Let me put this bluntly: the ponies here are nothing less than mind-numbingly spoiled.
I had been told one of the smaller rooms had been prepared for me. Anything would have been a step up from the dungeon cell, so I expected little more than a bed, and perhaps a small desk. Still a prison, but a comfortable one. Turned out, a ‘small room’ here constituted soaring ceilings, and wide, unused spaces large enough to fit my entire house with room to spare. I spun on the spot, taking it all in.
“I take it that this will be adequate,” Luna said from the doorway, a smile playing on her lips.
For a long moment, I wondered if this was some ploy to make me lower my defenses. I dismissed that thought as quickly as it had come. I had wandered through the castle long enough to understand that this was likely the smallest they had to offer, short of refurbishing a broom closet. “Yeah,” I answered. “So what now?”
“Now, you wait,” Luna instructed me. “I shall talk to my sister about the freedoms you shall be allowed, should she be awake. If you need anything, knock on the doors and the guards shall see to it if it is within reason.” She paused for a moment, craning her neck to examine my back. “Are you sure you would not like to see a doctor?”
“Given how much you know about us, I’d rather not,” I admitted, looking back at the tattered bandages. “I guess you could bring some fresh gauze and tape to dress it, though. I can do it myself.”
“Very well. I will pass an order along to send dinner up. I surmise you’re hungry, correct?”
“Yeah. No hay or grasses, though.”
“Oh?” She tilted her head.
After I opened my mouth slightly, I gestured to my canines. “Changelings are omnivores. We can eat grasses, except they don’t really sit too well.”
“Would you prefer some meat with your meal, then?”
“What!” The sudden offer made my stomach heave.
“As we host diplomatic parties from other nations, the castle staff is prepared to accommodate any needs of a foreign envoy. This includes the unique diets of gryphons and dragons. It would be little trouble to request them to grill a fish to accompany your meal, or prepare a steak. Why, I believe they even have-”
“Please stop,” I begged. Raised as a pony, I followed their beliefs and ideals. Those ideals included the notion that eating the flesh of another creature was simply disgusting. “Just consider me a vegetarian.”
“If that is your wish, so be it.” She met my gaze forcefully, all the playfulness vanishing. “Remain here and refrain from causing trouble.”
The doors closed with a solid, dull bang as the Lunar alicorn turned tail and left. There had to be something I could do to pass the time until she came back, else boredom would rapidly climb to the top of my problems. Talking to the guards was always an option, but I highly doubted they would entertain that idea, considering what I had done. They would either stonewall, or shove me back into the room. Perhaps the bookcase and its contents would offer the stimulation I desired.
I had never been much of a reader, preferring games or the like. My father’s workshop, in particular, held many wonders to me as a young colt, even though, at the time, I wasn’t particularly welcome. As I grew up, and my actions became more reasonable (and less destructive), Dad let me use his shop, first with supervision, and then on my own. Eventually, there was scarcely a point where the shop wasn’t occupied by one or both of us.
I growled.
Shaking my head to rid myself of those building thoughts, which built grief in my heart, I looked to the bookcase, examining the titles. Seriously? I knew Daring Do was a popular series, but here, in the heart of nobility and royalty? I’d tried one of the books once, and I really didn’t get what made the series so special. Still, the remaining fiction looked boring and stuffy, aimed at ponies who spent the entire day squabbling over the wording of a bill. Perhaps the non-fiction might offer something of value.
Then again...
Luna must have arranged to have these specific books brought up to me. With titles ranging from The Equestrian Guide to Changelings all the way to Changelings: Vicious Parasites, she either wanted to annoy me or prove a point. Sighing, I picked up the first book and tossed it onto the desk, before flipping open the cover. After the first few pages of lengthy introductions and self-congratulatory messages, the book finally begun.
Throughout Equestria there exists a wide variety of creatures, each unique and mysterious in their own manner. However, perhaps few are more unknown than the illusive changeling. Many myths and legends cloud the true nature of these unique shapeshifters, but few are true. Professor Glass and myself have spent many years researching these creatures, enduring countless sleepless nights as we strive to uncover the truth. We–
Yep. Just as I figured, these ponies couldn’t wait to congratulate themselves. Again. They totally deserved the highest praise possible, merely for writing that book.
Normally, I would have said that above sentence with conviction.
The only thing was, writing a book on an unknown subject really wasn’t that difficult. Put pen to paper, write whatever came to mind, and then present the result to a publisher. When they doubted your studies, it was your cue to wave your credentials in their faces and tell them you knew better.
Grabbing hold of a chunk of the book, I skipped over half of their bullshit, landing somewhere near the center. I picked a line and starting running with it.
Our discovery of how changelings feed is both worrisome and highly disturbing. A changeling preys on the lifeforce of a pony, sucking their love and joy dry. Oftentimes, they work in packs, with one taking the place of a member of a community, absorbing love like a sponge, whilst the others prey on the pony squirreled away in an immobilizing cocoon. After many weeks, the pony will pass away and be discarded. With the first changeling still disguised as the now-deceased pony, another will fill the role of another unfortunate victim, and the cycle continues.
The book took to the air, the pages tickling the air like fluttering wings, before it crash-landed in a heap behind me.
“One down, plenty more to go,” I sighed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
A knock broke me from my reading, or, to be more precise, cataloguing of trash.
“Come in,” I called, finishing the book I was on, and tossing it on the floor behind me. Once again, utter trash. It landed on top of the massive, pony-sized pile, toppling the former king-of-the-hill. Both books slid down the slopes to the floor.
The door creaked open, and the end of a cart appeared, followed by a Royal Guard of the lunar variety. Taking a glance at the window, I blinked. The sun was already beginning to set. Had that much of the day already passed? Regardless, the food was here, and my stomach grumbled hungrily at the smell of it. Whatever was underneath the silver lid must be delicious.
Still, with the twinge of nervousness springing up in the unicorn, it would be a shame not to have a little fun with her. The food could wait.
“Smells delicious,” I moaned.
“Yes, well, sorry for the wait,” the guard said, lifting the lid to reveal the steaming food. “The chef was being a little difficult-”
“I wasn’t talking about the food,” I said, locking eyes with her. That, without a doubt, was the creepiest thing I’ve ever said.
She backpedaled, her face twisting in panic. Evidently, the other guards outside the door must have heard me, as my room was packed in an instant with bodies and weapons. Their scowls deepened as the sound of my laughter broke the pregnant silence.
“You actually thought I was serious?” I wheezed, gasping for air. Having gone so long without a good laugh, it wasn’t merely funny to me – it was hysterical.
The mare recovered, matching her compatriots’ expressions but with twice the ferocity. Crucially, however, she held her tongue. I’d wager she wanted to say something that would very much breach protocol.
"Behave yourself!” a solar guard commanded. Oddly enough, I recognized his voice. Ocean... something, wasn’t it?
“Sorry for having fun,” I replied, coughing.
It was as though he didn’t even hear me. “We were left with very explicit orders from Princess Luna detailing that, if you’re causing trouble, we can return you to your cell.”
Oh, right, I remembered now; it was Ocean Mc-Grumpy-Pants.
“Don’t get your tail in a bunch, I was just...” I trailed off when I noticed something very peculiar; very peculiar indeed.
Ocean had placed himself slightly in front of the mare, as though he was protecting her. It was worth a stab in the dark, either way. “Stop worrying yourself over your fillyfriend,” I declared. “She can take care of herself.”
A barely perceptible blush coloured his cheeks. “Y-you’re to remain in the room, and refrain from causing trouble.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I grumbled, making my way to the cart. “Now, why don’t you get back to what you do best: imitating statues. Certainly isn’t catching changelings.” I lifted a carrot, before taking an experimental bite. Once again – utterly spoiled.
A few guards snorted in irritation at the accuracy with which I had described their job, but they withdrew without fuss, leaving me with my meal. Once the doors shut, I began to truly enjoy myself, savoring the flavors injected into the dishes. I doubted Luna had let the kitchen staff know who this was for. Otherwise, it would have hardly tasted as stunning as it did at best. At worst, it would have been poisoned.
Twenty minutes later, I finished the last morsel of the blueberry pie, going so far as to lick the plate to find any crumbs I may have missed. If it wasn’t for the fact that I knew it would make me fat and unhealthy, I would have asked them for more. A small pang of guilt ran through me as I remember the scare I had given that mare. I had done so knowing that she had no idea how I actually consumed food. It was still funny, but in the way that a bully finds his tormenting funny.
After thumping the door a few times, I tugged the cart over just in time for the doors to open. It was the same mare as before, and she bore a disapproving frown as she looked at me. She grabbed hold of the cart, intending to rip it away, but I held on with both hooves, preventing her departure.
“Listen,” I mumbled sheepishly, “I’m sorry about earlier; I just meant it as a joke.”
Her eyes (and emotions) softened just the slightest, although the frown remained.
“Alright,” she muttered. “I’ll let it go this time, just don’t let it happen again.”
“I never got your name. I’m Amethyst.”
“Starlight,” she grunted.
“So, Starlight,” I muttered, grinning just a tad, “you and Ocean, huh?”
A blush spread across her muzzle. Ah ha! She gave the cart a shove, ramming the handle into my stomach and sending me tumbling back, before storming from the room and slamming the doors behind her.
I admit, I deserved that.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A curt knock sounded against the heavy wood of the door. Drowsily, I rolled off the bed and onto my hooves. I had been tracing the foliation and curls of crystal in the marble on the ceiling, following the lines around in idle thought.
“Come in,” I grumbled, rolling my neck to stretch the kinks out.
Princess Luna trotted in, giving the room a quick once-over. “Amethyst, I have spoken to... why are there logs in the bookcase?” she groaned, placing a hoof over her eyes.
“Just thought I’d rearrange the room. Facts should be on the bookcase.”
“What do you- Why are their books in the fireplace?” she exclaimed, finally spotting the second half of my work. They were unlit, mind you. It was a tad warm at the moment to consider starting a fire.
I grinned mischievously. “You can learn loads more from the logs than those books.”
“Explain your actions.”
I sighed, rubbing my eyes tiredly. “There’s nothing in those books worth reading. Well, I suppose if you prefer fiction...”
“Certainly, there must be something,” Luna protested, undoing my work with a swift spell.
“Nothing that can’t be found out by looking at me for a few seconds.” I rolled my eyes. I guess the book burning would have to wait. “Anyway, what did you come in here for?”
“My sister wishes to speak with you.”
“As in now? Right now?”
“Yes, she made that quite clear.” She headed towards the door, expecting me to follow.
A monarch’s command could not be ignored without consequence. Doubly so when you were a prisoner. I followed the alicorn, smirking at Starlight as we passed. The unicorn huffed irritably, but otherwise remained still. Luna led me through a number of corridors, before guiding me down a flight of stairs, and then taking a right turn into another hallway. Uncomfortable silence grew between us - it was obvious that neither of us were comfortable in the other’s presence. It wouldn’t be long before one of us found it unbearable, and broke it.
“Amethyst,” Luna spoke up suddenly, sparing me nary a glance. “There has been something that has been bothering us.”
I managed to hold my tongue, knowing now was not the time to correct her grammar. Or maybe she meant herself and her sister? Then she would be right. Ugh...
“When you first spoke with us, even though I was far more aggressive in my tone and the choice of my words, it always seemed like you were speaking more to my sister than myself. Why?”
I opened my mouth, but closed it a second later when I found myself without an answer. I had never given it any thought at the time, but Luna’s observation was true. I had been willing to grant Luna a chance, but not her sister. Even as I thought it over, I had no answer to give her.
“I don’t know,” I said with grim finality.
“Surely you must,” she urged. “Did something happen-”
“I don’t know, dammit!” I shouted.
Luna halted in both speech and stride, mouth agape. A pair of guards ran around the corner at the sound, skidding to a halt when they saw me.
“Princess Luna,” one of them asked, “is everything alright?”
The question snapped her out of the daze. “Yes. As you were.”
The two shared a look, but stood to the side to let us past. For the remainder of the trip, Luna was content to keep to her thoughts, and keep maintaining the silence. The methodical click of her shoes and my chitin on the marble floors were our only escorts all the while.
The pegasi stationed on either side of the door tensed as we approached, but as I was accompanied by the Moon Princess, they didn’t lift a hoof to stop me. The moment I stepped into the room, all noise died out, until the place was as quiet as a tomb.
Celestia lay in a bed, across from the door, staring at me through one eye. The other was hidden beneath a bloodied bandage taped to the side of her face. The tip of a jagged cut shone scarlet at the edge of the bandage, screaming against her white fur, a mere hint of all the harm I had inflicted. The nurses fussing over her backed away when they noticed our presence, eyes wide.
“Please leave us,” Celestia ordered sternly.
“But, Princess–” one of the guards protested.
“Now!”
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I waited, shifting from hoof to hoof, as the ponies filed out. The boom of the door closing sealed my fate like the impact of a judge’s gavel. Once more, I was engulfed by a whirlwind of silence as Celestia decided my fate.
And silence.
“Sister,” Luna groaned, after about a minute.
A frown flickered across Celestia’s face. “What?” she snapped.
The lunar alicorn lent her a pointed glare, instructing her with a wordless gesture. Still, the sun refused to yield the action or words the moon desired.
“Sister, we spoke of this,” Luna sighed.
Stubbornly, Celestia held her words, even in light of her sister’s near command. She was always the big sister.
“Celestia!” Luna barked.
OK, make that an actual command.
Eventually, her defenses gave way and she slumped, horn aglow with magic. The words of my question died in my throat as my mother’s locket floated before me. Reverently, I plucked it from the air, placing it around my neck. The comforting weight rested just below my collarbone, and I could almost feel my parents’ spirits returning to watch over me as it settled. I opened it. The picture was still in place, the faces still smiling back at me.
Luna coughed, loudly.
I tilted my head in confusion. “What?”
“I believe it is polite to apologize,” she said, raising an eyebrow.
“Yeah, it is,” I replied, frowning as I snapped the locket shut. I could already see where this was headed.
Luna mirrored my frown, her eyebrow now so high up her face it was almost hidden by her mane. “Then apologize.”
“Why?”
“Why-” Her eye twitched, and a low growl settled in her throat. The air crackled with electricity, playing gleefully with loose strands of cloth and hair, heralding the lightning to come. Her chest swelled as her lungs drew upon air, rushing to contrast her narrowed eyes. The change was nothing less than terrifying and deafening. “Thy gored mine sister’s eye and thy does not feel remorse!”
“Luna, please,” Celestia muttered. Amazingly, the navy blue alicorn instantly stopped, her horn half a metre from my face.
“Very well,” Luna answered bitterly, recovering.
“Amethyst, Luna and I were hoping your action was from hot-blooded anger, not from cold and meticulous thought, as your words now suggest. Is this true?”
“Look,” I responded flatly. “Yes, I do feel bad about it. It was a little extreme, but I’d be lying if I said I was sorry it happened to you. I mean, Luna told me you would recover fully.”
“Only because I am alicorn, Amethyst,” she explained, like she had gone through this before. She probably had, actually, given her age. “Were I of any other race, I would have lost the eye, and be condemned to half-blindness for the rest of my life. Only the magic flowing through my veins grants me the chance to heal, to endure the countless seasons to come. I ask again, were you speaking the truth?”
“Yes, more so now,” I growled. “Do you even know the concept of loss? I doubt it. When was the last time you’d shed a tear for anyone or anything? I’d wager that since we are all replaceable, it’s been eons.”
As she took a deep breath, I could taste her unbridled fury at my words, the burning odor wedging itself at the back of my throat. “Amethyst, I had hoped you had acted out of anger, with grief clouding your judgment, so I could grant you a pardon. However, your confession has changed my verdict. There is no place in Equestria for those who would use violence to further their own means so selfishly. Luna, will you please take Amethyst back to his cell, so we can discuss his sentence?”
“No sister, we shall not.”
“I,” I muttered under my breath.
“Pardon?” Celestia asked. For the first time, I tasted her surprise and a little hint of fear.
“I do not believe this is the proper course of action when such an opportunity has presented itself,” Luna explained.
I blinked. What happened to the Luna ready to replicate my violence? Had she merely buried it away beneath a mask – an act – or was it something else entirely? Within the instant, I dismissed it. I wasn’t privy to the mind or psyche of an immortal, and certainly there was no need to concern myself with her well-being.
“I do not follow,” replied Celestia.
“Amethyst gives us the chance to prevent this from happening again. You, yourself, told him you would suffer no long term maladies, so why not judge this situation in a different light? We have the chance to prevent violence, not merely punish it. One action cannot be condemned at the price of many.”
Celestia surrendered, conceding in the face of her sister’s reasoning. “Very well Luna, what do you propose?”
“I suggest we give Amethyst freedom to move about the castle, provided he is accompanied by two guards at all time.”
“No, absolutely not.” Celestia shook her head.
“Let me finish... Amethyst would aid us in compiling an accurate study on changelings, from their anatomy, to their diet and magic.”
Now it was my turn. “No, not happening.”
“If Amethyst desired to visit the city, he would have to arrange it with us, whatever our wishes might be. And if he broke our trust, at our discretion, our agreement would be void, and Amethyst would be brought directly to trial in the Equestrian courts. Once the tome is complete, we will reevaluate our position.”
Celestia gave a reluctant nod, agreeing, albeit warily, with the terms.
“I don’t care what you say,” I muttered, “but there is no way I am letting myself be studied as an animal.”
“What would you have, then?”
There was an ugly, static pause.
“I’ll do it,” I agreed reluctantly, “Only if I can opt out when I begin to feel uncomfortable.” I hesitated for a second, scrounging for something more to tack on. “And on the condition that I can choose the guards.”
“I see no problem with that. Sister?”
“Alright.”
“Very well, tell us the names of the guards you request, and I shall pass the order along.”
“Starlight and Gallant Warning,” I replied, citing the names of the two most (relatively) friendly guards I had met.
“Corporal Starlight yes, but I’m afraid Sergeant Warning has been granted indefinite paid leave until the time when he is comfortable to resume his position.” The reason went unspoken.
“Ocean?” I requested. Perhaps they would be too infatuated with one another to take heed of my actions.
“You mean Sergeant Ocean Wind?” Luna hummed, to which I gave a curt nod. “Very well, the order shall be passed along. Now I bid both of you to sleep, recover and prepare for tomorrow.”