I slammed my room's door shut as I stomped in, grabbed my backpack, and slung it over my shoulder. I was pissed the fuck off, depressed, and I felt betrayed. Celestia and Luna seriously thought, for whatever reason, that keeping my chance of going home secret. Being royalty? Spending the next three of my life sitting in this room, rotting away because I wasn't allowed to show my face? None of that was worth it. None of this is worth losing 3 years of my life.
I dug through my backpack and quickly whipped out a stack of papers… This was a book report my teacher had me do for my final exam. I got an A on it and I was genuinely proud of it because of how much time I put into it. I was even gonna show Mom the grade. Good thing I can't do that for about three years, if I can even get back to the damn portal within the three day time period. I tossed them in the fireplace of my room, and realized I had nothing to set it ablaze.
With a snort, I headed for my room's door. It's about damn time that I leave this place. "Ray?" Are you in there?" My horn lit and slung the door open. On the other side was Twilight Sparkle. "Are… you alright?" She asked.
"Oh yeah, I'm feeling great. I just learnt that two people, that I had put my full trust in, had just prevented me from going home. I got to spend the last three damned days sitting and basically doing nothing, when the only way home was still open. I'm super glad, because I traded my chance at going home, for being studied like a dead dog, and to be royalty! So to answer your question once more, I'm just so damn happy right now."
Luna poked her head into the door beside Twilight. This damned lady. Yes, she looked sad right now, but I don't care. I would've loved to sit down and see what was troubling this woman, but this is one of two people that are partially why I am stuck here. Plus it was all an act. What? Is she gonna say that she had no part in her sister's plans? Yeah right, she probably had this planned all along.
"Ray, do not do anything rash. We can talk this out," Luna began, but I wasn't having any of it. I began to let the anger seethe through every single word I spoke as I opened my mouth.
"Shut it Luna. Just show me where those adoption papers went, because I'm gonna burn them and leave. I don't wanna live in this castle, I don't want to be here. I don't want to see you, or Celestia for the rest of my life. I don't give a damn if you both feel remorse for this shit, I really don't. And if you don't tell me where those adoption papers are, then it won't change what's gonna happen here. I'm still going to leave." I stormed past both mares. Neither of them tried to stop me, but they had more experience with magic than I did.
"Ray, you are making a mistake. You said that you cannot live on your own. Whatever you believe right now, does not change the fact that we do care about you. It will be very hard for you to make a living, especially as a Changeling at your age, you'll be homeless," Luna took a deep breath. "And I had nothing to do with keeping any means you had home to myself. I thought my sister would have told you and that your three day period was up by the time you were out of the dungeon."
I looked back and saw that Luna was crying. That was a new one, I haven't seen her cry at all, but then again, it's only been two, maybe three days since I've met her? Whatever. I almost wanted to go over and give her a hug, but my mood was beyond dead. I began walking down the hall, only stopping a few times to ask for directions out of the castle. Eventually, I made it to the first floor of the castle and quickly made my way out of the gates. I was now free.
Everybody I walked past was giving me fearful looks, running away from me, or just stared at me as I strolled by. They should be scared. I'm an alien, now one of the very… monsters they fear, that looks pissed off. That's good; nobody will bother me. The train station came into view, and a small smile grew on my face. You know what? I might be stuck in this world for a few years, but I could explore the land a bit. An adventure awaited me, and nothing was holding me back from it. Maybe learning of my guardians' betrayal was a good thing.
As I reached the station, I found myself unable to move forward. It was like there was something holding me back from entering the station to start my life of solitude. I looked down at my body to see it glossed over in a familiar yellow hue. Somebody, and I could guess who, had either been waiting here, or followed me out of the castle. "Ray, you are not leaving." Of course it was Princess Celestia. My body was forcefully spun around to face the Princess herself, wings flared out, glaring at me.
Well, it wasn't really a glare. It was just a cold expression, one far from the friendly smile I had grown somewhat accustomed to, and it was kind of… unsettling. Then again, that friendly smile was just an act. This bitch has been alive for how long? Over a thousand years? Surely she's picked up on acting skills… She was a politician after all. Lying was her job. "Ray, before you immediately turn me down, please just listen for a moment. Use reason before you end up getting yourself killed.
"Believe me if you wish to, but me, and especially Luna have grown somewhat attached to you over these last few days. I do quite enjoy your joking nature, despite your… rather rude language and rather poor mannerisms. And… once the time for your world's portal to shut down closed, I felt terrible. Because I actively kept you away from information that could've brought you home. Ray, I am terribly sorry for what I have done for you. Luna even tried to tell me how terrible my idea was, and I didn't listen. Just… please stay, Ray. Luna and I can take good care of you, and I promise you, that we will not betray your trust again. From now on, I will be fully honest with you."
The yellow hue was now gone, and now the two of us were just sitting, staring at the other and waiting for a move. I could accept this lady's apology, live an easy, boring life inside that castle, or I can not do that. Sure, I did(key word, did) like both Luna and Celestia. Before it turned out that they essentially trapped me here, they were pretty nice to me. Though they probably just felt an obligation to, in order to keep me from feeling unhappy about my… imprisonment.
But Princess Celestia also did say something else, she promised to be honest with me from here on out, if I were to stay. I faked a thoughtful expression, as I already had an answer for Celestia. Sure, she seemed genuine right now, and she looked about ready to cry like Luna was. Should I stay in a castle with two people I already distrust? Well, if she thought she'd make a fool of me for a second time, she was wrong.
"You just wanna have me around so you can study me. You'll suck me dry of whatever information you can get on what I am. I'm doing this out of respect for you wanting to keep my origins as top secret information, meaning I won't say where I'm from, but… I'm not staying here in Canterlot. I'll just say I'm from the Changeling Hive, and that's it. You just want to learn about Changelings, to use me again. You can say you love me, you can say you'll take care of me, and it won't make a difference. I blindly trusted you, because I figured you'd have my best interests in mind.
"Now look at me! I'm like a bird that can't fly. I can barely use my magic, I'm clumsy as fuck on four hooves, and I'm fucking miserable. Tree fucking days. Tree days, and you couldn't be bothered to tell me that I could still go home, lass? I assumed that either I couldn't get home, or that you'd find a way to get me home. Then you lied to me, kept me stuck as a freak, and then I'm kept as some study thing for you. I… I can't stay with you after that. If Luna truly did have anything to do with this, I might give her another chance. Even then, I wouldn't trust her as somebody to put my well being first."
I got up and walked into the train station, before a purple hue stopped me. "Ray." How many people are going to stop me? At this rate I'm tempted to just find the nearest railing and jump off of Canterlot at this rate.
"Fuck off, Twilight. This has nothing to do with you. Now let me leave; let me live." I glared at the purple alicorn and she actually shrunk back. Her magic let me go, and I stepped into the station. The place was a lot nicer than it was given credit for. For what was just a place where you got on and off a train, it was really nice. Marble pillars held up the roof, that domed off into a brilliant little art pattern that I never noticed before. There were a few benches, where ponies gave me the same fear as everybody else. It was like if this place expected royalty everyday of the week.
The train doors opened and I stepped in without even needing to show that I had a ticket. Nobody even told me to get off the train. They just watched me get on the train, let me take a seat, and then moved to get as far away from me as they could. Not that I'm complaining… Some companionship would be nice, but I could probably gather some of that when I learn how to shapeshift. I probably wouldn't get any lessons, since I probably won't be meeting Chrysalis(she probably forgot about me already. She's got hundreds of thousands of other Changelings to worry about, afterall) again.
I leaned my head against the window. As the train pulled out of the station, I could see eight mares standing by the train, watching it pull out of the station. It was the two princesses that adopted me, and then Twilight and her friends. Each one of them looked kinda sad, even Pinkie Pie, and I let out a snort. I stuck my backpack underneath my seat, and threw my head back against my chair's head cushion.
Now that I had plenty of time alone, I could begin to sleep. Maybe I can even think, since apparently I do have ADHD for whatever reason. "Do you mind if I sit here?" I looked up and nodded. I didn't even fully see the pony that asked, since I just couldn't be bothered to care. "You know, I've never met a Changeling before. Can you tell me why you're taking the train?" I glanced over, grunted and leaned against the glass. Boy did I wish my headphones still fit my head. I could use some ear plugs.
"I'm just a Changeling trying to start out a new life," I responded before forcing myself to get a good look at the person beside me. It was a pony, obviously, and she was… actually pretty cute. Well, in the same kind of cute you'd use to describe a cute dog. Had huge, green eyes that were filled with awe and wonder. Probably because she was speaking to a Changeling and it didn't immediately kill her. Oh, and her eyes were crossed.
She was a pegasus, with a cream colored mane and tail. Her cutie mark was a bunch of bubbles, and she had a brown bag with a cartoony muffin on it. "I was just going to Canterlot specifically for muffins… there's this one shop, that's pretty expensive, and they're only doing business in Canterlot. Every now and then, when I save enough while working, I head up to Canterlot for a couple days and come home with a bag of muffins.
"My name's Ditzy Doo, but my friends call me Derpy because…" she pointed at her eyes. "Because of these, and my poor hoof eye coordination skills. I'm a… bit klutzy."
"That just sounds like your 'friends' just insult you all the time," I pointed out.
"Yeah… they aren't really friends. They kind of make fun of me at every point, and sometimes their words do sting a lot. And when my friends aren't around, I'm pretty lonely. I usually spend a lot of time alone unless I'm doing a mailrun or helping other pegasi in Ponyville with the weather. Where do you plan on stopping?" Derpy asked.
I paused as I slowly began to realize something. I could very easily pick up on how Derpy was feeling. Not through means of reading her expressions, or the tone of her voice. After I pointed out that her friends suck, she did get kind of sad. In fact she kinda sounded pretty sad about her life. Ditzy was working two jobs, had no real friends, and yet still wanted to know what I, some random stranger, about what I'm doing.
"I'm probably gonna hop off the train at the first stop. I don't know where this train's going… I uh, just hopped on without thinking. It's not wise of me, a Changeling, to be in Canterlot where Princess Celestia can come down and set me on fire at a moment's notice," I said. "So I was just trying to get out as soon as I could."
"Why would Princess Celestia do that? She's the most merciful ruler you'll ever meet. She's so wise, and she's all about giving second chances to ponies. I've yet to see her do something awful to anypony, and I doubt she's even capable," Ditzy said. Hah, if only I could spill the beans on what that witch did to me. Well, I probably shouldn't ruin her subjects' view of her. She ruined my life, but I won't try to ruin hers, or else I'd be no better than Princess Celestia is.
"Well, when you're a Changeling…" I began to think of a good lie. "After we invaded Canterlot the first time, I kind of got lost afterwards. I don't know where the heck I was, but ponies let me ride trains for free as long as I don't suck them dry of blood or love… I doubt that Princess Celestia would be so forgiving to a freak like me. I mean, me and my kind did nearly ruin her niece's wedding day.
"And I heard that Princess Luna is another level ofscary. She wouldn't hesitate to put me under the guillotine!"
"Actually, Princess Luna's a big softy. She comes down to Ponyville at least once a year every Nightmare Night. She shows up in the form of Nightmare Moon to help out with the festivities and for the children. I once saw her split all off her candy offerings up to every colt and filly after each Nightmare Night. If you can get on Princess Luna's good side, you'll love her."
Great. Just wonderful. I chose the one damn town that one of the Princesses visited once every year. Well, I'll probably be seeing Luna again at some point. I hope that by then, she'll have forgotten me. "Say, when is… Nightmare Night?" I asked.
"Why… It's a few weeks from now. Why do you ask?"
"Oh nothing. I just want time to… prepare for the celebrations. I can't fit into pony society if I reject its national holidays," I lied. I was going to hunker down under a bridge all night during Nightmare Night.
The two of us continued to chat until the train randomly stopped. I could get off the train here, in what I assumed was Ponyville, and risk running into Luna in the future, or I could keep seated and get off somewhere else. Well, what's the chances she'll recognize me? I'll just have to learn what Nightmare Night is about, and figure out how to blend in with the crowd.
I hopped off the train alone(I lost Ditzy at some point), while ignoring the screams and the sight of ponies running away from me. I was greeted by… what looked like a nice, small, friendly, normal looking town. That is until I saw the huge, tree-like castle take up a majority of the horizon. It was made of crystals! What the actual hell? I glanced over and noticed a couple chariots near the train station, with the Royal Guard stationed nearby… oh god dammit.
Without thinking, I began to casually walk past the guards. Surely they were just stationed here to look nice, right?
"Say, that looks a bit like the Changeling the other guards were talking about," one of them said.
"How can you tell the difference? Most Changelings look the same to me," another chimed in.
"I dunno. Should we do something about it? It looks kind of scrawny," the first guard mused. I didn't even think to stop, I zipped past them as fast as I could and caught a glimpse of a tall, white alicorn walking ahead of me, beside the six same ponies back at Canterlot. Were these guys looking for me or something? Jeez, not even three hours? And these ponies are already after me. I slunk into an alleyway, and hit behind a trash can.
"Why is everypony running in this direction?" I heard the distinctive southern accent of Apple Jack from where I was.
"Well, Princess Celestia is here, so I suppose they could be trying to meet her," a new voice said. It sounded like a kid. Like his voice was really nazily, but there was a surprising amount of deepness behind it as well.
"Spike, they're running away like an Ursa Major showed up in town. Everypony's got their tail tucked between their legs." It was Twilight.
"Princess Twilight!" A stranger's voice said.
"Is… something wrong?"
"Yeah, there's a Changeling in town!" Oh great… Why do I hear wings flapping?
"Ah, there it is!" I turned around and it took everything in my power not to scream, that would reveal where I am. I ducked as the guard struck the trash can behind me. I broke out into a dead sprint out of the alleyway, which was accompanied with tons of screams and shouts about… what do you know? A Changeling! I fucking love how today is going. Why did I have to ask Luna about how if I was ever gonna head home? I could've been blissfully ignorant, and then be pleasantly surprised three years from now when I was offered the opportunity to return home.
I tripped after kicking the, now dented, trash can with my hind legs, and I missed the pegasus that was chasing me. Great, the guardsman already had an advantage over me, since I think it took less effort to fly than it did to run. Especially if you barely even knew how to run on four legs… I shrieked as I collided with a dead end and toppled over.
(Twilight's POV)
"You… don't think he ended up hopping off the train into Ponyville, do you?" I asked nobody in particular.
"Well, that train was a train for Ponyvilel. I highly doubt that Ray already had a comprehensive knowledge of Equestria, so it would he… safe to assume he is somewhere in town and not even know where he is. If Ray is here, then he probably isn't aware that you six live hete, or that I make regular visits." Princess Celestia reasoned. "If any of you manage to find him, please, please convince him to return to Canterlot. I fear that he might encounter a… more liberal pony that'll try to kill him, and will be more willing to."
Everypony jumped when we heard a trash can in an alleyway, it slammed into the ground and rolled until it hit the other end of the street. There was a pretty big dent in it, like somebody bucked it rrally hard. Sure enough, we saw a Changeling dash out from the alleyway, at a speed that would make Rainbow Dash jealous, and into another alley. Not before attempting to kick the trash can at one of the pegasi that flew us here and nearly tripping while doing so. It looked like Ray, but it was hard to tell from a distance.
We all cringed when we heard several clangs and a loud thump. Princess Celestia immediately took off after the Changeling and Guard
(Ray's POV)
Ignoring the pain, or the bits of my exoskeleton that was now digging into my cheeks, I pushed myself off the ground and stumbled. I let out a screech as soon as I realized I was in the dead end of an alleyway. Either I fight or I get killed… I glanced around the alleyway, looking for anything I could use to my advantage. The Royal Guard had to be tough mother fuckers if they had to guard Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, so an outtright fight would end with me getting killed.
"Nowhere to run, Changeling. You can come quietly in chains, or we can do this the hard way." He began to approach me as I began to formulate a plan.
I noticed a trash can lid that my hoof had fallen on. A metal helmet would probably make a hit from this thing ring. Helmets were great for absorbing shock damage, but surely a good, hard hit to a metal hemet, while it was still on somebody's head, would hurt like hell... I hope so. The guard was now standing over me; now was my chance. I grabbed the trash can lid, with finesse that shocked me, I struck the guard in the head with it.
A ringing noise could be heard as metal hit metal, and I watched as the guard's eyes bugged out. He fell over with his eyes wide open, but he was breathing… at least I'm not a murderer. I didn't wanna kill somebody because they were doing their job, and this guy's job happened to be taking care of monsters like me. I panted as I began to soak in my victory. I, a teenaged, untrained Changeling managed to beat a guard. It wasn't in proper combat, and the goard definitely underestimated me, but I won!
I fell on my rump as I began to catch my breath. I was beat, and tired. This is way, way too much excitement for one day. I shoulda stayed on the train. Note to self: If You're in a world full of ponies, and you happen to be lost, just stay on the train. A few more hours of waiting can actually save your life! The adrenaline wore out and I screamed in the raw, unhinged pain I felt.
Pain. My exoskeleton was cracked, and some bits embedded into my cheeks, chest, just about every bit of soft tissue under my natural armor, was in pain. I licked my nose, which was bleeding from the impact with the wall. Chances are that I was bleeding in other places. My left fore leg was definitely broken(it was bent in an unnatural angle, and it fucking hurts!). I lay down flat on my side. My head was aching from its impact with the wall, likely a concussion, and my ears were ringing too.
I was probably going to die. Well, not to a car crash, old age, or even an overly aggressive muggar. I was going to die because I bled out after running into a wall. If I didn't die, then I'd probably be in pain for weeks. I let out a humorless, dry, dead chuckle as I laid, waiting for everything to finally go black. This was it, the end. Well, this beats sitting in a castle for three years… or sitting in social studies while relearning about World War 2. I was giddy despite the pain… this is what it meant to be alive.
"Oh… my…" With a great deal of protest from the rest of my body, I lifted my head and saw none other than… Celestia. Great, just one more thing I needed to make this day perfect! "Ray, what happened to you?" The Princess asked as she took a sniff of the guard for some reason. She nodded before turning her focus on me. "And I know, you do not want to see me, but I am afraid you do not get a choice in this situation anymore." She laid down beside me, and draped a wing over me, which actually felt nice over my damaged carapace.
"Huzzah…" I groaned as I felt my nose again… it was broken too. How fast was I running? "You're not going to drag me back to Canterlot, are you?" I asked. I really hope she didn't have that planned. I mean, she probably will. She claims to care, but only because I am study material. Plus it hadn't even been what? A few hours? And I almost got killed because I ran into a wall a little too hard. I am truly the world's worst Changeling.
"I'm afraid I will have to, but we'll discuss the details later. Come, let's get you to a hospital first." She holstered me up on her back, despite the fact that my blood(which was gree, what the hell?) was soaking into her pristine coat, and began to trot out of the alleyway with the unconscious guard in tow. My head began to ring and everybody cheered at the defeat, and subsequent 'boos' of the big, scary Changeling that was terrorizing them.
Great, I was hoping to have a double ended headache mixed in with my arising Migraine. I winced and brought my forelegs up to my ears before I started convulsing.