The Changeling That Bugged My Heart

by sIDsleeper

Broken

Moon Lantern woke up in a cave, with his mind in shock and searing pain wracking his body. He screamed and thrashed about until his lungs had emptied all their air. The vented hot air didn’t ease his pains. He couldn’t form a single thought, his brain was saturated with pain to the point where the adrenaline rush could hardly dull the burn of his injuries, as his nerve endings fired in a continuous flare of neuroelectric impulses to make his brain register the only thing that could be processed by it right now: "We’re in very deep shit, pal!"

Soon the loss of oxygen caught up to him and he blacked out again as his system shut down to preserve its energy and the sanity of the pony.

The next time his consciousness surfaced again from the blackness, he opened his eyes and couldn’t see anything at all. Hours could’ve passed since he was last awake, maybe even days, he thought. Darkness surrounded him. He didn’t know where he was, and the first thing his tired mind realised was that he couldn’t move. His head was thumping, and he could feel dull aches throughout his body.

When he eventually regained his strength and gathered the determination to try and stand, his reward was a sharp pain in his legs and the feeling of something obstructing him from getting up. He was forced to give up his efforts of moving. He was lying on the cold stone floor and all he could do was think, now that he was again capable of it.

Moon Lantern tried to remember where he was, and how he got there. He faintly remembered that he was stationed in Canterlot for something important, but what that was, he couldn’t recall thanks to the lingering fog clouding his mind. There was something pink there, then it rained...then there was a great commotion.

It was all he could recollect before his hunger made it’s presence known with a low rumbling noise from his stomach. The sound echoed in the cave, bouncing off of the high ceilings and walls. When the echoing died down, he heard a new noise that wasn’t there before. He could hear shuffling from somewhere behind himself. He swivelled his ears to try to locate the source of the sound better, but the echoes of the cave made it hard for him to pinpoint the exact place the sound came from.

His eyes were darting around the blackness, searching for anything to see in his panic as the shuffling sound closed in on him. The thing making the sound circled around to face him and stood only a few steps away in front of him. Moon Lantern felt his heart pounding in his throat as fear gripped him in its claws. A pair of glowing green eyes fixed him in a blood freezing stare. The memories came rushing back to him as anger took the place of fear. He knew full well, what was standing before him. He snarled at the green-eyed monstrosity that now stood before him.

"Changeling scum!"

The changeling kept staring at him, but didn't move. After a few seconds, it dropped something in front of the injured pegasus that rolled next to his muzzle. The earthy aroma of freshly picked mushrooms hit his nostrils and he gobbled up three in one bite before a grim realazation crawled into his mind.

"You poisoned me?" he shrieked in a strained voice as the changeling shuffled closer to him. Moon Lantern tried to cough up the mushrooms, when he felt something start to drip onto his muzzle. Between coughs, he tasted fresh water and took a couple gulps of it.

His mind came to a screeching halt as he realised just what happened. The only thing he could do after the flow of the water ceased was to ask in a dumbfounded voice "Why? Why are you helping me?"

The Changeling closed it’s eyes and turned to leave. He could hear it shuffling farther away from him as it left the area. Moon Lantern had been laying there unmoving for some time. He had eaten the rest of the mushrooms and lapped up the water splashed around his head, when he felt the need of sleep weighing down his eyelids. With nothing better to do and being unable to move, he closed his eyes and let himself drift off to sleep.

Moon Lantern woke up from his dreamless slumber when he felt the Changeling’s hole riddled hooves slip over him, as its smaller body brushed up against his back. The chitinous underside of the Changeling felt alien, but strangely comforting on his back. He tried to get out of the Changeling’s hold, but his body was still aching and bound. He yelled out at the Changeling behind him.

"Get away from me!"

For the first time the Changeling spoke to him.

"No!" it replied in a raspy voice.

Lantern asked the question that was eating away at him from before, the same question the Changeling left unanswered the last time.

"Why?"

"Warmth." came the simple answer.

"I didn’t know you bugs needed to stay warm in the night." he said in an accusing tone.

"We don’t."

As the pegasus realised the Changeling’s implication, he felt utterly confused.

"Why are you helping me?" asked Lantern.

"Ancient Law." the Changeling told him, still avoiding the answer Lantern was seeking.

"What’s that?"

"Sleep." was all the Changeling said with a sigh.

Lantern felt the Changeling snuggle closer to his back, faint heat radiating from the Changeling that felt quite soothing in the chill of the dark cave. He wanted to ask more, but he could tell the Changeling considered the conversation closed. The Changeling’s closeness didn’t help him get back to sleep but at least the warmth it gave him was quite welcome in the cold.

After a couple minutes, he heard light snoring coming from the Changeling, letting him know the bug like creature didn’t have problem sleeping next to its enemy. It slept calmly, practically spooning the injured pegasus, who was baffled by the Changeling’s unusual behaviour. It brought him food and water and used its own body to help him stay warm.

Thoughts were swirling in his mind, but the snoring of the Changeling eventually lulled him into an uneasy sleep.