“UUUUGGGGHHHHHHHHhhhh”
I groaned as my stomach continued to growl. I had been like this for Queen knows how long. In reality though, it had only been two days that I had gone without any food. To me it was like two weeks. “Why couldn't that mare just love me right off the bat.” I said to myself in a harsh tone. “Its always those stupid questions. like, ‘What's your name’” I mimicked. “‘where you are from,’ ‘why are your eyes different colors.’ Ugh...I wish I could get that part of the whole ‘disguise thing’ down. Why can’t I just look at a window and turn around three times, its not like anyone looks at the important features of a pony anyway. Like the fangs in a mouth, or fins in a mane, or holes in the hooves. Stuff like that is too easy to ignore.”
I continued wandering around the forest. Ever since I got rejected by that mare (Which was nothing but a slap to the face and her screaming at the top of her lugs at how my eyes accidentally turned to a complete aqua blue color, or were they indigo, or maybe they were just blue. Is that a real color?) Anyway, after that, I was forced to find other love to eat. Yet I couldn't find any around town, since I was forced to run out of it and hide in the forest from Queen knows what. Probably a royal guard or an angry mob.
After wandering around for so long, I started to become so desperate for food that I was thinking about finding love that wasn't from ponies, but from other creatures “Maybe I can find a rabbit,” I said. “or a squirrel, maybe even a butterfly.”
My eyes lit up once I said those words. “Hey yeah. Insects need to help other insects, and aren't I just like them, I got the wings for it, though not many bugs have fangs. Spiders have fangs, but aren't they arachnids. Wait, is there a difference?" My mind got back on track as I rubbed my chin, thinking about what to do.
Perhaps I could find a bug that could help me, I never tasted love from a bug, and now would be the perfect time to try it out. I held a hoof to my forehead and surveyed the area, looking through every branch of every tree, every twig of every bush, every blade of grass of...well...every other blade grass.
I spent two minutes trying to find some form of life in the forest, which to me felt like two hours. “Hey!” I yelled. “Anyling out there?” Wait. Do bugs have other derivatives for everyone? I know that ponies do that kind of thing. Did butterflies call one another everyfly? No no no. If they called each other that, then what would flies call each other. And what about other creatures besides insects? Do they do that to? I thought about what other creatures would call each other. Everydoggie, everybunny, everybear….
A growling stomach ruined my concentration, and this time it actually hurt me. I clung to my belly and laid on the ground, moaning and groaning in pain “Whyyyyyy mmmeeeee.” I cried. To add insult to injury, my ear started to twitch. “Oh great.” I groaned. “Looks like I’m gonna have to deal with this while I hear that stupid snoring…Wait.”
Once my stomach stopped its torment on my body, I got up on all fours and adjusted my ears, wanting to make sure that they weren't deceiving me. As my ear stems came to focus, I heard the sounds of a high pitched snore, and where there's snoring, there's a creature, and where there's a creature, there’s almost always love to be had. It sounded feminine to. What luck! Since opposite gender love, to me, tasted better.
Eating different gender love doesn't mean I’m biased or anything with same gender love eating changelings, it was just that my taste for love was something that normal changelings would prefer…
No wait! I-I didn't mean it like that. Every changeling is completely normal, even the ones that eat same gender love...No wait, aren't we all different, or are we all just mindless drones? Should I be questioning the ways of my queen right now?
Another hard growl in my stomach told me to get a move on with the story and find out where this snoring was coming from and who was doing it. I stuck my neck further out so my ears could get an exact location as to where it was coming from. “Sounds like its coming from…”
I scanned my eyes over the area. There were trees with branches so tangle that not even fly could get past it, so no bug there. There were bushes, but sleeping in a bush doesn't seem very comfortable. I cringed thinking about a poor hatchling having to sleep in something like that, it would be such a horrible thing for such a defenseless creature to go through, even if their own well being or past made them look like a villi-
A loud roar on my belly made my mind get back on track into finding that sleeping creature. I shook my head and let my eyes wander around again, listening with your eyes was better than your ears, right? Or was it the other way around?
My eyes fell upon a flower patch, nothing but multi-colored petals on stems. I had to admit though, they did look very pretty, the different colors of the flowers really bring it to life, and no thorns were on them either, and the translucent wings on one of them looked cool with the light shining on them.
Reminded me of my wings. I looked back and forth at my pair of wings to the other pair of wings on the flower, my wings looked more aqua blue, (or were they regular blue? maybe they just matched my eyes.) while the smaller pair of wings were completely clear and about ten times smaller than mine. They almost looked like somebuggy’s wings instead of the flower...Wait. That's it!
Somebuggy! That's the perfect name to give other bugs. Now I had something to call them if I ever meet one, now if only I could find one…
My mind took a couple steps back and started putting pieces together. Wings like those must belong to something other than a flower, and that snoring sounded even louder when I looked toward them. As the gears in my brain turned. I finally got it.
There was a bug sleeping on the flower, now that wasn't so hard.
I grinned, knowing now that my meal ticket was just yards away, I just had to get there unnoticed. This is my prey, after all. I Narrowed my eyes and glided my tongue against my lips to give a look of hunger. Looking back and forth, I made my way to my prey. First, I made a dramatic tumble toward a nearby tree, causing my fang to get stuck in the bark of it.
I groaned and pulled my pointy tooth out, licking it to make sure it was still in place. I focused back on the task at hoof and poked my head out of the side of the tree, still seeing that wings were still on top of the flower. I pulled my head back and broke physics by poking it out of the side of another tree closer to the flower, then I did the same to the tree next to it, then I did it out of a nearby bush, scratching my skin against the thorns in the process.
Realizing this I cringed and clamped my teeth on my hoof, holding in the shriek of pain in my throat. I looked over at the wings on the flower to see that a small body has appeared on it, or was that always their? I was a couple feet away from it, just one more break in the laws of physics and that bug would be mine.
Taking a deep breath, I pulled my head back into the bush and slowly rose behind the flower. From here I could see exactly what it was I was going to feed of off. I had never seen a creature like it before.
It had pink skin, and it had a very weird hairstyle. Its hair was long and puffy, as was its tail, it was like a ponies, but it was like its body didn't match their hair or something. It just didn't look right to me.
Plus, it had weird antennas protruding out of its head, were these like some sort of sensors that ants also had? were these things blind? I tilted my head, trying to get a better picture of this thing, but it was still the same. Just a small, cute, pink haired and skinned, antennaed...Thing. What was this creature called anyway? Did it even have a name?
*GROWL*
For the tenth time today my stomach cried for food. I was beginning to think that it was just trying to spite me. I mean, come one belly! I’m right next to food, why would you cry about it now. I continued looking at my stomach in anger, thinking that doing that would make it stop talking for the rest of the day. After that I licked my lips and opened my mouth, ready for a meal that was sure to taste good, I looked up at the little bug again.
Only to see that it was now staring back at me in horror. I couldn't blame it though, I was looking really scary at that moment, with my mouth hanging wide open, showing a tongue, fangs, and a throat, all visible for the poor thing to see. At that point it screamed and used it wings to make an exit.
I couldn't let It get away! What if this thing had other creatures just like it. That bug would send out an entire army at me. Maybe it even had other animals who were its ally, and the last thing I wanted to do right now was fight, so it was either that or run after the little guy on an empty stomach. So since I had no other option, I went with the later and chased after the thing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What was up with that things wings? How is it flying faster than I’m running, its wings are way too small to be doing something like this. How is it doing this? I just ignored that and continued chasing after the insect.
We zoomed past every tree and plant, I was just hoping that it wouldn't realize that, with its size, it would find some nice crawl space to hid in. It wouldn't stop screaming either, I lowered my ears just to drown out the noise. “Will you... just….stop flying.” I yelled in between breaths, reasoning usually works in these types of situations anyway.
It just gave another cry of fear and kept flying. At this point, I was starting to get a little bit irritated. All I wanted from this bug was love, and it was giving me fear, and that emotion had an awful taste to it. I decided to go for the direct approach and fight fire with fire by using my wings as well.
Within seconds the bug crashed into my chest. Seems like having bigger wings made me win this battle. I gave a smile and grabbed the winged creature. It struggled in my grip, I couldn't figure out why though, It wasn't like I was going to hurt it or anything, I just wanted to feed of off it. I brought it up to my face and looked it in the eye, it stopped screaming (thank chrysie) and instead gave a look of pure terror that was starting to weird me out.
I was about to say something, but my mind told me that I was still flying, and my eyes were telling me to look past the little bug and focus on the oncoming tree...wait...tree?
My jaws dropped as the tree came closer and closer. My instincts seemed to kick in as I turned my back toward the oncoming obstacle and prepare for impact, wait..why couldn't I just fly past it? Maybe I should do that inste-
*SMACK*
My back made contact with the tree, as did my wings. It almost felt like I tore one of them, but I was too busy crying in pain as I slid down the side of the tree. Every bark that wasn't embedded in the wooden plant was embedding into my skin. It felt like dull razors were slicing me.
The pain came to a stop as my flank hit the ground, causing even more pain on my body. Luckily for me, I was able to get over it, the pain outside of my body was nothing compared to the inside of my body. That reminded me about my little bug that I found.
I looked down to see that it was still in my grip, shaking its entire body and having its eyes completely shut. I didn't know what to say at that point, I didn't even know I would get this far really. So my stomach decided to talk first, making my cringe and hold my tummy. Why couldn't it just shut up for one day? The bug seemed to have snapped out of state of fear and was now looking at me with tears of joy, or at least it looked like it. Seeing this, I decided that now was the perfect time to tell it what I want.
“So..Uh...Can I eat you?”
That probably wasn’t the best thing to say, cause as soon as I said it the thing bawled its eyes out right in front of me, and I don’t think those were tears of joy either.
“Please,” It sobbed. “I don’t want to die like this.”
I reeled my head back in shock. I didn’t really expect this thing to be so...so...scared. Why did it think I was trying to kill it. I was just chasing after it with an intent to eat her love while telling it to stop, and before I was doing that I was looming over with my mouth wide open…
...
…
…
Oh…
Now I get it...I was acting like I was going to kill it, and I guess I could have say ‘Can I eat you’ with different wording, like ‘may I eat you,’ and I’m sure this thing knows that ‘eating’ is a phrase for feeding for love right?
“Just let me go.” It begged. “I promise not to tell anyone else.”
So they don’t have a derivative for everyone, what a shame. At least now it won't tell anybuggy about me feeding off of it...Great, now that words in my head.
“Listen” I said. “I know I have been acting like I'm going to kill you, but I’m not gonna do that, alright?”
It seemed to be calming down after that, or at least I hope it was. “Th-then...what are you going to do to me?”
I blushed a little after it said that. This was that part where I was going to eat it’s love, and boy was the process weird. Wait, before I do this, I still need to ask it something first.
“What gender are you?”
“W-what?” It said. Did this thing not hear so well, you’d think with antennas that long it could pick up noise better.
I grabbed it by the wings and held it closer to my face, trying to see if there were features on its body that might give me the answer, though I didn’t know the anatomy of this thing that well, or at all for that matter.
“Well,” I started. “Are you a guy or a girl.”
Its eyes went wide after I asked it that, either I really hit its fear spot or it does that when its about to answer a question.
“I...I...I...” It started stuttering. Does it do that to when it answers questions too. This was one weird bug.
“Just answer the question.” I said, I lowered the thing to my stomach. My hooves were getting tired of keeping it up in the air. I just hope my stomach doesn’t yell at me again. “Are you a male or a female? This is important for what I’m going to do next.”
After that it started shaking. Strange, its not really that cold in this forest. “W-What gender are you?” It asked.
This was starting to bug me, no pun intended. What was with this bug asking me a question now, I asked first, its only fair. I just sighed and said bluntly. “I’m a guy.”
“Th-Then I’m a guy too!” It yelled.
I was rather surprised, you’d think with such a high pitched voice that it would be a girl. “Are you sure you’re a guy?” It was a rather strange question for me to ask, but hey, I might as well. Sometimes I couldn’t even tell my own brothers and sisters apart.
“Y-yeah...I’m a male...yup...one hundred percent man...hehe...yeah…” It started scratching its neck while giving a grin that I could tell was fake. I knew that because that would be the same grin I would give when I tell guards that my passport was up to date. Wait...How would I know that if I’ve never looked at my own smile.
I ignored that and said, “Really? Then...uh...” I tried thinking of a question that only a guy could answer. Then I had it. I pointed my hoof straight at this so called male and said. “What is a guys favorite food?”
“Food?” It questioned, was this thing part def or something.
I leaned my head in and said. “What do changeling males, like me, want for their favorite snack?”
It look back and forth. This must be what happens when it thinks. That would make sense, since its eyes are probably connected to its brain. “You...uh…you guys...or uh...we guys eat….uh….females?”
Wrong answer. Now I knew it was a girl now. “Wrong!” I yelled. “Guys eat love from females.”
I probably shouldn't of yelled so loud, cause now the little bug was starting to shake again, or maybe it was cold...Nah...It was probably scared this time. My body heat would of kept it warm by now, or maybe doing that was making it colder. “T-thats what I meant.” It said, or what she said. I squinted my eyes to give her that one look that royal guards give me when I sneeze right in front of them, dropping my disguise in the process.
The stare seemed to have worked, because now it looked down with a shameful expression on her face. “Okay fine.” She grumbled. “I am a girl.”
“HA.” I yelled in victory. “I knew it.” I smiled, now knowing that I was finally going to have a great meal of love.
“C-can you at least be gentle.” It stuttered.
My smile vanished as it said that. Gentle? Love feeding wouldn’t be defined as ‘gentle.’ It was more of a strange feeling, or so other changelings have told me when they were feeding on their prey. It felt like some sort of energy was being sucked off of you. Sounds weird, now that I think about it.
“Uh….” I was trying to find the right words to say to her. How do you tell a girl that you were going to suck love off of her gently. “What do you mean by ‘gentle’?”
She looked away and rubbed her hooves together, was she embarrassed now? I know love sucking is awkward when the prey is awake, but for queens sake, can we just get it over with. “W-what I mean is…that...you won't be...uh..be...rough on me…”
Now she’s saying I’m rough. What next? Will she say i’m boneless and that my head is full of flies. This girl was acting way too crazy. I brought her up to my face and (without realizing) tightened my grip on her. “Listen here you insect, I don't know what you are, but I’ll have you know that I am not rough when it comes to love sucking. I treat every female I see with the utmost respect, that is until they find out I’m a changeling and scream, run away, and get help, b-but I still treat them nicely. You understand?” She then turned blue and went slightly cross eyed.
I rolled my eyes. This thing was just filled with surprises, wasn't it. I crossed my other arm and I continued holding her, waiting for a response, but it just wouldn't talk, it even started twitching after a while. This girl was one weird bug. I sighed, knowing that she wouldn’t say anything. So I just let go of her.
She landed belly first on top of mine and gasped, which was then followed by a few more shorter gasps. She rolled over and clung to her tiny chest with her tiny...Hooves? They were hooves right? Either way, it was pretty cute how she continued breathing really loudly.
I tilted my head and said. “Do you understand now?”
“W-what?!” She yelled in between breaths. Why yell, there was no need for that. This thing must be part deaf. I leaned in.
“I said. DO YOU UNDER-”
“I heard you, I heard you!” It yelled back. making me flinch a little. “And no! I don’t understand. First you say that you won’t kill me, but so far you have been acting like you are.”
“I’m not-”
“YES YOU ARE!” This thing was starting to scare me, did it really have to raise its voice? “And another thing,” It continued. “From what you have been saying this entire time, it sounds to me like you want to...well….”
“What?” I asked. “I just wanted to love- I mean. Eat your love.”
She narrowed her eyes, giving me flashbacks to when guards were asking me questions. It flew into the air and hovered right above me, its small eyes making me feel very uneasy. It was like the table turned on me. “Is that just some sick way of telling me you’ll-”
“All I’m asking from you,” I interrupted. “Is to help me with my hunger problems. I haven't eaten in a long time.” I was starting to feel a cramp from laying on my back for so long, and this thing hovering over me, making me crane my neck up in the process, was making me a little bit ticked off. And again, no bug pun intended.
It flew back a bit and looked at me. Strange, it could just fly away right now, I’m pretty sure it could get away in my current state of pain, but no, it just continued looking at with a completely different expression of sadness and continued flying in place. “If you’re so hungry then why did you need to know what gender I was?”
This bugs brain just couldn’t wrap its head around what I was saying at all could it. “I asked because female love taste way better than male love, to me, that is. A-and I’m not being sexist by saying that. Its just that my taste for love is perfectly nor- I mean...just the same as- no! Gah! How do I say this.” This was way harder to explain then that time I was explaining a mare why my wings looked transparent.
“You...Eat love?” she asked. “I thought you ate small creatures?”
Now I was getting irritated. “Why would I eat the creatures that give me food, that’d be like eating a bee so you could get its honey.” Was that a good analogy to use?
“So. You weren’t trying to eat me?” I nodded. “And, you were just trying to get love off of me so you could survive?” I nodded again. Now she was looking away from me. What? Was she angry at me now, was it something I said. Before I could say something she looked back at me again, this time with an expression of pity, now why was she doing that? “Well, how do you do it?” She asked.
I blushed again. Was she really going to let me do it. If so then this was it, this was when I would start that weird process of feeding. This is why I was hoping she was asleep, because when they're awake, it’s much harder. “Well, I uh...I...ya know…” Now I was having second thoughts, maybe it would be better to just-
*GROWL*
My stomach just won’t leave me alone. Hearing this, the she bug flew closer to my face. “You really are hungry, aren't you. Tell me how you do it?”
“Do what?” I asked stupidly. I had a rough idea of what she meant anyway.
She seemed to ignore me and continued asking. “Do you open your mouth and..”
“No.” I interrupted. “I don’t have to open my mouth.” That was sort of true. I didn't need to have it wide open.
It flew a little bit closer, her tiny face was just inches away from mine. “Do you...let your tongue out and...”
“No no..I don't use tongue.” Though I have heard that my kind does that with their prey sometimes. Kind of gross now that I think about it. Why was she asking all of this?
“Do you...well…” She raised her tiny arms and put them both on the sides of my face. I was getting a little bit weirded out now. Did she know how to do the feeding? At that point, I couldn’t handle it anymore. This was all just a great big mistake.
“Y-you..You can just fly away you know.” I said abruptly. Making her back up a little. I finally understood why she was acting so scared before, so why was she acting so nice now?
She flew up to my face again and said. “I can't just let a creature like you die when I know I can help.”
Wait…
DIE!
I completely forgot about that happening to me. What part of 'no love to eat equals death’ did my mind not understand at the time. I was starting to panic a bit. I could almost see my starved body thrown on the side of a road, or maybe just food for the local wildlife, or just some gourmet meal for a huge swarm of flies, or…
“So, how do you eat love?”
Those images got out of my head once she said that. I looked up at her, from this view it was like she was one of those angels that take you up to...Wait! Did that mean I was dying right now?!
“Let me take another guess.” She said. “Maybe you eat love, by doing this...” She took hold of both sides of my face again. Now I was panicking, it was hard looking at was she was doing with my eyes crossed, so I couldn’t even tell what she was going to do. I closed my eyes. Wanting this to be over with. For queens sake! Take me now!
Then I felt it, that energy that a changeling gets when it feeds, which was weird since I was supposed to be dying right now...Wait. Was I dying? I opened my eyes just to make sure. Nope, I was still alive, with nothing but trees and grass and her kissing my….wait…
I adjusted my eyes even more than before just to make sure what I was looking at was correct. And by Chrysalis it was. The bug was there, having its lips touch the tip of my nose. And the entire time I felt myself get some strength, my back started getting a little bit better, my wing stopped cramping, and most importantly, my belly was starting to get full.
After what felt like hours she stopped kissing and looked at me in the eyes, her face completely blushed pure red, and I’m pretty sure mine was to. “A-are you, well, full?”
I opened my mouth to answer, but all that came out was a…
*BELCH*
I instantly clamped my mouth shut with my hooves, my stomach just won't leave me alone, even when it's been fed. Lucky for me, the girl bug just giggled. “Looks like it.” She laughed.
I managed to give out a chuckle to. “Hehe...yeah...Sorry about that.”
“Its fine, I’m just glad you’re not hurt anymore.”
I rolled over and got up on my feet. Then I gave a good, long stretch. “Who said I was hurt.” I said towards the end of my flexing.
“Well, I’m sure your stomach was hurt, as was your back, and your wing.”
I turned toward her. “How do you know that?”
“Hitting a tree with your wing at a pretty weird angle might answer that.” She smiled. That smile was starting to get contagious.
“R-right.” I said awkwardly. Why did I always act this way when I eat. “Hey...thanks again.”
“Anything for another bug, right?”
I had to admit, that was kinda cheesy the way she said that, but at this moment, I didn't care. I was just glad my stomach finally shut up for today. “Right.” And I guess I was a little bit happy that a bug like her could help.
“So, see you soon?” She asked.
“Hu...Oh!...uh...” I couldn't figure out what to say, here this bug was, asking to...actually. I need to ask it something. “What are you?” I asked.
“What?”
“I mean, what are you. As in, what are you called.” Not really sure what I should of said to make it any clearer.
“Oh, I’m a breezie.”
I tried my hardest to hold in my laughter. “A b-breezie.” I stuttered.
She seemed oblivious to my held in laughs. (Thank queen) “Yeah, what are you called?”
I cleared my throat and sat down. “I’m a changeling.”
She giggled. “A changeling?”
“Yup.” I laughed a little to. Was her laughter contagious too?
“So, do you want to see each other again?”
I wasn't sure how to answer that. This thing was a completely different species to hang out with, and my queen told changelings to not get too attached with ponies, because ponies can- Wait...this thing wasn't a pony.
“Yeah.” I answered. “We can see each other again; when and where?”
She looked over at the flower patch she was sleeping in some time ago. Then she looked back at me. “Same time, same place?” She said. I nodded with a smile on her face, and a wink in her eye, she flew off, leaving me to sit in the soft grass.
I felt a little sad now that she was gone. She was completely different from the other females I’ve been with, and that was a good thing. But at least she said ‘same time same place’, so that meant I just needed to wait about twenty four hours until she would come back. How hard could that be. I didn't have to go anywhere anyway, nor did I have to do anything either. It was just me, the grass, the trees-
*BELCH*
And this ignorant stomach.
