Changing Odds

by Melody Brush


Ch. 6-2: Reunions And Questions

Part Six
Trials

Chapter Two
Reunions And Questions

It was now seven days after the official wedding of the real Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Captain of the Royal Guard, Shining Armor and Zuro was once again able to feel his power returning to him. His sat up in his bed as members of the Royal Guard came to him with their spears in hoof.

"You're coming with us." The lead said. Zuro inclined his head.

"I will cooperate, captain." He said calmly. He waited for the to tell him when to get up. Two of the guards snapped an iron collar around Zuro's neck with a chain connected to it and he slid off the bed to his own hooves.

"Let's go." The captain ordered. At this Zuro followed his escort through the beds in the hospital wing out into the hall way. The group led him through the castle corridors on the red carpet for several long minutes going left and right before turning down a flight of stairs into the lower levels where the dungeons were located. They reached the lower levels and when Zuro saw the cells he let his head drop with a sigh. He knew the chances of being placed in these cells were there and his mother feared them the most, but he ignored the threat until now.

The guards led him to a cell down the way a bit. One of them unlocked the door and pulled it open. The one holding his leash unhooked the chain and guided him into the cell. Zuro offered no resistance. The guards closed the door and locked it before walking off to their respective duties. Zuro walked over to the other end of the cell where a bench with a cushion atop it was bolted to the wall and eased himself down on it, letting his head rest back against the stone wall.

"Just like back at home, right?" A familiar voice asked. Zuro lifted his head and looked over to his right. There in the cell next to his was his younger brother, Gnator. He lay there on his bench with his eyes closed giving off the appearance he was perfectly relaxed.

"Gnator?" Zuro asked.

"Well, it certainly ain't the Great Goddess herself." Gnator answered sarcastically. Zuro sat up in his bench closer to the bars.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"What do you think?" Gnator replied and lifted his head up to look up at him. "You bound my powers. We're prisoners of your favorite race. The queen and all our brethren are gone. Shall I go on?"

"Gnator, we both know-"

"Shut up." Gnator interrupted. "I get it. I wouldn't be in this mess if I hadn't been so blind." He huffed and laid back on his cushion. Zuro felt like he just got a buck to the face again.

"I'm to blame too." Zuro said. Gnator snorted. "No. I mean that." Zuro said as he leaned his head against the bars. "I was too eager to get to the ponies, I left you and everyone else behind."

"But you kept in touch with dear old dad." Gnator stated. He sat up and glared at Zuro. "Things changed after you left, Zu." Zuro looked up at him.

"And how would you know?" Zuro asked. "By what dad told me you abandoned our parents after I left. You turned your back on them when I left you to take care of Dili and mom and also our new baby sister. And for what? Just because you were angry with me for making my life choice!" Gnator gave no response to this. He just stared Zuro in the eyes angrily. After a few minutes of being glared at Zuro lay back on his cushion and stared up at the ceiling.

~~)oOo(~~

"Your majesty, the changeling has been moved to the dungeons." The commander reported to Princess Celestia as she sat on a cushion in the thrown room. She looked up at him and inclined her head.

"Thank you, commander." She said.

"With all do respect, your majesty, why not just have these brutes banished or better yet beheaded?" He asked her. She raised a brow to him.

"There are no execution penalties, commander." She stated regally. "You know that." He inclined his head.

"Forgive me, your majesty." He offered. "I was just-"

"I know your intentions, commander." She interrupted. "And it's only natural considering all that has happened recently." She turned her gaze to her city outside the castle. The repairs already nearly complete in such short time. "Commander," she turned to face him again. "Before the trial I want somepony to speak with the older changeling."

"Your highness?" He asked.

"I've previously engaged this one before." She explained. "I want to know his story before the trial begins." The commander inclined his head.

"As you wish, your highness." He said before he turned around and marched off as he slid his helmet over his head. Celestia watched him walk off to perform the order just given to him. When he was out of sight she heard hoof steps coming her way. She turned to see her sister, Princess Lune with an angered look on her face.

"You are not considering that this creature is not involved in the attack, are you?" Luna asked.

"Sister, I've seen this changeling before." Celestia explained.

"No doubt he was here to learn the castle." Luna mused.

"No, Luna." Celestia countered. "He was here to ask my blessing to wed." Luna opened her mouth to argue further, but stopped dead when she realized what was just said.

"He asked you blessing to marry?" Luna asked, trying to make sense of it.

"Yes sister." Celestia confirmed. "He fell in love with one of our very own. I don't believe he was involved in the attack if he desired to form a union with a pony. And asking permission for interracial marriage." Luna sat there thinking about it. She understood now why her sister was doing what she was doing for this changeling, but she could not figure out why a changeling would want such a thing.

"Why?" Luna asked.

"Think back to when we first became Equestria's princesses." Celestia said. "Almost no pony remembers that the changelings were peaceful back then and were good friends with our race. Ponies began to fear them to the point one of their monarchs made their fears come true. Ever since they've been counted as monsters not to be trifled with."

"And we've never spoken to them again." Luna concluded. Celestia inclined her head. Luna looked up to her white sister. "And you think this one changeling could be the bridge to a new union?"

"Possibly." Celestia answered.

"Who was the pony he wanted to marry?" Luna asked.

~~)oOo(~~

Zuro lay on his bench in his cell with his mind locked on Angel, Dili and the rest of his family. He knew Angel would be protecting Dili like an ursa major with a newborn ursa minor. Though his concerns were high for his parents the knowledge of how well his father can handle things helped ease his mind a little. He ignored the glares of the other prisoners in the neighboring cells as his brother simply read a book in the corner of his cell.

"You, know I'm beginning to see why you fascinated this race so much." Gnator mused. Zuro turned his head to face his little brother who turned a page to continue reading.

"Where did mom and dad get locked up?" Zuro asked. Gnator chuckled at the question.

"Knowing dad, they're probably out of their prison and out in hiding until things quiet down by now." Gnator answered. Zuro could not help but smile at this because even though there was a mocking tone in Gnator's voice, Zuro knew his little brother was telling the truth. Their father was one of the best at getting out of tough spots in his prime.

"Gnator, you know I'm willing to forgive you for all this." Zuro said. Gnator looked up with his brows narrowed.

"Right." Gnator said sarcastically. Zuro sat up facing Gnator.

"I mean it, little buddy." Zuro continued. "We can be best friends again. Just like old times."

"Are we forgetting the fact you bound my powers?" Gnator countered. Before Zuro could answer the question the sound of mettle creaking open filled the air. Zuro turned his gaze to see a lavender unicorn mare with deep purple mane and a star cutie mark walk in, accompanied by two guards. She stopped up at the two changelings cells and looked between them. Behind the obvious fear in her eyes she looked a little excited to see them. Twilight Sparkle. Zuro thought to himself as soon as he recognized her.

"Which one did she want me to review?" She asked. The guards pointed to Zuro. At this one of the guards unlocked the door to his cell.

"Let's go." The guard ordered.

"Looks like they're getting ready to question your motives, Zu." Gnator said as Zuro got up for the guard.

"Quiet, you!" Another guard ordered Gnator. Gnator chuckled.

"Do any of your prisoners fallow that command?" Gnator asked.

"Enough, Gnator." Zuro ordered. Gnator looked to his brother who was now hooked to a chain leash by one of the guards.

"I know you love this race, big bro." Gnator said. "But it's not my world."

"You can at least keep calm while under their custody." Zuro stated. They looked at each other for a good long minute. "Please, little brother. Just-"

"I'll behave myself, Zu." Gnator interrupted as he leaned against the wall to continue reading the book. Zuro was satisfied with this and turned to Twilight.

"I believe you have questions for me, Ms.?" He asked. She inclined her head.

"Yes." She answered.

"Ms. Sparkle?" A guard called. They turned to face him. "If you and the prisoner would follow us." She inclined her head before turning to Zuro. She followed the lead guard while Zuro followed behind her with a guard holding his leash. After a few minutes of traveling through some hall ways they came into a room with a single table with two chairs on either side of it. The unicorn turned to the guard holding Zuro's leash.

"I don't think the leash is necessary, sir." She said.

"Ms. Twilight Sparkle, I don't think-" He started.

"We have four guards keeping watch and he's under a restraining collar." She observed. "I think the leash can be put away for the questioning." The guard looked like he wanted to question further, but after a minute he inclined his head and unhooked Zuro's collar.

"Try anything and you're done." He warned. Zuro inclined his head.

"If you please." Ms. Sparkle said. Zuro turned to her. She was gesturing to the table. "Have a seat and we can begin." Zuro inclined his head and took a seat by the table. She sat in the chair opposite him.

"You remember me from back home in Ponyville, don't you?" He asked. She looked up to him.

"I remember a pegasus with the name you use." She replied.

"Zuro the Guardian." He began. "Came to Ponyville four years ago with almost no knowledge of modern Equestria. Spent months in the library studying history and various other things here and there. Got a job as a cloud wrangler for Cloudsdale with Rainbow Dash as my acting manager. Was thrown a big Welcome-to-town party by Pinkie Pie and became good friends with Jet Blast who was turned into a dog when Discord, the draconaquus spirit of Disharmony." She showed no sign of surprise or belief in her expression.

"No shock you know an awful lot about him." She said. "Changelings have to blend into the pony they impersonate."

"But I wasn't impersonating Zuro, I am Zuro." He defends himself. "I know I can keep saying that with proof and you won't believe me, so I won't persist like most would." This made Twilight incline her head. She pulled out a piece of parchment and quill from her saddlebags and started taking down notes. She looked up to him.

"Princess Celestia informed me you approached her a few months ago?" She asked. He inclined his head.

"I sought her audience to ask her blessing." He explained. She wrote down some more notes.

"What was this blessing?" She asked.

"Marriage to one of your own ponies." He answered. "I've fallen in love with a pegasus mare." Some of the guards glared at him.

"Can you tell me who this mare is?" She asked him.

"I'd rather not exclude her name for her sake." He answered.

"Why is that?" She asked.

"I tell you who she is you'll get her involved when she doesn't need to be dragged into anymore of it." He explained. "I want her left out of this."

"You may have her under a spell or something that makes her loyal to you." She observed.

"I'd never." He stated. "Magic isn't even my strongest attribute. I haven't even lifted a quill in four years." She set her quill on the table.

"Show me." The guards tensed up at this.

"Ms. Sparkle?" One began. She held her hoof up.

"I've temporarily disabled the collar on your neck." She explained. "Show me how well you can use your changeling magic." She instructed. He looked to the quill and ignited his horn. The green light illuminated the quill and it shakily hovered a few inches off the table. He held it up for a minute before taking it and scribble on the table. When he finished he let it fall back to the table and sat back. She looked closer to the scribble and saw the name "Zuro" written there. The writing was loose, uneven and messy as if a foal learning how to handle a pencil with his hooves. She took the quill in her magic and scribbled on the parchment.

"Your magic on moving things is clearly out of practice." She observed. She looked back to him. "But your capability to change is good, is it not?"

"Only one pegasus, Twilight." He answered. "I've been the same pegasus for four years straight. Nothing else." She took down some more notes. She looked to him. "Can you show me?"

"I think the guards had enough with me just trying to lift the quill." He answered.

"Just for a minute." She almost pleaded, looking a little anxious. He looked at her for a minute.

"I don't think that's the best choice in my current situation." He stated. She sighed quietly as she took more notes. He could tell she was upset about this, but on a professional level she was relieved. For several minutes she continued to question him about his part in the invasion and he explained everything from when he and his friends were threatened by his brother to the point he was captured and locked away. All the time he answered her questions she took down more notes. She finished her notes and put her things away.

"That's all I have for you." She said before looking up to him. "The guards will take you back to your cell." Zuro inclined his head and stood to his hooves. The guards hooked his leash up again and they led him out of the room back down the halls to his cell.