There was a faint beep in the distance—a soft, rhythmic noise permeated the background. Honeycomb’s ears flicked as the sound reached her awareness. Slowly and ever so slightly, her eyes opened, unable to recognize anything as everything was just a blur. Every breath for Honeycomb was labored and slow. She tried to move, but her body only twitched in response.
Honeycomb blinked a couple of times, trying to clear her vision up. “W-where am I?” she weakly muttered.
“Ah, wonderful, you’re awake!” a voice to her side called out.
Honeycomb’s eyes snapped open.
A pony’s head appeared right above her, looking down. “Why, hello there,” the pony said with a smile.
Honeycomb froze. Everything that had happened—the invasion, the explosion, and finally, him—flashed through her mind. She had been captured. Honeycomb jumped up and tried to back away, causing the previously soft beeping sound to grow louder and more erratic. She gave a small shriek as her back hit something, effectively preventing her escape.
“Whoa, whoa, easy now,” the pony said as he lifted a hoof. “Just take it easy.”
Honeycomb’s eyes widened as she focused on the pony. His light brown coat, his black mane and tail, the square glasses on his nose, the blue overcoat and orange scarf: this was the pony that she saw when she awoke in the forest. She gasped as she remembered her injuries, quickly lifting her right forehoof and inspecting it. The last time she saw it, it had been nearly split in two. The leg in front of her, however, was intact and uninjured. She tapped it with another hoof to make sure it was real.
“Easy now, Honeycomb, j—”
“How do you know my name?” Honeycomb interrupted.
“Oh,” the pony replied. His horn glowed as a small book floated towards the changeling. “I found this with you. I assume it’s yours.”
“My diary!” Honeycomb cried out as she grabbed it with her hooves, hugging it tightly to her chest. She curled up in a ball, closing her eyes and wishing that everything around her was a bad dream. This was, of course, not the case, and she knew she would eventually have to face the world again. After a minute or so, Honeycomb finally looked up to examine her surroundings. She was in a rather spacious cave with a large, solid metal door at one end. She looked down at her body, noticing that a few wires were attached to her. Her gaze followed the lines to where they were attached to various strange machines.
“W-what is going on?” Her eyes darted around, seeing nothing but peculiar devices and sackfuls of papers. Unable to comprehend what was happening, she started to hyperventilate.
“Honeycomb, relax, everything is going to be fine. I am not here to hurt you. I know this is a lot to take in but please just calm down.”
Honeycomb sat on the bed, quivering, while her pupils shrank. What do I do? she thought. Should I try to escape? No, I don’t think I can. I can’t risk it. After a few seconds to take some calming breaths, she stammered out, "O-okay.” Honeycomb kept her eyes on the pony, watching for any sudden movements while clutching onto her diary as she sat there.
The pony smiled gently in response as he took a few steps back. “Well, I think I should start from the beginning and introduce myself,” he said as he sat down. “My name is Dr. Crimson Flask. I am the director of the Bureau of Science for Equestria as well as the palace doctor. I am here to help you, so you do not need to be afraid of me. You should still take it easy, however; you’ve been in a coma for about a month now—”
“A-a month?” Honeycomb shouted.
Crimson sighed. “Indeed. You had some internal injuries that were pretty serious. Given the circumstances, I felt it was best to put you in an induced coma, so you could heal faster.”
“S-so you’re not going to dissect me or anything?” Honeycomb asked quietly.
“Oh, goodness, no!” Crimson replied, his face twisting. “Why would I ever do such a barbaric thing? I am a doctor; I try to save lives, not take them.”
Honeycomb gave a sigh of relief and felt her shoulders relax, no longer feeling she was in any immediate danger. “So then where am I?”
“Canterlot,” Crimson replied.
“Oh." Honeycomb's ears flattened slightly when she realized she was in the middle of enemy territory. She looked down at the ground, hugging her right foreleg. “So where exactly in Canterlot am I?”
“Well…” Crimson adjusted his glasses. “To be exact, we are in the palace dungeons. But it’s not what you think! My superiors and I want to keep you hidden at the moment for your protection. The public is aware you exist, but very few ponies know that you are actually here right now. We felt it was best to keep you here so that we can keep you out of the public since, well... you know."
"Oh..." Honeycomb shuddered at the thought of being brought out in front of angry ponies.
"To be honest," Crimson continued, "the palace never really uses these dungeons anymore. They are pretty much abandoned. Took me awhile to clean this place up, but I got it done.”
“O-okay…” Honeycomb replied. Does this mean I am stuck here for now?
“If it’s okay with you, I would like to ask you a couple of questions.”
“I guess so,” Honeycomb answered softly, still looking at the ground.
Crimson tried to give a reassuring smile as he attempted to make eye contact. His horn glowed, levitating a clipboard and a quill in front of him. “Now,” he began as he adjusted his glasses with a hoof, “let’s start with something easy. How old are you, Honeycomb?”
“Um, seventeen,” Honeycomb replied as she curled up even more.
“Hmm, and is it correct that you are a worker changeling?”
“Yes.”
“Now, ponies have very little information regarding changelings, and I was just wondering a few things. Can you feed on emotion as well?” Crimson scribbled down some notes as he spoke.
What do I do? Honeycomb thought as she bit her lip. Should I give them any information or not? I am a changeling, and I don’t want to give them anything that can hurt our kind. But is what I eat that important? I mean, I don’t want to starve. Will they treat me badly if I withhold anything? Will they treat me better if I do tell? Would they hurt me if they catch me lying? I mean Queen Chrysalis lied and that didn’t turn out well at all. I just want to go home—and I am hungry.
A silence hung between the two before Honeycomb finally answered, "We normally eat regular food, just like everyone else. Only soldiers, infiltrators, and the queen can feed off the emotions of other beings; workers can’t. It has to be given to us from the changelings that can drain it from others. Workers, like myself, just stay at the nest, so there was never a need for us to feed off emotions directly.”
“If that is so, then why feed off emotion?”
“Well, there is a lot more energy in emotions than food.”
“Hmm, that is really interesting. Well, I guess there is really no need for this then,” Crimson said as he moved his scarf out of the way, revealing a black band around his neck.
“What is that?” Honeycomb inquired, staring at the previously hidden item.
“It’s a magical device that our research department made. They told me that it is supposed to prevent a changeling from feeding off of my emotions.”
“Oh, then are you going to take it off?” Honeycomb asked.
Crimson adjusted his scarf back into its original position before picking up his notepad. “Sadly, I cannot. Lord Solaris told me to keep it on just in case. Have to follow orders, you know.”
“I see...” Honeycomb replied, an ashamed look on her face. Do they not trust me? Well, I guess that makes sense. I mean, we did attack them.
“Another question,” Crimson said. “Why did the changelings invade our city?”
Honeycomb tensed and bit her lip. “I… I don’t want to talk about that.” Queen Chrysalis would be displeased if they knew our situation.
“Oh,” Crimson replied as he put the notepad down. “Well, I think that’s enough questions for now. So, Honeycomb, would you like some food?”
Honeycomb’s ears flicked. “F-food?”
“Yeah. Didn’t know you were going to wake today, so here, take my lunch. I can easily eat later.” Crimson floated a brown bag next to the changeling, smiled, and nodded his head. “Go on, you can eat it if you want.”
Well, if he was going to poison me, he could have done it easily when I was in a coma. I guess it’s okay. I am hungry after all, Honeycomb thought. She reached into the bag and pulled out a sandwich wrapped in plastic. She looked in between the slices of bread, seeing brown and red. “What is this?”
“It’s a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.” Crimson chuckled. “Why, have you never seen one?”
Honeycomb shook her head.
“Wait, are you serious?” Crimson asked in surprise. “You mean you’ve never heard of them?”
Again, Honeycomb shook her head. “We… don’t have much of a variety of food where I live.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that.” Crimson rubbed his chin. “Well, go on and try it.”
Honeycomb unwrapped the sandwich and held it next to her muzzle, sniffing it to make sure it was okay. Cautiously, she opened her mouth and took a nibble out of the corner. Her body froze, and her eyes widened in shock. Suddenly, she started rapidly shoving the sandwich into her mouth, taking large bites out of it. In a matter of seconds, the entire sandwich was gone.
Crimson stood there, eyes wide and mouth agape. “Wow, you must have been hungry.”
Honeycomb wiped her mouth with a hoof. That was delicious! I‘ve never had anything like that before. Do all ponies get this kind of food? It was so creamy and good. I don’t know how to describe the taste exactly, but it was very sweet.
“There’s more food in the bag if you like,” Crimson finally said.
Honeycomb looked down into the bag and let out a large gasp. She instantly pulled out a red apple. “Y-you guys even have fresh fruit?”
Crimson was taken aback slightly. “Of course, we have lots of fruit. Some farmers here have acres upon acres of fruit orchards.”
“Really?” Honeycomb asked, a surprised look on her face.
Crimson nodded his head.
Again, she began with a small bite. She nearly cried, never before tasting something so sweet and delicious.
Crimson raised an eyebrow as he watched the small changeling devour his apple. She didn’t leave anything left, not even the core. “I guess you like sweet things.”
Honeycomb nodded in response.
“Feeling better?” Crimson asked.
“I guess so,” Honeycomb replied as she wiped her mouth.
“Well then, if that is the case, I would like to run some tests on you. Would that be okay?”
“Tests?”
“Yes, just to make sure you are okay. You did just wake up from a month long coma, and I want to make sure everything healed correctly,” Crimson answered as he adjusted his glasses.
Honeycomb bit her lip, looking at the various blinking machines. “I don’t know.”
“I promise it won’t hurt.”
“But why do you need to ‘test’ in the first place?”
“Well,” Crimson said as he slicked back his mane. “You may look fine on the outside, but both you and I have no idea if there is still something wrong on the inside.”
“But I feel fine. Why would anything be wrong?”
“Because, you had severe internal injuries when I found you. I know you are scared and that everything must be going very fast for you, but I promise that I will not hurt you.”
Honeycomb stared at the ground, curling back up. “I… I just want to go home. Why can’t I go home?”
Crimson sighed as he too looked at the ground. “I know you do, it is just that you are in a very tricky situation. I personally wouldn’t mind letting you go, but that is not up to me. What happens next is up to my superiors.”
“But then what is going to happen to me?” Honeycomb cried out, tears forming in her eyes. “I’m scared, okay? I am stuck here, and I have no idea if I am going to live to see another day. How can I trust you when we were just enemies?”
“No, no. Please don’t, Honeycomb,” Crimson said softly. He reached out with a hoof to comfort her but pulled it back when he saw her looking up at him. “Look, I don’t think there is anything I can say to make you believe me. But I will say this. If my superiors or I wanted you dead, then why did we bother spending so much time, effort, and money to save you? I had to perform an eight hour surgery on you. I don’t know what my superiors want, but I know they are fair and kind. I don’t think they are going to hurt you.”
“Wow." Hardly believing what she had just heard, Honeycomb wiped her eyes with a hoof.
“So, can you let me help you?” Crimson asked with a gentle smile.
Honeycomb bit her lip, staring back at Crimson. “O-okay,” she finally said after a few seconds.
“Thank you,” Crimson said. “Here, let us start with something simple.” His horn glowed as he levitated a stethoscope over.
Honeycomb stared at the strange object in front of her with both curiosity and fear. “What is that?”
“This,” Crimson replied as he placed the earbuds in his ears, “is a stethoscope. It allows me to hear your heartbeat and lungs by simply placing this piece right here on you.”
Honeycomb cocked her head as her fear morphed into disbelief. It can hear my heartbeat? But it just looks like a tube with a metal disk.
“Here,” Crimson said as he pulled the stethoscope out of his ears and floated the instrument towards Honeycomb. “If you are still nervous, you can use it on me.”
Honeycomb gasped. “What?”
“Go ahead.”
Honeycomb slowly reached out, grabbing the device in her hooves.
"Go on, it will be fun," Crimson replied with a smile as he sat down on his haunches and unbuttoned the top portion of his coat, revealing part of his chest.
“But how do I use this?”
“Simple, just place that end in your ears, and place the metal disk right here on my chest.”
Honeycomb looked at the device in her hooves then up at Crimson. Cautiously, she walked towards Crimson.
“Go on,” Crimson encouraged with a smile.
She placed the earbuds in her ears and slowly placed the other end on Crimson's chest. Honeycomb let out a small gasp when she began to hear a steady, rhythmic beat. “Oh wow…”
“Pretty cool, ain’t it.”
Honeycomb sat there, her eyes staring off in the distance. I could hear my fellow changelings’ heartbeat if I placed my ear on their chest. But this is so clear. His heart sounds like mine.
“Do you feel better now?”
“Yeah,” Honeycomb replied as she gave the device back to Crimson. “O-okay, I trust you.”
“Thank you,” Crimson said he put on his stethoscope. “Let's get started. This won’t take long.”
Honeycomb stared at the ceiling of the cave while lying on her bed. Her eyes drifted downwards, looking at the seven lines she carved into the wall, each mark representing a day since she woke up from her coma.
I’m bored. I am captured by my enemy, and yet, I am bored. I feel like I should be nervous, but I can’t, Honeycomb thought. Where is Dr. Flask? He is usually here by now, I think. I wish I had a window at least. It’s hard keeping track of time.
She sighed before rolling onto her stomach. “Well, at least Dr. Flask is nice. I just wish he was here right now. I am hungry.”
Honeycomb quickly sat up as she heard the large metal door open.
“Oh, hey, Dr. Flask,” Honeycomb greeted as she quickly jumped off the bed. “What are we going to do today? Did you bring any food, I am hungry.”
“Well… today is going to be different,” Crimson replied as he averted his gaze.
“Dr. Flask, what is wrong?”
“My superiors are coming shortly to decide what do with you.” Crimson sighed.
“What?” Honeycomb said as she tilted her head. “Your superiors? Who are they?”
“Lord Solaris and Lady Luna.”
Honeycomb’s eyes bulged as she gasped. “What? You mean the rulers of Equestria?”
“Yes, you need to get ready. I don’t know exactly when they’re going to arrive, but it’s going to be soon. It’s almost dawn right now, so when Lord Solaris and Lady Luna are finished with the sun and the moon, I think they’re going to come here.”
“B-but what is going to happen to me?” Honeycomb asked as she started to hyperventilate.
Crimson bit his lip, staring at the ground. “I’m not sure. Neither of them told me what they had planned or what they were thinking.”
Honeycomb bent over slightly, a sudden wave of nausea hitting her. I didn’t know the rulers of Equestria would be coming here! Are they going to be mad at me after Queen Chrysalis put one of them in a cocoon?
Crimson Flask gently patted the trembling Honeycomb on the back. “There, there,” he said softly. “I know you’re nervous and scared, but Lord Solaris and Lady Luna are very nice ponies. They wanted to save you. I know they'll be fair with you. They know you’re young and a worker, and you didn’t play a major role in the invasion. I’m sure they’ll show leniency with you.”
Honeycomb tried to control her breathing as she looked up at Crimson Flask. “Y-you think so?” she asked, still slightly hyperventilating.
“I believe they will. When they ask you a question, answer it truthfully. We do not want to bring in an interrogator. So please, be honest. Also, make sure you address Solaris as Lord Solaris and Luna as Lady Luna. Again, don’t give them a reason to be upset with you. I’m sure that if you do what they say, everything will be okay in the end.” Crimson gave an attempt at a reassuring smile.
“O-okay,” Honeycomb responded, barely above a whisper. She closed her eyes and exhaled, trying to slow her heart rate.
The two sat there in silence, each wondering what would happen. After a few minutes, there was a soft knock on the door. Both Crimson and Honeycomb instantly turned to look.
“Dr. Flask, are you in there?” a commanding voice rang out from behind the door.
“Yes, my lord!” Crimson immediately called back as he rushed to open the door.
Honeycomb froze and felt her throat clench. As soon as the door opened, a massive pony with a white coat walked through, ducking his head just to fit through. He had a mane and tail that looked like they had been set ablaze, and, even from her viewpoint, she could tell that this pony had a massive pair of wings with a horn to match. Each step the pony took just made it look like he was growing larger and larger. Finally, he stopped right in front of her, towering over her, his red eyes staring down at her.
Honeycomb trembled as she looked up at the pony. He was the largest being she had ever seen. Standing in front of her was one of the rulers of Equestria, regent of the sun, Lord Solaris.