The Night Before

"Spins?" a purple-eyed changeling asked, poking at her sleeping friend.  "Spins, are you awake?" Her friend, Spinneret, sat up suddenly.  "Are we--"  Her green eyes softened when she saw who had woken her up.  "Oh.  Just you, Elly." "Yeah, just me."  Elytron's wings flitted bashfully.  "I, uh...I can't sleep.  Too excited about the invasion, y'know?  And...what comes after?" Spinneret nodded.  "Yeah...yeah, I know you are."  The petite changeling yawned.  "Still plannin on defectin?" "You know it, Spins!"  Elly grinned.  "And like, the offer's still open, you know.  We can go together if you want." Of course I want that, Spins wanted to say.  I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you.  You are my best friend, and you are more than that.  I...I love--  She shook her head.  A changeling wasn't supposed to have those thoughts.  Love was an emotion for other creatures; for changelings, it was only food.  An anteater wouldn't fall in ant with an anthill, nor would a squirrel fall in acorn with a tree. "I'm still thinkin," Spins lied.  Elly shook her head, smiling. "It's your last chance, Spins.  Like, come with me or be stuck in the hive." Spinneret sighed and looked up at Canterlot, the regal city lit up and surrounded by an anti-changeling bubble.  Not a bad place to live, Spins thought, so long as they never have one of those again.  "I just...I'm not sure I wanna risk it," she said, more to convince herself than Elytron.  "If we're found out, the princesses will-" "Hang our wings on their wall as a trophy and drink brandy from our horns," Elytron recited sarcastically.  "Spins, you can't just, like, believe every piece of propaganda Chrys shoves down our throats." "You do NOT call her that!!" Spinneret hissed, glaring at Elytron as she put her hoof over her mouth.  "She is your Queen, and you are only to refer to her as your Queen!  Understand?"  Elytron rolled her eyes and pushed Spinneret's hoof away.  "And...and don't speak such blasphemy!" "Blasphemy?!"  At this, Elytron burst out laughing.  "Spins, she's a Queen, not a god!  Like, I get you have a weird crush on her--" "I do NOT!" Spins interrupted. "--but surely you can't still worship her!  Like, come on, she's leading us in a raid on the capital!  She's clearly lost it...assuming she ever had 'it' in the first place." "Oh, why don't you go talk to your boyfriend about this, and leave us decent changelings alone?!" Spins snapped. "Thorax was never my boyfriend!  We only, like, pretended to date to freak everyling out!" Elly protested. "Whatever."  Spinneret rolled her eyes.  "We'll discuss this in the mornin...let clearer heads prevail."  She lay back down. Elly sighed sadly.  "Yeah, you...you're right.  But don't you at least want to look at the stars with me?  I know how much you love constellations." "The stars will still be there tomorrow," Spins answered, rolling over to face away from Elly.  "Good night." Elly got up and left.  Spinneret closed her eyes, squeezing them shut to keep the tears in.  Why, why did she say all that to her?!  Spins, you are such a housefly...you'll just have to make it up to her after the invasion. And so, Spinneret slept her last sleep of her normal life.