//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Interrogation // Story: Roses are Red // by hell00001 //------------------------------// Roses are Red: Chapter 5 Beep. Beep. Beep. Lilo’s eyes slowly fluttered open as she was awakened by a steady stream of beats residing from a strange contraption next to her. A red line would pulse in synchronization with her heart as it shot across the screen, beeping every time the line was broken into a zigzag shape. She stared up at the ceiling. Her head was pounding, but her breathing had eased to normal and her body didn’t feel like it was burning from the inside out. Lilo’s ear twitched as she heard a door click. She tried to lift her head to search for a door in the room, but before she could raise it a few centimeters, it was pulled back down as something that was wrapped around her neck kept her fastened to the bed. Lilo tried moving her hooves, but she soon found that they, too, had been tied in place. Her eyes widened as she remembered what had happened before she woke up in this bed. A pony by the name of Carbon had taken her from the streets and brought her into his home, but shortly thereafter she had collapsed onto the apartment floor and blacked out. Looking down at herself, Lilo saw that part of the chitin from her chest was exposed instead of the creme colored fur she had used while posing as Rosebud. She sighed, taking this time to look around the room. She twisted her head to the left away from the monitor. There was nightstand with a lamp, but other than that, the entire room was devoid of anything aside for the closet next to the door. She turned her head back to stare up at the ceiling again, listening to the beeps of the machine next to her. After a few more minutes, the door to her room opened, but she didn’t hear any hoofsteps enter. She slowly turned her head towards where the sound originated from, and she found that Carbon stood in the doorway staring at her. He had a tray with food and water in his mouth. Lilo hastily looked away back up at the ceiling. “So... You’re awake,” Carbon said slowly. The door behind him closed, and Lilo heard his hoofsteps thump quietly on the carpet underneath him. The hoofsteps were slow and unsteady, and aside for the machine next to Lilo, the room was deathly quiet. Carbon set the tray down on the side of the bed next to Lilo. She looked over at the food, and in the corner of the eye, she saw Carbon slink back a little from the bed and sit down. His entire body was tense as he continued to stare at her. “How are you feeling?” he asked. “I... I’m feeling better,” Lilo said. She looked at Carbon. “T-thank you for saving me.” Carbon had raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t know changelings sound quite like that.” Lilo flinched. “I-I’m not sure what you mean,” Lilo said, looking away from Carbon. She shifted uncomfortably against her restraints. “I mean that your voice sounds... well,” Carbon paused, looking down at his hooves. After a moment, he looked back up and asked, “How did you get back into Canterlot? I thought all of the changelings were removed by Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor’s spell?” Lilo sighed. “I was brought back in by a group of ponies who were looking to exploit my changeling talents. They hid me... somewhere else in the city. I’m not sure where.” “What do you mean when you say ‘exploit your changeling talents?’ “ Carbon asked, raising an eyebrow. When Lilo remained silent with her eyes remaining downcast, he looked away. “Are there any other changelings in the city?” “I don’t know,” Lilo replied sullenly. “You... aren’t able to get in contact with them?” Carbon asked. Again, Lilo didn’t respond. After giving a sigh, Carbon scooted closer to Lilo, causing her to flinch. He stopped for a moment, waiting for her to relax before he began to untie the harnesses that held her forehooves in place. Lilo watched him carefully, waiting until he had completely released her forehooves and backed away before she brought them up to her chest. “It’ll be easier for you to eat now.” Carbon said. Lilo made to reach for the bowl on the tray. The smell of the contents inside made her stomach rumble, causing her mouth to salivate. Before she had both hooves on the bowl, however, she stopped suddenly and turned to look at Carbon. “Why did you save me?” she asked. “You could easily have left me to die.” Carbon fumbled with his hooves. “When you blacked out, you immediately changed back into your... original form. I wasn’t sure what to do at first; I mean, I had a changeling lying in the middle of my floor dying. You started coughing up blood, at least I think it was blood, and your breaths became more and more labored. I couldn’t take it anymore, and so I did my best to check your vital signs and then rush back into my laboratory to use a numbing potion on you. “I wasn’t even sure it was going to work, to be honest.” Carbon smirked, looking down at his hooves. “You should eat.” Lilo picked up the bowl and started to eat the mush that was inside. She noted the taste was far better than the stuff she ate beneath the brothel. Carbon continued, “I have never tested the potion on ponies before. It was still under lab animal experiments, so you can imagine my shock when it worked on slowing all of your vital organs to a crawl. I was able to bring you back to my room and hook you up to a few medical instruments I have been borrowing from my workplace over at Canterlot University.” Lilo stopped eating for a moment, looking down at the pillow she was laying on and grimacing. “After performing a diagnosis on you when you were under the effects of the potion,” Carbon continued, “I found that your body had been starved severely. It was almost unreal, as if you had not eaten in weeks.” He threw up his hooves, making gestures as he spoke. “Your blood levels were extremely low and the amount of iron running through your bloodstream was next to none. Luckily, after taking a sample of your blood, I was able to replicate it and synthesize it to produce enough to make a blood transfusion.” Carbon nodded to the empty bag suspended by a long rod next to the bed. Lilo glanced at the bag before looking down at her hooves. She had already set the bowl down on the tray half finished. Carbon scooted closer to the bed again and nudged the bowl closer to her with his muzzle. “You should eat,” he said. “How long have I been unconscious?” Lilo asked. “Two days.” Lilo blinked. “Two days?” “You’re wondering why I haven’t reported you to the Royal Guards?” Carbon asked, shifting his wings uncomfortably against his sides. Lilo looked at him. “I know I should,” Lilo’s face fell, “but I can’t bring myself to contact the local police station. This past week I have seen changelings being transported through the streets in large metal cages towards the castle. I stop and make way for the caravans carrying the changelings, and as they pass by, I am able to look into the eyes of whichever changelings catch my gaze.” Carbon paused, looking away from Lilo for a moment. His posture had straightened. “They are so frightened. I look at each and every changeling passing by in the street and everyone of them is terrified for their life.” Carbon stood up and began to walk around the foot of the bed. “They’re not sure what to expect as they near Canterlot Castle, nor do they know what sort of punishment awaits for them beyond the castle walls. By Kronos, we don’t even know what the punishment is for the changelings.” Carbon stopped in front of the beeping machine. “After I patched you up and I saw you laying in this bed struggling for your life, I just couldn’t imagine seeing you locked up in one of those cages heading for the castle. You’re a changeling, but from what I saw back at the marketplace, you’re just as pony as anypony else. If I were willing gave up a helpless, harmless changeling to whatever the Royal Guard has in store for your race, I would be committing a crime against all that ethics stand for.” He sighed, looking away from the monitor and out the window that hung above Lilo. “You said you are not able to get in touch with other changelings?” Lilo nodded. “I’m assuming you use some sort of central mind?” Lilo nodded again, and Carbon looked down at his hooves and walked back to the foot of the bed. “The Royal Guard must have set up some sort of nullification spell to negate the central mind around Canterlot.” After a moment, Carbon threw up his hooves and growled, pacing back and forth across the room. “I don’t even know why I’m even thinking of helping you. I’ve already sheltered you in my home and am nursing you back to health, any further and I could be labeled as a traitor to Equestria.” “Y-you don’t have to help me,” Lilo said, folding her ears back. “So you would have me throw you out in the street and fend for yourself once again?” Carbon asked. “You’re in Canterlot, this isn’t some small town like Ponyville or Canterbury, this is a city filled with thousands of ponies who hardly care about anything else other than themselves.” He paused, taking a deep breath after he saw the dismal look on Lilo’s face. “Sorry.” Carbon said as he looked down at his hooves. “Why did you come to Canterlot in the first place?” Lilo shifted uncomfortably on the bed. There was a long pause as she remained silent, and just as the beeps from the monitor began to become unbearable, she said, “We were hungry and lost when we came to Canterlot. For years we have been searching all over the Broken Leylands to the east looking for some source of food that could sustain the changelings a bit longer. We continued moving west, eventually coming across the desolate deserts that the buffalo occupy, and then the lush, green forests that is the everfree. We had no idea where Queen Chrysalis was taking us until we were hidden outside of the city. “We salivated over the love in the air around the city,” Lilo paused, taking a deep breath. “Never before had such a feast been presented before us. We didn’t care how or where the queen had learned of this source of love, we just wanted to gorge ourselves like never before.” “So we were just another source of food to you?” Carbon asked, raising an eyebrow. “N-no, it wasn’t like that!” Lilo hastily said. “We... We were desperate. Many changelings had been barely scraping along with the extra love stores our scouts were bringing to us. We needed to find some way to feed an entire nation as quickly as possible or we were quite literally facing a mass starvation.” Lilo paused, watching as Carbon’s facial expression remained unfazed. “W-we didn’t know what else to do. Queen Chrysalis didn’t know what else to do. We were willing to give anything just to not be hungry anymore.” Carbon looked away. His body had relaxed since Lilo had first started relaying the reason behind the attack on Canterlot. Although his face remained scrunched up in thought and debate, she watched as the rest of his body had eased around her presence. She had begun to relax as well as she continued to stare at the pegasus. “I should probably let you rest,” Carbon finally said. “If there is anything you need, don’t be afraid to let me know.” Lilo watched as Carbon stood on his hooves and started to walk towards the door. She bit her lip, and just as he was about to step out of the room, she said, “Wait, Carbon,” Carbon turned. “M-my real name is Lilo.” Carbon’s eyes drifted downward. “Lilo? That’s a... cute name. Get some rest, Lilo.” He shut the door behind him.