Tenacious Love

Tenacious Love

By Music Brush, assisted by Mechafone.

CHAPTER ONE:

UNFULFILLED ORDERS

   The bright rays of Celestia's morning sun crept onto Bubblecut's sleeping face through her bedroom window. The light shined off her white coat and pink mane. She blinked her eyes open and gave a big yawn as she stretched her wings out from under her blanket, then slid off her bed to stretch out her legs.

   After she was done stretching she reached over and turned on the stereo to listen to classic music, in wich her favourite musician, Octavia, played. The sound of the orchestra filled the room, she gently bounced her head to the beet of the music as she trotted torward the bathroom at the end of the room. She turned on the worm water then she hopped in and began to wash herself clean. She gingerly washed the cut over her left eye, taking care not to open the fresh wound.

   She sat under the running watter for a few minutes after she was done washing up before she shut off the watter then hopped out of the shower and grabbed a towel to dry off. As she dried herself off with the towel she trotted over to the kitchen, got a pan from the pantry, a bag of flower and began setting up things to cook breakfast when there came a knock from the front door.

   "Just a minute!" She called as she put down the pan on the stove and trotted toward the front door, she opened the door and found two of Princess Luna's dark guards standing at attention at her front door.

   "Lieutenant Bubblecut!" One said as they both saluted.

   "At ease, gents." She replied, they lowered their hooves while keeping themselves up straight. "What brings you here?"

   "Lieutenate, we know you are on a break," the second said, "but, Princess Luna has oders for you to carry out, immediately." Bubblecut blinked, Luna always allowed her to relax when she was away from the Defenders, unless it was something important.

   "What is it?" She asked.

   "There has been an attack on the castle in the last few days by changlings, lieutenant." The first explained. "The princess has sent the Defenders out to find any remaining changelings that have been scatterd throughout Equestria. She asked for you to search for any changelings that may be hiding in the immediate area and eliminate them if necessary."

    Bubblecut did not live in a town or city, she lived in a nice house along the road between Ponyville and Canterlot. The Everfree Forest was across the road a good mile away from her house, allowing her a quick, yet dangerous, pathway to Canterlot or Ponyville if she ever needed to get to any of the towns.

   "I'll get Wild Animal and begin searching at once." Bubblecut stated with a stern look on her face. Wild Animal was her closest friend she knew since foalhood. He was a bit... wild... like an animal, so he was called Wild Animal.

   The guards saluted her again. "Princess Luna requests you report your findings when you've finished." She nodded once, then the guards flew off back towards Canterlot. She closed the door and turned around to lean her back against it with a deep sigh.

Oh gods. She thought to herself. I was hoping I would be able to go out and maby find a special somepony. She had been thinking about finding somepony to call her own, even though she was quite young and still had her whole life ahead of her. But, being a member of Princess Luna's Defenders made her search for a normal life close to impossible because of the many dangerous missions that came with being a member of a secret police force.

   Wild was her closest friend, but that was it, she felt no strong emotion for him. Come to think of it, every stallion she met so far never truely appealed to her. She shrugged it off, she probably just had not met the right guy yet. Besides, she was just given an order from the princess, finding somepony to love will have to wait. She trotted off to her room, threw the towel in the hamper by the door, shut off the stereo by her bed and continued to the closet.

   She moved aside a line of hanging cloths to show a small door with a padlock keeping the door closed. She reached up and began turning the dials to the right numbers to unlock the pad. She opened the door and pulled out a box then she opened it to find a pair of wing blades resting in the cushion, her reflection shining on the polished metal. She removed the blades from their place in the box and fastened them on her wings.

   She put the box back in its place, closed the door then turned and ran out of the room through the house and out the front door, keeping her wings folded at her sides to avoid damaging anything. When she was out of the house, she splayed her wings and took off towards the Everfree. First Stop, Wild's hut. Wild's hut was just outside the forest, giving him immediate access to the Everfree. It was quite large and spacious, just the way he liked it.

   She landed in front of the hut and trotted up to the front door where she found a note that was nailed in place. Don't tell me you're not home. She thought as she approached and read the note that was left for her.

Bubblecut

   First off, how are ya? Good? Well, alraight then.

   Secondly, I'm not home right now, I'm out hunting with Sharpwood and I won't be back until after lunch.

   Yummey!

Best of health to ya, my friend.

   The note was stamped with a small picture of a stallion head with a silly grin on his face.

Great. She thought. He's out with his pet. Bubblecut shook her head at this, she had no idea how a pony could have a pet like Sharpwood, but somehow Wild did. This is just great, I have orders from the princess to search for changelings and the most likely place for them to be hiding is in the forest. I shouldn't go out there alone. She walked away from the hut to face the forest. But, I may have no choice. She took off towards the forest to begin her search without help.

   She searched through the thick forest for activity that was not an animal calling for its mate. The only time she used her blades were when a few forest animals came to attack her and she avoided any confrontation with the bigger, more vicious creatures like ursas. She made her way around a large tree while on the ground and saw something crawling in the dirt. It was not an animal, it was black and scale-like. She slowly crept closer to this creature, wing blades held at the ready. As she got closer the creature looked up at her, it resembled a pony with a bent horn, insectyle wings and holes in its legs.

A changeling! She thought to herself as she raised her wings to strike at the monster, but stopped short when the changelings head dropped to the ground. Bubblecut now saw that this changeling was hurt, badly. It had bruises all over its body, a few bloodstained spots visible on its black shell and it looked tired and drained as though it had some kind of spell that drained the energy from your body.

   The changeling looked up to Bubblecut again weakly, a pleading look in its eyes. Bubblecut raised her wings again threateningly, she had to kill this monster, changelings were vicious creatures that stole love from everypony. But, she did not have to kill it because it was hurt, weak and defenseless to any thing that came for it. She could not kill something that could not defend inself if attacked. She would never forgive herself.

   The changelings head fell to the ground again after a minute and Bubblecut slowly approached it, her wings still splayed and ready to strike. This could be a trick, but until she was sure she was not just going to kill something like this. She got up to the changeling, who was completely outcold, and after a minute she decided on what to do. She crouched down, eased the creature onto her back then flew back towards the end of the forest where her home was.

   She flew out of the tree line over Wild's hut and straight for her house, the changeling sleeped through the whole trip. Bubblecut landed at the front door of her house, opened the door and eased her way in with the changeling still on her back. She trotted through the living room into a hallway and into the second door on the right at the end of the hall. In the room was one bed and one lamp on a stand in the far corner. She carried the changeling to the bed and gently layed it down then reached over and turned the lamp on to better see the creature.

What the hell am I doing here?" She asked herself. The changeling stirred a little, moaning something inaudible, then went silent again. Bubblecut looked over the changeling's form, noting that it was verry bruised and cut up all over. Bubblecut sighed and got up and trotted out of the room to the bathroom on the other side of the hall. She grabbed a few firstaid items and returned to the changeling and began tending to its wounds.