AsthmaticPegasus

Huh, catching up with Pops and her sudden energetic sprints seemed like it was becoming the norm for Sprite. She bounded after her filly friend as fast as she could, suddenly rethinking her whole stance on the egg mission. Surely the food wasn't THAT bad, but Sprite could hardly back out now and disappoint Pops. So she hopped up to the front door of the shack, staying close behind her friend before skidding to a halt in front of the door, peaking her head inside. Pops had just barged in, would it be bad to do the same? Godfather's parents didn't seem to mind, so she carefully walked in. She jumped a little bit in surprise when the shouting started, but quickly calmed herself. She wasn't surprised that the parents weren't investigating their sons room, after all Pops variety of spazzy friendship seemed to be garden variety in this small town. And then the yelling came to a stop when Pops asked about the expedition, which Godfather quickly declined and ignored any further protest by going back to sleep. Whew, guess they were in the clear... though part of her was disappointed. Those omelettes would probably have been eggsellent... and then her mouth started watering again. "Yeah, sure, there'd probably be a bunch who'd want to help." She said without thinking, or rather, thinking with her stomach.

Sprite was about to convey those same thoughts, that attacking a den like that just for some good food would be a pretty- no VERY bad idea. But just then her stomach grumbled again and she thought back to the food she had snarfed down just yesterday. It really had been pretty terrible, and having to eat that every day for... well, forever? The good thing about getting the ingredients for some omelettes is that it could improve everyone's mood in town, and make them all feel better about Sprite, which is really what she needed right now. That and the fact that just thinking about delicious eggy omelettes made her mouth visibly water. Shaking her head free of those corrupting, delicious thoughts Sprite turned to Pops. "Might not be such a good idea..." She muttered, and now that the rational part of her mind had said it's piece. "...but it DOES sound really yummy."

Sprite took Pops' hoof and stood with her, smiling timidly as she nodded her head. Now that she was feeling a little better perhaps hoofball wasn't such a bad idea, at least it would make Pops happy if she went next time the crusaders wanted to tackle each other. But right now Pops was right about one thing, it was time for some food. Sprite could feel her stomach grumbling after that long night, though it didn't feel as bad as it had before. "It does sound fun... okay, I'll join you next time, but I don't think I'd want to play an entire tournament..." Sprite said cautiously, wondering what she had gotten herself into as soon as the words had been said. Pops alone could beat her up, not that the incredinice filly would ever do that, at least seriously (A few noogies or playful tackles were bound to happen eventually). But ten others running around in some sort of mock battle? Sprite would probably be turned into a funny coloured splat on the ground before the day was out.

An attacker was assaulting her in her sleep! Sprite jumped awake with a frightened squeak as her tired mind jumped to all the wrong conclusions, backing away as the colt had his own little panic attack and fled. As she got her composure back Sprite realized that a shadow had been cast over her from the opening to her little hiding place, and with a shy glance up she saw that Pops had managed to find her. She almost panicked again, not quite remembering if she had managed to change form before going to sleep before realizing that Pops' reaction probably would have been more along the lines of "Oh sweet Celestia what is that thing, kill it with fire." Standing up Sprite yawned, wiping the sleep from her eyes as she emerged from her hiding spot/impromptu home. "Yeah, maybe I'll sleep there next time..." She mumbled, trying to wake herself up. What time was it anyways, how much sleep had she gotten? "What time is it?" She said with another yawn. It was hard for her to tell through the cloud cover, but it SEEMED to be late morning. Huh already morning, it was only several hours ago that I... The filly changeling thought to herself, before putting it out of her mind. She couldn't think about it, but she knew deep down that it would need to happen again, and probably sooner than she'd like.

Well, it seemed as if everything had worked out okay. Sprite had gotten a little something to eat, had avoided being noticed, and she was now zipping quietly and quickly out the front door. But she felt horrible for it, even if she knew it was totally necessary for survival. That's what she had to tell herself, that it was NECESSARY, but was it worth it at the expense of these ponies? Those two had just gotten angry at each other because of her, even if they didn't know that. Friends sometimes fought, sure, but he'd been happy a few minutes before and Sprite had stolen that from him. And she'd need to do it again, and again, and again... she wasn't even fully satisfied, but she didn't dare go back and take any more. While she was thinking Sprite slunk off to a small hideyhole to sleep in at the edge of town, trying to get some shuteye before the morning, when she'd probably spend the day with Pops... and that made her feel worse. Pops would probably end up hurt emotionally, she didn't know how exactly, but it's not like she could help it at this point. Whether she left or stayed, nothing good was going to happen. All these frantic thoughts faded into one big worried blur as she drifted off to sleep, shifting back into the familiar pegasus filly before nodding off.

The changeling magic was slow, Sprite Wasn't old or strong enough yet to feed any faster. So when the knocking came she had to force herself reluctantly away, and it was hard to stop herself before she was done feeding. It had been so long, too long, and directly siphoning the emotions and love from this stallion had felt good. It made her feel guilty too, admitting that to herself, but even the amount small amount she was able to take was enough to make her want more, to not have that empty feeling anymore. Now that she had gotten herself under control she needed to get out of here. The flimsy building didn't have any windows, only the one way out... And that was blocked by somepony knocking at the door. At least the stallion hadn't woken up because of the noise, which gave her some time to hide. Be only real hiding place was under the bed! It wasn't even that great a hiding place! But if she stayed still and quiet they probably wouldn't notice her... they'd have no reason to look there. So Sprite slid under the bed, pressing her body close to the wall and deeper into the shadows. She didn't shift her appearance quite yet, thinking that maybe her black carapace would keep her better hidden then her previously yellow coat.

Sprite felt her eyes closing as she yawned quietly underneath her shelter, resting her head down onto the ground as she began to feel the exhaustion of the day take her to sleep. But she was shocked awake as she heard the sound of approaching ponies chatting and laughing, shrinking back into her shadowed tunnel despite the fact that even if she was seen it probably wouldn't matter any. It was just that reflex of hers to NOT be seen, and it would probably take some time for her to get over her paranoia and isolation. One of the ponies broke off from the others to stumble into the very shack she was resting against, and Sprite did her best to hold her breath and stay perfectly still to not attract any attention. As soon as the stallion shut the door behind him she tried to get back to sleep. However, the little changeling found that she wasn't as tired as she had been before, instead that emotional hunger was welling up and urging her to act. She didn't know this stallion personally, he was already asleep (the loud snoring and muttering coming through the thin walls gave that away easily enough), and he was choc full of jovial goodness from his time with the others... a little off the top couldn't hurt, right? So, Sprite crept into the home, opening and closing the creaky wooden door with as little noise as possible. He was still there, knocked out cold. Standing there dumbly she contemplated her options, the hunger inside of her conflicting with her guilt, constantly telling herself she had to feed but thinking of the consequences. After a few moments the decision was made. She walked up to the side of his messy bed, shifting into her Changeling form as the previous filly is replaced in a bright green flash, her appearance getting stripped away like burning paper. She tentatively opened her mouth, singular sharp tooth positioned over his neck as she closed her pure blue eyes. Her horn began to glow an ominous green, softer hisses and clicks coming from her mouth as the same green glow overtook his sleeping form and started draining into her opened mouth. Instantly she felt guilty, she was just like the monsters they feared... but their kind had been the reason she was separated from her family. Should she see this as revenge? No, these were nice ponies, nothing like the ones that had been hunting her her whole life before. And she was hurting them.

Sprite smiled a little and waved back as Pops left, wondering if the filly would hold it against her somehow. She probably wasn't that type of pony, but in Sprite's experience expecting the worst was always a safe bet, at least in the wretched Wasteland. Maybe things were different here in Chapel, it already seemed like a slice of heaven when compared with... well anywhere else, but she couldn't let her guard down just because she had somewhere to recuperate. Speaking of recuperating her belly was still feeling a little rumbly, so maybe another visit to the Mess Hall was called for. Even if food wasn't exactly what she needed, maybe it would help a little. Unfortunately, even if food would have helped, Sprite couldn't afford it. This she remembered after wandering around the town for awhile and stumbling her way up to the front doors. Needless to say it was disappointing. Maybe she should get some shuteye, it was starting to get a little late... but she still had no idea where she could stay. Pops might let Sprite sleep at her place, but she didn't know where that was, or if Pops was back from her game. Sprite sighed and wandered back towards the center of town, feeling rather foolish that she'd screwed up so easily. Maybe she could find her friend wandering around somewhere, or go back and talk to Priest, or just lay down in a small alcove and stay out of everypony's way. It was what she was good at after all, lying low. So, after standing around for a little while, watching happy ponies run home and back to their friends as she wondered what to do, she quietly found some planks of wood that she could rest against the side of the building. It didn't look like she'd need the flimsy shelter, but it might be more comfortable to have something over her head.

Oh dear, they were going to play Hoofball? This would not end well, Sprite had just learned the very basics, and still felt uncomfortable hanging around with almost everypony here. Spending time getting beat on by the bigger, stronger kids in town hardly sounded like a great way to top off an already stressful day. But what is she was letting Pops down? She could hardly afford to alienate her only acquaintance... Ugh, it felt like no matter what she did from here on out she'd be in the wrong. Taking some tentative steps after Pops, Sprite spoke up. "Um, why don't you go on ahead without me, I'm sure you'll have loads of fun." Hopefully Pops would go and play with her friends, Sprite might get a chance to relax and cool down in... wait, where was she even supposed to stay? She could probably find some place, or talk to Priest or something, she didn't need to concern Pops with that.

There certainly was a lot of good loot in that caravan, with some guns and food and random stuff that would probably fetch a decent price somewhere. Sprite felt a little better for helping out, like she was beginning to fall into her own shallow little place in Chapel, but that feeling went away again once she thought about leaving, and how the only thing she had done when the raiders attacked was hide in a hole and freak out. She just couldn't get past the fact that no matter how nice a home this place seemed to be eventually she would have to leave, or risk getting caught. Sprite helped sort the goods with the others, passing away object after object that could have been incredibly detrimental to her in the days before, but now weren't because she had found shelter for a time. Maybe they could part with some of the more useless, dingy clothing, Sprite was beginning to feel more chilled as she became skinnier from starvation.

Sprite made sure to stay right beside Pops, not that she had much of a choice considering the worrisome filly was dragging her around by the hoof as she led Sprite through the complicated pathways the children used to evade anyone who could be even remotely nearby and throw off anyone who might track them. Sprite could appreciate that, considering running away and hiding were her two biggest specialties. As they made it back to town Sprite began helping the others unload their scavenged goods, trying to avoid idle conversation and sticking close to Pops the whole time. Could you blame her for being skeptical and paranoid, especially considering what was at risk? "So, this is what you do around here? Find what you can and bring it back?"

Sprite was, once again, taken aback by the hug. Though at this point she really shouldn't have been, I mean, spending this much time around Pops you could start to flesh out patterns in her behavior. Like how she loved hugging ponies. A lot. This time however Sprite did return it, though less enthusiastically. "No, I went and hid... it's like, the only thing I'm good at." She said with a frown, pulling out of the Filly's embrace. "I mean I was worried, but... I couldn't really help and got so scared." Clearly she hadn't been on the wastes her entire life like Pops had, after all she would most likely be used to this sort of stuff, right? Pops probably thought she was a scaredy pony or something

A little head peaked itself shyly out of some rubble a little ways away, hearing her name being called. Was Pops really THAT worried about her? She'd met her only a little while ago, and she really cared this much? Sprite crawled her way out of the hiding place, slowly approaching the group again with a little more caution. Tough she didn't have reason to worry, Sprite still felt skeptical about how all of this was going to work out... "Sorry, Pops, I didn't..." She started, frowning as she sat down a little ways away.

Sprite cringed as she heard gunfire, taking another peak and expecting the raiders to be lighting up her compatriots. But no, it was the other way around! It seems that the older colt was quite the capable leader as he organized an impressive ambush. They proved to be quite experienced with their weapons, and Pops even helped by blowing the evil ponies up with her grenades. But for a single horrified moment Sprite realized that those three raiders getting blown to smithereens could have just as easily been her had she not been disguised, or if they somehow figured everything out... Pops would probably turn on her, the others would shun her and attack her... And that only made her sink back into her hole even further, shivering and cowering like a scared little filly. Whatever full, fuzzy feelings had been spread to her shrunk back a little as she came to these conclusions with her own grim perspective of pony nature. In the end it didn't matter, she'd have to move along sooner or later anyways, No matter how much she'd enjoyed being Pops' friend.

What was it with Pops describing ponies as butts? Sprite understood what she meant, but she couldn't help but smirk to herself whenever her friend talked like that. "Yeah, I guess boys are gross." She said, thinking back to her brothers in the caverns who would fight each other for fun and pick on her sometimes. She had loved them, she still did, but if they hadn't been her brothers their behavior would have seemed more than a little obnoxious. But everything was not sunshine and rainbows as Pops stopped dead in her tracks, looking farther down the road with her ears twisted forwards to pick up any sound. There were a few shadowy shapes approaching, and Sprite did not need Pops advice to know that crawling her way behind some rubble was probably a good idea. She sprung away and flapped her little wings to glide a little ways away in a panic, instinctively crawling into the smallest hole she could find. She peaked out from her hiding spot to see that the Crusaders had made it to safety with Pops, but in all her panicky haste she had accidentally set herself apart from the group! Before she could even think about moving a few Raiders came up to where they had been moments before, fanning out around the dead caravaners. Oh dear, they were going to take all of the supplies! And what if they got close enough to spot the Crusaders? Sprite was good at hiding, and in a good position to escape but... she didn't want to leave the other children to be eaten! Options zipped through her mind as she started panicking again, shrinking back into her little hidey hole.

Okay, so that meant if Sprite had the ball 11 people would try and body slam her... plus anypony on her team that accidentally fell on her, because let's face it, it was probably going to happen. "Oh, well, um... maybe I could be one of those ponies that swaps in, so I could watch and get the hang of it." She says, thinking that maybe this way she could get involved and at the same time NOT flattened. She turned to look back at the others, actually doing her job of watching the road as she sat down next to Pops. This was... surprisingly uneventful. Her experiences on the wastes had left her physically, mentally, and emotionally drained, but now... it all seemed a little peaceful and routine with the way these "Crusaders" went about their daily work.

Sprite looked over Pops and back at the other ponies scavenging the brahmin, wondering what exactly her chances would be of tackling ANY of them, or avoid being tackled. Prooobably not that high, and the sound of getting beat up over a smelly ball wasn't that appealing either. But she'd be better aquainted with the other ponies at least, and considering this was the whole reason she had decided to stay, the whole thing sounded mildly appealing. The little filly looked up at Pops, lowering her voice at the colt's orders. "Sounds like it'd be pretty cool." She said in an interested tone. "How many ponies play?"

Well, Sprite certainly didn't expect this! She was engulfed in a hug as the filly suddenly and unexpectedly squeezed her. The changeling didn't quite know how to react to that... it made her feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside, a sensation that was totally foreign to her. She felt even worse when Pop mentioned keeping her in Chapel and liking her, this sort of thing would only complicate the situation later on... She'd only meant to make a few ponies happy for awhile so she wouldn't starve, not build everlasting bonds of friendship with the townsponies! Oh, what am I going to do now... She thought to herself as she contemplated running away that very night. Pops was a good pony, Sprite didn't want to hurt her... Sprite hugged her back, silently blinking away some tears behind Pops back. "I um, hope I get to stick around too..." She said before pulling away. "And what's Hoofball?"

Cute? Sprite wasn't cute, she was a creepy bug thing! Maybe the filly she'd changed into was cute, but Sprite hadn't had much time to do that on purpose. All she had done was morph into a filly she'd seen in a random prewar ad somewhere... Nonetheless the compliment complimented her large plate of mac and cheese quite nicely, and made her feel the teeniest of tiny bits better. And Sprite doubted that she should go through with grenade launcher lessons, she'd hate to be known as the filly who blew up half of the town in a random boomstick incident. "Um, maybe you should keep your stuff..." She said, starting to take off the helmet before suddenly dropping it back on her head in surprise as the older colt shouts from where he and the others were scavving. It was fairly obvious she was a little jumpy and nervous right now, quickly pushing Boom Boom back on it's owner. "... Thank you though..."

Wait, whuuuu... why was she suddenly holding a grenade launcher? She didn't even know how to use the thing! The explosives came out of the other end right? And that was the trigger... okay, Sprite was keeping her hoof well clear of that. She had to keep pushing the helmet up over her eyes anyways, it engulfed over half of her head! These were not same exploding conditions, an inexperienced filly wielding a highly dangerous weapon with low visibility? Probably the opposite of laying low. Suddenly flustered Sprite tried to give the explodey stick back, shaking her head and making the hardhat on her head wobble around. "No no no, I can't..."

sign me up for that last drawing position

Aw, everypony had guns except for Sprite! It made her feel more than a little useless, considering all she could do was watch as they dispatched a threat, and a relatively minor one at that. Well, it gave her an excuse to sink towards the back of the group and stay out of the way, and the sneaking parts she was certainly no stranger to! She could probably sneak circles around them... literally! As they came upon the bodies Sprite was a little disquieted, she may have been on the wastes for a little while but... she was young! It certainly didn't disturb her to any extreme, but what about the ponies these two left behind? To be honest there probably weren't any... but still. Sprite didn't have any qualms with staying back either. "Yeah, maybe they had some food, or clothes... maybe a nice scarf." She said without thinking. It seemed a little odd that these were the first things she thought of, especially since moments before she had been complaining to herself about not having a gun, but when it came to things she needed and wanted it always came down to food and warmth.

Sprite followed along, close at Pop's side as she found herself being surrounded by a few other children. She didn't feel as nervous as before, as her disguise seemed to be holding up perfectly. Heck, it could even be a chance to associate herself with more ponies and get herself feeling in tip top shape quicker! The more time she spent with them the less she wanted to bother them... but she just couldn't go on without some form of companionship. At this point she was feeling the effects so badly she was considering a little more drastic measures... but doing something like that would probably get her caught, and worse, harm somepony else. She tried to greet the others, opening and closing herself silently for a few moments before giving up. She couldn't get around the fact that she was an outsider here, no matter how welcome Pops tried to make her feel. Eventually she just responded to the older colt's orders with a nod.

Well, this new friend of her's was certainly interesting... she seemed to be a little goofier than Sprite had originally thought. But Pops was acting silly, happy, spastic, friendly... it made Sprite feel a little better on the inside, slightly more full, you could say. It also helped that she was faced with a heaping plate of Mac and Cheese, and she certainly didn't need permission before digging in! By the time the other colt came over she was most of the way done, engrossed in her meal as she savored every swallow, or at least savored it as much as her expedient pace would allow. She hardly even noticed when he started talking to Pop, busy licking her lips and cleaning up the plate. Pops would probably shocked to see Sprite already sitting in front of a clean plate, burping lightly as she wiped off her muzzle. She hadn't been much better than Pop when it came to the food, the main difference being she had used utensils to eat faster and had only ever paused to breathe really... hey, what else are you supposed to do when you see delicious cheesiness after weeks of hunger!? "Yeah, sure, I'll come along." She said, feeling better with a belly full of food. Besides, she still needed to spend more time around this jolly filly. The company was beginning to make Sprite feel an eensy teensy bit better.

The little changeling did her best to keep up with the sporadic filly this time, trotting along as she was once again dragged through town by her hoof. She really couldn't complain about what kind of food she ate, she rarely got enough of it as is, so the smells coming from the mess hall, however gross or smelly they were to Pop, were even more hunger inducing to Sprite. Staying by Pop's side as she does the talking, Sprite remained silent as she looked at the other children milling about. It was comforting that this town was so... well, comfortable! It could be a place that she finally get some R&R, refresh herself before inevitably heading off again. She couldn't stick around for too long, her feeding habits would eventually blow her cover anyway. Thinking about getting exposed made her wonder if these ponies even knew changelings still existed. Shaking off the feeling and taking her meal Sprite walked beside her newest friend to a table where they sat. "This place is really something." She says warmly, smiling ever so slightly again.