just calm down for a second!" The baby dragon snapped back, holding the clipboard behind him now.
"I need that in order to find our escapee!"
"You don't need it for anything! Just listen to me!"
"You have three seconds!"
"Twilight, if you ju-"
"ONE!" Twilight shouted, taking a step forwards.
Spike took a step back away from Twilight as she approached him, keeping the board behind him. "Just listen to what I have to sa-"
"TWO!" Twilight yelled again, taking yet another step.
Spike didn't step back this time. Instead, he sighed to himself and started walking towards Twilight with a grumpy expression.
Twilight gave a smile in triumph, taking a large breath. "Thank you, Spike! Now give it over so that I ca-"
*WHACK!*
The unicorn fell onto her rump, her eyes blurred and a sudden pain seeping through her cheek. Putting a hoof to it, she can feel the numbness of where she was struck, and she whipped her eyes at Spike who had an angry expression on his face.
"Now listen to me, Twilight! We have to calm down! I'm sorry for hitting you, but it's the best I could do. Now if we're going to find this Changeling, we need to think where he would go. It can't go that far since he doesn't have the love power to keep him energized. All we have to do is just have a look out and see where it is that he could be going." Spike inquired, dropping the clipboard to the ground as he folded his arms.
Twilight couldn't really say anything right now. She was shocked that her number one assistant, and practically her adopted son, just hit her in the face like that. Small tears started to form in her eyes; mainly because of the strike that she was a victim of, and that she had the thought of failing her mentor and putting pony life in danger. "I-I'm sorry Spike," She quietly said, "I just can't help to think that I just put everypony's life in danger because of something I did stupid. I just don't know what to do anymore."
She tilted her head towards the ground, sniffling to herself. She felt the dragon's claws on her chin and it forced her eyes to look at Spike's, whose were dazzling with hope. If only she could feel the same.
"Stop feeling like this was your fault. Now, let's just go outside and find out where this Changeling went while being discreet. We can't have other ponies around know that we were keeping somepony hostage throughout their stay." Spike said, trying to bring up the mood somewhat. It seemed to have worked.
Twilight nodded slowly, smiling slightly from the fact that Spike had been trying hard to cheer her up. "Thanks Spike. I know I can count on you to help me through some rough times... Even though this one is like, extremely rough and I shouldn't even be happy right now. I should still be freaking out."
Spike gave out a small chuckle, grabbing the clipboard and handing it to Twilight. "Now let's not sit around all day, let's go find this thing!" He yelled enthusiastically.
Twilight grabbed the clipboard with her magic and slowly stood up onto her hooves. "Right, let's not waste any more time."
Taking off her lab coat and goggles, Twilight was trying to at least look a bit normal. She picked up a nearby brush and started to comb her mane quickly, just so it can look like she didn't jump all over her bed this morning. After all, she didn't want to raise any suspicion. "Stay here, Spike. I need to make sure nopony comes in the library while I'm gone." She gave Spike a warm smile, taking note that she should probably reward him with ice cream later if it comes down to that.
The dragon gave a salute, before Twilight trotted out the door.
~~~
The sun beamed down gracefully on the small town of Ponyville. Ponies were out and about with their normal and busy lives, doing their daily errands and overall just spending it like as if it was normal. And as it should be. But not for Twilight, at least. On the outside, she looked calm and collective; but on the inside she felt like she was going to explode from the thought of a creature that tried to take over Equestria was loose.
All was going well, as the unicorn tried to remember the appearance of the Changeling's pony form. White coat, blue mane. White coat, blue mane. Oh, green eyes! White coat, blue mane, green eyes. She would go at this for a few moments, before there was a sudden yell from behind her.
"Twilight!" The voice shouted.
Before she could turn around to see who was the source of the voice, she was suddenly pushed down to the ground. She rolled with the other pony that had clashed into her, and eventually ended up pinned on the bottom. Shaking her head and looking up, she noticed that a mare with a pink coat, and a bubblegum like mane was holding her down from above.
"Twilight! There you are! You've been missing for a while now! Are you hurt? Is something wrong? Are you hardcore studying? Why haven't you come to any of my parties!?" The voice called down to her, but Twilight knew who this was now.
Pinkie Pie gave Twilight a worried expression as she bombarded her with questions, asking mostly where she was and how come she wasn't giving any communication to any of her friends.
Twilight blinked at Pinkie, before giving an awkward smile and chuckling slightly. "Heh.. Yeah, that's what I've been doing. Hardcore studying! Now um, if you don't mind, I need to get up and continue on my wa-"
"Way to what!?" Pinkie yelled back down at the unicorn, not flinching to move.
"Toooooooooo get more books of course!" Twilight responded a little bit more smoothly this time, taking her time with this situation.
Pinkie didn't buy it. She gave Twilight a cold stare, squinting to see if she could somehow break her friend's mental barrier and somehow find a way into her deepest and darkest secrets. However, she couldn't get there this time. "Okie Dokie Lokie..." Pinkie said slowly, getting off Twilight and backing up.
Twilight gave a small sigh, slowly sitting up before getting back on all four of her hooves. "Thanks Pinkie. And tell the girls that they needn't worry. I'll come back and hang out with you guys some other time! I just need to study for this really big test Princess Celestia is giving me, so I just need a little bit alone time," she lied. Hopefully she would buy it so that the adventure for the changeling could continue.
"Okay... I'll see you around. But I know you're hiding something, and I'll get to the bottom of it!" Pinkie swore, pointing her hoof suspiciously at Twilight. "I'm watching you." And with that said, the pink mare slowly turned around, before bouncing off back down the road and away from Twilight.
The unicorn gave one more sigh of relief, knowing that she was in the clear for probably the next day or two give or take. But this didn't help the situation at hoof. Glancing one more time, she noticed that she had reached the outskirts of Ponyville. The only thing left out there was the Everfree forest, and she was afraid that that's where the escapee might have went to. As if the evidence wasn't easy enough, the corner of her eye gave sight to a white pony-like figure darting off into the forest. She swore she saw a hint of blue, but the thought was unsure. Off into the distance, Twilight had also noticed that there was a cottage near the entrance of the forest to where the pony might have ran into.
Fluttershy's Cottage. It was time for a few questions.
"Fluttershy? Are you in there?" Why would she ask that? Of course she would be in there! She literally saw her walking back into her cottage just a few seconds ago!
There was no answer.
Twilight frowned slightly, before knocking her hoof on the door once again. "Fluttershy, I need to talk to you."
There was a click from the door being unlocked, before the familiar face of the yellow pegasus poked out from the crack of the ever so slightly open wooden barrier. Fluttershy gave a sheepish smile, opening the door fully so that her body was fully seen.
"Oh goodness, sorry for making you wait Twilight. Angel was having a little fit because I didn't make his salad the way he wanted it. I hope I didn't cause any bad intentions." Fluttershy said quietly, the small smile still plastered on her face.
Twilight blinked at her friend, giving off the same sort of smile. "Oh, don't worry about that. I really shouldn't be rushing you like that. Well, I kind of do actually, and thus which is why I am here now!" She said with enthusiasm, her eye twitching slightly. Keep it together.
Fluttershy gave a small brow raise, her voice starting to waver slightly. "Are you okay, Twilight? You don't seem to be in your... normal condition right now. Do you care to come inside and perhaps have a nice tea session? I was going to have one with Pinkie earlier, but she decided to sit out of this one because she was trying to find you. You talked to her, right?"
Twilight gave an awkward grin, trying to keep herself composed and not let any of the private information slip. "Oh, I'm perfectly fine! I just... uh... spent a lot of time studying and reading to catch up with my homework. But it's private homework! Like, Princess Celestia strictly told me to not tell anypony." Well that was a good waste of information there. Now she'll get curious. "Sorry, but I don't have time for tea right now. I'm actually going to ask you if you've seen a..." Twilight waved her hoof in a circular motion, trying to remember the appearance of her escapee. "White coat, a sky-blue like mane, and some emerald eyes wander through here?" She gave off her most innocent smile.
Fluttershy blinked at the unicorn, not really understanding what this 'homework' was. It had to be awfully important if Celestia didn't want Twilight's friends to know about this. "I understand.. Just try and not overdue it. You should go outside and have a break every so often so that you don't wear yourself out too much." She suddenly blinked at the description that Twilight had given her. Why, she was talking about the pony that had just come by! "O-Oh, that stallion? Yeah, he just came by... Why are you so interested in him?" She asked curiously, raising her brow once more in question.
Twilight had a small, bead of sweat caressing down the side of her face. She was running out of time, so she needed the information fast! "No reason! I just.. uh.. he's helping me study! And he said he was going into this forest to collect some samples but I just had to tag behind him to make sure that he doesn't do anything stupid. He's from Canterlot, I hope you understand." It was the best excuse she had, and hopefully it worked. It was all she could come up with at this point. Lying to one of her friends was getting bad as it is.
Fluttershy was not so sure about this story, considering that Twilight was feeling very uneasy about telling her all of this. "Oh yes, I totally understand. I've seen a few Canterlot ponies wander into the Everfree and I had to come out and make sure to warn them about what's inside. Most of them just turn pale and quickly turn around." The pegasus gave a small giggle, remembering past encounters.
"That's quite a nice little story there," Twilight quickly said, "But I just need to ask you if he said anything about what he was going to do, or perhaps if he said where he was going exactly? I need to quickly catch up to him before it gets dark." Tick tock, Twilight! TICK TOCK!
Fluttershy took a step outside her door. "You just said he was going to get a sample... But, he told me that he was going there to find something that he had left behind and asked for directions.. It was quite strange if I think about it myself. He asked me to point him in a spot where he can camp out for a while, so he could retrace his steps... Oh dear, I'm not sure how I'm feeling about this poor fellow. How about I tag along with? I could help guide yo--"
"No no no no no! That won't be necessary!" Twilight quickly shouted, waving her hooves in front of her. "I'll just get him, I know where to go! Thanks for the information, Fluttershy! I'll be back!" With that said, Twilight quickly turned around and dashed towards the entrance of the forest, leaving clueless Fluttershy behind her where hopefully she wouldn't follow.
That was a horrible execution.
---
Twilight flicked her ears as she slowly trotted down the non-existent path inside of the Everfree Forest. This place always gave her the creeps. She's been here a few times throughout her stay here in Ponyville, but she could never really get the feeling down about going through this place. Something could always happen at any point, so she had to be on guard. Not to mention she had a job to do, and that was to find wherever the disguised changeling was. Many consequences could come from her not finding this thing! There could be more invasions after the information was told, perhaps they would target Ponyville, and others! It was very unnerving for Twilight.
The hoofsteps from the unicorn slowly bounced around in the compressed area in which she was walking, since the trees were blocking the sound from escaping the place. That just makes the situation a whole lot better. With the tightly compacted trees and the slow coming of fog on the way, it was starting to get a little bit unbearable. Twilight gazed upon the trees, noting that if there seemed to be any movement within them, she would investigate to an extent. Besides, there are many creatures that could be lurking throughout the forest, and most of them are not very friendly... She knows this.
*Snap*
Twilight jumped in place, and froze right where she was. The twig snapping within the trees made her stop in her tracks, and she quickly shot her eyes around to see if she could see some sort of figure; perhaps a Timberwolf or cockatrice. Either way, she didn't want it to get anywhere near her. She looked behind her, but there were a sound of fast hoofsteps coming towards her, as if somepony was running. Twilight looked in front of her, but as she did, she was hit from the front at full force. Falling backwards, she gave a loud 'oomph' from the wind being knocked out of her, and she could feel a weight on top of her body. Opening one eye, she could see that she was pinned to the ground by... wait. White coat, blue mane... It was the changeling!
"You!" Twilight yelled, struggling to get out from under it.
The stallion opened his eyes slowly, quickly looking down to see that he was above Twilight, or his captor nonetheless. His eyes stared down at her, before hearing the roar behind him. Not looking back, he quickly dashed down the way Twilight came.
Twilight sighed as the disguised changeling got off her, but it wasn't before long until she noticed that he had made another break for it! But the sound from the forest... it didn't sound friendly.
Not wanting to stay any longer, Twilight quickly got up to her hooves in fear, and turned around before running back towards the entrance. She swore she could hear loud steps behind her, as if being chased. She screamed loudly, having that natural instinct when in danger. Twilight wasn't that far behind the stallion that she had been chasing. In fact, she seemed to be gaining some speed on him. Light could be seen in the distance, and she picked up the pace. After reaching the entrance, Twilight gave a large leap at the pony in front of her, making contact as she wrapped her hooves around the stallion and dragged him down.
The stallion grunted as he hit the ground, struggling to get out of her grasp, but it was no use as he was in too much of an awkward position to move any limbs.
"H-Hah! I've got you! Now if you come back with me quietly, I won't have to use spell 17 on you! And trust me, you do not want to know what spell 17 does." Twilight threatened, remaining on top of her newly captured subject.
Secret Observation : Entry 24 : October 25 : Library
"I've been keeping a closer eye on him now. I'm calling it a him since he seemed to have changed into a stallion rather than a mare when he turned into his pony form. After that small attack he had on me, I couldn't bear to give him the freedom once more. I can't really call it an attack, because he never really did any physical harm to me. Mentally maybe, but nonetheless he won't be charged for it. Bringing him back to the library without suspicion was quite easily surprisingly. Nopony raised any questions, and none of my friends seemed to have noticed. He's sleeping right now, which gave me the time to get some more observations in.
There is a small mark just above his left eyelid. It seems to be a scratch of some sort, and it looks as if it's been there for a while. My only assumption is that it was from the changeling attack and how he landed when the love forcefieldExplosion thingy'love-blast' hit. It's not a very large thing that caught my eye, but it's there if I need it any time soon. Whatever for the reason, I don't want to delve into right now. I've asked Spike to try and cook something up to see if the changeling will eat it. We don't exactly have any source of love here in the library or anywhere in Ponyville for that matter.
I'm somewhat disappointed that Princess Celestia hasn't written me anything asking about how the task was going. Was she just so entrusted in me that she didn't have to ask? Perhaps she's waiting for me to give feedback on how everything is going. I'll have to write something to her soon regarding the recent events. My main goal right now is to have him speak to me. It's obvious that he knows exactly what I'm saying and he responds to it non-verbally. Once I can get him to talk, this will make everything easier. I just doubt that it will happen anytime soon. If I were in the same situation as he was, I don't think I would enjoy being strapped down onto a table. I would let him out every so often to move a limb or two, but after that, I don't think I can do that anymore.
I'll write more entries in the future. Until then, everything is going as planned, and hopefully I'll be able to get more information once he regains consciousness, and we'll see how this communication thing works out."
End Entry
Twilight sighed as she placed down the quill and notebook on the desk next to her bed. Was everything going as planned? For the most part it has been, but she felt like she had been lying to herself as she wrote that entry. It was starting to bug her slightly. The unicorn looked over, seeing that Spike was snugged into his small bed, snoring ever so softly. She gave a smile at that. A good night's rest will help her think straight. And tomorrow is going to be a big step if Twilight wanted any real information. One can hope.
One can hope.
~~~~~~~~~~
Authors Note: As of January 6, 2018, I am officially cancelling this fanfiction. It's been a fun ride from the years, but it's quite obvious that I lost interest in remotely writing this. Thank you all for the support and critique to help me grow as a writer! If I ever, for whatever reason, gain my spark to write this again, then I shall! Again, thank you everyone for the support.
