Roses are Red: Chapter 1
A bright pink flash expanded outward from inside of Canterlot Castle, quickly engulfing the city that the castle was surrounded by and propelling what was unmistakably changelings from the city walls. Their black bodies sped into the air, taking off every which way and quickly accelerating towards the nearest available patch of horizon. Their screams and wails became mixed in with the cheers and hollers from the ponies who remained on the ground, whooping and already celebrating from the speedy departure of their would-be capturers.
At the center of the pink flash stood Princess Cadence and Shining Armor, intertwined around each other in only a stance that two lovers could strike. Their horns locked together and their hooves placed in each others, they were the source of the powerful blast that rocketed the changelings from Canterlot. Their combined love and compassion as their tool and weapon, everypony in Canterlot now free due to them and the failed conspiracy that the changeling queen so haughtily devised.
And so the Royal Wedding continued on as if nothing ever happened. Nopony could deny the carnage that was done to the city; buildings with their roofs blown open, charred streets, craters, and crumpled houses marked every corner of the city, but ponies went on with the day. Streamers hung through the streets and balloons floated above thousands of lanterns that were all lit for the coming night. Dancing took the streets as well as inside of the castle as soon as the princesses and the captain said their vows, and then out came the kegs of alcohol to sweeten the day further.
The party raged on into the evening until stars covered the skies. A perfectly clear night with music ringing through the night air to fill the citizens of Canterlot with all of the glee and love in the world. Fireworks set off when midnight came, adding to the music and the joyous cries from the ponies. It was the most marvelous moment of all, the bright and twinkling lights shimmering and reflecting off of the rooftops of the city and turning Canterlot into a massive beacon that could be seen from all directions.
A lone changeling, displaced from the rest of the hive, lay among the tall grass on the edge of the Everfree Forest that hung on the edge city. Her ear twitched as the fireworks were set off. Her eyelids slowly fluttered open to reveal the bright lights that flashed over the city, glimmering in solid-pink eyes. She immediately closed them again to shield herself from the light, and let out a groan when she tried to roll over onto her side.
The changeling had bruises and cracks running along her chitin, some of the wounds slowly leaking greenish-black blood into the soil. One of her wings was bent at an awkward angle, and after trying to lift her head slightly her neck felt as it had suffered from a significant amount of whiplash. The pain coursing through the changeling’s body felt excruciating, and she curled up in a ball, silently whimpering to herself.
Last she remembered was that horrible ball of pinkish light rolling towards her. It swept her up like a current sweeping away a foal in a quick river. Never had she felt so much pain effectively hit her at one moment, nor had she ever imagined being propelled out of a city in such a speedy fashion. And she was certainly feeling the effects now, although she’s lucky enough that her chitin and the ground were nice enough to partially cushion her fall.
“Hey!” a voice rang out from the direction of Canterlot. “I think I found something.”
A pair of hoofsteps started to trot in her direction. Dread crept into the changeling’s veins and she thought, Oh please no, not like this.
The hoofsteps stopped a few paces away from the changeling. Both ponies remained silent while she kept her eyes closed. She quietly prayed to herself that the two would think she was dead and move along, hoping against hope that they pass over her as a seamless casualty from the earlier battle. Her whole body tensed and screamed to the pain that pulsed over and over again in each of her limbs.
One of the ponies stepped forward finally and kneeled down, taking a hoof and pressing it against her belly.
“This one is still alive,” he said in a gruff voice.
“What should we do with it?” the other voice said in a much higher pitch. “It looks to be in pretty bad shape.”
There was a moment’s pause and the changeling felt both stallion’s eyes on her as they scanned over her body up and down. Panic was rising in her throat and her eyelids scrunched tightly together.
“Let’s take it to Zumas,” the stallion closest to her sneered. “It’ll pull through, and it will be perfect for his plans.”
Before the changeling could process what the stallion meant, something heavy and wooden collided with her head, knocking her out entirely.
~~~
The changeling awoke with a start. Cold water dripped from her body and onto the concrete floor below her, sending a shiver down her spine, while a light from overhead bore into her eyes. She squinted at the light above, watching as it slowly drifted back and forth. She shifted in her seat and found that her forehooves were chained in place on the table while a collar was fastened around her neck, connected to a chain to the ceiling above. The changeling groaned, the dull pain from her wounds coursing through her body once again.
“It’s awake, boss,” the gruff stallion’s voice from earlier said.
The changeling squinted through the harsh light from above, turning in the direction of the stallion’s voice. To the left of her stood a light grey pegasus with a messy orange mane and tail holding a bucket under one wing. He had green eyes with a scar tracing over his left eye while numerous scuff marks decorated all four hooves. He glared back at her, his sharp eyes forcing the changeling to retreat and focus her gaze elsewhere.
“Leave us,” a second voice said from across the table.
The pegasus nodded and left the room, shutting and locking the door behind him.
A cough from across the table drew the changeling’s attention and she squinted through the glaring light. She made out the slender form of a pony in the dark in front of her with a large horn protruding from his forehead. His face was masked from the angle of the light, hiding his eyes from view, but allowing for his charcoal grey hooves to be revealed clearly. They were angled together in a triangle on the table. The changeling eyed the pony warily.
“You look to be pretty roughed up from that blast Shining Armor and Princess Cadance released quite a while ago,” the pony said. His voice was slick and handsome. “You must have taken quite a fall, yes? I can imagine that landing such a far distance from the city can really take it’s toll on even a changeling.”
The changeling remained silent, eliciting a chuckle from the unicorn. As if the cracks across her chitin and her damaged wing were not enough to let him know about her current predicament. Already he was toying with her. Something more than just pain and fear panged the changeling now; she felt sadness, as if the unicorn had cut her a vehement blow with his few words.
“Not much for talking, eh?” The unicorn continued. “Or is there some sort of language barrier between our two races?” When the changeling still refused to answer, the unicorn slammed one hoof down on the table. “Nothing? Not even a word? Well, I guess we should skip the pleasantries and go right to business.”
The unicorn dragged his hoof across the table, scratching the surface and stinging the changeling’s ears. They flopped back against her head and she winced. She tried to gauge what sort of facial expression he may hold, but behind the dark mask she saw nary a glimpse of emotion from her captor.
“From what I understand and witnessed mere hours ago,” the unicorn said, “changelings possess a unique set of skills that allows them to change into any pony they want, is that correct?” The changeling’s continued silence caused the unicorn to growl, and he roared, “Is. That. Correct!?”
She flinched and gingerly nodded her head. The viciousness behind his shouts broke whatever resolve she had left. She thought of fighting against whoever this unicorn is, but why bother at a time like this? He had not killed her yet, perhaps he means to do something else with her.
The unicorn smiled. “Good, glad to see there is no language barrier. Now, these skills that you have, they would be perfect for the line of work that I manage.” He paused, lifting himself from the chair on the other side of the table to walk around. He stopped just at the very edge of the darkness that shielded is face from the light of the lamp. “You see, I am a manager of a well established ‘pleasure house,’ if you may. A place where ponies of all ranks and types can come and wash away their worries by burying their muzzles between a beautiful mare’s legs.”
The changeling raised one of her eyebrows—if she were to have any—and she gazed up at the unicorn. Unconsciously her whole body had tried to shift away from him, but her bonds forced her in place.
He continued, “With your transformation powers, you can change into the mare of anypony’s dreams. You could be an exotic, deep colored mare from Equestria’s tropical south, or you could be one of the fair skinned and slender mares from the northern arctic regions. You could even be the beautiful Spitfire from the famous Wonderbolts.”
The changeling’s eyes widened, and she pulled against the chains that bound her to the table. The unicorn’s horn lit up in a red hue and magic encased her head and forced it down against the wood with a bang. Fresh pain shot through her cranium, and she was left dazed and too weak to lift her head back up. The unicorn helped her, using his magic to encase her chin and push up.
“You will settle down, insect,” the unicorn said coldly. “I have plans for you and you will hear them with the respect that you should show me. I have spared your life and hidden you away from the Canterlot guards. You are not in the basement of the castle or some barracks, changeling, you are here and safe with me. It’s up to you to decide whether or not you want to accept that.”
The changeling looked away from him once the magic around her chin dissipated. What choice did she have? Treated like something less than an animal. He saw her like an insect, nothing more.
“Do you think I will agree to your plans for me?” the changeling said. Her voice sounded dissonant, almost as if several voices were speaking together. “I am not some slave that can be shackled like an animal.”
“That’s where you are mistaken,” the unicorn said as he levitated a piece of paper from the other side of the table. He levitated it in front of the changeling’s face, allowing for her to read the contents scribbled across the paper. Her ears folded back when she saw the picture of a changeling drawn at the top of the paper.
“By the royal decree of the two princesses,” the unicorn said, rolling the paper up and depositing it back on the far side of the table, “all changelings are to be captured and turned in to the authorities in any city. The reward for turning in a changeling is one hundred thousand bits, while a million bits will be reward to anypony who turns in the queen.” He paused, lifting a hoof to his chin. “I wonder what kind of punishments will be inflicted upon all changelings captured?”
The changeling looked down at her hooves, her eyes flicking back and forth erratically. She was stuck with this unicorn; somehow she knew that from the moment she woke up to that light swinging over her head. Tears started to well up in her eyes.
“No, please,” she whimpered, “you can’t turn me in to the guards. I... I-”
“Ah, well, how about we make a deal, little insect?” the unicorn replied with a smirk. He levitated a piece of paper that was next to the wanted poster, unrolling it and placing it at the changeling’s hooves. Hundreds of words were written across the piece of paper with a line at the bottom for a signature. “You sign this contract and become one of my employees and I won’t turn you into the authorities. Does that sound like a good deal?”
The changeling scanned over the words. She bit her lower lip as her eyes slid further and further down the page. A single tear slid down the side of her smooth cheek. A pen was provided for her by the unicorn, which she took hold in her own magic green and began to write her name at the bottom of the page. The unicorn’s teeth flashed from the light as his smirk turned into a sadistic smile. She set the pen down and stared at the table, allowing for the unicorn to take the paper in his horn. He read the name at the bottom.
Lilo.