Chapters The day started off as any other would have. The sun's warm rays poured in through her bedroom windows, splashing the room with the soft morning light. With quiet yawn and quick stretch, Fluttershy climbed out of bed and proceeded with her daily routine, quickly brushing her mane and tail back into their usual look and heading downstairs for breakfast with her animals that lived in her cottage with her.
When she entered the kitchen to fix herself a meal, she found that there was already one waiting for her, courtesy of a kindly bear, who waved good morning to her from across the table. She giggled a bit and sat to eat the plate of berries, vegetables, and even a couple of pancakes topped with maple syrup.
As she ate her admittedly large breakfast, Angel hopped over to her with his food bowl and began stomping the floor with his tiny forelegs crossed, an impatient look in his little eyes. Fluttershy smiled and got up from her seat, headed over to the pantry, and pulled out a large bag of animal feed, some of which she poured into Angel's bowl. The tiny rabbit nodded gratefully and dug into his own breakfast as Fluttershy finished up her meal and gave all of her other animals their own food.
"Be careful not to eat too fast," the pegasus warned her little friends as they devoured their meals. Some of them did listen and slowed down as they ate, while the rest just kept eating the way that they had been. While her animals fed, Fluttershy went over to her calendar and checked her schedule for the day. She believed that it was Tuesday.
Looking over the to-do list, she took note that it was that time of the week again. She would have to take stock on all of the supplies she needed for taking care of her animals. Nodding to this, she gathered up her checklist and a quill and headed outside, where she had a small shed in which she kept most of her supplies. Once inside, she began checking off everything that she had on the list.
"Hmm… fourteen boxes of bandages… eight canisters of ointment… twelve extra feed bags…" She pursed her lips after about an hour or so, looking at the list with a bit of worry in her eyes. She would have to go into the marketplace in town and gather up several of her listed items in order to make sure she didn't run out of the necessities. Not to mention that she would have to go pay a visit to Zecora's hut and get some of the zebra's legendary herbal remedies. Zecora had been kind enough to let the shy mare use some her homemade medicines, which proved to be astronomically superior to more conventional treatments.
That in mind, she left the shed and collected her saddlebags from her living room. As she left, she said, "Hold down the fort for me while I'm out, okay, Angel Bunny?" The rabbit gave her mock salute as she left, closing the door behind her. She resolved to go get Zecora's herbal medicines first, if only because she wanted to get in and out of the Everfree Forest as quickly as possible.
Standing before the nearby entrance to the dreaded forest, she took a deep breath and steeled her will as much as she could. Which, she would willingly admit, wasn't a lot to work with. She trotted down the fastest path to Zecora's hut that she knew of, hoping she wouldn't be attacked by some ferocious beast along the way.
-o-
All he could hear as he ran was the sound of twigs snapping and the relentless roars, hisses, and bleats from his pursuer. It was just his luck to be chased by some blood-thirsty beast. He had never had much luck with anything at all. Being stuck in this accursed forest was just one prime example of that, with another decently sized piece of evidence hot on his trail, eager to tear him apart.
His heart was beating rapidly from both exhaustion and adrenaline. His cracked horn would ensure that he wouldn't be able to effectively defend himself without disastrous consequences. He didn't really have anywhere to hide either. The beast that was after him would easily sniff him out in no time at all.
He gritted his teeth, cursing his misfortune and hoping to whoever watched from the heavens that he would be able to elude his hunter, at least until he could get somewhere relatively safe. And as fate would have it… he tripped over a stone and rolled painfully down a rather large hill. He collided with fair-sized boulder and gasped in pain, clutching his left foreleg and hissing as his own touch only made it worse.
'Broken,' he immediately surmised. He didn't need to do a diagnostic spell or talk to a doctor to figure out that much. He tried to stand up, but his "good" legs gave out almost instantly, the muscle within them too worn to carry him any further. He cursed his bad luck again. His old comrades were right about him. He was just a hopeless klutz who couldn't even walk without tripping over his own hooves. He left home to try and prove them wrong, but after getting lost in some wild storm and ending stranded in the Everfree, he'd started to think that it was a bad idea.
A sudden snarl pulled him from his thoughts. From atop the hill that he stumbled down, his pursuer glowered at him with narrowed eyes, baring its teeth from each of its three mouths. He sneered back at the beast, though he made no attempt to escape or fight. Either would only end in disaster for him.
The monster upon the hill, a beast he recognized as a chimera – a monster with the body and head of a lion, a snake for a tail, and the head of a goat on its back – sauntered down the slope, its claws digging into the earth to keep it from tumbling like a fool. He had to admit, the beast was clearly smarter than he was.
The chimera closed the distance at a patient pace, closing in on him with that vicious snarl in its lion's mouth. He closed his dark green eyes as the monster reached him and raised its clawed paw, fully expecting this to be his end. He waited for the beast to strike him down.
…
And he waited…
…
And waited…
…
It didn't come. This perplexed him somewhat. Why hadn't the ravenous creature attacked him yet? Had it already killed him, and he just didn't feel it? That didn't seem quite right, as nothing about his environment felt like it changed in any way. Curious, he cracked open an eye, staring at the chimera that stood above him. It was glaring off somewhere to the left, snarling angrily. It looked back at him, giving him a predatory gaze that said, "This isn't over." The chimera growled at him once more for good measure, and, for whatever reason, ran back up the hill and out of sight.
While confused, he couldn't help but give a sigh of relief. He was heavily injured, but he was still alive. Counting his blessings, he gave into his own exhaustion and passed out right where he lay.
-o-
Fluttershy managed to remain fairly calm as she walked through the dense, dark, eerie forest that so many ponies rightfully feared. So far, her road had been calm and uneventful, something she was more than grateful for. But that didn't stop her from jumping at just about every sound she heard. Like the monstrous roar of some wild predator, for example, to which she let out a tiny "eep" and ducked behind a nearby rock that was just large enough to conceal a pony.
After a few minutes, she gave a relieved sigh and continued down her path. As she walked, she heard another sound that made her jump. It wasn't a roar. It was way too soft. More like a snore than anything else. Was some animal sleeping nearby? Its snores sounded forced, almost like it was… hurt!?
Without a second thought, Fluttershy galloped towards the source of the snore, a little ways off of her path, and followed the noise until she found its maker. She gasped at the sight before her, her light blue eyes wide in horror. Before her was none other than…
"A ch-ch-changeling!?" she yelled in a harsh whisper, knowing full well that it would be best to not alert the sleeping shape-shifter. She stared at the bug-like creature, quickly realizing that it was heavily injured. It was covered from head to hoof (?) in scrapes and bruises, and its left foreleg was mangled, obviously broken in at least a few places. It let out a light growl, making the yellow pegasus jump back about a foot, but it didn't wake up.
She looked around the forest, trying to see if there were any other changelings in the area, or, at the very least, suspicious-looking ponies. It was always difficult to tell with changelings. She looked back to the one that was still sleeping in front of her. She bit her lip nervously. What should she do about this? Changelings are dangerous. There was no changing that about them, no matter what form they took. But she couldn't just leave the thing lying there. It was hurt and helpless!
"Oh, what do I do?" she asked herself in a small panic. She eyed the changeling again, and after several seconds, she gave a sigh of defeat. Carefully, she managed to scoop the creature under her forelegs and onto her back. She struggled for a bit, feeling more than a little awkward with the added weight.
"I hope I don't regret this," she whispered as she gathered her bearings and headed down the path back to her cottage. From this point on, she could only hope that nopony would see her with an unconscious changeling. Something like that would be absolutely mortifying. Not to mention the fact that her friends still held great resentment towards the changelings for the invasion of Canterlot just four months prior. She would have to be extremely careful how she goes about doing this.
He groaned slightly as light struck his face, prompting him to wake up rather abruptly. He opened his dark green eyes to see where he was. And he was immediately confused by his surroundings. He had expected to wake up in the forest, lying by that rock that had broken his leg. But he wasn't in a forest. He was in what was clearly a bedroom, lying on a fairly comfortable mattress and covered with a light green blanket. From the look of the room, he could only guess that he was in a cottage of some kind. It felt cozy enough, he assumed.
Who brought him here? And why? Did someone find him and take pity on him? Not likely. No one outside of the swarm even liked changelings. So that only really left him with one question: why?
Before he could muse any further, the door to the bedroom opened, and in walked a cream-yellow pegasus pony with a bright pink mane and tail. Immediately, he jumped out of the bed and hissed at her defensively, startling the mare into leaping back a good three feet. As he touched the floor, however, he grunted in pain as his leg buckled under the sudden weight.
He hissed again, not in another attempt at intimidation, but in pain. He had already forgotten that his leg was broken. He moved to examine it, and was quickly dumbfounded when he saw it bandaged and wrapped in a makeshift cast. His other injuries had also apparently been treated to some extent. His cuts and scrapes had been bandaged as well, and his bruises appeared to be in slightly better condition. He faced the still-startled mare, confusion evident in his glare.
The mare gulped a little, obviously frightened. "Um…" she muttered. "I… er… I didn't know you were awake. Are you… all right?"
He snarled instinctively. "Who are you?" he demanded. "Where am I? Why did you bring me here?" The mare backed up a step at his tone. She gulped again.
"W-well, I-I found you unconscious in the Everfree Forest. You were hurt, a-and I couldn't just leave you there."
He raised an eyebrow. "You tended to my wounds?" The mare hesitated only briefly before nodding. "I… see."
Silence dominated. The pony and the changeling stood there, watching each other, almost as though they were both waiting for the other to say or do something first. But the silence only continued to reign. It steadily devolved from a tense, cold quiet, to something more along the lines of just awkward soundlessness.
"My name is Fluttershy," the mare suddenly timidly blurted out, breaking the quiet.
"What?"
"W-well, you asked who I was," she explained. "I'm Fluttershy. I'm an animal caretaker. Um… wh-what's your name?"
The changeling narrowed his eyes at her and frowned. "None of your business, pony," he said harshly.
"O-oh, um… okay then. You can tell whenever you feel ready to."
The changeling merely rolled his eyes in response and limped his way into a corner, keeping an eye on Fluttershy the whole time. He sat there, watching her as though he suspected that she would try to attack him if he ever dropped his guard.
'He's scared,' Fluttershy surmised. She had seen many animals act in much the same way. Mostly predators and omnivores, though. Many of the animals she cared for now had been suspicious of her until she eventually gained their trust by caring for them. "Well, um, would you like something to eat? I'm sure I could find something for you."
The changeling raised an eyebrow at her again. "My people feed on emotion," he stated flatly. "We don't have need for-" He was interrupted when his stomach growled. He frowned again, but sighed in defeat. "Okay, yeah, we need solid food, too."
Fluttershy couldn't help but giggle at that. She stopped when the changeling hissed at her yet again. She gave an awkward smile and stepped out of the room. "I'll just get you some things, then," she said as she closed the door behind her.
With the mare finally gone, the changeling gave a sigh of slight relief and looked around the room. He briefly considered fleeing the cottage, but that idea was quickly shot away. He wouldn't get very far in his current condition. He cursed his rotten luck. Things never seemed to go his way. First he gets lost in the Everfree, then gets chased by a blood-thirsty chimera, then he ends up passing out and waking up in some pony's house.
Come to think of it, she seems a bit familiar. Have I seen her somewhere before? Was she one of the ponies in Canterlot?
He thought on that for a while, trying to figure out where he might've seen the pegasus from. Eventually, he shook his head. It was probably nothing.
-o-
Fluttershy flew about in her kitchen in a rush, trying to find something that changelings could eat, something that wouldn't poison her… guest. And as she went around her home, she inevitably got back to thinking about how crazy this was. Housing and caring for an injured changeling? It was insane! She should've brought him to Twilight to have her inform the other princesses about his presence! But he looked so helpless and weak. She couldn't leave him out there in that horrible forest. Something would've gotten him.
That brought her to wondering just how he had gotten so injured in the first place. Did he have an unfortunate run-in with an angry predator? Was he just clumsy? Or did the other changelings do that to him? Considering how ruthless they were in their invasion of Canterlot, it honestly wouldn't surprise her. That didn't stop her from loathing the idea, though.
She gave up wondering about it as she gathered several items of food, ranging from fruits and vegetables that she grew in her garden to – and she shuddered at this – meat that she bought from a griffin merchant who had recently moved into town. She gagged at the smell of the cut animal flesh. She understood that some animals could only eat meat, of course, but that didn't make her appreciate it any.
She stacked the foodstuffs onto a tray in a neat, orderly fashion and balanced it on her back, then left the kitchen to head for the guest room where she had left the changeling.
Knock, knock, knock.
Fluttershy jumped at the sudden knock at her door. She let out a sigh of relief with the knowledge that that was all it was and set the tray of food down on a nearby table and went to answer the door. She was greeted by none other than a familiar lavender alicorn.
"Hey, Fluttershy," Twilight said, followed by a "who" from her pet owl Owlowicious.
"Oh, good afternoon," Fluttershy greeted with a welcoming smile. "Can I help you, Twilight?"
"Yes, actually. Princess Celestia summoned me for an important summit that I need to attend. Her letter said that I should learn how to deal with foreign politicians and stuff like that. I just came by to drop off Owlowicious here. If you don't mind, that is."
"Oh, of course I'll take care of him," the pegasus mare replied happily as the owl flew over and roosted on peg on a birdhouse inside her cottage. "You won't have to worry about a thing."
"Thanks, Fluttershy. I should be back by tomorrow. I'll see you…" The young alicorn raised an eyebrow suddenly, sniffing the air. "What's that smell?"
"Smell?" Fluttershy inquired. Her eyes widened in realization. The meat! "Oh, um, it's just a… special kind of feed that I found recently. It doesn't smell very pleasant, but some of my animal friends really enjoy it." She gave an awkward smile then, hoping that the other mare would buy it.
Twilight gave her friend an incredulous look, but shrugged. "Well, you know animals better than I do," she admitted as she turned to leave. "I'll see you tomorrow!" With that, she trotted off, then stopped and flapped her wings a bit before shakily taking to the sky and flying off… crashing only once this time.
Fluttershy giggled a bit and closed the door behind her, then face Owlowicious, who tilted his head a little to the left.
"Well, make yourself at home," the mare said with a smile. "I have to go… er… tend to a… guest." That said, she hurried over to the tray of food, picked it up in her hooves, and flew over to the guest room.
The changeling was still sitting in his corner. His gaze barreled down on her almost instantly, making her visibly cringe. Reluctantly, she flew closer to him, set the tray of food down in front of him, and flew back a few feet, sitting down on the floor ahead of him. "I didn't know what you liked," she admitted, "so I brought you a few things. Berries, apples, carrots, lettuce… m-meat."
The changeling looked down at the assorted food for a moment, then back at Fluttershy. He scooted a little closer to the food and started eating just about everything on the plate. Even the meat.
'So changelings are omnivorous,' Fluttershy thought, her curiosity piqued somewhat. She had always had a habit of being fascinated by new creatures, no matter how dangerous they were. She had to admit, she had actually been a bit curious about the changelings ever since the incident at Canterlot, even if they were more than a little frightening.
"Um… Mr. Changeling?" she squeaked, getting the changeling's attention. "Would you mind if I asked you a few questions?" He was quiet. He was probably contemplating whether to answer her or not. "I mean, you don't have to if you-"
"Glaive."
"What?"
"My name," he clarified. "It's Glaive. Don't call me 'Mr. Changeling.' That borders on racism. How would you feel if I called you Ms. Pegasus Pony?"
"Oh," the timid mare replied, a bit taken aback by the changeling's reaction. "Um… okay, er, Mr. Glaive. Would you-?"
"If you have questions, just spit them out already," Glaive said gruffly as he tore a piece of meat in half. He began chewing on one of the pieces or meat, which Fluttershy cringed at the sight of. "Just don't dig too deep. I won't answer any questions about the swarm. And no personal questions. Keep it simple."
"Um… all right." Fluttershy hesitated. For a while, she watched as Glaive ate. Then she managed to finally word a question. "Why do changelings feed on emotion? You seem to be able to eat normal food just fine."
The changeling looked down at what was left of his meal. Only a few scraps remained. "It's… a bit complicated. Changelings digest physical food rapidly. We don't get many nutrients from it. So we feed on emotions to make up for it. You'd be surprised just how much sodium you can ingest by feeding off of some pony's sadness. But, of course, the emotion you call love is the healthiest and most nourishing."
"Wait. Different emotions have different benefits?"
Glaive raised an eyebrow at the mare. "That's how it works with the food you eat, isn't it? You shouldn't be surprised."
"Oh. Um. Okay." Fluttershy was about to ask what different emotions did for a changeling's health, but a frightened "who" stopped her train of thought. She turned to the door to see Owlowicious standing there, staring at Glaive with wider eyes than usual, terror evident on his face.
"Oh, no!" the mare said, terrified that the owl might somehow get word out about her harboring a changeling of all things in her cottage. She hurried over to the panicking bird. "Owlowicious, please calm down! Mr. Glaive was hurt! I couldn't leave him all alone out there!"
"You can stop calling me 'mister,' you know."
Owlowicious flapped his wings violently to get out of the cottage, but was caught by Fluttershy. As the owl struggled to break out of her grasp, the caretaker tried to ease his worries with assurances that Glaive wouldn't hurt him (but the fact that Glaive kept saying "no promises" didn't exactly help). Eventually, the changeling himself rolled his eyes in irritation and let his horn glow with a bright green light.
Suddenly, Owlowicious' eyes flashed green for just an instant, then he fell limp in Fluttershy's forelegs. Though she panicked at first, she calmed down when she realized that the bird was merely asleep. She turned to thank Glaive, but froze when she saw him holding his head and groaning as though he were in significant pain.
"Oh, my!" Fluttershy said worriedly. She carefully set Owlowicious down on the nearby bed, then hurried over to the changeling. "Are you all right? What happened?"
He glared at her, making step back in fear and surprise. "What do you care?"
"I…" She hesitated again. "I was just… worried, is all."
Glaive's harsh glare lightened slightly. Very slightly. He hadn't actually expected an answer, let alone one like that. Why would a pony worry at all about a changeling of all things? The two races were enemies! It had been that way even before the invasion of Canterlot! Ponies hate changelings, and changelings hate ponies! He growled audibly at his own thoughts, startling the mare in front of him.
He eyed her again, more curious than angry. But couldn't let either of those cloud his judgment. "Just leave me alone," he finally said.
"Oh. All right." Fluttershy scooped up the tray that Glaive had eaten from and placed it on her back, then picked up Owlowicious off the bed and left the room, this time making sure to close the door behind her.
After putting Owlowicious into a cozy little bed she had made specifically for sick birds, she went over to her kitchen to clean off the tray. As she did so, she heard the familiar thumping of Angel's foot behind her. He had his forelegs crossed over his chest, and had an expression that said all he would've needed to say:
"What the hay are you doing, Fluttershy?"
She sighed in response to her beloved bunny. "I don't know, Angel. I really don't."
He groaned as he rubbed his temples, trying to ease the excruciating migraine that had hit his brain like a sledgehammer would hit an orange. That sleeping spell he'd cast on the owl had taken a lot out of him. He knew his already limited magical abilities would be hindered by the damage to his horn, but he hadn't expected such an intense pain. He would have to wait until he made a full recovery before he attempted any other forms of magic.
The changeling let out a sigh as the migraine gradually devolved into just a headache. His head still throbbed, but it was a bit more bearable at this point. 'I need to be more careful,' he thought as he stood from his spot in the corner of the room, careful to keep his injured foreleg off the ground. He was no doctor, but he wasn't dumb enough to think he could just walk off a broken limb. It would only make the injury worse.
He decided to take a brief tour around the room that Fluttershy was apparently willing to let him stay in. It was small by the standards he had seen whenever he had to sneak into a pony's household in disguise, but it was certainly roomier than any barracks back at the hive.
There was a small dresser in the corner opposite the one he had been sitting in, with a small lamp sitting on top of it, as well as a few decorative knickknacks here and there on the walls. The bed was designed for one occupant, which he actually found quite enjoyable. He normally had to share a bed meant for five with six others. Having his own bed was something that Glaive – and most changelings for that matter – only dreamed about.
His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on his door. "Um, Mr. Glaive?" called Fluttershy's voice from the other side. "I'm going to go into town to get a few things. I was wondering if you wanted anything."
"I'm fine," he replied.
"Oh." The mare sounded dejected, probably due to Glaive's tone. "Okay. I'll be back soon."
"Whatever." He heard the mare trot away then. After a few moments, he heard a door open and close. He opened the door to his temporary bedroom and peeked out. The pegasus actually had left, it appeared. Perhaps now was good time to get himself acquainted with the rest of the small house. It's not like he had much else to do anyway.
As he left the room, he came across a little white rabbit that gave him a distrusting glare. He raised an eyebrow at the tiny creature. "What?" he asked. The rabbit just rolled its eyes at him and hopped away to a couch, where it took a seat near the edge and continued glaring at Glaive. The changeling rolled his own eyes at the little animal's behavior. He was never a big fan of animals.
He managed to take a look outside through a window. His jaw dropped when he saw several groupings of wild animals – practically a herd made up of dozens of species – all running around the cottage without a care in the world. He slowly turned his head back to that rabbit, which now bore an amused smirk on its face. Glaive groaned for the umpteenth time today. This was going to be a long recovery.
-o-
The marketplace was as busy as always, with ponies milling about running errands and buying groceries. Traveling merchants and local storeowners called out to passersby, urging everypony to buy what they had on sale. Fluttershy read through her grocery list multiple times as she picked up the things she needed, ranging from bird seed to medicine and salad ingredients to – once more, she shuddered slightly – meat products.
'I just hope nopony notices,' she thought to herself worriedly. The thought of somepony seeing her with cut meat was horrifying. Just the implications were enough to send her into a near panic. 'Oh, where was Mr. Sharpwing's shop again? I could've sworn it was…'
"Good afternoon, Ms. Fluttershy," an older male voice said suddenly, making the mare jump. The speaker, an older-looking griffin, laughed, obviously amused. "Sorry about that. I'd already forgotten how timid you are."
"O-oh…" Fluttershy calmed down when she realized who she was talking to. She easily recognized the old scar on his right cheek that was plainly visible, despite the feathers on his head. "Sorry, Mr. Sharpwing. Um… why are you out here? I mean, if you don't mind me asking."
"I was just getting a few things," the griffin replied, gesturing to the full bag that was slung around his shoulder. "Nails, a new hammer, some things to sharpen my knives. But enough about that. You seem a bit lost."
The young mare blushed in embarrassment. "I-I was just looking for you shop. Oh, I feel foolish not finding it sooner."
Sharpwing laughed again. "Don't talk like that. I was just heading back. You can just follow me if you like." Fluttershy nodded gratefully and followed the old griffin.
Sharpwing's demeanor had come off as bit of surprise at first. Fluttershy's experience with griffins was limited to one very traumatizing event where Rainbow's former friend Gilda had berated her with next to no provocation. To say that she was intimidated by griffins now would be an understatement. In fact, she hadn't even known that the new store in town, called the Eagle's Nest, was even run by a griffin.
She had only gone in out of pure curiosity, and practically lost it when she saw Sharpwing himself. Rather than screaming at her to stop panicking, he let her run the course, calmly waiting for her to stop. He didn't insult her, or tell her to leave. He greeted her with a good-natured smile and attitude and spoke to her like they were already friends. Gradually, she was able to tell that he was vastly different from Gilda. He was much kinder, far friendlier, and much easier to talk to.
Thinking back, she couldn't help but mentally kick herself for being so judgmental. Just because one griffin was a bully didn't mean that all griffins were bullies. Sharpwing was living proof. Sure, he could be a bit blunt at times – even so brutally honest that Applejack would look like a liar by comparison – but he usually joked about whatever he was talking about, and never maliciously.
"So, I take it some of those animals you care for are either omnivores or carnivores?" Sharpwing suddenly asked.
She hesitated. "Um. Yes. Mostly omnivores, though. I don't keep many predators around. They tend to scare the other animals."
"Ah. That makes sense, I suppose." Sharpwing had seemingly ended the conversation, but Fluttershy could just tell that he wasn't entirely convinced. He was astoundingly good at reading ponies. She had once actually seen him get out of being cheated in a sale to the Flim Flam Brothers, who had come back into Ponyville briefly to try out another scam, which failed just as spectacularly. She would have to be very careful when getting food for Glaive from the elder.
After several minutes of walking, they finally arrived at the relatively small building that doubled as both Sharpwing's store and his home. It was humble, even compared to the rest of Ponyville, and apparently, that suited Sharpwing just fine.
The old griffin opened the door and motioned for Fluttershy to enter first. He flew in after her and immediately headed to the back room, where he did most of his work. Fluttershy waited patiently in the front room, taking the time to examine the little shop. It was becoming a bit more welcoming, she noticed. A few pictures were hanging on the walls, showing images of griffins whom she could only assume were famous among Sharpwing's people. At least, that's how it looked.
Soon, Sharpwing returned to the front room, carrying a relatively small crate in his claws, setting the container down in front of her. "There you are," he said with grin. "One crate of cut meat, hunted from the beasts in the Everfree Forest. I hope your animals enjoy it. The ones that can eat it anyway."
"I'm sure they will." Fluttershy recoiled visibly at the smell. She would never get used to that scent. She moved to pick the crate up, but Sharpwing stopped her.
"I'll tell you what. Business is slow lately, so how about I deliver this to your home for you? No extra charge. I could set up a delivery schedule for you if you like, but after this one, you'll have to pay up a little more."
Fluttershy managed a grateful smile, but inside, she was nearly screaming. If Sharpwing made deliveries to her cottage, then the chances of him finding out the real reason she was getting the meat would only increase. He was the type who rarely missed a beat, and griffins had a sense of smell far superior to ponies. If he found Glaive…
On the other hoof, it would be far easier to have Sharpwing's stock delivered rather than trek all the way through town and back. And it would probably give her a bit more time to tend to her animals' needs. She would also be able to keep a closer eye on Glaive, both to tend to his still healing injuries and to make sure that nopony accidentally stumbled upon him.
"Well… okay," she said with a nod. "But, um… could you just, um, leave the deliveries at my front door? Uh… griffins… startle my animals."
"Certainly." He hefted up the crate again and set it on the nearby counter. "Just tell me whenever you're finished with your errands. I'll just be waiting here."
Fluttershy nodded and left the store then. When she was out of Sharpwing's view, she let out a heavy sigh of relief. That went well. But with Sharpwing making deliveries to her house from now on, she would have to make sure that Glaive stayed well hidden. That shouldn't be too difficult, though. How hard could it possibly be to hide a changeling?
-o-
Queen Chrysalis was not happy. After the fiasco that was her coup d'état attempt during that wedding in Canterlot, dozens of her subjects had begun to doubt her. Even her most trusted advisors had suggested that she step down and let someone else take the crown. That only made her angrier. And to top things off, Glaive of all changelings had gone missing.
The young warrior-to-be was supposed to return from his hunting trip several days ago. That wasn't good. Glaive was well-known and respected, despite his relative youth. He was also still a strong supporter for her. His disappearance could not have been more ill-timed.
"Your Highness," a guard said to her. She turned to him, trying to keep her expression calm and stoic. It wouldn't do to look as furious as she actually was. "The scouting team that you sent out has returned. No trace of Glaive."
The queen managed to suppress an angered growl. "Very well. I suppose we'll just have to consider the worst. Send word of this to his comrades."
"At once, my Queen." The guard bowed and left the room, leaving Chrysalis on her own once again. Finally, she let out the growl she had bitten back, very nearly screaming in frustration. Things just kept getting worse and worse in her kingdom. Many of her people were starving, there were cries of discontent, for crying out loud, she had even been hearing murmurs of a possible rebellion if she didn't step down from the throne.
Sighing, she turned and made to leave her throne room, heading for her bedchamber for privacy. Hopefully, she would think of something that could benefit her subjects as well as herself. For now, however, her kingdom would only continue to slowly but surely perish.
'My people,' she thought to herself as she sulked. 'I have to come up with something. Anything…'
Tick… tick… tick…
Glaive wasn't used to silence like this. He hated it when it was quiet. Back at the hive, there was always sound, even on the slowest night. This was just uncomfortable.
Tick… tick… tick…
He looked over to the white rabbit that was sitting on the couch. After touring Fluttershy's cottage a little bit (surprisingly, there wasn't a whole lot to see), he went back to what he guessed was the living room and sat on the couch with the rabbit who clearly didn't like him. After that, silence.
Tick… tick… tick…
He looked up to the clock that hung over the nearby fireplace. Fluttershy had been gone for about an hour now. He hated to admit it, but he actually would've preferred having her around. At least then he'd have someone to talk to, even if it was just him answering naïve questions.
He looked back at the rabbit, who gave him a light glare. The changeling turned his attention away from the rabbit again. He clicked his front hooves together quietly, trying to get rid of the silence. He cleared his throat awkwardly, to which the rabbit rolled its eyes.
"So…" Glaive said, feeling dumb for talking to a rabbit, who was just ignoring him anyway. He sighed heavily. "Is it always this boring around here?" he thought aloud. He'd considered going out for a little bit, get a lay of the land where he was evidently going to be staying for however long he was going to take to recover, but he quickly scrapped that idea. He doubted he'd be able to hold decent disguise for very long in his current condition.
Just then, the front door opened, and in walked Fluttershy. She stopped about halfway inside, her wide eyes on Glaive. Suddenly, she turned around, closing the door shut. Glaive raised an eyebrow at this. Did she forget that he was here? Had she brought company for some reason? He could hear muffled voices outside for about two minutes before the second voice, clearly male by its tone and pitch, faded out. Then, Fluttershy came in again, a relieved look on her face and a small crate on her back.
"Sorry about that," she apologized as she came into the living room. She set down the crate and her saddlebags just by the door, then focused on Glaive again. "I needed to show an acquaintance of mine to my house so that he could make weekly deliveries here."
The changeling gave a tiny nod. "Doesn't bother me," he stated nonchalantly. He got up from his seat on the couch and walked around a bit. "Hope you don't mind, but I took a look around. This place is remarkably dull. It's too… safe."
"W-well, I-I have a lot of small animals around here," the young pegasus explained. "It sort of has to be safe for them." She motioned to the little white rabbit. "I guess you've met Angel."
Glaive gave her a slightly baffled look, then looked at the rabbit, then back to Fluttershy. "You named it 'Angel'?" She gave a nod. The changeling rolled his eyes. "Yeah. That's an impeccably fitting name."
Fluttershy gave a small shrug and went over to Angel, nuzzling him lightly. "I'll admit, he has trouble living up to the name I gave him, but he's more than a pet to me. He's one of my best friends."
"Gag," Glaive replied in a deadpan. To his surprise, the yellow pegasus actually giggled at that. That raised an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"
"Oh, nothing," she replied with another light giggle. "I just have a friend who actually felt the same way about friendship. I was able to convince him to be a friend, though." Suddenly, she went pale. "Wait." She hurried over to a nearby calendar and scanned through it, stopping on the current date. Her face fell into an expression of panic. "Oh-no-oh-no-oh-no! I completely forgot! He's supposed to visit today! If he sees you, who knows how he'll react!?"
Glaive raised an eyebrow at this yet again. "You realize I could probably just change into a different form for a little while and pretend to be another friend or relative of yours, right?"
"Oh, you don't understand!" Fluttershy exclaimed. "Discord could just see right through your-!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," the changeling interrupted, placing a hoof over Fluttershy's mouth. "Hold on a second. Did you just say 'Discord'?" She nodded. "As in the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony, Discord? That Discord?" Again, the pegasus nodded. Glaive just fell backwards onto his rump, a dumbfounded expression on his face. "Well… buck me. Changelings don't exactly have a shining history with that guy."
"R-really?" Fluttershy squeaked fearfully. "Why's that?"
The changeling sighed and looked away from the mare. "It's a long story. And it was way before my time. Over a thousand years ago, in fact." He shook his head. "I guess I'll just have to hide somewhere then. Where's a good hiding place here?"
"Um…" Fluttershy had to think on that one for a moment. Discord was always the rambunctious sort (and that was putting it mildly), and rarely stayed in one place for very long. He was constantly moving, never living in the same place for very long. Even when he visited her, he never stayed in one spot for too long, quickly moving from one point to the next faster than she could blink. There was, however, one room that he never went into, solely because she requested that he wouldn't.
"You could hide in my bedroom," she suggested. "Discord doesn't go in there. You should be able to hide from him there."
Glaive nodded somewhat gratefully. "When is he supposed to be here?"
"Um… well, he doesn't really specify any particular time of day. He usually just shows up whenever he-"
Knock, knock, knock.
Fluttershy jumped at the sudden rapping on her door, eyes wide. "Oh, no! That could be him!" She immediately turned to Glaive, waving her hoof quickly. "Hurry! Hide!" The changeling nodded and hurried upstairs. Fluttershy gave a sigh of slight relief at this and turned to open the door, wearing a small smile.
Her smile faded when she saw no one outside. She looked around, trying to find who knocked on her door, but could only see her animals going about their usual routines. At first, she was confused by this. Then, she sighed as she realized what was going on. Turning around, she found the infamous Spirit of Chaos himself lounging on her couch, sipping a drink from a coconut that had one of those tiny umbrellas in it.
"Hello, Fluttershy," he greeted with a casual grin. "How's things?"
"Good, I guess," the mare replied. She then gave the draconequus a scolding glare. "What have I told you about entering ponies' homes?"
Discord groaned at that, but quickly relented. "'Wait at the door until they answer, then ask for permission to enter.' You'll forgive me for not following rules. Not really in my nature. Honestly, Fluttershy, you should know that by now."
"It doesn't mean you shouldn't try." She closed the door behind her and went over to her schedule, silently hoping that Discord wouldn't notice anything out of the ordinary.
Her prayers fell on deaf ears, as Discord began sniffing the air, apparently having caught a scent. Not many knew it, but Discord actually had an amazingly sharp sense of smell. He scrunched his snout a little, almost making a gagging expression.
"Something stinks," he complained, looking around to try and find the smell's source.
Though internally screaming, Fluttershy somehow managed to stay relatively calm. "You probably just smell the new feed I have for some of my animals. It honestly doesn't smell all that pleasant, but-"
"No. It's something else. It smells like somepony who hasn't properly bathed or showered in days." He raised an eyebrow at his young friend. "Unless, of course, you've been neglecting your personal hygiene, but I sincerely doubt that."
Her face flushed at the slight implication. "I-I shower regularly," she said in a meekly defensive manner.
"Well, then." Discord was suddenly behind her, wearing an explorer's cap on his head and a tan jacket, like what Daring Do would wear. "It seems we've got ourselves a mystery to solve! Let's find the source of that smelly stench! Onward!" He immediately picked her up and started flying around the cottage, following the scent that Fluttershy could only guess belonged to Glaive.
'Please don't find him, please don't find him, please don't find him!' she silently begged of her draconequus friend, who kept searching from room to room, opening doors and pulling quick investigations with a spontaneously generated magnifying glass.
-o-
Glaive paced quietly from wall to wall. He was beginning to get antsy. About an hour had passed since Fluttershy sent him up into her room. He still found it hard to believe that Discord, the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony and the bane of all changelings, was friends with the gentle pegasus who had been caring for him since he passed out in the Everfree. Something about that didn't seem quite right to him.
'Spirit of Chaos, kindhearted pegasus,' he thought to himself. 'Nope. Still a bizarre combo.'
He paced for a few moments more before grumbling in boredom and sitting down by the bed, opting to stare up at the ceiling and count the cracks. He began tapping his rear hooves together, settling into a basic rhythm that actually helped him to pass the time a little bit. It also eased his nerves a bit. He could do this. All he had to do was wait until Fluttershy was done with Discord, and for the Lord of Chaos to leave and go… wherever he would go. No big deal.
As he waited, he looked around Fluttershy's room, taking in details here and there that he hadn't really noticed before. He raised a curious eyebrow at a book on the dresser. He approached it, and read the single word written on the cover: Diary .
A wicked part of the changeling deep down grinned mischievously. He had just struck gold! This could make his stay infinitely more entertaining! Oh, the secrets that pegasus could be hiding!
Another part of him, however, screamed at him to ignore it. Fluttershy had shown surprising hospitality to him, taking him in and tending to his wounds. She could've just left him out of the forest to be killed and eaten by that chimera. As much he hated to admit it, even if just to himself, he owed the mare a great deal. Reading her diary would go against everything he personally believed in.
He turned away from it, trying to push it from his mind. Despite his best efforts, it stayed in his head. Taunting him. Practically begging him to open it and take a look inside. He peeked over his shoulder, eyeing the diary again, before turning away once more. He was above invading the privacy of others… right?
That mischievous part of him that all changelings had was on its knees, egging him on to read at least one entry in the diary. He shook his head, trying again to push away those thoughts. He considered leaving the room, but then he'd be putting himself at the risk of discovery by Discord, and he didn't like the idea of meeting the being who all changelings feared beyond all else.
That, however, gave him an idea. It was a longshot, but if he played his cards right, it just might work. Fortunately, changelings are innately superb actors.
-o-
Fluttershy cringed every time Discord opened a door and screamed "Aha!" She knew Glaive was likely still hiding in her bedroom, but Discord was nothing if not persistent. He had already cleared the main floor and basement, and was now heading upstairs, claiming that the scent he had caught was coming from there now. He even assured her that he was totally, completely, absolutely, one hundred percent certain this time.
"Um, Discord?" Fluttershy asked. "Are you sure we can't just – I don't know – ignore the smell? I-I can find the source and take care of it later."
"Nonsense!" Discord scoffed with a laugh, suddenly appearing to Fluttershy's right and throwing an arm around her. "I'm going to help you find what's stinking up your place! After all, what're friends for, right?"
"I… suppose," she replied reluctantly. "But still, I can-" She was interrupted by the sounds of hoofsteps from the upstairs hall. Her eyes widened in panic. Had Glaive left her room? Why would he do that? Did he need to use the bathroom or something? Oh, if she'd known that he'd have to do that, she would've at least given him a bucket! She began screaming internally, praying to whatever deities were looking down at her that he was at least-!
"Uh…" said a dark blue pegasus with a messy, rust-colored mane and tail. He had bright green eyes that matched his colors surprisingly well. His cutie mark was an image of some sort of weapon that looked to be a cross between a spear and a sword. He stared at Discord, clearly at a loss for words. The draconequus stared back at the stallion, then to Fluttershy, then back at the stallion, then to Fluttershy again, this time with a sly grin.
"Oh, Fluttershy, why didn't you tell me you had company?" he asked. "I would've given you two some privacy if you'd just asked."
Fluttershy's face turned beet red, her cheeks burning with heat. "N-no! I-t's not like that! N-not at all!" She turned to the pony whom she knew could only be Glaive. "He's… um…"
"I'm her cousin," he finished for her. Obviously, he had thought up a story to help them along. "I'm Glaive."
Discord raised an eyebrow. He apparently wasn't about to buy it just yet. Fluttershy's mind raced as she tried to improvise. She was terrible at improvising. "Y-yes, h-he's my cousin! F-from Cloudsdale! He's part of the Cloudsdale Security Force!" She gave a nervous laugh. The Security Force was the first the first thing that came to mind when trying to think of a job that a pony named Glaive might have.
"Er, yeah," Glaive continued with a nod. "I'm on leave, so I decided to pay a visit to my favorite cousin."
Discord eyed him suspiciously for a few moments. Eventually, he started snickering, which soon grew into full-blown laughter. While Fluttershy and Glaive looked at each other in confusion, Discord kept guffawing until his laughter went into more controlled chuckling as he wiped a tear from his eye.
"Is something funny?" Glaive asked, feeling a little insulted by the chaotic being's laughter.
"Oh, nothing really," Discord answered when he managed to catch his breath again. He turned to Fluttershy, an amused look on his face. "Honestly, my dear, did you really think you could lie to me? I practically invented lying."
"Wh-what do you m-mean?" the timid pegasus asked. Glaive was starting to sweat from nervousness himself.
"Oh, trust me, Fluttershy." He scowled at Glaive and snapped his fingers. Suddenly, Glaive's form was enveloped in a flash of light, which faded quickly, revealing his true changeling form, much to his and Fluttershy's horror. "I know a changeling when I see one."