//------------------------------//
// Interested parties, sympathy, and cadence 
// Story: The Triumvirate 
// by Fedora71 
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Triumvirate Part 6


“I mean, I don’t know if you’ve heard this, but you look like crap,” the changeling said to Ancro, looking at him speculatively. All Ancro could do was groan. “I mean seriously, you look like you’ve been through the ringer.”
After a few seconds of silence, he continued, “anyway, we heard about what you did to the guards. Way to stick it to the ponies!” The changeling hit the bubble with his hoof, gaining a pained yelp from Ancro. “What’s wrong with you? Did you like, burn out or something?”
Ancro nodded slowly and pitifully.
“Well, it’s to be expected from taking on thirty of Luna’s guards, I guess. Dude, I wish I could’ve seen it.” He made some mock strikes in the air. “I bet you were just tearing them up.”
‘Dear god,’ Ancro thought, ‘are all other changelings like this? He wasn’t even this energetic when he was well.’
“Please be quiet...” Ancro whispered politely, as the changeling continued his boxing movements. 
“Why, what’s wrong? Are you trying to concentrate on some epic spell?”
“Just shut up and go away.”
“Well, at least let me give you the message first.”
“No, just got away.”
“Now wait just a second, it took me a few days to infiltrate this far to be sure you got this letter, and I’m not going anywhere until I deliver it!” The changeling blushed, “as soon as I find out where I put it.” Never before had Ancro had the desire to punch something this bad.
He winced as another presence approached; it was mixed with concern and irritation. Mostly the prior, but as it drew closer it became more irate.
“Shift, what the hell is taking so long?” Asked a decidedly female voice. Or so Ancro thought, he was too busy trying not to vomit from the sudden increase in senses. He never knew how painfully loud their wings were until now.
“Sorry sis, I kinda lost the letter,” the changeling said, blushing slightly.
The other changeling face hoofed. “Then why not say it, you idiot.”
“Well, he kinda kept trying to tell me to shut up, so I couldn’t talk.”
The new changeling smacked her brother on the back of his head, a feeling Ancro was used to, and cleared her throat.
“We’re busting you out of here in three days,” she said, and with what bit of lucidity he had, he thought that was ridiculously over-dramatized.
“Yeah,” Shouted ‘Shift’, causing new pain to shoot through Ancro, “we’re going to start a prison riot!”
“Well we have to get back in positions before the other guards notice we’re gone,” she said, trotting out the door, tugging her brother along with her.
All Ancro could think was, 'Oh my god, I’m going to die.'

“What did I miss?” Discord said, popping up behind him as Ancro lay back down. Well, actually, more of flop onto the ground from his legs giving out on him. He looked over his shoulder, and felt somewhat satisfied that his wing was healed.
“Prison riot in three days,” he whispered, for his own sake. “I’m going to die.”
“Yeah, probably,” Discord said, “but first you have to survive Celestia’s visit.”
“Please tell me you are joking.”
“Maybe. You’ll find out.” Discord smiled. Ancro closed his eyes as the bubble pulsed. “By the way, some very interesting friends you have there.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The griffon, Scott... He is an interesting character.”
“Yeah, he’s a bit of a…wait what do you mean?” Ancro lifted his head slightly and squinted at the translucent reflection.
“I popped out and paid him a visit while you were entertaining your guest.” The draconequus rubbed its chin. “He was quite insightful, and helped. He ran into a cockatrice.”
“Kindred spirit,” he said, breathing heavily, with the intent of insulting Discord while his head throbbed. For a split second, he got the reaction he desired. Then, his face switched to one of mild amusement. 



“Well, we petrified creatures need to stick together.” His smile changed to one of knowing amusement, like someone waiting for a prank to come to fruition. Ancro was about to ask what was going on, but he was too busy screaming. It felt his entire body was being burnt. He tried desperately to back away from the door, but eventually ran into the bubble as Princess Celestia appeared in the doorway. At least, he assumed that was the source of the agonizingly bright light. He decided then and there that he wasn’t going to allow himself to burn out again.

Celestia heard the changeling’s tortured screams and rushed inside to see what the cause was. Nothing screamed like that unless it had absolute cause. The door opened, and revealed nothing but the screaming insectoid on the far wall of the cell. She stepped closer, and Ancro’s screams grew even more horrific as he shrieked for her to go away, while he clutched his head. She turned around and walked out of the cell, unable to feel anything but sorry for it.
When she had left, she gave orders to the guard at the door. “Inform Shining Armor he can go visit his sister in Ponyville, the shield will no longer be necessary to contain the changeling. Also, send a letter to my niece, Cadence. Tell her I would like to ask for her help.”
“Yes, your majesty,” the guard said eagerly, cantering off, not believing how easy its job had just gotten.


A zipper appeared across the griffin’s beak and silenced his extremely loud yelling and swearing. Lots of swearing, swearing the levels of which would make a marine blush, was silenced into an 'mmph'. Granted, a really loud 'mmph'. Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, was busy being comforted out of the fetal position. Apparently, a few hours of total sensory deprivation wasn’t good on the normally active pegasus.
“You’ll have to teach me that one, Twilight,” Stigandr said, looking at his friend as he struggled to unzip his mouth. It wasn’t as painful as Scott thought it would be, and he was grateful for that. It was still a sickening sensation having your face reworked like that. He finally managed to unzip his mouth and gasp for air.
“What just happened?” Scott asked, regaining his bearings. Stigandr walked up and put his hoof on Scott’s shoulder.
“You, my friend, were just rescued by Fluttershy because she went and got the cockatrice’s mother,” Stigandr answered, patting his friend on the shoulder, trying to remain stoic about the entire affair.
Scott blinked heavily multiple times. His recently unpetrified brain was having difficulty processing what had happened. “Run that by me again... This time with less crazy, and what the hell is a cockatrice?”
“A cockatrice is that winged... lizard... chicken thing over there.” Stigandr pointed to the pair of things walking away. “The big one is the little one’s mother, and it is very disappointed in its son’s behavior, so she  is going to take him home and ground him to his room.”
“Stigs, I specifically asked for less crazy.” Scott cleaned out his ears with a talon to be sure there wasn’t some sort of pony-only-hear-crazy-bug...wormthing in them. He wouldn’t have been shocked at this point. “And here you are, being more crazy. Please give me something that makes sense.”
“Unicorn magic?” Stigandr shrugged. “Walking on clouds, shape-shifting, green fire, multi-dimensional travel?”
“Shut up,” Scott replied. “Where were you, by the way?”
“The hospital,” Stigandr shrugged, “you?”
“Cloudsdale General. Which reminds me, I need to pay Rainbow Dash back.”
“Rainbow Dash was the one who crashed into us?”
“Yeah, she said she was practicing a new trick.”
“Accidentally crashing into ponies while working on a new trick? Yeah, that happens often enough,” Stigandr chuckled slightly.
“Hey!” That got the rainbow mare out of her fetal position. “I don’t always crash into ponies when a new trick doesn’t work out!”
“Well actually, Rainbow Dash…” Twilight said, pulling out an abacus. “It happens a lot more often than you think…” Scott gawked as the list went on, and kept going on, as they left the Everfree forest, as they went through town, and as they entered a big tree, library.
“Then there was the time you crashed into my store, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity said, sitting down on a cushion with a small chuckle.
“Doesn’t count, I didn’t hit anypony,” Rainbow Dash replied, pointing a hoof at the purple unicorn while she hovered in the air.
“True, but you did break my ceiling.”
“Yeah, that was a pretty good hole in your roof,” she chuckled, rubbing her hoof behind her head.
“When will you have the money you owe me, by the way?”
“Umm yeah, about that…” She looked over to the gawking griffin. “I kinda spent it on his hospital bill.”
“Well, just get me the bits as soon as you can." Rarity said rolling her eyes, Scott felt a slight twinge of guilt having cost her the money.
“Twilight! There you are, I’ve been waiting for you all day. Where have you been?” Yelled the voice of a familiar purple dragon, clutching a scroll.
“It’s a long story, Spike. Is that a letter from the princess?” She asked, levitating the scroll.
“No, it’s from Shining Armor. It says that he will be able to come visit you after all,” Spike said gleefully. “But Cadence can’t make it; Celestia needs her for some sort of favor.”
“Did it say what for?”
“No, but he doesn’t sound very happy about it,” Spike finished.
Then the young dragon started gawking at Rarity while she discussed taking Rainbow Dash to the spa to try to fix her skin after its exposure to the stone. At least, that’s what Stigandr saw. What Scott saw were a bunch of ponies and an overgrown talking lizard. The lizard said pony stuff about other lavender pony’s brother, then when he was done, he started checking out the white unicorn. Not being very subtle about it, either.
“What could’ve possibly happened?” Twilight asked aloud.
“Oh! I know, pick me!” Pinkie Pie squealed, waving her front hooves in the air, trying to draw attention to herself. ‘Not that you have to try, you’re a pink pony’ Scott thought, trying to remain tactful.
“What do you mean, Pinkie?”
“It might have something to do with that changeling that they captured.” Scott and Stigandr shared a nervous glance, “it’s not stealing anypony’s love, so it’s probably a lot less dangerous cause it’s hungry.”
“Okay, that doesn’t explain why Princess Cadence couldn’t come,” Twilight said, eyeing the letter confusedly.
“Hmmm…Nothing comes to mind unless she plans to feed it,” Pinkie Pie said, scratching her hoof on her chin.
“What?!” Twilight shouted.
“She could be planning to feed it,” Fluttershy said, hardly audible. “At least, that’s what I would do if they were hungry.”
“Don’t be preposterous, Fluttershy,” Rarity toned in, “after what they did to her, I don’t find it likely.”
“Ah don’t know ‘bout that Rarity, she don’t seem the tahp to hold a grudge,” Applejack stated.
Stigandr was standing off to the side, enjoying watching the ponies, and hoping that they would give him a hint as to his friend’s whereabouts. He felt a tap on his shoulder, and saw Scott motion him over, then followed him outside.
“I know this is all very fun for you, but I have no idea who they are talking about.”
“Okay, Princess Cadence is Celestia’s niece. Her magic is, that she spreads love.” He hoped that it would be explanation enough. It wasn’t.
“Okay, why would she be feeding Ancro?”
“…You’re serious?”
“About what?”
“He needs love and other positive emotions to survive. Do you remember him never eating?”
“…So, how’s he been surviving the past month?” Scott whispered. “I haven’t been…have you?”
Stigandr groaned than collected himself, reminding himself Scott wasn’t a brony. “It’s a different kind of love, kind of a brotherly companionship thing. No homo.”
“Okay, so he’s been feeding off us?”
“Well, what we give him, actually.” Stigandr glanced up to him.
“Okay, but who is Cadence, and why is she feeding him?” He looked at Stigandr and his pupils shrunk. “Oh god, it’s going to be a clopfic, isn’t it.”
“Wha-no!” Stigandr responded, “her magic is that she spreads love.”
“OH... Okay.”
“What are you two doing out here?” Pinkie Pie said, popping up between them. “The party’s inside! Well, it will be, as soon as I fire my party cannon!”
“Party…Cannon?”
“Yeah, I never go anywhere without it.” She stated plainly, pulling out the massive cannon. “Plus, I still have plenty of ice cream. Maybe now that your friend is here, you’ll be less of a Grumpy McCrazy Pants!”

Ancro lay on the ground, not even trying to move from the incoming presence. Not that he couldn’t, it just would’ve hurt a lot more. He heard the shrieking of the hinges as the door opened, and felt each hoof step as they entered his cell. He screamed as he felt their horn start to glow.



(Thanking my editor/artist Sara for correcting my god awful grammar, to contact for commissions email her at shaya.laperro@gmail.com. Also thanking my friends for letting me use them in this story. Feedback is always wanted and appreciated comments, messages, smoke signals work too. Sorry for taking a bit longer but the twelve and a half hour days at the factory are typically quite a dampener in the day, factor in the hour drive there and back and the time I have in which to write is quite minimal. Thanks for the patience and if you fav it like it!)