//------------------------------// // So...why? // Story: Do...You? // by Dr Atlas //------------------------------// “Ahem...Hey Pinkie! I was thinking...do you think that...we can...no...no that’s not it…Ah ha! What about this...Hello, you piece of pie, how about you and...and...no, that just sounds stupid, uh...hello sweetie, why don’t we...go...ugh, that won’t work either.” Doomie smacked his forehead a bit before groaning in frustration. He had been thinking about what to say to Pinkie for the past thirty minutes, trying to figure out the right way of going about it. “Maybe if I just go up front with it? No...no...that won’t work, she’ll hate me for that, especially at a party.” Doomie looked around the area, seeing nothing but ponies walking to the castle now that the town was almost clean. “Wow, ponies work fast.” His gaze then turned to the buildings, seeing some of them were still a bit broken down. “Well, fast enough.” Doomie shook his head and continued walking down the street, still thinking of what to say to Pinkie. “I should just tell her, maybe then we could talk about it and work...something out...I dunno…” He looked around for any ponies looking at him and, when the coast was clear, he tiptoed into an alleyway and flashed back into his form, where he then looked over his body. “What does she even see in me anyway?” Doomie continued feeling around his body. “Maybe it’s my carapace? Or skin?” He tapped his fangs. “Maybe my teeth? That’s a turn on, right?” He looked through the holes in his hooves. “Usually these holes would work for my sisters, but for Pinkie…” Doomie sighed and continued looking around his body, trying to find something that made him look good. While he was doing that, the building next to him started cracking on the side, Doomie didn’t realize it until a bunch of bricks fell right next to him. He jumped and quickly went back into his disguise, thinking any pony could look over here. He coughed from some smoke that formed around him before looking into the rubble, where he then spotted a familiar looking set of blue eyes. “Twig?” Doomie whispered. Suddenly, a changeling that was twice Doomie's size poked his head out of the rubble and smiled. “Doomie!” He then charged at him and tackled Doomie deeper into the alleyway. “I had no idea you would be here!” Doomie pushed Twig off him and stood back up.“T-Twig!? H-How in queen's name are you here?” Twig stuck his tongue out on the side of his mouth. “Well, while you and all the other brothers and sisters took those ponies away. I was going deep behind enemy lines and sneaking through the houses, it was only when I felt the force of a magic blast hit me that I realized I got hit by a magic blast. I then went through three walls before stopping on that wall right there.” He pointed at the hole where he fell out of. “Or, that one.” He then pointed at the pile of bricks. “Well, it’s not really a wall now.” “Twig,” Doomie said. “are you telling me that you survived smashing through three walls?” Twig nodded. “Yup, it was pretty fun too! I was stuck in that wall for a while before I decided to move my leg, then I fell right here, where I then looked into the eyes of my brother! Who was you! And then I tackled him and said-” "Um...Twig. Pain isn't fun, how could you like it?" "What do you mean?" Twig tilted his head. "Don't you know what I am, Doomie?" He held his head high and put a hoof to his chest. "I am the bruiser and the bruis-ie!" "Oh yeah..." Doomie said, realizing that changelings like him treat pain like it's the funnest thing they could enjoy; not causing it, just experiencing it. They cause it only when ordered to. Twig stuck his tongue out to the side of his mouth again. "Yup, I remember the days in pain-resisting 205. Where me, Tom, Phil, Dave, and George got hit with so many blasts that we got knocked out for days." He giggled. "It was a fun day..." Doomie shivered. "Twig, pain is NOT fun." Twig patted his head. "There, there, there. I'm sure, one day, you'll be like me." Doomie rubbed his head. "What? A bug who enjoys getting tied down and hit with stolen kitchen supplies multiple times before you see stars?" "It was only two times, Doomie. We didn't just see stars...we also heard things. One friend of mine thought he heard crickets, while I heard water falls." "Twig! Don't you realize that class was pretty much the same as being tortured in a dungeon?" Twig rolled his eyes. "We don't have dungeons, silly; we have call centers, and just because they broke a few of my bones and slapped me with some fishes doesn't mean I was tortured, and waterboarding is pretty fun once you realize a water is involved." Doomie dropped his jaw. "T-That story was real..." He looked away, unable to comprehend that. Twig laughed again. "Yup, breaking the mind was almost just as fun as breaking the body. The general taught us that pain is probably the funnest thing anyling can experience, I know that Tom, Phil, Dave, and George can agree on that statement." He held his head high again. "Wait...how did Georgie spell his name again?" Doomie was starting to ignore Twig and drift his eyes outside the alley. He then realized Twig was still a changeling. "Listen, Twig, can you please stop turning this into dark comedy and disguise as someone before someone else sees you! or before someone gets mad." Twig went cross eyed. “Uh...oh yeah!” He spun around in green fire and changed into a green pony with very short black hair. “This work?" Doomie looked over him and shrugged. “Well, the uni-brow is okay; not sure why you picked toast as your cutie mark though.” Twig laughed. “It’s butter toast, Doomie, the best kind!” Doomie facehoofed. “Twig, we can’t actually eat pony food, we hack it up sooner or later.” Twig shrugged. “It’s still tasty.” “Whatever, can we get a move on.” He started walking out into the opening, but Twig quickly pulled him back in. “Twig? What are you-” Twig then wrapped his arms around Doomie’s neck and mouth.. “Shh, the walls have ears, Doomie.” He tilted his head outside. “and I really don’t want to go out when the battle is still going on.” Doomie pulled Twig’s arms down and took a deep breath. “Twig, the battle’s over.” Twig dropped his jaw. “It is?” Doomie nodded. “Yup, we lost and our brothers and sisters got flung all the way-” Twig gasped and dropped Doomie. “W-WE LOST!? Oh no! I-I’m in trouble!” Doomie stood up. “Twig, calm down.” Twig went into a fetal position and rocked back and forth. “When I get back, Sarah will tell the captain about how I abandoned the hive, and the captain will tell Stan, and Stan will tell the queen, AND THE QUEEN WILL JUST SIT THERE AND EAT ICE CREAM!” Doomie shoved a hoof on Twig’s mouth. “TWIG! Calm. Down. Everything’s okay, okay?” Twig rapidly shook his head. “NO! everything is NOT okay. I left the hive, Doomie, I let them down, I ran away from the battle, and if I don’t get back to them soon, they’ll forget about me!” Twig grabbed Doomie and stared straight at him. “I’ll be just like Strongheart!” “Who?” “Exactly!” He pushed him away and started tearing up. “I’ll never be seen from anyone again! I’ll be forgotten...abandoned, cast aside, never to be-” *SMACK* Doomie felt his own hoof hurt after he smacked Twig across the face. “Twig! you won’t be forgotten, alright, just calm down. You still got me, don’t you?” Twig rubbed his face and sniffed. “Y-Yeah…I-I do...” “Okay…” Doomie nodded and tried figuring out what to say next. “And...it’s...uh...nice to see you here...Twig.” Twig slowly started to smile. “I-It’s nice to see you too, D-Doomie.” Doomie nodded again. “You okay now?” Twig nodded too. “Y-Yeah, I’m okay, are you?” “Well, I’ve been better…” “You have?” Doomie scratched his neck, thinking that telling Twig would be a bad idea, but then again, it was Twig, a brother who wasn't the brightest green gunk in the cave. “Look, uh...Twig, can you keep a secret?” Twig smiled. “Oooooooh...a secret secret.” Doomie nodded. “Yes, a secret that you promise not to tell to anyone?” Twig saluted. “I promise.” “Doomie promise?” Twig raised an eye. “What?” Doomie blushed. “Uh...n-nothing...just...something me and Pinkie thought about.” “You and who?” Twig put his hoof back down. “Oh...uh...yeah...um...Twig, I kinda...sorta...probably...just a little bit...made out...with one of the element bearers.” Twig gasped. “You did the do with one of those ponies!” Doomie blushed even more. “W-What!?...n-no I...well, I...I might’ve…” Twig put on a sly smile. “You did do the do...didn’t you.” Doomie looked away. “Well…” “OH! OH! Does that mean you love her?” “W-what!?” Twig nudged him. “Aw, come on, Doomie, you can tell me, I keep secrets. I even kept Carl’s secret of leaving the hive pretty secretly...wait...” Doomie sighed. Knowing that everyone would know eventually. “Okay, Twig, I admit it, I...love her.” Twig silently clapped his hooves. “Oooooh~ Which one?” Doomie started to smile. “The pink one with the poofy mane and tail; her name’s Pinkie.” Twig laughed. “Silly name. Is she nice?” Doomie scuffed the ground. “Well, yeah, s-she’s really cute and she’s probably the nicest pony I’ve ever met.” Twig tilted his big head. “How nice is she?” “She hasn’t screamed at me or run or try to call for help or something.” Twig laughed. “Yup, that’s probably the nicest thing a pony can do for us, huh?” Doomie chuckled. “Psh...yeah…I don’t think they can get any nicer than that.” Twig scratched his head. “So, what’s she like?” Doomie rubbed his arm with embarrassment. “Well, when I was talking with her in the dumpster-” “You were in a dumpster?” Doomie sighed. “Long story..” Twig sat down and rested his head on his front hooves. “OH OH! Tell me! Tell me!” Doomie rolled his eyes. “Okay, here’s how it went…” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “...We were in a dumpster talking about what I liked and what he likes…” “All while you two were...well, you know.” Pinkie immediately blushed once Cadance mentioned that. "W-We weren't doing that all the time!" It was already embarrassing enough to tell her this once Pinkie and Twilight finally got here. Pinkie was just glad Cadance and her could talk in private. “Y-You promise not to tell anyone else...I-It’s bad enough that Twilight knows he’s still-” Cadance placed her hoof on Pinkie’s mouth. “It’s fine, Pinkie, I won’t tell anyone else about the changeling being here, so long as a queen doesn't show up again.” Pinkie smiled. “Okay. I-I just hope my friends can...well…” “I’m sure they’ll understand soon…” Cadance said. “But I think telling them that you were in some candy shop instead of saying you were with him isn’t a good idea.” “But you saw how Dashie acted, she still thought I was under mind control, and AJ thought for sure Doomie was taking advantage of me, which he wasn’t! And Rarity fainted for the fourth time after I told her about him, and Fluttershy just sat down and whimpered the entire time.” Pinkie exhaled and leaned on Cadance. “They won’t understand…” “They will.” Cadance reassured her. “Just give it some time, they might even find it out on their own.” “Like how you found out?” Pinkie pointed out. Cadance chuckled. “Well, I can spot love a mile away, and I think you and this ‘Doomie’ can get along quite nicely, so long as you two keep a steady relationship.” Pinkie tilted her head. “What do you mean?” “What I mean is that you two need to make sure this love of yours can go the next level.” “But we already-” “Love isn’t just about looks, Pinkie, it’s about personality, how well you know them, what they like and what you like.” “So...i-is it bad that I just met him?” Pinkie flopped her ears. Cadance shook her head. “Not at all. Love at first sight is a thing that can happen, but you need to make sure that it lasts longer than a ‘sight’, understand?” “I think so.” Pinkie scratched her head. “So, what things should I do, should I ask him what kind of things he likes?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Well, what kind of things do you like?” Doomie rolled his eyes and continued walking. “Twig, we’re changelings, the only things we care about is love, we don't have any hobbies or likes or needs, or anything like that, we’re just bugs who feed on love.” “But we all have a personality.” Twig smiled. “You have one of those, right?” Doomie sighed. “Yeah, but I’m not good at anything, we don’t get cutie marks like they do, Twig. We don’t have a special talent or follow a destiny or anything like that.” “No talent? But I’ve got talent!” Doomie facehoofed. “Twig, having a high pain resistance isn't a talent, it’s just being weird.” Twig frowned. “But I’m really good at it, I’m sure you’re really good at something.” Doomie thought about that for a minute. “Twig, I don’t think I am good at anything, I’ve failed love 101, twice, I was never good at sneaking around, I barely passed flight class, I almost failed in disguising 102, I don’t have good horn-writing skills, I suck at athletics, I’m not that strong at all, I flunked combat 104, and I wasn’t good in seducing 103.” “But what about that one thing in seducing that you were really good at?” “That skill won’t work on her! She’s not even into it! She just likes throwing parties and baking, that’s pretty much all I got from her.” Twig shrugged. “It’s worth a shot.” Doomie turned away. “Twig, I really don’t think this relationship will work.” Twig gasped. “B-But you and me have been friends for-” “I’m talking about me and Pinkie’s relationship, Twig.” “Pinkie and I.” Twig corrected while adjusting his non-existing glasses. Doomie groaned. “You’re not helping.” Doomie hung his head and sighed. “I’m never gonna find something she loves…” Twig patted him on the back. “Well, it could be worse.” “How?” Doomie said. “How could it get any worse?” Twig tapped his chin. “Uh...she could...uh...you are...um...huh?” Twig shrugged. “I dunno how it could be any worse.” Doomie covered his face with his hoof. “Our relationship won’t even last a month.” “Why do you say that?” Twig asked. “Because we don’t share any interests. Last I remember, you need to be interested in the exact same things your partner is interested in as well.” Twig giggled. “You really did flunk that class…” Doomie flicked his ear, thinking he didn’t hear that right. “Wha-What’s that supposed to mean?” “Well, Doomie, you don’t need to be interested in the same stuff she likes, that’d be boring.” Doomie rolled his eyes. “Oh, what do you know...” Twig laughed. “I know lots of stuff, Doomie. I passed that class, didn’t I?” “D-Did you?” Twig wrapped an arm around Doomie and pulled him in for a hug. “I dunno, but I do know that I learned lots of stuff, like, how you should behave when you’re in front of a mare, what you should do in case you miss the time of your date, how your relationship stuff should work, what to do when you forget the rubber.” “What?” Twig blushed and pushed Doomie away. “Um...nothing…” He looked up at the sky and scrunched his face. Doomie was surprised by this. Twig my not have been smart when it came to tactics, but loving...Doomie started getting an idea. “Um...Twig, do you think you can...I dunno.” “What?” Twig tilted his head. Doomie took a deep breath. “Twig, I need you to tell me…” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “...How do I get that bug to love me!” Cadance stepped back. “W-What?” Pinkie grabbed Cadance. “How do I get Doomie to love me! I have no idea what changelings like him like.” Cadance raised an eye. “Uh...Pinkie, why are you asking me this? This is something you should do yourself.” Pinkie let her go. “Well, you already figured out that I like him, so why can’t you help me? You said it yourself, love isn't just about looks, it needs to be more than that! Can't you tell me more?” Cadance smiled. “Look, Pinkie, I know you love him, but I don’t think I can-” “Come on, please?” “Pinkie…” “Pretty please?” “Pinkie.” “Pretty please with ice cream, and sugar, and candy, and sprinkles, and frosting, and-” “Okay, okay, I’ll help you.” Cadance said, making Pinkie clap her hooves. “but you need to know that this is just advice, this isn’t me giving you instructions, okay?” “Okie dokie lokie! So, what's the first thing I should do?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “You should try talking about what she does for a living.” “You sure?” Doomie asked. Twig nodded. “That’s just one of the many talking stuff that you need to do; you also need to talk about what kind of life strategy stuff you need, what kind of needs you need between you and her, what she’s like on the weekdays, what she does in her spare time…” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “...What his favorite activities are, what he’s into when it comes to...well, you know where.” “Where?” Pinkie asked. “At parties? Or on the street? Or when we’re holding hooves?” Cadance laughed. “No, I’m talking about-” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “-The cocoon?...Why would I need to worry about that, Twig?” Twig shrugged. “Well, isn’t love in the sack a good thing?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Not all the time, Pinkie, love isn’t just about making it, it’s about living it.” Pinkie tapped her chin. “So, love in there and out here are different?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “It depends.” Twig said. “Do you have angry sex, or sad sex, or makeup sex, or kinky sex, or-” “Is sex really that big of a deal?” Doomie asked. Twig looked away. “Well, you gotta figure out what kind of stuff your partner is into before you can eat. For all we know, she throws parties in...uh...more ways than one.” Twig nudged him twice and winked two times. “What’s that supposed to mean? Twig, she isn’t gonna tie me down and throw a party at me while we’re...doing it…You know how much I hate pain.” Twig giggled. “Sounds like something George likes.” "Will you stop talking about your class!" "I don't know what you're talking about, Doomie. What story?...I didn't read that story at all." Twig swung his eyes back and forth. Doomie ignored him and continued. “Besides, I don’t care if she doesn’t feed me.” "You don't care?" Twig said. “But Doomie…” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “...it’s one of the ways he eats, I can’t let him starve, can I?” Cadance frowned. “But a relationship that just cares about being in bed isn’t a very healthy one. You two need to be more in depth with it, care about one another in more ways that even you two don’t know. Not just one thing you're both obsessed with.” “But how do we find those things out?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “You look around.” Twig said. “Get out there! Find ways for you two to really get to know each other, and always have time for the two of you to be alone and have fun.” “Wow…” Doomie said in amazement. “You do know a lot, and here I thought you only knew about taking and making pain." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Well, love isn’t my element for nothing, now is it?” Pinkie giggled. “Alrighty tighty then, I think I got it! Is there anything else you can tell me before the party?” Cadance smiled. “Yes, be kind...” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Be loving…” “Be compassionate…” “Be ready…" “And remember one…” “Important…” “Thing.” “What’s that?” “What’s that?” “He loves you too.” “She loves you too.”