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// Make Me a Sandwich  
// Story: The Times They Are A Changeling 
// by Super Trampoline 
//------------------------------//

"Hon, Which side did you pack the sandwiches in?"

"Of your saddlebag?"

"Yes. Remember I asked for that before the hike?"

"Oh dear, I thought you meant for after the hike. I'm afraid they are still in the Frigidaire."

"Sweetie, this is a nine-hour hike! I'm hungry!"

"Can't you just skim off some of your fat reserves?"

"Ponies don't work like that!"

"Sure they do. We've had prisoners of war on hunger strikes live up to two months before succumbing to undernourishment! Surely you can go a day?"

"Soggy toast! That's horrible!"

"Yeah, it is. When they don't cooperate it makes extracting information more difficult."

"That's not why it's horrible!"

"Oh, right! Suffering and all that. Yes, I am glad we are no longer at each others throats, that us changelings can now sustain ourselves off of willing hosts. I mean friends and lovers. Willing friends and lovers."

"You're a horrible person."

"Am I doing the thing again? The thing where I practice being honest instead of duplicitous but end up just... what's the expression ponies use?"

"Uh, for what?"

"Digging a hole for myself! Am I doing that?"

"Yes, yes you are. But... hey, you're trying. And I'm proud of you."

"But I must try harder! I come off as an ass, don't I?"

"Well, yeah, but I know you don't mean to, and I'm over-forgiving and possibly spineless, so I don't mind too much."

"Do you forgive me?"

"I do. But seriously, you should know ponies eat every few hours. Especially if strenuous exercise is involved. I'm going to be bitchy the rest of the hike and it's nobody's fault but yours."

"They never never taught me these things! I wasn't an infiltrator. I just tended the pods. I keep telling you that!"

"I get that. That's why I'm so understanding. But you can do better. I know you are adept at sensing my feelings. But the Great Mother gave us six senses for a reason. Use them. Observe your surroundings. Make notes if you need to. Don't forget sandwiches."

"Well, I did bring an orange."