Chapter 1-Comforting the Nightmares
Fluttershy reached over and gently picked a rose from the ground. “Oh, this is a wonderful one.” She said, sighing contentedly. “I wonder if anypony would want this.”
The shy pegasus was calmly wandering around in a rose garden about a mile out from Ponyville, looking for flowers she could use for her and her animals' dinner. The garden wasn't very big, only about one-fourth of a mile in diameter. The garden was full of beautiful flowers ranging from daffodils to roses to daises to sunflowers.
As the shy pegasus finished filling her basket with flowers, she landed on the ground by a path back to the town and started trotting her way back.
“I can't just eat all of these flowers by myself.” she said to herself. “I should go by Rarity's or maybe Pinkie could use these in a recipe or, OOF!”
Something rushed at Fluttershy and slammed into her side. Fluttershy fell over mostly from shock then the actual impact. She almost dropped the basket from her mouth and hit the ground, spilling out a few flowers.
Fluttershy shook her head, slightly dazed. She looked up to see her love, her stallion Shade. “Oh Shade! You must not have seen me in the way.” The stallion nodded, but did not utter a word. “Is something wrong?”
As his eyes narrowed, the pegasus grew worried. “Shade, you aren't like this. Tell me what's wrong.” She stepped forward to rest her hoof on his face, right as he smacked her.
Fluttershy reeled back in shock and horror as the stallion glared at her with hatred. “The problem is you Fluttershy.” he said, his voice dripping venom.
“W-what?” She whispered. This wasn't him, it could only be a dream. Or at least, that's what she was praying for as he stepped closer to her. “What are you doing?” She said, her voice breaking.
Shade gave her a sadistic smile. “Just teaching you a very valuable lesson.” He raised his hoof....
. . .
SMACK! Fluttershy's eyes shot open as something hit her on the face. She turned to see the changeling laying beside her thrashing around underneath the covers, his back to her. Taking a glance at his neck, she noticed that there was a green mark on his neck, and it was glowing bright. Calmly she took her hoof and softly rubbed in circles around it.
“Shh.” She whispered. “It's okay, Shade. Calm yourself.” As she continued to speak to him and rub his neck, the changeling finally ceased his flailing and relaxed, seeming to slip into a calmer dream.
Fluttershy sighed and moved her hoof to his side, gently caressing it as she kissed him on the cheek, quietly saying, “What am I going to do with you?”
That question held merit for her. After Discord had been defeated in Canterlot, Shade had devoted his time to doing what he could for Ponyville and Canterlot residents. When she could catch him at the right time, he explained that he was trying to act like he was just as normal as the rest. Fluttershy knew that a lot of ponies hadn't trusted him before, and that he was trusted even less after somepony had spread the word that Discord was his father. She simply didn't agree with his thought process though.
“You're running yourself into the ground.” She said to the sleeping changeling. “Why won't you let anypony, not even me help you?”
She knew the answer. He wanted to prove himself. Fluttershy felt so frustrated that she wanted to hit a wall. He had finally gotten in good graces, at least with the ponies in Ponyville until Discord had shown up. Now he was doing everything and anything to show that he wasn't like his father.
Fluttershy rested her other hoof on her necklace, looking at the ruby set in the middle. The chain and outer part was made out of pure gold, but the pegasus usually liked to look at the ruby. Shade had a necklace like hers, signifying that they were in fact, a couple.
“Now I wonder..” She poked at his neck, brushing aside some of his mane. “Yeah. He is still wearing it.” Shade had told her that he had enchanted their necklaces so only they could remove them. She remembered that his necklace had other enchantments, but she didn't remember what the specifics were.
She'd had nightmares before, and Shade had insisted that she wake him up if he didn't on his own. Before he'd feel it and wake up with her, but now. The poor changeling was so tired from the day that Fluttershy was lucky if he'd eat with her. He had essentially hired himself out to help other ponies, and because of his skill set, he was always busy. Fluttershy never asked him what he was doing, but she'd seen him out and about doing different things from carpentry to helping bake at Sugercube Corner.
Fluttershy was going to tell her friends to not ask for his help, but Shade had said that it was okay. Her friends didn't know how tired he was. She'd ask Shade if he absorbed emotions when he was working and he said not unless his necklace ran dry. Call it a sixth sense but Fluttershy knew when his necklace had emotions in it, and a lot of the time it had been empty.
“Why did you have to come into my life?” she asked with a smile. “It was peaceful then, but I wouldn't change this. Not for anything.”
Just then, Shade started trembling again. Fluttershy lifted her hoof off of Shade's side as he rolled onto his back. His body shook harder and harder until his eyes opened and he shot straight up. Fluttershy embraced him in a hug immediately. The last time she hadn't fully woken him up, he had panicked and flew into the Everfree.
“Shh.” she whispered again.
“I wasn't talking.” Shade answered back to her, the hint of a smile in his tone. Fluttershy moved herself back from him and looked up, seeing that he was smirking at her. She leaned forward and quickly kissed him on the lips.
“Nightmare again?” she asked. When he nodded, she continued. “Wanna talk about it?”
The smirk left his face as he sighed. “It's the same thing, Shy. First I'm trapped under Sugercube Corner and then I have to relive killing...”
Fluttershy put her hoof on the changelings mouth. “I know that part.”
Shade sighed and moved her hoof. “I don't understand. I tried to cut my magic off after he was frozen again, but it just amplified.”
“And the mark hurt?” Fluttershy asked. Shade nodded to her.
“I missed you and Rarity yesterday because Mom wanted to keep me all day to study this stupid thing.” He reached back and started scratching the mark, something that Fluttershy found extremely adorable. “She couldn't figure it out though. We know where it came from, but we don't know what it's purpose is.”
“Maybe we could make Chrysalis..” Fluttershy started but Shade cut her off.
“Nah. I'd have a greater chance of shifting into my mom and raising the sun before I could get her to tell us.” Shade said with a slight chuckle.
Fluttershy was quiet for a moment. “Why don't you shift into her? Isn't knowing what a pony thinks part of your powers?”
Shade shook his head. “Good idea, but it wouldn't hold water. I don't read minds when I shift, I only think how they would think and use their abilities. Thinking like them is so I can use their abilities to my advantage. Also, I don't remember what she looks like.”
“That's true. It probably wouldn't be good if she just started walking down the streets. Remember two days ago?” Fluttershy said, smiling.
Shade startled chuckling. “You mean me accidentally messing up a shift and walking around scaring the hay out of everypony because I looked like a mini Nightmare Moon? Yes. I remember that.”
Fluttershy burst out laughing, a rare thing for her to do. She had been less shy ever since Shade had become her stallion, but she normally didn't do things like that. Now however, she could have cared less. It was in her own home, with somepony she trusted immensely. As she continued to laugh, Shade ducked forward and dug his hooves into her sides, starting to tickle her.
“Ah...No....Stop...Hahaha!” Fluttershy managed to gasp out between laughs. She was rather sensitive, something that Shade exploited whenever he was tickling her. She didn't really want him to stop, knowing that he wasn't upset anymore. She was happy that he was happy, he'd seemed depressed for a while.
Though her giggles, she managed to reach her hoof around and scratch the side of Shade's neck, directly under his ear. He immediately moved back from his mare, laughing. “Oh that's no fair!” he mock complained.
Fluttershy only smiled. “I'm not sorry. Try to tickle me again and the same thing will happen.”
She studied his face. He had that half-smile on his face, the one that meant he was calculating the different ways he could get past her and make her roar with laughter. Then to her surprise, he relaxed and smiled normally. “Okay.”
“O-okay?” Fluttershy said, reverting to her old stammer.
Shade wrapped his hoof around her neck and pulled her close to him, kissing her. “Okay.” The two of them laid back down and were quiet.
After a while Fluttershy heard Shade speak. “Shy?”
“Yes?” She responded, turning to look him in the eyes.
“Why did you pick me?” he asked her. “Out of all the ponies-no, all the creatures that live here, why did you fall for the freaky changeling that's the son of the princess?”
Fluttershy looked him in his green eyes, those beautiful eyes of his and spoke what was in her heart. “Because I love that freaky changeling.” she said. Snuggling closer to him, she whispered, “And I always will.” She had expected to hear him reply, but the changeling was asleep with his foreleg wrapped around her middle.
“Oh Shade.” Fluttershy thought to herself. “I won't lose you. I just couldn't bear the pain.” She quieted her mind as she drifted into slumber, covered by the one that she loved.