//------------------------------// // Guard on Leave // Story: Not the Enemy // by TheAnimerican //------------------------------// "Are you hungry?" I asked Circe. "Always." Oh right. "Umm... here, I know this good donut shop." We flew down to a donut shop that was conveniently close to the Castle. During training, I always spent time there with fellow recruits just to get a snack. Nowadays, I was too busy and could not make time to even visit the place. We walked through the front door and immediately I was greeted by Joe, the owner. "Well hello stranger. It has been a while since I have seen you and-." He paused as he took notice of Circe who followed behind me. "Well this is new. Who's your friend?" "Oh this is Circe. She is new in Canterlot. I am on leave and I wanted to show her around." "Ah well it's good to meet you miss. Any friend of Titanium is a friend of mine. Why don't you two take that booth by the window?" We looked at the booth he pointed out. There seemed to have been nothing special about the booth, other than it was upstairs. The booth was somewhat isolated as if it was VIP only. I looked to Joe in question, but all he did was wink at me. So I thought I could trust him. Circe and I took our seat, but we did not know what to say to each other. As I was pondering what to say, I looked out the window and saw a very nice view on the edge of the cliff side. It was near the waterfall and we were able to see a small town from down below; I believe the town was Ponyville. I motioned Circe to look outside the window and she too was impressed at the view. "Wow, this is amazing! Even though we could fly and see that, it is nice to be able to just sit here and enjoy the view," said Circe. "Yeah, I can't believe I never noticed this before." "Never? But I thought you have been here before." "Well yeah, me and my fellow trainees would hang out here on our break, but we never been here in this booth. It was always occupied by cou-." At that moment, I realized why Joe had us sit in that booth. "By what?" "By... a couple of noisy colts. Our break was always around the time they got out of school. Joe would have them sit up here so the noise doesn't bother the rest of his customers." "Oh I see. They must have been annoying." "Yeah... they were." Sweet Celestia, what was it with ponies assuming that Circe and I were together? That was very bold of Joe to make such an assumption. I mean she was a changeling and I am a pegasus. Yeah, she's just a bug-like, cheese legged... friendly... cute... changeling... "So what can I get the two of you?" Out of nowhere, Joe appeared to the side of our table. "Oh. I will have the hay burger and a vanilla milk shake." I replied. "Got it. And what can I get for you... uh... Circe right?" "Yes. Umm... I don't really want anything thank you." Wasn't she hungry? She could not think of anything from that menu? "Can you give us a couple minutes?" I asked Joe. "Sure thing. Oh and what do you think of this booth huh?" He asked me with a very playful grin. In reply, I returned the grin, but I am sure he knew I was annoyed. "Oh this is a nice booth and such a beautiful view!" Circe shouted like an excited little filly. "Yeah. When I first bought this shop, I noticed there was plenty of space left. I thought it would be a waste to leave a large hole on the side of my shop, so I decided to add on this booth." "That was pretty smart of you, but it's a shame to have this give this to noisy little colts." "Yeah... wait what?" PONY FEATHERS! "Uh Joe I think that table over there is waving you over." "What? Oh thanks." Joe quickly bolted and went to the random table I pointed out. "Circe, you can have whatever you want. If it's bits don't worry I'll pay for you." "Oh it's not that. It's just... well... I have never eaten actual food before." "Really?" "Well, Changelings only feed on love. We had no need or reason to eat anything else." Before I could reply, Joe had already returned to our table. "That table didn't call me over." "Oh really? Guess I was just seeing things. Oh and Circe will have the same thing I'm having." "Huh?" Circe looked at me in confusion. "Got it. I will have it ready in a minute." As Joes left to get our order, Circe whispered, "Titanium, I don't even know what you ordered for me." "Don't worry about it. This place makes a decent hay burger and they have the best milkshake I ever tasted. You'll like it." "Well, if you say so." That moment, I was curious about something. "Hey Circe." "Hmm?" "We don't know too much about the changeling race. I was wondering, how exactly does a changeling feed on love? You don't use those fangs do you?" "Oh no, not at all. Actually... how can I explain this... changelings are like flowers." "Flowers?" "Yes. Flowers need the sun to power them to make their own food. Changelings need to be near a source of love and that alone satisfies our hunger." "If that's the case, then why did your queen attack Canterlot? I am sure if she spoke with the princesses, they could have come to some sort of agreement." Circe was silent for a little while before she answered, "Sadly, it's not that simple. The ponies spread love unlike any other race. The love energy here is enough to support our entire empire for many years; maybe even forever. Our queen saw this potential, but... even for her, the hunger was too great." "But even if the attack succeeded, we would be living in fear under her rule. That love that she wanted would have disappeared in time." "Believe me, there were a few of us that didn't agree with her, but no one would dare speak out against her." Before I could ask her another question, Joe came back with our food. "Here you two. By the way, this is on the house." "Thanks Joe! This looks great!" Wow, this was my lucky day. Got out of the Castle and got a free meal out of it. "No problem. Always nice to see an old friend. Enjoy." Joe walked away and I already started to eat my hay burger. It was crunchy and warm; not like the food they serve in the castle. You would think that even guards deserve a nice hot meal every now and then. While I was eating, Circe didn't even touch her food. She just stared at it like she was observing a painting. "What's wrong?" I asked. "It smells good but... I don't know." "You will like it. Trust me." Slowly and cautiously she picked up her hay burger with her hooves. She closed her eyes as she was about to finally take her first bite. After taking the bite, she slowly chewed the food. As if having an epiphany, she opened her eyes wide and a smile grew on her face. "Oh my gosh, this is really good!" She announced it not just to me, but almost the entire shop. "I told you." The worried Circe had completely disappeared. I stared at a mare that quickly consumed that burger out of existence. Eating too fast, I noticed that it looked like the food wasn't going down her throat properly. "Circe, drink your milkshake!" She looked at me questionably. I pointed out the cold white liquid cup to her left. She took the cup and began to sip on the straw. After she breathed a sigh of relief, it was obvious she had another realization from the taste of the milkshake. She then started drinking the milkshake at an amazing rate. I couldn't help but giggle at her since she was completely unaware of the consequences. After she finished her milkshake, she suddenly placed her hooves on her head. She released low moans and was confused, "Oh... my head hurts. What's happening to me?" I was unable to hold it in any longer. I released a burst of laughter that caught the attention of the entire shop. Circe, still holding her hooves to her head, looked at me and said, "Titanium, this isn't funny. My head really hurts." In a failed effort, I tried to breath and explain to Circe, "Hahaha! Cir-Circe, you drank that too fast! It's called a brain freeze! Hahaha!" "Huh? Why didn't you tell me?" "Hahaha! You-you didn't give me a chance! I'm so-I'm sorry! Hahaha!" "It's not funny!" She said in a whiney tone. In an attempt to make me stop, she tried to hit me, but her blows were like a playful filly. It only made the situation worse.