Tenacious Love

CHAPTER THREE:

FRIENDS

   For the next few days, Bubblecut brought three meals a day in for the changeling, every time the changeling would ask her what her name was, and every time Bubblecut would not give it. Today, however, was going to be different, today Bubblecut was going ask why the changeling is so determined to know her name.

   She finished setting up the tray with a glass of orange juice then she took the tray and started trotting to the room where her prisoner was. The door was fitted with three different locks along the frame keeping it shut. She set the tray down on a stand she had placed by the door the first day she brought the changeling to her house and reached up to unlock the locks. She opened the door as she picked up the tray, the changeling sat up on her bed and looked up with a weak smile. She looked a little less drained then she did the first day she was here, but still looked weak.

   "Hey, girlfriend." She chirped. "Still didn't get your name?" Bubblecut set the tray down in front of the changeling, who began eating the pancakes on the plate.

   "Y'know." Bubblecut said. "...you've been asking me what my name is for the last three days. Why are you so determined to know who I am?"

   "I'm just trying to be friends, sweetheart." She said after swallowing a mouthful.

   "Don't call me that." Bubblecut ordered. The changeling backed away with her hooves in the air.

   "Okay, okay I won't call ya sweetheart," she said. "...but I am gonna to call ya something until I learn your name." Bubblecut looked at the changeling for a minute as she resumed her eating. The changeling looked back up after a mouthfull. "Hey, you don't have your wing blades on this mornin'." She observed. "What, ya trust me a little more, girlfriend?" Bubblecut looked back at her wings, both were relaxed at her sides without the blades fastened onto them.

   "I suppose I do think of you less of a threat right now." Bubblecut said as she turned her gaze back to the changeling.

   "But ya don't think you can trusted me with your name?" She asked. Bubblecut rolled her eyes to the heavens. This changeling was not like any other changeling she had ever met before, she was trying to be friendly without using her powers of shapeshifting where as otheres tried to cause harm or trick her by appearing as Wild. She shook her head with a smile on her face.

   "My name is Bubblecut." She said. The changeling nodded once.

   "Okay Bubbles." She said, then resumed her eating.

   "Bubbles?" Bubblecut asked. The changeling nodded in response as she finished the pancakes. "I don't think I like that."

   "What, am I suppose to call ya, Bubs? Or Cut?" The changeling asked. "Realy, Bubbles works, girlfriend." Bubblecut smiled faintly, then caught herself before the changeling noticed.

   "So..." Bubblecut started. "...do you have a name?" She changeling smiled as she sat up on her haunches.

   "Wait, you wanna know if I have a name?" She asked sarcastically.

   "Well... yeah." Bubblecut replied.

   "You wanna know if your prisoner, a changeling, has a name?" She said, pointing a hoof at herself and Bubblecut as she spoke.

   "Okay, I'm just going to stop feeding you then." Bubblecut stated as she picked up the tray with the plate and glass and began to trott out of the room.

   "Hey Bubbles, I was just having some fun." She said raising a hoof. Bubblecut stopped at the door and looked back. "Changelings don't have names, realy." Bubblecut turned to face the changeling fully, a look of confusion on her face. "I'm serious, the only changelings who have names are the royal family and a few high rankers."

   "So, you're just a simple changeling?" Bubblecut asked. "Nothing major?"

   "Hey, if Chrysalis held me in high regard I wouldn't be trying to be a friend to you." She stated.

   "So, should I make up a name for you?" Bubblecut asked.

   "Actually, you can call me Tenacity." She replied. "That's a name I came across when I was with a pony a few years ago."

   "Tenacity?" Bubblecut asked. "I hope you don't expect me to call you Teny or anything like that."

   "Only if you want to, girlfriend." Tenacity said, she seemed to be getting a little better as they talked. Bubblecut just shook her head and closed the door behind her as she walked out, she set the tray down and locked only one of the locks this time. "Catch ya later Bubbles!" Came Tenacity's voice.

   Bubblecut sat there for a few minutes, her thoughts locked on Tenacity. Tenacity. She thought. She actually seems nice. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and trotted toward the kitchen with the tray. She washed the dishes clean and put them away, then trotted off toward the front door and outside.

   "Y'know you've been at this for three days now." Bubblecut jumped and whirled around to find Wild standing on his hind hooves with one forehoof on his hip while the other supported his weight against the house.

   "Wild Animal! Don't scare me like that!" Bubblecut snapped.

   "How long to you plane on playing this game?" He asked with a bob of his head.

   "What game?" She asked.

   "You know... perfectly well what I'm talking about." He said, emphasising 'perfectly' with a shake of his head as he locked his jaw open.

   "I know you're not suggesting I let her go again." She said. He placed all fours on the ground and looked off toward the distance.

   "You could say that." He said.

   "I'm not going to be made the enemy here Animal!" She barked. "If I let her go, there's no telling what she'll do out there."

   "Now, did I ever say let her out in the open?" He asked, turning his head to face her. She opened her mouth to speek up, but was cut off by the stallion's hoof. "I simply said, you could say I was suggesting you let her go, that never ment you had to turn her loose on Equestria. Besides, I don't think she'll want to leave now after what you've done."

   "What have I done?" She asked. Wild did not answere, he just turned away and began trotting off toward his hut by the forest. "Wild, what have I done?" He stopped and turned his head, his teeth bare in his silly grin.

   "You figure out what I already know." He turned, then skipped off toward the forest.

   Tenacity was laying on her back staring at the ceiling of her room, smiling at the energy she just gained. Bubblecut, even if she would not admit it, had opened up to her enough for her to syphon some energy from her. It was not love, but it was enough to keep her alive for a little while.

   Tenacity's attention was turned to the door as the sound of the lock filled the room and the door slowly crept open. "You can come out if you want. Just don't try to leave the house." Tenacity got to her hooves and slowly walked toward the door, she saw Bubblecut standing a few feet from the door watching as she came out.

   "So, does this mean you want to be friends?" Tenacity asked.

   "I'm just giving you a little bit of a leash here." Bubblecut answered. "You're free to go anywhere in the house but outside."

   "Aww, we're not friends?" Tenacity pouted.

   "Stop trying to flirt with me or you're going back in your room." Bubblecut said.

   "Relax, Bubbles, I'm just having fun. Y'know how boring it is to be locked up in the same place all day, only to be let out for bathroom use?"

   "Do you wantto be locked up again?" Bubblecut asked.

   "No, I just want to be friends." Tenacity replied. Bubblecut looked at her for a minute. Was there any harm in calling her a friend as long as she behaved?

   "Okay, we can be friends." She said finally. Tenacity let out a cheer and jumped in place as she cried out 'Ive gotta friend!'