Trapped

by Gylden Glor


Diplomacy, Part ₩

I awaken in an unfamiliar room, in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by unfamiliar things, with an unfamiliar atmosphere.
How...
Unfamiliar.
I scratch my head in confusion as I struggle to sit up. However, I find that my hands are chained to a poll, and that my ankles are bound, as well.
"The fuck," I mutter, suddenly realizing how parched I am. I cough a few times, and I swear that dust comes out. I look around, and see that the room I'm in seems to be cut out from some kind of rock. There's a single oil torch on the wall, and it's glowing fiercely with heat and ferocity.
"Hello?" I call out, straining at my restraints. Of course, that does nothing but chafe my joints. "Hello!?"
After several minutes of silence, I resign back to lying down on my back with a sigh. I begin to look over my memories, piecing together how I may have gotten here...
The last thing I remember is sitting with Scootaloo before the lake bed. She was curled up in my lap, and my eyes were starting to close. I felt so comfortable that I was falling asleep...
I remember that Scootaloo asked me if I was sleepy. I said yes, so she kissed me on the cheek, and told me to go to sleep. The last thing I felt was a pinch in the back of my neck...
After that, no matter how hard I try, all I can fetch are clips of sound: the sound of dragging, the sound of wings, the sound of wind, the sound of voices, murmuring in the background...
And now, I'm here, staring up at a stone ceiling, trying to understand why I'm staring up at said stone ceiling.
I close my eyes, and decide the best thing to do would be to rest. Obviously, I've been captured by...something. And until they deem it fit, I'm not getting out of these chains...


Discord

I lean against the building, feeling rather disconcerted.
"Anything, Rainbow Dash!?" Twilight calls, somewhere nearby.
"No!" Rainbow Dash calls back, sounding as if she's on the verge of hysterics. "I can't find him or the Changeling Scootaloo anywhere!"
I scowl as a thought passes my mind. Perhaps Chrysalis took him captive?
No. She wouldn't do something so foolish. She knows just as well as I that Peter is key to keeping this world alive. If she's trying to turn him into a gambling chip...then by me, Celestia had been telling me the truth...
Which makes my sorrow all the greater.
Chrysalis and I have history together. For a time, I had fallen in love with her, and I had attempted to woo her. However, she simply used my love to power herself and her Hive, and when I learned that she was just using me, and that she could no longer feel love...I asked Celestia why. I asked her why Chrysalis could no longer feel love, and why she could only use love for power.
When she told me, I could not bear the truth. So, I decided that it was nothing but a lie, and blamed her for my broken heart. And as the years passed by, I came to hate her and her ponies more and more, realizing that they were all together in a feeling of universal love and togetherness, which was something that I had lost.
And I believe we all know what happened next. Filled with grief and rage, I turned against Equestria, and was quickly turned to stone.
And I spent one thousand years, hating them all more every second, in that stone prison. And when I finally found a group of friends that fought so much that they wreaked of chaos, I decided it was time to break free, and find more.
Of course, I ended up being bested by the power of Friendship, and togetherness. Something I had lost.
And I grew to hate them even more.
But all of that changed, yesterday.
Yesterday, when Celestia's mind accidentally bled into my own, and I felt how alone and depressed and tired and stressed and...worn, she truly is...
I realized that she was not to blame, for she understood a broken heart more than I ever could. She understood my pain, and had tried to help me to overcome it.
And how had I showed my gratitude? With an attempt to tear apart her kingdom, that's how.
But now, I can make up for it. Now, I can turn the tides. I can help to repair this world, rather than tear it apart. I can use the power of chaos to bring about harmony...
And I can finally tell Celestia...
"I'm sorry."
The ponies look to me in surprise as I stare up into the sky. "Sorry for what?" Twilight asks, cautiously.
I sigh as I look back to the ponies, and see how their friendships are so closely intertwined that only I could ever tear them apart.
But, rather, I'm going to choose to sew them closer together.
"We must tell Celestia," I announce. "That Peter has been taken hostage by Queen Chrysalis."
"But we don't know that for sure!" Rainbow Dash cries in desperation. "He could just be off playing with the Changeling Scootaloo, not even aware that she's a Changeling yet!"
"How many times did you call his name, Rainbow?" I demand, crossing my arms as I approach her.
"Uhm...forty two times."
"And after hearing you desperately scream out his name forty two times, wouldn't the man that loves you try to find you and console you, rather than play with a filly?"
Rainbow Dash seems to have no answer to this. Rather, she sighs, and her wings droop. "So...you're saying that he doesn't really love me?"
I frown in surprise. How in the shit had she arrived at that conclusion!? "No, you idiot, I'm saying that he can't hear you because he's holed up in the Changeling Hive somewhere."
"Oh," Rainbow Dash mutters. "Yeah, I knew that!"
I press my paw to my face in irritation. "Alright, whatever. Let's just...go tell Celestia."
"Yeah! And we can save Peter!" Rainbow Dash shouts. I roll my eyes with a sigh. I really wish she'd shut up...
"Next stop, Canterlot," I mutter, before snapping the fingers of my chicken's leg together, and teleporting us over five thousand miles away, and into the throne room of the mighty Celestia.


Scootaloo

I stir a bit, not really knowing what happened...
The last thing I remember is a dark figure leaping from a bush, tackling me to the ground, and then...poof. I was gone, and in this...
Place.
Where the fuck am I?
I should probably open my eyes and look around, that'd probably help...
Oh, no! I'm blind! I can't see a thing!
Wait, my eyes are adjusting...I can see now.
"Hello?" I call out as I examine my surroundings. I seem to be in some sort of...infirmary, with beds, medical cabinets, first aid cases, and more.
"Helloooooo!!!??" I drag out the word, hoping more sound will get me noticed.
I hear the shuffling of limbs, and an electric light bulb flashes on above me. I hold my hoof up to block out the sudden light, and try to rub the sunspots out of my retinas.
"Finally awake, I see," I hear a rather cheerful pony chirp.
I turn, and see...
"It's a...it's a...it's a...it's a...it's a...it's a...it's a...it's a..."
"Yes, I'm a Changeling," the Changeling announces, approaching my bed. I panic, but it holds out its hoof to comfort me. "Easy there. Sorry for the way my associate handled you, by the way, but it had to be done."
I frown in confusion, and finally let him take my vitals. May as well, seeing as how I might be stuck here for a while...
"What had to be done?" I ask.
"He had to Replace you. See, it was all part of a rouse to get to Peter."
I flinch as the cold steel of a stethoscope is pressed to my chest. "Why are you telling me this?"
"Because you're not going to leave here until we let you leave," the Changeling announces. I gulp, and think of begging for mercy, or even running...
"If you try to run, we won't stop you," he informs me. "All we wanted was Peter. You were just a means to an end. When Celestia's delegates show up for Peter, and we reach an agreement, you'll go back to Ponyville with him."
I gulp, and shake my head in even more confusion. "So, wait...this is, like, a hostage transfer sort of thing?"
The Changeling bobs his head a few times before answering. "More or less. You're not a hostage, though. You're a guest. And neither is Peter, really. Sure, he's chained down in a dungeon, but that's only to keep him from doing something stupid, like trying to fight his way out. When we've established that he's trustworthy, we'll let him walk around the Hive as he pleases."
"The Hive?"
"Our home," the Changeling responds with a smile as he packs away his tools. "I know that by your definitions, it's not a pleasant name. But to us, Hive is derived from a word in the ancient Changeling language that means 'Community'."
I nod, intrigued by this sudden turn of events. Why don't the teach the history of the Changelings in school!? This overturns everything I've ever thought of them! They're not vicious bugs, they're civilized beings!
I convey this to the Changeling, and he sighs.
"Unfortunate accusations," he remarks. "While it is true that we can become quite feral at times, we try to restrain ourselves as best as possible."
"So...why did you do that whole thing with invading Canterlot?"
"Our children were starving," he informs me. "We had sent several dozen petitions to Celestia, begging for something to feed us, but we never got any response. After the fiftieth, we threatened a forceful extraction of sustenance, and, well...we did what we had to."
I pout. "Are your children still starving?"
"That's what we're hoping to fix with this," he informs me. "We're hoping to keep our children from dying by forcing Celestia to agree to a system of assimilation. But, you probably don't want to hear about that..."
I shake my head in defiance. "No, I do. C'mon, tell me."
He pauses, but then begins to explain. "We would take infants from our Hive, and permanently make them into their own ponies that a couple would adopt. And it wouldn't be incognito, babies that had gone through this process would be kept in a separate adoption clinic. And after eight years, these children would be told about where they came from. From that point on, they would be visited by an agent once per month, to collect about one tenth of the love put towards them. This would ensure a safe, civil, and effective method to keeping our race alive."
I nod along with his description, and smile. "That sounds like a really good idea. I hope Celestia agrees to it..."
My new friend sighs, and looks away. "I do, too, Scootaloo..."
There's a moment of silence, during which the Changeling writes something on a clipboard. After a few moments, I ask him what his name is.
"My name is Ethan," he responds.
"Nice to meet you, Ethan."
He smiles at me, a warm feeling spreading through his eyes. "Well, it's very nice to meet you, too, Scootaloo." He gulps, apparently not used to being respected by ponies like this. "Well, I have to go check on Peter. Someone is going to come in here to talk to you, and help you see that we Changelings are a good race." Ethan smiles at me again. "But I doubt that will be necessary."
I nod, and watch him walk out. Before he leaves, Ethan looks back at me one time, and I can see gratitude in his eyes.
It shocks me for a few moments, and I don't even realize that he's left. I mean...have they really been alienated for so long that they get a surge of emotion from being respected by a filly? Is...is that really how poorly we've treated them?
I gulp as I lie back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Does this...does this mean that Celestia isn't nearly as nice as she's made out to be?
If so, then...I don't think I could ever look Rainbow Dash in the eye again...


Discord

"All of you will return to Ponyville. Discord will stay here, so we can decide what to do next."
All the ponies nod, except for Rainbow Dash. "Princess, we've got to go, now! Peter's being held captive there! You expect me to just sit by and-"
Rainbow Dash falls silent as she is met with a vicious glare. She gulps under the stern gaze, and Celestia speaks slowly and deliberately.
"We're going to get Peter back. But we can't just barge in there and take him. It would cause war, and that's the last thing we can afford right now. We're going to send a group of delegates to determine what they want in return, but Discord, Luna, and I have to decide who, when, and how."
Rainbow Dash nods, and scampers off after her friends, her tail between her legs. As soon as she's gone, I turn back to the two Princesses, and nod in admiration.
"Not bad, Celestia," I remark. "Seems you've still got the power of a true ruler."
Celestia nods, somber and sad. I follow her and Luna into the Royal council room, which has only two seats: one for Celestia, and one for her sister. I materialize a comfy couch beneath myself, and Celestia rolls her eyes in distaste.
"Ideas," I state as Celestia and Luna settle in. "Let's have them."
"They've been a thorn in our side for far too long. We must exterminate them like the bugs they are."
The princess and I stare at the princess, unable to believe our ears.
"But...they have innocent children, sister!"
"And children that you chose to ignore," Luna growls in response. "You started the genocide. I'm just finishing it."
"I ignored their requests because I don't want to Replace children!" Celestia shouts. "Not only is it terrible to subject a family to such a thing, it goes against the Changeling sacred vows!"
"Oh, and you care so much about the Changelings?" I remark.
Celestia shoots me a glare, and I smile innocently. Luna interrupts with a waving hoof. "We're not getting anywhere by mocking one another!" She cries. "Now, if we're not going to purge them from the world, what are we going to do?"
Celestia takes a deep breath, and lets it out in a sigh. "I'm going to send the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. Spike will stay with me. They'll talk to Celestia, and then return with the news."
I nod, but can't help but wonder why she would have Spike stay with us. Wouldn't it be more convenient if he went with them? I mean-
Oh.
"You're going to kill Spike, aren't you?"
Celestia sighs with a dejected nod. "Perhaps. Peter said that it must be done, and he knows Its plans better than any of us..."
"You don't have to do it yourself. You can have an executioner do it," Luna protests.
"I must do it myself. I want Spike to understand why he must die. It's a terrible thing, to have to kill him...but I want him to at least know that his death was for a good cause."
"And besides, he's just a bunch of 'ones' and 'zeroes,' after all." Celestia and Luna glare at me, and I frown. "What? All of us deities know that this is a simulation. We're here to act as functions that keep it unpredictable, and harmonious."
"But I prefer to think of it as its own world," Celestia spits. "Which it is. We have our own experiences; we aren't just data on a computer..."
"No. We're a lot of data on a supercomputer run by an infinite power source."
Celestia scowls at me, as does Luna. "Discord, we are not just programs. We aren't pre-programmed with recorded lines and emotions and reactions. We have free will, and we are alive!"
I pull away from her vehemence, but Luna just shrugs it off, as if she's heard this before. Perhaps this is why she feels so lonely? Perhaps she believes that she's just a program and compiled data...
"Celestia," I begin, gently, "do you actually believe any of that? I was just teasing you; we aren't just programs. We're more than that."
"Yes, 'Tia," Luna adds on. "For once, Discord has said something wise..."
We share a small laugh, but I then realize how far off topic we've come.
"Hold on, what are we going to do about this problem?" I demand. "We're just sitting around and getting chummy."
"We've already decided what we're doing," Celestia responds. "Now's a break time. Now, where did I put that cake..."
I blink in confusion. "Celestia, you can't be serious. This debate is taking the grand time of five seconds?"
"Yes," Luna responds, speaking for her sister as she darts around in search of her cake. "We don't plan things out, Discord. We've realized that it's actually detrimental to do so."
"So...shit just happens, and you deal with it?" I demand, unable to believe that they defeated me without any kind of plan...
"Yep," Celestia calls, returning to her chair with a mouth-full of cake. In fact, it's so full that when she speaks, it sounds more like "yeff."
"So, you defeated me - God of Chaos - by eating cake and having five second chats?"
Celestia mulls over this for a moment before swallowing her cake. "More like five minute chats. You presented quite the challenge."
"But you still ate cake, right?"
"Of course."
I roll my eyes with a small smirk. "Of course, cake is integral to solving national crises..."
Celestia and Luna exchange a glance before looking back to me. "Discord, we don't really know enough to deal with this yet. When Twilight returns with Chrysalis' demands, we'll decide on a further action. I mean, we've already said this..."
I nod. "I know. I was just expecting more...chaos."
Celestia and Luna laugh, and I can't help but join in. My, my, harmony takes odd forms, doesn't it?
After a few moments, we fall silent, and Luna stands with a cough. "Well, I have my own matters to attend to. I must depart."
We nod in consent, and she leaves the room. I'm about to leave and think on a few things, when I feel a gentle hoof on my paw.
"Celestia?" I ask, confused. "Why are you-"
"I need to tell you something, Discord," she announces.
I frown. "What's that?"
Celestia looks into my eyes, and the news she has rocks me to my very core.


Rainbow Dash

I pace the room, my wings shuffling nervously and my jaw grinding my teeth into dust.
"Rainbow, calm down! Celestia will make a decision soon."
I spin to face the lavender unicorn with a scowl of rage. "Soon isn't soon enough! Can you imagine what Peter is going through right now!?" Twilight cringes as I shout, and my sails deflate a bit as I see the shock and slight fear present in her eyes. "Sorry, Twi'. I'm just worried about Peter..."
"I am, too," Twilight informs me, resting a hoof on my side. "Trust me, Rainbow. I am. But Celestia is going to make a decision, I promise. And we'll get Peter back."
I nod, and another one of my thoughts hit me, causing me to go into a flurry of panic. "But what about Scootaloo!? She's probably so scared right now..."
Twilight surprises me by pulling me into a firm hug. "Rainbow Dash, the Changelings are many things, but they are not cruel. If they were just using Scootaloo to get to Peter, they're probably treating her very well."
"How can you be sure?" I ask, blushing as my voice cracks. Twilight pulls away from me, and gives me a small smile.
"Because I've studied Changeling culture, Rainbow. And I know that they don't like Replacing children. At all. In fact, instances of a Changeling Replacing a child are normally met with harsh punishment. Only rarely is it sanctioned by the Queen. And when it is, they always treat the children like an esteemed guest."
I sigh in relief. "Oh, man...that's good to know. At least they'll keep her happy..."
Twilight nods, and returns to her book perusing. "Yeah. As to Peter, they may well be eating him alive right now!"
I gasp in shock and fear, and Twilight begins to giggle. I blush as I scowl at the unicorn. "Hey! That's not funny!"
"Rainbow, please," Twilight remarks. "They're not going to kill him. They took him for a reason. They want to bargain with Celestia. And in order to get what they want, he'll have to be perfectly healthy."
I nod, lapping up her logic with a hopeful eagerness. "Well...at least he'll be okay."
Twilight nods, and continues to mutter to herself as she rifles through her books.


Peter

I fidget a bit, still uncomfortable on the cot. I yawn, and end up licking my chapped lips, and coughing a bit as my dry throat is tickled by the stale air in the room.
Man I'm thirsty...
As if on cue, the door to my cell opens - or at least, I hear it open, as I can't really see it - and I hear hooves on the hard stone floor.
"I brought you some water," I hear a smooth, masculine voice announce. "I'm going to take your vitals after you drink it."
The Changeling holds the cup to my lips with magic, and I sip at it gratefully. "Thanks," I croak as I finish the water. He nods, and cautiously undoes my restraints. He then starts to take measurements and data.
"You're all good," he announces as he finishes up, replacing my restraints in their closed positions. "Pretty soon, you'll have a visitor. When she comes in, she will decide whether or not to undo your restraints."
I nod, and a question pops into my mind. "Scootaloo," I begin, my throat loosening up with the water. "Is Scotaloo okay?"
"Yes, Scootaloo is quite alright," the doctor responds. "We'll let you see her once you've proven yourself trustworthy."
"I'm trustworthy," I protest, desperate to make sure she's okay.
"We'll see about that," he sighs, before leaving. I rest my head back on my pillow, and sigh as my hand and ankle restraints press against my arms and legs...
But, wait a minute...
I frown in confusion as I look up at my restraints. One of them is loose! The doctor must have forgotten to tighten it after he took my pulse...
I test the size, and immediately find that my hand can slip through quite easily. I grin, and immediately set upon loosening the rest of my restraints, which, surprisingly, do not need a key.
I sigh in relief as I rub my joints, savoring the freedom that casting them off comes with. For a moment, I contemplate escaping, but immediately shoot that thought down as I remember that I'm in the Changeling capital, which the doctor had told me during his visit. Oh, and there are two guards with swords just outside my door...
I sit upright, stretching my limbs as I do so, and decide to take a little walk around my room, and examine its interior. I roll my legs off of the side of the bed, and begin to pace.
It's relatively small, and the floor is a bit painful against my unprotected feet - only my socks are on, they removed my shoes - but God, does it feel good to stretch!
I sigh as I cast a wistful glance at the door. I could escape, but...what would happen to Scootaloo if I tried? First off, I wouldn't be able to see her; secondly, she could get hurt...
I bite my cheek, and force myself to think. If I were to try to escape, I wouldn't have to worry about her getting hurt. I could get my stuff, get my tranquilizer gun, and get out of here...
So, after a few minutes of internal debate, I crouch in the corner next to the door, where an entering individual wouldn't see me, and wait.


Metamorpha

I frown as I look down at the bed, and its single inhabitant. "Would you like anything, Mother? Some water, some food, anything?"
She slowly shakes her head "no," and I sigh. "The, ah...the plan I made worked, Mother. Pretty soon, Celestia will be sending delegates to retrieve them..."
My mother flicks open a single, crusty eyelid, and looks over at me with her good eye, the milky pupil scanning me as if I'm some sort of precious jewel. She manages a smile, and I can tell that she's proud of me. I gulp, tears forming in my eyes as I grasp her hoof in mine.
"You're going to be okay, Mother," I whisper to her. "We'll get what we need from Celestia. She already knows that you're sick, and-"
Mother presses a hoof to my mouth to silence me, and she takes a long, ragged breath. "You and I both...knew this day...would come," she wheezes. "All of us...die after...we fulfill...our destiny...mine was...to pave the...way for you..." She pauses to catch her breath. "And, besides...I have lived...longer than most...Queens have...and I've done...much for...the children..." A fit of coughs wracks her body, and more tears force their way forth as I cradle her head in my forelegs. "My daughter...my sweet, sweet daughter...you have a gift...that most Changelings...would die for...you must...finish what I started...but in...in your own way..."
I gulp as I stroke her crumbling mane, cringing as more flakes of hair fall off under the touch of my hoof. My lower lip trembles as I hold her closer to my heart.
"And you...you can...you can save all...the Changelings..."
"But I can't," I whimper, cradling her against my chest. "Not without you, Mother...I can't do it without you..."
She rests a shaking hoof on my shoulder. "Yes...you can. Now...go see...our prisoners, Metamorpha...bring then to me...so I may speak to them..."
I gulp as I gingerly lower her back onto the bed. "A-are you sure?" I ask, wiping tears away from my eyes.
"Yes," she whispers. "Ethan will...stabilize my speech...long enough to...seem like...the Queen I am..."
"But it's too much stress on you!" I protest. "You should be relaxing..."
"I'm still...the Queen," she retorts. "Now...get our...prisoners..."
"They're guests," I mutter.
"Whatever...you want...to believe..."
I nod, and give her a quick kiss on her forehead. "I love you, Mother."
She smiles at me. "I love...you too, my darling..."
I smile, and pause for a moment to hug her. Once I've regained my composure, I stand and exit the chambers. Ethan walks in as I leave, and he gives me a quick bow before setting upon his business.
I walk towards the end of the hall, wondering how I'll be able to deal with the current predicament...