Chapter 3: Feelings
It was morning when Frill Spike exited the post office, another bag of mail strapped to his flank along with the one he usually carried. Today was the start of his new double-route shift, and he was eager to get started. The added weight would slow down him down a bit, but he was sure it would be worth it in the end. He shifted the bags, adapting to the new weight, then buzzed his wings and began to take off.
The weather was no different today and it would be sometime before it changed. The cold kept ponies wrapped in their winter clothing, while other kept to the warmth inside buildings. The low temperature coupled with the snow would make pegasi and changelings stick to the ground, if there was not anything to keep them in the sky.
Frill Spike, however, had dealt with these flying conditions before. Even before his mail carrier job, he practiced flying in different seasons, testing his limits and adjusting his wing speed for optimal flight. He heard about how mail carriers would be tasked to deliver mail under different weather conditions and he wanted to make sure he could face such natural obstacles.
As for the job itself, it seemed perfect for him. Most changelings took on jobs that allowed for social interactions. After all, their essential food source is emotion. While being a mail carrier was not a social job, there were still the ponies at the reception desks of apartment buildings to give a warm smile and a wave when ever Frill walked in. That and the occasional pony he met that was happy for receiving their package at the door.
Other than that, he enjoyed the independent feel of it. It fell to him to make sure the mail arrived and it would be on his head if he failed. Independence was one of the aspects about pony society he admired. That somehow an individual could be able achieve success on his own. The ability to take full control of his own life and guide it to something he wanted. Frill Spike had this mind set ever since the botched invasion on Canterlot. When the news reached the changelings that were not part of the attack, his reliability on others began to dwindle bit by bit. After all, if an entire invasion force—led by the Queen herself—could not take over a city in a surprise attack, what good was it to rely on others to get what you need?
Integrating himself into pony society finally convinced him of that philosophy. He adopted that idea and learned about what best symbolized it. One of those symbols was Manehatten. The city seemed to embody that philosophy the best. The other was personal success, and what best symbolized that were two things: A job and a home. While he called the concrete cylinder his “home,” he knew it wasn’t passable for the ideal. That is when he heard about the studio apartment and the bits he needed to get it.
As for a job, it took him a while before he found out about openings at the post office. Parcel was very surprised during the interview when Frill volunteered to do laps around the block to show her his flight speed. That eagerness is what won her over and she was more than happy to give him the job.
Since then, Frill Spike had contributed all his effort into his career. The changeling braved any weather condition, memorized his routes, and improved on his ability to carry heavy loads. He continued to demonstrate those skills that day, navigating the route path and the snow that fell. The extra weight did present a complication in speed, but he managed it, making it to his stops. It was the usual and comfortable routine. The apartments on his usual route almost all had different systems for delivering mail. Some he just had to drop off for the apartment staff to sort out while others had him go to a room behind mail box units built into the wall to put the appropriate deliveries in. Sometimes he had to deliver a package to a recipient or leave a notice of attempted delivery if he or she wasn’t home. Either way it was handled, he made sure to bring the mail appropriately and efficiently. This was his element, what he excelled at and was good for. If anything, it was his true purpose, and he would be sure to keep up the good work.
The winds were picking up a bit as Frill Spike finally began his new route. It was a little ways off from the usual, common part of the city. In fact, the high class neighborhood of lofts and suburban homes did not look like it was supposed to be part of Manehatten. The sidewalks were laid with tan-colored cobblestone instead of concrete. The building gave a much more high class feel than the more urban areas, and there was minimal activity on the streets than there was in the city. Yet, it was there, situated on the northern edge of Manehatten.
Frill Spike had to land and sit on his haunches in order to let the difference sink in. He remembered hearing about this place. How during the city’s expansion, the nobles wanted to keep this more “pleasant” part of life intact and allow renovations to improve upon the community. How the street lanterns were made of silver, and how fences and railings were crafted with fine designs. How ponies would go about in a sophisticated trot and their clothes were tailored for a fine, almost regal look.
But all of that was only what he heard of. The description could not prepare him for the sudden environmental whiplash. It was so different from the urban city that he had to take the moment to gawk. It was no wonder it was so aptly named the “Manehatten Noble District.”
His awareness then came back to him as he shook his head vigorously, annoyed at himself. This wasn’t the time to be the awestruck tourist. He had a job to do and he wasn’t going to let a stark difference occupy his thoughts. Quickly getting back to the air, he continued down the street to get to his stops. The wind kept blowing against him, but he did not let up. He looked down to the first set of apartment lofts. These had mail box units set outside of the loft, made out of bronze with designs carved into them and a slot for dropping letters in. He checked for which letters needed to go where and dropped them into the correct slots. With that settled, he took off to the next set of buildings.
It was not until the third set of buildings--when the wind suddenly blew stronger for a--moment that he began to feel it. That heavy blanket of emotions that he could sense. The number of feelings that left a bitter sensation when they were taken in. Around him, he could see the rich and noble ponies giving off the emotions. Some made it apparent, with a bored but indifferent impression. Others tried to hide it, continuing on in their elegant trot or looking the other way when he glanced over at them. Either way, those emotions could not be hidden from him.
Annoyance, contempt, disgust, all directed towards Frill Spike. The changeling.
He shook it off, trying to get his mind bet back to the current situation. So what if they didn’t think highly of him? That didn’t matter a thing when he had a job to do. Besides, he was expecting something like this to happen. The way these ponies held themselves high above the social order, it’s no wonder they would have these kinds of thoughts to ponies lower than them. That included changelings.
He ignored the prejudgment feelings and focused on the deliveries. He wasn’t going to let them keep him down or interfere with his job. If they didn’t like him, they would have to deal with it because he was the one delivering their mail. He held to that determination, the winds now beginning to calm.
There was a relieving change of pace once the route had taken him out of the Noble district. Just the thought of leaving that place for the more comfortable urban Manehatten made him feel better. More so that his last stop was just an average apartment complex. A courtyard facing three apartment buildings, each turned slightly to face it back, was the only form of excessive decoration. No bronze, no silver, no abstract designs were visible at all. The only part that could be considered décor was the few small trees planted about the courtyard. Such a simple sight could not have made Frill Spike any happier.
Since it was a complex, each building had its own mail unit. Fortunately, the mailing system was one handled by the staff. The center held the main reception desk where he went to drop the mail off with the desk clerk. The pony at the desk was a little surprised to see a changeling being the one to deliver the mail, but thankfully it ended at just that. In fact, the surprise was more pleasant than it was unexpected.
Definitely much better than the Noble district.
Frill Spike was about to go back outside when he felt something. It felt like a startled realization, which then turned into a sudden confusion, and then finally, a tense fear. He feigned lowering his head, only letting out an exasperated sigh. Fear was not even the worse feeling a changeling could sense, but that didn’t mean it had no effect on his mood. Especially since that fear was directed towards him. He couldn’t help but look at what the source was.
An auburn earthpony was staring at Frill Spike with wide eyes, completely stiff. His mouth was agape in shock at the sight of the changeling. Next to him was an olive-colored colt that looked to be four years of age. Despite the strong fear coming from the stallion, Frill could feel a nervous anxiousness coming from the child. Never the less, they continued to stare at him, unmoving and frozen.
Frill began to turn and leave, to allow the two some peace of mind. Then he stopped for a moment. The noble ponies had no care for him and that was definitely a weight for the changeling to bear, but these two displayed fear. That was something Frill Spike did not want hanging over him. Hate was one thing, but someone stopping everything because he was afraid of the changeling was completely different.
He turned back to the two ponies, and despite the stallion’s sudden flinch at the slow turn, he began to speak.
“Look, I know it’s probably scary having me around here all of a sudden. I can understand why, I really do. But, I can assure you that I don’t mean to cause any trouble.” The fear was still there, but he continued none the less. “I’m just here to deliver mail and that’s it. Just for a little while. You don’t have to worry about it being permanent. Once the regular mailpony is back, I’ll be out of your mane for good.”
As far as Frill Spike could tell, the fear was still there, only diminished the slightest bit. He figured that was the best he could do and didn’t bother waiting for any other sensation. He was at the entrance when he wanted to say something, any kind of parting words just to let it sink into those two ponies that they did not need to be afraid. Sheepishly, he looked back at them and spoke once more.
“I’m sorry.”
With that, he trotted out the door, back into the cold. The winds had picked up again, making the weather frightful. He lifted himself back into the air and made the flight back to the office. As if the job could get anymore dreadful, winter just had to shower him with more cold.
He could not wait for the week to be over.
Bull True could barely stop shaking. He had to place both hooves on the reception desk just to keep calm. The fact was still taking time to sink in, but each time it sank further, it shed another shiver up his spine. One of those nightmares was here. It saw him and his son. It knows who they are. The truth just kept cutting deeper into his mind as he was on the verge of hyperventilating. He only noticed his frightened state when the clerk called him back to attention with his mail.
He took a moment to compose himself before taking the mail. He had to keep calm and take control of his feeling. That’s how they would get to them. They would focus on his feelings, see a weakness to exploit, and then strike when he was least suspecting. Then, they would suck him dry of all the love he had, and once they were done with him…they’d move on to Marsh. No, he was not going to let that happen to him or his son. If anything, keeping him safe will drive the stallion to resist any tricks they have.
Bull looked to Marsh, looking for any sign that he had a spell cast on him or anything that might be out of the ordinary.
“Are you okay, Marsh?” He lowered his head to meet the colt on eye level. “Do you feel anything different or strange?”
Marsh Olive looked confused for a bit, looking over his self as if a visual inspection might come up with an answer.
“I don’t think so,” he finally said.
Bull gave a sigh, though he could not decide whether he felt relieved by the answer or scared by it.
“Okay. Just making sure that you’re okay.”
Marsh gave a slight nod.
“Don’t worry about the monsters. If anything happens, daddy will be right here to keep you safe.” Bull felt himself nodding, as if trying to convince himself that he could live up to that statement. “Okay?”
Another slight nod was all Marsh could do in response.
“Good.” Bull looked at the entrance, readying himself for any other “surprises” that might be out there. He looked to Marsh who was at his side, waiting for his command. “Okay, let’s go. We’ll be at the bank and back home in no time. Just stay close to daddy until then.”
With that, the two walked out into the snow. Marsh shivered a bit, not being so use to the cold. But, he was happy to be out. At least his winter wear was keeping him as warm as possible. He kept close to his father, both because of what he said and because he didn’t want to get lost as he thought.
Marsh remembered everything his father told him about changelings. That they were monsters who didn’t care about him and only wanted him for food. How they would hurt anypony just to get him and evertypony else for food. They would make themselves look like his friends and family to get close enough to him. Everything he was taught about them was always about how bad they were.
The one he saw did scare him, but he didn’t try to hurt him or his father. He even said that they didn’t have to be scared of him. He also looked sad about something, but the colt didn’t know why.
“What’s wrong, Marsh?”
Marsh did not even notice he stopped in his tracks as he pondered. The colt looked at his father and thought that now was the best time to ask.
“Dad, why did the changeling say he was sorry?”
Bull True response came immediately. “Because it was trying to trick us, Marsh. It was trying to get us to trust him. But we’re smarter than that monster is. Just don’t believe anything it says and you’ll be fine. Okay?”
Marsh Olive gave only a brief pause before outwardly nodding and continuing the trot with his father.
Inwardly, his feelings on the subject were conflicted.