"And so, we decided not to intervene."
"And Black Apple didn't contest that?" Celestia asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"Nope." I shrugged. "He seemed pretty happy his friend was okay, even if she'd been lying to him."
"Excellent." She smiled, genuine happiness showing through. "Good job on your first assignment. I hope they will be less frequent." She shook her head, slowly. "Especially as I activate others to help and Tezeca starts recalling agents from precarious positions. Still, we will need to deal with the rogue hive at some point."
"Thanks." I grimaced. "But I really did very little; Applejack did much of the talking. We just spread some facts. If you spread information to counter the propaganda it will mitigate a lot of anxiety, make both our jobs easier, and pull a few fangs."
"I am working on that." She glanced out the window; we were on our way to Ponyville in a private coach. After wrapping up my first ambassadorial assignment we'd packed quickly, said farewell to Opaque, and rushed to catch our train, working carefully to keep my aide hidden. Sunset had stayed behind, mumbling something about responsibilities.
Our car was elegantly appointed, both luxurious and spacious, the fruits of my new position. Applejack and Rarity were sitting across from us, talking quietly about Manehatten. Onyx and my new charge were a seat down, waiting silently, faceted eyes impassive. I frowned as my gaze caught on them; another headache, and not easily cured. At least not in any way I was comfortable with.
"Wes?"
"Sorry?" I turned back. "Were you talking?"
"No, only…" She sighed. "You need to be careful. If you don't watch yourself…"
"I know." I ground my palms into my eyes. "Sometimes, I'm my own worst enemy." I gave her a plaintive glance. "Does it really have to be me?"
"Now? Yes. Too late to back out."
"Blech."
"Heh. In a few hundred years, you won't even remember this."
"Oh, sure. When I'm two-hundred-something, we can laugh together." I rolled my eyes. "Right, Immortal Alicorn Princess. I'll keep that in mind."
"Pff." Celestia smirked. "Sorry."
"So, you're headed back to Canterlot tonight?"
"Mhmm. I'll fly myself." She shook her wings gently. "Stretching these once in a while is good for me."
"Would you ask your sister something for me?"
"Of course. What were-"
*SCREEEEEEEEEE*
"Oh, we're here." I lurched as the brakes came on, slowing the train. "Listen, just…ask her if she can meet me in the next few days. She normally helps me anyways, but I had a question for her. If it's not a problem?" I started gathering my things.
"Sure." Celestia nodded.
"Thanks." I waved once and we moved towards the door.
Despite the long summer days, the sun was setting by the time I made it back to my house.
I shrugged out of my pack and peeled off my wonderful new boots. I set my old sneakers by the door and headed to my room, planning eleven hours of delicious sleep. Light footsteps stopped me.
Turning around, I found my new burden - ahem, assistant, had followed me.
"Weren't you with Onyx?" I asked helplessly. It stared back, eyes glassy in the dim light. "Shoo!"
No response.
I turned back towards my bedroom and it followed blindly.
"No!" I halted. "Um, no. Uh, make yourself comfortable on the couch?"
Nothing.
"Uh, stand over there or something?"
Clip-clop
Problem solved for the moment, I collapsed in bed.
"So, my life is crazy right now, I bet yours is too. But I was wondering if you'd consider singing with us at the Summer Wrap-up and Hoedown. We want to enter as Electric Blue Grass, but we need a front pony. So far I'm on synth and Lyra and Vinyl are switching things up as they go, covering the drums, guitar, and soundboard."
"Hmm." Luna and I were re-walking my entrance to Tezeca's hive in a dream. I wanted to show her the garden. "That sounds like it could be… fun, but I'm not sure about involving a Princess in such a competition. Wouldn't it skew the votes unfairly?"
"Then don't go as a Princess!"
"Huh?"
"Celestia has several smurf accounts. You should do the same."
"Smurf accounts?"
"Sorry, alts. Disguises. Aren't you two shape-shifters?"
"To a certain extent. You're suggesting I…hide myself?"
"Yeah! You could be a pegasus. Change your colors a bit, be a little shorter, hide your billowy mane and modify your cutie mark. We'll call you…Artemis, or something."
"Artemis…is that a human name?"
"Yeah! Well, sorta. What do you think?"
"I'll…consider it. I need to discuss these…'alts', with my sister." She frowned, but at that moment we entered the garden and her expression dissolved into wonder.
"This is amazing."
"I know, right? Tezeca said she built it herself, but-"
"Who?"
"The changeling Queen?"
"No. Her name!"
"Tezeca?"
"…oh. I thought that's what you said."
"Um… Didn't your sister tell you this?"
"Probably, but it didn't connect. When we're apart we exchange letters, but with the difference in sleep and both of us busy…Tell me. Did Tezeca, by any chance, have a skeletal forehoof?"
"Her…left, I think. Do you know her?"
"Not as a changeling." Luna shook herself thoroughly, as if she was wet. "Sorry for my outburst. It changes nothing; I was simply surprised. Let's continue."
"…sure." I set off down the path.
"WESLEY KILMER!" Surprised, I turned back to Luna. She grinned and shrugged.
"Somepony is trying to wake you." She tapped me with a hoof and the dream started fading. "You'd best go; they sound angry."
"WESLEY KILMER, WAKE UP RIGHT NOW!"
Transitioning from asleep to awake was slightly easier from a dream. This voice was…Fluttershy? I wrenched myself out of bed and sprang upright. The normally demure pegasus looked…angry. In fact, she looked enraged.
"What's wrong?" I gasped, trying to shake sleep from my head.
"You…you…monster! How could you be so cruel!" She quieted slightly as I woke, but the anger didn't abate.
"What? What did I do?" I helplessly tried to assess the situation, but my tactical analysis came up blank. One mission completed, one nights rest, equals one enraged Fluttershy? This didn't follow.
"Come. And. See." She stomped out of the room. I followed slowly. In my kitchen, she marched up to the changeling, still standing precisely where I'd left it last night. "Look!"
"Um…"
"It's hungry! It's tired! But it won't move. What did you do? How could you be so cruel? Wes, I didn't think you would torture a defenseless foal! How could you be so mean?"
That cut me. I flashed back to my half-considered words last night. I hadn't intended to hurt it…but, I hadn't really cared much, either. I thought back on my own imprisonment and winced. So much of what had sapped my will to live hadn't been the intentional pain, but the simple neglect. When someone hurt you, you could hate them, but when they simply ignored you it was as if you were already dead.
"What-"
"APOLOGIZE!" Fluttershy locked eyes with me and suddenly the world around seemed to fade. A rushing noise filled my ears and her face seemed to fill my world. Shocked, I tore my gaze away.
"What was that?" I spat harshly. If I didn't know better, that felt like some sort of coercion spell. But from a pegasus? Fluttershy?
"Oh…" Fluttershy seemed to melt, anger vanishing. "Wes, I didn't mean to! I was just so angry, I.." She winced, recalling shouting at me, and I realized that if I didn't do something quick she'd flee in embarrassment.
"No, you're right." I held up a hand. "You," I pointed to the bug, "I'm very, very sorry. I should…" I rubbed my eyes, trying to clear some sleep from them, thinking for a second. "I should have made sure you were OK. You need a name, and we need to teach you about talking, or something. For now, do what she tells you." I gestured to Fluttershy. "Shy, I'm sorry to you, too. Thanks for making sure things are OK. Maybe when I get back, you can teach me some of what I'll need to know, so I can do a better job. I need to talk to…" I thought for a second. "Applejack. Maybe she can help me sort myself out. Would you please take care of my guest for a little while?"
"O-ok." She seemed to perk up a little at the prospect of something to care for. I stepped out the door, headed for Sweet Apple Acres. For a laugh, find Pinkie; for a pep-talk, Dash. If you need a sympathetic ear, it was Fluttershy, for a hoof up, Rarity. Twilight did plans. But if you needed a kick in the head to help you screw it on straight, it had to be Applejack.
"So, it just stood there? All night?"
"That's about the size of it." I threw another shovelful of dirt. "It's like some sort of automaton. Or a weird, alien dog or something."
I'd found Applejack uprooting saplings. Unwilling to stand talking while she worked, I'd grabbed a shovel. I felt odd, throwing dirt in thin cotton pajamas and barefoot, but I wasn't indecent. Not that ponies cared. And I was staying cool, so it wasn't bad.
"Here's the thing." I leaned on my shovel while Applejack brought the cart around. "This whole situation was thrust on me pretty fast, and I didn't really have time to consider it. I mean, you were there. One minute, I'm a guard and one of Celestia's agents. Next minute, I'm an ambassador, and this…this thing is foisted upon me. Truth is, I don't like changelings. I don't want a changeling aide. But I’m put between a rock and a hard place; either care for the bug or kill it. With my own hands. It's not the sort of decision I enjoy. One option is sick, the other is bad."
"Yup, you've got a problem alright."
I threw the brush on the cart with a heave. We were thinning this part of the orchard; the Apples normally planted lots, but only kept the best and strongest. "Thing is, I’m not certain the problem is the bugs fault. You went through some rough stuff, and that ain't the half of it. Sure, you've got reason to be sore. Hay, I'd probably be twice that. Thing is, though, that weren't the fault of your new guest. You'd better be careful about what you're doing, because if some bug hits you, and you hit your guest, I can say for sure that ain't right."
I nodded slowly. I agreed. I did. Or, at least, I thought I did.
"See, Wes, here's what's up. You've got a temper. Fair enough, you're working on that. But if you don't want to stop being angry, it ain't gonna happen."
"But I do!"
"No, you don't."
"What."
"Oh, you want the emotion gone, right enough. But you ain't given up hurting. You're holding that in. You've made a decision to spite them bugs, and you're fastened onto it. That's not anger, Wes. That's hate, and it's the enemy of friendship. If you can't get around it one way or another, it'll eat you up inside and you'll never be at peace with any bug, even a helpless foal like you got foisted on you."
I thought about that as I started digging the next tree. Applejack was telling it as she saw it, and although it cut, I couldn't deny her words; at least, not without a boatload of self-deception.
"Alright." I cut deep into the sod. "Maybe. But…what can I do? Forgive them?"
"Would it kill you?"
"I…" I thought that over for a bit, swinging between my heart and my head. "I just…can't!"
"Figured. Well, that's fine. No, forgiving them wouldn't kill you. Forgiveness is something we do for us, Wes, not just others. Even if somepony dies and never can say their sorries, no matter how you need them, you can still forgive. It's your decision. But if you say you can't, well, it ain’t my heart. At least be sure you're pointing right. Maybe you can't forgive Wraith. Maybe she deserves it. But if you hold that against Tezeca, not only will you hurt at least one innocent, you'll have trouble being fair in your new job. And that will hurt everypony dealing with bugs, not to mention the Princess herself."
"Blech." I spat, trying to clear the foul taste of shame from my mouth. I didn't want to change my attitude, but I couldn't pretend ignorance now. Honesty could be hard to swallow.
We worked in silence after that.
When I got back I found a note from Fluttershy, directing me to the library. I cleaned up, put on some real clothes, and headed to the Golden Oaks.
Inside I found Twilight, Onyx in his green-and-blue disguise, and Fluttershy with the bug standing behind her, sitting around the kitchen table. I joined them silently. Twilight poured me tea. The hatchling came to stand behind me.
"Um." I absently stirred a cube of sugar into my mug. "I talked to Applejack, and she helped me sort some of this out. Turns out, I've been mistreating both you," I nodded to Onyx, "and…it," I pointed over a shoulder, "on account of Wraith." I drew a deep, slow breath. "And for that, I'm sorry. You don't deserve that, either of you." I rested my chin in my hand and sipped my tea. "So, now what?"
"Give me the hatchling." Onyx sounded surprisingly adamant.
"Okay." I shrugged.
"Huh?" His expression switched to surprise.
"You're welcome to it. You didn't see me complaining earlier, did you? What do I need to do?"
"Um…" He paused. "I…don't know."
"Hmm." I turned to look at the bug. "Uh, belong to Onyx?" Nothing happened.
"It…" Fluttershy started, and then stopped, looking back and forth between us hesitantly. "It's very attached to you, Wes. After you told it to obey me, it would do some of the things I said, but not the same. If I'd ignored it, I think it would have left to find you."
"Oh." I sunk my head into my hand again and thought for a bit, before trying again. "Can you talk?" No reaction.
"Maybe…" This time, it was Twilight. "Maybe you need to be a bit more direct?"
"Like how?"
"Try giving it directions, instead of questions."
"Oh. Um. If you can talk, say yes."
"Yes."
All of us froze.
Its voice sounded surprisingly normal. Maybe a bit of the papery husk that Tezeca had, but not strongly similar. It was very…neutral. And flat.
"If…" I stopped, thinking. "If we ask a question, please try to answer, but don't hurt yourself. If you don't understand, tell us. If this makes sense to you, say yes."
"Yes."
"What's your name?" Fluttershy asked.
"I…" It paused, seeming to think. "I do not have one."
"Oh!" She frowned. "You need a name!"
It stared back, glassily.
"Yeah, you do." I sipped my tea. At my words, it nodded, slowly. "Um, how are agents normally named?" I turned to Onyx.
"We pick our own." He shrugged. "Or we're given them by other agents."
"Would you like to pick a name?" I turned back to the bug.
"Uncertain."
"Pick a name," I said, firmly. "Unless it's too difficult." It slowly shook its head.
"There was…" It thought. "A flower. You stopped to inspect it. You said it was beautiful, that it smelled nice." It pointed to me. I frowned. Did it mean in the garden? I glanced at Onyx. He grimaced.
"Bitterbloom." He gave me a disapproving look. "It was bitterbloom. One of Queen Tezeca's hybrids."
"My name is Bitterbloom." The hatchling's voice was slightly wondering. "I am Bitterbloom."
"Great!" Fluttershy wrapped Bitterbloom in a hug. "I'll call you Bit, for short! We can be friends!"
"Friends." Its ears twitched in confusion. "Bit. Is…" It looked to me. "Is this OK?"
"Sure." I shrugged. "Fine by me."
"I am Bitterbloom. I am Bit. We are friends." It gave Fluttershy a confused look. "What is a friend?"
"Oh, you poor thing!" Fluttershy hugged Bit tighter. "You have so much to learn!"
"Do I?"
We all nodded, slowly.
"Do you want some tea?" Twilight offered Bit a cup.
"Do I?" Bit looked to me.
"What do you want?"
"I want…I want to be helpful."
"Um." I rubbed my jaw. "I meant, as far as tea. But, um." Tezeca had called Bit an aide, or assistant, for me. I glanced at Twilight. "Maybe Spike could help?"
"Oh!" She smiled. "That sounds like a great idea?"
"Who is Spike?"
"Spike is my number one assistant! Maybe he can teach you some things that would be helpful."
"I want…that."
"First, though, you need a disguise." Twilight jumped up and walked around Bit, inspecting the changeling from all sides. "You're a little large for a foal. What do you think, Wes?"
"Um, I'm not complaining, Twilight, but when did you get so comfortable with changelings? You weren't as bad as me, but I thought they made you… twitchy."
"Hmm? Oh, Princess Celesita wrote me a letter, explaining things."
"Oh." I shook my head; I'd never figure her out. "Um, yeah. Maybe a pony disguise? You got any suggestions, Onyx? You're the expert here."
"Changing size is a no-go." He shrugged. "An experienced changeling might be able to pull it off, but there's no reason to stress a hatchling. Also, I might be wrong, but…well, if Bitterbloom is a special type, her shape shifting abilities might be stronger. That makes control trickier."
"Type?" I quirked an eyebrow at him.
"Yeah." He sipped his tea. "Remember my Queen's garden?" I nodded. "She's extremely focused on adaptation and interdependence. She's spent much time and resources trying to adapt her hive to various and extreme circumstances. Some newer agents are significantly better shapeshifters."
"She's modifying her bugs?" The idea was strangely appalling to me. "Who…what…" I stopped. Complaining was pointless, even if I really understood what she was doing. I rubbed my eyes, trying to sort things out. "What does that mean for us?"
"We'll need her to shapeshift to confirm it, but her disguises may be harder to penetrate, though they take more to maintain."
"Her?" I gave him a sharp glance. "What gender is Bit, anyways?"
"Ah." He stared blandly back. "I misspoke. Bit is neither, for now. Most hatchlings are uniform. As they grow, they develop as required." He shrugged. "It's possible Bit will eventually have a gender."
"Oh." I sat for a while, thinking. Twilight circled Bit, inspecting it from all angles, except where Fluttershy and her hug obscured.
"Alright!" Twilight stopped. "We don't just need a disguise, a cover story too. Why is Bit here? It-he-she - we should decide that, for the disguise - needs a relative, and a reason to be here."
"Onyx." I pointed. "Would you take charge of Bit? As an uncle or something? You're here as a trader, right?"
"Mmm." He nodded. He'd been using the same persona for years; it was the one Wraith had captured him as. He had a reputation and contacts already, and the loyal feelings of his customers were significant for his hive. His cover story was coming to Ponyville to buy alchemicals. I'd actually sold him my stockpile; he'd paid a fair price, and was making good money moving them in Canterlot. Being a cover story didn't mean it was a lie. "I'll do it. But we need a reason for Bit to be working with you."
"She needs a talent." We turned to Fluttershy.
"You've decided Bit's a she as well?" I asked sardonically. "Maybe Bit want's a say?" The hatchling slowly shook its head.
"She needs a talent! She's too old to not have one. What do you want your talent to be?" She turned to Bit.
"Helping…" It stared at me.
"Oh." I realized. "Um, I don't know if we've been introduced. This is Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Onyx, and I'm Wesley Kilmer."
"Helping Wesley Kilmer."
"You. Are. So. Adorable! The best pet ever!" Fluttershy squeaked quietly and squeezed Bit tightly. Its antennae twitched uncertainly.
"Um." I rubbed my eyes, trying to sort my thoughts out. Like it or not, I was stuck. The only way out was one I wasn't willing to take; the cost was just too high. Still, the level of devotion here was making me profoundly uncomfortable. I grit my teeth, thinking back to Tezeca and silently cursing her. Depriving anyone of free will was wrong, even if they were a bug, even if it wasn't my fault. Applejack had showed me I couldn't afford to hate this innocent, but right now, I swore to do my best to help it grow out of this. For both of us.
"Look, Bit. You need to think for yourself. Don't only do what you're told." All I got in return was a blank stare. "Uh. That might be too early. But, um, keep it in mind. Maybe we can help you grow out of that mindset?"
"You don't…want my help?" Fluttershy shot a hard glance at me; we all heard uncertainty in the hatchling's voice.
"Uh, I want it…but, well. Um. I want it because you need me to want it. If you didn’t need that, we might be happier?"
"You want…need…" Bit muttered, evidently confused.
"Look, Bit." Its attention focused on me. "Don't worry about that for now. I want your help."
"Good."
"So, um. Talent." Twilight was riffling through a book; I glanced over. It was labeled 'marks', and filled with simple sigils. "You should have one that matches a secretary or something. Wes is officially an ambassador, and he works with me enough; if somepony starts following him around with a notebook, we can explain it away."
"Even into the forest?" Onyx asked.
"The Everfree?" My eyebrows rose. "That's not happening."
"Are you sure you can escape its determination?" He gestured to the stareing hatchling. I realized, just then, that Bit had spent the entire discussion watching me and hanging on my every word. I groaned silently. Like my life needed more complications. I swore Bit and Cherry Blossom would never meet.
"We…will deal with that later. If needed, I could stop gathering alchemicals. Celestia pays well for my ambassadorial work, although I hope those will be infrequent."
"But just think!" Twilight sprang up, eyes shining with eagerness. "A chance to learn about changelings in their natural habitat! A chance to question working infil-ahem, agents! Think of all we could learn!"
"Eh, not a priority." I shrugged. "Ask Onyx. He's been there, done that." Her lavender eyes locked onto the hapless changeling, who quailed.
"We've gotten rather far off track," Onyx said hastily. "We were trying to decide on a disguise and a cover story. For now, I'll say that she's my niece, and she's studying alchemy. She's working with Wes, in an attempt to better understand alchemicals. If she hangs around him a lot, we can say that he's paying by the day, and leave it at that."
"Is that enough?"
"Should be. Look, I'm the expert here."
"Alright." I raised my hands, defensively. "Just asking. We'll go with that, but we still need the disguise. Can you shapeshift?" I turned to my new assistant.
For a moment, I got no response. Then, a change swept over the little bug. Multicolored patches of fur, strangely marked and striated, swept across it. A half-dozen hues sprang into a tail and mane which curled wildly. Four mismatched hooves appeared and its spiky antennae smoothed into slightly misshapen ears. Two eyes, mismatched and pointing opposite directions, covered it's faceted compound domes.
"Oh!" Fluttershy squealed. "You're fuzzy!"
"A true metamorph." Onyx gave a wondering sigh and glanced at me with…jealousy? Contempt? I couldn't tell.
"Still." Twilight inspected the patchwork pony. "You need a little work. Come with me, and we'll smooth you out." She led the way into the main room. Bit followed hesitantly at my nod, Fluttershy still attached. Onyx and I cleaned up the tea service and followed.
"Um, having a talent for writing might be good. Unobtrusive and simple." Twilight flipped through her book. "As long as we can actually teach you to write well." She glanced at Onyx.
"Shouldn't be a problem." He shrugged. "Hatchlings are extremely malleable."
"So, a quill. Or maybe a fountain pen, since you're working with Wes?" She held up the book.
By now, Bit had mostly regularized. Twilight had coaxed it into an unassuming shade of grass-green, with a short-trimmed ivory mane and tail and sky-blue eyes.
"You have fountain pens?" I exclaimed, shocked.
"Of course we do. But very few ponies use them, since refilling the stupid things pretty much takes magic. And they're hard to maintain. I think a quill looks much nicer on my desk, anyways."
"Oh." I made a mental note to order a half-dozen as soon as I could. Inkwells sucked.
"Try this one." Twilight highlighted another cutie mark. "Over a book." Bit concentrated, and with a flicker, the mark appeared.
"Not bad." Twilight circled the hatchling, inspecting it. "You look a little…androgynous, but that's Ok."
"Good work." I nodded. "That'll do for now."
Bit nodded back and swayed. I suddenly realized I had no idea when it had last eaten, or if it could even eat normal food like Onyx. Or if it had slept. I glanced at Fluttershy, who looked just as confused.
We both gasped as the little bug collapsed, falling away from 'Shy. I rushed over, dropping to my knees, and realized I had absolutely no idea what sort of vital signs to check on a changeling. I hesitantly leaned down, thinking I could maybe feel for breath on my cheek, just as the door slammed open.
"Wes! I heard you were back-" A familiar voice cut off with a shocked gasp. I looked up, meeting the eyes of an absolutely livid pegasus filly. Cherry Blossom was angry, and quickly growing angrier; her pink coat was turning red, and her creamy mane was standing on end.
"You promised!" She yelled, at ear-splitting volume. I winced, suddenly realizing that what I was doing might look, to an impressionable and spontaneous foal, something like a kiss.
"Look, this isn't-I was only checking-" And then Bit's disguise flickered once, before fading completely.
"Great." I sat back, clapping my hands to my face. "Just great."