//------------------------------// // The End // Story: Hard To Find The Right Words // by Nameless Narrator //------------------------------// “Fur-”   *Bzzt!*   *CRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACKAAAAAAABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*   “Uuugh… my ears...”   “She’s alive! Who cast the shield spell?”   “I WILL RIP YOU TO PIECES, COCKROACH!”   “Still not deaf enough to miss that one.”   “SILENCE!”   “Now here’s a voice I remember. Well, death, here I come. Last week’s been a fun detour, though.”   “Your Highness! How can you be protecting her? She admitted to murder.”   “Princess Celestia, it wasn’t Fury’s f-”   “Shut up, Crest.”   “Dear Star Trail, this is exactly why I couldn’t let you fry her with lightning. First, she admitted it, which is already an unusual thing. Second, here we have a pony rushing to defend her. A pony not under direct control, I must add. There is more to this than meets the eye.”   “B-b-b-but Puff...”   “I am very well aware about your squire and especially of the reasons why you wanted him to serve you rather than put him through classic training.”   “To make things clear, Crest iiiis a bit under my-”   “Be quiet, Fury! For the love of Celestia, if you value my friendship at least a little you’ll stop trying to ki- to do whatever you’re trying to do and shut up for once.”   “I’m not comfortable being used as a figure of speech.”   “I apologize, your Highness.”   “Apology accepted. Now, enlighten me about Star Trail’s squire’s demise.”   “I did-”   “You first, miss changeling.”   “There isn’t too much to say, really. I used Puff’s soft heart after he came to feed me when nopony else did of his own free will, and I pumped him full of my venom to gain complete control over him. When the changelings revealed themselves, he acted as my guide, shield, and hooves as we rescued the police squad and escaped. That’s the long and short of it. If he wasn’t completely under my control he might not have agreed to help me without any proof other than my witness based on changeling ability to sense others.”   “You...”   “Calm down, Star Trail. What Fury is refusing to say is that it was me who killed Puff.”   “Damn it, Crest! I’m trying to make you look good here, and you screw it all up.”   “I let my guard down, and when a changeling disguised as a pegasus hit on me in a bar, I… being very unlucky in my personal life, let her get close to me, put me under her control, and eventually killed Puff when Fury and he tried to break the changeling’s control over me.”   “Crest, how about you practice what you preach for once? Now, if you value anything from the last week, you’ll stay silent from now on. You, big whitey!”   *Gasps.*   “Please, at least call princess Celestia by her name… pleeeease.” “You will address the princess correctly, bug!”   “Correctly? Alright. You, year’s worth of lunch for a whole changeling hive-”   “To the torture chambers with her!”   “Am I really that fat? I’ve been trying to do what I can in my spare time. Also, Star Trail, Canterlot castle doesn’t have a torture chamber.”   “Aaaand now I feel bad. You’ve pulled a Puff, alicorn. Well done.”   “Anger rarely solves issues, miss FURY.”   “Half-hearted Fury, if you will, pon- ali- sunbut- princess.”   “Now, while I enjoy teasing my guards myself, I would like to know everything this time. Your situation is not as… dire as you might think.”   “What do you mean?”   “...you are by far not the first changeling to be in this situation, although I rarely get involved personally...”   “Really?”   “...yes, so calm down. Observers are already near Riverside. I dispatched them as soon as the message got to me, and there are Royal Guards as well as some paladins on the way...”   *Long breath.*   “So, miss Fury. A proper recount of the situation, if you will?”   “Everything I said was true, but there’s a bit… more. I knew about the changelings in Riverside before our escape. My original plan was to get Puff under my control, use him to gain influence over other members of the police, and then present them as slaves to the regrouping changelings in order to gain favor, to prove that I was still an asset to the hive even in my shape.”   “But you are now here, and one of them is trying to defend you. What changed?”   “I realized I had too much to lose and very little to gain. You ponies are hella tasty.”   “Friendship is a powerful force.”   “Foodship, more like. Don’t get ideas above your station, princess. You ponies are my food, my delicious, delicious food that takes a lot of care and effort to prepare.”   “An interesting point of view, but I think I understand.”   “Seriously, I remember your plot from the throne room. On my own, I could live off of that for a DECADE!”   “...almost, Fury, almost there, and then you had to say it...”   “Oh shush, Crest. I can hear your mumbling even with all the growling and shifting of the pissed off guards surrounding me.”   “Your Highness, can I say something?”   “As long as it is not about my posterior, Common Crest.”   “Fury had every opportunity to sell us out, but even if it partially was to save her own hide- chitin, she didn’t. She’s a foul-mouthed nuisance, but, and I realize a different changeling made me do the worst thing I’ve ever done in my entire life, I believe she’s not evil.”   “Yeah, she had me under control three times and she never made me do anything weir- evil, I meant evil!”   “And you are?”   “Palisade, your Highness. I work under Commander Crest.”   “May I say a word, princess?”   “Bladehoof, I remember you. It’s been a while. Go on.”   “Fury and I have clearly very different view on things with our predator-prey relationship, but I believe it might be possible to work out… with each changeling individually, of course. I’m not foolish enough to believe that under different circumstances Fury would not be after my throat.”   “Not throat, as such, and I’m speaking from experience. The thing is, they can feed on lust as well, and I believe if there is something to bridge the difference then it is just that.”   “The princess really didn’t need to hear about you and Fury, Palisade.”   “On the contrary, Commander Crest. What miss Palisade said is quickly becoming a common theme in our current situation. I will send somepony to inform you later.”   “Riveside-”   “Steps have already been taken.”   *Long, exhausted sigh.*   “Then I don’t have much to add. Fury said her piece, and I said mine about Puff’s death. As for her being evil, Puff said she was a nice lady who liked pets and pets liked her. Quoting here.”   “Oh, really?”   *Flap flap flap.*   *More gasps.*   “What in seven circles of Tartarus just landed on my head? It has freaking talons! Holy crap it’s on fire. I admit it freely, princess, that’s pretty metal. How many burning chickens do you go through per day like this, though. Do you sell them to griffons afterwards?”   “Philomena?”   “Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”   “All we need now is a headbanging pony and we’re all set. Unts unts unts unts-”   “Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”   “Unts- unt- unts- unts-” “Commander?”   “Screeeeeeeeeeeeee!”   “Yes, it is really happening. She’s waving her head around with a screeching phoenix desperately grasping her mane while making disco noises. She doesn’t even know what metal is, she just likes the idea. I guess that’s what I get for letting her listen to the radio all day. Yes, she’s doing it in front of a courtyard full of guards, and yes, Star Trail is about to break some necks.”   “The whipping circle of fire looks pretty neat, though.”   “HOW DARE YOU CAUSE THE DEATH OF A PONY WHO WAS A LITTLE BIT BEHIND AND THEN DO THIS CHARADE?!”   “But he wasn’t...”   “WHAT?”   “Puff was absolutely fine, you senile fanatic. The only thing wrong with him was that he was learning from YOU! He was the sweetest damn pony I’ve met, and for once I’m not talking about taste.”   “Youuuuu-”   “Leave, Star Trail. I will talk to you later, and you can be sure that for his service in rescuing the police force of Riverside and thus possibly saving all its citizens Puff will be posthumously awarded the rank of paladin.”   “Yes, your Highness.”   *Spreading silence.*   *Multiple approaching hoofsteps.*   “Princess Luna?”   “Greetings to thee, Bladehoof. We art here to escort the changeling inside.”   “Wow, did she get hit too hard with an old dictionary?”   “Such insolence, changeling!”   “Is everything ready, sister?”   “Yes, there is no need for this gathering to continue. We will take care of the situation.”   “Then I will trust your judgement in the matter. Although I would control my temper if I were you. This changeling can be… grating.”   “I shall do my best, sister. Come with us, changeling.”   “Yeah, sure.”   “Thou art gazing in the wrong direction.”   “I am blind, but I’ll take it as a compliment to my acting ability that you didn’t notice.”   “Ah, I shall bear that in mind. Commander, you will lead her.”   “Of co-”   “As ya wish, princess.”   “I believe my sister was talking to her companions, Commander Crest. Don’t worry, they will be just in judging miss Fury’s future chances. You and your subordinates will be coming with me. I could use first-hoof witness of the events in Riverside starting with miss Fury’s arrival.”   “Of course, your Highness. Hey, Fury!”   “Yes, Crest?”   “Take care. I’ll come see you as soon as I can.”   “I’ll drop by as well, Fury. You know, in case you’re hungry.”   “That wasn’t even trying to be subtle, Palisade.”   “You’ll visit her too, right, Blade?”   “I… might check on her if I have the time. To see if she’s being treated fairly, of course.”   “There you have it, Fury. We’ll see you soon.”   “Bye, Crest.”   ***   “With that taken care of, are we taking her down to the dungeons, princess?”   “Temporarily. Have a holding cell ready. One of the better ones.”   “Ya okay there, Fury?”   “You’re guiding me pretty well, I must admit. Hey, what happened to the ancient dictionary talk?”   “That is mostly just for appearances, although I still slip up sometimes.”   “Stairs down, Fury. Fifteen.”   “Alright. Say, there’s one more guy with us, and I smell changeling.”   “Yeah, your nose is somewhat right.”   “Not a real changeling, though.”   “Your queen’s magic transformed me to some degree, but I still consider myself mostly a pony.”   “He’s all shiny now!”   “To be honest, if I got forcibly turned into a half-pony I wouldn’t be so calm about it.”   “It has its perks.”   “Ya like feeding off of me. Admit it.”   “I see, so you’re banging.”   “Not that kind of feeding.”   “Don’t tell me ya wouldn’t want to tap this.”   “...”   “Great, another ‘pony’ whom I can hear blush. Not too experienced in the whole mare department, is he?”   “Ya got that right.”   “EHM, anyway. We are responsible for the orders regarding your observation.”   “Wait, those weren’t fake?”   “Unofficial, but definitely not fake. Princess Celestia needs to keep us looking sharp and ready after the invasion to prevent panic, but we don’t want to just purge Equestria of changelings. Princess Luna here is leading the operation regarding integration of changelings into our society, and protecting those who have been living in it peacefully before the invasion.”   “Yer just saving yer sweet, sweet ass.”   “Partially-”   *Click*   “-Sit her down. Now, the princess will ask you some questions. I will be listening, and I might ask something on occasion.”   “And don’t lie, he’ll know.”   “She is not jesting, miss Fury. I and my friend here WILL know.”   “Just be yourself, and it’ll be alright.”   “You know, for some reason I believe you. I’m blind and frail, and yet you make me feel like I have… hope.”   “He does that to ponies.”   “Oh shush. Princess Luna?”   “Right. So, miss Fury. The floor is yours.”   “Cool, can I get the roof too?”