Greene
They stayed in Subneigh for a while.
Fluttershy ate away at her sandwich while Elizabeth kept newly arriving equines from staring staring staring at them. Idly, she rested a hand on the table and extended red and white tendrils upon it, twisting them into different shapes. A cloud. The mark on Celestia's hind legs. Twilight Sparkle's grooved horn. A Similar gun. Her Wayward Child's favorite weapon; a massive curved and notched blade. The twisted red symbol on his back.
"O-Oh," Fluttershy whispered. "Those are really pretty. Y-You're an artist?"
"No. Past things. Remembered." The tendrils squirmed, forming Fluttershy's silhouette. She tugged on the outlines until they were to her liking. The real one giggled, and Greene pulled her warmth back into her. "Can make things seen. Not creative enough to invent."
"Well, you're very good at it." Fluttershy continued to nibble.
Greene nodded. Again, she felt like she should say something in return for that. Instead, she sent out more of her warmth, this time forming an image of Canterlot Castle. Ambassador Tearwing, whose daughter her blood may help. She hated hated hated giving blood, being poked and prodded and stabbed with needles that took her life from her, but it was a far more noble purpose than what the Similars used her blood for, and it was one time only.
Fluttershy smiled when she finished her meal. "Do you want to go out, Elizabeth?" she asked gently, offering her a warmer smile, a more confident smile. Elizabeth didn't know what sparked this change in Fluttershy, but she quite liked it. It was so annoying for her to be cowering all the time.
"Would be nice," she said. "Look around. Crowded places?"
Fluttershy's bravery evaporated. "Um, could we please not? I - I mean, if you really want to, that's okay, but - "
"Not crowded," she revised. "Do something. Canterlot large. Must be something."
"Hmm, well, I don't know the city that well... oh I knew Twilight should've stayed to help, I'm not much good at all..."
"Not true," she hissed. "Better than scientist." She got an idea. Oh she was ever so smart! The equines had been asking her so many many many questions, it only made sense that she'd get some of her own. "Questions," she insisted.
"Oh! That's wonderful." Fluttershy looked at the equines still at the store, pretending not to look at them. "But, um, maybe we should go somewhere where everypony can't listen in?"
Greene nodded hastily, already up from the table. She rested a finger on the griffon-shaped warmth, drawing it back in. Several of the equines tried to back away, but it was still crowded. One of them stumbled, got knocked back and forth and got close to her. She took a step forward and nicked a hair from her mane, analyzed its essence, and then let it go. Then they were on the streets, walking with no purpose, equines stopping and staring at her, backing off. She could see the pegasus guard keeping his distance to her right, and the female pegasus from earlier doing the same, if in a somewhat stealthier manner.
Was she being followed by that pegasus? She certainly was. Oh well. Let her. Curiosity killed the... killed the.... she didn't know. She certainly knew if a pegasus had appeared in the middle of her family she'd watch them very, very carefully.
The other equines, again mostly unicorns, looked at her with expressions ranging from surprise to anger to fear to intrigue, all in varying strengths. They almost all turned to curiosity as she approached them, and that was strange strange strange. It made her curious. But no matter where they went, they just could not get alone. It was no surprise, given it was a nest.
"Way to get alone," she rasped.
Fluttershy stopped and looked up at her with a warm smile. "Really? H-How?" she asked almost desperately.
"Jump." Greene summoned the barest amount of strength to her legs and jumped, landing on the roof of the nearest building. With another hop, she landed a street over, and with one more she landed in an empty alley. She looked up at the sky, and waited waited waited for her... friend to arrive. She liked being able to think that about someone. Eventually, with a slow hesitant manner of flight, Fluttershy found her.
"Um, Elizabeth? I know t-that you wanted to get here before anypony noticed you, but can you please not go so fast? I didn't think I'd find you, and I was so afraid you'd be lost!"
Greene frowned. "Needed to get here fast." She looked up, trying to find one of the four equines that had been following her. Nothing. She looked back at Fluttershy. "Questions."
"O-Oh. Right. Um, ask what you want. If that's alright with you."
She sat down, putting her at roughly Fluttershy's eye level. She extended a small mat of tendrils beneath her for warmth. What questions should she ask? Now that she thought about it, there was so much much much she didn't know. Very little of it was relevant, mostly pertaining to the sickening politics of this world, however there were some things, like its dangers that she needed to know. However benevolent they were, Luna and Celestia could move the sun and the moon across the sky with their minds. She needed to know about dangers. First...
"Harmony Elements," she whispered.
"W-What about them?" the Element of Kindness asked.
"Seal, purify Nightmare Moon. Stone Discord." She cocked her head to the side. "Dangerous. Powerful. Dangerous." She narrowed her eyes at Fluttershy, who shrank back. "Weapon of good, or weapon used by good?"
"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, but I don't understand."
"Only do good, or used by good, and can be stolen and used by bad?" She shivered. "Don't want to be target."
"Oh. Oh. I see. Um, y-you don't need to worry about that. Um, the Elements don't let themselves be used by anypony that's not, um, harmonious, I guess."
"At all?"
"Well, we've never, you know, tested it. We only know two groups of Bearers. There's um, the Princesses, who aren't the Bearers anymore. And, there's um..." Fluttershy seemed to shrink. "Us."
"Not bad. Good," she whispered. "Good. Not blasted." She smiled. That was one less thing to worry worry worry about, not having the Elements stolen and used against her by... by... she didn't know, but there was bound to be someone who wanted her to fail again. In a world full of individuals, it would only be natural. She latched onto something. "Said us."
"W-Well, my friends and I are, um, kind of the new Bearers."
"Who?" she rasped. Fluttershy had explained how her friends had gotten the Elements to fix Luna, but she didn't mention who they all were. It would be important to know those capable of wielding the most powerful weapons on the planet.
"W-Well, there's my friend Rainbow Dash. I've known her since I was a filly. She's, um, Loyalty. You already met Twilight, she's Magic. A-and my friend Rarity is Generosity, Pinkie Pie is Laughter, oh, and Applejack is Honesty." She gave a tentative smile. "Maybe you'll meet them when you're passing through Ponyville? It's, um, where we all live. Sort of. I mean, Twilight was born here, but she moved there recently, so, um, oh..."
"Maybe visit," she said. "Elements important." They were Fluttershy's friends. She'd fix them, she owed it to the pegasus. She reached out with a hand and gently touched Fluttershy's barrel, analyzing her essence. "Born in Ponyville?" she asked, placing her orb under Ponyville Pegasus.
"No, Dash and I were both born in, um, Cloudsdale," Fluttershy said, gently shaking her head. "I-Is something wrong?"
Elizabeth shook her head. "Just thinking," she said, even as she mentally moved the orb of Fluttershy's essence within her from group Ponyville Pegasus to Cloudsdale Pegasus. "Discord escape again? How stop?"
Fluttershy shook her head, face going grim. It didn't fit on her and Greene did not like that expression. She immediately regretted her question as a result. "Discord escaped last time, well, from what I know of the report, because there was arguing around his statue. A-And the only reason that worked is because the Princesses weren't linked to the Elements anymore, so they weren't keeping his, um, prison strong." She raised a hoof and wiped away some of the sweat matting her forehead's coat.
Her eyes widened. "Strong now?" she asked urgently.
She nodded. "Oh, it is. Twilight tells me the Princesses check on it every week. So, um, it's not going to break anytime soon." She tilted her head. "Why are you so worried about Discord? I mean, you don't have to tell me if it's not okay with you - "
"Twists things," she said. "Twisted things. Grass into paint. Night into day. Ponies into shadows." She shivered. "Similars... took my Wayward Child. He was Blessed back then. Twisted into Curse, driven mad."
She locked her eyes with the pegasus's own. "Don't want to be twisted. Don't want to be Cursed."
"Oh. Oh. Well, you don't have to worry about that. We only ever use the, um, Elements on anypony who really, really needs it. We're the only ones who can use them, and, um, Discord's not going to get you."
"Next question," she rasped. "Hind leg marks. Don't understand." She cocked her head. "Think... think Similars did identical. Stabbed ink under skin."
Fluttershy looked confused for a moment."What do you mean about... oh. Oh! Oh. Um, how do I explain this? Oh dear..."
"Patient," Greene rasped. She looked around. No other equines had noticed them yet. That was a good sign; she'd picked a good hiding spot.
After several long long long minutes of Fluttershy trying to figure out how to explain those marks - it couldn't be that hard could it? - she nodded, smiling gently. She wiped away more sweat. "Alright, so. Elizabeth, what would you say you're good at? Like, what's your calling in life, your talent?"
It took Elizabeth a heartbeat to come up with an answer. "Raising family." Her eyes narrowed, and Fluttershy backed away. "Irrelevant to my my my question."
"Well, actually, it sort of, um, is important. You see, my talent is working with animals. Not to brag. Please don't think I'm bragging." A pause. "Twilight's special talent is magic."
"And?" she asked, getting impatient but she couldn't be impatient because this was Fluttershy and how could she ever be impatient with her?
"Well, we didn't always know those were our talents. We didn't have our cutie marks - the marks you're talking about, right? - back then." Fluttershy smiled, as if reliving something warm. "When a pony discovers their special talent, the magic inside of us creates our cutie marks. It just, sort of changes the color of our fur there." She ducked her head, looking up at Elizabeth sheepishly with one eye. "Well, that's how Twilight always explains it."
Elizabeth frowned. "Marks show talent. Appears when talent found?" Fluttershy nodded. Greene smiled mirthfully. "So strange strange strange," she chirped, echoes like windchimes in the gentle breeze. She'd seen windchimes in the city she'd escaped the Cold Dark Place in. They were nice. Still... "Butterflies, animal skill? Stars, magic?"
Fluttershy shook her head. "Well, it's not, um, always literal. Sometimes you need to, well, interpret it." She tilted her head. "Like poetry, I um, guess."
She had no idea what poetry was.
She heard something, smelled something, and looked up to see the same female pegasus from before watching her. Immediately, she eeped and drew back. Fluttershy also noticed that, instantly reddening and going fearful, curling up. "W-W-Who was that?" she asked.
"Unsure. Curious. Let them be curious. Hmm. Marks magical fur color. Appear when talent discovered?" Fluttershy nodded. "Hmm. Celestia... sun. Luna... night." She tilted her head. "Makes sense." Suddenly, as if her speaking about their names caused it, the sky began to change. It grew dark so fast fast fast, the brilliant blue turning black. Once that was done, a plethora of stars materialized on the night sky, filling it with light. Greene smiled. Finally, the burning burning burning sun was gone.
"Oh, look at that. We've been out here for so long." Was Fluttershy's voice trembling?
"Lowered sun?" Elizabeth guessed as the shadows lengthened on a delay. It had grown dark so fast! Was it always like this? And the way the many-many-many stars came out independently! Furthermore was the knowledge that it was Luna and Celestia doing this, shaping the entire world like this. The idea that there could be beings so incredibly powerful was almost alien to her, the irony of which was not lost on her.
Fluttershy yawned, a cute little thing barely audible even to Greene's ears. "Oh my, I'm sorry. Should we, um, start heading back to the castle? I'm getting kind of sleepy. I-If that's alright with you, of course."
"Sleep important," she rasped. She, of course, wasn't going to sleep. There was little merit to it, and she had essence to gather. It'd be fool of her to waste a third of the day doing nothing. "Return." She rose to her feet, pulling her warmth back into her.
"R-Right. D-Do you want to lead the way?" she asked, looking around fearfully at the shadows. What was she so afraid of?
"You lead. Still unfamiliar." Though a quick leap up and fall back down left no question as to where the castle itself was.
"Alright. Follow me. I-If you want to." Fluttershy walked out of the alley, and Greene followed her. There were far fewer equines out and about, and she made sure to bump into the few that didn't notice her and back off in surprise, taking their essence. The three guards that had been, ugh, assigned to her kept following, trying in vain to stay out of the range of her great great great eyes, ears, and nose. Oh well. It's the thought that counts, she mused. Even though it wasn't. They still failed.
It didn't take long for them to return to the castle, where the guards - night guards now - let them pass without issue. They weren't two steps inside when Fluttershy's stomach growled, and she nervously hid behind her mane. "Oh. Right. It's, um, time for dinner."
"Bring you," Greene offered hurriedly. "Twilight Sparkle's tower. Food?"
"Oh, that's, um, quite alright. I don't want to trouble you." She swallowed. "I - I can get it myself. You can, um, go to your room. If you want to, that is. It's not like I can just tell you what to do. Not that I'm trying! It's just that, oh dear..."
She nodded. "Leave alone." She should say something to Fluttershy, she knew it! What was it... she didn't know. She didn't want to make her upset though! Nonono. Make something up. "Wish pleasant night." A patrol of night guards passed.
Fluttershy smiled. "You too, Elizabeth." Fluttershy turned around, and walked down the halls. She took a left, and vanished from Greene's sight.
What to do now? She had the whole night before Fluttershy woke up. Then she had another day with her, then another night, and then it was on to the earth pony nest. She'd need to finish up taking the essences.
It took her no time at all to leave the castle again, sampling the essence of the guards at the gate. With a quick look around, she saw that she was no longer being pursued by the day guards. She had three of the bat-winged night guards following her now.
Not for long.
She dug her feet into the road and pushed, soaring down the road with wonderful wonderful wonderful speed. She kicked up dust with her feet, with such swiftness that she gave the illusion of red and white tendrils floating in her wake. She swiftly lost herself in Canterlot, leaping across five streets at once, landing on roofs and doubling back with a flip, going to ground level and barreling down the mostly-deserted streets. She kept it up for a long long long time, until she was absolutely certain she'd lost her guards, moving from one end of the city-nest to the other in mere minutes.
She leaned against a building, a flower shop if she had to guess, and pondered her next course of action. She was in the less-brightly colored part of the city. There weren't any equines out and about, which meant they were all asleep...
... were they? That building looked awful brightly lit. Her sensitive ears made out the sounds of equine speech from within, her nose the smell of fluids and some mineral. She wrinkled her nose at the idea of fluid, but went pushed through the red door regardless, not bothering to read its name. Inside was dark, which delighted her, the only light coming from dim candles. Inside there were multiple equines, some sitting at round tables, at booths, and some on seats at an elevated bar. Two larger-than-normal but still short to her earth ponies eyed her from the sides of the door. As she entered, all conversation died down and every last one of them turned to look at her. She would've heard it anyway, but she suspected the equines could've heard a pin drop.
"Um, hello?" said one of the equines that appeared to be handing - hoofing? - out drinks, move-thoughting one in midair. Greene approached him, eyeing the glasses warily, lest they leap at her. It wouldn't be the strangest thing in this world. "You gonna order a drink or not?" The equine next to her, a pegasus, flicked his tail nervously. She grabbed a strand of it before it went away.
She eyed the bottles behind the unicorn talking to her. All filled with liquid. She identified them as containing the poison alcohol mixed with water, among some other... things she had no reference for. "No. Observing."
If it was quiet before, it was silent after she spoke, all eyes turning to her. She bristled, red and white tendrils poking out of her suit in irritation.
Finally, the unicorn spoke. "I'm sorry miss," he said with some anger in his voice. Hadn't he been terrified before? "But if you're not going to buy anything I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave." The two earth ponies approached her from the door. What for? Either way, the sudden proximity made her tendrils flare for a moment before she clamped down on them.
"Observing," she rasped. "Do no harm."
"You'll scare away patrons. Now please, I'll ask you to leave one more time before I need to have you removed."
Was...
... was the equine...
... threatening her?
'Elizabeth, I will say this once and only once, so listen very closely. Panic or no, do not assault my subjects. '
The base of her spine began to tingle. The tingle spread throughout her entire body, a low humming audible only to her. She focused her gaze on the equine. She lowered her head, glaring at him. "Observe. No harm," she repeated, her voice bouncing around the building and forcing all attention to her.
"Look, I don't have anything against, um, aliens, but if you're not paying you're loitering, and there's no loitering in here."
She hissed at him.
He sighed. "I'm sorry. Please escort the... alien out." The other two equines moved to put their hooves on her, and she steadied her will, bracing for the touching. The moment they made contact the tingling vibrations throughout her body latched onto them. It wasn't anything too too too harmful, just enough to paralyze them while she sampled each one's essence. Then she tightened the organ around her spine, spiking the charge and throwing the two equines away from her. She laid one hand on the black bar, short by her standards, and let her warmth start emerging.
"Observe. No harm," she said as she began to fill the entire building. She thickened the tendrils that reached across the door until they were tougher than even Similar metal, as several of the equines trying to escape noticed. Panic filled the building until she hissed at them to stop and to calm.
The unicorn nodded hurriedly. "A-Alright. Y-You can stay here! Just stop!"
Elizabeth abruptly smiled, and with a slick wet noise, drew every last drop of warmth back into herself. "Good good good." She drew away and began walking around the building. She identified the mineral smell as salt. Seasoning. Maybe she could try some with her meals the next time she had flesh. Several of the equines, apparently poisoned, didn't bother to get out of her way; once she'd stopped arguing with the unicorn, they didn't seem to notice she existed. Very poisoned. More essence for her.
She froze up when she heard her name being called. She whirled around, a hiss ready, to observe the unicorn that had called for her. He was shorter than normal ones, but only by a little. He had a dark blue secondary fur color overlaid with a bright blue main coat, and green eyes. His mark was strange strange strange, two vertical black lines with two horizontal black lines perpendicular to them, with X's and O's in it. He eyed Greene strangely, as if deciding what to do with her and she hated-hated-hated that look.
"Hello there. Miss Greene, was it?"
"Elizabeth Greene. Name not Miss," she said. The equine's ears flattened, though at what she didn't know. "Want?"
"Just to get to know you," he said. "Please, I already have a booth. This won't take but a minute of your time." He blinked, and yawned. "My apologies. It's getting late."
"For you," she rasped.
He shrugged. "Perhaps. Different metabolisms." Someone else bumped into Greene. She suppressed her revulsion and indignation long enough to get their essence, placing it into Canterlot Pegasus. "Please, sit with me," he said, motioning to a round table off to the side, with strangely soft soft soft looking red padding around it. He moved in, sitting on his haunches, and Greene did the same on the opposite end. It was a tight squeeze, but luckily she was lanky for her size. She let a short patch of tendrils out, warming her seat and her back.
He placed a hoof on the table, and she responded by spreading her warmth over it. He eyed it warily as the mesh approached him. "Um, that's not dangerous, is it?"
"Only if I want," she answered honestly. Though she'd never actually used her warmth to scorch and rip, she knew very well she could. It crept closer and closer, and the unicorn nervously pulled his hooves off the table. She stopped spreading it towards him. She needed a different way.
"So, can I get you anything?"
"Don't drink anything," she said, silently sending her warmth beneath the table.. "Here to wander, to observe." She coiled a few tendrils around a fur strand of his tail and clenched, slicing it off. She took its essence, then frowned. The essence was... deformed. That was odd. She placed it in the group Canterlot Unicorn, resolved to look into that later-later-later, and pulled her warmth back to her area.
"Well, that's all well and good. Hardly for me to begrudge." He smiled at her. "So, you don't sleep?"
"Not unless I want," she said. "Why?"
He shrugged, and took a sip from the mug of the yellowish-white liquid before him. Had that always been there, or was she just inattentive? "Just strange to think about. Not sleeping, I mean. Just, being conscious, forever, without a single lapse in it." Greene's skin abruptly bristled. She didn't like this equine. She didn't exactly know why, or why so suddenly, but she didn't didn't didn't.
"Observed enough. Leaving," she said, pulling her warmth back to her and leaving the booth.
"W-Wait!" said the equine with something like desperation. "There's so much I want to talk to you about!"
"No," she hissed, eyes flashing with anger. The unicorn shrank back into his seat with a whimper. The others in the building all looked at her warily. She suddenly felt cornered. She felt trapped trapped trapped and suddenly she was in the Cold Dark Place again, but she wasn't held down, she wasn't weak. She was going to kill these Similars, kill them for what they did to her, kill them so they'd never know her Blessing oh she was going to - !
She took a deep breath. This wasn't right. This wasn't wasn't wasn't right. She wasn't in the Cold Dark Place. She would never see a Similar again. She was fine. She let the electricity she'd charged by reflex into the ground. Without further word, she left, grateful to be out of that claustrophobic little place. With a short hop, she was on the roof.
She looked around. Time was running out. The equines wouldn't be in those places for very much longer, of that she was certain. She had to move it before they all went to sleep.
Greene didn't know exactly how long she gathered essence. She'd look for a building with lights and noise and smell smell smell coming from inside and slip in. She'd hiss and scare the equines into continuing on normally, except for some places where she was almost entirely ignored. Which was good. Several of the places she visited were poison dispensers. Others had ponies and zebras, and even one or two griffons, moving in strange a synchronized manner to flashing lights and the worst worst worst music she had heard in her life. She was glad to finish those quickly. But eventually, the buildings were less and less occupied, and as the moon began its gentle descent past midnight she reviewed the essences she had gathered.
Canterlot Pegasus had a fair bit of essence, as did Canterlot Earth Pony, but Canterlot Unicorn had several times both put together. There was variance among the poor poor individuals within each group; the size of a spike, the length of a loop, how close they were together, so on. But then there were the... she didn't know.
While unicorn essence orbs had three loops and one spike, pegasi orbs two loops two spikes, and earth ponies one loop and three spikes, there were a few - three out of the same number hundred she'd gathered - that didn't fit the pattern. Their orbs, instead of a lovely violet, were a dark blue. They were smaller than the other orbs, and had four spikes and four loops each, with no exception. She didn't know what could cause that.
Were they perhaps Luna's night guards? She hadn't sampled any, but she knew that their forms were owed to their armor, so it stood to reason maybe she just didn't notice they were night guards. That was the most likely explanation. The second was that, somehow, she was taking their essences wrong wrong wrong, and deforming them in the process. She really really really hoped it was the former, because the latter meant she couldn't necessarily rely on her samples.
Still, three out of three hundred wasn't bad.
She leaped and jumped across buildings and barreled down roads, until she once more arrived at the castle. With a leap, she soared over the walls and onto a tower, where she then ran up it, alighted on the balcony, shook her hands, and smiled. Her smile evaporated when she realized who was waiting for her in this particular tower.
"Found you," said a night guard smugly, two others forming a triangle behind him. Greene scowled and growled, echoing around the small dimly-lit chamber. Her keen eyes picked out Fluttershy's sleeping form on Twilight Sparkle's bed. "You know, you could at least let us do our jobs."
"Jobs not needed," she rasped intensely. "Do better elsewhere. Don't need babysitter!"
The one in the back right cocked their head. "Baby? Ah, foalsitter," he murmured. "Whether or not you feel you need protection, there are a few things." He stomped a forehoof. "A, Their Highnesses tasked us with protecting you while news of your very existence is circulating and rumors are stabilizing."
"Protect self! Not hurt by ponies," she said menacingly. Unfortunately, to his credit, the guards gave no hint of being intimidated at all.
"Right," said the one to the left. "Which leads us to B. You don't know what's out there. Let me ask you this. How tough is your skin against magic? Or, how about, how resistant are you to petrification?"
"Petri... petrif..."
"Turning to stone," he said simply. She froze. Was he saying there were things beside the elements that could do that?! "Those things exist here on Equus. Not very common around these parts, but if anypony would attract those things, it would be you."
"Petrify," Greene whispered. "Magic. Don't know..." She gulped dryly. Perhaps... perhaps there was some merit to the guards. She had no magic, so she highly doubted she'd be able to counter it. She definitely had to read up on magic, see what there was that could hurt hurt hurt her. There appeared to be much more that was dangerous besides the Elements and Discord. She hissed lightly in defeat. "Fine fine fine! Protect. Out of sight."
"Great," said the one in front. Fluttershy stirred in her sleep, muttering in a soft voice that was, oddly enough, louder than her waking speech. "Now, would you mind telling us where you've been all night? It hardly looks good on our report that you lost you," he said scathingly.
She bristled. How dare he insult her! She ought to - ! "Faster, not big surprise. Various buildings. Observe, sample ponies. Watch. Learn."
"Well, at least let us catch up with you next time."
She shivered. "Perhaps. Tomorrow with Fluttershy. Think... not go out next night." Truth be told it had been, save for a few strange strange strange instances of equine behavior, a very boring boring boring night. She'd take to sleeping more. At least then she'd skip the hours when Fluttershy couldn't help her around. Not that she was helpless but it was always so much easier with the pegasus around. She... made her feel calm. She didn't know why, but she did, and that was all she needed to know.
She shivered abruptly, reminding herself how cold it was. Elizabeth extended a small web of red and white beneath her feet. It wasn't much, but it helped ward off the chill.
"Very well then," said the equine in front, flexing his strange strange strange wings. "We shall keep post outside the door." The equines left, closing the door behind them, and left Elizabeth Greene alone with a sleeping Fluttershy. She pulled her warmth back in, and moved over to where the equine laid sleeping. Her barrel rose and fell uniformly, and Elizabeth ran a hand along it, tilting her head with a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.
She couldn't keep Fluttershy here for as long as it suited her. If Greene had her way, she'd stay in Canterlot until she'd sampled as much of its population as she physically could. But that wouldn't be fair to Fluttershy; she had her own family to return to and her own Home to tend to. And while she could in theory remain in Canterlot without Fluttershy... she didn't want to. There were very very very few people she could ever call her friends, and all of them were in this castle.
Once in the earth pony nest, though, she could really take her time. See what this species had accomplished while broken before fixing them. Maybe meet the other Elements. Though she deeply deeply deeply hoped none of them were like Twilight Sparkle. Scientists were bad bad bad and were she a Similar she would've killed Twilight in a moment; Similar scientists didn't deserve her Blessing.
Fluttershy cooed gently in her sleep and shifted, pressing her muzzle into Greene's hand. She stiffened. How dare she touch her without permission! How dare she how dare she - she was sleeping and she didn't know and she was touching Fluttershy wasn't she? Control. She was smart.
She sighed, pulling away from Fluttershy. She moved to a wall and leaned against it. Warmth bubbled to her back and out the tubes her suit had along her spine. Elizabeth let the red and white tendrils out, covering a good half of the room before she stopped. A few of the tendrils wound up the legs of the bed, but that was the farthest they reached. She gave a weak weak weak hop, her back scraping along the warmth. Halfway up the wall she grabbed at it with her warmth, suspending herself. Warmth blossomed radially from the bottom of her feet and rose upwards, forming a thick cocoon of flesh. The energy and mass kept draining from her until she was satisfactorily cocooned, only her eyes visible.
Greene blinked, looking at Fluttershy, still sleeping peacefully as the moon slowly slowly slowly descended outside. She closed her eyes. Tomorrow was her last day in Canterlot. And she was going to make it count.
