Stately Writ sat at a lone table in the cafeteria. Nopony else was there. It was too early in the morning.
A bowl of soup sat in front of him.
It had already gone cold.
As much as he wanted to, he couldn't bring himself to eat it. He knew he needed nourishment, but eating nothing felt better than eating anything right now.
He didn't know if he could do it. He didn't know if any of this would work. It was... a long shot, to say the least, but he had also thought things through as best he could and he knew of no other way. His friends, all off on their own for the first time, trying to do the impossible in a way that only changelings can do.
He didn't enjoy deceit. It was no fun for him. He just liked being... him. Hiding behind a mask everyday just ate away at the real him behind it. He knew that the only real friends he had were changelings, changelings that knew who he really was and what he was really like.
But now, he was amongst ponies, working with them, talking with them, managing relations between them. He did appreciate the fact that most of his job consisted of simply being a messenger; the words were never his anyway, so he really never had to pretend anything. Working alone also helped with that. But this also meant that he had no friends nearby, and he very much feared making any with ponies beyond those he had to. Eventually, they would find out, and it probably wouldn't work out too well.
So he sat, staring at a bowl of soup, thinking of his friends... praying for their safety.
"Oh, maker, help us... please."
The cafeteria doors swung open, giving way to a small group of stallions. Guards coming in for breakfast.
Stately Writ ignored them. Focussing intently on his bowl, he hoped that they would pass through without speaking to him as they usually did.
He listened to their playful chattering as it moved from one side of the room to the other. Once the sounds of their voices reached the serving counter, he prepared to pick up his bowl to drop it off in the wash rack and leave.
"Hey."
Stately Writ almost spilled the contents of his bowl as he jolted. Looking up, one of the guards was standing across from him.
The guard lifted a hoof pointing towards the bowl.
"I see you haven't eaten, today. Is everything alright?"
Stately Writ didn't want to talk right now. "Yeah, I'm fine." He turned to put his bowl away.
But the guard continued.
"You're Stately Writ, right? I see you in here every morning by yourself." He followed Stately Writ to the wash racks. "You're the assistant to the Princess. I guard the door when you give your reports."
Stately Writ poured the contents of his bowl into a small drain, and set the bowl on the rack next to it. He didn't want to seem rude, so he turned to the guard. "It's a pleasure to meet you..."
The guard put on a sly smile. "Damascus. Damascus Steel. But the ladies call me Daaaaam." He wriggled his eyebrows and stuck out his tongue.
Stately Writ couldn't help but snicker.
"There we go! There's a smile!" Damascus patted Stately's shoulder.
Stately Writ let out a sigh. He hadn't realized he had been frowning.
He had no idea what to say.
"Come on, sit down for a little bit. It looks like you've got something to get off your chest. I may not be a therapist, but I can tell when somepony needs someone to talk to."
Damascus led him to a seat at another table, far from the rest of the guards. Stately just followed. He knew he wasn't getting out of this one. He didn't want to lie and say he was busy.
He also didn't want to fabricate some fake story about what was bothering him. He just didn't want to talk.
Maybe if he just said nothing...
"So what's bothering you, dude?"
Dangit...
What could he say? "It's... the new job and everything. Moving to the crystal empire, being away from my friends. I'm just... not used to it."
Damascus sat and listened, neither smiling nor frowning. Just listening. He didn't respond, clearly waiting for a bit more.
Stately sighed. "I miss them. I'm... worried about them."
It was silent for a moment before Damascus spoke up. "You wanna know something?" He smiled. "I recently had a daughter. A little filly. And sometimes it is so hard to come to work in the morning. Sometimes she's asleep, but sometimes she's crying and I have to let my wife take care of it while I head off and leave them at home. It's... just... sometimes life is like that. We can't always be with everyone when we want to be with them, but we still have to truck on ahead and do what needs done, right? I imagine that's why you're out here isn't it? Because you needed to come out here."
Stately nodded. "Yeah..."
Damascus thought for a moment. "Have you tried making new friends here?"
"Not... really... No."
"Well, you've got one now." He stuck out his hoof. "Hi. I'm Damascus."
The gesture drew a faint smile from Stately. Somewhat begrudgingly, he reached out and shook Damascus' hoof. "Stately Writ."
Damascus returned the smile with a bright and honest one. "Pleasure to meet you, State. Can I call you State? That okay?"
State chuckled. "Heh... Sure why not?"
"Schweet!" Suddenly, Damascus stood from the table. "Now let's go get us some mornin' grub!"
Rolling his eyes, State followed suit. Maybe having just one friend would be good for him.
White Lie's throat was dry. He lay on the stone floor, exhausted.
He had called out for help multiple times, but it seemed nopony heard.
Lifting his head, he looked up, through the bars, at the unconscious Damascus in the hall.
"Please... don't let anypony else die because of me..."
Hoofsteps echoed in the distance. White seized the opportunity.
"Help! Somepony!"
The hoofsteps grew quicker and louder, becoming clear as they approached.
Turning the corner was Shining Armor, giving a panicked glance at Damascus before rushing in to the cell room. Cadence arrived behind him, immediately tending to Damascus.
"What happened?" Shining demanded.
"Help him, now!" White shouted.
"Shining, I'm not getting a pulse," Cadence called out.
Shining hesitated, taking one last unsure look at White Lie before turning around and joining his wife.
White Lie tilted his head to get a better view.
"Come on, buddy. Please wake up..."