A Changeling's Confession [Concluded]

[DerpRavener]

This was it.  Anything that needed to be done was done, except the announcement itself, Naj had almost completed what she set out to do.  She had a letter confirming her presence was allowed in Equestria from one princess, and received formal allowance to make her announcement from another.  Sadly Princess Twilight had been called away by something urgent toward the end of their meeting.  Naj supposed she could have waited, coming back another day when the princess was available once again.  It wouldn't sit right getting this far to leave it waiting however, and what's more she was worried that she'd lose her nerve if she let it sit.

 

 

 

 

Now if only she could get herself to actually open her mouth.

 

 

Naj had chosen a spot off to the side of Ponyville's main square.  It was a little more exposed than she found entirely comfortable, and getting from there to the Everfree Forest if things when south could be a challenge.  She wouldn't be able to speak to Ponyville from some secluded, out-of-the-way area.  And she could still get to some alleyways fairly easily.  It would have to do.

 

 

Naj currently had the appearance of a possibly-familiar, maroon pegasus.  She hadn't been using it lately, having tried to be a little more open about her species.  She hadn't used this one in a little while.  She wasn't entirely sure why, but she felt like she was going to miss it.

 

 

 

 

 

Naj shook her head.  She was distracting herself, watching the ponies walk past, each on their own business.  There wasn't an especially large number around right now, by the look of things.  Why would there be?  For most of them, this was no particular occasion.  It was just as well, Naj was struggling enough as is.

 

 

She was taking too long trying to figure out how to do this, she internally chastised herself, at this rate she would never get it done.

 

 

 

 

 

Naj took a breath.  “Uhh...attention everyone!”  She called out.  Not every pony in the wandering the streets started paying attention, but a good number of heads did turn her direction.  A couple of them might have even recognized her.  Only a few months ago this much attention would have been a horrible thing, and she hadn't entirely lost that instinct.  She took an involuntary step backwards-

 

 

Only to bump into Red Cedar, who'd been standing somewhat behind her.  He'd stuck with her, ready to offer any support he could give.  She smiled weakly at him, before turning back to the small crowd of curious ponies who's attention she'd caught and forced herself to speak.  “...I...I have something I need to say.”  She swallowed.  The moment she said this, there was no backing out.  “I am a changeling.”

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

 

[The connected OOC thread is here: http://www.canterlot.com/topic/21446-a-changelings-confession-ooc/

 

 

I plan to be pretty lenient about letting people join the thread, but I would like things to be run by me if anyone wants to try something more extreme.]

 

[Blueblood]

"For the last time, Psmith!  Are you going to tell me why we're here?"

 

That line had come out somewhat more petulant than Prince Blueblood had intended, but he and Ponyville had a... complicated past.  In his early days, of course, he would never so much as acknowledge the existence of such a small town.  Over the past few years, however, both he and it had changed.  The Prince had become less snobby, and the town had grown to comfortably accommodate an actual palace with an actual Princess!

 

Still, that didn't change the fact that every time he came here, something traumatic had befallen the alabaster unicorn.  The incidents ranged from being kidnapped and tortured by changelings, to having to do a day's hard labor at Sweet Apple Acres.  And yet, despite his protests, his secretary had booked tickets down the Friendship Express here to this crazy municipality, supposedly on some political business.

 

"All I shall say at present, sir, is that this is an effort I had spearheaded even before I was hired to be secretary for you, and IMAGINE, for that matter.  I believe it to be relevant to our ambitions at present, as it shall facilitate greater openness without Equestria and peace within our lands.  Such a thing, I said to myself, I cannot allow the illustrious House of Blueblood to miss!"

 

"Yes, yes..."  Blueblood waved a hoof, cutting off the dapper young stallion serving as his secretary.  He knew from personal experience that if Psmith were allowed, he would go on talking forever without saying anything very much.  Blueblood would just have to wait to find out, along with the rest of the town, what this was all about...

 

“Uhh...attention everyone!”  Not everybody turned, but Psmith suddenly stood at attention, and therefore the Prince did the same. “...I...I have something I need to say.  I am a changeling.”

 

 

"WHAT!?"  Forget petulant, that tone rose into a perfect shriek!  Still, when you consider that his last substantial interaction with Naj's kind was being captured in their last invasion, and forced to literally go through his worst nightmares so they could harvest an entire range of emotions from him... well, he had a little flashback.

 

Now, had this been so much as a few months ago, his Royal Highness would have cowered in a heap at the recollection.  Time, however, and repeated doses of adventure and adrenaline, had cultivated in him an actual spine, which now kicked into gear.  He bolted into a gallop, and would have charged Naj's booth had not Psmith tripped him up with a subtly interjected hoof.  "Wagh!"  The unicorn collapsed into a dusty heap, but he was up and spitting sand in no time.  "And what in the name of Tartarus are you doing here, eh!?"

[PyroBlaze]

Flux was enjoying herself, as usual. Really, she enjoyed being in the town of Ponyville, it was a great place! All the ponies and the other various races that happened to be around were really friendly! Well, the majority were anyways. There always seemed to be those that were just grumpy guses all the time, but she didn't mind much. Usually she would try to make them feel better or something, but there was already a pony for that around here and she was too interested by the display happening nearby the town square to really notice.

 

The disguised changeling tilted her head a bit to the side at the sight of two familiar figures on the stage area. What were those two doing here? She was happy to see her friends again, but she had to wonder what they were doing up there. From what she had gathered so far, the fellow changeling didn't like to be the center of attention, and yet she was subjecting herself to just that.

 

Oh well, maybe she could go up there to help out! Flux was about to start bouncing her way over to the stage when Naj began to speak, calling for the attention of the people nearby. Not everybody looked, but most seemed to.

 

What the changeling said next almost made Flux fall backwards in surprise. Sure, she had already known about their shared species, but she hadn't been expecting her friend to reveal herself to the town like that. In fact, the statement brought with it a lot of surprised noises, including one from a stallion who the purple unicorn recognized. Turning towards the white stallion, Flux moved towards him, stopping nearby him.

 

"What? She's not doing anything wrong! What's wrong about her being here?" She asked, settling in front of Blueblood with a bit of a cross expression on her face. "Seriously, Bluey, not all changelings are bad, just like how not all ponies are good. Or any race for that matter."

[RedCedar]

Red had seen Naj nervous before, many times, each of them for good reasons, too. But this time, he was actually debating whether this was the worst he'd ever seen her. Standing just beside and behind her, close enough to be of help if she needed it, yet away enough so that it was obvious she was the one doing the talking, he thought she was holding up rather well, at first. He'd even let himself look over her current disguise, the one he had originally been most familiar with, when she went by the name 'Spring Breeze'. If this went well, this might be the last time he saw that form, even though it was the one that drew his attention to her in the first place, and yet it seemed that the end of the one life lived was meant to lead to the beginning of another.

 

He was brought out of his thoughts as Naj backed into him, as though unsure she could go through with it. He met her weak smile with a warm one, wanting to lend her the confidence she needed, the certainty he felt that she was doing the right thing, a very good thing. He leaned towards her ear and whispered, "I love you," softly. He felt he probably didn't say it enough, as she would have been well aware of it just by being a changeling, but now, he wanted her to hear it, too. As she stepped up again before the small crowd of ponies that had gathered, he smiled with pride as she announced, “...I...I have something I need to say. I am a changeling.”

 

He would only allow himself a second to admire her in the moment, however, as he quickly began looking through the crowd for any signs of trouble brewing. He unfortunately was not disappointed, either. A unicorn stallion had actually tripped over himself rushing towards Naj after her announcement, although it may also have been over the hoof of his aide, and only as Red had reached Naj's side in the same moment the unicorn had gotten into her face did he realize it was none other than a member of the nobility who had taken offense to her very presence. While Naj's legal status had been granted by the undisputed ruler of Equestria, that didn't mean a Prince somewhat lower in the hierarchy couldn't make their lives miserable.

 

Red was about to counter the Prince's question when another also came to Naj's defense. Red noted, with some irony, that it happened to be yet another changeling, but the Prince didn't need to know that, too, or he'd likely have a bigger fit. In any case, he wasn't certain about Flux's status like he was Naj's. After Flux had her say, however, Red found he couldn't keep silent. "Not that it's any business of yours, but what she is doing is making a new life for herself here, in Equestria, where she hopes to live in peace." he said, not bothering with any pretense of being deferential to an aristocrat.

[Zeig]

Ponyville was at times, he was slowly beginning to find out, an exceedingly difficult place to reside in.

After all, the relatively small town that nonetheless boasted a castle home to an Equestrian Princess - and the upstart purple one that had been the catalyst to the failed invasion, no less - was near bursting with Love that it was sometimes a challenge not to tackle the nearest well-to-do passerby and drain the Love right out of them. Granted, he'd slowly been working his way around Equestria, to less Love-filled places that didn't threaten to choke him with tantalizing substance, so his resistance was…improving. Now, even, he could wander the streets without turning his head in every single direction as sentiment after loving sentiment was poured out from one pony to the next.

It was too easy. How had they failed?

The question had nagged Fabled Archives ever since he had left the lands of the Empire, sometimes waning in moments of hunger and drought, other times rising so powerfully that it was all the Unicorn could do not to drop his disguise while he fed, simply to scare his pony victim into remembering the might of the Empire. Equestrians were so ill-equipped in these areas of the country, so lax and trusting, that Arc simply could not understand it - and the not understanding irritated him

Though, if he supposed at all, the weakness he sensed in Equestrians also proved their strength, a humiliating fact made known during the failed invasion. While Love made ponies reckless, careless, prone to harming both themselves and others - well. It also gave them strength, support, pillars to stand upon and against. Perhaps that was why Changelings were drawn to seek it out, to covet it, and to possess it for their own. To consume that Love, or -

Share in it.

The genial smile on his face never dropped even as the tan colored Unicorn mentally gnashed his teeth together, imagining a Changeling's head between them.

Traitors, they were often called. Deserters. Changelings who had fled the Empire after the failed invasion to seek out pony kind. Bad enough, but even worse, those Changelings that sought to join Equestria, turn their back on their homeland and pledge allegiance to another. Some did it for love, the most ridiculous of all things, claiming themselves a mate on which they could feed forever. Others, fearing the wrath of their Hive Queen for their own shortcomings and failures - or simply too proud for their own good, believing themselves better than the Hive.

If his disguise had been a Pegasus, his wings would have surely fluttered in agitation as Fabled Archives threw an appreciative glance towards a passing mare. Even an exile should have the sense to wander the wastes in shame, rather than commit themselves to the ones who'd thrown them from Canterlot.

“I am a changeling.”

…What.

As many in the small crowd had done, Arc slowed down his languid pace to a dead halt, widened eyes mimicked several ponies around him as they stared in tandem at the maroon Pegasus standing near one side of the main square. As if the moment had been rehearsed beforehoof, an eerie silence fell over the assembly, as if nopony dared move - though that moment was quickly broken by a sudden screech, followed by the furious stampeding of a white stallion towards the supposed Changeling. This break in stillness heralded a sudden rush of fervid whispers, gasps, and murmured conversation. Some of it neutral, some of it enraged, and Arc was quick to join in.

"A Changeling, here? In Ponyville?" he hissed with some alarm coating his voice towards the red stallion standing next to him. "I thought they'd all been driven out after the invasion?!" What the stallion said in response didn't matter - undoubtedly it ran along a similar vein of disbelief and worry - but the act of whispering and gossiping along with the crowd was needed as Arc bore his gaze into the maroon Pegasus.

Proclaiming her status as a Changeling in the very middle of Ponyville…with a stallion and a mare suddenly jumping to her defense against the white stallion. She was fully aware of her actions, of what they entailed. Of her loyalty.

In the unsteady and uneasy press of bodies moving through the crowd - some moving closer, others getting as far away as possible from the revealed Changeling - it was an entirely easy matter to change faces. In the blink of an eye, between one body passing in front and behind him to the next, the tan Unicorn was gone, replaced by a brown-colored Pegasus sporting two red portals as a cutie mark. Only the briefest hint of toxic green sparked around his hooves, and that too was quickly extinguished as the Pegasus took a small step forward through the crowd, coming to stand with the smaller group of ponies that had apparently decided to stay and see how this Changeling farce played out.

And if they demanded an REA procession be brought in from Canterlot to deal with this vagabond, well. Nowhere Nexus was sure he would have no qualms with that.
 

[SteelEagle]

 

 

Applejack valued little in her life if one didn't consider honesty something she valued greatly. It was the cornerstone of her existence, really. Well, if one wanted to extrapolate meanings. Honesty could mean that a pony looked inward and found who they really were before inflicting their own brand of awkward energy on the world and in doing so ensured that they played the role that made them happy and Equestria a better place. That was what a cutie mark was- honesty. This is who I am and what I am unique in and while there may be interpretation, the answer stares you in the face. Maybe it was simpler and she valued it because if there were no lies and she could be herself, and everypony could be themselves, nopony had to keep a running tally of their lies and who needed to know what. So maybe it wasn't some emotional need she was having fulfilled or some high minded idealism, but laziness that made her value honesty. She just didn't want to go through all the work of lying.

But she probably wasn't lazy. Otherwise today would have been an anathema in accordance with the rest of her 'lazy' life, as it involved a great deal of heavy labor. Today was the day she had set aside to make the new stand for the Apple family's Ponyville market based apple sales. The old stand was humble and did everything it needed to do, but over tie their needs had seen the stand become a limiting factor to their growth rather than an aid. So she had drawn the plans, gathered the materials, and spent the day actually making the darn thing. Hammers, saws, nails, screws- the whole shebang and more. New drawers, new banners and stenciling, the supports allowed for nearly four times as much product. Placement for seats to keep their legs from growing weary, and a small pressurized water pipe going to a set of aided sprinklers above so she could keep the product wet in the harsh summer.

She was finished. All was well. She was going to stop by The Watering Hole and get something to wash away the worries of the day. Long, hard day of work. Good day of work. The effort she put in would be repaid for a generation and would pay such dividends. She packed up her tools and started trotting home, walking past the center of town as- “I am a changeling.”

 

Applejack's head snapped to the sound of the voice, the words crawling on her pelt like a disease ravaging a body. Who was it? Who was the one who lived amongst those they lied to? Her nostrils flared. They had taken something from her, something she could never get back. She had been fooled, led away from safety, attacked, and fed upon by Chrysalis. She had nightmares. She had visions. She had found herself a hollow core being mined for precious emotion and she hadn't felt right since. It was hard to move on with your mind in tatters and your body betraying it, but she had done her best. Now there was that old pep in her step. A twinkle in her eye. All of that and more had been absent before. She was recovering, but it had done something she had never thought before.
 

It had engendered real honest to Celestia hate. She didn't want to. She tried to think her way through it, but she hated Changelings. Then she had fought them while in Task Force Suntrot and saw what they had done to those she cared about. More hate. She had found a way to support their right to live in Equestria- openly, mind you- despite this, but it was hard enough for most ponies to trust them. Most ponies didn't have her experiences with them. Most ponies didn't have good cause to hate them.
 

So who was it? No...not that one. Applejack approached, the betrayal and heartache evident in her eyes. Then something else- anger.
“What in the name of Celestia were ya doin' hiding out amongst all tha normal ponyfolk!? Don't you know that's what causes all this trouble in the first place! All this hidin' about- how don't I know you weren't feedin' on me an' mah own? Or tricked somepony so you could do it? H- UGGH. How DARE you!” She stomped up, “how dare you LIE! Yer kind always goes on 'bout how much love Equestria has but most of ya never take tha effort ta ask us openly. Always secrets an' lies with y'all! Dangit, Ah thought we could trust one another! What a foolish notion- how do Ah know this ain't a setup of some sort, huh? Why y'all revealing yerself now?

[DerpRavener]

All things considered, things were off to a good start.  Sure, her announcement had been met with a mixture of bewilderment, fear and confusion.  Naj guessed it was mostly the first one, maybe mixed with a healthy dose of the second.  A number of ponies had vacated the area with concerned expressions, but none had grabbed any torches or pitchforks yet.  It looked like Naj would get a chance to speak, at least.

 

Or maybe the crowd was just waiting for a leader.  It didn't take long for a tall, white unicorn to charge toward her.  He didn't make it far, being tripped by an extended hoof belonging to a familiar face, which she hadn't seen for some time.  Naj had no time to catch up however, as the unicorn had already recovered.  He seemed to have lost his momentum but not his attitude, and he quickly demanded Naj's reason for being here.

 

Naj was still trying to work up to replying when a pair of ponies came to her defence.  Or at least, one of them was a pony, specifically the pony who had come with her.  The other was, surprisingly enough, the only changeling she'd made and kept contact with since her exile.

She couldn't help but worry about it.  Setting aside the fact that part of the point of her being here was to address such things, of all the people who could come to her assistance, to an outside observer the would likely be the most suspicious.  One was a pony she had already spent several months with, and the other was actually another changeling in disguise.  If the latter were to be discovered...

Still, despite her concerns she was thankful for the help.  It gave her a moment to recover.

 

Which she desperately needed, it turned out, as next to approach was a familiar orange earth pony.

An old fear of Naj's suddenly sprung to life, mingling with the more recent ones.  This was an encounter she had been dreading, ever since that Winter Wrap Up all those months ago, torn between thinking it inevitable and hoping it never occurred.  Leaving Ponyville meant she'd almost escaped it.  Almost.

 

Applejack began ranting at her, not quite yelling, about how changelings intruded into the lives of perfectly good ponies, lying, tricking and ultimately feeding on them.  The farmpony demanded to know just what Naj was up to, and particularly why now.

Naj took another involuntary step backwards.  She wasn't up to something, but there was no way she could prove that.  And she'd seen first-hoof what Applejack could do to a group of changelings when angry, she didn't want to think about what she might do to just one.  Given how betrayed the farmpony sounded, Naj was expecting violence at any moment.  And she wasn't sure she would survive it if it did.  She was prepared to make a break for it, it might be her only chance.

 

No, Naj reminded hersel, she could get through this.  This was why she was here, to clear the air.  She just had to speak.

Her mouth didn't open, and she continued to stare wide-eyed at the pony confronting her.

Speak.

...

Speak!

 

“...That's...that's the idea,” she eventually managed, though it was barely a mumble at first.  “No more lies.”  She gained a little confidence as she spoke, but her voice never rose above a loud whisper.  “I-I lived in Ponyville for several months, but then I mostly left.  I only had one thing left to do.”  She swallowed.  “S-so, if you don't like it, just wait a day.  Then you'll never have to see me again, disguise or no.”

She hoped that placated Applejack.  As it was, she stood stock still, it taking every ounce of strength to not flee in terror.

 

And distracted as she was, she had no hope of noticing the unicorn be replaced by a pegasus, and then lurk in the crowd.

[Blueblood]

The Prince, injured in nothing but his dignity, was nonetheless gritting his teeth like a stallion in pain.  Setting aside the initial panicked reaction, he wasn't exactly sure what he could do to put a stop to this nonsense.  After all, this... thing had defenders in the crowd; defenders who were no respecters of a noblepony, nor what trauma that noble might have suffered at the hands of love-suckers.  Nevertheless, he was not without reply to the purple unicorn, who trotted out the old argument of, 'they're not so different from us.'

 

"Oh, really now?  Well, then tell me if you can name anypony who in all of Equestrian history has engaged in the kind of cruelty of which changelings are capable.  Isolating the worst fears of your prisoners, and subjecting them to a subjective eternity in a nightmare!  I should think there were some things a pony was not obligated to tolerate!"  Blueblood's voice was high and heavy, his eyes twitching.  This was a pony on the verge of a public freakout, which would have shattered his dignity forever.  It was a mark of his genuine feeling how close he was to not caring what such an outburst would mean for his public image.

 

Speaking of outbursts, the Prince found himself with support from an unexpected quarter.  Of all the ponies to take his side, Applejack had to be his polar opposite in every way.  But, if her words and tone were anything to go by, she too had suffered at their porous hooves.  He nodded in support of her questions, not that the earth pony mare saw it.  Instinctively, he found himself drifting closer to her.  If some nefarious plot was indeed going down, it would be best to stick by a physically capable pony...

 

It was in the midst of this situation that the self-proclaimed "observer of life and ponies" decided to leave off observation and take up action!  Wordsworth Psmith, secretary to IMAGINE and Prince Blueblood, and friend of Naj and Red, stepped forward to stand beside her, addressing the crowd.  "I believe it is time that we interjected clarity into this discussion, comrades!"  With a glow of magic, he pulled out a parchment scroll bearing the signature of Princess Celestia herself.  "Comrade Naj here is the pioneering member of our new initiative to pacify, or at least dilute, the threat changelings pose to Equestria.  They are currently ruled, as you know, by a power-mad war-mongering Queen of dubious provenance.  What then, is our solution?  To erode her power.  How do we do so?  By offering an alternative to her subjects.  Cease aggression, and you will cease to starve.  Cease deceiving, and you shall cease to need to."

There was a long pause, and murmuring amongst the crowd as they digested the information.  Psmith waited a bit before continuing, catching the look of stunned astonishment in his boss' face.  "You are surprised, I see.  You wonder why our Princess would agree to such a proposal.  I ask you to consider the alternatives.  Either we live as we are, constantly paranoid and driven by such stress to early and unrestful graves, or we engage in bitter war, which would make us either conquered slaves, or conquering monsters.  Is that the Equestrian way?  No, comrades, it is not!  We do not descend to barbarities, no matter the tactics of our enemies."

[PyroBlaze]

Flux gave a look back at Red and Naj as the stallion spoke in defense of his lover, drawing a small smile onto the 'unicorn's' face. They really were great together, she didn't need changeling senses to see that. She imagined that for Naj the relationship felt like she did when she was with Vinyl at that rave.

 

Of course, the happy little moment was ruined as a mare spoke up, going on a bit of a rant. Flux frowned a bit as she turned towards the voice, though she couldn't see who had spoken from her position on the ground in front of the prince. Just as well, as Naj spoke up in her own defense in response to the mare. That left the disguised changeling the opportunity to turn her attention back to the prince as he once again spoke.

 

"Well, I hear that Sombra guy wasn't very nice." She said simply, frowning at the stallion. "Besides, just because you don't hear about many bad ponies doesn't mean they don't exist. As for changelings, desperation can drive anyone to do anything, I think."

 

And then there was another stallion speaking up, one she could see, since he was nearby the prince anyways. Thankfully, this one was on Naj's side with her, though his wording left something to be desired for her... Oh well, help was help.

 

"Yeah! What would you prefer? Trying to make peace, or war? Personally, war doesn't sound very fun. Besides, how are things supposed to change for the better between ponies and changelings if nobody is willing to try?" She said, giving a nod and a smile to the supporting stallion.

[RedCedar]

All in all, this could have been going a lot better.

 

On the Prince's demand for examples of ponies who were as sadistic as he supposed changelings were, Red himself could think of at least a couple just from recent memory. Flux went ahead and voiced one of them. "I doubt Nightmare Moon had everypony's best interests in mind, either." Red commented dryly. He was about to go on, except there was a long spiel from the Prince's aide, who Red only now realized was Wordsworth Psmith. Well, that was a relief, in some way. Not only did he do an admirable job in explaining Naj's legal standing in Equestria, for those who may have doubted it, but Red also hoped Psmith's long winded ways of speaking actually provided the break some ponies needed to calm down while digesting what it was that Psmith had said.

 

And if anyone needed the time to calm down, it looked to be Applejack.

 

Red tried very hard not to let the absurdity of the farm pony's words bring out the sarcasm in him. Here she was angrily demanding why Naj had stayed undercover while in Ponyville, seemingly oblivious to the irony that her own reaction to Naj now was probably the very reason. Red would probably laugh about it behind Applejack's back when he and Naj were safely on a train back to Stalliongrad, but that didn't help the situation now when she was right in front of their faces, still visibly livid.

 

Naj at least held out some sort of consolation for Applejack, that if she didn't like that Naj was revealing herself as a changeling and agree that it was better late than never, then at least Applejack would never have to endure her presence in Ponyville again. Red, however, wasn't about to be as conciliatory, not when he knew the lengths Naj had gone to to try and fit into life in Ponyville at great risk to her safety. Looking straight at Applejack, he asked, "Would you have treated her any better then if she had? Perhaps if she had stayed away she wouldn't have felt the need to risk her life helping to plant your farm during Winter Wrap-Up."

[Zeig]

[[ Current Disguise ]]

Ah-hah. There it was.

That Equestrian spirit of friendship and acquaintanceship that seemed to exist in equal parts unity and discord. That sense of, well-wishing and generous harmony that clashed with dominance and elitism. It was unendingly amusing to watch these sort of confrontations, two sides of Equestria at war with each other and itself, seeped into individual cities and towns and the very marrow of their beings.

But of course, Nexus favored the former side of things. How could he not? Friendship, generosity, acceptance - all such feelings led to a more Loving filled community, whereas fear and distance produced the opposite. Lucky for him - for the Empire - that the loving side of Equestria won out more oft than not, for if it didn't, he would have had no business sleuthing about this country.

His desire for the product, however, did not diminish his distaste for the required precursor. The fact that those few ponies so immediately jumped to the Traitor's defense, spouting nonsense of this, Naj, meaning no harm and all species being equal and other such gibberish...the very idea was grating on his good senses. How could a species deny its biological function? Pegasi flew, Unicorns performed magics, Earth Ponies communed with the ground - and Changelings were parasites, feeding off Love to sustain themselves. It was simple fact.

And that, perhaps, was the most grating of all, how this...Naj...wished to throw away her heritage, her core, her allegiance. She wished to live amongst ponykind, expressed how utterly similar she was to the ponies questioning her merit. That she was no different, no better than they.

The nerve. As if Changelings were equaled by weak-willed ponies that simpered and whinged at each other. Such was the mind of a Traitor.

"But they lie in the first place," Nowhere Nexus blustered as he finally inserted himself into the conversation, tone suggesting that the red stallion's remark was simply too much for him to keep quiet any longer - though, he took a sudden step backwards, as if he hadn't consciously made the decision to speak up. A flicker of embarrassment swept across his features, but he was already involved, expression becoming a little more determined. "I mean to say," he continued, re-inflating with confidence at the orange mare and white stallion's sides, "that is. They go around in disguises all the time, instead of being honest about wanting to live in Equestria in the first place."

Which was, so ridiculous a concept that Nexus still couldn't honestly believe how some Changelings had been able to secure passes from Equestrian royalty. Friendship and acquaintanceship indeed. Add to that the fact that their Princess felt it justifiable to allow Changelings simply to wander about her country - as if her citizens would not at all be affected by a creature of nightmare trotting up to them for a "how do you do" - it was a wonder more confrontations of this nature didn't crop up.

Probably because any sane Changeling had the good sense to remained disguised.

Any loyal Changeling, too.

"We might've welcomed them," Nexus pushed onward, though his words were thread with a little hesitance, like a young foal simply repeating back what he'd been told rather than what he truly believed, "or we...well, we might not've. But - but how will we ever know? They lie their way into our communities, and then expect us to just be okay with...with this!" A somewhat wild wave of one hood at the maroon Pegasus emphasized his point, confidence and self-righteousness once again making him stand up straighter next to those ponies he knew supported him. "They don't, 'cease deceiving', they just keep on doing it!"

[SteelEagle]

 

It wasn't often that Applejack found her sense of community and love faltering, but she couldn't help it here. It wasn't on account of her thinking this one Changeling was some special case of evil, no, not at all. It would be better and easier to climb a hurdle if it was. Prejudice born of ignorance or lies, prejudice born of misconception and deception, these were easy things to try and fix. Easy things to try and overcome, because once perceptions were found incorrect, new information could so easily be used to build a foundation so solid and strong that a pony was lucky to count themselves amongst a nation of so many different types. Prejudice born out of malice wasn't something so easily defeated, but it still wasn't that hard. She'd done it for vampire fruit bats, and those had almost ended her farm.

But changelings were different. Her prejudice was fresher than others. Many had been given opportunities to decompress after the attack on Canterlot. Their relations with the Changelings had a chance to grow. Applejack? Applejack had never been given such a chance. First it was Nightmare Night, when her form had been taken so little foals and fillies could be lured to their doom. You didn't recover quite so easily when the eyes of little ones sparked with fright and terror when they saw you, associated as you were with the worst development of their life. Then there was her time in Task Force Suntrot, when she had not only fought Changelings, but had seen what some like Sachadara had planned for ponies they caught. There was no words for the nightmare Applejack had dragged them from.

Most powerfully, they hadn't been captured by Chrysalis and then burned out of love, drained empty of emotion itself, a violation of everything that can identify a pony. It had taken her seemingly eons to recover. And in that time? In that time she may as well have been dead. She was nothing but a body. The farm nearly burned down and she didn't help save it. Apple Bloom had broken a hoof and she didn't care. She nearly lost her coltfriend. There was nothing in her but a cold, empty shell, with the laughing, cackling feeding of Chrysalis ringing through the empty corridors of her soul. No, Applejack's prejudice was nothing like the others. It was born of repeated experiences of terror, hate, and fear. If anypony had gone through the events she had, they'd have been mad not to turn out the same.

For all of that though, she wasn't asking for Naj to be banished. She wasn't asking for him to be strung up and tarred and feathered, tossed in a cell, or used as a personal bucking pole. She was asking for something she considered basic Equestrian decency. And, more importantly, she was letting them know full bore how far they had to come. “If Naj was so afraid of how Equestrians would act, then Naj shouldn't have picked Equestria ta live in. Ya live here in Ponyville? You be honest. Nopony stopped 'em from attending Cranky's wedding, did they? I'd much rather know who is who than have ta guess, because that's where tha lyin' takes place,” Applejack shot at Cedar before turning back to Naj.
“Y'all wanna start livin' honest like now? Good on you, but don't act as if mah trust is somethin' you deserve off tha bat. Yer gonna have ta earn it. Ah've been burned by y'all's kind too many times and had ta go through so much pain on account of it, Ah'm not gonna give ya tha benefit of tha doubt. You'll have ta prove ta me that yer doing what yer sayin' yer doing. That you are what yer sayin' you are. Ah'm not gonna let what Chrysalis did ta me happen to anypony in Ponyville, period. Got that?” Applejack said, her stern, steely demeanor finally starting to fade.

“Ah've got a harvest ta get to. Bigger than usual. If anypony-ling- is interested, we're sellin' em' twenty percent off for tha next week. Stop by tha booth or Sweet Apple Acres if ya want any....bah,” Applejack said, her drawl heavier than normal as she pulled the brim of her hat lower. It was a good way to cover the slight welling of the eyes, as the memories of what happened with Chrysalis came flooding back.

“Y'all need to calm down. Ah don't like it one bit, not no more, but tha Princesses allow it. If he wants to live openly, let'm start earning our trust again. 'Sides, Ah think Twilight's finally getting that transformation detection spell patted down. Once she does- well, noling'll be able ta live in secret amongst ponies unless they're all registered like. Gosh, it's just so disappointing though. Why hide? Live among us openly. Ah'm not prancing about with a horn or some wings. So dang silly,” Applejack said off-hoof to the animated white-maned, dull-colored pegasus. “Just seems like maybe the Princesses should make it that they can live among us with no disguises is all.”

[DerpRavener]

Red and Flux were quick to interject at Blueblood's question, quickly thinking up a few ponies who'd wanted to spread something other than sunshine and happiness.  Which was good, as whether it was her limited experience in Equestria or her current mental state Naj wasn't coming up with anything.

That proved to be beside the point when Wordsworth spoke up again.  Using Princess Celestia's letter of endorsement as proof, he suggestion what Naj thought was the most compelling counterargument, that the best way to fight the Chrysalis' kingdom was to 'kill it with kindness' so to speak.  Of course Naj thought that Equestria should take measures to defend themselves, but being in a constant state of conflict could cost them either their freedom or their ideals.

 

Not everypony in the crowd was convinced however.  A brown pegasus that Naj didn't recognize stepped forward to make his own perspective clear.  He didn't like the idea that changelings were regularly in disguise.  He seemed to be arguing that it was an issue of trust, that one couldn't trust a species to whom disguise and lying came naturally.

Naj understood the concern, but also thought his response to the issue put things backwards.  Sure, it could be hard to trust someone you knew spent a lot of time in disguise.  But if you threw them out, or harassed them for it, wouldn't you just be pushing them deeper into hiding?  Then you'd have to be even more paranoid, which would push them further into hiding, etc...

 

All that consideration happened in the back of Naj's mind though.  For the moment she had a much larger concern, a certain orange earth pony.  After snapping at Red, the farmpony turned back to Naj, staring down the currently disguised changeling, and promptly asserted that Naj would have to earn any trust she wanted.  Expecting the worst, Naj braced.  And then relaxed slightly and blinked in surprise when she realized what had actually been said.

 

And here she had thought she was going to be run out of town.  It wasn't exactly forgiveness, but tolerance was a lot better than what Naj had expected.  The hope was hesitant, and slow to build, but it was starting to look like she just might make it through this without being run out of town.  She was still struggling, but she managed to mumble out, “...s'all I want...”  She'd like it of course, but she would hardly expect to be everyone's friend right away.  Especially given the last few major things changelings had done, all Naj really wanted was a chance.

 

And then Applejack walked away, but not before that anyone interested could stop by her booth or farm within the week, specifically including changelings.  She also took a moment to chastise the pegasus who spoke up about keeping changelings away, though she lamented and wondered why the princesses hadn't made it so they can live openly.

 

Well, that was the thing wasn't it?  “I don't think any amount of royal decrees will make that happen...not alone.”  Naj spoke after the leaving earth pony, her confidence starting to return.  The Princesses could make as many rules as they liked, but that wouldn't change ponies' ability to accept a species that was previously their enemy.

 

Naj had relaxed significantly having survived Applejack, she was still shaking a little but it was down to an easily manageable level.  She was still shaking a little, but it was manageable.  Clearly the audience wasn't entirely convinced, and that lead Naj to think she should say a little more.  She took a breath.  “...That's a big part of why I'm here."  She looked around the assembled ponies, giving a particularly focused look at the pegasus.  “I don't want to hide all the time.  I want to be able to be open about my species.  But I can't get anywhere just by hiding...waiting for someone to make a decree.”  She shook her head.  “That won't change anypony's mind.”

 

“Besides...” she looked straight at the pegasus this time, “w-wouldn't I have proven your point by not coming here, instead of stepping forward?”

[Blueblood]

The name of Princess Celestia carried a lot of weight with ponies, including Prince Blueblood.  Enough to silence indignant protests, though from the look on his face, Naj could probably guess that he was going to have words with Auntie later.  The stallion was visibly fuming, in fact, but he didn't interrupt any of the proceedings.  What could he say that wasn't already being said?  Between the Pegasus in the crowd, and Applejack, all of his protests were being made for him, and silenced in their turn.

 

Wordsworth Psmith noted the discomfited look on his employer's face, but did nothing to alleviate it.  Instead, he turned his attention to engaging the crowd.  Though silenced, it was still leery.  "I understand, comrades, that you are wondering why this is all happening now; while Naj has been here in disguise longer.  The fact of the matter is, it took some time to adjust the immigration codes to allow for legal residences.  Also, we had to make sure that it was entirely possible for a changeling to live upon love in a non-parasitic way.  As Comrade Cedar here will testify, the experiment was a complete success!  No doubt he will be happy to answer any questions you have upon that front."

 

Thus smiling at the earth pony stallion, Psmith bowed out of the limelight, allowing the couple to take the stage.

[PyroBlaze]

Flux frowned a little bit at the pegasus that came forward and spoke, complaining about how changelings would disguise themselves in the first place. Really, what would they expect after the Canterlot invasion? 

 

"Really? would you accept a race that had just tried to invade the capital? At the time, it was probably necessary for her to be disguised." She said to the pegasus stallion, looking at him. As Naj began speaking to him as well, the 'unicorn' looked back at her friend and gave a small nod. She remained quiet for a little bit, her eyes drifting back towards the pegasus. 

 

After a few moments, she shrugged and looked back to Blueblood, smiling a bit at his expression and his lack of words. The orange mare had left already, leaving only two outspoken ponies against what Naj was doing against the four outspoken supporters. It all seemed to be going well so far, so that was good.

[RedCedar]

And then there was this pony. Some pegasus deciding that the fact a changeling didn't immediately reveal herself made her somehow untrustworthy regardless of what she was doing right here and now in front of everypony. Red didn't know what he liked less, his insinuations which proved he didn't have a clue about what kind of fear must have been involved in living in a society that regarded you as an enemy, or the dismissive hoof he waved in front of Naj's face.

 

It did, however, have an effect on Applejack. She actually backed Naj up to this other pegasus, sort of, but not before making her own feelings clear again. Red realized he had underestimated the reason Applejack felt the way she did about changelings, as she suggested she had had a much closer encounter with some of them than she ever would have wanted. All the same, her words made it quite clear to him that she would have much preferred that no changeling chose to make their home in Equestria at all. Red wasn't sure what to make of her trailing off into a ramble about her farm's harvest, though. That seemed an odd way to go about making a point, whatever her point was.

 

Well, regardless, he had a point to make, too. Naj was trying her best to give a rational explanation for her actions, and doing admirably well, considering she was still visibly intimidated by the ponies confronting her now. Flux had summed it up herself, but Red felt there was more to say about it. "And just how do you expect a changeling to be open when this is the reaction they can expect? Before Naj was allowed to stay there was no precedent for a changeling living in Equestria. If they had no where else to go, where they could survive, how else are they going to live? Do you have any idea the level of fear involved in living among creatures who consider you an enemy, day after day, week after week, needing to be close but unable to get too close, because one slip means you are arrested, or jailed, or worse?" He took in a breath as he looked Applejack square in the eye. "Why don't you ask her what it feels like to risk your life just to get closer to somepony? I'm sure you'll get an honest answer then!" he said, with an air of finality.

 

Calming himself down a little, he added, "Right now, the only thing stopping her from walking around in her normal form is the reactions of ponies like yourselves, and I'd say you've just ensured she won't for a long time to come." Taking a deep breath, he took a little satisfaction in the fact that at least the Prince had been quieted through all this, though he was hoping giving these ponies some food for thought made them forget about Psmith's insinuations about how Naj was keeping well fed without being a literal drain on anypony.

 

He was starting to see Naj's point of view. It would be better, at least right now, if it wasn't society's business.

[Zeig]

[[ Current Disguise ]]

Oh-ho, it was almost too, easy.

Nothing more than a chagrined grimace passed through Nexus' face as the various assembled ponies both supported and rebuffed him - mostly the later, he was both pleased and incensed to note - even if Nexus wanted nothing more than to grin. As insufferable as the random cries of love! and tolerance! were that ricocheted from the mouths of those too weak-willed to do anything other than accept whatever was given them, they also provided interesting insight into their minds.

What little there were to be had, that was.

It seemed as if his first theory had been correct after all. These ponies felt that any species, no matter their relation to Equestrians, simply had the right to claim a false citizenship to their country, and that any who opposed that right were, simply put, wrong. A Changeling could, after a failed invasion that had traumatized many of their friends and loved ones, simply invite themselves into Equestria, and loathe to those who disagreed with it. Never mind that the Changeling was undoubtedly putting members of their own species in constant paranoia and fear, and heartache of remembrance, no! That Changeling deserved to live in Equestria, and a plague on all those ponies were found the idea reprehensible.

The utter arrogance of these ponies! It was such a controversial side to what he'd already seen of Equestria, that had he been any lesser, Nowhere Nexus might have stood gaping in shock. Not to mention how clearly they had missed the point he'd been trying to make. As it was, Nexus stood there gaping in shock, mouth hanging open as if he were entirely surprised by the venomous and visceral scolding he'd just received.

"A-And why should I?" Nexus blubbered, with just a touch of hysteria coating his voice from having been ganged up on for speaking his mind. "Why should any of us have to just - just do what you all decide we should do? You say she lives in fear - but what about us? Don't care for our feelings or, or what memories you might be forcing us to relive. So long as you get what you want, huh?!" Crying was abnormal, a feat he'd been slowly working on replicating on cue. But for the moment, the tell pinpricks of water at the very corners of his eyes was enough, reddening them as if he were struggling to contain everything in.

Flushing however, that was a bit easier, and a pale flush rose up his neck and over his ears, embarrassed from the almost emotional outburst. Ah-hah. Nexus unconsciously shrunk inwards towards the orange Earth Pony, wing scrunched tight against his side as if he were trying to make himself smaller, and he took more strength from the orange pony's disapproval than the white stallion. Well, at least the stallion was still in his right mind, even if he had nothing else to contribute to the conversation.

Nor did anyone else, it seemed. The orange Earth Pony herself, clearly the most emotionally invested of the dissenters, had simmered down, turned around, deflated like a particularly wrung out source of Love. Disappointing. Still, Nexus nodded his head along with her off-hooved remarks, sharing in her fear and disquiet and sorrow.

Lucky for him.

Not even the barest hint of emotion interfered with the blatant distress already fixed on his expression, but despite everything, that infernal spike of surprise was the most unwelcome revelation in the entire charade.

'Detection Spell, for the love of Chrysalis.'

Twilight...the purple Alicorn, the one that had spearheaded the defeat of the Changeling invasion of Canterlot. If she had never found the pink Alicorn, their overpowering Love would have never been activated to throw them out of the capitol city. Nexus knew, from all reports, that this purple Alicorn was a uniquely gifted magic user, and if she were in the process of perfecting a transformation detection spell -

Dungbeetles.

Invention was still a long ways away from mass production, but the information alone was enough to have. For now. He would need to send word back to the Hive immediately - the Queen would undoubtedly find someway to counteract whatever spell the purple one could conjure. That was an entire colony of issues for another day.

...At the present however, there was still one issue that needed addressing.

It was obvious that the arguments had been made, and the dissenters had so arrogantly made their stance clear, lovelessly casting aside the comfort of their own species for one Changeling. Nexus drew in a deep shuddering breath to collect himself, and even half-turned to leave the infuriating ensemble and head back into the town proper - but he shuddered to a halt, almost against the will of his own body, before slowly turned back around.

"No," he said softly, almost a whimper as he faced the maroon Pegasus who'd directed her last words towards him, "no, that doesn't prove anything. You're still...you're still doing it. Hiding. Lying." With a furtive glance at the red stallion, who seemed the most fervent in his misguided support of her, Nexus turned back to face the Changeling fully, still scrunched in to himself but meeting her gaze squarely. "But you can start...earning, trust," and this, with a small nod towards the orange pony who'd spoken those words, "right now. Prove you mean it. Show us the t-truth."

Even as he spoke the words, his voice cracked, and Nexus retreated back into the orange Earth Pony's side, as if he were scared to see an undisguised Changeling up close despite the request. And it was not an unreasonable request to make. All these ponies were essentially demanding others to both get over their fears, and simply accept that a hostile foreign species straight from several ponies' nightmares was living amongst them.

The least she could do was show her true form, even if it were only for this one instance.

[DerpRavener]

Naj shot Flux a sidelong glance as the latter spoke.  Naj appreciated the other changeling's efforts, but she had to wonder if bringing up the invasion was really the best idea.  It was an important issue to be sure, and Naj had a number of things to say on it, but it might be hard to convince an anxious populace that she didn't mean any harm through that particular example.

 

Of the ponies helping her out, Red had what Naj thought was the best argument so far.  And it helped by being indisputably true.  She was starting to acclimatize to the proceedings somewhat, she was shaking less and speaking slightly more confidently, but the whole prospect of this was terrifying.

Still, that too might need some elaboration.  Naj could have stayed hidden, living peacefully and imperceptibly among Equestrian society.  In many respects, this wasn't so much about her specifically as it was about changelings as a whole, and simply that changelings get scared too seems a bit weak to convince the crowd to give changelings a chance.

 

And then there was that pegasus.  Naj cringed a little as he spoke, and shrunk a little.  She was misguided at the time, but she had likely contributed to this attitude at one point, and she didn't like the idea of hurting ponies without a very good reason.  This was also a big reason why she often still used what was technically a disguise, even when she made it easy to see through and was open about her species.  A lot of ponies had gotten hurt, and changelings were a symbol of that for many.

 

But as Naj listened, a thought struck her.  Sending away changelings like that wouldn't get all changelings out of Equestria, it would only get the ones that either didn't want to hide, or weren't very good at it.  The worst, most dangerous ones would still be able to get in, and maybe even some that were trying to make right or were on the fence would be forced back into taking love rather than earning it.  This pegasus would be putting himself in more danger and he didn't even realize it.

He needed protection.

This thought galvanized Naj, at least enough to make a reply.  “S-so, you want the only changelings in Equestria to be the ones that lie?  The ones, most likely to try and hurt somepony?”  She wasn't able to get too far into that discussion, but it was a start.  Hopefully it would at least clue him in to the flaw in his reasoning.

 

The pegasus almost left there, but he had one more thing to say: if Naj wanted to earn their trust, this pegasus wanted her to show her natural form.

Huh?  Naj blinked.  It was a weird request coming from this guy.  Up until now, wasn't his whole idea that he DIDN'T want to see any changelings?  Naj would have guessed he'd want her to stay in disguise, if he expected seeing a changeling to dredge up bad memories.  It was weird enough demand to stand out in her mind, though for the moment she didn't think it was relevant to anything.  Ponyville contained all sorts after all.

 

Naj watched him for a moment, wondering just what he was hoping to get out of this, before slowly nodding.  This hadn't been her plan, and she was a little anxious about suddenly revealing her natural form.  At the same time, she couldn't see how it could be that bad either.  She'd already made it clear she was a changeling, and while she admitted her natural appearance could be frightening to some, in this case it would be like...reading a horror novel with the ending spoiled.  A little disturbing perhaps, but hardly shocking.

 

Naj hesitantly nodded.  “...Alright...if that's what you really want...”  Naj was briefly covered in green flames, and then where a maroon pegasus once stood there was now an ordinary changelings drone, in the exact same position and pose.  She watched the crowd anxiously, to see how they took in this turn of events.

[Blueblood]

While he had lately been taking an increasingly active role in the political realm, Psmith never regarded himself as a pony of action in his heart of hearts.  Words were his talent and tools, and observation of life his favored hobby.  Interferences and interventions were mere occasional larks in his mind, no matter how impactful they might seem to those around him.  

 

Hence, he regarded all the proceedings with a somewhat incongruent expression of amused surprise, as if this all was a show put on for his entertainment.  One might have even suspected that he'd argued in favor of Celestia's decree for no other reason than to stir up provincials and make them dance.  That accusation would have been an injustice to his overall motivations, but there was some degree of truth in it.  In any case, he regarded the proceedings as a particularly lax debate moderator would, feeling it all as fun and games until somepony lost an eye.  Or a whole head, for that matter.

 

 

Speaking of which, Blueblood came very near to losing his own when Naj suddenly dropped her disguise.  There sprang from his throat a strangled shriek as suppressed memories of being a prisoner of war flashed back all at once...

*The sticky sensation of goop around his body, filling in all his mouth and nose, stifling screams...

The laughter as the disguised Twilight Sparkle revealed herself as the twisted Sachadara...

Being moved like a marionette, used to frighten a young filly in a staged nightmare...

Condemned to his own fears, of total loneliness, obscurity, and unrelieved pain, for a subjective time that promised no end...*

 

The Prince's knees buckled, and he stumbled forward in a scrabbling attempt not to eat dirt.  He kept his head down, not daring to look.  It might have seemed an exaggerated display, if you weren't close enough to hear him whimpering.  "Please... please no more... not again...." 

 

The stallion had been through an experience every bit as traumatizing as Applejack's, but his mind and character were by no means so strong...

[Ciraxis]

"Maybe I still have time..." a figure wearing black coat thought to himself as he hurried towards the center of Ponyville.

 

What is she thinking?! That it will make her situation...better somehow? Not at all, not until titanic amount of effort. To change a view, even if just towards herself she would probably need to work for the rest of her life. To atone for sins she didn't even committed.....

 

A cloaked stallion stopped in the middle of the road when his pondering met that thought. The ponies that passed on his left and right acted as if they didn't noticed him. And they didn't, the special nature of his garment prevented anypony from seeing him without prior knowledge of his presence. And even if he would be noticed, the hood draped over his head made the features indescribable.

 

Was could be reason for exposing herself like that? He knew that ..Naj....no...not Naj but Spring was vastly different from other changelings. She wasn't a mindless or malicious drone. The set of circumstances set her on the path she was now, yes. But from then on it was her choices.

 

Maybe it was that freedom that she enjoyed? The freedom of choice and all that came with it. Was she trying to distance herself from the Hive, the structure known for their lies and secretive machinations? As the female that lived almost her whole life under the belief that her true herself had to be hidden, from any other living being that as not a changeling. And now that she had founded somepony that accepted her for who she was, no matter the background or appearance.....perhaps that made existing under the disguise unbearable as she desired a honest life.

Yes, he knew about her newfound happiness. Since their meeting in Manehattan he was monitoring her closely. At first out of suspicion, she was a changeling after all! But later, he noticed details, a small glimpses that told him that in reality she wasn't really different from himself or another pony. And if so, what right had he from preventing her pursuit of happiness?

 

Love. One of the most powerful forces in the universe. Could it been what pushed her to unmask herself? As one who was under sway of it he could understand it, yes.

 

Stallon shook his head, breaking from the reverie. Whatever was the reason was unimportant, he can always ask about it afterwards. If she rally wanted to had a better chance of catching that happiness he had to stop her. He doubted that she realized the full extent of consequences that would come with her exposure.

 

Where would be the place? The main square most likely. It was the most crowded place after all. But right in his path, was was bunch of wagon that denied him passage. He had to find another way around.

And as he turned around to do just that, he heard a familiar voice. The words that were spoken by it made his heart skip a bit.

 

“Uhh...attention everyone!"

 

He sped up, then next street was to far, he wouldn't make it. But what was that? A back alley between the buildings! He dived into it, rushing to prevent a horrible mistake from being made. Despite what she thought she wasn't ready, and neither was the world.

 

“...I...I have something I need to say.”

 

He jumped over the trash can, rushing towards the light at the end of the small passage. It seemed to be so far...but at this rate he should made it.

And then, she slipped. The wet piece of cardboard moved under his hooves. He fell, and with him his hopes of stopping her.

 

“I am a changeling.”

 

So it was it, a couple of small words. But those small words were now destined to have enormous impact. Shrouded figure rose up back to his legs, from where he was standing he could see Spring and her partner, while them and everypony else was oblivious about the watcher in the alley. He could just stare and listen as she unknowingly took such heavy weight on her shoulders. A burden that no one deserved to bear.

 

"Foolish, foolish Spring. What have you done?" he whispered somberly, as his thought drifted towards how he now be forced to disperse her blessed ignorance. Ohh, she knew that prejudice would price for her confession - of that stallion had no doubt. It's the other things she will had to be enlightened about.

[PyroBlaze]

Flux rolled her eyes a bit at the pegasus's response, sighing slightly. Really now, did he really think that is what they had meant? Sometimes ponies could be very silly.

"Of course you don't have to just accept it, but you should at least give it a chance." She said before the request came that Naj reveal her true form. Flux blinked a bit before turning towards Naj as she agreed. The disguised changeling watched as she witnessed her friend's true form once again. She always found it interesting seeing changelings transform. She was one herself, but she didn't usually do it in front of mirrors. Or all that often in general, really.

Turning back around, she noticed the condition Blueblood was in, making her frown a bit and approach him slowly. Stopping in front of him, feeling the fear coming off of him. After giving a small whimper, she wrapped him in a gentle hug, rubbing his back gently.

"Shh. It's alright, Bluey. She's not going to hurt you, Naj is a nice changeling." Flux whispered to the unicorn as she held him as best she could.

[RedCedar]

Red took another deep breath. He'd expected some opposition to Naj's revelations. What he didn't expect was three ponies who had all had a very serious negative encounter with changelings in the past that still disturbed them to this day. The pegasus wasn't letting up, either, goading Naj into dropping her disguise right there in the town square. Well, that's what he got, as Red watched her form flicker in a green flame before revealing her normal self - normal to him now as well, but not perhaps to most of the ponies in Ponyville.

 

Still, given the reactions of these three ponies, a change in tone would probably be necessary in order to appeal to their desire for security in the face of the very representation of what they thought of as their enemy.

 

In a much more measured tone, he said to the brown pegasus, "We didn't decide anything about whether or not Naj could stay in Equestria. Princess Celestia did, and only after meeting Naj face to face." he said, in order to make it absolutely clear who he could take it up with and what his chances of succeeding were. "And yes, I did want her to stay, not just because I care for her, but also because this is an opportunity for Equestria to become an option for changelings rather than a target. If changelings know they can become friends with ponies instead of deceive them, they'd have no reason to invade us ever again. Isn't that possibility worth allowing a few changelings to live here?" he said, letting that idea sink in a moment, before adding, "Trust me, Naj is not going hungry in the least."

 

The Prince, however, still wasn't taking things so well. At a later time, he might also laugh at the scene of the Prince breaking down at the sight of a changeling only to be unknowingly comforted by another changeling, but for now, he really didn't want to see him like this either. "It's true, Your Highness," he said gently. "Naj will not hurt you. She doesn't want to hurt anypony. In fact, she'd do her best to defend you if you needed it." At that, Red looked back to Naj and smiled at the most fiercely loyal protector he'd ever had, or could have.

[Zeig]

[[ Current Disguise ]]

Oh it was utterly laughable, this pretense. How did Equestrians coexist with such hypocritical viewpoints?

For whether or not ponies wanted others to live in fear and regress into memories of the Changeling invasion was entirely irrelevant - that is what would happen, regardless of well-wishes. And these two ponies, clearly throwing their lot in with migrating Changelings, wanted it, welcomed it, were willing to put other ponies at physical and mental risks. It didn't matter that they didn't want the byproduct of Changeling citizens in Equestrian - it would come either way. They knew it, yet still accepted it, and had the gall to claim otherwise.

Such controversy. How had Equestrian maintained such a relatively stable state with its citizens so willing to put others of their kind in jeopardy to satisfy their own wishes? The purple Unicorn claiming she didn't wish for this result was so utterly ridiculous that Nexus almost felt the urge to laugh, even as his expression remained equal parts staunch and terrified.

The red stallion, at least, brought up a point, one that was enough to give the Pegasus pause. A furious pause, at that. It only reinforced the statements from the other pony, the reasoning behind letting Changelings reside in Equestria.

It was...true, that some ungrateful Changelings were beginning to mutter among themselves, whisper underneath the Queendom and wonder at a better, easier life. Worms. And if Equestrians welcomed them with open hooves, it was not too farfetched a thought that weaker-willed Changelings would leap at the chance to feast without remorse. Though how these ponies expected to forever feed a vast army of insatiable Changelings was beyond him. The effects could be minimal at first, but continued draining of Love, especially with some of the more hungry Changelings...

Did their precious princess really think to turn her citizens into walking buffets for Changelings? A pleasant thought.

Said thoughts of princesses kneeling at his hooves was, unfortunately, brought to a halt, as the disguised Changeling agreed to his request, resulting in the subsequent breakdown of the white stallion next to him. Nexus didn't let up either, taking one furious step backwards as his expression twisted into pure terror - but for the love of Chrysalis, he couldn't have asked for better. The other pony immediately went to comfort the white stallion, hypocrite that she was, while the red stallion also turned some of his attention away.

Which, gave Nexus all the time he needed.

...Ordinary, was his first thought. Blue eyes, black carapace...no distinguishing features, as far as his eyes could see. A little smaller than the average drone, perhaps...but otherwise normal. A shame.

Teeth gritted, Nexus slowly walked forward, mindful of the red stallion still close by, and got a closer look, heedless of whether or not he was making the Changeling comfortable. Still no marks that he could see...oh well. Given his protectiveness, Nexus was sure he'd easily be able to link the red stallion back to the turned Changeling should the need arise, along with her other defender. At the moment however, there was nothing he could do, causing the Pegasus to take a deep, shaking breath and look the Changeling straight in the eye.

"Thank you."

His voice caught a little as he said the words, and Nexus cleared it, still shaking but a bit firmer. "For revealing yourself to me..." There was nothing more to be said, and the brown Pegasus visibly straightened his back as if mentally preparing himself for something, even as he moved forward. A slight, barely perceptible nod was shot towards the red stallion as Nexus passed on the opposite side of the Changeling, before his eyes shifted down towards encompassing blue, head leaning in ever so slightly to whisper a single promise.

Whether or not she exclaimed, started, or called out after him didn't matter. Nexus didn't slow his walk, instead picked up the pace just a bit, as if he could scarcely believe his daring to pass directly by a Changeling. A small crowd of ponies, shellshocked, terrified, or just intrigued by the sudden reveal of an undisguised Changeling, made it all too easy for Nexus to slip by and away from the entire assembly, the barest flash of green causing Nowhere Nexus to disappear off the face of Equestria, forever.

His use was done after all, and there was a whole lot left for Stream Lined to do.
 

[[ Exit ]]

[DerpRavener]

Naj had not been expecting the unicorn's reaction.  She knew a lot of Equestrians were disturbed by a changeling's natural appearance, it was why she was so hesitant to walking around in it.  She didn't like it, but there wasn't much she could do about it accept put up with it, except maybe what she was doing right now.  But generally speaking, their reactions seemed to range from outrage to disgust, to some sort of concern.  Even during the Canterlot invasion, ponies panicked, but there was a certain awareness to it, a deliberate choice to escape a dangerous situation.

 

Naj had never seen a reaction quite like this before, and she was horrified to be the source of it.  As Flux and Red went to comfort to afflicted unicorn, Naj took an involuntary step backwards, from a subconscious mix of concer about other ponies' reactions to this and a desire to give the stallion some space.  She might have tried to offer comfort herself, if she thought there was anything she could say that would actually help.

It almost made her to put an end to this whole trip then and there, and made her wonder about her whole long term goal.  The only thing close to a positive outcome was that now she had a firm answer for why she needed a disguise.  If she ever say, spoke to Applejack again, she could just describe this.

 

She was about to abandon the field when the pegasus, who'd so far been most opposed to her presence mustered up the courage to approach her.  It seemed a little odd, she became a little more on edge with the apparent shift it attitude, but that seemed to be explained as he thanked Naj for showing her natural appearance.  There was a brief moment where she thought that maybe she'd helped him overcome fears, or proven that not all changelings should be feared.

Then he whispered a single word into her ear, and in her mind it all seemed to come crumbling down.

 

Naj froze in place, shocked by the sudden clarity.  She had the hive's attention, and in all likelihood the 'pegasus' had been controlling that whole situation.  She felt numb, her mind going at a thousand thoughts a minute while simultaneously grinding to a halt.  It was too much.  Applejack, the unicorn's panick attack, and now this.

Naj blinked, otherwise standing stock still, as awareness of the crowd slowly, distantly got through in her mind.  She finally broke.  “...I...I need a moment...to think...” she managed to mumble out, before stiffly turning around.  She walked away, wobbling a bit as she did, heading out of the main square.  She didn't go that far, she wasn't especially concerned about concealment or escaping at the moment.  Arriving at her destination, a small bush just outside the square itself.  All the anxiety, concern and adrenaline that had built up over the course of her announcement finally overcame her, and she threw up. 

[Blueblood]

All this time, Psmith had been observing the proceedings with an impassive expression.  Well, as impassive as he could make it; a close observer could tell that his expression had gone from calm to blank.  The whole event was turning out to be... less than optimal in its results.  True, nopony was mobbing Naj, and a vocal objector had at least been up front about giving her a chance, but...

 

"Excuse me," The unicorn muttered softly to Red, "But I believe my employer requires my assistance."  With a concerned expression, he trotted over quickly to Prince Blueblood, placing a hoof upon the shoulder that Flux wasn't holding.  He'd never seen Blueblood like this before; nopony had, it seemed.  The Prince was quite good at hiding emotion when he wanted to.  To see the stallion's trauma so laid bare was... disturbing, to say the least of it.

 

 

"Shh. It's alright, Bluey. She's not going to hurt you, Naj is a nice changeling."

"It's true, Your Highness, Naj will not hurt you. She doesn't want to hurt anypony. In fact, she'd do her best to defend you if you needed it."

 

These words of comfort sank through a thick fog of bad memories to lay themselves upon the Prince's brain, like the tones distant alarm clock through a sleeper's nightmare.  The traumatic dream, while intense, did not last longer than a few seconds, but surfacing from it was far from instantaneous.  Blueblood took a deep breath, coughed at the intake of dust, and stumbled out of Flux's embrace.

Back upon his hooves, he looked around at the crowd, many of whom were now staring at him.  When he realized why, he flushed in embarrassment and anger.  Nopony, stallions particularly, enjoy looking so vulnerable in front of crowds.  He searched for someone to glare at, but seemed to come up short.  Obviously, his comforter Flux was out.  Red was not a safe prospect, and Naj... was currently throwing up behind a bush.  To glare would have been unchivalrous.

 

Turning around, however, he caught sight of Psmith.  Now, here was someone he could blame!  The cad had brought him here, to this!  Glaring at his secretary, Blueblood asked, "Was all this really necessary?"

 

Psmith looked around, and for once found himself short of words.  "Well... it had seemed so... when we thought of it."