Chapter 1: Enslavement

Roses are Red: Chapter 1

A bright pink flash expanded outward from inside of Canterlot Castle, quickly engulfing the city that the castle was surrounded by and propelling what was unmistakably changelings from the city walls. Their black bodies sped into the air, taking off every which way and quickly accelerating towards the nearest available patch of horizon. Their screams and wails became mixed in with the cheers and hollers from the ponies who remained on the ground, whooping and already celebrating from the speedy departure of their would-be capturers.

At the center of the pink flash stood Princess Cadence and Shining Armor, intertwined around each other in only a stance that two lovers could strike. Their horns locked together and their hooves placed in each others, they were the source of the powerful blast that rocketed the changelings from Canterlot. Their combined love and compassion as their tool and weapon, everypony in Canterlot now free due to them and the failed conspiracy that the changeling queen so haughtily devised.

And so the Royal Wedding continued on as if nothing ever happened. Nopony could deny the carnage that was done to the city; buildings with their roofs blown open, charred streets, craters, and crumpled houses marked every corner of the city, but ponies went on with the day. Streamers hung through the streets and balloons floated above thousands of lanterns that were all lit for the coming night. Dancing took the streets as well as inside of the castle as soon as the princesses and the captain said their vows, and then out came the kegs of alcohol to sweeten the day further.

The party raged on into the evening until stars covered the skies. A perfectly clear night with music ringing through the night air to fill the citizens of Canterlot with all of the glee and love in the world. Fireworks set off when midnight came, adding to the music and the joyous cries from the ponies. It was the most marvelous moment of all, the bright and twinkling lights shimmering and reflecting off of the rooftops of the city and turning Canterlot into a massive beacon that could be seen from all directions.

A lone changeling, displaced from the rest of the hive, lay among the tall grass on the edge of the Everfree Forest that hung on the edge city. Her ear twitched as the fireworks were set off. Her eyelids slowly fluttered open to reveal the bright lights that flashed over the city, glimmering in solid-pink eyes. She immediately closed them again to shield herself from the light, and let out a groan when she tried to roll over onto her side.

The changeling had bruises and cracks running along her chitin, some of the wounds slowly leaking greenish-black blood into the soil. One of her wings was bent at an awkward angle, and after trying to lift her head slightly her neck felt as it had suffered from a significant amount of whiplash. The pain coursing through the changeling’s body felt excruciating, and she curled up in a ball, silently whimpering to herself.

Last she remembered was that horrible ball of pinkish light rolling towards her. It swept her up like a current sweeping away a foal in a quick river. Never had she felt so much pain effectively hit her at one moment, nor had she ever imagined being propelled out of a city in such a speedy fashion. And she was certainly feeling the effects now, although she’s lucky enough that her chitin and the ground were nice enough to partially cushion her fall.

“Hey!” a voice rang out from the direction of Canterlot. “I think I found something.”

A pair of hoofsteps started to trot in her direction. Dread crept into the changeling’s veins and she thought, Oh please no, not like this.

The hoofsteps stopped a few paces away from the changeling. Both ponies remained silent while she kept her eyes closed. She quietly prayed to herself that the two would think she was dead and move along, hoping against hope that they pass over her as a seamless casualty from the earlier battle. Her whole body tensed and screamed to the pain that pulsed over and over again in each of her limbs.

One of the ponies stepped forward finally and kneeled down, taking a hoof and pressing it against her belly.

“This one is still alive,” he said in a gruff voice.

“What should we do with it?” the other voice said in a much higher pitch. “It looks to be in pretty bad shape.”

There was a moment’s pause and the changeling felt both stallion’s eyes on her as they scanned over her body up and down. Panic was rising in her throat and her eyelids scrunched tightly together.

“Let’s take it to Zumas,” the stallion closest to her sneered. “It’ll pull through, and it will be perfect for his plans.”

Before the changeling could process what the stallion meant, something heavy and wooden collided with her head, knocking her out entirely.

~~~

The changeling awoke with a start. Cold water dripped from her body and onto the concrete floor below her, sending a shiver down her spine, while a light from overhead bore into her eyes. She squinted at the light above, watching as it slowly drifted back and forth. She shifted in her seat and found that her forehooves were chained in place on the table while a collar was fastened around her neck, connected to a chain to the ceiling above. The changeling groaned, the dull pain from her wounds coursing through her body once again.

“It’s awake, boss,” the gruff stallion’s voice from earlier said.

The changeling squinted through the harsh light from above, turning in the direction of the stallion’s voice. To the left of her stood a light grey pegasus with a messy orange mane and tail holding a bucket under one wing. He had green eyes with a scar tracing over his left eye while numerous scuff marks decorated all four hooves. He glared back at her, his sharp eyes forcing the changeling to retreat and focus her gaze elsewhere.

“Leave us,” a second voice said from across the table.

The pegasus nodded and left the room, shutting and locking the door behind him.

A cough from across the table drew the changeling’s attention and she squinted through the glaring light. She made out the slender form of a pony in the dark in front of her with a large horn protruding from his forehead. His face was masked from the angle of the light, hiding his eyes from view, but allowing for his charcoal grey hooves to be revealed clearly. They were angled together in a triangle on the table. The changeling eyed the pony warily.

“You look to be pretty roughed up from that blast Shining Armor and Princess Cadance released quite a while ago,” the pony said. His voice was slick and handsome. “You must have taken quite a fall, yes? I can imagine that landing such a far distance from the city can really take it’s toll on even a changeling.”

The changeling remained silent, eliciting a chuckle from the unicorn. As if the cracks across her chitin and her damaged wing were not enough to let him know about her current predicament. Already he was toying with her. Something more than just pain and fear panged the changeling now; she felt sadness, as if the unicorn had cut her a vehement blow with his few words.

“Not much for talking, eh?” The unicorn continued. “Or is there some sort of language barrier between our two races?” When the changeling still refused to answer, the unicorn slammed one hoof down on the table. “Nothing? Not even a word? Well, I guess we should skip the pleasantries and go right to business.”

The unicorn dragged his hoof across the table, scratching the surface and stinging the changeling’s ears. They flopped back against her head and she winced. She tried to gauge what sort of facial expression he may hold, but behind the dark mask she saw nary a glimpse of emotion from her captor.

“From what I understand and witnessed mere hours ago,” the unicorn said, “changelings possess a unique set of skills that allows them to change into any pony they want, is that correct?” The changeling’s continued silence caused the unicorn to growl, and he roared, “Is. That. Correct!?”

She flinched and gingerly nodded her head. The viciousness behind his shouts broke whatever resolve she had left. She thought of fighting against whoever this unicorn is, but why bother at a time like this? He had not killed her yet, perhaps he means to do something else with her.

The unicorn smiled. “Good, glad to see there is no language barrier. Now, these skills that you have, they would be perfect for the line of work that I manage.” He paused, lifting himself from the chair on the other side of the table to walk around. He stopped just at the very edge of the darkness that shielded is face from the light of the lamp. “You see, I am a manager of a well established ‘pleasure house,’ if you may. A place where ponies of all ranks and types can come and wash away their worries by burying their muzzles between a beautiful mare’s legs.”

The changeling raised one of her eyebrows—if she were to have any—and she gazed up at the unicorn. Unconsciously her whole body had tried to shift away from him, but her bonds forced her in place.

He continued, “With your transformation powers, you can change into the mare of anypony’s dreams. You could be an exotic, deep colored mare from Equestria’s tropical south, or you could be one of the fair skinned and slender mares from the northern arctic regions. You could even be the beautiful Spitfire from the famous Wonderbolts.”

The changeling’s eyes widened, and she pulled against the chains that bound her to the table. The unicorn’s horn lit up in a red hue and magic encased her head and forced it down against the wood with a bang. Fresh pain shot through her cranium, and she was left dazed and too weak to lift her head back up. The unicorn helped her, using his magic to encase her chin and push up.

“You will settle down, insect,” the unicorn said coldly. “I have plans for you and you will hear them with the respect that you should show me. I have spared your life and hidden you away from the Canterlot guards. You are not in the basement of the castle or some barracks, changeling, you are here and safe with me. It’s up to you to decide whether or not you want to accept that.”

The changeling looked away from him once the magic around her chin dissipated. What choice did she have? Treated like something less than an animal. He saw her like an insect, nothing more.

“Do you think I will agree to your plans for me?” the changeling said. Her voice sounded dissonant, almost as if several voices were speaking together. “I am not some slave that can be shackled like an animal.”

“That’s where you are mistaken,” the unicorn said as he levitated a piece of paper from the other side of the table. He levitated it in front of the changeling’s face, allowing for her to read the contents scribbled across the paper. Her ears folded back when she saw the picture of a changeling drawn at the top of the paper.

“By the royal decree of the two princesses,” the unicorn said, rolling the paper up and depositing it back on the far side of the table, “all changelings are to be captured and turned in to the authorities in any city. The reward for turning in a changeling is one hundred thousand bits, while a million bits will be reward to anypony who turns in the queen.” He paused, lifting a hoof to his chin. “I wonder what kind of punishments will be inflicted upon all changelings captured?”

The changeling looked down at her hooves, her eyes flicking back and forth erratically. She was stuck with this unicorn; somehow she knew that from the moment she woke up to that light swinging over her head. Tears started to well up in her eyes.

“No, please,” she whimpered, “you can’t turn me in to the guards. I... I-”

“Ah, well, how about we make a deal, little insect?” the unicorn replied with a smirk. He levitated a piece of paper that was next to the wanted poster, unrolling it and placing it at the changeling’s hooves. Hundreds of words were written across the piece of paper with a line at the bottom for a signature. “You sign this contract and become one of my employees and I won’t turn you into the authorities. Does that sound like a good deal?”

The changeling scanned over the words. She bit her lower lip as her eyes slid further and further down the page. A single tear slid down the side of her smooth cheek. A pen was provided for her by the unicorn, which she took hold in her own magic green and began to write her name at the bottom of the page. The unicorn’s teeth flashed from the light as his smirk turned into a sadistic smile. She set the pen down and stared at the table, allowing for the unicorn to take the paper in his horn. He read the name at the bottom.

Lilo.

Chapter 2: Depravity

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Roses are Red: Chapter 2

Lilo’s ear twitched from the sound of water dripping from the network of pipes that snaked across the ceiling above her. Raising her head, she squinted through the darkness towards the sound. Tiny droplets of water splashed onto the cobblestone floor below the leak, forming a puddle that remained small and confined to the area under the droplets. It was safely tucked away from where Lilo lay, although she still felt the moisture on her chitin.

The changeling’s ears folded back as she lay her head back down onto her hooves. A chain had been connected to a collar fastened around her neck—perhaps the same collar that she wore when she spoke to the unicorn. The chains rattled slightly from the motion, plopping down against the hard floor while the other end struck lightly against the metal bars it was attached to. The collar choked Lilo whenever she moved her head—a result of it being secured too tightly around her neck, most likely—and she swallowed hard to remove the itching sensation that started to rise in her throat. Her chitin was heavily scuffed from the collar as well, adding more unpleasantries to the already discomforting accessory.

The wounds that had decorated her body from before were still present, although they had begun to heal from Lilo’s love reserves she had stored away. The pain no longer coursed agonizingly through her body, but a dull ache still hung in both her bones and her scarred chitin. Her wing was still bent awkwardly, the membrane creased to the point that left her wing entirely unusable.

Her eyes shifted around in the darkness as they were easily adjusted already. She noticed that the iron bars stretched all around in her a moderately sized cage with a door that sat directly in front of her. A heavy iron lock hooked itself between two bars closely connected to each other, making sure that the cage itself remained closed until otherwise adjusted. Other than the metal bars, however, nothing else occupied the cage with Lilo.

Hooves clopping across cobblestone floor caught Lilo’s attention as the sound reverberated off of the walls. She lifted her head again, straining her neck to attempt to let the collar sit more comfortable around her throat. The faint glow of a lantern came into view, shifting and bouncing around as the handle swung around loosely from the owner’s teeth. Soon enough, the candle that lay inside the lantern shone clearly visible to Lilo as an earth pony stopped in front of her cage. The earth pony—unmistakably her jailer—stood on the outside of the cage for a moment glaring at Lilo. The light from the lantern reflected off her dark chitin and her solid pink eyes.

The jailer set the lantern down and twisted his head back to the saddle bags he carried. After fishing out a pair of keys and unlocking the door to the cage, his head twisted around again, this time pulling out a burlap blanket to toss at Lilo. She quickly rose to her hooves as the blanket flew through the air, retreating to one of the corners of the cage before it had a chance to get near her. The jailer rolled his eyes.

“It isn’t coated with noxious toxins, you stupid bug,” he said, twisting his head around to the other saddle bag and pulling out a bowl with a cover on it. He set it down on the floor at the cage’s door. “And Zumas didn’t curse it with some sort of pansy unicorn curse. All it will do is keep you warmer down here. Now eat up.”

The jailer slammed the cage door shut and picked up the lantern, giving Lilo one last look before turning back down the hall and departing.

“Creepy bug,” he muttered.

Lilo’s head drooped and she refused to move out of the corner of the cage until the light from the pony’s lantern had completely faded. When she felt that the jailer had left, she slowly crept over to the burlap blanket.

The burlap felt rough under her hooves. Lilo took a sniff, then cringed slightly at the blanket before turning her attention to the bowl that sat next to the door. Her stomach rumbled audibly, and after another moment of staring at the bowl, she pounced and tore the cover off. Inside was a mush of a strange smelling substance, but Lilo ignored it as she started to lap it up with her long tongue. She shoveled the food as fast as she could into her mouth, nearly forgetting to breathe as her nose was plunged into the pasty liquid.

When she was finished, she withdrew from the bowl and turned around to look at the burlap blanket. It lay there in a heap, unfriendly and uninviting. Judging from its edges, it looked as if it had been recently cut open from an old potato sack due to the untidy frills that lined it.

A shiver ran down Lilo’s spine and she looked up. She had noticed the cold from earlier, but its presence was not so prominent until now as a draft cut through her cage.

“I guess it is a little cold down here,” Lilo said to herself, laying down and pulling the blanket over her. The rough material irritated her wings slightly. “I wonder how many other changelings are still alive after that explosion? I couldn’t be the only one, can I?”

The only response was the dull trickle of water on the cobblestone ground. Lilo’s ears folded back and she looked down at her hooves. Empty and lonely with only the sound of dripping water to fill the void.

“How did I end up here?” she asked as she lay her head down onto her hooves and drifted off to sleep.

~~~

Lilo awoke to the sound of a metal pole banging against the sides of her cage. She jolted up to her hooves, blasting the burlap blanket off of her back. Her eyes met the jailer once again, and he did little to help her relax when he began to unlock the doors to her cage. His keys rattled noisily as he turned the lock and the door groaned open when he gave it a shove. He took a step inside, kicking the bowl to the other side of the cage.

“You have your first client,” the jailer said, looking down at the set of keys in his mouth. “Zumas said that the client is wondering if we have an exotic mare from one of the southern port cities in Equestria. He told them that we do.”

Lilo retracted when the jailer moved closer to her with the keys still in his mouth. He growled when she was about to take a step back, causing her to remain in place and close her eyes instead when he took hold of her collar. She heard the lock on her collar click and the weight of the chain tugging on her neck was released. She opened her eyes again and looked down to see that the chain was now lying limp at her hooves, although the collar was still securely wrapped around her neck. The jailer turned to leave the cage.

“Filthy bug,” he mumbled. He then added much louder, “You had better follow me and change into your disguise. I think it would be in your best interest if nopony else saw you for what you really are. The last thing we need is somepony alerting the guards that we’re hiding parasites.”

Lilo cringed when she heard the earth pony’s dark chuckle. She fell in step behind him, leaving the cage and making her way down the hallway. Her mind raced over a credible disguise she could use, piecing together memories from ponies she had seen that might match the description of a pony who would be from Equestria’s south. A certain earth pony with a pink coat and light blue hair came to mind, and she quickly shapeshifted into her guise just as the jailer reached the stairs ahead of her. On her flank was a blue lotus flower.

“So, what does this stallion look like?” Lilo asked hopefully.

“What does it matter to you?” the jailer replied, looking straight ahead. “He’s just another source of food for you insufferable parasites anyways. Fucking them is probably just some sick and twisted benefit for you monsters.”

Lilo recoiled, but she added, “W-we aren’t monsters. Sure, we feed on love, but it is a necessity to survive. Can you at least tell me what the stallion looks like so I know what I can expect?”

The earth pony stopped and spun around. “You aren’t monsters, huh? So attacking thousands of innocent ponies, destroying gratuitous amounts of Canterlot, and rounding up its citizens like some kind of slave force to feed you nasty little insects doesn’t make you a monster?”

Lilo took a step back, shrinking away from the earth pony’s frightful gaze. “We were hungry. W-we were following Queen Chrysalis’s orders. We only-”

The earth pony struck Lilo across the face, snapping her head ninety degrees. The changeling was stunned, the force behind the jailer’s hoof enough to send sharp pains rippling across Lilo’s now fleshy cheek. Taking in deep breaths, she slowly turned head back to the jailer, holding back several tears that threatened to fall down her cheeks.

“Pitiful,” he said, turning around and walking up the stairs. “Following some queen’s orders. Wouldn’t you think at least one or two of you would have had half a mind to question your miserable queen?.”

Lilo opened her mouth to reply, but quickly shut it again when she felt the sharp pain still rolling around in her cheek. She grit her teeth and bit her lip instead, casting her eyes down towards her hooves.

Once they reached the top of the stairs, the jailer pushed the door open to allow for both him and Lilo to pass through. They stepped onto a smooth, wooden floor, and then turned to start walking down another hallway. From a distance, Lilo heard a rhythmic beat rattle the walls all along the corridor. The jailer glanced behind him, smirking when he saw that Lilo still maintained her disguise. He stopped at a door that was located halfway down the corridor towards a set of ornately decorated wooden doors.

“You’re going to take these steps up to the second floor,” the jailer began, pushing the door open. “Go to a room number two-oh-four and wait for the client.” He paused, leaning in closer to her. “Oh, and since you’re a parasite, I’m sure you have done this type of work before. Don’t screw this up.”

Lilo stared at the jailer for a moment, her ears flopping back, but he simply nodded his head towards the stairs. She sighed and slunk past the jailer, making her way up the wooden steps. Upon entering the second floor, she turned and started down the hall towards the doors furthest from the back. She counted the numbers along her route. Her hoofsteps on the wooden floor clip-clopped through the corridor and followed her until she stopped at one particular door. A large number was etched onto a plaque right above the handle.

“Two hundred and four,” Lilo said to herself.

She looked back at herself, scanning over her coat and her tail for any hairs that may be out of place. She gave her hips a little bit of a sway side to side, allowing for her tail to swish side to side as well. She then lifted her forehoof and smoothed out her mane, practiced her smiles for a moment, and smoothed out the hairs on her chest. Graceful was all that she could think of. She took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

Two massive windows lined the far side of the room, allowing for plenty of light from the sun to fill every corner that would have otherwise been shrouded by soft shadows. Bookcases filled with all sorts of books lined either side of the room, their spines each colored a unique shade to bring warmth to the already warm sunshine. A large, colorfully patterned rug lay at the foot of the massive bed that sat between the two windows. The bed was covered in all sorts of pillows and blankets, allowing for whomever used it to feel as if they were lying within a bed of feathers and fur.

Lilo shut the door behind her, sighing and dragging her hooves over to the bed. She climbed onto the bed and lay down on her side, positioning herself so her pink plot was facing the door. She shifted her blue tail enough so that it hid some of her flank.

I never thought I would catch myself waiting on a bed for a stallion to come take me again, Lilo thought to herself. I wish that... that disgusting pony wasn’t right about me. He looks at me with so much hatred and enmity, as if I’ve been his enemy for longer than eternity. And it can’t be just him, either; there has to be other ponies like him. We seem like parasites to them, sucking away their precious love so that we may feed ourselves.

There came a knock on the door and Lilo turned her head. She perked her ears up, shifted on the bed a little bit, then quietly cleared her voice.

“Come in, sweetling,” Lilo called in a very sweet and smooth voice.

The door opened and an average looking orange stallion stood in the doorway. His eyes widened when he saw the beautiful, southern mare before him, and after closing the door, he slowly began to edge his way towards her. Lilo rolled her eyes and slid herself off the bed, lowering her eyelids slightly and walking towards him with enough swing in her step to shake her flank back and forth.

The stallion froze in place, his legs locking together and both his mane and his tail standing on end. The poor guy must have already been sweating for all Lilo knew, fawning over the disguised changeling who approached him like a cat would approach a mouse.

“So you were the handsome stallion who was looking for a southern mare,” Lilo said, biting her lower lip.

She started to circle him, and just as her flank was about to disappear from the stallion’s view, she flicked her tail slightly. The stallion squeaked as quietly as he could manage, and he did his best to twist his head around to follow Lilo’s movement.

“Do you like what you see?” Lilo added. She saw his head nod rapidly and she giggled. “So, I’m not a disappointment, am I? Well, that’s too bad…” She walked around his backside and sidled up next to the stallion, nipping at his ear. “I hear that the naughtiest mares get the most fun. I guess I just have to try harder.”

Lilo heard the stallion’s heart patter, but she frowned when she found no traces of love leaving his body. She bumped her flank up next to him, pushing both of them towards the bed. The stallion eagerly complied, turning around when he reached the bed and planting a kiss onto Lilo’s lips. Her eyes widen in surprise from the sudden forwardness of the stallion, but she quickly return the kiss with a smile.

Lilo quickly used her soft forehooves to pushed him onto his back on the bed. She climbed on after him, crawling over his body to give another quick kiss on his muzzle before she began to trace her lips down along the stallion’s neck and chest.

Parasite.

~~~

Lilo sat on her haunches and watched as the orange stallion departed, closing the door behind him without a single glance back at her. The bed was a mess of blankets and pillows, strewn about from their less than foal friendly acts. The air around her smelled of sweat and seed. She sighed and looked down at the bed.

“I... I don’t feel the love,” Lilo said to herself quietly. “Not a single trace of love left that stallion’s body. Did I do something wrong? Was I not good enough for him? I was trying my… my best, I know I was.”

She bounced her forehooves on the bed and retraced everything that transpired in the last twenty minutes. Perhaps her techniques weren’t as solid as she believed them to be, or maybe the initial meekness of the stallion was from being in a brothel in the first place rather than her disguise? He didn’t seem the least interested in her once he was all finished.

Several moments passed by before the door to the room swung open and the jailer stood at the doorway. His face was scrunched up tight as he looked at her, and he motioned with his hoof for Lilo to follow him. She slid from the bed and walked quickly out of the room, glancing behind her as the earth pony started to follow behind her. They both strode towards the door that led back down to the basement. He trotted ahead of her and opened the door.

“Keep moving,” he growled as she passed by him.

In no time they both were back in the basement of the brothel and Lilo dropped her disguise, her form becoming encased in a green glow for a second to reveal her chitin once again. The jailer looked behind him and scoffed.

“I would have prefered if you stayed as that southern pony,” he said with a growl. “Would have made it easier to look at you whenever I come by.”

Lilo flinched and stopped when the earth pony halted in front of her cage. He swung the cage open and held up his hoof, gesturing for her to step inside. Lilo hesitated, looking down at her hooves.

“Do you find me that revolting?” she asked.

“I’m not the only one,” the earth pony replied. “Now shut up and get in the cage.”

Lilo sighed and started to walk past the earth pony, but before she was even halfway in the cage, the earth pony kicked out one of his hooves and tripped her. She fell flat on her face, and the jailer smirked as he walked in after her and secured the chain to her collar. The familiar rattling sound didn’t bring her any relief—quite the opposite, in fact. Lilo groaned and rolled on her back in time to see the earth pony slam the jail door behind him.

They stared at each other, Lilo on her back with her hooves tucked up under her chin while the jailer stood on the other side of the bars with his cold eyes glaring back at her. He spat at her after a time, then turned away and walked down the hallway, cackling cynically to himself.

The familiar dripping from the pipe leak returned once the jailer’s hoofsteps died away. Lilo turned onto her side and curled up, shutting her eyes as tightly as she could.

Chapter 3: Chances

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Roses are Red: Chapter 3

Lilo’s eyes slowly opened as she awoke from another night of restless sleep. The stone floor underneath her felt cold, and she pulled the burlap blanket tighter around her body as a shiver ran down her spine. The room was dark, and she could barely see through the shadows towards the lingering pool of water created from the leak. The dull splashes carried on through her ears. She sighed.

Lilo started to raise herself to her hooves, but as she sat up, her stomach twisted, and she leaned over to one side and retched. The bile tasted disgusting on her tongue, eliciting a gag to escape Lilo’s throat and another round of vomit to escape her lips. When she was finished, Lilo’s breaths were ragged and she dragged herself to the other side of the cage, carrying the blanket with her. Her whole body shook violently while she looked at the mess on the other side of the prison.

“I’m going to die in here,” Lilo said to herself, letting out a sob. “I haven’t tasted love in over a week. Everypony that I have been bedded by has not shown a single morsel of love, not even enough to just give me a taste.” She buried her face in her hooves. “I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. I... I used to feel love through such crude activities, but now it’s gone.”

She cried into her hooves, barely drowning out the quiet drips from the leaking pipe. Lilo tried to reconnect to the hive mind again to locate the rest of her changeling allies, but the link to the hive appeared to be broken. She wasn’t sure what was blocking her access to the hive mind, causing her to feel lost beneath the brothel that was her prison.

Her whole body ached from the wounds that still had yet to heal, as well as a dull pain running through her muscles from all of the ponies she had fucked. Whenever she thought she would have time to rest, the earth pony jailer would return a few hours later telling her that she had another client she had to satisfy. Lilo never complained to the jailer, but as the clients started to pile up, it was becoming harder and harder for her to do her job.

Lilo’s ears perked up when she heard hoofsteps echoing down the hall towards her. She lifted her head, spotting the light of the lantern swinging sporadically and dancing off of the walls. Her eyes slowly drifted back towards the mess of bile she had left on the other side of her cage and her breath caught in her throat.

“Oh no,” she whimpered to herself. “He’s going to be so furious with me for leaving that mess.”

Lilo started to throw the blanket off herself and get to her hooves when the jailer stepped into view, the lantern swinging back and forth. He spotted her on the far side of the cage, lifting an eyebrow. He set the lantern down slowly and began to reach into the back of his saddlebags, but before he could open one of the bags, he paused.

“Why are you over on that side of the cage?” he asked slowly. His eyes slowly moved back to where the changeling usually slept. He sniffed, and his eyes narrowed. “You can’t be serious. Did you really just...”

The earth pony reached into his saddlebags and pulled the keys to the cage out. He unlocked the door, swinging it open and dropping his saddlebags behind him as he rushed into the cage. He was quickly standing over Lilo, looking down at her while she cowered at his hooves, silently whimpering to herself. His breaths were heavy while he stared down at her.

“I’m so sorry!” Lilo cried out, looking up at the jailer. “I didn’t mean to. I just woke up and when I tried to get up, my stomach-”

The earth pony slapped her across the face with his hoof, and he leaned down closer to her face and said, “You’re going to clean this mess up, you hear?”

Lilo’s eyes darted between her hooves. “I-I don’t have anything to clean it up with. I d-don’t know how I’m supposed to..”

“Shut up,” the jailer snarled. He grabbed Lilo’s ear in his teeth and started to drag her across the floor towards the mess. She wailed in pain, flailing her legs the whole way until he let go. She clutched her ear with one of her hooves and looked at the bile in front of her. Her eyes widened.

“Y-you don’t seriously expect me to...” Lilo trailed off, trying to back away from the mess.

“Clean it up!” the jailer yelled, kicking Lilo in the side.

Lilo yelped and rolled over onto her side, holding the side of her stomach where the jailer had kicked her. She felt warm liquid dribble down her ear and across her face, and tears were streaming down her eyes as she tried to look away from the earth pony standing over her. He growled at her, stepping into her view. Lilo shut her eyes.

“What are you crying for?” the jailer asked coldly. “I said clean it up!” He kicked her again, pushing her onto her back. His eyes flashed, and his lips curled into a wicked grin. “You know what? I have a better idea.”

Lilo opened one of her eyes in time to witness the earth pony standing over her. He pushed her forehooves away from her body and leaned in closer to her face. She felt his hot breaths on her face, and she wrinkled her nose from the foul scent that flowed out of his mouth into her nostrils.

“Don’t even bother to struggle, stupid bug,” the jailer hissed into her ear. “I’ll probably enjoy this less than you will.”

Lilo felt the earth pony lower himself onto her, and before he could get himself inside her, she lunged at his neck with her fangs, sinking her teeth into his flesh. He tried to let out a yelp, but his voice was muffled as Lilo’s jaw tightened around his neck, constricting his throat around his vocal cord. When Lilo pulled her head back, tearing at his flesh, the jailer toppled off of her and lay in a growing pool of his own blood, gurgling and gasping for breath. She coughed and backed away from him, staring at the earth pony with wide eyes.

The earth pony’s gurgling echoed off of the walls of the basement, causing Lilo to look away and covered both of her ears with her hooves. Her mouth tasted bitter from the blood and the bile, and her whole body shook as more tears came to her eyes. She had just killed a pony—the pony who looked after her—without a moments hesitation. He lay there in his own blood, drowning and fighting for life.

She had also just killed the pony who had made her life miserable in the basement. She shared just as many bruises across her chitin from her fall as she did from the beatings the jailer had given her. His insults and accusations were cruel. Lilo slowly looked back at the earth pony. He lay still.

Lilo staggered to her hooves and walked over to him. His eyes had rolled back into his head, and the pool of blood around his neck grew larger. Lilo cringed, quickly looking away from the dead pony at her hooves. As her gaze shifted over towards the entrance of the cage, she caught sight of a rusted metallic object at the base of the bars. The earth had dropped his keys as he had rushed in to get her.

Without giving the earth pony a second glance, Lilo bounded over to the keys and picked them up. She looked down and began fumbling with them, eventually managing to get the right key into the hole on her collar and twisted, allowing for the chain to fall free and clatter against the ground. She made to scramble out of the cage, but just as she put her first hoof through the door, she looked back at the jailer.

“The earth pony has been gone for too long already,” Lilo said to herself, stepping back into the cage. “If I leave now, with him like... like this, it would be all too obvious what has transpired here.” She began to make her way to the other side of the cage, grabbing the burlap blanket in her teeth and dragging it over to the earth pony. She lay the blanket across the body, covering it entirely.

Lilo left the cage with the keys in her mouth, and then she turned around and shut the door, locking it and tossing the keys away into a corner of the basement. Giving the cage one last look over, Lilo dashed towards the stairs that led up into the brothel.

The door at the top of the stairs creaked open when Lilo nudged her nose against it. She poked her head out into the hallway, looking on either side of the door, and when she spotted no ponies moving about, she quickly trotted towards the door at the back end of the hall. After trying the door handle with her magic and finding it wouldn’t budge, Lilo returned back down the hall and headed towards the other door where the blaring beat of bass and treble reverberated from. She put ear up to the door and listened as ponies cheered and hollered above the music that filled the room.

“There has to be an exit to the building in there,” Lilo said to herself, taking her ear from the door. She thought for a moment, and then after glancing back down the hall, her body became encased by her green magic. Lilo donned the disguise of a pegasus, her black chitin changing to become a soft, creme color, and her mane became a twist of both light pink and white. On her flank was a picture of a pink rose. When her disguise was complete, she sighed deeply and staggered.

“Okay,” Lilo whispered breathlessly, “I just have to make it to the door without arousing suspicion.”

As she pushed the door open, she was met with the full force of the music beyond. The bass thundered in her ears, causing her to fold them back against the side of her head while she quickly stepped into the room. Ponies of all colors, sizes, and race stood around a central, rounded stage. The stage had a long thin neck to connect to the curtains behind it. Tables lay strewn everywhere for ponies to sit down and have a drink, and a bar had been built on the far side that seemed to shelve every liquor imaginable. A single mare was on the stage, dancing in front of all of the other ponies around her.

Lilo slowly edged her way around the crowd of ponies, keeping her eyes down on the ground or directly in front of her. She had spotted a pair of double doors at the very front of the brothel, and she made a beeline for them as quickly as she could. As she was halfway across the room and fully cleared the crowd of ponies, a large unicorn stepped in front of her. His coat was charcoal gray, his mane was a mixture of white and light gray, and on his flank was a picture of a phoenix feather with two bits. He smiled down at her.

“I’ve never seen you here before,” he said. His voice was familiar. “You’re not one of my employees, are you?”

Lilo shrank back slightly. “N-no, I was just passing through.”

The unicorn’s smile faltered, and his blue eyes pierced into hers. “Is that so? I guess I should familiarize myself with my staff more. Regardless, my apologies. My name is Zumas.” He held out his hoof.

“Oh, h-hello, Zumas,” Lilo said, gingerly taking his hoof. “My name is R-rosebud.”

“Rosebud? That’s quite a beautiful name,” Zumas replied, dropping his hoof. “Are you alright? You seem quite flustered.”

“N-no. I’m fine,” Lilo said, glancing behind Zumas at the doors. His eyes followed hers. “S-sorry, but I really need to head on home.”

“No need to apologize,” Zumas said, stepping to the side. “Allow me to show you out.”

Lilo nodded, and together, she and Zumas exited the brothel. The sun had already set, allowing for the clear skies overhead to be filled with beautiful, shimmering stars. All of the buildings around the brothel still had lights glowing within them, and the many street lamps down the street had been lit by the night watch. Lilo took a deep breath, looking down the street to the left.

“I hope you have a safe trip home, Rosebud,” Zumas said. Lilo turned and looked at him, and he continued, “I look forward to seeing you again soon.”

Lilo’s ears folded back, and after giving Zumas a wave, she started off at a brisk trot down the street. The unicorn watched her depart, a small smile creeping onto his lips.

~~~

Once the line of sight with Zumas was broken, Lilo broke into a full gallop down the street. She ran through the streets of Canterlot, twisting around corners and dashing down alleyways to put herself as far as she could from the brothel. Her hoofsteps were the only sounds the echoed through the cities streets she sprinted down, and after what felt like an hour, Lilo finally turned down another alley and collapsed. She dropped her disguise and lay panting underneath a window of an apartment building.

Lilo’s eyes slowly began to close, but her nose picked up a familiar scent and they jolted back open again. She rose back to her hooves, and her ears began to pick up the faint sound of two pony’s voices behind the window. She peered through the window, only to be blocked by a curtain that was obscuring her view. The only thing visible was the silhouettes of the ponies inside.

Looking down at the window itself, Lilo spotted a latch that held the window in place. She released the latch and lifted the window. Her ears were met with the sounds of a mare’s moans and a stallion’s grunts, and she blushed slightly. However, the smell that still hung in the air beckoned her, and she began to collect the love that flowed freely around her.

Lilo stopped suddenly, eyes wide. She slowly shut the window and sat down on her haunches.

“No,” she said to herself. “I... It’s not fair for them.” Lilo looked up at the window again, and a low growl escaped her stomach. “Maybe at another time I would have been more... more...”

Lilo lay her head down on her hooves and closed her eyes.

Parasitic.

Chapter 4: Shelter

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Roses are Red: Chapter 4

A crack of thunder rang out overhead, waking Lilo from her fitful slumber. She gazed up above her, noticing the menacing, black clouds that flew overhead with small ripples of electricity running through them. After glancing up and down the alleyway, Lilo unsteadily rose to her hooves and peered into the window where the two ponies had been last night. Pulling the blinds back slightly with her magic, she saw that both the mare and the stallion were lying peacefully in the bed asleep. She released the curtain.

Another crack of thunder blasted through the air, causing Lilo to fold her ears back. A few drops of water landed onto her muzzle and head, and she sighed as she started to make her way towards the opening of the alley. Before she reached the street, she dipped into her love reserves to change herself back into Rosebud, and upon finishing, she collapsed onto the ground.

“I need to find something to eat,” Lilo said to herself, struggling to her hooves. She grabbed a piece of cardboard from the side of the alleyway and began using a marker she found next to the cardboard to scribble a few words onto it. “Even if it will barely sustain me a bit longer, perhaps I’ll be able to connect to the hive mind and call out for help.”

Lilo finished scribbling the words onto the cardboard, and after giving the alley another quick glance, she spotted an empty tin can and picked it up in her mouth with the piece of cardboard. She stepped out of the alleyway, almost running into another pony as she did so. The pony glared at her as he passed her by, and she shrunk back slightly under his piercing gaze. She almost started to turn to walk in the opposite direction of the pony, but she then spotted what the pony was walking towards: a large market. Stalls filled the expansive space that was set aside for ponies to trade their wares from across Equestria or sell to prospective customers. After hesitating for a moment, making sure she was a safe distance away from the pony, Lilo made her way towards the market.

The sounds of the ponies shouting over each other to advertise their merchandise hurt Lilo’s ears, and she once again had them folded against her head. She tried to squeeze through the throng of ponies towards somewhere deeper in the marketplace, trying her best not to bump into anypony or make eye contact. She kept her head down, tightly gripping the cardboard and the can in her mouth.

After Lilo had found an open spot between a market stall selling turnips and another stall selling grapes, she sat down and put the can in front of her. She still held the cardboard in her mouth, although it began to get soggy as the rain from the sky above continued to pour down in heavier sheets. She looked down at her hooves, and she was able to read what she had written on the cardboard.

Starving and displaced, please help.

~~~

An hour had dragged on and the can at Lilo’s hooves only contained two bits in it, barely enough to pay for a turnip at the stall next to her. The changeling sighed, dropping the soaked cardboard onto the cobblestone ground. The rain continued to fall around the marketplace, and by the end of the hour, many ponies had returned to their homes to escape the torrential rains. Only a few ponies cantered between the stalls, quickly exchanging their bits with the salesponies and leaving.

Lilo leaned down to pick up the two bits that were in the can until she heard a set of hooves stop in front of her. A single bit dropped into the can. She looked up, her eyes locking with a light gray pegasus stallion looking down at her. He had a blue mane and tail, and on his flank was a cutiemark of a erlenmeyer flask crossed over by a test tube. He smiled at her, but when Lilo flinched a little, his smile started to wane.

“I... guess you have had some tough luck since the changeling attack,” the pegasus said. Lilo looked away and the pegasus frowned. “Is there anything else I could do to help?”

Lilo slowly started to turn her head back towards the pegasus, but as a growl escaped her stomach, her eyes darted to the stall that was selling grapes next to her. The pegasus followed her eyes, and without giving her a second glance, he walked up to the stall and purchased a bunch of grapes. After thanking the salespony, he trotted back to Lilo and placed them at her hooves. Lilo’s eyes went wide.

When Lilo dove into the bunch and started devouring the grapes, the pegasus smiled again and sat on his haunches. He watched her until she finished, patiently smiling even as the rain poured around them.

“Do you have a name?” he asked when Lilo lifted her head up again.

Lilo shrunk back again, and after a moment she said, “M-my name’s Rosebud.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Rosebud,” the pegasus said, extending a hoof out towards her. “My name is Carbon.”

Lilo meekly took his hoof and shook it. A charcoal gray pony walked behind Carbon, catching Lilo’s eye, but when she glanced at the pony’s red mane and tail, she sighed. Carbon looked behind him, and when he turned back to her he gazed at her quizzically.

“Is there something wrong?” he asked.

“N-no, I just thought I saw somepony I knew,” Lilo replied. “I, uh... Thank you for the grapes. It was very kind of you, y-you didn’t need to.”

Another crack of thunder rolled through the sky, catching Carbon’s attention. After looking upwards for a moment, he said, “You should probably head back home, the rain is really starting to pick up. You wouldn’t want to catch a cold.” Lilo looked down at her hooves, and Carbon added, “You don’t have a home to go back to, do you?”

“I-I do have one,” Lilo said. She looked down at her hooves and reached out to the hive mind, but yet again she was unable to effectively connect. She winced. “It’s just a matter of getting back to it.”

Carbon scooted closer to Lilo. “Look, I have some extra room in my apartment across the city. I’d be willing to let you stay at my place until you have some means to get back home.”

“No, I couldn’t impose,” Lilo said fumbling with her forehooves. “I-I don’t want to be a burden. I don’t think you would want somepony like me around.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Carbon asked, touching his hooves against Lilo’s. “You look like a well kept and intelligent mare. To see you...” He glanced at Lilo’s sign. “...displaced as you are is deplorable.”

“Carbon I...” Lilo was interrupted as another crack of thunder rang overhead. She shivered as the rain started to soak through her coat, and her wings rustled gently against her sides. “Okay, let’s go.”

They both rose to their hooves, and once Lilo had picked up her can with three bits, both she and Carbon began to gallop through the streets of Canterlot. The buildings started to get to be smaller and smaller as the traveled away from the market and Canterlot Castle, and before Lilo knew it, Carbon had led her into one of the poorest residential districts in the city. The streets were dirty and muddy from the rain, and many of the buildings looked to be in some minor state of disintegration. They passed by one building that had a massive hole carved into it with scorch marks decorating the buildings around it. Lilo shuttered.

Carbon looked back at Lilo and said, “I apologize for the neighborhood. Housing here in Canterlot isn’t exactly cheap.”

He was leading her towards a large structure that stood out from the buildings around it. It was painted bright white—albeit slightly dirty—and was covered in stucco. The roof shingles were colored dark gray rather than the typical red shingles that were prominent across the residential districts of Canterlot. Windows covered the entire building, and after counting one column of windows from the bottom to the top, she discerned that the apartment building in front of them was six stories tall.

As they approached the front doors to the apartment building, Lilo’s vision blurred, causing her to bump into Carbon slightly.

“Are you alright, Rosebud?” Carbon asked, turning around and helping Lilo steady herself.

“I’m... fine,” Lilo said, taking a deep breath. She felt light headed, and her breaths were coming more raggedly. “I just slipped is all.”

Carbon leaned in closer to Lilo. “I think it’s more that just a simple slip of the hoof. Your eyes are dilated,” he placed a hoof to her forehead, “and you’re burning up. Come on, let’s get you up to my apartment.”

Carbon sidled up next to Lilo, letting her lean on him as he pushed through the front doors to the apartment building. They sped across the lobby and jumped into one of the elevators that was making its way up. Carbon pushed the button to bring them to the fourth story of the building, and as the elevator jerked to life, they remained in silence while water dripped from their coats onto the floor.

When they reached the fourth floor, Carbon helped Lilo walk two doors down from the elevator doors. He paused, fishing his key out from inside of his feathers and using it to unlock the door. They burst into the apartment and Carbon led the disguised-changeling to one of the couches that sat in front of a fireplace.

He helped Lilo sit down, and after making sure she was comfortable, he asked, “Is there anything I can get you? Some water; something more to eat?”

Lilo’s head was swimming, and she blinked before saying, “Some water and a bowl of soup would be okay. T-thank you so much.”

Carbon rushed into the kitchen, leaving Lilo to herself on the couch. Lilo’s head was pounding, and her vision blurred once again as she slipped from the couch and hit the floor. Her heart burned inside of her chest and her body felt numb. Her breaths became even more ragged, and she started gasping for air as she dragged herself across the floor towards the kitchen. She saw Carbon come rushing back to her with a glass of water, but before he had time to ask her what’s wrong, she slumped against the floor and blacked out. The last thing Lilo saw before she blacked out was Carbon’s face.

Chapter 5: Interrogation

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Roses are Red: Chapter 5

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Lilo’s eyes slowly fluttered open as she was awakened by a steady stream of beats residing from a strange contraption next to her. A red line would pulse in synchronization with her heart as it shot across the screen, beeping every time the line was broken into a zigzag shape. She stared up at the ceiling. Her head was pounding, but her breathing had eased to normal and her body didn’t feel like it was burning from the inside out.

Lilo’s ear twitched as she heard a door click. She tried to lift her head to search for a door in the room, but before she could raise it a few centimeters, it was pulled back down as something that was wrapped around her neck kept her fastened to the bed. Lilo tried moving her hooves, but she soon found that they, too, had been tied in place. Her eyes widened as she remembered what had happened before she woke up in this bed. A pony by the name of Carbon had taken her from the streets and brought her into his home, but shortly thereafter she had collapsed onto the apartment floor and blacked out.

Looking down at herself, Lilo saw that part of the chitin from her chest was exposed instead of the creme colored fur she had used while posing as Rosebud. She sighed, taking this time to look around the room. She twisted her head to the left away from the monitor. There was nightstand with a lamp, but other than that, the entire room was devoid of anything aside for the closet next to the door. She turned her head back to stare up at the ceiling again, listening to the beeps of the machine next to her.

After a few more minutes, the door to her room opened, but she didn’t hear any hoofsteps enter. She slowly turned her head towards where the sound originated from, and she found that Carbon stood in the doorway staring at her. He had a tray with food and water in his mouth. Lilo hastily looked away back up at the ceiling.

“So... You’re awake,” Carbon said slowly. The door behind him closed, and Lilo heard his hoofsteps thump quietly on the carpet underneath him. The hoofsteps were slow and unsteady, and aside for the machine next to Lilo, the room was deathly quiet.

Carbon set the tray down on the side of the bed next to Lilo. She looked over at the food, and in the corner of the eye, she saw Carbon slink back a little from the bed and sit down. His entire body was tense as he continued to stare at her.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“I... I’m feeling better,” Lilo said. She looked at Carbon. “T-thank you for saving me.”

Carbon had raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t know changelings sound quite like that.”

Lilo flinched. “I-I’m not sure what you mean,” Lilo said, looking away from Carbon. She shifted uncomfortably against her restraints.

“I mean that your voice sounds... well,” Carbon paused, looking down at his hooves. After a moment, he looked back up and asked, “How did you get back into Canterlot? I thought all of the changelings were removed by Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor’s spell?”

Lilo sighed. “I was brought back in by a group of ponies who were looking to exploit my changeling talents. They hid me... somewhere else in the city. I’m not sure where.”

“What do you mean when you say ‘exploit your changeling talents?’ “ Carbon asked, raising an eyebrow. When Lilo remained silent with her eyes remaining downcast, he looked away. “Are there any other changelings in the city?”

“I don’t know,” Lilo replied sullenly.

“You... aren’t able to get in contact with them?” Carbon asked. Again, Lilo didn’t respond. After giving a sigh, Carbon scooted closer to Lilo, causing her to flinch. He stopped for a moment, waiting for her to relax before he began to untie the harnesses that held her forehooves in place. Lilo watched him carefully, waiting until he had completely released her forehooves and backed away before she brought them up to her chest.

“It’ll be easier for you to eat now.” Carbon said.

Lilo made to reach for the bowl on the tray. The smell of the contents inside made her stomach rumble, causing her mouth to salivate. Before she had both hooves on the bowl, however, she stopped suddenly and turned to look at Carbon.

“Why did you save me?” she asked. “You could easily have left me to die.”

Carbon fumbled with his hooves. “When you blacked out, you immediately changed back into your... original form. I wasn’t sure what to do at first; I mean, I had a changeling lying in the middle of my floor dying. You started coughing up blood, at least I think it was blood, and your breaths became more and more labored. I couldn’t take it anymore, and so I did my best to check your vital signs and then rush back into my laboratory to use a numbing potion on you.

“I wasn’t even sure it was going to work, to be honest.” Carbon smirked, looking down at his hooves. “You should eat.” Lilo picked up the bowl and started to eat the mush that was inside. She noted the taste was far better than the stuff she ate beneath the brothel. Carbon continued, “I have never tested the potion on ponies before. It was still under lab animal experiments, so you can imagine my shock when it worked on slowing all of your vital organs to a crawl. I was able to bring you back to my room and hook you up to a few medical instruments I have been borrowing from my workplace over at Canterlot University.”

Lilo stopped eating for a moment, looking down at the pillow she was laying on and grimacing.

“After performing a diagnosis on you when you were under the effects of the potion,” Carbon continued, “I found that your body had been starved severely. It was almost unreal, as if you had not eaten in weeks.” He threw up his hooves, making gestures as he spoke. “Your blood levels were extremely low and the amount of iron running through your bloodstream was next to none. Luckily, after taking a sample of your blood, I was able to replicate it and synthesize it to produce enough to make a blood transfusion.” Carbon nodded to the empty bag suspended by a long rod next to the bed.

Lilo glanced at the bag before looking down at her hooves. She had already set the bowl down on the tray half finished. Carbon scooted closer to the bed again and nudged the bowl closer to her with his muzzle.

“You should eat,” he said.

“How long have I been unconscious?” Lilo asked.

“Two days.”

Lilo blinked. “Two days?”

“You’re wondering why I haven’t reported you to the Royal Guards?” Carbon asked, shifting his wings uncomfortably against his sides. Lilo looked at him. “I know I should,” Lilo’s face fell, “but I can’t bring myself to contact the local police station. This past week I have seen changelings being transported through the streets in large metal cages towards the castle. I stop and make way for the caravans carrying the changelings, and as they pass by, I am able to look into the eyes of whichever changelings catch my gaze.”

Carbon paused, looking away from Lilo for a moment. His posture had straightened. “They are so frightened. I look at each and every changeling passing by in the street and everyone of them is terrified for their life.” Carbon stood up and began to walk around the foot of the bed. “They’re not sure what to expect as they near Canterlot Castle, nor do they know what sort of punishment awaits for them beyond the castle walls. By Kronos, we don’t even know what the punishment is for the changelings.”

Carbon stopped in front of the beeping machine. “After I patched you up and I saw you laying in this bed struggling for your life, I just couldn’t imagine seeing you locked up in one of those cages heading for the castle. You’re a changeling, but from what I saw back at the marketplace, you’re just as pony as anypony else. If I were willing gave up a helpless, harmless changeling to whatever the Royal Guard has in store for your race, I would be committing a crime against all that ethics stand for.”

He sighed, looking away from the monitor and out the window that hung above Lilo. “You said you are not able to get in touch with other changelings?” Lilo nodded. “I’m assuming you use some sort of central mind?” Lilo nodded again, and Carbon looked down at his hooves and walked back to the foot of the bed. “The Royal Guard must have set up some sort of nullification spell to negate the central mind around Canterlot.”

After a moment, Carbon threw up his hooves and growled, pacing back and forth across the room. “I don’t even know why I’m even thinking of helping you. I’ve already sheltered you in my home and am nursing you back to health, any further and I could be labeled as a traitor to Equestria.”

“Y-you don’t have to help me,” Lilo said, folding her ears back.

“So you would have me throw you out in the street and fend for yourself once again?” Carbon asked. “You’re in Canterlot, this isn’t some small town like Ponyville or Canterbury, this is a city filled with thousands of ponies who hardly care about anything else other than themselves.” He paused, taking a deep breath after he saw the dismal look on Lilo’s face. “Sorry.” Carbon said as he looked down at his hooves. “Why did you come to Canterlot in the first place?”

Lilo shifted uncomfortably on the bed. There was a long pause as she remained silent, and just as the beeps from the monitor began to become unbearable, she said, “We were hungry and lost when we came to Canterlot. For years we have been searching all over the Broken Leylands to the east looking for some source of food that could sustain the changelings a bit longer. We continued moving west, eventually coming across the desolate deserts that the buffalo occupy, and then the lush, green forests that is the everfree. We had no idea where Queen Chrysalis was taking us until we were hidden outside of the city.

“We salivated over the love in the air around the city,” Lilo paused, taking a deep breath. “Never before had such a feast been presented before us. We didn’t care how or where the queen had learned of this source of love, we just wanted to gorge ourselves like never before.”

“So we were just another source of food to you?” Carbon asked, raising an eyebrow.

“N-no, it wasn’t like that!” Lilo hastily said. “We... We were desperate. Many changelings had been barely scraping along with the extra love stores our scouts were bringing to us. We needed to find some way to feed an entire nation as quickly as possible or we were quite literally facing a mass starvation.” Lilo paused, watching as Carbon’s facial expression remained unfazed. “W-we didn’t know what else to do. Queen Chrysalis didn’t know what else to do. We were willing to give anything just to not be hungry anymore.”

Carbon looked away. His body had relaxed since Lilo had first started relaying the reason behind the attack on Canterlot. Although his face remained scrunched up in thought and debate, she watched as the rest of his body had eased around her presence. She had begun to relax as well as she continued to stare at the pegasus.

“I should probably let you rest,” Carbon finally said. “If there is anything you need, don’t be afraid to let me know.”

Lilo watched as Carbon stood on his hooves and started to walk towards the door. She bit her lip, and just as he was about to step out of the room, she said, “Wait, Carbon,” Carbon turned. “M-my real name is Lilo.”

Carbon’s eyes drifted downward. “Lilo? That’s a... cute name. Get some rest, Lilo.”

He shut the door behind him.

Chapter 6: Exploration

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Roses are Red: Chapter 6

“Okay, easy now,” Carbon said as he helped Lilo slide off of the bed. “It’s been a couple of days since you last stood on your hooves. We don’t want to rush this.”

Lilo swayed uneasily on her hooves, eventually leaning up against Carbon for support. The pegasus tensed when she touched him, but he remained in place and shifted some of his weight against her so she could stand up straight. Lilo felt light headed after leaving the bed, and she remained propped up against Carbon for a while longer until he had shifted his weight uncomfortably again.

“Okay, how about we take a few steps around the room?” Carbon asked.

Lilo nodded. After a little push from Carbon, they both began to make their way in circles next to the bed. Lilo’s head cleared more and more as they walked, and soon enough she lifted herself from Carbon’s side and walked next to him, keeping pace as he quickened his. When they were nearly galloping in circles around the room, Carbon stopped and gave Lilo a small smile. She hesitantly smiled back.

“It seems as if you are making a speedy recovery,” Carbon said, walking over towards the door to the room. “However, I do not recommend that you try to do any strenuous activities for another few days. You could possibly be still prone to frequent headaches and episodes of dizziness or nausea. You should remain here for a few more days until you have made a full recovery.”

Lilo’s ears folded back. “Oh, I, uh, I won’t be much of a problem, will I? I know you aren’t exactly comfortable with...me.”

Carbon scratched the back of his head with a hoof as he looked back at Lilo. “Don’t worry about it, Lilo. You’re welcome to explore the apartment as much as you like. You need to stretch your legs and get some exercise.” He paused, looking her up and down. “And by the discolor of your... chitin, you probably need a bath as well.”

Lilo looked back at herself, noticing that instead of her chitin colored a sleek, shining black, it was dulled with splotches of brown coating her entire body. She cringed, glancing Carbon and kicking one of her hooves out in front of her. Carbon opened the door, motioning for her to follow him.

They exited the bedroom and trotted into the living room where Lilo had first entered the apartment. There were two couches lined perpendicular to each other, with one of the couches facing the fireplace on the far wall. A coffee table sat in front of the couches, as well as a small square table standing next to the couch that faced the fireplace. A large map of Equestria hung over the fireplace while a huge bookcase filled with all sorts of books was placed next to it. The floor was covered in carpet, and upon closer inspection, Lilo couldn’t see any stain left by the blood she had supposedly coughed up.

Carbon turned down a narrow hallway, which he abruptly stopped at a door and pushed it open. Lilo looked inside, observing how there was a tub pressed up against the far wall with a rack of assorted cleaning supplies in it. There was a toilet and a sink next to each other against the right side of the bathroom while two racks full of towels had been placed on the left side. In the center of the bathroom was a dark rug.

“The bathroom is at your disposal,” Carbon said. “Just use the plug on the rack to cover the drain to fill the tub. Soap is on the rack as well and you can use whichever towels you like.” Carbon turned, heading for the front door of the apartment. “Now, I need to head back into downtown Canterlot to pick up some things.”

Lilo hastily turned, eyes wide. “Wait, you’re going to leave me here alone?”

Carbon stopped, looking back. “Well, yeah. That isn’t going to a problem, is it?”

“W-well, no,” Lilo said, looking down at her hooves. “It’s just...”

Carbon rolled his eyes. “It’s just that I’m leaving a changeling all alone in my own home?” He trotted back to Lilo. “Look, I may be a little uncomfortable around you at the moment, but during these past few days I haven’t had any reason to suspect that you would do anything brash.” He touched his hoof to hers. “I have no reason to distrust you, Lilo.”

Lilo blushed and nodded her head. Carbon trotted back to the front door, glancing behind himself one last time to say, “I should be back in an hour or so.”

“Bye, Carbon,” Lilo said.

Carbon paused with his hoof on the door. “Bye... Lilo.”

The door clicked behind him, and Lilo turned back to look into the bathroom. Her wings buzzed behind her as she walked into the bathroom, immediately making her way over to the tub. She grabbed the plug in her teeth and used it to block the drain that was under the nozzle of the tub, then turned her gaze to the knobs that were on either side of the nozzle. She turned one of the knobs, causing a jet of water to spray out of the nozzle and into the tub. Lilo jumped back, frightened by the sudden plume of water crashing against the bottom of the tub.

“Oh, that’s how these work,” Lilo said to herself, cautiously stepping towards the tub. She watched the water impact the tub and begin to fill the bottom most portion. Steam slowly rose out of the rub, blurring Lilo’s vision just slightly and coating the chitin on her face with tiny droplets of water. She pulled her head back and placed a hoof into the water.

“That’s perfect,” Lilo said, smiling.

She lowered herself into the tub and waited as the rest was filled slowly from the nozzle. Once the water was almost overflowing, Lilo reached out with her hoof and turned the knob back, shutting off the water. Steam had filled the room, fogging up the mirror that hung over the sink. She sighed heavily.

After a few minutes of letting herself soak in the tub, Lilo reached up and grabbed the soap from the rack, using it to coat her entire body once she had lifted herself from the water enough. Once her body was covered in soap, she lifted each one of her legs one by one out of the water to clean them, too, thoroughly scrubbing each one of the holes in her hooves. Once the last of her hooves had been cleaned, Lilo lowered herself back into the tub to soak again to clear away the soap and dirt from her body.

Another few minutes pass before Lilo raises herself from the tub again, stepping out onto the rug and grabbing a towel from the racks. She dried herself off completely, and then used that same towel on its relatively dry side to wipe the condensation from the mirror. Looking herself over, Lilo smiled to see that her chitin was once again black and glistening. She was about to levitate the towel back onto the rack to dry when a couple of brown splotches caught her eye. Dirt and grime covered the towel, and upon turning back to the tub, she saw that the water had turned to a sickly gray. She cringed, reaching into the tub with a hoof and pushing the plug sideways to release the water.

“I should clean this for Carbon,” Lilo said, looking down at the towel she had deposited on the floor.

The drain let out a small gurgle as the last of the water drained from the tub. Lilo placed the plug back on the rag, and then collected the towel up and left the bathroom. She made to turn for the kitchen, but before she took another step she stopped and turned back towards Carbon’s room. She slowly made her way back into the room, and upon looking at the dirty, disheveled bed sheets, she blushed.

“I should probably clean those for Carbon, too,” she said.

Gathering up all of the bed sheets, Lilo trotted back to the kitchen and she stopped again at the short hallway that led to the bathroom. She turned down the hall and looked at the door across from the bathroom door. She pushed it open, revealing two large machines sitting next to each other. One machine had a lid on top of it while another had a lid on the side.

“So these must be those new machines that ponies recently invented that cleans fabrics,” Lilo mused, setting the sheets down on top of the machine with a lid on the side.

She opened the lid of the other machine, peering inside. There was a strange spike rising from the bottom of the machine with flaps that twisted around it. Lilo shrugged, pushing all of the sheets and towel from the top of one machine into and around the spike of the other. She evenly wrapped the sheets around the spike and looked up at the shelves above the two machines.

“Hm, this must be the soap for washing fabrics,” Lilo said, reaching up and grabbing one of the bottles on the shelf. She unscrewed the cap and sniffed. “That is soap, alright.” She began to dump the soap into the machine, and after she had coated the top of the sheets in soap, she closed the bottle back up.

Lilo closed the top of the machine back up and placed the bottle back on the shelf where she found it. She then scanned her eyes across the series of buttons and knobs at the very back of the machine. The word “start” caught her attention, and without another moment’s hesitation, she pressed the button and listened as the machine came to life. Satisfied, Lilo backed away from the two machines and made her way into the living room and sat on one of the couches.

Minutes had passed and Lilo’s eyes were slowly beginning to close when there came a sudden crash from the back of the apartment. Her eyes shot back open, and she was quickly back on her hooves running to where the two machines cleaning the sheets were. She skidded to a halt at the hallway and her eyes widened. Bubbles were spilling out from the top of the washing machine and soaking the floor underneath the machines and the hallway.

“Oh no,” Lilo whimpered, eyes going wide. “Oh, no. No, no, no.” She started to try to scoop up the bubbles that were sliding across the floor and put them back into the washing machine, but more bubbles continued to leak out of the top than what she could put back in. Stepping away from the machine, Lilo was now soaked in soapy water and the pool of bubbles had begun to approach the carpet.

Dashing back into the kitchen, Lilo grabbed a couple of towels and laid them in front of the carpet so the soapy water would be absorbed before they could soak the carpet. She made for the closet door that lay between the bathroom door and the laundry room door, but she slipped on the soapy floor, causing her to skid into the door with a loud thud.

“Ow,” Lilo groaned, sliding down the door and onto the floor.

More and more bubbles started to push against her body, and Lilo scrambled back to her hooves, tripped onto her face, and then rose back up to her hooves and pulled the door open. A large push broom caught her eye, and Lilo pulled it from the closet and darted back towards the carpet. She used the push broom to back the bubbles towards the washing machine, but her efforts were rewarded by bubbles just pouring over the broom and towards the carpet.

Ditching the broom, Lilo began to simply stomp on the bubbles, trying to break as many of them as she could without paying attention to the soap water approaching the towels. She hopped around on the floor, angrily stopping every bubble that she could see, buzzing her wings in aggravation.

“Um, Lilo?”

Lilo’s head snapped up and she stopped hopping around on the floor. Carbon was standing in the middle of the living room floor with a bag at his hooves. He had one of his eyebrows raised. She took a step back and bit her lip.

“What are you doing?” Carbon asked, taking a step forward.

“I... I was trying to...” Lilo trailed off as her ears folded back and she lowered herself closer to the ground.

Carbon stopped advancing and his eyes softened. He casually walked over to the washing machine and pressed the start button, turning the machine off and causing the bubbles to cease pouring out of the top. Lilo blushed, but she took another step back when Carbon turned back around to face her.

“I’m so sorry!” Lilo said, laying down in front of Carbon and looking up. “I was just trying to wash some sheets and towels that I made dirty.”

Carbon lay down with Lilo, soaking his coat in the soapy water. “It’s okay. I can see that you have never... washed anything before. It was just an accident.”

“I ruined your floor,” Lilo said, “and I might have ruined your machines, too. I’ll do anything to help you fix it. Or I could leave if you want me to! I might break something else.”

Carbon held a hoof up to Lilo’s mouth. “Lilo, stop. It’s okay. We’ll clean this up and I’ll help show you how to wash the sheets. Does that sounds okay?”

Lilo nodded, and after a moment she asked, “What did you buy when you went downtown?”

Carbon glanced at the bag he had left in the living room. “Oh, I, uh, went out and bought a few groceries for dinner later this week. I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I wanted to treat you to something that I particularly like.”

“You want to ‘treat’ me?” Lilo asked, raising an eyebrow.

“You... are a guest after all,” Carbon said, fumbling with his hooves. “I wouldn’t feel right subjecting you to my usual dietary habits.”

“I thought the mush you have been feeding me is quite tasty,” Lilo replied, cocking her head.

“You think that is tasty?” Carbon asked. “Well, just wait until you try my lasagne, then. I make this special sauce that has everypony that has ever tried my lasagne ever rant and rave over it. It has oregano, bell peppers, garlic, and onions in it. Oh, do you like spinach?” Lilo nodded her head. “Okay, good, because I like mixing that with the ricotta cheese.”

Lilo giggled. “It sounds delicious, although I have never heard of lasagne before.”

“You have never had lasagne before?” Carbon asked, flabbergasted.

“Well, there isn’t much food to be eaten where I... come from,” Lilo said, looking away.

Carbon recoiled. “Oh.” He looked at the floor. For the first time since sitting down, he felt the soapy water soaking his fur. “Perhaps we should start cleaning this up.”

Lilo nodded. Carbon rose back to his hooves and strode over to the washing machine. He looked down the top of the machine, eyes widening. He pulled out a red towel and a pink sheet.

“Well, I guess we already found you some bed sheets for tonight,” Carbon said, turning around and showing Lilo. “Oh, and look, they match the color of your eyes fairly well.” Lilo opened her mouth, but Carbon shook his head and added, “Don’t worry, I have an extra pair of bed sheets in the closet next to us. These can be yours.”

Lilo stood up and walked over to Carbon, inspecting the sheet and putting her nose up to it. She pushed her head under the sheet and looked up at Carbon, the sheet draping from her ears.

“Does it really go with my eyes?”

“Yes,” Carbon said, smiling. “Yes it does.”

Chapter 7: Culinary Discussions

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Roses are Red: Chapter 7

The sun was dipping below the tree tops on the far side of the Everfree Forest, plunging the entire land of Equestria into an orange and yellow haze. Lakes and rivers shimmered and reflected the sunlight, while the many red rooftops of Canterlot darkened. Even the clouds in the distance hanging over the everfree were touched by the sun’s light, shifting and changing colors to all sorts of beautiful oranges and pinks.

Ponies stood out on the balconies of their houses or apartments and looked on at the pulchritudinous spectacle that lay before them, taking one last look at the marvelous ball of gas before it descended from view for the night. “Oh’s” and “ah’s” whispered throughout the Canterlot city streets, further proving the awe that had stricken everypony who saw their sovereign princess’s sun. The entire world had almost stopped for this one glorious moment.

Lilo and Carbon stood on Carbon’s apartment balcony, joining the hundreds of thousands of other ponies who were staring at the sun. Lilo had changed into her Rosebud disguise again in the chance that somepony should spot her changeling form by happenstance from the street or another apartment. Her mouth hung slightly agape, and her wings were flared to their fullmost size.

“Are sunset’s like this often here in Canterlot?” Lilo asked, refusing to look away from the sun.

“Not as often as some of us may like,” Carbon replied, staring straight ahead as well, “but then if these marvels were not a rarity, would we no longer think they are beautiful?”

Lilo thought for a moment, folding her wings back against her body. “I guess we wouldn’t. Something like this should be savored, not exploited.”

Carbon nodded his head. “We think something is truly beautiful because of the uniqueness and authenticity that it displays, not because of the aesthetic appeal it stirs within our hearts.” He looked at Lilo. “Nothing can wear beauty as a mask, for doing so would bring about a vileness that is improper and unnecessary.”

Lilo turned her head, her eyes locking with Carbon’s. An unexplainable feeling shivered through her spine, but the feeling was warm rather than cold. Her heart fluttered in her chest, but only for a moment as Carbon looked away again to catch one last glimpse of the sun before it descended behind the everfree tree tops. They stayed a while longer, gazing off of the balcony as Luna’s moon rose behind them, until Carbon sighed.

“I think it’s time we head back inside before it gets cold,” he said, turning and trotting for the sliding door. “Let’s get dinner going, I’m starving.”

“I’ll be right with you!” Lilo replied, watching as Carbon disappeared back into the apartment. A strange yet familiar fragrance hung in the air around Lilo, but she could not quite put her hoof on where she remembered this smell. It was thin and nearly odorless, yet when she finally made for the sliding door, she felt there was a slight spring in her step.

Lilo entered the apartment to the sound of pots and pans clanging around in the kitchen, as well as the heavenly aroma of the sauce Carbon had been cooking all day. She skipped into the kitchen and stopped, watching as Carbon set a rather large pan down on top of the kitchen counter. Around the pan were all the assorted ingredients that were going to be added to the lasagne aside from the sauce, which still sat on one of the burners on the stove. She slowly walked over to him and he stepped aside, making enough room so that she could stand in front of the pan.

With a small smile on his face, Carbon asked, “How would you like to put together dinner tonight?”

Lilo’s disguise dropped, and she gazed at Carbon. “You want me to make us dinner?”

“Why not?” Carbon said with a shrug.

Lilo turned back to the pan with a wide grin stretched across her face. “Where do I begin?”

Carbon sidled up next to Lilo, looking over her shoulder. He pointed to the strips of fringed noodles.

“You’re first going to want to cover the bottom of the pan in a layer of those,” he said.

Over the course of fifteen minutes, Carbon explained to Lilo the steps of how he made his lasagne. After the bottom of the pan had been covered by the first layer of the fringed noodles, he then had her add the mixture of the ricotta cheese and the spinach, using the entire bowl and spreading it evenly over the noodles. Next she placed another layer of fringed noodles on top of the ricotta cheese mixture, followed by pouring a lot of the sauce over the second layer of noodles. After placing a third layer of noodles onto the sauce, Lilo finished off the lasagne casserole by coating the top with a thick layer of mozzarella cheese. She stepped back and gazed at her creation.

“This looks better than my usual creation,” Carbon said, smirking.

Lilo beamed. “Does it really?”

“It does, really,” Carbon replied. “Let’s get this into the oven. It will take forty five minutes to cook.”

Lilo stepped aside and watched as Carbon picked up the pan in his teeth and brought it over to the oven. He placed the pan inside on the top rack and shut the over. He then pressed a few buttons on the panel on top of the stove, changing the heat and setting the timer for when the lasagne should be ready. Lilo winced at the beeps that came from the stove.

“Alright, so, forty five minutes,” Carbon said after he had pressed the start button. “C’mon, let’s go find something to do until then.”

They walked into the living room and took their places on both couches. Carbon lay down on the couch that faced the fireplace while Lilo took the other couch. They both sat in silence for a while, fumbling at their hooves or glancing at each other occasionally. Carbon tilted his head and cleared his throat.

“So, uh, where are you from?” Carbon asked. “I heard you mention something about the Broken Leylands?”

Lilo’s ears perked up and she glanced at Carbon. “You want to know more about me?” she asked. “W-why?”

“I’ve spoken quite a bit about myself,” Carbon mused, bring a hoof up to his chin, “but I haven’t heard you talk about yourself at all.” He paused, watching as Lilo looked away from him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry. You don’t-”

“No, I... I should tell you, or somepony,” Lilo said quietly. She took a deep breath. “As you have probably heard, the Broken Leylands is a desolate plain of nothing but desert and rocky chasms. There are a few cities out there, but the cities are all protected by massive twenty meter walls so that they could keep the bandits that roamed the deserts out. No laws truly existed out there unless you happened to be in one of the cities; it was everypony for themselves.

“Well, I was born out there.” Lilo paused, shifting on the couch. “My mother gave birth to me while our... hive was moving from one city to the next. Apparently we had been driven out when our camp had been discovered by the city we were feeding off of, so the hive was moving to another city in the hopes that they could secure a better source of food there. Needless to say that many of the changelings in our hive were starving and living off the scraps of love our scouts brought back; my mother was no exception.”

Lilo looked up at Carbon. “She died giving birth to me. She didn’t have much strength left after I had been born so she let go and passed on.” Lilo looked away again towards the map of Equestria. “I was raised by one of the broodmothers from then on, along with several other changelings who had also been orphaned by their parents.”

“What about your father?” Carbon asked.

“I never had a father,” Lilo said. “Changelings aren’t well known for keeping families. The mother is usually the one who raises the offspring, and once the offspring are old enough they are separated from their mother. It keeps attachments minimal between each other, and also teaches us that we cannot grow attached to our... well, our food.” Lilo flinched.

“Oh,” Carbon said, looking down at his hooves. The room remained silent for a moment before he asked, “What happened after that?”

“I grew up to be a broodmother myself,” Lilo replied. “We traveled across the Broken Leylands for years, constantly being driven away from potential sources of food by the city guards. They were on high alert since our discovery during that first city, and we had been pushed back towards Equestria. Eventually the Queen made a desperate break for the nation, pushing our hive to the limit so that we could escape our pursuers.” Lilo sniffed and added quietly, “Although, for some, she pushed the hive beyond their limit.”

The room fell silent again as Lilo continued to stare at the floor. She heard the couch Carbon was resting on squeak, but she didn’t pay attention when Carbon’s hoofsteps thumping quietly on the carpet, assuming he was walking back to the kitchen. Lilo closed her eyes are sighed. She heard the hoofsteps stop and felt the couch cushion next to her deflate, and after looking up, she saw that Carbon had taken a seat next to her. Her eyes widened, but she didn’t move away from him when he extended one of his wings around her back.

“I’m not sure what to say,” Carbon said, sighing. “I don’t think there is anything to say. What you have been through, I just can’t imagine it.”

Carbon tensed when he felt Lilo lay her head up against his neck. He looked down, seeing Lilo’s eyes watering.

“I have only known what it is like to be hungry and live in despair,” Lilo whimpered. “For years I have watched as changelings around me collapse from exhaustion and starvation, for years I have watched the changelings I was meant to raise die because they didn’t get the nourishment they needed. I spared them all of my own love reserves I could, but it was never enough.” She closed her eyes and pushed her face more against Carbon’s neck. “We came and we saw Canterlot, we thought all of our worries had ended, only now we are more broken and scattered than before.”

Carbon wrapped one of his forehooves around the back of Lilo’s neck, holding her closer to himself while she broke down into hysterical sobs. His own heart felt heavy as he listened to the crying changeling next to him, and a few tears of his own came to his eyes. He looked down at Lilo, and he rested his cheek down on top of her forehead, careful not to poke himself with her horn.

The changelings had marched upon Canterlot in an attempt to feed themselves with the love that they desperately needed, only to be repelled quickly after the invasion had happened. Why they had not come to Princess Celestia and asked for help was unknown, but now the changelings were being rounded up and taken to Canterlot Castle for who knows what reason. More so, any changelings within the city were unable to contact each other through their “hive mind” because of some magical field that had been thrown up around Canterlot. Carbon held Lilo closer.

When the first beeps from the oven echoed throughout the apartment, Lilo’s sobs had long since subsided, and both she and Carbon were sitting silently on the couch. Carbon nudged Lilo, causing her to look up at him. Darkened streaks from where her tears had fallen down her cheeks still stained her chitin.

“Feeling better?” Carbon asked, giving Lilo a slight smile.

Lilo nodded her head.

“Still want to eat?”

Lilo thought for a moment, then nodded her head again. Carbon lifted himself from the couch.

“Well, that was the timer for the lasagne going off,” Carbon said. “Let’s get it out of the oven and eat.”

Carbon trotted to the kitchen, quickly followed by Lilo after she had risen from the couch. He opened the oven and, grabbing a rag between his teeth, took the pan and moved it onto one of the burners above the stove. Looking over the edges of the lasagne to see if any part was burned, he then took a knife from one of the drawers and cut into the lasagne.

“Hey Lilo,” Carbon said, still cutting the lasagne. “Do you think you could get me two plates from the cabinet?”

Lilo hastily took two plates from the cabinet and set them down next to Carbon. She meekly scraped one of her forehooves against the floor. “Carbon, do you think the changelings were wrong for invading Canterlot?”

Carbon stopped cutting the lasagne. After a moment, he set the knife down and faced Lilo. “I... don’t blame them, Lilo. I do, however, question their actions. Why didn’t Queen Chrysalis come to Princess Celestia and ask for help in the first place?”

“I don’t know,” Lilo said, looking away. “She wouldn’t tell us anything once we were approaching Canterlot, and she became increasingly more quiet and agitated as the day of our invasion was approaching. Noling knew what the matter was, only that she seemed to be harboring some sort of resentment towards both Celestia and Luna.”

Carbon had cut two pieces of the lasagne and placed them on the plates. “But her ponies were starving. Why would she sacrifice them rather than help them?”

Lilo trotted after Carbon as he took the plates to the small table in the corner of the kitchen. “I don’t know, Carbon. It... It was completely unlike her to openly attack a city like she did.” Lilo sat down in front of her plate of food. “I never knew she had such a dark side to her leadership. I remember the time when she came to visit me and the foals I was raising. I watched her has she played for hours with the foals, watching her laugh as they wrestled and nipped at her with their tiny fangs. It was adorable and... motherly.”

Carbon took a bite of his lasagne, remaining silent as Lilo continued, “From that moment on there was without a doubt that Queen Chrysalis cared deeply for all of her subjects. I wasn’t the first broodmother she had visited, and I wasn’t the last either. She never allowed for the scouts to give her more love than any other changeling, and when times were tough, she would refuse love entirely so that the weaker could survive a bit longer.”

Carbon looked down at his food, less interested in the prospect of eating. Lilo had begun eating, however, and her eyes widened when she put the first piece of lasagne in her mouth. She devoured her piece of lasagne quickly to Carbon’s amazement. He had only taken four bites of his own by the time Lilo had finished. She was busy licking the leftover sauce and cheese on the plate when she notice Carbon was staring at her.

“Can I have some more?” Lilo asked.

“Uh, sure,” Carbon said. “You have something on your lips.”

Lilo’s tongue licked around her entire muzzle before she trotted over to the pan of lasagne and cut herself a massive piece. She was almost skipping back to the table, and after she had set her plate down, she went straight to devouring this piece as well. By the time Carbon had finished with his piece, Lilo was licking her own plate again for whatever scraps were left.

“I won’t need to wash the plate if you keep that up,” Carbon said with a smirk.

Lilo stopped licking the plate and hastily sat up straight. Her tongue was still moving along her teeth inside of her mouth.

“Sorry,” Lilo said, blushing. “It was really, um, delicious.”

“You are feeling better as well,” Carbon observed, rising from his seat and carrying his plate over to the sink.

Lilo quickly followed Carbon, taking her plate with her. She set her plate down next to the sink and said, “Yes, the food was so good that I forgot about everything else.”

“That’s good,” Carbon said, turning the sink on and rinsing both plates. “Hey, Lilo, can you go and make sure that the front door to the apartment is locked?”

Lilo turned to make for the apartment door, but she stopped suddenly and looked behind her. “Didn’t I already see you lock the front door earlier?”

“I don’t remember,” Carbon said nonchalantly.

Lilo shrugged and trotted over to the apartment door. She noted that the door was, in fact, locked, and so she turned back around and walked back to the kitchen. She halted in the doorway to the kitchen, however, when she spotted Carbon waiting for her with two plates, each holdings a strange looking pastry. Lilo slowly stepped over to the table, eyeing the pastries.

“What are those?” Lilo asked, pointing to the plates.

“It’s apple strudel,” Carbon replied, smiling.

Lilo raised one of her eyebrows. “What is ‘apple strudel?’ “

“Wait, you have never had apple strudel?” Carbon asked, shocked. Lilo looked down at her hooves, causing Carbon to cringe inwardly. “Right, uh, well, they are probably one of the best kind of pastries out there. Try one.”

Lilo leaned forward and took a bite of one of the pastries. Her eyes lit up, and in the next second she had completely devoured the apple strudel in a couple of bites. Carbon chuckled and pushed his plate in front of her.

“Here, you take mine,” he said, walking over to a box that sat next to the oven. “I’ll just get another.” He paused before grabbing another strudel out of the box. “Oh, and try to savor it, Lilo. I’m predicting that you are already going to have a stomach ache tonight, no need to make it worse.”

Lilo’s tongue had been slowly sliding underneath the pastry when she stopped at looked back at Carbon. She sucked her tongue back into her mouth and grinned sheepishly, taking the plate and moving it so she was sitting across the table from Carbon, who sat down with his own plate. She slowly ate the second apple strudel, shooting a few glances at Carbon to watch how he ate his strudel.

“Do you think I’ll really get a stomach ache?” Lilo asked once they had both finished their strudel.

“Probably,” Carbon replied. “I haven’t seen a pony with such a... small stature eat so much so fast before.”

Lilo pouted. “Small?”

“Well, you are smaller than most mares I have met,” Carbon said with a shrug.

“I’ll show-” Lilo stopped as she felt something catch in her throat. Her stomach twisted, and after bringing a hoof up to her mouth, she bolted for the bathroom down the hall. Carbon watched as she sped away, and only seconds later he heard her heave into the toilet. He sighed and rose from the table, trotting after her to make sure she was alright.

Chapter 8: Afternoon Stroll

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Roses are Red: Chapter 8

“How long has your wing been bent like that?” Carbon asked, walking around to behind Lilo and scrutinizing her wings.

Lilo looked behind herself. “When I was repelled out of Canterlot, I was moving much too fast to correct my flight path through the air. I crash landed outside of Everfree Forest on my wing.”

Carbon held a hoof up to his chin. His eyes scanned along the delicate and wrinkled membrane, and when he lifted a hoof up to touch the wing, Lilo visibly flinched.

“I’m not quite sure what to do about this,” Carbon said. “Your wing is in awful shape, and I suggest that you do not use it until it has properly healed.” He walked in front of Lilo. “The membrane is horribly bent and torn in a few places.”

Lilo bit her lower lip and asked, “Do you know how long it will be until I can fly again?”

“I don’t know, Lilo,” Carbon said, sighing. His eyes were downcast. “To tell the truth, I don’t even know if you will be able to use it again. The wing will heal, but just by looking at the membrane growth, it isn’t healing properly. You would need to have immediate surgery performed on your wing, and judging by the social acceptance of changelings, I have my doubts.”

Lilo sat on her haunches, looking back at her wings, fluttering them. They buzzed quietly from their rapid movements, and a gentle gust of wind from them disturbed the fur on Carbon’s legs. Her gaze drifted over her mangled wing, tracing up and down the creases and tears that were scattered all over the membrane. Her eyes were misty when she turned back to look at Carbon.

“Isn’t there anything you can do?” she asked. “I saw that you have some medical equipment in your room still, doesn’t that mean you are some sort of doctor?”

Carbon sat down and fumbled with his hooves for a moment. “Not exactly. You see, I have the medical equipment for use for my laboratory experiments, not because I’m a licensed doctor. I have the basic understanding of the training the medical staff at the university undergo, but it’s not enough to perform extensive surgery on your wing. I don’t know one thing about cell reconstruction or how to work with stem cells.”

“Oh,” Lilo said, looking away. Carbon recoiled and looked around the living room.

“The good news is that it looks like your vitals are stable,” Carbon said, putting on a hopeful smile. “You’re as strong as you have ever been.”

Lilo continued to look away and muttered, “Yeah, strong.”

Carbon mentally kicked himself and looked back down at his hooves. He pushed them together for a moment, and then turned to gaze out of the living room window. The sun was nearing its pinnacle in the sky, and his eyes lit up. He turned back to Lilo.

“Hey, I know something that might cheer you up,” Carbon said, grinning.

Lilo glanced at Carbon.

“How about we go for a walk around the market?” he asked. “There is so much to see and to do. There are concession stands with wonderful food, street performers who do all sorts of tricks and play all kinds of music, and plenty of lovely wares from around Equestria.” He paused, his grin widening when he saw Lilo’s eyes brighten slightly. “How does that sound?”

“I-I guess that sounds okay,” Lilo said.

Carbon rose to his hooves. “Great! Give me just a second while I go and grab my saddlebags before we leave.”

Lilo nodded and watched as Carbon left to trot back to his room. She stood up, and after a moment, lit up her horn and engulfed herself in a green aura. When the magic dissipated, Lilo had donned her Rosebud disguise. Carbon came trotting back into the living and paused when he saw Lilo.

“Oh, yeah, that’s right,” Carbon said, shaking his head. “You need to... disguise yourself.”

Lilo cocked her head. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“Well, you see...” Carbon stammered. “It’s nothing. Let’s get moving so we can get to the market before it becomes even more crowded.”

~~~

Canterlot Castle loomed in the background as Lilo and Carbon neared the market place. The sounds from the thousands of ponies swarming the stalls and stores echoed off of the buildings, and the smells from the many concession stands filled their nostrils with scents of pastries, cooked vegetables, and the odd flesh substances being sold by griffon vendors. Lilo’s eyes widened from all of the ponies she saw walking to and fro among the stalls carrying all sorts of bags filled with items.

“I have never seen so many ponies in one place before,” Lilo said.

Carbon looked over at Lilo. “You haven’t? What about when you were flying over Canterlot?”

“I... was part of the second wave that was meant to secure the throne room with the queen,” Lilo replied, looking away. “I never was able to view the rest of Canterlot.”

“Oh.”

Carbon glanced around the stalls that both he and Lilo walked past. His eyes eventually landed upon one particular street vendor, and he nudged Lilo and pointed his hoof in the vendor’s direction. Lilo’s eyes followed his hoof and she raised an eyebrow when she saw a zebra standing behind a large stall surrounded by strange masks and trinkets.

“What kind of vendor is that?” she asked.

“You have never seen a zebra witch doctor before?” Carbon asked. Lilo shook her head. “Well, I guess I can’t say that I’m surprised. Zebra aren’t common unless you travel to their home of Zebrica. It’s mostly devoid of life unless you happen upon an oasis or a coastal city.”

“Have you been to Zebrica before?” Lilo asked as Carbon began to lead them towards the stall.

“Yes, once. My parents took me to Zevena for a week when I was just a colt.”

The zebra beamed once both Lilo and Carbon were standing in front of her stall.

“Hello and welcome, my lovely allies,” she said. “What brings you to my store of magic and supplies?”

“Good afternoon, Naroke,” Carbon replied, smiling. “I can see that business has really been taking off for you. You have a few more masks adorning your walls.”

“Oh yes, business has been quite fine. It seems as if ponies continue to be enthralled by my rhyme.” Naroke paused, glancing at Lilo to see that she was staring at her. “If you’ll beg my pardon, miss, but would there happen to be something that is amiss?”

Lilo shook her head and took a step back. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to stare. I have never seen a... a zebra before.”

Naroke smirked. “Many are captivated by my speech and stripes. Do not worry, young pony, I receive stares from all the types.” The zebra waved a hoof over the counter of the stall, revealing a coconut bowl filled with water that appeared out of thin air. “Since you are new to my ponies and my ways, I’ll show you a trick that should snap you out of your daze.”

Lilo’s mouth dropped when she saw the water within the bowl start to boil as the Zebra merely stared at it. The bubbles came together into the center of the bowl, and the water began to funnel through the bubbles in a long tube. When the tube had extended far enough out of the bowl, it whipped around like a fan, throwing water droplets up into the air that formed a mirror in front of both Carbon and Lilo. They gazed at each other in the mirror.

For the first time Lilo noticed Carbon’s strong, hard jaw and soft, turquoise eyes. She felt as if she was becoming sucked into his gaze, and her heart began to flutter once again in her chest. He smiled into the mirror, and Lilo tried to look away, a small blush flushing her cheeks. Before she had a chance to look at the mirror once again, Naroke dissipated the water and waved her hoof over the coconut bowl, causing it to disappear. The zebra smiled.

“I can see you two enjoyed my mirror,” she said. “I hope that in the future you will be able to see things a little more clearer.”

“That was wonderful, Naroke,” Lilo said. “Where did you learn that kind of magic?”

“It is a rare trait inherited by the ponies of my land; it is not something I could easily explain offhand.”

Carbon opened his mouth to say something, but Lilo took no notice as she spotted a pink bow and collar in the back corner of Naroke’s stall. She grinned, stepping to the left of Naroke slightly so she could get a better view of the two items.

“Hey Lilo, what do you see?” Carbon asked, peering around Naroke. The zebra turned around as well.

“I think something bright and colorful catches her eye,” Naroke said, turning back around. “Would it happen to be that pink bow tie?”

Lilo nodded her head, and Carbon stepped forward, depositing a few bits on the counter.

“I’ll buy it for you, Lilo,” Carbon said, nodding at Naroke.

“You don’t have to,” Lilo said, looking down at her hooves. “The bow is nice, but it’s not worth spending the bits on it for me.”

“Nonsense,” Carbon scoffed. “The bow would look wonderful on you.”

“You are quite lucky, mister Carbon,” Naroke said, placing the bow on the counter and scooping up the necessary bits. “This bow was on sale and is quite the bargain.”

“Thank you, Naroke,” Carbon said, smiling at the zebra. “It was a pleasure speaking to you today.”

Naroke smiled back at Carbon and Lilo as they trotted off deeper into the market. She watched as the two ponies disappeared into the crowd and sighed, reminiscing the first time she had caught sight of a handsome colt. There was a tap on the counter, and Naroke snapped out of her gaze and came face to face with a blue unicorn stallion.

“I’m sorry to disturb you, miss,” the unicorn said, “but could you tell me what kind of magic that mirror you conjured up was? I couldn’t help but notice that I could not see my own reflection in it when I was standing behind those two ponies.”

“It is a powerful conjuration called the Mirror of Desire,” Naroke said, waving a hoof. “It shows the ponies who it was conjured for what they most admire.”

~~~

The sun was beginning to set behind the Everfree Forest to the west, plunging Canterlot into a moody, surreal atmosphere. Everypony within the marketplace was finishing up their last transactions with some vendor, throwing their bits onto the counter and picking up their items in a haste to make it back home in time for dinner. Some shops and stalls had already closed, flipping their signs around or draping large sheets over the fronts of the stalls.

Lilo and Carbon were meandering their way out of the market back towards Carbon’s apartment with Carbon’s saddlebags filled to the brim with food and trinkets. Lilo happily wore her bow, nearly skipping her way down the street next to Carbon with a wide grin on her face. Carbon chuckled at the hopping changeling next to him, then stopped when he felt his stomach growl.

“Hey, Lilo,” Carbon said, stopping. “Let’s find some place to eat before heading back to my apartment.”

Lilo stopped bouncing and turned around. “Aren’t all of the stalls and stores closing up?”

“Restaurants usually stay open later,” Carbon said, turning around and beckoning to Lilo to follow him. “Some even stay open all night, believe it or not. I know this really good sandwich place not too far from here.”

They trotted through the marketplace yet again and began to climb the slopes of the city streets into the wealthier districts of the city. Buildings were more colorful and cleaner here, while many of the ponies that were roaming the streets wore clothing or carried some sort of haughtiness about them. Walking past a few of the ponies, Lilo could sense the arrogance dripping off of them, and she treaded closer to Carbon.

Eventually they came to a stop in front of a modest and well kept restaurant that had been built two blocks away from Canterlot Castle. Lilo eyed the castle warily, scanning over the multi colored stain glass windows and the hill that led up to the castle’s gates. Ponies were pouring out of the two massive wooden doors that marked the castle’s entrance. The Royal Guard stood at attention, directing many of those ponies to the exit of the castle grounds so that they may find their way home.

“Coming inside?” Carbon asked, holding the door open for Lilo.

Lilo snapped out of her daze and quickly trotted into the restaurant. Carbon came trotting in after her, letting the door shut behind him. A light red unicorn mare with a crimson mane and tail came walking up to them with saddlebags filled with menus.

“Good evening and welcome to the Prancing Pony!” the mare said cheerfully. “Just two of you tonight?”

“That is correct,” Carbon said, nodding.

“Right this way.”

The mare turned and led Carbon and Lilo towards one of the windows that looked out onto the street. She placed the menu’s down and stepped aside to allow for them to take their seats at the table.

Once they had been seated comfortably, the mare asked, “Is there anything you two would like to drink?”

“I’ll have water, thank you,” Carbon said, smiling.

“Water, too,” Lilo said quietly, hiding a bit of one of her eyes behind her mane.

The mare nodded and trotted off back to the kitchens. Carbon watched her go for a moment, and then he turned to Lilo and chuckled.

“What?” Lilo asked, glancing after the mare.

“She’s not going to bite you, you know,” Carbon said, opening his menu.

“I know!” Lilo protested. “I don’t know her very well.”

“You don’t know me too well and yet you will hug me when you win at a game of ring toss.”

“That’s different!” Lilo said as she propped her menu up so she could peer over the top at Carbon.

Carbon raised one of his eyebrows. “How so?”

Lilo hid behind the menu and fumbled with her words, and she let out a sigh of relief when the mare had come back with their drinks. Placing them on the table, the mare then took out a notepad and a pen.

“Have you decided on your orders?” she asked.

Carbon glanced at Lilo for a moment before he said, “Yes, I’d like to have the avocado and jalapeño sandwich.”

The mare scratched Carbon’s order down on the notepad and looked at Lilo. “And you, ma’am?”

“I’ll just have whatever he is having,” Lilo said, still hiding behind the menu slightly.

After writing down Lilo’s order, the mare collected the menus up in her magic and trotted back to the kitchen. Lilo glanced at Carbon and saw him staring at her with grin stretched across his face. Lilo bit her lower lip.

“Uh, so, what do you do at your work?” Lilo asked quickly.

Carbon rolled his eyes and took a sip of his water. “Well, it’s a bit obscure at times. I mainly act as a research assistant for the scientists that work in Canterlot University’s research department.” He swirled his straw around in the glass. “I carry out various chemical reactions and report my findings to my superiors, who will then use those findings to write up reports. Since our research mainly deals with researching and improving antibiotics to combat various diseases scattered around Equestria, there is always work to be done since viruses and bacteria are constantly evolving to withstand the vaccines.”

“Are there really that many diseases in Equestria?” Lilo asked, taking a sip of her own drink.

“Well, yes,” Carbon replied. “The Everfree Forest is home to over twenty thousand different viruses, aggressive bacteria, and parasites. In combination with the recent expansion of the forest approved by both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, more and more ponies have been getting sick lately. The research department has been nearly working twenty four seven to find new vaccines or cures.

“However, there is something else that I do when the research department is moving slow,” Carbon said, turning to look out the window and into the street. “I also volunteer in the foals wing to help play with and comfort all of the colts and fillies who have been admitted to the university’s hospital.”

Lilo stared at Carbon and her heart began to swell in her chest.

“Y-you have worked with foals as well?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Carbon said weakly. “Every chance I get I visit them. It helps lift their spirits in the unfamiliar and scary environment they are placed into while they wait for their surgeries or treatments. By the time the nurses come to pick the foal up, he or she is ready go and happily departs after saying goodbye to me.”

I’m sure there have been a few times when that was their last, Lilo thought to herself as she watched Carbon continue to stare out the window. Fidgeting with her glass for a moment, she said, “Carbon?”

Carbon turned. “Yes, Lilo?”

“Do you know what love is?” she asked.

“I... I don’t understand,” Carbon said, leaning forward.

Lilo leaned forward as well and asked, “Do you love the foals that you work with?”

“With every bit of my heart,” Carbon replied locking eyes with Lilo.

There was a long paused, and the air around Lilo felt infatuated with warmth and bliss.

“Do... Do you love me, Carbon?” Lilo finally asked.

There was another moment’s paused, and then Carbon leaned forward and planted a kiss on Lilo’s lips. She was startled at first, but then received the kiss openly and happily. The world seemed to stop as their lips pressed and moved against each other. The commotion from the kitchen had fallen silent, and the smells and sights disappeared as Lilo closed her eyes.

Lilo felt as if she had entered a dream. The love radiating off of Carbon filled her own heart and lungs with a warmth she had never felt before. Energy coursed through her muscles, and she felt her wings puff out. She felt happy, she felt free, and most of all she felt alive.

“Excuse me?”

Lilo’s eyes shot open, and both Carbon and she pulled away from each other, wide-eyed. The red mare was standing next to them with two plates of sandwiches.

“Sorry to interrupt you two love birds,” the mare said with a wink, “but your order is ready.”

The mare placed the two plates on the table and trotted back towards the kitchens. Lilo and Carbon continued to stare at each other. Only after what seemed like several minutes did Carbon finally cough awkwardly.

“Did we just...?” Lilo asked, looking at her food.

“Yeah,” Carbon wheezed.

“Does that mean...?”

“I don’t know.” Carbon blinked looking down at his food as well.

“Are we going to...?”

“Yeah,” Carbon said, nodding his head.

Both he and Lilo leaned forward and kissed once again, this time locking lips with each other and remaining uninterrupted until they had had their fair share.

Chapter 9: Next Morning

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Roses are Red: Chapter 9

Lilo and Carbon lay staring up at the ceiling in Carbon’s bed. Trickles of morning sunlight shone through the string holes in the blinds, dousing the room in a faint glow of light, while the first sounds of a rousing Canterlot echoed their way through one of the open windows. The air around Lilo felt warm and thick, saturated from the love in the air, the heat from the sun, and the warm remnants of sweat and exhaustion radiating from both of their bodies. Lilo sighed and looked over at Carbon.

“What did you call that one thing that you did?” Carbon asked, facing Lilo. “The one with your tongue.”

“Oh, the, uh... The Monkey Eats the Mango?” Lilo asked, blushing.

“Yeah, that,” Carbon said, gazing back up at the ceiling. “Wait, is that really what it is called?”

Lilo hid her face under the covers. “No. I just made it up on the spot.”

Carbon chuckled. “You have quite the imagination, you know that?”

Lilo scooted closer to Carbon, wrapping her hooves around him and resting her head onto his chest. Carbon started, but when he felt Lilo’s head on his chest, he wrapped one of his hooves around the back of her neck and hugged her closer. Lilo heard the quiet beats of Carbon’s heart thumping inside of his chest, and she purred.

“You know, last night was one of the best nights I have ever experienced,” Carbon said.

Lilo looked up and nipped at Carbon’s chin. “Is there a night that could have been better?”

“Well, there was my college graduation party,” Carbon said, meeting Lilo’s nips with a kiss, “but I didn’t get to have kinky changeling sex that night so it wasn’t quite as good.”

Lilo giggled and tightened her grip around Carbon’s waist. “Can we just stay in bed all day?”

“I wish we could,” Carbon said, sighing, “but I need to go to work today. I’ve already used up three out of ten of my sick days this week.” Lilo nuzzled Carbon. “Lilo, I’ll be back home tonight before dinner. Don’t worry.”

“Can I come with you to work today?” Lilo asked.

Looking up at the ceiling and rolling his eyes, Carbon began to stroke Lilo between her wing joints. She shuddered from his touch, letting out a soft moan as he continued. Carbon chuckled.

“You know you’re not going to be able to follow me back into the research labs, right?” he asked.

“I know,” Lilo said, fluttering her wings. “I just want to play with the foals.”

Carbon stopped rubbing Lilo between her wings and looked down at her again. One of her ears twitched, and he smiled.

“Of course you can come to work with me,” he said.

~~~

Canterlot University rivaled Canterlot Castle in both size and grandeur. The university’s white walls glimmered from the sunlight, shining as a definite beacon from its location atop a hill in one of Canterlot’s wealthier districts. Domes of marble, gold, and lapis lazuli hovered over various sections of the castle and pierced into the blue sky, while various buildings around the castle literally floated above the building itself, perched on top of pieces of earth that had been ripped from the ground. There were no chains, ropes, or ladders connected to the floating buildings, allowing for them to stay aloft over the university.

Lilo’s mouth remained agape as she and Carbon stood at the bottom of the long staircase that led up to the front doors of the university itself. The university, aside from the castle, was one of the most innovative buildings in Equestria, displaying the pinnacle of creativity and complexity of Equestria’s leading architects, engineers, and arcane masters.

“It’s so beautiful,” Lilo said, swishing her pink and white “Rosebud” tail back and forth.

“It is quite a sight to see,” Carbon said, nodding his head and starting his ascent up the staircase. Lilo quickly began her climb with him. “Ponies from all over the world come to simply see the splendor of the castle and university.”

“How do unicorns and earth ponies get up to those floating buildings?” Lilo asked, looking at one large building in particular.

“About two years ago,” Carbon began, glancing in the direction Lilo was looking, “the unicorn research teams discovered a new arcane teleportation method that successfully teleported Earth Ponies, Pegasi, and Unicorns great distances without the use of a continuous stream of magic.” He pointed to the massive tapestry draping over the front of the university. On it was a queer-looking arcane circle. “They look sort of like that. All you need to do to use it is step on it, and it will take you to the destination where its sister circle has been placed. I’ll show you after work today.”

“Is there one that leads to the medical wing?” Lilo asked hopefully.

“No,” Carbon replied, shaking his head, “although the arcane circles are completely safe to use, the risk of sending an injured or sick pony through the circle is still speculative. It could disrupt the magic field or harm the pony if there should happen to be a sudden magical surge when teleporting.”

“You seem to know a lot about these arcane circles,” Lilo said, bumping her flank against Carbon.

“I attended their unveiling two years ago. I had a paper to write so I used it as a source for my argument as a senior,” Carbon replied with a shrug.

They pushed their way through the massive front doors of the university and Carbon immediately took a right turn down a massive, spacious hallway. Enormous stain glass windows adorned the right side of the hallway, letting in a remarkable amount of light through the colorful pictures that had been shaped with the glass. The ceiling above was pointed in an arch, and chandeliers floated above the unattached to any chain or rope. To left of the hallway were various wooden doors and staircases that led to classrooms or offices.

After a few minutes of walking, and after Carbon spontaneously stopping in front of Lilo so that she could collide with his flank, earning him a tug on his tail that caused him to yelp, they reached a pair of double doors with a large sign plastered over them.

“Ah, here we are,” Carbon said, pushing one of the doors open. “The medical and research wing. The foal’s wing is just through those doors.”

Lilo followed Carbon’s hoof towards a set of double doors. The doors had a few childish decorations on them with various crude, colorful drawings strewn across the tops and bottoms. Carbon cantered over and pushed the doors open, allowing for a wave of gleeful shouts to pierce Lilo’s ears.

“Carbon!” a few of the foals shouted, dropping some of the toys or pencils and crayons they were using and galloping over to both Carbon and Lilo. Fillies and colts of all different colors and sizes were wildly skipping around or staring up at them both. Lilo’s eyes were wide.

“Hey, Teak!” Carbon said enthusiastically, kneeling down in front of a silver filly. Lilo noticed that the filly didn’t have any hair on her head.

“Carbon, I’ve missed you!” Teak said, nuzzling against Carbon’s cheek. “It’s been almost two weeks since I last saw you! Where have you been?”

“Sorry, Teak,” Carbon said, patting the filly’s head. “I’ve been busy with work and my new friend here.” He gestured at Lilo. “Would you like to meet her?”

Teak stared up at Lilo with large eyes. Her white tail was swishing back and forth. Lilo lay down in front of Teak with a pleasant smile on her face and she offered a hoof towards the little filly, who took the hoof gingerly.

“Hi, Teak,” Lilo said, tilting her head. “My name is Lilo.”

“Are you Carbon’s fillyfriend?” Teak asked.

Lilo blushed and looked at Carbon.

“Yes, yes you could say that I am,” she said, looking back at Teak.

“Have you gone on any dates yet?” Teak asked Carbon with a wide grin.

Carbon chuckled. “I’d love to stay and talk with you, Teak, but I have to go to work.”

“Awww,” Teak whined, looking at Carbon with big eyes.

“But you’ll have Lilo to play with you,” Carbon said, winking. He then rose to his hooves and turned to Lilo. “I’ll be off work in about six hours. I’ll see you then?”

Lilo nodded her head and—before Carbon could turn and walk out of the room—leaned forward and planted a quick kiss on his lips. Carbon smiled, and then departed the room, leaving Lilo alone with the foals. Teak was staring up at Lilo, and when Lilo looked around the room, she saw that several of the other foals were staring at her as well. Next to Teak was a piece of paper with some kind of drawing on it. Lilo tilted her head.

“What are you drawing, Teak?” Lilo asked. A few of the foals went back to playing with their toys or coloring.

Teak looked down at the piece of paper and stepped on it with her hoof, hiding it from Lilo’s view. Lilo raised an eyebrow and flicked her tail.

“It’s, uh, nothing,” Teak said, flushing. “I’m not drawing anything.”

“Are you sure?” Lilo asked, lying back down so she was eye level with the filly. “I thought I saw some colors on that piece of paper.”

Teak kicked one of her hooves against the floor and looked down. Lilo frowned, and leaned her head forward so she could nuzzle the filly.

“What’s wrong?” Lilo asked.

“The other foals make fun of me for my drawings,” Teak said. “They say I’m weird for drawing them and sometimes throw them in the trash.”

“Well, that’s very mean of them,” Lilo said, glancing at the other foals in the room. A few met her gaze and quickly looked away, returning to occupying themselves with their toys or drawings.

“I get their point, though,” Teak continued. “What I draw probably isn’t normal for other foals to draw. My mother tells me otherwise, but I think she is just trying to cheer me up.”

“Can you show me your drawing?” Lilo asked, giving Teak a hopeful smile.

Teak nodded and removed her hooves from the paper before picking it up and showing Lilo. On the paper was a crude drawing of a changeling. Lilo’s breath caught in her throat, and she looked past the piece of paper at Teak.

“You draw pictures of changelings?” Lilo asked.

“Yeah,” Teak said, dropping the paper on the floor. “Ponies keep telling me that changelings are bad because they attacked Canterlot. A lot of buildings were damaged and a lot of ponies were hurt when they attacked and stuff. I still see a lot of buildings that still need to be repaired by the city.

“I don’t think changelings are bad ponies, though.” Teak shook her head and sat down. “They may have attacked the city and hurt ponies, but everypony has to have a reason for why they do something. A pony wouldn’t just outright hurt some other pony unless they have a reason. I mean, maybe some ponies have bad intentions for why they hurt somepony, but I don’t think the changelings had bad intentions.”

Lilo stared in awe at the filly in front of her. Teak took a deep breath before continuing.

“You see, sometimes when I go home from the hospitals after my check ups, I see changelings being hauled through the streets towards the castle. I’m able to see them up close as my mom makes us step out of the way for the carts, and I can each one of their faces. They don’t look like nasty, evil ponies who would eat a pony if they got the chance. Instead they look scared and horrified. I don’t think some of the mean things the ponies on the street say to the changelings help.”

Lilo looked down at the piece of paper Teak had dropped, and asked, “So you draw changelings because you think they deserve a chance like everypony else?”

“Kind of,” Teak replied, scooting the piece of paper closer to Lilo. “I think we should get to know some pony before we judge them. From what I hear, the changelings were led by a queen who defeated Princess Celestia. The changelings were probably just working for her. The queen must have had her reasons for attacking, too.

“So, drawing is just my way of trying to get to know a changeling better. It might not help much since I can’t talk to any of my drawings, but I think it is better than not trying to get to know a changeling at all because you are afraid.”

Lilo smiled and scooped the filly up into a tight hug. She felt Teak wrapping her own arms around Lilo, and she kissed the filly on the cheek.

“You know, you are one of the smartest fillies I have ever met,” Lilo said, letting go of Teak. “You want to get to know everypony rather than make assumptions, even if the pony is vastly different than you.”

Teak beamed up at Lilo and pushed the changeling drawing towards Lilo.

“You can have it if you want,” Teak said.

Lilo smiled. “Thank you so much, Teak. I’ll be sure to show Carbon when he comes back.”

“So, how did you meet Carbon?” the filly asked, twisting her body slightly and lifting her eyebrows.

Lilo laughed. “Well, after the changelings attacked...”

~~~

Carbon was practically skipping through Canterlot University as he was returning to the medical wing. The sun was approaching the tree canopy of the Everfree Forest from the sky, gently dulling the bright light it had shone across Equestria. Shadows were longer, and the stained glass of the university’s windows had become darker and more pronounced.

The university was still bustling with ponies at this hour. Many of the students were either roaming the halls to find their classmates to study or delivering some message to a professor or a superior. Carbon wound his way through the thin throngs, quickly approaching two large doors that marked his destination. A few ponies greeted him as he trotted by, and he quickly replied with a hello back before he continued on his way.

He pushed the medical wing doors open, and after throwing a greeting towards the receptionist at the front desk, he made straight for the decorated doors that marked the foal’s wing. He stopped at the doors and took a look at himself as best he could in the thin, tinted window, straightening his hair a bit with his hoof before pushing the doors open and striding in.

Carbon was met with an empty room with no foals to be seen. He scratched his head and walked further into the room, letting the door behind him swing shut. On top of the foals and Lilo missing, the floor of the room was very clean; not even a scrap of paper or a small toy had been left out. Carbon looked towards the edges of the room, noticing that pillows had been built up around the walls in a ring around the center of the room, and piles of toys had been stacked behind the pillows. He cringed, and turned back for the door.

“Get him!”

Before he had a chance to bolt, fillies and colts of all colors and size swarmed Carbon and began latching themselves onto his legs and around his neck. He yelped when one little filly jumped and hung onto his tail, and he fell over onto the floor when some of the larger foals hopped onto his back. He lay on the floor with more and more foals piling onto him until it seemed as if every foal in the room had tackled him. He squirmed and chuckled as Teak jumped onto his muzzle.

“We got you now, Carbon!” Teak exclaimed. “Queen Lilo, we have taken down the enemy! It’s safe to come out!”

Lilo popped her head out from behind one of the pillows and smiled at Carbon. She had a large paper crown on her head, although her pink bow was still slightly visible from the top of the crown.

“You put them up to this?” Carbon asked, putting on a fake snarl.

“I had to think of some way to punish you,” Lilo said, slowly walking over to Carbon. “You are twenty minutes late, you know.”

Carbon smiled sheepishly. “Hey, we made a breakthrough with one of our experiments, I just had to stay and watch.”

Lilo lowered her head and nuzzled Carbon against the back of one of his ears.

“It’s okay,” she said. “You can release him now, everypony.”

The foals immediately started rolling off of Carbon and formed a circle around both him and Lilo. Carbon unsteadily rose to his hooves and looked around. Lilo looked around, too, and blushed.

“How did you manage to get all of these foals to work together like that in less than six hours? Carbon asked, finally turning back to Lilo.

“Well, Teak wanted to know how we met,” Lilo said, hiding one of her eyes behind her mane. “Once I started the story, many of the other fillies and colts were soon sitting around me and listening intently. Pretty soon, after the story, I started getting the foals together to play games like charades and duck duck goose. They had a ton of fun.”

“Did they?” Carbon asked, raising an eyebrow. Many of the foals nodded their heads. “Well then, I’m glad you all had a great time, but I’m sad to announce the Lilo and I really need to get going.”

“We do?” Lilo asked, cocking her head.

“Well, yeah, I made us a reservation for dinner tonight,” Carbon said, scratching the back of his head.

“When did you make this?” Lilo asked, sitting on her haunches and crossing her forelegs.

“Uh, during work,” Carbon said.

“Shouldn’t you, I don’t know, be working?”

“Technically I should,” Carbon said with a wink.

Lilo rolled her eyes and leaned forward to give Carbon a peck on the lips. The foals around them whooped and hollered, causing Lilo’s eyes to widen and look around.

“Is that what you all were waiting for?” Carbon asked, chuckling. “Well, let’s get going, Lilo. If we hurry, we can still get to the place before it is too late.”

After saying goodbye to all of the foals, Lilo and Carbon quickly departed Canterlot University and began their trek through the streets of the city. Lilo lay her head on Carbon’s neck as they passed over a bridge that had a small creek running underneath it.

“Carbon?”

“Yes, Lilo?”

“Can I come to work with you again soon?”

Carbon smiled and wrapped one of his wings around Lilo’s back.

“Of course you can.”

Chapter 10: Meeting

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Roses are Red: Chapter 10

“Good evening and welcome to Il Castello delle Rosé,” greeted a white unicorn. He stood behind a podium and had a quill floating in his blue magic. “Would you happen to have a reservation?”

“Yes, for ‘Carbon’,” Carbon said, smiling politely.

Both he and Lilo stood in the entrance of a beautiful wooden building. An entire garden with an array of flora that rivaled the Castle Gardens, hung around the perimeter of the restaurant. Fauna from all around Equestria flitted to and fro amongst the trees and grass. A stone walkway cut through the garden, forming a semicircle that led straight up to the entrance of the establishment. Massive windows covered the exterior of the building as well, allowing for the customers inside to direct their gaze outside while they ate their meals.

Lilo gazed up in awe at the ceiling that hung overhead. Lamps shaped to resemble salmon ran along the ceiling of the restaurant, shining soft light across the entire establishment and bringing a moody atmosphere to even the darkest corners. A massive, ponymade waterfall was built up against the far side of the restaurant where the fish were pointing, and roses of all colors had been placed in pots and planter beds scattered everywhere.

“Ah, yes, Carbon, party of two,” the unicorn said, scribbling something onto a piece of paper that lay on the podium. “Right this way.”

Lilo and Carbon followed the unicorn through the restaurant, swerving in and out between tables covered with beautiful table clothes and lined with intricately designed cushions. Finally, as they neared the waterfall, the unicorn stopped and raised a hoof to show them their table. The table was placed next to one of the large windows, allowing for Lilo and Carbon to look out into the garden and the pond filled with parrotfish beneath the window. They settled into their table and found that their menus had already been placed before them.

“Make yourselves comfortable,” the unicorn said, bowing his head, “a waiter will be with you shortly.”

When the unicorn had fallen out of earshot, Lilo said, “This place is so beautiful, Carbon.”

“It was also a pain to get a reservation on such late notice,” Carbon muttered. He then added more loudly, “I don’t think there is another restaurant in all of Canterlot that matches up to the grandeur that this place displays. Although, I have to say, this places luxury matches its bill quite well.”

Lilo raised an eyebrow. “Why would you say that?”

“Well, uh,” Carbon paused, looking down at his menu. “Let’s just say we won’t be going to a place like this again anytime soon.”

Lilo giggled. “Are you trying to impress me?”

“I... I...” Carbon stuttered, fumbling with his hooves.

Lilo leaned across the table and nuzzled her nose against his. “You don’t have to do things like this to impress me, Carbon.”

“I-I wanted to do something nice for you tonight,” Carbon said. “I thought we should keep it in the realm of beautiful buildings, so taking you here for dinner is as good a place as any.”

Lilo smiled. “Well, thank you, Carbon. This place is wonderful.” She lifted her menu up so that she could scan over the contents. “Wow, there are so many choices on here. I don’t even know where to begin.”

“May I make a suggestion?”

Lilo dropped the menu. Her ears folded back against her head as she instantly recognized the voice from behind her. Turning her head slowly, Lilo’s eyes met those of Zumas as he stood not even half a meter behind her. He had a bow tie tied around his neck and a cigar had been tucked behind his right ear.

“I’m sorry, where are my manners?” Zumas asked, bowing his head slightly. “It’s good to see you, Rosebud. I hope you haven’t forgotten who I am.”

“N-no, I haven’t,” Lilo said, slowly turning back around to face Carbon. “Um, good evening, Zumas.”

“Zumas?” Carbon piped up, cocking his head. “You mean you’re the unicorn who owns the most prominent brothel in the entire city of Canterlot?” He looked at Lilo. “How did you come to meet him?”

“It’s a long story,” Lilo said quietly.

“Not that long,” Zumas said, waving his hoof. “I happened to run into her while she was at my business. I mistook her for one of my employees, believe it or not.” Zumas threw Lilo a glance. “Seems like she was just there for the show, however.”

Zumas levitated a pillow over from one of the tables near the one Lilo and Carbon occupied and sat down. Lilo opened her mouth in protest, but quickly closed it again when Zumas looked over at her with a spiteful smile. She recoiled and looked back down at her menu, feeling his eyes pierce into the side of her head.

“So, Rosebud,” Zumas said, causing Lilo to jerk her head up, “who is this handsome colt you found?”

“Oh, uh,” Lilo stuttered, looking over at Carbon. “He, uh, helped me when I was going through a rough time after the attack.”

“Is that so?” Zumas asked, looking over at Carbon.

“Well, yes,” Carbon said. “She... seemed to have lost her house after the attack. I helped her out by offering a her a place to stay back at my own home, and ever since then we have gotten closer together.” Lilo winced, and Carbon gazed back over at her again. “Lilo, are you alright?”

“You seem nervous,” Zumas added, putting on a worried look.

“No, no, it’s fine,” Lilo said, looking out of the window and into the pond. “I was just hoping that tonight could be just between Carbon and I.”

“I understand,” Zumas said, rising to his hooves and levitating the pillow back to where he found it. “I just wanted to stop by and say... hello.” He paused, raising a hoof up to his chin. “I do have a question for both of you, though.”

One of Lilo’s ears twitched, and she turned back towards Zumas. Carbon, too, had his eyes on the unicorn. After a moment, Zumas cleared his throat.

“I wanted to ask if you two will be attending the public trial tomorrow morning,” Zumas said. “It’s said that almost half of Canterlot will be in attendance.”

“Wait,” Carbon said, turning his entire body towards Zumas, “what trial?”

“Oh, the trial for the queen of the changelings, of course,” Zumas said casually. “It’s to be held in the market square. You didn’t hear? She was captured by a squad of the Royal Guard’s finest ponies just the other day.”

Lilo’s breath caught in her throat. Carbon glanced over at her, biting his lip when he saw that Lilo was staring down at the wine glass on the table. He looked back at Zumas.

“Thank you for letting us know, Zumas,” Carbon said. “We’ll consider attending.”

Zumas nodded his head. “Have a good evening.” He then looked at Lilo and added, “It was nice seeing you again, Rosebud.”

Once Zumas was a safe distance away on the other side of the restaurant, Carbon asked, “Lilo, what was that all about?”

“It’s... it’s a long story,” Lilo replied, finally looking up. “Carbon, we need to go to the trial.”

“The entire market square is going to be bustling with ponies and guards,” Carbon said, opening his menu. “The princesses will be there; by Tartarus, even the Elements of Harmony might be in attendance. It would be extremely dangerous for you to go, Lilo. Who knows if the unicorn guards have managed to concoct a new spell that could be used to detect changelings.”

“I haven’t seen another changeling or connected to the hive mind in two weeks,” Lilo said, opening her menu as well. “Besides, it is my queen that is going to be up there facing trial for what could be considered heinous war crimes. What if the trial turns sour or unfair?” She paused, looking Carbon straight in his eyes. “If one of your princesses was up on stage facing a trial that could decide her fate, and you knew the crimes she committed can be justified at least remotely, wouldn’t you try to take action to help save her?”

Carbon was silent for a moment, his eyes scanning over the various dishes written on the menu. Lilo’s eyes scanned across the menu as well, but her thoughts continued to run amok inside her head, scrambling over the fact that the queen of her race had been captured by Equestria. She brought her hooves to her temples and rubbed them.

“I guess it wouldn’t be right for me to deny you attendance,” Carbon finally said, looking up. “Just remember, Lilo, that we need to be careful if we go. The guards will be on the lookout for anypony who looks or is acting suspicious. If the trial looks like it will turn sour, then we will think of something that might help Chrysalis, but until then, we should remain inconspicuous.”

“Wait, ‘we’?” Lilo asked.

“I’ve heard your story,” Carbon said, looking back down at his menu. “If Chrysalis is as benevolent of a leader as you make her out to be, then it would be morally wrong of me not to help you.” He pointed his hoof at something on the menu. “Looks like the waitress is on her way over to the table, do you know what you want to order?”

Lilo’s eyes widened, and she hurried looked back down at her menu and searched widely through the list of entrées. She paused for a moment, however, and looked up and saw Carbon staring at her. She blushed.

“Thank you, Carbon.” Lilo said.

“Lilo, at this point, I would do anything for you,” Carbon replied with a smile. “As for right now, let’s try to make the best out of this night.”

Chapter 11: Improvise

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Roses are Red: Chapter 11

Lilo and Carbon hastily galloped through the streets of Canterlot, whipping past ponies that were meandering along the streets and market stalls that had been set up outside of the market square. A huge throng of ponies lay before them, all huddled around a large platform that had been brought into the market square overnight. Tense chatter rolled throughout the crowd that had gathered to watch the trial.

Royal guards patrolled the outer ring of the crowd, occasionally glancing in and scanning their eyes over the tops of the heads of each pony. The pegasi guards each had one of their wings wrapped around a massive spear, and each of the unicorn guards had their horns completely lit up in uniform yellow hues. Their armor clanked noisily as they walked, barely audible above the wurr of voices from the ponies they circled.

Lilo eyed the guards nervously as she and Carbon neared the edge of the crowd, clenching her pegasus wings tightly against her sides. One of the guards passed behind her, his eyes piercing into the back of her head, before he casually moved passed her to glare at another pony who was jumping up and down in the crowd. Lilo’s heart was racing in her chest.

“Hey, are you alright?” Carbon asked, casting his gaze from the stage at the center of the crowd.

“Y-yeah,” Lilo said, rubbing one of her forehooves against the other, “it’s just that the guards are making me a little nervous. I didn’t know there would be this many.”

Carbon looked around himself, noting that there were, indeed, a couple dozen guards standing on the stage in the center or patrolling around the ring of ponies. He exhaled and ruffled the feathers of his wings.

“It’ll be fine,” Carbon said, bumping his flank against Lilo’s. “From the looks of it, the guards are practically allowing anypony to come and watch the trial. And from what I can see, they haven’t devised some spell that can detect changelings, contrary to the rumors that have been floating around.”

Lilo’s wings relaxed slightly when she felt Carbon’s touch, but she could still hear her heartbeat thumping inside of her ears. Her gaze shifted wearily around the crowd, shooting glances at each of the guards as they made their rounds. As her eyes finally landed on the guards were standing on the stage, a bright light filled the market square. Lilo shielded her eyes.

When her eyes opened again, her breath caught in her throat when she saw Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Princess Cadence standing on the stage. They all wore their full regalia, and they all stood perfectly at attention. The guards that were patrolling the outer circle of ponies stopped and turned, saluting the princesses and standing in their respective positions. Celestia nodded, allowing for the guards to stand at ease. She cleared her throat, causing everypony in attendance to fall completely silent.

“Greetings, my little ponies.” Many of the ponies in the crowd bowed. Lilo noticed that Celestia’s lips curled into a small frown. “Please rise, there is no need to bow before us. Not today.” Ponies all rose and glanced at each other, causing a small murmur to travel through the crowd. Celestia once again cleared her throat.

“I can see that many of you have gathered here today to witness the trial of the crimes committed by the one who led the attack on Canterlot just a little over two weeks ago. I cannot say that I am surprised, and was actually expecting more to arrive. She led an army onto the city, using her minions to rain down hellish fire onto many of your homes and businesses.” Celestia paused, unfurling her wings and walking to the other side of the stage. “Reports say that much of Canterlot is still damaged, and a few parts left in total ruin, even with all of our constructions crews working around the clock.”

A few more murmurs ran through the crowd. Lilo looked down at her hooves and pressed her side into Carbon slightly.

“Many of you have probably been witness to those same minions that have been carted through the streets towards the castle.” Celestia’s gaze slowly drifted the entire crowd in front of her. “I have heard from a few anonymous sources that threats and insults have been said and food has been thrown towards these prisoners of ours. I have seen with my own eyes the fear upon these creatures eyes when they are finally beyond the castle gates.”

There was another flash of light, and sitting on the stage were three cages that held changelings in each one. When the changelings looked around them, they immediately curled into tight balls in the center of the cages and covered their eyes with their hooves. One of Lilo’s hooves went up to her mouth, suppressing a gasp.

“To say that I am disappointed is an understatement,” Celestia continued. Her horn lit up, her yellow magical aura surrounding the cages and teleporting them away from the stage. Out of the corner of her eye, Lilo saw Princess Cadence’s eyes narrow. “We bring prisoners—no, not prisoners—hostages of war, and we treat them like they are some sort of vile demon from Tartarus.”

Celestia stopped, allowing for a rumble of conversation to sweep the crowd. A mix of angry, defensive shouts and apologetic statements rose up from the crowd towards the center stage. Celestia folded her wings back against her sides again and closed her eyes. Luna stepped up next to her sister.

“Silence!” she roared, bringing the entire throng to silence. The only sound the echoed through the market square was the occasional rattle from a guard’s armor or the dull thrum of city activities from beyond the trial.

“Our sister is right, but now is not the time to scold you all like foals,” Luna added, glancing at her sister. “There is one who must be brought before you all to be judged for the crimes she has committed against the state. Prince Shining Armor, please bring forth the prisoner.”

Another flash of light emit from the side of the stage, revealing a large, white unicorn. However, Lilo hardly noticed him, her eyes instead focused on the changeling that stood behind him. Queen Chrysalis stood proudly behind Shining Armor, her head held eye and her posture as straight as it could be. She wore manacles around her hooves, chained together tightly. Another pair of manacles were cuffed around her wings, and around Chrysalis’ horn was a circular device that prevented her from using her magic. In Shining Armor’s teeth was a chain leash that connected to a metal collar attached to Chrysalis’ neck.

The captain tugged on the chain, forcing Chrysalis to follow him onto the stage. He stopped before Celestia, Luna, and Cadence, and then stepped to the side so that Chrysalis was the one who stood before the three princesses. The queen’s posture faltered slightly when she came under Luna and Cadence’s hard glares. Celestia stepped forward.

“Queen Chrysalis,” she started, “you stand before the princesses of Equestria and the citizens of Canterlot to participate in your trial for your misgivings. You are accused of threatening the safety of the Equestrian nation and its citizens, destroying much of Canterlot city in the process and killing eight hundred and fifty seven ponies. You will be given a chance so that we may hear your defense. How do you plead?”

“Guilty,” Chrysalis curtly said.

Celestia sat back on her haunches, shortly followed by Cadence and Luna.

“Very well,” Celestia said. “Please present your case.”

Chrysalis took a deep breath, staying her gaze on the three princesses in front of her. Lilo held her breath.

“What is better?” Chrysalis asked quietly. “To be born good, or to overcome your evil nature through great effort?” The crowd fell silent. “Once upon a time there was a beautiful race of mystical ponies who carried with them the very magics of nature and life itself. They were regarded with the utmost respect and love throughout every nation that surrounded them, and in turn, they shared the same respect.”

Lilo’s eyes widened. This story...

“Each citizen—each pony—of this race was beautiful beyond comparison, and they all sported a compassionate and wise personality on top of that.” Chrysalis paused, looking down at her hooves. “These ponies had a wonderful queen, whose love and beauty was known to even the creatures who existed in the distance reaches of the furthest leylands. It seemed as they had everything anypony could ever want.

“However, they had one weakness.” Chrysalis looked up, staring at Cadence. “The ponies gave the land that they lived on love to survive, and in turn, the land gave the ponies the energy needed to sustain themselves.” She flipped her mane out of her eyes. “As you can guess, it was only a matter of time before something fed off of that weakness.

“A creature of immense power tore into the land that these ponies lived upon, twisting the magics that were present until there no longer existed a connection between the land and these ponies. The queen was mortified by what the creature had done, and she pleaded with him to give her and her race their land back.”

Chrysalis sighed, finally turning to face the crowd. She took another breath, and continued, “The beast promised to give them the land’s magic if they would serve under him as their slaves for as long as he remained alive. In desperation, the queen complied with the beast, but to her horror, his treachery didn’t stop there. He took the magic of the land, twisted it some more, and infused it with every citizen of the nation, changing the ponies forever into horrid manifestations of their former selves.

“Well, not long after that the beast was defeated, freeing the ponies from their enslavement. However, for the atrocities the ponies committed under the rule of the beast, they were no longer welcome amongst the world that they had come to know, and so they fled to the distant reaches if the world in order to find a new life.”

Everypony stared on at Chrysalis in silence. The queen shut her eyes.

“For centuries since then, these new... ponies had to make a new life for themselves,” Chrysalis continued. “They were hunted, they were starved, they were captured, and most of all, they were unloved by all those that they met. They were chased across the far reaches of Equestria until they came upon the Broken Leylands, the remnants of their home.

“Unfortunately, they were no longer welcomed there as other ponies had made settlements scattered across the barren, arid land. Again, these ponies were chased across the wastes until they came upon Equestria, and then upon this very city, Canterlot.”

The queen sat down, looking down at her hooves.

“In a last ditch effort, these ponies attacked the city to gain the love that they had been deprived of for centuries. The city had more love to feed the entire nation of ponies than they had ever felt before, and it sat there at the very edges of their hooves. They plotted, they conspired, they infiltrated, but in the end, it still wasn’t enough and they were defeated by the very thing they had sought to consume. Love had defeated and condemned them to the fate that was so eagerly awaiting them since they first lost their connection with their homeland.”

Princess Cadence stepped forward, her face contorted into a snarl. Neither Luna nor Celestia made to stop her as she stood before Chrysalis.

“You sit here and spin this tale,” Cadence said, lowering her face to be level with Chrysalis’, “yet the actions you have committed here in Canterlot still stand. Have you really stooped so low, Chrysalis, to try to pass a sob story as your defense?”

Chrysalis bared her fangs, but remained seated.

“I would like to see you stand before the ashes of two hundred thousand dead souls,” Chrysalis said, her eyes watering, “and ask the ghosts if honor matters. What else could I have done? I had no other choice. We had no other choice.”

“You could have asked!” Cadence shouted. Her breaths were ragged. “You could have asked Princess Celestia for aid for your ponies. You could have asked Princess Luna. You could have asked anypony, but instead you decided to take the most brute course of action.”

“Don’t you think I would have tried?” Chrysalis asked, rising to her hooves. Tears were streaming freely down her face. “Princess Celestia, your little aunt, still regards the changelings as a brutish and insufferable race who are relics of an age from a millennia ago.”

Cadence’s face scrunched up in rage. Lilo glanced up at Carbon, worry etched across her face. The wurr of ponies voices echoed through the crowd once again.

“Carbon, Queen Chrysalis doesn’t stand a chance in this trial,” Lilo said, nudging her muzzle against Carbon’s neck. “We have to do something, now. Cadence only grows more agitated the longer this trial drags on.”

Carbon grimaced, looking back down at Lilo. “I’m not sure there is anything we can do, Lilo.”

“You and your minions have brought suffering upon this city with your invasion,” Cadence said coldly. “You talk of walking among the ashes of your fallen subjects, yet you turn my own subjects to ashes in their stead. Your hypocrisy will be the end of you, Queen Chrysalis.”

“There is something that I can do,” Lilo said, taking a step forward. She looked back. “Please, Carbon, stay here.”

Before Carbon had a chance to lift a hoof, Lilo darted into the crowd and began to push herself towards the stage. A few ponies shouted out in displeasure, and in a moment, the pegasi guards had noticed the disturbance and began to take to the air to capture the crème colored pegasus pony who made for the stage.

Chrysalis remained unaware of the approaching pegasus. “Have you known what it is to feel loss—true loss? You sit upon your throne and help with the relief effort of this city, taking tallies on the dead and the decrepit, yet you have not had the pleasure of witnessing everything you have ever loved be taken away from you within an instant.”

Cadence opened her mouth, but before she could reply, Lilo jumped and spread her wings, giving one powerful flap and landing on the stage in front of Chrysalis with a heavy thud. Pegasi guards landed all around the queen and the pegasus, lowering their spears around the two. Princess Luna stood, walking up next to Cadence.

“Stand down, citizen,” Luna said, her horn glowing. “Remove thyself from the stage at once.”

Lilo growled. “I am not your citizen,” she spat.

A roar of conversation erupted from the crowd. Cadence furrowed her brow and Luna unfurled her wings, dissipating the magic around her horn.

“You are not?” Luna asked. “What makes you imply such a thing, pegasus?”

Lilo closed her eyes and slowly encased her body in a wave of green flames. Her pegasus disguise dropped, revealing her changeling form in front of the entire crowd, the guards, and the three princesses. A few screams rang out.

“Seize that changeling!”

Lilo’s eyes widened, but before one of the guards could move in and apprehend her, Carbon swooped in and landed between her and the guards in front of her. His wings were fully extended, and he lowered his head to be level with one of the spears in front of him.

“Get away from her,” he said, a chill creeping into his voice.

The guards tensed, and the crowd around the stage fell silent and watched on in awe as Carbon and Lilo stood between the guards and Chrysalis. Lilo sidled up next to Carbon and bared her fangs.

“At ease, guard,” Celestia said from behind Luna and Cadence. The two other princesses and the guards parted, allowing from the large, white alicorn to walk up before Carbon and Lilo. Her face remained stoic. “This is something that I would never have expected to see, not now. A pony standing united with a changeling under the premiss of love. I can see it.

“But you have interrupted an ongoing trial for the crimes of one who has brought much suffering upon this city. Regardless of what race you are, this does not excuse your intrusion, so, please, explain yourselves before I have you two removed from the stage.”

Lilo gave Carbon a nuzzle on his neck, and then she stepped forward in front of Celestia. The pony princess towered over the changeling, but Lilo stood as tall as she could and stared into the princess’s eyes.

“For my entire life I have trailed behind my queen,” Lilo said. “I have followed her across the barren wastes of the Broken Leylands, and then into the dark and dangerous forests of the Everfree. She led us to each potential food source in hopes that we would be forever sustained, but each time we were driven away because of our queer dietary habits and strange complexions.”

Lilo paused, clicking her tongue together. “For however long I have know Queen Chrysalis, I have never seen the monster that you ponies make her out to be. When I was a part of our swarm, I had the job of taking care of the foals that had been orphaned by their parents. One day while I was feeding them, the queen herself stopped by and asked if she could see all of the foals, and I warily complied as I led her to them.”

Chrysalis’ eyes widened and she turned away.

“For an hour she sat down and played with all of the foals,” Lilo continued. “She wrestled with them and played hide and seek. I had never seen a pony of such power display such affection before, and from that moment on I knew that Chrysalis was no leader. She’s not a monarch, she’s not a tyrant; she’s a mother who cares about every one of her children.” Celestia stared passed Lilo as she continued. “She’s not much different than you ponies. You pride yourselves on caring for each other and having loving princesses that are mothers to all of their subjects. The only difference between you and her are the ponies that she leads.” Lilo looked down at her hooves. “Our home is where we are. Our place of origin is not relevant, only where we choose to go together.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow. “You three stand together on this stage, defying those that would otherwise have you taken away. You, changeling, stand before me proudly as you vouch for the tenderness of your queen, and you, pegasus, stand next to that of whom you love. I know what it is that motivates you, but I wish to hear it from yourselves.”

Staring directly into Celestia’s eyes, Lilo said, “No matter what any other pony thinks, there is no other place I’d rather be. I love my queen, and I love Carbon. I have lost enough, and I would never be able to bear losing more of those that I love.”

“Sometimes ponies deserve second chances,” Carbon said, stepping forward. “In the short time that I have known Lilo, I have come to love her beyond any pony I have known before. The determination that I see in her now is something that I never want to lose.”

Celestia stared at Lilo for a moment, her eyes softening considerably. She stepped forward, walking past Lilo and Carbon and slowly lowering herself down in front of Chrysalis. The queen continued to look away, but she didn’t recoil when Celestia rested one pressed one of her metal clad hooves up against her own holed hooves.

“I think it’s time we forget what happened between us in ages past,” Celestia whispered. “Our ponies need us more than ever, and it wouldn’t do well for either of us to squabble over a conflict that should have been settled over a millennia ago.”

Before Chrysalis had a chance to respond, Celestia stood onto all four of her hooves and strode to the front of the stage. Most of the guard that had been on the stage returned to their posts, although a few remained who kept their eyes on Lilo and Carbon. Luna walked up next to Celestia, and Cadence looked away from the crowd of ponies, biting her lower lip.

“A verdict for this trial has been achieved,” Celestia announced, opening her wings. “By the royal decree of Princess Luna and I, Queen Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings, will remain under house arrest at Canterlot Castle until a consensus has been made about what to do with the rest of the changelings.”

A roar of voices thundered in the market square. Ponies of all colors began to shout a mix of emotions towards the center stage, ranging from strongly worded speeches or displeasure to cheers and hollers of congratulations towards Chrysalis, Lilo, and Carbon. The sound was deafening, and Lilo immediately folded her ears back and pressed herself into Carbon’s side.

Princess Luna glanced at her sister, and after a moment she slammed her hoof onto the stage. A powerful thunderclap ripped through the air, immediately silencing everypony who had the pleasure of hearing it. She cleared her throat and opened her wings.

“If that is all,” she began, “this trial has come to a close. My sister and I will devise a royal pardon that you all may scrutinize to your heart’s content later. As for right now, we have more pressing matters to attend to. If you have any questions, please direct them towards the Day Court.”

Before another roar of voices could blast towards Celestia and Luna, the two alicorns ignited their horns and teleported away. Cadence remained a moment longer, shooting a glare towards Lilo and Carbon before igniting her own horn and teleporting away. Shining Armor appeared on stage next, flanked by two pegasi guards. He held a scroll in his magic, which he levitated in front of Lilo and Carbon and unraveled it.

“By the order of Princess Celestia,” he said. “you two are to meet with her and Princess Luna tonight to discuss your present situation. I will have one guard escort you back to your home and then to the castle later tonight.”

Lilo scanned the scroll and then glanced over at Carbon, who looked up at Shining Armor curiously. The prince looked to be agitated and impatient as he stared past them towards Chrysalis.

“Will I have time to speak to Queen Chrysalis?” Lilo asked.

“You will tonight,” Shining Armor replied. “As of right now, I have orders to take her back to the castle and given appropriate accommodations.” He leaned forward and whispered, “The crowd looks to be growing more upset, so I suggest that you leave now before things get out of hand. Besides, I have a job to do.”

Lilo and Carbon looked at each other, and after looking back at Chrysalis one last time, they both quickly departed the stage with one of Shining Armor’s guards in tow. Towards the back of the crowd, a grey unicorn eyed the party with a sinister glare. He nodded his head, and four other ponies that had surrounded him departed the market square, galloping through the streets towards the poorest districts of Canterlot.

Chapter 12: Businessman

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Roses are Red: Chapter 12

The streets fell silent and ponies stepped out of the way as Lilo, Carbon, and the guard made their way towards the poorer districts of Canterlot. All eyes were focused on Lilo, staring at her black chitin and large, pink eyes with curiosity, terror, and disgust. Some ponies gathered up their foals, friends, or significant others and led them down side streets and alleyways in an attempt to avoid the oncoming party, sometimes scoffing or mouthing a few words of dissent.

Lilo walked closer to Carbon, keeping their sides pressed up against each other while the guard walked behind them. Every time Lilo’s eyes made contact with another pony in the street, the pony would immediately look or shuffle away, or sometimes even glare at her in return. She folded her ears back and felt content to look at the ground, counting the dirty cobblestones that passed under her hooves.

“Insect.”

“Cretin.”

Lilo flinched, but she kept her head down as more insults were flung her way. They were far from the market square by now, and the houses that passed by started to slowly degenerate into destitute dwellings and shanties. The apartment that Carbon lived at, however, was still several streets away from them, and the ponies that the trio passed by appeared to be getting more and more agitated by Lilo’s presence.

“Why isn’t it locked up in Canterlot Castle?”

“Perhaps it is being used to search for more of those foul beasts.”

Lilo felt Carbon nudge the side of her head. She looked up, dodging the piercing eyes of the ponies around them.

“Don’t worry about them, Lilo,” Carbon said. “You did something today that they could never hope to do.”

“It was quite impressive,” the guard behind them added, nodding his head. “Probably wouldn’t have done what you did up there.”

“And you swooped out of nowhere and protected me against those guards, Carbon,” Lilo said, nudging her flank against Carbon. “There was just something different having you there. I felt like I could help Chrysalis.”

Carbon glanced around them, noticing that the ponies were starting to become more clustered as they neared the apartment. He leaned close to Lilo once again.

“I think we should pick up the pace,” Carbon whispered, making his voice loud enough for the guard to hear behind them. “It would be best if we got off the streets as quickly as possible before these ponies feel the need to ‘act.’ “

“There is an alley approaching on the left,” the guard said. “Your apartment building should be on the next street over; we could use it to avoid further contact with these crowds.”

Carbon glanced back for a moment. He then nodded his head and said, “Yes, you are right. Follow me.”

The alley the guard mentioned quickly came up on their left, and the party ducked into the alley away from the ponies in the street. A few more shouts and insults rose from behind them, but when Lilo looked back, she saw that none of the ponies from the street were following them. She sighed and turned back around, only for her breath to be caught in her throat. Standing at the end of the alley were two pegasi ponies, one of which Lilo instantly recognized.

“You been keepin’ yurself pretty well hidden” the light grey pegasus said. He had a messy orange mane and tail, as well as a large scar that traced over his left eye. “We were sure that you had left the city by now, but it seems like luck would have it that we found you again at a prissy little restaurant with this here handsome pegasus.”

Lilo and Carbon stopped walking, eyeing the two pegasi in front of them carefully. The other pegasus had a light orange coat with a white mane and tail.

“I’d suggest you move out of the way,” Carbon threatened. “We have orders to report back to Princess Celestia, and we have an armed guard escort.”

“Is that so?” the light grey pegasus sneered. “I just see Hot Rocket standin’ behind ya. Royal Guards don’t usually trek this far into the city.”

Lilo and Carbon whirled around to face the guard behind them, but they were instantly slammed into the walls opposite of each other. Lilo slumped against the wall and rolled onto her stomach. Across from her, Carbon groaned as he struggled to get back to his hooves. Lilo made to do the same, but she was instantly shoved back onto the ground by the false pegasus guard. He looked down at her and grinned.

Growling, Lilo opened her mouth and sunk her teeth into Hot Rocket’s leg, eliciting a yelp from the pegasus. He stepped back, releasing his leg from Lilo’s fangs, but before she could get on her hooves he was back on her and shoving her face into the cobblestones using one of his enormous hooves.

“Hey Falchion,” Hot Rocket said, glancing at the light grey pegasus, “looks like the bug grew somewhat of a spine since we last saw her.”

“Is that so?” Falchion asked, looking back over at Lilo and Hot Rocket. “Well, looks like we’ll need to fix that.” He turned back to look down at Carbon, who was still reeling on the ground and struggling to get to his hooves. “I suggest that you don’t get up,” Falchion said as he swiped Carbon’s hooves out from under him and then kicked him in the stomach. “That would be a very bad idea.”

Carbon wheezed, glancing at Lilo for a moment before casting his gaze back up at Falchion.

“Why are you doing this?” Carbon asked.

Falchion rolled his eyes, then lowered himself so he was eye level with Carbon.

“This ain’t some action adventure story where you can play the white knight,” he said. “We’re here representin’ a business, reclaimin’ some merchandise that mysteriously disappeared a few weeks ago. Simple as that. I suggest that you let this whole thing drop or you might be wishin’ those guards hadn’t hesitated up on that stage.”

Carbon coughed. “Merchandise? How can you call a pony merchandise; somepony who has thoughts, opinions, and feelings?”

Falchion raised himself back to his hooves and stepped aside, allowing for Carbon to look at Lilo again.

“That ain’t a pony,” Falchion stated. “Besides, that thing signed a contract with Zumas. We’re here to make sure it is going to fulfill that contract.”

Falchion nodded, causing Hot Rocket to pull one of his hooves back and then slam it into Lilo’s stomach. She gasped for air and doubled up, and Hot Rocket merely looked down at her and smirked.

“No, stop! Don’t hit her,” Carbon said, looking back at Falchion.

“ ‘Don’t hit her’?” the grey pegasus inquired. “Oh, that’s right. You love her, don’t ya?” He signaled for Hot Rocket to kick Lilo in the stomach again, causing Carbon to look away. “It seems as if I’m not being clear here. Drop these stupid bug fancies of yours and we’ll let you return to your normal, everyday life.”

Carbon tried to lift himself up again, but Falchion quickly brought his hoof back down onto the back of Carbon’s head. His eyes flashed.

“Ponies like you disgust me,” he said, kicking Carbon’s cheek to force him onto his back. “You fight against those that you can’t hope to defeat; and for what? Some stupid goal? Some stupid emotion? Some stupid moral? You’re not goin’ to find any of that! Life is not like those precious stories you read or those heroic tales that you hear ‘bout. No, life is tougher and less forgiving.”

Falchion stood over Carbon now, looking down at him with a snarl.

“Hold out your foreleg.” Falchion demanded.

Carbon looked at one of his forelegs, then back up at the pegasus.

“Do it!”

Slowly Carbon extended one of his forelegs to the side, and Falchion quickly pinned it against the ground. Carbon’s eyes widened when he saw Falchion place his other hoof down in the middle of his foreleg.

“How about I show you a taste of how forgiving life is like.”

“No! Please don-” Before Lilo could say anymore, Hot Rocket had slammed his hoof into her stomach once again.

A scream filled the alley as Falchion brought his hoof down upon Carbon’s foreleg. The snap from his bones was heard clearly by the two other pegasi, and tears filled Lilo’s eyes as she gazed at Carbon’s misshapen limb.

After a moment of letting Carbon shriek in agony, Falchion lifted a hoof and smashed it down onto Carbon’s face and said, “Now, if you don’t mind, we’ll be taking this thing back to Zumas where it belongs. Sayonara, and don’t follow us.”

Carbon’s head was throbbing, and his vision began to blur as he saw the third pegasus step over to Lilo and kicked her in the head as well, causing her to immediately blackout. He then pulled a bag from off of his back and stuffed her limp body into it, swinging it over Hot Rocket’s back once it was sealed. The last thing Carbon saw was Falchion smiling at him once again before unconsciousness swept over him.

Chapter 13: Knight-errant

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Roses are Red: Chapter 13

A single water droplet fell from the sky. Its origins would remain unknown—as well its final destination—but as for the present, the droplet fell through the air towards the city of Canterlot below. Nothing hindered its path, nothing pushed the droplet along; only the freefall acceleration of the physical, earthly forces acted upon the droplet to push it towards the ground.

Sometimes it’s surprising how such a small sample of water could potentially be home to an entire ecosystem of life. If a droplet were to be taken from the murky waters of Froggy Bottom Bog and placed under an electron microscope, anypony could see the individual bacteria swimming through the little droplet at amazing speeds. If a droplet were to be taken from fresh glass of sparkling water from one of the higher end restaurants of Canterlot, anypony would see that the water remained devoid of life.

But regardless of its origins, whether from Froggy Bottom Bog or a Canterlot restaurant, allowing for the droplet to fall from the clouds that hung over the city would yield the same results. The droplet would smash into the ground, extinguishing the ecosystem it may or may not be hosting.

However, instead of smashing into the ground of Canterlot itself, the droplet smashed into the nose of somepony who lay in a heap in the middle of an alleyway. The force of the droplet stirred the pony awake. Then another droplet smashed onto the pony’s thigh, and another onto his left hoof.

Carbon’s eyes flickered open, and he cringed as a rush of pain flooded his foreleg and his head. He groaned, rolling onto his side. The cobblestone ground beneath him felt sticky as his body rubbed slightly against it, and upon closer inspection, a small pool of partially dried blood lay beneath his foreleg and his head.

There was also another pool of blood on the other side of the alley where Lilo had been. Where Lilo had been pinned by the false castle guard who had kicked her multiple times, and where her head had been kicked by the other pegasus to knock her out. She had been placed in a bag and hauled off by those pegasi thugs, who intended to bring her back to the pony whom she had signed some sort of contract with.

Zumas.

Carbon rolled over onto his belly, carefully dragging his broken leg across the ground. The mere motion of the leg sent jolts of searing pain through Carbon’s entire body, but ignored it as he used the alley wall to help raise himself back onto his hooves.

The rain had begun to fall in earnest now, and Carbon took a moment to allow himself to rest up against the alley wall. His head pounded and his stomach felt unsettled, but they were both quelled once Carbon remembered Lilo’s screams echoing off of the alley walls. He clenched his teeth and took a step towards the exit of the alley.

The sky was dark as Carbon gingerly hobbled down the street. No clocks were nearby to allow him to know what time it was, but by the illumination of one of the street lamps ahead, it was clear that it was sometime during the night. The time of day didn’t matter, however, only how many hours had passed, and so Carbon still looked around himself to locate a clock he could use.

Finally, after rounding the corner that led straight to the market, one of Canterlot’s many clock towers came into view. The time read eleven o’clock, nearly seven hours since he and Lilo had been ambushed in the alley. Carbon cursed and trudged on towards the market.

After another agonizing ten minutes of stumbling and groaning, Carbon finally arrived in front of a stall that was decorated with a bunch of masks of foreign trinkets. He lifted his broken leg to knock on the board that had been slid over the front of the stall, then hesitated and used his head instead. There was a gasp and shuffling that came from inside before the the board had been slid away from the front to reveal Naroke.

“Carbon, what brings you to my stall at this time of night?” Naroke asked, raising an eyebrow. “Your knocks gave me quite the fright.”

“Lilo is in trouble,” Carbon said. His voice was hoarse. “I need your help, Naroke.”

Naroke looked down and noticed the unnatural bend in Carbon’s foreleg. She gasped again.

“Your leg is very battered. Come into my stall to make sure it is not shattered.”

Naroke quickly opened the door on the side of her stall to allow Carbon to enter, who gingerly limped through the door and collapsed onto a pillow the zebra had laid on the ground. A series of clangs soon arose from around the stall as Naroke searched through her many bottles of various liquids that were stacked on a multitude of shelves. She flicked her tail and turned back around for a moment to look at Carbon.

“Lilo was the pony with you of similar age,” Naroke said, “and was the changeling who defended her queen on stage?”

“Y-yes, that is her,” Carbon said uneasily. “She’s... been kidnapped by some ponies who said she has some sort of contract that she has to fulfill.”

“Who are these ponies that you speak of?” Naroke asked, resuming her search through her rows of concoctions. “What could they possibly want with your love?”

“They said they worked for Zumas,” Carbon stated, shaking his head. “I can only imagine that they took her back to the brothel that he owns over in the Red Light District.”

Naroke trotted back to Carbon with a glass of a strange, yellow liquid. She sat down and twisted the lid off, then pulled a coconut cup from behind her and poured the liquid in.

“The pegasi took her to Zumas, you say?” Naroke asked. “If I know him, he’s not keen to losing his prey. Have you not tried going to the castle guards? Only they would be able to execute a plan that is not a house of cards.”

“No, I can’t trust the castle guards,” Carbon said bitterly. “When Lilo and I were heading back home, Prince Shining Armor instructed a guard to escort us back to the apartment. However, when we were almost home, the guard that was accompanying us was a member of the gang who cornered us in the alley. I don’t want to risk using the guards if Zumas has placed more of his stallions in their ranks.”

Naroke finished pouring the liquid and held the cup up to Carbon’s mouth. He sniffed the liquid and immediately recoiled from the smell. It reminded him of rotten eggs and bananas.

“Open your mouth and drink,” Naroke instructed. “It will clear the pain away in a blink.”

Carbon opened his mouth, allowing for Naroke to tip the coconut cup forward and drain the liquid. In a few seconds the cup was completely empty, and Carbon gagged as he begrudgingly forced the liquid down his throat. The taste was worse than the smell. He coughed several times, but he began to feel a tingling sensation run through his entire body as the pain in his leg and his head subsided.

“I think I have an idea for how you could gain entry to Zumas’s establishment,” Naroke said, setting the cocnut down and grabbing a splint from under a table. “Hopefully it will be enough to help Lilo from her torment.”

~~~

Sky Runner lay sprawled out on the large bed, staring up at the smooth, decorative ceiling above her. Pillows and blankets were laid out all around her with beautiful flowers placed on either nightstand that sat beside the bed. Scented candles had been lit around the room as well, allowing for light to reach the darkest corners of the room, as well as filling the room with the sweet and light scent of cinnamon.

Sky was a small pegasus mare with a white coat and red mane and tail. Her right wing rested against her side bandaged up in a splint, barely covering up the two horseshoes that represented her cutiemark.

She cast her blue eyes over the vines that had been etched in the ceiling. She knew their paths well as they snaked over and under each other, but her eyes still followed the vines regardless as a means of entertainment as she waited for her latest client. She flexed her left wing for a moment.

My third client of the day, Sky thought to herself. Apparently he is a handsome stallion at that. Young and dashing, and also witty, according to that moron of a butler. Perhaps he’ll be a nice break from these old farts who visit me all the time. I’ve been looking for a stallion who can last more than just a couple of minutes.

Sky lifted herself up so she was lying on her side with her flank facing the door.

Perhaps I’m asking a bit much, Sky mused, touching a hoof to her chin, but then again, a mare does need to make a living. The type of skills I have are not cheap.

There was a knock on the door, and Sky’s ears swiveled around towards the door as a smile crept onto her face. She lifted herself off of the bed, slowly making her way over towards the door and heavily stomping her hoofsteps on the wooden floor.

The young ones are usually pretty naive as well, Sky thought. This stallion doesn’t stand a chance.

Sky cracked the door open, peeking through and coming face to face with a white stallion with a blue mane. He wore a large, water logged coat with the hood pulled over his head. He was handsome, after all.

~~~

Carbon stared back at the mare and licked his lips. The residue from the liquid that Naroke still coated the inside of his mouth, leaving a disgusting aftertaste in his mouth. He ignored it as he forced himself to smile.

“So you’re the stallion that I was told about?” the mare asked. Her name was Sky if the stallion Carbon had spoken to downstairs was correct. “You’re quite the cute one, aren’t you? Come on in.”

Sky opened the door more and turned to trot back towards the bed, flicking the tip of her tail up against Carbon’s nose as she did so. Carbon felt a rush of blood flow into his wings, but he took a deep breath and followed after Sky slowly, shutting the door behind him. The room was warm, and the sweet scent of cinnamon wafted into Carbon’s nostrils.

“Are you just going to stand in the door all day with that coat on?” Sky asked, cocking her head and biting her lower lip. “That doesn’t sound like too much fun. Why don’t you come over here, relax, and let me take care of you.”
Carbon strode forward, dragging the end of his coat across the floor. Sky smiled and lowered her eyelids, and once Carbon was upon her, she fell back onto the bed with her legs in the air. Carbon pounced on top of her, and their lips locked together for a moment, until Carbon pulled away and looked down at Sky.

“How about I remove that silly coat of yours?” Sky asked, using her hooves to slide the coat off of Carbon’s back.

With Carbon’s hood removed from his face, his cold turquoise eyes were fully visible. He stared down at Sky without a hint of youthful lust twinkling around his pupils. The splint that Carbon wore on his broken leg was now fully visible, and with the coat fully shed, the dagger he had strapped around his waist was clearly visible.

Sky’s eyes widened, and she pushed her hooves up against Carbon’s chest to shove him off her and onto his back on the wood floor. Carbon groaned, and he tried to raise himself off of his back, only to be forced back down as Sky pushed her hoof onto his chest. She had a mini crossbow strapped to her hoof with a small, oddly colored bolt loaded. Her eyes narrowed.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Sky asked. “You may have a pretty face, but I don’t take kindly to ponies shoving their sharp pricks in places where they don’t belong.”

Carbon eyed the crossbow for a moment warily, then directed his gaze back onto Sky who continued to glare down at him. He sighed and lay his head back.

“I have no intention of harming you,” Carbon said. “In fact, I’m actually hoping you can assist me.”

“I was going to ‘assist’ you until I found out that you had that thing strapped to your side,” Sky said, nodding at the dagger. “It might be a little late for that.”

Carbon’s gaze drifted back to the crossbow again. He raised his eyebrow.

“I’m guessing that is a tranquilizer dart,” Carbon stated. “Probably benzodiazepine if you know what kind of sedatives can be acquired easily. Fast acting, relaxes the muscles, and hypnotic. You can practically get this at any hospital or clinic scattered across Equestria.”

Sky loosened the pressured she was applying on Carbon’s chest, but she remained on top of him with the crossbow trained on Carbon’s neck.

“What do you want?” she asked.

Carbon’s voice darkened as he said, “Somepony I love very dearly is trapped somewhere within this buiding. I would like your assistance locating her, as I assume you know your way around here.”

Sky removed her hoof from Carbon’s chest and took a few steps back, allowing for him to lift himself back onto his hooves. He grunted as he stepped on his broken leg, and immediately took his weight off of his leg when he had finished righting himself. A dull pain reverberated through his body as he kept his eyes trained on Sky.

“What’s in it for me?” Sky asked. Her eyes traced over Carbon’s body onto his flank. She grinned. “Please tell me you have a well rounded compromise.”

Carbon’s cheeks flushed. “I, uh, what? No!” His wings felt warm again. “Just... Just check my coat. You’ll find your payment.”

“You mean this payment?” Sky asked, pulling a bag of bits from underneath her left wing.“I couldn’t help but hear these things jingle when you walked in here. It was just a matter of pulling your coat off.” She tossed the bits in the air. “You’re going to have to think of something better than that.”

Carbon stared at her dumbfounded. His hooves felt cold.

“What else do you want?” Carbon asked. “I need your help, Sky. Please.”

Sky crossed one leg in front of the other and leaned forward slightly. “How pretty is this mare you are trying to rescue?”

“More beautiful than any mare I have seen before her,” Carbon replied, looking away.

“Then it’s settled!” Sky said with a smile. “You’re going to promise me a kinky threesome with the mare of your dreams.”

“I’m what now?” Carbon asked, eyes widening. “A-are you serious? You can’t be serious.”

Sky frowned. “Do I look like I’m joking?”

Carbon sat back on his haunches and brought his forehooves up to his temples. He could feel the blood seeping into his wings at the thought of Sky’s offer, but he tried to push those thoughts away as he remembered that Lilo still remained somewhere in the building. He sighed and looked back up at Sky.

“Is there anyway I could negotiate my way out of this?” Carbon asked.

“No.”

“Why do ponies like you exist? Fine, you have your threesome and your money. Now, can you help me look for Lilo?”

Sky rolled her eyes and walked towards the door, placing her ear up against the side of the knob with her cheek flat against the wood. No sound echoed from beyond the room, but before she made to push the door open, she looked back.

“Say, how did you know my name?” she asked.

“The pony down at the bar told me your name,” Carbon said, limping up next to her. “Told me you were the best mare here at the brothel.”

“I’m also the reason why this place hasn’t been making much of a profit lately,” Sky said.

She pushed the door open before Carbon had a chance to respond, and after looking up and down the hallway, she glanced back and waved a hoof to motion Carbon to follow her. Together, they slunk out of the room and made a beeline for a door that lay at the back of the hall. Once at the door, Sky pushed her hoof down on the door handle only to find that the door had been locked.

“Looks like they still lock the doors after we get up here to our rooms,” Sky said. “Keep watch, I’ll get this stupid thing open.”

Carbon turned back around, gazing down the hallway while Sky reached back into the feathers of her wings and pulled out a bobbing pin and a bit from the bag of coins. Using the bobbing pin, Sky pushed the cylinder down so that she could use the bit to twist the lock. There was a click, and she placed the bit and bobbing pin back into her feathers before nudging Carbon with her hind leg.

“Okay, the door’s open,” she said.

Carbon looked at the lock. “You know how to do that with only your mouth?”

“That and more,” Sky replied with a wink.

Carbon’s cheeks flushed once again as he followed after Sky down a set of stairs. There was another door at the bottom of the stairs, but it was unlocked, allowing for them to pass into another hallway that looked less lavish than the previous. Sky trotted over to another door that was not far from the staircase.

“I’ve never been in here before,” she said. “I’ve been meaning to check it out, but these guards have us on watch twenty-four-seven. Since I didn’t see any new mares added to the dressing rooms that we lounge around in, the only other place she could be is in there.”

Sky pushed the door open, and both she and Carbon made their descent on a small flight of stairs. The room was dark and felt damp, and there was the sharp smell of musk and mold hanging in the air. The drops from a leaky pipe echoed off of the walls of the room, methodically splashing onto the ground. Carbon shut the door behind him and followed after Sky as she had already reached the bottom of the stairs.

Along either side of them were rows of boxes stacked on top of each other towards the ceiling, and a network of pipes ran above them, branching out in several directions to travel to different areas of the brothel. The floor beneath them was wet, muffling Sky and Carbon’s hoofsteps slightly as they made their way further into the room.

Eventually they came upon a large, metal cage. Carbon nearly collapsed when he peered inside.

Lilo lay in a heap in the corner of the cage. She had a collar fastened around her neck with a chain that connected to one of the metal bars, as well as a metal ball gag securely placed inside of her mouth. There were dried, dark green streaks covering her entire body.

Carbon ran up to the cage and began to pound on the metal lock, but Sky quickly ran up alongside him and pushed him away from the cage, holding a hoof up to his mouth.

“Stop that!” she whispered, dropping her hoof. “We’re going to be lucky if one of Zumas’s lackeys didn’t hear that.” She turned back around and studied Lilo. “The mare of your dreams is a... changeling?”

Carbon walked back up to the metal bars again. “Yes, but she is more than just that.”

Sky eyed Lilo for a moment, then walked up to the cage next to Carbon and took out her bobbing pin and bit. She began to place the bobbing pin into the keyhole of the padlock that was fastened to the door of the cage, but an electrical shock sent a jolt of pain searing through her body, tearing her from the lock. Sky immediately recoiled and dropped the bobbing pin and bit.

“What the...” Sky rubbed one of her cheeks. “That damned unicorn must have enchanted the lock. We need to get the key.”

“Mmf.”

Sky and Carbon’s heads snapped towards Lilo, who had begun to stir from inside the cage. The chain attached to her collar rattled when she attempted to lift her head, but it crashed against the floor when Lilo failed to lift her head up. She raised one of her hooves, pointing towards a corner of the dark room.

Carbon followed Lilo’s hoof and stepped into a puddle that had formed from one of the leaky pipes above it. He looked down, spotting something shimmering in the water that looked unnatural to the cobblestone around it. He fished it out of the water and walked back over to Sky, who leaned in to get a closer look at what Carbon had in his mouth.

“It’s a key,” she said, looking back at Lilo. “What was a key doing over there?”

Carbon stepped past Sky and placed the key into the padlock. It fit perfectly, and after giving it a twist, the lock fell and the cage door swung open. Carbon rushed into the cage and fell to his knees next to Lilo. He reached around the back of her head and pulled the ball gag from her mouth.

“Lilo, we’re going to get you out of here,” Carbon said, holding Lilo’s head up by her cheeks.

“C-Carbon, I...”

Lilo’s head drooped, and she fell unconscious once again. Carbon turned back to Sky, who had already picked up the key in her mouth. She used the key to unlock the collar that was fastened around Lilo’s neck and stepped back, allowing for Carbon to slide Lilo onto his back and lift her up.

“Do you know another way out of here that doesn’t involve using the front door?” Carbon asked.

“There is a second exit door,” Sky said, turning around to walk out of the cage, “but it is on the other side of the building. The only way to get to it is if we cross through the lobby or head on over the back of the stage through the meeting room and hope that nopony spots us.”

“Lead the way,” Carbon said, following after her.

Sky and Carbon made their way towards the door at the top of the stairs. Carbon felt Lilo’s ragged breaths on the nape of his neck as he climb the stairs. He cursed under his breath, gritting his teeth and straining his back as sharp pains coursed through his entire body with every step he took on his broken leg.

Sky placed her hoof on the door, but before she could pull the door open it swung towards her, revealing the pegasus who had knocked Lilo unconscious back in the alley. They all stared at each other for a moment, and then the pegasus took off down the hall towards the door that led into the lobby.

“Oh no you don’t,” Sky muttered.

She took off after the pegasus, skidding to a stop in the middle of the hallway and lifting her miniature crossbow to take aim. The pegasus had to land to push open the door to the lobby, giving Sky enough time to fire her crossbow dart into the pegasus’s neck. His whole body tensed before he could lay his hoof on the doorknob, and then he collapsed into a heap. Sky trotted over to the pegasus, giving him a solid kick in the ribs.

“He’ll be out for a few hours,” Sky stated. “Come on, follow me before more of these guys show up.”

Sky trotted back to a door that was placed opposite of the stairs that led up to the second floor of the brothel. She pushed the door open slowly, and after peaking through the crack to see if there were any ponies beyond, she swung the door opened wide and waved her hoof at Carbon. He followed after her, letting the door shut behind him.

After allowing a moment for Carbon to recover from the pain throbbing in his leg, Sky led them through a narrow corridor that turned sharply into another door. She pushed the door open slowly, peeking into the room only to find that her vision was shrouded by darkness. She waved her hoof again, signalling for Carbon to follow her.

When they passed into the room, the door swung shut behind them and the candles around the room flickered to life. Desks lined the walls of the room, while intricate and beautiful tapestries adorned the walls all around them. A fireplace was built up against the wall to the right, and a large skylight hung above the room. However, Carbon’s stared locked with the two ponies across the room. Zumas stood with Falchion at his side, a baseball bat gripped tightly between Falchion’s teeth.

Sky jumped forward and readied her crossbow, but before she could get a shot off she was hoisted into the air by Zumas’s magic and tossed out of the two doors behind her and Carbon. Zumas shut the doors behind her, locking the doors with a click. A few bangs on the doors soon followed, but they quickly fell silent when several shouts sounded from beyond.

“I thought I told ya not to come after that thing,” Falchion said. “Perhaps I should remind ya, seems like ya did some forgettin’ when ya were knocked out in that alley.”

Zumas lay a hoof on Falchion's shoulder. “That will not be necessary. Please, calm yourself Falchion.”

Falchion growled, but took a step back and rested the bat against his side. He glared at Carbon.

“He does bring up a valuable point, though,” Zumas continued. “I specifically asked for him and his crew to explain to you not to come at get your precious Lilo. I had hoped you would hear his warning so that we could avoid such an awkward situation as this one.”

Carbon glared at Zumas, flaring his wings out on either side of him. Zumas sighed and pulled out a scroll from underneath one of Falchion’s wings.

“You know, Lilo was much like you when she first met me,” Zumas said, unraveling the scroll. “She didn’t like talking much and continued to give me that nasty glare like I was some monster. Well, it was a little hard to decipher what that stare was at first, but I think I discovered that rather quickly when she snapped at me.”

Zumas levitated the scroll over to Carbon, letting him read over its contents. The scroll looked like a regular contract of some sorts that said somepony was to be put in the service of Zumas under the given conditions. However, Carbon’s heart sank when he read the name at the bottom.

“She eventually saw reason, though,” Zumas added, pulling the scroll away from Carbon’s face a bit. “She signed this little contract here, coming to the realization that the options that I was giving her were far better than lying out somewhere near the Everfree Forest to die. She was given a place to work, sleep, eat; it was all she could have asked for when she was in her previous condition.”

“From what I saw,” Carbon said coldly, “and from what I can understand, these things ‘she asked for’ looked to be little more than the same conditions a slave would live under. Even that contract implies that she is a slave.”

“A slave?” Zumas scoffed. “I was merely protecting her from the ponies that would like to harm her. Do you have any idea what could happen to her in an environment like this? She would be torn apart.”

“You tormented her,” Carbon growled. “You beat her, you starved her, and you nearly killed her. The amount of damage you have done to her still lingers within her mind. Why did you do it? What was it for? Just so you could turn a profit?”

Zumas sighed again and rolled up the scroll, tucking it back away in Falchion’s wing. He strode over to Carbon, stopping once he stood a meter away from the pegasus.

“There are some things that you do not understand, Carbon,” Zumas said. “You see, I run a business here that is meant to please the inhabitants of Canterlot when they are feeling tired or lonely. They come to my pleasure palace in hopes that they can escape from the unpleasantries that plague their lives, whether it be work, their bills, or perhaps even their own families.

“However, in order to give these ponies what it is that they want, I need to have ponies available who can live up to their expectations. I have ponies from far up north, ponies from down south, and some more exotic employees who stem from nations like Zebrica and Equidoe. You can imagine my delight when Falchion here discovered Lilo, a changeling who could be any pony she wanted.”

Zumas started to circle Carbon, slowly dragging his hooves across the carpeted floor.

“I couldn’t pass up an opportunity like this,” Zumas continued, “to have a pony work for me who could change disguises on a whim. So, I did the only thing that is expected of a business pony such as myself: I employed her. I made sure she had all of the conditions she needed to work effectively under me, and for the week she stayed in my employment, profits at this establishment increased.”

Zumas stopped in front of Carbon again, bringing a hoof up to his chin.

“If only she stayed a bit longer,” Zumas mused, “perhaps she would have grown to enjoy life here.”

“There is something that you forgot, Zumas,” Carbon said. “Lilo is a changeling, not some random pony from some corner of Equestria. Her dietary habits are different, her mentality is different. You were slowly murdering her by keeping her in that disgusting pen you would call ‘suitable accommodations.’ “ Carbon spat at Zumas’s hooves. “You call yourself a business pony, yet I see nothing more than another pony who likes to play the divine moralist.”

The hairs on the back of Zumas’s neck bristled, and he quickly turned from Carbon and began to walk back towards Falchion. His horn lit up, levitating the baseball bat from Falchion’s side up to his mouth. He turned.

“Perhaps I was wrong and Falchion was right,” Zumas said. “Perhaps he should remind you that you should have just gone home instead of coming back for her.” He paused, glancing at Falchion. “Would you do the honors?”

“Gladly,” Falchion replied.

Carbon gently slid Lilo from his back, resting her on the floor before he turned to face Falchion. He bared his teeth and lowered his head as he pawed at the ground. Pain from his broken leg coursed through his body as Carbon continued to put more pressure on it, but he ignored it while he glared at the pegasus that crept closer.

“Oh, perhaps ya’ll put up more of a fight this time,” Falchion sneered. “I’d like that.”

Carbon lunged at Falchion, but Falchion was quicker as he swung the bat and made contact with Carbon’s shoulder, sending Carbon flying into a pair of chairs. Carbon groaned, straining himself to rise back onto his hooves as his opponent approached.

“Or perhaps not. Yur not really the fightin’ type, are ya?”

Carbon flexed his wings and gave them a powerful flap, sending himself colliding with Falchion’s legs and smashing them both into a desk on the other side of the room. The bat flew from Falchion’s mouth and landed in the middle of the room. Falchion was quickly back on his hooves, galloping towards the bat, but before he could reach it, Carbon flew across the room and snatched it up in his hooves. He landed on top of another desk and turned to Zumas.

“Stop this, Zumas!” Carbon said. “We can come to a-”

Falchion slammed into Carbon hard enough to dent the wall. Carbon yelped as he felt another one of his bones crack.

~~~

Lilo’s eyes flickered open as the sound of cracking bones and Carbon’s yelp reverberated in her ears. She watched as Carbon slumped to the floor, dropping the bat and letting it roll across the floor, and then watched as Falchion began to make his way over to where the bat had come to rest. She grunted, sliding her hooves under her and flexing her thin wings. The crease along her wing sent small jolts of pain through her body, but they were practically drowned out by the other jolts of pain that coursed through her body from the various bruises and cracks along her chitin.

Falchion picked up the bat in his mouth and strode back over to Carbon. His eyes burned with fury as he stared down at the reeling pegasus. He held the bat high above his head.

Before Falchion could bring the bat down upon Carbon’s head, however, Lilo sped across the room and sunk her teeth into his shoulder. He screamed, dropping the bat as he was pushed back into desks that Carbon had been standing on. The desks broke from the impact, sending splinters flying in every direction.

Falchion tried to swing one of his hooves into Lilo’s face, but she tore into his throat with her fangs, puncturing his larynx and causing him to reach for his neck. Lilo was about to rip into his throat again when she was hit in the side by the bat, sending her crashing into a heap next to Carbon.

The bat dropped to the floor as it was released from Zumas’s telekinetic grip. His mouth had contorted into a grim frown as he stared hard at both Lilo and Carbon.

“You two do not know when to give up, do you?” Zumas asked. His teeth were bared. The sound of Falchion’s gurgling faded. “A miserable pony and a broken changeling fighting for their very lives just that they could... what exactly? Be together? Love each other forever like some poetic foal’s book?”

Carbon slowly rose to his hooves and took one uneasy step forward, putting himself between Zumas and Lilo, who was clutching her side and whimpering quietly. Carbon felt dizzy, and his legs were shaking violently as he glared at Zumas.

“Oh, this is just precious,” Zumas said, charging his horn. “Why don’t you lay down so I only have to use a single beam of my magic to rip your two apart. It will make it easier on all of us, hm?”

Zumas charged his horn, but just as he was about to let off a single volley of his magic, the skylight above them crashed inwards and Sky dove into his side. Zumas’s volley released upon Sky’s impact, shooting towards one of the paintings on the far wall and blasting a hole clear through the other side. Sky took the tranquilizer dart that was still loaded in her crossbow and thrust it into Zumas’s neck, instantly knocking him out. Sky looked down at the unicorn a few moments longer, watching as he failed to open his eyes again. She then lifted herself up and kicked him in the side.

“That’s what you get for hurling me out the door,” she said. She turned to Carbon and Lilo. “Come on, we still need to get out of here.”

“How did...” Carbon started before he collapsed onto the floor.

“Lots of ponies, superior fighter, skylight,” Sky said quickly, rushing over to Carbon. “Not everypony gets to play the hero, you know, although it looks like you put up quite a decent fight.” She tried helping Carbon back to his hooves, but he slumped and collapsed to the floor again. “Come on, the royal guard are waiting outside for you and your waifu. Get up.”

The world seemed to come to a crawl for Carbon. Sky’s words were elongated, her movements were slow and blurry, and her touch felt as if it was distant and spectral. He rose to his hooves once again and helped load Lilo onto Sky’s back, mechanically moving his legs as if the injuries he had taken earlier didn’t exist. His peripheral vision grew darker and darker as Sky was soon leading him through the door on the other side of the room.

A blaring red sign hung over a door at the end of the hallway. Sky bolted in that direction, shouting incoherent encouragements back at Carbon as he struggled to keep up. His legs felt like jello, his head was swimming, his eyes were crossed.

Sky blasted through the doorway and skidded to a halt in front of two burly ponies. Carbon soon followed, and collapsed to the ground before blacking out.

Chapter 14: A Fresh Start

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Roses are Red: Chapter 14

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Lilo’s eyes slowly opened, revealing a glimmering white ceiling above her traced with intricate flowers and vines. The vines wrapped around each other in spiral patterns, weaving in and out of the variety of flowers that smiled down below them. Their smiles were met with a skylight that had been placed in the middle of the room, allowing for a healthy quantity of light to radiate into and illuminate the entire room. The sun was lowering itself in the sky, announcing that the night was fast approaching.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

She was alive. Lilo saw the light from the sun; heard the heart rate monitor; felt the sheets that had been laid over her. Her whole body ached, and she blinked as her thoughts raced through her mind. She had not woken up in that cage beneath Zumas’s brothel. She had not woken up to find that she had a searing hole blasted through her limbs.

Lilo bolted upright in bed, nearly tearing several of the tubes that had been hooked up to her body. A unicorn nurse, who was holding a large clipboard in her magic, took notice of Lilo, and after her eyes widened for just a moment, she dropped the clipboard and bounded over to the changeling. She laid her hoof on Lilo’s chest, gently pushing her back onto the bed.

“Y-you should lie back down, miss,” the nurse said, her hoof shaking slightly when Lilo had been pushed back against the bed. “Your c-condition is still in bad shape.”

“Where’s Carbon?” Lilo asked frantically, looking at the nurse.

“Carbon?” The nurse levitated the clipboard back over to her and scanned over its contents. “Oh, um, he is j-just in the next room.”

“Can I see him?” Lilo stared at the nurse with her large eyes.

“I-I’m sorry, miss, but you can’t-”

Several knocks on the door echoed into the room and the nurse froze. Her head snapped back towards the door, then she looked back at Lilo and tried to give her a half smile. She set the clipboard on the desk that sat between Lilo’s bed and the heart rate monitor.

“Please excuse me for a moment,” she said.

The nurse trotted to the door and opened it, and after giving a sharp gasp, she stepped out of the room quickly. Lilo’s ears perked towards the door as she heard several voices speaking to each other beyond. Her brow furrowed when the minutes dragged on, and she tried to lift herself up out of the bed again only to find that more pain was coursing through her body, forcing her to remain lying down. Her gaze shifted from the door to the window on the far side of the room, allowing for her to look out onto the entire city of Canterlot.

Lilo’s eyes widened. She knew exactly where she was.

The door to the room pushed open, allowing for the nurse to enter again, shortly followed by Princess Luna and Queen Chrysalis. Lilo’s breath caught in her throat, and against the rest of her body’s wishes, she lifted herself up into a sitting position and lowered her head at Chrysalis.

Chrysalis interrupted Lilo by laying one of her hooves across the changeling’s chest. She offered a hopeful smile, sending anxious flutters through Lilo’s heart.

“There is no need to apologize,” Chrysalis said, “not now. There is somepony that you need to see.”

Lilo’s eyes drifted to behind Chrysalis, regarding Princess Luna warily. The princess stared at the changeling back, but her face remained vacant of any expression aside from the dark bags underneath her eyes. Chrysalis moved her head enough so that she could obscure Lilo’s view.

“No, somepony else,” she said. She slowly rose to her hooves. “Do you think you can walk?”

The nurse lifted her hoof to protest, but she found it pushed back down by Princess Luna as she shook her head. Lilo moved her hooves, cringing as she felt sharp pangs from her cracked chitin pierce through her body. She slouched against the bed once again, looking sullenly at Chrysalis.

“I... I don’t think I can,” Lilo said quietly. “N-not without help, at least.”

Chrysalis took the bed sheets and slowly slid them off of Lilo’s body. Her eyes traced over her subject’s wounds, and she paused. Lilo saw something flash through Chrysalis’s eyes, and she saw the corners of her lips droops.

“This never gets any easier,” Chrysalis muttered. She then sidled up to the side of the bed and began to gently pull the tubes hooked up to Lilo off of her body. “If you are able to lift yourself out of bed, I will help you walk to our destination. It is not far.”

Lilo nodded, and she lifted herself from the bed once again, wincing as she heard her own chitin cracking in several places. She slid her body sideways once she was sitting upright, then pushed herself off of the bed onto all four of her hooves. She immediately slumped against Chrysalis while her legs shook violently to support her own weight. Chrysalis lowered her head and brushed her muzzle against Lilo’s cheek.

“That’s right,” she said. “Now, can you take a few steps?”

With Chrysalis acting as her crutch, Lilo took a few unsteady steps forward to the door. Each step shot agonizing jolts through her legs and back, but she pressed on until Chrysalis had to open the door for them to continue. Outside the door, a group of nurses and doctor’s passed by them, chatting amongst themselves while one held a clipboard in their magic. The white walls burned Lilo’s eyes, the sunlight’s reflection bouncing off of them as it passed through a few open windows. After a moment, they turned sharply right, then came to a stop at the door next to Lilo’s room. Chrysalis’s horn lit up, and she pushed the door open.

Carbon lay in the bed in the far side of the room, an oxygen mask covering his muzzle while tubes were connected to his unbroken foreleg. His other leg was wrapped up in a cast that spanned all the way up to his shoulder, which wore a flexible splint. Medical tape was wrapped around Carbon’s head. His eyes were closed, resting peacefully to the rhythmic beats of the heart rate monitor next to him.

A sob caught in Lilo’s throat, and she nearly stumbled onto her face when she tried to bound over to Carbon. Chrysalis righted Lilo, and after giving her subject a sharp glance, led her slowly over to the bed. The trip across the room was tormenting, almost as if each step was longer than the last. His bed could not approach fast enough for Lilo, and it took all of her might to not break into another gallop. Each step towards the bed burned her legs, but she didn’t care as she was brought closer and closer to Carbon.

Once they were at the bed, Lilo collapsed next to Carbon with her forehooves sprawled across his chest. She buried her face into his side, muffling her sobs so that they were barely loud enough for anypony else to hear.

Princess Luna and the nurse shuffled in after Chrysalis and Lilo, taking their places next to the door. The nurse walked up behind Lilo, making sure that she had enough of a distance between herself and the changeling queen. She coughed, and scanned over the clipboard she once again held in her magic.

“He’s... He’s in stable condition,” the nurse said, “but he is currently in an induced coma. During transport to Canterlot Castle, Carbon experienced a condition known as status epilepticus, having a seizure that was caused by a cerebral aneurysm.” The nurse flipped one of the papers over on the clipboard. “His medical records state that he has a history of high blood pressure, and has been prescribed calcium channel blockers to help regulate blood pressure. We’re thinking that combined with the adrenaline rush and neglecting to take his medications was what caused the aneurysm.”

Lilo lifted her head slightly and asked, “H-he’s healthy, though, right? He’s going to be fine?”

The nurse flipped over another paper on the clipboard. “Because his broken foreleg was not treated immediately—and because it had suffered prolonged use after it was broken—he will permanently walk with a limp. Other than that, however, he will be just fine.”

Lilo smiled even as tears continued to flow down her face. Carbon was going to be alright. She was going to see him again, with his eyes open and full of intelligence and happiness. They were going to go on more dates, visit more beautiful monuments, and dine on delicious food. She was going to have somepony sleep by her side, snuggling up next to her and protecting her from the dangerous memories that could slip into her dreams.

Carbon had risked his life in Equestria when he flew onto the stage after Lilo during Chrysalis’s trial. What he had done was considered an act of treason according to Equestria’s laws, but he ignored them regardless, instead throwing all of that away so that he could help her defend the mother she had looked up to her entire life.

In the alleyway Carbon had risked himself again, ignoring the malicious warnings from Zumas’s thugs and rising up each time he was knocked down in an attempt to protect her. His foreleg was broken for his attempts, and Lilo thought that Carbon would accept defeat after that.

However, contrary to what she thought, Carbon had come back for her in force, infiltrating Zumas’s brothel and attempting to escape with her upon his back. He defended her and himself against the nasty Falchion, and then again when Zumas was upon them, ready to blast his magic through their heads.

Carbon had done everything in his power to keep himself from losing her.

Princess Luna stepped forward, taking her place next to Chrysalis’s side. She cleared her throat.

“If it is any consolation to you,” she said, “the owner of the brothel, Zumas, has been taken into custody and is currently occupying one of the cells down in Canterlot Castle’s dungeons.”

Lilo didn’t respond, instead keeping her head buried against Carbon’s chest. Princess Luna sighed, and after procuring a letter from underneath her wing, placed the letter on the nightstand next to the bed and left the room. Chrysalis soon followed, rubbing a hoof upon Lilo’s shoulder before departing. The nurse remained a bit longer, watching Lilo lie against Carbon, before she, too, left the room.

The sun began to set behind the treetops of the Everfree Forest, plunging the entire land of Equestria into an orange and yellow haze. Lakes and rivers shimmered and reflected the sunlight, while the many red rooftops of Canterlot darkened. Even the thin clouds that hung over the Everfree were touched by the sun’s light, shifting and changing colors to all sorts of beautiful oranges and pinks. Lilo’s sobbing had long since stopped as she stared beyond Carbon’s bed and out the window.

“I love you, too, Carbon.”