It was large, much larger than the space at the orphanarium. Tables aligned the center of the ‘Mess Hall,’ filling the entire room. Each one was circular, sitting twelve total. No one sat alone there. Everyone was seated with at least four others, either chatting or enjoying each others company.
It was an odd sight. From my experience conscious beings tended to pull away from each other, fearing treachery from their associates. Here, though, everyone seemed to enjoy each other. They drew close to one another, sharing stories and laughing. They seemed happy to ignore the value of their possessions, even going so far as to share them with their friends. It was a madness of which I had previously never witnessed.
Yet this group, this Blackscale, seemed content to partake in it. They seemed not only willing to perform this bizarre act, but delighted to do so. There was no obligation, no lies, just a diversity of creatures being kind. Was this what peace was? Was this harmony? If so, then it was nothing like the ‘harmony’ of Equestria.
Peace and love in Equestria (I could, of course, still been in Equestria. I had no real idea where I was at that time.) was just the foals’ tale. It was nothing more than a function. A function thats roots stemmed from fear; Fear of the Hearth’s Warming Eve Windigos coming back if the masquerade of amicability was not kept aloft. Nobody had ever actually wanted to be nice to each other. Not really.
I saw the truth, though. I, along with anyone else who the world broke, saw the darkness residing within everyone, the dormant evil waiting to be released. That hatred is hidden away, boiling just beneath the surface of our coats. No one had ever truly been kind out of any genuine want. No one could. At least, not that I had seen. Yet, here was this organization with no reason to play nice, doing exactly that. I’m sure any one of them could have survived on their own, but they chose to stay here instead. Why?
Was it possible that this group of killers, thieves, abductors, spies, and liars had it all figured out? Was it possible that they had truly found a way to be kind? To live in a constant state of harmony? Was this what Equestria was supposed to be?
A foreign cough broke me out of my stupor. I looked up to see Aeria glancing over at me with a quizzical smile. Quizzical, yet still warm.
I stood at a rectangular counter that the griffon was distributing food from. It looked different from food I had seen before somehow. Something was very, very off about it. I couldn’t quite place my hoof on it at first, but I knew, without a doubt, that it was wrong. But what was it? What was wrong with that food...?
Wait, it looked...appetizing. I pushed the thoughts about harmony and all that crap to the back of my mind in favor of a fresh meal. I mean, there were whole fruits and vegetables in front of me. Whole Fruits! Even salad that wasn’t damp! There wasn’t any sludgy purple substances anywhere. For me, that might as well have been heaven.
Aeria stood tall, a good three feet taller than me. That didn’t keep her from managing a smile that radiated happiness. “What would you like?” She gestured to the layout of food with an open talon.
I swallowed, trying to keep myself from drooling at the selection. It was more difficult than one would think. “I-I don’t know. It’s a lot. More than I’m used to...”
She beheld me with a pitying gaze. I normally hated pity, but something about her gaze was reassuring, showing emotions besides pity. “How about some stew. It’s got a little bit of everything you ponies like. Carrots, lettuce, tomato, onions, garlic, celery, bones, mushrooms, water, the works.” She procured a bowl and spoon, gently ladling a serving of warm liquid into the bowl. She handed it to me over the counter.
It had been a while since my last meal. At least two days. Maybe three. So I am not ashamed to say that I slurped down a great portion of the broth in front of the counter, with Aeria watching. It was positively delicious. “This is good. Did you make it?”
She stared at me with those warm, emerald eyes. “I did make that, actually. I’m glad you liked it.” Her chest swelled a bit, whether it was from pride or happiness from being able to make me happy, I did not know.
Her smile was like a contagion, infecting me with its bliss. I had the tiniest of smirks as I told her, “It’s incredible. What’s your secret?”
“I cook with wine.” She said in a matter-of-fact tone.
“Oh.” That made sense. Many chefs did that.
“Sometimes I even add it to the food.” She added. She was still smiling.
I excused myself and walked away quietly. I’d rather not learn how to cook today, anyways. Too time consuming. Too much liver damage.
I sat myself down at the nearest table with several other creatures. There were seven others to be a bit more precise. The moment I sat down all eyes were on me. It was a bit uncomfortable being the center of so much attention. Normally I would have just used my demure size to fade into the background, but that would prove impossible considering I was the new member of this little “family.”
They weren’t looking at me with disdain or anger, though. Most just smiled while one just looked on at me curiously. They were first to speak, naturally. Curiosity tends to beat out everything. Even fear. “So your name is Trixie, right?” It was a fox who posed the question. Her voice was dangerously sharp. I wonder if her wit would match that tone?
“Yes.” Even if I knew they weren’t my enemies I still did not want to speak too much. Information was a commodity in any situation.
“I knew a Trixie. Though he was male. And an ocelot. And dead. I wonder if you’ll end up like him?” She spoke casually as she ate, more addressing herself than anyone else. She appeared to be only a year or two older than myself.
One of the others, a bug-like creature with a black carapace spoke up. “Bah! Don’t be such a pessimist, Scarlet.” I had no idea what species this new speaker was, or even what gender. Its voice had a strange reverberating effect to it. Almost as if it utilized vibrations to vocalize rather than vocal cords.
The fox frowned, squinting at her shelled accuser. “Everyone is a pessimist when surrounded by optimists.” She sounded a bit indignant. Either that bug hit a nerve, or Scarlet was easily irritated. I would have to make note of that.
“Blah, blah, blah,” drawled the creature while rolling its eyes. Turning to me it said, “Hello Trixie. I’m Zephyr.” Its strange, buzzing voice sounded friendly in an odd, detached sort of way.
“It’s a pleasure. Do you mind if I ask...what are you, exactly? And uh, what gender are you...?” Celestia, I hope that was not offensive... Wait, of course it was! I just asked a creature what gender they are! How daft, and without a doubt rude. Especially if this creature was sensitive. I prepared myself against the inevitable admonishing.
Surprisingly, it laughed. It was a queer, throaty noise that scraped against my eardrum. It wasn’t unpleasant, just unbearable. “I’m a changeling. We’re shapeshifting creatures that make our home pretty much everywhere. Though we originally hail from the Badlands. Me included.” It was still chuckling a bit after finishing off its statement. “And I’m female by the way.”
Changelings. Star had mentioned them in his account of Avalerion Blackscale. “Shapeshifting? What do you mean?”
She shot me a wide grin and bursted into flames. I may have screamed a little. And then a lot. No one else reacted beyond the occasional snicker as Zephyr continued to burn alive and I continued to shout. After a few seconds the flames stopped, though. And where there should have been gooey bug ashes, there was a blue unicorn. No, not blue...azure.
Not just any azure unicorn, but me. Sitting directly in front of me was an exact copy of myself, with the metallic-blue mane, magenta eyes, and my coat color. Her flank was bare of a cutie-mark. I stared blankly at my copy, who smiled at me stupidly. She waved a hoof at me. “Hiya Trixie!” Even the copy’s voice sounded like mine.
“Zephyr...?” I probably sounded a bit dumb asking that question. Who else would it have been? Who else could have it been?
“That’s me!” Exclaimed my replica. “Good ole’ Zephyr here, borrowing your body.” She was still smiling goofily. “I hope you don’t mind, but I just couldn’t resist such a rockin’ form.” She added with a little wink.
I was too startled by the display to really notice the remark. “How are you doing that? How is that even possible?”
Another burst of flames. Zephyr looked as she did before, large blue eyes bulging outwards, black carapace acting as an exoskeleton, mesh wings fluttering about, sharp fangs protruding over her lower lip, and holes all through her hooves (likely to maintain proper weight distribution; that chitin can’t be light).
“It’s an innate ability.” Her voice had that strange buzzing quality to it once again. “As for how it’s possible...I don’t know. I didn’t really pay attention in anatomy class. But it sure is fun to mess around with.”
This was almost as crazy as poisonous birds living in flying gas cloud cities. Well, no actually. Nothing was as crazy as that. Except maybe if Celestia were hiding the fact that she had a corrupted devil sister who was trapped on the Moon, or some other crazy junk. But what was the likelihood of that? “You were in the Badlands, right? How did you end up here(wherever that was)?”
Her expression darkened immediately. Her large green eyes dropped to the floor, gaining a sad, lonely tint. Even without pupils they still expressed emotion quite well. She drew her tongue across her fangs slowly. She rubbed one of her legs gingerly, as if trying to bring some sort of non-existent warmth into her form. Everyone else at the table looked upon her with sympathy. I had definitely touched upon a heavy subject. I would need to tread carefully.
It took her a moment, but Zephyr worked up the nerve to speak. “I used to be a part of a tribal hive back in the Badlands. We were a small, nomadic group that fed on what little scraps of emotion there were to find out there. We weren’t apart of any official hive, so we lacked a queen. One day an enraged Scorpio crossed our path.” She drew her gaze away.
“Everyone I knew was wiped out and I sustained a serious injury. I managed to survive by playing dead until the beast left. After that I wandered the wastes of the Badlands, half-dead, until Brightwing found me. Some stuff happened in between and that’s how I ended up here.” She finished with a quick shiver. It was an uncomfortable topic.
I tried to manage my most empathetic look. “I can relate to being alone.” I finished with a sympathetic frown. She gave me a sad smile in return. Even in sadness these individuals were kind. It was incredible. From the expressions of the others I could see that they all had similar stories. Maybe that whole philosophy spiel Star pitched about having to suffer to truly understand utopia wasn’t complete garbage.
A loud voice pierced the silence. “So what about you?” It was a pegasus directing the question at me. The one with the wisteria mane and vanilla coat. Pulse. “How did you get here, Trix?” She leaned back in her chair with her fore-hooves spread lazily on the table. Her citrus eyes were appraising my value as they glanced over my form. “How’d you end up getting involved with dudes like us?”
I coughed. How did I end up here, actually? Star had approached me right after the “incident” with Ginger Snap, but how did I actually get here? Had he just been watching me the entire time? Was it completely by chance that he just so happened to be there the moment I killed that other foal? Doubtful.
“Star was watching me. He was keeping an eye on me and caught me performing an unsavory act.” I held back as much information as I could. It wasn’t exactly a point of pride for me.
“You killed someone, right?” Pulse posed the question bluntly, oblivious to how uncomfortable I was speaking of it.
“Yeah...I did.” I looked away. I didn’t want her to see the shame in my eyes.
She blinked at me, confused by my mannerisms. “What? Was it not a clean kill or something?” I shrunk even more at the question, beginning to feel a bit queasy. You can always count on a pegasus to be insensitive.
A griffon sitting next to Pulse raised his hand and punched her in the shoulder. “Idiot. She’s uncomfortable because it was her first kill. Not every single one of us can be an innate psychopath.”
Pulse’s look of indignation was a bit overacted. “Hey, I am not a psychopath!” Her nose was scrunched up as her eyes threw daggers at the griffon. You can also count on a pegasus to overreact. “And don’t you dare raise your hand to me!”
Scarlet snorted. “Yeah. It leaves your midsection unprotected.” Pulse’s attention instantly shifted to her. The evil glare she gave the fox was quite intimidating. Scarlet simply shrugged it off and turned back to her meal. She didn’t so much strike me as the indifferent type as she did the lonesome type. She was probably someone who’s wit outmatched that of her peers(from her perspective at least), and thus made her bitter externally.
Zephyr coughed loudly. Well, it was more of a reverberating buzz that sounded like a disemboweled animal gasping for air than a cough. “So, uh, Trixie, what do you think of this place so far?” She chuckled nervously. It was an obvious, and rather poor attempt at defusing the arising conflict.
That didn’t make the question posed to me any less important, though. Not from my point of view, anyways. “It’s different. But in a good way. The food is edible, I sleep comfortably, and you’re all friendly enough. I really only have one question.” Actually I had several.
A hyena sitting across from me spoke up for the first time. “Go ahead.”
“Um, I’m not really sure how to phrase this, but why is Sicarius so...” I really didn’t know how to phrase it. His strange personality and mannerisms had me confused. And I am not one who is easily confused. I think. Maybe.
“Sicarius-sy?” Finished Scarlet, who was still ignoring the glares shot at her by Pulse.
“That’s it.”
Scarlet spoke first. “He’s smarter than he acts. A lot smarter. Just count yourself lucky that he is on our side and leave it at that. We can ignore the fact that he is a grown wolf who acts like a child, or at least, we should. As for his other mistakes...” Her voice sounded indifferent, but I thought I could detect a faint smile on her visage.
Another voice broke out from behind. A very familiar voice. “Well, what’s the point of being mature if you don’t get to act like a child? As for my mistakes...you’re right. I should have made them much sooner.” The object of our conversation sat himself down at one of the five empty seats. Star sat next to him.
Sicarius gestured to an apple Zephyr had. “Would you mind giving that to me? I’m starving and Aeria is still upset with me.” He looked at her with a pouting lip and pleading gaze. Or he tried to. It looked more like he was gnawing on his top lip while eyes were trying to engulf his face.
She shrugged and tossed the apple over to him. “Sure, not like I need it.” It was an excellent pitch, despite the fact she used her flat-faced legs to do it.
Sicarius caught it in his paw without missing a beat. It was strange to see such dexterity in beings that did not possess any real type of grip. “Thank you.” Taking a bite out of the apple he said, “I love pears.”
“Apple.” Star mumbled under his breath.
“Hm?” Sicarius made the questioning noise with his mouth still full.
“It’s an apple.” Star stated clearly.
Sicarius looked at him thoughtfully for a moment. “No, I don’t think so. I’m sure it’s a pear.”
Star sighed. “It isn’t a pear. It’s an apple.”
“But it’s green.” Sicarius said slowly.
“It’s a green apple.” Star said.
“It can’t be.” He showed the apple to Star. “It’s round and big on the bottom and thins out at the top.”
“You’re holding it upside down.” Star sounded a bit exasperated.
“It’s fruit. You can’t hold fruit upside down.”
Star squinted at him. “Touché. Touché.” He remained silent for a moment. “But it’s still an apple.”
Sicarius shrugged his lean shoulders. “Let us agree to disagree.”
“Or, and this is just a suggestion, we could agree to agree, and call it an apple.”
At this point the hyena broke in. “Or we could just call it a banana and that way no one wins.” That incited a small chuckle from the group, excluding Star and Sicarius. They contented themselves with glaring at the hyena.
Sicarius looked extremely annoyed, but let it go. Star dropped his petulant attitude in favor of that quaint smile. After a few minutes of casual conversation the dark stallion interjected. “Oh, I almost forgot. We’ll have to start training you today Trixie.”
“Training me?” That sounded...interesting. In a painful, not very interesting, sort of way.
Sicarius was about to speak when Star cut him off. Again. “Yes. It’s not like we can send you out on assignments willy-nilly. You’d be dead within a week. Or a day if you sucked.”
How nice to know someone was looking out for me. “So what kind of “training,” exactly?” I’m not sure how I felt about where this was going.
Star gave that calm, reassuring smile. “Proper training. Training based on your specific proficiencies.”
I bit my lower lip at that. There was a serious problem with that. “And, um, what, exactly, are my proficiencies?” I wasn’t really aware of what my specific skills were, or if I even had any. There had never been time to observe myself and look for special talent.
Star stared at me but did not comment upon my lack of perception. “You’re probably already slightly accustomed to skulking from your time in Baltimare, so that would be a good place to start. Coupled with that you could be taught how to wield a weapon properly and effectively. Without magic.”
Another problem presented itself with that little idea. “But I have hooves. And I’m a unicorn. My grip isn’t exactly suited to that type of thing.”
He just continued smiling. “That’s never stopped me, nor any other magical beast to pass through these halls. While true that it is difficult, it is still an acquirable skill. Furthermore, you’ll be taught how to pick a lock.” His smile was tranquil, but his tone was casual and business-like. This would be an interesting experience...
Sicarius let loose a cough to garner my attention. “And I’ll be teaching you how to properly fabricate a tale. I might even-”
“You’ll be teaching her something?” Star interjected, “It’s been a while since you tried mentoring. What are you up to, Wolf?” The apprehension in his voice did not soothe my nerves. Neither did my nerves soothe my nerves.
I hated when others chose not to address me. It wasn’t like I was in the room or anything...
Putting that aside, Sicarius wanted to teach me how to lie? I was under the impression that was more of an innate skill than an ability to be learned. Of course I had been under quite a lot of impressions earlier that week. And most of those had been shattered within a few hours.
Sicarius wore a wry smile. “Come on old friend, why so suspicious? I just happen to like her. Plus, I think she would make an excellent equivocator.”
I would? True, a little lie had saved me more than once, but I had never really thought I had a talent for it. What use would they serve me, after all? I had always had more pressing matters to attend to.
Sicarius continued. “In fact, why don’t I take over her training?”
Star looked concerned, strangely. “Are you alright?” I knew I wasn’t. “You don’t normally take such an interest in education.”
He shrugged, smiling. “I just have a feeling she’ll happen to excel at things I happen to be good at.”
Star laughed. “You’re good at everything! But if you insist. What if she shows a talent for magic, though? What then?”
Sicarius stared at him. “What if she does? I know magic.”
A loud scoff greeted his words. “You know magic tricks. The chances she’ll be able to perform illusionary magic are marginal. And considering that’s the only thing a wolf can do...”
Sicarius placed one paw on Star’s shoulder. “Like I said before, I have a feeling. Not like that feeling I had when I contracted a stomach bug, either. This is a good one. A non-nauseated one.”
Star licked his lips. It was a solid minute before he spoke again. “Fine. But I’ll still be keeping tabs. It’s been years since you tried to teach anyone. With good reason, if my memory serves me correctly.”
“How was I supposed to know that he couldn’t handle dynamite?”
“He was seven.” Star deadpanned.
“Seven and a half. My point stands.”
“...” Star sat in silence. “I have so much trouble deciding whether you’re a fool or a genius.”
“Can’t I be both?” Sicarius posed the question casually.
“I would say no, but you seemed to have already achieved this...Foonius.”
At that point I opened my mouth. Not intentionally, either. My opinion just seemed to have a mindset of its own(as contradictory as that statement was). “Maybe he’s a prodigious genius child stuck in the body of a full grown Tall-Maned Wolf.”
Star stared at me for a moment. “I like that. Maybe you would make a good cheat.”
Sicarius bore a look of mock indignation. “I completely disagree! I can assure you I’m a full grown wolf, in a full grown body. There is no little wolf inside me. I haven’t eaten any children in months.”
How comforting. “So when does this training start?”
Sicarius grinned cockily, sporting an air of pure anticipation. “Glad you asked. My schedule is free until the next season of Neigh’s Anatomy premieres, so after breakfast.”