Rend did the first thing that came naturally to him.
He backed into the corner of his cell, still growling, his fangs bared; the Changeling could feel the anger and suspicion emanating from the two ponies, although the one called ‘Tower’ was oddly calm. In his position, Rend certainly wouldn’t have been so stoic.
“Why don’t you all screw off and leave me alone to rot, Pony?” He spat, eyes darting from guard to guard. “I won’t tell you anything. After all, you wouldn’t have any reason to leave me alive if I did.”
Tower’s eyes widened in shock, as did the pony on his left. A Pegasus, he realized. Both of them were emanating feelings of horror and revulsion- like they wouldn’t just love to execute a helpless prisoner. Some kind of magic was probably messing with his senses.
The Unicorn on Tower’s left scowled, and Rend felt a surge of anger and pain. The Changeling gave a crooked grin- he could use this to his advantage.
“And you,” he began, snarling at the Pony, cutting off Tower as he began to speak. “Why are you here? Haven’t you suffered enough?” he crooned. “Was your family torn apart by my kind? Who did we take? Your mother? Your father? Perhaps…” Rend lipped his lips, making sure his fangs were visible- “a filly…?”
Rend, of course, had no idea whether he’d hit the target or was grasping at straws at first, until the resulting blast of hatred nearly made him stumble. It had been a safe bet to assume that some-pony in his family had been harmed during the invasion. And it looked like he’d hit the nail on the head- the Unicorn looked like he was about to lunge for his throat.
Thankfully for the Unicorn, the Pegasus put a reassuring hoof on his shoulder. “He’s trying to aggravate you,” he said softly. “Don’t let him get to you. You don’t want him to win, do you?”
As the Unicorn nodded, slowly calming down, Rend’s expression shifted to one of surprise. It had been quite clear that he had been trying to rile the Stallion up, but how the Pegasus had dealt with it was remarkable. Ponies were usually far more emotional. He was… impressed.
“We would never execute a helpless pon… er, Changeling,” Tower told him, trying to wrestle control of the conversation back into waters he was comfortable with. “We aren’t going to hurt you. Celestia just wants us to talk to you.”
Rend snorted, eyeing the ponies maliciously. “Yes, talk to me. We all know how that goes,” he argued. “You forgot your ‘talking tools,’ by the way-“ The Changeling made air quotes with his hooves- “did you happen to leave your red hot irons and tongs in your barracks?”
Tower shook his head. “No. We aren’t going to resort to such tactics.” The way he said it left the rest implied- like some people. Like them.
Like Rend.
“Oh, because you ponies didn’t put me in a nice little cell to lull me into a soft state?” He hissed. “I’m smarter than that. I’m a Soldier of Queen Chrysalis, pony, and you won’t break me. Unlike how I’m going to break your bones.”
Tower sighed. “Ok, look. I… We’re not going to get anywhere,” he began, “if you don’t cooperate. Sit down, and we can start talking.” He motioned with his head towards the door, and the two guards at his side balked.
“Are you… are you serious, sir?” The Unicorn bellowed. “You want to be ALONE with this monster?”
Tower snorted. “No, I want you to go bring us flowers. Yes, Vance, I want you and Gale to leave. You’ll be right outside the entire time.”
The Pegasus shook her head. “Sir, if we left, he could plant his horn in your neck before we could react. And we probably would be able to take him down, but not before you bled out,” she argued. “I don’t think that-“
As the three ponies continued to argue, Rend stared at them in shock. The pony wanted to be alone with him? Was he insane? Head swiveling back and forth, the Changeling watched them argue with interest. He briefly considered trying to barge past them, but he quickly concluded that he wouldn’t get far.
Finally- it was far too long for his taste- the two ponies walked out the door, and Tower was left alone with the emotion eating monster.
“So, what exactly do you want to know?” The Changeling asked, glaring at him. “The location of my Hive? Special information about our troops? How we infiltrated your super secure wedding?”
Tower shook his head. “Well, some of those things, but right now, all I want to know is your name.”
Rend stared at him for a minute, before sighing. “My name is Rend. Is that good enough for you, pony?”
Tower nodded. “Ok… And you are a Changeling, correct?”
Rend stared at him, jaw dropped in confusion. “Are… are you serious?” He gestured at himself, pointing a hoof at the holes that dotted his legs, hooves, and tail. “I… I can’t believe you just asked me that.”
The pony sighed. “Ok, ok. I just needed it in your words. I admit that it’s a bit obvious. So, next on the list… can you transform for me?”
“No,” Rend said flatly. “I’m not going to shift in front of you.”
Tower nodded, looking like he had pretty much expected that answer. “Ok… Can you tell me how you feed?”
The Changeling sighed. “If it’ll shut you up, fine.” That kind of information didn’t seem like it could hurt the Queen, after all. They probably already knew, and just wanted confirmation from a Changeling or something. That was really the only answer that he could come up with. “Ok, so,” he began. “We can basically sense emotions-“
“You can sense them?” Tower interrupted, raising an eyebrow. “You can’t see them?”
Rend snorted, and rolled his eyes. Granted, no-pony could tell that he was rolling them since he didn’t really have pupils, but he still tried. “No, we can’t. Can I speak, or are you going to keep interrupting me?”
The pony blushed. “Uh… sorry. Continue.”
With a theoretical sigh, Rend continued. “As I was saying before some-pony interrupted me, we can sense emotions. The stronger they are, the better I can perceive them. And if those emotions are positive, we can feed off of them,” he explained. “Feelings of gratitude, friendship, and compassion are all delicious treats to a Changeling.”
“Wait, so you don’t feed only on love? I thought you guys changed places with a loved one, and…” Seeing the look that Rend was giving him, Tower trailed off.
“Yes, we feed on other things. But love is the best. Pure, delicious, and energizing- something that we all crave,” the Changeling explained. “As for the swapping places with spouses and sisters and brothers and whatnot, yeah, some of us do that. But it takes someone really good to pull it off for long- I know I couldn’t. Changing into some-pony that people don’t already know is a lot easier to pull off.”
Tower nodded. “… huh. And do you know of any Changelings currently posing as any-pony?”
Rend started to answer, but then he clamped his jaws shut and shot the pony an angry glare. “No, I don’t,” he hissed, his voice stone cold.
The Royal Guard nodded. “Ok, then. We can talk again tomorrow, if you’d prefer,” he added, as the Changeling yawned slightly.
Rend cursed himself for showing any sign of weakness, but he nodded. This had dragged on longer than he had thought, he realized. The sun was already setting. Today had seemed like a REALLY short day, he thought, probably because this guy was so bloody friendly. He’d almost tripped him up.
Tower nodded. “Gotcha. Would you like me to bring you some reading material?”
Rend stared at him in shock. “… Are you serious?” He roared all of a sudden, causing Tower to flinch back. “I am a PRISONER! Why the hell are you treating me like I’m your FRIEND?” He stalked towards the guard, who backed up as he approached. “I am an enemy of your whole empire,” he snarled. “I would kill every single one of you if I could. Why are you treating me like I’m not a monster?”
Rend fully expected the pony to call in the other guards. That was why they were outside, after all. But Tower just frowned and shook his head. “Because you aren’t. And I don’t believe that. And neither should you.”
He walked out, and the door shut, leaving the Changeling alone with his thoughts.
And his plans.