A Change for the Better - Chapter III

Chapter III - Kindness

The limping guard opened the door and Iron Shell swung his legs over to the edge of the bed as the guard set the books on the sheets. The guard spoke in his deep voice as Shell looked over the books on his bed. "Is this all you wanted, bug?" the guard coldly asked. "Yes, peg-leg." He responded with a nickname of his own. The guard growled, and limped back out the door and slammed it behind him.

Shell sighed. He expected them to dislike him, but now that it was happening he felt even colder inside. His stomach rumbled, and he sighed. There was no love here that could nourish him. He inspected his books, taking in each cover with great interest, if not a desire for something to distract his empty stomach.

"The History of Equestria" and "Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide" and several other less interesting books. He lit his horn with green fire, and lifted the books. He remembered being teased for his knowledge of reading and writing. He learned how to read when he had to go undercover as a student in Baltimare, and how to write in a recon mission in Los-pegasus. While the hive teased him, the queen however, took an interest in his advanced knowledge and used him often for translations and forgeries. He considered it a squander of his talents, but he was honored anyway to have positively caught his Queen's eye. He opened the Elements reference guide and read silently.

Every now and then he would hear the sliding eye-hole open, the guards no doubt checking on his suspicious silence. He heard the guard switching out, and the uneven steps as the previous guard limped away. Minutes passed before he heard a voice, and it made him jump with surprise at it's familiarity. "Excuse me, but Princess Celestia said I could see him..."

"Very well ma'am, but be careful. He's a dangerous one."

Shell looked in disbelief as the door opened to reveal... her! The yellow pegasus who's name was... "Fluttershy."
He said aloud. She walked in, and the door slowly shut behind her. She looked with slight discomfort at the hardened slime coating his wounds, but to his surprise approached none the less and gave him a warm hug.

"You poor thing... they cant just lock you up like you're some kind of-"

"-Monster?" He finished.

She released him and tapped at the floor with her hoof. "Please don't say that... they just don't understand you..." Shell turned back to his book.

"... And you do?" She opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't say anything and shrunk back with a squeek. "So why did you come here, Fluttershy?" He questioned, a hint of aggravation in  his voice.

"Well, I feel bad for what happened to you, being brought here in a big scary cage... I wanted to say... I'm sorry."

Shell looked up from his book with surprise. He lashed out at her and still she was apologizing to him? "No wonder you're the element of kindness." He smiled. Her eyes widened.
"You know about that?"

Shell shook his head. "I was making an assumption from the mosaics and this book. Now I do know you are, though." Fluttershy winced at her earlier statement. "And, I can only ASSUME that your friends I very... enthusiastically met earlier are the elements of honesty, loyalty, and the most important, magic. I'm not as ignorant as you ponies think I am."

Fluttershy stood in silence for a time, than took a deep breath. "Can I ask you for your name? I mean, if that's okay." He stared blankly. He had a title, but it was only used as a label in the hive. Every changeling worked together in the hive, and so nicknames were rarely used or heard. It was one of their first lessons. "Alone we are weak, but together we are strong." It rang out in his head.

"Excuse me...?"

He looked to her, realizing he spoke aloud the code of the swarm. "I... had a name in the swarm, if you could call it that. My... 'name'... is Iron Shell." It felt strange, yet comforting hearing his nickname again.

"Well, Iron Shell, It's very nice to meet you." She smiled, and he tried to imitate it, smiling the best he could, but in the end it looked like he was just barring his teeth. For the next few hours they told each other of their opposite worlds. How she cared for the many woodland creatures and when else he'd been in Ponyille.

But it felt so alien. Everything he was taught was being defied with every word to this pony. Don't talk to ponies, don't help ponies, and so on.

"So, you were there when Discord came back?"

Shell nodded. "I can appreciate his enthusiasm, but it was his arrogance that led him to be turned to stone." Fluttershy cocked her head.

"It sounds like you supported him."

Shell shook his head. "Not support, respect. I just think I would have done things differently to ensure-" They stopped when they saw the guard open the door.

"Ma'am, its late, and if you don't leave now you won't make it to Ponyville before dark. We have a chariot waiting outside."

Fluttershy stood. "Well it was nice meeting you, Shell." He nodded, and watched as the door shut behind her. He walked over the bed, and kicked the bed's leg, sighing.

"If I stay here another day, I'm gonna start caring about these ponies..." He smirked at the thought. He slid under the covers, careful to avoid any undue pain to his wing, and with a spark from his horn the candles on the far desk were snuffed out and he sank beneath his covers to sleep.