My Little Flash Fiction: Postmodernism is Magic

by aaaa_aaaa

Chrysalis' Break

Hunger. Thirst. Emptiness. Despair. Exhaustion. Loneliness.

For changelings, these feelings are one and the same.

It's been months since we last fed - Fillydelphia was supposed to have enough love for us to move on to the rest of Equestria, but it was completely desolate for some reason.

So we searched for a new feeding source, scavenging love from various critters along the way. Unfortunately, a wild animal's love is shallow - fueled by pure instinct and too weak to serve as anything but a quick snack. We had to sacrifice parts of ourselves to feed the rest. Life was like this for months until Fortune granted our Queen a break...

---

"Hey Cadence, what kind of cake do you want? Cadence, please remind Shining Armor to send his invitation to Twilight. Cadence, the Princess detected a negative energy signature outside of Canterlot, have you taken this security risk into account for preparations?"

Ugh. Cadence this, Cadence that. I still love all my little ponies, but sometimes they can get a bit exhausting - I needed a quick break.

I channeled my energy into my horn and recalled the gazebo where Shining Armor and I shared our first kiss. I felt reality twist and bend for an instant...

---

A flash of blue and pink appeared right in front of me, a flash a hundred thousand times brighter than the life force of even the liveliest creature.

The energies took on the sharp shape of a pony! Most ponies have a vague, fuzzy energy around them contained to themselves, but this one's love was bright and sharp - I could almost taste it in of the distance between us.

It was tempting to just leap out and suck that energy out; but I've waited months - I could wait a few more minutes.

Then I felt the air vibrate - she must be talking! I channel one of my last drops of energy into giving myself pony ears and listen in...

"*This day is going to be perfect*"

"*The kind of day of which I've dreamed of since I was small*"

"*Everypony will gather -*"

A shard of pain entered my horn. My knees began to buckle and I could feel my stomach/reservoir giving out. Fortunately, I managed to terminate the shape-shifting spell before it began to use the remainder of my life energy.

I begin to gather all the energy I could - a few drops from the swarm, some of the raw energy emitted from the pony, even a bit of the ambient æther - into one last shape-shifting spell.

---

One of the nearby bushes rustled. I turned to find the source of the sound, and I see a rabbit hop out, only to collapse.

The rabbit's fur was dirty and tangled; it's eyes sunken in their sockets. Blood oozed from massive sores. Ribs threatened to pierce its skin as they went up and down; each breath shallower than the last.

And then it stopped.

I had to do something. I went ahead and cast an energy transfer spell on the rabbit, focusing my concern for it into a blue blob of energy, which shaped itself into a tiny heart on the way.

-----------------------------------------

A bright pulse left the pony's horn and entered my body. Energy shot through my ley lines, warmth flooded through my veins, the pony's concern filled my stomach, her love restarted my heart.

I knew what I had to do. The line of her love glowed as it pumped energy into my body, pulsating with each invigorating wave. I began to pull on it. The owner dropped me on the floor and tried to cut the line, but I knew better - I used my new energy to tug even harder on it, stealing more and more of her energy, even stringing a handful of memories along.

Oh my. A wedding? Engaged to the Head of the Royal Guard? This will be useful, I thought to myself as I looked through her recent memories.

The line collapsed, along with it's owner. I spread some of my energy over her and watched in my mind's eye as it slowly took Cadence's form. Satisfied with the replica, I integrated the pattern with my own body, ensuring that every detail down to the smallest hair was correct.

Two simple teleportation spells later, I was ready for the perfect day...