Shifting Priorities

by FaelaArts

Cross eyed Fluttershy[SR]

Spawn number Skid followed Applejack toward the barn where she lived. Her brother, Big Macintosh, walked beside them as he carried the heavy cart of apples.

"So what's your favourite apple dish Skid?" asked AJ, and he shrugged.

"I've actually never had an apple before yesterday." The two ponies stopped in their tracks and looked at him like he was a freak.

"What?" he asked, and they glanced to each other and AJ spoke up.

"That's it Big Mac, we're going all out for this lunch, never had an apple-that is not right for a friend of mine." He glanced at the ground and scuffed his hoof.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do anything wrong." He didn't see them turn their eyes toward him and share a guilty glance.

"Well shoot Skid, there's nothing wrong with not having tried a type of food before." He raised his head, and noticed they were guilty for some reason and frowned, his head tilting to the side. "Well don't worry Skid, after we're done you won't believe how you never lived without apples" AJ gave him an apologetic smile, and he smiled back. Dropping the apples at the barn, the two headed inside, pushing him outside the door so he wouldn't see them cook.

"Can't spoil the secret recipe now can we?" He sighed and stepped away from the door, turning and gazing at the trees. He felt a small smile lift on to his face, and turned his gaze to the sky above. Unlike his hive, it was a clear sky, not covered by thick clouds that gave the land a murky darkness. He knew it was because changelings couldn't really move clouds that well like the Pegasus could, so they just floated there and got stuck like the others. His smile faded slightly, and the cold. That chilling feeling that was always present in the hive was nonexistent. It could be cold here, but it was nothing compared to the hive.

"I could get used to this" he sighed contentedly. Once his queen took over, he would have this all the time. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him, what would happen to the sky once the Pegasi stopped tending to the clouds? He shuddered; the sky would vanish like his own hive's sky. As he followed that thought, other serious questions began to fall into his mind. What about the sun and moon, would the queen be able to move them? What about the earth, what about food for their bodies while they were prisoners? What about Applejack, Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash? There was another pony he had yet to meet, what would happen to them? Would the queen kill them, or enslave them?

"If she does, where do I stand?" He mused for a moment, and knew in his heart he would stick with his queen even if the ponies became slaves. He might feel guilt, but once he rejoined the Hive mind again those feelings would vanish. His thoughts stopped as Brute connected, and his head turned subconsciously toward the link.

" Skid, I have found a pony on the edge of the forest, she looks familiar but that is unimportant. It is a good place for me to go undercover. Shall I take the opportunity?" Skid mused for a moment, and gazed at the yellow pony that was walking out of a little cottage home toward Ponyville. She was familiar, but he gave it no heed as he shrugged.

"I see no problem Brute, I will come by later." With that the connection ended and he turned to look around, and blinked as a certain purple pony appeared.

"Hey Twilight, how has your day been?" Twilight smiled brightly and levitated an object out of her bag. It was a small phial of some sort.

"Excellent, I've managed to make a sort of concentrated magic. You drink it; your magic is stronger for a certain amount of time. However it wears off quickly and drinking too much could be dangerous." Glancing to the form on her back, Spike was sleeping in an awkward position, she gave a concerned glance.

"I tested it on myself, and according to Spike I started seeing things not there. I'm going to have to replace some of the books that got caught in the commotion." Skid could see she felt guilty and worried for if she had hurt the dragon, and of what she had done while under the effects. He walked over and gave her a gentle nude with his front hoof.

"Cheer up, we all make mistakes. And you learnt something you wouldn't have otherwise correct?" She turned her face to meet his and gave a smile as he stepped back.

"So how has your day been Skid?" she asked him cheerfully. He scratched the back of his head.

"Well, mostly bucking apples with Applejack. I'm pretty tired honestly, but it was nice talking with Applejack." Twilight nodded, and the both turned at the sound of something bouncing in their direction with a comical boing sound.

"Hey Pinkie Pie" Twilight greeted, and the pony in question suddenly appeared in front of them, a little too close for Skid's liking. He took a step back.

"HEYTWILIGHTcanyoubelieveapplejackinvitedalofustoapicnic? Ican'twaittoseewhatshebakeswillitbepieorrollsorwhatwillbethedrink?" Skid blinked, completely loosing track of what she said. Twilight seemed to manage to get the main points out of it, because after a second she smiled and gave a nod. Turning to gaze behind them, he noticed the white pony approaching, in a dress that showed her figure off. He sighed, and Twilight turned and greeted Rarity, and then, finally, a rainbow appeared in a burst. As they all greeted, Skid took a moment to step back and look at the four in front of him, and really look. Even he had to admit, adding in Applejack, that they made a pretty balanced team. As if thinking of her cause her to appear, a beaming Applejack appeared and grinned at her friends.

"There ya are, tha foods done, whad'ya say to a picnic on that hill?" Skid nodded enthusiastically, but the others gazed around.

"Hey, where's Fluttershy?" They gazed around, frowning. Skid tilted his head in confusing, and their faces grew in concern.

"It's not like her to keep us waiting" Twilight frowned, and he sighed and looked between them.

"Who's Fluttershy?" As their attention focused on him, he took a step back, and glanced away. He didn't like people looking at him as a group.

"That's right you haven't met her. She's a yellow mare with pink hair and three butterflies' as a cutie mark. She should be here but…" He felt his heart give a very big thud as he realised who it was, the pony he saw when Brute has sent him that mental image.

"Well I should go meet her, how about you go set up and I'll see if I can find her." He smiled and they paused and gave a small nod. Twilight pointed toward the road out of Applejacks and quickly relayed questions. He smiled and nodded, he was going to take a more direct route.

"When you get back, just ask Big Mac for directions." He nodded, and then set off at a walking pace. As soon as he was out of sight, he turned away from the road and headed directly through the forest, taking off at a breakneck pace.

"Brute? Brute, answer me!" He sent through the link, locating Brute.

"I'm busy Skid, talk to me later. He sent through an image of inside the cottage and a tied up pony, there were a set of knives nearby. He tried to shout out to stop, but the link was disconnected by Brute, and he growled and decided in the middle of the Everfree, he could take the risk of using his wings. To the outside, it was as if he was suddenly levitating without no magic, but the instant he was off the ground his speed increased and it only took him a few minutes to find where the link originated from. Seeing the open door he landed with a jump and dashed inside, quickly taking stock of Brute, in Fluttershy's form, about to kill the host. Skid didn't hesitate to crash straight into brute, knocking Brute down and sending the knife flying. Brute spoke in a female voice, with an angry tone that didn't match the voice at all.

"What are you doing!" he demanded, Skid was quickly getting his breath, so he glanced to the yellow pony, seeing her tied-up and unconscious body and turned back to Brute.

"Don't, Kill, HER" he spoke, his eyes turning into a glare." Brute took a step back, and then stepped forward and took a threatening pose.

"This isn't your property! I claimed her so now I must kill her so she can't escape and break my disguise!" Skid shook his head and returned the gesture, a growl escaping his mouth.

"No, you will leave her, in fact I want you to leave and never come back here!" Brute growled and took a step closer.

"The queen will hear of this, and you will get punished!" he warned, and Skid's eyes narrowed.

"She's an element bearer, killing her endangers the mission" he spoke, taking a step between his brother and the pony. Brute blinked, and glanced to the yellow Pegasus.

He then pointed to her, "all the more reason to kill her. Without one of the elements, they are powerless against us." Skid paused, and thought about that for a moment. It was true, with that Cadence that the queen had impersonated otherwise occupied, it meant those were the only failsafe the ponies had left. But there was one critical fact.

"The queen wants them alive for some reason, why else tell me to find out details about them and not kill them the second their backs are turned?" Brute paused, and he couldn't hide his relief as his brother gave a taunt nod.

"I shall not interfere any longer, I shall go rendezvous with the hive." with that, Brute turned and left just as the mare opened her eyes. From her view a complete stranger had managed to scare off a changeling. From Skid's, telling a brother off and making himself feel guilty. He heaved a sigh as the link severed once more, and was actually happy that he was without another's thoughts for a time. At that moment, he remembered there was a pony tied up, and saw her hopeful gaze, and fear of the unknown about her.

"It's alright, he's gone now. Let me get you out of there," as he began to work the ropes he could see her body sag with visible relief and fresh tears coat her face.

"Now now, don't cry, every time you do an entire universe of people weep over you." He wasn't entirely sure why he said that, but it sounded right and as she slowly sat up he saw the big and very bad wounds on her. She opened her mouth to speak, and suddenly blood blossomed on her fur as a cracked rib punctured the skin, and she fell back into unconsciousness.

"Good god Brute, you chose NOW of all times to live up to your name" he spoke, quickly working out his options. He had three problems.

"One, if I walk around town with a pony badly injured, questions will be asked. Two; I don't have any clue where the hospital is. And three, I don't know any healing spells." He groaned, and knew he was about to make a big mistake.

"That leaves four, use the love I've gathered over these days and use it to bolster my magic so I can levitate her, and then form a mental link with Twilight, and act forbidden by changelings, so I can locate her and hope she knows the best solution to this problem." He knew his weaknesses, and thinking was one of them. He was a hive mind, he was not trained to think, only follow. With the knowledge he was breaking an ironclad rule; he closed his eyes and focused on where all changelings store their food, their second hearts. The first used the second to keep the first going. That was all he knew. As he dipped into the pool of emotion that was his food, his life-force, he felt the potential energy there and felt his body tingle in anticipation for the magic overload he was about to begin. With a single thought, he opened the door and let the emotions stored inside the second hear pour out, and instantly transform into potential energy, feeding his spell and making lifting an entire pony as easy as a feather.

"Next" he spoke though gritted teeth, having to juggle his load, keeping the door open and finally locating Twilight with the spell.

'Really have been taking a while, I hope nothing bad has-AH' he felt her recoil at his touch, obviously never felt the touch of another pony mentally. He ignored her thoughts, instead using the link to instantly path a direct route to her destination. With mare in spell, and link established, he ensured Twilight would not peek inside his head and started his wings and flew straight through the Everfree for the second time that day. He should have known it wouldn't be that easy.

'Who's there, how are you inside my mind?' Twilight thought, also questioning her sanity at the same time while he sped through the forest. It would take him less time now he knew how to duck and weave through the trees better. As he weaved around a Cliffside, a shape appeared behind him, trying to surprise attack him but missing but a metre. He ignored the creature behind him; unaware it was not only keeping pace, but starting to catch up. As the clearing began to clear and he saw five ponies, one looking in his direction a claw came out and snatched his foot, causing all his spells and concentration to shatter, sending the bleeding mare straight toward her friends. Twilight, thinking quickly, was able to stop her fall before she crashed and got more injured, but that was all he saw as he got dragged back into the woods by some half-draconic creature that had managed to out speed him. As he recovered from the magic backlash, he failed to notice a purple mare come to the edge of the woods and gaze at the retreating figure being dragged away, who was obviously exhausted.

"You will die today" hissed the creature in perfect pony, he rolled his eyes and spoke in perfect dragon as a response.

"Correction, it is you that will fall" the creature faulted and that was what Skid had been waiting for. No, Skid, what 66 had been waiting for. His horn glowed and fired off a shot of green light that somehow attacked directly behind him, something he had trained hard to learn how to do, and hit the hybrid square in its ugly face. He leapt back, his horn glowing as he began to feed on the remnants of what hadn't escaped during backlash, and sent a second blast off, much stronger than the other. The creature got sent flying, and he took the chance to prepare a much stronger spell.

"I am going to tell you a secret miserable half-breed" he spoke in perfect draconic as the beast came hurtling toward him.

"This spell is forbidden by our queen, but after you interrupted me, you deserve it." There was a bright flash of green light and the animal got sent flying deep into the forest as a green cocoon surrounded him. However, unlike the normal cocoons that gave ponies good dreams, he would have nightmares for the rest of his life.

"I-I may have o-overdone…it" he spoke, his voice becoming slower as he began to lean to one side, surprised to find his fall stopped by a secondary body who helped him back on his feet.

"Are you okay Skid? Why did you bring Fluttershy through the forest? Don't you know it's dangerous?" He glanced to her and sighed, taking a step away once the spells effects wore off.

"I'm fine, that spell is just a bit above my level, I'll recover. Her rib is broken, I don't know where the hospital is, I needed to get her to you five as quick as possible. I can handle the forest." Twilight gazed around, and decided other questions could wait, and she seemed worried about Fluttershy, even with her four friends there to rush her to the hospital. Her horn glowed and Skid backed a step away before recognising non hostile magic and relaxing. As they appeared back in the clearing, it took him a second to get his bearing before seeing four unknown Pegasi holding a stretcher with the yellow mare on it, just as they flew away. He noticed the other four looking worried, but their gazes looked to him and there were mixtures of confusion and suspicion on their faces. With the problem of an injured friend taken out of their hoofs, they had to face another problem.

"Skid, what happened to Fluttershy?" He gazed between them and sighed.

"I found her in the house tied up and badly hurt, when she tried to sit up her rib broke skin so I rushed her here." They seemed satisfied with the answer, and talk began on if they should take anything before starting to head out.

"Go ahead guys, I want to discuss something with Skid before I come" the other four nodded, and headed out. Once they disappeared from view Twilight gaze at him and spoke.

"What was that technique you used to get into my head, I know it was you." Skid paused, then decided there was no harm in
answering and shrugged.

"It's kind of magic telepathy; it only uses a small amount of magic and is good for talking to people over short distances." Her eyes gazed toward the road into town, and taking the hint they began walking.

"It sounds like a very useful skill, is there any way I could learn it?" she asked him.

"I'm not sure; I've known how to do it since I was born." She blinked in shock, but gave a slow nod, and they elapse into silence, before she spoke up again.

"Would you be willing to try to teach me?" Skid paused, before continuing down the road, picking up the pace when Twilight saw her friends in the distance and started going faster to catch up.

"I can give it a shot I guess."

Comments

[FaelaArts]

Screw the mistakes, I'm tired!

[kingthe13]

well well well his emotions are getting the better of him kikikiki
hopefully he doesnt forget his place or he will feel the wrath of are queen kikikiki

[reader238]

let me guess twilight has figured out or at least has some idea that skid is a changling and is delibrately trying to learn as much as she can, plus it is possible that since she has a baby dragon twilight may have learned the draconic language just in case and heard every thing that skid said

[FaelaArts]

1815979
Nope, she's a clueless as Ash to Jessie and James in disguise. Twilight just likes to learn everything she can.

[FaelaArts]

1815979
Where would she learn the draconic language, ponies barely know about what dragons are and how they live, let alone their language.

[insert uncreative name]

If I may make a suggestion. I suggest you bump your rating up to teen and add a gore tag because of scene with Fluttershy being beaten within an inch of her life and her bones protruding out of her.

[FaelaArts]

1859500

Hmm, well ok