Awakening (Morpheus) Part 3
The Manehatten riots were a massive, confusing, chaotic cacophony of fear and panic. Stampedes ran through the streets. Buildings burned. Ponies and changelings died. I still remember the taste of distrust and anger in the air – like hot, bitter smoke.
It was frightening to see the damage ponies were capable of when prodded by their fears. Indeed, it reinforced part of the reason why we had remained hidden for so long.
Truly, Mother was mad to ever think an invasion would have worked – would have held. Sure, we could have taken Canterlot, but what then? The rest of Equestria might have rolled over and cowered in fear, yet they also could have easily descended upon us in a swarm that far outnumbered our own. All it would have taken is a single manic spark to light the fires beneath the herd.
That spark was what I saw running rampant within the devastation of the riots, and it humbled me. Even more so, however, I was humbled by the acts of kindness – by the deeds of those who stood against the darkness to restore harmony and order. The mayor. The guard. Even a number of civilians. These ponies risked everything – including themselves – to minimize the damage for all involved, be they pony or changeling.
Ponies and changelings may have died that day, but there was more to the riots than loss. Friendships were forged, lessons were learned, and hopes and dreams were born.
A few cries of alarm went up when Hera and I reached the skies above Saint Tender Mercy’s Hospital, yet the grungy sea of ponies before the door did not scatter as we landed. A messenger pegasus had gone ahead of us, so everypony knew I was coming.
The taste of steel, rubber, and frozen sour milk permeated the air – determination mixed with shame, fear and dread. A few stepped up to block my way to the door, but they quickly flinched back when Hera glared at them.
When I reached the door, I turned to look back at everypony. “Thank you for watching over her, but you should really be helping the relief efforts.” I smiled. “Knowing Twilight like I do, she would much rather you help the town than fret over her.”
Most of the crowd shuffled on their hooves, a few brave souls stepping forward. “W-with all due respect, M-mister Morpheus, we can’t leave now. I-it’s our fault she’s in there.”
“Yes. The mayor explained that the jails were full and that the more cooperative rioters were simply being let free.” My eyes narrowed and I snorted a short blast of steam into the chill air. “If it were up to us, you’d be carving out your own cells right now.”
Digging their own graves preferably, but I couldn’t say that aloud.
Several ponies gulped and the spokespony began to sweat. “I-I-I—”
Still too much it seemed. I sighed. “Look…. Trust me when I say that Twilight will understand if you head out to help others. You helped put out that burning building when push came to shove, right?”
There were a few cautious nods.
“Well, that will count for something when she sentences you, and the more you prove yourself worthy of another chance, the more forgiving she will be.” I chuckled. “Speaking from experience, you don’t have to do much more than show you’re sincere. What you’re doing here is a good start. You didn’t run when you had the chance.”
I closed my eyes. “But every minute you stay here is another chance for somepony or someling to get hurt. Manehatten needs every helping hoof it can get, and there’s quite a lot of you here. So please… go….”
My ear tubes flicked at the hesitant clicking of hoofsteps on concrete, and I opened my eyes to find the crowd heading towards the city hall. More than several ponies looked back with doubts creasing their brow, but none of them stayed behind.
“Not much of a guard if that’s all it takes to get them going,” Hera muttered.
“Ve know,” I grunted.
It was for the best, really. There would be less collateral damage if Antiquity tried anything while I was healing Twilight. Granted, it was rather unlikely that anything would happen now if it hadn’t already happened already, but ve didn’t want to chance it.
Striding through the doors, the scent of sweat and antiseptic filled my lungs. Vague whiffs of blood or burned flesh tickled my nose here or there, but it was nowhere near as bad as it could be. Yes, the staff were working themselves ragged – nurses frantically rushing about the lobby even as I walked in, treating the more minor wounds – but I was not overwhelmed by the smell of death.
“Mrrmrmrff?!” An earth pony nurse looked up from wrapping gauze around a pony’s fore leg as I entered. Her mane was disheveled – eyes almost wild – as she mumbled around the dowel holding the gauze.
“Sorry to bother you, miss.” I bowed my head. “But I’m looking for Twilight Sparkle.”
The mare continued wrapping for a moment before setting the gauze down. “Down the hall. Up the stairs. Second floor, third door on the left. Look for her friends. Now, if you’ll excuse me!”
She picked up the scissors and cut through the dressing with a quick snip. Heading over to the lobby counter, she pressed her hoof into a button on the intercom. “This is Nurse Grudge. We need more gauze down in the lobby, stat! I’m almost down to my last roll!”
The intercom fizzled. “Grudge, this is Doctor Doom. We’re fresh out of gauze until the messenger is back from one of the veterinarians across town. The Joy sisters have graciously offered to—”
“You’re getting gauze from the Joy sisters!” Grudge stomped a hoof. “Those hacks don’t know—”
“This is no time for one of your crazy feuds of the day, Grudge! They have supplies and we need them! Just try to hold out for now.”
Looking around the lobby – packed almost full to the brim – I sighed and rapid-fired several message spells to various agents in the city. “Head to hospitals. Make silk. Construct gauze. Tend to wounded.”
Rolling my shoulders, I started across the lobby for the hall. “Hera, you stay down here for now. Help out with what you can, and head on up when the others arrive.”
“Your will be done, My Lord.” Hera bowed with only a minuscule spike in her irritation before reaching into her corbiculae to remove her first aid kit.
I stepped into the hall and made my way to the stairs. Doctors rushed to and fro, while some nurses wheeled a pony on a gurney into a room marked for surgery. Everypony was so hurried that I wasn’t sure they registered that a changeling was walking by – a rather impressive feat, given my new size and stature.
Still, the gurney barely managed to maneuver around me, so I shifted myself down to a smaller, denser frame.
I climbed the stairs carefully, our simulations running wild. Ve knew the diagnosis was simply magical exhaustion, but ve worried about further complications all the same. It made me hesitate at the door to the second floor until it opened of its own accord – a harvester on the other side.
“She’s waiting, My Lord.” Tibia T’ix bowed.
Smiling sheepishly, I slank into the hall to find Applejack and Rainbow Dash at the door.
“Hey, flyboy! You finally came out of your shell! Could have used you earlier, but better late than never.”
“Ah suppose you have something to prove you’re the real Morpheus?” Applejack arched a brow.
“The six legs aren’t a good clue?” I arched my own.
“The Morpheus Ah know doesn’t have six legs,” Applejack retorted.
“Yes, they are rather new. You know, from the Chrysaling I just went through.” I tsked, wings flicking irritably.
“But it could still be a trick!” Rainbow snickered.
“You two just want to make me to use the code word don’t you?.” I looked between the two of them, squinting. “Fine….” I walked up to Applejack and looked her dead in the eye. “Pineapple.”
“Eh, wrong!” Dash grinned.
“What?” I blinked. “But ‘Pineapple’ is the code word!”
“Pineapple was the code word, sugarcube,” Applejack snorted. “Hera’s changed it at least three times since you went under. Want to prove you’re the prince? Then get it from her.”
“Horseapples….” I muttered, preparing to send a message spell.
“There ya go!” Applejack slapped me on the back. “Got it faster than Ah thought you would. Did your fancy message spells get faster with that Chrysamumbojumbo?”
What? Oh! Really? Horseapples was the code word? Hera knew better than that, even without infiltration training. There had to be a story to how that—
No! No time. I’d find out later, when and if it became relevant. I was too close to Twilight to get distracted.
“Anyways, sorry for twisting your nethers in a knot.” Applejack picked up my hoof to shake it. “Just had to make sure, you know?”
“It’s only prudent,” ve agreed.
“Eeyup.” Applejack nodded before pulling me by my aching hoof into a rough hug and shoving me through the door. “Now, get in there! Your princess is waiting!”
I stumbled into the room to find the rest of the Elements were inside. Rarity was slouched in a corner chair, while Fluttershy and Pinkie were right at Twilight’s bedside. The yellow pegasus had laid her head on Twilight’s shoulder, offering silent support to the sleeping princess.
“Poor Twilight, always working herself to the bone.” Pinkie sat in a slump with a wavery smile. Her hair seemed to have lost its bounce like some partially deflated balloon.
“She should just leave that to you, right, Mo? You’re covered in them.” Her smile grew slightly as she turned to me. “Get it?”
“Yes, Pinkie.” I returned it with a somber smile of my own.
She gave a half-hearted giggle. “You know Twilight’s going to freak when she sees you, right?”
“That’s the plan.” I smiled more broadly this time before turning to Rarity. “What do you think, Rarity? Do I make the cut of Prince Charming?”
“You’re quite dashing, dear.” Rarity lifted her head to reveal heavy bags under her eyes, sniffing. “I’m terribly sorry, though. I couldn’t wake your princess up for you. I gave her everything I had and it still wasn’t enough.” She yawned, horn sparking erratically as she lifted a cup of tea to her muzzle. “If I give anymore, I’m just as likely to drop.”
“You should be getting rest, Rarity, not forcing yourself to stay awake.” I walked over to give her a brief hug, picking the caffeinated beverage out of her grip. “Thank you for helping, though. Ve thought I’d have to do the whole transfer by myself.”
“It was the least I could do, darling.” Rarity wobbled drunkenly as she tittered. “Although, the doctors really did the heavy lifting. Twilight ate the entire hospital’s reserve and didn’t even stir. The good doctor spent a good ten minutes examining her after that before saying she’d stabilized and just needed to sleep it off.”
I frowned. “Do the other hospitals have mana reserves?”
Rarity yawned again, slouching back into her chair. “Probably, but they most likely can’t afford to dump any more of them into Twilight right now with the riots going on.”
“They do need all the supplies they can get,” I thrummed. “I guess it falls to me then.”
Rarity responded with a light snore.
I chuckled and moved onto Fluttershy, lightly prodding the mass of ice that was her dread and anxiety with what little cheer I could muster. She looked up at me from the bed with soulful eyes and a pout before latching onto me with a tight but brief hug. Sweet, dry lemonade threatened to drown me as she did so, and I graciously accepted her concern for me before I took the seat she left me to begin my work.
First, though, I was feeling a little tight, condensed as I was. I shifted, returning to my new normal size, and Fluttershy squeaked.
“Oh, my….” She looked up at me. “Did you come out that big? I was expecting something different, but I didn’t realize you’d be so… large….”
“It’s not too much, is it?” I rubbed the back of my head. “I can condense myself down again if need be.”
“No… it’s fine…” Fluttershy murmured, “...as long as you don’t lose your head in the clouds.”
I snorted. “Really? Ve never would have expected a joke like that from you.”
The pegasus looked anywhere but at me. “Oh, I know…. I’m just no good at delivery. Discord’s been trying to help me for ages, but his brand of funny is more…”
“...nonsensical?” I arched a brow.
“...prop based.” She looked to her hooves. “I can’t just snap a talon like he does to put real punch into a punchline.”
“Well, that last one was pretty good.” I chuckled. “Putting punch in the punchline…. Ve can see Discord doing that.”
Shaking my head, I turned back to Twilight. “Now, let’s see what we have here. Not that I don’t trust the doctors, but…” My horn lit as ve called upon a large array of diagnostic spells. In addition to the standard medical variety, I scanned for hexes, voodoo, mind control, and any number of magical maladies. However, the only problems to turn up were the magical exhaustion and what little remnants of Antiquity’s poisons were in her system.
I sighed. “Okay, this is better than I thought.”
“Umm… don’t you trust the doctor?” Fluttershy murmured. “Mister Avert Doom seemed to know what he was doing….”
“There are things equestrian doctors are not trained to check for,” I thrummed. “Besides, I would not put it past Antiquity to slip Twilight something as a doctor. Ve needed to be sure.”
Alright, time for the enzyme ex—
Rarity snorted loudly in her sleep, reminding me that I was not alone with Twilight this time, and that it would probably be very, very bad to be seen shoving my tongue down an unconscious mare’s throat. How to go about it, though?
“Hrmm…” My eyes trailed the room, eventually settling on Twilight and her bandages. “I wonder….” Ve ran the logistics to calculate loss of efficiency and found my idea to be surprisingly workable if slow.
Rubbing my hooves together, I created a small swatch of silk and swabbed the inside of Twilight’s mouth. Wetting her lips with the collected saliva, I summoned some of the love I’d harvested from Castle and condensed it down into some spit of my own.
I licked my chops, bending down to brush my lips against Twilight’s. As our muzzles met, a tingle went down my spine, and I leaned in for a little more than the peck I had meant to start with. Five seconds of breathless anticipation before I pulled back with a small frown. Ve hadn’t expected Twilight to stir, but part of me had secretly hoped she’d lean into the kiss.
Welp. Inhale. Exhale. Repeat the process.
Rarity tittered in her sleep, as I leaned back in, and I could taste the sugar wafting off of Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. I snuck a glance at them to see they were smiling at us, and I couldn’t help but blush a little.
Nonetheless, I continued my tender administrations, taking care to rewet both our lips every so often. The doctor was in and out after he learned I was there, checking on Twilight and asking several questions about the transfer and other changeling medical practices – including how best to treat the few changelings that had been brought in.
Ve answered him brusquely, and insisted on checking him with the changeling detection spell each time. He acquiesced, thankfully, but it left him tasting of simmering spices that didn’t mix very well with the orange disinfectant taste of his curiosity.
After a while, Hera arrived from down stairs to take up position outside with Rainbow and Applejack. Several of the cities harvesters had arrived and were beginning to produce gauze, bandages, and other makeshift medical supplies.
Perhaps even more fortuitously, a drone from the Everfree Hive arrived, and ve received several reports of more arriving at the other hospitals. With their help and knowledge, my harvesters were able to greatly increase their productivity as they tried to keep up with demands for supplies.
Still, despite the myriad of arrivals, it mostly remained quiet in the room. I could appreciate that, though. It let me work undisturbed, and allowed us to ponder what should be done after reviving Twilight.
“Mrglmrffmn…”
As I leaned in for another exchange, Twilight stirred. My heart leapt into my throat at the sight, and I hesitantly pushed forward to brush my lips against hers. The purple pools that were her eyes fluttered open, and I felt a fire light in me even as I froze and fell into their depths.
“Mrrphus?” she mumbled.
The taste of orange blossoms carried on trumpet vine warily crept into my heart, and I leaned in to properly kiss her at the sensation. My horn lit up so that she too could taste the wonders I did, and her lips parted as the spell took hold. The trumpet vine clenched tight around my heart – transforming into the branches of an orange tree in full bloom.
Trapped in the tree’s crushing grip, my heart skipped every other beat, but I hardly cared as my tongue lightly danced over Twilight’s. Titters and giggles filled the background as Fluttershy blushed, Pinkie applauded and the recently woken Rarity squeed.
A happy hum filled Twilight’s throat: a contented thrum filled mine. The fulfillment to the kiss rushed over and around us like a babbling brook.
It almost felt like my heart was ripped away as she pulled back, but I could taste the ice clutching at the deepest recesses of her heart. The worry…. The anxiety…. There was work that needed to be done.
“Mhmmm… that’s one way to wake up.” Twilight smiled slightly before frowning. “What happened, though? I can vaguely remember crashing after I jumped out of a window. Did… did I lose consciousness? How long—”
“Several hours at this point,” Rarity huffed from her corner of the room. “And you did much more than lose consciousness. You could have very well ended up in a coma without both the good doctors and Morpheus here. Honestly, Twilight, what were you thinking?”
“I— I just—” Twilight’s ears fell flat – the distinct taste of dry, flakey rubber shavings filling the air.
“Shhh… Twilight, it’s alright.” Fluttershy went up to the other end of the bed to hug her friend. “Rarity’s was just worried. We all were.”
“You bet your flank we were worried!” Rainbow ruffled her wings as she and Applejack stepped inside. “You could have at least waited for us before you went charging into burning buildings!”
“Quiet, you.” Applejack slugged Rainbow in the shoulder. “All the ponies in that building would be dead right now if she’d waited for us.”
“But— I— She—” Rainbow tried a couple more times, only to cut herself off. “Fine!” With almost violent speed, she came over to sweep Twilight into a rough embrace. “Stupid egghead!”
“Ooooh, group hug!” Pinkie giggled, leaping in.
The rest of the girls laughed and quickly joined – Twilight dragging me in with her telekinesis. I gave some token resistance, but quickly melted into the pile of soft, warm ponies when they all pulled me back in.
“So, this is what having friends is like….” Taking a nibble of the warm, bubbly feelings that saturated the air, I thrummed. Somepony giggled at the vibrations, while Twilight tugged me a little closer.
“You already had friends, you featherbrain.” Rainbow thwapped me with her one free wing.
“Took me far too long to realize it, though.” I smiled. “Because of the Chrysaling, I didn’t get to tell you all before, but thanks. I am truly fortunate to have met you all.”
“Somepony is gonna make you more lucky than the rest of us, though!” Rainbow waggled her brows. “Seriously, give us all the deets after you two do the dirty deed. Celestia knows Twilight’ll just burn up like a toasted quesadilla if we ask for anything more than a kiss.”
“Rainbow!” Twilight gave a piteous whine. “Sometimes you’re just as bad as Rarity!”
“Perish the thought, darling,” Rarity tittered. “All I’m interested in is the romance. As long as you both keep me well fed on grand chivalrous gestures, I won’t pry into your private life.”
“Sometimes you sound more changeling than pony, Rarity,” I muttered.
There was some scattered chuckling until Twilight decided to push us all back and head to the window to look out on the town below. Whatever she saw caused her to sigh, but, when she turned back to us, there was only hard, steely determination on her face.
“Alright.” She looked to me. “Tell me where things currently stand.”
My eyes glossed over for the briefest of moments as ve double-checked what had changed since I looked last.
“Circumstances have improved greatly since when you fell,” I droned. “Our reports indicate that most of the fighting has stopped, and the majority of residents have turned their attention to the relief effort. This includes a significant number of ponies who were a part of the riots themselves – swept up in all the emotion – and ve suggest you lessen their sentence because of this. Perhaps community service to rebuild and clean the city.”
Twilight bit her lip. “Mo, the last thing I want to do is punish ponies when Antiquity is the one who—”
“Meanwhile,” ve continued to browse the relevant information, “what fighting continues seems to be deliberate acts from particularly hateful individuals. Almost all of the recent ponies the guard captured have cited family or friends that were harmed in Canterlot. The last—” I choked slightly. “The last was found in the middle of beating his best friend, convinced they were a changeling.
“Ve—” I shuddered. “I don’t know what to say. Twilight, I’m sorry, but ponies will have to be held accountable for today. We can’t just pretend this didn’t happen. Worse, that’s exactly what Antiquity wants. It will play right into her hooves. Ponies will be very angry when you have to punish the citizens of Manehatten when all I can do is tell Equestria Antiquity fled the hive without punishment. If only ve knew where—”
I was promptly silenced by Twilight as she held a hoof over my mouth.
“Morpheus.” She leaned in to lightly peck my cheek. “There’s no use worrying when all we can do is muddle through.”
“Yeah!~” Pinkie giggled, her voice starting to singsong. “All you gotta do is take a—”
“Shhh!” Rarity hissed. “Don’t you dare ruin the moment, Pinkamena Diane Pie! I know where you live!”
“Right…” I sighed. “Sorry. Ve were being stupid. I shouldn’t let our musings get to me. It’s not like we’re alone in this. Princess Celestia arrived about half an hour ago with a contingent of guard from Canterlot. She’s been helping coordinate relief with the mayor while the guard hunt down the last of the trouble makers. We should probably go help her. If anypony knows what to do, it’s her.”
“Alright, then.” Twilight’s smile made everything seem a little brighter. “Unless there’s anything else?”
Everypony smiled at her, the room filling with sugary steel as I held a hoof out to her.
“After you, my Princess.”
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The Gang's all back together now...
Cue the actual strike elsewhere.
I am a bit confused as to what he actually did for the transfer this time. He wiped her own spit onto her lips using a swab, and then kissed her anyway? From the outside would that not look the same to the elements as shoving his tongue down her throat?
8526319
So, french kissing requires both participants mouths to be open, which makes it look different from a chaster peck on the lips. It basically requires active use of mouth and tongue muscles, and can be very noticeable if done sloppily. Given Twilight was unconscious, it would have been a very sloppy kiss because Mo would essentially have to shove her mouth open with his tongue or initiate the kiss with her mouth already open -- which basically gives what he's doing away.
Instead, he collected some spit from her mouth with a cloth and wet her lips so he could get away with merely pressing their lips together. It was to make things appear a little more like a medical procedure -- such as cpr -- and a little less like taking advantage of Twilight. The enzyme exchange still occured. The love was still transferred. It just took longer.
Of course, all bets were off when Twilight finally woke up.
8526307
I'm still waiting for the second horseshoe... I mean, the component of binary poison... to drop.
Morpheus is right, though. They might be remorseful, and it's good that they are, but anypony who took part in the riots needs to be at least investigated to see if they took part in any crimes, no matter how small. Those who come forward and repent, however, should definitely get leniency.
8526487
Eh, I'm thinking that won't happen.
Antiquity reads more like she likes to play the manipulation game. She seems to enjoy being right there to get under her opponent's skin in a faux-civil discussion, before flaunting the cards she's laying on the table. The poison tea isn't really the main threat, even if it is lethal in some cases without the victim going through the motions. It's more of a 'I can do this directly if I REALLY want to, and do it quite easily, but where's the fun in THAT?'.
In the case of dealing with Twilight, it wasn't meant to be a crippling move so much as Antiquity's 'welcome to my game' move. Just enough to weaken Twilight, then get the riots going full tilt so she could see how the princess could handle it. Then step back and begin her machinations in earnest.
Too much focus on the poison ends up being a red herring to what is being said under the table.
And that is that Antiquity is willing to play dirty even while keeping a cordial face on.
One thing I think that won't be revealed until Antiquity gets more scene-time, is that its likely she didn't expect Twilight to damn near commit suicide just to save some 'pawns'. If I'm reading Antiquity's character-type right, Twilight's already earned respect points in the very first round.
However, in order to KEEP those points, Twilight's going to have to catch on VERY fast that she can't make direct moves or Antiquity will play her like a fiddle. The Game is about manipulation and indirect control. Direct action is a no-no.
Likely, with a 'player' as skilled as Antiquity, Twilight and Mo are likely going to end up just NOT playing her game in order to beat her.
8526487
Now I have go to watch Londo poison Reefa, any excuse to watch B5 is welcome.
Very enjoyable as always.
Acts of hate give rise to acts of love: the arc.
You're doing good.
8526557
The two plots are not mutually exclusive. Just a little something to incapacitate Twilight later if need arises.
As for "earning respect points", I'd say it's the complete opposite. For starters, Antiquity is incapable of feeling respect to anyone, because everyone but her are pawns. Some of them she doesn't exert much control over, but it doesn't change their status as pawns to be used. People like her do not really comprehend the concept of "peer" or "equal".
And while Twilight proves to be an interesting game by holding onto her values, that same act also lands her squarely into being just that - a game. Not a player (or at least a pawn trying to be a player).
8527482
Actually, Twilight is very much a player to Antiquity. Not only has she saved Equestria multiple times, but she's also ascended into an alicorn princess. Twilight has power, and Antiquity can respect that. She might not understand the why or how -- indeed, she probably assumes there's some secret she's missing because the source couldn't possibly be friendship -- but that doesn't mean Twilight isn't a threat.
That said, Twilight probably lost some points for charging into the burning building. To Antiquity, that would be such a needless risk to only save a few pawns -- a glaring weakness she can easily exploit in the future.
8527701
Hm. If you say so...
I kinda have a headcanon that Antiquity's days are numbered, for one reason or the other, and she knows that.
The whole mess she is brewing is actually a way to drag two nations down with her - a final assertion of control over the fate of her pawns.
I mean, given what Somnus told about the "bugbombs", changelings could certainly wreck infrastructure of Equestria beyond any speedy repairs, and mass paranoia about potential changeling infiltrators would prevent ponies from collaborating to undo the damage. If the changelings knew they are doomed, I imagine it would be easy to get them to do so - just pin the blame on the ponies...
I was wondering if changing silk was about to be the solution to the gauze shortage.
Dang, that was quite a kiss. How positively fairytale of Morpheus to wake his princess like that.
8527686
Appledash is so common feels like a cliche, I guess.
8527797
As made manifest in SS&E's 'Appledashery'
"Sweet, dry lemonade" is an oxymoron, since "dry" refers to the lack of sweetness in a flavor profile. Unless this is just more quirks of changeling emotion-tasting and he's getting multiple flavors mixed together, in which case I'll roll with it.
Also, I really wanna know the origin of Nurse Grudge and Doctor Doom's names. There's a story to be told, there...
8528204
So there are two options here. One is that the other definition of dryness is holds here -- that the lemonade does the opposite of quenching thirst and instead leaves a craving for more. Oddly appropriate as I've been using dry lemonade to symbolize concern for another being.
The other option is that concern is a... I think the term is solution? There's a chemistry term for liquids that mix without actually mixing -- that remain seperate entities. That could be the case here. I have described several complex emotions as a mish-mash of others in the past, after all -- the biggest example being confusion which has so many bits and pieces of other emotions that it's hard to identify sometimes. It's not out of the question that that happens here.
Kind of personal preference which you want to go with. At a basic level, my rule of thumb is that concern is a mix of sadness and fear -- dry and sour -- but with a positive twist on it. It's directed towards others because you want to help them and thus has a different... Texture? Seasoning? Hue? Timbre? There's something more to it that equates to a sort of sweetness when describing it solely by taste, but it's different than joy or happiness. It's simply the positive connotation of worrying for others rather than worrying for worryings sake. That's why I used lemonade. It's sour, but in a good way.
I admit, dryness being sadness/sorrow is infinitely more ironic now -- as joy is characterized by sweetness -- but it was a happy accident. I simply knew dryness was a characteristic used to describe alcohol when originally picking it out -- not what dryness as a flavor actually meant -- and wine seemed an appropriately melancholic taste.
Oh! Also, a third option. Fluttershy was happy to see Mo. Ergo, the sweetness could be construed as her joy at seeing him again while the dry lemonade was her concern. I mean, that wasn't my intent, but emotions are complex. I may say they taste one way hoping you to read it read it as I do, but there's just as many times I'd rather you interpret it your own way. Part of the fun is that we can't taste emotions as humans, so anything I write to describe it is an incomplete picture.
8528443
Fascinating. Thanks for the insight into how you went about deciding what the changelings' emotive sense is like. I think I'll go with the explanation that it's a blend of different emotions.
8527797
And that's exactly why I picked the Appledash. It's an easy to understand ship. People might not ship it themselves, but everyone should be able to understand how the ship could come to be, and I needed something like that. It's not there for romance, though. The Appledash is merely a tool I use to further explore changelings and I use it mostly as such. It's very light and I specifically avoid focusing on it because it's not a major aspect of the story. In contrast, by the time I added the romance tag at 200k words there was a certain relationship with Mo that had been building for a long, long time. I'd first noticed it around 100k words when I went back and reread my work, and then agonized over whether or not to commit to it for the next 100k. Romance in a romance story has to be organic for me, and I did not take adding that tag lightly.
Great to see things have calmed down now, but still....
8528479
You did good mate.
Reeeaally good.