//------------------------------// // Chapter 19: Fear & Pain // Story: The Adventures of Fragment // by A Dark Reminder //------------------------------// "So let me get this straight, this Changeling just came out of nowhere, laid on the floor with its forehooves behind its head, said 'please don't kill me,' and you were sent to tell me?" Shining Armor asked as him, me, Blast Shield, Sinistar, Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadance made our way to the dungeon. "That's exactly what happened, Sir." The guard replied with a nod. "Which Changeling is this?" Princess Cadence asked. "How am I supposed to tell?" "Do you know if the spines on the back of its neck are still there?" I asked. "I think they're there." The guard said as he looked over his shoulder to me. "If they are there then that means it's Hofnarr, the Changeling that doesn't stop talking." I said thinking about all the things Hofnarr talked about when Shining Armor and Sinistar interrogated him. "I can't imagine what would cause an escapee to turn itself back in." Princess Luna said. After a few minutes of walking we reached the dungeon where there were still four guards stationed at the door. They all bowed and opened the door for us, and as we walked inside I was surprised that I didn't hear Hofnarr talking. Other than our hooves against the floor it was silent. There were three guards in the dungeon, one on either side of the door and one standing by Hofnarr's cell. As we walked over to Hofnarr's cell the guard by it bowed and stepped aside. When we walked in front of the cell, I was surprised and confused by what I saw. Hofnarr was laying on his bed in the fetal position, not moving or talking or anything, just... laying there. If it weren't for the fact he was breathing I might not have know he was alive. "Open the cell." Shining Armor said as the guard nodded then unlocked and opened the cell. Shining Armor and Sinistar walked into Hofnarr's cell, but Hofnarr didn't seem to care. I found it a little disturbing and I'm not really sure why. "We have a lot of questions for you, Hofnarr. But the biggest question I have right now, is why. Why did you turn yourself back into the guards?" Hofnarr's state didn't seem to change even as he spoke. "Have you ever been alone, Captain Armor? Have you ever felt like everything you knew abandoned you? Because that's how I feel now." Hofnarr said as Shining Armor and Sinistar looked at each other with uncertain expressions. "What are you talking about?"Shining Armor asked. "Why should I bother telling you? You wouldn't understand." Hofnarr said, then to our surprise, Princess Cadence walked into the cell. "Will you two excuse us, please?" She asked as Shining Armor whispered to her. "What are you doing?" He asked as Sinistar casually left the cell. "I'm trying to help. Go, I'll be fine." She said as she kissed him lightly. Shining Armor hesitated, but left them and stood with the rest of us as Princess Cadence sat down beside Hofnarr. "Why won't you talk to us?" She asked in a gentle voice, but Hofnarr was still silent. "I can see in your eyes that you're afraid, I can see that you don't know what to do, and I see that you're alone. I know what it feels like, and it's not something you or anyone should have to go through." Hofnarr turned his head a little to better see her face while I sniffed the air to sense her emotions, and to my surprise, it was genuine concern and sympathy. "Talking about it helps more than you might know." After she said that, I saw a few tears stream down Hofnarr's face as he spoke. "Today... I-I saw one of my best friends get killed, the only one I trusted to h-have a plan is gone... there's a Pegasus out there trying to k-kill me, and I feel so scared and lost." Hofnarr said as he held back sobs. To everyone's surprise, Princess Cadence got closer to Hofnarr and gave him a light hug, comforting him. I couldn't believe she was doing this genuinely. I'd find it more believable if she was just pretending as a way to get information out of him, I could smell the honesty from her, and I could smell the surprise from everyone else. Everyone except Princess Celestia, that is. "Tell me what happened." Princess Cadence said as Hofnarr tried to speak through his sobs. "W-when two of the guards had left... h-he appeared behind the guard, knocked him out, then before any of us could really say or do anything, he was unlocking our cells and told us that Queen Chrysalis had hired him to break us out, a-and Gezähnt said to listen to him... so we followed him out of the dungeon, but after a few minutes of walking Gezähnt got suspicious because whenever we were going to turn a corner, the Pegasus never checked the corner to make sure there were no guards, l-like he knew where the guards were going to be... so to be sure he was who he said, Gezähnt asked him to name us, because the Queen would have told him who we are, but when the Pegasus wouldn't answer, Gezähnt tried to have us go in a different direction, the Pegasus attacked us and the three of us fought him a little before he looked at his watch and ran off, and almost immediately after he did a patrol started coming down the hallway... s-so Gezähnt told me and Jäger to stay hidden and stay together while he tried to talk Dunkel into helping us." "Who's 'Dunkel?'" Shining Armor asked with a raised brow as I let out a sigh. Another unpleasant memory I have to talk about. "I am." Everyone turned to me when I said that. "My birth name is Dunkel. I remembered it after I passed out while we were arguing with that guard who didn't want me to get involved." None of them seemed to know how to react to this information, so I tried to get back on subject. "So you were saying Hofnarr?" I said as everyone turned back to the other Changeling, who was still half crying. "W-we hid for a few minutes before that Pegasus came out of nowhere and got in a fight with me and Jäger. He tried to hit us with some kind of darts, but Jäger used what l-little power he had to make a forcefield stopping them, then the Pegasus said he'd give us one chance to come with him willingly or he'd just kill us. I-I wasn't sure what to do but Jäger fought the Pegasus, a-and before I c-could help him, t-the Pegasus took out a knife and stabbed Jäger, a-and... and..." Hofnarr's crying got stronger as Princess Cadence shushed him and tightened the hug a little, this time with Hofnarr adjusting so that he could cry into her shoulder. Shining Armor didn't look or smell very comfortable or happy with it, but he didn't intervene. "I-I'm scared that Pegasus is going to kill me..." "We can help you; keep you safe and fed, but we need your help first." Hofnarr looked up at Princess Cadence when she said that. "M-my help?" He said as he wiped the tears from his eyes. "One of our guards, Striker, was bitten by one of the Changelings and has been hospitalized because of the venom. We need to know everything we can about this venom, and you can help us. We need to know everything you know about a Changeling's venom." She explained as Hofnarr sat up. "Well... it's a very powerful hallucinogen that makes you see and hear very vivid things. We use it as a last resort, like if we get discovered as a Changeling, we bite whoever found out and while the population is worried about the one who believes the sky is trying to kill them, we leave the settlement, return who ever we replaced, and by the time the venom's effects wear off, we're long gone. And with everything they've seen and screamed about, a pony sized bug seems about as likely as the trees propelling themselves at houses, so no one would believe we were ever there." "So it doesn't kill?" Shining Armor asked as he took a step closer to the cell. "It can kill, but only if whoever was bitten was overdosed." Hofnarr said as I raised a brow. "An overdose can cause minor brain damage, and an extreme overdose can be fatal." "How can we tell if Striker's been overdosed?" I asked. "Uh... The signs of an overdose vary, but the most common are the bitten area becoming black and veins bulging out, becoming more noticeable. There are other signs, but it'd easier to show than tell." "Last time I saw Striker the bite was dark purple, what does that mean?" "In that case he's definitely been overdosed, but how long ago was... Striker, bitten? And when did you last see him?" Hofnarr asked as most of his former composure returned. "He was bitten almost an hour ago and I last saw him about half an hour ago." "If the dose he has is lethal, the signs will be visible now." Hofnarr said as Shining Armor walked over to Princess Celestia. "I think we should take Hofnarr to the hospital to look at Striker. He did say that signs vary, and the doctors won't know what they're looking for." Princess Celestia nodded at what Shining Armor said. She turned and looked at Hofnarr, who was quietly waiting for an answer. Princess Cadence was still siting by his side though she wasn't hugging him anymore. "Very well, but be careful. We don't know if Cyclone Shade is still here." Princess Celestia said as she, Princess Luna, and Sinistar began to leave. Princess Cadence walked out of the cell with Hofnarr following closely. Once they were out of the cell, Shining Armor took a set of cuffs from a guard and prepared to put them on Hofnarr, which it didn't look like he was found of. "Is that really necessary?" I asked. "I'm not going to take the chances of him trying to escape again or another guard getting hurt." "This isn't the same Changeling that attacked a guard, this is the one that talked for five minutes straight about the conspiracy of gravity." "It just so happens that whenever you trip on something, you fall. Tell me that isn't even a little bit suspicious." Hofnarr said as all of us looked at him, most of the guards having very confused expressions on their faces. "That's what I thought." He said as Shining Armor rolled his eyes and put the cuffs around Hofnarr's ankles. "Come on, we don't have time to lose." Shining Armor said as he, Princess Cadence, me, Blast Shield and Hofnarr left the dungeon. "If you're worried about me escaping, then shouldn't you be restraining my wings too?" Hofnarr asked as I looked at him with a raised brow. "Is that what you'd prefer?" Shining Armor asked without looking at Hofnarr. "I-I'll just be quiet." Hofnarr said quickly. "So how long will it take us to get to the hospital from here?" I asked. "Not too long. We'll be there in about ten minutes once we reach the royal carriage." Shining Armor replied. As we walked through the castle, I saw how most of the guards we passed were very confused by the fact that there were now two Changelings walking through the castle. I can't say I was surprised by it, I myself felt kind of weird walking with another Changeling. It was weird that it was weird, walking with my own kind. It was a short and relatively silent walk to the carriage, when we got to the castle's front doors and the guards opened the them, we saw that the forcefield still surrounded the castle. Forgot about that. I thought as Shining Armor's horn lit up and a small bolt of magic shot into the forcefield in front of us, creating an opening that we used. And it was as the forcefield resealed behind us that I realized the fact that I did not have my cloak with me, and we were going to a public place. Though I guess it wouldn't have mattered much since Hofnarr didn't have anything to cover himself with. Still, this wasn't going to be very smooth. "Come on, this way." Shining Armor said as he lead us down the castle steps to wherever the carriage was. The walk to the carriage was short, but quite a few ponies stared at me and Hofnarr as we walked, and neither of us were very comfortable with it. Once we did reach the carriage and we were in closer proximity to the ponies, it really started to bother Hofnarr. "Make them stop staring at me." He whispered to me was we walked up to the carriage. "I will as soon as you tell me how to do that. Just try to ignore them." I said as Princess Cadence spoke to the armored guards of one of the carriages. "Take us to Canterlot Hospital, please." She said and they nodded in reply. Shining Armor opened the door of the carriage and stepped aside so the rest of us could enter. It was kind of cramped with the five of us in the one carriage, but we made it work, with Shining Armor and Princess Cadence on one side and me Blast Shield and Hofnarr on the other. Me and Shining Armor sat closest to the door, with Hofnarr next to me and across from Princess Cadence, and Blast Shield on the very end. It was a quiet and kind of awkward ride, but it was the silence that bothered me. because it meant my mind had a chance to wonder, and I never liked where it went. This time it was focused on Striker. What if Striker's been lethally overdosed? If it takes weeks to make an antivenom then Striker could be doomed. This is all Gezähnt's fault! He's been the source of all my problems ever since he got here! Why did I have to volunteer to try interrogating him? I should've just walked away and let them take care of him, then he wouldn't have known I was here, wouldn't have tried to get me to help them escape, and Striker's life wouldn't be on the line. Striker... I hope you'll be okay... I sighed with that last thought. After a few more minutes in the carriage, it came to a stop and Shining Armor opened the door. We stepped out one at a time, starting with Shining Armor, then Princess Cadence, then me, though I was very uncomfortable as I stepped out. Hofnarr got to the door of the carriage and stopped. He saw how many ponies there were around the hospital and a lot of them were already staring at me. "The longer you stand there the longer they can stare at us." I said as Hofnarr gulped and slowly stepped out of the carriage with Blast Shield finally getting out. After that Shining Armor lead us into the hospital, with a pretty large group of ponies staring at us and whispering to each other. I tried to keep walking, but Hofnarr wasn't fairing as well. The longer the ponies stared at him the more nervous he got, and not much changed when we entered the hospital. Thankfully Shining Armor didn't waste any time approaching the front desk and asking where Striker's room was, when he did a doctor walked up to him. He was a Unicorn with a yellowish orange coat and green mane and tail. "Hello, Shining Armor, I'm Doctor Morgue, and I've been assigned to Striker's case, and it's not looking good." Doctor Morgue said as he lead us to Striker's room. "We haven't been able to complete many tests, and his vitals aren't looking good. His heart rate has increased dramatically, parts of his brain are starting to show signs of deterioration, and we still don't know what to do. We've kept Striker sedated, but that's really the only thing we know we can do." "That's why we're here." Shining Armor said. "We brought this Changeling, Hofnarr, to look at Striker. He can tell us if Striker's going to die or not." Doctor Morgue looked from Shining Armor to me and Hofnarr and it was a moment before Hofnarr spoke. "O-our venom isn't supposed to kill, but it can if whoever's been bitten was overdosed, which there are symptoms of." Hofnarr said as Doctor Morgue turned to look forward again. It wasn't long before we got to Striker's room, and when we did I could hear faint sobbing coming from inside, but it sounded like a mare. Before I could ask, Doctor Morgue opened the door, and I saw Lightheart at Striker's bedside crying into a hoof of Striker's she was holding. Shining Armor looked surprised but Princess Cadence didn't. "Lightheart?" I said as we walked into the room with Hofnarr trying to stay out of sight. Lightheart looked away from Striker and to us with a somewhat surprised expression on her face, "F-Fragment? What--" She stopped herself mid sentence as she looked between all of us, though it didn't look like she saw Hofnarr. "What are you all doing here?" She said as I noticed the tears that had been running down her face. "We came here to have Hofnarr examine Striker." Princess Cadence said as she motioned to the Changeling who was trying to use me as cover. Hofnarr just grinned and chuckled nervously as he slowly came out from behind me. "Please, can you help him?" Lightheart asked Hofnarr as he walked over to Striker's bed with Doctor Morgue, and Blast Shield closed the door. "How did Lightheart know Striker was in this condition?" I quietly asked as Hofnarr and Doctor Morgue examined Striker. "Who is she anyway?" Shining Armor asked. "She's Striker's marefriend." Princess Cadence said as Hofnarr nervously looked between Lightheart and Doctor Morgue. I couldn't tell if it was just nervousness or something else. "When I heard what happened to Striker I sent her a letter and the royal chariot to bring her here. If Striker could be dying she should be with him." She explained as Hofnarr and Doctor Morgue walked back over to us. "Well? Is he going to be okay?" Lightheart asked. "He's definitely been fatally overdosed, and I don't think there's anything we can do." Hofnarr said as he avoided eye contact with everypony. "W-what do you mean?" Lightheart asked, looking like she was about to breakdown into tears. "Doctor Morgue said there are already signs of brain damage and Striker hasn't even been poisoned for more than two hours. It takes almost a day and a half for the venom's effects to wear off. There's too much venom in his body and not enough time to do anything about it." Hofnarr said as tears began to flow down Lightheart's face and I spoke up. "So what, that's it? There must be something we can do!" "If there is anything you can do I don't know what it is. There is no currently existing antivenom for our venom and their isn't enough time for anything else. Over the past two-hundred years some Changeling Queens have actively tried to prevent the creation of an antivenom or any kind of cure because they don't want it cured and we don't need it. While we're not immune to our own venom we are highly resistant to i--" I grabbed and slammed Hofnarr into the nearest wall, pinning him to it. "Fragment!" Princess Cadence yelled, but I ignored her. "So Striker's going to die and we just have to sit here and watch?!" I shouted angrily as Hofnarr tried to cover his face with his forelegs. "I-I'm not the one who emptied his venom glands into someone." "What do you mean 'emptied his venom glands?'" I asked as I let go of Hofnarr. "If the venom's already causing brain damage then I'd say that Gezähnt used all the venom in both his venom glands on Striker." Hofnarr said as he backed away from me and and thought about that. Gezähnt used all the venom he had to do this... Gezähnt knew what he was doing and didn't care! If I ever see that bastard again I'll kill him! I was so angry I wanted to punch something, I thought about punching Hofnarr, but I knew he didn't deserve it, he wasn't the one I was angry at. At least Hofnarr tried to help us. So I let out a frustrated sigh and walked over to Striker's side. Lightheart was coming to tears again as Shining Armor spoke. "How much time does he have left?" Shining Armor asked as he stared at Striker. I could tell he was sad by the look in his eyes. "Two hours... Probably less." Hofnarr said as he looked between all of us. Lightheart started crying again when she heard that. She got closer to Striker and hugged his unconscious body. "I'm sorry. This isn't what we're supposed to do..." Hofnarr said as he once again avoided eye contact with everypony and stood silently in the corner I had slammed him into. "Please don't leave me..." I heard Lightheart whisper to Striker as she cried into Striker's shoulder, and I couldn't stop a few tears of my own from flowing. It was all the fear and love and sorrow in the air combined with my own that was almost too much. I did my best not to start full on crying like Lightheart, but there wasn't much I could do. There wasn't much anyone could do... "Shining, we should give them some space." Princess Cadence said as Shining Armor nodded. I started walking towards them when Princess Cadence raised her hoof. "If you want to spend a little more time with him you can, if that's okay with you, Lightheart." She said as I looked over to Lightheart. "Y-you can stay i-if you want." She said without letting go of or turning away from Striker. "I'll stay here then..." I said as I walked back to Striker's side and the others left. It was just me Lightheart and Doctor Morgue with nothing but the sound of Striker's heart monitor and Lightheart's sobbing. All I could do was sit there and stare. I knew he was going to die, I knew there was nothing we could do, but I still hopped and prayed to the universe that he would live. But after about an hour it became clear that my prayers were unheard, as Striker's heart rate increased dramatically and suddenly. Doctor Morgue called to somepony in the hallway and a moment later there was a whole team of ponies in the room. They told me and Lightheart to leave but she didn't want to, and I can't blame her. Still I had to practically drag her out of the room so they could try to save Striker, but deep down I knew they wouldn't be able to. Once I got Lightheart out of the room she instantly turned and hugged me for her own comfort. There really wasn't anything I could do but stand there and let her cry into my shoulder. I didn't know how to comfort her and I didn't know where Shining Armor and the others were, so I stood there while she cried. We got some odd looks from the nurses and others but nopony bothered us. After a few minutes Doctor Morgue walked up to us and told us Striker had died. I didn't know what to do, so when Lightheart began following Doctor Morgue to fill out papers I walked away back to the front of the hospital. I'm sorry Striker...