Flitter
Chapter Two
The Good and the Bad Times
The black insectoid creature buzzed quietly through the forest, when a strong scent reached his senses. It wasn't a real scent, in fact, but a feeling. A strong outburst of emotions typical for the nearing end of a sapient life.
Despair. Shame. Regret. So much regret, it could only come from one source... love.
He sped up towards the origin of the emotions, out of the forest, into the ravine below. It didn't take him long to locate the colourful pony; it was a bright yellow unicorn with a green mane. The only reason he wasn't dead already was that he got stuck on a tree growing out of the side of the ravine. From the wound on his side, though, it was clear he had already collided with the ravine wall. Looking higher up, the changeling could see a thin red smear indicating where it happened.
The changeling hesitated. The unicorn was despairing, yes, and definitely in mortal danger, but with proper care, he could probably be saved. The Old Ways had many methods of getting positive emotions from sapient beings. Love was powerful, but even gratitude from a sapient being was better than the primitive emotions of the nearby wildlife he'd been soaking up ever since he left the Hive.
Green flames swept over the black creature. He reappeared from the flames looking exactly like the wounded unicorn, his translucent insect wings still buzzing on his back.
"Move not," he said, having picked up a rudimentary understanding of the pony's speech from its mind. "I help."
The unicorn's eyes widened as he noticed the flying copy of himself, but he could only nod. The traveller knew that the forests held all kinds of strange magical creatures, from petrifying cockatrices to translucent star beasts. A being that mimicked his shape wasn't such a big step from there.
The changeling grabbed the pony with his forehooves, flew them both out of the ravine, and gently laid him down on the solid rock floor. He looked at the prone form, a mix of curiosity and concern in his eyes.
"I am Flitter," he said. "I do not know well pony-form. Are you hurt bad?"
The unicorn looked at the long cut on his flank. It looked bad, but he knew it was not the real problem. He could taste the blood in his mouth, and felt the pain in his lungs. He had internal injuries far worse than the cut.
"I need to get... to a doctor," he wheezed. "Can you help me, Flitter?"
Flitter nodded. "Pony-home you need. Pony that know pony-form, to nurse pony. Yes. I bring you to pony-home."
The flood of gratitude was like a breath of fresh air to the changeling. Sapient creatures had such peculiar reactions. He wanted more. He needed more. He would help this creature.
* * *
Hours had passed, and the sun had gone down. The two advanced slowly, the unicorn leaning against his mirror image. Flitter's wings had faded into the flawless pony-illusion.
Swift Star collapsed, for the fifth time. Flitter looked at him, worried.
"You hurt more. I can see. Pony-home is still far?"
Swift Star nodded. He tried to get back onto his hooves, but failed. Finally, he let out a frustrated sigh, that promptly turned into another bloody coughing fit.
"Do you think I'll make it?" he asked his companion.
"You weaken. I think no," Flitter said. "You need rest, but maybe not see day." He looked frustrated at his failure. "I do best I can."
The unicorn smiled at him, flooding Flitter with another nourishing wave of gratitude. "You've done your best," Swift Star said. "Don't blame yourself. You tried, at least. There was nopony else out there to help me."
Flitter looked at the dying unicorn. "I can feel. Your regret. Much regret. You leave other behind. Other you love."
Swift Star nodded weakly. "I should never have left her." He stared up to the starry night sky. "Too late for regrets now, I guess."
"I help," the changeling said. "I have pony-shape. She needs not suffer."
The unicorn frowned. "You're... a trickster." He sighed. "I see now. All this time, all this help. You just want to take my place."
Flitter shook his head. "I do best I can. Try save you. Fail. Not trick. But, she stay happy. What she do when you gone? Think of your fate with no end, despair when find out. Is what you wish?"
The unicorn shook his head. "No! But you would trick her!"
"You love. She loves. I need love. Food, for me. Love can not be stolen. Your love is my love, as long as she wants it. Care for her."
Swift Star coughed again, blood splattering on the ground as he did. Suddenly, he put his hoof around the changeling's neck and pulled his head up to Flitter's ear. "She's pregnant! I can't have you trick her and then leave her when she needs you most! Promise me, trickster," he all but growled in the changeling's ear. "Promise me you'll take care of them. Both of them. They need me. You will be there for them as long as they need you, even if she doesn't want you to!"
The wounded unicorn released his grip, and fell back on the ground with a hard thud. He breathed heavily, and glared at the changeling. Flitter winced. He hadn't expected this passion. This self-destructive behaviour. He understood, now, why the Old Ways said that Love could be dangerous. It was addictive. He had tasted this passion, and it intrigued him. He needed it.
"I will," he said, fully realizing he was ignoring the warnings of the Old Ways. "I promise. I take care of them. Not as long as she wants me. As long as they need me."
The dying stallion relaxed. "Then tell me... Flitter. What do I do now?"
The changeling's horn glowed green. "Open mind to me. Show me, way to her. Show me, love for her. Show me past, how you speak, memory, all of you. I care for her. For both. I promise."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Morning Rain stared into the camp fire. "I see," she said.
"I was so young, then," Flitter said, finishing his tale. "So inexperienced with pony emotions. I stayed with him to the end. Buried him, even."
"But.. he did love me, then?" she asked. "He was planning on returning?"
The changeling shrugged. "He loved you, sure... but, who knows? Maybe he just tricked the trickster. Even with the information I got from his mind, I have no idea where he even came from. He only gave me exactly what he wanted me to know. And back then, I didn't even realize."
She frowned, and looked at him. "Wait, that means... all those months after your return... you acting so odd and cold..."
Flitter nodded. "I can only emulate what I pick up. As far as I know, Swift Star had no way to deal with your anger. I was improvising, and I really wasn't good at it."
Morning Rain smiled. "But you stayed. It's honestly more than I expected him to do, after that ravine trip." She leaned against him. "For what it's worth... looking back at all of it, I'm sorry for taking it all out on you."
"Well, I survived," Flitter said, smiling back at her. "Barely. Blueprint pretty much saved my life. Babies are amazing. The smallest amount of affection gives a flood of love in return."
She smiled. "Yes, seeing you with him... that was special. I didn't really think Swift Star would have it in him, to be a father. You spent every free minute you had with little Blue."
"I didn't have much choice. You weren't giving me affection, and I had no idea how to get you to give me any, either."
"Well, acting as a responsible father solved that nicely," Morning Rain said, nuzzling him softly. "That got you right back in my favour."
She sat upright on her haunches and looked at him. "It seems odd though," she remarked. "For a species that survives on emotions, you knew so little about them."
Flitter grinned. "We're a race of emotional feeders, not psychologists. Eating hay doesn't make you a botanist, does it?"
Morning Rain blinked. "Fair point."
She looked at the night sky, and the fireworks of the wedding coming from Canterlot. She could've sworn she saw a sonic rainboom.
"So, all cheesiness aside..." she said. "Where do we go from here?"
Flitter laughed. It was an odd, hissing sound. He shook his head. "Not a fricking clue."
"Well, I guess we can forget about going to the wedding party," Morning Rain said, still looking at the city in the distance.
"The shield's gone," Flitter said. "We could try."
Morning Rain turned to Flitter, and smiled. "And shake up the royal wedding again?" She shook her head. "Let's not. Those two deserve some happiness, at least. Besides, they won't let you in looking like that."
Flitter sighed. "Maybe if I wear a tuxedo."
Morning Rain laughed. "Changelings, masters of disguise!"
She looked back to the city, and sighed. "We're really not going back there, are we?" she said. "That feels so weird."
Flitter nodded. Somehow, he had the feeling there was something very important about what she'd said, but he couldn't quite figure it out. He had to agree though.
It felt really weird.