A Change of Heart

by ChaoticHarmony

In the Woods

Chapter 6: In the Woods

Luna’s night began to wrap around the two, a small green fire blossoming from Needle’s horn providing the only light, as the woods were too dense to allow the silvery light from the moon through. They were both tired from trotting along all day. But they couldn’t stop going, with the crowds of ponies out looking for the pair of unlikely companions. However, one cannot run away forever. When they arrived at the clearing, this time it was Needle’s turn to collapse into a heap. After darkness fell, Cherish began trembling, unused to the darkness surrounding her. That was when Needle lit his horn up, surprising her momentarily. She gave a silent nod of thanks and lay across the clearing a small distance from him.

The fire reflected off of the silver strands of Cherish’s mane, creating a green glow to surround the two. She looked over at him, fear lighting her face. At least, Needle thought it was fear. He constantly saw that on the faces of the ponies he hunted.

She stood up on shaky hooves, and made her way over to him.

000

Cherish could see him tense as she walked over to him. He looked ready to bolt away from her. She lay down in front of him, wanting to reach out and touch this sad creature before her, but she couldn't. She just sat there, looking into his haunted green eyes.

She spoke up, in a quiet, hesitant voice. “Are…. Are you,” She looked for a way to ask her question, “…hungry, Needle?” As she expected, he jumped from where he was sitting, backing away from her quickly. It was just as she feared. He seemed to be trembling with the effort of not giving in to his hunger. She quickly backed off, her fears confirmed. He seemed to relax as she backed away. She shook her head. “You must be so tired right now.”

His voice, filled with spite, echoed against the darkness, “I am more than tired. I am feeling as if I rested on the razor-sharp drop between this life and death.” As he said this, he stepped forward, stumbled, and fell. His face was in the dirt and he made no sound.

Cherish, squeaking in fear, went up to Needle Wings. He was terribly thin now, and was barely breathing. Not knowing what to do, Cherish lay across his corpse-like body, tears overflowing her eyes. She cried there until she could empty her heart no longer. Then she fell into the shallow pool of semi-consciousness. She was barely aware of her surroundings as she cried for the life of her savior, Needle Wings. She held him tighter in her hooves as the night progressed. Shivering to the bone, she would not leave him. Her body wracked with shivers as the ice-cold night wind tore through her coat. It felt as if thousands of tiny teeth were pricking into her hide. Just like Needle's teeth, she thought with a shudder that had nothing to do with the cold.

She snuggled close to him, his green fire somehow still alight, and strangely stronger than before. Unable to keep her eyes open any longer, she fell into a shallow sleep.

000

As if he had fallen asleep, Needle Wings sat in a room of darkness, unable to move. He could hear Cherish sobbing in the background. He worried that he had attacked her that he gave into his hunger for her emotions. He felt himself lose control, and fall into a different state. The state was one he knew well, the state of mind of a predator. No remorse, no mercy. He hoped that he did not, because then he would have nopony to call his friend. He choked for breathe at the thought. He tried to call out to her that he was ok, but his mouth refused to respond. The only thing he could do was listen in anguish as her sobs quieted down.

He felt suddenly stronger in his strange state, and a feeling of fullness. His heart felt swollen with a feeling, and torn with despair. He turned to the warm, unknown feeling, and unleashed his magic, pulsing in harmony to the rhythm of his heart. He felt a heat streak along his head, as if it belonged to somepony else.

Hearing her soft breaths being taken from somewhere by his side, he was left with nothing to focus on. He had images as to what awaited him after he awoke. Images of a torn and bitten hide of sky-blue and the like danced across his mind as he drifted. He cringed away from that image, and was met with another of Cherish lying on the ground, covered in scratches and dirt, with a pair of bites on her neck. He felt a deep feeling coming from inside his heart as he saw picture after picture of how Cherish was torn apart, scattered around, bitten, burned, and a whole host of other things.

Unable to bear it any longer, he tore himself out of the dream, howling with pain.

000

He sat up abruptly, the daylight momentarily blinding him. His breathing heavy, he looked around wildly, taking in the surroundings. Cherish was curled up against his side, unharmed. Sighing with relief, he stood up, expecting to fall down. However, he was able to support himself, and walk around the edge of the clearing. He felt better than he ever had back at home. Looking down at Cherish, he wondered how he got this new strength. He had not fed on her; at least he hoped he didn’t. Nudging her with his hoof, he attempted to wake her. She whimpered in her sleep. He nudged her a little harder, and her eyes snapped open.

Cherish turned to look at him, and her eyes widened. Concerned that he was scaring her, he backed away from her, to give her some space. Suddenly, his vision was laced with green fire, and blackness once again raced to overtake his mind.

They have come for us., this was his last thought as he fell into the void.

000

Blade Horn stayed back in the darkness, watching the little pony cry over his brother. He saw how thin his brother looked, and he shook with silent laughter. That little fool has gotten himself into a nasty situation hasn’t he? He thought to himself with a smirk. He settled in to wait for his brother to awaken. After all, there would be no fun in taking his “mare-friend” away from him without him knowing that it was his brother. So he waited in the darkness for the perfect time to strike.

He heard a rustle in the grass, and looked over into the clearing. Several times before it had been some animal that was walking around. He ended them without much of a smile. There was little fun in killing something if you couldn’t hear it scream, he had always thought. This time, he wasn’t disappointed, and he saw his brother nudging the little blue pony, attempting to wake her. Not one to leave an opportunity untaken, he silently stalked into the clearing, his horn lighting with green flames as he prepared his spell. It took Needle in the back, and he collapsed. The little pony in front of him backing away and screaming in fright as Blade Horn turned to her, his horn lighting again.

He relished in that scream as he advanced on her. “I have plans for you, you little nuisance.” She screamed again as green fire filled her vision.

000

I would like to thank everypony so far for reading this, their suggestions, and their support. With this being my first FanFiction, I'm glad at how much support I've seen. Thank you everypony!

Comments

[chuckles]

Way to catch me off guard with the end there

[Compony]

The end felt kinda rushed and there's too much "backing up" and "hugging". Despite that: Nice rea. Keep up the good work!

[ChaoticHarmony]

Yeah.... I think this chapter is the worst one so far... I'll have to rewrite it eventually. i was just kind of dealing with some writer's block with this one. *flips table*

[SketchyStart]

Spooky...

[Psycho-genius brony]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! NEEDLE WINGS! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! ARE YOU ABSOLUTELY SURE HE WILL MAKE IT TO CHAPTER 16? BECAUSE I'M THAT YOU ARE GOING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE. THIS MIGHT HAVE TO BE FINISHED BY HIS SUPPOSED "MAREFRIEND".

[Starcat5]

581201
Has said rewrite happened yet?