I spent a large of the day by myself, but that quickly grew boring as I found myself running out of things to do. The only thing that really interested me throughout the castle was the books, but reading could only keep me occupied for so long. At that point, with nothing left to do, I decided to simply wait in my room for something fun to cross my mind. I had almost drifted to sleep before something brought me back from my half sleeping state.
“Hello? Ditzy?” The voice of Thorax called out through the door. “Are you in there?”
Part of me wanted to not answer, seeing as Redheart had told me how some might not be happy with my actions at breakfast. However, just thinking about not answering Thorax bothered me due to how the guy had been treated upon arrival. The moment I thought of how Flash ‘greeted’ the changeling I jumped out of bed. I didn’t care what Redheart wanted me to do; Thorax needed somepony he can trust here and if others weren’t going to help, then I would.
“One sec!” I called out to him as I quickly made my way to the door.
I was in such a rush to the door I didn’t even notice that the blankets had followed me along. I fumbled to open the door, feeling a strange rush of energy that I didn’t know I was keeping pent up. Once I did get it open, I could see Thorax stare at me, his eyes widening as he looked past me. I looked in his direction to see what it was, finally noticing the I was carrying every single blanket that had been on my bed on my tail.
“Oh, oops,” I said with a giggle shaking them off. “Guess I brought a little more than myself along didn’t I? So, what did you want to see me for?”
“A-actually, I just wanted to talk,” Thorax told me, seeming rather embarrassed. “I’m just a little concerned talking to other ponies and thought that you might be a little lonely after what happened this morning.”
“I’ll admit, most ponies here seem to be keeping their distance from me, but whatever,” I replied with a shrug. “Besides, I think it would be pretty obvious if one of them tried to kill me.”
I invited him inside so that we could chat privately, and he nervously accepted it. After that, our chat quickly turned into a discussion of pony culture. Thorax seemed very interested in the topic, and took me by surprise just how little he, and probably most other changelings, knew about it. Everything from jobs to money, the latter of which not even existing in changeling hives, as well as things such as education and weddings seemed either extremely different or nonexistent.
“Thorax I hate to bring this up, but about the Canterlot invasion Flash mention,” I started, already noticing the pain on Thorax at the mention of the event. “If you don’t know anything about us ponies or our culture, why did you attack instead approaching peacefully?”
Thorax went silent as I finished my question, and I could tell that I had touched something rather delicate. His eyes didn’t meet mine, but it felt like he was almost forcing himself to. His mouth opened and closed repeatedly, as if he wanted to answer but had no voice to do so with. I had hit a spot that I maybe shouldn’t have, and I instantly tried to take it back.
“Actually, n-nevermind,” I stammered, waving my hooves frantically in front of me. “I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
“That’s not the problem Ditzy, it’s the hive that I’m not so comfortable about,” Thorax responded. He pawed the ground as he explained. “You probably already know, but we changelings have what you call a hivemind. Every changeling is connected to it and it’s what holds us under the queens command. Free will is a thing, but when queen gives you an order you can’t deny it.”
I worry turned to confusion, and that confusion turned to astonishment when I realized what that meant. I’ve heard how the changelings had acted like feral beasts during the attack, the only one having spoken was their queen. They had attacked everything in sight, and had followed orders as if they didn’t have minds. If what Thorax said was true, than that meant the hives actions made more sense.
“You were ordered to imprison everypony in sight, and the urge to follow your queen overwrote your free will for a time,” I said, piecing together what Thorax had explained. A nod of approval told me I was right, but it wasn’t something I was proud to be correct about. “I’m sorry Thorax, I didn’t know. I should have realized you didn’t have control.”
“That’s not even the worst part,” Thorax replied, his voice growing mellow as he eyes looked further away from me. “I’m sure if I asked, my queen would tell me the answers to your question, but I don’t feel the hivemind anymore. I haven’t heard it since I arrived.”
“Perhaps that’s for the best,” I told him, doing my best to force a smile. “While it must be weird to be disconnect from something like that, it is possible your queen might try and tell you to kill us with it. Besides, who wants to lose control of their body?”
“Ditzy…” Thorax didn’t that thought. Instead walking away from me in what looked like fear. Guess I didn’t do so well trying to comfort him.
That mood didn’t leave me for sometime, as I was too stuck on how I messed up to really think about where I was going. When I finally did, I found I had wandered into the dungeons of the castle, a place that still creeped me out just as much as before. The eerie silence was only broken by the familiar humming of the Ultimate Nurse, who was once again in the torture room. Despite having given words of advice to me, I still didn’t completely trust her.
“I know you’re there Ditzy,” She called out, much to my shock and bewilderment. “Come in, I want to talk to you for a second.”
Part of me wanted to decline the invitation, run back upstairs, and hide in my room where she couldn’t find me. I immediately realized that was a horrible idea not only because I had no idea what Redheart would do to me than, but because I had put trust in her. It wouldn’t be right to turn away from her without an answer. She trusted me, so for the moment, I’ll trust her.
“O-okay,” I stammered. A part of my brain still wanted to get out of this while I could, but that was no longer once I set hoof inside the torture room. The Ultimate Nurse was laying down on one of the machines, though it was mere one of those restraining tables you would see in medieval times. “Hey Redheart, sorry if I did interrupt you from something.”
“Other than laying around with nothing to do? No,” Redheart said dismissively with a wave of her hoof. “I was thinking things would get more interesting with this new floor open, but just like the last it feels utterly empty of purpose. It has no other purpose than to kill us. Not even this room could satisfy me more than a day.”
“I’m… sorry to hear that,” I told her, though I actually felt kind of grateful at the current moment. “So, you wanted to talk to me?”
“Less of a talk and more of an apology now that I think about it,” The Ultimate Nurse sat up and jumped off the restaining table. “Last time we talked like this you said I should talk about how I feel with somepony. Truth is… I don’t really have anyone I could talk with,” Redheart explained. “I was sheltered at a young age, didn’t really have many ponies you could consider friends with.”
So that’s why she went silent at the end of our last talk. Redheart didn’t say it, but I could tell from her voice that those weren’t the happiest days. Being sheltered from the rest of the world could also explain why she isn’t as stable as I had once thought. I could relate in a way, having been bullied and made fun of during those years, and sometimes I still do.
“Mom died giving birth to me, and I’m sure that made my dad stressed,” Redheart continued, her expression getting more gloomy as time went on. “Every cut and bruise made him worried about my life, and every time my mood was sour he acted like it was the end of the world. He thought that a blade of grass would kill me Celestia sake,” She grit her teeth as she recounted that last part. “I was the mystery child in town that everyone knew existed but never saw. They thought I was a psycho.”
“I’m could see why,” I mumbled, realizing too slowly that Redheart had heard me. “S-sorry.”
She sighed. “I don’t blame you for thinking that way. I did kinda lead myself that path, but what ponies are social creatures,” She explained. “They say that many killers are born out of a lack of social interaction, and I guess you could say the same for me. That said I don’t know how accurate the research is.”
“I guess that makes you a lucky exception,” I joked, though Redheart didn’t seem to get it. “Also, you may not have had anyone than, but I’m sure you must have had co-workers or friends after to help you.”
“You aren’t wrong Ditzy, but how do you explain to someone in a civilized manner that you love murder and killers?” Redheart asked, and whatever answer I had got caught in my throat. “You see? Add that and my title as Ultimate Nurse in, and who would expect for me of all ponies to stop what I’m doing in pursuit of something totally unlike a nurse? It would show ponies who crazy I can be.”
“I don’t know, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth trying, right?” I shot back, catching Redheart off guard. “Even if it is at the expense of my own happiness, I would be willing to make as many ponies as I can happy. If somepony like you don’t feel like you are where you belong, than I simply have to help you find happiness.”
I think my speech may have broken Redheart slightly, because her shocked gaze didn’t drop for a good ten minutes. It was actually kinda funny, seeing somepony who was both calm and slightly deranged act in such a manner. Once that shock wore off, I found a heartwarming smile gracing her face. It was one I would have expect from the Redheart I had first met here.
“Thanks Ditzy, but please don’t make yourself miserable just for my sake,” She told me.
With that we parted ways, I found myself with an objective of sorts: help rid Redheart of her own troubles.
——— Chapter 3: Dungeons and Death ———
As I layed in bed, the nighttime announcement having played just moments ago, I thought back to everything that had happened this morning. Some many ponies seemed angry at me, and the thought only made me more worried about what might be coming. Thoughts spun through my head with no end, all of which ended with the same question. A question that I didn’t want to know the answer to...
...Was I next?