//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Traveler's Exile // by Niaeruzu //------------------------------// A little while later, Traveler and Suncloak were in the latter’s office again, sitting in the same seats as before. “I’ll make one thing clear,” Traveler said, “and it’s that I’m only doing this out of necessity. You’re insane, and I don’t want to work with you, but you’re forcing me.” Suncloak nodded. “Seeing as you probably want to get out of exile, I can understand that. So, who are you?” “I’m #5,” Traveler said. “Of Her Majesty’s personal elite.” Suncloak let out a sharp whistle. “Whoa. Her Highness must’ve had a very good reason to exile you. What’d you do to deserve that?” “You should know all about this next part,” Traveler sneered. “During a mission I was in charge of, the Evershifting Stone itself was stolen.” “What?!” Suncloak’s eyes went wide and he reeled back in surprise, nearly falling out of his chair. “How did that happen?! Why are you here?! Who did it? You don’t think I did it, do you?” Traveler narrowed his eyes. “You’re a suspect. The Stone was stolen by ponies. Royal guards to be precise.” Suncloak, still reeling, opened his mouth to say something, though it seemed like he reconsidered. “Wait, that doesn’t make any sense,” he said after a few seconds. “Nothing changed about the rules regarding the Stone. Not a single pony should be aware of it.” “Right,” Traveler said. A flimsy excuse, if any. “You have to believe me!” Suncloak said. “I have no reason to steal the Queen’s—” He let out a startled gasp. “Oh no! Who knows what she’ll do if she thinks I stole it!” He jumped out of his chair and started pacing around. “But this is impossible! Are you sure they were royal guards?” “Definitely,” Traveler said. “I don’t recall any changeling scents on them, and one of them put me to sleep with a sleep spell. I don’t know any changelings who can do that.” Suncloak’s pacing became more and more frantic. “Okay, okay, just gotta figure this out. Some ponies must’ve found out about the Stone, somehow. But the only way they could’ve found out is…” He paused, his eyes becoming even wider. Traveler raised an eyebrow. He’d only seen someling panic this badly when they were absolutely sure they had incurred the wrath of Queen Chrysalis. Which, considering the situation, was a very good description. Suncloak suddenly bolted to one of the bookcases and pulled out a rather hefty binder, then smacked it on the desk in front of Traveler. “Read this, see if you can find anyling who was involved in your mission!” he blurted, speeding towards the door. “Stay here! I have everything under control, I just need to… Uh, I need to water my lobsters!” Suncloak quickly went through the door, slamming it shut. “Make sure he doesn’t leave,” he told the two changeling guards. “I need to go see the princesses.” Without waiting for a reaction, he went into the castle halls again, making his way towards the throne room at full speed. After a few minutes of sprinting, Suncloak burst through the doors leading to the throne room, skidding to a halt in front of the princesses, who were currently talking to some very official-looking, monocle-wearing pony. “I…” Suncloak gasped for air. “I think I need to work on my condition.” Princess Celestia didn’t seem phased by his sudden entry at all. The tall, white alicorn simply sat in her throne, her pink, green and blue coloured mane and tail lazily drifting in a nonexistent wind. “What seems to be the matter, Ambassador?” Like always, she sounded gentle and patient, though that did nothing to calm Suncloak down. “Big emergency!” he shouted, flailing his front hooves about. “Everything going wrong! Bad stuff happening! Need to talk to you!” He looked around the lavishly decorated room, spotting the multitude of pony guards and the lone official, who was sputtering something about ‘great injustices’ under his breath. “Um, in private,” Suncloak added. Princess Luna tapped a hoof on her chin. While she wasn’t as tall as her sister, her dark blue colours and star-filled mane were more than enough to make her look equally imposing. “You know, if the supply closet is out of toilet pa—” “This isn’t about that again!” Suncloak shouted. “That was only one time! This is serious! Really bad news serious!” The two princesses looked at each other and both raised an eyebrow. “Very well,” Princess Celestia said, turning to their earlier guest. “I’m sorry, sir. We’ll have to continue our chat some other time.” She turned to the room at large. “Guards, I’m going to have to ask you to leave as well, for the time being.” A few moments later, the room was empty, save for the princesses and Suncloak. “Now, what is it you had to tell us, Suncloak?” Princess Celestia said. Suncloak sat down and twiddled his hooves. “Well, um, this is a little bit complicated, and I probably should have mentioned it earlier.” He paused for a moment. “Have you ever heard of the Evershifting Stone?” “I don’t think I have,” Princess Luna said, glancing at her sister. “Neither have I,” Princess Celestia said. “What is it?” “It’s the most powerful changeling artifact there is,” Suncloak said. “It’s to changelings what the Elements of Harmony are to ponies, I guess.” “Why only bring this up now?” Princess Luna asked. “Well, all changelings are kind of expressly forbidden to talk about it.” Suncloak cowered a little bit. “The Queen put big punishments on it. I didn’t tell any ponies about it, nor did I change any of the rules surrounding it, because I don’t really want to find out what the Queen would do if you knew.” “That’s understandable,” Princess Celestia said, giving a warm smile. Suncloak took a deep breath and sighed. “The Stone is what makes Queen Chrysalis a queen. Without it, she’d be just like any other changeling. But with it, she’s powerful, immortal, and rules over all changelings by right of ownership.” “Interesting. What, exactly, is this Stone?” Princess Luna asked. “Noling really knows,” Suncloak said, shrugging. “It’s really weird. Every time you look away, something about it changes. That’s why it’s called the Evershifting Stone. We don’t know what it is or where it came from, just that it’s there, and that it’s really powerful.” “Nothing?” Princess Celestia raised an eyebrow. “No records, no research?” “Changelings don’t really do either of those,” Suncloak said. “Besides, research is pretty much useless. The Stone changes all the time, and it’s completely random. Noling can agree on its past, either. Everyling has a different story, almost like the Stone keeps changing its own history. But that’s impossible.” He paused for a moment. “I think.” “But why tell us now?” Princess Luna asked. “Did something happen to it?” “Um, yes.” Suncloak stood up and took a step back. “There’s a changeling in my office, an exile. He’s one of Her Highness’ elite, and he’s here because it was stolen.” He took another couple of steps backwards. “By your royal guards.” “What?” Princess Luna traded looks with her sister. “That’s not possible.” “Oh thank goodness!” Suncloak blurted out, quickly clasping a hoof over his mouth. “Sorry,” he hissed after a second. “It’s just…” He put his hoof down again and started pacing around. “Not a single pony should know the Stone exists. On top of that, it was stolen during a mission, and considering the Queen keeps anything regarding the Stone top secret, not a single changeling living here could’ve known about it.” His pacing became faster and faster, more and more frantic. “There’s no reason any pony should know about it, let alone any royal guard. But right now, I’m the most likely suspect, and I bet Queen Chrysalis will take any excuse to force all changelings to serve her again! I should’ve told you but I didn’t and I’m so sorry and everything I’ve done will—” “Suncloak!” Princess Luna shouted, magically amplifying her voice and scaring the living daylights out of the panicked ambassador. “Calm down and take a deep breath.” Suncloak stared at her for a few seconds, his heart stuck in his throat. “B-But I…” The following glare coming from the Princess of the Night made him carefully consider his next words. “O-Okay.” He took a deep breath, and miraculously, it made him feel a little bit better, though not by much. “Good,” Princess Luna said, switching over to her warmest smile. “Panicking like that isn’t very becoming of an ambassador, now is it?” Suncloak meekly nodded. “Since this is changeling business, what do you suggest we do?” Princess Celestia asked. After a few seconds of silence, Suncloak looked around. “You’re asking me?” He raised an eyebrow and pointed at himself. “Of course,” Princess Celestia said. “You’re the one who’s the most knowledgeable about this.” “Oh.” Suncloak tapped a hoof on his chin. “Okay… The Stone is pretty much useless to ponies, so we don’t have to worry about that. Though someling needs to have told those guards, or whoever they were, about the Stone.” “Could they wish to use its power for something?” Princess Luna asked. “I think so,” Suncloak said. “But not for long. The Stone operates under very strange rules. The only one who has access to its powers permanently is the Queen herself. Any other changeling can use it, but only for a short while. Half an hour, tops, I think. Could be shorter.” “Maybe Queen Chrysalis herself is involved,” Princess Celestia said. “No way. If she was involved, she wouldn’t exile one of her own elites,” Suncloak said. “Those guys are good. Really, really good. I’m absolutely sure she’s serious about this.” The three of them remained silent for a while. “Then… which options remain?” Princess Luna said. “I don’t know,” Suncloak said. “But one thing’s for sure: there’s someling, with some kind of scheme. A big scheme. They wanted to lure Chrysalis to the city, seeing as the Stone was stolen by royal guards. Or look-alikes. And I don’t think they counted on us finding out about the theft.” Suncloak rubbed a hoof over his head for a second. “I think we should let the exile, Traveler, continue his search. Send someling with him to accompany him, make sure he doesn’t do something he’ll regret. Or something I’ll regret. I’ll help him as much as I can, while pretending nothing bad’s happening. Don’t do anything that might scare the Stone’s thief into using it.” “We wouldn’t want the equivalent of Queen Chrysalis running rampant through the city, even if it’s only for half an hour,” Princess Celestia said. “You’re right. Subtlety would be our best bet. Any word of this getting out to the public wouldn’t create a favourable situation.” “Alright. Ambassador, inform the exile of our plans,” Princess Luna said. “We’ll find a suitable escort for him.” Suncloak bowed. “Of course, Your Highnesses. Right away.” He left the throne room at a slightly faster pace than was appropriate, heading back to his office. A couple of hours later, Traveler found himself in the castle’s lobby again, as requested by Suncloak. His search through the changeling register had been completely useless, as none of them had anything to do with the Stone’s move. After that, Suncloak had returned and told Traveler his plan. Which he didn’t like one bit, not at all. But he had no other choice. It was either go along with the Equestrian government, or get locked up. Though walking around the city with an escort wouldn’t be much different anyway. Speaking of said escort, they were late. Suncloak had said that it wouldn’t take long to assign a guard to escort Traveler, and considering a few hours had passed, this meant that said guard had to be incredibly lazy. With a sigh, Traveler looked at his scarf. The Garb of Shame. Stupid thing. If it wasn’t for this, he might as well have been out in the city already, looking for clues without any guard watching his every step. If it wasn’t stuck to his skin, Traveler would’ve burned it already. But no, fate had decided something different. Fate wanted him to walk around a Canterlot that might as well have been an entirely different universe, with changelings being friends with ponies, changelings being friends with changelings, and generally having no idea at all of how the world was supposed to work. And on top of that, fate wanted him to spend way more time around these ponies and changelings than was necessary. Hardly a suitable job for one of Her Highness’ favoured elite. He was one of the best of the best! He shouldn’t be mucking about with this nonsense! He was above this! The Queen only reserved the hardest missions for ones such as him. Whether it was a high-profile infiltration mission in some faraway country, or a long stakeout in some inhospitable location, Traveler could deal with it. But in the end, all he could do about it was complain and grumble. While it wasn’t the way he had intended, this was the only way he’d find the Evershifting Stone right now. A unicorn guard, a stallion, approached Traveler, pulling him out of his thoughts. “Excuse me. Are you Traveler?” he asked. Like the guards that had assaulted the changeling convoy, this one had a white coat, blue eyes, and wore gold armour with a blue crest and tail, hiding the pony’s mane, tail and cutie mark underneath. Traveler nodded. “You’re my escort?” The guard nodded and smiled. “Yep! The name’s Bravery. I’ll be keeping an eye on you while you’re in the city.” He held out his hoof in a friendly greeting. “Really? Any particular reason?” Traveler glared at his supposed escort. Bravery put his hoof down and shrugged. “Not really! I like helping ponies, and changelings I guess, so I volunteered!” Traveler snorted. Right. It’s never that simple. “We should go,” Bravery said. “It’s getting late, and from what I can tell, you’ve been busy all day.” “Finally, someling with a sensible idea,” Traveler said. “I suppose the ambassador, or one of the princesses supplied you with some information on where to start looking?” Bravery raised an eyebrow. “Uh, no. They told me some stuff, like what the thing you’re looking for is, but not more than that. I was hoping to form a plan first thing in the morning.” “Morning?!” Traveler exclaimed. “Then what am I supposed to do for the night? Walk around aimlessly?” “I was actually hoping to get some sleep,” Bravery said. “My house isn’t far from here, and there’s a guest room where you can get some rest, too.” “No way,” Traveler said. “I’m willing to do a lot of things, but I’m not going to sleep in the same house as one of my suspects.” “Oh, right.” Bravery tapped a hoof on his chin. “I was told your Stone thingie was stolen by royal guards. What’d they look like?” “The exact same as you,” Traveler sneered. “Well, that doesn’t help at all,” Bravery said, lifting his helmet with his magic. As he did, his eyes turned green and his coat a few shades darker. It also revealed a scruffy orange and yellow mane. “Some of our sets of armour are enchanted. You know, for official events where all guards need to look uniform.” He put his helmet back on again, disguising his features again. “It could’ve been any guard. Plus, a bunch of sets have gone missing a while back.” “So, you’re saying any pony could be the thief?” Traveler asked. “Amazing! Just great!” He threw his hooves up in the air. “That means I’m back to square one!” “Not entirely,” Bravery said. “At least it’s likely the same thief was responsible for both.” “And do you know who that is?” Traveler asked. “Any clues, hints, whatever?” Bravery sighed. “No, nothing. Not even any signs of break-in.” Traveler growled. “Some help you are.” “I’m sorry,” Bravery said. “Let’s just go to my house, okay? Get some sleep, and we can start the investigation properly first thing in the morning.” “Do I even have any choice? If I choose not to, and go look around on my own, you’ll just report me to the princesses,” Traveler said. Bravery shrugged. “I guess I’d have to. No offense, but I’d just be doing my job.” Traveler sighed. “Fine. Lead the way.” Bravery set off, with Traveler following suit. It was starting to feel like this following thing was going to be a regular occurrence. Just as well, because Traveler didn’t even know the city all that well. And even though he didn’t like to admit it, he was feeling tired. Sleep would probably do him well. Like Bravery said, his house wasn’t far from the castle. It was fairly well-hidden, in a secluded, quiet part of the city. Once there, Bravery pointed at the front door of the comparatively bland house. “There it is. Not all that big, but big enough for me and my wife. And the neighbourhood’s pretty calm, too!” “You have a wife?” Traveler asked. Bravery nodded. “Yep! I could tell you how amazing she is for hours and hours, but I think I’ll just let her speak for herself.” He opened the door and stepped inside. “Honey, I’m home!” As Traveler stepped inside, he noticed that Bravery’s house was remarkably… boring. It was just like any other pony house, with boring floors, boring walls, a boring ceiling, boring everything. There were pictures of friends and family strewn throughout the hallway. The living room the hallway lead to was pretty much the same, as was the kitchen. Though there was a rather tall, slender pegasus mare with a gold-yellow coat, a long, light green mane and tail, matching eyes, and a dress for a cutie mark setting a dinner table in the kitchen. As soon as she saw Bravery, she walked over and kissed him. “Welcome home, honey,” she said, glancing over to Traveler, her face lighting up in the process. “Ah! You must be our guest.” “Yep!” Bravery said. “Glitter, this is Traveler. Traveler, this is Glitter, my wife.” “Yeah, okay,” Traveler said. “I was told I could get some sleep. Where’s the guest room?” “It’s ready and made upstairs,” Glitter said. “But I actually wanted to invite you eat dinner with us!” “Oh. That’s…” Surprising, to say the least. But even though Traveler just wanted to start his investigation as soon as possible, he had to wait until morning. So he might as well take these ponies up on their offer of free, tasty food. “Sure, a few bites won't hurt.” “Great!” Glitter said, a wide smile on her face. “Let me just finish setting the table, and you two can take a seat.” Traveler took one of the chairs and sat down, while Bravery took off his armour, revealing a cutie mark of a side view of a lion’s head, and sat diagonally across from him. In absolutely no time at all, Glitter had put down an enormous number of things on the table: plates, bowls, cutlery, and most importantly, salads, loaves of bread, and even two pots of soup. “Take whatever you want,” Glitter said, sitting down next to her husband, which placed her directly across from Traveler. “I didn’t know what you’d like, so I just got a little bit of everything.” Traveler stared at the huge amount of food on the table. “I… see. You two sure eat a lot.” And they weren’t too bad at staying in shape, either. It was to be expected of a royal guard, but Traveler had no idea how Glitter could stay so slender. Maybe she exercised a lot. Or maybe she just drank a lot of prune juice. Bravery chuckled. “Oh, no. I sent a message ahead so Glitter had enough time to prepare. But like every single time we have guests over, she’s coddling you. Told you she was great!” Glitter grinned and elbowed her husband in the side. “Were you bragging about me again?” “Hey, I can’t help it!” Bravery held his hooves up in mock defeat. “It’s not my fault I married you!” After a pause, he added, “Well, I guess I could blame my rugged good looks and roguish charm.” Traveler rolled his eyes as he took a chunk of bread. The incredibly sweet scent coming from the two ponies in front of him was overpowering anything coming from the food. It’d be nauseating if it wasn’t so appetizing. Glitter giggled. “Well, enough about me. Can you tell me something about yourself, Traveler?” Traveler paused in between bites. “Me?” “Of course!” Glitter said. “You know, what kind of job you have, or your hobbies, or something like that.” Traveler raised an eyebrow. “I’m one of Her Majesty’s elite. I take on the most dangerous tasks she has in store. That’s it.” “Really?” Glitter said, serving herself a bowl of soup. “No hobbies, or friends you have fun with?” “Changelings aren’t supposed to have friends,” Traveler said. “I didn’t do anything besides my job. That’s what the Queen demands.” “Oh.” Glitter gave Bravery a very awkward glance. “At least, um… That scarf looks good on you,” Bravery said. “That’s something.” Traveler grumbled. Stupid scarf. The fact that it apparently looked good on him was just adding insult to injury. He pushed his chair back and stood up. “I’m going to bed.” “Of course,” Glitter said. “You must be tired from your long day. Come on, I’ll show you where your room is.” She stood up and led Traveler to a staircase in the back of the house, leading up. Once upstairs, she showed him a rather simple room containing just a bed, a closet and a wall-mounted mirror. There was a window, but the curtains were drawn. “It’s a little bit bare, but you’ll be okay, right?” “Of course,” Traveler said, heading inside the room as quickly as possible and shutting the door behind him. Finally, some peace and quiet. Traveler took a moment to look at himself in the mirror, though his scarf only reminded him of things he didn’t want to think about. The faster he was done in this city, the better. He couldn’t stand all this mushy stuff ponies were so fond of. Though there was one advantage to this: at least sleeping in a bed was better than sleeping in the streets. And it looked pretty comfortable, too. As Traveler tested the bed with one hoof, he scrapped that last observation. It felt really comfortable. No, he couldn’t sleep just yet. Some planning was needed. Like what locations he wanted to check out tomorrow, and who were his most likely suspects. On the other hoof, his bed did feel really comfortable. A quick nap wouldn’t hurt. He’d just close his eyes for a few minutes, clear his mind. Yeah, that sounded like a good idea. Traveler slipped under the sheets. Normally, he’d never be envious of ponies, but beds sure did beat the tough rocks of the changeling hives. It was the only luxury he’d ever consider importing, though it’d probably turn some changelings into outright slackers. Not Traveler, though. He was a light sleeper, and usually took short naps. Though this time, he fell asleep almost as soon as he closed his eyes.