Everything hurt.
Not just my body, though that was bad enough.
I was lying on some sort of cold, damp stone floor. The air was horribly musky. The pillow I had my head on wasn't soft, in fact it was pretty hard and positioned awkwardly under my head and neck.
As soon as I realized I wasn't in the hospital, or even in the alley, my thoughts started whirling. Where could I be? What had Nebula done? What had Trixie done?
I hissed to myself, bringing the sound of shuffling metal from somewhere nearby. I opened my eyes to be greeted with the sight of a dark, mostly empty cell. Metal bars were positioned at the far end, with two Royal Guardspony unicorns with spears keeping watch on the outside. There was one torch that provided light for what I assumed was this part of the dungeon, or prison, or wherever I was.
I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes. I was so stupid, trusting Trixie for even a moment. I was so naïve for thinking that I had her broken. And I was furious that I was trapped in this stupid cell, in a city full of stupid ponies, with these two stupid guards who would probably call for help the moment I did anything.
I laid in silence for a while, listening to the sound of the flickering torch. To their credit, the guardsponies never even twitched, keeping the fire as the only sound I could hear.
I sighed. The thought of prison had sounded bad enough, but know I realized what was really so bad about it. There was nothing to do. I was already frustratingly bored, and it was getting worse with every passing second. The only thing to do was think.
So that’s what I did.
Trixie. When I found her, I was going to do very, very hurtful things to her. I had to give her credit, she had me fooled for a bit. But now I saw that I couldn't trust even her, despite the fact she owed me her life. I was going to get even, no matter who or what got in the way.
And May, too. She was one of those 'Watchers'. What were they, exactly?
I thought back to when Trixie and I had first seen one. I remembered Pyrite Dreams putting on some set of clothing that turned her paler... duller. I also remembered that Twilight had woven some sort of magic into the coat and fedora, but exactly what she had done, I had no idea.
After that, Pyrite had started calling herself by a different name. ‘Brass Visions’ even sounded less interesting than her previous name. She was also doing odd things, like teleporting with what seemed like no magic of her own. She seemed to know things I was almost certain she otherwise wouldn’t. If I ever met her again, I would have to find out about her clothes, hopefully after I put her face in the ground.
I sighed bitterly. I had nothing else to think about, not really. The only other thing that came to mind was that weird amulet Trixie now had. I could’ve sworn I saw it in Parasite’s lair, but for all I knew they were two different objects. I was being a little too paranoid.
Then again, after what I had been through, first with Pyrite, then Trixie, and now Nebula, maybe I needed to be paranoid.
Nebula.
That encounter had been off from the start. He had been rambling on about a whole bunch of things that almost clicked in my head, but stayed uncomfortably fuzzy,reminding me of that thing in Zecora’s hut that I still couldn’t think of a name for. I wasn’t going to focus on any of those words, because I knew that I wouldn’t get very far. Last time had not been worth it.
I opened my eyes again to stare at the guards keeping watch. If I was stuck here, like this, I was going to make them as miserable as I was.
“Hey!” I called out.
Again, to their credit, they didn’t bat an eye.
“Either of you know a good joke?” I stood up, stretched for a few moments, then made my way over to the bars separating the three of us.
“Seriously, I could really use some entertainment right now. I swear, there’s nothing to do in here. Just sit, sleep, and think, I guess. Maybe that’s the point of prison? You’re supposed to regret all the things you did. Makes sense, I guess. Though I really don’t regret turning that pony to ash. You guys ever turn someling into ash? It’s really cool. Maybe if you didn’t try to kill me all the time, I could show you.”
“Silence, prisoner,” one of the guards said mechanically. “We have orders to keep you subdued until further notice. We will use force if necessary.”
I grinned. I was getting to them. I flashed back to my first day in Ponyville, being greeted by that ecstatic pink pony. Her voice had been slightly annoying...
I pictured her in my mind, poofy hair, pink everything, and that high pitched voice. With a flash, I became her. I grinned evilly, something that didn’t feel quite right in her form.
“Aw, c’mon, I was only joking!” I said enthusiastically. “We can totally have fun. Lemme out, you’ll see! We can play all kinds of games, like Chain the Pony to the Pillar, Last Mind Standing, stuff like that. Oh, we can go skydiving! I did that once, just a little while ago! I don’t even know how long it’s been, really. Hey, do you guys know? Like, maybe just gimme a guess? We can play a guessing game, if you want! Hello? Hello? Hey, anypony-”
One of the guards whipped around, slid his spear through the bars, and whacked me solidly on the head, cutting my ear as he drew the spear back. The strike was unexpected, and I let out a hiss, then a yelp as the spear struck and nicked me. I had a sudden dizziness, and stumbled away from the bars and back over to my pillow.
My ear stung. It felt like blood was running down, covering my head before I tripped and fell on the ground. The dizziness intensified as I laid on the ground, unmoving. A faint hissing noise became audible, slowly rising in intensity and drowning out the torch. I flinched as my ear gave a short stab of pain.
And then, very slowly, I could feel myself shapeshifting against my will.
Normally, it was a quick flash, and it was over. For all the time it took to imagine the pony I wanted to become, it was easy to actually change form. But being forced in reverse was making me sick. I felt like I was going to throw up, tears rolling down my face as a horribly bitter taste assaulted my tongue.
A soft, if bright blue glow wrapped around me, and suddenly I was back in my changeling form. The guard who had nicked me raised an eyebrow, but turned back around and resumed ignoring me.
Eventually the taste went away, but I still felt sick. So instead of ticking off the guards again, I closed my eyes, tried to get comfortable on the rough pillow, and attempted to fall asleep.
The key word was ‘attempted’.
***
The other horrible thing about prison, especially underground, was that you had no idea how much time had passed.
My stomach was still upset, and I was constantly feeling like I would throw up at any moment. My throat was burning, and no matter how much air I took in, it seemed like it only made it worse.
I drew myself up, still slightly dizzy, but not enough to keep me from walking. I gave my head a good shake or two, and started to pace around my cell. I took slow steps, not wanting to feel any worse than I already did.
My hooves sounded almost too loud on the stone floor. Even so, I kept on walking around and around, eyes glued to the floor. I sighed in boredom.
My entire body was starting to itch. Being cooped up was starting to get to me. Again, I had no idea how long I had been in the dungeon, but it couldn’t have been very long. And yet, my chitin was itching all over. My own body was getting uncomfortable.
I stopped walking and hopped back over to my rock pillow. I stared down at it for a second, then levitated it into the air. I winced as I noticed how difficult it was to do so, my magic flickering faintly around the pillow but staying slightly steady. I brought the pillow over my head, and released it, letting it fall on my head.
It really was as hard as a rock.
Didn’t help my dizziness either.
I stumbled around for a bit, eventually bumping into a wall and falling to the ground. I groaned as my head gave a few good throbs.
I felt tired. Really tired. My ear was stinging faintly, not really a concern but still annoying. I yawned loudly, my mouth stretching almost painfully wide. I then sprawled out on the floor, unable to think of anything else to do besides try and sleep. Maybe once I woke up, I would feel better.
***
Steps.
Very loud steps.
Someling was coming.
Feeling groggy, but thankfully less ill, I picked my head up just off the ground in order to look outside my cell. The guards snapped their hooves up in salute, well before the newcomer arrived, holding their stance as a familiar guardspony came to a stop outside my cell.
"You..." I hissed at the pony, the same one who had ripped my wing apart.
"Indeed," she said stoically. "I am not particularly pleased to see thee, either."
"I bet," I scoffed. "Come to rub it in my face? Rip my wing again?"
"Perhaps," she replied. "Though doing so would gain us nothing. I am under orders by her royal highness, Princess Luna, to... speak with you."
"Good luck with that. That... Watcher, May, she already tried. I'd like to see you get any farther than she did."
The guard narrowed her eyes.
"I am Lieutenant Leviathe of the Night Guard," she stated matter-of-factly. "I am much more qualified than that knave of a nurse. You are most fortunate she was so kind before her... change."
Leviathe slipped a piece of paper out from her armor and slid it through the bars of my cell. I grabbed it with my magic and brought it closer in order to read it.
"By order of Her Royal Highness, Princess Luna, you are extended a formal invitation to attend the performance of the Great and Powerful Trixie, traveling showmare extraordinaire, in two days time," Leviathe recitied, quoting the letter I held exactly. "Thou shalt be under heavy guard the while, and I will be head of thine security. It is as much for our safety as thine."
"Huh." I looked up from the letter and let it fall to the floor. "I didn't know Royal Guards did mail service."
Leviate remained calm, her lip even twitching upwards at my insult. It was almost scary.
"Thou art not the only one to change, beast," she said with a slightly amused tone. "A thousand years ago, thou would have been tarred, set ablaze, and stuffed in a pit to feed the maggots. My princess was not always so pleasant, nor the populace so lax."
I rolled my eyes at her.
"Whatever. Leave me alone."
"One more thing," Leviathe insisted. "Come here. Do not worry, I will not kill thee, nor shall I cause undue harm."
I glared at the Night Guard, climbing to my hooves and cautiously approaching the bars of my cell. I stopped just out of leg's length from them, but Leviathe went right up to them and waved me closer.
"Come," she said softly.
I stepped forward slightly. Leviathe gave me a warm, if unnerving smile, and waved gently again. I stepped a little closer every few seconds, not taking my eyes off her.
"Thou art truly a strong changeling," she said. "Thine fellow kin went mad from merely two days in captivity, yet thou hast survived four. Such fortitude is commendable."
I stayed silent, my only response being to narrow my eyes a bit more.
"And to have survived the might of the Alicorn Amulet..." she continued, her voice dropping to a hushed whisper as I got closer. "Nigh unheard of. Thou art made of sterner things than most changelings I have seen. Thou truly deserve the title of 'Elite'."
"Thanks," I replied sarcastically. "Really means a lot to me."
"Indeed," Leviathe nodded. "Such proficiency would be deserving of reward... if thou were a pony."
I narrowed my eyes again, glaring right into Leviathe's eyes. She flinched, and immediately I heard a faint clinking as something hit the floor. I looked down at the floor.
Leviathe's hoof was poised as if she had drawn something out of her armor. On the ground, just below that hoof, was a small dagger, with incredibly tiny glyphs inscribed on the blade.
I looked calmly back up at Leviathe.
"And you say I'm a deceiver."
Leviathe's gentle facade dropped like a rock. She jerked her hoof upwards, giving me a 'gentle' uppercut that sent me sprawling onto my back. As I fell, I saw her reach down and pick up the blade. It wasn't until I had landed on the floor and flipped over that I felt it stab into my leg.
I immediately collapsed and yelled out in pain. I gritted my teeth right after that, not wanting to give Leviathe any satisfaction. It became even harder to stay silent when the dagger began to heat up, burning the wound it had created.
"Let this be a lesson for thee," the lieutenant said bitterly. "The just shall always prevail."
Then she left.
I slowly turned my head around, extending my rear leg so as to see where the dagger was. It seemed I had gotten lucky. The dagger was buried up to the hilt, but most of the blade was actually in one of the holes in my leg, which meant that there wouldn't be too much to do when once I got the dagger out.
Though, 'too much' was really relative.
As I shakily reached for the dagger, however, there was a sudden, bright flash of light, and it was gone. The additional holes in my leg where the only sign it had ever been there, softly glowing turquoise blood seeping out and onto the floor.
I hissed in mixed relief and pain, dragging myself over to my pillow and resting my injured leg on it. I tried to use my magic, hoping to heal my leg right then and there but as I began I immediately noticed something wrong.
My magic was very nearly gone. In fact, simply trying to make my horn glow made me feel queasy. And that meant, by extension, I was going to die soon.
I let go with a gasp. My upset stomach and headache had both returned in force, and I immediately started retching as a bitter taste coated my tongue and my throat seemed to light on fire. My body itched again, an unscratchable itch that wasn't going away for a while.
I knew, instinctively, that I would only be able to shapeshift until I got more love to feed on. Even that could prove to be an issue, no matter how little of my reserves it took.
I laughed to myself. It was ironic, really. Loved and happy as a pony, hungry and hated as a changeling. I literally couldn't be myself and still survive. I had no choice but to lie and steal, and the same ponies who made me do it hated me for it.
So I sat on my pillow, starved for love, leg bleeding, and started to hate my life.
***
However much I didn't want it to, wakefulness eventually came to me. And it came by way of something finally coming up my throat.
I started retching. I pulled myself to my hooves, not wanting to lie in pool of whatever was coming up. And it was coming far too slow, as I could hardly suck in any air after each long, harsh retch.
Just as my vision was starting to blur from lack of air, the contents of my stomach rocketed out of my mouth and impacted on the floor, splattering everywhere, including onto me.
It was a glowing turquoise slime, viscous and somewhat sticky. Thankfully, there was no smell, though I found myself wondering exactly what it was. And unfortunately, the Voice didn't seem to want to tell me.
I took a few deep breaths to recover. I was feeling a little lightheaded, but otherwise mostly okay. That was surprising, considering everything that had happened.
I decided to check my leg. Twisting my head around, I brought my hind leg up and looking for the dagger wound. What I saw made me blink in surprise.
There was a sort of blue, glowing crystal on my leg, right where Leviathe had stabbed me. It was mostly opaque, but I could see darker blue veins running through it.
Experimentally, I slammed my leg down on the floor, expecting to feel a stab of pain. I was surprised to feel nothing. It was like I had never been hurt in the first place. I allowed myself a small smile. If nothing else, this was some good news.
I sat back down and rested my head against the wall. If about one day passed every time I fell asleep, then Trixie's show would be tomorrow. I had one more day until I could even think of escaping.
I started to wonder why Trixie wanted to have me attend her show. It was even stranger that one of Equestria's princesses had requested that I do so. They were probably just taunting me, but that really didn't explain what involved pony royalty. There were only two things that might explain Luna's name being involved. One, ponies were so paranoid over changelings, that anything involving them had to go through the princesses.
Two, Princess Luna was here, in Manehattan.
Once I thought about it, it made sense. The loud announcement that had been made shortly after Trixie and I had arrived was said in the same style as Leviathe's speech. Seeing as she was a Night Guard, it was entirely possible Luna herself was in the city. And if that was the case, there was probably no chance of me escaping by myself. A princess would mean guards everywhere, especially if she went anywhere near Trixie's show. Not to mention the guards I had been so kindly promised.
I sighed and tried to figure out what to do. If I didn't get away tomorrow, then I was probably never going to get out of Manehattan. There was the chance that Nebula could come to my 'rescue' again, but the chances of that were slim to none.
I had to think. There would be too many guards to overpower by brute force, especially if they were earth ponies. I could try to fly away, but anything more than two pegasi would be too much to handle right now.
I tried once again to summon up my magic, but still only got an additional bout of dizziness for it. That meant any unicorn worth their salt would be able to handle me without a problem.
I was pretty much out of options. So long as the Royal Guards had me in their sight, there was next to nothing I could do. There were too many of them, and I didn't have the energy for a straight up fight, especially in the middle of such a big city, where guards would be around every corner. If they could see me, they could catch me.
If they could see me...
But what if they couldn't?
I knew of two instances where other changelings had been invisible, out of sight and out of harm's way. Until they had revealed themselves, I had had no idea they even existed. From what I had seen, it had to be some sort of spell, and not any natural shapeshifting. It took too long, and had more of a flow than a flash.
I started to-
Hunt...
...That was not the Voice.
...That was not a friendly voice.
...That... was...
Prey...
Oh no.
Consume...
It couldn't be...
Feed...
I had ended him myself. This was not possible.
... Hello again...
...Brother.