Diseased

by Billblok

Day 1, Morning: Kindness

Fluttershy cried in overjoyed relief. It worked! It really worked! Not only had her bleeding stopped, but she opened her eyes! She could barely contain her happiness. She didn't know what she would have done if she actually stopped breathing. Fluttershy wanted to bring her in to her house to heal her and make sure she was in peak condition. All she needed was to carry her to her bed, and she could sleep on the couch for a week or two. There was one problem though.

She reached to help her onto the makeshift stretcher she had with her when Chrysalis' hoof knocked her back. "Don't touch me," the changeling growled. She shrank back in alarm.

"I'm sorry... I didn't know you didn't like being touched by ponies." She stood up. "I'll just get some of my animal friends to do that for me, if that's okay with you." She started to walk away.

Animals? No, animals are far worse than ponies, they don't even offer any love to us!

No, I have to get up. I have to get out of here. I roll myself onto my belly, which is a struggle to begin with. My legs feel on fire as pull myself up. Hopefully I can get out of here in relative ease before she's done talking with those beavers.

"No wait, please stay down," the pony calls. Just my luck. My legs quiver as I try to walk faster, preferably away from the mistreatment of animals. She tells me to stay down again, but far more firmly. I feel a hoof touch my shoulder, and I shake it off.

"I don't need your help!"

"Yes you do. If you didn't, you would be walking without a limp, your horn wouldn't be cracked, and I wouldn't have had to wake you up from unconsciousness." So I made her mad. Not my problem really. She's got to learn that not everyone will blindly obey.

I turn around to look into the mad eyes of a pegasus. I speek through gritted teeth. "What little you did was enough. Now leave me be so I can go back to my people."

She growls. That's not natural. In an instant she's in my face, Yelling at the top of her lungs. I can only stare back. All I can see are her eyes, forever piercing my mind.

"YOU WILL NOT! YOU ARE HURT! YOU WERE BLEEDING TO DEATH AND YOU HAVE A SERIOUS INFECTION! NOW STAY DOWN OR SO HELP ME, I WILL TIE YOU UP JUST TO MAKE SURE YOU RECOVER!"

By that time, I was on my back, because I had fallen over trying to pull away from her. My back burns from the landing. She gasps, her hooves covering her mouth, and quickly rushes over to where I am.

"I''m sorry, I'm so sorry... Are you injured? Oh no, Your back! Did you snap your back-plate? We've gotta get you in as soon as possible..." She fawns over me like a concerned mother, as I stare, entirely dumbstruck by what she just did.

My shock had rendered me immobile, so I sit, waiting for her to make her next move.

Fluttershy very carefully reached with a hoof, just to make sure she was okay with it. Seeing that she made no move to push her away, she very carefully lifted her onto the stretcher, apologizing for every time the changeling made any grunt of pain or groan of discomfort. Slowly, she brought her inside the house, and put her to rest on her bed. She left and was soon back with a medicine box. She examined the changeling's back, frowning at what she saw. "Um," She started awkwardly. "This may sound strange to you, but does your chitin grow back on it's own?"

She waited for her answer. There was but a nod in confirmation. "Well," she replied. "I'm going to have to remove the broken parts, or your chitin will never properly heal." She pulled out a pair of tweezers, and the changeling's eyes narrowed to pinpricks. Delicately holding the tweezers in her feathers, she reached around to the changeling queen's back and got to work, wet cloth also at the ready. Being an unprofessional veterinarian, blood was not something the typically timid pegasus was squeamish of. With the utmost care, she picked at the cracked pieces, discarding the dead chitin in a wastebasket. For a while she continued this, swabbing up the blood from the seeping wound, and then something caught her eye.

She shook her head, thinking that it couldn't possibly be. But just to make sure, she took a closer look, being especially careful. She gasped almost inaudibly. Underneath what she removed, there appeared to be... a coat of fur?

She tried not to think about it till she was done. Dressing the would, she then left. Chrysalis probably needed some time alone, anyway.

She's left me. Why did she leave me? I sit in silence for a time before slowly sitting up. My body protests at the movement, but I eventually prop myself up, allowing the blanket to lay spread across my back legs.

I'm all alone. What do I do now? Looking around the room, I notice it's quite small, wooden, and around the walls are a few holes, which I suspected were for mice to come and go at their leisure. The room is mostly wooden, and a few bird houses hang in a corner and out the window. I sigh to myself, idly tucking the covers around my legs; my mind retreats to what I last recalled before waking up in the yellow pony's front yard. Diseased? How dare she call me diseased... I feel entirely fine! I've been bashed and bruised up plenty of times before, this is nothing! Sure my legs hurt, and so does the rest of my body, but I know what diseased feels like, and this isn't it! Maybe I can shut her up for good when I recover...

As if by some cruel twist of irony, my body tenses up, and I feel a sharp pain in my chest which burns up into my throat. That is soon followed up by nausea and a burning headache. It's only half a second before my stomach suddenly decides to purge itself of its contents. Recently consumed love like a mist is the first to leave in dry heaves. Then came the sickeningly sweet bile best described as "changeling honey", in pony terms. In any other case, the expulsion of love would be second nature to me and my children; however after wiping the sickeningly sweet taste from my mouth and opening my eyes, I come across an old problem I've been having for a while. The honey that I regurgitated is a dull grey rather than the usual green color, and black crystals were forming from it. It's with a small struggle that I lay my head back down, considering my plan to get out of this mess. There's only ever been one way to fix the problem so far, and that's always been love. I pull the covers up to my neck and lay to one side, feigning sleep. She'll come back soon, all I have to do is wait...

Fluttershy was busy pacing around the living room of her cottage, pondering what exactly she saw when caring for the changeling queen in her bedroom. It was fur, there was no mistaking it; but that didn't mean it hadn't left her confused. Why would a changeling have fur? Was it some safeguard for a broken exoskeleton? Or is there some sort of secret she's hiding? Those questions left Fluttershy when she heard retching from the bedroom. Oh no! I didn't remember to get a bucket! Holding back her overwhelming amounts of concern, Fluttershy took slow steps up the stairs to her bedroom, cloths ready to clean up the mess. With the job done, she peered at the bed. The changeling queen's eyes were shut, her mouth in a frown.

Fluttershy smiled sadly at the resting figure. Poor mare, she must be so tired. I hope she gets her energy back soon... She walked up to the queen, gently placing a hoof on her side, rubbing slowly.

The changeling queen giggled with glee. "Gotcha."

Fluttershy felt her energy suddenly seeping from her body, replaced by a tired sleepiness. Her legs gave out from beneath her, and she fell to her side, flopped on the wooden boards below her. Weakly, she reached a hoof up to the queen. "W-wait..." She begged. "I still have to help you..."

Oh that's so delicious! My mouth waters as the taste floods down my throat in a mix of sweetness and a refreshing flavor like lemonade. I've sometimes found myself a connoisseur of love, having tasted many different flavors of love. Each pony has a different sort of love, and even the different expressions of love are unique in their own way, each one with its own delicious taste. I quickly find my energy returning to me, the pain in my body turning into a dull ache. Tolerable, but I still need more. I continued my consumption until I heard my prey whimper, barely audibly.

"W-wait... I still have to help you...!"

I chuckle, leaning down to her on my good hooves. "Help me? But you already have! And what good it did, I feel quite refreshed! My fever's all gone, and I don't feel dizzy at all! Thanks to you," I pat my hoof on her little head. "I feel like I can conquer the world!"

"You shouldn't leave yet..." The pegasus mumbles. I laugh, standing back up again.

"Oh don't worry about that."

"Why not...?"

My lips turn into a snarl as my smile fades to my real feelings: This pony would be a threat to me and my mission. I raise a hoof into the air. "You shouldn't worry, because you won't be around to see me go!!" My horn glows green with the energy I took from her, ready to snuff her out.

UNNECESSARY.

...What? Unnecessary? Of course it is! She's a threat! I snarl, ready to release the energy.

UNNECESSARY.

I... What?! My horn's glow fizzles out as I sand there confused. I look around, trying to find the source of the voice. I... I guess it is unnecessary, but only as much as trophy hunting, is that so wrong?

CRUEL.

It is not!! I live on love, sometimes I have to kill, that's life!! It hurts!!

CRUEL.

SADIST.

MURDERER.

...What...? My hoof drops to the floor. I speak audibly. "...Why? What... what are you against...?" Five concepts fill my head.

DEATH. GRIEF. FEAR. TORTURE. PAIN.

I slump to the foot of the bed, bending my bad leg with a jolt of pain. She's a pony... Why should I care?

QUEENS.

Yes, I am a queen. Why does that matter?

NO. An answer of denial and the rejection of my position. I feel very insulted. "But... I am a queen, not some dirty butt tattooed mud animal!"

NO SUCH THING. I flinch from the sudden fact that I was deluding myself. It makes me angrier. "Well WHAT IS A QUEEN IF I'M NOT ONE!?" Another wave of concepts bombard me, only making me more frustrated.

KIND. TENDER. MERCIFUL. COMFORTING. NURTURING.

OPEN YOUR EYES. LOOK. SEE. EMPATHIZE. PITY.

Clutching my head, I snarl, staring the pony in the eyes. "FINE!!" I scream. I continue to stare, hoping that the entity putting the concepts in my head will go away.

Something clicks. Before me lies a sobbing pony, too weak to even properly cry. She shivers, eyes wide with fear and tears streaming down her face. Her eyes are puffy, and she's biting her lip, terrified of what I would do to her next. The last thing I expect is for my gaze to soften and my breathing to slow. By some unknown force, my forelegs reach out, gently picking up the pegasus and holding her to my chest. My voice forms the words of an apology and a plea for forgiveness, to which she simply nods, laying her head on my shoulder. "I... I never actually got your name," I start. The pegasus is asleep, however, and I stare down at my back legs. My eyes widen in shock, and I hold the pony closer.

The holes in my leg have gotten larger. That's not good. I'd better take this pony with me... She might help me more.