Chapter 7: Deduction
They stared at the stallion in the liquid, their jaws hanging open at the grim sight before them. Besides the large hole in his chest, he was also naked and missing several large chunks of fur which had apparently been ripped out post-mortem. The body was still fresh in the liquid and with the enormous size, bright colours and cutie mark, it was unmistakable who the corpse belonged to. Udonga turned towards Star Swirl with widened eyes and slackened jaw. “Now what do we do!?”
“Now we fetch Queen Zuri,” replied Star Swirl grimly, setting her jaw.
“You mean ‘Prin—‘”
“No!” Star Swirl interrupted Isihlangu while a shadow moved behind the curtain in the corner of the room. “I mean Queen Zuri! Princess Zuri is a ten-year old lie!”
Ziro opened the curtain and walked out before freezing at the scene in front of him.
Star Swirl turned to look at him and thought, No! I saw those curtains in the corner! Why didn’t I look at them first!?
Ziro’s eyes widened as they darted between the pot and those looking into it. Star noticed that he hesitated as his gaze passed the pinpricks of light which would mark where her eyes were. He smashed his hoof on the ground and the stairs collapsed into a ramp, causing the group to tumble to the floor. He then dipped his hoof into his saddlebag, brought it to his face and blew a jet of flame. The jet roared like dragonfire before twisting in the air and surrounding them, forming imprisoning rings. “I happen to know that the three of you speak Equestrian. So, I’m going to avoid my speech quirks and make sure you understand very clearly,” said Ziro. “You may have heard that that I’m a talented illusionist. Well, that’s not all I can do. So, if you don’t want to be burned to a crisp, you will cooperate with me. Firstly, tell me who helped you.”
“No one helped us,” replied Light Hoof.
The flames flared. “Don’t presume to lie to me!” yelled Ziro. “Did you think I wouldn’t notice the invisible one’s eyes!? Reveal who it is, or you all die!” he cried.
He did see the light from my eyes! thought Star Swirl. I can’t let him harm the others because of my cowardice! Hostile contact ends the spell, so... She bit her leg, becoming visible again. “It’s me!” she squealed.
“You!” snarled Ziro. “You’ve been a real thorn in my side! Celestia now demands your return. She threatens war!”
Star Swirl gasped and almost took a step backwards, pausing due to the heat of the flames. I’ve put Zebrica and Equestria in danger!
“I can’t have any of you prattling about what you saw, so if you want to live, you’ll be spending the rest of your time in the dungeons. As for those who’ll miss you ...” He slowly grinned, the corners of his lip twitching as if he felt like giggling. “I have friends who can deal with that.”
Star Swirl looked at the flames. They felt like the ones she had felt when she first met “Zaida”. Did that mean that they were an illusion, or did it just mean that they were made by Ziro and that they really were going to burn her? Was there a way she could find out? Could she stall him to find out? “The only reason King Zaida was sick was because you poisoned him, didn’t you, Ziro!? You took the trip as an opportunity to weaken him with poison.”
“One should take the opportunities one’s given if one is to advance,” replied Ziro.
Come on! Give me another clue I need to know how real these are! she thought. “And you made a deal with the changelings. That doctor you found was Queen Chrysalis, wasn’t she!? She didn’t just kill him for you, she supplied you with all the changeling ooze you would need to masquerade as him when combined with his hair, gave you the magic needed to attend Council meetings and moved Prospero on your behalf!”
“She really is an amazing mare, isn’t she?”
Star Swirl’s face curled into a snarl. How could someone treat another’s legacy so callously!? “Then you did worse than merely kill King Zaida. You defiled his memory! You replaced it with the nightmares of a tyrant which should have never existed!”
Ziro’s eyes narrowed. “We will forge an empire greater than anything Zaida ever imagined!”
“And Queen Chrysalis used you for that!? What did you promise her in return? What source of love would--!?” Star Swirl paused. “Oh, you sick creep! Were you two hoping that Zuri would fall in love with you and then you could have a changeling replace you to feed off of her love for her husband!?”
Ziro grinned. “What a short term view! You cannot hope to match my Queen’s genius! It’s far more efficient in the long term to feed off her love for her foals!”
Star Swirl and her companions’ faces bloated with nausea at that revelation. “Well! That would be a long term plan. Still, Queen Chrysalis never struck me as the type to go for merely one source of love. Even one as powerful as that.”
Ziro frowned. “Unfortunately, when Zuri became too close to the slaves to replace them and send them home, that removed one of our sources. Still, we have other plans. And I’m sure that my Queen would appreciate a chance to place an agent so close to Celestia. She’ll surely reward me for salvaging this situation so well.”
She clenched her eyes shut. Everything I’ve tried to do has only made things worse! My arrogance, my refusal to tame my curiosity, my impatience, it’s all just led to harming myself, my new friends and innocent citizens of Zebrica! And now my new friends are in more danger than ever! And Equestria is going to be infiltrated by another changeling posing as me to get to Princess Celestia! I ignored it. I tried to focus on my studies. But all around me horror has reigned while I have strengthened it! I’m so selfish! In my denial I’ve ignored how bad I was making the problem. But the proof is staring me in the face! This really is all my fault! And now, there might be a Cosmic War because of me! Zebrica doesn’t deserve to suffer like that! And I’m the one at fault! She opened her eyes as tears filled them. They provided me with safety, shelter, even supporting my research and all I did was lead them into catastrophe! Even if it’s dangerous, I’ve got to help them somehow! She exhaled and closed her eyes, bracing for the fire’s burn. Then she jumped through the flames. Her hat dropped, landing undamaged amidst the flames while Star Swirl awkwardly pinned Ziro to the floor as she landed.
Ziro’s eyes widened before narrowing them again as he twisted beneath her, digging a hoof back into his saddlebags. He lifted the hoof to his mouth and blew more powder into her eyes.
“Yeeargh!” she cried, lifting her forelegs to her teary, inflamed eyes. She tried to blink away the burning grit as her vision hazed up while Ziro slipped out from under her.
Then he grabbed a hoofful of green powder and blew it, filling the room with a green cloud which expanded in a rolling, billowing front of opacity. They turned to run, but it washed over them. As the cloud cleared, they found themselves in a maze of stone walls, surrounded by armed zebras.
“What just happened!?” asked Light as she took a step back.
Star Swirl blinked. Her hooves still had that odd feeling. There was only one explanation which made sense in light of her recent discoveries. “It’s not real!” she cried. “Follow my voice! I’ll get us out of here!”
They slowly weaved around the real pots and jars, careful to avoid any real flames or potions, Star Swirl trying to blink away the pain as she walked.. Ignore the illusions, she thought. Avoid the real fires. Four steps to the left to avoid the jar. Don’t run into the pot. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to ignore the pain and concentrate on what her hooves were telling her as she slowly helped them navigate the long and intricate path back to the door.
(/)
Star Swirl and her companions left the room, having carefully avoided any pots and jars. When they got out, they saw that the throne room was full of warthogs and zebras. A pair of zebra guards slammed the door behind them. There were another three unconscious zebras on the floor and Safety and Full were also in the room, shackled. Of the zebras, Star Swirl recognised Zuri, Zaka, Ziro and Zaida.
“These thick, stupid slaves are troublingly trespassing,” said Zaka.
“This is revolting!
Throw them into the dungeons!
I won’t allow this!” said Zaida.
Star Swirl pointed at Zaida. “That is an imposter! King Zaida is dead!”
“She evidently yells several lies,” said Ziro. “I imagine every yellow, worried, dumb, big goofball lies so obviously.”
“I can prove he’s dead!” said Star Swirl. “His body is in that study!” She pointed at the door.
“No one enters that room!” said Zaida.
“I forbid all to enter! Everyone knows this!
How convenient!
Stop all from entering there!
They seek to ruin us!”
Zuri’s head darted between speakers as she followed the conversation. “My father, an imposter!? I need to know the meaning of this!”
Star Swirl faced Zuri and said, “Remember what your father was really like! You know that this is not who he really was! Are you really going to dismiss what I say after our time together!?”
Zuri shook her head, closed her eyes, steeled herself and said, “As the King’s last living relative, I can check. Has it really come to the point that I cannot be trusted to keep my father’s secrets while verifying that he’s my own blood?”
Zaida’s eyes widened. “Don’t let her—“
A sonic boom filled the air as a rainbow streak crossed the throne room and the study door smashed to splinters.
“... get in.
Well, that was pretty useless.
You should have stopped her.”
At the threshold, Zuri turned to face Star Swirl. “Show me! Know that I won’t be toyed with on this matter!”
Star Swirl cantered over to her side. “His body is in the large pot at the back, Queen Zuri.”
Zuri glared at her. “Don’t call me that! Won’t allow myself to be addressed as anything other than ‘Zuri’ until it’s proper and the pain has died down!”
Star Swirl closed her eyes and nodded. “All right, Zuri. Do you need me to go with you?”
Zuri exhaled and shook her head. “I need to face this myself. My duties as a daughter depend on it.”She galloped over to the pot, climbed the stairs and peered inside. She scrunched her eyes shut and turned back towards the entrance, opening her eyes as tears streamed down her face. “WHAT HAPPENED!?” she yelled. “Not the lie we were told, but the truth!”
“King Zaida was murdered,” said Star Swirl. “He never recovered from his disease. In fact, the only reason he was sick was because Ziro poisoned him!” She pointed a hoof through the door at Ziro and Zaida. “And he made a deal with the changelings. That doctor he found was Queen Chrysalis!” She clenched her teeth. “She didn’t just kill him, she supplied him with all the changeling ooze he needed to masquerade as King Zaida when combined with his hair, gave him the magic needed to attend Council meetings and moved Prospero on Ziro’s behalf! Then he did worse than merely kill King Zaida.” She exhaled and then yelled, “He defiled his memory! He replaced it with the nightmares of a tyrant which should have never existed!” Star Swirl paused and turned from Zuri’s crying face towards Ziro. “You sick creep!” She turned back towards Zuri. “He was planning to replace the foals you had together with changelings! And several of the slaves.”
Ziro crumbled into green dust and Zaida shrank, shifting into the form of Ziro. He grinned. “Yes. It truly was a glorious plan! You cannot hope to match my Queen’s genius! It’s far more efficient than replacing a single spouse in the long term. Unfortunately, you made replacing the slaves rather difficult, so we were going to have to rely on your foals.”
The room filled with expressions of nausea.
“Yes, I’ve broken the speech quirk taboo! How horrible!” He rolled his eyes. “As you’ve just realised, I’ve been using fake ones for years anyway. I know that none of you are going to accept me now, so why put in any effort anymore?” He laughed before stopping suddenly and forming a grim expression. “But know this: Zebrica will belong to my Queen of Lies and her changelings and I will rule it as King.”
Zaka punched him in the eye. He skidded along the floor while Zaka continued to shake and grit his teeth.
Ziro got up to reveal his blackening eye and smiled. “You’ve got quite the wallop on you, General! Upset that I was using your precious King’s mouth? That I gave orders that you thought were sacred, infallible commandments from your true King?”
“Throw him in the dungeons and have Zembea thrown back in there as well,” snarled Zuri. “Know only silence, traitor!”
(/)
A week later, Plutonia stood in a field, in front of a large crowd of multiple tribes, including several Cosmics. “It is traditional for the holder of my seat to preside over the funeral services of Cosmics,” she said in Zebrish. “But today, I need to offer an apology to the tribes of Zebrica.
“I hated having to allow you to be ruled by a tyrant of a false king. Were I not still affected by the punishment of my last transgression, I would have probably broken my oath and revealed that the true King Zaida was already in Elysium, waiting for his subjects. Anyone who knew the true King Zaida knew that he was a good stallion, both to his subjects, and to the other tribes he shared this land with.
“He was a scholar, at home in the laboratory. Not in the war chamber, even if he was required there at times. King Zaida was proud to be a zebra, but he was not a supremacist.
“Elysium’s gain was a loss for Earth that most are unfortunately only realising now. I ask that you live up to his true memory rather than the tainted one the imposter provided. Thank you.” She walked back into the audience as Zuri took her place.
“Thank you, Plutonia. This is a day of mourning, but it is also a day of new beginnings. If there is one thing that the imposter demonstrated, it’s that together, our tribes can do mighty things. We zebras owe a lot of our strength to the other tribes and we will not forget that.
“Slavery will no longer be tolerated in my lands. Instead, we will grant aid to the tribes which were harmed by the imposter’s reign and show that we can create a future of harmony and strength through unity.”
She switched to Equestrian. “There is another whom we have to thank for her part in ending the imposter’s tyranny. Where we were blinded by the imposter’s lies and illusions, she sought the truth, cleared my father’s name and freed South Zebrica from tyranny.
“I heard that she sought a title for herself, like that of her ancestor, ‘the Bearded’. My response, in gratitude, is that among the zebras, she shall be known as ‘Star Swirl the Truthseeker’, as it would be wrong of us to forget what she has done.”
Star Swirl walked to the front and bowed. “Thank you, Zuri. I am very grateful for this honour and for your extended hospitality.”
“The pleasure is all mine, Star Swirl the Truthseeker,” she replied. “A pity, almost, that today is the day that Princess Celestia asked to have you back by. My original plan was to carry you as I ran across the Antlerctic Ocean. I believe that having Celestia teleport you would be faster though. Let it be known that you are always welcome in South Zebrica. Yet I think you’ll find that you will want to witness events that are about to happen in your own country.” She nodded to Celestia who was approaching.
“I believe that you have had some remarkable adventures here, Star Swirl the Truthseeker,” said Celestia.
“Yes, Princess Celestia. Thank you.” She bowed. “But please, while I really like my new title, I want everyone to feel free to just call me Star Swirl.”
“Oh?” asked Celestia. “That seems to be a bit of a change of heart.”
“I wanted a title because I was afraid of being forgotten like Star Swirl the Bearded was,” admitted Star Swirl as she lowered her head. “But now I know that the Zebricans, whom I respect, am thankful to and plan to visit again one day, will not just forget me.”
(/)
Once again the starry void was filled with creatures at their desks. “Well, things have been quite eventful, haven’t they?” asked Noa. “I see that Chrysalis has elected not to attend in an effort to avoid punishment. Typical!”
“She’s already left my land,” said Mufasa. “I don’t know where she’s hiding.”
“We’ll have to deal with that when we get the opportunity,” replied Noa. “I certainly don’t have time to waste looking for her. We can punish her properly when she resurfaces again. Presumably when she’s tired of not having any say in our policies. She knows that we have to be harsh on her for this. Especially with what she did in Canterlot, but it’s not like we haven’t had worse offenders. Still, if she kills anyone else, let us know, Plutonia, and we’ll ambush her. In related news, we also have a member who has ascended a rank. Congratulations, Queen Zuri of Cordelia. On a related, sombre note, I must also point out our loss of Zaida of Prospero. His funeral was attended by several of us. It is always a difficult transition when we lose a member. Especially as we have to decide who will take over their responsibilities.”
Celestia raised a hoof.
“Yes, Celestia?” asked Noa.
“I don’t think that we need to have long–term concerns,” said Celestia. “I have a candidate in mind for his seat.”
Jokel turned his head towards her. “Oh, come on!” he cried. “Another one!? You planned this whole thing, didn’t you!?”
Pluto levitated a piece of parchment over the head of a wolf wearing a gem-encrusted collar and onto Zuri’s desk. “Meet me afterwards,” it said. “We need to talk.”
(/)
After the meeting, two stayed behind. “I asked you to stay, because I have a message,” said Pluto as she walked over to the new queen. “It is not strictly allowed, but I think that you have earned a bending of the rules. Your father says that he loves you and that you do not have to feel ashamed of your time that you were fooled by Ziro. He’s proud of you and all you did to protect the tribes of Zebrica. He says that you are already showing that you will be a great Queen.”
Zuri threw her arms around Pluto and embraced her as she wept.
(/)
Epilogue: Acknowledgements
Directly after Ziro’s capture:
A group of guards led Ziro away from the city in chains. Eventually they stopped. Ziro collapsed into a pile of green dust which lay in the dirt as his chains collapsed. The guards dropped the chains, but otherwise did not react with surprise. Instead, one of the guards shifted size, shape and colour to reveal a bruiseless Ziro. He grinned. Another guard did the same, transforming into Zembea.
Ziro walked to the front of the guards and faced them. “Switch to something more appropriate for Equestria!” Some of the remaining guards collapsed into green dust like Ziro had. The others flared with green flame, transforming into ponies. Ziro pulled a crystal ball out of his saddlebag, placed it on the floor and tapped it.
One of Chrysalis’s faces filled the orb. “What is it!?” she asked.
“There was a setback. An Equestrian figured out who I was. But don’t worry. I am still dedicated to your cause. Equestria will pay.”
Look out for the next instalment of The Truthseekerverse: A Debt to the Stars