Silent Wing stretched his pale gray feathers in the light of the morning sun, wondering if Celestia actually did pull the sun into the sky or if it was just another legend. Often he had wondered. Perhaps one day he would get to see the wondrous event he had only heard rumors of. The Changeling Kingdom was an isolated land politically.
Having just woken up, his vision had not quite relieved itself the remnants of sleep. He stood on the balcony outside his room, a pair of servants waiting for him patiently by the double wide glass doors. Breakfast waiting on a small table covered beneath a silver lid. He wondered if some changeling had finally received the change in the menu he wanted. Flicking his tail, the young prince turned and decided it was time to inspect his breakfast.
The servants varied, as the newly adopted prince liked to rotate the servants assigned to his wing of the castle. No favorites were played and he expected them to not only serve him, but to help each other out. These two were new. They were also fillies about his own age. Inwardly the colt groaned. Mother had taken Atalanta's suggestion to a different level and thought her little morsel might like to enjoy himself. Silent Wing was far from stupid, knowing his mother did this on purpose just so he could react the way he was doing so now.
He didn't mind the pranks. Mother simply loved to include everything and the kitchen sink just to make him feel uncomfortable. She was also encouraging him to be a male. Something to tell the daughters of the nobles when arrangements would eventually be made. Silent Wing rolled his eyes behind closed lids. Political pranks. Everyone would be involved in her little joke. Just to make him squirm because he was not ready for fillies. They made him uncomfortable. He liked them, but his social skills were non existent when it came to fillies. Mother was probably on her balcony right now with her spy glass watching.
The colt looked up and over where his thoughts took him. Sure enough, there was Queen Chrysalis peering through her telescope while having her breakfast. She waved at him.
"Mother, you shouldn't have," he muttered under his breath.
"Your Highness!" breathed the tall one on the right. She batted her eyes prettily at him and curtsied. She had a mane like Mother's but black as a raven's feather.
The other one was a little bit shorter with a narrow face. "We're happy to serve in any way you wish, my prince!" She turned slightly to show off the curve of her flank, smiling demurely. Her mane was braided intricately and was the warm color of milk.
Silent Wing sighed again, pawing with a back hoof nervously at the floor. "Um, not right now, thank you," he said moderately well. His voice didn't seem to be squeaking as badly as it did last time. "Can I, er, have my breakfast first? I'm kind of hungry." The nervous smile he offered felt odd as he was blushing furiously already.
"Of course!" they cried in unison, pushing out a cart as if on cue.
Breakfast was an assortment of grains and fruit. It was considered a pony fare, but the prince had never taken meat with his breakfast, only partaking during formal functions and state dinners. He preferred fish when it was available.
A few times he had actually feasted on love directly from the source, using his fangs to suck it directly out of a victim under the influence of a changeling's control. As he had no magic to empower, there was no need for him to feed on love. There were times he wondered if it had something to do with his strange ability to nullify magic thrown at him. It had been suggested if he fed on love, it might overpower the anti magic affecting him. Certainly it was something worth exploring, but right now it was not a priority.
In uncomfortable silence he ate as the two fillies doted over him. Time and time again one or the other would 'accidentally' bump him. Two things were bound to happen. Either he was going to lose his temper or he would finally get around his timidness with fillies and do something about it.
Or he could just sit there and listen to his mother howling with laughter from her balcony across the courtyard, which his ears caught drifting across the morning breeze.
Finally, either because she took pity on her adopted son or had enough fun, Queen Chrysalis buzzed over lazily and landed on his balcony, chuckling wickedly while the serving fillies bowed and scraped at her arrival. "Leave us," she commanded.
The giggling changelings left, whispering to each other and peering over their shoulders, their flanks high in the air as a final farewell to the fiercely blushing colt.
"Good morning, my little morsel," she cooed. "So nice to see a little color in your cheeks." She playfully leaned over and kissed him on the forehead, still giving her evil little laugh. Adding insult to injury, she patted him on the head as if he were a foal. She was twice the size of Silent, as she was a full grown mare (and a changeling queen to boot) at the peak of her power while the colt was beginning another growth spurt. They were a contrast in opposites, her dark coat to his light one.
Silent Wings worked his jaw in a circle, biting his tongue. "Good morning, my Queen. How are you?" Politely he smiled and gave her a peck on the cheek she offered.
"Not looking forward to my day," she answered, poking at his plate with a hoof. "What is that?" she demanded as she sniffed his oatmeal.
"It's healthy food, mother. You'd hate it," the colt replied dryly. "Will you have time to see my training today? You asked me to remind you the next time I saw you. It's at nine this morning over in the garrison training ground."
In eight years she had never seen him once conduct his hour long sessions three days out of the week. He had never missed time save for the first three weeks after being gored. That had been just shy of two years ago.
By now, it had been a ritual. He would ask and she would decline. There had been a lot of waspish retorts as her mood was usually not inclined towards things that did not interest her, including looking into the hopeful eyes of a young colt who just wanted to show her what he could do. Always he took it in stride, convincing himself she was busy since everyone kept telling him she was busy.
"Why not?" she said with a shrug. "I suppose I told our good captain to train you, I should see if he found the right changeling to do it. I hope this won't be a waste of my time, my little morsel."
Silent nearly toppled over. "Really? You'll come?"
She lifted his chin with a hoof. "Have I ever lied to you?" Her disjointed voice purred as she released him and gave him a rare genuine smile. "You've never disappointed me, Silent. You and Atalanta have been bright spots in this dreary castle. Too many pompous idiots who think they know better." Her voice rose with anger as just talking about court politics easily brought up her usual bad mood. "Enough talk. I don't want to get angry at you because of what I think of foals and their constant power positioning."
Her adopted son nodded, holding up both hooves apologetically.
Queen Chrysalis departed soon after, leaving the colt to finish his now cold breakfast without being interrupted by precocious fillies and a mother who had a twisted sense of humor. There was a matter of some paperwork the Queen had delegated to him; minor treaties to introduce him to foreign policies, lists of names suggested for ambassadorial positions, and a matter of organizing the order and dates in which certain foreign dignitaries could have an audience with her. He went over to his desk and found a rolled up scroll. It was very large, almost as wide as the desk itself. It had not been there last night. Perhaps one of the servant fillies had brought it up with them along with breakfast.
He noted the seal. It was from Equestria. Strange. The Changeling Kingdom and Equestria were not exactly on speaking terms and had not been so for a very long time. Why would Mother allow him access to documents with a nation still technically in a state of war against the Queen?
"This has to be a mistake," he muttered to himself as he turned the unopened scroll over in his hooves. It was too big to be some sort of official paperwork. For one thing, the parchment felt wrong, too thick.
Should he open it?
"Buck it," he muttered and broke the seal. Eagerly he unrolled it until he discovered it was a very large map. A strange thing happened as he did so. The map began to shrink in his hooves! The astonished prince was frozen in open mouth shock as the details literally lept from the pages. A sheet of paper fell from the rolls and at his hooves. Setting the map on the desk, Silent Wing bent and picked it up. It read:
"Hey kid,
You might need this. Just tell it what you're looking for and it'll do the rest.
D."
Who was D?
There was a polite knock at his door. "Your Highness? Are you ready for your morning session?"
"One moment!" Quickly he rolled the map back up, sliding the note back in place in the rolls. Satisfied no one would take it, he adjusted his wings and made for the door, pausing only to grab his coat and throw it on. Throwing open the door, he noted the pudgy little changeling servant as one he knew.
His eyes flared their annoyance, but he offered a clenched smile. "Did you see those two fillies, Marek?"
"Why, yes I did, Highness. Weren't they lovely?" responded the changeling pleasantly. Wistful blue eyes drifted in the direction they had gone and Merek gave a lusty sigh. "Did your highness enjoy himself?"
The colt lied. "Why yes. As a matter in fact, I did enjoy myself. Is my sister ready?" Silent changed the subject abruptly, even rudely to let Marek know the discussion on fillies and their habits was not going to happen.
The fat changeling winced, not used to seeing his prince in a sour mood. "My apologies. She should be ready by the time we get there." If needed, Silent could mimic his mother's temper almost to a T but never followed through with her wild rage swings.
"Daylight's wasting." Silent Wing strode down the winding staircase to the next floor down. There was a short corridor to the next tower where his sister resided. She had the whole thing to herself. Mother's tower was on the other side and through another corridor.
Unlike the fear displayed in the presence of the Queen, those changelings who happened to come across the prince were greeted warmly or at least given a smile and at worst a nod. Only Atalanta was more beloved as she was secretly viewed as the pleasant version of Queen Chrysalis. Since she was around her adopted brother most of her free time, she naturally copied his mannerisms. This was not to suggest the Queen was despised, far from it. True, she terrified her subjects, was indeed a tyrant, and often threw legendary temper tantrums. Since Silent's introduction to the Royal Family fifteen years ago, she had softened. Since she had stopped all wars, there had been a short period of prosperity, albeit a small one. Plainly, she was still a bitch.
There were still disgruntled subjects, whispers of a rebellion. Nothing substantiated. The military and most of the nobility were still firmly behind their monarch(1). The past three years had felt to the colt like the whole kingdom was holding its collective breath and waiting for something to happen.
They entered the tower, following the shallow spiral steps to the top where a guard stood sentry. "Good morning, my prince!" he greeted with a bow. "The princess has been waiting for you."
"Thank you." Silent Wing poked his head in, noticing his adorable little sister fretting over another new dress of blue and green silk. She saw him and spun prettily.
"What do you think?" she asked. "It's from Equestria! It came in a box with a note."
That got Silent's attention. His ears perked forward. "It's a lovely dress, sister. It suits you perfectly!" It was indeed a magnificent little number, made to make a princess feel like a princess. The delicate stitching was immaculate, there were tiny emeralds sewn into the fabric along the hem of the dress. Sapphires were delicately placed around the soft collar. There was even a silver tiara adorned with more emeralds. "Mother will be jealous," she giggled, putting her hooves over her lips.
"I got something from Equestria, too,"
Her harlequin eyes went round. "Really? What did you get?"
"A map."
Her face fell. "That sounds boring."
"Can I see your note?" he asked. "The one that came with the dress?"
"Of course!" Atalanta's horn glowed and she closed her eyes as she concentrated. Slowly, as if held by an invisible shaking string, a little note the same size as the one in Silent's room emerged from a box on the bed and sloooooowly floated over to him.
The colt waited, giving an encouraging smile his sister could not see. He dared not to speak as it might break her concentration and upset her because she couldn't get the note where she wanted it to go. Finally, she opened her eyes, letting out an explosive exhale. "That was better than last time," he said as he took the note and began reading it.
"Hello princess,
This is just a pretty dress for a pretty princess. Enjoy!
D."
"We'll have to tell Mother about this," Silent informed his sister. Again, it was from 'D'.
"No!" she said with a pout. "It's so pretty! It's a present for me and it had my name on it. She'll just take it and throw it away."
"I'm not saying you'll have to take it off."
"I will if you tell Mother!" The little princess stamped an imperious hoof. "I'm Crown Princess and I command you not to tell her. There. Now you can't!" She stuck her tongue from between her little fangs at him.
Rolling his eyes imploringly to the heavens, Silent knew a Chrysalis-esque tantrum would explode if this argument escalated. Even the Queen did not quite have the pitch and range of her daughter. Eardrums had suffered greatly since the day she hatched. Still, when she wasn't having one of her moments, Atalanta was a sweet filly. She simply happened to have a penetrating voice to go with her bag of personality.
For the second time that morning, Silent lied. "All right, I won't tell her."
She beamed at him. "I win!"
"Let's get you to your lessons. You can wear your dress and show every changeling how pretty it is," he suggested. They would have to hurry to make it in time to their lessons. They might be royalty, but if they were late their teachers were quick to send word to Chrysalis.
"Are we going to fly?" she asked him hopefully, her ears flopping up. Her grin showed perfect little fangs. Any excuse to go outside made her excited.
"Not today. Mother put restrictions on where and when I can fly. Remember?"
She deflated dramatically and moped. "Okay."
They made it to their lessons on time. They were to learn about mathematics and history for the next two hours. As only two years separated colt and filly, they were nearly on the same level of schooling. Chrysalis started the colt the same year she arranged for tutoring her daughter. Soon Atalanta would be introduced to the same sort of minor paperwork Silent was already delving into. What remained to be seen was how patient she would be with reading boring documents.
Atalanta was a curious student and was admittedly smarter than Silent Wing, though she was lazy when it came to studying. She really didn't want to pay attention today. If the lesson was boring, she was quick to lose interest. The filly had the uncanny ability to daydream and recite word for word everything her tutor said right after the 'Well, what was I saying?' part of the student versus inattentive student routine.
It drove instructors mad.
This particular lesson ended with their tutor seriously considering applying for a job in some deep, dark mine. Preferably inhabited by changeling-eating spiders. Atalanta had a smug expression of supreme victory.
Silent Wing knew Chrysalis would probably take this badly. There would be yelling and screaming, possibly broken furniture because of the resources it took to find another tutor. The colt was usually blamed for not controlling the princess, to which he bit his tongue and apologized for it. He was used to dealing with the Queen. Silent Wing was probably the only soul in the palace who was not afraid of her.
He admitted it was stupid of him to not be. There were days he wished he was that same frightened little six year old colt, watching the general get his neck snapped like a twig under Chrysalis' rage. He had been mortified. Now, he knew her, respected her, but was not afraid of her.
Silent Wing was afraid for her.
He made his way to the garrison training grounds, taking wing much to the protests of his sister when she saw him glide through the blue mid morning sky. Silent had not lied to her in regards to the flying. Under no circumstances save for an emergency was he to fly the Princess Atalanta through the air like she were a sack of potatoes. It was embarrassing. The Crown Princess of the Changeling Kingdom simply was not carried through the air like a sack of potatoes! Queen Chrysalis had seen it once and covered her face with a hoof, begging someone to get that foalish idiot and his brainless sister on the ground.
Early to his lesson, the prince landed, greeting the soldiers who went about their business without bowing to him. Silent made it be known years earlier he wanted to be treated no different than the other guards. It had taken earning their respect to get that. He went into the changing room and found his locker. Removing his coat and hanging it up carefully, he pulled out a box containing his padded training shoes. He put them on, adjusted them until they were comfortable. Satisfied they were firmly in place, he went to the fighting ring where he would spend the next two hours.
There waited an old griffon, his feathers white with age, his eagle forelegs gnarled and weathered. His eyes were milky white and he leaned on a staff. As he spoke, a long, thin white feather beard jiggled as he spoke. Currently he was giving instruction to a changeling shaking a sore hoof.
The training square itself was rather large, encompassing the center of the barracks in their entirety. It was a training ground with target dummies, training devices of all sorts, mechanical contraptions currently not in use and a large fighting ring forty feet in circumference. A simple red rope on the sandy floor marked it. Two changelings were sparring with wooden tipped spears within it at the moment.
"Master Tseng Tzu?" he greeted the old bird as he approached.
The old griffon brightened. "Ah, the wind brings my most humble of students. How are you this day, my son?" He spoke with a soft accent, regarding the changeling sightlessly. "You may go. Stop thinking your hoof can kick through steel."
The changeling bowed to the master and grinned at Silent. "Tried to kick through a shield," he said sheepishly. "A very thick one." He hopped off in search of treating his throbbing foot.
Tseng Tzu leaned towards the colt. "Truth be told, he does not listen. He never listens. Still I have hope for that one." He sighed and shook his snowy head.
"You still try, old master," said Silent. "How's the arthritis?"
"Very good of you to ask, my pupil," replied his teacher, smacking his beak and settling on his haunches. "This is one of my better days. The doctor you suggested did in fact have the remedies I described. Thank you for that."
"We're not all barbarians here, master."
"Ha!" The griffon threw his head back, his lean frame merrily bouncing. "So far you are the only civilized creature in this place. Ruffians, all of them," he said in a far more subdued tone. "Truth be told, I fear for your kingdom." Tseng Tzu idly scratched his belly with a talon. He tilted his head to one side, catching the wind in his nostrils with a single sniff. "Ah, the dark monarch approaches. Most interesting. Most interesting indeed."
"She accepted my invitation, master." Silent Wing said with a hint of excitement.
"Truth be told, I never thought she would come."
Queen Chrysalis arrived, spying the griffon with a doubtful glare. Her wings droned for a moment while she hovered, studying this old thing her adopted son was speaking with. Curious she landed and was immediately impressed at the graceful bow the old griffon gave her. It was worthy of a lord. "Who are you?" she asked as she approached.
"I am Tseng Tzu, glorious Majesty, a humble teacher."
She curled her lips up, tilting her head slightly and arching her chin towards Silent Wing. "I like him already."
By now her personal guard had landed. Curious onlookers noted she was here and there was mad scrambling as panicked soldiers tried to straighten the place up. Somepony went to find the watch commander. Changelings who were in the middle of their exercises stopped everything and bowed in her presence.
Tseng Tzu chuckled. "You must forgive them, glorious Majesty. They are like mice before a hawk and forget their discipline."
She shifted her attention to him sharply. "Care to explain?"
"Truth be told, they fear you more than they fear their discipline." Tseng Tzu stroked his narrow feathery beard and nodded with a disapproving grunt. "It is the lack of discipline which has sickened your armies, glorious Majesty."
"I am aware of this," she said. Chrysalis blinked and squinted at him, leaning forward as she studied his eyes. "Not meaning to be rude, Tseng, but are you blind?"
"Truth be told, I have not had use of these eyes for over five decades."
She blinked. "And you're the one who's been teaching Silent?" For some reason, she felt she should be furious. "What happened to the instructor I authorized?"
The old griffon tapped his staff in the sand, making a circle. "I cared not for his methods, glorious Majesty. I could feel potential in Silent and thought it would be wasted if a close minded fool contaminated his chi. I challenged the foal to combat and beat him in five seconds. I followed the wind. It told me to come here to find my student."
The confused queen shook her head. "His...what? Wind? How?"
"Chi, glorious Majesty. It is the life force."
"I don't understand," she snapped testily.
Silent stepped in, reading the warning signs. "Master, may I?"
Tseng Tzu barred the colt with his staff. "Would your glorious Majesty like for me to give a demonstration? It would be but a simple thing to do. Truth be told, it would serve you better to see it rather than have an old fool such as myself explain it."
"What did you have in mind?" asked Chrysalis as he had her interest. She gave Silent Wing a dangerous glare as she wondered how long this little secret had been kept from her.
He mouthed back at her. I invited you every day.
Her eyes narrowed, her temper flaring once again, mouth opening and - clamped them shut as she realized Silent Wing had been trying to get her to meet his master since he was six. She puffed her cheeks, rolled her eyes and shook her head. Nevermind!
As that little exchange went on, the old griffon called for the ring to be cleared. It was done in quick order. During this time changeling heads began to appear from the windows, mostly to gawk and fawn at the Queen. She still cut a striking figure and unabashedly loved the attention.
Silent Wing went over to his master. "How many for me today?"
Tseng Tzu grunted. "We'll start with one. Are you ready, my pupil?"
"I am."
With a nod, the old bird raised his staff high. "Who among you is willing to spar with the prince? Her glorious Majesty would like a demonstration."
Chrysalis spoke up. "Might I choose the opponent?" she asked, really finding this interesting now.
"As you wish."
She had expected him to protest. Harlequin eyes sought out and found Silent. What was with that wolfish grin? For some reason, that aggressive look made her want to slap it off his face. It did not look right. Narrowing her eyes dangerously, she nearly offered herself, but paused just as she was to announce, catching her words before they could foalishly spill out. Instead, she turned to her guards. She leveled a hoof at one.
"You. Fight the prince."
"My Queen!" The guard stepped forward, his armor clanking as he bowed to her, honored she would chose him to finally put an end to the spoiled little half breed. This was like having someone offer to infuse fresh love straight into the veins.
Silent eyed him, shrugged and went to the ring. "You might want to remove your armor so you won't restrict your movements," he called over his shoulder. "Just a friendly suggestion."
Chrysalis found herself moving to the old griffon. Tseng Tzu inclined his head politely in her direction and even offering a smile on his old beak. As the guard removed his armor just outside the circle, the griffon turned to the Queen.
"Truth be told, glorious Majesty," he said almost regretfully. "Your warrior will not last one minute. You have no one warrior in your army who can best him in single combat. At least give the colt a challenge."
"You're kidding," she blurted at the griffon's gall, staring at him. "You can't be serious. Look at the size difference. That soldier is a hardened veteran of war. He was forged in the fires of combat."
"I do not make jokes when it comes to knowing my student and what he is and is not capable of doing, glorious Majesty. Any foal can fight in a battle."
"I still don -" Chrysalis was interrupted when the old bird let out a contemptuous laugh.
"Bah! If Silent Wing loses, I will gladly forfeit my life to you as I will have failed as a teacher. Truth be told, he is my greatest and last student." Tseng Tzu drew himself up proudly.
Hissing furiously, the queen spun on the other guard. "You! Get in there!"
"Majesty!" He strode forward confidently, removing his armor.
"What do you want if he wins?" she asked, having not considered it even a possibility
"Truth be told," Tseng Tzu replied in his strange way of speaking. "I have everything I need and require nothing. To continue teaching the colt is reward enough."
Both changelings stepped in the ring where Silent Wing awaited them. Both towered menacingly over them. Both anticipated an easy victory.
Silent faced his master and his adoptive mother and bowed. Then he turned to his opponents and bowed to them.
"What's that for?" Chrysalis asked, blinking at the odd ritual. She was dangling a hoof at it as Silent was in the middle of bowing to his opponents.
"One must respect and honor your teachers as well as honor and respect your opponent."
"Foalish," she sniffed disdainfully.
"BEGIN!" shouted Tseng Tzu.
Without using his wings, Silent Wing lept into the air, his body rising to the level of the two guards' heads, his right forehoof crossing over and smacking the left guard on the snout while his left leg swung up at an angle and caught the guard on the right under the chin. They staggered back as the colt landed, sweeping their forehooves with both of his hind legs. The black guards fell face first into the sand.
Chrysalis did a double-take.
Silent Wing dropped low as the guards sputtered sand from their mouths, choosing this moment to go ahead and take one of the guards out. Picking the one on the right, he darted in as holed hooves lashed out blindly. Using his own hooves, Silent deflected the blows aside easily, his movements a blur until he swept the changeling's back leg. The guard went down with a howl, earning an elbow in the face. One of his fangs chipped and flew off. One, two, three, four quick blows in rapids succession to the chest forced the guard to physically shrink from the assault. A right cross followed by a blinding uppercut finished the guard.
One down.
"Twelve seconds," remarked Tseng Tzu.
The other guard was furiously kicking at Silent Wing and snapping with his fangs. The colt blocked every attack, moving with such fluidity as to make the larger changeling look slow and clumsy. Those golden eyes never wavered from their opponent. The young prince fell back, no panic on his face. He was completely in control. For every blow the guard tried to get in, Silent Wing would block and counter.
"Thirty seconds."
The Queen was truly and rightfully humbled at what she was seeing. Had she ignored her son's pleas to see this for no other reason than to deny him? Already she was imagining whole regiments fighting like this. Mentally she was kicking herself.
Finally, the last guard was dropped by a roundhouse hoof to the head. Silent Wing panted heavily, plopping his rear in the sand. He had the appearance of just having the grandest time, grinning from ear to ear as he peered at the two guards groggily trying to figure out what just happened to them. His scar over his right breast ached. Tenderly he rubbed a hoof on it, wincing as the muscles ached terribly.
"You two put your uniforms back on and resume your posts," commanded Chrysalis, conveying disgust, but in actuality completely amazed at what she had just seen. Her attention was directed to the old griffon, who was chortling. "All right, I get the point. I am convinced. When can you start training my changelings to fight like that?"
"Truth be told, it is currently underway."
This was a surprise. "Beg pardon?"
Silent Wing had recovered and had joined them. As he drew nearer, he said loudly, "I've got a hundred changeling specialists training how to use the art. The screening process is pretty selective as I have to weed out the mindless killing machines that seem to dominate the ranks."
The Queen assumed a hurt expression. "Mindless killing machines?"
"I meant the officers. They've done a wonderful job of killing their own changelings over the years."
"And there goes my pride," sighed Chrysalis. "All right, so you've been trying to fix my army in front of me for years and I've completely ignored you." She straightened herself and brushed a lock of hair from her eyes. "Who gave you the idea to start doing this?"
Tseng Tzu raised a claw. "That would be I, glorious Majesty. Truth be told, I could not stand by and watch a once noble race degenerate into such a sorry state of greedy self destruction."
"Noble? What nonsense is this?"
"Truth be told, your answers to your questions lie within Equestria."
Silent Wing stretched out a wing, then remembered something from earlier that morning. "Speaking of Equestria..."