"And what was that all about?"

Miss Bunny, sitting in Cricket's lap, looked up at her keeper, and smiled winsomely. The effect was almost instantaneous: The stern expression upon his face melted away, and an almost ridiculous look of adoration came over his face. After a moment, the changeling regained control of himself, then said, "Don't think that, just because you're cute, that I'm going to forget about what you did with that carrot."

The little bunny giggled, then gave her keeper a hug. She'd more or less figured her master out on day one, and she knew his one weakness: He was completely powerless against cuteness. Whether it was from a darling child, an adorable pet... or an attractive young mare, Mole Cricket was powerless in the face of overwhelming cuteness. She could get away with just about anything, so long as she looked up at him, wiggled her little button nose, and gave him the big, soulful eyes.

Patting the little bunny on the head, Cricket said, "Alright, enough of that. I have a reputation as a big, scary monster to maintain. If anyone sees me cuddling with a little bunny rabbit, I'll never hear the end of it."

Miss Bunny Wunny Cuddlewumpus looked over Cricket's shoulder and giggled, a sound echoed by the mare standing behind him. "Oh, don't worry, you're secret's safe with me," Fluttershy said, smiling.
--------------------------------------------------

Cricket turned the chair around carefully, turning to face a mare now carrying a clean carrot. Nodding gratefully, the changeling said, "That was surprisingly fast."

Blushing, Fluttershy admitted, "Well, my friend Rainbow Dash wants me to be part of her team for the Equestrian Games coming up. Ever since she saw how fast I could become after just a few days of practice, she's been working me as hard as she could to get me ready in time..." She gave a little nervous giggle, then handed over the carrot.

Miss Bunny, with a gracious nod, took the carrot, and promptly went to town on it. With the ferocity with which she mangled the carrot, one would have thought that she'd been waiting eight moons for it to arrive, rather than five minutes...

"She's a wonderful little dear," the mare said with a giggle. "She reminds me a little of my Angel Bunny."

With a nervous laugh, Cricket said, "Thank you. She was a gift from a friend."

After a moment of awkward silence, Fluttershy asked the question that Cricket knew that she was eventually going to ask...

"So, what are you doing here?"

With a sigh, Cricket admitted, "After Canterlot, I was launched here. I had the 'good fortune' to be the first one to discover the Crystal Empire's return... when I collided into the side of a building that wasn't there five seconds before." Gesturing at his back legs, still in casts, he added, "As you can see, it wasn't an easy landing. I've spent the entire time afterwards in the hospital, recovering. It will be a couple more weeks before I can walk again, and a bit of physical therapy will be needed before I'm back to my old self."

Meanwhile, Miss Bunny had managed to go through half of the carrot already, and was showing no signs of stopping, or even of slowing down...

Holding a hoof up to her mouth, the mare said, "Oh my goodness, that's terrible!"

Shrugging, Cricket said, "It's not so bad. I'm on medication for the pain, so I don't feel anything. Besides, I've seen my share of action, so I'm not a stranger to getting something broken."

Still a little horrified, Fluttershy admitted, "Well, whether you're used to it or not, its still a horrible thing to happen to you."

Ah, he'd certainly not meant to upset her. Life in the swarm was hard, and injuries were a part of that, especially if you were a soldier. He'd forgotten how soft the lives of ponies could be...

With a snort, the disguised changeling said, "I'll say. Still, any landing you can walk away from... oh, wait, right." With a chuckle, he said, "You know what I meant."

Giggling in spite of herself, Fluttershy said, "Yes. Well, if you're well enough to be able to laugh about it, you're well on your way to a full recovery."

Nodding, Cricket said, "I hope so. Today's the first day I've been outdoors since my arrival. I admit, I was going to go stir crazy soon if I didn't get some fresh air soon." Looking at the position of the sun, he added, "Although unfortunately, it seems I should be heading back: My medications will be wearing off soon, and when they do, I won't be quite as pleasant company as I am now."

Miss Bunny, having just finished a carrot larger than herself, belched contentedly, and then began getting settled in for a nap.

"Well, we certainly don't want that," Fluttershy said, smiling. "Would you like for me to roll you back?"

After a moment's hesitation, he admitted, "I would certainly appreciate it."
---------------------------------------

"Thank you for bringing me back," Cricket said, a few minutes later.

"My pleasure," Fluttershy said, as she pushed him into the hospital. They'd not spoken since leaving the park, although it had not, surprisingly, been an uncomfortable silence. Rather, it had been strangely pleasant, walking with him. It had just been the sort of comfortable silence shared when two individuals didn't have anything they needed to say.

"I expect I'll be having company later today," Cricket said, after a moment's hesitation, "And I expect you're probably busy. But, um, if you wanted to come by sometime tomorrow, I would appreciate the company."

Well, that was... surprisingly forward of him. Fluttershy blushed a little bit, before she realized that, what with his current state, any company would have been welcome, mare or stallion. It couldn't possibly be fun, laying in bed all day...

"Well, I can't say what all might happen tomorrow," Fluttershy admitted, "but if I have the time, I see if I can come by for a visit." Well, she didn't have much else she could do until Twilight came back anyways, and he was surprisingly pleasant company, changeling or not. Besides, she was more than a little curious about him, and the rest of his kind. Ever since the Canterlot Wedding, it had almost seemed as if the changelings had vanished off the face of the planet...

"Thank you," the changeling said, the cheeks of his disguise a little red. Fluttershy could not help but wonder if that was a cosmetic effect of his disguise, or if under his disguise, he was blushing as well. Honestly, given how little she knew about changelings, Fluttershy could not even say whether changelings could blush or not.

She knew so much about animals, about ponies, and even about the various non-pony, yet still sapient, creatures of the world. And yet, she knew practically nothing about an entire race of creatures who had, just weeks before, had stormed into Equestria with the intent to conquer the entire country.

And having met one face to face, an individual not only polite and well-spoken, but with an enjoyable sense of humor as well, she couldn't help but wonder now what their reasons for doing so might have been.

Maybe Princess Celestia could help shine some light on that subject....

"I'm sorry to say that I must be going," Fluttershy admitted, then said, "But if I can, I'll come and see you tomorrow."

With a bow (A surprising feat for someone in a wheelchair), Cricket said, "I'll be here, Miss Fluttershy."
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"There you are!"

Flutteshy flinched as Rainbow Dash loudly dived down, landing right beside her. Inwardly, she sighed at the rainbow-maned mare's spectacular arrival. Dashie was one of her dearest friends, and she'd not ask her to change anything about herself, but she swore that sometimes her friend was constantly putting on a performance for an audience that only she could see.

"I was looking all over for you," Dashie said, panting slightly from exertion as they began walking back to the palace. "Where were you?"

"Oh, I met someone at the park, and we talked for a little bit," Fluttershy said, careful to avoid lying, but also careful to avoid saying anything that might have upset Rainbow Dash. In her own way, Dashie was as prone to panic as Fluttershy was. It was mostly her reaction to that emotion that was different: While Flutteshy tended to cringe, Dashie tended to get angry when startled. If Fluttershy mentioned the fact that she had met a changeling today, Rainbow would be in the hospital, dragging Cricket out of bed and on his way to the nearest guard station, before Fluttershy managed to add that he was hospitalized and not a threat to anyone. There had been enough of a panic in the days right after the invasion. Fluttershy was going to keep this a secret until she knew more, and knew her friend wasn't going to freak out when she heard the full story. "Afterwards, I wheeled him back to the hospital where he's staying."

Rainbow Dash, surprised, asked, "Was he sick?"

"Injured," Fluttershy answered quickly, then added, "He, um, accidentally discovered the Crystal Empire had returned when he hit the side of a building here. He's been recovering ever since then."

"Bit of an odd place to be flying, this far north," Dashie observed. Most ponies would assume that, just because she was an athlete, the mare wasn't all that bright. While Fluttershy couldn't say for certain just how smart her friend was, Rainbow Dash could be surprisingly observant at times. "Was he doing recon or something?"

Now this next part was a little tricky, but Fluttershy was able to say, honestly, "He was blown here unexpectedly, and couldn't regain control of his flight before he got here." She didn't add that he was blown here by Cadance and Shining Armor's combined magic, so of course the natural assumption was...

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time a strong wind blew a pegasus a long ways off-course," Rainbow Dash said with a chuckle. "And once you're this far north, the cold can make it hard for even an awesome flier like me." Giving Fluttershy a sly look, she asked, "So, your new coltfriend have a name?"

Blushing bright red, Fluttershy nearly lost her composure completely. Coltfriend? Really? She'd only just me him today! It took her a moment to realize that Dashie was just teasing her.

After a moment, Fluttershy said, "His name is Cricket, and he's not my coltfriend. But, um, I will be seeing him tomorrow, if there's time."

Shrugging, Rainbow Dash said, "Well, whatever you want to do is your business. Just keep in mind that we might be leaving the day after. So, if you want to keep in touch with him, you might want to ask for his address when you see him next."

Flutteshy nodded mutely, not certain if she could trust herself to speak right now. She'd honestly not thought that far ahead, but...

After Dashie's little tease a moment ago, Fluttershy couldn't help but wonder if maybe...

No, a changeling and a pony? How could that ever work out?