//------------------------------// // The Deal // Story: A Change of Scenery // by Silent Sir 224 //------------------------------// Turrok had been sweeping the area surrounding Canterlot for the past two hours. He wasn't sure what had happened in there, but he had heard that the Queen had been defeated, and was presumed dead. He didn't care about that though, all cared about was finding the last living family member he had. He found his little brother, Yanu, wheezing and struggling to breathe. He had been tossed into a tree, he didn't have much longer to live. "Yanu! Gods above, what happened?!" The small changling attempted to laugh, coughing up a small amount of blood as he did. "We were no match for it, the thing looked like a pony. But, there was no way that it was one of them, a monster, a god maybe, but no pony could do what it did." "What are you talking about? No, that can wait, we're getting you help, you're in no position to try to talk." "No brother, I'm not going to make it. Listen, the thing may have looked like one of them, but it was like a god." Turrok picked him up, causing his brother to groan in pain. "Stay with me, Yanu! You are not going to die on me!" "Stop, brother, my time is coming quickly... I need you to hear this. It controlled lightning with it's horn, created a storm and took out most of the army." "What are you talking about?" Turrok carried him in the direction of the camp where the injured were being patched up. "It's blue coat and black mane, completely untouched by the bolts it summoned. I've never seen anything so amazing and terrifying in my short life." "Come on, little brother, it's just a little further, you can make it!" His love and fear were being channeled into Yanu as much as his body would allow. "Turrok, there's no reason to be afraid, my time is at hand. I'm not afraid, I'm ready to see our parents again." "Don't talk like that, you'll get patched up and you will be fine." He couldn't hold back the tears any longer. "Goodbye, brother, I will be waiting for you on the other side. Live your life... for both of us." He started coughing up more blood, until his breathing stopped. "Yanu?" He turned to see his brother ceased moving. Silence. "Yanu, wake up." No response. "No, no, no, Yanu you better wake up! You better not be dead!" He slipped off his brother's back, and laid on his side. Turrok couldn't feel him give off anything, love, fear, hate, pain. None of those emotions reached him. It was over, he had just been taken from him, just like his parents. There was no one left that he cared about. He picked up his brother's body and said a prayer that the gods would treat him well on the other side. He carried his remains over to the camp. He deserved a ceremony, to be honored as a hero that gave everything for his people. "Dear gods, what happened to him!" A medic checked Yanu for vital signs, as pointless as it was. "I don't know, he kept talking about a pony that could control lightning. I have no idea if he was just delirious or if he was right. "Oh. he was right about that pony. Everyone here has seen it, all of them suffering some injury. Although, no one has died before this young one." The medic thought for a moment before coming to a realization, "Where were you stationed? The Hall of Elements or the throne room?" Turrok debated for a moment, "The throne room." "And what was his name?" "Yanu Galvann... my brother." "Ah, I see," he gave a sigh. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to detain you. Only the ones stationed in the Hall of Elements was spared his wrath. You will be tried for desertion when we return home." Turrok was forced to toss Yanu's body of his back and take to the sky. No one gave chase, too concerned with the wounded. He had been running for three months since that day. He never even got to attend Yanu's funeral service. To make matters worse, he was attacked multiple times. The gods didn't give any form of mercy to him. An unfamiliar voice called him from his memories and back to reality *** "Fluttershy, get behind me." The voice called. Turrok forced his eyes open to find himself in a dimly lit hospital room. A group of ponies were standing around his bed, two of which he could recognize. Princess Celestia, the primary monarch of the ponies, and something that he had only heard of. It can't be, black mane, blue coat, horn, that's gotta be coincidental. "Can you understand us?" The tall monarch asked. Thankfully, Equish was a second language to him. "Yeah, yeah I do. I take it your Princess Celestia." "Indeed changling, do you know where you are?" "I presume the hospital in a town called Ponyville, at the mercy of you and your people." He was fully aware of the situation he was in. "Correct, now I'm going to have to ask you some questions. How you answer them determines what is to be done with you." "Can I ask one first?" He requested. "I believe that is fair." "You," he pointed toward the black unicorn, a pale yellow pegasus was hiding behind him. "You were in Canterlot during the attack weren't you?" "Yes, I take it you were one of the changlings in the attack." "No, but my brother was. You certainly met him, after all, you did kill him." "What?" He shook his head in disbelief. "But I made sure I didn't kill any of them, just hurt them enough to keep them from attacking." "If your intent was not to kill, you did a pretty good job. The assault ended with only two casualties, the other being the Queen." He gave the pony a cold stare, "But, you threw my little brother into a tree, I saw him just before he... he passed. He gave a description of a pony with a black coat, horn and blue mane. Certainly sounds like a description of you," he scoffed. The unicorn started to shake, "I... I'm so sorry. I really didn't want to kill anyone." My brother's murderer, is sorry? "Did I just here you say you're sorry?" "You changlings may have wanted to take over Equestria, but you still are living things. I had no right to take a life." Tears started to form in his eyes. Remorse, poured from him and channeled into Turrok's body, giving him a small amount of energy. "Tell me, what is your name?" "Dusk Light, yours?" "Turrok Galvann." "What was your brother's name?" "Yanu... Yanu Galvann." Dusk turned his head away, not attempting to look in the general direction of the bed. The energy grew coming from the entire group, filling his changling body slowly. "Dusk? Are you okay?" The yellow pegasus asked. "No, no I'm not. I'll be back in a minute." He quickly made his way to the door, the pegasus was right behind him. Giving him a chance to take note of the other's in the room. A lavender unicorn with a purple mane and tail, a pink earth pony with a wild darker pink mane and tail, an orange earth pony with a blonde mane and tail with a brown stetson hat, a light blue pegasus with rainbow mane and tail, and a white unicorn with a well styled royal blue mane. "Well, although I'm sorry for your loss, I still need to question you." The princess announced. "Proceed." "What left you in such a state to rely on my people for help?" "Would you believe me if I said another changling?" "Another changling? Why?" "Because I refused to follow a mad queen in her quest for more power." "Chrysalis, you didn't believe in her goal to take my land?" "No, she managed to rally most saying it would benefit everyone. She said that the ponies could be slaves to us. Used for work, entertainment, whatever we wished. Ha, absolute shit if I ever heard it. She was just a greedy monarch believing she could take over the world. Both Yanu and I knew it too." "Sickening. But, if you both didn't believe in her cause, why did your brother go?" "Do you know what conscription is princess?" "Oh, I'm aware, yes." "Conscription?" The white unicorn asked. "A declaration of enrollment into an army. The queen decided to conscript any males in good enough condition to fight. Anyone conscripted had to go or risk being tried for desertion." Turrok answered the mare. "Oh my, that's terrible!" She replied. "Indeed, but back on topic, what happened to your brother? If you didn't fight and he did, you must have been separated." "You're right princess, he and I planned to escape since the day we were forced to join as soldiers. The night before the attack there was a camp set up not too far from Canterlot. The perfect opportunity to vanish in the land of our enemy had presented itself. I went first, slipping into forest just outside the camp. Before he could, a patrol caught him and stopped him and made sure he wouldn't get another chance. You heard the rest." "So, you left the camp. Does that have anything to do with your injuries?" "Kind of, after the failed attack, I was labelled a deserter and had a prize put on my head." He gave a light chuckle, "This is a result of the latest of a string of attacks by changlings attempting to collect." He could feel the energy increasing as it poured into his body. "My sincerest apologies, but I'm afraid I must ask some more questions before I may leave you." "Continue." "Why should I let you stay in my kingdom?" I have a plan for this, hopefully it works. "Because, I can help you." She raised an eyebrow, "How?" "Do you have anyway to identify a disguised changling?" "No, no we don't," she sighed. "Well then, I think we can help each other out." "I'm going to regret this but, what do you propose?" "You have no way of finding spies in your town and I need to hide from others that seek to capture me. If you let me stay here, I can keep an eye out for disguised foes. Keeping both your town and myself safe. What do you say?" "I say... this requires advisement. Excuse us for a moment." Turrok raised a dismissive hoof to show that it was fine and the room became empty once more. One minute passed... One became two... Two became five... Five became ten... Twenty minutes later the group reentered. "So?" "You may stay, until you are healed enough to leave. From there it will be decided based on how well you kept everyone safe." Good enough. "So, am I staying here the entire time?" "Oh no, we are going to discuss that now. You will be staying with someone in this group here. It's only fair that you are apart of this. So who absolutely cannot support someone else staying with them?" The pink pony raised a hoof, "Sorry Princess, no room at Sugar Cube Corner." "That's fine Pinkie. Anyone else?" Silence. "Okay, who would refuse to have him at their home." Dusk raised a hoof, "No way Mentor, I may have a debt to him, but I will not have him anywhere near Fluttershy. Especially not in the same house." "I understand. That leaves four, anyone unable to support another in their home?" This time the orange earth pony and the blue pegasus both raised a hoof. "Being on the weather team doesn't pay enough to support anyone other than myself." The pegasus explained. "And we already got four mouths to feed. Can't afford a fifth." The earth pony stated, through a very southern accent. "Twilight, Rarity, you're both fine?" Celestia questioned. "Yes, Princess, you give me funding and I have the spare room of the library. A little cluttered but I can fix that." The purple unicorn answered. "I as well, I get plenty of extra bits and I have a bedroom not in use at my shop." The white unicorn replied, a very Canterlot accent compared to her earlier response. Celestia turned to the bed, "You're choice Turrok." He pondered for a moment, both sound equally unpleasant being stuck living with a mare I have never met. "I have one question for you both. I'm living in either a shop or a library, which one is more likely to have ponies coming and going at any time?" The two looked at each other, slightly perplexed. They started whispering to themselves for a minute before answering. "My library is more likely to have ponies coming and going, it is a public and free service." The one believed to be Twiligt answered. "Okay, Ms... Rarity was it?" The mare nodded, "It appears that I will be staying with you." "I will prepare the guest room when I return home." He turned to the monarch once more, "When am I leaving?" "Can you disguise yourself now?" "Yes..." "Then right now, according to the medical staff you should be fine so long as you don't walk for a few weeks." Wonderful... "Come then, Mr. Galvann. Allow me to show you where you're going to be staying." Rarity offered him a hoof to get off the bed. The energy she was giving off, it wasn't pity, possibly sympathy. Whatever it was, it was positive enough to know she wouldn't drop him, yet. He hesitantly accepted, being pulled of the bed onto his three good legs. He propelled himself of the floor a few feet with his and disguised himself as a grey pegasus, much like the disguise he had when he entered the town. Only this time, he had the forethought to add a cutie mark. A bag of bits, simple enough. Rarity led the group out of the hospital, the doors opened and allowed the sun to graciously burn Turrok's retinas. "Rarity, everyone is going to the library to discuss our next move. Are you going to be okay alone with him?" Twilight asked. "Darling, I'm sure I can handle myself. I thought after the Diamond Dog incident, you learned that I can handle myself." Darling? What did I just sign up for? "Okay, meet us there when you're done." "Of course, Twilight, we'll be there.