Aftermath of a Fallen Star

by Rated Ponystar

Torturer Part 1 (Stag)

You know how they say you should always go for a job you enjoy? That way it doesn’t seem like a chore and you end up doing only half the effort that doesn’t get you anywhere in life? That’s why I was always jealous of ponies and their cutie marks, it always seems like they have an idea on what they want to do for the rest of their life. Of course, years later after sneaking around in their nation’s underworld as a torturer for hire I learned that wasn’t always the case. Apparently, in Equestrian society you can’t get a job unless your cutie mark relays to what is required of the job, regardless of your other skills.

Got a great singing voice and you want to go out to perform for audiences? Too bad, you got a peach looking cutie mark so you have to do something with peaches.

Love teaching martial arts and want to set up your own dojo? Your cutie mark is a screw, so set up a construction company.

Want to be a farmer yet your cutie mark is a cloud? Weather job for you, buddy.

Most ponies are happy doing the jobs they want with their special talent, and good for them, but those who want to try something else, something against their “destined talent” are miserable. If you're rich or influential enough you can maybe avoid this, but its bastards like that who made those laws long ago. They would say it’s to make sure everypony is happy doing what they are “meant” to do, but the truth is it’s to keep everypony in check. Earth ponies get the farming and dirty jobs. Pegasi get the weather and military jobs. Unicorns get the political and governing jobs. It’s even worse when you’re “not” a pony, if you can even get a place that will hire you at all. Oh, and sixty percent of the House of Nobles, the ones who are there to help the princesses pass and make these laws with great influence? Yeah, surprisingly, the donkeys have got a real hoof-hold in there.

Yeah, who am I possibly kidding? It’s Unicorns.

It’s no different than the old caste system we changelings had.

Oh, right. I’m a changeling by the way, incase you didn’t know. Stag is the name my mother gave me and I was born in the Gathering Caste (now the highest caste thanks to the now extinct Royal Caste being gone) of the Changeling Empire (Sometimes called the Hive, but there haven’t been any “hives” since the Warring States Era four thousand years ago) before our now dead—Mesmoria be praised—Queen Chrysalis kicked the bucket.

I’m not gonna go into details about my old home, I haven’t even been there since I left years and years ago. I hear that they’re establishing a new government, a republic, based on the plans of the now recently deceased Princess Twilight Sparkle. Good luck trying to convince half of those castes in our foundation to change their ways. It’s a sham I’m gonna miss the upcoming bloodbath.

But let’s forget about that, let’s talk about what I do for a living. Let’s just say that I have my own talent. I originally spent years as a Gatherer in Equestria when I was still loyal to the empire. Gatherer’s like me blend into pony society, observe it, act like one of them, gather love or information, and leave to deliver it as food for our people. I know how the pony mind acts, but one thing I’ve also learned was how to break it. Sometimes in order to gain information... I’ve had to be persuasive.

And by persuasive I mean torture.

Not the physical kind mind you, that’s just messy. Although I do occasionally do it at times. Psychological is the better route. Allows more creativity and can be effective in making it look like nothing really happened. Sure I leave shattered minds and sometimes death may seem a mercy, but we all have to do our part in society don’t we? I just happen to work on the dirty side of it, and for that, I’m routinely referred to as a “psycho for hire”.

After leaving home, I had to quickly carve a niche for myself someway or another. Otherwise, I might as well have just run back home with my tail between my legs. I decided to use my skills of both shape changing and torture to get hired by some rather... shady businessponies lets say. I wouldn’t be the first changeling to do this to be honest. I’ve gained quite the reputation in the underground business by going as several alias. Some know me as a changeling, others as a unicorn, pegasus, griffin, zebra and more. Some even know me as a girl.

What I didn’t expect was Princess Luna to know me. Well, she didn’t at first, but ever since the disaster of my race’s attempt to conquer Equestria (Which was completely stupid yet at least Chrysalis died a week after her invasion so some good came out of that), there was a mass “bughunt” for all changelings in Equestria, specifically the spies. I didn’t have much to worry about though; I had a few close calls, but let’s just say I left some of those guards in a really bad way. That and I have some connections.

Eventually, Princess Twilight declared Equestria a safe haven for changelings a month after Equestrian forces finally “invaded” a civil war torn and dying empire. She made an effort to see that we shapeshifters were welcomed and treated equally, like the rest of the pic'n'mix of creatures packing up and moving to this land of milk and honey.

Now yeah, I’m frequently referred to as a “bug” every time I walk out without a disguise. Bug. Really? That’s the best they could come up with? I can think up a few on the top of my head just for just them: hornkies, halfbreeds, mud buckers, pastel-coloured pansies, and remember, that’s just a few. It doesn’t matter anyway. I wear ‘Bug’ as a badge of honour. I mean, why would I want to be one of the pastel pansies anyway? Many forget we changelings are the Apex Predators and we’ve been around longer than most other species second only to the dragons. To some of us, ponies are basically cattle who certain figures in the higher castes even legislated more than once to have rounded up and put in slaughterhouses so we could extract their love faster. It’s true, swear to Mesmoria. Didn’t happen mind you cause others thought it was immoral and they had just as much right to live as the rest of us.

There’s also the way the guards are giving me looks as we head down to the dungeons, the kind that gives the impression they’ve still got this chip on their shoulders  What’s the matter? Poor ponies upset that they’re military’s so incompetent they can’t face off an invading horde of changeling conscripts? Pfft, wimps.

Where was I? Oh, right. Princess Luna.

Well, she found out about me and at first I thought I was gonna be arrested or killed because of my past, but she offered me a bargain. Do a task for the crown and all crimes I committed are pardoned; I could start a clean slate.

Well, I had always wanted to be a librarian. I hear Ponyville’s got an open spot.

Okay, no, no, that’s not in good in taste, I’m sorry. In this business you have to have a dark sense of humor or else you’ll never sleep at night. Or end up a drunk. Or both.

Anyway, as you can tell, I accepted the proposal and I was told that I was to use my “persuasive talents” to help find who was it that personally killed Princess Twilight. They had the nobles and Blueblood thanks to a zebra servant who overheard their conversation. Now they needed the guards who took part in it. If this was the other way around, it would have been much harder, but these are nobles. Rich ponies who personally have servants that wipe their bottoms after using a toilet.

No, seriously. Some of them do.

But there was also another reason why I was doing this. Kind of personal too, but I’ll get to that later.

So soon enough I was face to face with the current Captain of the Guard, a female threshal by the name of Evening Glory. Like most of the bat ponies, as they are sometimes called, she was black furred with piercing slitted blue eyes and a cropped up dark green mane. Her armor was similar to the old Captain of the Guard, Shining Armor, but black and white instead of that silly color of purple and gold. Guess it has to do with that whole “darkness” thing they got going on. It didn’t make them look any more threatening, if that’s what they thought.

I could tell she didn’t like me, not like I could give a buck, but oh well. That was even more evident by the first thing she said to me.

“Let’s be clear, Bug. I don’t like you or your kind, but at the moment there are five individuals in their cells that I hate even more so count yourself lucky. My orders from Princess Luna are clear. You’re free to do what you want to them as long as you don’t kill them or do anything permanent. Princess Celestia wants them well enough to stand trial for what they’ve done.” She narrowed her slitted eyes as if she was trying to be scary. How cute. “So don’t try anything, Bug.”

Just to annoy her, I spent my time during her little spiel looking down at the “invisible” watch on my hoof with a look of complete disinterest on my face. I murmured, “Mmm-hmm, sure thing,” Then I looked up at her even more angry face. “Let’s just get to work, shall we? I’m a very busy stallion. Oh, but just a little pointer before we get going…” I tapped my own cheeks demonstratively. “Don’t try and be threatening. Your kind are not threatening and you never will be. You’ve got too much cheek fat for that.” Sure I’m feeding fuel the fire but why can’t I have a little fun?

She scoffed and nodded to the guards accompany me to give me some space. “I assume you’ll want to work on Blueblood first.”

I looked at her as if she were talking like a complete dipstick.  “What? No, don’t be a complete idiot, he’s useless,” I deadpanned, walking past her as she raised her eyebrow. “Blueblood’s not the type to do close management. He’ll lead his closest advisors, but he’ll trust them enough to make their own decisions for him on who to get for the job. Just so it’s less work for him to do. I doubt he knows the names of the assassins. And even if he has heard of them, I’m betting he didn’t bother to learn them. All they were made to do was kill Twilight and that’s all he cared about. That’s the difference between him and his father, he’s lazy as a cat.”

“You know Lord Amadeus Blueblood?” asked Evening Glory.

“My dear rat-eared Bat Pony, I’ve done business with him,” I said simply. “He’s not the most talkative fellow, but.he’s really smart. Hard to believe he has a son this stupid.”

No, Blueblood wasn’t the one I needed. I need the newest member to join their little club, eager to learn everything he could now that he was part of a new special secret fun club. A club that killed a princess but a club nonetheless. That would be pretty funny, “Join the Kill Twilight Club! We have cookies and milk after every meeting!” Anyway, I needed the guy who just got onboard and still fresh meat. Easier to pound and season for a griffin’s meal.

Question was who?

Smirking, I turned to the captain and asked, “Any of these guys complete patriots, like insanely loyal to Princess Celestia?”

Evening Glory nodded. “Lord Ivory Shell was always warning Princess Celestia that Princess Twilight was a danger to her throne, similar to how it was with the return of Princess Luna and making Princess Cadence one as well. He felt that any ‘princesses’ other than her were liable to cause a conspiracy to overthrow her and that Equestria couldn't live without her if the worst should happen.”

Lord Ivory. I’d done work for that stupid sack of cow dung more than once.  Oh, well this was all lining up perfectly.

 “Very good. Take me to his cell and I’ll sort it out.”

“Whatever, Bug.”

“Oh, and another thing? For future reference? That name really doesn’t have the kind of sting you guys think it does. I mean, take for example, if I called you guys the unholy offspring of a drunken mare and a sewer rat. Chances are if I said that, which I just did, you would’ve cracked my head open with a rock, now wouldn’t you?”

Actually, no, I just got a swift punch to the face.

It didn’t take us long to arrive at the cell. I peaked inside the small window, and boy the guy was a wreck. His orange pelt had bruises and cuts all over it. Yellow and red mane looked like it lost a fight with a blender. Even his hooves were chipped and bleeding. I turned to the two guards and said, “Follow my lead and treat me as your almighty ruler.”

Just as I say this I transformed into Princess Celestia. Turning into an alicorn isn’t that hard to do. You have the look and that’s it but it takes real power and skill to manage it. Most I can do in this form is move around and speak, anything short of that and I’ll lose the form. Plus, I can’t hold it that long so I needed to make this quick.

Evening Glory seemed to get the idea and nodded to the guards to play along. They opened the door for me as I strolled in like I was the actual raiser of the sun herself, the guards by my side helped with the act. Upon seeing me, Ivory Shell gasped and bowed before me. “P-princess! I know what you are thinking and that I’ve done a selfish and criminal act but believe me when I say this was all to protect you! You were at risk, your majesty!”

“I know, Ivory Shell,” I said, firm yet gentle enough.

He raised his head, eyes widened. “You... know?”

“I do,” I said, turning away and facing the wall, posture upright. Time to lie. “Ivory Shell, it may not look like it but I am grateful for what you and everypony has done.”

“You... you are?” he asked, hope in his voice. Good, hope can be used as a drug. Keep giving it to them and they’ll tell you everything they know.

“For a long time... since I made her a princess... I learned that Twilight Sparkle, my so called faithful student, was planning a coup against me. I had been working in the shadows to counteract this, and you’ve done it. Who do you think had been helping Prince Blueblood after all?” I said pretending to be sad. “It shames me to think that the one I once called daughter was working with those who would see me and everything I had created destroyed, but it had to be done. Equestria must not fall into the chaos of a mare who thought she knew better. You were right, Lord Ivory, I should never have made her a princess.”

“Ye...yes, that’s it!” shouted Ivory with a smile. “That’s right! That’s why we did what we did, your majesty! Something like that is what we feared was going on, and we were right! She was always up to something insidious! All those changes were to ruin our Equestria! L-like giving non-nobles a chance to say in our government! Or trying to flood our beautiful land with all those mangy dogs and zebras and those vile changelings! W-why, with all her promises to feed their greedy bellies, she would’ve easily used them as her army to take over! Just like we all feared!”

“Perhaps, but we will find out,” I said, as I felt the magic I had slowly leaving me. I had to end this and fast. “Twilight’s conspirators are still out there. That is why I had to have you five taken to prison for this, and I am sorry.”

He bowed before me. “Princess, I live to serve you. Always. If it means dying a thousand deaths for you and our nation I will do so.”

“Well, it will have to be so. I will be faking all of your deaths, but secretly you will be safe while we root out the traitors one by one. However,” It was time, “I need to know which one of you joined Blueblood’s group in order so that I can reward you all based on your longitude of service.”

I saw the greed in his eyes light up. A guy like him would have obviously been the first or second one to join due to his views. And even if he was number three, and was gonna lie to me about being ahead of his other two partners, he’d still give me the last one’s name.

“Yes, Princess Celestia,” he said with joy. “I was the first to join Prince Blueblood. Followed by Lord Greengrass, Lord Vice, and Lord Cosmo.”

“You know, I have to admit, Ivory, I underestimated you,” I spoke silkily as my voice began to distort and return to its original setting. “I thought you were stupid, friendo, but if anything, now I’d say you were a total bucking retard.”

With a smile I turned around and watched his grinning face fall straight into outright horror and despair as my changeling form completely revealed itself.

“N-No…” he whimpered, tears springing from his terrified eyes and he started to rock left and right in his chair in a panic. “No, not you! NO!”

I shrugged, faintly laughing while shaking my head slowly, “Heh, yeah, dipstick. It’s me.” I approached him slowly, leaning in until our faces were uncomfortably close to each other. “You know, I bet you would never have had the spine to talk that way to my face, would you? No, of course not, you’d’ve soiled yourself first before that happened.”
“S…” The old stallion struggled to find his voice, but finally managed to croak. “Stag.” His lips were quivering and an uncontrollable stream of tears were pouring down his cheeks. It was watching a puppy after the owner just gave them the beating of their life. “Stag, you know I’ve always respected you and your kind—”

“Nooo, Ivory, no, no, no...” I took him rather roughly by his cheeks in my hooves, squishing them so he looked as silly as possible. Our eyes were now inches from each other and I continued slowly in a parental reprimanding tone, my voice just above a whisper, “No. Here it is, Ivory. You’re screwed. Your entire family is screwed. You made a choice and this is the consequence.” I gestured towards the other guards standing around us. “Us, we’re the consequence. The only thing you’ve got left to look forward to is the excruciatingly painful first class trip to Tartarus the princess will be rewarding you with. Oh, that and your entire estate being turned into a nice new home for dozens of changeling immigrant families. I’m sure they’ll have an easy time bringing up generations of their hundreds of kids there.” I patted him on the cheek affectionately as I stood back. “You have a nice day now.”
He just stared at me, his eyes not moving as me and the guards made our way out. When I closed the door, I waited...

“Aaaaaauuuugggghhhhh!”

Ah, the sweet cries of agony. And I had my next victim. Lord Cosmo.

I love my job.