Echo has finally adapted to life with ponies, but before she can tackle the challenges that come with trying to raise a daughter, a bigger problem rears its head.
*Cover art is made from two separate pieces, neither of which did I create. I linked to one, the other is an old piece I had requested from Ficisism on Deviantart, but the account is deactivated.
(( NOTE 4/20/2019 -- Integration is on an indefinite hiatus. My apologies. ))
It's been almost three years since Echo officially came out of hiding, adopted her daughter, and began the arduous task of becoming part of what was, to her, an alien culture. She's managed to secure financial stability, but now she struggles with things that are altogether foreign to her.
What does it mean to have friends? She knows it's a good thing, she knows it keeps her alive, but it seems like there's a measure of responsibility to it. More importantly, how can she be a good mother to her daughter if she doesn't understand something so fundamental to ponies as friendship?
Moving back to Ponyville presents its own challenges though, as she finds an unexpected surprise waiting for her.
Seeking respite, she turns to help in Canterlot, only to find that there is an even greater menace there, waiting to ruin her peaceful existence.
She really can't seem to get a break.
(2/27/17: Due to alternate changeling continuity, AU tag has been added) (4/12/17: I have received more than a few messages requesting the dark tag. It has now been added.)
Las Pegasus. Sin City. Well, as sinful as ponies ever got, which really was fairly tame compared to the changeling standard. Shows like “CSI” really gave this city a worse reputation than it deserved. Murders – contrary to what the aforementioned show might have led one to believe – were exceptionally rare events. Crime was still a bit higher overall than the average in Equestria, but even that, when one looked at the statistics, was very tame. The little that did occur in there was usually the result of overindulgence, and was frequently resolved the following morning with a swift and sincere apology. Ponies were really very gentle by and large.
Echo looked out the window of her bedroom at the lights down below, illuminating the ground like a fireworks show in the dark. She took a moment to consider how she got here. She'd wanted to be recognized for more than just being a changeling that managed to adapt to life with ponies, and she wanted her work to be recognized for more than the fact that she made it. She didn't want to just be a subject for ponies' curiosity.
As grateful as she was to Rarity, she needed more for her new daughter. She wanted to be a mother her daughter would be proud of. Living in Ponyville and being Rarity's assistant paid the bills, but didn't leave much room for growth. So, once she had garnered enough skill to be a competent seamstress in her own right, she respectfully resigned from her position at Carousel Boutique, took the money she had saved up over the year before moving, and bought out a studio here in Las Pegasus. She'd made a good name for herself, and was now the owner of her own company, specializing in custom clothing. She initially had done all the work herself, but as demand had increased, she had hired a few extra hooves on Rarity's recommendation. Truthfully, it really had made things easier.
Regardless, it was slow going, but she was making enough to live comfortably on and had started to save money for her daughter's future. She turned quietly and decided to grab a quick drink before settling into bed for the night. She walked into the hallway and past Scootaloo's room.
Scootaloo. She was a different matter altogether. She had not taken the move to Las Pegasus well, but she had tried so hard.
Echo had approached the situation as gently as she could back when when they'd originally decided to move out of Ponyville. She actually had included the filly in the process. She had called Scootaloo down one night after she'd finished her homework and told her about what was happening, explained her motivation. She even asked if Scootaloo would be okay with it. She didn't want to force this on her. Scootaloo had been concerned about losing contact with her friends. Fortunately, that hadn't happened, since Twilight was more than willing to facilitate letter deliveries. Still, it had now been two years since the last time the fillies had seen each other. Scootaloo had not really made any new friends at her new school in Las Pegasus, and Echo was beginning to worry that she was becoming isolated. It seemed to reflect in her daughter's mood. She was less energetic, more on-edge. Less happy-go-lucky and more quiet. Maybe she was just getting older?
Since they were now coming up on Scootaloo's 13th birthday, Echo decided that a short trip home was in order – maybe it would help the filly's mood. The only question was how to make it happen. It would be nice to provide her daughter with a surprise party, but arriving back in Ponyville would be quite the spoiler. She poured a glass of milk and hummed while dripping a little chocolate syrup into it and stirring. Chocolate milk may have been a bit juvenile, but, well, it's not like anypony was watching.
Her ears twitched when she heard a cough from behind her. Scootaloo stood, rubbing one eye and yawning. “Hey Mom. Couldn't sleep. Can I have a glass?”
“It's 2 in the morning, Feather-duster... why are you up?”
“Why are you?”
She paused and chuckled, pulling another glass from the cabinet and pouring out more milk. “Good point. What woke you?”
Scootaloo shrugged. “Dunno. Still tired, but felt kinda thirsty.” She accepted the glass of chocolate milk with a smile and a quick “thank you.”
“So...” Segues never were Echo's strong suit. “You excited for your birthday?”
Scootaloo's ears fell and she kicked the kitchen floor a bit. “Yeah.”
“Thought about what you want for your birthday present?”
“I mean... there is that new scooter I saw down at the store. That thing looks fast!”
“Aren't you fast enough already?” Echo raised an eyebrow.
Scootaloo looked up and let a little grin cross her lips. “Not even close.”
Echo laughed and ran a hoof through Scoot's mane. “You sure you're not related to Dashie by blood?”
“Pretty sure. We don't really look alike.”
Echo smiled and took Scootaloo's empty glass, setting it in the sink and running a little water. “All right, well, we'll revisit the birthday thing in the morning. Don't you get up out of that bed before 6, though, missy, except for bathroom breaks.”
Scootaloo groaned. “Fine, Mom. Good night.”
“Love you bird-brain.”
“Same here bug-face.”
Echo kissed Scootaloo's forehead gently and shooed her away, walking over to another window in the living room, although her thoughts were far away.
Something's not right. She thought to herself. I'm living in one of the most busy, active, interesting cities in the country. I've got a successful business, a beautiful daughter... what am I missing? Why do I feel so empty here? She began to ask herself questions. What do you do besides work? Do you even know what's been happening out there in the real world for the past 2 years since you've been here? Do you have any friends? She began to answer her own questions. She knew she had friends, but they were all in Ponyville. She knew she did things besides working, but... mostly it was just taking care of her daughter, cleaning for her daughter, cooking for her daughter, or reading. Yes, reading was something she did for herself. As far as what had been happening... well, she'd heard some vague rumors about another changeling being discovered as friendly, and something else about a new ruler for the changeling kingdom. She wondered if the two were connected. She hadn't really heard from her mother much in the time she'd been gone, after all.
Then she came up on her last question to herself. Do you have any friends?
Of course I do! She shouted to herself. Why would you even ask yourself something like that? You've got Twilight, and you've got Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Surprise! She nodded as if to reassert that yes, she did have friends. Hey, wait, I know all the elements of Harmony, except... wait, that sixth one, Fluttershy? Why haven't I met her at all? She shook her head. Focus. You have friends. It's just...
Her eyes widened as the realization dawned on her.
As objectively great as her life was here in Las Pegasus, she didn't really know anyone. Not on a personal level. All of her friends were in Ponyville. She and Scootaloo had spent two years away from their friends. That's why everything felt so empty. That's why she felt an ache in her chest when she thought about all her friends. She'd never really had friends before those ponies, so she still didn't quite know how friendship in general worked. She missed them.
She winced while the pain in her chest increase. She missed them so much. Why did it take her all this time to realize that? Was she that dumb, really? She supposed that wasn't fair to herself though; one doesn't judge a fish by its tree-climbing abilities after all... and for a metaphorical fish, she was climbing trees surprisingly well!
She laughed to herself as she thought of what her friends would be saying if they knew what she was thinking right now. Twilight would be trying to take notes on Echo's learning curve. Rarity would be trying to offer to pay for her ride back to Ponyville. Dash would be gagging on the sentimentality of it all, but secretly she'd be touched – Echo could always tell. Pinkie would be busy laughing at the thought of a fish in a tree, and Surprise would probably be in the same boat, each of them egging each other on. Applejack would most likely be busy offering to help carry any heavy furniture and reassuring her that no matter what happened, she always had friends to count on.
The thought of her friends had her smiling like a fool, and when she snapped back to reality she felt that pain in her chest again. She missed them so much. Was this how Scootaloo had felt since they'd left? She winced as a twinge of guilt entered her mind.
Maybe that trip back to Ponyville is going to be a little more permanent than expected. She quietly sipped her drink and stared out at the bustling city, so full and active, but to her eyes, lifeless.
Guess it's time to pack.
* * *
Morning came faster than Echo had anticipated. She had stayed in her bed until 7:30, when her alarm was supposed to wake her up. It still went off, but she hadn't slept a wink in that entire time. She sighed and silenced it, getting to her hooves to start breakfast for Scootaloo. This morning she was thinking she might go with a miso soup and teriyaki tofu. Perhaps a bit of an unorthodox breakfast, but today was making out to be big. She figured she might as well go all-in.
She pulled all the ingredients out of their respective places and set herself to cooking. Sometimes it surprised her how thoroughly she'd changed to suit this pony society, but she also realized at some level that it was, after all, in her nature to adapt and blend in.
She began to cut slices of nori for the miso soup as the concoction neared completion. That together with the smell of the teriyaki sauce she'd made was filling the kitchen with a lovely aroma. She smiled when the rice cooker beeped to tell her it was finished.
“Scoot-Scootaloo!” she called. “Up and at 'em, kiddo!”
There was a gentle thud and a pause. “What smells so good?”
“Get down here and see for yourself.” She snickered quietly while setting the placemat. She took a seat on the opposite side of the table from where Scoot would sit, wracking her brain trying to decide how to approach the idea that she felt they should move back home. Would Scootaloo even be okay with that idea? Maybe she'd made friends here after all? Would she be mad with Echo for being indecisive?
Her train of thought ground to a halt though as Scoot sat down. There was no more time to think about it, it was do or die.
Scootaloo yawned, letting out a little squeak as her mouth gaped. Her mane was a mess, sticking up in all different directions. Even her coat seemed to be messy; that was quite the accomplishment considering how short her coat was, but regardless, Echo's eyes didn't deceive her.
“This looks amazing, Mom.” Scoot nodded, still half asleep. She fumbled with the chopsticks for a couple of moments before setting them down and walking back to the kitchen to get a fork and a spoon.
“Thanks sweetheart...” Echo sighed. “Scoot, I've been thinking – ”
“Dangerous.”
“Laugh it up.” She chuckled. “I've been thinking that maybe … now that I've got some income here – ”
“Mom, if you want me to go get a job, just say so.”
“What? No. I was thinking that it might be a good idea if we –”
“Hired a maid? I'd like that. Less work for me to do.” She dipped her spoon into the soup and slurped loudly.
“Will you let me finish –”
“A sentence? Well, okay. If you insist.” A sly grin crossed the pegasus' face.
“Oh, you learned well.” She snickered again. “Seriously though. How would you feel if we moved back to Ponyville?” She decided to just say it rather than risk being interrupted again. Scoot began to sputter and cough as a bit of tofu got stuck in the back of her throat. Echo shot up, eyes wide, and began to pat on her back. “Breathe, it's all right!”
Eventually Scootaloo managed to swallow and she whipped around. “Are you serious?!”
Echo's ears flattened and she winced. “If you think it's not a good ide– ”
“I'll go pack.” She stood and began to walk out. “I've gotta write to the girls!” She sounded giddy.
Echo sat in silence for a moment after Scootaloo had left the room, looking at the half-finished breakfast and smiling slightly.
“Danger.” She snickered a little while wrapping dishes and glasses in newspaper. “Scoot, honey, can you please help wrap the plates?”
“All right, Mom.” The filly nodded and looked up from the game she'd been playing. She trotted over to one of the cabinets and tried to grab an entire stack of plates at once.
“Hey, careful!”
“I got it, I got it! Relax Mom. I can handle – whoa, whoa! AH!” She fell forward when she tried to keep the unstable stack from dropping.
Echo heard every single plate smash, and she quickly rushed over. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I'm fine...” Scootaloo winced and rubbed her muzzle a little. “Sorry about the plates.”
Echo let out a soft sigh. “Told you. Just go ahead and sweep up the mess. We can buy more plates.” She kissed Scootaloo's forehead and turned back to what she'd been doing.
Unfortunately, increased incidents of poor judgment were becoming the norm for her daughter. She wondered if that was normal for teenage ponies, or if she'd screwed up something somewhere along the way. She watched with muted concern while Scootaloo grabbed a dustpan and broom and began to dispose of the fragmented flatware.
She was being quite well-behaved right now, but there were times where she was outright defiant. Such behavior was unheard of among changelings... but again, Scootaloo wasn't a changeling. This was going to be something to discuss with Twilight. Surely the Princess of Friendship would know what was going on with her newly teenaged pegasus daughter.
“You never get mad at me, Mom.” Scootaloo said with a bit of frustration.
“Why would I?”
“I don't know, just... it's weird.”
“You didn't mean to break the plates, did you?”
“Of course I didn't!”
“Did you learn anything from breaking them?”
“Yeah, not to bite off more than I can chew.”
“Then why would I need to yell at you?”
At that, Scootaloo let out a loud groan and rolled her entire head along with her eyes.
Echo's ears perked and she tilted her head, furrowing her brow. Absolutely unpredictable. Her daughter was upset with her... for not being upset with her. She shrugged and went back to packing.
It took the majority of the day to get the kitchen and dining room all packed up, since those two rooms had the most small loose objects to worry about. Another couple hours and the majority of the things in the living room had also been packed. By the time the sun set, all that was left was the big pieces of furniture. Try as hard as they might, one changeling mare and an adolescent filly couldn't move some of these things by themselves.
A knock came on the door and Scootaloo shot straight up. “Food?”
“Probably.” Echo snickered. She walked to the door and found that it was, indeed, the pizza delivery they had been waiting for so patiently. She smiled and tipped the delivery colt, who was extremely nervous at the sight of a changeling. She waited patiently as he stared at her, and after a few moments, she spoke again. “Uh, my pizza?”
“Wha...? Oh! R-right! Yeah! Here you go...” He held out the box.
Echo took it with a sincere smile. “Thanks! Have a good rest of your night!” She closed the door gently and set the box down on the dining room table. “A margherita pizza for the young mare.”
Scootaloo was practically drooling. The basil was cut into ribbons and spread over the top of the pizza, a fine dust of parmesean on top of it all. Even Echo had to admit it smelled heavenly, although it would provide her no nutrition.
Scootaloo grinned. “Thanks Mom!” She pulled a couple slices off and sat them on her plate, beginning to eat. She let out a pleased groan as she swallowed the first bite.
“I'm glad you like it kiddo. Enjoy, all right? I'm gonna go send a letter to Twilight and make sure the house is still available.”
“All right Mom!” Scootaloo said, muffled by a mouthful of cheese.
A couple trots later, Echo grabbed the quill and parchment that Twilight had given her when she'd moved, allowing her to send mail via Spike.
Dear Twilight,
I'm just writing you really quickly to see if my house is still there for me?
Thanks!
Echo
She smiled and sealed the parchment, causing it to send instantly. Twilight was usually very quick about replying. Sure enough, after about a minute of waiting, there was a puff of smoke as another sealed ream of parchment appeared. She opened it and read.
Echo,
Of course it is. Why? Is there a problem?
Princess Twilight Sparkle
She chuckled and wrote a quick response just to say that everything was, in fact, fine. She had just wanted to check.
Echo walked back to the dining room and gawked for a moment when she found the entire pizza had been devoured. “Well... someone was hungry, huh?”
A loud burp from her daughter was the response.
“Scoot! That's rude, don't do that.”
“Okay, Mom.” she said lazily, rubbing her belly and leaning back with her eyes closed.
Echo smirked and bit her lip a little, but sat down. “Twilight says our house is still available. So, when the movers get here tomorrow, we should be able to get on our way.”
“That's good. I can't wait.” She yawned, stretching and leaning back so far that Echo was worried she'd fall of her chair. “Sweetie and 'Bloom are gonna be excited!”
“I bet they will.” She nodded. “Now, why don't you go brush your teeth before you get too tired and just fall asleep?”
Scootaloo sat up and grumbled something under her breath as she trotted off to the bathroom. Echo sipped at a glass of water quietly and sighed. Truthfully, she was the one who was excited. She wanted to bounce off the walls – literally – and shout for joy. Her anticipation was palpable. Yet, on the surface, she was the picture of serenity.
After wishing Scootaloo a good night, she slowly traipsed off to bed and snuggled in under her covers. It took some time, but eventually sleep found her.
* * *
Unsettling dreams were her company for the night. She couldn't remember any of them when she finally woke, but she remembered the feeling with which they had left her. Anxiety, even outright fear, was the most pervasive. She shot up in her bed, finding all of the covers kicked off of her. Her heart beat loudly in her ears and she breathed frantically.
Scootaloo. She didn't know why, but something told her she needed to check on Scootaloo. It was 6:45, she should be asleep. They both should. Still, instinct was forcing her to get up and check. She didn't know why she thought anything would be wrong, but she couldn't ignore it.
She practically galloped out of her room to Scootaloo's door. She turned the knob slowly, cracking the door just an inch, and waited a few seconds for her eyes to adjust to the darkness again. She felt her blood chill, though, as she realized that Scootaloo wasn't in her bed. She flung the door open and rushed in. “Scoot? Scoot-Scootaloo?! Where are you?! Oh sweet Chrysalis, no...”
“Mom?” Scootaloo called from behind her. She had a mug of … coffee?
“What on Earth are you doing out of bed this early?” She admonished, walking over and looking down into Scootaloo's eyes.
“Dunno, I guess I was just excited.” She sipped the drink and made a sour face. “Blech. How do adults drink this stuff?”
Echo sighed. “You scared me.”
“What, by getting up a little early?”
“Yes.” She stated firmly.
“That's dumb.”
Echo sputtered a bit at that. “Hey, watch it!”
“That's dumb too!” Scoot growled. “I'm almost 13, it's not like 'dumb' is a curse word or anything, sheesh.”
“It's disrespectful to talk to me like that.”
“Whatever Mom. Go back to bed or something then. I was just gonna read until the movers got here.”
Echo stood for a moment, glaring at her daughter. She didn't know how to respond to that. Scootaloo had never spoken to her like this before. “What has gotten INTO you, kid?”
“What, just because I'm not being a good pet something must have gotten into me? Jeeze Mom, take a chill pill.”
“If you don't change your attitude, missy, I'll –”
“What? Yell at me?”
Echo sputtered again, taken aback completely. “I'll... I'll... I'll think of something!”
“Very scary. See you in a few, Mom.” Scootaloo barged past her and sat up in her bed, pulling over a comic book out of the box she'd packed the day before and setting the coffee down on her nightstand.
Echo growled and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her with a bit more force than she'd intended. This certainly hadn't been what was wrong in her nightmare, but she wasn't sure if this was any better. Did Scootaloo not love her anymore? Well, no, that wasn't true, or Echo would have starved to death by now. What in Tartarus was going on?
She shook her head and walked into the kitchen to pour herself a cup of that coffee. She took a sip and immediately spat it out. Opening the top of the coffee maker she found that Scootaloo had neglected to use a coffee filter, so the beverage itself was full of sediment and now overly bitter. She poured it out and grumbled as she sat in the living room and levitated a book out of her box, next to the empty bookshelf. The movers were scheduled to show up at 8:30, and now it was about 7.
She found that paying attention to the writings of Ernest Hemingneigh for an hour and a half quite difficult, while she was so upset.
"When should we leave?"
"Whenever you want."
"Oh, I want to right away. Didn't you know?"
"Maybe it will be fine and clear when we come back. It can be very fine when it is clear and cold."
"I'm sure it will be," she said. "Weren't you good to think of going, too."
She closed the cover of the book and grumbled to herself. She chose the wrong book to read to settle her mind. 7:58. She stood and set herself to getting the house staged for the movers. She pulled the furniture out of the way, to make sure they could get in and move anything wherever it needed to be. That took her another 20 minutes.
“Scoot!” She barked a little. “They're gonna be here soon, get ready.”
“Okay!” Came the succinct response.
Echo growled a little. As if on cue, there was a knock on the door. She trotted over and flung the door open.
One of the movers, a large and bulky stallion, shouted in surprise, taking a swing at her. She ducked out of the way and hopped back. “Yeah, that's a pretty common response. I'm Echo, I live here. Thanks for coming.”
“'Yer a changeling?!”
“Is that a problem? I'm sure I could find a different moving company.”
“N-No!” Another stallion in the group said, punching his coworker in the shoulder roughly. “Sorry, sir –”
“I'm a mare actually.”
“S-Sorry! Ma'am. Naw, it's just... we wasn't expectin' a changeling. We didn't mean no offense or nothin'.”
“Naturally. Well, then, if you're done attempting to hit me, can we get started?”
The stallions filtered in and began to plan out what would get moved first, and after about ten minutes of surveying the home, they began to work. Scootaloo had transferred her reading to the front lawn, but was staying out of the stallions' way, so Echo decided not to say anything for the time being.
Once the movers were about three quarters of the way done, Echo went outside and sat on the grass next to Scootaloo. “Scoot, are you okay?”
“Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?” She smiled softly.
Okay, this was seriously bewildering. “Well... we're gonna have to leave soon, have you got everything?”
“Yep.” She motioned to a saddlebag on the grass next to her. “Everything I need for the trip.”
Echo nodded and looked over at the movers, who had placed everything neatly onto a series of wagons, which they would then haul to the train station themselves. They were just going through to make sure everything was secured and that they hadn't missed anything inside the home.
“You two ready?” One of them called out.
Echo nodded. “Yep, all set!”
“Great. We're headin' out now, we'll load up all yer thangs. Y'all don't need to worry about it, jest go on ahead and get to yer seats on the train. We'll unload when ya arrive at your destination, too.”
“Thank you, sirs.” She nodded and stood, offering a hoof to help Scootaloo up.
The filly took the hoof and stood, rolling her shoulders a bit to stretch, and followed her mother on the way down to the Las Pegasus train station.
Boarding proved interesting, since many ponies were still not used to changelings being seen in public. The bright side was that she and Scootaloo had about half of the train car to themselves, though. Scootaloo took the opportunity to stretch out over two entire seats as she played a hoof-held game.
After a few minutes the train began to move, and Echo felt her heart beat wildly. She was tremendously eager to get home. A smile crossed her face and her wings buzzed against the seat as one of her hind hooves tapped the ground. It made a curious rhythm.
Scootaloo's ear perked up and she smiled, bobbing her head in time. She began to hum a tune in time with Echo's buzzing and tapping.
Echo's ears perked and she looked over, stopping her movements in the process.
Scootaloo laughed. “No, keep going!” She bobbed her head to keep time, adding a new beat to the mix with her hooves on a metal bar under the seat in front of her.
Echo started to smile as she continued. Now she was getting into it too. Eventually, Scootaloo started to make up lyrics.
“Reluctantly crouched at the starting line,
Wings pumping and thumping in time.
The green light flashes, the flags go up.
Churning and burning, they yearn for the cup.
They deftly maneuver and muscle for rank,
Wings beating fast through a cloudy bank.
Reckless and wild, they pour through the turns.
Their prowess is potent and secretly stern.
As they speed through the finish, the winner's proud.
The fans get up and cheer out loud.
The arena is focused on just one mare,
Still flying and diving as fast as she'll dare...”
Echo began to laugh as Scootaloo got into the performance, standing up and singing to an imaginary microphone.
“She's going the distance!
She's going for speed!
She's all alone!
In her time of need!”
Eventually even Scootaloo couldn't keep up with her own silliness, and she fell back onto her seat laughing. Echo began to clap her hooves, and to her surprise, a chorus of other hooves also joined in. She looked to the front of the train car and found that all the ponies who had been afraid moments before were smiling brightly and clapping. “Scoot,” she nudged her daughter, “you've got fans.”
Scootaloo's head popped up over the seat and she blushed brightly, not making eye contact with any of them. “Oops.”
* * *
The rest of the ride was fairly uneventful, with Scootaloo spending most of it hiding her face in her hooves and focusing on her game. Eventually, the train whistle blew, and Echo felt the train start to slow down.
“Scoot, sweetheart, I think we're there.”
“Neat...” she said meekly, looking up out of the corner of her eye, still blushing a bit.
Eventually the train squealed as it came to a halt, and the doors opened. Echo stepped out after the rest of the passengers, with Scootaloo right at her heel. She looked to the rear of the train where her movers were already starting to pull the carts full of her things off. She waved at them, and they started over toward her.
“All right, where to?”
“Follow me!” She smiled and started to walk through town.
Ponies seemed to recognize her, and most of them smiled happily and waved. A few said “good afternoon”. Eventually she arrived at her old home. It still looked the same as she remembered. Immaculate. Her friends must have kept it up for her. She picked up a fake rock near the door and found a spare key still under it. She smiled and turned the lock, stepping in. Aside from having almost no furniture, it was still just as she remembered. The movers began to carry things in through the door, and Echo stepped out when there was a gap. She smiled. “Go on, Scoot, find your friends. We'll meet back here in a while. I'm gonna go see Twilight, okay?”
“All right Mom!” Scootaloo seemed excited, and her little wings buzzed furiously. She bolted off as fast as her hooves could propel her.
Echo chuckled again and started through the town to the library... but found that it was no longer there. She blinked a few times. Where once the library had stood there was now nothing but a slightly charred hole in the ground. “Um... wow. What have I been missing?!” She turned to a passing unicorn and smiled gently. “Excuse me, do you know where Twilight is right now?”
“Oh, she's at the castle.” The stallion smiled and pointed toward a large crystal building.
“That... wasn't there before. Thanks!”
“Sure thing!” He smiled and continued on his way.
It was another few minutes before Echo arrived. She held out her hoof and knocked on the door.
Twilight came to the door... with wings. Echo blinked a few times. “Oh. Hi, Twilight, how's it going? Nice wings, when did that happen?”
“E- Echo?” Twilight tilted her head. “But you were just here...”
Echo laughed. “Feels like ages for me!”
“What happened to the book I gave you?”
“What book?”
“You know, you asked to borrow the final installment of Daring Do? Like five minutes ago?”
“Uh... Twi, are you feeling okay?”
A familiar voice called out from behind. “Oh, Twilight, I almost forgot, I need to buy … a … bookmark...”
Echo turned slowly and her eyes widened as she looked into the eyes of a perfect copy of herself.
“Oh... Hello!” The copy said with a sheepish smile.
Echo's eye twitched a little and her wings buzzed. She launched herself forward at the impostor, tackling her to the ground and tumbling backwards with her.
The impostor looked up from the ground with wide eyes and mouth agape before reaching up her forehooves to try and stave off the next blows that were coming from Echo. By this point, a crowd had started to gather, all watching in rapt fascination, with just a glimmer of terror in the back of their minds.
As Echo was readying herself to drop another blow, she found herself paralyzed in a purple aura. The impostor was similarly disabled, and they were both lifted apart and into the air.
“Enough!” Twilight boomed with surprising force. “We're gonna go have a little talk about this.” She dragged the two of them inside away from the prying eyes of the crowd and slammed the doors.
“Obviously, you're BOTH changelings. Which one of you is Echo?”
“I am!” They both said in unison.
Twilight cocked an eyebrow at them and sighed. “Well, do I need to call up our old friend Chrysalis to help figure this out?”
“That'll work!” Echo smiled.
“No!” The impostor said, terrified, at the same time.
“Ah-ha!” She dropped the impostor and brought up a shining purple bubble around her.
“Thanks, Twilight.” Echo said as she was gently set on the ground.
“Of course, Echo.” Twilight said with a heavy sigh.
The impostor, still in Echo's body, beat on the interior of the bubble frantically. “I'm sorry, please don't call Chrysalis...”
“Who are you?” Twilight interrogated, motioning for the still-seething Echo to stay back.
“I'm Echo!” Her eyes widened and she stammered. “No, no, I'm sorry, I'm not, I just...” There was a green flash as the features that distinguished Echo melted away, revealing a fairly standard changeling drone... a male changeling drone.
“Oh, you've GOT to be kidding me!” Echo snarled.
The drone whimpered and curled up against the inside of the bubble, as far from Echo as he could get. “Really, I'm sorry! I just... I thought you'd moved away for good, and I was just so hungry!” He pleaded. “I didn't mean any harm!”
“You've been gallivanting around in my body stealing love and you didn't mean any harm?”
“Echo!” Twilight stomped a hoof and shot her a glare. “Not that long ago you weren't much different, remember?”
Echo began to protest but shut her mouth and furrowed her brow instead. “Well, now I'm back, so there's no need for two of me.”
“Where will I go?” The drone pleaded.
“Don't care. Not my problem.”
“Echo, come on, that's not very kind.” Twilight admonished. “Nopony's arguing that what she –”
“He! That's a male drone, can't you tell?!”
“He, sorry. Nopony's arguing that what he did was right, but just throwing him to the timberwolves is hardly the right answer. We should try to help him, just like all your friends helped you when we found out.” She glanced back at the bubble. “Besides, look at him. He's terrified. I don't think he'd hurt anypony.”
Echo narrowed her eyes at him and snorted a little. “As long as he isn't MY problem.”
Twilight yielded, shaking her head. “Fine, that's better than trying to kill him. Go on home, Echo, I've got this handled.”
Echo had turned to leave when the drone spoke again. “Uh... Echo...?”
“WHAT?!” She bellowed without turning back around.
“Don't be surprised if a tall, light brown stallion with blue eyes and a curly mane comes knocking for you...” He winced. “You probably know him, Parcel Post?”
“Did... did you get a COLTFRIEND?!”
The drone winced again and nodded. “I was hungry.”
She trembled with rage. “Did you --”
“NO! No, Chrysalis no.” He seemed to read her mind. “I'm still a stallion, I like mares.” He nodded.
Echo snarled again and stomped her way out of the castle, heading home. This return was off to a great start.
* * *
Scootaloo waited outside the schoolyard for the bell to ring. Once it did, she hid behind a bush and waited for Sweetie and Apple Bloom to trot out. She also made sure to toss her gum into Diamond Tiara's mane while she wasn't looking.
“Did you get a letter from Scootaloo too?” Sweetie's voice rang out.
“Ah did. D'ya think she's comin' back from boardin' school?”
Boarding school? What? She held off jumping out to listen a bit longer.
“I wonder what happened?”
“Knowin' Scoot, she just got tired of all the eggheads.” Apple Bloom snickered quietly. “I'm happy she's gonna be back though, ain't you, Sweetie?”
“Oh yeah! I missed her so much! The Cutie Mark Crusaders haven't been the same since we lost a crusader!”
“Ah know! Crusadin' just don't feel right without her there.”
Scootaloo grinned and figured that was as good a cue as any. She jumped up out of the bush and landed behind them. “Good thing I'm back then, girls!” She beamed.
Her friends both screamed and jumped in the air, twisting around almost like cats. They landed, shock on their faces still, and took just another moment to notice that it was Scootaloo who had scared them.
Their faces slowly changed from fear to absolute joy, and they screamed in elation, jumped forward, and tackled Scootaloo in a hug.
“Ah'm so glad yer back, Scoot! Ah missed ya somethin' fierce!”
“It's been so hard without you Scootaloo!” Sweetie hugged tighter.
“How was boardin' school?”
“What's boarding school?” Scootaloo tilted her head.
“W--” Apple Bloom shared a confused glance with Sweetie. “Miss Echo told us you'd gone off t' a different school in Las Pegasus. We asked why she hadn't gone, too, and she said she'd decided t' just stay here and keep working with Rarity. She said there was a thing called boardin' school where a filly lived at school instead of at home with her parents.”
“Why did Mom tell you that?” Scootaloo was shocked. “When did she tell you that?”
“Back when you left...” Sweetie said, sounding concerned now. “Is everything okay Scootaloo?”
“Well... what about when Mom wasn't working for Rarity anymore? Didn't you girls wonder where she went?”
“She's been here the whole time, Scoot...” Apple Bloom said, now also seeming concerned.
Scootaloo hadn't put two and two together yet. Her brow furrowed. “I'm gonna go find Mom.”
“We're comin' too!” Apple Bloom declared, and the three of them all traipsed off to find Echo.
The trio arrived at Scootaloo and Echo's house a few minutes later. Scoot opened the door and stepped in. “MOM!” She shouted. “What the HAY?!”
“Language!” Came a reply from upstairs, followed by the buzzing of wings. She flittered down the stairs and touched down in front of the girls. “Good to see you girls again.” She smiled brightly, trying to hide her unyielding rage.
“Why did you tell Sweetie and Apple Bloom that I'd gone to BOARDING SCHOOL?!”
Echo sighed. “We have something to discuss.”
“You're DAMN right!”
“Hey!” Echo clamped Scoot's mouth shut with a quick glow from her horn as the other two fillies let out a startled gasp. “You watch it, missy.” She released the hold and motioned for the fillies to sit.
“I wanna know what happened, Mom.” Scootaloo glared.
“If you'd stop jumping the gun, I could explain. Are you done?” A gentle nod 'yes' and an irritated growl were the response. “Okay. Now... when I went to see Twilight just now, something strange happened...”
She went on to relay the rest of the story, explaining that for the past two years, the “Echo” living in Ponyville had, in fact, been an impostor.
“Where is she now?” Scootaloo seemed livid, almost trembling with rage.
“Well, he's over at Twilight's.”
“He?! A colt changeling was pretending to be you?” Sweetie Belle seemed horrified.
“Ah can't believe that wasn't you all this time...” Apple Bloom shivered.
“I'mma punch a changeling!” Scootaloo stood and ran for the door before Echo could stop her.
“Uh-oh.” Echo bolted after, and the other two fillies followed.
* * *
"So what's your real name?" Twilight asked her captive.
"Ricochet." He winced.
"Well, Ricochet, how long have you been in Ponyville?"
"About two and a quarter years I think?" He shivered. "Are you gonna let me go?"
"We'll talk about that in a bit. How long have you been pretending to be Echo?"
"Only two years..."
"Only two. Right. Okay, well... we can't let you pretend to be her anymore."
"Then who will I be?"
"Ricochet."
"No, I know that, but who will I LOOK like."
"Yourself!" She beamed brightly.
Ricochet's eyes widened again and he renewed his efforts to break free from the bubble-prison that Twilight had made for him. "No! No, no no! Can't do that, that'd be bad!"
"You know, Echo and Chrysalis used to think the same thing." Twilight smiled gently.
"CHRYSALIS IS HERE?"
"No, not right now. She's been gone for a few weeks now. She wouldn't tell me why, though..." Twilight pursed her lips a little. "Anyway, I promise you'll be safe. I'll help you. Now, if I let you go, are you gonna try anything funny?" She raised an eyebrow again.
"...No..." Ricochet said meekly.
"All right. Promise?"
"Yeah..." He said with eyes full of fear.
The bubble collapsed and he stood, looking around the room. "I'm sor--"
Just then, the doors to Twilight's castle burst open, and Scootaloo ran over quicker than even Twilight could react, landing a hoof right into Ricochet's cheek. He fell onto his side, unconscious. His wings twitched a bit, buzzing against the floor. "THAT'S FOR MESSING WITH MY MOM!" She raised another hoof to hit again before Twilight pushed her back with a harmless blast of magic.
"What is with you and your Mom punching ponies?!" She said, exasperated.
Ricochet slowly regained consciousness. "Did anyling get the number of that train?"
"Scootaloo!" The filly shouted.
"Thanks..." He stood, wobbling around, still not quite back in control of himself all the way.
Echo arrived after a few tense moments and looked at the scene. "Scoot, why did you do that?"
"He pissed me off..."
"What did I say about that language?!" She clamped Scootaloo's mouth shut again. "Sorry, Twilight."
"Okay! Enough!" Twilight shouted, a few strands of her mane coming undone. "We are ALL going to sit down and talk like civilized ponies. No more barging in, no more punching, no more cursing. Understood?!"
Everyone in the room except for Ricochet nodded silently and followed, shocked by the princess' sudden anger.
"Your mane is pretty..." Ricochet said lazily to Twilight as he followed, still unsteady on his hooves.
After about ten minutes of explanation, everyone was up to speed about what exactly had happened. Twilight exhaled sharply. "Does anypony else have any questions?"
"Is Ricochet part of Miss Echo's family?" Sweetie asked innocently.
"Absolutely NOT." Echo and Scootaloo said succinctly before sharing a nod.
Ricochet's ears laid back against his head a bit, but he nodded in agreement.
"I have a question..." a familiar, feminine voice filled the entire room, seeming to come from everywhere at once. "Exactly what possessed you to impersonate the daughter of your Queen?"
A pair of serpentine eyes glowed green behind Ricochet, and Chrysalis slowly materialized in an inferno of green flames. She stared daggers at the drone below her, who looked up over his shoulder paralyzed in fear.
"Hi Mom." Echo smiled at the terrifying visage.
"Gramma!" Scootaloo ran over and hugged tightly around one of Chrysalis' legs. Ricochet seemed to soften at the sight.
"Not now, sweetheart," Chrysalis cooed gently down to Scootaloo. "Gramma's busy scaring the living daylights out of an idiot."
"Mission already accomplished, your Highness!" Ricochet squeaked, swallowing the frog in his throat. He regretted speaking instantly as Chrysalis' head snapped back to face him.
"Were it not for my... reformation..." She sneered at the word as if it left a bad taste in her mouth, "I'd have killed you already."
"Chrysalis!" Twilight boomed again. "Would you PLEASE sit down? I only just managed to defuse this situation, and I really don't need you lighting it up again."
"As you wish..." She walked gracefully over to a seat that was about two sizes too small for her, and sat down as regally as she could manage, never once taking her eyes off of Ricochet.
The experience proved to be too much for the young drone, though, and he began to babble incoherently in his panic. His eyes seemed to dart around the room. His wings buzzed erratically. He clambered to his hooves and ran for the closed door of the room, pounding on it frantically, and utterly ignoring Twilight's pleading for him to relax. Eventually, he turned around, heaved a few more breaths, and passed out on his side.
There was a long moment of silence as everyone looked at the unconscious changeling, before Chrysalis spoke.
Twilight picked Ricochet off the ground and carried him gently back to his chair, setting him down softly and shaking her head. “Listen, everypony... can you please try not to be so mean to him? He's obviously terrified, and I'm pretty sure that means he's sorry for what he did.”
“How are you not angry, Twilight? He was impersonating me for two years.”
“I am angry, but that doesn't mean I'm going to keep taking it out on him when he obviously regrets his actions.” She sighed. “Friends don't hold grudges.”
“Friends?” Chrysalis asked incredulously. “You're friends with this little fool?” She sneered.
Twilight whipped around and glared at Chrysalis. “You know, when a lot of ponies heard I was friends with Queen Chrysalis, they asked me something pretty similar to that.”
The Queen's eyes narrowed. “Who called me little?”
“Ugh!” Twilight groaned, another few strands of her mane popping out of place. “Just stop insulting him, okay? Keep your anger to yourself.”
Echo and Chrysalis shared a glance, as if to say “yeah, right.”
Scootaloo, meanwhile, was busy trying to soak up everything that had just happened. This isn't what she'd expected from her return to Ponyville. She had her friends at least, but … why did it have to be drama as soon as they got back? Why couldn't they just enjoy being back at home for a while before some new thing had to happen? It wasn't fair. It wasn't right. She spent two years away from here, away from her friends, away from everything she knew. She wasn't mad at her mother about it, at least she didn't think she was; she was just mad that she didn't even get to settle back in before some new catastrophe had to sneak up on them! She glared at the unconscious changeling. It was all his fault. He just had to impersonate her mom; he couldn't have chosen anypony else, or even used somepony who didn't even live in Ponyville and tried to make a name for himself, like her mom had done originally.
“He's selfish.” Scootaloo said, still glaring. “He ruined it all... us coming back. Completely ruined it.”
“Hey, it's not that bad,” Echo started, “you've still got your friends, and we have our hou-”
“No, Mom. He ruined it! All I wanted was to get back to my life without having to worry about something awful happening, and we didn't even make it an hour!” She seethed. “It's not fair, and it's all his fault!” At this point, Ricochet had begun to wake up. Scootaloo noticed and pointed. “It's your fault!”
He shrank back in his seat as he remembered where he was. He tried to hide himself under the table in front of him as much as possible. “I'm sorry...” He squeaked.
“You're sorry?! You ruined everything, and you're sorry?!”
Echo furrowed her brow again. Well, he didn't ruin EVERYTHING. That's a little dramatic... jeeze... poor guy. We already scared the daylights out of him, this is just cruel. “Hey, Scoot...”
“WHAT, Mom?”
“Back off a little. I think he gets the point.”
“You're taking HIS side?” She shook her head and groaned, standing and walking for the door. “Whatever. I'll be at home.”
Echo watched her daughter leave, and once she was gone turned to Twilight. “Okay, pardon my language, but what the hell was that?”
Twilight shrugged. “She's a 13 year old filly. Get ready for at least 5 more years of that.”
“Don't look at me. I'm powerless to stop pony hormones.” Chrysalis laughed.
“That's true,” Echo had an idea, “but she does seem to love you a whole lot.”
“Tastes like chocolate.” Chrysalis nodded plainly.
“Do you think you could go talk to her?”
“What, you want me to tell her she shouldn't hate this little idiot?” She pointed to Ricochet. “I can't do that, I hate him too.”
“Can you at least pretend? Try to set a good example for her?”
“I think I set a fine example.”
“For a changeling, but not for a little pegasus filly.”
The two stared daggers at each other for a few seconds before Chrysalis sighed. “Okay. Just for you though, and you owe me!”
“Thank you Mother.” Echo shook her head again as Chrysalis moved to leave. She wondered if maybe she herself were the cause for her daughter's behavior. Honestly, it seemed almost like Scootaloo was trying to be a changeling. The only problem was that pony brains weren't the same, they didn't parse their emotions the same way. The aggression that served as an undertone for almost everything changelings did could conceivably seep into everything a pony did. Was this behavior her fault? Had she been setting a poor example? Maybe it wasn't a good idea for a changeling to raise a filly.
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom seemed to notice that Echo was in distress. They stood and walked over.
“Miss Echo,” Apple Bloom started, putting a hoof to the changeling's. “Are you okay?”
Echo looked down at the fillies. They were a hoof or two taller than when she'd first met them, but they were still small next to her. She smiled gently, trying to hide the turmoil she was feeling. “Yes... I'm fine. Why don't you go find Scootaloo and my mother? I'm sure Scoot would love to have you girls with her.” She patted Apple Bloom's hoof and nodded, giving permission for them to leave.
“All right, Miss Echo...” Sweetie Belle nodded quickly. “See you later!” She and Apple Bloom turned to leave.
“All right. So... Ricochet.” She huffed to Twilight.
“Yeah?” Ricochet piped in.
“Still not talking to you. Talking to Twilight.” She grumbled. “What are we going to do about him?”
“I can't keep him here, Echo. He'd... well, I think he'd cause trouble with Chrysalis.”
Echo nodded. “I can see that. Still, I don't know who else would take him. Dash doesn't really know how to take care of a changeling, and there's always the risk he'd just run away.”
“I wouldn't.”
“Shut up.” She quipped, and his ears plastered back. She continued, “I don't know where to take him.”
“Well, Echo...” Twilight winced. “Those are all valid points. I think... you might be the only one who can help him.”
“You're kidding me, right?” She sputtered, looking over at Ricochet. The drone seemed intrigued and terrified all at once. “You want me to try to take care of Scootaloo and watch after this drone? The drone who was impersonating me for two years?” She shook her head. “Have you lost your mind?”
“I'm open to suggestions, Echo.” Twilight folded her forehooves.
“Hey, don't pawn this off on me. I don't claim to have the answers, but he isn't my responsibility.”
“I'm not gonna hurt anyone...” He said meekly. “Really, I'm not.” His ears perked up and he looked at Echo with almost a pleading gaze.
Echo glared back at him for a tense moment before sighing loudly. “It's temporary, do you hear me? Both of you. Temporary. You do not live with me; you are a guest and nothing more. You are not a part of my family. Capice?”
Ricochet's wings buzzed and he flew into the air a bit, smiling brightly. “Neat! Thanks Echo, you rock!” He flew toward her to wrap her in a hug, but his face met an outstretched hoof.
“No. None of that. Shame on you.” She admonished as he fell to the ground, rubbing his muzzle.
“Uh... right. Sorry.” He stood, dusted himself off, and watched Echo carefully.
She stood as well and straightened her posture, standing as tall as she could. “Twilight, I suppose we will have to continue this later.” As she spoke, the drone behind her did his best to stand in the same upright posture, seeming almost posh. “It's been good to see you again. I'm sorry it wasn't under better circumstances.” Echo smiled softly and turned, failing to notice the change in Ricochet's posture. “Come, drone.”
“Yes Echo.” He followed directly behind her, copying her gait perfectly as well.
Twilight suppressed a giggle as she watched the drone canter out of the castle with a distinctly feminine and faintly regal step. “I'll see you two later.”
The pair of changelings stepped outside, and Ricochet sped up a bit to walk next to Echo, still mimicking her steps. She glanced to the side and raised a single brow. “Why are you walking like that?”
“I think I'm supposed to learn from you, right? You know how to be with ponies. So, I'm gonna be like you.”
Echo looked around at the ponies around them. As soon as they noticed Ricochet, they would turn and walk – sometimes run – in the opposite direction. “Ah, yes.” She gave a single chuckle. “That's obviously working brilliantly.”
“Really?” He smiled brightly. “I'll keep doing it. It's a little hard to stay balanced putting one hoof right in front of the other like this.” He looked down and pranced in place a little. “I'll get the hang of it though, Miss Echo!”
“You know, I'm curious,” Echo resumed walking, “where exactly did you come from?”
“Hive of Queen Exuvia, level four structure reinforcement drone, sector seven.” He recited as if from memory.
“Exuvia? I've never heard of Queen Exuvia. Where's your hive?”
At that, he paused. “I... I can't tell you. Sorry.”
“I'm not part of Chrysalis' hive anymore. She doesn't even have a hive.” She waited a second and then waived a hoof dismissively. “Whatever, keep it to yourself then.”
“What was it like in Chrysalis' hive?” He buzzed his wings, trying to keep his balance. His stockier body made walking in such a feminine way much more difficult.
She hummed, thinking of how best to describe it. “Well... for the most part, it was just life, but I guess in retrospect it was pretty hard. We were always on the brink of starving to death. There were some good times, of course, but I think it was around the point when Luna returned that things got hard. Ponies were all so on-edge, love was harder to come by. Chrysalis saw how badly we were starving, and... she made a really bad decision.” Echo sighed. “Most of the changelings from our hive... I'm sure it hasn't been good times for them.”
“Exuvia was always really nice. I remember once one of my coworkers was caught in a cave-in, trapped behind a wall of rubble. She actually spent her own energy to blast the barrier.” He smiled.
“For a single drone?” Echo looked at him, surprised by that kind of generosity from a queen. Usually in that situation, either the drones sorted it out for themselves or the trapped one died. It was just one of the hazards that structural drones had to live with. “Why?”
“Because she didn't want him to die. We never had that much trouble with staying fed.”
They walked for another few moments in silence while Echo thought. “Sounds like you had it pretty good. Why'd you leave?”
“Well... I didn't want to. We used to be in the griffon lands off to the east, but a dragon moved into the mountain where we'd made our hive.”
“Why does this sound like a familiar story?” She chuckled. “Was the mountain Lonely?”
“Sometimes.” He continued, not catching the reference. “Anyway, things got kinda... hot. Not many of us made it out. I don't even know where the rest of my hive is.”
Echo nodded. “Yeah. It's rough sometimes without other changelings to talk to. I get it.”
“Well, now we don't have to worry about being alone.” He smiled at her, ears swiveling forward.
Echo smiled reflexively before shaking her head a little and looking away. “Yeah, well, don't get used to it, buddy. You're gonna learn how to make your own friends and then you're on your own. This is a temporary arrangement; my house is full as it is, and I'm sure Scootaloo won't be too happy about you moving in either! ”
“Oh...” He seemed crestfallen for just a moment before smiling again. “I bet I can help her come out of her shell!”
“She isn't in a shell, she just doesn't like changelings that impersonate her mother for two years and lie to her friends.”
His ears shot back again and he winced. “Ah, Right. That.”
The rest of the walk home was in silence. Echo opened the door and showed him upstairs to a spare bedroom. “Here. I assume this is the room you've been squatting in, since that bed wasn't mine?”
“Uh... yeah. Thanks, Miss Echo.” He said sheepishly, walking into the room and sitting down. “I can't wait for my first lesson!” He said, trying to be cheery again.
Echo looked at him for a moment before nodding quietly and closing the door behind her. She went down to the living room and laid back on the couch. How did this happen to me? She sat there for a little while before she stood and walked over to her record collection. Eventually she picked one – something in classical – and set it on the record player before sitting back down to read again. She barely made it five minutes before she heard hooves behind her.
“What are you reading?” Ricochet asked quietly.
“Okay. First, standing behind me is creepy. Second, don't read over my shoulder. Third, why do you care?”
“I just want to get to know you.”
“You're wasting your time on that, remember? This is all temporary.”
“What's temporary?” Chrysalis' voice flowed like honey through the entire floor as she reached the bottom of the stairs. “Why is the drone here?”
Ricochet jumped over the back of the couch to hide from the queen, landing on top of Echo. She let out a loud “oof”.
“Get! OFF!” She rolled him off of her onto the ground in front of the couch, and he quickly scrambled under it. She shook her head. “Look, it's okay. Mother isn't going to hurt you.”
“I'm sorry...” he pleaded as Echo pulled him out from under the couch. He sat, trying not to look at the Queen directly. His attention began to wander around the room.
"Though I would certainly like to." Chrysalis interjected under her breath. "Now, as I was asking...?"
Echo sat up and rubbed her head a bit. “Well, Mother, it's an... assignment... from Twilight. Seems my job is to get him ready to integrate into pony society.”
Ricochet was now buzzing around the room, investigating all the new furniture Echo had brought with her. Eventually, he found his way into the kitchen and picked up a pasta strainer. He sat it on his head and smiled brightly. “Miss Echo, I like this hat. It's got holes in it like my hooves!”
As Echo groaned and planted her face in her hooves, Chrysalis gave her a couple words of encouragement.
“An idiot. He's practically one of them already. Should be no challenge at all."
“Thanks.” She deadpanned back. “Where's Scootaloo?”
“Upstairs with her friends. They're playing some kind of game called 'truth or dare'. Personally, I fail to see the point of it.”
“Well, you would, wouldn't you?” Echo snickered. “I guess I need to figure out how to tell her about this.”
“Considering how just a little while ago she was ready to feed him his own teeth in a single file line, I'm sure this will go over well.”
An empty coffee mug flew past Ricochet, who dodged it with just a few millimeters to spare, before it shattered against the wall behind him.
"No way! I'm not sharing a house with HIM!" Scootaloo screamed.
Echo stood in shock at the outburst. "Hey! Absolutely unacceptable!"
"Oh, what? Me throwing a cup is unacceptable? What about having the changeling who impersonated you for two years living under the same roof like it's just NO BIG DEAL?" She picked up a book and threw that. It pegged Ricochet in the side, not really causing any damage. "Because to me, that's pretty damn unacceptable!"
"What's going on?" Sweetie Belle called as she and Apple Bloom rushed down the stairs.
"Is everythin' all right?"
"No! It isn't! It's not all right at all!" She fought tears. "Hey, Apple Bloom, do you think I could spend the night at your place? I need some space."
"Well, ah'd need t' check with AJ and Big Mac first, but I don't think they'd have a problem."
"Thanks. I'll talk to you some time tomorrow, MOM." She sneered and barged out of the house. Sweetie Belle followed to try to make sure everything was okay, and Apple Bloom held back for just a moment.
"Sorry, Miss Echo..."
Echo let out a depressed groan. "It's all right, 'Bloom. You're just trying to be a good friend. Keep her safe, okay? I'll drop by tomorrow if I don't hear from you by the time she's usually home after school lets out."
The filly nodded in agreement and bounded out the door.
There was a moment of tense silence before a low chuckle filled the room. It gradually grew into a full belly-laugh. Chrysalis was literally rolling on the floor as she guffawed.
"Oh, and what, pray tell, is so funny?"
She looked up, wiping her eyes, and threw a book at Ricochet.
This one hit him square between the eyes, and he yelped in pain, putting a hoof to his forehead.
"That!" Chrysalis' hooves flailed in the air as she laughed.
"All right." Echo looked over to Ricochet with a sigh. "Step one, we need to find someone you can spend time with besides me and Chrysalis. Let's start by putting the strainer -- that thing you're wearing as a hat -- back where it belongs."
"Oh... okay..." He put it back into the cabinet where he had found it. "What are we going to do first?"
"We're going to introduce you to my friends."
* * *
"Echo, darling! Please, come in!" Rarity beamed as she opened the door to Carousel Boutique. "Who is your new friend here?" She looked at Ricochet, currently in disguise as a stallion he had seen on the way over.
"Hi, Rarity. It's been too long." Echo yielded and gave the unicorn a gentle hug. "This is Ricochet. He's... in need of assistance."
"Ricochet? What a curious name. How do you do?" She extended her hoof to him daintily. "I must say, you look a great deal like Golden Delicious."
"Who's that?" He asked, tilting his head.
"Oh, one of Applejack's... cousins? I think. Don't you worry. Come in, come in!" She ushered him into the building, shutting the door. "If I may be so bold, Echo, I thought you and Parcel Post were a bit of an odd couple. Mister Ricochet here, though is quite the dashing stallion! You're a lucky mare."
"Oh, no," Echo laughed. "You've got this all wrong. I'm not -- hey, Ricochet, stop blushing and wipe that grin off your face. Just... change already?"
"Uh... right." He winced and chuckled nervously before surrounding himself in a cloak of flame.
Rarity shouted in surprise and stepped back.
"Hi!" He beamed at her.
"Oh, heavens!" She threw a hoof to her forehead and pulled a red couch seemingly from nowhere, upon which she promptly fainted.
"I didn't mean to hurt her!" He bit his hoof as he looked at her. "What did I do?"
"Don't worry about it, she'll come around..."
* * *
Scootaloo was sulking outside the Apple Family's barn. Sweetie had gone home for the evening, and Apple Bloom was inside cooking dinner.
"Mom likes that other changeling more than she likes me!" She huffed. "I don't know why she even keeps me around. First chance she got, she was forgetting about me. It's not FAIR!" She whipped around and drove a hoof into the barn door. She instantly regretted the decision, hopping in place and holding her hoof. "Ow, ow, ow..." She fought back a tear from the pain. "Stupid door..."
"Hey." A filly's voice called out. It was Sweetie Belle. "What's goin' on?"
"Huh? Is that you Sweetie? I thought you went home."
"Yeah, but it was boring, so I came to check up on you. I heard you talking to yourself, then I heard a bang, then I heard someone saying 'ow' a whole lot. You okay?" She sat next to Scootaloo.
"Y-yeah. I'm fine. Just..."
"Lonely?" Sweetie tilted her head. "I understand that. I've been lonely a lot, too."
"You, Sweetie? Even with your parents and Rarity?"
"Sure. Everyone gets lonely." She smiled softly.
Scootaloo nodded, unsure what else to say, and stared down at the ground beneath her hooves for a moment.
Eventually, Sweetie spoke again. "I've got an idea, let's go have some fun!" She grinned. "C'mon, follow me!" Sweetie got up and began to gallop off into the distance.
Scootaloo tilted her head, but followed after a moment of indecision. "Where are we going?"
"To have fun!" Sweetie giggled.
Scootaloo followed quietly. They ran down the road from the farm, through the market square, past town hall, and right up to the theater. A play was in progress, and the sounds of archaic language could be heard faintly from outside.
"All right, we need to sneak in there." Sweetie said, biting her lip a little and looking over the building. "I think I have an idea."
"Why are we sneaking in there? It doesn't look very fun, Sweetie."
"Trust me!" She giggled. "Follow my lead." She trotted up to the door, where a single stallion acted as a gatekeeper. "Hi mister! My sister's in here, she told me to come find her after I cleaned my room. Scootaloo is my friend."
"Hi there, kids. Do you have your tickets?"
"Sure do!" Sweetie reached around to grab them, but then widened her eyes and began to pat herself frantically. "Oh no! I think I dropped them! I'm sorry! Rarity's gonna be so mad with me!" Her lip quivered.
The guard stuck out his lip a bit and looked around before sighing and waving a hoof. "Aw, go on in. Have a good time, kids. It's nice to see young ones taking an interest in classics!"
"Really?! Thanks mister!" She beamed and hopped inside.
Scootaloo waited until they were out of earshot before she whispered, "how did you do that?"
"It's called a 'hussle'." She smiled. "Can you guess why we're here?"
"To get a nap?" Scootaloo looked at the play and yawned.
"Look over there. Top floor, third row, second column." She pointed to a section of seats that was overhanging stage left.
"Is that... is that Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara?" Filthy Rich was sitting next to them, obviously their chaperone for the night. The pair were ignoring the play entirely, instead just quietly talking with each other. Silver Spoon had the aisle seat.
"Yep!" Sweetie grinned maliciously and rubbed her hooves together. "Ever wanted to get back at them for picking on you guys so much?"
"Wow, Sweetie... I didn't know you were so vengeful..." Scootaloo hesitated. "... but yes." She nodded fervently. "It's gotta be EPIC though. Like seriously amazing."
"Oh, it will be..." She snickered again and pointed up toward the ceiling. "See those catwalks up there? One of them is going right over their seat. All we need to do now is get to the props and makeup. Come on, follow me... and stay quiet."
Scootaloo felt her heart racing. She really didn't know Sweetie was such a troublemaker. She was also fairly amazed that she was going along with this plan. Mischief was par for the course as a Cutie Mark Crusader, obviously, but this was... almost too far. Almost.
The theater, viewed as a floorplan, was best described as a ring of concentric half-circles. The outermost ring was a lobby that enveloped the theater proper, and at either end of the half-circle was a door marked "STAFF ONLY DO NOT ENTER". The door Sweetie led them to was stage right, and flanked on either side by large potted plants. Sweetie hid behind one and motioned for Scootaloo to hide behind the other.
Scootaloo was just about to ask what they were doing when the door clicked and a mare with a clipboard stepped out, distracted by whatever she was doing. Sweetie moved behind her just in time to stick a hoof in the closing door, and motioned for her partner in crime to follow again. Once they had passed through into the staff-only area, Sweetie looked around. "Costumes and props are there! See if you can find feathers or something else light and airy that would stick easily." She grinned. "I'm gonna go get something else. When you have it, go up that stairway over there until you find the catwalks. You'll see me right over where they're sitting, okay?"
"Sweetie, this is crazy. What are we doing?"
"Come on, it's gonna be fun, don't be a ch--" she paused, seeing a glare from Scootaloo. "Fraidey-cat."
Scootaloo hesitated another moment before nodding silently, and Sweetie bolted off.
She searched around for feathers or anything similar, but couldn't find more than a few that were attached to costumes. Eventually though, she saw a pile of pillows in the corner. She bit her lip for a moment before she walked over and began to rip them open. She pulled over a nearby bucket and began to fill it with feathers. After about two minutes, she'd filled two ten-gallon buckets with feathers. She found what she assumed was a walking stick prop and used it to lift both buckets over her back at the same time.
The climb up the stairs was the hard part. They were a metal mesh, and they made noise if she moved too fast. The railing was also a problem, since if the buckets hit them at all, it made an awful racket. Eventually she got up to the top where the catwalks were. A quick glance down had her regretting this decision. They were at least ten meters above the stage, and she couldn't fly! She swallowed the lump in her throat and looked around for Sweetie. Eventually she saw her with a bucket of her own. She was mixing something vigorously. Scootaloo slowly made her way over.
"I got the feathers," she whispered, "what now?"
"Just hold on to 'em." She pulled the stirring stick away from the big bucket she had.
"What is that stuff?" Scootaloo asked as she carefully sat the bucket down. She noticed that the seats their targets were in were only about three meters below them.
"Liquid latex!" She smiled. "They use it to do makeup. So... I'm gonna dump this on them, then you're gonna dump those on them. They'll be sorry they ever called you a chicken!"
Scootaloo grinned. She knew it was wrong but she couldn't help but smile at the idea of those two finally getting what was coming to them. "Oh, I'm in."
* * *
The play was reaching one of the most iconic moments.
"Great Caesar,--"
"Doth not Brutus bootless kneel?" Caesar motioned incredulously to the ponies in front of him.
"Speak, hooves for me!" A pony shouted from behind him before plunging a dagger into his back. The others stood and soon a flurry of daggers were being buried into him.
Eventually, the pained and shocked Caesar's eyes met Brutus, who quickly pulled his dagger back.
"Et tu, Brute! Then fall, Caesar." Caesar fell to his side.
At that moment, a scream could be heard from the section over stage left, as two fillies were drenched in liquid latex, and moments later covered in feathers. The distinct sound of two more fillies laughing and fleeing along the catwalk was clearly audible. The players, however, were far too professional to stop the play.
"Liberty! Freedom! Tyranny is dead! Run hence, proclaim, cry it about the streets."
"Some to the common pulpits, and cry out 'Liberty, freedom, and enfranchisement!'"
"People and senators, be not affrighted; fly not; stand stiff: ambition's debt is paid."
* * *
A few minutes later, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo leaned against the railing of a bridge outside, catching their breaths both from running and from laughing.
"Did you see their faces?" Sweetie asked breathlessly, a massive smile on her face.
"That... was... perfect!" Scootaloo managed between breaths. "You were right, that was fun!"
"What was fun?" A stallion's voice said from behind them.
The fillies turned around, all joy sapped from their faces, as they saw a police stallion looking at them with profound displeasure.
* * *
There was a knock on the door of Carousel Boutique, and Rarity looked up. "Pardon me, you two," She said quietly to Echo and Ricochet, "I need to get this. Just stay back here, I'm sure nopony will see you." She trotted to the door and opened it, to find the Police Stallion standing there, Sweetie and Scootaloo standing behind him and looking ashamed.
"I believe one of these is your sister? Her parents are currently out of town."
"Yes... that's Sweetie Belle. Scootaloo's mother is here too. What happened?"
"They played a bit of a prank on a couple of their classmates, and... well, let's just say these two won't be allowed at the theater any time soon... and that they'll both be required to do 30 hours of community service."
Rarity sighed and nodded. "Yes. I understand. Thank you, officer, I can take it from here. Have a lovely evening."
"You too, Miss Rarity." He turned and left, and the door was closed behind him.
"Echo, I think we have a little problem to tend to."
"What now?" Echo came around the corner.
"Our little fillies here got in a bit of trouble with the law. Seems they both have 30 hours of community service to do."
"Oh, please," Sweetie Belle cackled, walking into the center of the room before erupting into flames, revealing Queen Chrysalis. "Like I'd ever actually do that?"
That explains a lot. Scootaloo thought to herself.
Rarity screamed and held out a chair in front of her. "What did you do with Sweetie Belle?!"
"She's upstairs asleep." Chrysalis shrugged, waving a hoof dismissively. "I didn't hurt her. Didn't even touch her."
Echo slowly began to laugh. Scootaloo noticed that it was actually more than a little unsettling... like something in her mom had just broken. "You're wrong about one thing Mother... you're going to do that community service..."
"I hardly think you can --"
"You got Scootaloo in trouble with... whatever you did. So... rather than make her do that, you're going to do it for her, right?"
"Well... I..." She growled at Echo. "I suppose that's fair!"
"You're also going to do it for Sweetie Belle, aren't you?" Rarity walked up to the Queen, suddenly quite bold.
"I don't think so!" Chrysalis laughed loudly.
"Oh, but I do! You're still on probation with the Princesses! All I have to do is tell Twilight about this, and POOF! Off to the dungeons with you!"
Chrysalis' eyes widened and she sputtered a little. "Damn it!"
Chrysalis grumbled angrily before quietly traipsing off back to Twilight's castle. She had reluctantly agreed to suffer the consequences for the outing she instigated.
"Don't think you're getting off scot-free, Scootaloo." Echo chided, "You still should have known better."
Scootaloo's ears plastered back. "What am I gonna have to do?"
Echo took a moment to stop and think of something that Scootaloo would hate doing enough to be a fitting punishment. A smile crept across her face slowly as she figured it out. "You're going to have to spend some time helping Ricochet learn about ponies."
"No!" Her eyes widened. "Please no!"
Ricochet was in the other room, and heard this entire exchange. He felt his ears droop and he looked down at the floor of Rarity's living room as he slowly picked up his cup of tea again.
"Yes." Echo stated. "I can't help him all on my own, he's going to need an actual pony to learn from, too."
"But Mom, I --"
"Nope. Don't want to hear it. You're going to start tomorrow. Got it, missy? Now go home. You're grounded, effective immediately."
Scootaloo groaned loudly and stomped her hooves out the door, slamming it behind her.
Rarity nodded as the two mares walked back to the living room. "Excellent parenting if I do say so myself."
"You're not a mom though, are you?"
"Oh, heavens no!" Rarity laughed. "I'm far too young to worry about such things. Besides, it would positively ruin my figure. No, no, no. I'm quite sure I won't be having any foals any time soon." Rarity turned to look at Ricochet, and her smiling face quickly turned into one of concern. "Oh, dear. You look absolutely dreadful, Ricochet. What's the matter?"
Ricochet looked up at Rarity and opened his mouth to respond, but his eyes met Echo's, and he thought better of it, choosing to look back down at the ground. Echo didn't seem to notice.
Rarity, however, did. "Echo, darling, do you suppose you could give us a minute or two of privacy?"
"Huh? Uh... sure, yeah. I'll just wait out in the parlor."
Once Echo was out of the room, Rarity sat across from Ricochet. "Now, dear, tell me what's wrong."
He looked up and hesitated for just a moment. "I don't know what I'm doing."
"What ever do you mean?"
"I mean... all my life, I've been in a hive. I'd never even seen a pony until two years ago. My job was to help build the hive and make sure that nothing was going to collapse. I never needed to go anywhere or do anything. Now that I'm out on my own, I just don't know what I'm doing. Apparently that thing I thought was a hat was something called a 'colander', and I don't even know what it was for. The two years when I lived in miss Echo's house, all I had was a mattress on the floor in her spare bedroom. I didn't cook, I didn't let anyone inside, I just came here and tried to sew."
"Ah. I thought Echo's work had deteriorated, I suppose that does explain a fair amount." She tried her best to disguise the disgust she felt at knowing he had been impersonating her friend.
He looked at her with eyes wide, tears in the corner. "See? I know you don't like that. I know you're upset with me, disgusted with me. I can tell. I can taste it. I don't even understand why. All I needed was a way to live without my hive. I don't understand how miss Echo does it. She says she just has friends, but ..."
"What is it?" Rarity felt genuine remorse for having made him feel worse about himself, but she couldn't help her thoughts and emotions.
"... I'm never going to make friends. I don't know how to, and nobody likes me. Scootaloo hates me, and so does Queen Chrysalis. I think Echo does too. Now you do. Probably the rest of your friends will also hate me."
"I don't hate you, Ricochet." She said gently, setting down her teacup. Her demeanor took on a serious air. "I'm a bit angry, sure. Really, though, I think we ponies understand changelings about as well as you, Ricochet, understand ponies."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, it wouldn't be proper for me to judge you." She smiled. "I can't change my thoughts, but ... well, I suppose that's lesson number one about ponies, Ricochet, darling. Just because we think something doesn't necessarily mean we want you to know about it. Sometimes we think hurtful things about even the ponies we really, truly care for. It never causes trouble because ponies don't read each others' minds."
"You don't hate me?"
"No, Ricochet. I don't think Echo does either, but you'd have to ask her to know for sure. Now, I hate to cut this short, but I simply must go and get everypony else to come and speak with you. Celestia knows that Echo can't handle this all on her own."
"Wait, but... don't leave me alone with miss Echo..."
"Darling, you'll be fine. I promise. Help yourself to anything you need. I'll be back soon!" Rarity smiled and trotted out to the parlor. "Echo, I'm going to go get the girls. I'll be back soon, okay?"
"Wait, but --"
"Ta-ta!" The door closed as Rarity made her exit.
Ricochet stood in the archway that separated the parlor from the living room, staring at the floor between his forehooves. "I'm sorry, miss Echo."
"Why, Ricochet?" She groaned, wishing she were anywhere but there.
"Just... I know I'm making your life harder. I'm making trouble for you and Scootaloo. I probably shouldn't be here anymore."
"Yeah, well... what were you going to do, quietly starve to death?"
"I'm beginning to think that would have been better." He sighed. "I think I'll try to talk to Twilight and see if someone else can mentor me. I don't want to be in your mane."
Echo looked at him with melancholy in her eyes. Poor guy. He's an idiot, sure, but he's not that bad. She sighed. "Well, if you think that's the right choice, Ricochet, then I won't stop you. I'll tell you what though... we can play a game while we wait for Rarity to get back with the rest of my friends, okay?"
His ears perked and he smiled a little bit. "What game?"
"Hmm... Ever play Monopoly?"
* * *
"TAKE YOUR TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS AND SHOVE IT!" She threw a wad of play money at him, and he winced. "Congratulations! I'm BROKE!" She flipped the board.
He hesitated a moment. "I'm so--"
"It's okay..." She waved a hoof. "I'm sorry. I should have known better. This game is friendship-ending." She let out a tense breath and glared at the upturned board. "I hate it."
"Are we not fr--"
"That's not what I meant."
"Oh. Okay." There was a long pause. "Well, what do we do now?"
"I guess we just talk." She shrugged. "Let's start with... how old are you, exactly?"
"Twenty-two." He smiled. "You?"
"Ah... technically it's rude to ask a mare that." She chuckled. "I'm thirty-nine." Changelings lived longer than ponies, with an average lifespan of 120. Echo was still fairly young, but Ricochet was basically still a kid. That explains a lot of his energy. "You said you were a structural drone at your hive?"
"Mmhmm." He nodded, smiling and sitting up straight. "Level four, sector seven."
"Level four, huh? Nice." When it came to different jobs in the hive, it all worked on a system of hierarchy. At the top were level five drones, who could be also called secretaries of their departments to the Queen. They included Structure, Health, and Security, to name the biggest ones. Below the secretaries were level four drones; there were usually eight level four drones per department, one for each sector of the hive. A level four drone was responsible for coordinating all projects in his sector and ensuring they were completed appropriately and in a timely fashion. Level three drones could be best described as project forestallions; it was their responsibility to see to it that the level two and one drones performed their tasks in such a way that the project goals were met. The level two and one drones were advanced and novice in their required skill set, respectively. Most often this simply meant that the more important or difficult tasks in a department were delegated to the level two drones, whereas the most menial work was given to the level ones.
"Yep! I may be no good at infiltrating, but... well, I never had to be. I'd never even seen a pony until two years ago."
"You know, you've actually got it made, if we can just get you to the point that you can function around ponies. Architects are in high demand in Equestria."
"Really?" He beamed. "That sounds like fun! I can't wai--"
Boom! The door burst open. In the shock, Ricochet had bolted up into the rafters, where he trembled, hanging upside down. Echo had dropped into a defensive posture, a snarl on her lips and a spell charged to her horn. She relaxed though when she saw Pinkie and Surprise standing dramatically in the doorway, the rest of her friends filing in behind them. After all of her friends, more of the general population of Ponyville followed, until the Boutique was packed.
"Let's get this party STARTED!" Both Pinkie and Surprise pulled out party cannons, and Echo didn't even have time to duck before the entire room was blanketed in party trimmings. Vinyl Scratch, the same pony that had been the DJ for Echo's welcome party, had somehow managed to appear at the same time, complete with her table. Interestingly enough, she seemed equally puzzled by her presence.
"Hit the music!" Surprise said gleefully, pumping both forehooves in the air.
Vinyl looked at her table for a couple moments before shrugging with a smile and pushing a button. Immediately, music filled the entire building, shaking the windows.
Echo shook herself off, getting the confetti out of her face and off her back. "Hey, Ricochet, it's all right. You can come down."
"No thanks, I'm fine up here." He clung to the rafter with remarkable tenacity.
"Come on! Join the fun!" Pinkie was standing on the rafter next to him.
Ricochet yelped in surprise and fell from the rafter, landing directly on top of Echo, who collapsed under the weight.
"Y'all okay there?" Applejack bolted over and helped the two changelings up.
"Fine..." Echo groaned. Ricochet seemed all right too, but he was too overwhelmed by the sudden party to really say anything. "Ricochet, these are my friends, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Surprise. You already know Twilight and Rarity." Each of her friends introduced themselves in turn as she spoke. Echo hesitated though when she looked more carefully and noticed a trembling yellow ball of fur behind her friends. "Um, is that a tribble?"
Twilight smiled and turned around, putting a hoof on the yellow ball. "Fluttershy, it's okay. Nopony here is going to hurt you, all right?"
"Are you sure, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked meekly, looking up and around the room. "Oh... I don't know if this is a good idea, it's really loud and ... and ..." She leaned in to whisper to Twilight. "Changelings scare me, Twilight."
"You're fine, I promise." Twilight smiled.
Echo walked over with a smile and extended a hoof. "Hey Fluttershy. Good to finally meet you. I'm Echo."
Fluttershy stared at Echo for a moment before squeaking something and hiding her eyes behind her mane.
"Ummm..."
"It's all right, Echo. Just give her some time. Maybe you should go and focus on Ricochet?"
Echo turned and put a hoof over her mouth when she saw the other changeling. Pinkie and Surprise were buzzing around him happily, introducing themselves and bombarding him with questions. He had an expression on his face that told her that he was completely overwhelmed.
"Ohmygosh how long have you been in Ponyville?!"
"Two whole years, that's incredible, we have two years of partying to make up for all in one night and --" There was a phenomenally loud gasp "-- Pinkie, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"SUPER-DUPER-ULTIMATE-TWO-BIRTHDAY-WELCOME PARTY!" She shouted. "We missed out on TWO of your birthday parties AND a welcome party!"
"So now we're gonna make both of those parties into ONE SUPER-DUPER-ULTIMATE-TWO-BIRTHDAY-WELCOME PARTY! YEAH!"
"Please no..." He squeaked.
Echo trotted over. "Hey Pinkie, Surprise, do you suppose we could plan that party for a different night?"
"But we already started the party!" The two said in unison.
"Maybe we can call tonight my welcome-back party? I just think Ricochet needs a little time to adjust before we start throwing parties for him."
"Yes please thank you." He stammered, looking at Echo as though she had just saved his life.
"Well... okay, but for every day we wait, we're partying an extra ten minutes!" Pinkie declared gleefully before hopping off with Surprise in tow.
"Hey sugarcube!" Applejack called out. When Echo turned around again, she saw AJ and Big Mac both carrying in wooden barrels. "We brought the party!"
Rainbow Dash responded immediately, bolting over in a prismatic blur. "Is that cider?!"
"You bet! The good stuff!"
"All RIGHT!"
"Come on, y'all! Gather round and have some cider!"
Echo smiled at Ricochet. "Come on, you're gonna like this."
Echo and Ricochet wound up at the end of the line behind everypony else. It didn't take long though for it to be her turn to get a glass. She waited patiently for Ricochet to have his filled.
"Here ya go, partner!" Applejack held out a mug of cider. "You'll love it, I promise. Welcome to Ponyville!" She smiled.
"Cheers." Echo held out her glass, but Ricochet didn't return the gesture. She laughed. "You're supposed to gently touch glasses together when somepony says cheers."
"Oh..." He mimicked her action, clinking their glasses, and then sniffed the drink. "What is this?"
"It's cider. We have to drink it at the same time though, since we shared a toast -- that thing we just did when I said cheers."
"All right..." He brought it to his lips at the same time as she did. It tasted a little sour, a little sweet, and had a tiny bite on the back of the tongue. "I like it! This is neat!"
"Whoa!" Echo smiled and looked over to Applejack. "AJ, is this alcoholic?"
"I told ya, it's the good stuff." She smiled. "Have fun!"
"Oh, this is gonna be a good party!"
* * *
Alcohol went a long way to helping Echo loosen up. Soon she was fully engaged in the party, dancing and laughing and chatting. Ricochet sat quietly and watched, trying to learn everything he could about the way ponies interacted. He'd gone through several glasses of cider, and could now feel his head swimming a little. He also felt a stupid grin stuck on his face. That cider was really good. He didn't know what "alcoholic" meant, but it was good.
Echo, too, was more than a little tipsy at this point. "I love this song!" She cackled as she and all her friends danced.
It was about then that Pinkie Pie got an idea. She walked over to Vinyl and whispered into her ear. Ricochet could tell Vinyl had just groaned, but reluctantly agreed to whatever Pinkie had requested. He tilted his head and raised an eyebrow.
As the song came to an end, Vinyl's voice came through the speakers. She tried to sound cheery, but it was obvious she wasn't too happy. "All right everypony, by special request, we've got something a bit slower now. Grab a partner and get ready for a dance!"
Ricochet watched as ponies began to pair up for dances. Most of them paired up with ponies of the opposite sex, but Echo didn't pair up with anyone, initially. She just stood in the middle of the dance floor, smiling stupidly and enjoying the intoxicating effects of Applejack's cider.
The song began to play, and the pairs of ponies started to dance in a way that was unlike their previous, frantic flailing. He was confused for just a moment before he noticed that love began to positively POUR out of some of the couples. His tongue lulled out and he sighed happily.
Echo began to sway in time with the music, and Ricochet watched with rapt fascination, drunk both off of the cider and the love in the room.
Suddenly, he felt himself being pulled to his hooves by both Pinkie and Surprise. "Go on, dance with her!" They each said.
"Wait, but I don't -- Ah!" They shoved him in Echo's direction, and he bumped into her side.
She stumbled a little and looked over at him, taking a moment to realize who it was. She chuckled gently. "Wanna dance then? All right... what's the harm?" She grabbed his forehooves and pulled him over, trying to dance with him, but he just stood, dumbstruck, with no idea what to do. She pursed her lips. "Here, it's easy. Just... do what I do, okay?"
"Um... okay..." He watched her hooves and tried to mimic her steps as best as he could. Eventually a grin crossed his face, and he started to enjoy it. When he looked back up, Echo was staring into his eyes and smiling a little crooked.
"There you go. You've got it. Fun, isn't it?" She giggled.
"Yeah!" He smiled. As she giggled, he felt a twinge of something in his chest, and his eyes widened. Uh-oh.
Echo was too drunk and distracted to notice, though, and so the little bit of infatuation that was coming from him just got lost in the mix of the love that the couples in the room were pouring out.
Eventually, the song ended, and Echo gave him a quick hug. "That was fun." She released him and took another swig of her cider, nearly spitting it out when the next song came on; it was loud, boisterous, and every bit the antithesis of the previous song. "Aww, yeah! Now we're talking!" She began to resume the previous frantic flailing by which the rest of the party had been marked.
Ricochet scampered off to his chair in the corner and swallowed nervously, catching just a glimpse of Pinkie and Surprise giving him an emphatic "touchdown" gesture, which of course he did not recognize as anything other than an odd pose.
* * *
It was 2:00 AM before the party finally wound down. Most of the ponies had already started to stumble home, and all of her friends were beginning to leave.
Fluttershy walked over to the still-drunk Echo and smiled gently. "Sorry I didn't talk much, but parties are... really scary..." She nearly broke into tears at the last two words.
Echo smiled back. "It's all right... don't worry about it Fluttershy. We can do something less loud soon, okay?"
"I... I'd like that." She let a tiny smile cross her face again. "Thank you... g-goodbye..."
"Yep, gotta run!" Rainbow Dash said confidently. "Don't think I'm safe to fly right now though, so... uh... Twi, can I sleep over at your place?"
Twilight rolled her eyes and smiled. "Yes, Rainbow, you may." She looked at Echo as Rainbow Dash staggered out the door. "I hope you had fun. Remember, if you need anything, I'm always available." Twilight then gave Echo a quick hug before turning and filing out.
Pinkie and Surprise decided to be gracious hosts, and were beginning the cleanup procedure. "We'll be seeing you when it's time for Ricochet's party, okay?" Pinkie declared more than asked.
"You've got it, Pinkie." Echo nodded.
Applejack had somehow outdone herself on her own cider, and was now splayed out over Big Mac's back. He simply looked at Echo with a smile and nodded before stepping out to take her home.
Rarity sighed. "Well, I suppose this is good night, you two. It's been a lovely night, but I positively MUST get some beauty sleep. Have a safe walk home."
"We will, Rarity. Thank you." Echo smiled and bade her friend a good night's sleep. "Come on Ricochet. I think we both probably need some beauty sleep of our own."
"O-okay." He nodded meekly, following. "Thank you, Rarity and Pinkie and Surprise!"
The walk home was uneventful. When they finally arrived home, Echo fumbled with her key, but eventually got the door open. The changelings stumbled in and started up the stairs.
"Mom?" Scootaloo stood in the door to her room as Echo and Ricochet came to the top of the stairs. "Are you... are you two DRUNK?!" She sneered.
"Sorry, Scoot, Pinkie threw a party."
"Ugh!" She stuck her tongue out. "Were you two gonna do something nasty?"
Ricochet's eyes widened and he fell onto his rump, shocked.
Echo's brow furrowed and she looked at Scootaloo incredulously. "Okay, first off, absolutely not. Ricochet is my friend and nothing more! Second, if I were, I don't think that's your business, is it little miss feather-duster? Third, you're too young to be thinking like that anyway, so turn your flank around and go back to bed. NOW."
"Blech!" A disgusted sound was her only response, but Scootaloo did turn around and climb back in bed.
Echo sighed loudly. "Good night, Ricochet. Sleep well." She smiled gently at him and walked off into her own room.
As Ricochet settled into his bed, he couldn't help but think to himself.
Sweet mother of Chrysalis, my everything hurts. Echo literally rolled out of bed onto the floor and clasped her hooves over her ears, igniting her horn in an effort to will her alarm clock to be silent. She couldn't concentrate well enough though, and instead opted to pick it up and smash it into the ground until it yielded to her will. Eventually, violence solved her problem, and she gently released her ears. She kept her eyes half-closed, and stumbled down the stairs to the kitchen. Coffee. I need coffee. She eventually found the bag of beans, and slowly came to a horrifying realization. She stared at the coffee grinder a meter or so away. My only love sprung from my only hate! She searched for something with which to deafen the sound of the grinder, but could find nothing. Coffee is the salve I need... if it means I must endure thirty seconds of hellish pain, so be it... She poured a measure of coffee into the grinder, closed it, and winced as she pressed the button.
The grinder made a sound that felt like someone was drilling into opposite sides of her head, and the bits were meeting in the middle. It was a prodigious pain, and for just the few seconds that it lasted, it made her yearn for death.
Soon though, the grind was done, and a heavenly aroma filled Echo's nose. Relief was now not more than a few minutes away. She deposited the ground coffee, flipped the switch, and smiled as the nectar of the Gods began to fill the pot.
She rummaged through the pantry, preparing to make a meal for Scootaloo. Eventually, she settled on a blueberry muffin and a banana. Cooking was too much trouble this morning.
She stumbled back up the stairs and opened Scootaloo's door. "Scoot..." She kept her eyes closed, as the filly's window faced the East. The light was blinding and painful, not at all unlike like a knife to the eye. "Wake up."
"Mmmfm. Don't wanna."
"Not in the mood. Up. Now. Eat food. Go to school. Come home. Up now."
"All right, Cave Mom, sheesh."
The covers flew off the bed onto the ground, but Echo didn't care enough to chastise the filly. She just turned around and stumbled back downstairs. The pot of coffee was now full. "Merciful coffee, how I love you." It poured into her cup, black as coal. She smiled and sipped when she sat down at the dining room table and almost swore she could feel the beverage working its magic before it had even hit her stomach.
Scootaloo slid down the railing and did a flip before landing square on all four hooves. She took a seat, pulled out a hair brush she'd tucked under one of her wings, and began to brush the tangles out of her mane. "How'd you sleep, Mom?"
Echo winced. "A bit quieter, please, honey." She sighed. "I slept like the dead... and feel like the living-dead."
"Party too hard?" She laughed.
Echo growled over her coffee and glared at the filly. "Eat your muffin."
Scootaloo shrugged and took a bite of the pastry. With a full mouth, she leaned back in her seat. "So," she mumbled through the muffin, "What happened with you and the idiot?"
"Scootaloo, be nice." She sat her forehead down on the table and closed her eyes. "We were just playing monopoly waiting for Rarity and the other Elements to show up. Turns out Pinkie and Surprise had different plans. Turned into a huge party. AJ brought hard cider. I had too much."
"Okay, but that doesn't answer my question."
"You asked what happened between us? We danced. I think. That's it."
"You didn't... you know... bow-chicka-wow-wow?"
Echo's head shot up and she glared at Scootaloo. "Okay, where have you been hearing about all this?"
Scootaloo shrugged. "I have my sources. You didn't though, right?"
"No." Echo stated emphatically. "All I remember is a quick dance, I gave him a friendly hug, and then we came home."
"You hugged him, really?"
"Scootaloo, he's not as bad as you think. He's a good friend."
"You don't feel anything else for him?"
"No."
Scootaloo laughed. "You sure? He's the first changeling colt you've been around in like two years, right?"
"Three. Yes, I'm sure. We're just friends."
"The girls in the 9th grade say there's no such thing as 'just friends' between colts and fillies. They say there's always one of the two of them who wants more."
"Well, everyone knows that 9th graders are the epitome of romantic wisdom, right?" Echo deadpanned. "Just eat your breakfast, feather-duster." The coffee was starting to kick in. "I'm gonna take Ricochet a cup. I'm sure he could use it."
She walked back into the kitchen, poured a second cup of coffee, and took it carefully upstairs. She knocked on his door. "Ricochet, wake up."
"Owwwwwww..."
"Yeah, I know. Open up, I've got something that'll help." Echo waited for a few seconds more than she thought should have been necessary, but eventually Ricochet managed to open the door.
"What is it?"
"Coffee."
He blinked at it a few times. "Never had it. What's it do?"
"It'll make you feel better. Trust me. If you've never had it though it's probably going to taste awful, like jealousy."
He stuck out his tongue at that. "As long as it makes this unholy headache go away."
She nodded. "Enjoy. I'll be downstairs, okay?"
"Yep..." He nodded back. "Thanks, Echo."
Once Echo returned downstairs, she saw that Scootaloo had poured herself a bowl of cereal, and was reading the comics from the paper. Echo was actually fairly pleased that Scootaloo had decided to go out and get the paper this morning, both because it was a good habit and because she herself was really not looking forward to going out into that bright, sunny mess.
"Mom?" Scootaloo looked up. "Do you still love me?"
"Wh..." Echo nearly dropped her mug. Instead, she set it down gently, and blinked a few times. "What did you just ask?"
"Do you still love me?"
"Why would you ask something like that, Scoot?"
"It's just... since we got back here, you've spent all this time with Twilight and with your friends and even with ... him ... but barely any with me." She set down the comics and obviously fought a few tears. "Did ... did having another changeling in your life make you forget about me? Is there something he can do that I can't?"
"Scootaloo, honey, I don't --"
"I just want to make you proud, Mom." Scootaloo looked down, her mane hiding her eyes. The quiver in her voice, however, betrayed the depth of her hurt.
Echo turned and walked into the living room, opening a nearby cabinet and fumbling through its contents. Eventually she found the photo album, and brought it back into the dining room. She set it down gently and opened it to a bookmarked page. On that page was a crowded image of the square outside town hall. There were tents and ponies everywhere. One banner at the top of the photo read "Congratulations Candie" and another below it read "and Scootaloo". At the center of the image, Echo was bowing low in her old disguise as Candlelight, hugging Scootaloo close to herself. There was a judge behind them, smiling brightly. The afterimage of pegasi flying overhead could be seen in the sky, and confetti fell from the freshly busted clouds. It was also obvious that everyone in the crowd was applauding vigorously.
"Do you see this photo, Scootaloo?" Echo pointed. "Do you remember this day?"
"Y... yeah. That was the day you officially adopted me."
"Exactly. Do you remember what I said to you after this picture was taken?"
"You... you said, 'Scootaloo, I'll never let you go. Do you understand that?'"
"Never." Echo said firmly, finishing the quote at the same time as Scootaloo. "I'm sorry the past few days have been so hard, but I promise you, Scoot... I'm proud of you. I'm so proud. You're growing into a beautiful young mare, and... I'm sorry I don't know how to help you very well... but nopony is ever going to get between me and my little filly. Got me?"
Scootaloo looked into Echo's eyes and tried her best to stay strong. Her bottom lip trembled though and eventually gave way. She hung her head and sobbed. Echo put a hoof on Scootaloo's shoulder and pulled her into a hug. "Never." Echo held her like that for a few minutes until she calmed down. Eventually, though, she did. Echo pulled back and smiled, wiping a tear off of Scootaloo's cheek. "All right, now. Go on, get cleaned up and off to school."
"Okay, Mom..." She sniffled and started up the stairs.
* * *
Ricochet had started down the stairs, but had quickly decided to retreat until the moment was over. That was why Scootaloo hated him? She thought he was getting between her and her mom? He sat on his haunches, nursing his coffee and trying to wrap his head around it. He wasn't getting between them, was he? No. Echo would have told him if he were. He was sure of it.
Still, what if she asked him to leave? He winced. Just that idea felt painful. He didn't want to leave. He liked being around Echo, she was fun... even if her mother wanted to murder him and her daughter hated his guts.
Both of which presented a problem. He was just going to make her life harder if he stayed around. It would be selfish of him.
He knew it would be selfish, and he didn't want to be selfish, but at the same time, just the idea of not being around Echo seemed to cause him physical distress. It hurt, like a muscle cramping inside his chest. He couldn't leave her... but at the same time, he couldn't force himself into her life, especially not if it was going to make things harder for her. That wasn't what a friend would do, after all. Maybe he should ask Echo what to do. She would know, right?
He heard Echo tell Scootaloo to get ready for school, but when he heard Scootaloo start up the stairs, his eyes widened and he moved for his door. Unfortunately, he was a bit too slow. When Scootaloo rounded the corner at the top of the stairs and let out a frustrated sigh, he smiled politely. "Morning."
"Yeah..." She pushed her way past him to the bathroom.
Truthfully he was okay with her not wanting to talk to him right then. He wouldn't have had any idea what to say. He picked up his coffee again and started down the stairs.
"Good morning, Echo."
Echo looked up from the cabinet where she was putting away the photo album. "Oh. Morning Ricochet. How'd you sleep?"
"Okay... but I don't know why I feel so awful."
"It's called a hangover. It means we had too much cider last night." Echo groaned and sat back down at the table, motioning for him to sit across from her. "Did you have fun at the party, though?"
"I..." He swallowed nervously. He couldn't just tell her that he'd started to have feelings for her, that would not go over well. Besides, she was almost twice his age. That was weird, right? "I did. I had a lot of fun."
"Good." Echo smiled and sipped at her mug. "That's the kind of thing you can look forward to with my friends. I used to really hate parties, and I'm still not a huge fan of the surprise variety like we got last night... but I'm tolerant of them, and even like them once they've started."
"The dance was fun. Some of those ponies in there had a lot of love."
"I know, right?!" She beamed. "Let me tell you, Chrysalis had one thing right: love is everywhere in Equestria. We don't need to steal it though, that's for sure."
"Can ... can I ask you something, Echo?"
"Huh? Sure. Go for it." She leaned back in her chair a bit and tilted her head curiously.
"How do you sort it all out?"
The question would have been confusing to a pony, most likely, but Echo knew exactly what he meant. Among changelings, there were almost never emotions shared. Energy was precious, and it wasn't just freely given. Changelings kept their feelings to themselves when in the company of other changelings, by and large. The biggest challenge for her in learning how to deal with living in pony society had been not being overwhelmed by the constant barrage of emotions. Some ponies were scared, some were curious, some were happy, others were sad, and the list went on and on. For a creature like a changeling that was an emotional lightning rod, it could be severely overwhelming. She imagined it was likely harder for Ricochet than it had been for her, too, since he had spent twenty of his twenty-two years in the hive, never even seeing a pony.
"Well..." She started, tapping her chin. "I think the most important thing is practice, but basically, you need to learn to just focus on as few ponies at a time as you can. If you're in a one-on-one conversation with one of them, you focus on them and only them. Like I said, though, it's going to take practice. It can get especially distracting if you're in public talking to somepony and then a loving couple walks beside you."
"I... I don't know if I can do that."
"You'll have trouble at first, but a little practice will go a long way." She smiled.
As nervous as he was, he couldn't help but smile back when he saw her face. She made him feel like he could do anything. "All right... I'll try my best!" He nodded confidently.
"That's the spirit." Echo smiled and yawned. "Now... I'm going to make us some miso egg-drop soup."
"W... why? We don't eat food like ponies."
"Nope, but miso soup helps rehydrate us and refill our sodium reserves, and eggs have taurine and cysteine, which boost liver function and break down the chemical that's giving you that headache, respectively."
"Oh. So medicinal food."
"Yep." Echo began to prepare the Miso broth. "Now, on to business. Today, we're going to need to start teaching you all about how to live with ponies. I guess there are a couple things I should go over first. For one, like I said yesterday, don't ask any mares how old they are... under any circumstances. It's considered very rude. Second, the next time you want to dance with a mare, headbutting her in the ribs probably isn't the best way to go about it."
"Oh, uh, about that... Pinkie and Surprise kind of made me do that."
Echo snickered. "What, you mean you didn't want to dance with me? I'm not good enough for you?"
"Ah! That's not really what I meant!" He stammered.
"Relax, it's a joke." She laughed. "Yeah, that sounds like them, I'm not really surprised by that. Still, in the future, try to avoid the ribs, okay?"
"Oh... kay." He bit his lip a little and looked down at his placemat.
"Okay, Mom, I'm ready to go to school!" Scootaloo shouted as she walked down the stairs.
"Good, Scoot. Just take a seat and wait, all right? We'll head out in a few minutes."
"Okay, Mom, that sounds --" She stopped and glared at Ricochet. "... fine." She took a seat as far as possible from him. He continued to avert his gaze.
Eventually, Echo returned with two bowls of soup, and began to enjoy hers at a measured pace. Ricochet, however, consumed his with a frightening speed once he realized that it was, indeed, beginning to work as a remedy for his discomfort. After ten minutes, Echo finished hers and took the bowls to the sink. "All right," she said, "Let's go." When Scootaloo bolted for the door, Echo followed, stopping as she passed the dining room table. She looked at Ricochet, who was remaining seated. "Well, are you ready?"
"Uh... for what?"
"We're going to take Scoot to school."
"Echo, I don't think she wants me there."
"Of course she doesn't, but she's going to have to get used to it, isn't she? After all..." She leaned in close to his ear. "You're going to be her escort to school in the morning from now on."
He sputtered, looking at her incredulously. "Echo, that's a horrible idea."
"No it isn't." She said with a shrug. "It'll give you an opportunity to speak with some of the other kids' parents, which means an opportunity to learn how to interact with ponies, which means you'll be getting one step closer to functioning around them. Now, don't give me two kids to usher out the door; stop giving me trouble and let's go."
He swallowed hard again as he stood. "All... right."
* * *
The walk to School was tense. Scootaloo was livid about having Ricochet around, but Echo would have none of her resistance. The elder mare did her best to keep a lively conversation going with Ricochet, in the hopes that being left out of the conversation would inspire Scootaloo to join in, but her plan was thwarted by Ricochet's own unwillingness to speak.
Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. She shrugged.
After a few minutes, the trio arrived at the schoolhouse, and Scootaloo departed after giving Echo a quick hug.
"So, what now?" Ricochet asked.
Echo motioned to all the other parents around them. "Now, we find someone to talk to. Over there are Sweetie Belle's parents, Hondo Flanks and Cookie Crumbles." Echo smiled. "They're friendly, I think they're a good place to start." She turned and waved, walking over to the pair. "Good morning!"
Hondo looked over and smiled back, the sides of his mustache turning up. "Good morning! Look, honey, it's Scootaloo's mom."
Cookie turned away from waving goodbye to Sweetie and beamed brightly. "Oh, it's great to see you again, Echo!" She looked at Ricochet. "Who is your new friend?"
"This is Ricochet, he's new in town." She neglected to mention that he had actually been impersonating her for the past two years. "I'm meant to be showing him around and teaching him all about how to be friends with ponies."
"Oh, well, any friend of Scootaloo's mom is a friend of ours." Hondo grinned. "Tell me, son, do you like hoofball?"
"Wh... what's hoofball?"
"What's hoofball, he asks?! Oh, son, I've got a lot to teach you. Echo, if you don't mind, I'm going to take your coltfriend out for a day to a game."
"Oh, he's not my c--"
"Come on then!" Hondo wrapped a foreleg around Ricochet's neck. "Let's go teach you a thing or two." The bulky stallion began to drag Ricochet away, and was met with no resistance. Ricochet actually found this stallion somewhat endearing... if a bit pushy.
"Colts will be colts." Cookie chuckled. "I'm sure Hondo is just overjoyed to have another stallion to be friends with. Our house has been full of estrogen for quite some time, with Rarity first and now Sweetie Belle."
"Oh, you're telling me. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the way Scootaloo's been acting."
"Teenagers. It never gets any easier."
"It doesn't?" Echo's eyes widened and filled with fear.
"Well, not until they're out on their own, at least. What, do changelings not have teenagers?"
"We do, but... it's not that special, it's just an awkward phase between pupa and terminal molt, where we're not quite fully grown and a little unfamiliar with our own bodies."
"Ah. Well, with ponies, we get that same unfamiliarity, but also a big old mixing pot full of confusing hormones!" Cookie smiled brightly. "It's even worse for young mares, for some reason."
"H... how do you deal with it? The constant mood swings, the acting out... all of it?"
"For the most part? You just let it go. Let them do what they're going to do. Now, when they do something really unacceptable, you'll have to put a hoof down, but when they're just telling you how much they love you one second and then screaming that you ruined their life the next... well, you just grin and bear it. She'll come around eventually, Echo."
"Oh, Chrysalis, I hope so. Thanks for the advice."
"I know so, and you're quite welcome. Now... what would you say if we went and had a mare's day out while the colts are off watching or playing hoofball?" Cookie seemed to buzz with excitement.
"That actually sounds great, thank you! Where should we go?"
"Shopping."
"Sounds great!" Echo smiled. Oh, my poor checkbook...
"All right, son!" Hondo grinned. "Here we are." They had arrived at a large field with metal bleachers on either side. The crowd was busy, but not absurd. Ricochet found it slightly hard to concentrate, but tried his best to focus on Hondo, like Echo had said. "You're in for a treat! Today, the Manehattan Manticores are facing off against the Griffonskirchen Talons!"
When Ricochet looked out onto the field, his eyes widened. On one end of the field, seven stocky earth ponies, two unicorns, and two pegasi had gathered into a circle. At the other end, closest to where he and Hondo were right now, were eleven positively enormous griffons standing in a similar fashion.
"So, here's the way it works, Ricky." Hondo sat down on the bleachers with Ricochet. "Unicorns can't use their magic, and pegasi can't use their wings. Those griffins can't use their wings either. Now, it's going to start here in a few minutes with a coin toss, and depending on who wins the coin toss they'll determine who gets control of the ball first."
"Don't those griffons have an unfair advantage? They're huge!"
"Well, they have an advantage in some ways, but not so much in other ways. They may be big and strong, but without wings they aren't the fastest. There's more to winning in this game than just being the biggest, even though it does help. You are right though, the Manticores have their work cut out for them today." He nodded. "Anyway, once they've figured out who gets the ball, the teams will go to other sides of the field, and then we'll have the kickoff. Now, once one team has the ball, their goal is to get it into the opposing team's end zone, those areas at the end of the field there and there." He pointed. "That's how they score."
He continued to explain all the various rules of the game as they waited for the teams to get into position, but eventually, a pony in a black and white striped shirt brought the two together. When the ponies and griffons stood next to each other, the scale was plain to see. The stallions were easily as big as Big Mac himself, and yet even the shortest griffon was still taller than any of the stallions. They were absolutely massive.
Eventually, the coin was tossed, and the griffon quarterback shouted. "HEADS."
The coin landed on tails, and the pony quarterback elected to receive.
"All right, Ricky, so now the griffons are going to kick off, and the returners back there are going to have to try to move the ball as far down the field as they can."
"Are they gonna get hurt?"
"Maybe. It happens sometimes. Usually they're fine though. Here we go!"
One of the more lanky griffons ran toward the tee and kicked the ball as hard as he could. It flew off directly into the waiting hooves of one of the stallions, who tucked it under his leg and began to run. He made it to the twenty-five yard line before the griffons caught up to him and took him down.
"All right, so now, the line of scrimmage is at the thirty-five yard line. They have four tries to get it past that point, or the Griffons will get control of the ball."
The game continued, with the Manticores falling behind badly in the first half. The score was Manticores 3, Talons 24. In the third quarter though, the Manticores ended up bringing the score to 10-24. Hondo was absolutely ecstatic as the Manticores fought back like cornered animals. Ricochet had to admit he was getting into it, too.
"COME ON, MANTICORES! PUSH IT!" Ricochet shouted at the top of his lungs, standing on his hind hooves and pumping one of his forehooves in the air.
Unfortunately, the game took a worse turn halfway through the third quarter, with the Talons scoring again and bringing it to 10-31. There were only eight minutes and seventeen seconds left in the game. It seemed like it was the end for the Manticores' season.
Ricochet sat down, dejected. Hondo put a hoof to his shoulder though and patted hard. "Hey, don't give up yet, Ricky. It isn't over until it's over!"
"I don't see how they can come back from this."
Ricochet was soon eating his words though. It took less than a minute for things to start to change. The Manticores quarterback, number seven, threw a long pass. Everyone in the bleachers stood up and shouted as the receiver caught it and pounded his legs as hard as he could straight into the end zone.
Then, number seven made a bold move. Instead of making a pass, he tucked the ball in close and ran all the way from the Talons' forty-five yard line to their 6 yard line before going down. The next play showed similar skill on the part of number seven, as he hammered his way through the defense into the end zone. Manticores 24, Talons 31.
On the next play, number seven again ran the ball himself. He took it from the ten yard line all the way to fourty-four. There were two minutes and forty-one seconds left on the clock.
The next play came, and number seven backpedaled, looking for a clear pass. The Talons yielded no ground, though, and he found himself forced again to run the ball himself. This time, weaving between angry griffons, he managed to get the ball to the nineteen yard line with two minutes left.
"COME ON SEVEN!" Ricochet and Hondo were practically hugging each other as they stood and shouted. "DO IT! DO IT!"
During the final play, the Talons had decided they were done with number seven. They pushed through the blocking line in an effort to bring him down before he could pass it, but the ball soared right over the head of the biggest griffin moments before number seven was tackled to the ground. The ball flew, and was deftly caught by another one of the Manticores. The entire set of bleachers Ricochet and Hondo were sitting on stood and roared as the receiver drew closer and closer to the end zone, until eventually he burst through, throwing the ball down in a fit of excitement.
Ricochet was a little worried the roar of this crowd would make him go deaf, but at the same time he found himself not caring all that much. The joy in the air was palpable, and for him, quite literally delectable. The game was tied at 31-31 with only one minute and sixteen seconds on the clock.
The Talons had their last possession of the ball, and they looked very angry. They barreled for the defensive line, using all the force of their massive bodies to shake the ponies out of their positions, but somehow the Manticores' defense held strong. The Talons were forced to punt the ball with only 14 seconds left on the clock.
"GO SEVEN! GO MANTICORES! WRECK THEM!" Ricochet had officially fallen in love with this sport. It was the single most exciting thing he had ever done. "SCORE! SCORE! SCORE!"
The kick was sent downrange, and the stallion receiving it, number ten, fumbled when it connected with him at the thirty-five yard line. It fell to the ground, but he retrieved it and began to run. There was an open corridor in the oncoming Griffons, parting like the Red Sea, and he took it. His hooves were blurs under his body, and he brought his head down low in case a desperate Griffon decided to clothesline him. Somehow he made it through the mass of Griffons, past the fifty yard line, and had a clear shot all the way to the end zone. The Griffons were hot on his heels, and even over the roar of the crowd Ricochet could swear he heard number ten letting out a furious scream, as if the sound itself were propelling him forward. Forty. Thirty. Twenty. TEN! TOUCHDOWN!
The screams of the crowd were deafening. Ricochet and Hondo jumped up and down, hugging each other in joy.
A couple of the Griffons had not taken the loss so well, and were at the opposite end of the field having a tussle on the ground.
"THIS! GAME! IS! AMAZING!" Ricochet shouted at Hondo.
"I KNOW! I KNOOOOW!" He laughed and screamed out of pure joy.
* * *
"This. Saddlebag. Is. Amazing!" Cookie giggled, spinning in a little circle and biting her lip.
Echo smiled and nodded. "I agree, it matches your coat beautifully. I wish I could find something that worked for me."
"Oh, dear, I'm sorry. So few ponies' coats are black, there just isn't very much to match with that color."
"It's fine. I don't have a great deal of use for saddlebags anyway, really."
"Oh!" Cookie jumped up gleefully. "How about hats, dear?" She almost physically dragged Echo to the back of the store, where the hats were kept. They had everything from Stetsons like Applejack's to bowlers, and quite the selection of mare's hats as well. One in particular that Cookie seemed to think was a good fit for Echo was a wide-brimmed mare's straw boater hat with a black ribbon for a hat band. Cookie picked one in that style from the shelf which had been designed for unicorns, to facilitate Echo's horn.
"Ah... I'm not totally sure, Cookie." She winced as she looked in the mirror. It wasn't bad, but she just didn't know if hats were really her style.
"Oh, nonsense. In fact... it's my gift to you!"
Echo turned, mouth agape. "Are you sure? Nothing here is cheap, Cookie."
"Of course. I wouldn't offer otherwise." She smiled and waved a hoof dismissively.
"Wow. I think I see where Rarity gets her generosity."
"You flatter me." She smiled again. "Now, enough of this, let's get out of here and go do something else even MORE fun!"
"What do you have in mind?" She tilted her head as Cookie put her coinpurse on the counter and started paying for their shopping trip.
"Ever been to a karaoke bar?" She smiled slyly. "Something tells me you'll have a wonderful voice."
"Something tells you that?" Echo asked with a chuckle. "What exactly tells you that?"
"I don't know, I have an ear for these things though. What kind of music do you like?"
"Classical mostly."
"Oh. Well... a good choice, but not much in terms of lyrics, are there? Why don't we try something a little different?"
"Like what?" Echo asked, curious.
"You'll see when we get there."
* * *
"No. Absolutely not!" Echo shook her head. "How do you even like this kind of music? How is Rarity your daughter?"
They were outside a bar that was crawling with stallions in cowpony hats.
"Come on," Cookie chuckled. "Live a little. There's no harm in mixing up your genres once in a while. For example, I can't stand hip-hop, but one night Hondo took me to a hip-hop dance club, and honestly? I had one of the best nights of my life."
"I don't know about this, Cookie..." Echo winced.
"At least give it a try. If you don't like it, we can always leave."
"Ricochet will never think to come look for me here, though. He'll be worried sick." It was a last ditch effort to get out of going in to this bar.
"Don't you worry about that, I'm sure my dear Hondo would be able to help your coltfriend find us."
"He isn't my co--"
"In we go!" Cookie pushed Echo forward through the doorway, and instantly the aroma of cigarettes and the twangy sounds of steel stringed guitars filled her ears.
Echo walked in hesitantly and followed Cookie over to the bar. Everyone in the little bar had turned to look at her. It was likely, she assumed, that nobody in this bar had ever seen a changeling walk in. To say she felt out of place would have been an understatement. Eventually she found a stool next to Cookie. "This isn't really my kind of place."
"Well, give it some time. It'll grow on you."
"Everypony is staring at me."
"That'll stop after a little bit." She smiled.
The bartender walked over. "Would you ladies like a couple drinks?"
"I'll have a double shot of whiskey please."
Echo stared incredulously at Cookie. This mare was a hell-raiser.
"... all right, and for the other... lady?" He hesitated a bit.
"I'll just have water for now please. Thanks. Still nursing a hangover from last night."
"Coming right up."
A song ended, and the stallion who'd been singing thanked the crowd before walking over toward the bar. Truthfully, he had been singing fairly well, even if the genre was far less than Echo's favorite.
"Howdy there. Ain't often that we get many mares in here, and even less often that mare turns out t' be a changelin'." He smiled politely. "Name's Flat Top. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Mrs...?"
"Miss. Echo. Pleased to meet you as well, Mr. Top."
"Oh, please, Flat or Flat Top are both fine. Mr. Top was my pa."
"All right, Flat Top. Pleased to meet you." Echo nodded gently.
"So, y'all fixin' t' sing tonight, or just here for the show?"
"Oh, we'll be singing." Cookie said happily.
"She will. I'm still not quite sure." Echo said with a crooked, nervous grin.
"Aw, ponyfeathers. You'd do fine, I can hear it in your voice!"
"I really don't know about that..."
"You're ... what, mezzo-soprano? Soprano?"
"Soprano." She smiled gently. "Though I've never really done much singing."
"I think I know just the song for you." He hopped down and extended a hoof to help her down as well, which she accepted gracefully. "Come on then." He began to walk back toward the stage, and when Echo started to follow him, Cookie gave her a little hoot of support.
* * *
"If I know my Cookie," Hondo said, leading Ricochet along the road, "she probably dragged your marefriend off to the Singin' Saddle."
"She isn't really my maref--"
"It's a nice place, the ponies there are the good, upstanding kind... even if the atmosphere takes some getting used to." He laughed. "We're gonna have us some beers though to celebrate that AMAZING GAME!" He shouted out as the bar came into sight.
"Oh, YEAH! That game was FANTASTIC!" Ricochet was immediately swept up again in the excitement of the game he'd just been to.
"Come on, let's have a few drinks!" Hondo walked into the bar, and Ricochet followed. It didn't take Hondo long to find his wife, and they sat together. Ricochet Sat on the opposite side of Cookie.
"Oh, hello Ricky, dear. Your marefriend is about to start singing."
Sure enough, he heard her voice. "H- Hello..." He turned to watch.
The pain in his chest returned. Ow...
* * *
Why am I following him? I don't want to sing, and yet... I feel like I can't say no. He's ... kind of hypnotic. She had reached the stage. The entire bar had gone silent, and all eyes were on her. A few stallions seemed skeptical. She stood in front of the microphone. "H- Hello..." She smiled weakly. The crowd let out a few responses to her meek introduction.
Eventually, Flat Top walked up on stage with another microphone, and tapped it. "Check." The crowd nodded 'yes', the second mic was live. He turned to Echo. "The first verse is mine, you should be able to figure out how it goes by the second. There's a prompter right there with lyrics. Oh, and relax... you're gonna be fine." He pushed a button with a hoof, and music began to play. It was a sad sounding tune.
He took in a breath and began to sing the first verse. Echo felt her ears perk up; he had a beautiful voice. She listened to try and hear the flow of the song.
As he began the chorus, she caught on well enough to start singing too. Once the chorus was over, he motioned to her. It was her turn to sing solo. She took in a breath, and sang through her verse. As it came to a close, Flat Top joined in again.
The crowd began to cheer, and Echo smiled brightly out at the crowd as she and Flat Top finished the final verse of the song. She stepped back from the mic a little.
"Thanks! I appreciate it. Thank you!" Her eyes scanned over Ricochet. "Ricochet!" She buzzed her wings and landed next to him. "Did you see me sing? How was I?"
"Like an angel." He smiled dumbly.
"Really? Wow! Thanks!" She turned from him back to Cookie. "You were right, this is FUN!"
Ricochet felt that twinge of pain in his chest again as she looked away from him. "Ow..."
"Wait, what time is it?" Echo asked the bartender.
"2:43." He said after glancing at the clock behind himself.
"Oh, horseapples. Ricochet, we have to get going! If we're going to walk Scoot home, we need to be there in about fifteen minutes!"
"Okay!" He nodded. Anything to get her out of here.
"You take care now, Echo. Come back any time, all right? You're a great singer!" Flat Top called out.
"Thanks, Flat Top! You are too!" She waved cheerfully and buzzed for the door.
For reasons he did not understand, Ricochet felt very angry with Flat Top. He growled slightly and followed Echo.
* * *
They made it just in time, with 2 minutes to spare.
"So," Ricochet said as they leaned against the fence. "Who's Flat Top?"
"I dunno. Just some stallion I met there. He invited me to go sing with him, so I did. You really think I was good?"
"Yeah... you were great." He smiled at her, and she smiled back with a brightness he hadn't seen from her yet.
"Thanks!" She was extremely excited. "That was so much fun!"
"What was?" Scootaloo asked from behind the duo. At that exact moment, the school bell rang. "Before you say anything, Cheerilee let us out a little early. Now what was so much fun?"
Echo smirked a little. "This thing called Karaoke. Ever heard of it?"
"Are you serious?" Scootaloo asked as the trio walked home. She had taken a position to the left of Echo, while Ricochet walked to Echo's right. "You sang karaoke? What song?"
"I don't even know what it was called." Echo shrugged. "Yeah, though, I sang karaoke, and it was a lot of fun."
"She has a great voice." Ricochet added.
"Still not really talking to you." Scootaloo grumbled.
"You know," Echo replied, bemused, as they approached the house, "I get that you're upset Scoot, and you're allowed to be, but your manners are leaving a lot to be desired right now."
"Gramma calls him an idiot, why can't I?"
"Because Gramma is an adult, and a changeling Queen, and a socially ignorant ninnyhammer." Echo replied plainly, nodding on the last point. "None of those things describe you, do they?"
"What's a ninnyhammer?"
"An idiot." Echo grumbled, unlocking her door.
"Oh, so I can't call Ricochet an idiot, but gramma can call him an idiot, and you can call gramma an idiot?" Scootaloo laughed sarcastically. "So then can all daughters call their mothers idiots? Because if so, I'd like to say that you're --"
"ZIP IT!" Echo whipped around and snarled at Scootaloo. She had tried her best to do what Cookie suggested and let things roll off her back, but... well, Cookie had also said that if it got too bad, there were times where a mother had to put a hoof down. This seemed like one of those times. "You're almost 13, that doesn't make you a full grown-up yet, and it certainly doesn't mean you're allowed to talk back to me."
"Why not?!" Scootaloo huffed back, frustrated and angry. "It's not like you're my real mom or anything!" She pushed her way past Echo into the house, and past her grandmother.
Her grandmother. Oh horseapples. "Hello, Mother."
"Daughter." She straightened up and cleared her throat. "So, I'm a 'socially ignorant ninnyhammer', am I?"
"Now? We're going to do this now?"
"It would seem to me that's entirely up to you."
"Hello, Queen Chrysalis, your Highness." Ricochet said quietly in an attempt to be respectful.
"Zip it, idiot."
"Okay. No." Echo shook her head. "Mother, you have your own quarters with Twilight, you can't keep breaking into my home whenever it suits you."
"I disagree." The Queen stated.
"WELL, I DISAGREE WITH YOU DISAGREEING!"
"AND I DISAGREE WITH YOU DISAGREEING ABOUT ME DISAGREEING, CHILD!"
"Mom, Dad, please stop fighting." Ricochet mumbled sarcastically to himself under his breath as he watched the fight escalate into more and more childish insults.
"Look, Mother." Echo groaned after a few minutes had gone by. "I need to sort this out for myself. I'm sorry, but you're really not helping the situation right now."
She raised an eyebrow, and walked to the door. As she stepped outside, she turned around one last time. "Well. If you're dead set on shacking up with this drone, I suppose I can't stop you. I'm disappointed though."
Echo shook her head and sighed as she slammed the door behind her mother. "I'm sorry about that, I just -- what's wrong with you?"
Ricochet's wings and ears were both drooping, his jaw slacked open a little. He blinked a couple times before coming back to his senses. "Did she just imply you and I were --"
"Yes. No need to dignify something that absurd with a response." Echo started up the stairs. "I'm going to go check on Scootaloo and see what she wants for dinner. I expect she's going to request something like 'go away', in which case I'm thinking spinach and cheese ravioli in pesto sauce? It's one of her favorites, so I'm sure she'll eat it, and even if she doesn't... well, it may not feed us, per se, but it'll still taste good. Think you could start a pot of water boiling?"
"Oh, uh... sure. Any particular pot?"
"The big one with the rounded lip and two handles on either side. Just fill it up to about 8 centimeters beneath the rivets and throw in a hoof full of salt into the water, okay?"
"All right..." He nodded. Shouldn't be that hard, right?
Echo walked upstairs and knocked on Scootaloo's door. "Scoot-Scootaloo."
"Go away."
Figured. "Not yet, no." She turned the doorknob but found that it had been locked. She sighed. "Giving you a chance to unlock this yourself. Five. Four. Three. Two." Click. "Thank you." She turned the knob again and stepped into the room just in time to see a purple tail retreat under Scootaloo's blanket. The mare walked over and sat next to the lump under the covers that was her daughter. "I'm sorry again that things are tough right now, Scootaloo."
"Leave me alone," came the plaintive cry, "I don't wanna talk."
"That's unfortunate. Guess you don't have to talk, but you're gonna listen." Echo sighed heavily. "I get that you're angry, Scootaloo, and you have some valid reasons to be. Still, part of growing up means that even when things happen that upset you, you need to keep your cool."
"You don't!"
"Not always, I'll admit." She nodded. "I'm not perfect. Still, do you know how often I have to keep it quiet and not let anypony see it?"
Scootaloo hesitated for a moment. "No..."
"Exactly. It's not fun, but it's part of being a grown-up. It's not all bad though. You get to set your own bedtime, you get to spend your own money however you see fit, you get to have a little filly to raise and try to help grow into a good mare." She smiled and patted at the lump under the covers. "Guess what, though, feather-duster?"
"What?"
"Even though you might have to keep your frustrations under wraps sometimes, you always have your mom to fall back on. I'll always listen, and I'll help if you want me to."
"... seriously?"
"Yes, seriously."
"So, like... if I had to tell you something private that I haven't told anypony else and it might make you angry, you wouldn't be angry with me?"
Echo hesitated to promise that. "I can't promise it won't upset me, Scootaloo, but if you've got something tough going on, I'd prefer to know about it. I'll always help you, even if it's a little upsetting to me."
"Okay... thanks, Mom." She poked her head out of the covers. "I'm sorry I said you weren't my real mom."
"Scoot... don't worry about it, okay? I never went through exactly what you're going through, since I'm not a pony, but... well, I've talked with some of my friends who did go through it, and I have a little perspective now. So, don't worry. Now, I'm making spinach and cheese ravioli with pesto tonight, so you'd best come when I call, all right?"
"Okay, Mom."
"Love you, feather duster."
"I love you too..." She sat up on her bed as Echo stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her.
Echo started back down the stairs and looked in on the kitchen. Fortunately, things seemed to be intact. No fires, no messes, no utensils being used as fashion accessories. So far so good. "So, Ricochet, boiling water. How did it go?"
"Well, the water's over the heat and it's boiling, so I think it went okay."
"Good. Good. Now, go ahead and get me some ingredients..."
* * *
All in all, her first foray into teaching Ricochet how to cook -- a valuable skill for living among ponies -- was a success. She had some trouble in trying to get him to identify basil as opposed to other herbs and spices that were growing in her garden, but eventually she was able to explain it in such a way that he was able to figure it out.
The pesto was ready, and the ravioli were a minute or two from being finished at most.
"Scoot-Scootaloo! Come on down for dinner, sweetheart."
"Okay, Mom!" The reply sounded half-hearted, but Echo knew Scootaloo well enough at this point to know that was just a sign the filly had been thinking.
"So Ricochet, do you remember that thing you thought was a hat?"
"The colander, right?"
"Yes. Go ahead and grab that for me, and stick it in the sink, okay?"
"Oh. All right, sure." He smiled happily. He was finally going to see what that thing was actually for. He obeyed her instructions and waited.
"All right," she said after a minute more, "look out, hot pot coming through." She lifted it in a green aura and began to pour the pasta and water into the colander.
"Oh. Well, that makes sense! Ha!"
"Yep! Do me one more favor, Ricochet?"
"Anything." He smiled dumbly.
"Go get Scoots for me, let her know the food's ready?"
"Oh, that will go over well. Can I at least use your shape?"
"No, you may not. She's going to have to get used to you, so go on now, get the filly."
"All right, miss Echo..." He winced and started up the stairs. He knocked gently.
"What is it, Mom?"
"Uh, actually, it's me."
"Buzz off."
"Miss Echo told me to tell you that dinner's ready."
There was a long pause. "Thanks." He waited for another reply, but heard nothing. He shrugged and started back downstairs.
"Told her." He reported.
"Is she coming down?"
"Dunno, she just said 'thanks'."
Echo smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Ricochet. Just a moment." She turned her head to face up the stairs, and with a voice only a mother could muster, began to shout. "SCOOTALOO, YOU GET YOUR FLANKS DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT!"
"Okay, Mom, sheesh!" The muted reply rang out.
Ricochet stared at Echo with a small measure of shock evident on his face. "Never heard you yell that loudly before."
"Tartarus hath no fury like a mother's cooking scorned."
"I don't think that's the saying, is it?"
"It should be. Have a seat, Ricochet."
"Yes, ma'am." He obeyed without question, holding his hooves and wings close to his sides politely.
Echo sat opposite from him at the table after dishing out a serving to each place setting. She gently placed a napkin on her lap and crossed her hind legs, tapping one of her rear hooves in the air impatiently. "Scootaloo, we're waiting."
No verbal reply could be heard, but the sound of young hoofsteps grew nearer, until eventually Scootaloo came to the bottom of the stairs and found a seat at the table. Unfortunately, the spot that had been set for her was next to Ricochet. She considered moving her place, but knew her mother wouldn't stand for it. She sat quietly and assumed a similarly ladylike pose to her mother's, also taking the time to put a napkin on her lap. "Thanks, Mom."
"You're quite welcome. Buon appetito!"
Ricochet did his best to mimic the way in which Echo handled her silverware. He cut a piece of the pasta and sniffed it gently. It actually smelled very pleasant. He took a hesitant bite, and his eyes flew open. "This is AMAZING! I mean, it's not love, but it tastes FANTASTIC!" He beamed. "Incredible job, miss Echo!"
"Thank you, Ricochet." Echo smiled. "Is it to your liking, Scootaloo?"
"Mom, why're you acting so formal?" Scootaloo mumbled through a half-full mouth. "You're never this uptight about anything. 'Specially not eating."
"Well, forgive your mother for trying to set a good example. Forget it." Echo tossed her napkin over her shoulder and began to eat in a far less careful fashion.
Ricochet smiled widely at that. He had to admit that taking such painfully small bites, eating so slowly, and sitting up so straight while watching his tongue so carefully was beginning to get ... so boring. He began to eat with gusto. True that this food wasn't enough to nourish him on his own, but Echo had been right, it was quite pleasant to eat nonetheless.
After a few minutes of the trio shoveling food into their gullets, there came a brief rest. The pasta was gone, and all that was left was dessert. Still, nopony and noling had the wherewithal to get up and get the treat to serve.
"So... Mom...?" Scootaloo sighed.
"Yes, sweetheart?" She asked lazily, feeling a euphoric lethargy from the food.
"Remember when you said I could tell you anything, even if it made you kinda mad?"
"... yes." She drew the word out, squinting slightly.
"So... uh... what would you say if I told you I had a coltfriend?"
* * *
Twilight Sparkle sat at her favorite desk, which had been salvaged from the rubble of the library she had once called her home. She was dreadfully tired, but had a lot of work to do now that she was responsible for ensuring that the state of friendship in Equestria was well tended. Many problems occurred throughout the country which were too small to bring themselves to her attention, and so many ponies had taken to writing to the Princess of Friendship directly. She did her best to reply to each one with care and concern, but they came in with greater speed than she could ever hope to manage. She had developed a magical algorithm which sorted the letters according to their importance, and it seemed to be working quite well. The vast majority of letters she received were from ponies who had a minor problem they simply didn't want to solve for themselves.
She leaned over the desk, reading a letter at the same time as penning her response. Her head throbbed from the amount of time she'd spent pressing quill to parchment. She reread the letter again to collect her thoughts.
Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle,
My friend wants to compete in a team-based cooking competition, and has her heart set on six of our mutual friends joining us. The problem is, neither I nor any of the rest of her dream team have any cooking skill or desire to participate in the competition. We don't want to hurt her feelings, but we also don't feel like it's fair to anyone to force ourselves to spend months preparing and practicing for something we don't really want to do. How should we resolve this situation?
Thank you for your time, Your Highness.
Sincerely,
Berry Blossom
She sighed again, trying to weight the options.
"I don't get it," Chrysalis said, leaning over Twilight's shoulder to read.
Twilight, startled, teleported a short distance away, breathing heavily. "Don't do that, Chrysalis."
"I don't understand why Berry Blossom doesn't simply tell her friend that she is being a selfish fool. Why do ponies feel the need to sugar-coat everything?"
"Because, Chrysalis, some ponies are sensitive, and words can hurt if you're not careful. It's easy for a pony to misunderstand if you're too candid, and take offense."
"How are facts offensive?"
"It's not that facts are offensive, it's that ponies want their friends to believe in them. Just shooting down her friend's dream would be needlessly cruel, and could jeopardize the friendship."
"That's stupid."
"Okay, see, that right there? That wouldn't be okay."
"I didn't say 'you're stupid', I said 'that's stupid'. There's a difference, Sparkle."
"Okay, yes, but most ponies won't see it that way. If you call someone's idea stupid outright, they will assume you also believe they themselves are stupid."
"Well, they're probably not wrong, you know."
"Okay, but you're not supposed to SAY SO."
"I thought Honesty was one of your Elements of Harmony?"
"It's not that you should be dishonest with your friends, it's that it can be more hurtful sometimes to be too brutally honest than just walking up to them and saying --"
The castle door burst open, and Echo buzzed in with terror in her eyes. "Sweet merciful crap, what the hell is going through her mind?!"
"Well, I was going to say 'that it's a dumb idea' but that works too. What happened, Echo?"
"Okay, calm down. Breathe." Chrysalis put a hoof to her panicking daughter's shoulder. "Tell Mother what's happening, Echo."
Echo touched down and tried to catch her breath. "Scootaloo... I don't understand anything that's happening to her... and now... at dinner... she told me she... she has a coltfriend!" Echo's wings buzzed anxiously as she trotted in place a little. "I need help. I don't know what I'm doing anymore."
Twilight smiled gently. "I think I have an idea. You just need to speak to someone who's been in your hooves. I know just who can help." She pulled over a ream of parchment and began to write. "I think it's about time you met my mother, Echo."
"Oh, this should be juicy." Chrysalis' lips curled into a crooked smile. "Can't wait to see where that goes."
"What do you mean, 'I don't get to come along'?" Chrysalis snarled, her face an inch away from Twilight's.
"I mean, you're staying here. You still have community service to do for Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo!" Twilight snickered as Chrysalis' face filled with fear. "What, you think I didn't hear about that from Rarity? I'm not telling Celestia and Luna for now, but if you don't do your community service, then I just might have to spill the beans. So, you're not coming along!"
"But it was going to be so deliciously awkward. I wanted to watch!" The usually unflappable Queen started to sound like a petulant child. "That's just not fair." She huffed and sat on her haunches, crossing her forelegs.
"Sorry, Mother." Echo had to stifle a giggle with one of her hooves.
"Oh, don't you patronize me, child." She glared. "As much as it pleases me to see you smiling instead of panicking, I do not like being the butt of a joke!"
"Had me fooled."
"Ohhh..." She growled, shaking her head. "One of these days."
"Not today though." Echo snickered again before turning to Twilight. "So... we're going to see your mother?"
Twilight nodded. "Mmhmm. She knows how to deal with having a daughter, and she knows what it's like to have a child start dating."
"Oh? Who was --"
"Shining Armor. I just... well, never really found the right stallion. Yet." She smiled. "Point is, Mom will be able to give you some advice."
"Okay... where does she live?"
"She and Dad live in Canterlot, so it will be a little trip. We'll go spend a few days with them. You'll be my guest."
"Ah. What about Scootaloo and Ricochet? I can't just leave them here alone."
"You don't have to." Chrysalis grinned with a twinkle in her eye.
Echo stared at her mother for a tense moment before turning back to Twilight. "Like I said, I can't leave them here."
"Why, I never!" Chrysalis huffed again, one eye twitching.
"I... agree. I'll make arrangements for them to come along, okay? It... might be a good idea if you help Ricochet find a disguise. The princesses know about him -- I told them -- and they're willing to let you help him, so he isn't in any danger from the law... unfortunately though, some of the ponies in Canterlot have still got some unpleasant memories of their first encounter with your kind."
Echo winced. "Right. Understandable. Yeah, I'll help him find a disguise." Her eyes widened in fear as she realized something. "Oh horseapples, I left Scootaloo with Ricochet."
"Need to go?" Twilight said gently.
"I'll be back once I've got Ricochet in a disguise, okay?" She bolted for the door.
"See you in a few, Echo."
"You're really going to make me miss this, Sparkle?" Chrysalis deadpanned.
"Even if you didn't have business to tend to here, Chrysalis, do you really think just trotting back into Canterlot would be a good idea?"
"It would be hilarious."
"You'd start a panic."
"... and it would be hilarious."
* * *
Ten Minutes Earlier
"So... uh... what would you say if I told you I had a coltfriend?"
Echo's fork dropped along with her jaw. Ricochet and Scootaloo both looked at her with concern.
"Um... Mom?"
"Miss Echo?"
"S... say that one more time, Scootaloo?"
"I... have a coltfriend?" She blushed, looking at her plate.
"I... I'll be right... back..." She got up and slowly walked for the door, but once it was in sight, she bolted as fast as her wings could carry her.
"So..." Ricochet looked down at Scoot. "Tell me about him?"
"I..." She growled, squinting her eyes at him. "I guess. His name is Rumble."
"Oh? What's he look like?" Ricochet smiled. Something about her embarrassment was positively adorable."
"Hmph." She huffed. "He's about my height. Got gray fur and a dark gray mane. He's like a year older than me. He's a pegasus. His brother is Thunderlane."
"Sounds nice. How did you two meet?"
"At school. Where else?" She huffed a little again, looking off to the side. "He's really nice though."
"Oh? What do you mean?"
"Well, I mean... I knew him before when I lived in Ponyville, but then the other day..."
* * *
Scootaloo's first day back at school
It was the recess before lunch. I had just gone outside to play a little with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, when my old... frenemies? Nah, just enemies. My old enemies, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon walked over...
"Look here, Di." Silver Spoon pointed at Scootaloo. "The chicken is back from 'boarding school'."
"What happened? Didja get kicked out?" Diamond Tiara laughed. "Only the smartest fillies make it at boarding schools. They're made especially to help the most gifted fillies get into good colleges."
"Well, no wonder Chicken Little got kicked out. Why'd they even let you in in the first place? Did your bug-mom give the headmaster something 'special'?"
"Hey, watch your mouths!" Scootaloo tried to launch herself at the duo, but Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom held her back.
"Oh, I think you touched a nerve, Di." Silver Spoon laughed loudly. "I wonder what did it? Was it calling her chicken?"
"Maybe it was calling her stupid."
"Oh, or maybe it was when you called her bug-mom a slut."
"YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Scooatloo roared, pulling as hard as she could against Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, who were pleading with her to let it go.
"It's not worth it!" Sweetie Belle insisted.
"Don't let them get to ya, Scoot!"
"I think that's it, Silver. I think she doesn't like it when we call her bug-mom a slut!" She laughed again. "Everyone knows it though."
Scootaloo felt her hooves slipping out of Sweetie and Apple Bloom's grasps, and she was ready. She wanted nothing more than to slam her hooves into the heads of the two fillies in front of her until their lying mouths stopped moving. She tensed up, waiting for the moment, when suddenly, her view was obstructed.
Rumble stood between Scootaloo and her tormentors. "Hey, I've got an idea for both of you. Leave the poor filly alone, huh?"
"R-Rumble?!" Diamond Tiara stepped back a bit, surprised by the interference.
"What do you care?" Silver Spoon stepped back in much the same way as her partner in crime.
"I care because what you're doing right now is wrong. You're just picking on her. Can't you see it bothers her? You think you're so tough... pick on someone your own size." He stared into their eyes, his chest puffing out a little.
"Wh... whatever." Diamond Tiara waved a hoof dismissively and turned around. "Come on, Silver. We've got better things to do."
"Y... yeah!" Silver looked back over her shoulder at Rumble, who hadn't taken his eyes off the two of them yet.
Once the brats were far enough away, Rumble relaxed and turned around. "You okay, Scootaloo?"
"Y... yeah. I'm fine. You can let me go, girls..."
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom let go of their friend, and shared a little glance and a giggle. She stumbled forward, tripping in the dirt.
Rumble held out a hoof to help Scootaloo up. She looked at it with uncertainty for a minute before accepting. Once he had helped her to her hooves, she brushed the dirt off.
"Thanks, Rumble..."
"Of course, Scootaloo. There's only so much I can watch." He smiled nervously. "Hey, so... Umm... do you think you'd want to go do something this weekend?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"You know... I mean... do you think maybe... you'd like to go out with me?"
Sweetie and Apple Bloom's mouths dropped into wide smiles. They squealed in excitement and pushed Scootaloo forward, nodding 'yes'.
"Ow, hey!" She looked back, shooting her friends a quick dirty glare before looking back at Rumble, who was now looking down off to the side and kicking the dirt.
"I totally get it if you don't want to, it's just... well, I know we didn't talk a lot when you lived here before, but I actually missed you when you were gone."
"Well... uh... where do you want to go?"
"My brother's got a race this weekend. Wanna come watch it with me?"
"Oh. Um... sure. I just need to check with Mom."
Suddenly, he seemed confident again. His little chest puffed out and he beamed. "All right, it's a date then. I'll see you Saturday morning."
"As long as Mom says it's okay!" Scootaloo clarified.
"As long as your mom says it's okay!" He called over his shoulder as he galloped off to rejoin the other colts on the playground.
* * *
"Wow," Ricochet smiled, "It sounds like he really likes you."
"Yeah, I think he does. He's ... pretty cute, I guess."
"I'm sure your Mom will let you go to the race once you ask her, Scootaloo."
"You really think so, Ricky?"
Hey, she didn't call me 'idiot' this time! "Yeah. I do."
"Can... I ask you a question?"
"Uh, sure. Why not?" He smiled a little lopsidedly, with one ear flat on his skull.
"Are you gonna ask Mom out?"
Ricochet's eyes widened. Was he going to ask her out? Obviously not the same way Rumble did, that was too direct for a grown mare. Would he pursue it though? He still had no clue if she even really liked him all that much. She hadn't given him any clues she liked him as anything more than a friend, or maybe a good acquaintance.
Did he even really like her, or was it just infatuation? He knew what those emotions tasted like, but it wasn't like he could taste his own. He had trouble feeling the difference. He knew that part of his attraction to her was that he found her physically attractive, but he also knew he enjoyed talking to her, being around her. Even just being out in the garden and learning about herbs had been an almost intoxicating experience. He had found himself wishing they could spend all day picking herbs. Her voice seemed to calm him, and being close to her made him feel at-ease. Even for as terrifying as it was to have to learn how to live with ponies without a disguise. Even for as confusing as ponies were to a changeling who had spent almost his whole life doing one job, while surrounded by creatures who didn't really share emotions among themselves. Even for as much as he felt like an alien struggling to understand an entirely unfamiliar culture. Despite all those things, she made him feel happy, and at-ease. That had to be more than just infatuation, right? To be sure, he was very physically attracted, but there was so much more than just that.
Was he going to ask her out though? That was a whole different question. Maybe he should just be content with how happy she made him as a friend. Trying to push it further could just make things harder than they needed to be, or worse yet, end the friendship entirely. He didn't know if he could even survive in this world without her as a friend.
"I... I don't know, Scootaloo." He admitted.
"Well... if you decide to, can you let me know first?" She stood, picking up her plate and carrying it to the sink. "I just don't want to be surprised by it."
"I... okay. Yeah. Sure." He smiled gently. "I will."
"Cool. Thanks, Ricky."
The door opened and Echo buzzed back in. "Hey guys, is everything... okay? Yeah. All right. Everything looks okay. That's refreshing." Echo smiled.
"Welcome back, Mom. Where'd you go?"
"Just ... had to talk to Twilight really fast."
"Well... I guess Ricky can fill you in about my ... uh ... coltfriend." Scootaloo averted her gaze and started back upstairs. "I'll see you later, Mom. I'm gonna go do my homework."
"Oh... okay!" She nodded. Once Scootaloo was upstairs in her room, Echo turned to Ricochet. "She told you about him?"
"Yeah. I was surprised too."
"You didn't use any mind control to get her to tell you, right?"
"What?! No! Of course not. I'm not even that good at mind control."
"Okay... I just had to ask. Well, what did she tell you?"
"Well, the colt is named Rumble, and she met him when they were --"
"Hold on. Sorry. Uh, I talked to Twilight, and I really, really need help taking care of this filly."
He felt his heart skip a beat, and his pulse quickened. Is she going to... ask me out? "Okay...?"
"Anyway, we got to talking about you a little..."
Oh sweet merciful Queen Exuvia, she's going to ask me to be Scootaloo's dad?! This is too soon. Too much! "All-all right..."
"... I need to help you find a disguise. We're going to Canterlot so Twilight's mom can help me learn how to do this, but I can't just leave you and Scootaloo behind without me. The ponies in Canterlot still kind of don't like changelings much, so that's why I need to help you get a disguise."
Oh. Well, that's disappointing. "Oh... okay. Where do we start?"
"Why do you seem so disappointed?"
"No reason, just a little tired I guess."
"Well... I think I know the answer already, but do you want your disguise to be a mare or a stallion?"
"Stallion."
"I figured. All right, unicorn, pegasus, or earth pony?"
"I guess I'll go with pegasus. I'd like to be able to fly still."
"Okay, a pegasus stallion."
They continued for a few minutes in that fashion until they came up with a design and a backstory for him. He was a beige stallion with auburn hair. His cutie mark was a rolled up blueprint and a pair of compasses; this played to his actual strength in architecture, so he could keep up a ruse. His name was Key Stone.
"Looking good, Key Stone." Echo nodded. "Now, can you remember it?"
"Yeah, shouldn't be a problem."
"All right. I'll go tell Twilight that you're ready. We'll probably be leaving in the morning." She started back for the door.
"Okay." Wait, Scoot has her date on Saturday... "Hold on, what day is it?"
"Thursday."
"How long did you say we'd be gone?"
"A few days. Why?"
Uh-oh. "Um... no reason. I was just curious."
"All right. Well, get some rest, Ricochet. I'll be back in a few once I've filled Twilight in." Echo opened the door and buzzed away.
Oh, poor Scootaloo...
* * *
Ricochet had found sleep quite easily, and morning came sooner than expected. He had fallen asleep before Echo had returned. Once he was totally awake, he fumbled out into the hallway and knocked on her door. "Miss Echo? Are you awake?"
"Hmmph. I am now. What is it?"
"You said we were leaving this morning, right?"
"Oh, ponyfeathers. Yeah, we are! We've got twenty minutes. Wake Scoot up, would you?'
Sure, give me the job with the greatest risk of dismemberment. "Okay..." He trotted off to the filly's door and knocked. "Scootaloo, good morning."
"UGH!" The grunt almost shook the door. "What is it, Ricky?!"
"Mom says it's time to get up."
"What for? I don't usually get up for another hour."
"JUST GET UP!" Echo's voice reverberated through the whole house.
There was a long pause. "Tell Mom I'll be right there..."
"You've got it, Scoot." He turned and knocked on Echo's door again. "She said she'll be right out."
"Good." The door opened, and Echo stood in her old disguise as "Candlelight".
Ricochet blinked a few times as he looked at the mare in front of him. She had an alabaster-white coat, sapphire blue eyes, and a fiery red mane that fell in curls over her shoulders. Her cutie mark was a lit candle. "Whoa."
"Down boy, it's just me." An entirely different voice from Echo's spoke. "Scootaloo!" She called out, "Pack a few books and your game thing, okay? We're going for a trip?"
"Wait, what?"
"Don't argue, just do it!"
"Who's that?"
"It's your mother, I'm wearing my old disguise."
"Why?"
"Because we're going to Canterlot."
There was another long pause. "Aw, dang it, this SUCKS!"
* * *
Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the train station. Twilight was standing next to one of the cars with Spike on her back, both of them looking impatient. The train's crew had just called 'all aboard', so it was safe to say the trio had arrived just in time.
"Come on, you three, let's get going!" Twilight teleported onto the train with Spike. Echo threw Scoot onto her back and ran over to the train, which had just barely started to roll. Ricochet wasn't far behind. They found their seats, and Echo set Scootaloo down. She promptly pulled out her game system and lost herself in it as the two changelings sat, trying to catch their breath.
"You could have teleported us here with you, couldn't you?" Echo asked Twilight breathlessly.
"I could have, but then what would you have learned?"
Both Echo and Ricochet let out a small growl as they stared at Twilight.
"... anyway," the princess continued after a tense moment, "I think you're going to like my Mom, Echo. She's a very caring mare. She's got a depth of heart that I've never seen in anypony else." She smiled wistfully. "I miss her often, you know."
"She sounds lovely, Twilight." Ricochet smiled.
"She is, thank you. I have to say, Ricochet, this is a good look for you. 'Key Stone', right? I'm impressed." She tapped her chin. "Say, can I ask you something?"
"Uh... sure?"
She motioned for him to lean over, and she leaned forward to meet him, whispering into his ear. "Echo once joked with me that the reason changeling mares are heavier than stallions is so they can support the weight of a male while they're mating. Is that true, or was she just pulling my tail? I'm writing a research paper about your species, so I'd like to know."
His eyes were wide with shock. He blinked a few times. "Uh... I have no idea. I don't think so."
"Oh, well that's not very much help. Thanks anyway." She smiled honestly.
"What did you ask?" Spike poked Twilight's shoulder.
"Nothing, Spike. Don't worry about it."
The rest of the trip was fairly uneventful. Ricochet and Spike had both dozed off after the third hour of questions from Twilight, with the little dragon actually resting his head on Ricochet like he was a pillow. Echo had begun to pace through the cabin, nervous about the next few days. Twilight was putting some more work into her research paper, and Scootaloo was doing her best to beat level 23 of her game. The train's whistle jolted everyone back to their senses, though.
Twilight stood. "We're here, everypony." She lit her horn to grab her bags, passing a few of the smaller ones off to Spike. As they disembarked the train, a railroad worker handed her a ticket. "Huh. I don't remember packing any other bags, but... oh well." She walked to the rear of the train, presented the ticket, and a large pile of baggage was rolled out on a cart.
Ricochet hooked himself up to it and began to pull. "Ugh! This is heavier than it looks!" He struggled, but eventually found a good pace to keep it moving.
Twilight, meanwhile, led the way out of the train station and through the bustling city.
A few ponies took second glances at Echo, and Ricochet felt a little twinge of jealousy. He stayed close, feeling protective.
Echo stayed calm on the outside, though she was panicking internally. She wasn't getting second looks because she was beautiful, but because she had made a major error. Candlelight, her disguise, had originally been a pony from Canterlot...
This was bad. She was going to have to come up with a new disguise, provided they could make it to Twilight's mother's home without anything happening.
"Oh, this was my favorite cafe when I lived her. I used to come here every morning for a daisy sandwich while I did my morning homework."
"Twi, can we hurry it up a bit?" Echo asked nervously.
"Huh? Um... okay. Sorry." She turned her trot into a brisk canter. Eventually, the troop came up to a building in the upper district, just below the royal district. Twilight knocked and waited.
The door opened a crack at first, and then it flew wide. A mare who looked surprisingly like Twilight Sparkle -- a bit older, and a different color scheme, but otherwise almost identical -- launched herself out and latched on to Twilight.
"Oh, my sweet baby! It's so good to see you again, Twily." She hugged tightly.
Twilight Sparkle hugged back. "It's good to see you too, Mom. These are my friends, Echo and Ricochet. This is Echo's daughter, Scootaloo. Ricochet, Echo, Scootaloo, this is my mother, Twilight Velvet."
"Good to meet all three of you. Come on in, I made cookies. Just back the cart on in here, we'll unpack it later.
"That sounds great! Thank you, Mrs. Velvet." Ricochet slowly backed the cart into the home, and unhitched himself.
"Now, where did your father run off to?" Twilight Velvet tapped a hoof.
"Oh... I wager I could find him..." A familiar, ethereal voice trailed through the home.
"Who said that?" Twilight Velvet's coat stood on end.
"Oh, no," Echo and Twilight Sparkle both said at the same time.
The baggage on the cart erupted into a tower of green flame, revealing that Queen Chrysalis had, in fact, stowed away. She laughed maniacally, almost in the same way that she had when she had revealed herself at Shining Armor and Cadance's wedding.
"Oh, the look on your fa--"
WHAM. Twilight Velvet's hoof slammed home into the side of Chrysalis' face, and she fell limply off the cart and to the floor. "That's for my Shiny!"
"Twily, get back!" Twilight Velvet did her best to break free of her daughter's grasp.
Twilight Sparkle pleaded, "Mom, wait, you don't understand! She's not evil anymore!"
"That's a matter for some debate..." Echo, still disguised, mused quietly.
"Twily," Mrs. Velvet relaxed a little, "she replaced your sister-in-law at your brother's wedding. She tried to enslave all of Equestria. Why are you protecting her?"
"Mom, really, it's not what you think. The changelings are --"
"The changelings are dangerous, Twily. That one in particular."
"Wait," Echo winced, "You didn't tell her?"
"I didn't think I'd need to, Echo."
"Tell me what? Twily, you shouldn't keep secrets from your mother. What didn't you tell me?"
"Well... about this little problem. I didn't lie when I said Echo is an inexperienced mother. Technically I didn't lie at all!"
"What aren't you telling me, Twilight Sparkle?"
Twilight's face contorted for a moment into fear. Her mother only called her by her full name when she was ticked. "Well... um... Mom... Echo and Ricochet are... um..."
"We're changelings, Ma'am." Ricochet stepped forward, bowing his head a little in respect to the mare of the house. "Reformed changelings, I guess you could say."
Mrs. Velvet regarded her guests with a newfound horror. "Twily, you brought changelings into my house?"
"Mom, please. They really aren't dangerous. Echo really needs your help."
"Why did you bring Chrysalis and the other changeling, then?" She wasn't yelling anymore, which was a good sign, but she was still visibly on-edge.
"Ricochet is ... I guess you could say he's Echo's student. He's recently decided to change his ways, and she's acting as his mentor. Chrysalis... is a stowaway. I told her to stay back in Ponyville, but... well, you can see how that worked out."
"My mother doesn't like following orders." Echo nodded.
"Your mother." Mrs. Velvet looked over at Echo with a mixture of incredulity and worry. "You're telling me you're... what, Princess Echo?"
"No, I'm not a p--"
"Oh, I am totally calling you Princess Echo from now on." Chrysalis had started to regain consciousness, but was cradling the side of her head that had been assaulted. "That is a mean punch for a pony, I have to admit."
"So, let me get this straight, Twily. Echo, Ricochet, and ... Chrysalis ... are to stay in my home in Canterlot, the city which was only a few years ago attacked by a force led by the aforementioned Queen... while I teach Echo the ins and outs of motherhood to a teenage filly?"
"Well, Mom, I mean, I just really needed some help from somepony who --"
"You know, dear, hold that thought. A minute ago, Chrysalis, you said you were sure you could help find my husband. Exactly what did you mean by that?"
When the Queen stood to her full height, her horn very nearly scraped the ceiling. "I meant I was sure that I could assist you in locating him." She raised an eyebrow. "What did you think I was implying?"
"Perhaps that you kidnapped him like you had done to my daughter-in-law?"
"Oh, are you still hung up on that? Let it go, Velvet, dear. That's ages in the past."
"Oh. Is it?" Mrs. Velvet's teeth began to grind audibly on each other as she attempted a smile. "You see, to my recollection, it was less than four years ago. I assure you, it is quite fresh in my mind."
"Mom, Chrysalis notwithstanding, Echo really does need your help."
"Ah, right. Well, Twily, given the circumstances and of course the past, you'll understand if I ask you, just ever so quickly, to tell me something only the two of us would know?"
Twilight hesitated for a moment. "I... I don't want to embarrass myself..."
"If they're your friends, then you shouldn't worry about it." Mrs. Velvet smiled gently.
Chrysalis leaned over Twilight's shoulder, smiling mischievously, and spoke sweetly. "Of course, little miss Sparkle, your friends would never ... say ... blackmail you with a particularly embarrassing story."
"Naturally not." Twilight deadpanned, rolling her eyes. "All right... it was my fourth birthday. I remember the last present I got that day. You and dad were both looking at me... you seemed almost nervous. I guess you wondered if I'd like it. I opened the box, and I found Smarty Pants, and the first thing I did was hug her as tightly as I could. Then I walked over to you and Dad, and I said 'Mommy, Daddy, thank you so much. I'll love her forever --"
"Just like I'll love you." Mrs. Velvet finished the sentence for her as tears welled up in her eyes. "Okay. I believe it's you Twily." She enveloped her daughter in a tight hug.
"Oh! That's tasty!" Ricochet leaned over and whispered into Echo's ear.
"Shh, not appropriate..." She paused. "... but you're right."
"All right, if you're done with this saccharine display," the ever-insensitive Queen interrupted, "can we address the issue at hoof?"
"You..." Mrs. Velvet pointed a hoof in Chrysalis' direction, "I still don't like you, but because my Twily is vouching for you, I'll let you go. I'm afraid I don't have room for you here, though, so Twily might have to see if the Princesses can offer you accommodations for the weekend."
"Thanks, Mom." Twilight smiled brightly.
"Thanks, Mom." Chrysalis mocked under her breath.
"Now, the next thing. I don't like knowing that those two are changelings if I can't see it, so," she turned to Echo and Ricochet, "dispense with the disguises, if you'd be so kind?"
Ricochet looked to Echo for reassurance, and she nodded. The two of them simultaneously dropped their facades, revealing their true forms.
"Here we are," Echo shrugged with a gentle smile, "we come in peace." She chuckled nervously.
Mrs. Velvet sighed heavily, but didn't smile. She trotted over and stood just a few inches from Echo's face. "Listen, Echo. I'm still not totally comfortable with this, but ... I'll do what I can to help you, and I'll try to give you a chance, okay?" She held out a hoof. "I can't say we're friends yet, but I won't punch you, okay?"
Echo chuckled a little. "Understandable, and thank you." She accepted the gesture.
"Same goes for you, Ricochet." She extended her hoof to him.
"Thank you, Ma'am." He smiled and also accepted the gesture.
"Twilight Velvet or Mrs. Velvet is fine, my mother was 'ma'am'." She smiled weakly. "Now, then, let me show you to your rooms. Twilight, if you could make... her presentable and tend to her accommodations at the castle, that would be lovely."
"I'm on it, Mom."
Once Twilight Velvet and Twilight Sparkle had both turned their backs to the Queen, she gave them each a couple of very unflattering faces.
"Come on now you two." Mrs. Velvet motioned to Echo and Ricochet again. "Follow me." She started up a nearby spiral staircase while the changelings grabbed their bags. On the second level was a long hallway. She pointed down one direction. "Over there is Twily's room, and mine and Night Light's as well. On the other end of the hall we have the spare bedroom." She led them down the hall and opened the door. It was a nice room, large enough to hold a single king sized bed with enough space to allow for a desk, typewriter, several chairs, and a well-stocked bookshelf. "I think you'll like it." Mrs. Velvet finished, holding the door open.
Echo and Ricochet both paused before the former spoke. "Um, which one of us gets this room, Mrs. Velvet?"
"Both of you." She smiled.
"Oh." Echo hesitated, blinking a few times. Her ears twitched. "I see." She looked over at Ricochet, who was now swallowing the frog in his throat and looking at his hooves nervously. "That might be kind of awkward."
Twilight Velvet looked at Echo with confusion for a moment before her eyes widened. "Oh, you mean... you two aren't...?"
"No, not at all. Just friends." Echo nodded.
"Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to assume. Still, I'm sorry to say this is all that we have to spare, since Scootaloo is taking Twily's old room. You two are getting Shiny's. We really don't have any more." She seemed genuinely apologetic for not having the right arrangements. "Would you like me to see if we can get a room at a local inn for one of you?"
Echo considered the offer, but she reconsidered it when she realized that asking Mrs. Velvet to do that would be very rude. "N... No, it's fine. We can make due." She smiled gently. "Thank you, Mrs. Velvet. I appreciate your time."
"Of course. I'm really sorry. Now... I think I need to go out and find out where my husband's run off to. We can talk more when I get back, okay? It shouldn't take me too long." She inhaled sharply in hesitation, winced a little, and then offered a hug.
Echo smiled and gave a very quick, gentle hug in response. Once they had separated, she watched Mrs. Velvet offer Ricochet another hoofshake, which he also accepted gracefully. Just like that, Mrs. Velvet was gone, down the stairs and out the door.
"Echo, we have to ... to share a bed?" He asked hesitantly once their host had departed.
"It's not that big a deal. It's a king sized bed, there's plenty of room to keep our distance. Is it too awkward for you being in the same bed as a friend?" She asked him innocently.
"N-- no, that's not it, it's just that... well, I..."
"Oh! I get it. Don't worry about it, Ricochet. I'm a grown mare, I can handle seeing what happens to a stallion when he wakes up. Besides, I get it: you can't help it, it's not your fault." She trotted in and started to set down her bags to unpack.
"That... that is not what I meant!!!" He protested, nervousness plain to hear in his voice.
"Then what did you mean?" She tilted her head and cocked an eyebrow as she set some of her things down on the bed.
"I just... I don't know."
"Well, when you figure it out, let me know, okay buddy?" She smiled again and zipped up her bag. "Now... would you mind helping me decide on a new disguise?"
"What was wrong with your last one?" He tried his best to just roll with it and move on from his previous awkwardness.
"Well, for one, the fact that it was based on a mare who used to live in this city... until I kinda possibly maybe blasted her in the chest with a bolt of magic a little over three years ago?"
He nodded, a little surprised. "Yeah, that would ... that would explain some of the looks we got coming in to town."
"Obviously I don't want, much less need to have to explain that to anypony, so, I need a new disguise. I'd just like to have an opinion about how some of my ideas look." She smiled brightly and erupted into flames. When they disappated, the mare in Echo's place was a mint-green pegasus with a blue mane and a trio of feathers for a cutie mark. Her voice was soft and high, very gentle. "How's this one?"
Ricochet shrugged. "Eh. It would pass, but I don't think it suits you."
The mare's face scrunched up, and she again erupted in flame. This time she was a pink-ish unicorn with a violet mane and a cutie mark of three princess-cut diamonds. Her voice was now mid-range, and just a little rough. "How about now?"
"Eh, better than the last one, but I don't think pink is very 'you' either."
She gave a muted groan of displeasure and sat down with her forelegs crossed. Another tower of flame revealed a faded lavender colored mare with a blonde mane and yellow flower for a cutie mark. She looked at Ricochet with an impatient, almost pouting expression.
"That... actually looks really good." He smiled.
"Now you're just saying that because I'm pissed." Her voice was medium-high, about a mezzo-soprano. It was pure and smooth.
"N-- No, no I'm not. I actually think that looks good. The voice is nice too." He smiled.
"Really?" She smiled weakly and stood.
"Yeah. I like it."
"Okay... so... what should my name be?"
"Maybe... um... Blossom... Delight?"
"Blossom Delight..." She tapped a hoof. "Well, I can't really think of anything better. All right, Blossom Delight it is."
"Blossom Delight and Key Stone." He smiled at her, changing back into his own disguise.
"Blossom Delight and Key Stone, best of friends." She nodded with a smile.
"Yep... best friends!" He did his best to smile back.
As if on cue, Mrs. Velvet came back around the corner into the room. "Ah! I... assume that's you, Echo and Ricochet?"
"Yep, it's us." Ricochet turned, eager for a distraction.
"Well... this is my husband, Night Light." She reached around and pulled him into view from the other side of the door.
He smiled kindly. "Hey, nice to meet you." He extended his hoof first to Ricochet and then to Echo. "Like she said, my name is Night Light. I'm also known as 'Princess Twilight Sparkle and Prince Shining Armor's dad', but I really prefer Night Light... much shorter." He laughed.
"Now, honey..." Mrs. Velvet said hesitantly. "There is something else about our guests here... I need you to be calm for me, okay? Twily already promised me everything was okay, and I checked to make sure it was really her..."
"Why... would it not be her?" He raised an eyebrow.
"... Echo, Ricochet?"
Fwoosh. The air in the room moved in a quick warm breeze as both changelings dropped their disguises. They spoke, accidentally, in unison. "Hello, again."
A little curl from Night Light's mane now sat in front of his left eye as he stared at the changelings. "Sweetheart, honey... love of my life... can you please explain this for me?"
"I'll do my best." She smiled sweetly.
* * *
"So, what you're telling me then is that all this time, Twily has been in Ponyville, living with the changeling Queen who ... impersonated our daughter-in-law and attempted to elope with our son."
"Yep." Echo was trying to answer the questions that Mrs. Velvet had not yet been informed about.
"She's been doing this willingly?"
"For the most part."
"... and she hasn't been telling us because...?"
"I'm sorry," Echo winced, "I don't really know that one. I think she probably just forgot. Most of the time when I talk with her, she's pretty busy trying to get me to submit to experiments. She seems to really find me fascinating."
"Well, that does sound like our Twily. She always did have a bit of a one-track-mind. Okay. Now, then, the reason you're here..."
"I can answer that one." Mrs. Velvet kissed Night Light's cheek gently. "Twily wrote to me about Scootaloo and her mom. Remember that?"
"I do."
"Well... Echo is Scootaloo's new mom."
"That... clears up a few questions. I guess it makes sense you wouldn't know how to deal with a pubescent pegasus filly." He laughed, putting a hoof behind his head. "Heck, I had trouble with a pubescent unicorn colt, and that's a lot closer to what I've gone through in my life than it probably is for you and Scootaloo."
"That's precisely why Twilight suggested I get some expert advice from your wife, Mr. Night Light." Echo nodded.
"Oh, please. Just Night Light." He waved a hoof. "Well, I'll always encourage Twily to make more friends. She has quite a few now, but the more the merrier. If she trusts you, then so do I!"
"Oh, one more thing, dear, and I think you probably won't like it..." Mrs. Velvet cooed gently. "She's... um... well, she's Chrysalis' daughter."
"Oh, well, as long as Twily gave us her -- wait, what?"
"Also, Chrysalis is back in Canterlot for the weekend while they're all visiting."
His face became expressionless. He blinked a few times before throwing his hooves up into the air helplessly. "Okay. Sure. Yeah. No big deal." He stood. "It was a pleasure meeting both of you. If you'll excuse me, I think I'm going to go for a little walk to clear my head."
"I... totally get it." Echo said gently.
Echo, Ricochet, and Mrs. Velvet all wordlessly watched him walk out of the house. Once the front door had closed, Mrs. Velvet spoke up again.
"Honestly, that went much better than I expected."
"Not ideal?" She huffed as she paced around her room. It was by all accounts a lovely room. It was round in shape, and in the center of the floor was a tile mosaic depicting a sun and a moon. One half of the room had a dark purple theme, and the other had a bright golden theme. The bed was sizable, larger than anything most ponies could find in a store, and was lifted off the ground by a platform three steps high. There was a window overlooking the city below, which also revealed that the room was in one of the multitude of towers that dotted the royal plaza. "They have me locked in a tower like I'm some kind of prisoner. Then, you tell me that if I want to go anywhere, I have to let Royal Guards follow me?"
Twilight nodded. "You know, Chrysalis, many ponies would find this room opulent. Extravagant even!"
"Yes, well I am not 'most ponies', am I, Sparkle?" She sneered. "This room has horrible color sense. Gold and purple? It looks like someone spilled paint over half the room."
"You know, Chrysalis, I think I'm done playing nice. You stowed away, and I probably should have just told the Princesses about all the trouble you've been causing. I think you're taking advantage of my kindness... I won't be putting up with it anymore. These are your quarters and the terms until we return to Ponyville. If you really think I'm bluffing this time... you're welcome to call my bluff."
Chrysalis' eyes focused on Twilight for a tense moment before the Queen began to laugh loudly.
"I'm not kidding, Chrysalis!" Twilight insisted. "I will have you sent to the dungeons if you step out of line again."
"Oh, my dear little Sparkle. I believe you. I really do." She wiped a tear of laughter from her eye. "I was just so happy to see you finally acting the way royalty should act. I will obey your rules." She sat down on the bed and leaned back. "Although I am loathe to admit it, you do have me in a bind."
"That's right." Twilight stomped a hoof. "I do. Goodbye." She turned to leave, presented her proof of identification to the guards -- a preventative security measure -- and departed back for her home.
Twilight stopped by her favorite cafe on the way, the same one she had tried to show Echo. She stepped in and sat down at a table.
"Oh, well, hello, Twilight! It's been a long time since I saw you last!" A yellow mare with a reddish mane walked over. "What can I get for you?"
"Hi, Honey Blossom. It has been a while, hasn't it? I'll just have my daisy sandwich like always!" Twilight tried to smile.
"Daisy sandwich. It'll be out in a second."
"Thanks." Twilight sighed as Honey Blossom walked away. She rested her chin in her hooves. This was more than she'd bargained for. She worried that being around Chrysalis so much had started to rub off on her. She never would have been that forceful with somepony before, let alone threatened them like that. She began to wonder if she could do this.
After a few minutes, Honey Blossom returned. "Here you are, Twilight. One daisy sandwich." She took a seat across from Twilight at the table. "Is everything okay sweetie?"
"Oh, I don't know, Honey Blossom. It's just... I have so many new responsibilities, and I'm worried they're changing the way I act."
"They probably are."
"Oh! Really? Thanks so much, that really puts my mind at ease!"
"Well, now, hold on. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, Twilight. Do you remember how you used to be when you left Canterlot? You didn't even understand the point of friends. New responsibilities, or any kind of changes in your life, make you see things a new way, and it's not a bad thing."
"... but what if it is a bad thing, Honey Blossom? I just yelled at C-- somepony, telling her that I would have her locked up if she didn't do as I said."
"... well, I assume that's part of the job of being a princess, right?"
"I... I guess."
"So... maybe it was something you needed to learn how to do?"
"Ugh." She bit into her sandwich and sighed as she chewed. Once she swallowed, she looked back over at Honey Blossom. "I'd hate to admit she was right."
"Who was right about what?"
"The same ch-- pony that I yelled at. She said that I was finally acting like royalty was supposed to. I think she was... proud of me."
"Who knows. Maybe she was right. Oops!" She looked over at the entrance as a new group arrived. "Sorry, Twilight, I've got to go help those ponies."
"It's okay, Honey Blossom. Thanks for talking with me." She smiled and waved goodbye as her old friend went off back to work. Twilight turned back to her sandwich and took another couple bites.
"Twily?" Her father's voice called out. She looked to her left, over the chest-height wrought-iron fence that the cafe had surrounding its dining area.
"Oh! Dad!" She stood, smiling brightly and running over to the fence. The two ponies stood on their hind legs to share a quick hug over the fence. "It's good to see you again!"
"It's good to see you, too. Just one second, I'll come around and sit with you. I'll be happy to talk with you for a while while I'm clearing my head."
"What do you mean?"
"I'll tell you in a second." He smiled and laughed nervously before heading toward the cafe's entrance.
Twilight sat back down and took another bite of her sandwich while she waited. Just a few moments later, Night Light took a seat.
"So," he started, "sweetheart, when were you going to tell your mother and me about the fact that you've been living with... you-know-who?"
She blinked a few times. "Oh. Did I forget to tell you two?"
"I should say you did, yes."
"Heh..." She laughed nervously. "I'm sorry, Dad. I've just been... well, really busy with researching them."
"Too busy to tell your mom and dad what's been going on in your life, really?"
Twilight's ears fell back. She suddenly felt tremendously guilty. "I... I'm really sorry, Dad..." She felt a tear growing in the corner of her eye. She couldn't escape the sense that she'd let her father down.
He lifted her chin with a hoof. "Hey," he smiled and wiped her eye, "none of that, okay? I'm not mad, I just... well, in the future, can you please not forget about your old mom and dad?"
She sniffled again and then launched herself over the table, latching on to her father's neck. "I missed you, Daddy..." She whispered into his ear.
"Oh, Twily." He patted her back. "I missed you too."
They held the hug for a few moments before Twilight let go. "I guess I should probably go and check up on Echo and Ricochet, shouldn't I?"
"I think your mother would appreciate that, yes. I'm still going to get a bit of fresh air for a while. It's been a bit of a crazy day."
"Okay Dad... I'll see you at home." Twilight got up, paid her bill, and started home.
* * *
"Are you sure he's going to be okay?" Echo asked with concern in her voice. "He sounded pretty upset."
"Oh, he'll be fine." Mrs. Velvet smiled and waved a hoof. "He really is just going to go for a walk to clear his mind. That's all."
"Well... if you're sure."
"I am." She smiled and stood. "You know what? In addition to being sure he's going to be fine, I'm also sure that I'm about to go cook dinner. Would you two like anything in particular?"
"Ummm..." Echo winced. "We don't really need to. Whatever you cook will be fine, I'm sure."
"Oh. Right. Well... I hope you'll enjoy once I make up my mind." She trotted off for the kitchen, leaving Echo and Rebound to sit alone.
They were silent for a while, since neither of them knew particularly what to say to fill the silence.
"Well," Echo finally spoke, "What do you think of Canterlot?"
"It's interesting from what I saw, but I didn't really get to see much at all."
"I bet we can change that. You'll probably like it here."
"Why do you say that?"
"Canterlot has some of the most interesting architecture in Equestria. It would be valuable study for you, I think."
His ears perked up. "Oh. That does sound right up my alley. Okay!" He smiled, donning his disguise, and headed for the door.
As he was about to step out, the door opened. Twilight stepped in and nearly collided with Ricochet. He stumbled back, falling to his rump.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Twilight held out a hoof to help him up. "I really didn't mean to do that."
"It's okay," he stumbled to his hooves, "I know you didn't mean to." He started to squeeze past her.
"Where are you going?"
"I was just going to go look at some of the architecture around the city. Echo thinks it would be good for me to study it."
"Uh-oh..." Twilight Velvet suddenly reappeared next to Echo. "He said the s-word."
"No, he said 'study', not 'sh--"
"In this house, the s-word is study. Just watch."
Twilight's eyes brightened and she jumped in place excitedly. "You want to study architecture! Oh! I can definitely help with that! I think I still know where we can find some good books in the Canterlot library, and I'll show you around some of the historical locations in the city! Just wait until you see the mosaics in the Lunar Wing of the castle, they're amazing! I know that's not technically architecture, but still, they're gorgeous! Oh, and the vaulted ceiling on the Lunar Cathedral, where Celestia's had the Equinox Ball every year since Luna came back!" She ran over to her bags, still on the living room floor where Chrysalis had thrown them off. "Let me get my pen and quill, we can take notes! I haven't had a note-taking friend in sooooo long, this will be great!"
"Does she do this any time someone says the s-word?"
"Only when somepony says they need to do it. We just avoid the word altogether to be safe."
"Is he going to be okay?"
"Oh, she'll just drag him all over the city for the rest of the day and lecture him ad nauseum about the history of architecture in Canterlot. It might be good for him, who knows?"
"I hope you're right..."
Twilight grabbed Ricochet by the hoof and dragged him for the door. "Come on, let's go! Let's go!"
"Be back in two hours, Twily. I'm cooking dinner."
"Okay Mom, love you, see you soon, bye!"
The door slammed as Ricochet was pulled outside.
"I... guess I'll help you cook." Echo shrugged.
* * *
Ten minutes later, Twilight was bringing Ricochet along on a guided tour of the Canterlot castle. He was actually quite fascinated. They were making a bee-line for the Lunar Cathedral that Twilight had mentioned, and Ricochet actually felt a measure of anticipation as they approached.
The main hall in which they were walking opened into a single wide nave flanked with two aisles. The cathedral had an astoundingly gorgeous vaulted ceiling. The ceiling itself was studded with gems that gave off a faint white light; amidst the shadow of the vaults, it appeared as though the night sky itself shone through. Twilight explained that the gems were each individually enchanted over three hundred years ago, and arranged with the most fastidious precision to be a perfect representation of the stars above that spot at the moment of the March equinox. Celestia had ordered its construction in anticipation of her sister's imminent return, and chose the equinox as the inspiration in part as a gift to her sister; a reminder that the Sun and the Moon were both of equal importance. It became an annual celebration so that she would never forget that she, too, was appreciated, even though ponies mostly slept during the night.
"You know, Miss Twilight," Ricochet began, "I never really asked, but I'm curious... how does the government of Equestria work?"
"Oh, well... honestly I've been struggling to find my place in that, but the principal regents are Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadance. Celestia and Luna are, in effect, the diarchs of Equestrian society, with Cadance now mostly having her responsibilities in the Crystal Empire -- something of an Equestrian province. She didn't always have that responsibility though. As for myself, well... I don't have a set tract of land for which I'm responsible, so much as spreading friendship and doing my best to help solve the friendship problems of those in need."
"What did Cadance do before she was responsible for the Crystal Empire?"
"Oh. Well, she was the Princess of Love. It was her responsibility to try to help as many ponies find and spread love as possible."
"Wait, she was the Princess of Love?" Ricochet blinked a couple of times.
"Yeah, that's right."
"You're telling me you ponies here in Equestria had a Princess of Food? You have a Princess for that?"
"Well... I mean, she wasn't the Princess of Food to us, but I guess that's exactly why Chrysalis ended up attacking her and attempting to usurp control of Equestria through her throne."
"Wait, Echo's mom tried to take over all of Equestria? I thought she was just trying to steal enough love to feed her hive."
"Yeah, you didn't know that?"
"No, I'm from a different hive. Queen Exuvia. She was always very kind, and we never really had much trouble staying fed. We lived in a mountain that was rich in gold, up in the Griffon lands. Since griffons love gold so much, we were always able to just feed off the love that seemed to come from the mines. We never had trouble staying fed."
"Huh. I didn't even know there were other hives, really. Learn something new every day."
"You thought Chrysalis' hive was all there was to my species?"
"I guess that is kind of a short-sighted view, isn't it?"
"I didn't mean it that way."
"It's all right. You wouldn't be wrong if you did." Twilight smiled. "Oh!" She changed gears abruptly, "follow me! We need to go look at the architecture on the outside! It's amazing!"
* * *
After about an hour and a half, dinner was nearing completion. An impressive spread was being made on the table.
"Wow, Mrs. Velvet. I thought I was a good cook, but this is looking AMAZING." Echo lauded Twilight's mother. There were dishes being prepared in this kitchen of which Echo had never even conceived. The aromas were intoxicating even to her, so she had trouble imagining how mind-blowing it would have been to a pony whose brain was hard-wired to induce hunger when confronted with aromatic food. "What did you put in that lasagna?"
"Family secret, Echo, dear. You're a fairly impressive cook yourself though! You seem to have a flair for the Eastern dishes."
"They're just fun to cook." She smiled.
Scootaloo came bolting down the stairs; the smell had finally wafted up to her room. She was practically drooling. "What's for dinner?!"
"Scoot, don't be rude."
"Oh. Right. Sorry Mom. So, Mrs. Velvet, what's for dinner? It smells amazing."
Echo rolled her eyes a little. That was better, but not exactly great.
Mrs. Velvet smiled brightly, seemingly unfazed. "A little bit of everything, Scootaloo. No matter what you like, there will be something you'll enjoy, I'm sure of it."
"You know," Echo said gently, "This seems like a lot of food for just four ponies. Remember that Ricochet and I don't really eat food the same way you guys do?"
"Oh, I remember... we just got word that there were going to be a couple more guests, is all."
"There are? I hope we aren't intruding!"
"Who else is coming?" Scootaloo asked, tilting her head.
"Well, let's just say it's a good thing Chrysalis is being housed at the Castle instead of here."
"You don't mean..." Echo's eyes widened.
"I do. You'll get to meet my son, Shining Armor, and my daughter-in-law, Princess Cadance."
"That should be fun."
The front door opened again, and this time Twilight, Ricochet, and Night Light (who had rendezvoused with the former pony and changeling on their way home) entered. The stallions seeming to share a laugh, while Twilight seemed bemused at best.
"... so then the bartender says, 'Liquor? I hardly know her!'"
Ricochet snickered at first, trying to hold back more raucous laughter, but eventually failed. Night Light seemed proud of himself.
"Ugh. Stallions." Twilight shook her head and walked over to the kitchen. "How do you live with him, Mom?"
"I love him. I'll put up with the rare naughty joke." She hugged her daughter. "Oh, Twily, there's good news! We've got some more visitors coming in tonight."
"Really? Who?"
"Your brother and Cadance."
"Really?!" Twilight smiled brightly.
"Wait, the Princess of Food is coming here?" Ricochet asked curiously.
"The Princess of what?" A kind female voice said from behind him, more asking for clarification than accusatory.
Ricochet turned around and his face seemed to go pale. Shining Armor and Cadance looked down at him, both smiling gently.
"I-- I-- I said the 'Princess of Love', that's what I said."
"Oh. Well, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Cadance." She extended a hoof to greet him.
He took it gingerly and shook, both her hoof and his entire body. "I'm R-R-R-" he shook his head, "Really nervous. My name is Key Stone."
"Good to meet you, Key Stone."
"Hey, I'm Shining Armor. Nice to meet you." Shining Armor also extended a hoof, which Ricochet again accepted and shook.
"P-pleased to make your acquaintance." He watched as the duo walked past him toward the kitchen, introduced themselves to Echo, and then went to speak with Twilight Sparkle, Mrs. Velvet, and Night Light.
Echo, once she was finished with her introduction, walked over to Ricochet, who had still not moved from the spot where he was. "Are you okay?" She asked him quietly.
"Yep, just going to die of fright. I'm sure everything will be fine."
Echo, still disguised, began to almost literally drag Ricochet -- or rather, in his current form, Key Stone -- into the dining room.
"Echo," He begged, his voice barely above a whisper, "Please, no. Let me go and look at more architecture or something, don't make me do this, I can't do this!"
She stopped dragging him for just a moment. "All right, Key Stone, rule number one to using a disguise without raising suspicion: Never use your real name, only ever use your disguise name. Rule number two: Never do anything that draws unnecessary attention to yourself. Leaving suddenly when there's a heavenly dinner set out for us would be very attention grabbing. Rule number three: Never let them see they got to you. If they can see that they make you nervous, then that will make them suspicious, which will also violate rule two. I know this isn't your idea of fun... it isn't quite ideal for me either... but trust me, okay? We'll get you through this."
"But... I mean, we're trying to help me live with ponies without having to use a disguise, aren't we? Shouldn't we just be honest and upfront?"
"All in due time, but for now, a surprise reveal wouldn't be a smart move."
"Mrs. Velvet didn't try to hurt anyone but your mom."
"Mrs. Velvet was not kidnapped and held hostage for Chrysalis knows how long in the labyrinthine caves under Canterlot like Cadance was, nor did she have her fiance impersonated for that same duration of time while also being subjected to changeling mind control and having her love siphoned off by a QUEEN -- you know how a Queen's appetite can get, I imagine? Ravenous. No, her reaction in trying to knock off my mother's block was a second-hoof response to those incidents. Given time and preparation, I'm sure that Shining Armor and Cadance could be persuaded to accept the both of us, but presently it would be an extremely unwise decision."
"I... I know you're right, but I still don't want to be here. I'm sorry, I'm not as courageous as you are."
"Courage doesn't mean not being scared, Ricochet. It means doing it anyway. Now come on, don't make me explain why I had to literally drag you to your seat. Rule number two, remember?"
"Rule number two... don't draw attention to yourself. Right. Okay." He stood, shaking a little, and took a few breaths to calm his nerves. He cracked a slight smile and walked into the room in perfect step with Echo.
Cadance looked up and smiled as the duo entered the room. "Ah, there are the two lovebirds! We were waiting for you."
"Lovebirds?" Ricochet stammered.
"Why does everypony assume we're an item?"
"Oh?" Cadance seemed surprised. "Are you not?"
"Nope, just friends."
"Really? That's kind of surprising, you two seemed perfect for each other."
"Cadance, honey, I know it's hard for you, but you don't need to be a matchmaker anymore." Shining Armor gently touched her shoulder.
"I was only trying to get to know them, Shiny." She chuckled. "Well, I'm sorry if I made you two feel awkward. Please, join us!"
The only two remaining seats were directly next to each other, so Echo and Ricochet sat directly across from Cadance and Shining Armor respectively.
Mrs. Velvet began to set the finished dishes in the center of the table to serve them. There seemed to be something from every corner of the Earth. Everypony except for the two disguised changelings and the Princess of Love immediately began to dig in with an almost animalistic fervor.
"So," she said after a few tense moments, "Tell me about yourselves. Where do you come from? How do you know my Shiny's family? Why don't we start with you, Blossom Delight? After all, ladies first, am I right, Key Stone?" She smiled sweetly.
"Of course you're right. One hundred percent right." This suited Ricochet just fine. It would give him time to collect himself and remember his own backstory.
This suited Echo as well. "Well, I was born in Manehattan," She deliberately chose a large city so it would be harder to call her bluff, "where I quickly found out that there was a substantial market for florists. Turns out when you live in a huge city, Hearts and Hooves day brings in a lot of demand for flowers. Doubly so since a lot of the ponies in Manehattan seem to not want to go pick their own from Central Park. I guess it was just too much work for them. I digress. The thing was, there were so many lovers' quarrels in Manehattan that I was never really struggling for business. As long as I kept a wide variety of flowers, there was always somepony who would pay me a visit."
"That sounds like it would have been right up my alley, if I didn't already have a job of my own. Where were you in Manehattan?"
Oh shit. All right, time to come up with something on the fly. "I was originally hoping to set up shop in Tribeca, but after a while I realized it made more financial sense to set up shop in SoHo, where I could rent both my business and living properties at the same time."
"Smart mare!" Cadance beamed. "So what happened to your business out there?"
"Well," Echo shrugged, "business has its ups and downs. Unfortunately I hit a down, and I hit it fairly hard. Throw that together with the insane cost of living in Manehattan and I was forced to consider different options for my living situation. I had heard that the Elements of Harmony were from Ponyville, so I thought that would be as good a place as any to see what fortune held for me. It would certainly be a safe place, after all."
"Makes sense to me. What about you, Key Stone?"
"I build things." He nodded.
Cadance put a hoof to her lips and giggled. "I had assumed as much. I mean, where did you come from?"
"I come from... well, nearby but kind of far away, too."
"I think what Key Stone is trying to say," Echo gently interjected, "is that he's spent most of his career going from town to town, and doesn't feel that he has one single home town."
"That... is correct, yes." He nodded. "I apologize, I am very, very nervous." His nodding became more vigorous.
"Okay, Key Stone," Echo said gently, "you can stop nodding now."
"Please," Cadance gingerly took a bite of one of the particularly sweet-smelling dishes in front of her, "don't be nervous. Just because I have 'Princess' in my name doesn't mean I'm anything more than another pony in this world."
"Yesh it doesh," Shining turned toward her and nuzzled her gently, "y'r mah wife."
It was at this point that Echo leaned over toward Ricochet and began to coach him on what to say next.
"Shiny, dear, swallow your food before you speak." She turned back toward Echo, Twilight, and Mrs. Velvet (who were all roughly on the same end of the table) and laughed gently. "Honestly, how is a mare expected to civilize wild stallions like this?"
"Gib id up!" Night Light chimed in, sitting at the head of the table next to his son. He was in a similarly stuffed state. "Th' boy'sh got too much o' me in 'im. Hon'stly, th' fact is dat -- OW!"
Mrs. Velvet had lit her horn and grabbed a wooden spoon, with which she was lightly smacking Night Light on the back of the head. "Stop that."
Cadance's small giggle became a fully-fledged laugh. "I feel like I should be taking notes!"
"You should, dear." Mrs. Velvet smiled gently before returning the spoon to its previous home in the kitchen.
"Where were we?" Cadance turned back to the two disguised changelings. "Oh, right. Key Stone's story."
Ricochet was now prepared. "Right, well, I was born in Raneigh. Ma always said I'd taken to building things early on, even with my old 'tinker toys'. I found out it was my special talent after Hurricane Floyd came through and wrecked the coast. My pa took me a couple counties over -- he was a construction worker by trade -- and I helped him with rebuilding for some of the victims in Greenville. I actually liked it a lot, but got my cutie mark when I was looking over a set of blueprints and started making some modifications that helped increase the structural integrity of our projects against future hurricanes. From there, I finished going to school and set out across the country, mostly helping out when natural disasters took ponies' homes, but sometimes just contributing to a few designs for major projects. Never seen anything like what you have in Canterlot though!"
"Oh, you should see the Crystal Empire. I think you'd probably find it fascinating."
"I think we'll consider that at some point in the future." Twilight smiled as she interjected. She didn't want to rope Ricochet into heading up to the Crystal Empire, in no small part due to her own uncertainty over whether or not the naive changeling would be able to contain himself around the overflowing font of love that the Crystal Heart had become after Flurry Heart's Crystalling.
"I'll wait for your letter, Twilight." Cadance smiled brightly. "Now, tell me, Key Stone. How exactly did you and Blossom Delight meet?"
Oh Exuvia, she's on to me. She knows. She's trying to back me into a corner. He looked around nervously.
"I'm sorry for interrupting," Echo spoke, "Key Stone is still a little nervous is all. We actually met thanks to Twilight. I had just dropped by to visit her -- to meet the legend, as it were -- and get some tips on Ponyville to figure out where I would be best to set up my shop. He was dropping by because he wanted to see the architecture on her new castle. Coincidence was that we were both there at the same time. We struck up a conversation and found we were compatible as friends."
"Of course." Cadance looked between the two of them and giggled into her hoof again before taking another bite of food.
Echo leaned over and whispered into Ricochet's ear again. "Rule number three."
"Never let them see they got to you. Right. Sorry." He whispered back.
When the two looked back over at Cadance, she was smirking and chewing on a bit of asparagus. She gently pointed her fork at them. "Sharing whispers? I feel like there's something you don't want to share with the rest of us."
"Cadance, come on, what did we say about not doing this to ponies anymore?" Shining Armor laughed, obviously just a bit exasperated by his wife's meddling behavior.
"I just call it like I see it, sweetheart." She impaled another mouthful of vegetables and shot the pair another smirk as she chewed.
Echo felt her cheeks redden, and a quick glance at Ricochet showed he was in a similar state, though he adamantly refused to make any eye contact with her.
"Oh, for Pete's sake!" Scootaloo groaned, planting an elbow on the table loudly. "Would you two just kiss already and save us all the awkwardness?"
"SCOOTALOO!" Mrs. Velvet's voice rang out with an uncharacteristically scolding tone. Echo did notice the reflexive response that both Shining Armor and Twilight Sparkle shared at the tone. The two seemed to snap to attention, their ears flat against their skulls. More interesting than that, though, was the fact that Scootaloo responded in much the same way. "That is absolutely inappropriate. No more of that or you'll be going back to bed without any more supper, and certainly without dessert. Now, apologize to Mrs. Delight and Mr. Stone."
The filly's eyes were wide, and she swallowed nervously. "Sorry Mrs. Delight, sorry Mr. Stone."
"It's... all right, thank you, Scootaloo..." Echo nodded, astounded at Mrs. Velvet's control of the filly. What kind of magic was locked away in her voice?
There was a tense moment before Cadance spoke again. "... on the other hoof, Scootaloo does have a point!"
Is she the Princess of Love, or the Princess of Putting-Her-Nose-Where-it-Doesn't-Belong? Echo resisted groaning.
"Come on," The Princess continued, "look at him, Blossom. See how badly he's blushing?" Echo did indeed. "Now what would you tell me if I said you were blushing almost exactly as badly?"
"That I'm mortified?" She responded honestly. She looked at Shining Armor, who silently mouthed out the words, I'm sorry.
Cadance sighed, seeming to resign. "All right. I won't force it then, but I'm going to suggest you two consider if you're being honest with each other, or even with yourselves!" She shrugged. "Give love a chance, I always say."
"I can see why your mother likes her so much," Ricochet mumbled to Echo.
"Despises her, actually."
"Yes, that 'likes' was in massive sarcasm."
"I'm aware."
"How much longer do we have to keep doing this?"
"Until it's time for them to leave."
"How long will that be?"
"Well, provided we have a small dessert and some slightly more brief after-dinner chatting, it should only be --"
"Hey, Twily, what would you say if we all had a big family game of Monopoly?" Shining Armor beamed.
"Oh, that sounds AMAZING!" Twilight responded loudly.
Echo let out a pained whimper. "Some time next month."
* * *
Three hours later, the game was starting to come to a close.
"I absolutely loathe this game." Echo snarled as she gave Cadance a sum of $1,500 when her poor, pathetic little thimble game-piece landed on Park Place.
"I'm starting to think that's just because you aren't very good at it, Blossom." Ricochet shrugged.
Her gaze snapped in his direction. "I've never needed to be good at Monopoly. I'm better at other things."
"Not including taking a joke, evidently." Ricochet held up his hooves in a mock surrender.
"I own all the railroads." Scootaloo beamed when Twilight found herself landing on the B. & O.
"Argh!" Twilight groaned as she counted some money. "Which means, Scootaloo, that you're owed $200 every time somepony lands on one of the railroads, and that happens on at least 64% of the rolls on average!"
Shining Armor had long since gone bankrupt at the hooves of his wife, just as his father had gone bankrupt at the hooves of his wife as well. The two were now sharing a couple of beers and chatting on the couch.
Ricochet longed to join them. Perhaps he could talk about hoofball? The mares didn't seem to want to talk about anything that interested him.
"You know, Cadance," Echo began, "Scootaloo here just recently got her first coltfriend."
"Really?!" Cadance's wings sprang out and she leaned over, excited. "That's great! What's his name?"
Scootaloo glared at Echo. "Thanks for embarrassing me." She looked back to Cadance and softened her gaze. "His name's Rumble."
"Oh, I think I remember Rainbow Dash mentioning him. Thunderlane's little brother, isn't he?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"See, now, Key Stone?" She turned back to the disguised changeling. "If a 13 year old colt can ask out a filly, then surely a grown stallion like you can ask out a mare on a date, right?"
"All due respect, your Highness, but you're married." He smirked and playfully jabbed Echo in the ribs.
"N..." She blushed. "Not me!"
"Aw, yeah! You made her blush, Key Stone! Nice one!" She held out a hoof for a hoof-bump. "That brings the score to ... what, two hundred to one?"
"Thirty seven to one." Cadance corrected.
"Oh my Ch-- Celestia, you've actually been keeping count, haven't you?"
"Ha! Pay up!" Mrs. Velvet shouted.
"Wh... nopony landed on any of your properties, Mom." Twilight corrected.
"No, no, not the game. Night Light! They did it, they made Cadance blush and she admitted it! You owe me fifty bits!"
* * *
After another hour of stalemate, the group decided to call the game a draw. Cadance was exhausted, Shining Armor had found himself a little intoxicated, and the Princess had decided that getting him to sleep in their hotel room was the best course of action to ensure that nothing tabloid-worthy happened that evening.
"It was lovely meeting you, Blossom and Key Stone. It was also good to see you guys again, Twilight, Mrs. Velvet, Night Light." She put a foreleg under one of Shining Armor's, to help him keep his balance. "We'll see you some time tomorrow, all right?"
"No hanky-panky in my old room, Blossom Stone and Key Delight, oh-kay?" Shining Armor laughed, winking at the two of them. "B'sides, trust me, when you have a foal, it takes a lot out of you."
At that moment, both Mrs. Velvet and Cadance glared at Shining Armor, and seemed to speak in perfect unison. "You don't know the half of it."
Echo cleared her throat, recovering from her embarassment. "Well... it's been a pleasure to meet you as well, Cadance. I look forward to seeing you again."
Ricochet mirrored the sentiment, and the regents of the Crystal Empire departed for the evening with a cheerful wave goodbye.
As soon as the doors closed, there was a flash of green light, and both changelings dropped their disguises. "That went a lot better than I'd expected!" Echo beamed.
Twilight snickered. "I have to admit I was wondering if you two were going to be able to hold it together there a few times. I thought changelings were supposed to be good at blending in!"
"Hey," Ricochet crossed his forelegs, "I spent the first 20 years of my life never really needing to change my shape or come up with cover stories. The other two years I spent pretending to be Echo, so that didn't exactly give me a lot of practice making up my own ponies. All things considered, I think I did all right!"
"I... have no excuse other than being rusty. Haven't had to blend in like that since I adopted Scoot." Echo shrugged, stretching her wings with a buzz.
"Well, I guess we all better get to bed." Mrs. Velvet yawned. "I'll see you all in the morning, okay?" She grabbed Night Light's hoof and dragged him up the stairs as well.
Twilight Sparkle yawned, too. "I'll drop by tomorrow and make sure you two are okay. I had fun tonight! Maybe next time we'll try Scrabble instead, even though I promise you that Mom would annihilate all of us." She chuckled. "Anyway, see ya! Sleep well."
Another closing of the door later, and Echo and Ricochet were alone at the base of the stairs.
"Well," he said, "I guess it's time we go to bed."
"Yep." Echo started and turned around halfway up. "Are you coming?" She tilted her head.
"Uh..." He reconsidered his first instinct to make an off-color joke. "Yeah, I'm pretty tired." He started up the stairs once she turned around again. After he stepped in, he closed the door behind him.
Echo pulled back the covers on her side of the bed and snuggled in. Hesitantly, Ricochet did the same on his side. There was about a pony's width between the two of them, but he could feel the rise and fall of her chest through the bed.
"Echo...?" he asked quietly.
"Yeah, Ricky?" She turned to face him, smiling gently.
"Wh... what would you have said if I had actually asked you out when Cadance said I should've?"
Echo snickered. "That definitely would have gotten a reaction out of her. I don't know what I would have said, but I would've loved to see it."
"No, I mean..."
"... what?"
"... Echo, I ... I kinda, sorta... Y'know."
"Ricky, are you all right?" She sat up. "What is it?"
"Echo, I think I... Love you." He looked over at her expectantly.
Her eyes were dinner plates, and she stared at him in shock. After processing what he said, they took on a sad appearance. "Ricky, hey... listen..."
"No, you're right, that was stupid of me."
"No, it's just--"
"I shouldn't have said anything."
"I think we make better friends than a couple."
"I know, I get it, it's okay. I really shouldn't have said anything."
"It's not that you're not cute, 'cause you are, it's just that I don't really see you that way. Besides, I have Scootaloo, and I don't think I could handle her and trying to handle a romance, it's just not in the cards."
"I GET IT!" He barked. "I get it, I shouldn't have said anything. Forget I asked, okay?" He turned his head to face away, not wanting to betray any of the hurt he was feeling.
She began to reach out a hoof to set on his shoulder, when --
BOOM!
The whole house shook violently, nearly knocking both changelings out of the bed. They buzzed into the air and Echo made a bee-line for Scootaloo's room while Ricochet went to check on Night Light and Twilight Velvet.
"Stay there, Scootaloo! Don't come out until I call you!"
"What's going on, Mom?"
"JUST STAY THERE!" Echo buzzed out to check on their hosts with Ricochet. Fortunately, neither unicorn was injured.
"What happened?" Twilight Velvet asked, rubbing the side of her head.
"I don't know," Ricochet replied honestly.
"I'll go outside and check it out." Echo turned and started toward the staircase when she heard the front door burst open.
When she got to the bottom of the stairs, there were four changelings standing just inside past the devastated portal. They didn't look familiar to her. They were each stocky males, most likely warriors. Their chitin had a faintly red sheen to it, and their eyes and back armor were a midnight purple, almost jet black in the right light.
"Who the hell are you?!" She bellowed.
One of them, the leader by the looks of him, chittered something to the others in a language Echo couldn't recognize. He stepped back, and the other three fanned out, advancing on her position. She snarled and dropped low to the ground.
The one on the right launched himself at her first. She rolled forward, slipping under him. As she righted herself, she planted a hoof in a square uppercut on the one that had been in the middle. Once he was disoriented, she wrapped a foreleg behind his head and pushed his face down to meet the floor. She spun around, keeping one forehoof on the downed changeling's temple, and kicked out with a vicious buck to the ribs on the third changeling. He was winded and fell back instantly, out of the fight.
Echo hissed as she felt a hoof make contact with her cheek. The first one whose attack she had ducked under landed a solid right hook that sent her reeling back. She shook her head quickly and regained her footing. The one she'd been standing on struggled back to his hooves. They shared a few more bizarre words in that foreign language.
She was able to read enough of their body language to know that their intent was no longer to capture her as it had originally been. They'd decided she was too great a threat, and they had shifted to lethal combat. Naturally, she would meet force with force. Fortunately, however, they seemed to not understand Equestrian. "Guys! Get Scootaloo out of here! Get to the castle! Go now!"
"What the hell is going on down there?" Ricochet shouted. "Do you need help?"
"JUST GO! DON'T ASK QUESTIONS, RICKY! GET SCOOT OUT OF HERE, NOW!"
Echo lunged forward, grabbing a vase in her magic off of a nearby table and smashing it over one of the combatant's heads. As he staggered, she chose a particularly jagged shard of ceramic and let out an enraged shout as she plunged it into the soft chitin behind the changeling's ear. Unfortunately, it seemed that these changelings didn't share her weak points. The ceramic broke as though it were made of styrofoam. She chose another piece and made an equally savage attack, this time aiming between the thoracic plates that allowed their abdomens to flex. She felt herself wince as she heard the chitin snap, and the stallion roared briefly before it turned into a loud gurgle. The shard of vase had penetrated into his thoracic cavity, through his right lung, and into his heart. He took two steps before collapsing. She bucked behind her again to put one of the two remaining changelings, the apparent leader of this squad, off balance for long enough to make a strike on the last lackey.
After seeing his brother in arms taken down, the lackey in question had charged for Echo. If his horn rammed home, she was dead. Her chitin was paper thin compared to theirs, and the amount of mass this changeling had behind his charge was substantial. She had one main advantage in this fight, though; due to the same lighter stature that rendered her weaker than her opponents, she was much faster. She bobbed a little side-to-side as she watched the drone rush her. Once he was a single hoofstep away, she sidestepped and kicked at his left rear knee. It buckled just enough to send him down to the ground, and Echo buzzed her wings. From a position a meter or so above him, she began to fire bolt after bolt of hot, green magic into his body. She filled each spell with the fury and hatred she felt at that moment, and it was obvious after only a few moments more that she had killed him.
Coming out of her haze, she searched for the last enemy. I can't believe I lost him! Rookie mistake, getting too focused on one enemy and losing sight of another. Where did he -- Her thoughts were cut off when she felt a burning heat bore into the chitin on her back, and she fell limply to the ground. She could barely breathe. When she turned her head, she found the last drone hovering above her, his horn glowing red as he charged another spell. He chittered something else that Echo couldn't understand.
"What, you want me to beg for mercy?" She choked out. "Eat me."
He smiled, and for the briefest moment, Echo felt fear. She saw it in his eyes, he was enjoying this. The cruelty of the kill was what he enjoyed the most. Her fear gave way to resignation. It's over. I failed. I just hope Scootaloo got out in time. I hope she's safe. I hope she can forgive me. This is the end.
The glow grew, and Echo stared directly into his eyes. She wouldn't give him the pleasure of seeing her cower.
There was a flash of red, followed by an even brighter green flash. During the time it took for Echo to realize she wasn't dead, she saw the drone's confusion just a moment before his head was surrounded in a green aura and twisted around a full 180 degrees, letting out a nauseating snap.
Echo turned her head weakly toward the door, where a snarling, but otherwise unflappable Chrysalis stood. After a moment, her expression softened, and turned into a very faint smile. "Princess Echo," she turned to face her daughter, "there's been a complication."
Echo disregarded her mother's insistence on referring to her as Princess, electing to groan instead. "Mother, what are you doing here? You're better use protecting Scootaloo..."
"On your hooves, child, come on."
The warrior inside her pushed her onward. She rolled onto her stomach, placing her hooves against the ground. The pain was excruciating. It was bright and intense, and seemed to radiate through from her back into her chest. With every breath her pain flared, like blowing on a flame. She growled against the agony and forced her legs to extend. Her limbs shook under her weight, and she closed her eyes, taking quick, shallow breaths.
"Can you walk?" Chrysalis cantered over slowly.
"I don't think I'll be able to keep up. I sure won't be much use in a fight right now. Just go, already. Please. Just keep Scootaloo safe, okay?" She tried to step forward and felt her left foreleg buckle. A quick glance showed that the chitin just below her knee had been badly fractured. A bit of hemolymph, the substance that acted as blood in a changeling's undisguised body, dribbled out of the wound. In most invertebrates it was a pale, mostly clear color, but for changelings it was faintly green.
"You aren't dead yet." Chrysalis looked around and moved quickly. She ripped a set of drapes and broke a few pieces of wooden furniture. With the aid of a little magic, she was able to fashion the wooden bits into a crutch. She tied the a part of the torn drape tightly around Echo's wound. The remainder was tightly bound around her chest, eliciting a scream from the mare, but closing off the substantial wound on her back. All told, her ministrations took about fifteen minutes.
Another experimental step showed that it was at least now possible to walk without further injuring herself. "I still don't know what you're trying to accomplish, Mother. I failed. You should be trying to help Sc--"
"Would you please shut up? I'm no good at helping the filly. I'm good enough to give her a few kicks and entertain her briefly, but I can't raise her. I don't want to, either. That's your place. Now stop arguing and obey me."
Years of conditioning compelled her to obey her Queen's command. "Yes, Chrysalis. Where should we go, then?"
"We need to get to the castle. It's the most well-fortified position. Plus, as much as I hate to admit it, those alicorns are powerful. We need every able-bodied magic user we can get."
"It's also where I sent Scootaloo and the rest of them. How do we get there though? Even if we made it past these ... other changelings ... I doubt the Royal Guard will be too terribly inclined to allow us to enter."
"You let me worry about that. For now, we need to get out there and stick to the shadows."
Echo followed as best she could. She watched Chrysalis stick her head out of the door and look around. In a bolt, she was off and hiding in a dark alley between two nearby buildings. After a few more seconds, Echo had caught up. "By the way, Mother, can you fill me on on what's going on here?"
"This... is the result of a power vacuum. Once I was deposed, that left a huge swatch of Equestrian territory over which no hive held claim. I had recently attended a summit of all changeling monarchs on the continent... I did my best to persuade them that any who attacked Equestria would be likely to suffer the same fate as I did, but... well, I ran into a bit of a language barrier with one of them."
"Oh, you too, huh? Fortunately, their intentions seem quite clear." The duo watched as a group of the stocky changelings buzzed past on a patrol. "They moved quickly. This entire sector is already pacified." The sounds of battle could be heard up the hill toward the castle.
"Yes, me too. King Setae. As best I could tell by looking at him, he was an exile from some hive far off-continent. Certainly didn't match any regional changeling patterns I've ever seen. I think he was only there because changeling law, no matter where you're from, dictates he had to be there in order to be recognized as an official hive; he still didn't understand a word of what was being said." She sighed as she realized the coast was clear, and the two bolted across the street and continued through the dark alleyway. "None of us -- the other leaders and myself that is -- none of us were really comfortable with him there. There's just something off about the big lunk. He's smart, really smart... and he's got bloodlust. I could see it in his eyes... he has no compassion."
"Implying you ever did, Mother?"
"I have plenty of compassion. I just know that showing that compassion at the wrong time is an exploitable weakness. I cared for all my drones, Echo. That's why I initially attacked this city, if you remember?" She held out a hoof to stop Echo following. The alley intersected with another alley up ahead, and the narrow path was blocked off by two of these new changelings. She turned her head and whispered. "Stay here."
Turning back, she exhaled quickly and trotted forward with determination. Her horn glowed a faint green, and just as the two drones turned to see her, they were wrapped in a similar aura. With a frightening speed and force, the two were smashing into each other, and then apart into the walls on the side of the alley. Chrysalis picked up the unconscious drones limply, and hurled them down into the ground a couple more times for good measure. If they weren't dead, they were close. The Queen motioned over her shoulder for Echo to advance.
Echo was actually, for the first time in ages, terrified of her mother. She'd just completely destroyed those two drones, and hadn't even broken a sweat. How powerful is Mother, anyway? She wasn't even trying...
"Well, hurry up!" The Queen spat out over her shoulder. "Don't just gawk!"
She hissed in pain as she moved, but she bolted over to her mother as quickly as she could. "How are we going to get past the guards though? Like I said, they're not really going to want to let changelings into the castle."
"I told you to let me worry about that. I presume you can't change shape right now?"
She closed her eyes and focused. Flames licked the ground at her hooves, but wouldn't move higher than her knees. She sighed and shook her head. "No, sorry."
"I expected it. That's okay." She scurried a bit further ahead to a gap in the buildings. The sounds of fighting were quite loud, now. Bolts of magic could be heard striking buildings and chitin alike. Every once in a while, metallic clashing would find its way through the haze of other sounds. If she listened very closely, Echo could hear screams as well. Some were changeling, some were pony. She tried her best to ignore those sounds for now.
Chrysalis surveyed the area ahead. They were now on the edge of the castle grounds. The Royal Guards had a perimeter established at the gate, which was presently closed. A semicircular area about twenty five yards across at the widest point had been barricaded. Along the perimeter of the barricade, earth pony guards had taken up stations armed with spears. Behind them, at the center of the semicircle, the unicorns had taken position to support the pegasi and earth ponies in their battles. Every once in a while they would fire blasts of magic to stave off being overrun, but mostly they were moving materials, healing, and sometimes erecting last minute shields. The pegasi were along the battlements on the wall, and were all armed with bows. The air was ablaze with arrows and prismatic flashes of magic. As Chrysalis was peeking around the corner, a stray arrow lodged itself in the wall next to her. She quickly retreated. "Okay," she sighed, "this is going to be harder than I thought."
"What's going on out there, Mother?"
"I'm not totally sure. I might need your input here."
Echo understood. The Queen was not, herself, a tactician. She relied on the input of generals to survey the situation surrounding a battle and make a command decision. She walked forward hesitantly and peeked around the same corner. After about ten seconds of watching, she retreated as well. She groaned in pain as she tried to speak, only able to get out a couple words every few seconds. "It looks to me like they have an entire platoon assaulting this point, about 40 changelings from what I could see. The limited assault force suggests to me that they're also investigating and/or assaulting alternate routes of ingress. The fact that they're assaulting a gate suggests that there's a magical barrier surrounding the castle itself. The lack of civilian presence also suggests one of two things. Either all the civilians have already been killed or captured, or they have retreated into the castle. Considering the ferocity with which the ponies are defending their post, I th--"
"How do we get in, child?"
"R... right. Uh... well, since they're doing their best to keep changelings out, that presents a bit of a problem." She tapped her chin and leaned against a wall for support. Her head was beginning to spin, but she fought to stay focused. "Okay. This is a bit of a gamble. It depends on how thorough Setae's forces were in doing their recon... but you remember the caves underneath the city, right?"
"Of course!" Chrysalis smiled brightly. "Why didn't I think of that?"
"If they don't know about the caves, then it's possible that route is unobstructed. I'd bet that Ricochet would have asked Celestia to leave some way for me to rendezvous with them, and I'd bet the caves are the route they'd leave open. I also bet that they're ready to shut off that route at the drop of a feather, though."
"What makes you so sure Ricochet would have arranged that?"
"Just trust me."
"Well... do you think you could make it from here, if I got you down to the caves?"
"Yeah, we could make it easily."
"Good." She smiled ruefully.
* * *
About half an hour earlier...
Ricochet's ears shot up as he heard a loud commotion from downstairs. He motioned for everypony to stay quiet. Then, he heard Echo's voice. "Guys! Get Scootaloo out of here! Get to the castle! Go now!"
He responded quickly, stepping into the hallway and shouting down the staircase. "What the hell is going on down there? Do you need help?"
"JUST GO! DON'T ASK QUESTIONS, RICKY! GET SCOOT OUT OF HERE, NOW!" More commotion was quickly heard.
He wheeled around and returned to Mrs. Velvet and Night Light's room. "Guys, we need to go now. Echo says we need to get to the castle. I'm not sure what's happening, but it's obviously bad. Come on. I'm going to get Scootaloo."
"I'll teleport us!" Mrs. Velvet nodded, outwardly confident but inwardly struggling to remember the details of the spell. She and her husband followed Ricochet into Scootaloo's room.
"Ricky, what's happening?!" Scootaloo looked up, terrified, as the changeling picked her up.
"I don't know, but we need to go now." He replied, turning around to see Mrs. Velvet standing in the doorway.
"Everyone hold hooves." She nodded and closed her eyes, a faintly purple glow surrounding her horn.
Ricochet nodded, setting Scootaloo down and grabbing one of her hooves. With the other, he took one of Mrs. Velvet's.
In a flash, everything turned upside down. He felt like he was being put through a pasta machine, and worried for a moment that he would wind up turning inside out. Nausea was the primary sensation as distorted images and flashes of color filled his view. It only lasted a moment before he found himself standing in the middle of Celestia's court. He shook his head to regain his bearings, and once recovered, he found himself face-to-face with a spear.
Twilight Sparkle, Mrs. Velvet, Night Light, and Scootaloo were all being held back next to Celestia's throne by a number of guards. Celestia and Luna weren't on their thrones, though. Instead, they were both standing on the floor at the base of their thrones, wearing armor that looked ancient, but still held an obviously arcane glow. Celestia's was golden, with accents of silver, and Luna's was silver with accents of purple. They stared at him for a moment before Celestia stepped close.
"Who are you?" She tilted her head a little. "You brought these three with you," she motioned to Mrs. Velvet, Night Light, and Scootaloo, "and I know they aren't changelings, since my former student has imbued this room with a charm that dispels changeling disguises. The question is, why would a changeling deliver prisoners to me?"
Ricochet's eyes were wide. Celestia would have towered over him any day, but in her armor she was even more imposing. He stammered. "I... I brought... I got them here... I did it so I could... because they were in danger!"
"Princess Celestia," Twilight stepped forward, "this is Ricochet, he's ... a friend."
"Wherefore hast thou not told us of this changeling before, Twilight Sparkle?" Luna's chest puffed out and she glared intensely at the new arrival.
"He's been a ... guest. He came to me looking to reform, like Echo had done, so I decided to help him. I should have told you. I'm sorry."
"Yes," Celestia chided gently, "you should have told us. Regardless, if you say this is friend, not foe, then..." she motioned to the guards, who quickly lowered their weapons and stepped back, "... another friend will be welcomed eagerly."
"All due respect, Princess," Ricochet stammered, "what exactly is going on?"
Celestia sighed. "I had been hoping you would be able to answer that."
"Lo," Luna motioned to one of the windows, "our city lies besieged, beset by invasion yet again! The culprit is apparent to see..."
Ricochet stood next to the slightly smaller Princess, though she still towered over him. He looked out the window and saw a swarm of changelings flying through the air. Their pattern was remarkably well-organized; better than he had ever seen from changelings. "I... I don't recognize them, and I wasn't involved with fighting anyway, I was just a structural drone." He turned. "I'm sorry, I don't know what's going on."
"It's not your fault... Ricochet, was it? Thank you for ensuring these ponies returned here safely."
"Echo..." his ears twitched. "She's still back at the house, she must have been trying to fight off the changelings!"
Luna and Celestia shared a sullen glance, before Luna spoke. "We share your grief, Ricochet."
"Grief? What do you mean, I need to go get her!"
"Ricochet," Twilight winced, "nopony other than trained Royal Guards who have fought against these changelings have been able to resist them."
"She was a fighter, she knows how to hold her own, she is well-trained!"
"She hasn't been a fighter for three years. Do you think she'll still be able to hold them off?"
"I don't care. We need to help her."
"I'm sorry," Celestia shook her head. "I can't allow you to leave, it would require us to lower the barrier and expose ourselves to attack."
"I got in just fine, why can't I get out?"
"Because, Ricky..." Mrs. Velvet stepped forward, "Twily's spell lets ponies teleport through it, but not changelings. You were able to come along because I brought you."
"So why can't somepony teleport me out again?"
"Because we have forbidden it." Luna stomped a hoof resolutely. "We will not permit our subjects to expose themselves to unnecessary danger. "
"You're just going to let Echo die?"
"If that is her fate, then we are sorry, Ricochet."
"There... is another option, your highnesses." Twilight spoke again.
* * *
Chrysalis' horn glowed brightly, and she called Echo over. Once she had come over, Chrysalis zapped the ground directly between herself and her daughter. A green orb surrounded them, and they slowly sank down into the ground.
A moment later, the green aura disappeared, and they found themselves in complete darkness. Again, Chrysalis' horn flashed brightly, and the cavern was bathed in a green glow. The light refracted off of the crystals that dotted the walls, seemingly amplifying it. They were completely alone, and aside from the gentle crackling sound of Chrysalis' magic, the cavern was completely silent.
Echo glanced around. "It seems like we're alone."
"Lucky us that Setae moved too quickly and didn't do his research."
"Agreed, but I still think we shouldn't stick around here for too long, Mother."
"Of course. Come on then, the castle should be this way." She trotted off into the darkness.
Echo winced and struggled to maintain a good pace. Her injuries were extensive. She looked down in the course of traversing the rocky ground in the caverns, and noticed that more of her hemolymph was the culprit. The makeshift bandage had soaked through. That was undoubtedly why she'd been feeling her head spinning. She was in very bad shape, and she began to question whether her injuries were even survivable at all.
There was a rail track nearby, about the right gauge for a minecart. It extended uphill and to the left side of a fork in the path. Both changelings silently agreed that following the track was likely the best chance of finding a way into the castle.
Some time later -- Echo wasn't sure how much time -- a faint yellow glow came into view in the distance of the cavern in which they were walking. Chrysalis extinguished her horn, not wanting to give away their presence, and instructed Echo to hold on to her tail to keep them from getting separated. A few more minutes, and they were close enough to see the source of the light. The light was being cast off of a series of oil lanterns that were hung around the makeshift encampment, which itself took up about fifty-five square meters at her best guess.
There was an encampment with two squads of 9 Lunar guards for a total of 18; they were all batponies. Very well-armed batponies. Echo remarked to herself. Indeed, each of them had a crossbow slung over their shoulders, and most also had crescent swords on the opposite sides of their armor. Four of them were at sentry posts, looking into the darkness toward the two mares that were now heading toward them.
Far more impressive, though, was the guards' apparent commanding officer. Princess Luna herself stood in the glow of one of the lanterns, speaking casually with a few of the guards. At least, as casually as Luna could speak with one of her subjects.
"Your Highness!" One of the sentries shouted, turning around. Evidently they could see much more clearly in the dark than normal ponies could, which Echo supposed made sense. "They're here!"
Luna rushed over as Chrysalis and Echo stumbled into the encampment. Echo released her mother's tail and sat roughly on a nearby rock, trying desperately to subdue her own pain. Her foreleg was now stained green from her hemolymph, and she felt tremendously tired.
"We are happy to see that you are unharmed." Luna said to the two changelings.
"Unharmed? Are you a moron? Look at her!" Chrysalis exclaimed tactlessly, rushing to Echo.
Luna's eyes narrowed at the Queen's impertinence, and she glared at Chyrsalis, but bit her tongue. "We shall send for medical aid post-haste." She nodded to a guard, who took the cue and bolted off toward the castle after giving a sharp salute.
Echo looked up. "Is Scootaloo okay? Did she make it?"
"Yes," Luna said reassuringly, "Scootaloo is quite all right, as is Twilight Velvet, Night Light, Twilight Sparkle, and the other changeling. They are presently in the care of our sister."
"Thank the stars..." She coughed, and a blinding pain radiated through her chest. The pain itself caused her to cough more, and that cycle continued for some time, causing her to drop to the floor on her side, coughing madly. She saw Chrysalis kneeling over her and talking, but couldn't hear what was being said. Suddenly, the lack of oxygen wasn't so distressing. She felt a sense of euphoria sweep over her as her vision went gray, and slowly faded to black.
The castle visibly and audibly shook in response to the assault on the barrier surrounding it. This attack was altogether unlike the previous changeling attack, which had been uncoordinated and sloppy by comparison. For one, there had been no advance warning. A little over two hours prior, Celestia and Luna had enjoyed their dinner and breakfast, respectively. Now, they were each clad in full battle armor, which neither had worn in over a millennium, and presently separated. The ponies that had made it to the castle in time for the hasty creation of the barrier -- fortunately, that constituted the majority of Canterlot's population -- were in complete pandemonium. Even the Guards, whose training specifically focused on remaining calm in any and all situations, found themselves off-balance and unsure of their direction in the chaos. Celestia directed her efforts to trying to bring more unity to the ranks, issuing orders as she could when her Lieutenants came to give reports.
Ricochet paced nervously through the throne room, unsure what to do with himself. He hoped that Echo had made it out of Mrs. Velvet's home and had thought to use the caverns as a means of ingress to the castle. She was smart enough to figure that out, it was just a question of her survival. The thought of her death made him physically ill.
Twilight was trying to keep pace with him, chattering on about how everything was going to be okay, and how they were going to get through this. Truthfully, Ricochet wasn't really listening. In the background, next to the throne, Night Light and Mrs. Velvet had taken seats with Scootaloo, in an effort to comfort the filly.
"Where's Mom, though?"
"Your mom's on her way, I'm sure." Mrs. Velvet said gently, running a hoof through Scootaloo's mane.
"How do you know that, though? Ricky seems pretty scared."
"I think we all are, but it's going to be all right."
Scootaloo was about to reply when a door to the left of the throne burst open, and a Lunar Guard bolted up to Celestia before snapping to attention.
"Your Highness!" He blurted, "Your sister has requested the immediate dispatch of a medical team to the encampment in the caverns. We have her."
"And Chrysalis?"
"Her as well."
"Thank you, Lance Corporal. You are relieved and may return to your post."
"I'm going." Ricochet walked up to the Princess as the Lunar Guard departed. "Tell me where to meet the medical team, and I'll go with them."
Celestia paused for a moment before sighing. "Okay. Go down that hallway, the same one that the Lunar Guard just left. Take the third right. Go down the spiral staircase, and then continue straight down that hallway until you reach an ironwood door. Wait there. They shouldn't be more than five minutes. Go on."
"Thank you." Ricky turned and walked over to Scootaloo. "Listen, okay? I'm going to go find your mother. Mr. Night Light and Mrs. Velvet will take care of you, all right?"
"Ricky, I'm scared. Don't leave."
"I know you're scared, but they're going to keep you safe, okay? Plus, you have Celestia here to watch over you. Nopony's gonna get past her. Don't get separated from Mr. Night Light and Mrs. Velvet, okay? Just stay with them and everything will be okay."
"I wanna go with you!" Scootaloo called after him, but he was already gone.
Twilight Velvet grabbed on to the filly to keep her from following. "Scootaloo, I need you to stay with me here, okay? You're going to be safe."
She didn't feel like she was very safe.
* * *
Ricochet met the medical team at the door where Celestia had told him to wait. He struggled to keep pace. They were an impressive team; they had at least 130 kilos of medical equipment between the four of them, and yet they were still able to outpace him on hoof. He had to fly to keep up. Things were getting very dark very quickly, but he could hear the sounds of ponies talking further down the cavern. The walls ceased being masonry and transitioned to raw rock.
After turning a corner, a faint glow was apparent in the distance, and the voices became more clear.
"Echo? Echo, wake up! I need you to wake up! Come on!" It was Chrysalis. He'd never heard her so distraught. In fact, he had previously thought she was incapable of that degree of emotion.
Luna spoke as well. "Chrysalis, you must make way. The medical team will arrive shortly, they will need space to tend to her."
"Do they even know how to treat changelings?!" The Queen hissed her words toward Luna. "I doubt you ponies even know how to treat Minotaurs or Griffons, and those are species you have active diplomatic ties to!"
"Princess Twilight Sparkle has submitted her studies to the Canterlot Royal Library of Medical Research, and the team that's coming is sure to be the best we have to offer. They will have read the research. They will know what to do."
"Oh, great, Sparkle. I sure hope her research is as fastidious as it seems!" The Queen turned to face the team, and her pupils narrowed to slits. "YOU FOUR! GET OVER HERE THIS INSTANT!"
Ricochet touched down on the perimeter of the camp. He could just see Echo. She was laying on her side, a faint green glow around her lips and on her side. She was wrapped in makeshift bandages which had soaked through with hemolymph. Her chest rose and fell very faintly, and there was a rattle when she inhaled. He had to be brave. He needed to be brave.
The team rushed past him. He felt his own hemolymph turn to ice. He was frozen in place, unable to move as he looked at her. He was helpless. He had let this happen to her. It was his fault. If he had just told Mrs. Velvet to take Scootaloo and stayed to help Echo, maybe... maybe he could have done something.
He felt himself begin to tremble as his heart beat faster. Tears touched the corners of his cheeks, and his back legs buckled. He fell to his haunches and, in his shock, choked out a single open-mouthed sob.
The lead medic set a device on the ground and attached a few probes to key points on Echo's body, as pointed out in Twilight's research. He paused as he read the paper the device spat out. "Okay, she's got low O2 saturation, but I think we can get her stable enough to move. Blue Cross, let's get these bandages changed out, okay?"
A nearby pony with a hefty saddlebag nodded and walked over. His horn lit and he withdrew ream after ream of bandages, applying them tightly as the curtains were removed from Echo's unconscious body. The cracks in her chitin were severe, and Ricochet was actually surprised she had been able to make it as far as she had.
"Blue Shield, did we ever manage to get any of that oxygenated serum made?"
"Yessir," a mare responded, "We were only able to synthesize about a liter, though; the lab didn't feel that preparation for treating changelings was a high priority."
"It'll have to do, bring it over here." He began to tap the chitin behind Echo's ear before inserting an IV needle. He held the bag up high in his magic, and the serum began to infuse into her. After a few minutes of observation, he nodded. "Okay, let's get her onto the stretcher. Her O2 levels are up, but that won't last forever. We need to move."
The fourth medic, a hefty earth pony stallion, did most of the heavy lifting while the other three stabilized the stretcher. He carefully placed her down onto the stretcher, and they took off.
Ricochet found himself still glued to his spot. It was horrifying. He'd never seen a changeling injured like that, and the fact that it was her was so much more horrifying to him.
Chrysalis walked past. "Would you come along already, you imbecile?!"
Somehow, Chrysalis' insult didn't feel genuine. It felt like she was only calling him an imbecile because she had to. Her tone was full of fear, as though she was as terrified as he was. He stood, reflexively obeying the orders of a Queen, and followed. He swore that each hoofstep reverberated through him. It felt painful and shocking, like biting down on something hard that had been hidden in your food. He was cold, and he could hear his own heartbeat. His eyes stung. "Is she going to be all right?"
"Of course she is. What a stupid question. I'm sure of it." She did not sound sure of it.
"I don't know if I want to keep going without her, Chrysalis."
There was a long pause. "I know."
* * *
"I don't understand," Scootaloo struggled against Celestia's magic as she tried to bolt out the door to find Echo and Ricochet. "I don't want to wait here, I want to be with my mom!"
"I'm sorry, my little pony, but it is not safe. You need to stay here with Night Light and Twilight Velvet."
"I don't care if it's safe, I don't want to just wait here!"
Celestia was preparing to respond when she heard the door to the throne room swing open. A frantic guard ran up to her, his armor badly damaged. Fortunately he himself seemed mostly unharmed.
"Your Highness!" He shouted, "they have broken through the first barrier. The castle courtyard is overrun!"
"The second barrier?"
"It still holds, but we fear that its breach is inevitable."
Celestia's brow furrowed in determination. The second barrier was all that stood between the citizens of Canterlot who had fled to the castle for protection and the horde outside. There was now only one option. "Captain, I need you to go down to the catacombs and find my sister. Tell her... tell her it is time for Moonsong. She will know what it means."
The guard nodded and bolted off.
Twilight Sparkle looked up at her mentor and felt her blood chill. Celestia was gaunt, her jaw locked. Her eyes showed a sadness that was completely foreign to her. "Princess Celestia? What is Moonsong?"
"You should go and join the others from the city, Twilight. Take your parents and Scootaloo with you."
"What's happening?"
"Please, just go, Twilight."
"Princess, please tell me what's going on!"
"I will not allow any more of my subjects fall to these invaders. Not today. I will hold them. Please go."
"What are you doing?"
Celestia huffed loudly, and her armor seemed to glow. "I'm doing my duty to all of you. Now GO!"
Twilight flinched and stepped backward. The last word of Celestia's sentence had been in an unmistakable 'Royal Canterlot Voice'. She felt herself shrink inward for a moment before she nodded solemnly. "Please, be safe..."
"I will do my best. You have made me very proud, Twilight. I know you will continue to do so."
Twilight nodded once more before she turned and grabbed Scootaloo and her parents. The four of them left quickly.
Celestia stared toward the door of the throne room as it began to shake and buckle under repeated assault. She sighed, closing her eyes for just a moment. "Forgive me." When she looked up again, her eyes glowed like fire, and her horn followed suit. "I hope you can all forgive me."
The halls of the castle echoed with the hoofsteps of the medical team, the two changelings following them, and Princess Luna. The medical wing was not tremendously close to the catacombs, but Luna assured them that the trip would be short.
"How did this happen to her, Chrysalis?"
"These bastards are tough," The Queen replied, "She killed two of them and knocked out a third. The fourth was just a bit too much, and he got the drop on her."
"What do they want?" Luna tilted her head, keeping pace.
"Most likely their goal is to subjugate the entire population of Equestria using them as cattle to farm love." Chrysalis turned to face Luna as they walked. "It's what I would be doing."
Luna shook her head. "They've been killing ponies. You can't harvest love from dead ponies, can you?"
"You have to break a few eggs to make an omelette." Chrysalis shrugged. She looked back at Luna again and waved a hoof. "Hey, I'm not saying I endorse the action, but you asked."
"Be that as it may, this seems like a poorly thought-out plan, does it not?"
Chrysalis sighed. "I would think you'd have learned by now that a changelings' strong suit is not in foresight... didn't I effectively illustrate that point?"
"I slept through most of your invasion."
Chrysalis had to stifle a snicker at that. "Well. At any rate, I hope these doctors of yours are as capable as they seem."
"I assure you that they are."
A door was flung open, revealing a large white room lined with hospital beds. The majority of those beds were occupied by injured guards, but some were occupied by Canterlot citizens. Nurses and doctors rushed around the room from patient to patient, but many of them gasped as they saw all the changelings enter the room. The guards were well-disciplined enough to not react too violently, but some of the injured citizens were visibly distressed.
An ICU was open at the end of the room, and Echo was quickly brought into that room and set on the bed. The doctors shut the blinds on the room's window, and turned to Echo and Ricochet. "Apologies, but there is limited space. We have to ask you to wait out here."
"Bullshit, I'm not leaving her!" Ricochet shouted in an unusually vigorous response.
"Sir?" The doctor seemed unsure of Ricochet's gender. "I understand, you are free to wait right here, but we need the room to work in order to save your friend. He's going to be fine."
"Echo is a mare!" Ricochet snarled.
The doctor looked over his shoulder for a moment and then back at Ricochet. "So she is. I'm sorry. The point still stands though that we need the space to work. We will let you know as soon as we have something to report." The doctor retreated and closed the door behind him.
"How good can they be if they can't even identify a female as opposed to a male?" Chrysalis snarled at Luna. "It's not that hard to figure out, you know!"
"I'm sure that the doctor intended no disrespect, Chrysalis."
"Oh, I'm sure, yes."
"Chrysalis, we understand your frustration, but we must insist that you calm down..." Luna began to show impatience, reverting to the royal "we".
"You want me to c--"
"Your highness!" A tattered Solar Guard rushed into the medical wing, snapping to attention at the sight of Princess Luna. "A report from your sister!"
"What is it, captain?"
"She said to tell you it was time for Moonsong. She said you would know what it meant."
Luna's ears fell flat, and her jaw opened wide. She shook her head. "Are you certain she said Moonsong, Captain? This is very important."
"Absolutely certain, Princess."
She swallowed hard and nodded. "Not a soul but felt a fever of the mad, and played some tricks of desperation... as it goes, Tartarus is empty and all the devils are here." Luna turned to the medical wing. "Doctors, Nurses, your attention! We must gather all the patients and transport them to the ballroom where the rest of the citizens have gathered for protection. I will explain later, but for now I must insist you trust me and carry out my orders as quickly as possible. Everything, absolutely everything, is secondary to moving these patients."
"Yes, Princess!"
"Princess," Ricochet began, "What is Moonsong?"
"Moonsong... is a contingency. It is a plan my sister and I created for the dire situation of our capital being overrun by an enemy."
"Why do you sound so sad about it?"
"... nevermind. Please, if you could, help move some of the injuried?"
"... I don't want to leave Echo."
"I will ensure she is safe. I need your help, Ricochet. Yours, as well, Chrysalis."
Chrysalis huffed, not eager to follow a Princess' orders... a request was a bit more amiable though. "Very well. I will assist."
"Thank you." Luna trotted back to the ICU where Echo was being treated and knocked on the door as the other two changelings began to assist the nurses and doctors in moving patients.
* * *
Celestia took a deep breath, the fiery light around her calming down to a barely discernible orange glow. She closed her eyes as she tried to calm down.
The pounding on the door continued, and she could hear the hinges creaking and the wood splintering. The distinct buzz of dozens of changeling wings began to find its way through the gaps in the wood. This continued for another five minutes before the doors broke inward, falling to the floor of the throne room with a thunderous noise. Celestia let out a gentle sigh and opened her eyes. Ahead of her, she saw at least a platoon's worth of these new changelings. Looking through the door, there were changelings extending out as far as she could see.
"Well... you've all been busy, haven't you?" She said calmly. "I will warn you once, and only once. If you come any closer, you are going to regret it." The fire in her eyes reignited, and her mane and tail seemed to shimmer like hot oil.
The changelings hesitated for only a moment before one of them sent a blast of blood-red magic flying toward her, and charged after it.
The bolt of magic stopped a meter away from Celestia, as if stopped by an invisible wall. The room filled with an incredibly bright flash of light as Celestia's mane and tail transitioned to a fiery red and orange. Her eyes were replaced with an impossibly white void. The changeling that was charging her continued, unfazed. She stood with her hooves rooted in place and lit her horn. A bolt of fire shot forward and struck the attacker square in the chest. In a fraction of a second, he had been reduced to a pile of ash and a cloud of smoke. "If you wish to hurt my subjects, you will have to fight through me."
There was another pause from the changelings, but they were undaunted. An otherworldly screech rang out as the crowd of changelings simultaneously roared and charged forward.
Celestia remained exactly where she stood as rays of plasma shot from her horn. The few changelings hit by the blasts who were not instantly vaporized were reduced to little more than piles of carbonized and unrecognizable detritus. She could only hope that her efforts here would buy enough time for Luna to get everypony to safety. She knew she couldn't keep this up forever. The amount of magic she was burning through was astronomical. Eventually, she would tire out, and while she wasn't sure what would happen to her then, she had a good guess. She needed to end this. She needed to do something so spectacular that it would stop these changelings in their tracks. Something that might convince them that she *could*, in fact, take them all out... even though she knew that wasn't true.
She flapped her wings, sending a shockwave forward toward the attackers. It pushed them back to the other end of the room, giving her time enough to charge another attack. She inhaled sharply as the glow around her horn intensified. In a single swift motion, the Princess bowed her head low, pointing her horn toward the door and unleashing a blast of such intensity that it could only be described as hellfire. It was like a tornado of solar plasma erupting from her horn and extending out through the doorway in front of her, past the castle courtyard, and out over the valley below the mountain on which Canterlot was perched. She wasn't sure how many homes and businesses were caught in the blast, but she knew the only survivors of the changelings' attack were safe in the ballroom. Canterlot was lost, and the city wasn't as important as its citizens anyway. She had to buy them time... property damage was an acceptable cost. The ground in front of her and leading out the door had been reduced to glowing molten glass, and at least half of the changelings had been completely vaporized.
Only half. Only half of them. I can't keep this up. She huffed, beads of sweat dripping down into her eyes, stinging them and clouding her vision. She tried her best to still seem dangerous, but knew she wouldn't be able to put up a substantial fight anymore. The remaining changelings chittered angrily and began to close in around her.
"Stay back!" She sent a half dozen more blasts out, striking a few targets. They were obviously hurt by the impacts, but found themselves still intact. The jig is up. They know.
The horde smiled maliciously as they closed in, like lions around an injured wildebeest. Celestia's snarls and solar flares no longer intimidated them. They were upon her now, and she prepared for their attack.
* * *
Ricochet and Chrysalis returned to the medical wing just in time to see the team responsible for Echo wheeling her out of her room. Luna, true to her promise, was with them.
"Come, we must hurry." Luna declared. The noise of the battle from above was growing more and more intense. It was almost as though the heat could be felt and the light could be seen through the stone walls of the castle.
"Is she still okay?" Ricochet asked the doctors as he hurried alongside them.
"She's still critical, but she's close to stable. We need space, though."
Echo had a mask sealed tightly over her muzzle which fogged as she breathed. The wounds on her legs and her back had been patched over with a white material that looked like unlacquered ceramic. Her wings were now gone.
"What did you do to her wings?" Chrysalis seemed to notice this as well. "You expect her to be able to live without flying?"
The unicorn and earth pony doctors looked over at Chrysalis for a split second before one of them, the unicorn, replied curtly, "It never stopped us."
"As for what happened," one of the earth ponies spoke next, "In order to graft the patching material to her back wounds -- which were substantial, by the way -- we unfortunately had to amputate the wings. There was no way to graft over the wound with them interfering. Would you have preferred we let her die?"
Chrysalis snarled but didn't reply to that.
The group turned into the ballroom, and at the sight of the two able-bodied changelings, ear-shattering screams filled the hall.
Luna filtered past them and flapped her wings to float above the crowd. "ATTENTION, SUBJECTS!" She briefly employed the Royal Canterlot Voice to break through the panic, "These changelings are under my protection. They are seeking refuge just as you are. I have orders from Princess Celestia, I will be keeping you safe. I must ask you all to gather together as closely as possible and remain calm."
The castle shook violently, and a sound filled the air like the roar of a freight train. Luna knew the sound. Celestia had just deployed her most volatile ability. Half of Canterlot was likely ash now. The panic predictably resumed.
"SILENCE!" Luna belted again. She got her wish as everypony settled down, wide-eyed and full of fear. "Gather together, as tightly as possible. All of you. Keep the injured in the center."
Echo was wheeled forward through the crowd, to the collection of hospital beds in the center of the room. The rest of the ponies crowded around, packed like sardines. Ricochet and Chrysalis followed suit as well. The mare who was forced to stand next to Chrysalis exuded pure, unadulterated terror.
Luna inhaled deeply and slowly as a silver glow began to surround her. It gradually grew brighter as she concentrated. Her horn began to give off white sparks which grew in intensity as the seconds ticked by. Without warning, there was a deafening crack, and the vision of everypony in the room instantly went black.
* * *
Celestia fought her own emotions, struggling not to show the absolute terror with which she was currently filled. If she was going to die, she wouldn't give these monsters the satisfaction of seeing her fear. She snarled, and her eyes darted around the room at the beasts drawing closer. She felt her knees shake as the intensity of her battle got to her. She fell to the ground, barely able to keep her head held up.
"What are you waiting for, then?" She hissed defiantly at them. Taking their cue, the changelings lunged for her.
A loud male voice called out next. Its language was incomprehensible, and was accompanied by the trademark buzz of a changeling's voice. The attacking changelings literally stopped in mid-air, and flew backwards, clearing an aisle from the destroyed entrance of the throne room leading to the fallen Princess.
She looked up weakly and saw a new changeling. He was at least a horn's length taller than she was, and remarkably bulky. He reminded her of the stallion from Ponyville, Big Mac, except far, far larger. His eyes were serpentine, like Chrysalis'. The outer ring of his iris was ruby-red, the inner was a deep crimson. In contrast to Queen Chrysalis, his crown was metallic. It was gold, studded with all different kinds of stones, and sat a little askew atop his head. He trotted over to Celestia and gave her a malicious and crooked smile. He kicked her roughly, sending her toppling onto her side, and placed a forehoof over her ribcage. He continued to speak in that same incomprehensible language, but his body language told Celestia everything she needed to know. He was bragging about his conquest.
At that moment, Celestia heard a concussive sound rock the castle, and she smiled. "They're gone. You have lost."
The King tilted his head, obviously failing to understand. He barked orders to a few of his drones, who began to scatter through the castle. Once they had departed, he looked back down at Celestia and snarled in anger. He lifted his hoof and held it above her head. She continued to smile up at him ruefully, even as the hoof fell and her consciousness slipped away.
* * *
Ricochet lurched forward as light returned to his vision. He felt that same sensation he had felt earlier when Twilight Velvet had teleported him, as though he had been turned inside-out. A quick glance around showed that the majority of the other ponies present were having similar reactions.
The notable exception was Chrysalis, unflappable as ever. She instead turned her head to survey the area they were in.
The entire crowd had materialized in a grassy clearing. The moon was directly overhead, and thankfully was also full. The moonlight was enough for Chrysalis to be able to see clearly. Turning behind her, she saw a dilapidated old castle looming above them. "Luna," she started, "Where are we?"
Luna stood in silence, staring down at the ground. Her ears were plastered against her head and everything about her seemed to droop. "This... is our old castle. The castle where I became ... something else. Where I betrayed my sister. This is the former seat of power for Equestria."
Chrysalis looked over at the castle again, and was able to sight a single brick on one of the ancient towers fall out of place toward the ground. "... charming."
"Your sarcasm is not welcome presently, Chrysalis."
"Sheesh. Okay. You act like somepony just died."
Luna's hackles bristled, but she said nothing. A moment later, she stood up straight. "My subjects! Please, follow me. I know that this is not your home, but I fear we must make the most of it in the meanwhile. I do not know how long we will remain here, but I will require all of your help in order to help Equestria return from this dreadful night. First and foremost, we must create a shelter for the wounded."
"Ricochet... you were in the Structural corps, weren't you?" Chrysalis looked down at him.
"Uh..." he shook his head, coming out of his haze, "yes, Chrysalis."
"Do you think you could lend some assistance to the ponies in erecting shelter for Echo and the other wounded?"
Ricochet hesitated for just a moment. He looked behind him and spied Echo on her hospital bed. His lips curled a little as he fought back the anger he felt seeing her in that condition. His chest puffed out and he nodded. "Yes. Yes I can."
King Tarsus walked toward the castle as the smoke rose toward the sky. He smirked with self-satisfaction as he surveyed the damage done to the city. True, more ponies had been killed than he'd hoped, but they just wouldn't stop resisting, and he had told his soldiers that any ponies who resisted were to be dealt with harshly. His hope was that once the ponies saw resistance would be met with merciless and unmeasured force, they would surrender themselves peacefully. After all, corpses were no use to him.
Still, this invasion was a success. The ponies' government was about to be decapitated. He had just received word from his scouts that they had broken through the primary barrier surrounding the castle, and that the secondary barrier would soon be breached.
At this point, only five percent of the population of this city had been captured. Another ten percent had been dispatched, and the remaining eighty five percent were currently seeking shelter in the castle. These ponies were weak and cowardly, hiding behind their monarch with no ability to fend for themselves. Still, they were quite full of love, and would serve his kingdom well.
As he came up on the castle's wall, he heard a tremendous sound. A blinding flame erupted from the front of the building, and extended out far into the distance. He could tell that blast had cost him quite a substantial portion of his forces, and for just a moment counted his lucky stars that he'd not been standing in the path of that blast. He snorted angrily and began to trot toward the blast.
"Get the lead out, you lot!" He shouted at a few of his soldiers who seemed apprehensive about advancing. They quickly obeyed, knowing that the penalty for disobeying him would be a swift death.
A flood of black carapaces swarmed into the castle through the newly melted entrance, and he followed directly behind. He could hear one of their females ahead, speaking in that incomprehensible gibberish that every sentient creature on the continent seemed to speak. He would have to teach a translator. Soon, as he flew over the molten ground, he saw the source of the voice. He recognized her regal bearing even in the prostrate position she currently found herself. His soldiers began to set upon her when he called to them. "Stand down, all of you!"
His soldiers obeyed without question, clearing the way for him to approach at the same time as preventing the pony from escaping. He trotted decisively up toward her and smirked again. He kicked her over onto her side and put a hoof to her ribcage. "So, I presume you're the former ruler of this city? You're fortunate I came along when I did, or my soldiers would have torn you apart." He looked around, gesturing to the army around him with the hoof he hadn't placed on her side. "Of course, you don't understand a word I'm saying, do you?"
He was waiting for her gibberish response when a concussive force rocked the entire building. It's booby trapped. I should have known better! He snarled down at the crafty pony below him. He believed his suspicions confirmed when she smiled up at him and blathered on about something.
"You five!" He barked to a few soldiers. "Investigate to the west. You five, investigate to the east. Find the source of that sound!" His lip curled up as he looked back down to the former regent below him. His anger boiled over, and he lifted his hoof as high as he could before dropping it onto her head. The helmet she was wearing dented slightly, and she quickly fell silent. "I've heard enough of your nonsense."
He stepped down from his conquest and motioned to a few of the more burly soldiers. "You three. Take her and find this castle's dungeon. Put her in a cell, wrap her up in a cocoon, and don't let her out of your sight for so much as a second, do you understand?"
"Yes, King Tarsus!" They saluted him and moved to drag the unconscious mare out of the room.
Tarsus straightened his crown and walked over to the taller of the two thrones that stood in this room. He sat and looked out at the remains of his army. "Well... what are you waiting for? Gather the prisoners and start transforming this city. The ponies' sense of decor sickens me." He leaned back into the chair and smiled. "Oh, and bring me the two lovebirds. The pink one and the white one. I'm hungry."
* * *
Luna and Chrysalis walked through the halls of the deserted castle, far from the prying eyes and ears of the Canterlot refugees. They found their way to a room lined with bookshelves, in which two stained glass windows could be seen. One had a Lunar theme, the other Solar.
Luna looked at the Solar window for a moment. Her face was somber and sullen. She reached up and pulled the helmet from her head. Lighting her horn, she began to pull the other pieces of armor from her body, and discarded them haphazardly. "I do not know if I can do this."
"... what exactly happened?" Chrysalis raised an eyebrow, bewildered by the Princess' change in demeanor. Granted, she knew how it was; a ruler presented a different bearing in view of her subjects than she did in private.
"Moonsong, Chrysalis... there were two plans that we have had since before I had my... episode. They were called Moonsong and Solar Storm." She shook her head slowly.
"Okay... that tells me nothing, continue."
Luna glared at Chrysalis a little, but continued regardless. "The plans were mirror images of each other. In the event of our capital city was overrun, whomever was closest to the enemy would enact either Moonsong or Solar Storm. In both plans, whomever it was that took the survivors to safety was supposed to remain hidden, build up a resistance, and eventually take Equestria back. If it had been I in my sister's place, guarding the throne room, she would have been the one to take everypony to safety, not me. That's how it should have been. She should be here. She still knew how to rule. I'm afraid my knowledge is still... severely dated. At any rate, I fear my abilities may not be enough to see this plan through. Equestria... may be lost to us forever." Luna sat in front of the window with the solar motif and stared, lost in thought.
Chrysalis smiled mischievously as she sensed the power vacuum. Quickly, though, she shook her head and cleared that thought from her mind. This was not the time or the place for a takeover. She let a more concerned expression cross her face as she sauntered over to the sulking diarch-turned-monarch. "Well, my dear Luna... I am afraid I am not even as well acquainted with ruling over ponies as you are... but perhaps the two of us together can make for a halfway decent ruling pair?"
"Excuse me?" She tilted her head. "What are you suggesting?"
Chrysalis rolled her head and eyes simultaneously in a grand show of exasperation. "I'm saying I'll help you hold this group together."
"Why? With Equestria dissolved, you're effectively freed from the Court's punishment imposed on you."
"Ah yes. That's true, isn't it? I'm completely free from consequence! Nothing can be done to me now. So... where will I go? What should I do? The area that used to be mine in which to roam has been taken over by another much more powerful and hostile force than I ever had. In the Changeling world, my significance has now been diminished to barely more than a drone. If I went and tried to live ... anywhere but here, really ... I wouldn't survive. I might as well stay here, given the alternative. Considering that fact, why shouldn't I put some of my talents to work keeping this group of ponies together?"
"I... see your point, I suppose. Still, I somehow doubt that my subjects will be keen to follow your lead."
Chrysalis nodded, conceding that point. "Granted. Who's to say I can't operate behind the scenes? After all..." She cloaked herself in green flames, which revealed a new, unassuming mare standing in her place. She had a dark gray mane and tail, brown eyes, and an eggshell-white coat. With a quick flare of green magic from her horn, a set of glasses popped into existence. Chrysalis placed them smartly on her muzzle and smiled. "Call me Raven Inkwell, former adviser to your sister, here now to assist you, your Highness."
Luna's eyes widened a little, but after a moment she smiled gently. "I ... I suppose that could work, yes. Thank you, Chrysalis. I think I could probably use the help."
Another flash of light returned the changeling Queen to her natural form. She tossed the glasses over her shoulder, and they disappeared in a green puff of smoke before they could hit the ground. "Of course. It's not like I have anything better to do with my time and talents."
"Should we go back and see how everypony is doing?"
"Hmm. I suppose so. They'll need direction, of that I'm certain. I confess I'm also concerned about my daughter's wellbeing."
Luna nodded gently, turning and heading back toward the clearing out front of the castle. "If I may be so bold, Chrysalis, I have to say that I've been somewhat impressed by your dedication to her. It seems out of character for you to care about anyone but yourself, honestly."
"Do you think I'm a monster, Luna?" Chrysalis huffed a single laugh. "Life for my hive was never easy. You ponies tend not to like anyone who doesn't look like you. Do you recall how the fools in Ponyville responded to a zebra? Pandemonium. The truth is, my predecessor tried to get us integrated with your society. Sharing love is objectively easier than stealing it, and ... well, using Occam's Razor as a governing principle, she probed at the concept. It turns out that while sharing love is easier than stealing it, actually getting you ponies to accept us and share love with us is anything but the easiest solution, although it is the simplest. For all of your talk of love and tolerance, Luna, you have some prejudiced predispositions."
Luna gave a sage nod as they walked, and paused for a moment to consider her reply. "I am well acquainted with that less-than-admirable trait of my species. When I returned from my banishment, I was met with fear and, at times, even panic. Only recently have ponies begun to treat me with admiration rather than apprehension. For whatever it may be worth to you, Chrysalis, I apologize for any harm we have caused your kind over the years. Regardless, though, you must concede that your act of aggression in invading Canterlot was hardly defensible."
"Did you hear me defending it? It was an act of desperation, Luna, not one of logic. My hive was starving. Tell me, honestly... if your subjects were starving to death, and invading a neighbor was the only way you could see to feed them and keep them from dying, wouldn't you do it?"
Again, Luna carefully considered her words before speaking. "I can see your side of things. I suppose we should move forward, and let the past remain in the past, no?"
"I agree wholeheartedly." The castle's exit was now in sight. With another flash of magic, she again took on her disguise as Raven Inkwell, and conjured her glasses once again.
* * *
"Ricky," Scootaloo rushed up to him, while he tried his best to use a stick he found to sketch some basic blueprints in a patch of damp clay he had found. "What happened to Mom?" The filly had tears running down her cheeks. She was in a full-blown panic. "She isn't waking up. Is she going to be okay?"
Ricochet put the stick down and turned. "She was injured when we were escaping from Mrs. Velvet's house, Scootaloo. She stayed there to keep the changelings from coming upstairs and hurting any of us. As far as whether or not she'll be okay... Princess Luna and all the doctors seem to think she will be. I trust them... and I think you should too."
"I... I do trust Princess Luna, but... but she just..." Scootaloo's lip quivered and she hid her face behind her hooves. A few choked sobs escaped her lips.
Ricochet looked at her sadly. Should I put a hoof over her shoulder to comfort her? I... I don't really know what to do right now. He thought to himself. Eventually, he decided it would be appropriate, and reached out his hoof. He set it across her shoulders and gently pulled her over to him. She tensed up a little, but didn't object. "I'm worried too, Scootaloo, but she'll be okay. I bet she's made it through worse... and there's no force on this planet that could keep her from you." He smiled softly.
Scootaloo sniffled into her hooves, looking down at the ground away from Ricochet. Still, she was beginning to calm down. After another moment, she turned toward him, eyes red and cheeks damp. "I don't want to lose her."
"You won't."
"... but what if I do? You can't know that for sure, she could... she could... die." Her lip quivered again. "I've been so mean to her, and she might die now... Ricky, what if she dies?"
"Scootaloo, stop talking like that. She's going to be fine."
"But you don't know that, Ricky! You can't know that! She might die, she might never wake up! I'd... I'd be an orphan... again."
His ears swiveled forward and he spoke quickly. "That will never happen, Scootaloo. Your mother is going to make it, and she's going to be fine, but... if she weren't, I know Chrysalis would take care of you. She'd never leave you alone. If Chrysalis couldn't do it for some reason, then... well, then I would. No matter what. No questions asked."
"Do you really mean that?"
"Absolutely. I know you don't like me a whole lot, but you'll never have to be alone, no matter what happens. Okay?"
"... I don't hate you, Ricky."
"I know."
"I mean it. I just... I was angry. I felt like you were taking Mom away from me."
"Scoot--"
"I mean, you were pretending to be her for two years. You lied to my friends saying I went to boarding school. You stole her life for that whole time!
"I know, and I'm s--"
"Then the fact that she was just so totally cool with it... it was so... ugh! It pissed me off!"
"Hey, language... I get it, Scootaloo, and I'm sor--"
"I know that you two are in love though."
"Wait, what?"
"I know it. You're gonna get married to her, right?"
"Scootaloo..."
"Come on, don't lead Mom on, it's not fair."
"Scootaloo, she doesn't feel that way about me."
"... what do you mean?"
He sighed deeply and shook his head. "She told me. She doesn't feel that way about me. I'm not going to marry your Mom."
"... Then why are you so protective over her? I saw how you looked at her on that bed, I saw how much you fought to go find her back in Canterlot... why do you keep acting that way if she doesn't love you?"
"Because... she's my friend. I want to see her safe."
"... do you love her?"
His eyes widened at that, and he stammered. "Scootaloo... well... I --"
"Scootaloo?!" Mrs. Velvet's called out, her voice carrying across the flat grass. "Where did you go? Scootaloo, come back!"
"I'm over here, Mrs. Velvet!" Scootaloo called.
Mrs. Velvet galloped over and wrapped Scootaloo in a hug. "You scared me, sweetheart. Don't run away like that, okay? It's me and my husband's responsibility to keep you safe."
"Yeah, sorry, Mrs. Velvet... I just wanted to talk to Ricky."
"I kept her safe for you, Mrs. Velvet."
"Thank you, Ricochet. Come on, Scootaloo. I think Mr. Ricochet has some work to do."
"Okay... I'll talk to you later, Ricky."
"Bye, Scootaloo." He waved and smiled gently, picking the stick back up and slowly turning back to his blueprints in the clay. What a crazy life I'm living...
* * *
The sudden return of consciousness shocked Echo's senses. Just a moment ago, she had been looking up at her mother trying to speak to her in the caverns below Canterlot. Then everything just went black, and now... she was somewhere else. It was still dark, but she could see clouds and stars above her. She felt a foreign object attached to her muzzle and fought to pull it off. Her whole body felt heavy and numb. She couldn't tell how much strength she was using to pull on the thing that was stuck over her muzzle, but it felt to her like she was weaker than usual. Suddenly, ponies in white coats were surrounding her. Their voices were clear, but somehow felt distant. She heard the words but couldn't make sense of them.
"Where am I?" She tried to speak. Her own voice was muffled, and seemed to reverberate in her own ears. She blinked slowly, hoping in vain that it would clear her mind. "What happened, who are you?"
"Please... relax..." One of the ponies, a mare, spoke slowly. That helped. "Just stay calm. You've been hurt. We're doctors. We're helping you."
As the fog around her mind began to clear, sensation slowly returned to her body. Her left foreleg felt heavy, and her back, which was against the mattress, felt like it was propped up to an unusual height. All over her body, strange sensations of pressure spoke to her brain. Then, the pain began. Her wings felt like they were on fire. Her eyes widened and she screamed into the mask. The pain was blinding.
"It hurts! Stop it! What are you doing to me? Stop it! It hurts so much!"
"Did anypony bring morphine?!" One of the doctors shouted. In the distance, another doctor replied in the affirmative, and brought over a bag.
Echo was still writhing and screaming. With every second that passed, a new pain made itself known. Her foreleg felt like it had been ripped off, her back was on fire, and her wings now felt like they were being torn off of her body. Her screams became a gargle as her lungs emptied themselves. She hesitated to breathe in, still trying to scream on empty lungs, but eventually her brain forced her to. Inhaling was agonizing, and her head flung backwards against the pillow as she began to scream again.
The doctors started a drip of morphine into the fluids that were already being infused into the distraught mare, but the effect was far from instantaneous.
Echo clenched her jaw together with such force that a part of her was worried she would break her own teeth. She clutched at her face with her forehooves in a futile struggle to protect herself from an imagined foe, and she began to sob. "Make it stop. Please make it stop."
A few minutes later, the drugs began to kick in. While the pain was still excruciating, she wasn't screaming anymore.
"Miss Echo, are you feeling any better?" The mare from before asked, concern evident on her face.
Echo didn't respond to the question. "What happened to me?"
"I don't know how you got in this state, but I can tell you what we did. When we found you, you were bleeding out. We repaired as many of the cracks in your chitin as we could. The smaller ones we filled in and sealed with a magical amalgam. The larger ones were patched over with the best synthetic chitin we could find, though I'm afraid it's still quite primitive."
"Why do my wings hurt so much?" She clenched her jaw again.
"... I'm sorry, but in order to patch the most severe wound, which you sustained to your back, we had to amputate your wings. Hopefully, the pain will go away eventually, but... it is possible you may continue to have phantom sensations."
"My wings are gone? You took my wings?" The drugs were beginning to make her loopy. "I want them back... put them back on..."
"I'm sorry, Miss Echo."
"Where... where's Scootaloo?"
"Scootaloo?" The doctor asked.
"My daughter... my daughter, Scootaloo!" She was becoming agitated again. "I want to know where she is!"
"Okay, okay." She turned and called a pony over. Echo could tell it wasn't another doctor, since there was no coat. Just some bystander. "Could you please ask around and see if anypony can find a filly named Scootaloo? If you can, please bring her here." The stallion she was talking to nodded and galloped off.
"Thank you... Where are we?"
"We don't know right now. Princess Luna evacuated us from Canterlot, and she went off to survey the area. We're all waiting here for her to return.
"Can... I please go to sleep?"
"If you feel tired, go ahead and close your eyes. We'll be right here to make sure you're okay."
"What's your name?" Echo asked lazily as she began to drift off.
"I'm Doctor Blue Shield." She smiled. "I'll be right here with you, okay?"
"Thank... you..." Echo trailed off as the drugs lulled her to sleep.
"It's my job, sweetheart. Rest well." Blue Shield turned to her brother, Blue Cross. "Cross, can you go find Ricochet and tell him that she woke up? He said he wanted to know. I'll wait here with the others until Princess Luna returns, okay?"
"You got it, Sis." He took off, leaving the crowd in silence.
Blue Shield finally noticed that the crowd of ponies around them had been staring. She supposed Echo's howls of agony drew a lot of attention. A few of the ponies in the crowd were tearing up, and almost all of them were visibly sympathetic to the mare's suffering. "Hey, come on, everypony. She's gonna be fine, give her some privacy."
Silently, the crowd turned and went back to their various tasks of attempting to make sense of where they were.
It was another few minutes before the silence was broken again, this time by Luna's voice.
"My subjects!" A silver glow came from the direction of the derelict castle. Luna was casting herself in a spotlight by focusing moonlight onto herself. A new mare stood next to her, holding a clipboard. "Please, gather around. It's time that I filled you in on where we will go from here."
Ricochet had finished his blueprints when Luna began to speak, and walked over to join the group in listening. Most ponies shied away from him, which he expected. He listened intently.
"My dear subjects," Luna sighed, "I shall not mince words; it is my hope that I can quickly and succinctly convey to you our situation. We find ourselves now at the former seat of Equestria's government. This castle was the home of me and my sister a thousand years ago. We are in the Everfree Forest, far from prying eyes, and I fear that we may remain here for some time yet. Equestria, our home, has been invaded. Presently, we are refugees. My subjects, I will keep you safe, and I promise you, we will take our country back and expel these invaders... but in order for us to achieve these goals, I need your help. We will need to plan our actions carefully, as our numbers are few and theirs are great. You are not alone, though. Princess Twilight Sparkle is among us. We also have some new friends." Luna then extended a hoof and pointed in Ricochet's direction. "My subjects, do not be afraid. There are changelings among us now, but they are not our enemy. They are, in fact, our greatest assets." She motioned for Ricochet to join her.
His eyes widened and he shook his head. "Oh, I don't know if --"
Luna's assistant stared at him, and a flash of green across her eyes spoke to him. He knew who she was instantly, and he knew he should obey. He nodded, and walked up next to the Princess.
"This, my little ponies, is Ricochet. He is a friend. Adjust yourself to the sight of him. Elsewhere among you is another changeling; she is a mare named Echo. She is also a friend. As your Princess, I expect to see both of these changelings treated no differently than you treat any of your other friends. You have my assurance that they are not here to harm you. Our new changeling friends will help us to prepare ourselves to retake our country. They are the same as the ponies standing next to you, even though they look different."
Ricochet remained still and quiet beside Luna until, looking into the crowd, he saw Echo in her hospital bed. She lifted a hoof. His eyes widened and his wings buzzed, and he flew over the crowd toward her.
The crowd shouted in surprise, but Luna raised a hoof to calm them down. "He's concerned for his friend, as any of you would be. Now, Ricochet has his own special talent in the field of architecture. He will be leading the construction crews in the creation of new buildings and the repair of our castle. If you have a problem with this, you may direct any questions to my assistant, Raven Inkwell. Please, my subjects, take some time to gather your bearings. Get some rest if you can." Luna turned and retreated back toward the destroyed castle.
"All right," Chrysalis spoke in her disguise as Raven Inkwell, "before you get to anything else, we need to get a roster of who is who and what your skills are. Please form an orderly assembly, and I will call on you each in turn..."
While Chrysalis took stock of their workforce, Ricochet landed next to Echo. "Echo? Echo, are you awake?"
"R... Ricochet?" She looked up at him, her eyes hazy. "Where is Scootaloo? The doctor sent someone to go get her."
"I just saw her a few minutes ago, she was with Mrs. Velvet. I'll get her in a minute, okay? I just... I don't want to..." He sighed. "I'm really happy you're okay."
She smiled weakly. "I'm happy you're okay, too, Ricochet. Please... I want to see Scootaloo."
Ricochet sighed and nodded. He knew he couldn't keep her to himself forever. Even the few moments he'd stolen so far were selfish. "Okay. I'll go find her. Please," he put a hoof on hers, "don't stress yourself. Relax, okay? I'll be back soon."
"Okay Ricochet..." She coughed into her oxygen mask, and watched him carefully.
Ricochet smiled, patting her hoof, and then turned to find Scootaloo. As he buzzed his wings, he heard a new sound behind him. He stopped and turned around. Echo quickly turned her head away from him, burying her face in her hooves, but he could tell what he had seen. She was crying. He winced and decided it would be best to give her space for a little while. She obviously didn't want him to see her cry. Rather than flying away, he decided to trot.
Scootaloo, meanwhile, was standing near Night Light and Twilight Velvet as Raven took her census.
"... and you? Name, age, and occupation please." She reached Mrs. Velvet.
"Twilight Velvet, age 45, occupation writer."
Raven scribbled on her clipboard and moved on to Night Light.
"Name, age, and occupation please."
"Night Light, age 48, and I'm her editor."
Raven then looked down at Scootaloo. If she was going to maintain her cover, Chrysalis needed to seem unfamiliar with her. "Hello there sweetheart. I know you don't have a job yet, but just for the record, can you tell me your name and how old you are?"
Scootaloo hesitated for just a moment. "I'm Scootaloo... I'm gonna be thirteen in a few days..."
"All right..." She scribbled again. "Thank you, Scootaloo. You," she pointed to the next pony in line, "Name, Age, Occupation."
"That mare scares me," Scootaloo tugged on Night Light's leg. "When can I go check on Mom again?"
"Don't worry, Scootaloo, she's just trying to get through everypony as quickly as possible. We can see your mom again as soon as she's done with the census, okay? I pr--"
"Scootaloo!" Ricochet bounded through the crowd and stopped next to Night Light and Mrs. Velvet. "Hey, guys. Scootaloo, Echo's awake. She wanted to see you."
"Can I go?" She looked between Night Light and Mrs. Velvet, who predictably nodded yes and patted her on the head.
"Follow me, okay?" Ricochet began to trot off back toward Echo.
"Can't you fly us?"
"I... think that might be a bad idea, Scoot."
"Why?"
"It might not be something Echo wants to think about... her wings are gone now."
"Wait, Mom can't fly anymore?"
"Unfortunately, she can't, no."
Scootaloo was silent for the rest of their walk.
Soon, Echo's bed came into focus again. Her head turned and a weak smile crossed her lips. "Scootaloo..." she held out her hoof.
Scootaloo tried her best to hide tears as she ran toward her mother, but failed halfway there. She launched herself at Echo, grabbing her around the middle and sobbing into her side.
Echo winced and gritted her teeth, trying not to show the pain that the experience caused, and ran a hoof through Scootaloo's mane.
"I was so worried about you, Mom. I was so scared. I thought you were going to die. I thought I was going to be alone again."
"Scoot... never."
"I don't know what I would do without you, Mom... I don't know if I could do it, I don't know if I could make it."
"It's gonna take more than this to take me away from you, feather-duster."
"Y... your wings are gone." Scootaloo sniffled.
Echo winced, tears stinging her eyes again. "Y-yeah, Scoot. They are. Looks like I won't be able to fly with you anymore once you learn."
There was a long pause before Scootaloo spoke in a tone barely above a whisper. "I still love you anyway."
Ricochet coughed gently. "Hey, guys. I'll leave you alone for a while, okay? I need to go and get a crew together to start building some shelter. The Everfree isn't exactly a great place to be stuck out in the open, since we never know when it'll rain next."
"Thank you, Ricochet. Thank you for keeping her safe."
"Don't mention it, Echo... what're friends for, right?" He smiled, trying his best to hide the pain he himself felt knowing that friends was all they'd ever be. "I'll be back later, okay?"
"All right Ricky... bye..." Scootaloo sniffled.
A few minutes later, Ricochet had returned to the castle's courtyard where the census was being taken. Only a couple of ponies were left, so he stepped in front of the crowd and waited for them to be finished. Once they had been recorded, he waited for Chrysalis to return. Once she did, he quickly asked, "who've we got that can help build?"
"We have Ash Plank and Sawdust with experience in building, but unfortunately no other skilled construction workers in the group. Plenty of able bodied stallions and mares that Ash and Sawdust tell me they'd be able to train, though." She gave Ricochet a single piece of paper. "Here's a couple copies of the list of names for ponies I think could handle it."
Ricochet nodded and turned out to the crowd. "Ash Plank and Sawdust, come with me, would you?"
Two nearby stallions looked at each other with uncertainty, but stepped forward and met him. "I need you to find the most capable ponies out of this list. I'd like at least 10, but shoot for 20, okay? Get this done A-S-A-P, and come meet me to the east, okay? I've been drawing up some blueprints with some clay I found. It's hardly ideal, but it should work well enough for the time being."
"Uh... sure... Ricochet, was it?" Sawdust asked with a moment's hesitation.
"That's right. Now, let's get a move on, guys. We need to get a shelter up for the medical crews first and foremost, then we can start worrying about a more permanent structure. No time to waste."
"You've got it... uh... boss?" Ash replied and gave a succinct nod before the duo trotted off to find and interview the ponies from the list.
Ricochet hummed happily. He felt like he was back in his element. He buzzed off back toward where he had been drawing his plans, and lit his horn. Green, translucent, and faintly glowing strands of magic began to lay themselves out about twelve centimeters off the ground. In this manner, he drew out a full-sized replica of the floorplan he'd created. It was a large building (about 350 square meters at seven meters wide by 50 meters long) considering the primitive methods that they had at their disposal, but Ricochet believed that the medical facilities were deserving of substantially larger accommodations than he would afford to any one pony. Next, he began to use a combination of his magic and his hooves to dig out pilot holes for support beams. He managed to complete all of this in the span of about half an hour.
Next, he knew he would need to find a more consistent source of clay. They were going to be using quite a bit of clay in their initial construction, and he would need to fashion a kiln. Changelings had the ability, through magic, to take naturally occurring minerals and stones and turn them into a very strong amalgam which they called "valite". It was similar to concrete in its utility but closer to granite in its finished hardness. The difficulty came in the fact that it was difficult to produce, taking as much as two hours for each cubic meter of material. There simply weren't enough changelings here to create a significant amount of valite in the time frame that was required, even if Echo were in a position to be able to do so. In his hive, there was a team of two hundred changelings whose sole jobs were to create as much valite as possible and pass it along to the structural corps. Because of this limitation, clay would have to be the principal material of their masonry at this point.
Taking to the air and surveying the area, he could see a stream running behind the castle. He smiled and headed in that direction. With a little help from his magic, he began to move topsoil out of the way, until he found a sizable deposit of clay. It was at least thirty meters long by ten meters wide, existing in an old oxbow lake which had since become more of a large mud puddle. A little exploratory digging found that the clay went down at least three quarters of a meter. Assuming that those dimensions were consistent, he had at least two hundred and twenty five cubic meters of clay here. This would do well. There was also another, similarly sized deposit on the other side of the stream. He gathered a large ball of the clay in his magic, enough to just begin constructing his kiln, and flew back toward his work site. Once he arrived there, he found that Sawdust and Ash Plank were waiting for him, with a crew of about 15 additional ponies. All of them were surveying both his blueprints drawn in the small clay deposit and the green floorplan he had laid out.
Ricochet set down the large ball of clay and smiled. "Hey, everyone. Good to see you. So, you can see the plans I made. Here's what I'm thinking. I found a large deposit of clay back there behind the castle. We can use wood to build the frame of the building, and use the clay to make tiles for the roofing and as mortar for stone walls. If I can get some of you to go and gather the wood we need -- you can use my plans over there to find the right size trees -- and some of you to keep bringing clay back over here, we can get this done quickly. Between the eighteen of us, I'm sure we'll have no trouble at all."
"This building is huge, Ricochet." Sawdust raised an eyebrow. "I don't know if we can do this without any tools."
"We have enough unicorns in the group that we can make due without them until we can fashion some for the pegasi and earth ponies. Normally, I'd say we should make the tools first, but here I think we need to focus on getting this building put up." He began to dig the foundation for a kiln just a few meters away from the edge of the structure they were preparing.
"Look, I don't know how you did things in the changeling hive, but --"
"I'm sorry..." he looked up, "did I ask for your opinion? Princess Luna put me in charge of this project. We're building shelter for the injured. If you want to complain, wait until we're building your house and then maybe I'll be a bit more interested, okay?"
Sawdust stammered for a moment, but shrugged and nodded. "You got it. Sorry, boss."
"No worries, just get to it, and we won't have any more troubles, okay?" Ricochet smiled gently and returned to preparing the kiln.
* * *
After a few hours and some assistance from the unicorns in the team, the kiln was up and running. They had also constructed a few additional kilns, in an effort to keep some in the fire, some cooling, and some cooled down at all times. The crew was working like a well-oiled machine now.
The earth ponies largely helped with hauling clay and lumber. A frame had been erected over the floorplan with the assistance of the pegasi, and now, in a joint effort between the aforementioned pegasi and the unicorns, tiles were being placed along the length of the frame. The roof was about a quarter of the way done.
Some of the earth ponies who weren't otherwise occupied were helping to build up the stone and clay walls of the structure, following behind the pegasi and unicorns who were laying roof tiles. Ricochet, meanwhile, was building a fireplace every few meters on the outside of the structure, with its chimney actually running under the floor and sealed off by rocks and clay, to help keep everypony warm through the nights or through the winters, though Ricochet seriously hoped they wouldn't be still using this building as a hospital by the time winter came along. Still, it would probably still be used for something, so making sure it was as climate-controlled as he could make it seemed like a prudent choice.
It was hard work, and even though Ricochet was no stranger to it, it had been a long time since he had been responsible for the actual manual labor of construction. Still, he soldiered on. Finally, eight hours into the construction, as the sun was about ready to rise, he stood and stretched. "I'm gonna go get some water," he said to some of the crew, "and take a quick ten minute break or so. I'll be back, okay?"
Many of the burly stallions watched him with a small measure of awe. They had been taking breaks every couple of hours to preserve their strength, but that changeling just never seemed to get tired. Even now, it seemed like he was just a little winded, not exhausted like they expected he should be.
The building was nearing completion, thanks to the aid of magic both making the fires burn hotter and the cooling go quicker. Most likely within another hour everything would be done and ready to start moving ponies in.
Once Ricochet finished his break, he went to inform the Princess and the medical crews of the progress.
First, he took his trek to the castle. Stepping in, he looked around. "Princess Luna?" He called out. There was no response. "Your highness? Where are you?"
"We are here." The reply came from directly ahead, at the end of the hall. Luna was looking over a dusty book, which looked as though it would itself turn to dust if mishandled only slightly. "My apologies. I am ... attempting to remember the spell my Sister used to raise the sun. In her absence, it will be my responsibility."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. I just wanted to let you know that my team and I have finished building the field hospital."
"Already? I'm impressed..." Luna smiled softly. "We can finally move them out from under the lean-to that some of the other stallions build while you've been working."
"Thank you. I'll go and tell the medical crews now." He bowed and turned to leave.
"Ricochet, wait." Luna called after him.
"Yes, your highness?" He turned back around.
"I... have a bit of a strange request for you. I cannot ask Chrysalis; I am far too ill-at-ease with her."
"What is it, Princess?" He tilted his head.
"Can... you come here for a moment?"
He nodded and walked up the stairs to stand next to her. "What do you need?"
"Could you please... take my sister's form, and read this to me? I'm sorry that it's such an old dialect, but we have been around for quite some time."
His eyes widened in surprise, but he shrugged. "I... suppose so, if you think it would help."
He closed his eyes for a moment and concentrated, and in a flash, found himself in a much taller body, looking down at the book. He squinted, struggling to read some of the letters, but began to read. The words themselves carried little meaning to him, being a form of Equestrian that was by and large unrecognizable. Luna smiled and nodded though, seeming to understand perfectly.
After a few pages, she looked back up and smiled. "Thank you... that is enough."
He smiled back and reverted to his natural form. "I didn't understand any of that, but I'm glad I could help."
"Thank you. It helped a great deal. Hearing the explanation in my sister's voice clarified many of the questions I had. Do not ask me why... I cannot explain it." Her horn began to glow, and through the stained glass windows, the sunlight began to peek through.
Ricochet smiled again and walked down the stairs and out the door.
He quickly found the medical teams and relayed the news to them. They were happy, to say the least. After telling the powers that be and getting them prepared to move the patients once again, he found his way over to Echo's bed. Scootaloo had climbed up next to her, and the two of them were now asleep.
He sat next to her and began to speak. "Echo? Can you hear me?" He waited. There was no reply. "Well... I'm gonna talk anyway, because it makes me feel better. I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. I'm sorry for everything. I feel like if it weren't for me... maybe this mess wouldn't have happened. I know that's not true... it wasn't my fault... but... I think it was my fault that you wound up in Canterlot at exactly the wrong time. I feel like I'm responsible for you being so badly hurt... for you losing your wings." He paused, taking in a few breaths. "I understand if you blame me. I blame myself. I want to make it right, but... I don't think I can. I can try though. So... here's what I have to say. I promise you... no matter what... I'm always going to be there to protect you. I'm never going to leave you behind. I'll always be the shoulder for you to cry on. I'll always be the stallion to lift you up when life tears you down. You'll never have to face anything alone again. I don't even care if you don't love me, Echo. That's fine, you don't have to. I don't expect it." He put a hoof to hers. "I can love enough for both of us, okay?" He exhaled gently and stood again, smiling weakly down at her before turning and walking back toward the crew he'd gathered.
The medical building was done, but there was still a lot of work left to do.
The next few weeks consisted mostly of establishing a new status quo, and trying to create a semblance of a normal life. Twilight, Luna, and Chrysalis (in her disguise) spent most of their time in the derelict castle, trying to piece together where everypony would go from where they were presently. Ricochet and his crew had managed, in a surprisingly short period of time, to turn the relatively barren area surrounding the Castle of the Two Sisters into a primitive but bustling village. Ponies were beginning to smile again when they talked with each other. Their chores and jobs had become much more laborious than they'd been in Canterlot, which was a particularly hard pill for some of the more affluent refugees to swallow, but everypony was doing their part to the best of their abilities.
Today was a phenomenally important day though. At the crack of dawn, Ricochet buzzed over the village and knocked on Mrs. Velvet and Night Light's door. The former answered, obviously still half asleep.
"Hey, is Scootaloo ready?" He asked excitedly.
"Wh... what are you talking about, Ricochet?"
"I talked to Echo. It's today!"
"Oh... Oh!" She smiled weakly. "I'll get her up."
"All right. I'm gonna go grab her mother, okay? I'll meet you outside the hospital?"
"Sounds good, Ricochet."
He bade her farewell and took off like a rocket toward the castle. He flew high and entered through part of the collapsed ceiling. His crew was just arriving to work for the day. The castle was the next item on their schedule now that the majority of the town itself had been constructed. The goal was to restore the Princesses' castle as quickly as possible, and while he was excited at the prospect of getting to work on an architectural project that didn't necessitate mud and sticks as principle building materials, today's event was more important. He landed in the formerly abandoned throne room, which was beginning to once again look like an occupied one. Luna and Chrysalis were bickering next to a tapestry that hung on the wall to the east of the thrones while Twilight looked on in exasperation.
"I don't care what you think," Chrysalis shouted, "Dark purple and gold is an atrocious color scheme!"
"It has worked well for more than a thousand years. I see no purpose in changing it now!"
"Honestly, have you never considered green? Green's a great color."
"Again with this, Chrysalis?"
"Hey, if I'm going to be your co-ruler, shouldn't I get a say?"
Ricochet cleared his throat, and the oligarchs turned to face him.
"What is it, Ricochet?" Luna asked gently.
"Begging your pardon, but I'm actually here for Chrysalis and Twilight, Luna. Echo says today's the day."
Twilight gasped and immediately turned toward a desk in the corner of the room, grabbing a quill and ream of parchment before trotting over to join Ricochet.
Chrysalis, meanwhile, cocked her head. Slowly, realization dawned on her. Her eyes widened and her pupils constricted. "Oh. I'm on my way." She nodded and buzzed her wings, taking to the air along side Ricochet and Twilight, and the trio left with a hurried farewell to Luna.
"How long has it been since we got here? A month?" Ricochet asked.
"Three weeks." Chrysalis affirmed.
"You've made remarkable progress in that time, Ricochet."
"It's just my job." He shrugged as they turned toward the hospital, which was still the largest building in the village save for the castle itself.
"Still, I count twenty residential buildings? An average of two bedrooms each? Sure, the conditions are crowded, but nopony is out in the cold anymore, or having to sleep in the castle. It's impressive."
"I just wish they didn't have to sleep in mud huts."
"You know, for the materials you have, those buildings look very sophisticated."
"My, my, Sparkle. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to hit on him."
"That is absurd, Chrysalis!" Twilight stared daggers at the Queen.
"Methinks the lady doth protest too much."
"Don't let her get to you, Twi." Ricochet smiled. "She just wants a reaction."
"You're right..." She growled. Her anger was quickly assuaged when she saw a small orange filly below them waving upward. Her parents were there too, and she smiled brightly as they touched down.
"Twily, dear!" Mrs. Velvet smiled as she and her husband hugged their daughter.
"Hi Gramma, hi Ricky." Scootaloo hugged each of them in turn. "So it's today?"
"Yep," Ricochet smiled. "She's finally ready to molt into a new, undamaged exoskeleton today. By the end of the day, she should be able to walk unassisted again."
"She still won't be able to fly though?"
"No, child," Chrysalis sighed ruefully, "she will not. However, aside from her lack of wings, you shouldn't notice much of a difference. She's still going to be the same Echo you remember."
"Well, maybe a bit shinier." Ricochet snickered.
"I'm just happy she agreed to let me observe the process," Twilight beamed, "nopony has ever seen a changeling molt before."
"Consider yourself lucky," Ricochet chuckled, "she doesn't want any of the rest of us in the same room with her at the time."
"It's a very vulnerable time for a changeling. We typically molt in complete solitude." Chrysalis shrugged. "I'm surprised she agreed to let you observe, honestly."
"I won't let it go to waste." Twilight grinned. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."
"I'm sure." Chrysalis deadpanned as she knocked on the door to the hospital. It opened and one of the doctors smiled gently. "Good morning, everyone." Blue Shield smiled and ushered everyone inside. Everyone who had been injured in the invasion had since recovered, and so the only remaining patient at the moment was Echo. The interior of the building was lit with a few orbs of magic which gave off a faint green glow not much brighter than a lantern, all courtesy of Echo's magic. She had fallen back to sleep in her bed at the end of the building, near one of the underground fireplaces that Ricochet had set up. The heat was helpful in speeding up her healing.
The group walked over, and Chrysalis gently touched Echo's shoulder. "Echo, we're here."
Echo's eyes fluttered open, and she smiled gently. "Hey everyone."
"How are you?" Ricochet stepped forward slowly.
"Itchy. Ready to get out of this old exo."
"I can't wait, Mom." Scootaloo beamed, running over and nuzzling Echo.
"Neither can I, feather-duster..." She nuzzled her daughter back.
As Echo and Scootaloo had their moment, Twilight pulled over a chair and small desk that the doctors used to take notes. She set her parchment, quill, and ink down, and waited with a patient smile on her face.
"I... think Twilight's even more eager than I am." Echo chuckled. "Well... would you guys mind giving me a little privacy?"
"Sure, Mom."
"You've got it, Echo." Ricochet agreed with Scootaloo.
Everyone wished her well, and stepped out of the building.
"So, how does this work, Echo?" Twilight held her quill above the parchment.
"Well..." She breathed in sharply and puffed out her chest as quickly as she could. There was a faint snapping sound, and a hairline crack appeared along her side. She winced a little.
"Does it hurt?" Twilight scribbled with her magic as she watched intently.
"Not exactly. It's kind of like... You know that feeling when there's something in your eye, but it doesn't quite hurt? It's just annoying and itchy?"
"That doesn't sound like a whole lot of fun."
"I didn't say this was fun, did I?" She chuckled a little before she brought a hoof up to her neck. She pushed into a few spots on either side. Each time she pressed, there was another snap. It sounded like somepony biting into a potato crisp. This continued until she got up to her jaw. This time when she pressed, a similar crack to the one along her side moved from the corners of her mouth, along the sides of her neck, and down to her chest.
"That really doesn't hurt?"
"Like I said, hurt isn't the right word. The hooves are the hardest part because of all these holes, though." She winced. "Hey, so... I might need your help for this part. Usually we can still stand on our own when we do this part, but with the injuries, I don't know if --"
"I've got it. It's okay." She set down the quill and moved to the side of the bed to help support Echo as she got to her hooves.
"Thanks, Twi. Just... if I start to fall, catch me? I need to use some weight for this." She took another breath and began to hammer her hooves against the ground. One by one, the hooves started to make snapping sounds, until cracks like the others on her body showed up.
"Back to the bed?"
"Back to the bed..." Echo huffed as Twilight helped her up. "I need to lay down for this next part and would prefer a soft bed to the hard ground."
"You know," Twilight picked the quill back up, "I've seen you take harder hits than any of this before, and your chitin didn't crack. How does this work?"
"When we're ready to molt, we actually create a new exoskeleton right under the old one. Once it's formed, there's an enzyme that it secretes between itself and our old exoskeleton. It degrades the chitin and makes it thinner and more brittle. It's also why it itches so dang much." Her shoulders rolled as she struggled. The crack between her back and her belly widened, showing a glistening white body underneath. Echo then shook her head, and the chitin on the underside of her chin and neck fell to the ground. She threw her head back, and the top half came off as well. Her headfin went with it. Another one was under the old chitin, and slowly began to fold upward. She sighed loudly.
The parts where she had shed were as white as a ghost, aside from her eyes. Twilight noted that the top half of her head and neck chitin still had colored lens caps where her eyes had been.
"Whoa, you shed your eyes too?"
"Well, not our whole eyes. It's just a transparent shell over them to keep too much dirt or debris from getting in." She shrugged. "It does make it a bit less easy to see when you're close to molting time though."
Echo rolled onto her side and gave each hoof a sharp kick out into the air. The chitin fell from those as well with little effort. The shifting had also dislodged the plate from her back, and another quick shift of her position separated her belly chitin as well. After just a few minutes, Echo was free from her old skin, now laying on her side in a completely white shell. Her headfin had now spread out to its full height.
"So, what now?" Twilight asked, examining a piece of her chitin.
"Now, I wait." She smiled, tucking her legs and laying down in a slightly more dignified pose. "I'm pretty much defenseless during this part. My chitin has to harden up before it's really safe for me to move anywhere." She looked over her shoulders and her smile faded when she remembered that her wings were gone. "I'm happy to be rid of that old exuvia. Don't get me wrong, those patches the doctors used saved my life, but they didn't restore enough structural integrity to let me do much of anything. Still, even though I knew they were gone, some part of me had hoped..."
Twilight stood quietly, walking up beside Echo. "I'm sorry."
Echo paused, looking up toward Twilight for a moment before her smile returned, a bit weaker than before. "Hey, it's not like it's your fault. You don't have anything to be sorry for."
"I know, but still... I imagine it's hard."
Echo paused again. "Well, it's not like it's the end of my life. Unicorns get along fine without wings, after all. Hey, maybe my magic will get stronger, like how a ponies' sense of hearing sometimes gets stronger if they lose their sight."
Twilight's ears perked and she smiled. "Do I detect a hypothesis?"
"I think you do, Twilight." Echo smiled again. Her chitin was beginning to turn to a dull brown color.
"Whoa. So how long will it take for your new chitin to harden?"
"Another 20 minutes until it's good enough for me to be able to walk and stuff like that, but probably a week before it's 100%."
"Ah. Well... what should we do for the next 20 minutes?"
"I actually had an idea about that. As long as we have a little privacy, I was wondering if I could talk to you about Ricochet?"
* * *
Ricochet held out a hoofball he had created from his magic, and tossed it to the stallion playing center. "It's really not that hard to do, Luna." His team moved off to huddle.
"We are uncertain about this choice..." She looked around herself at the group of ponies who had decided to join in the impromptu game of hoofball. She was playing as the 'weakside linebacker'. She had very little idea what she was doing.
"It's not that big of a deal, I promise. Just go join your huddle." He turned around.
Luna trotted over to her team and bent low.
Sawdust was playing the role of 'middle linebacker', and seemed to be in charge of the team. He was giving orders to the different ponies, most of which went over Luna's head. Eventually, he got to her.
"Your highness... your role is the most important part of this play though, okay? It's easy. This is all you have to do..." He leaned over closer and whispered into her ear.
She listened to what he had to say and nodded. "If you are certain."
"You've got this, Princess! BREAK!"
"Huh? We have not even begun to play yet, why are we taking a break?" She watched her team take their positions.
Sawdust chuckled a little. "It's okay. It means take your place. Right there, beside and just a little bit behind Night Light. Perfect." He turned back toward the offensive line.
Luna wondered at the spectacle. Suddenly, the opposing 'quarterback', a hefty stallion named Steel Gaze, shouted loudly. The 'center' tossed the glowing green hoofball to him, and the lines clashed together. Luna remembered what Sawdust had told her, and she plowed her way forward as quickly as she could manage. Nopony was quick enough to get in her way. She charged straight for Steel, and the adrenaline hit. She let out a roar and tackled him to the ground.
He hit with a loud 'oof', and the play stopped. Luna stood and began to panic, putting a hoof over her mouth. "Oh no, we did not hurt you, did we, Steel?"
The stallion on the ground shook his head to clear the fog, and began to laugh. "Ha! Not at all! That was a heck of a tackle, your Highness!"
The rest of the teams began to laugh as well, and even Luna joined in as she extended a hoof to help Steel up.
As they were preparing for the 'second down', the hospital door opened, and Twilight called out. "Here she is!"
Twilight stepped aside, and a very shiny and deep black colored Echo wobbled out the door, finally able to stand under her own power again. She smiled brightly, in a way she hadn't done since they had arrived here.
"Have you been able to learn anything about their language?" Setae sat on a freshly made throne in what used to be the Princesses' throne room. The previous occupants' seats had been removed and presumably destroyed, if his orders had been followed.
"Yes, Highness. I have been able to learn enough that I think I could conduct the interrogation."
"And our ... guests?"
"Conscious, and adequately cooperative."
"Then let us proceed."
The enormous king stood and started toward the castle's dungeon. He glanced out a window as they walked.
This city was no longer recognizable compared to what it had been in the past. He smiled as he looked out on it. No more would changelings be in the shadows. Now they had this, what used to be the capital city of the ponies, converted to their own. The damage from their Queen's attack had been repaired; most buildings had been demolished and replaced with new, less-sickening designs from his hive's structural corps. The city's defenses had been bolstered, and an outright siege was nearly suicidal. His guards, ever alert, patrolled the new battlements that had been erected. There was only one location where his drones were permitted to land and to take off. Any who did not use that location were subject to immediate arrest. Infiltration would be the only way anybody could get in, and there were means of detecting any ponies who attempted to use magic to disguise themselves. It would be foolishness to try and out-changeling a changeling.
Spires of black rose from the ground, illuminated in a faint purple glow. More eggs and larvae were being brought from the hive every day. When his scouts had discovered the massive caverns beneath the city, he had made up his mind that this would be an excellent place for them to relocate. Those caverns would be the perfect shelter for the growing brood, to say nothing of the rich mineral veins from which materials could be excavated. He guessed that this site would be adequate for a few decades before relocation even needed to be considered.
The gauche stained glass windows had been removed and replaced with more sensible mosaics. One detailed the attack on this city, another detailed the King's glorious victory over the pony Queen. The majority of the others depicted various stages in the conversion of the city from its old and drab state to the powerhouse it was now. Changelings had, for too long, been subsisting in the shadows, stealing what they could, hiding like animals. He was going to bring about a revolution. He would industrialize, expand, and bring his influence to all corners of the world. It had already started, and it was beautiful. There was no point in resisting, and he was sure the ponies would see that eventually. He would be a benevolent ruler. The ponies wouldn't be killed, they would be allowed to live their lives, to have their farms, to tend to their fields, to enjoy their jobs and one another's company. After all, happy subjects would make more productive cattle, and his changelings needed their love to survive. Things might be tough for a while, but eventually his pony subjects would come to appreciate him, as he would keep them safe from the Griffon kingdoms, incursions from the dragon lands, and any other threats. When they saw how his might was able to provide them happy lives, they would bow. They would come to love him.
He was sure of it.
He just had one little problem to tend to.
"Have you been able to find anything out about their Queen and her princess?"
"Ah, yes, your Highness," the drone who had been assigned to research their language replied as they continued walking, "it confused me at first, but I am sure that this is accurate; they have no Queen. Both the ones we captured and the big one's sister are considered Princesses. The stallion is, as best I can tell, a Prince, but of Kings or Queens I have been able to find nothing."
"That's absurd. You must have missed something."
"Yes, sire. I am hoping that today's interrogation may shed some light on the issue."
The guards at the dungeon door saluted sharply as the King approached. He gave them each curt nods, at which point they opened the doors and allowed him and the drone entry. The dungeon had remained largely unchanged. The heart shaped wrought iron of the cell doors was left intact, the pink banners. The only things removed were the emblems of the previous rulers.
He was not a cruel King. He would let them keep some memories of their homes, even if the design choices were truly awful.
Toward the end of the cell block, in the largest available cell, the Queen, or rather Princess, had been deposited. In the cell opposite, the other Princess and Prince had been left. Separating them was unconscionable; even in this situation the amount of love they produced when in close proximity was a font of energy unlike anything he'd ever seen. He knew better than to let them get close enough to touch, however. They were all three kept suspended in cocoons, but the Prince and Princess were kept separated by several meters.
When they came to a stop outside the big one's cell, she glared at him with an intense hatred. He grimaced; it was bitter.
"Ask her what her name is."
"Yes, Sire." He began to speak.
* * *
"What name?" The drone asked in a very heavily accented and broken English.
"Celestia," She replied curtly, "My name is Celestia."
The drone relayed everything she said back to the King after she said it. At least, she assumed that's what he was doing.
"Where king?"
"Right next to you."
The drone seemed displeased by this answer. "King of Celestia."
"There is none."
"Queen of Celestia."
"There is none!" She repeated more emphatically.
"You Princess."
"Yes!"
"Then need King or Queen."
"I assure you, I need no such thing!"
The drone again relayed the information to the king, who snarled and barked something to the drone. He nodded and turned back to Celestia.
"Celestia, we kill friends. One each hour until you answer. We start with other Princess? Maybe we start with Prince?" He gestured to the cell behind him. Both Cadance and Shining Armor obviously heard, but their faces were resolute.
Celestia, for her part, was still smart enough to know that was a bluff. "Those two have got to be the only source of love you have in this city right now. I'd wager they're the only thing keeping you all fed. Want to kill them? Be my guest."
The two lovers nodded in response, ready to take the risk.
The drone relayed this all to the King again, who growled in rage and nearly roared something at Celestia.
"He say pain?"
"Pain? Oh, did the big bad changeling get a boo-boo?"
"What means boo-boo?" He shook his head. "No, he say if you not tell where king is, you pain."
"Torture?"
The drone nodded. "Big pain."
"Torture me all you want. It won't change the fact that there is no King or Queen."
The King's horn lit up, and he withdrew a hot iron from a nearby fire that was graciously being used to warm the dungeons for their prisoners' comfort. It glowed yellow at the tip, and bright orange halfway up. He slid it through the bars and brought it slowly closer and closer to Celestia's cocoon, eventually sizzling through it and bringing it up an inch away from her left eye. She stared at him, holding her eyes steady, and saying nothing. Even as the cocoon's contents drained, boiling slightly around the super-heated iron, she didn't flinch.
She was definitely telling the truth. Either that or she just had the most incredible willpower of any creature he'd ever encountered. He withdrew the iron, and the cocoon sealed itself. He tossed the piece of metal back into the fire.
"I believe you," He said, and was translated by the drone, "nobody withholding information could be so resolute under threat of such torture... but I am not a cruel King. I will not bring harm to you if I do not have to. Your city is already captured," he gestured around himself, "and the battle is already won. Anything more would be uncivilized. Indeed, I hope that soon you will stop fighting us, and we can release you from this cell. The sooner you help us find the ponies who escaped, the better this will go for everyone. We have no desire to harm anyone else."
"I not know that word." The drone said, irritated.
"Doesn't matter. Tell him I said 'fat chance', and that'll get the point across."
The drone, being unfamiliar with that idiom, translated literally.
"She say big chance."
The King smiled. "I'm very glad to hear it," He turned and started to leave the room, "tonight, cut her head free of the cocoon, and bring her some actual food. Cooperation will be lavishly rewarded." He left the room feeling very satisfied with himself and his diplomatic skills.
* * *
"Mom!" Scootaloo beamed and ran over, hugging Echo tightly. Tears were streaming down her cheeks already. "I missed you!"
"Oof!" She laughed as she was hugged. "You've seen me every day."
"Yeah, but I haven't been able to hug you." The filly nuzzled into her mother's neck. "I missed you so much."
Echo's heart melted and she nuzzled her daughter back. "I missed you too, featherduster."
"So," Twilight started, "Ricochet. I'd like to talk to you about something, if I may?"
"Oh, is this about the library? Don't worry, Princess Luna already said you can have free reign over it."
"Well, that's good to know," she did seem to perk up at that news, "but that's not what I wanted to talk to you about..." She started to pull Ricochet over aside from everyone else.
"What is it?" He asked once they were out of earshot.
"You're in love with Echo?"
"Oh... she told you about that? Look, I shouldn't have said anything, it's just that I --"
"Isn't that dangerous for you? I mean, changelings loving other changelings?"
"Dangerous?"
"I mean, you need love to survive, and sometimes it's pretty hard to come by. If you're in love with her, doesn't that basically mean you're going to be involuntarily giving up some of your own food supply?"
"Well, yeah, but --"
"Ricochet, you're gonna starve yourself to death."
"It's gonna be fine, Twilight, I have eno--"
"I can't let you do that. What kind of Princess would I be if I let any of my subjects starve to death?"
"Okay, but--"
"I need to find some new way for you to get love. There's got to be a couple somewhere here who'd be willing to let you spend some time with them."
"Twilight, will you please let me--"
"I've got to go try to find something," she turned to leave, "I'll be right--"
"Twilight!" Ricochet shouted, getting her attention. "Would you please listen to me? I'm gonna be fine."
Twilight stopped and turned back around. She looked at Ricochet sadly for a moment. "How do you know that?"
"Because, I've been worse off than this, and I've made it all this time without any trouble. If I were gonna start starving, I'd have started a long time ago. Maybe changelings aren't so bad at sharing love as we thought?" He shrugged. "Bottom line, Twi, is that there's no problem. I'm fine." He smiled. "Really."
"Are you sure?"
He laughed a little bit and shook his head. "I'm gonna try to say it for the seventh time. I'm fine, I'm gonna be fine, you don't need to worry."
Twilight hesitated for a moment, but nodded. "So, um... she doesn't feel the same way about you then?"
"No. She made that quite clear."
"Are you sure? Because from what I learned about changelings, you should be starving by now."
"Maybe you made some errors in your studies?"
"I don't do that." She seemed almost offended.
"Okay. All right. Well, um... maybe someone has a crush on me?" He shook his head. "All I know is, I'm fine. Nothing's wrong." I mean, it feels like my heart is breaking in two every time I look at Echo, but other than that, peachy keen.
"If you're sure, Ricochet. Just... if you need help, you know where to find me." She patted him on the shoulder and headed back toward the castle. The library was still in need of re-cataloging. Such a wealth of knowledge that had been sitting on those shelves for a thousand years, untouched. She practically salivated at the idea alone... and with that, she was off.
Ricochet sighed heavily and walked back over to Echo.
"What was that about?" She asked, as though she didn't have an idea already.
"Just Twilight being Twilight. You know how she gets." He laughed a little nervously. "Anyway, it's good to see you back up and on your hooves, Echo."
"Thanks, Ricky." She smiled a little. "I'm gonna miss my wings, but I think all things considered, my recovery has been outstanding."
He nodded. "You had us pretty scared there for a while."
"You were scared?" She let out a chuckle, "You have no idea how much it hurt when I woke up... I kinda wished I'd just died for a few minutes there... that is a scary thought to have."
He seemed to whimper a little. "I can imagine so." He tried to fight it, but couldn't anymore. He pulled her in for another hug, which she returned slowly.
"Hey, it's all right, Ricky. I'm gonna be fine, even if I can't fly anymore. You kept Scoot safe, and somehow kept Mother from turning all of this that you've built into rubble."
"Honestly, that's probably mostly Luna and Twilight."
"I'm sure you helped."
"Not really." He waved a hoof as he let her go. "Anyway, um... I don't really want to leave, but we finally have enough stone cut that I can start rebuilding the parts of the castle that have fallen apart over the years."
"Need any help?"
"Do you know how to make valite?"
She winced. "Nah, they never really taught us that."
"Then don't worry about it. I'll be fine." He smiled and started walking off through the little village toward the castle. "I'll see you later, okay?"
"Yeah, see you, Ricky." She waved as he left.
Scoot leaned against Echo's side and raised an eyebrow. "Y'know, I don't know much about how this whole dating thing works, Mom, but I'm pretty sure he's nuts for you."
"Yeah. He is." She nodded.
"Ohhhh. So you're not nuts about him?"
"He's a sweet kid, Scoot, but he's closer to your age than he is to mine."
"Whoa, really?"
"Yeah, really." She smiled. "Besides, I really just never had much interest in romance, aside as a source of food."
"Freaky bug-mare." Scoot chided playfully and nuzzled Echo's neck.
"Speedy feather-butt." She chided back. She did have to wonder if Ricochet would be all right, though. He'd seemed thoroughly crushed by her rejection. He is kinda cute though. No! No, I can't be thinking like that. It's not fair to him. "Let's go get you some food, I can hear your stomach rumbling from here."
"All right, Mom!" She smiled and followed alongside Echo.
* * *
Ricochet flew the rest of the way once he was out of Echo's view, and came to rest at the stone quarry. Over the past couple weeks, he'd had crews of ponies with brand-new tools, and a few unicorns helping to cut stone bricks from the side of a nearby mountain. They had, Ricochet estimated, at least 300 cubic meters of granite carved out into bricks that were about 50 centimeters long, 25 centimeters wide, and 25 centimeters deep.
"Outstanding, mares and gentlecolts! Color me impressed." Ricochet smiled. Truthfully, a changeling hive would have accomplished this task in much less time, but he could tell these ponies were working their hardest and he wanted to give them some encouragement. "I'll be talking with the princess about getting each of you a little extra rations for your dinner tonight." There was a cheer that came from the workers, which only made Ricochet smile brighter. "Now then, let's see if we can't load these bricks up onto a cart and move them over to the castle so we can start patching up the areas that need it. How are we on mortar?"
"We've got three carts full of it, sir." Sawdust said proudly. With the amount of time that had gone by and the results Ricochet had managed to bring out from his crew, the changeling had garnered a great deal more respect from his forestallions. They no longer second-guessed any of his directions; he'd proven himself well enough that they had no reason to question his decisions. Even if it made no sense at the time, there was always a reason for it. Sometimes it just would take too long to explain, and was better to demonstrate.
"Excellent, that's fantastic, Sawdust. Let's get it all moving, shall we?"
"Aye sir. You heard the stallion, let's go everyone!" He clapped and turned around.
Things were coming together. Ricochet flew up a ways, so he could see the castle in the distance. Their little village was now appreciable even at this distance, two or three kilometers away. Smoke rose from chimneys, the faint distant sound of village life rang through the thick Everfree air, and aside from looking like it was a few centuries behind the times...
He was proud of what he'd put together.
Once their new capital was finished, then he could start worrying about how he was going to help them recapture their old one.
