Chapters Fluttershy's Pet Zergling
Fluttershy finds a zergling in her yard
Fluttershy finds a zergling in her yard
Fluttershy hummed a tune as she cleaned her cottage. She brushed over everything in her lounge room one final time with her duster. When she was done, Fluttershy put her duster away. She trotted meekly outside to check on her animals. Nothing looked unusual at first sight outside of the cottage. Fluttershy began to take care of her animals – firstly she decided to check on the birds in the trees near her house. Delicately, she flew up to the high branches of the tree, and checked the amount of bird feed she had placed in a feeding device on the tree.
“That should last for today, my feathered friends,” Fluttershy told the birds nearby, her voice characteristically quiet. The birds chirped their thanks to her in reply. “It’s no problem, really…” Fluttershy then checked their bath water nearby, which was also satisfactory. Fluttershy turned around to continue checking on her animals, and saw an odd form slumped over, slightly under and next to the bridge that lead to Ponyville.
“Oh my,” Fluttershy gasped, “What trouble has this sweet little thing gotten into?” Fluttershy flew relatively quickly down to the creature – she flew nearly as fast as an average pegasus. She landed softly next to the little blue-skinned creature, and took a good look at it. Fluttershy realised as she got closer to it, that this creature was nearly as big as a pony. It had a rounded snout and head, and its small eyes were closed. From where the jaw connected to the skull, a finger-like protrusion extended. It was short with one joint, and ended in a single spike. It had carapace plates that began at the tip of the snout, and ran down its back to the base of its tail. The tail was like a lizard’s, and was nearly as long as the main body of the creature.
Its eyes snapped open, their orange-yellow glow boring into Fluttershy’s light blue eyes. It shuffled as it rose onto its four legs – the front pair like an arm, with a hoof-like foot that ended in a spike. The back pair had two toed feet and the leg structure distinguished the creature as a predator. That was confirmed by the arm-like appendages that towered above the creature, with three vicious spikes at the end. The limb erupted from its back near the front legs. The body of the entire animal shook, and it barked – which sounded more like an adorable squeak – at Fluttershy.
“Please, don’t be scared, little guy,” Fluttershy began, as she looked at the odd, large, wing-like structures that rose from the sides of the creature near its back legs. “I won’t hurt you,” Fluttershy finished, with a smile on her face. She noticed a thin film of mucous ran over the animal’s entire body, as if it had just hatched. The creature tilted its head to the right, gazing at Fluttershy. “Don’t be scared, it’s ok, I’ll take good care of you,” Fluttershy told it. It replied by ruffling its wings, and letting out a long, inquisitive sound. It approached Fluttershy and extended its head towards her. It sniffed her and then pulled its head away. Satisfied, the animal started to lick the mucous off its body.
“Little guy, wouldn’t it feel better if I gave you a bath?” Fluttershy asked it. The creature perked up. It nodded and barked at her. “Um… follow me,” Fluttershy said as she began to trot towards the hose on the side of her house. “Excuse me for asking, but what are you?” The animal ran in front of Fluttershy, barking and pointing at itself with one of its spikes. “Um, please explain… if you don’t mind, that is. I didn’t quite understand that, sorry,” Fluttershy whispered.
The creature glared at her, before growling, barking three times and then swishing its tail back and forth.
“I see, you’re a zergling,” Fluttershy confirmed as the zergling nodded its head, “Thank you for explaining that, my cute little zergling. Let’s keep going if you don’t mind, we’re near the hose for your bath.” Fluttershy and her new zergling went the rest of the way to the bath, the zergling barking almost constantly and running circles around Fluttershy. When they arrived at the bath, Fluttershy told the zergling to keep still. She ran the hose over every part of its body, washing the mucous away. The zergling jumped, fluttering its wings but failing to fly, and barked at Fluttershy. “It’s no problem, really…” she told the zergling.
“I’m sorry, but, um… I have to go and tend to some of my other animals for a while, so can you wait around here somewhere?” Fluttershy asked the zergling. It nodded back at her, and watched her as she flew away. The zergling stalked around the house, curious. It heard a tapping noise just around the corner. The zergling rushed over to the front of the house, and came face to face with a white, angry bunny rabbit. It folded its arms and glared angrily at the zergling.
The zergling brought its head down to the level of the bunny and extended its front leg towards it. The rabbit replied by folding its forearms and continuing to tap its foot on the ground in annoyance. Inquisitively, the zergling brushed against the bunny’s face with the flat side of its spike. It flicked the spike towards itself, leaving the bunny unharmed. The zergling grinned, showing a toothy smile. The bunny looked like a tasty snack. The rabbit shook its head and pointed towards the distant form of Fluttershy. The bunny stared at the zergling, mimed some talking, and then pointed at the zergling. It then quivered, imitating fear.
Replying, the zergling shook its body and then pointed at Fluttershy. Fluttershy wouldn’t be very happy if the rabbit was eaten. That was too bad. The bunny rabbit nodded its head. Slumping its body, the zergling growled with disappointment. It then looked at the bunny. The rabbit pointed at itself, then at Fluttershy. It then brought both of its hands to the left side of its chest. This arrogant rabbit is Fluttershy’s favourite pet? With a flick of its tail, the zergling growled and took a step towards the rabbit. It gave a menacing glare, which the rabbit ignored. It pointed towards Fluttershy and shook its head. The reminder barely stopped the zergling from killing the rabbit.
Stalking off, the zergling growled menacingly. Out of the bunny’s sight, the zergling stretched and flicked its wings. It lay down, curled up into a ball and waited. It closed its eyes and fell into a state of semi-sleep, where its brain rested but its senses remain fully and completely aware, able to snap the zergling awake at any moment. Before the zergling knew it, Fluttershy’s quiet voice drifted its ears. “Hello little zergling,” she said.
Perking up, the zergling squeaked adorably at Fluttershy. It rushed at her, nuzzling her. “You’re going to be my newest animal to look after, my zergling?” The zergling nodded happily. “What should I name you?” Fluttershy asked it. Replying, the zergling ran in circles quickly around her, barking. “I’ll call you Swift… if that’s alright with you…” Fluttershy decided. The zergling skidded to a stop in front of Fluttershy and nodded. Swift approached Fluttershy, coming in contact with her body. It brought its triple spiked limbs around Fluttershy, bringing her into a hug. Swift sighed contently into her cream coat, snuggling into her.
Author's Note
Thank you for reading :)
I'm debating whether or not to write more of Fluttershy's interactions with Swift in further chapters or not. So it's marked as complete for now, but that might change.
If you noticed any errors in the story, please tell me, as I didn't run this story through my pre reader. It was a little piece, and I don't even know if he would like it, considering how different my first story is to this.
By the way, it's crossed over with Starcraft if you didn't figure that out already.
PS. Do tell me if I was successful with Swift and Angel's interaction with each other. Was it clear what they were "telling" each other?
Edit: I'm pretty sure I'm continuing this now. Thanks for the support, you guys.
Edit 2: Added explaining details to the interaction between Angel and Swift, hopefully clearing up some confusion.
Fluttershy's Pet Zergling
The quest for the zergling's egg-mate
The Quest for Swift’s egg-mate
Later in the day that she had found the zergling, Fluttershy went to the library to find Twilight. She needed to find out more about Swift and his kind if she was going to take care of it long-term. Fluttershy stared down the shut door of the library. The large tree, hollowed out yet still alive, was imposing. Butterflies began to dance around in Fluttershy’s stomach. She didn’t want to interrupt Twilight if she was doing anything important. Fluttershy stifled a giggle at the fact that a wooden door was constructed into the tree – which itself was made of wood. She knew she was nervous if silly things like this amused her. Fluttershy sucked in a deep breath, stepped forward and tapped on the door lightly.
Fluttershy waited tensely for several seconds. “Um, Twilight must not be home at the moment so I… I’ll just go now,” she murmured to herself. Fluttershy turned around and trotted off, and was about to make her escape when Twilight called out to her.
“Fluttershy, what a pleasant surprise it is to see you. Come in.”
Fluttershy turned around slowly to look at Twilight. “Um, Twilight, I wasn’t interrupting anything important… was I?” Fluttershy replied, hesitating.
“Of course not,” Twilight said, smiling warmly. She trotted inside, and Fluttershy meekly followed her. “Why have you come to visit today?”
“I’m sorry, but I wanted to ask a question, about, um…” Fluttershy trailed off. The silence lasted for several seconds before Twilight replied to the fidgeting, anxious mare.
“About what?” Twilight asked patiently.
“You see, I found an animal today,” Fluttershy began, “It, um, told me it was a zergling, and I don’t know what that is, so…” Fluttershy trailed off weakly as she saw Twilight’s concerned look.
“Spike!” Twilight called out, “Find the library’s copy of the Compendium of Zerg Creatures, I need to look up something for Fluttershy.”
“I was just about to have a nap,” the two mares heard a certain dragon groan. Spike reluctantly rose, and dragged himself over to the bookcase. He traversed up a teetering ladder, and searched through the books. He pulled out an ancient, tattered, thin book out of the bookcase. Twilight enclosed it in her magic and brought the book down to herself.
“Thank you, Spike,” Twilight said as Spike toppled off the ladder and landed on the floor with a loud thud. Twilight opened the book, unperturbed as the ladder fell on him with a crash. “Let’s see,” Twilight muttered, “Zerglings… there they are. Now, let me read the passage from this book out to you.”
“Zerglings. Basic Description .
“Zerglings are a staple unit of any Zerg Brood. They are relatively small, weak, but voracious creatures. Zerglings are massed in vast numbers by the Brood to overwhelm any opponent. Zerglings always hatch in a set of twins out of their eggs, and they hatch quickly. This enables large numbers of zerglings to be produced in a short period of time.” Fluttershy shuddered at the description of zerglings. Swift didn’t seem to be a bloodthirsty killer – but Fluttershy conceded the book may have a point when she thought about it. She knew that Swift had sharp teeth, and claws that arch over its back; allowing it to stay sturdy on four legs when attacking. Twilight continued reading out of her book, “a zergling is slightly smaller than a pony. Its distinguishing features are the claws that originate from its back, and its sleek, streamlined appearance,” Twilight continued, “There are several mutations that zerglings can undergo to increase their usefulness in battle. These will be outlined further in the next two sections.
“In-battle mutations .
“Zerglings have two in-battle mutations. The first and most common, Zerg Wings, cause a pair of wing-like, membranous structures to erupt from their lower back. These wings enable the zergling to run faster, at approximately the double speed of regular, unmutated zerglings. The second in-battle mutation, the Adrenal Glands, is rare and was only documented once in the Great Zerg Invasion. This mutation was not thoroughly studied because of the lack of occurrences, and its effects were never confirmed. The dominant theory is this mutation greatly increased the attack speed of the zergling.
“Set mutations .
“There were three observed set mutations. The first to be discussed are the mysterious Finned Zerglings. This mutation is distinguished by a large fin trailing down the back of the zergling. The fins themselves provide no obvious benefit to the zergling. However, these zerglings were almost always present in overwhelming numbers in town sieges. This fact, and an unsubstantiated account of a soldier, caused the spread of the unconfirmed rumour that Finned Zerglings hatch in batches of triplets instead of twins. The second type of set mutation is the Armoured Zerglings. Armoured Zerglings are generally distinguished by a lack of any other visible set mutation. On close inspection, a thickened carapace is revealed to the shrewd inspector. These zerglings are tougher and able to withstand more damage, especially from aerial assault. Finally, but arguably the most dangerous of the set mutations, are the Sky Flight Zerglings. These zerglings have modified Zerg Wings. The Zerg Wings are larger in size, which enable small bursts of flight. This flight is used to hasten close combat engagement, leap up cliffs and barricades, and bring low-flying pegasus ponies out of the sky. Extra care must be taken to engage this type of zergling.”
Twilight closed the book, and floated it to a nearby desk, putting it down. She looked at Fluttershy, who was stunned at the description of her new pet. She couldn’t believe Swift was a biologically engineered killing machine – she knew it was a carnivore, but she didn’t know that every part of its body was tuned towards killing. The way Swift barked and chirped at her, the way it communicated with her; there was no way Swift was a killing machine, Fluttershy decided.
“Um… eep!” Fluttershy squeaked, as she backed away and tried to make herself look less substantial.
“Hmm,” Twilight said; the cogs in her brain turned as she thought about the creature Fluttershy found. “You said you befriended one zergling?”
“Y-yes,” Fluttershy responded, “Swift was nice and friendly, not like how you were describing them in that book…”
“You named it?” Twilight asked. She knew that Fluttershy only named pets she intended to keep. Fluttershy nodded timidly. “Will you allow me to examine it?”
Fluttershy nodded again and led Twilight to her cottage.
*
“Hmm… this is interesting,” Twilight murmured. She was examining Swift with her magic, the purple aura shimmering and shifting over different parts of its body. “I can feel its innate nature, its hunger for bloodshed and death. But that instinct is being supressed by something. However, I can’t discern what that something is. It also appears to be detached from any higher controlling power, such as a brood mother.” Swift barked at the pair of ponies in recognition. It flashed its teeth, appearing to smile.
“I knew you were harmless, my little Swift,” Fluttershy crooned to the happy zergling.
“Swift isn’t harmless,” Twilight corrected, “Its instincts are merely being blocked, Fluttershy. If these instincts surface, I don’t think even you can bring the creature to reason.”
“I trust Swift,” Fluttershy stated somewhat recklessly. She glared directly into Twilight’s eyes, her teal orbs burning with an inner fire. “I believe in Swift, that it can overcome its own nature… if Swift chooses to do so, that is.”
Twilight’s mind whirred, preparing a lecture to Fluttershy about the hive mind. She hit a snag when she gazed at Swift, a zergling that should be tearing them to shreds. Looking at the situation, Twilight realised there was much that they didn’t know about the Zerg. Most of the information was speculation and theory – all of it disproven merely by the sight in front of her. “I trust you, Fluttershy,” Twilight began, “You’re capable of choosing on your own if you want to take care of Swift. Please, be careful. I’ll see you later, Fluttershy.”
“Um… are you going home now?” Fluttershy asked.
“Yes, I have examined the zergling and my curiosity has been satisfied. I also have a lot of re-shelving work to do at the library this afternoon,” Twilight answered.
“Bye Twilight, sorry for the inconvenience,” Fluttershy said, waving her hoof at Twilight as she turned around and trotted away from the cottage.
Swift barked at Fluttershy to get her attention. Fluttershy turned to look at her newest pet. As Fluttershy finished her turn, Swift licked her face with a long, thin tongue. The zergling smiled at her, wagging its tail.
“I like you too, Swift. Even if nopony else ever trusts you… I do, Swift. If you would like that, of course,” Fluttershy told Swift. Swift licked her face again, more enthusiastically. It then yapped to her three times, ruffling its wings urgently.
“Yes, I’m listening, what is it?” Fluttershy asked Swift.
The zergling barked, yapped, and made many gestures with its body to explain its plight to Fluttershy. She listened and watched Swift, and understood its message. When the Zerg egg containing Swift hatched, there were two zerglings inside. Moments after hatching, Swift was knocked out by some mysterious force, and woke up with Fluttershy towering over it. Zerglings have an innate bond with the zergling it shared an egg with. Such a bond makes the two zerglings that hatched from one cocoon egg-mates. This bond means the egg-mates can feel each other’s presence, and pinpoint their approximate location in their minds through this instinctual connection. Swift told Fluttershy that it was going to find its egg-mate; the feeling of running on the wind with its egg-mate was something Swift wanted to experience.
“Um, that’s wonderful, but I should go with you; after finding your egg-mate I don’t want you to get lost,” Fluttershy responded. Swift tilted its head to the right, in thought. “If you don’t mind that, that is…” Swift barked and nodded at her. “You’ll let me? Yay!”
*
“A-are you sure it’s this way?” Fluttershy nervously asked Swift. The zergling growled deeply in reply, discouraged by her questioning it. “Of course… I shouldn’t have doubted you, it’s just…” Fluttershy gulped, looking up the trunk of one of the trees, until her eyes rested on the canopy and the dark gaps reaching into the forest. She began shaking, wings clamped firmly to her sides. “It’s the Everfree Forest!” Swift regarded Fluttershy curiously, a quiet gurgle escaping its mouth.
“But the Everfree Forest is dangerous! Eep… It’s dark and scary, and there’re monsters in there…”
Swift’s eyes glowed a little bit brighter for a second as it thought of an idea. Glancing at Fluttershy and grinning, Swift quickly turned around and rushed recklessly into the forest.
Fluttershy gasped; her thoughts tumbled into a mess of worry for the zergling. “W-wait, Swift!” she shouted – which was nearly as loud as a normal conversational tone. She galloped desperately after Swift, ignoring the branches she crashed headlong into. Swift remained just within sight of Fluttershy as they smashed through tangled vines, branches and leaves. The frantic dash quickly began to wear Fluttershy out; beads of sweat travelled down her face, and through her fur. A few minor lacerations on Fluttershy’s hooves made every hoof fall send stinging pain up her leg. Her muscles started to burn from lactic acid build-up as Swift finally slowed down. Fluttershy panted heavily as she trotted into the small clearing Swift has stopped in.
Fluttershy watched Swift approaching a hunched over figure. The claws arched over the top of its back signalled it out as Swift’s egg-mate. Splinters of wood were splattered in front of the zergling. Fluttershy gasped audibly – the splintered wood was all that remained of a timber wolf. The zergling’s body snapped around at the noise. It growled deeply at Fluttershy, crouching down and advancing like a lioness on the hunt. Its eye’s glow shifted from orange-yellow to red. Swift backed away to stand near Fluttershy, barking at its egg-mate to dissuade it.
Fluttershy trembled with fear; she gazed into the cold, red eyes of Swift’s egg-mate and found only a hungry desire to kill. Fluttershy squealed as the zergling made subtle body adjustments, preparing to pounce. It roared as it leapt into the air, sharp claws aimed at Fluttershy. The claws were about to sink into the helpless pegasus before they were flung back because Swift pounced the other zergling in mid-air. The two zerglings landed heavily, Swift pinning the other zergling to the ground. Swift was on top of the other zergling, slashing it with its claws.
Swift and its egg-mate fought in a dead even battle. They were essentially identical in every way – and so were their battle skills. However, Swift had dealt the first blow on the other zergling, and had the advantage. After they traded blows a few times, Swift’s egg-mate used its strike to push Swift off its body. The other zergling flipped over onto its feet deftly and dashed away, deeper into the forest. Swift leapt after it, but was stopped by its belly letting out a resounding, booming growl. With a start, Swift remembered the details of their encounter – the fact that it jumped into battle to protect a certain scared pegasus. The zergling turned to look at her; Fluttershy was attempting to get onto her hooves, her legs shaking as she straightened them. Her wings fluttered slowly to give her extra support, and a determined scowl softened into a weak smile as she noticed Swift was watching her.
As Fluttershy finished stabilising herself, Swift approached her. It examined her; noticing her dishevelled look, the minor gashes on her fetlocks, and a few leaves in her hair. Swift yapped at Fluttershy with concern.
“I’m sorry Swift… I’m fine, but you’re…”
Swift had several deep gashes where the other zergling had attacked it – one ran down its chest, ending near the stomach. Another was a small hole, but it penetrated Swift’s neck. Several red lines on Swift’s jaw and a fracture line on the carapace of Swift’s snout suggested that it got bitten. Swift leapt into the air, flapping its wings futilely before landing on the ground and flashing a grin at Fluttershy.
“Are you sure you’ll be fine, Swift?” Fluttershy asked, worried. Swift nodded at her, and before she could argue, approached her. The zergling was gentle, removing the leaves entangled in Fluttershy’s smooth pink mane with one of its claws. Flicking his tongue, Swift dragged it through cream fur, removing the dirt off Fluttershy’s body. She enjoyed the caring attention Swift gave her, cleaning her up. The dancing tongue then moved to Fluttershy’s hooves, cleaning her minor wounds. They stung a little as Swift’s dry tongue swept over them, but she ignored it. When Swift was done, it pulled back from Fluttershy and smiled.
She smiled back at Swift and thanked it. About to move to clean up Swift’s wounds, Fluttershy gasped as she noticed something. The wounds on its neck had completely closed up, and the other two gashes were less noticeable. Swift’s belly growled at it again, cutting off any comment Fluttershy had. In less than a second, Swift had turned around, leapt at the timber wolf’s ‘corpse’ and began to consume it. Splinters of wood were shattered by zergling teeth with resounding cracks, the shards flying down its throat without a problem. Fluttershy watched Swift satisfy its hunger with fascination. She approached it, and veered around to examine its front. The cuts and gashes were gone – Swift appeared to be in perfect health, even the carapace had been healed. It had completely regenerated its body. The zergling turned to face Fluttershy, wagging its tail. It yapped enthusiastically, and it moved its body energetically.
“S-sorry, but I don’t know if that’s a good idea, Swift,” Fluttershy stammered. The reality of being in the Everfree Forest started to close in on her. A resonating, dark animalistic growl slipped through Swift’s teeth and into Fluttershy’s ears. She noticed the usually friendly zergling crouch like its egg-mate – it was ready to pounce – and the glow of its eyes began to shift from orange to red.
“Eeep! I’m so sorry Swift; I’ll go with you,” Fluttershy gulped. Swift smiled, once again appearing unthreatening. The zergling began to walk slowly and purposefully, apparently on a direct course for its egg-mate, as it did not follow the path sliced through the trees by its fleeing. Fluttershy meekly tip-hoofed after her companion. She was terrified, because of the forest, being separated from her zergling, and a little bit for Swift itself. She had seen the traces of its evolved nature seeping out of the caring exterior. Swift used its claws to clear low lying undergrowth in its path. Methodically and steadily, Swift approached its target.
After many minutes of trotting, Fluttershy hoped that they were close to their destination. The only thing that stopped her being completely frozen with terror was Swift, confidently walking somewhere that only it knew. Nonetheless, her eyes skittered around nervously, glancing at impenetrable walls of trees on all sides of her, and her wings were plastered to her sides. Swift paused, searching for something unknown to Fluttershy. Preoccupied with her rising fear, she nearly ran into Swift.
An ungodly scream rang out from the trees nearby on the right. That was followed quickly by crunching grass and cracking branches. Swift turned its head and began to ready its claws; but it was too late, as its egg-mate leapt and crashed through the tree wall at Swift, Fluttershy crying out too late. The egg-mate’s eyes glowed crimson, and its sharp claws were curved over its back, ready to strike. It slammed into Swift, causing them to tumble into the bushes. The foe gained the advantage, sinking its claw into Swift’s left side. Swift attacked the egg-mate furiously, swiping its claws into its foe’s flesh as fast as it could, while scrambling onto its feet. Pouncing out of the fight, Swift howled out at Fluttershy.
She opened her mouth in terror, but no sound came out. Swift had no time to stop or explain any further, as the enraged egg-mate burst out onto the path, intent on killing its prey. Dashing towards Fluttershy, Swift stooped low as it skidded towards her. It pushed its left zerg wing out, angling it perfectly. The wing caught Fluttershy within its membrane and then Swift flicked it forward. She realised what Swift did as she was soaring through the air. Landing with a thud on Swift’s back, Fluttershy gripped Swift as well as she could with her hooves and hung on.
The manoeuvre cost Swift a vital second – which was a second too many, allowing its egg-mate to clamp onto the tip of Swift’s tail. With Fluttershy secure on its back, Swift did the only viable action – it surged forward, the sudden motion tearing the end of Swift’s tail clean off. It then dashed at full speed, careening along the path it had created to reach the egg-mate. That egg-mate was hot in pursuit, rushing after Swift equally as fast. Swift never slowed down, and never faltered from the paths that lead it and Fluttershy into the forest. The rush was both exhilarating and terrifying to Fluttershy – the speed was incredible, but hearing the egg-mate snap and bark behind her was unnerving. She understood, in these moments, why Rainbow Dash loved flying at ridiculous speeds. Adrenaline coursed through Fluttershy, making the speed more bearable to her senses.
After a few minutes of high speed sprinting, Swift broke out of the forest, with Fluttershy still clinging onto its back, her hooves blanched white from the force of her grip. Her mane, whipping out behind her, was frazzled. Fluttershy was relieved that they had exited the forest, and dared to look behind her. Glowing eyes, bared teeth and gleaming, sharp claws – a machine of death called a zergling awaited her. She forced her head back forward, her terror renewed. Fluttershy screamed, louder than she had ever screamed in her life – the sound exiting her throat boomed like a real scream. She would have been proud of herself, if the circumstances weren’t so dire.
None of the participants of the frantic dash noticed that the rainbow being formed above them in the sky halted. The prismatic, bright colours faded from the sky, connecting back into the equally prismatic tail of a pegasus mare. She gazed upon the scene, watching two strange animals running after each other as fast as they could. Rainbow Dash noticed a cream blob with two streaks of pink behind it on the back of one of the creatures. Another faint sound reached her ears, like the one that caused her to notice the strange commotion. She angled her wings downwards, diving to investigate.
Author's Note
Here's the second chapter, finally. Doing fierce battle with my procrastination, I chipped away at this chapter a little bit at a time, running with my inspiration whenever it struck me.
I know the main question that people posed to me on the first chapter hasn't been answered yet, in fact, the problem has only deepened.
Anyway.
Thank you guys for all the support last chapter, and the support you give me on this chapter. I seriously wasn't expecting a response like that on the last chapter. Thank you again! :D
Fluttershy's Pet Zergling
The fury of ponies
Rainbow Dash sliced through the air like a knife through butter. Her wings were folded into her sides and her forelegs were leading the decent. The streamlined rocket quickly built up speed, and a rainbow trail was left in her wake. Wind battered Rainbow’s eyes, and she squinted so she could see. The pegasus saw the two running figures growing as she got closer to her. They were also running fast, moving away from her intended course. Rainbow flicked her wings out, slowing her slightly but shifting her position to allow her dive to end near the strange scene.
The swift blobs began to focus into clear images – they were strange insect-like creatures with six limbs and sails arching out of their backs. The one being chased had a cream and pink pony-like shape perched on top of it, who was hanging on for dear life. Rainbow zoomed further downwards, seeing the cream pony’s wings being pulled backwards. She looked behind her and up to the form of Rainbow Dash. The cyan mare’s gasp was ripped from her mouth as she realised the pony was Fluttershy. With a wing flick to re-align herself, Rainbow hurtled towards the creature chasing her friend. Everything except her target became an indistinct, multi-coloured blur.
“Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash boomed as she turned sharply out of her dive. Her prismatic wake surged into the zergling, causing it to tumble into the ground. The rainbow shattered into thousands of brilliant shards.
“That was easy, that’s how awe–”
Her gloating was cut short by the guttural roar of the egg-mate. It pounced at Rainbow with all of its claws aimed at her. Swiftly flapping her wings, she shot upwards to avoid the zergling. It landed deftly and turned to face its egg-mate. Padding its way forward slowly, the foe zergling growled softly. Rainbow glared at the zergling she attacked. She spiralled in a dive down towards it.
“Don’t ignore me, animal,” she said while smashing her hoof into the creature’s jaw. The zergling pummelled its arching arm’s spikes into Rainbow Dash’s back. Her eyes shrunk into pinpricks as her back burned up in pain. A bloodcurdling scream pierced through the area. The broken pegasus’ body slipped out of the claws, falling to the ground with a dull thud. Swift dashed into its egg-mate claws first, and the two zerglings tore bloody lines into each other’s bodies. Rainbow Dash lay on the ground near the zerglings, forgotten by them.
Fluttershy trembled uncontrollably as she watched the zerglings fight. She saw the body of her friend nestled within the grass, blood trickling out of her body. The zerglings were tearing each other to pieces and letting out horrible, agony-filled cries. Fluttershy squeezed her eyes shut, wanting it all to end. She wanted everything to stop fighting. She wished that Swift and Rainbow Dash weren’t hurt, and that their blood wasn’t streaming out of their bodies onto the grass and the ground. As she wished that, the scared pony couldn’t deny the screams and the dull sound of claws ripping into flesh that she could hear.
“Stop, please stop,” Fluttershy muttered while tears streamed down her face and she clutched her ears with her hooves. It failed to block out the horrible sounds around her. “Stop!”
“I wasn’t going to forgive you for hurting me,” Rainbow Dash said, “And I’m definitely not going to forgive you making Fluttershy cry!” The cream pegasus opened her eyes to see Rainbow punch the zergling in the stomach. She bellowed as her hoof tore through the zergling’s flesh and got drenched with blood and organs. The egg-mate shrieked in its final breath, falling into a gory puddle of body fluids. Rainbow gazed into Fluttershy’s horrified visage. The cyan pegasus smiled weakly. “I’m fine,” she said before dropping to the ground, unconscious. Fluttershy dashed across the gap between them to cradle her form in her forelegs.
“R-Rainbow, I…”
*
Twilight held a quill with her magic, and stared at a blank piece of parchment in front of her. A small pile of crumpled parchment adorned her desk with an unusual messiness. She brought the quill into an ink well on the desk, soaking its tip with black ink. It quivered as she brought it in line with the parchment. Twilight knew what she wrote had to be faultless in conveying the message that she wanted to send. Princess Celestia wouldn’t even read it if it was anything less than that. The princess was perfection incarnate, and Twilight had to reflect that with every iota of her being. The unicorn was learning from her, and she wanted to show every lesson was learned impeccably.
Dear Princess Celestia,
I implore you to peruse and consider this message I have sent you. It is not a friendship report, nor an immediate crisis, but it is an important issue that is troubling me enough to personally write this letter to you. This morning, my friend Fluttershy came to me and told me that she had befriended a zergling. Upon my inspection of the alien, I found it odd that an unknown force was supressing its killer instinct. After thoroughly reading all sources the Ponyville library has on the Zerg race, I have not found an iota of information into this phenomenon. Therefore, I request permission to acquire additional sources about the Zerg that Ponyville has not stocked, either by transmission of books or consent for me to travel to Canterlot library.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle.
She smiled as the quill left the paper for the final time and clattered onto the desk. Double and triple checking the letter, Twilight was finally satisfied with this version. Rolling up the letter and sealing it as she trotted down the stairs, she called out to Spike.
“Spike, can you send this letter to the Princess?”
“I sure can,” he replied, grabbing the letter and engulfing it within the green tendrils of his flames. When those tendrils faded into the air, the letter was sent.
“Thank you, Spike,” Twilight said before she trotted off and resumed her planned activities for the afternoon.
*
The letter flashed through an inter-dimensional space before floating in front of Princess Celestia in Canterlot. The calm she exuded into the room and her neutral composure didn’t shift as the letter from her student appeared. She was in the active Solar Court, debating her policy of higher taxes for the rich with a noble. Secretly she welcomed the distraction from the blabbering fool. “Please excuse me for a moment.”
“You wish to interrupt our vital session for reading some letter?” the noble daringly jeered. The princess did not hesitate in removing the ribbon clasped around the letter.
“It is from my faithful student, Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia explained, “I won’t be a moment.”
“It’s still some letter,” the noble grumbled under his breath. Celestia ignored him as she began to read. Her composure cracked for a second when she read there was a zergling. She struggled to calmly read the rest of the letter, but she did – anything Twilight wrote would be vital to understanding the situation. It didn’t take the princess very long to finish the letter.
“I must apologise to you, sir, but my faithful student has brought a pressing matter to my attention that must be attended to immediately.” Having excused herself, Celestia regally trotted out of the Solar Court. She no longer cared about the noble and his opinion of her. As soon as she was out of the noble’s sight, golden energy trimmed the horn of the Princess. It sparked and grew, glowing strongly. Engulfing her entire body, the magic let out a brilliant flash, and Celestia was no longer there.
*
Shortly after she had sent the letter, Twilight spotted golden light in the corner of her eye. She turned and came face to face with regal and beautiful form of Princess Celestia. The alicorn smiled warmly at Twilight. “I have read your letter, Twilight Sparkle, and I believe it held important news. I wish examine this zergling personally,” Celestia explained.
Twilight gaped with shock at the Princess standing directly in front of her. She had expected a couple of books to arrive, not Celestia herself. Withering under the calm and collected gaze of her mentor, Twilight’s mind buckled. She glanced back and forth, from the white alicorn, to her library. The scrutinising unicorn zoomed in on the flecks of dust scattered on every surface and every book, item and miscellaneous objects that were out of place. Her right eye twitched as she stretched her muzzle with a wild grin.
“I haven’t even cleaned up the library!”
“It’s ok, my faithful student,” Celestia began, “You don’t need to worry about the state of your library. All you need to tell me is where Fluttershy – and hopefully the zergling – is.”
Twilight calmed down quickly, aided by her mentor’s words. “I saw Fluttershy at her cottage a few hours ago.”
“Thank you Twilight, this will not take–”
The door of the library burst open with a crash. Celestia turned around and stepped out of the way, allowing Twilight to see their visitor. It was Pinkie Pie and her pink mane looked more frazzled than usual, if that was possible. She didn’t appear to notice the Princess as she wildly gazed directly at the unicorn in the room.
“Twilight, you need to come immediately with me. Fluttershy had this strange creature that I’ve never seen before – it was like an alien – but that’s not what I came to tell you. She was with Rainbow Dash, but that’s not what I wanted to tell you either. I saw, I saw – I saw… She, she was hurt, Twilight…” Pinkie trailed off, losing her steam. “Fluttershy was rushing her to the hospital, and I – Twi, it looked pretty serious, I think you should visit Dashie.” Two faint tears escaped out of Pinkie’s eyes, trailing down her face and dropping to the floor. She looked over to Celestia, finally realising she was there.
“We will go visit Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie. From your description, this isn’t good; and the reason I have come here personally is also there. I’ll teleport us to the hospital,” Celestia said.
“Oh that’s right, I need to tell Applejack and Rarity still, I’ll be at the hospital in a jiffy, don’t worry,” Pinkie replied before zooming off into the distance. Twilight regarded Celestia, worry splayed on the unicorn’s face. The Princess enveloped herself and Twilight in a bubble of her magic and teleported them to the hospital.
“Why don’t I get to go?” Spike wondered to himself, before shrugging and resuming the duties that Twilight had handed to him.
*
Celestia and her student materialised in the waiting room of the hospital, to everypony’s surprise. The ponies working there all suddenly attempted to appear as if they were working harder than they already were. Or that they were working at all. The other ponies waiting appeared suddenly flustered; most of them fell out of their seats and bowed to their Princess. Celestia had to supress a chuckle at their ridiculous behaviour – she had to put up with endless shenanigans from her citizens whenever she went somewhere unannounced.
“There is no need to stress, my dear ponies. Continue your business like I’m not here, I have come here on personal business, nothing more.” Her words only went so far in calming everypony in the room. Celestia wanted to get into the ward with Rainbow Dash as fast as she could.
“Which ward is Rainbow Dash in?” Twilight demanded from the receptionist.
“I’m sorry, I can’t tell you Twilight Sparkle. Rainbow Dash is currently in surgery and no visitors are allowed.”
“I’m her friend! I need to be there for her in her times of need. I’ll find Rainbow myself,” Twilight replied as she swung around and began to gallop to the wards. The princess let a soft smile reach her face. She reached out with a hoof and brushed it lightly against Twilight. The student skidded to a stop and gazed into Celestia’s eyes. Patience, young one, they would say if eyes could talk. Twilight nodded and trotted over to a chair, proceeding to sit down on it so hard that it snapped with a crack. Splintered wood stabbing into her flank did nothing to help her mood.
The door to the hospital opened, and three mares trotted inside. Two of them looked dishevelled, but the third looked stunning.
“Oh dear, the Princess herself being here wasn’t just one of Pinkie’s tall tales,” Rarity said, bowing with perfect form to Celestia.
“That’s what ya worried about, now at all times?” Applejack asked, disgusted.
“A lady must always be prepared to impress, even in bad times like this.”
“You should be more worried about our dying friend!”
“I am worried about her,” Rarity huffed.
“That was a bit mean-spirited, wasn’t it, Applejack?” Pinkie asked.
“It was just the truth.”
“Girls stop fighting, Fluttershy just came out of the ward,” Twilight said. The four friends and the Princess formed a concave around Fluttershy. The cream pegasus looked worn and frayed; her fur was fluffed up and dirty in places and light gashes covered her hooves. Her mane was wild and tangled.
“Is Rainbow Dash alright?” Pinkie asked, tears beginning to brim in her eyes. They all waited for Fluttershy’s response tensely. A whisper on the wind that sounded like Fluttershy reached them, and then it was silent.
“I’m sorry dear, none of us caught that,” Rarity said.
“R-Rainbow Dash should recover. I’m sorry…” Fluttershy replied.
“I’m sure there’s nothing to apologise for. Show us the way to Rainbow Dash’s ward, please,” Celestia said.
“Eep! This way, everyone… if you don’t mind me leading the way.”
“Of course we don’t mind,” Twilight answered with a smile. The group followed Fluttershy until they entered Rainbow Dash’s ward and saw her crumpled form on the bed. Bandages wrapped around her back, from just under the neck to a little bit past her wings. Those wings poked out of the bandages. She was still unconscious. Her friends rushed to her side and looked at her anxiously. Fluttershy had gone over to Swift and hugged the zergling. Celestia watched over the entire scene, until she noticed what brought her to Ponyville originally.
“So, this is the zergling,” Celestia said coolly. She took a step forwards and gazed down at Fluttershy. The pegasus broke her hug and faced the Princess.
“Yes Princess, this is Swift. If you don’t mind me asking… do you want to see the zergling?”
“I do,” Celestia replied, taking another step forward. Her horn glowed and her golden magic encircled Swift. Pumping more magic into the spell, an arc of magic linked the two. “Feel the pain of my ponies,” Celestia growled quietly, “Feel what you did to them.” She sent a pulse down the link. Swift let out a tortured, bloodcurdling scream. The zergling struggled and thrashed, but it could not move from the spot it was in. “Hurt like I was hurt!” the Princess boomed. The friends were all looking at the commotion, except for the unconscious Rainbow.
“No!” Fluttershy shouted as she flapped her wings and flew into the golden thread. “If you’re going to cruelly harm Swift like this, hurt me instead!”
Celestia gasped, and her magic faded away. She was shocked, and she saw her lapse of judgement. “But it’s a Zerg! It can’t be like this,” she stammered as she tried to justify her actions.
Fluttershy landed on the ground and took a step forward towards the Princess. “That doesn’t matter. Every creature deserves a chance, no matter what they are, or where they came from. All Swift has ever shown me is that it’s a kind animal, willing to protect the ponies it loves, even if it has to fight its own egg-mate. I won’t let you harm the zergling.” Celestia was surprised; she hadn’t been spoken to this passionately or sternly by one of her citizens since – since ever. The gutsy pegasus stumbled backwards and gasped, her eyes shrinking with terror. “Eep, I just… I-I-I-I…I talked back to a Princess. I’m so, so sorry, Princess…”
“Fluttershy,” Celestia said, “Apology accepted. It was I that was in the wrong. I shouldn’t have let my anger get in the way of fair judgement.” The Princess then bathed Swift within her magic again, but instead of hurting it she examined it. “Twilight was right – the magic of Equestria itself is blocking and reducing its innate instinct. As it is experiencing acts of friendship, that magic is affecting the zergling.”
“Um, if you don’t mind, I want to ask a few questions, Princess…” Fluttershy asked.
“Go ahead, Fluttershy,” Celestia answered as she released her magical grip on Swift.
“Well, um… if the magic of friendship affected Swift, why didn’t it affect its egg-mate? The other zergling is what hurt Rainbow… and it didn’t seem nearly as nice as Swift.”
“Good question, Fluttershy. I don’t know myself, the Zerg race holds many great mysteries. Were there any differing circumstances surrounding Swift when compared to the other zergling?”
Swift barked at her. Fluttershy looked at her pet and smiled.
“Swift says upon hatching it was hit with some force. That, um, might be what was different,” Fluttershy said.
“Maybe that difference is the reason. Maybe Swift is susceptible to the magical forces of Equestrian soil. Maybe your presence upon its awakening is what made all the difference. We might never find out the truth,” Celestia responded. “What happened to the other zergling?”
“I… killed it,” Rainbow Dash said weakly, “Am I not awesome enough to be noticed when I regain consciousness?”
“Rainbow Dash!” everypony in the room cried out in unison.
“Of course you’re awesome,” Pinkie replied, relieved.
“My ponies, there is one thing I must do, please don’t be alarmed by my magic,” Celestia said. Her magic once again reached out of her horn, but instead of engulfing Swift, it formed a golden, glowing rune under her feet. The princess closed her eyes, allowing the glow of the runes to travel up her legs. Slowly, her whole body was consumed by the glowing light. Celestia herself stretched her mind outwards. She detected the zergling strongly next to her and she began to seek out any further Zerg signatures. She didn’t find anything in Equestria and broadened her scope. Finding nothing on the planet, she once again extended her spell – this time as far as it could go. Still, the Princess detected nothing. She reduced the scope of her spell, powered it down safely until she couldn’t even detect Swift and her spell ended. Celestia swayed a little after she opened her eyes. “Swift is the only Zerg around – thank me?”
“That’s a relief,” Twilight said. The girls were all together, another small adventure over.
“Dear Twilight, today I have learnt an important lesson in friendship. It is important to give every creature and pony an equal chance to show you their friendship. You shouldn’t judge anypony for who they are or where they come from before you have met them. You shouldn’t let your past emotions cloud your judgement about who a pony really is. Your faithful mentor, Princess Celestia. Is that how you do it?” she asked Twilight.
She and all the girls shared a laugh at Celestia’s expense.
“Yes, it is.”
Author's Note
Well, this is the last chapter. Maybe it came too quickly for you, maybe it was good. Either way, I am done with this idea. I feel that dragging it out would make the whole thing seem mundane after this point. I know some of the explanations look weak, such as the speculated reason Swift was different from its egg-mate. If there's one thing I learned from this story, it's that you should plan out at least your main plot points before you begin writing.
Writing this story has been a wonderful experience for me. I have learned a lot along the way, and the support of all of you guys has been heartwarming to me. To know I even touched your lives slightly is something that I enjoy. Thank you everyone, for the support, for pointing out the numerous, gaping holes in this story, and for taking the time out of your day to read this story. Thank you. :)
Please feel free to point out errors, typos, etc. It's appreciated.
