//------------------------------//
// Chapter 16: On Steel Wings 
// Story: A New Way 
// by Phoenix_Dragon 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 16: On Steel Wings

Nictis banked around in a shallow climb. The whole way, his head was turned to track Songbird. The fiery orange vessel shone brightly in the afternoon sun as it soared through the sky, the nose pitching up as it bled off speed. Tightening his turn, he matched speed just as he came up alongside it. Spark’s goggled head tracked his movements the whole time, holding Songbird level as Nictis slid up beside it.
His hooves finally contacted the side of the vehicle, clinging to it while one leg hooked over the edge of the body beside Spark. The earth pony gave a flicker of concern, but to Nictis’s relief, was grinning. Nictis felt his own smile returning just at the sight of it, but he quickly returned to business. He pointed with a free hoof, calling out over the loud hum of the propellers. “We’ve got a landing spot cleared out for you in-town! Follow me!”
Wings buzzing again, he let go. With a short dive for speed, he pulled ahead, and a glance back showed him Songbird banking gently to follow.
He continued to glance back on occasion as he made his way toward the castle. Each glance showed that Spark was easily matching his maneuvers; while it might not have been precision formation flying, it was still impressive enough for a machine of that size.
They continued to slow as they approached the castle itself, and Nictis noted they were already drawing some attention. A fair number of pegasi were flying about, and quite a few of them paused at the sight of the odd flying machine. Some even flew over to it, trailing behind or circling around to get a better look. Before long, they were trailing a couple dozen curious onlookers.
As they rounded the outermost tower of the castle, the onlookers were joined by a pair of pegasus guards. The guards swooped down from their patrol and immediately fell into formation with Songbird, flanking the flying craft.
Just ahead lay a round, open terrace. Unlike many of the structures jutting out from the side of the castle and the city itself, it was a clear and unobstructed space, an open expanse of white marble with golden trim. There were a couple of the Guard’s chariots set to one side, and a good number of Royal Guards gathered about, though if they had been doing anything before, it had come to a halt at the sight of what was approaching.
Nictis continued to slow, gliding in at a shallow angle until he touched down at a casual trot. He continued on to the back edge of the terrace, making sure Spark had plenty of room. A pair of unicorn guards were already approaching him, but their attention was entirely on Songbird. They stopped beside him, seemingly content to simply watch for the moment.
As Songbird slowed, it turned slightly to the side. Spark made the final approach at an angle, his head leaning out over the rim of the fuselage to keep his eyes on the ground. The nose bobbed and the stubby wings wobbled as he made corrections. As it reached the center of the terrace, it wavered one final time, then eased down to the stone surface. There was a momentary grind of metal on stone as it came to a halt, and then the hum of the propellers quickly wound down.
The craft had hardly touched down before Nictis was trotting up, with the guards following at a more sedate pace. Spark was climbing out as he arrived, and paused to push his goggles up onto his helmet. “They’re really letting me park this at the castle?”
Nictis laughed. “Seems you’ve caught the attention of one of the princesses,” he said. “She seemed quite excited at the opportunity to see Songbird.”
“Oh,” Spark said, blinking a couple times.
“Don’t worry. It’s Princess Twilight Sparkle. You’ll probably like her.” He considered it for a moment before giving a faint chuckle. “She’s kind of a nerd when it comes to fancy science stuff.”
Sensing a sudden feeling of disapproving irritation from one of the guards behind him--but notably, only one--he turned his head to look back over his shoulder. “What? It’s true.”
Looking back again, he saw Spark looking at him with his head cocked slightly to the side and wearing a questioning expression, but with a faint smile and, best of all, a sense of happiness.
A grunt drew their attention back up to Songbird, where Bigs was climbing out from the rear seat. It was an awkward position, constricted by the root of the wings, and the stallion wobbled a little as he clambered over the back of the front seat and hopped down. He landed heavily, sighed, and slowly drew himself back up.
When he realized he was the center of attention, he gave a weak smile. “That was an… exciting ride, but I think I’m a bit happier with my hooves on solid ground for the moment.”
Spark looked down, thumping a hoof on the stone surface. “Does this really count? Aren’t we still hanging over a thousand-foot cliff?”
Bigs’s ear flicked at that, though he said, “Close enough.” The smile was already fading, especially as his eyes settled on Nictis.
“Excuse me.”
They all turned to look back at the pair of guards, one of which--a Sergeant, Nictis noted--was looking back and forth between an open scroll and, of all things, Nictis’s legs. The other guard spoke. “Sorry about this, sirs, but we need to perform a quick check for security purposes. Do any of you have any enchantments that might react poorly to dispelling magic?”
“Well that’s rather more polite,” Nictis noted before shaking his head like the others. As that guard began casting, Nictis glanced back to the one holding the scroll. “Mind if I ask what that is?”
The guard didn’t even pause in his examination as he spoke. “Came from your boss. It’s a brief description of known changelings and their identifying physical features, namely leg-holes. Guess someone figured it hardly did any good to keep changelings out of their disguises if half the Guard couldn’t tell you apart, anyway.”
Normally, Nictis would feel a combination of indignation and resignation at the reminder that some ponies somehow couldn’t readily tell changelings apart, but he instead found himself smirking. “I find a certain measure of irony in hearing that from a member of the Guard.”
The Sergeant didn’t reply, though there was a faint hint of amusement as the pony tucked his scroll back into his armor. A quick glance to his partner received an “all clear” nod, and he in turn nodded to them. “We’ll get out of your manes. The princesses have given permission to keep your craft here during your stay in Canterlot. Just make sure you don’t obstruct the Guard’s operations, and be careful of other ponies in the vicinity when you depart or return. You seem to have attracted several onlookers, and I’d rather not have any injuries.”
Spark was blushing faintly, ears pinned back. “Yes, sir,” he said, and looked back out over the edge of the platform where several curious pegasi were still flying by. The pair of guards turned and walked off, while Spark quietly said, “I kind of forgot how much attention this thing draws.”
“Well-earned attention,” Nictis said with a grin. “Your machine is pretty exceptional.”
Spark radiated a few whiffs of embarrassment, but he gave a weak smile as he looked back up at it. “I guess it is a little unusual.” His smile grew a little more as his eyes traced along the curve of the vehicle’s body. “Forgot how much I liked flying her, too.”
With a quick glance back to Bigs he added, “Sorry about that.”
Bigs just shook his head, though Nictis noted the motion was slightly stiff; his legs were still rather rigidly set, and he wobbled just a tiny bit as his head moved. “It’s fine. I’m just not used to how that thing moves.”
“Motion sickness?” Nictis asked, earning a flash of irritation and a sharp reply from the pony.
“I’m fine.”
“Sorry,” Nictis reflexively replied, his smile vanishing. For a moment, he’d managed to forget who he’d been talking to. Yet even with the reminder and the rising emotion, the good mood still held sway. “If it’s any consolation, I was terrified the first time I rode in it.”
Unfortunately, this earned a sudden surge of anger as Bigs glared back at him. “I wasn’t scared.”
Nictis nearly winced at the reply, with at least a little part of his pride stinging at having his intentions fail so notably. “Sorry,” he repeated; he allowed his ears to droop a bit, once again reminded of how much simpler it was to deal with other changelings. “I didn’t mean to imply…”
Bigs pointedly looked away, though the flared emotions were already fading, replaced instead with a feeling of suspicion. More interesting to Nictis, however, was the feeling lingering behind that: a sense of shame that wavered uncertainly in the background.
After a few moments, Bigs looked back, though his eyes avoided Nictis on their way to Spark. “I better get going if you’re going to get any flying done. Just don’t get into any trouble, okay?”
Spark quickly hid his questioning expression, replying with a smile. “Sure. See you later, then.”
Bigs turned away, eyes lingering on Nictis for only an instant--an instant Nictis read as “and don’t you cause any trouble”--before walking away.
Watching him go, Nictis remained silent. Despite the good mood, which still held strong, he found himself completely uncertain of what to say or do. The silence that followed was increasingly awkward.
Fortunately, it also didn’t last long. Spark broke the silence after only a few moments.
“You were scared of flying?”
Nictis blinked, looking back to Spark. There was no pain or accusation behind the words, merely a pure curiosity. Nictis could almost laugh at the unexpected course of the conversation, and even started to smile a little.
“Yeah, I was,” he said. “Not that it was a criticism of you. I trust you, and what you built. It’s just that I used to find Equestrian technology to be rather terrifying, at first.” He gave a weak, self-deprecating laugh. “Heck, the first time I encountered a train I had a minor existential crisis.”
Spark stared at him, blinking a couple time. “Really? A train?”
Nictis couldn’t help chuckling at that. “Yes, really. The hive doesn’t have anything like that, and at the time...” He halted, the smile slipping, but he forced himself to continue. “At the time, I still thought ponies were my enemy. A train was a massive, metal behemoth that could travel faster than I can gallop, and carry tons of material while doing so. It was so much beyond what the hive had, and ponies treated it so casually.” He shrugged. “It took a long time to get used to. The first time I rode in Songbird, I was still a bit uneasy around new machines.”
Spark considered that for a moment, looking off into space. “Probably didn’t help that the first flight crashed.”
Nictis snorted out an unexpected laugh, quickly raising a hoof to his snout. “If it’s any consolation, it was less scary than my first trip in an airship.”
Spark chuckled softly, probably amused at the idea of someone being scared of such a relatively mundane and sedate method of flying. Then the pony gestured to Nictis’s side. “But couldn’t you just fly to safety if something went wrong? You’ve got wings.”
The laugh died on Nictis’s lips. He looked back to his own wings, then slowly shook his head. “No,” he said, his voice subdued. Then he hesitated, ears perking up. “Actually, I… I don’t know.”
He sat down, frowning slightly as he thought, a hoof rising to brush against his compass. “...The first time I flew, no. I couldn’t. I had a duty to the hive, and that meant keeping our secrets. I couldn’t put my own life before my duty. After I turned away from the hive…”
He looked down to his compass, drawing in a deep breath and slowly letting it back out. He was still trying to find the right words when Spark spoke.
“You really would have died for your… duty?”
“Yes,” Nictis replied, quietly. “It’s just how changelings are. It’s how we’re raised. We’re taught to find worth in a purpose greater than ourselves.”
He would have continued, but Spark wasn’t paying attention any more. From the moment Nictis had said yes, a great anxiety had grown in the pony, eyes staring off at nothing, making quick little hops as if watching his own thoughts. For a moment, Nictis thought he had said something horribly wrong, but there was no sadness or proper fear in the reaction, just the powerful sense of anxiety; it wasn’t bad, just important.
Spark blinked a couple times and looked over to Nictis. For just a moment, his eyes seemed to be searching, but the expression quickly softened, with just a hint of a smile starting to form.
Then he blinked again, as if only now realizing Nictis could see his reaction this whole time. “Right!” he blurted, looking one way, then the other, and finally up to Songbird. “I need to do some maintenance,” he said, giving an awkward smile. “I mean, because we’re going flying. I need to check up on a few parts before we go flying. We’re still going flying, aren’t we?”
Despite the tension--or perhaps because of it--Nictis gave a soft chuckle. “I hope so.”
“Right,” Spark said with a nod, and started to climb up the flying machine. “Okay, I need to get to work, then. Shouldn’t take more than an hour to make sure everything’s working.”
“Can I help?”
Spark’s hoof slipped, though his other foreleg was hooked over the edge of the body and saved him from a fall. He looked back to Nictis with a surprised expression. “You want to help?”
Nictis smiled. “I always enjoyed working alongside you,” he said, his wings buzzing as he lifted up to land atop Songbird’s body and offered Spark a hoof. Spark looked at it for a second--a second Nictis spent contemplating how different the chitinous, hole-riddled leg must have seemed to him--before reaching out and taking it.
Hauling himself up, Spark stood atop the flying machine, and finally showed a smile again. “If you want to, sure.”
“I do,” Nictis replied, then gave a weak chuckle. “Even if my skills still haven’t gotten past passing tools and lifting heavy objects.”
To his delight, Spark chuckled at that. “I think we can still make that work,” he said, then gestured with his nose to the back of the vehicle. “Can you fetch the tool set from the back? I need to get these panels off so I can get at the transmission. Something was squeaking in the starboard drivetrain.”
“On it,” Nictis said with a grin, wings buzzing to life again as they both got to work.





Maintenance was done. The tools were securely strapped inside the rear fuselage. Nictis was securely strapped in as well, giving a few final tugs on the safety harness that held him in the rear seat. Just in front of him sat Spark, still radiating the happiness and affection that had been growing since they had gotten to work.
“Okay,” Spark called out, “hit the other one!”
Nictis glanced back again, his magic wrapping the second motor switch in an aura of green as he flipped it. The right-side motor hummed faintly as it came to life, quickly matching the tune of its twin.
Settling back into his seat, he called out. “Got it.” After a moment of consideration, he added, “Shouldn’t you set up something so you can do that from up there?”
“Eventually,” Spark called back. “It’s on the list of things to do, I just never got around to it. I never really needed it since you were always--”
Spark abruptly went silent. Nictis waited anxiously, automatically thinking up all the ways the conversation could turn bad, until Spark looked back over his shoulder. To Nictis’s relief, he was smiling, even if the expression was a little awkward. “...well, since you were always there.”
Nictis held his gaze, a grin quickly spreading across his face. Then Spark turned back to his controls; Nictis might have felt just a little bad about the rapidly rising embarrassment, if not for the happiness that came along with it.
“A-anyway,” Spark quickly said as he shook off the embarrassment, “you all ready to go?”
Nictis’s magic enveloped his own goggles, pulling them down from the front of the helmet and setting them in place over his eyes. Both items were the same ones that Spark had made for Meadow Song, and while they no longer fit quite so perfectly, they were still sufficient. “All strapped in and secure,” Nictis said before leaning around, looking back along the sides of the craft, and then straight upward. “We’re clear all around.”
“Okay,” Spark replied, and took a deep, calming breath. “Let’s do it.”
Nictis saw Spark’s shoulders shift against the straps as he moved the control levers, and the hum of the fans grew louder. Songbird lifted from the ground, gently pressing him down into his seat, and pitched forward. The wind slowly picked up as they gained speed, then banked around in a slow turn.
Canterlot had always seemed a little smaller from the air, but never quite as small as it did then. Even as Spark flew them around the great towers and terraces of the city, distance seemed to fall away. Everything felt small, except for Songbird and its pilot.
After they’d made a circuit around the city, Spark called back. “Everything good back there?”
“Yeah!” he replied, only then realizing that he was grinning.
A short distance away, a pair of pegasi had paused in their flight to watch the strange, orange machine buzzing through the sky. As Nictis looked around, he saw more and more pony faces tracking their flight.
He called out to Spark. “Looks like Songbird’s drawing a crowd again!”
In the front seat, Spark leaned over, peering over the edge to see the ponies looking up at them. Everywhere they looked, there were ponies stopping and looking out at them. Most paused for only a few moments before returning to what they were doing, but quite a few stayed and watched.
Nictis called out again. “What do you think? Should we give them a show?”
Spark looked back, and quickly grinned before settling back into his seat, shoulders jerking as he tugged on a couple straps. “You ready back there?”
Nictis’s hooves dropped to his sides. The proportions were all subtly off, and the seat and harness didn’t fit the same way it used to, but his hooves found their place exactly where he remembered. Gripping the frame, he called out, “Ready!”
“All right. Hang on!”
Songbird lurched to the side, the whole world rolling around him. An instant later he was thrown into his seat as the fans roared beside him, pushing him downward, only “down” was now “up.” The ground filled the view above him. The roar of the wind grew overpowering as they pitched downward, gaining speed at a tremendous rate until they were flying straight downward, paralleling one of the great waterfalls flowing from the city.
The turn continued, keeping him pinned in the seat as the flying machine continued to pitch up toward the horizon, and past it. Behind the deep roar of the fans and the creaking of the metal frame, Nictis could hear Spark letting out a growling grunt.
The moment they were pointed straight up, the turn stopped, and Spark’s grunt turned into a gasp as the weight lifted from their bodies. The fans’ roar turned to a softer hum as they tore upward past Canterlot’s ramparts like an arrow shot into the sky.
The wind died down as their speed faded. The force that had been pressing Nictis down into his seat started to slowly bring him up against the straps, his compass lifting up from his chest.
Spark laughed and cheered as their flight reached its peak, floating in a single instant of weightlessness, and Nictis joined him.





The late-evening sun sent glittering flashes of light through the sheet of water as Songbird took a graceful turn between the waterfall and the sheer cliff face behind it. As they flew out from beneath the castle, Spark entered a gentle climb, soaring up past the city once again.
Nictis slowly relaxed his grip again, though he kept his hooves in place. He sighed softly, a broad grin still plastered on his face. The aerobatics show had eventually given way to a slightly more relaxed--but hardly sedate--flight around the city and mountain, skimming the cliffs and tree-tops, and every moment of it had been wonderful.
It occurred to him that this might have been close to what Sky enjoyed so much about flying. Close, but so much more amazing.
In the front seat, Spark huffed out a sigh, and banked into a gentle, climbing turn. His head leaned to the side, peering over the edge at the side of the mountain they were flying up alongside, searching for something.
After several seconds, he tightened the turn, and Songbird’s nose slid around into a shallow dive. As they completed a slow, descending circle, Nictis finally saw what Spark had been looking for: a small, level clearing framed by trees and brush, on the slopes above Canterlot. Songbird wavered slightly from side to side as they lined up. They came in mostly level, slowing steadily until Songbird neatly settled down onto the uneven grass.
Spark looked around, waiting a moment before calling out, “Okay, shut it down.”
Nictis flipped the switches, and the hum of the motors quickly died down. He unbuckled himself and removed the goggles and helmet, and pulled himself up and out. His leg trembled slightly as he pushed against the frame, and it was only then that he realized he was still breathing harder than normal.
Jumping down from the front of the vehicle, Spark stumbled. He quickly shook himself off. “Whew. Yeah, it’s time for a bit of a break.”
“Sounds good to me,” Nictis said as he hopped down beside him. Even with a quick flutter of his wings to soften the landing, his legs wobbled a bit beneath him. “I forgot how exhausting all those aerobatics can be. I wasn’t even doing anything!”
Spark chuckled back at him. “Sorry about that. I might have gone a little overboard. I forgot how much fun it is to fly.”
“Nothing to apologize for,” Nictis replied with a chuckle. “It’s well worth it.”
Spark led the way to a nearby grassy mound and flopped down with a groan. He lay sprawled out, while Nictis sat much more neatly beside him.
As his breathing slowed, Spark’s eyes wandered to Nictis’s side. “...Did you like Songbird because it let you fly again?”
Nictis fanned his wings out, looking back at them. After a moment’s consideration, he shook his head. “No. Flying on my own is nice, but it’s really just a convenience. I could do almost everything it could with magic, and considerably more. When I had to choose one or the other, it was an easy choice. The only times I made use of a pegasus guise was for travel.” He inclined his head toward the resting machine. “I might not be scared of Equestrian technology any more, but it’s never lost that sense of awe. Your little flying machine is something amazing, even by Equestrian standards.”
Spark smiled, and lay back again.
They sat there, relaxing in a comfortable silence as the sun steadily made its way to the horizon.
When the sky started to darken, Spark finally pushed himself back up to a sitting position, watching the sunset.
The anxiety from earlier was beginning to mount, Nictis noted. It was slow at first, but it grew with every moment of silence. As the sun finally disappeared below the horizon and the moon rose to take its place in the starry sky, Spark opened his mouth to speak.
Then he shut it again, embarrassed, and awkwardly rubbed a hoof along his foreleg. He tried again a moment later, to no more success, and glanced nervously around the darkened clearing.
Nictis quietly watched Spark’s silent struggle for a moment before mentally bracing himself.
I really hope this isn’t a bad idea.
He raised his head, letting his magic flow up into his horn, and then let it pour out in a pale-green glow.
Spark went still, staring up at his horn. Nictis gave a soft smile that he hoped might look comforting, and Spark took it in for a moment before looking around the clearing, softly lit in the glow of changeling magic. Eventually, he gave a small smile.
“You know,” Spark said, his voice small but steady, “it’s actually not that creepy.”
A look of confusion crossed Nictis’s face for just a moment, before being replaced with a grin. Spark’s smile grew as well, and more significantly, the feelings of nervousness were diminished.
Spark looked away again as his smile faded, eyes returning to the faint glow on the horizon where the sun had disappeared. “I…” He hesitated, but having started, it was easier to continue. “I’m… glad we got to do this.”
Nictis nodded, but remained silent. Spark had been working up to more than that, he was sure.
Spark drew in a deep breath and sighed before continuing. “When I was suggesting doing something, I’d thought maybe walking around Canterlot, going to a restaurant, stuff like that.” His smile returned, soft and pleasant. “This was a lot better.”
“Yeah,” Nictis said, smiling and nodding again. “I like this a lot more.”
“Good,” Spark replied, with a little flare of happiness. “I really wanted this to be something special, because…”
He trailed off, embarrassment rising again, but he pushed through it. “...Because I know how… important all this is to you. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking on it, trying to work things out. I didn’t really get just how much it meant, but… I think I do, now.”
Another deep, steadying breath. “I know… I know that you really do care for me. That you really do love me. I…”
Spark looked down at his hooves, fidgeting with them, while the sense of anxiety grew even faster than before. “...I don’t know if I can feel the same way about you...”
An icy dagger sunk in Nictis’s gut, but he kept himself still against the sudden wave of fear and despair that threatened to well up. If not for the experience of an Infiltrator, he might have given in right there; instead, he focused on reason, on noting the implied “but” at the end of the statement…
...And on the flurry of nervous excitement, happiness, and affection flowing from Spark as he looked back with a smile. “...But I’d like to try.”
Nictis blinked. Then he blinked again, only his vision returned blurry. All the training and experience fell away like discarded armor as the tears came, and he wrapped Spark tightly in trembling limbs; there was no surge of fear as Spark embraced him in return, and Nictis wept softly in joy.
Then Spark nuzzled gently up along the edge of his jaw, and Nictis lost it. He choked out a loud, happy sob as he returned the nuzzles, holding himself close against Spark. The trembling only grew worse as he grinned in near-delirious joy and relief, blinking away tears.
In the periphery of his vision he caught a flicker of green flame.
His sob of joy turned into an anguished gasp as he tore away from Spark’s grip, spinning to face whatever threat might come and pouring more magic into his horn. Even with the clearing lit up as bright as day, he saw nothing.
Behind him, Spark had staggered back in surprise. “Nictis?”
Nictis didn’t dare turn away. Instead, he took a cautious step backward, until his tail brushed against Spark. Nictis risked a quick glance toward their landing spot. “Spark, get to Songbird, quickly.”
He could feel the surprise turning to alarm and fear. “N-Nictis?”
Nictis flinched, reflexively looking back, only to see the same pony that stood at the end of the alley, wearing the same expression of shock and fear. A shudder passed through him as he turned back to where he had seen the flame, heart pounding in his ears.
I’m scaring him again.
Fear, desperation, even anger threatened to rise up in him, but that one thought brought things into focus. All those emotions fell behind the icy calm of calculation.
He spoke again, his voice calm and firm. “There’s another changeling out there, and it’s not a friendly one. We need to get out of here.”
Spark hesitated, but the fear was no longer focused on him. There was still uncertainty, but as he turned to hurry toward Songbird, even that faded.
Nictis continued to back up, head swivelling around to scan for threats.
Nothing showed. There was no sound from the clearing except the faint rustle of wind in the leaves and Spark’s hooves clambering over the metal body of Songbird. Nictis continued to back up, keeping his horn charged and ready for the slightest threat, but still nothing came.
Songbird hummed to life, followed by the rustles and thumps of Spark climbing back to the front seat and the jingle of buckles. Moments later he felt the rush of air as the fans built up speed.
Spark called out. “Nictis, get in!”
“Go!” Nictis replied, still watching for danger. “I’ll follow you.”
“Nictis!”
He winced at the hint of pain and desperation, even as a little voice in the back of his head screamed at him: don’t leave him again!
He had turned and leaped into the air before he’d even consciously made the decision to move. Another part of his mind complained that he was leaving them vulnerable, that he should have insisted Spark go first, but he didn’t hesitate. A quick buzz of his wings lifted him atop Songbird, and he fell into the rear seat. “Go!”
There was only just enough time to grab onto the loose harness before the fans roared and he was pushed down into the seat. Moments later, he was thrown upward, catching glimpses of ground and sky at very unnatural angles as he clung to the harness, quickly reaching out with his magic to snatch the helmet that went tumbling out past him. The wind roared in his ears, and a moment later he was thrown against the seat again as Songbird shuddered, pulling up from the sudden, hard dive down the cliff face.
Nictis pulled himself around as soon as they leveled out and managed to slip the harness around himself. He finally let the built-up power in his horn disperse, the glow quickly fading. Peering back behind them, the cliffs receded into the darkness. There was nothing.
Then he caught the distant flicker of green fire tracing a circle, rising up, and collapsing in on itself until no trace of it remained.
Nictis slowly sat back, heaving a deep sigh as the tremble returned to his limbs. Adrenaline demanded action, but he sat there as still as possible, breathing deep, calming breaths.
They had already descended to the level of Canterlot before Spark began bleeding speed. Nictis gripped tightly as they came in to land, overshot, and then drifted back and wavered in a series of over-corrections before finally dropping to the ground. Nictis winced a little at the sound of metal grinding on stone and ignored the dirty look the nearby pair of guards directed their way.
In the front seat, Spark sat silently for several seconds before weakly raising his hooves and fumbling with his helmet. He slid it off, letting it fall to thump against the floor of the vehicle. “Uh… yeah, you can… you can turn it off, now.”
Nictis flicked the switches off as he stripped off his hastily donned harness, clambering up atop Songbird to peer into the front seat. Spark looked up at him, wobbling a bit, but to Nictis’s relief, gave a weak smile. There was no mistaking the exhaustion, now that the adrenaline had faded.
“Come on,” Nictis said with a soft smile, and offered his hoof. “Let’s get you down.”
Spark slowly undid his harness and shakily pushed himself up. “I can--”
His leg almost gave out from under him. He wavered for a moment, then sighed softly, nodding.
Nictis slid in, wrapping his forelegs around Spark’s barrel, and gently lifted him up. His wings carried the pair of them up from Songbird, drifting over to descend beside it.
By now, they had caught the attention of the nearby guards, who were walking over. “Is everything okay there?” one called out.
“I think so,” Nictis said as he lowered Spark to the ground. He landed beside Spark, to give the tired pony something to lean on.
The moment he did, Spark’s hoof came up and shoved him away.
Nictis staggered back in shock, only to switch to concern as Spark fell back against Songbird and heaved. After the first heave failed to produce anything, he heaved again, and then a third time, after which he coughed and finally spit up a bit of fluid.
Spark wobbled and sat down heavily, groaning. “Ugh. I don’t feel so good…”
Both the guard’s closed in. “Are you okay, sir? What’s wrong?” The other guard was silent, but Nictis caught the sudden surge of suspicion. He almost grimaced at that, but he could hardly blame him. Extreme exhaustion was the primary symptom of being fed upon too heavily by a changeling, it would likely be irresponsible to not suspect it. He might even suspect it himself, if he had allowed himself to feed on Spark at all.
The thought of another changeling feeding on him crossed his mind, but he couldn’t imagine any way that could have been done with him there the whole time.
No, this was something else. Was it a reaction to what had just happened? He’d known of other ponies who reacted poorly to fear and stress, but he’d never thought of Spark that way. After all, this was a pony who enjoyed pulling the occasional stunt in an experimental flying machine of his own design. For that matter, he’d seen Spark in situations that were at least as scary as this.
A moment later Nictis stopped, and slowly relaxed. “Spark, when was the last time you ate?”
Spark coughed and spit again, but paused at Nictis’s question, while the guards looked back and forth between the two. “Um… this morning, before I left for home.”
Nictis sighed, but gave a soft smile. Stepping in close, he reached out with his magic, helping Spark up to his hooves. “Come on, let’s get you to the kitchens.”
“I guess I could get something to eat,” Spark quietly replied as they started to walk. He staggered for a moment before catching himself, and finally leaned softly into Nictis’s side.
The guards had relaxed, and parted to let them through, though the one who had been speaking before stayed close. “Do you need any help there?”
“I think we’ll manage,” Nictis replied, and nodded to him. “Thank you.”
The guards both nodded in reply before returning to their posts, and Nictis and Spark continued on. As they walked, Nictis couldn’t help focusing on the feel of Spark’s coat brushing against him as he helped support the tired pony. The feel of the soft hair against smooth chitin was still strange, but he welcomed it.
A little part of him felt bad to be feeling happy while Spark was feeling so poorly, but he knew a quick bite to eat and a good rest would solve that.
Behind all that exhaustion, there was a lingering feeling of concern which Spark finally gave voice to. His words came slowly, weighed down with exhaustion. “...Did the other changeling want to hurt you because you left the hive?”
Nictis looked over to Spark, surprised. Spark felt concerned, yes, but it was concern for him. Slowly, he smiled, leaning his head in alongside Spark’s. “I don’t know,” he replied. “Maybe.”
The two of them continued on in silence for a while before Spark finally managed a reply. “That sucks.”
Nictis couldn’t help it; he chuckled, and gently nuzzled Spark’s cheek. “It’s okay,” he said. “I made the right choice.”
Spark didn’t say anything, but Nictis didn’t need him to. He could feel the sense of happiness those words brought.





Just an hour later, with their late-night meals disposed of, Spark was already seeming better. He was still tired, but there were no more bouts of nausea. He was walking fine, without needing to lean against Nictis for support.
Not that it kept him from walking close enough that his coat was regularly brushing against Nictis most of the way. He only backed off when a friendly nod from one of the castle maids kicked off a short bout of embarrassment, but it had faded again by the time they reached Nictis’s quarters.
“Okay,” Nictis said as they stopped before the door. “This time, I’m taking the couch. You get the bed.”
Spark was already shaking his head. “I’m not taking your bed.”
That just made Nictis chuckle. “Okay, first off, it’s not my bed, it’s the castle’s. I guess that means it’s technically Celestia’s bed. And second, you know I always win this argument.”
“Yeah,” Spark groaned, despite the smile that was creeping up on his face. “‘Cause you cheat.”
“Yep,” Nictis proudly replied, then shrugged. “I also grew up sleeping on bare rock, so a fancy couch is still on the luxurious side for me. I’ll be fine, but you seem like you could use a more comfortable night’s rest right now.”
Spark wavered for a moment, before finally sighing and nodding. “Okay, fine.”
Nictis opened the door, and the pair of them crept into the darkened room. He paused just long enough to snatch up a lamp in his magic, then they slipped into the bedroom.
The light from Nictis’s horn brightened again as he walked over to the nightstand, placing the lamp on it. A moment of concentration lit the wick, and he adjusted it to a faint, gentle glow, before letting the light from his horn die.
Spark was sitting on the edge of the bed when he had finished, quietly regarding him. Anxiety bubbled beneath the surface once again, but this time Spark cut it off by quickly speaking. “I’m sorry if I’m being a bit awkward about all this.”
Nictis gave a gentle smile. “It’s okay.”
“No, seriously,” Spark said, with surprising sincerity. “It’s just, I know… I know you’re the same. I know it’s…”
He trailed off as he failed to find the words he was looking for, eyes dropping to his hooves again. Finally he took a deep breath, looked up again, and spoke.
“It’s just that it can be hard to remember that it’s always been you. I know it, but when I look at you, there’s nothing that’s familiar. And then you say something, or do something, and… it’s Meadow. Like the kind of thing that’s kinda sorta almost sweet and sappy, but it isn’t really, because it’s just… nice.”
Nictis carefully sat beside him. “I’m sorry,” he said, and shook his head before Spark could counter him. “No, you have nothing to apologize for. All of this was my fault. I knew how you felt about me, but I was still too stubbornly paranoid to trust you with the truth when I should have known better. When everything came crumbling down, I ran away like a coward and left you alone. I love you more than anything else in the world, but then I left you to hurt alone because I was too afraid. You deserve so much more than I gave to you. I just hope that I can somehow make it up to you.”
Spark was silent for a moment, though he managed to surprise Nictis when a flicker of humor slipped up past the sadness. “...Yeah, like that.”
Nictis gave a single, soft chuckle, though the smile died almost immediately.
The silence stretched on for several seconds before Spark drew in a deep breath and let it out. Once again, the anxiety was rising. “Could I see Meadow one more time?”
Nictis looked to him, ears pinning back. Spark was looking back with a sad, pleading expression, and Nictis could feel his throat tighten a bit just at the sight of it. “...Are you sure?”
Spark nodded, nervousness peaking once again. Nictis sighed and mentally braced himself. He closed his eyes, focusing on the pony he had lived as for so long, and green flames rushed over him.
Meadow Song opened her eyes. She found Spark blinking against the flash of light, and offered a sad smile as their eyes met.
Spark had gone still, staring at her. His emotions were in a turmoil, but she could sense the feelings of sadness and loss as clear as day.
With a shaking hoof, Spark reached up. It moved close, hesitating as if uncertain that she was really there, and then closed that last little gap to touch her on the cheek. She leaned lightly into the touch, her soft coat brushing gently along his hoof.
Finally, it slipped away again. His gaze remained, slowly wandering across her features. He swallowed, speaking in a whisper. “Could you… say something?”
She wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to say.
It was the only thing she could say.
“I love you.”
Spark trembled. Inside him, the turmoil flared up; happiness and sadness, affection and anger, hope and fear. He swallowed, blinking back tears. Finally, he nodded. “O-okay. Okay, you can turn back.”
Meadow nodded softly, and called up the flames of her magic once again.
When Nictis looked to Spark again, the warring emotions had mostly faded into the background. Spark was looking at him, only this time he was really looking. His eyes traced slowly and intently over Nictis’s features, and Nictis could only imagine how alien the sight must have been; the flickering lamplight reflecting on his glossy carapace, the long fangs, the sharp, curved horn, and those pupil-less eyes that almost seemed to glow in the darkness.
He took in all of those features, and the anxiety and fear continued to grow.
Then Spark drew in a deep breath, wrapped his forelegs around Nictis’s shoulders, and kissed him.
Caught off-guard, Nictis only barely kept himself from pulling back in surprise. He returned the kiss out of pure instinct for a moment, until his brain finally caught up again; with a surge of relief, he wrapped his own forelegs around Spark and held him close. The fear and anxiety he had sensed flowed away as they shared the kiss, until it had almost entirely vanished.
After several seconds, Spark broke the kiss. It wasn’t abrupt, like pulling away. He just tilted his head, and their lips slowly moved apart. They remained there, muzzles resting softly against each other as their eyes met once again.
Spark raised his hoof. It still trembled, but it didn’t hesitate as he touched Nictis’s cheek. He slowly ran the hoof back, gliding softly along the smooth carapace. Their chests pressed against each other with each breath, hair and chitin contrasting each other.
Nictis could feel Spark’s heart pounding away with each breath.
Finally, Spark let his hoof slide away, inching back a tiny bit. Nictis relaxed his hold, his forelegs sliding away. The silence that followed was a comforting, pleasant one, and both were smiling softly.
Finally, a bit of humor bubbled up in Spark. “The… teeth might take a while to get used to.”
Nicits chuckled, a hoof rising to stroke gently at Spark’s side. Humor was good.
The implication that he intended to take the time to get used to it was even better.
They remained there for a few minutes, until Spark finally let out a soft sigh, his muzzle drawing back a bit as they parted. He smiled, a hint of blush coloring his cheeks. “I should probably get to sleep.”
“Of course,” Nictis replied, sliding off the edge of the bed. He stroked his hoof along Spark’s side once more. “Sweet dreams.”
The blush grew a bit stronger. “You too.”
Finally, Nictis stepped away. He paused when he reached the door, savoring the feeling of happiness and affection, and looking back to catch Spark’s eyes one last time. Then he opened the door and stepped out.
As the doors shut behind him, he let out a soft, happy sigh before walking again.
He walked right past the couches. He was almost to the door out when he heard a rustle of cloth sliding back, followed by Big’s voice, quiet but firm.
“You want to tell me why Spark came back looking so drained?”
A small part of him wanted to be irritated at the suspicion leveled his way, but it was a tiny urge beside the happiness of the evening. “Because he’s been so caught up in what he was doing that he hadn’t had anything to eat or drink since this morning.”
In the darkness, he saw Big’s eyes look off as he thought back. “Oh,” he finally replied, before lying down and pulling the blanket back over himself once again. The suspicion died off. In fact, there was just a touch of guilty embarrassment lingering in the aftermath.
Nictis hesitated. It was time to go see Subtle or one of her ponies, to pass on the knowledge of what had happened out on those mountain slopes, but that little voice was back.
After a moment of debate, he sighed. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”
Bigs stirred to look back at him, suspicion returning rapidly, but Nictis cut him off before he even spoke. “Oh, no, I’m not even going to pretend that I like you. I don’t. But I know I was excessively harsh with you, before. I might have been able to say I didn’t know better at the time, but I do now, and I regret the way I handled things back then. So, I’m sorry.”
Bigs didn’t say anything. He simply stared at him in the darkness. Finally, he grunted and rolled over again. The irritation diminished slightly, though it still rumbled around in the background.
Probably the best I’m going to get, Nictis thought.
From another couch, Cotton’s voice quietly reached out. “So how was your date?”
Slowly, his grin returned. “...It was perfect.”