Duellum Telum

“So how was your day, princess?” Filthy Rich asked, turning a page in his newspaper.

“Fine,” Diamond answered as she closed the door.

The filly’s father paused, putting the newspaper down. “Sounds like something has you down. Come on, what’s got you in a funk?”

A servant brought in a cart laden with tea and crumpets, pausing only long enough to ask how much sugar they wanted in their cups before leaving the room, the cart left behind in case the pair wanted more.

The pink filly frowned, “Well, there’s this new colt in town, and I was hoping he would be in school today.”

The stallion chuckled, “So, my little filly is into colts now?”

“What? no, I mean...” she growled in frustration, then sighed. “I had a nice time with him Friday, and he said he was living with Fluttershy, so I thought he would be in class today.”

“This colt, what’s his relation to Fluttershy that he’s living with her?” Filthy mused, lifting a cup of tea to his mouth.

Diamond thought for a moment, taking a sip of her tea, and said, “I overheard him say that her half-brother sent him here... but I don’t know why.”

Tea sprayed onto the cart, unexpectedly ejected from Filthy Rich’s mouth. “A-a-and what is her half-brother’s name?”

Diamond looked at her father, she had never seen him shaken so. “He said somepony named Captain Squall was-”

Her father interrupted with a squeaky voice, “He’s still alive?!” Filthy walked over to his desk and pulled out some paper and a pencil, not bothering to use his favorite in his haste, “I-I-I’m sorry dearest, but I must get a letter to him immediately, did this colt say where Squall was docking?”

“No, he didn’t.”

“Bah, no matter, I know how to get it to him anyways.” The stallion sat down, the sound of scribbling filling the air.

~o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o~

“So what did you do then?”

“I had to cover myself up, so I made my wings and fangs disappear and filled up the holes in my limbs. I couldn’t hold my normal shape, but I could look like a weird unicorn, at least.”

“And then you ran out of town?”

“No, then I ran for the nearest public restroom. Heart’s Desire sucks. Uh... pardon my Prench,” Moonfire said with a sheepish grin.

“Oh, right. I guess it would,” the mare admitted, averting her gaze with a blush. “So that Gambit boy drove you out?”

Moonfire’s response was cut short by a carrot sticking out of his forearm. Looking down, he noticed the white rabbit inspecting his perforated anatomy with the vegetable like a chimney sweep giving a fireplace a cursory brushing.

“Oh, where are my manners?” Fluttershy started. “Moonfire, this is A-”

Moonfire jumped onto the back of the couch. “Be gone, rabbit, you and yours shall not have my chitin,” He said with a snarl.

“U-um, Moonfire, this is Angel Bunny. Angel Bunny, this is --” Fluttershy yelped when a vicious hissing sound interrupted her. “Moonfire, Angel Bunny is a friend. There’s no need to hiss at him.”

“I didn’t hiss,” he insisted.

The changeling and the pegasus gave the prone rabbit a little glare at that.

“Umm, try to be nice, please? You’re going to be under the same roof for while,” Fluttershy explained.

“As long as they stay away from me, I have no problem.”

Fluttershy gave a slight grimace at that, looking around at the plethora of bird’s nests and mouse holes in her house.

“I’m sure all the animals will keep their distance from you,” she lied.

“You misunderstand me; back in Baltimare I was chased by close to a hundred rabbits onto The Aerith. As far as I could tell they were out to eat me; my chitin had already had chunks taken out of it. Because of that, I... keep my distance from rabbits, no matter their temperament.”

“Sweetie, bunnies don’t eat meat. They don’t even eat bugs,” Fluttershy blurted out, quickly holding up her hooves to her mouth. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I mean bunnies shouldn’t want to eat changelings in the first place. You probably just smelled tasty, maybe. And... you landed on my brother’s ship? I didn’t think he liked stowaways.”

“They were eating my chitin; unless I’m a carrot, I can’t think of any other reason why they would try that. And your brother invited me onto the ship because I needed to get away from them.”

Fluttershy walked over and nodded to Angel Bunny to let him know it was alright. She stood over the boy and inspected his hard, hard skin.

“I guess your skin must have something in it, then. Maybe a vitamin. Or something to do with your magic: guinea pigs have been known to go a little crazy when they smell Zap Apples. Have you seen a doctor about it?” she inquired gently.

“I tried to go to the ship’s doctor, but Squall said to bother him only when I had a mortal wound.”

“And I take it the rest of the crew never saw those gaping holes in your body, huh?” she added with a wink.

If I didn’t know any better, I would say that she just made an innuendo. “They were told to not concern themselves with me; that I could take care of myself,” Moonfire said with a wary look.

“But you did make sure no one else knew about you, didn’t you?” Fluttershy asked with an air of dread. Moonfire could almost read the worried letter she was planning to send her half-brother.

“Yes, I made sure they saw only a small pegasus with a limp.”

Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief.

“Alright, then. I need to go to Ponyville and pick up a few things. I’ll lock the door, you just need to stay quiet and out of sight,” Fluttershy explained, her voice lowering to even more of her usual whisper. “Are you going to be alright?”

“I will. Just need to hole up in a room with no rabbits in it.”

“The guest room should be fine, then. Angel, promise you won’t try to break in?” the mare asked her long-eared pet.

Said pet grumbled and shook his head.

“I’ll bring home some cherries for you if you’re good,” Fluttershy added with a sugary tone.

The rabbit’s eyes went wide and his head started making violent up and down motions. He didn’t seem to realise Fluttershy would have no way of knowing whether or not he obeyed while she was out.

“That’s settled, then.”

Moonfire looked at the mare as she went out, then at the rabbit who was apparently good on his word. It was only then he realised the oddity of his situation: he was being tended to by a vet who not only was able to negotiate with her pet rabbit, but had to negotiate with her pet rabbit.

The changeling sighed.

How did I get into this?

==========================

The changeling sighed.

How did I get into this?

It was something he’d wondered for a while now, and while he couldn’t account for all of it he could at least describe how he’d ended up in this exact place at this exact time.

Fluttershy had told him she’d give him a wash, and she’d given him a glare he couldn’t fight when he insisted he could wash himself.

“Seriously though, I can wash myself,” Moonfire said for the tenth time.

Ignoring the protests, Fluttershy stroked his back with a soaped-up washcloth, gently working around his muscles and avoiding the still mending wing. She took special care to get in between the edges of his carapace, and hummed to herself all the way, not even answering.

Moonfire sighed and picked up a brush, trying to at least help.

“Moonfire,” Fluttershy said warningly.

“Oh come on, using magic won’t hurt my wing.”

She started going over his head at that, rubbing his temples in a circular motion before washing out his web-like mane. Fluttershy massaged his head and scalp, keeping her voice steady and even.

“Do you really feel that bad about just letting someone do something for you? Is it that hard to let go?” She paused. “How long has it been since somepony just showed you some kindness because they wanted to?”

Moonfire remained silent, slowly lowering the brush. Finally he whispered, “Why would anyone do something like that for somepony like me? I’m the son of a gangster, a godfather, why would anypony do something out of kindness for me?”

Fluttershy kept on washing the boy off, raising his left arm to get his armpit.

“You can’t help how you were born, Moonfire. But you don’t seem like a bad boy to me. Isn’t that what matters?”

It should, but on the streets, there’s only your heritage and your connections, he thought.

Fluttershy let the silence hang for a bit, then washed his right armpit.

“Or is it maybe because the rules are different where you’re used to living?”

The changeling said nothing, giving the mare the brush.

The mare didn’t pry any further. She just reached a little deeper and washed over the boy’s belly, before taking the brush and scrubbing the ends of his hooves, as well as around his horn.

“It’s different here, you know. Kindness isn’t as rare as you might think.”

==========================

“Moonfire, you have a visitor,” Fluttershy said from the other side of his door. “Are you decent?”

Oh crap, my wing isn’t fully healed, he thought before calling, “I’ll be out in a second.”

“What do you mean, ‘decent’?” a familiar voice piped up. “We don’t normally wear clothes.”

Shit! It’ll have to be good enough.

He pulled on his disguise and stuffed the bandages under his pillow before walking over to the door.

So far, no pain. Hope it stays that way, he thought as he opened the door. “Hi, Diamond. What brings you here?”

“You weren’t in class today,” the filly said.

“Well... I’m... uh... settling in here before I... try to...” WHY IS THIS SO HARD?! “Do anything else,” he stammered.

“Oh, no need to be shy, Moonfire,” the pot started, addressing the kettle. “He’s been staying in because of a little bug problem.”

Moonfire glared at the yellow mare. She grinned sheepishly at what she must have thought was a great inside joke.

“Err, yeah... stomach bug. Three-day flu, you know.”

“Oh, right,” Diamond offered with an uncharacteristically sympathetic smile. “But you don’t look sick now. Are you going to be in Cheerilee’s class tomorrow, then?”

Moonfire mentally gulped, “Well, you can never be too sure when it comes to stomach bugs.”

“That’s right, he’ll stay here tomorrow to make sure it’s gone,” Fluttershy said with a warning glance.

“Great. See you Wednesday, then,” Diamond concluded with a grin.

“Yeah, see you Wednesday,” he said with a smile. GREAT! now I have even more to worry about!

The filly turned and, as she was walking, said, “Hope you feel better.”

When she got to the door she stopped and said, “Um.... W-would you like to hang out with me after school Friday?”

Moonfire’s face lit up, “Okay.”

With that, she glanced back and smiled, and left without another word.

Fluttershy waited for the sound of her front door to close.

“You know, Diamond Tiara must really like you,” she started. “If she came all this way just to check how you were doing. You’re quite the gentlecolt.”

Another date! Oh yeah! Looks like that time in Manehattan wasn’t all bad. Wait, did Fluttershy say something?

Moonfire shook his head and said, “Did you say something?”

Fluttershy suddenly realised what she was talking about and to whom.

“Yes. I said you need to be nice to Diamond Tiara when you see her, and don’t take advantage of the fact that she likes you so much.”

“What!? You- Why- I wouldn’t- couldn’t- won’t-” he stammered. The changeling cleared his throat and said, “There is no way I would let my changeling nature do anything of the sort, see-”

“It’s okay, Moonfire. You’re a boy, and boys think and feel a certain way, when they get to around your age. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s important you realise what is right and what is wrong.”

Right at that moment, a screeching sound came from the bedroom window. A brown rooster had somehow launched itself up high and was now careening right towards Moonfire. Fluttershy extended her hoof and caught the stray poultry, blocking it before flicking it back out the window with a simple wrist motion.

Moonfire cringed. “You don’t have to tell me this, I learned it already.”

Fluttershy nodded.

“Good. Then you’ll do well on the refresher test.”

“I’ve had enough ‘refresher tests’ to last a lifetime,” Moonfire said, rolling his eyes.

“Of course you have, a handsome colt like you,” Fluttershy encouraged, “but just keep in mind Diamond Tiara isn’t like most girls. She can be a little mean sometimes, even if she likes you.”

He frowned and, under his breath, said, “You have got to be kidding me.”

Looking back to the mare, he said, “I think I’ve stayed here long enough for my wing to heal correctly. Thank you for taking care of me.”

“So you’re going to go school all alone now? And not come back here?” Fluttershy inquired. “Ponies might start asking questions, you know. What should I say if Diamond Tiara or one of her friends comes over and asks about you? Suppose someone wants to surprise her and they’re expecting you to be here? What should I say?”

The colt sighed, “I’ll be able to stop them before they get here, so you don’t have to worry there.”

With that he walked out the door.

==========================

Great, I had to say I would go to school, didn’t I? Moonfire thought as he walked into the belfry. Couldn’t I have said somethi- he stopped and looked at the coil of rope sitting next to his bed. “SHIT! she’s here!”

He ran and jumped out the window overlooking the pond, Now there’s no choice, I have to stay at Fluttershy’s.

Back at the cottage, he went up to Fluttershy and said, “Looks like you’ll be stuck with me for a bit more.”

“Oh? Is there a problem?” Fluttershy asked, concern in her voice.

“Yes, the mare that’s after me is here. She found where I had been staying, and now I need a new place to stay. Since you are worried about me, why not stay here?” Moonfire concluded, walking towards the couch.

“Well, I don’t mind having you around,” Fluttershy offered. “And it’s better for you to fit in like a normal colt, isn’t it? No one needs to know about you, we can pretend you’re my cousin or whatever you think is best.”

Moonfire looked intently at the mare.

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why would you let me stay here so easily?”

“I don’t know,” Fluttershy admitted. “Maybe it’s because I think everyone deserves a little kindness, and it wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t let you have it. Even if Scootaloo hadn’t brought you here, I’d probably have run into you sometime. And I’m glad I did before something really bad happened.”

Silence fell.

“You should have a home, Moonfire. I might not be the right pony to give one to you, but I can at least show you what you’ve been missing.”

The disguised changeling looked down, I don’t sense anything malicious coming off of her.... She doesn’t sound like she wants something from me... maybe this is what it is. “Then I guess you’ll have plenty to show me tomorrow.”

~o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o~

Ugh, does he keep tabs on me now? Cal thought as he snuck closer to his target. That’s the only way thi- and he can teleport... fucking awesome.

Slipping into the spot that was previously occupied, he looked in the window. Oh, that’s nice. It’s probably a good thing I have plans now.

Slowly, he opened the window and crept up behind the would-be assassin, his dagger seeming to soak up the moonlight. just a bit closer...

Suddenly a lamp turned on, revealing a changeling - no longer asleep - sitting on the bed. Shit.

“Tch, you’re dead either way!” The assassin said.

“No, you are,” Cal said around his dagger, driving it into the back of his prey’s neck. Now, because of his incompetence I have to come up with an excuse.

“Great, just when things were going good,” Moonfire said.

Cal merely pulled his blade loose and wiped it on his dead foe’s coat. Locking eyes with the colt, he said, “I am the only one who gets to kill you. I’ll be cleaning up the rest of the trash before I come for you.” Pleasedon’tquestionitPleasedon’tquestionitPleasedon’tquestionitPleasedon’tquestionitPleasedon’tquestionit-

“You aren’t going to try fighting me?”

DAMNIT!

Putting away his dagger, he smiled and said, “Now where would the fun be in that?”

Cal stepped over to the window and looked back at the colt. “I’ll come for you soon enough. You can count on it.”

With that he vaulted out the window and vanished into the woods.