Hard To Find The Right Words

by Nameless Narrator

Flowers

“Hello, miss Fury.”

“Choke on a horsec- hello, Puff, you sneaky little bastard. At least cough next time, please.”

“Sorry, miss Fury. I thought you heard me out here, and when you passed by the window I guessed you wanted to know what’s going on.”

“So that was the noise of somepony digging in the dirt for no reason whatsoever. When did you come back, anyway?”

“About twenty minutes ago. You were still sleeping, and I didn’t want to bother you so I just took my gardening tools and went outside.”

“Yeah, one thing. Don’t move the furniture without telling me. It… confused me a bit and my shins still hurt.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I overslept for some reason and rushed off this morning for the combat practice. I completely forgot about the table. Do you want me to move it right now?”

“That’s fine. I’d just have to recount everything anyway. Why did you move it in the first place?”

“I often wake up at night for a glass of water, and since you wanted to sleep on the couch with me, I wanted to have one at hoof so that I wouldn’t wake you up.”

“I’ll take that as a reasonable excuse.”

*Scratch scratch. Splash.*

“You spend a lot of time gardening, don’t you?”

“I find it relaxing and fun. Do you want to join?”

“Definitely not. Wait- no, still would rather beat myself to death with my own ripped off hoof. Wait, you got some of those Everfree tentacle plants around? Those can be fun.”

“No, miss Fury. Just some daisies, roses, violets… the common stuff. It’s still fun, though.”

“Puff, I find hypnotizing ponies and making them fight for my amusement fun, and you don’t see me shoving it down your throat.”

“You’ve made me do that twice already, miss Fury.”

“Relaxing you said? I think I might need to unwind a bit. Where’s the damn shovel or whatever Tartarus device you’re using?”

“I’m not doing anything that difficult, just some light weeding. Come outside and I’ll explain it to you. Wait, I have to let you out myself or the collar will activate. I’ll be there in a second.”

*Rustle rustle.* *Click.* *Clip clop clip.*

“Do you want a leash?”

“I can do without, just don’t rush.”

“Alright, let’s go.”

“I need you to go in front of me. The noise helps me follow you.”

“Oh, okay.”

*Click* *Rustle rustle.*

“Riiight, out here it’s not that easy. There’s a lawn to the right, am I correct?”

“Mhm, there’s a low step in front of you and then it’s off the main road towards me.”

“That was easier than I thought. Oops- the soft dirt was the flowerbed...”

“Yes, but that’s okay. You just trampled the corner a little. There are no flowers there.”

“...I really shouldn’t feel so relieved that I didn't ruin some plants...”

“Do you want to sit down? I have a little plastic pad or a small iron chair.”

“The pad. I’m not too keen on tripping over more things today.”

“Here you go.”

*Rustle rustle rustle.*

“So… you weed the flowerbed. I’m not exactly sure how much help I can be. You know, unless you want your plants butchered.”

“Extend your forelegs and just slowly move them around. Yeah, like that. Can you feel the long, thick stalks?”

“Yeah.”

“Those are the flowers. Now, just above the ground, there is this creeping green vine. Thin and clingy. Yes, you’re good at finding those. Now pull those out- SLOWLY.”

“Oops.”

“No big deal. It’s just that if you rip them off like that then the roots remain underground and the weed regrows quickly. If you pull slowly you can get it all out. It’s never perfect, that’s why I do this daily, but it’s better than nothing.”

“Hmmm… like this?”

“You’re a natural, miss Fury.”

“You know, it’s not as bad as I thought. Still quite boring, though.”

“You can ask me something about Riverside if you want, or ponies, or anything really.”

“Hmmm… that might not be a bad idea. I don’t care about this pile of bricks too much, but… say, you’re quite often around Bladehoof. She seems to me kind of overqualified for this job. Especially after being around Crest for some time.”

“She’s just a bit older than I am, twenty-seven. Her birthday is in October-”

“I don’t want the statistics, Puff. You ponies might care about that, but I want to know more about the REAL her, not the machine she pretends to be.”

“Well, she used to be a Nightguard in Canterlot, but she was transferred here after a certain string of… accidents.”

“Oooh, spicy.”

“It sounds worse than it was. You know how hard she pushes herself, right? Well, she fell asleep on duty in Canterlot and it was decided she needed a less stressful environment. She lost a lot of ‘ranks’, but she keeps the money because she’s still in the guard reserve. On top of that, she… well, I don’t know if I should say it.”

“Go oooon...”

“She dances at the local night club.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

“Please, it’s not because she’s… for sale. She doesn’t do that kind of stuff, she just needs the money and from what I overheard it pays a lot more than her guard and police pay put together.”

“Oooh dear, I can’t wait to slam her with this one. Still, I’m not a pony doctor, but she’s slowly killing herself with that. I get that she can get away with randomly falling asleep here rather than in Canterlot -though when we attacked the guards weren’t much better-, but why does she need that much money? Does she live in some luxury suite in your best hotel and gets her slave diamond dog sluts shipped directly to her each day?”

“I told you she’s not like that, she lives in a small apartment on the north edge of town. She’s actually really sweet if you get to know her. Even the dancing is a hobby as well as a job. She tried it here with ballet and few tavern events at first, but while she was good there just wasn’t much demand. However, we get a lot of tourism and caravans from the north so she found her clients eventually. As for the money, all I know is that she sends almost all she has home to Hollow Shades. She even had to borrow some from me when she was low by the end of the month. She paid back immediately, though, and with interest even without me asking. I think mister Crest knows more, but Bladehoof asked him to keep it to himself. For me, she’s just trying to support her family.”

“Great, now I feel bad. What about your horny earthpony? Palisade, was it? And if you tell me she’s a nice mare who went astray just once when she forced herself -fine, I wasn’t exactly trying to stop her- on a defenseless changeling prisoner I won’t believe you ever again.”

“Emmm, no.”

“I know when you blush now.”

“Miss Palisade is… very experimenting. She fits the idea you had about Bladehoof pretty well, honestly.”

“Without the money.”

“Yes, don’t take it the wrong way, but miss Palisade is very lazy. She often makes me do menial tasks she doesn’t want to. I don’t really mind, I take it as a part of my training.”

“She definitely didn’t feel fat to me. Quite the opposite.”

“Oh, she’s in a great shape, her nightly visits make sure of that. She just gets bored easily. I heard she has a list of every species in Equestria and crosses out those she’s already slept with. She’s gone through quite a lot, from what I saw.”

“Ohhh, you peeked, you little perv. Wouldn’t have expected that from you.”

“I saw only the journal, miss Fury!”

“Too bad, you could have learned something.”

“I’m not… I know the basics.”

“You’re gonna make a mare really happy and disappointed at the same time one day, Puff.”

“What do you mean?”

“That nonsense about saving yourself. I know you want your first time ot be special, but honestly, from what I know, it just means it will be disappointing for both of you. It’s like any other activity - practice makes perfect.”

“I just want me and my marefriend to learn together.”

“First, that was so cute my heart actually froze for a moment. Second, two ponies who know nothing trying to learn from each other is one of the worst ideas I’ve ever heard.”

“Experimenting together might be fun.”

“Trust me. I… admit my first few times were just me laying some eggs and I didn’t even enjoy it. On top of it, I had the ‘theory’ ingrained inside me thanks to the hive mind. I got lucky with one perverted mare whom the queen gave to me thanks to my rise in status who showed me how different things really were.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, how old are you, miss Fury?”

“Twelve, I think? Changelings mature within first year into their designation, though, and are always connected to the hive mind repository of experiences and knowledge. Age isn’t… overly relevant to us. Definitely nowhere close to what it measures for you ponies. It might be different for deserters and, well, the damaged ones like me now.”

“Please don’t talk like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like you’re useless and broken. You are fun company, you are pretty, in a strange way. You can move now and maybe you’ll get even better, and even if as you said you’ll never completely physically recover or see again...”

“Then what, Puff? What is there for me? A blind cripple. Or if your princess decides so in the end, then I’m in for a public execution.”

“I… I don’t know, miss Fury, but I refuse to believe there is no hope for you. I will vouch for you in front of princess Celestia herself-”

“...then they check you for my influence and guess what...”

“-mister Crest will put a good word for you no doubt. He’s no hero, but he’s a good pony and his word has weight.”

“Afterwards, Palisade will call me a mind-controlling bug followed by Bladehoof’s testimony of what I did. No, Puff. If there’s a way out for me, then… then I have to make one myself.”

“Well, if you think of something then I’ll be there to help. You have my word as a paladin-in-training.”

“Oh yes, you will be there.”

“Ominous.”

“Force of habit, Puff. Now, tell me more about your police friends. What about Crest? Is there more to him than failure?”

“Miss F-”

“I didn’t mean the last part… too much. How old is he anyway, he seems pretty young, but he doesn’t sound like that.”

“A bit over forty. I attended his birthday party. He actually recieved a surprise medal from the mayor himself for the hellhound incident.”

“Wait, how long has Crest been working here?”

“Four years, give or take. The only longer serving pony from the current squad is Bladehoof. Mister Crest takes his job seriously. Does all the required practice and paperwork. Well, he does most of the papework the others should be doing. He says it helps him keep busy. Oh, and he walks Huff every morning while he goes on patrol.”

“Huff? A… relative of yours?”

“No no no, it’s my dog. Mister Star Trail allowed me to get him from the pet shelter and called him Huff. He thought it was funny.”

“I can see that. Maybe having some competition would make you work harder, heh. Hey, I ran out of flowerbed. What gives?”

“We’re done with this side of the house. See how time flies when you’re busy?”

“That can’t be right. We just talked… for a while...”

“A lot longer, actually.”

“Still boring, though. Got anything more to share about our police friends? Something spicy. If so, I’m up for more digging in the dirt.”

“Spicy? Well, I don’t know...”

“I recognize that thoughtful tone. You know something.”

“Well, about miss Palisade’s sex journal.”

“Yeeeeees?”

“There’s a reserved spot for a batpony with a name written in pencil.”

“Come on.”

“Bladehoof.”

“She has hots for her? O ho ho ho! Tell me more.”

“Well, they once-”

***

“Damn, my legs hurt. We must have done the whole yard.”

“It’s kind of boring, being here alone now. Well, the dummy should be back after the training with Bladehoof. Come to think of it, he practices with her a lot, and she’s the best fighter in Riverside according to him.”

“I picked him well. Food, strong slav- serv- companion.”

“Note to self, feed when he’s back, and fill him venom again. Bit by bit, I need him completely under my control.”

“Mine and no one else’s.”

***

“Eeeeeey, Fuuuryyy...”

“Crest?! I was trying to sleep, you oaf.”

“Sorryy. I’m just- just checking y’know. Iz It my duty to keep ‘n aye on yoo.”

*Sniff sniff.*

“You’re drunk. No, you’re absolutely wasted, and you stink of-”

“Whizzy!”

“Whizzy?”

“Whistling Wing, but shee told mee to call her Whizzy. I’ve g- got anodder date t’morrow, and shee said it wud be hot!”

“Crest I-”

“So screw yoo! In a good way cuz I like yoo, Fury. I still got it. Ye old Crest charm. So yeah-”

*Rub rub.*

“D- don’t just scratch my ear out of nowhere. Crest, there’s something I need to tell-”

“-Yoo deserve it. Insufferable annoying buggy I like. I’d feed you, but… can yoo get waist’d from drunk love?”

*Sigh.*

“Go to sleep, Crest.”

“I’m not gonna sleep alone t’morrow…. g’night Fury.”

“Good night.”

*Clip.*

*Clop clop clip.*

*Click.* *Click.*

“...I meant that you stink of changeling, Crest...”

*Sigh.*

“Decisions decisions. They are done scouting and correctly decided to take over the chief of police. On top of that, his balls are making it way too easy.”

“Four days. He said ‘Whizzy’ had four days left in Riverside. Whistling Wing, wind whistling in the holes. Creative name, I must admit.”

“Damn, and if she gets Crest completely under her control, which she will after a night together easily, my plan B goes up in flames. No mercy from whoever is leading the gathering changelings for me.”

“I never though Star Trail and the Royal Guards would become my secondary problem.”

Comments

[JazzyWaffles]

“...I meant that you stink of changeling, Crest...”

Yyyyep. Thought so.

[tsaukpaetra]

Clock is ticking, Fury!