//------------------------------// // Days go by // Story: Dimension Jumper // by redtau //------------------------------// A few days later I had received the first small shipment of supplies from the Rovers, though I wasn't too fond of the hole in the middle of my outer courtyard. Apparently there was enough of a subterranean structure in the castle that the entrance could only be one of two places: here or the dungeons. I loved the visit all the same. Only four of the Rovers came, bringing fresh produce, flour, eggs, milk, and even some salted meat, a delicacy I had almost forgotten under pony care. There were also notebooks, pens, ink, and gems, along with a dozen books about spell forms and sidgils. Well, roughly about spell forms and sidgils. One claimed to be a textbook but read like some of the spirituality books from earth: one sentence of partial fact for every two paragraphs of fluff. The rest of the books were stories, myth and legend. Ruby, the leader of the Rovers, had kindly marked ones I might be interested in, where the hero or villain used a magic circle to some effect. I also received almost two dozen letters requesting an audience to hear grievances or settle disputes. It appears they have taken you for a real noble. . "We've met a 'real' noble," I muttered, hoping the Rovers wouldn't mind me talking to myself. "and if I ever see that arrogant prick again I will knock his teeth out." I looked up at the Rovers enjoying a breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon in the courtyard. "How would I reply to these? I don't exactly get mail service out here." "Our leader is working on establishing or extending existing mail routes to this castle. If you want to respond to those today we can take them back." "I suppose I'll see them all and just see how it all turns out. 'Have castle, will rule.'" I heard the sound of hooves and looked around. "Speaking of which." I smiled and waved at Scorpio. Ah, the child of Morphi is up and moving. Pio was hobbling in my direction, a nervous grin on his face as he eyed the Rovers. They responded by narrowing their eyes at him, and one even let out a low growl. "Pio," I said in a friendly voice, waving him over. "It's good to see you up and about. A few more days and that wing should be good as new. Care to join us for some breakfast? We have cereal, eggs, bacon, fruit, and I think even a little fish." "T-t-thank you," Pio nervously sat down and began to much at an assorted tray in front of him, never really taking his eyes off of the Rovers. "You can all relax. Scorpio here is a guest in the castle. He crash landed a few nights ago and I'm letting him stay until he gets better." "He doesn't smell right." One of the Rovers said, glaring harder at him. "He's been sleeping in a dusty castle for three days and he's practically bathing in my healing balms, I'd be surprised if he smelled like anything normal under all of that. Which reminds me, can you add soap to my next shipment?" "Soap?" "So I can take a bath." I grinned as the Rovers all flinched away at that word. "And so I can get some of the rest of the castle cleaned up. Do you know how long it's been since anybody washed the -" "PIO!" I spun around to see five ponies charging into the castle, all of them covered in scratches and bruises. They dog piled onto poor Pio before he got much chance to respond, all calling with "Where were you?" and "We missed you!" More of Morphi's descendants? I didn't think they operated in groups of more than two or three. "Friends of yours?" I asked, drawing their attention. Two of them shied away, and one actually ran and hid behind the others. "Family mostly." Pio said, wincing as he pushed one of the pack off his injured wing. In addition to the dark pegasus himself there were two more pegasai, one orange, one white, an earth pony in deep blue, and two unicorns of matching hues of turquoise. "Ah, all of you have come such a long way from Appleoosa. How is it out that way this time of year." "It's great!," the orange pegasus said with a smile, "We can't wait to get home." Pio cringed. "The snow must be getting kind of deep in the mountains this time of year. Do you work on the weather team?" "No, I'm more of a shop pony. The weather team back home can handle the mountains with no problem." "They must work hard with all the rain you guys get." "Yeah, they keep bugging us to join up." the white pegasus chimed in. Pio was sweating heavily now. "Your Majesty!" one of the Rovers piped up, no longer able to hold it in anymore. "These ponies are not as they appear!" "Oh, I know." I said. "They are changelings." There was a collected gasp from the six in front of me. "Changelings?! What? How could you even think something like that?" "Pio said he's from Fillydelphia, not Appleoosa. Appleoosa is a flat desert so there are no mountains, little snow and very little rain." I said with a grin. "Oh, and Pio was partially transformed when I found him passed out in the courtyard. That and he was happily eating bacon just now." "You knew!?" He asked. "You knew and you still took me in?" "Of course. I can't very well have ponies dropping dead at my doorstep and do nothing, what kind of monster do you take me for?" "But if you knew," a Rover asked, "Why question them at all?" "I was enjoying seeing a creature dig a hole faster than you Rovers." I said with a grin. I was rewarded with a barking laugh from the canids. "W-w-well we will j-just be going then." The earth pony disguised changeling said, backing slowly towards the gate. "Nonsense. Look at you lot, you're all scratched and bruised and banged up. You will stay and receive some food and medical treatment." I put on a stern glare. "Provided none of you are stupid enough to try and steal love from me or anyone else who visits my castle." "Then you invite us to starve." the unicorns said in unison. "I invite you to ASK." I responded. "I'm sure even a Rover would not object to hugging or cuddling for a short while. As long as you are honest and don't take more than you need, you are welcome to stay." "Really?" One of the Rovers asked. "You're just going to let creatures like these wonder around your castle?" "I'd love it if they could lend a hand with construction or cleaning, but otherwise yes. I am more refugee and lost soul than almost any on this world. I would gladly open my doors to those who need a place for a time, provided they obey some simple rules and can be civil. Pony, canid, gryphon, zebra, even the children of Morphi are welcome." You and your big mouth. I looked around the courtyard and had to fight to keep from gawking. Almost two dozen canids, mostly Rovers, had come to bring gifts or have me hear grievances. In addition, there was a smattering of almost every other creature imaginable. A trio of zebras brewed potions and soup in one corner of the courtyard, while a half dozen wounded griffons joked heartily around a keg of rum. Minotaurs boasted and chatted with canids, and the changelings ran around making sure everyone had food, drink, and a place to sit out of the sun. "My home has become a mad house!" I lamented. "Worse than a mad house. In a mad house at least the doctors have some control. You are on your own." I glanced up at the gryphon, Reggie ,who had volunteered to help organize the madness. He was the only one who seemed determined to get everyone to behave. Already he had organized those who had come into three distinct groups. The injured, who were suffering old wounds from various battles or encounters. There was everything from a minotaur with a twisted ankle to a gryphon with a missing wing. They had either brought some small tribute of supplies or money, or were offering aid in small ways like cooking or cleaning. The refugees, those who for one reason or another had been cast out. They were working where they could, the few skilled laborers leading the unskilled in doing things like rebuilding the kiln, working on fixing my slapdash roof repairs, and creating an accurate map of the castle. The last group, the petitioners, were taking up all of my time. Already I had decided two financial disputes, married a couple of canids and blessed a child. Well, blessed an egg. A rough cough brought my attention back to my current petitioner. The young gryphon glared at me as I turned back from the window to address him properly. The courts were both being repainted so I was set up in a temporary court in one of the towers off the main courtyard. "My apologies, it's been a hectic couple of days. What did you want of me?" "I wish to challenge you to combat for possession of this castle." The gryphon declared, a wicked look on his face. "No." I said simply, turning to Reggie. "Who's next?" "Then you concede defeat?" The gryphon asked. "No, I'm just not going to fight you." "Then by the rule of the gryphon lands-" "This isn't gryphon land." I said, sighing and standing up. "This isn't pony land. This isn't zebra land. This isn't changeling land. This is my land. Mine. And I make the rules for any changes in power." "You cannot simply dismiss me!" The challenger said, drawing a scimitar. "So you're just an assassin now?" I asked, eyeing the blade. "You barge in here and don't get your way so you're going to just start attacking things?" Reggie was bristling next to me, doing his best to glare the upstart down on my behalf. "You must fight me, or you must surrender your lands to a stronger opponent." The challenger said, not giving up on his claims. I turned to my secretary. "Reggie, how would this work in the gryphon lands? Do I have to fight him?" "If you were a gryphon you would be required to name a time and place to accept his challenge. However, you are not a gryphon, and the ruling on such things are sketchy at best." "I'll bet. I'd love to see how far this tactic would get with the princesses." I said with a grin. "Very well, challenger, you must answer me this. If I accept your challenge and fight you, will you cease bothering me?" The other plaintiffs waiting in my court let out a gasp of surprise, and the challenger nodded eagerly. "Yes, on my honor." "Good. Let it be known that you are the first challenger and any others must follow you unless I specifically accept another challenge. Is this accepted?" "Yes!" The challenger said eagerly, adjusting his grip on his sword. "Then that's settled. The challenge is set for Friday at noon, one hundred and seventy five years from now." There was a clatter as the sword fell to the tiled floor. "W---WHAT?!" "You have a problem with the challenge?" I asked. "You can't set a date so far in the future!" "Says who? I'm sure it's reasonable for royalty like me. The princesses are thousands of years old, and I'm sure your king-" "Emperor" Reggie whispered to me "Emperor has a similarly long and blessed reign." "I reject your date." "Then you forfeit the challenge and cannot place another." I smiled down at the stunned challenger. "To be fair, if I fail to show then you win the challenge by default." I looked up at the line of petitioners. "Next?" A minotaur stepped forward and hefted an axe. "I challenge you for-" "Line starts over there." I said, hooking a thumb at the dejected gryphon challenger. A number of snickers floated up from the crowd, and two or three petitioners, mostly well armed, detached themselves from the line and slinked out of court. I glared up at my most recent failure with the magical circles, a massive convoluted mess covering the better half of a wall in one of the ballrooms. The idea had been a simple one, but the execution was beyond me. "Oh, who want's magical karaoke anyway?" "Your majesty?" I turned around to see Scorpio walking into the room. It had been some days since the first court, and most of the freeloaders had scurried off when I demanded work or funding for the privilege of living in the castle. I still had more workers than I knew what to do with though, and was rapidly running out of small tasks for them to do. "Ah, Pio. Just the creature I wanted to see. Tell me, how are you and your family fairing?" "Well enough. It's rough trying to get affection honestly. Some of the visitors to the court have been suggesting... less savory means." "I heard about that, and I'm not about to let a group of changelings trying to make an honest living be pressured into prostitution. I had another idea, but I wanted to run it by you first." "Ok, shoot." "I'm thinking of turning this room into a stage." "There's already a stage over there." Pio said, pointing to a small section of the room that was raised about a foot off the ground." "Which was great way back in the day when a string quartet was the only thing you needed to put on a stage to entertain ponies. I want something that can support a half dozen musicians at least, along with speakers, amplifiers and room to move about." Pio raised an eyebrow. "That's... ambitious. You have some musicians in mind?" "Yup. You." "Me?" Pio looked around the empty room to make sure I wasn't addressing someone else. "I'm not a musician." "You can learn. Think about it, with your magic you could be the best cover band in the world." "What's a cover band?" "You play songs from other musicians." "And how, exactly, will I be 'the greatest cover band in the world'?" "Well, you and your family will. Think Pio. Ponies like songs, and while they might break into song and dance numbers spontaneously sometimes, more than a few would love to go to shows. Master a few old songs and you could even do concerts of dead musicians." Pio cocked his head to the side, thinking. "And that will get us love?" "Worth a shot. Besides, at least then I'll get some music in this room. This circle is just beyond me." I waved my hand at the curving lines, remembering that the last time I had tried powering it up it had drained three gems and produced a single tone for six minutes. "Actually, there was something else I wanted to ask you about." "Of course, anything for my favorite Child of Morphi." "That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. Talk around the castle is that you aren't from this world." "That's true, I've only been here a few months." "Then how do you know of Queen Morphi? She died out thousands of years ago, even most of my brethren don't know about her." My eyes glowed turquoise for a moment, I could tell by the shifting light. "Because I'm bound to a spirit that is older than any of you. Nightmare tells me things." "Did- did she know her? Did the Nightmare know the first changeling?" "Do you want to answer that?" Yes, I'd better. "Sorry," Pio said, "How would I answer that?" "Not you Pio." I closed my eyes and breathed out slowly. "Nightmare." I let go. Pio stepped back from Sarah, some ancient instinct deep in him screaming that there was a deadly predator nearby. Sarah opened her eyes, and they were blue and serpentine. "Um, Sarah?" He asked. "Not quite." Nightmare responded, her voice and Sarah's intertwined, giving her an eerie doubled effect. Pio swallowed. "Nightmare?" She smiled. "Tell me- tell me about Morphi. What was she like?" "Morphi is, was, an alicorn." Pio raised an eyebrow. "An alicorn?" "Alicorns are made when a pony masters a certian kind of magic. I'm not sure about the princesses, but Morphi mastered illusion and charms. She was able to subdue great beasts by gently suggesting to them that it was better to lie down or move on to other hunting grounds." "How does an alicorn make a changeling?" "Love and magic.She had a crush on another, but was too involved in her research to ask after him. When I found her she was so sad, having already given up. He had fallen in love with another, and they were to be wed shortly." "What happened?" Nightmare-Sarah frowned. "Understand this young changeling, I am not merely a bad dream walking the waking world. I am a creature of dreams, and as such I strove to be more than just another nightmare. My dream horrors were always crafted to guide a creature to action. I gave her a nightmare, a dream of a life of loneliness without love. It was my hope that she would be inspired to seek out love elsewhere, but I fear I am too good at my craft." She waved her arms, and a shadow play appeared upon the far wall. A green alicorn watched from hiding as two ponies, a blue unicorn male and a grey unicorn mare, kissed and cuddled. "She used her magics," The scene shifted, showing the alicorn luring the grey mare away and slaying her. "And replaced her rival. She used illusion to mask her form, and charm spells to keep her love enraptured." "The constant deception was draining on her though, and she started to use the stolen love to supplement her magical abilities. Because the love she received was not for her, it was weak and fleeting. In order to get the power required to continue the illusion, Morphi had to steal love from others in secret." The scene shifted, and the disguised Morphi sat on a throne surrounded by males and a few females. Their eyes all seemed dull, their expressions listless. "It was not till her children came into the world deformed that she began to suspect something was wrong. They were born with twisted horns, misshapen wings, and sometimes even physical holes in their bodies. These strange deformities expanded with age, a side effect of being born and growing up without any real love. It wasn't just that there was no love and no chance of love, it was that any love they got was taken from them. Morphi taught them to hide their deformities and steal love as she had." The illusion faded, and Nightmare lowered her head and turned away. "An entire race was born and doomed to live as monsters, all because of one simple dream." "You can't blame yourself." "But others would, if they knew. Nightmare, corrupter of alicorns, mother of monsters." An uncomfortable silence filled the room, and Pio stared at the ground, absorbing what he had heard. "What happened to Morphi?" "She became... concerned. Each new child was more deformed than the last, more monstrous and feral in nature. One day she let all her illusions go, and saw what decades of magical misuse had done to her. Her first love found her in their bedroom, staring into a mirror in a state of shock. When he saw a monster standing where his love should have been, he attacked her. " The illusion swirled back into being, an old blue unicorn blasting and swinging at a large chitinous black beast. "Wounded, scared, and starting to break free of decades of glamour, he launched himself at her." The scene carried the two out of a window and down into a deep ravine. "They died from the fall?" "He did, but she was already dead." "How?" "Alicorns are notoriously hard to kill, even the corrupted ones. But she stood and faced the one she had struggled so long to be with. The one who she had lied, killed and stole just to stand beside." "And he called her a monster." "When all you have to keep you going is the faint echoes of stolen love, you'd be surprised how fatal a broken heart can be."