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Chapter 1: Consciousness4,034 words
Chapter 2: The Road to Recovery3,814 words
Chapter 3: Making Progress4,327 words
Chapter 4: Patience3,442 words
Chapter 5: The Healing Process7,187 words
Chapter 6: The Scene of the Crime6,604 words
Chapter 7: The Royal Treatment3,965 words
Chapter 8: Class is in Session4,094 words
Chapter 9: Preparations5,240 words
Chapter 10: Socializing4,976 words
Chapter 11: Onslaught12,006 words
Chapter 12: Four of a Kind5,030 words
Chapter 13: Now Reporting4,350 words
Chapter 14: Taking Chances4,079 words
Chapter 15: In the Spotlight4,088 words
Chapter 16: Persevere Through Pain8,115 words
Chapter 17: Lock Down6,302 words
Chapter 18: Complications4,255 words
Chapter 19: Fear & Pain4,351 words
Chapter 20: Remorse4,098 words
Chapter 21: Moving on isn't Easy7,087 words
Chapter 22: Takes One to Know One4,366 words
Chapter 23: The Pros & the Cons5,659 words
Chapter 24: The Storm's Shade6,930 words
Chapter 25: Darker Insight4,760 words
Chapter 26: Negotiations4,449 words
Chapter 27: The More You Know4,793 words
Chapter 28: Developments4,392 words
Chapter 29: Sorting Through3,938 words
Chapter 30: Conflict6,025 words
Chapter 31: Aftermath6,824 words

Chapter 27: The More You Know

Cyclone Shade’s mad laughter continued as I stepped out of the dungeon while Princess Celestia and the guards stepped back in, leaving two guards by the dungeon door. Twilight and the others were waiting for me, all of them had curious faces. Twilight was the first to ask:

“So, what did he want to talk about?” She asked as I looked at Hofnarr. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to sneak into that party even if it meant I could talk to Aura. If I got caught I’m sure it would end up in the news, and therefore end up showing Equestrians that I shouldn’t be trusted. But at the same time, the fact that I didn’t know but wanted to drove the desire to go. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to tell them about this. At least not yet. But I also didn’t want to lie to them, so I told them the truth.

“He implied that you’re an orphan.” I said as I looked to Hofnarr. He looked shocked by what I said as his mouth hung open. Twilight, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were surprised by my statement. “Is that true?”

Hofnarr stood in silence as his mouth slowly shut. It seemed as though Hofnarr was deep in thought. At this point it was obvious to me that Cyclone Shade was right, but how he knew about it I had no idea. Hofnarr took a deep, shaky breath then turned around and started flying down the hallway as fast as he could. Taking a left further down the hallway, he was out of sight before any of us could do or say anything.

“Based on that, I’d say he’s an orphan. No other reason why he’d react like that.” Blast Shield said as we continued to stare blankly where Hofnarr went.

“Come on. We should see if he’s okay.” Twilight said as she began walking down the hallway with Pinkie and Fluttershy following.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? If he’s kept being an orphan a secret then I don’t think he’ll want to talk about it. With anyone.” I said as me and Blast Shield still stood by the dungeon door with the guards.

“He’s obviously in emotional pain, and that’s why we should see if we can do something for him.” Fluttershy said as me and Blast Shield glanced at each other then began to follow them.

“I’m not too sure about that, Fluttershy; some just want to be left alone. So, on an unrelated subject, how have things been in Ponyville since the changeling attack?” I asked as we made our way through the hallway to try to find Hofnarr.

“Things have been fine, I guess. Everypony’s still a little on edge about the attack and everything but they just need some time.” Twilight explained. Pinkie then gasped and spun around so that she could face me as we walked.

“OH MY GOSH! You shoulda been there when news about you came from Canterlot! Everypony in Ponyville was talking about you and some think you’re a hero but there are ponies who think you shouldn’t be trusted because you’re probably only helping us because you don’t remember yourself and I was like ‘that’s not true! Fragment’s really nice’ but they didn’t listen so then I was like ‘you’ll see the next time he’s in Ponyville.’ But the whole towns kinda split on the subject.”

“I think everypony just needs some time. With two recent attacks, ponies are bound to hold at least some resentment and distrust. But once everypony sees that you’re good they’ll come around.” Twilight reassured as we took the same left that Hofnarr had taken.

“I hope you’re right.” I said. As we turned the corner we saw that there was no sign of Hofnarr, and there were several rooms and turns to go to other hallways. “Well, finding him isn’t going to be too easy.”

“Fluttershy, when we find him you should be the one to talk to him.” Twilight said as I looked around for any signs of Hofnarr.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? I don’t know anything about being an orphan. Especially a changeling orphan.” Fluttershy said with an uncertain expression.

“I know, Fluttershy, but you’re the most compassionate pony I’ve ever met. If any of us can help him, it’s you.” Twilight reassured with a small smile.

“First we need to find him.” I reminded as I observed the area for anything out of place. “Any ideas on how we can do that faster?”

“No idea. Do you know where he might have gone?” Twilight replied.

“No. Princess Luna gave him a guest room to use until the Princesses come up with something else, so he might be there, but I don’t know where his room is.”

“I know where the guest rooms are, so let’s start there.” Twilight then began to lead us to the guest rooms. As we walked I began to feel guilty about just turning attention away from me and onto Hofnarr like I had. If he is an orphan then it’s probably not something he likes to talk about. Maybe not even think about. I didn’t want to tell them about what I was considering doing, so I threw all focus at him. I’d have to at least try to make it up to him. I then began to question why I was keeping this from them at all.

They’re my friends, aren’t they? They know that I wouldn’t sneak into a party like that without a good reason. Don’t they? They’ve only known me for about a week, but they’ve seen what good I’ve done. They know I’m not like the others. I don’t hate Equestria or Equestrians for fearing us. But what if they think something else? That maybe I have motives that aren’t good. I really trust them, so what’s the real reason I don’t want to tell them about this? Am I worried that they’ll try to talk me out of it?

This could be my best chance to get answers about what happened during the invasion. I might not even get another chance to talk to her. It’s important that I talk to her. At least I think it is… Oh who am I kidding? There’s no reason to keep this from them. They’re my friends and I’m theirs; I should be able to trust them with this. After we sort things out with Hofnarr I’ll tell them.

There wasn’t a sign of Hofnarr as we headed towards the guest rooms. We asked a few of the guards we passed if they saw anything and they said that they hadn’t. After a few minutes of walking we made it to the guest rooms. It was very different from the area where my room was. Here it was a rather short hallway with five rooms on both sides of it. Each door had a plaque with the number of its room on it.

“So how are we going to do this? I don’t think we should just barge into rooms without knowing if anyone’s in there.” Blast Shield said as he looked between the ten or so doors.

“We’ll just knock on the doors and ask if anyone’s there. If not then we’ll take a peek. Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, you two check that side and we’ll do this side.” Twilight said as Pinkie and Fluttershy nodded then headed down their side of the hallway. We knocked on each door we came to, asking if anyone was there and getting no response every time. We had reached the fourth door on our side when Pinkie Pie came over to us.

“We found him!” She said in an almost whisper. “Fluttershy’s talking to him right now trying to get him to talk.”

“Why’re you whispering?” Twilight asked as she tried to walk over to where Fluttershy was, but Pinkie got in her way.

“Fluttershy said that it would be better if this was kept private until Hofnarr was ready to talk about it, so she thinks we should stay away for now.” Pinkie Pie explained with a not-so-happy expression. Twilight didn’t reply for a few moments when she let out a hesitant sigh.

“Alright, where should we wait?” Pinkie shrugged, unsure of that herself.

“What’s wrong with waiting here?” Blast Shield asked as he sat down on the floor and removed his helmet with his magic, letting his short red mane become visible. How have I not seen that his mane was that color before?

So there we waited. Blast Shield napped against the wall, Pinkie and Twilight played Tic Tac Toe while I just paced around our end of the hallway. Every moment that passed with no signs of change from Fluttershy brought me guilt. It was due to both that I brought it up in the first place, and the reason I had for doing. I didn’t ask just because I wanted to know. It was mainly because I didn’t want to answer Twilight's question about what Cyclone Shade told me. I didn’t consider the consequences for doing something like that. Hofnarr didn’t deserve that. Gezähnt yes, but not Hofnarr.

After a few more minutes, the door to the room Hofnarr was in opened. But before any of us could say something, Fluttershy walked into the room and its door shut behind her.

“What just happened?” Twilight asked as Blast Shield mumbled “Momma I don’t wanna” in his sleep.

“Maybe he let her in so they could talk more privately.” I suggested with a shrug.

“We should probably keep waiting. Fluttershy will let us know if there’s anything we can do.” Twilight said. So we continued to wait, occasionally hearing sobs and faint sentences spoken, each one strengthened my guilt. I had to make this up to Hofnarr. Telling the truth would be my starting point. As the minutes passed I could see the concern developing on Twilight and Pinkie’s faces. After what I believe was twenty minutes the door opened and Fluttershy walked back into the hallway, closing it behind her. I noticed that the fur on her right shoulder was slightly darker than the rest of her coat and appeared to be wet.

“Well? You’ve been in there for awhile. What happened?” Twilight asked as Pinkie put the games they had played to pass the time back into her mane. If that makes any sense. Fluttershy had a very sad expression on her face.

“Well, when he wouldn’t let me in, I told him that it’s better to tell somepony what’s bothering him than to keep it bottled up but he still didn’t want to talk about it. It took a lot of convincing to get him to let me in, but he still only barely talked to me. So I just hugged him for a little while and eventually he told me everything.” Fluttershy explained as Blast Shield woke up with a loud snort. Twilight, Pinkie and I got closer to Fluttershy as she began to explain.

“Hofnarr was brought to an orphanage by an unknown changeling when Hofnarr was only a few months old. He grew up in that orphanage because almost nopony, er, changeling, was adopting at the time. Conditions at that orphanage were terrible; the building was in disrepair, blankets were old and torn, the food was practically from the garbage, and worst of all, the other changelings picked on him. He was made fun of because of his strange ideas, being smaller than them, and because he liked to draw.”

“He used to take whatever he could and use it to carve things into the walls. He stayed at the orphanage until he ran away when he turned sixteen. After a few weeks of living on the street stealing food and trying to get some kind of job, he was caught by Gezähnt, who told him that he’d make a good scout. Soon after that, he enlisted in the changeling military.”

We were silent as Fluttershy’s words sank in, empathy and concern thick in the air as my guilt became more potent. Hofnarr’s foalhood was a terrible one and I reminded him of what is probably the worst fact of his life.

“He told me more detail than that, but he asked me not to tell you.”

“Is… is there anything we can do to help him?” I asked.

“I don’t think so. Not right now at least; he told me he was going to rest for a while.”

“How did Cyclone Shade even know that Hofnarr was an orphan anyway?” Twilight asked suspiciously.

“Maybe we should talk to him about that once Princess Celestia’s done with him.” I suggested.

“Are you sure we really should to talk to him again?” Fluttershy asked, looking uncomfortable. “I don’t think he’d just tell us what we wanted to know because we asked anyway.”

“He’s kind of the only one we know of who knows how he obtained that information, so we really don’t have much of a choice on that.” I replied as someone behind Fluttershy cleared their throat, causing her to jump a little.

“Are you sure it’s worth damaging your mentality?” Hofnarr asked with a raised brow.

“Hofnarr? You said you were going to rest.” Fluttershy said with a mildly concerned expression.

“Resting never did that much for me. I prefer to be out and about, even now when I’m sad.” He said with a small smile on his face.

“Are you going to be okay?” Twilight asked concerned.

“I will be. Thanks for the concern. All of you. Even after everything we’ve done to you, you show me and Fragment compassion. Equestria really does have more love than anywhere else, doesn’t it?” Hofnarr said as his smile grew.

“Just because your queen’s a big meanie doesn’t mean you all are. Why wouldn’t we try to help you?” Pinkie said as Hofnarr wiped a lingering tear from his left eye. I decided that now was probably the best time to tell them the truth.

“I, uh… I have something to say.” The others turned to me with curious faces. It made me a little uncomfortable to think about how they’d react to what I had to say. “Hofnarr being an orphan isn’t the main thing Cyclone Shade told me about.”

“What does that mean?” Hofnarr asked with a slight glare.

“Right when I was leaving the dungeon, Cyclone Shade said ‘tell the orphan I’m going to get back at him.’ When I asked what orphan he was talking about, he said that it ‘didn’t seem trustworthy’ of Hofnarr not keep that from us.”

“Wait, wait, wait. So he only brought that up when you were about to leave? So what did you two talk about the rest of the time you were in there?” Hofnarr asked as he took a step closer to me.

“Remember the mare who spoke with Cyclone Shade outside the hospital?”

“Princess Cadance said her name was, uh, Aura?” I nodded as a reply. “What does she have to do with this, aside from being in your flashbacks?”

“I’m not sure. But Cyclone Shade said that she’ll be attending a party at some place called ‘Frost Meadow Manor’ in two weeks. He told me that if I really wanted to talk to her that would be my best chance. The thing is that I’d have to take someone elses place to get in.” They had mixed expressions ranging from surprised to uncertainty.

“I’m going to sneak into that party and try to talk to Aura. I need to know what she knows.”

“Fragment…” Twilight began. “Why didn’t you tell us about this before?”

“Because I was worried that you’d try to talk me out of it or generally disapprove of the idea of taking a pony’s place.” I said shamefully, letting my head hang some.

“It’s for that reason that I said what Cyclone Shade had about you being an orphan. I was concerned for my own agendas and didn’t think about the possible consequences. I’m sorry, Hofnarr. I didn’t mean to upset or hurt you in any way.” Hofnarr stared at me with a mixed expression. He was obviously upset by the fact I used him as a distraction, but there was something else that I couldn’t identify just by looking. After a moment, Hofnarr took a deep breath and smiled slightly.

“Apology accepted.” He said as I pulled my head back up with a questioning look.

“Wait, really? Just like that?”

“Well yeah. For three reasons. First one being that you realized what you did wasn’t right and came out with it. A lot of changelings would’ve just kept that to themselves rather than come out with it. Second being that I can’t completely blame you. I’ve done things kinda like that before. You were worried that something that you thought was right would be viewed as wrong by not just others, but others whose opinions you care about, and that's why you didn't want to see their judgement.

And third… because I haven’t told anyone about my foalhood in… in at all. Only a few ever asked and I never told them. But after telling Fluttershy about it… telling her how much it hurt, it kinda feels a little better now. Like, as the clichés go, a weight being lifted off my shoulders. I can’t really say how I feel beyond that, but it feels good. I think it’s safe to say that, although it was unintentional, you did me a favor.” Hofnarr explained with a smile. I wasn’t sure what to say if anything. I had just put him through an emotional breakdown and he was almost grateful.

"What exactly is this party Cyclone Shade told you about?" Twilight cut-in.

"I'm not entirely sure. All he really said about it is that it's basically a party for the rich, a lot of well known ponies will be attending, Aura will be there and that I could pose as someone named Filthy Rich."

"I've heard of him! He lives in Ponyville and runs Rich's Barnyard Bargains. From what I've heard he's a really nice guy." Twilight explained.

"Do you think he has any connections to whatever's going on or generally knows about it?"

"Probably not; he's been known to give some of his wealth to charities and things like that. Being invited to that party doesn't necessarily mean he has something to do with it."

“I’d like to know how Cyclone Shade knew Hofnarr was an orphan in the first place.” Fluttershy said as she rubbed her chin with her hoof in thought.

“Me too, but I don’t want to talk to him to figure it out.” Hofnarr said with an uncomfortable look.

“I don’t think any of us do, but we don’t really have a lot of options there.” I said, shaking my head a little. “So should we talk to the crazy assassin again or something else?”

“If we really want to know, then we have to talk to Cyclone Shade.” Twilight said as she turned around and began heading back to the dungeon. As we began to follow, Hofnarr crawled up the wall and walked up there again. Unlike before, the sight put a smile on my face.

We were walking back to the dungeon when we ran into Dex. She opened her mouth to say something but stopped herself and looked up. “You two are cleaning where you’re stepping, not me.”

“Two?” I said and looked up, only to see that Pinkie Pie was using plungers to walk on the walls with Hofnarr.

“Pinkie, what’re you doing up there?” Twilight asked.

“What are you doing down there? The floor is lava!”

“That’s why I’m up here.” Hofnarr said without missing a beat.

“You listen here, Hofnak.” Dex said in an angry tone.

“Hofnarr.” I corrected as she ignored me.

“Do you know how big this castle is?”

“No, but if I had to guess I’d say it’s somewhere between big, really big and ‘does it go on forever?’”

“And do you know what my job here is?” Dex sounded as though she was getting angrier with Hofnarr.

“To keep it from becoming a boring place where the posh congregate?” Dex’s frustration was becoming painfully obvious, but Hofnarr didn’t seem to care and just kept smiling. Pinkie Pie had somehow gotten down from the wall without being noticed as they… talked.

“My job is to keep this place clean. Do you see how much distance there is between the floor and the ceiling?” There was silence as Hofnarr observed the the twenty foot distance.

“I think you’re trying to tell me something…”

“Yeah. I’m telling you that I’m not going to get a giant ladder just to clean up where you walk. So don’t walk on the damn walls or ceiling!” Dex snapped, making me take a step back even though I wasn’t the one she was mad at. Hofnarr quickly jumped down from the ceiling, using his wings to slow down before reaching the floor.

“Heh heh, won’t happen again?” Hofnarr said with a nervous smile.

“What’re you all doing anyway?” Dex asked as Twilight began leading us again, seeming to be a little uncomfortable with Dex.

“You went from being pissed off to being like 'hey what’s up' pretty quickly.” Hofnarr said causing Dex to glare at him.

“We’re going to the dungeon to talk to Cyclone Shade.” I answered as Hofnarr took a few steps away from Dex and followed Twilight.

“You mean that assassin pegasus guy?”

“That’s the one.”

“You forgot to mention that he’s crazy.” Hofnarr cut-in.

“I don’t know how crazy he is, but he must’ve said some pretty F’ed up stuff to make Princess Celestia take a tea break from talking to him.” Dex said as she began walking in the opposite direction.

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked as she stopped and turned around, staring at Dex.

“I was straightening out a painting near the dungeon about five minutes ago when Princess Celestia came out of it, mumbling something about a cup of tea. While the door was open I heard laughter coming from inside. I don’t know who the heck we’ve got locked up in there, but I wouldn’t want to talk to him.” She said as continued to walk away.

“Well that was an interesting conversation. She seems like a such pleasant pony to talk to.” Hofnarr said as we began walking again.

“She’s usually nicer than that.” I remarked.

“You know her?” Fluttershy asked.

“Her name’s Dex. She’s, obviously, one of the maids here and she’s also one the ponies that I’ve made friends with here.” I explained.

“It’s good to see that you’ve been able to make friends with ponies other than us. It’s a good sign that you’ll be accepted in public.” Twilight said happily with a smile.

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that. When Hofnarr and the others escaped, one of the guards didn’t want me to help in trying to find them because I was a changeling and therefore couldn’t be trusted.”

“That’s awful! Being a changeling has nothing to do with being trustworthy.” Fluttershy said as the dungeon came into view.

“I hope that it’s not the majority of the public that ends up thinking like that.” The guards by the dungeon doors stepped aside for us as Twilight magically opened the door. Stepping into the dungeon we heard Cyclone Shade talking.

“And so he says to me, ‘no! please! I’ll give you whatever you want! I have kids!’ To that I reply, ‘if you would’ve just given the Moon Fire gang their money that easily, you wouldn’t be in this mess!’ HAHAHAHA! And then I say, ‘and besides, the only thing you have that I want, is your left lung and a kidney. But something tells me you won’t give those up willingly.’” The guard standing by Cyclone Shade’s cell looked as though he had been scarred for life. I wouldn’t blame him if he was.

“Remind me why we keep talking to this guy.” Hofnarr said as Cyclone Shade began to laugh again.

“Well, well, well, look who’s back. The little orphan and the band of halfwits back in the dungeon with the homicidal pegasus. How may I be of service to you?” He asked as we walked in front of his view. Cyclone Shade was standing at the bars closest to the guard.

“How did you know I was an orphan?” Hofnarr asked in very serious tone.

Hahaha, is that all you’ve come to me for? That hardly seems worth the time of coming down here to speak with me. You must have absolutely nothing else to do.”

“Answer the question.” Hofnarr said, his tone unchanging.

“I don’t think you know how I work, bug. I’m not going to tell you something like that without some kind of profit in exchange. And as far as I can see, there is nothing you have to offer me.” Before Hofnarr could reply, the dungeon doors opened and Princess Celestia walk in. She looked surprised to see us there, however her look of surprise went to one of determination as she approached Cyclone’s cell.

“Princess, is that you? I had expected you to be gone longer…”

“If what you say about your employer is true then I need to get as much out of you as I can.”

“I will only tell you so much from behind these bars, Princess. In fact, I think I’m done answering your questions until I’m out of Canterlot.”

“You will answer me one more question before I even consider releasing you, or I’ll have the Elements of Harmony banish you.” Princess Celestia said firmly. Cyclone Shade stared into her eyes while she stared into his. After a few seconds, Cyclone Shade smiled and spoke.

“Never took you for the type to threaten like that. I’m proud of you. One. Last. Question.”

“You said you were sent here to ‘kill one of royal blood.’ I want who.”

“I Probably could’ve guessed that. I’ll warn you, you’re not going to like the answer.”

“Who was it? Did someone want my sister dead?” Princess Celestia seemed irritated that he hadn’t already answered her question.

"Oh, no no no no. Nothing like that. Why would somepony want the lovely Princess Luna dead? Raising the Moon as a rather important job. Though I guess you’re always around to fill in, which does make killing her more sensible. It’s why things come in twos; so you have a spare. HAHAHAHAHA!” Cyclone Shade’s remarks about killing Princess Luna visibly bothered Princess Celestia, made obvious by her enraged face as her horn began to glow and she took a step closer to Cyclone Shade’s cell.

“Who were you sent here to kill? Answer me!” She shouted.

“Oh, if you’re going to be so damn emotional about it then fine. You don’t even have anything to worry about.”

“What do you mean?”

“I wasn’t sent here to kill you, or your sister, or nephew or anyone else.”

“You said―”

“I said I was sent here to ‘kill one of royal blood,’ and if my research is correct, then Queen Chrysalis’ blood is royal blood.”

“WHAT?!” We shouted in shock.

“HAHAHAHAHA! Oh yes, I was sent here―on the day of the changeling attack―to kill Queen Chrysalis…”

Author's Note:

WHAT A TWIST!