Always Hungry

Three nights passed, if a night that had no day could be called such, before a bored Nightmare found herself descending the dungeon stairs once again. For some reason the changeling queen weighed on her mind. It was an insignificant creature, yet it had gotten under her skin far too thoroughly. She found herself going over their brief conversations in her mind, trying to re-write them so that the bug groveled at her feet the way she should. None of the imagined scenarios quite worked, though; she just kept remembering how utterly enraging the creature had been. Finally she decided to prove that she could show herself the changeling's better.

So once more she stood before the cell.

The changeling lay against one wall, wearing her proper form of charcoal chitin.

"You still can't stay away from me, can you?" it said, lifting its head slowly, a smug smile on its fanged face.

"I came only to tell you that we have begun the search for your hive. It will be found and destroyed, and your children wiped from the face of the planet."

"Hah. You came because you hate me, and you like to pick at your hatred. You reek of old, bitter wounds that you treasure as though they were precious gems."

Nightmare Moon stamped firmly on the flash of rage that went through her. She would not let the creature get to her this time. "I found myself bored," she said, tossing her head and feigning an indolent calm. "I might as well get what amusement from you that I can. Perhaps you could perform tricks for me, take shapes for my amusement. At least then you would be of some use."

The changeling chuckled, but did not shift shape. Nightmare Moon thought perhaps she looked thinner. Well, she had gone four nights without food. "I do not fancy the role of court jester."

"What you fancy matters very little," said Nightmare with a sneer.

The changeling only smiled. "It is a shame I cannot feed on arrogance, I would be getting quite a meal. You may be beautiful, Nightmare Moon, but you are hollow. A pretty shell, form without substance, and someday you will crack and crumble like a shed exoskeleton."

Nightmare arched her neck just a bit, and almost smiled. "At least you recognize my beauty. Shall I employ you to flatter me, rather than jest with me?"

"That would be the day. Your beauty I can sum up thusly, that you are attractive for a pony. A changeling such as myself is far more sleek, far more elegant, than you. Your flaws, though, those I could hold forth on for hours on end."

That brought forth a snort of amusement from the Nightmare. "An insect like you, beautiful? Nonsense." Though as she said it, she found herself surveying the creature, assessing its appearance. It was alien—angular and strange—but it was true that there was a certain elegance to the smooth sweep of its charcoal-colored chitin and the glow of its emerald eyes. The pupils were slit, not unlike her own; a compelling, charismatic gaze.

She shook off that thought, shaking her head too as she did so, but when she met that gaze again it was knowing, a sly, almost sultry look in those emerald eyes. "Why Nightmare. Was that a hint of... lust I tasted? Surely not." She shifted, suddenly posed to emphasize the curve of her flank, her tail arched just slightly. "Surely, as you say, it is absurd to find an insect attractive." Her tail flicked, swishing back and forth for a moment, offering the briefest glimpse of what lay beneath. "But then perhaps you could find it in you to recognize the allure of a fellow queen, hmm?"

Nightmare hissed at her, showing her fangs. She was not attracted to this thing and it was not her equal. "You are the dust beneath my hooves. You are a bug to be squashed at my whim. You are nothing." She turned again and stalked away, the changeling's laughter echoing behind her. But the image of that hard, sleek, feminine form lingered in her mind as she did.